YEAH THAT'S RIGHT

WHO MY BITCH NOW

Mike just beat Rock Band drums on hard an now he's got 10 more gamer points than me!

Came home from work last night with my free Roku player. Nice to finally get to hook up what I've been helping other people hook up for the past few months.

Got up this morning and have been playing The Who tracks which only rule everything ever.

Yummy breakfast in our near future.

Downtown for Ground Kontrol and one of Mike's favourite traditions of the year.

Eddie Izzard gig tonight with the potential to hang out by the stage door after for his QA.

Followed by potentially more post-Eddie Ground Kontrol.

And all this interspersed with E3 news and a Rock Band 2 setlist which I still haven't had time to properly process.

Going to be an awesome day.

WHOO!! Give it up for MAH BOY!

Do it here. Do it here (ultrace). But do it!

Not much, ElJay, not much.

Work of course. And reaching the conclusion that I'm going to have to force myself to be productive beforehand, because if left to my own devices, probably not going to happen. I love working nights, but it's tough to not just wander through the day like a zombie. My days off still suck ass, and I keep hoping hoping for a change, though I have no idea if or when it'll happen. I'm settling in to it now, but it still sucks ass that pretty much everybody else has Saturdays and Sundays off while I'm like, "Yeeeaah, can't do anything. Have fun!" The work itself remains pretty fantastic though and I very much feel I'm getting the swing of things now. Which is nice for my stress levels. I really, really hate that settling in period with new jobs.

This upcoming week is going to be pretty packed. It's Mike's birthday tomorrow. Usually he gets King Treatment for a week, but seeing as how I'm working, that's truncated horribly, so I have to try the best I can otherwise.

I have tomorrow off (my first PTO!) and that night we're going with Amy and Scott to see The Police. I expect much awesomeness. (Tomorrow I think I may also try for an iPhone, but I still haven't decided yet.) Back to work for me on Saturday and Sunday, but we'll have the pre-work day to do whatever strikes Mike's fancy. Same with Monday, which Mike has off. Tuesday though is like my Saturday, and it's going to be PACKED.

Every year, Mike gets to go to Ground Kontrol with a ridiculous number of quarters and play. And play. And play some more. As much as he wants, as long as he wants. So that's what we're going to do. It opens at noon, and we'll be there at noon, ready to go. After playing all through the afternoon, we'll head out for some nice dinner, then make our way to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for the man himself, Eddie Izzard. Did I mention third row seats? THIRD ROW SEATS. After Eddie, we'll make our way back to Ground Kontrol for more playing, up to 2am, then drag our asses home.

Oh, and also, Tuesday happens to be the release of The Who pack on Rock Band. So we'll cram in as much playing of the new tracks as possible before having to leave. And, of course, Tuesday also happens to be when Harmonix are announcing all their Rock Band 2 goodies at E3.

It is not coincidental that I'm seriously considering having the web in my pocket by Tuesday.

Wednesday will be catching up on all the other stuff we didn't get done while I was at work. Sleeping in with cuddles, further enjoying our Who pack, dinner and a movie, etc.

In other news, I have seriously jacked up the first joint on my left pointer finger and I have absolutely no idea how. It's been about a week now. I think I may actually have to put some of that insurance I now receive to good use. Darn it. I think I'm going to tape it up this afternoon and keep it that way for about 24 hours, see if that helps. And it's going to make typing hilarious.

Mike took the day off so we could have a nice one together (I'm still accruing PTO, in a race to make sure I have enough time saved up for Mum's next visit). We're about to tackle the Endless Setlist.

Wish us luck.

This is a special Saturday. It's my last off for a while. My last weekend day with my guy, for however long it takes me to get a schedule that doesn't suck. The weather is oppressively hot today (damn you, Portland, how dare you get all uncomfortable on my days off??) and I think we were tempted to just sit around like lumps. Like hot, sweaty lumps. Feel our sexy.

Anyway, the urge was strong, but we resisted. Very glad we did. We had a nice day of just enjoying time together on someone else's air conditioning dime. An afternoon of running around culminated in a spontaneous decision to go bowling. The local lanes had their Cosmic on – which means that everything's laser lit, coated in blacklight, and about twice as expensive. But what the hell, it's our last weekend. It was lot of fun, although my scores were embarrassingly poor. I do not bowl well.

We're home now, and still looking at a nice long evening together – particularly if Mike digs in and stays up with me as I try to retrain myself back to late nights. Plus all of tomorrow until 3pm, which is not insignificant. I feel fortified for my week ahead.

Yesterday, as it turns out, I didn't watch a movie at lunch at all. We did around midnight though, and for the "I don't have to concentrate too hard" factor, settled on Across the Universe. Good, good movie. The musical theater nerd in me was in heaven. And, as ever, it's worth anything for even a glimpse of Eddie Izzard. Plus two alternate takes of his Mr. Kite sequence! Golden.

I now settle back with some cold water while my guy basks in the joy of his new wireless gamepad for emulation. I shall order my new monitor, and then in a bit we'll Rock Band.

Life is good.

I come downstairs as Mike is getting ready for work.

"Ooo, Boston DLC today!" I think to myself. "I'll drop him off, come home, download, and then try—"

"Now don't you go getting that Boston pack and playing it before I get home," Mike says.

I pause. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! I want us to play it together tonight."

.... "Dammit!"

As you might expect, Valentine's Day was sort of a non-event for us this year. We had some good plans. Then Mike got sick, which changed them. Then I got sick, which obliterated them. Through my groggy haze though, I realized it was the day when Mike went out to get some soup and OJ and also picked up Saturday Night Live season 2 for me.

My guy knows what I love.

I sit here today on the couch, feeling better then feeling worse then feeling better again, and I watch Gilda and John and Jane and Chevy and Danny and I'm happy.

Mike's sick today.

Mike's never sick.

Conversation last night:

Mike: "What did we get from Netflix?"
Me: "I was in the mood for a bad movie you wouldn't want to see. I got Bring it On."
Mike: "A movie I don't want to see, huh? Bring it On. Isn't Eliza Dushku in that?"
Me: "Yeah."
Mike: "And she's a cheerleader?"
Me: "Yeah."
Mike: "You fool! What were you thinking?!"

Mike returned to work today, signaling the official end of our Christmas. A sad thing, but an inevitable one. It was a fantastic holiday though, one of the best. Good times and lots of good memories. And not all of them material!

( Christmas Eve ... )

( The Big Day (with Loot List!) )

( Still it goes. )

Again, I reiterate, just an incredible holiday for us. I'm behind on LJ, e-mail -- pretty much anything to do with the online world -- by about a week, but I hope the holidays were also great for all of you.

Hoping everyone has a Merry Christmas, filled with things they love.

With all my coursework now done (two finals left, that's it), I return to working on something for one of Amy's commissions. In doing so, I'm currently flipping through, like, half of Angel in fast-forward. Mostly I'm struck with this to say:

( Cut for Angel S4 spoiler )

IT'S SO FREAKING WRONG. It's so beautiful.

( And now, an unrelated picture. )

Don LaFontaine on Family Guy (parahprased from memory): "Just what is Jessica Alba anyway? If I was forty years younger, I'd plow that field."
Mike: "Oh yeah."
Me: "You like Jessica Alba, huh?"
Mike: "She has her moments. When she's quiet and naked."

A couple of memes because:

a. I haven't done any in a while.
b. I desperately need a break from The Great School Evil.
and
c. EVRY1 ELSE ARE DO THEMS

But mostly b.


( That music meme. )


( The Relationship Meme )

What, that's it? No more questions?

Sigh. Back to <shudder> Marketing.

Well this was an update that I was going to make after the Muse/Seattle/Def Lep update, so I'm jumping a bit chronologically.

A couple weeks back, something awesome happened.

You might've heard of a little game called Rock Band. I've pimped it once or twice, though you might've missed them. Do not miss this one.

For those who are still in the dark, I'll take a moment to tell you of Rock Band.

The best place to start when describing Rock Band is probably to simply reference Guitar Hero. It's a rhythm/music game, where you have a guitar controller, complete with five different coloured fret buttons and a strum bar. On the screen, notes scroll toward you, and you have to push the matching fret button/buttons and strum the note. Simple concept, right? Right.

Rock Band – created by the same team who pioneered Guitar Hero – takes it one step further. You still have your guitars, of course. Two of 'em, one for lead and one for bass. But you also have drums. And a singer.

Simple concept, right? Right.

But the concept can in no way prepare you for the pure, unfiltered, never pasteurized fun.

A couple weeks back, something awesome happened. ( We got to demo Rock Band. )

( Finally, as promised, a set list. )

If it wasn't clear, I am very stoked about this game. I was already looking forward to it, but after some hands-on, that enthusiasm is even greater. This game is fun, bottom line. A 40-ounce of fun in a 12-ounce can. Christmas cannot get here fast enough.

I pulled up in front of Mike's workplace to drop him off this morning. Actual conversation.

Him: "Would you like a rose?"
Me: "Huh?"
"They're selling roses today. It's for charity, for United Way. They're only a dollar."
"<smile> Sure, I'd love a rose."
"Cool. Got a dollar?"

( Bask in guitar awe. )

And now my guy is gonna go make me some truffles.

This week rules.