Gobble Gobble

[epilonious]

Immediate Future:

Well, it is almost Thanksgiving, which means Lina will be driven

Oh my yes, driven she will be.

First: I'm going to Columbia, SC (capitol city!) to celebrate Mom's Birthday and Thanksgiving (same day). My parents just sold their house after waiting a couple of months after buying their new house. I am a little worried because I will be showing up to a house that is being moved from... with a station wagon. I'll make sure to pack the trunk and rear extra full (mom, I had to bring the DDR pads to the wedding! and the barcalounger!), but I'm not sure that will save me.

After that, I get to wake up really early and head on up to McLane Va (20->95->495 (eeeeee!) ) to begin the processes involved in getting Ian and Suzyn married. I am best man, and luckily, the bachelor and bachelorette party have been combined to a pre-wedding party at their house sans strippers. This takes a lot of pressure off me, instead I'll be able to offer my car as transportation to get snacky foods and perhaps help cook up some yummy dips and boursin-stuffed mushrooms. Rehearsals are apparently at 3:00, and I want to get there by then (hence the waking up early), and I'm hoping that since it is the morning after thanksgiving but before the weekend it will be an easy drive. They are actually getting married Saturday at 8:00PM

Sunday, I get to drive back down (495 (eeeee!) --> 95 --> 85)

But, tonight, I think I'll be getting a "have a safe trip and I wanted to see you/snuggle before we went different places for the holidays" visit from Eric. SQUEE!

Relative present:

Well, I am in the office. I am taking advantage of a lull since my boss is not in yet and I cannot think of the next road to take after testing (I found a pretty strange/massive data processing bug in our product yesterday). Last night I managed to precipitate a meeting with my Friend Scott for Circle Sushi. It was really neat to talk to him face-to-face again. I had met Scott once before about a year ago and have just sort of kept up an online conversation for a long long time. Thus, I was prompted by the part of me going "you have all these /online/ friends... you never see any of these people face-to-face" to just arrange a dinner, and it worked (as opposed to the time I tried it with Woody, and it didn't work). It was full of nift! Otherwise, he is getting a new house, and I sort of want to help him set it up (he needs tile layed). I am planning on getting a house within the next year or two, so I feel it will be a good to get some stories involving house purchase and modification. The other thing is, it's always nice to have more people to invite to geeky friday nights at the apartment (gamecube and food and munchkin oh my!). I have also marveled at how hard he has been working and have been wishing him luck in finding a boyfriend post haste and hope to goad him into being more social and hopeful. I get this feeling that if I could get him and woody into a room together... I'd see exactly why it is a bad idea to try and set friends up *giggle*.

It was also a nice release after a comedy of errors on the part of marta and mailpak. Marta had problems on the northbound line and it took 40 minutes for a train to show up (I had just missed the prior train by a little bit). Thus, I couldn't go home before going to the shopping center, and the damn mailpak (I'm trying to mail something back) was closed at 6:00, you know, because they need to enforce their redudancy and uselessness by keeping the same hours at the post offices.

Henry is getting a puppy. He has taken to screaming "puppy". I suppose this is better than him screaming "bonzai"... I am glad to not be in school right now (it's finals season).

since last post
For some reason, last week, I was wracked with a minor financial panic because I was making less than I was before and I still wasn't out of debt, and I wasn't sure how I was going to afford the things I needed. I was regailing Geoff with plans of getting an after-job job at Old Navy or something so I could just sit there and turn my idle time into cash.

Then I calmed down and realized the stuff I need and want aren't really that expensive, and I already have most of the things I want: I have Lina, who I love, and she is young so I am not worrying about stuff falling off her or keeping her from running consistently (which is why I'm always turning down the "are you sure you don't want us to do the 300 point inspection for just $100?" from the dealer. I don't have the time or the money and doing something that thorough is ridiculous... I'll wait for 30,000 miles). While talking about Lina, I have been overpaying on her. I am about 4 months ahead on payments, and the first thing I'm gonna be doing after I kill credit card debt is go money shopping for the best refinance rate I can get.

Not to mention, the sorts of things I want are cheap and tend to push towards greater efficiency and keeping the things I already have going: I went to target this weekend not for expensive new clothes, but for cheap socks (nice dress socks only cost $3 a pair at target) cheap shoes to replace the ones that were falling apart, flourescent twist "bulbs" that last a whole lot longer than regular incancdescent bulbs and use a lot less energy, stuff like that (I actually had to make a few returns since the 100 watt equivalent bulbs I got first were so bright they hurt Eric). I think I want to go and replace more of the house lights with the things since they'll save on the power bill. I have been using my monthly marta tran-card and I basically only have to refill my gas once a week. Once every two weeks if I can convince Eric that he wants to drive me everywhere during the weekend.

Thus, I am less worried about finances and such. I am in the black... I guess I am living the life of a geek come spendthrift and I am repentant for my unguarded college spending.

Otherwise, I realized I was going into Joe/Guillermo (read: passive melodrama) syndrome with Steve. I have sent the emial saying "I'm taking you off my buddy list because each time I open an IM window it's like centering the crosshairs of the monkey gun on your back. I want to talk to you more, but I can't be the one initiating the contact because I get into this icky snarky mindset when I do". I hope he doesn't react badly to it, but then again he hasn't responded. I guess this means I don't do well maintaining contact with ex's, despite how much I felt I wanted to (really wanting to might be 3/4 of the problem). Perhaps it would be better the next time (if there is a next time, <3 Eric!) to just eject whatever proto-ex from my life completely and tell them I'm doing so, and strongly imply that to maintain/forge a friendship with me they're going to have to be putting forth more of the initial effort, because that is what I'll need to get over what probably killed the relationship in the first place: some combination of them not wanting what I was giving, and not giving what I was wanting.

Then again, Steve did say that sometimes he just might just call with a wish to hang out or chat sometime, and that he doesn't beleive in staleness or expiration dates on friendship. There is also the fact that he want's to help plan Spud's birthday party. and I imagine the thanksgiving/christmas holidays will get me over my stupid "not accept me... I'll show you by annoying the piss out of you" phases.

Otherwise, I finally managed to get in contact with my brother in anticipation of seeing him for thanksgiving. Peyton has been having trouble getting in at comp useless, but when I called him Sunday he was planning to have another visit with the people at Tweeter (audio and video). He seemed really excited about it and I wish him much happy pixy luck in securing the job. I need to visit him sometime... then I'd actually be able to hang out with some of my Charlotte friends.

Not so Immediate future
Some combination of Mom and Geoff's Oddfellow (writing camp) friend will be coming in for an anthropology conference that is happening in Atlanta instead of SanFran. I have made sure mom get's the bed. I have been trying to get in contact with her to figure out the exact days.

We also eargerly anticipate the Early-February arrival of a Yang. I shall show him the beauty of Lina and there will be much fun. I have been chatting with Yang a lot online, and I wanna show him around atlanta because it's been neat talking to him. I have told him he shall have to bring the scrubs DVD (even if it's not out yet). May his wrath be as fun as Shermans.

DDR Tourney! I am still running it, and hope to have all the NC/SC/ATL people who can make it come.

Recap of Happy Pixy luck

Eric: Extra high scores and competance on Tests and assignments ... along with an inexplicable rise in motivation to work and get to bed on time. Because it's a bonus of being my boyfriend.

Peyton: To Get the job at three times the pay rate you expected. This job would be cool, and I might be able to get a competitive quote on getting Geoff's car a nice replacement audio system.

Geoff: That you get a raise and assistants, and that Julia get's a raise and MORE assistants (make that a team, no, two teams).

Scotty: That the hunky assistant shows up soon. Because the hunky assistant needs your love too.

Steve: Dad recovers fully, job get's better more lucrative and more fun, and that you find more people in Athens you want to be friends with. and one of them slowly rolls into a companion and lover. So that he might suddenly want to talk to me and do lots of stuff when I'm feeling less cranky regarding you.