And your heart held out like a tin cup to catch the rain
First things first: Hello, Friendship Ficathon participants! This is your reminder that we have less than three weeks until the Oct. 2 posting deadline. Remember to check back here for the masterlist on that day so we can get the fics all linked up properly. In the meantime, if you have questions, concerns, need a pinch-hitter, etc., please feel free contact me or Asta (brynnmck or asta77 at LJ) at any time.
I think I just (finally!) clicked the right idea into place last night for my own ficathon fic, so woo! And believe me, this is not even last-minute for me. Heh.
RL has taken a turn for the busy for me lately, with good and bad results. Normally my job is pretty low-stress, but it seems like I've had a fairly constant stream of deadlines and crises and things coming back to bite me in the ass for the last month or so, and I know it's nothing compared to the job stress that many of you experience on a daily basis, or that I've experienced myself in other jobs, but it's still getting wearing. And last Friday I had the worst day I have ever had at this job, for both professional and personal reasons, and I was in tears by lunch (thankfully not where anyone could see me). Add that to the fact that, of the three other people on my immediate team, all of whom I like, one is leaving for another job (she doesn't get along with my boss, so she's been trying to get out of this department for a while), and another one, the person I'm probably closest to and work the best with, is applying for another job, as well-he's relatively happy currently, but this new position is perfect for his skills and it's a promotion and all that good stuff. It's not a done deal-he hasn't even interviewed yet-but he's the type of person who tends to get what he wants, not least because he typically deserves it. So I'm happy for him, but since about 60% of my enjoyment of my job is due to the fact that I genuinely like almost everyone in my immediate vicinity, this change is unsettling, to say the least.
Adding to all this fun is the fact that my little puppydog came down with kennel cough about a week ago. It's basically the dog equivalent of a cold, and it's not typically a huge deal-as with human colds, there's always the potential that it can lead to worse infections, but it's mainly just a horrible-sounding cough, runny eyes, etc.. And it's extremely contagious, which means we have to keep him away from other dogs, so no dog park, no daycare, no any of the sanity-saving activities we usually rely on to give us a little break. So we are, of course, taking him for daily walks, half an hour in the morning and an hour at night, but it's still less exercise than he's used to, so he's driving us nuts with his attempts to work off the extra energy. Fortunately, his symptoms are pretty much gone, so although he'll probably still be contagious for a few days, we should be able to send him back to daycare next week. Otherwise we may end up selling him on the street corner.
On the happier side of things, sdwolfpup and I tried to stalk Jason Dohring last weekend at the CW Mall Domination tour (or rather, devilpiglet prodded me to go and I dragged SDW along to share in my shame). We utterly failed, much like the CW utterly failed to promote this "event"; if Jason Dohring was there, we missed him. What puts this in the "good" category, though, is that, though what SDW and I plan and what actually occurs ain't ever exactly been similar ;), we usually manage to have a good time anyway. We took a picture of the desolate "CW Lounge," snagged free T-shirts, and drowned our sorrows with massive rum-based beverages at the Rainforest Café. Good times.
Also, Mr. McK and I just finally finished the refi on our house, which was a long and extremely painful process, and I'm actually getting past some of my major work deadlines, so that's a relief. I'm looking forward to potentially getting back to my usual quota of internet fucking-about soon.
And in a couple of weeks, I get to see my niece, who I haven't seen in almost two years, as well as my brother and my parents, so that's very exciting.
And I talked to my best friend/roommate from college for like three hours on Sunday. We haven't talked in about six months, and yet somehow we still have the same favorite line out of all three seasons of Arrested Development. I love this girl more than I can possibly express.
And of course the start of the new TV season never hurts as a distraction. So fantastic to see BSG promos again (even if the latest is a COMPLETE St. Crispin's Day ripoff), and I'm looking forward to the return of all my other shows. And I'm sorry, I'm ashamed of my obsession, but the Supernatural panel from the Paley Festival has also made me much, much happier than an hour of film really should. I'M SORRY. THEY ARE HOT AND FUNNY AND DORKY AND ARTICULATE. I HAVE NO RESISTANCE.
I know, I know, I need help.
So. My random update for the week.
Oh, and a music recommendation, for the perfect song as the days get shorter and the summer tips over into fall: Jeffrey Foucault's "Shadows Tumble." Download it from his website, here, under "outtakes and live cuts."
I think I just (finally!) clicked the right idea into place last night for my own ficathon fic, so woo! And believe me, this is not even last-minute for me. Heh.
RL has taken a turn for the busy for me lately, with good and bad results. Normally my job is pretty low-stress, but it seems like I've had a fairly constant stream of deadlines and crises and things coming back to bite me in the ass for the last month or so, and I know it's nothing compared to the job stress that many of you experience on a daily basis, or that I've experienced myself in other jobs, but it's still getting wearing. And last Friday I had the worst day I have ever had at this job, for both professional and personal reasons, and I was in tears by lunch (thankfully not where anyone could see me). Add that to the fact that, of the three other people on my immediate team, all of whom I like, one is leaving for another job (she doesn't get along with my boss, so she's been trying to get out of this department for a while), and another one, the person I'm probably closest to and work the best with, is applying for another job, as well-he's relatively happy currently, but this new position is perfect for his skills and it's a promotion and all that good stuff. It's not a done deal-he hasn't even interviewed yet-but he's the type of person who tends to get what he wants, not least because he typically deserves it. So I'm happy for him, but since about 60% of my enjoyment of my job is due to the fact that I genuinely like almost everyone in my immediate vicinity, this change is unsettling, to say the least.
Adding to all this fun is the fact that my little puppydog came down with kennel cough about a week ago. It's basically the dog equivalent of a cold, and it's not typically a huge deal-as with human colds, there's always the potential that it can lead to worse infections, but it's mainly just a horrible-sounding cough, runny eyes, etc.. And it's extremely contagious, which means we have to keep him away from other dogs, so no dog park, no daycare, no any of the sanity-saving activities we usually rely on to give us a little break. So we are, of course, taking him for daily walks, half an hour in the morning and an hour at night, but it's still less exercise than he's used to, so he's driving us nuts with his attempts to work off the extra energy. Fortunately, his symptoms are pretty much gone, so although he'll probably still be contagious for a few days, we should be able to send him back to daycare next week. Otherwise we may end up selling him on the street corner.
On the happier side of things, sdwolfpup and I tried to stalk Jason Dohring last weekend at the CW Mall Domination tour (or rather, devilpiglet prodded me to go and I dragged SDW along to share in my shame). We utterly failed, much like the CW utterly failed to promote this "event"; if Jason Dohring was there, we missed him. What puts this in the "good" category, though, is that, though what SDW and I plan and what actually occurs ain't ever exactly been similar ;), we usually manage to have a good time anyway. We took a picture of the desolate "CW Lounge," snagged free T-shirts, and drowned our sorrows with massive rum-based beverages at the Rainforest Café. Good times.
Also, Mr. McK and I just finally finished the refi on our house, which was a long and extremely painful process, and I'm actually getting past some of my major work deadlines, so that's a relief. I'm looking forward to potentially getting back to my usual quota of internet fucking-about soon.
And in a couple of weeks, I get to see my niece, who I haven't seen in almost two years, as well as my brother and my parents, so that's very exciting.
And I talked to my best friend/roommate from college for like three hours on Sunday. We haven't talked in about six months, and yet somehow we still have the same favorite line out of all three seasons of Arrested Development. I love this girl more than I can possibly express.
And of course the start of the new TV season never hurts as a distraction. So fantastic to see BSG promos again (even if the latest is a COMPLETE St. Crispin's Day ripoff), and I'm looking forward to the return of all my other shows. And I'm sorry, I'm ashamed of my obsession, but the Supernatural panel from the Paley Festival has also made me much, much happier than an hour of film really should. I'M SORRY. THEY ARE HOT AND FUNNY AND DORKY AND ARTICULATE. I HAVE NO RESISTANCE.
I know, I know, I need help.
So. My random update for the week.
Oh, and a music recommendation, for the perfect song as the days get shorter and the summer tips over into fall: Jeffrey Foucault's "Shadows Tumble." Download it from his website, here, under "outtakes and live cuts."