...and no carousing!
This weekend may be the weekend when my heart figures out that neither I nor anyone else is likely to pull it from my chest for the foreseeable future. I had a great time at my aunt & uncle's place for Thanksgiving, & I had a great time at Darkover.
Thanksgiving was a really small family affair this year at the Stehmers. Aside from us cousins, the only person who came was Lee, my co-worker. While en route, Lee presented me with a note from ASRC which informed me that my position was ending with them at the end of the month. I wasn't worried. I heard the news of the new contract before I had my operation, & I knew that my boss was able to get all of the library staff a place in the new contract. It's with BFJV, a joint venture between a pair of government contractors. We'll see how this works out. As a condition of employment, I've been asked to get a drug test. Given that I have been taking some prescription drugs of might & wonder, this may raise an eyebrow or two if I forget to bring the prescription bottle along with me on testing day.
Elizabeth was the head of security for this year's Darkover, so we had to get an early start. Unfortunately, I've been a slug, lately, & I dragged our departure time back by about an hour. Since we were also taking Lee along, this also inconvenienced a friend & co-worker. This is something I will have to work on in the next several weeks.
Darkover itself went very well. I am very, very happy that so many people whom I "see" virtually greeted me & asked me how I was doing. I hope that my story was accurate without being boring. Morale is so much of this battle, so you've given me a lot to work on. Thank you!
About the one hitch we had was that our order from India Cuisine was botched. It seems that they ignored our request that they hold the salt, hot peppers, & bell peppers, because I tasted my dish, found it seriously salty, & just had a small sample of it over some rice. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's dish roiled her guts, such that she & I felt it prudent that we retire to our room, & skip the Clam Chowder concert. Next year, we might go with a Chinese place, Lu's Ding How, which claims to offer dishes w/o MSG. Can anyone verify that they're keeping their word on this? I got burnt by a change of management at Seven Seas over in College Park, & had to wait months before I took a chance on Shanghai Cafe, which does deliver on its promises.
Elizabeth & I also did our shopping run late, because she was so busy. However, there's a couple of merchants, especially Auntie Arwen, who will be heading home that much the happier that we stopped by. Auntie Arwen stocks spice blends that are salt-free & pepper-free, & we enjoy supporting a spicery that has our needs in mind.
I'm tossing around a couple of ideas for a presentation for next year, just like I'm working on a possible topic for a 2014 planetarium show, but I really shouldn't let either distract me from the show this April!
Thanksgiving was a really small family affair this year at the Stehmers. Aside from us cousins, the only person who came was Lee, my co-worker. While en route, Lee presented me with a note from ASRC which informed me that my position was ending with them at the end of the month. I wasn't worried. I heard the news of the new contract before I had my operation, & I knew that my boss was able to get all of the library staff a place in the new contract. It's with BFJV, a joint venture between a pair of government contractors. We'll see how this works out. As a condition of employment, I've been asked to get a drug test. Given that I have been taking some prescription drugs of might & wonder, this may raise an eyebrow or two if I forget to bring the prescription bottle along with me on testing day.
Elizabeth was the head of security for this year's Darkover, so we had to get an early start. Unfortunately, I've been a slug, lately, & I dragged our departure time back by about an hour. Since we were also taking Lee along, this also inconvenienced a friend & co-worker. This is something I will have to work on in the next several weeks.
Darkover itself went very well. I am very, very happy that so many people whom I "see" virtually greeted me & asked me how I was doing. I hope that my story was accurate without being boring. Morale is so much of this battle, so you've given me a lot to work on. Thank you!
About the one hitch we had was that our order from India Cuisine was botched. It seems that they ignored our request that they hold the salt, hot peppers, & bell peppers, because I tasted my dish, found it seriously salty, & just had a small sample of it over some rice. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's dish roiled her guts, such that she & I felt it prudent that we retire to our room, & skip the Clam Chowder concert. Next year, we might go with a Chinese place, Lu's Ding How, which claims to offer dishes w/o MSG. Can anyone verify that they're keeping their word on this? I got burnt by a change of management at Seven Seas over in College Park, & had to wait months before I took a chance on Shanghai Cafe, which does deliver on its promises.
Elizabeth & I also did our shopping run late, because she was so busy. However, there's a couple of merchants, especially Auntie Arwen, who will be heading home that much the happier that we stopped by. Auntie Arwen stocks spice blends that are salt-free & pepper-free, & we enjoy supporting a spicery that has our needs in mind.
I'm tossing around a couple of ideas for a presentation for next year, just like I'm working on a possible topic for a 2014 planetarium show, but I really shouldn't let either distract me from the show this April!