In support of
jackwiliambell's
new liberty, I invited him to my place for dinner on Friday night. He, in turn, brought over his computer and we watched the first episode of Doctor Who featuring the new Doctor played by Matt Smith. On which more in a moment.
Breakfast and Free Comic Book Day: We had breakfast Saturday at
Julia's of Wallingford, where Jack--the WA state native--had never been! I had two pancakes bigger than my head, and he had a substantial breakfast burrito. We then indulged in a morning of Free Comic Book Day by stopping at
Comics Dungeon (where I picked up four free comics plus "Fables: Animal Farm," and "Farscape: Red Sky at Morning pt 2" [the latter written by our own
kradical]). We then stopped at
Arcane Comics in Ballard, where I picked up "Air" and "Hellboy: Seeds of Destruction." In total, my freebies included Iron Man, Superman, Mouse Guard, and Artifacts. I have some fun reading coming up.
Parties!: We spent the afternoon working, me on freelance stuff, Jack on I'm not sure what--until it was time to head to the Eastside for
bravado111's book release party. It was big and loud and full of kids. The company was excellent; too many fine folks to name them all here. There was really good barbecue and a bit of dancing and the appearance of ax-weilding Vikings who'd gotten lost on the way to Valhalla. We then party-hopped to Vanguard, where I was witness to a discussion of fannish/fanzine politics, during which there was a digression about April Fool's pranks.
kate_schaefer brought up the
only April Fool's stunt I ever pulled (which I was surprised--and, yes, delighted--that she remembered). I learned things about my fellow Vanguardians that I didn't know. And then, around 11:30 PM, I hit the wall and it was really, really time to go home.
Today
jackwilliambell and I both have things we need to take care of individually, so he has departed for the day. I'll be spending most of the day on my computer doing work of one sort or another. But first...
Doctor Who (no spoilers): So, on Friday night, Jack and I watched "Doctor Who: The Eleventh Hour," which featured the debut of Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor. I have been skeptical of Smith, who has more of a baby face than any other actor to play the Doctor thus far. He still felt a little young to me watching the episode, but by the end of the hour, I was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt for at least a few more episodes. I like the new companion, Amy: she has pluck, though I'd like to see her take the initiative a bit more. I'll cut her slack for this first hour; she's only just had her first real exposure to the Doctor and the way events tumble and cascade around him. I admit curiosity about what comes next. Jack,
markbourne, and
ironymaiden all have the episodes available if we can get together to watch them. I want to see more...but first...
Freelance work: Right before I went to Oregon last weekend, I finished work on one freelance project that I'm quite proud of. I've been working on another freelance job, too, and am going to spend the better part of today devoted to it. I'm looking forward to getting it completed and off my plate. I need to set myself some limits on what I accept, because I feel a little overwhelmed and out of control of my own time right now. I suspect I'm capable of one freelance job plus the KQ book review thing while working at a day job--but no more than that. I've had digestive distress on a pretty regular basis the last two weeks that's been painful and, on more than one occasion, nearly debilitating, all of which I've concluded is the result not of some stomach bug, but stress at a high level. This is not okay, and no amount of money is worth the unhappiness that has resulted. I'm fixing it.
Awesomeness on my flist: I wanted to point people to some awesomeness on my flist. First up,
fringefaan links us to this really cool Web project called "You Wear Your Weight Well." You really need to see his post, and then link through to the project. Second, icanhascheezburger.com finally provides us with
a way to make kitties pull their weight at home. And lastly, today is another day of coolness at
Post Secrets.
And that's all the news for the morning. Off to work....