Weather, woe, transcendence and Chicago update #4 - Friday, August 8, 2008
LOLz weather :P
The good news is that we won't get super hit by the actual eye of the storm, but we'll have a good deal of wind and rain over the next couple of days. I went up to the university to work out and get online to look for jobs and such, and had to turn back around, as they're shutting down for the next few days.
Thankfully when I woke up this morning, it was with a MUCH clearer head sinus and pressure-wise, and the underwater flu feeling has subsided lots. I'm the only person I know who gets over the flu in 3 days! There's be a LOT of work put into it, between practicing gratitudes, meditation and tons of prayer work.
It's something I need to get me through this huge transition. I KNOW infinite good is coming my way, and every day I find more and more reasons to keep getting stronger mentally, physically and spiritually.
I can't get bogged down by the fact that my workouts are getting pushed aside because of my health and because of the weather. As much as I'd LOVE to go outside and get my runs knocked out, the truth is I can't afford to go from getting over the flu to getting even MORE sick.
Just gotta take it one day at a time and keep knowing the truth that I WILL complete the marathon, just as I want to, running the whole thing and finish, standing tall. With every workout I (am able to) knock out, I keep that vision fresh in my mind and push through each step, knowing that the race will get run, one foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
So, I'm back at the library today. I figure I'll get some kind of cardio in today, whether I grab a DVD or just jam out to my iPod and dance my butt off. I didn't gain as much weight as I had anticipated when I was in Chicago (woo, only 2 pounds total!), and I KNOW I'll get it knocked out faster than it was put on. I've been making very good nutritional decisions lately, and with that momentum, I'll just keep pushing through.
No turning back now! This is the last phase and I'm ready to finish the weight loss and maintain a healthy lifestyle :)
However, to be completely honest, today did start on a bit of a sour note. My former employer called me (the one who fired me indirectly) and, since he's got surgery TOMORROW, asked if I would work this weekend.
I *very* politely told him, "I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to respectfully decline. Good luck with everythi-"
and he hung up on me.
And I truly do wish him the best of luck, because once again, I KNOW that there is NO good wishing ill toward others, as their suffering manifests even MORE suffering. I wish no bad to fall on others, because I know with less problems for them, they'll be less of a pain in MY ass. It's something I learned a few years ago when I had to learn to let go of anger, feeling victimized and holding onto thoughts of being "right" ALL the time.
It's small stuff; it's all insignificant small bullshit crap.
I know I'm making room in my life for more and more good things, and as much as I could use two weekends' income from the job, I HAVE to be strong and realize that I'm opening space to be receptive to bigger and better things.
I started getting some stuff together for my vision board/treasure map to help facilitate the shift in consciousness to effectively bring more and more good toward me.
I'm ready for the Big Time, and everyday am getting more and more excited about the good that's coming. I can feel it, every day getting closer and closer. The trick is maintaining that vision, *especially* when things are immensely challenging and tough, and right now, they really are.
So, I just ask that you keep me in good thought. This is a temporary, circumstantial thing, and I'll get out of it in a jiffy. But in the meantime, any and all positive thoughts you can keep for me are appreciated :)
Okie doke, it's taking quite a while to get this all knocked out, so here's the next part of my Chicago trip! I gotta get this all typed up and updated so I don't forget it all :P
Right, so Friday morning started out a tad later than I'd wanted to, mainly due to the hangover from the pretty decent amount of drinking the night before.
I remember making a VERY smart decision after the first 8 beers to leave the 20+ oz lager in the bathtub, realizing that I was drunk enough.
So, it wasn't that beer that put me over the edge, it was all the other booze people were giving me at the movie that got me REALLY fucked! "Here Slappy, drink this" is a classic line and I feel obligated to help out.
To think of all the lonely, lost booze out there without a home! Without acceptance! Without...
... ah fuck it. What can I say? Guess I'm a cheap date :P
After waking up, once again hung over and doing a Dead!Dumbledore, I realized that the makeup on the dead hand was not going to go exactly as I wanted it, and I just had to suck it up and do the best I could with the 10 minutes I had available.
Finished the rest of the sub I got on Wednesday and had coffee, which really isn't a bad hangover breakfast :P
After I got dressed and the makeup was finished, I headed over to the presentations/rountables to find them all full, alas. So, it gave me an opportunity to head over to Erin's movies, which worked out wonderfully! For some reason I thought they were showing the films I'd already seen, but these were all new to me and they just keep getting better and better. Every time she keeps out-doing herself, so things worked out super well that I got to see them :) Plus Kate, Mary, Emily and Erynn came in as well, so got to hang out with them all, yay!
Again following the films, all the stuff I had marked on my schedule were full, so we stopped by Beth and Manda's robe-making workshop to peep in and say hi :) They were busy and knocking it out, so we decided to just hang out in the Room of Requirement and doodle a bit. We later met with Sam and had lunch in a busy area at State and Van Buren. Erynn and Emily had vegetarian sandwiches from Quiznos, and Kate and I had AWESOME Thai food!
I gotta say, Ginger Noodles = best hangover food EVER :)
I figured something spicy (my usual) wouldn't be too smart on the tummy, and something about noodles just sounded lovely. Once I smelled it and started to eat, I (DUH) remembered that ginger is one of the best remedies for tummy aches!
As we noshed on our yummies, Mary had gelato for lunch :P
Monica and Jeannie joined us for lunch, so it was pretty rad that we got to sit and chat with them a bit. Somewhere before lunch I realized that I was actually presenting that day, so all the more reason to drink some tummy-soothing soda and finish my noodles :P The girls had Thai food as well, YAY!
After lunch we went back to the Hilton, and as I was roaming around (because again, presentations were all FULL!) I ran into Tara and Serade again and got to meet the rest of the Azkaban Quidditch Team :) Those girls fucking ROCK! Let's see, it was Tara, Shannon, Tina, Lisa, Tink and... what's the woman's name with the punky pink hair? She was cool :)
Then I wanted to go to Genii's Magic and Thermodynamics presentation, which turned out pretty awesome, and some stuff made it into The Book!
And of course, the room was full of engineers :P
Right, so after this point I pretty much just kept up with quotes in The Book and stopped jounaling the day's activities, so this is where things get a bit fuzzy, so hopefully a week and a half later, I can kinda remember what all happened :P
Had to leave Genii's presentation to get to our Roundtable, and on the way, ran into Jules and Dana, yay! Took some pics :)
Got to our presentation pretty much on time and it went rather well! We talked about running HP-themed events, meetup groups and such, and in the audience were the leaders of the New York City meetup and the Orange County Meetup! So, with HP-Ohio, HPDFW, HP Orlando, NYC and Orange County represented, it was pretty much the largest, most active meetups/groups represented. Needless to say, it was freaking awesome :)
Then Erin led us in an Acceptance-type circle and we all embraced one another, loving each other and the audience for who we are!
It was a blessing, honor and privelege to present with the girls, and Renee took care of moderation for us. On the panel was Manda, Monica, Beth, Renee, Pattie, Erin and me :)
My phone kept going off during the panel, and as much as I would have loved to turn it off, I had a good deal of multi-tasking to take care of, and Sparky needed to get a hold of me to go over some car/parking stuff. Being the smart, resourceful guy he is, he eventually found where I was and we hugged and squeed for a bit.
Outside of our Jedi costumes, that was the first time he'd seen me cosplay... and the first time he'd seen me as a dude :P
Anywho, after our presentation, we met up for the Cosplayers intersect downstairs and walked over to a cool restaurant place. A good deal of people showed up and we chatted, ate yummy pub-style food (I had a reuben sandwich and fries, mmmmmm) and discussed various costume-centric topics.
Following dinner, we really just lounged about and chilled, then later on jumped in the pool for a nice cool-down :)
THEN we joined a crew of HOT guys from Kentucky who were there for their friend's bachelor party, yay! Each of us girls had our "type" represented, and it's cute how we all are attracted to different types of people :)
I opted for an early evening, what with quidditch the next day (and my stomach was already doing summersaults, especially when I leared we were playing HP-Ohio's team the Crystal Balls FIRST UP!) and my body still reeling from the hangover.
So I called it a fairly early evening and got tucked into bed before midnight without hearing much of anything else for the rest of the night. Before bed, I kept reminding myself that I just gotta keep doing what I'm doing, be the me that I am naturally and just go out there and have a great time. It's the best I can do and expecting anything else is just too much to handle. I know better now!
And of course, some quotes from The Book from Friday :)
"Difficult question? Insert magic here!" - Genii
"I'm Aunt Marge. Your mother is a whore." - Melody (doing an impression of Aunt Marge :P)
"Yay Alchemy!" - Genii
"It's like Dark Magic instead of Dark Matter" - John Rosenthal
"It's DUST!" - John Rosenthal
"WORLD DOMINATION!" - Monica (talking about HP-Ohio's Ultimate Plan :D)
"What's my construction method? I find people who sew." - Melody
And these entries would not be complete without pictures!
Mary, Kate, Erynn as Merope Gaunt, Emily as Madame Rosmerta and me as Raised!Dumbledore
Merope :)
Nice chompers!
Kate and Mary stylin' in their Trade Winds track jackets
Emily, me and Erynn :)
Special delivery!
Me and Kingsley :)
Monica gets some deadsy Dumbles lovin'
Jeannie as Durmstrang girl :)
LOVE THIS COSTUME ♥
Death Eater blankie, awe
Lisa as Rita Skeeter and me as Raised!Dumbledore
The Azkaban Quidditch Team
♥ ♥ ♥
Jules, me and Dana again :)
'Ear, ear, brah!
HPDFW, HP NYC and HP Orange County represent, yo!
Awe, Lupin and Tonks ♥
Remus and Sirius!
Dead Cedric and equally dead Dumbledore
Gladly accepted :)
Cosplayer's intersect in Chicago :)
Classic Durmstrang pose :)
Gotta love Gay Pride!Dumbledore and Raised@Dumbledore
the back of my shirt had "Dumbledore's Apostles" :P
Okie, I gotta jet! The weather is about to get mondo crappy, so Pat and I are gonna meet at the house to discuss our contingiency plan!
(Apologies for stuff that needs editing!)
Sending my best to you all, and thanks for... well, for being in my world and for making it such a wonderful, magical place ♥
The good news is that we won't get super hit by the actual eye of the storm, but we'll have a good deal of wind and rain over the next couple of days. I went up to the university to work out and get online to look for jobs and such, and had to turn back around, as they're shutting down for the next few days.
Thankfully when I woke up this morning, it was with a MUCH clearer head sinus and pressure-wise, and the underwater flu feeling has subsided lots. I'm the only person I know who gets over the flu in 3 days! There's be a LOT of work put into it, between practicing gratitudes, meditation and tons of prayer work.
It's something I need to get me through this huge transition. I KNOW infinite good is coming my way, and every day I find more and more reasons to keep getting stronger mentally, physically and spiritually.
I can't get bogged down by the fact that my workouts are getting pushed aside because of my health and because of the weather. As much as I'd LOVE to go outside and get my runs knocked out, the truth is I can't afford to go from getting over the flu to getting even MORE sick.
Just gotta take it one day at a time and keep knowing the truth that I WILL complete the marathon, just as I want to, running the whole thing and finish, standing tall. With every workout I (am able to) knock out, I keep that vision fresh in my mind and push through each step, knowing that the race will get run, one foot in front of the other, one step at a time.
So, I'm back at the library today. I figure I'll get some kind of cardio in today, whether I grab a DVD or just jam out to my iPod and dance my butt off. I didn't gain as much weight as I had anticipated when I was in Chicago (woo, only 2 pounds total!), and I KNOW I'll get it knocked out faster than it was put on. I've been making very good nutritional decisions lately, and with that momentum, I'll just keep pushing through.
No turning back now! This is the last phase and I'm ready to finish the weight loss and maintain a healthy lifestyle :)
However, to be completely honest, today did start on a bit of a sour note. My former employer called me (the one who fired me indirectly) and, since he's got surgery TOMORROW, asked if I would work this weekend.
I *very* politely told him, "I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to respectfully decline. Good luck with everythi-"
and he hung up on me.
And I truly do wish him the best of luck, because once again, I KNOW that there is NO good wishing ill toward others, as their suffering manifests even MORE suffering. I wish no bad to fall on others, because I know with less problems for them, they'll be less of a pain in MY ass. It's something I learned a few years ago when I had to learn to let go of anger, feeling victimized and holding onto thoughts of being "right" ALL the time.
It's small stuff; it's all insignificant small bullshit crap.
I know I'm making room in my life for more and more good things, and as much as I could use two weekends' income from the job, I HAVE to be strong and realize that I'm opening space to be receptive to bigger and better things.
I started getting some stuff together for my vision board/treasure map to help facilitate the shift in consciousness to effectively bring more and more good toward me.
I'm ready for the Big Time, and everyday am getting more and more excited about the good that's coming. I can feel it, every day getting closer and closer. The trick is maintaining that vision, *especially* when things are immensely challenging and tough, and right now, they really are.
So, I just ask that you keep me in good thought. This is a temporary, circumstantial thing, and I'll get out of it in a jiffy. But in the meantime, any and all positive thoughts you can keep for me are appreciated :)
Okie doke, it's taking quite a while to get this all knocked out, so here's the next part of my Chicago trip! I gotta get this all typed up and updated so I don't forget it all :P
Right, so Friday morning started out a tad later than I'd wanted to, mainly due to the hangover from the pretty decent amount of drinking the night before.
I remember making a VERY smart decision after the first 8 beers to leave the 20+ oz lager in the bathtub, realizing that I was drunk enough.
So, it wasn't that beer that put me over the edge, it was all the other booze people were giving me at the movie that got me REALLY fucked! "Here Slappy, drink this" is a classic line and I feel obligated to help out.
To think of all the lonely, lost booze out there without a home! Without acceptance! Without...
... ah fuck it. What can I say? Guess I'm a cheap date :P
After waking up, once again hung over and doing a Dead!Dumbledore, I realized that the makeup on the dead hand was not going to go exactly as I wanted it, and I just had to suck it up and do the best I could with the 10 minutes I had available.
Finished the rest of the sub I got on Wednesday and had coffee, which really isn't a bad hangover breakfast :P
After I got dressed and the makeup was finished, I headed over to the presentations/rountables to find them all full, alas. So, it gave me an opportunity to head over to Erin's movies, which worked out wonderfully! For some reason I thought they were showing the films I'd already seen, but these were all new to me and they just keep getting better and better. Every time she keeps out-doing herself, so things worked out super well that I got to see them :) Plus Kate, Mary, Emily and Erynn came in as well, so got to hang out with them all, yay!
Again following the films, all the stuff I had marked on my schedule were full, so we stopped by Beth and Manda's robe-making workshop to peep in and say hi :) They were busy and knocking it out, so we decided to just hang out in the Room of Requirement and doodle a bit. We later met with Sam and had lunch in a busy area at State and Van Buren. Erynn and Emily had vegetarian sandwiches from Quiznos, and Kate and I had AWESOME Thai food!
I gotta say, Ginger Noodles = best hangover food EVER :)
I figured something spicy (my usual) wouldn't be too smart on the tummy, and something about noodles just sounded lovely. Once I smelled it and started to eat, I (DUH) remembered that ginger is one of the best remedies for tummy aches!
As we noshed on our yummies, Mary had gelato for lunch :P
Monica and Jeannie joined us for lunch, so it was pretty rad that we got to sit and chat with them a bit. Somewhere before lunch I realized that I was actually presenting that day, so all the more reason to drink some tummy-soothing soda and finish my noodles :P The girls had Thai food as well, YAY!
After lunch we went back to the Hilton, and as I was roaming around (because again, presentations were all FULL!) I ran into Tara and Serade again and got to meet the rest of the Azkaban Quidditch Team :) Those girls fucking ROCK! Let's see, it was Tara, Shannon, Tina, Lisa, Tink and... what's the woman's name with the punky pink hair? She was cool :)
Then I wanted to go to Genii's Magic and Thermodynamics presentation, which turned out pretty awesome, and some stuff made it into The Book!
And of course, the room was full of engineers :P
Right, so after this point I pretty much just kept up with quotes in The Book and stopped jounaling the day's activities, so this is where things get a bit fuzzy, so hopefully a week and a half later, I can kinda remember what all happened :P
Had to leave Genii's presentation to get to our Roundtable, and on the way, ran into Jules and Dana, yay! Took some pics :)
Got to our presentation pretty much on time and it went rather well! We talked about running HP-themed events, meetup groups and such, and in the audience were the leaders of the New York City meetup and the Orange County Meetup! So, with HP-Ohio, HPDFW, HP Orlando, NYC and Orange County represented, it was pretty much the largest, most active meetups/groups represented. Needless to say, it was freaking awesome :)
Then Erin led us in an Acceptance-type circle and we all embraced one another, loving each other and the audience for who we are!
It was a blessing, honor and privelege to present with the girls, and Renee took care of moderation for us. On the panel was Manda, Monica, Beth, Renee, Pattie, Erin and me :)
My phone kept going off during the panel, and as much as I would have loved to turn it off, I had a good deal of multi-tasking to take care of, and Sparky needed to get a hold of me to go over some car/parking stuff. Being the smart, resourceful guy he is, he eventually found where I was and we hugged and squeed for a bit.
Outside of our Jedi costumes, that was the first time he'd seen me cosplay... and the first time he'd seen me as a dude :P
Anywho, after our presentation, we met up for the Cosplayers intersect downstairs and walked over to a cool restaurant place. A good deal of people showed up and we chatted, ate yummy pub-style food (I had a reuben sandwich and fries, mmmmmm) and discussed various costume-centric topics.
Following dinner, we really just lounged about and chilled, then later on jumped in the pool for a nice cool-down :)
THEN we joined a crew of HOT guys from Kentucky who were there for their friend's bachelor party, yay! Each of us girls had our "type" represented, and it's cute how we all are attracted to different types of people :)
I opted for an early evening, what with quidditch the next day (and my stomach was already doing summersaults, especially when I leared we were playing HP-Ohio's team the Crystal Balls FIRST UP!) and my body still reeling from the hangover.
So I called it a fairly early evening and got tucked into bed before midnight without hearing much of anything else for the rest of the night. Before bed, I kept reminding myself that I just gotta keep doing what I'm doing, be the me that I am naturally and just go out there and have a great time. It's the best I can do and expecting anything else is just too much to handle. I know better now!
And of course, some quotes from The Book from Friday :)
"Difficult question? Insert magic here!" - Genii
"I'm Aunt Marge. Your mother is a whore." - Melody (doing an impression of Aunt Marge :P)
"Yay Alchemy!" - Genii
"It's like Dark Magic instead of Dark Matter" - John Rosenthal
"It's DUST!" - John Rosenthal
"WORLD DOMINATION!" - Monica (talking about HP-Ohio's Ultimate Plan :D)
"What's my construction method? I find people who sew." - Melody
And these entries would not be complete without pictures!
Mary, Kate, Erynn as Merope Gaunt, Emily as Madame Rosmerta and me as Raised!Dumbledore
Merope :)
Nice chompers!
Kate and Mary stylin' in their Trade Winds track jackets
Emily, me and Erynn :)
Special delivery!
Me and Kingsley :)
Monica gets some deadsy Dumbles lovin'
Jeannie as Durmstrang girl :)
LOVE THIS COSTUME ♥
Death Eater blankie, awe
Lisa as Rita Skeeter and me as Raised!Dumbledore
The Azkaban Quidditch Team
♥ ♥ ♥
Jules, me and Dana again :)
'Ear, ear, brah!
HPDFW, HP NYC and HP Orange County represent, yo!
Awe, Lupin and Tonks ♥
Remus and Sirius!
Dead Cedric and equally dead Dumbledore
Gladly accepted :)
Cosplayer's intersect in Chicago :)
Classic Durmstrang pose :)
Gotta love Gay Pride!Dumbledore and Raised@Dumbledore
the back of my shirt had "Dumbledore's Apostles" :P
Okie, I gotta jet! The weather is about to get mondo crappy, so Pat and I are gonna meet at the house to discuss our contingiency plan!
(Apologies for stuff that needs editing!)
Sending my best to you all, and thanks for... well, for being in my world and for making it such a wonderful, magical place ♥