Okay, okay! Here it is finally... A NEW UPDATE!
Let's see... I'll start with last weekend...
Having packed our bags in the car the night before so we wouldn’t have to head home first, we got out of work Wednesday at about 5:20 and headed out of Indy. Or at least tried to. Unfortunately, we missed the I70 exit to I465 from downtown, and by the time we got ourselves all turned around and close to 465, it was more like 6:00 and we were in Castleton, which is about 15 minutes from the house. *sigh* We were getting hungry and debating if we should grab something to eat before leaving when we drove over the 465 overpass in preparation for taking the exit and saw the horrid rush-hour traffic backups. Eck. Our choice made for us, Joe and I headed over further into Castleton and stopped for dinner at Pizza Hut. (Yes, Jeff, I know, but it tastes so good.) ;)
So we spent about 45 minutes or so eating dinner and were pleasantly surprised when the food not only came correctly, but earlier than we thought, and when we got the bill we saw that the waitress had given us some sort of special - the whole meal with breadsticks and drinks equaled to about what the menu had said the pizza cost. Coolness. At about 7:00 we were headed out on 465, after calling via cell phone and leaving a message on Joe’s parent’s machine that we would probably be in a bit later than we thought. We planned to arrive about 1:00 a.m. or so - about what time we usually end up arriving.
Everything was going hunky-dory until we got to northern Indiana. It had been raining steadily in Indy when we left, and the rain continued, just getting finer and mistier - or so I thought until I noticed that the rain was swirling in a way that rain just doesn’t. Pointing it out to Joe, I happily exclaimed, “Look - I think that might be snow!”
It was indeed snow, and the further north we got, the worse it got. There were several hours where I distinctly recall driving at 25 mph on I69 with a death grip on the steering wheel. Let’s just say that it wasn’t fun, but I wouldn’t give up the driver’s seat for Joe. Not that I don’t trust his driving, but I was much happier where I could at least partially control what was happening.
I did eventually switch off with Joe when my adrenaline ran out and I just got too tired to safely drive. We switched off a few more times during the drive, and I do distinctly recall seeing more accidents in those eight hours then I had seen all last winter and the year before combined. There were at least three in a 2.5 mile stretch of I75 while we were near Lansing.
Did you catch that? I said eight-hour drive. This is a drive that has never taken me more than 6.5 hours, and that was with us stopping for dinner. It usually takes me about 5-5.5 to drive. It took slightly over eight hours. Turns out that Joe’s mom had called the house telling us the weather was supposed to be bad, not to come until tomorrow or next weekend, Joe’s sister had called my cell and left a similar message (which I saw listed as voicemail, but didn’t feel like getting from a non-landline because I only had 5 minutes left to use and they charge to retrieve voicemail), and my dad and mom2 had sent me an email before I left work with the same message. Unfortunately, we got none of them - and I have to admit I probably wouldn’t have listened anyway. I’m a stubborn bitch. ;D
Anyway, we got there safe - I stumbled upstairs and passed out almost immediately (after U-Con last weekend, sleep had been at a premium, and I was running on sheer willpower - no reserves left at all). The next morning, we headed out to my dad & mom2’s house for 1:00 Thanksgiving dinner, which was quite good. Got to see my Uncle Rob & Aunt Jan, as well as my stepsister Laura and my niece and nephew Alexis and Jeffrey. After dinner, we hung around for a few hours, eating dessert, talking, and playing games with the kids. Then we headed back to Bay City and over to Shelly’s where I once again snacked out. We stayed there for a while and chatted with her, Jared and Leah (her kids), my mom, and Shelly’s cousin Tammy (although I pretty much ignored her kids - they irritate me). Tammy was on leave from the army (I’m still constantly surprised that she’s not only in the reserves, but she seems to thrive there) and heard some of her stories. Oh, Greg was downstairs too, but I pretty much ignored him.
Anyway, after talking for a while, Tammy left, and I was getting tired. We made plans to go out Saturday night - and it was then as I was looking for my cell phone to get my sister’s number that I realized I had left it in Pinconning at my dad’s. Nooo! Now I’d have to find time to drive 45 minutes one-way to get it back. Not that I mind seeing my dad, but that’s quite a bit of time, and I’d already spent way too much time in the car that weekend. Anyway, then we took my mom home and headed back over to Joe’s mom’s. We didn’t have dinner with his family this year because she changed the time from her normal 5:00 to the same time as my Dad’s. If she had given Joe and I some notice, we probably would have moved things around to accommodate both - but she volunteered to work on Thanksgiving, and only gave us notice the week before. I was too irritated to want to switch all the plans I’d already made around now, and told Joe that he could go to hers if he wanted, but I was going to my dad’s. He ended up going with me, saying he was irritated at her as well. I still feel slightly guilty about that though.
Anyway, Friday dawned. I didn’t see it, but I did see the 11-ish sun. ;) I was supposed to go to get my cell phone, but was feeling pretty lazy and wanted to actually relax once this weekend. So I called dad and asked him if it would be okay if I came up Saturday instead, which he didn’t have a problem with. I called Chris L. and confirmed plans to game that night, then spent a good deal of time lazing off, pretending it was because I was trying to get a hold of Chris M. Which it was, but I could have been doing other things. :) I might have done something else that morning, but I can’t recall if I did.
We finally got a hold of him, and went to go see National Treasure - which was a very good movie, by the way. MUCH better than I was expecting. He had brought Mary along, and we chatted while waiting for the movie to start. I told Chris about Shelly and I going out on Saturday, and invited him along.
After the movie Joe and I headed out to the game. It was excellent, and I quite enjoyed it - even if Chris did arrange things to negate most of the party’s strengths (sneak attack for myself and Lori’s rogues, charging for myself and Joe’s fighter, etc). Shame on him! ;P
Chris L.’s Mary was there, her first time gaming he told me. I wonder if she realizes that my best friend Shelly doesn’t game? Maybe it would make her feel better to know that you can be friends with gamers and not game if you don’t want to. :) It was nice to see her again though, and I hope we didn’t frighten her off. ;)
It was great to see Lori and Chris L. again. The only thing I really miss about moving to Indy is my friends. I see my family about as much as I did before (or about as much as I want to, in some cases) but friends, I miss.
Anyway, we also met Bill’s brother. He looked a lot like Bill - he even had the hair. (If you know Bill, you’ll understand what I mean by that.) :) It was rather surprising.
We chatted some after the game, then stumbled back to Rita’s and to sleep.
Saturday I got up and headed out to dad’s in the morning (well, about 11 or 12 o’clock morning, that is). The three of us (mom2, dad and I) chatted for several hours, I raided the fridge for leftovers, and retrieved my cell phone. It was quite a pleasant visit, and I hope to do so again soon. :)
After that, I dropped by the house long enough to say I was taking my mom shopping and headed out to Saginaw. Mom and I drove around for a bit, looked in a few stores, then headed back to Bay City.
After I dropped her off, I went back to the house and found that Joe had gotten a hold of Chris M. again, and went out for lunch/dinner. Found out that he would be going to the bar with us that night, as he had no keys to get into his apartment and had to call into work as he couldn’t go in without his uniform. (I’ll not go into more on why he didn’t have his keys, as that is none of my business to tell. Suffice it to say that were I him, I’d drop-kick the roommates off the Liberty bridge.)
We ate at Bob Evans, where I had one of the best BLTs in my life, then dropped Chris off at Mary’s to get ready and headed over to Shelly’s. We sat and chatted and headed out to the bar, she and her cousin Jerry going in one car, Joe and I going in the other to pick up Chris M. After picking him up, I recalled that we needed cash and stopped at an ATM. I parked, went inside, and spent a few minutes rummaging ever more desperately through my purse until I finally admitted that not only did I not have my ATM card, but my driver’s license was missing as well. It made me go cold to think that I had driven from Indy, in horrible weather, without a license.
I headed back to the car and imparted this knowledge to Joe and Chris. Joe used his ATM card to get some cash out, and we attempted the bar anyway, hoping that since they knew Chris there fairly well, they wouldn’t card me (they usually didn’t card people who went in with him).
We did manage to escape being carded, although I am not sure if that was because of Chris or we simply managed to slip in before security was paying attention. We found ourselves a table and waited for Lisa and Rob (my sister and brother-in-law) to show up. As we waited, it became increasingly clear that there wasn’t normally karaoke there at Strikers on Saturday nights. After Lisa and Rob did show up, we debated going elsewhere - and it came down to “I can’t. I don’t have ID.” We ended up staying there, as Lisa asked the DJ if he would start up karaoke and he did.
We ended up having a good deal of fun. Joe, unfortunately, went home with a headache fairly early (he had one earlier in the day as well, and the loud pounding music wasn’t helping). Shelly and I played pool (in which she trounced me), but mostly the whole table sat and talked and joked. Chris L. came to the bar after he got out of work (about 12:30) and added to the fun. Late in the night, Chris M. had the bright idea to get Lisa and Rob to sing the song “I touch myself”. He wrote out the slip, but changed his mind and wasn’t going to turn it in - so I did. Blame the alcohol if ya want, but I wasn’t that drunk, just feeling a little more chaotic than normal. ;)
They actually sang the song, although Lisa gave me a look that shot daggers through most of it. Rob seemed like he was getting into it - Lisa even ‘danced’… or, umm, acted out the song a bit. *LMAO*
After the song was over, I took my life in my hands and walked over to where they were sitting. I put a hand on each of their chairs, and told them that I didn’t think that they were actually going to do the song, but they did it really well. Rob looked like he was having fun, and pretty much said the same. Lisa complained a bit about having to sing twice in a row, but that was about it.
Anyway, the night ended nicely. We all headed off, and after Shelly dropped me off I pretty much went straight to bed.
Sunday we spent mostly at Joe’s mom’s house. After we ate lunch, Rita and Sara headed off to take Sara back to school. Chris M. stopped by and loaned us a couple DVDs, and chatted for a few. Chris L. had come over earlier and ate lunch with us. After we said goodbye to everyone, we stopped by Shelly’s to say goodbye. She gave me a big stuffed tiger, one of the ones that looks almost real. I was quite happy, as I had been wanting one for a while.
We dropped by mom’s to say bye, and then headed out of town - a bit later than the 1:00 p.m. leaving time we wanted, but still not that far off schedule. We stopped briefly in Saginaw to pick up a few books to read, as we had both finished the ones we had on the drive up. The drive back was quite a bit faster and in better weather than the drive up, and we got into town at a decent time. We chatted with Joe L. for a bit, then I went and passed out.
The last few days have simply had me working and trying to catch up on sleep - not the easiest thing to do. Oh, and I did finally find my driver’s license and ATM card - on the nightstand in my bedroom with receipts from U-Con. Which means, basically, that I had been driving all last week without it as well. *sigh*
Anyway, that was the holiday weekend. Hopefully this time I’ll have time to recover before the next trip. I’m fighting off a cold now, partly because (or so I think) I drained my self to the dregs in the sense of resources and reserves the past two weeks. I’ve been wanting to sleep a lot, and it’s been really hard to get up and go to work, let alone focus on anything since I’ve gotten home.
Also, I’ve been tied up in several books - first, the Erevis Cale Trilogy. Published by WOTC, and set in the Forgotten Realms, it is a quite fascinating series dealing with a Chosen (or Proxy or Seraph - whatever you want to call it) of Mask. Yes, Mask, the god of Shadows and Darkness that I am unhealthy fascinated with.
The second book is “Incubus Dreams” by Laurell K. Hamilton, the new book in her Anita Blake series. I was practically drooling when I saw it. It ended up being 40% off the cover price, which totaled to be about $15 - and Joe refused to listen to me when I objected that I should wait, it was too much. ‘Course, I didn’t object too much. We picked up the second Erevis Cale book as well, and that one I finished on the way home (it wasn’t too large, and it was a 5.5-6 hour drive after all). Now I’m engaged with Incubus, but haven’t had as much time to read it, and it is much larger besides, so it will take me a bit longer. Don’t except to hear much from me until it’s finished, however. ;)
I owe several people emails and posts in games, and I will get to them, I promise - probably this weekend, as every free moment is spent reading or sleeping right now. :)
Having packed our bags in the car the night before so we wouldn’t have to head home first, we got out of work Wednesday at about 5:20 and headed out of Indy. Or at least tried to. Unfortunately, we missed the I70 exit to I465 from downtown, and by the time we got ourselves all turned around and close to 465, it was more like 6:00 and we were in Castleton, which is about 15 minutes from the house. *sigh* We were getting hungry and debating if we should grab something to eat before leaving when we drove over the 465 overpass in preparation for taking the exit and saw the horrid rush-hour traffic backups. Eck. Our choice made for us, Joe and I headed over further into Castleton and stopped for dinner at Pizza Hut. (Yes, Jeff, I know, but it tastes so good.) ;)
So we spent about 45 minutes or so eating dinner and were pleasantly surprised when the food not only came correctly, but earlier than we thought, and when we got the bill we saw that the waitress had given us some sort of special - the whole meal with breadsticks and drinks equaled to about what the menu had said the pizza cost. Coolness. At about 7:00 we were headed out on 465, after calling via cell phone and leaving a message on Joe’s parent’s machine that we would probably be in a bit later than we thought. We planned to arrive about 1:00 a.m. or so - about what time we usually end up arriving.
Everything was going hunky-dory until we got to northern Indiana. It had been raining steadily in Indy when we left, and the rain continued, just getting finer and mistier - or so I thought until I noticed that the rain was swirling in a way that rain just doesn’t. Pointing it out to Joe, I happily exclaimed, “Look - I think that might be snow!”
It was indeed snow, and the further north we got, the worse it got. There were several hours where I distinctly recall driving at 25 mph on I69 with a death grip on the steering wheel. Let’s just say that it wasn’t fun, but I wouldn’t give up the driver’s seat for Joe. Not that I don’t trust his driving, but I was much happier where I could at least partially control what was happening.
I did eventually switch off with Joe when my adrenaline ran out and I just got too tired to safely drive. We switched off a few more times during the drive, and I do distinctly recall seeing more accidents in those eight hours then I had seen all last winter and the year before combined. There were at least three in a 2.5 mile stretch of I75 while we were near Lansing.
Did you catch that? I said eight-hour drive. This is a drive that has never taken me more than 6.5 hours, and that was with us stopping for dinner. It usually takes me about 5-5.5 to drive. It took slightly over eight hours. Turns out that Joe’s mom had called the house telling us the weather was supposed to be bad, not to come until tomorrow or next weekend, Joe’s sister had called my cell and left a similar message (which I saw listed as voicemail, but didn’t feel like getting from a non-landline because I only had 5 minutes left to use and they charge to retrieve voicemail), and my dad and mom2 had sent me an email before I left work with the same message. Unfortunately, we got none of them - and I have to admit I probably wouldn’t have listened anyway. I’m a stubborn bitch. ;D
Anyway, we got there safe - I stumbled upstairs and passed out almost immediately (after U-Con last weekend, sleep had been at a premium, and I was running on sheer willpower - no reserves left at all). The next morning, we headed out to my dad & mom2’s house for 1:00 Thanksgiving dinner, which was quite good. Got to see my Uncle Rob & Aunt Jan, as well as my stepsister Laura and my niece and nephew Alexis and Jeffrey. After dinner, we hung around for a few hours, eating dessert, talking, and playing games with the kids. Then we headed back to Bay City and over to Shelly’s where I once again snacked out. We stayed there for a while and chatted with her, Jared and Leah (her kids), my mom, and Shelly’s cousin Tammy (although I pretty much ignored her kids - they irritate me). Tammy was on leave from the army (I’m still constantly surprised that she’s not only in the reserves, but she seems to thrive there) and heard some of her stories. Oh, Greg was downstairs too, but I pretty much ignored him.
Anyway, after talking for a while, Tammy left, and I was getting tired. We made plans to go out Saturday night - and it was then as I was looking for my cell phone to get my sister’s number that I realized I had left it in Pinconning at my dad’s. Nooo! Now I’d have to find time to drive 45 minutes one-way to get it back. Not that I mind seeing my dad, but that’s quite a bit of time, and I’d already spent way too much time in the car that weekend. Anyway, then we took my mom home and headed back over to Joe’s mom’s. We didn’t have dinner with his family this year because she changed the time from her normal 5:00 to the same time as my Dad’s. If she had given Joe and I some notice, we probably would have moved things around to accommodate both - but she volunteered to work on Thanksgiving, and only gave us notice the week before. I was too irritated to want to switch all the plans I’d already made around now, and told Joe that he could go to hers if he wanted, but I was going to my dad’s. He ended up going with me, saying he was irritated at her as well. I still feel slightly guilty about that though.
Anyway, Friday dawned. I didn’t see it, but I did see the 11-ish sun. ;) I was supposed to go to get my cell phone, but was feeling pretty lazy and wanted to actually relax once this weekend. So I called dad and asked him if it would be okay if I came up Saturday instead, which he didn’t have a problem with. I called Chris L. and confirmed plans to game that night, then spent a good deal of time lazing off, pretending it was because I was trying to get a hold of Chris M. Which it was, but I could have been doing other things. :) I might have done something else that morning, but I can’t recall if I did.
We finally got a hold of him, and went to go see National Treasure - which was a very good movie, by the way. MUCH better than I was expecting. He had brought Mary along, and we chatted while waiting for the movie to start. I told Chris about Shelly and I going out on Saturday, and invited him along.
After the movie Joe and I headed out to the game. It was excellent, and I quite enjoyed it - even if Chris did arrange things to negate most of the party’s strengths (sneak attack for myself and Lori’s rogues, charging for myself and Joe’s fighter, etc). Shame on him! ;P
Chris L.’s Mary was there, her first time gaming he told me. I wonder if she realizes that my best friend Shelly doesn’t game? Maybe it would make her feel better to know that you can be friends with gamers and not game if you don’t want to. :) It was nice to see her again though, and I hope we didn’t frighten her off. ;)
It was great to see Lori and Chris L. again. The only thing I really miss about moving to Indy is my friends. I see my family about as much as I did before (or about as much as I want to, in some cases) but friends, I miss.
Anyway, we also met Bill’s brother. He looked a lot like Bill - he even had the hair. (If you know Bill, you’ll understand what I mean by that.) :) It was rather surprising.
We chatted some after the game, then stumbled back to Rita’s and to sleep.
Saturday I got up and headed out to dad’s in the morning (well, about 11 or 12 o’clock morning, that is). The three of us (mom2, dad and I) chatted for several hours, I raided the fridge for leftovers, and retrieved my cell phone. It was quite a pleasant visit, and I hope to do so again soon. :)
After that, I dropped by the house long enough to say I was taking my mom shopping and headed out to Saginaw. Mom and I drove around for a bit, looked in a few stores, then headed back to Bay City.
After I dropped her off, I went back to the house and found that Joe had gotten a hold of Chris M. again, and went out for lunch/dinner. Found out that he would be going to the bar with us that night, as he had no keys to get into his apartment and had to call into work as he couldn’t go in without his uniform. (I’ll not go into more on why he didn’t have his keys, as that is none of my business to tell. Suffice it to say that were I him, I’d drop-kick the roommates off the Liberty bridge.)
We ate at Bob Evans, where I had one of the best BLTs in my life, then dropped Chris off at Mary’s to get ready and headed over to Shelly’s. We sat and chatted and headed out to the bar, she and her cousin Jerry going in one car, Joe and I going in the other to pick up Chris M. After picking him up, I recalled that we needed cash and stopped at an ATM. I parked, went inside, and spent a few minutes rummaging ever more desperately through my purse until I finally admitted that not only did I not have my ATM card, but my driver’s license was missing as well. It made me go cold to think that I had driven from Indy, in horrible weather, without a license.
I headed back to the car and imparted this knowledge to Joe and Chris. Joe used his ATM card to get some cash out, and we attempted the bar anyway, hoping that since they knew Chris there fairly well, they wouldn’t card me (they usually didn’t card people who went in with him).
We did manage to escape being carded, although I am not sure if that was because of Chris or we simply managed to slip in before security was paying attention. We found ourselves a table and waited for Lisa and Rob (my sister and brother-in-law) to show up. As we waited, it became increasingly clear that there wasn’t normally karaoke there at Strikers on Saturday nights. After Lisa and Rob did show up, we debated going elsewhere - and it came down to “I can’t. I don’t have ID.” We ended up staying there, as Lisa asked the DJ if he would start up karaoke and he did.
We ended up having a good deal of fun. Joe, unfortunately, went home with a headache fairly early (he had one earlier in the day as well, and the loud pounding music wasn’t helping). Shelly and I played pool (in which she trounced me), but mostly the whole table sat and talked and joked. Chris L. came to the bar after he got out of work (about 12:30) and added to the fun. Late in the night, Chris M. had the bright idea to get Lisa and Rob to sing the song “I touch myself”. He wrote out the slip, but changed his mind and wasn’t going to turn it in - so I did. Blame the alcohol if ya want, but I wasn’t that drunk, just feeling a little more chaotic than normal. ;)
They actually sang the song, although Lisa gave me a look that shot daggers through most of it. Rob seemed like he was getting into it - Lisa even ‘danced’… or, umm, acted out the song a bit. *LMAO*
After the song was over, I took my life in my hands and walked over to where they were sitting. I put a hand on each of their chairs, and told them that I didn’t think that they were actually going to do the song, but they did it really well. Rob looked like he was having fun, and pretty much said the same. Lisa complained a bit about having to sing twice in a row, but that was about it.
Anyway, the night ended nicely. We all headed off, and after Shelly dropped me off I pretty much went straight to bed.
Sunday we spent mostly at Joe’s mom’s house. After we ate lunch, Rita and Sara headed off to take Sara back to school. Chris M. stopped by and loaned us a couple DVDs, and chatted for a few. Chris L. had come over earlier and ate lunch with us. After we said goodbye to everyone, we stopped by Shelly’s to say goodbye. She gave me a big stuffed tiger, one of the ones that looks almost real. I was quite happy, as I had been wanting one for a while.
We dropped by mom’s to say bye, and then headed out of town - a bit later than the 1:00 p.m. leaving time we wanted, but still not that far off schedule. We stopped briefly in Saginaw to pick up a few books to read, as we had both finished the ones we had on the drive up. The drive back was quite a bit faster and in better weather than the drive up, and we got into town at a decent time. We chatted with Joe L. for a bit, then I went and passed out.
The last few days have simply had me working and trying to catch up on sleep - not the easiest thing to do. Oh, and I did finally find my driver’s license and ATM card - on the nightstand in my bedroom with receipts from U-Con. Which means, basically, that I had been driving all last week without it as well. *sigh*
Anyway, that was the holiday weekend. Hopefully this time I’ll have time to recover before the next trip. I’m fighting off a cold now, partly because (or so I think) I drained my self to the dregs in the sense of resources and reserves the past two weeks. I’ve been wanting to sleep a lot, and it’s been really hard to get up and go to work, let alone focus on anything since I’ve gotten home.
Also, I’ve been tied up in several books - first, the Erevis Cale Trilogy. Published by WOTC, and set in the Forgotten Realms, it is a quite fascinating series dealing with a Chosen (or Proxy or Seraph - whatever you want to call it) of Mask. Yes, Mask, the god of Shadows and Darkness that I am unhealthy fascinated with.
The second book is “Incubus Dreams” by Laurell K. Hamilton, the new book in her Anita Blake series. I was practically drooling when I saw it. It ended up being 40% off the cover price, which totaled to be about $15 - and Joe refused to listen to me when I objected that I should wait, it was too much. ‘Course, I didn’t object too much. We picked up the second Erevis Cale book as well, and that one I finished on the way home (it wasn’t too large, and it was a 5.5-6 hour drive after all). Now I’m engaged with Incubus, but haven’t had as much time to read it, and it is much larger besides, so it will take me a bit longer. Don’t except to hear much from me until it’s finished, however. ;)
I owe several people emails and posts in games, and I will get to them, I promise - probably this weekend, as every free moment is spent reading or sleeping right now. :)