life is...
... crazy-but-good in my world.
If I've been quiet here lately it's mostly because life is so nuts right now that short posts to Facebook are about the best I can manage.
This past weekend was the 8th annual WomenDrum Spring Fling and we had an absolutely crazy group of women for the event. Lots of fun, and lots of pictures that will make no sense to anyone who wasn't there, mostly involving the spontaneous ritual to the sacred avocado. I had a blast, and realized afterwards that part of the reason was that, for a change, I wasn't sick. It seems that my seasonal allergies/bronchitis have hit right at the time of the fall and spring events for the last two years and I've slept through half the weekend. This time, I enjoyed the entire event, took lots of pictures, hung out in the pool enjoying the warm spring evenings, and just generally enjoyed some quality time with good music and good friends.
For the last month, I've been up to my eyeballs in web pages for the local fire department. We're down to the wire, but with luck I'll make my (self-imposed) go-live date of "by the end of the month." That would be less complicated if I wasn't spending the weekend in Columbus at Marcon instead of in the laptop making pages, but oh well... I've got Monday off work, so I'll get my last updates done then, move the mail accounts and flip the DNS. Maybe. If the previous webmaster remembers to send me the login to the registry. This past Sunday was the second monthly meeting since I joined, and I'm officially no longer the new kid... a new probationary firefighter got voted in at the meeting. Also, the Chief ordered me a safety vest that says "Fire Photographer" on the back, which will be nice at incidents 'cause people won't try to ask me questions I can't answer. :-) Tuesday evening, we went out and did a public service gig, directing traffic at the local elementary school, where they had end-of-year musical and baseball sectionals all happening at the same time. I got a radio and everything for that one. Ooooh... ahhhh... (yes, I'm easily amused). I also discovered, since I had worn my FVFD shirt to work (and thus to lunch) that Moe's offers a 50% discount to FD members. Go Moe's!!
Last night, harperjen and I played a Semi-Feral Mercy gig at the Claddagh in Plainfield. A friend of ours had earned 50,000 membership points there, so the Claddagh threw him a party. He knew about the party, but he didn't know that we were going to be there to play, so it was highly entertaining. Jen and I went early, pulled together a set list over dinner (Shepherd's Pie... yum!), and then threw in a completely off-the-cuff and unrehearsed rendition of s00j's "Alligator in the House" when it was requested by the party boy.
Today, I pack for Marcon, gather the dogs' stuff so they can go to the kennel, and (hopefully) pick up the Beetle from the shop, where it's having a new turbo installed. With luck, I'll be driving it to Marcon, at 45+ mpg, instead of my poor overworked gas-guzzling Trooper. Of course, this makes the whole Getting The Dogs To The Kennel part interesting, since I can't take three unrestrained dogs in the Beetle. I may drive the truck in the morning, drop dogs off, go home after work at lunch (we get a half day off!!) and trade vehicles.
I'll be hanging out in the Art Show for a good chunk of the weekend, if you're looking for me at Marcon. Saturday, we have a Wild Mercy concert at 1 pm in Franklin B/C, followed by Leslie Fish's GOH concert at 2:30, then I go back to the Art Show. Hmmm... we should probably finalize our set list, eh?
After Marcon, the fire department website goes live (which should settle things down a little but I also go back to my normal volunteer schedule at the zoo, after several weeks off. "Spare" time??? Whazzat???
Through all of this, I've had a foster dog who's undergoing heartworm treatment and is on 10 weeks of crate rest. The poor guy is actually feeling quite energetic through all this, so he really doesn't understand why he's constantly being put back in his crate. :-( Of course, this leads to barking and/or howling, which is driving me Out.Of.My.Mind, which is part of the reason I haven't been posting here and also part of the reason that this post is very stream-of-consciousness, as my mind has been reduced to a zombiesque state by lack of sleep. Oh, and it's spring so the dogs are molting. Every minute that isn't packed with other things (see above... band... zoo... fire department) is spent vacuuming... or sneezing.
So... how's life in your world? And who all's coming to Marcon?
If I've been quiet here lately it's mostly because life is so nuts right now that short posts to Facebook are about the best I can manage.
This past weekend was the 8th annual WomenDrum Spring Fling and we had an absolutely crazy group of women for the event. Lots of fun, and lots of pictures that will make no sense to anyone who wasn't there, mostly involving the spontaneous ritual to the sacred avocado. I had a blast, and realized afterwards that part of the reason was that, for a change, I wasn't sick. It seems that my seasonal allergies/bronchitis have hit right at the time of the fall and spring events for the last two years and I've slept through half the weekend. This time, I enjoyed the entire event, took lots of pictures, hung out in the pool enjoying the warm spring evenings, and just generally enjoyed some quality time with good music and good friends.
For the last month, I've been up to my eyeballs in web pages for the local fire department. We're down to the wire, but with luck I'll make my (self-imposed) go-live date of "by the end of the month." That would be less complicated if I wasn't spending the weekend in Columbus at Marcon instead of in the laptop making pages, but oh well... I've got Monday off work, so I'll get my last updates done then, move the mail accounts and flip the DNS. Maybe. If the previous webmaster remembers to send me the login to the registry. This past Sunday was the second monthly meeting since I joined, and I'm officially no longer the new kid... a new probationary firefighter got voted in at the meeting. Also, the Chief ordered me a safety vest that says "Fire Photographer" on the back, which will be nice at incidents 'cause people won't try to ask me questions I can't answer. :-) Tuesday evening, we went out and did a public service gig, directing traffic at the local elementary school, where they had end-of-year musical and baseball sectionals all happening at the same time. I got a radio and everything for that one. Ooooh... ahhhh... (yes, I'm easily amused). I also discovered, since I had worn my FVFD shirt to work (and thus to lunch) that Moe's offers a 50% discount to FD members. Go Moe's!!
Last night, harperjen and I played a Semi-Feral Mercy gig at the Claddagh in Plainfield. A friend of ours had earned 50,000 membership points there, so the Claddagh threw him a party. He knew about the party, but he didn't know that we were going to be there to play, so it was highly entertaining. Jen and I went early, pulled together a set list over dinner (Shepherd's Pie... yum!), and then threw in a completely off-the-cuff and unrehearsed rendition of s00j's "Alligator in the House" when it was requested by the party boy.
Today, I pack for Marcon, gather the dogs' stuff so they can go to the kennel, and (hopefully) pick up the Beetle from the shop, where it's having a new turbo installed. With luck, I'll be driving it to Marcon, at 45+ mpg, instead of my poor overworked gas-guzzling Trooper. Of course, this makes the whole Getting The Dogs To The Kennel part interesting, since I can't take three unrestrained dogs in the Beetle. I may drive the truck in the morning, drop dogs off, go home after work at lunch (we get a half day off!!) and trade vehicles.
I'll be hanging out in the Art Show for a good chunk of the weekend, if you're looking for me at Marcon. Saturday, we have a Wild Mercy concert at 1 pm in Franklin B/C, followed by Leslie Fish's GOH concert at 2:30, then I go back to the Art Show. Hmmm... we should probably finalize our set list, eh?
After Marcon, the fire department website goes live (which should settle things down a little but I also go back to my normal volunteer schedule at the zoo, after several weeks off. "Spare" time??? Whazzat???
Through all of this, I've had a foster dog who's undergoing heartworm treatment and is on 10 weeks of crate rest. The poor guy is actually feeling quite energetic through all this, so he really doesn't understand why he's constantly being put back in his crate. :-( Of course, this leads to barking and/or howling, which is driving me Out.Of.My.Mind, which is part of the reason I haven't been posting here and also part of the reason that this post is very stream-of-consciousness, as my mind has been reduced to a zombiesque state by lack of sleep. Oh, and it's spring so the dogs are molting. Every minute that isn't packed with other things (see above... band... zoo... fire department) is spent vacuuming... or sneezing.
So... how's life in your world? And who all's coming to Marcon?