Game! And also more crap.

Paul and I play D&D with a few guys from our writing group every other Monday. This week's session was pretty damn fun. My cleric was actually in the combats since we were in a dungeon and her 15 feet move speed didn't keep her too far behind the encounters. She actually hit someone. And she disintegrated six skeletons in a single turn attempt. I was very pleased. And my healing was also very necessary. It was nice. Also, I took some bitchin' pictures of the game mat with my new camera. I'll post them!







In other news, getting my car to pass inspection cost me $400, which sucked really hard, I aced my sports massage final, and I got an honorable mention in the Writer's of the Future contest, but I'm pretty sure that that doesn't really mean anything. I think it's just a nicer rejection slip. But hey, I like nice. My scheme to start working toward my own business isn't taking off very fast--no one in my writing group has responded to the crazy deal I'm offering them. Well, Pete told me it was brilliant. Which I do really appreciate, but he's the only one of them who was already a client, so while good, it's sort of a step sideways.

I've been hit by a few shitty things lately. Most of them are money things. I'm not working enough at my job. Add to that my unexpected car cost and the fact that I'm not going to be able to get a mortgage, I'm feeling pretty bitter about money. But everything else in my life is going really well, and I need to focus on that. I have friends in the city. I have regular engagements to hang out with people that I like every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and every other Monday and Tuesday. Paul amazingly good to me. I own the Transformers movie. School is going really well. I'm getting a story printed. And honorable mention in the Writer's of the Future is better than a kick in the face. So, I need to stop my fucking whining and get happy. And if anyone notices me being all down, tell me that.

Also, happy birthday, Matt.

He doesn't read this. But happy birthday to him anyway. He needs one; he seems pretty down about his LSAT scores not being where he wanted them to be. And he's stressed from all of the senior year crap that he's got to do, too, I think. So, if anyone anywhere ever reads this, send him some positive energy.

Cooking from the Interweb!

I wanted to try cooking Indian food. The urge hit me suddenly on Friday night, so Saturday I looked up a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, which is my favorite, and Paul and I hit the Giant Eagle for the necessary supplies. Click on my title to get the recipe we used! It was extremely delicious. Not quite up to Indian restaurant standards, and we didn't have an Naan, but we managed. We did pick up some jasmine rice at the store, and that was an excellent side.

I went to visit my family on Friday. My grandmother had another fall last week, adding another broken wrist and a broken pelvis to her list of problems. But she's doing surprisingly well. She seems more cheerful than I've seen her since her first fall on July 4th. That made me happy to see. I did some reflexolgy on her feet, which she seemed to like, and when I told her she was important to me she looked like she got choked up and told me I was important to her, too. It was, I think, the most honest exchange of love that has ever passed between us. I'm really glad I went. I visited Grandpa, too. He was his normal cantankerous self. I made him laugh. I think that's really good for him. I had lunch with my mom, dad, and Ian. It was nice. Then I came home, got a horrible headache, sat through a work meeting, hung out with Eric, Sheri, and Opal, and then went to bed and couldn't sleep and Paul accidentally elbowed me in the head and all in all that night blew.

My friend Michelle from school is in Pittsburgh, I'm hoping to get to hang out with her some and maybe coerce her into attending WorD meetings. I think she'd fit in really well.

Speaking of my writing!! I got a rewrite request on my story "Boy Meets Girl" from Trail of Indiscretion. They want to print it in either the next issue or the one after that. Woot! Publication! And for a story that I thought was a lost cause after Heroes came out. I am very happy. Payment is two copies of the magazine, but that's enough. And I really like their magazine format. I met the guys who put it out at Confluence this year. Their website is totally out of date, though, which is pretty crappy.

Squonk Stories

I have a lot of time on Mondays to sit around. I don't work till 5:00 today, and till a few minutes ago, it wasn't until 6:30. I get up with Paul around 8:00, so I have a pretty sizable chunk of time to kill in the middle of the day. Today, I decided to listen to back episodes of Escape Pod, specifically two stories by Pete Butler, a cool guy in my writing group. The first one, Squonk the Dragon, #70, and its sequel, Squonk the Apprentice, #109, were both very enjoyable. If you click on the title of this post, it'll take you to the first one. Go on. Check it out. You know you want to.

A note.

Banks are closed on Columbus Day. *sigh*

A few things

First off, I've started listening to both Escape Pod and Pseudopod. You can get them for free from iTunes, and I recommend trying them out if you like science fiction or horror. They are going to be launching a fantasy podcast soon, as well. The stories are pretty fantastic. I enjoy being able to just listen, and the stories are the type that stay with you and keep you thinking. If I had money, I'd give them some.

Also, Paul and I went to the symphony yesterday. They were doing Broadway hits. They had two very good vocalists accompanying them, but I have to admit that I liked the parts without words better. Symphony. You know? But the really cool thing was the fact that the conductor would pause every once in a while to let the audience know the score of the Steeler game. Because we live in Pittsburgh and he understands that. I love this city.

I'm continuing to love my camera and I'm taking lots of pictures with it. It makes me happy. And I'm getting a massage on Tuesday! Woot!

Yesterday morning, I got up at 6am to go and do volunteer chair massage at a 5K race. It sucked. My coworker Zach and I got there at 7:30, and we didn't do a single massage until almost 10. Then, everyone we did work on was sweaty and gross. And we only worked on 6 people total. Zach got one tip, which he generously split with me because he's a nice guy. It was, overall, a huge waste of my time.

We're going out to Mike's to play D&D tonight. Everyone else is getting started early, but we can't make it early because my one massage today is at 4:30. Is annoying.

SQUIRRELLLL!

Taken with my new camera in Highland Park 10/4/07.

Don't steal my picture.



This work is licensed under a
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Camera!!

Squeeeeee!

I love my new Canon PowerShot S3 1S with 6 megapixels and a 12x optical zoom! *happy dance*

Writing stuffs

I wrote two stories in the past two days. They're both really short. I have a longer piece that I finished about a week ago. They all need editing, but I'm happy with myself for writing them. Writing makes me really happy. ^_^

Massage makes me happy, too, but I'm a little worried about my hands. They hurt. I need a massage. *sigh* I'm thinking about getting a 90 minute deep tissue massage with a focus on my neck, shoulders, and hands at work. I think I get half off, but I'm not really sure. I really need to check. I didn't work today, no appointments booked, which is really quite bad, but it was nice to be off. I worked on Justin, though, so no real break for my hands. Though I did use my elbows a lot. I need to start doing that more often.

Alison and I start jogging tomorrow! I'm excited. And reflexology class all day tomorrow, then lymphatic drainage and clinical applications on Thursday. Good classes, all around.

Paul and I are going to the symphony on Sunday, and we got tickets to go to Fallingwater on the 28th with my grandma.

Paul and I went to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to going again next year. I got Paul samples of honey from a bunch of different flowers and he got me a woven scarf. It's really pretty, and I'm excited to wear it more as it gets cooler.

Last weekend, we walked to the 40th street bridge so I could take pictures, something I have been wanting to do since we moved in. It was wonderful. I love bridges. And walking with Paul. ^_^ I think I got a few good pictures, too. Paul ordered me an AWESOME digital camera for our 2 year anniversary, which is coming up on October 27th. I got him Star Trek:Deep Space Nine. We're both going to have our gifts crazy early. But I like it. I can't wait to give people presents once I have them.

Adam called me a few weeks ago. That made me really happy. And my friend Jayson from high school is home from Africa, and I'll hopefully get to hang out with him sometime soon.

I'm debating preordering The Transformers movie. It's so good!!