And then, there's a bearded fetus.

We are officially halfway through this short week. Two more days to go of work, then off three days.

Next week is likewise shortened for a couple of reasons. First up, we have our first Ghost concert on Wednesday. So I took half a day for that, and then the day after off.

But that's not all.

On Friday, I have been asked to dress up and go down to the main hospital to attend a meeting. It's ostensibly to welcome new employees, but is also a meeting of all the managers, and higher ups. My Boss has decided that I need to get more face time with the big bosses, especially the director of Radiology. I asked what they needed me to do, and was told to show up be presentable and be me.

I immediately went on Torrid and got myself a new skirt and blouse, because right now, the only thing I have that would be presentable is the dress I wore for the funeral. And that might be a bit much.

I'm very nervous about this, and am glad that I have new makeup to help boost my confidence. I have been told that the director of radiology is very "enthusiastic." So I'm planning to put on the perky mask and try to engage her. I've got the compliment in my back pocket, so that's something. She is aware of it, and her boss is aware of it, and with a little luck, the social media blurb will have come out by then.

I have discovered that I need more makeup. Right now, I have mostly purple, which is a good color for me, but I'd really like some blues and greens. We'll see. Most palettes are boring as fuck. When did Urban Decay stop selling colors other than brown? I'm going to have to check out Melt cosmetics. I really enjoy the purple marijuana themed palette I got from them. They also have one called blueprint and the original "smoke sessions," which was mostly green and gold.

Next week will be a busy week. Work Monday and Tuesday, work half a day Wednesday, then Ghost, then off on Thursday, then the meeting at the hospital for half a day. And then work Saturday for 4 hours. It'll be fun.

Okay, time for me to hop off and pay some bills. Looks like my check just landed in my account.

Everyone have an awesome Wednesday!

It's pretty much going to be Ghost lyrics for subject lines for the next couple of weeks. The concert is in 10 days, and I am hyped.

Well, that's done. We got up at ass o'clock and slipped out of the hotel to drive from the Brighton Courtyard Marriott to the Detroit/Fort Wayne airport. It's not bad, about a forty five minute drive. Especially in our acid green car.



I really loved that car. It was super quiet and super smooth, and I never forgot which car was mine.

The handoff was super simple, and soon we were on the bus to the airport...which was packed. They were giving free trials of Clear, though, so we did that, and were through the packed security super quickly.

Our gate wasn't super far this time, so we trudged over, stopping to get my sister her requested Detroit keychain and some fudge and then continued onwards until we found a likely place for breakfast. It was solidly meh, but definitely fuel. Then, continued to the gate, and plopped our ass into the seats to wait.

The flight itself was pretty smooth and super quick. We were really lucky with flights this weekend. They left on time, they didn't have much in the way of turbulence, and they landed 20 minutes early both times.

Then, home again to decompress. Around 5pm, Shelly mentioned that she'd like to get a new key and fob for her car. I looked up and found a fairly good rated locksmith that would come to you. It was a total clusterfuck. IT took him 3 1/2 hours (most of which, I was standing out in the heat) to not be able to do the complete job. We have keys, but no keyfob, and they charged us $700 for the privilege of not getting what we wanted.

I was so disgusted when I went to bed.

Today, it's back to work. I'm not sure I'm going to be taking a ton of calls, but we'll see. I can't call out because we've got a date for Jess' top surgery and it's going to be 9/11, which means I'll need to hoard every hour of PTO that I can for the surgery, recovery and follow up visits. It'll be tight, but we'll make it.

It was a whirlwind weekend, but thankfully, it's done now, and we can get back to regular life. And now, I shall go take a nice shower. I was so disgusted by the time I was done with the locksmith that I didn't bother, but today I feel kind of gross, so off to the showers it is. I hope everyone has an awesome Monday!

Greetings from Brighton Michigan! Michigan is very pretty, much easier to drive in than Maryland, and I never would want to live here for all the money in the world.

The trip in was super smooth. The flight left on time and was smooth as hell. I think I will always go for first class if I can afford it. It was so much easier. On first, off first, bags first. We touched down in Detroit 25 minutes early.

The Detroit airport is tough. It's enormous and I am out of shape and have bad knees. I did a lot of walking. We finally found the airport shuttle for our rent a car, and headed off to their lot. I had requested a small SUV. There were a few to choose from, but I picked the neon green Hyundai Kona. I can't lose it in a parking lot for sure. It drives really nicely, too, I would definitely consider one as a future car.

After that, we drove the hour to Hartland (with a brief stop for coffee and Timbits from the Tim Hortons that we don't have near us) Then a stop at a brew pub for food. (Meh. The sandwich was okay, but nothing to go gaga over. Then, we pulled into our hotel, and found out that it's actually a motel with exterior doors.

I melted down a bit. Nowhere in the listing did it mention that. Personally, as a woman, I don't feel safe in those type of motels. I immediately hopped online and found a Marriot not too far away and booked that. It's not the best hotel--the ac isn't great, the bed is hard and the shower sucks, but our room is off an interior corridor. It means driving a bit further, but I'm not fucking around with our safety. This weekend is going to be difficult enough. I need to actually get a little sleep. Once we got back to the hotel room, I called the site and bitched until I got a refund on the sketch motel.

Then we visited with the BIL for a while, went on a drive and headed back to the hotel, stopping at cracker barrel for dinner.

Today, the funeral is sure to be a boatload of fun. The family viewing starts at 10, then the regular viewing at 11, and goes til 6pm. Apparently the funeral home serves food? So we don't even need to go get lunch. This is not something I've ever heard of before, and frankly, it's a little weird to me. I don't know if this is all in one room, or if the food is in another room? Are we just chowing down next to the coffin? Inquiring minds.

Then, there'll be some sort of after service dinner, I'm sure. At least, unlike when we came for Jess' mom's funeral, we've been assured that it's not going to be at a Golden Corral.

Okay, I am in desperate need of coffee, so I'm going to sign off for now. Everyone have an outstanding Saturday!

It's Thursday, and I am currently trying to figure out how I'm going to get everything done before we leave tomorrow. I should have packed last ngiht, but we need to do laundry. Ugh. I'm going to be scrambling. As soon as Jess gets up, I'll start packing some stuff to go. We don't need a whole lot, just enough for Friday to Sunday. Only about 48hrs. I'm planning on at least three outfits. I'm planning to go looking like a schlub, then possibly change when we get to our hotel room to go see the BIL the night before the funeral. Then, I'll dress for the funeral. Then, probably we'll go out to dinner after the excessively long visitation/viewing. Depending on where we're going, I might change clothes then as well. Then, back in the schlub clothes for the flight back.

I might pack what I can this morning, and get some of it done. Unfortunately, we need to wash both my and Jess' fancy clothes for the funeral.

I've gone on a bit of a girly binge. I got two palettes of eyeshadows to experiment with. I love them both. The one from Ulta, called Morphe is very sparkly and light colored. Perfect for highlights and to give things a bit of pop. The other, called the "smoke sessions is all purples and blues. I'm absolutely in love with this one. It's so very pretty. I did a test for the funeral and found a color combo that will work.

It's going to be weird to be stuffing everything into the quart bag. I've got lotion, foundation, color corrector and of course color safe shampoo and conditioner, plus a tub of hair goo.

Then, I have a whole bag of cosmetics. It's strange, but I'm enjoying it.

Yesterday was busy! First we drove down to Washington DC for Jess' top surgery consult. I swear to god, I hate DC driving. I missed the exit on no less than 2 roundabouts. It sucked. We left at 6:15, made no stops, and got there around 8:30am. Traffic was horrible. But we made it in plenty of time for our appointment!

Jess' surgeon was a little ball of sunshine. She went through the process, did their exam and then she and Jess firmed up what they wanted their new chest to look like. They're going for the full masculinization, and the doctor confirmed her understanding. The coordinator will call Jess on Friday or early next week to work out a surgery date.

On the way home, we stopped at LaMadeline for some excellent lunch. Then it was home to eat said lunch and relax for a few minutes before game.

Game was awesome, and I really enjoyed it. I brought in my final player's backstory, and now everyone is traumatized. I love it.

Then, we had some time, so I went and got my emissions done. My car is 100% up to date. Yay! I need to call at some point, because it hasn't updated, but that may be a Monday thing.

We have game tonight, so I don't have long this evening to pack. Maybe I'll do some during lunchtime. It's a lot to get done. Tomorrow, we're going to need to leave no later than 6:15am, which is going to mean a 4am wakeup. Ugh.

But for today, work. Everyone have an amazing Thursday, or as we call it, Friday Eve!

Hey, y'all, we made it through Monday!! Woot, woot! I have very little planned today, although I have to go to Nordstrom to pick up some eye shadow. I got a little palate of Sephora eyeshadow, and it was not good. Barely any pigment, hard to get on the brush. I was flipping through Facebook and saw one that was pot themed. It's called the "Smoke Sessions II" by Melt. It's all these gorgeous purples. I fell in love with it, and bought it immediately. (To be fair, I also have one from Ulta that should be coming tomorrow.) With the glasses, I can get away with a little more pigment in my eye color. I can't do mascara, my follicles do not like that, but I can do eyeshadow, and light eyeliner. (I got the coolest shade of eyeliner, a burgundy/brown that is perfect for my green eyes.)

At some point between today and tomorrow, I'd like to go up and get my overdue emissions test done. They're open til 7 on Tuesday and Wednesday. I will probably go today after I grab my eyeshadow. Ideally, I'd like it done before we drive down to Sibley for Jess consult tomorrow.

Yesterday was very busy. I did my 43 calls, plus filled in three separate cardiac CTs, a Cardiac MRI and called people to let them know that when they scheduled their appointments, they borked up. (Seriously, how hard is it to keep track of when you can have your appointment? Or where?) The only one I'm not blaming is the patient who scheduled at the wrong place because there is no indication that certain sites can only accommodate patients up to certain weights for some tests. That's on our coding. (I love making those calls, btw. But I figure it's better that it's me, who will be sensitive about it.)

It was so brutally hot yesterday and it's going to be worse today. I'm not thrilled about going out in it. It was bad enough when we walked the dog last night, and it was still 95 degrees. I am way too Slavic for this heat. Give me cold weather any day. I'm not looking forward to being in DC in 100 degree heat. But I want Jess to get their consult, so off we shall go. At least we're leaving at ass-o-clock, so it shouldn't be too bad. My morning post tomorrow will probably be after our appointment, as I have no urge to get up at 4am to update. Though we shall see.

Our AC unit is glorious. During the heat of the day, it keeps the house cool. At night, it can get a wee bit stuffy, but overall, it's awesome. I got a fan to help at night, and it was wonderful. I slept much better, except for the cat coming to visit me every hour.

Okay, I suppose it's time to get myself together. Everyone have an amazing Tuesday!

It's Sunday! Yesterday was very busy, but I had fun.

First up was the dog's grooming. He was the first of the day, so he was done in two hours easily.
We picked him up and he was happy and much cooler. I might have to book his next one a bit early, so he doesn't have to get so hot.

The cousin's lunch was at a Spanish/Italian place called Tutti Paella. It took about 40 minutes to get to, and looked like a dump in a strip mall. But wow, it was way more than that. I ordered off their tapas menu. I had a charcuterie board, the Colossal Vieras con Tocino (which were about 8 bacon wrapped scallops with a balsamic glaze, and then Alcachofas Al Ajillom which were baked artichokes in garlic with a garlic aoli. My fucking god, everything was amazing. It was perfectly seasoned and well cooked. I'm a little in love with this place, and I hope they do well, because goddamn. My BIL had the scallops and Patas Bravas, which was basically loaded spanish potatoes. The single serve paella was enough to feed two, maybe three people, and the portion for two was enough to feed at least four, maybe five peoople. We got a Paella to take home for Jess, and it was enormous. They only ate about a fourth of it. IT was packed with spanish chorizio and chicken. We also ordered one for Shelly and I-the seafood one, which was lovely. I ate the shit out of it, and there's still better than half left.

Then it was home for an outstanding role play heavy game of Arvandor. It was awesome. My players continue to be so involved and on point. It's really making the characters feel like real people.

It's of course, a completely different group than my normal, but it makes me hope that we can get some roleplay out of my regular group, too. We'll see. I've got two games coming up that could support it, so we'll see.

After that, we relaxed and took the dog out to potty. He was very good while we were playing. Then, we at dinner and went to bed. I slept pretty well, so maybe I'm getting used to the firmer mattress.

And now, I have to get myself together for brunch! From Spanish to Brazillian! Whoo! Everyone have an awesome Sunday!

Well, that was a day. I was expecting a nice quiet Thursday, and what I got was...not. I had already gotten my breakfast together, and was sitting on the sofa, preparing to go in an boot up my computer for work, and scrolling the internet idly. And then I saw it on Facebook. Jess' estranged dad passed.

I relayed this to Jess, and texted in that I was taking a bereavement day so I could be there for them. They've been estranged for years, but I knew it was still going to be rough. The funeral is next week, and their brother wants them to be there, so off we shall fly to Michigan. I'm so thankful for the money from the estate that let me just book everything. We have tickets going into Michigan, plus a rental car and hotels. It'll be a short trip. We're leaving on Friday morning, and flying in to Detroit. The first night, we're staying near the airport, then driving in for the funeral on Saturday, and leaving Sunday morning. It'll be a lot, but we'll manage. Here's hoping the weather behaves for smooth travel. The only thing to still decide is whether we take the car and park in a lot or just get a ride to the airport.

Around 11, the bed came, and with nothing else to do, we went ahead and set it up. It's a little firmer than I'd like, but I think once I'm used to it, it'll be fine. Good lord, that mattress was heavy. Of course, they dropped it at the foyer, so the two of us had to slide it up the stairs, and into the house. Then, we got the old mattress off the bed, and did some more heaving to get it on the bed and unwrapped.

It was not easy, but we got it there. I did not sleep great, but I expected that. I'm hoping it'll improve a little bit each night.

After that, we were kinda at loose ends until it was time for dinner. Just before, I was sitting at the table and checked my work email. And it confirmed my perception. The communications person reached out to me to ask for a few sentences about my job, and why I felt it was important to connect with the patients I spoke to and a picture. The resulting article will go out on Johns Hopkins social media and website. So this is a public perception, not an internal one. Aaah! I'm excited yet nervous.

Jess spoke to their brother last night, which went as well as it could. He made them feel quilty a couple of times, but I don't think he meant to.

Today will hopefully be quieter. In the evening, we're going to the mall to look at shoes for me and a top for Jess for the funeral. We really don't have anything at all appropriate. I've got nice pants, but no shoes. And Jess has no nice clothes at all, so it's shopping time. I'm a little worried that we won't find any shoes for me--my feet are so wide and flat. If worst comes to worst, I can wear my sandals, but they're men's sandals, and not that pretty. I'm hoping that they won't have anything, but we'll see.

I'll have time to wear it, since I have a cousins brunch tomorrow to go to. I'm not sure I want to go, but I do want the restaurant. They went for the one I picked, which was cool. Spanish/Italian food for all!

Sunday, Jess and I will go out for an anniversary brunch.

Okay, time to get myself together for the day. Everyone have an outstanding Friday!

I'm a little less sleepy today, which is good. Yesterday I just was blah. I didn't feel badly, I just couldn't quite get myself into "on" mode, which makes work very difficult. I got through all but two hours, and then called off, because I was just wiped.

After that, I vegged for a few minutes, then went to Sam's club to get some things. I got some special things for dinner, which I'm now frantically googling for the best way to cook. which thankfully seems to be baking. I have twice baked potatos to bake, and the NY strip steaks, and then two very lovely lobster tails. Sams had them on sale, so I figured why not? Jess isn't a fan of lobster, so they're going to get a full steak, and my sister and I will each get half a steak and a lobster tail. I ordered kitchen scissors to cut the shells and make it perfect. After that, a little melted butter, and we'll be good. Hopefully, I can catch the sweet spot and cook them well, without overcooking.

I got other things, of course. Fruits and creamer and other tasty things, but those are the big ones.

I need to look and see how long the twiced baked potatoes need. Hmmm

I went to bed early and promptly got anxious for absolutely no reason and had to take some anti anxiety meds. Today is payday, and I have literally no bills to pay with it. It's glorious. I'm planning to save most of it, aside from taking Jess out for a research brunch in Annapolis. There's a Brazillian steakhouse down there, and I want to see if it's as good/better than Fogo De Chao.

My last big purchase comes tomorrow, which I'm very excited about, our mattress. I was more excited before I saw the weight on fedex.com. 96lbs! That's going to be a tough one to get in and unpackaged. We went with a GhostBed, and I'm looking forward to trying it out. I told Jess not to try to move it themself. I think this is going to take 2 of us.

My next D&D campaign is slowly taking shape. It's a folk horror game, so I have a Relic Born (skeleton person) and a Threadborn (living doll). I'm looking forward to it very much.

I've got another homebrew game starting next month that I'm excited about. It, much like my other game is more roleplay heavy, though there will be some combat, of course. I'm curious to see how things go. This is a much larger group that my little Arvandor band, so it could be difficult.

On that note, I shall go forth and take a nice hot shower, and get ready for my day. Everyone have the very best Wednesday!

I am for no apparent reason, very sleepy today. I could have dozed for another hour easily. I'll wake up eventually, but I really slept very soundly last night, and another hour would have been nice.

I had a nice day yesterday, first with lunch, where I had a steak bigger than my head, topped with a big scoop of crab imperial. There's still about two thirds of it left, because with the Rybelsus, I can't eat a ton at a sitting. The food was SO good. We got a takeout for my sister, a burger (her choice) and she said it was amazing. It looked pretty tasty.

Then, it was home to relax and feed the puppy before game. Game was super fun, even though it was mostly set up for the next arcs. It's one of my special favorite games, so I was really psyched to play it.

I had a little burst of madness yesterday and signed up to DM another campaign. It's called The Crooked Moon, and it's a folk horror game that looks super cool. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I limited to six people but feel horrible about the people who got excluded. I did it fair, and did a drawing, using a random wheel to remove people. I had to whittle it from 10 people to 6, which was a big cut. If it goes well, I'll run a second game when we finish for everyone who didn't make it.

Today, it's back to work. It's sure to be a busy one. Hoping for a nice not too crazy week. And I'm hoping that they get back to me quickly about the application.

And on that note, time for me to get dressed! Everyone have an amazing Monday!

It's Pride weekend, and I just want to go back to bed. I did not sleep well at all. First, we ate pretty heavy right before bed, and then Boodle was bing a velctro kitty. Jess was also very cuddly last night, so between it all, I had a restless night's sleep. It's okay, I just have Pride to get through. I cancelled my afternoon game, because I just couldn't see rushing from Pride, with all the traffic of the Trans Pride and Pride Block Parties as well as any No Kings rally traffic, managing to get home in under an hour (because we are 100% ubering. Parking is going to be a nightmare. This way, we can finish my shift, walk around, and then go forth and maybe grab food and then go home.

After that, I have nothing planned until it's time to make dinner. And that's just a pork loin with mashed turnips. Then, I can crash out and go to bed while Jess plays Strixhaven.

Tomorrow, I have absolutely no plans. Just going to laze around and nap, I think. I could uber down to the pride festival, or drive down to the big Greek festival, but we'll see.

I had my bimonthly performance review yesterday. As expected, I'm doing well. I had told them that I applied for the supervisor position, and there was much lamenting on not wanting me to leave, but then he said if I get the position, I should push for as much money as I could get. Then, I should wait to sign the offer until they can go to their bosses and see if they could get a counter offer.

If after all the time I spent banging my head trying to advance at IKEA, now I've got people getting into bidding war over me, I'ma laugh.

And on that note, I'm going to start getting myself together for work. Everyone have a super Saturday and be safe!