And then, there's a bearded fetus.

It's Friday Eve! More packages coming today. So that's fun. Yesterday a few things showed up--we got some beach towels, should we ever want to use the pool, and we got some small things from Temu. We also put together the new file cabinet/printer holder during my lunch. It's very nice. I'm looking forward to the pantry coming so we can put that together and be done with assembly for a while. I ended up going with Temu, because IKEA continues to say that there's no delivery windows. As I said, we've had really good luck with Temu for the apartment. Aside from the sofas, pretty much all the furniture is from them. We went for the "Industrial Farmhouse" look. It's very sleek and nice, black metal with a medium colored wood. I'm especially fond of our side tables and tv stand. I've posted a picture of the TV stand before I think, but here it is again:



Our pantry is also lovely, and I can't wait for it to arrive. More pictures then.

Tonight, I have an eye appointment with Warby Parker. I've never been to them before, but they're in my plan, so I will give them a shot. I've found a couple pairs of new glasses that I like, so I'm eager to get them. I think I'm going to get 2 pair, possibly one from Zenni and one from Firmoo. I'm going to try progressives, to see if I can make do with one pair of glasses for work and play. As it is, I have a pair of bifocals, and then a pair of computer glasses for middle distance. So, we'll see!

I've got one game this weekend, which is directly after I finish working at Trans Pride on Saturday. It's my oldest game, which I kind of feel is drifting to an end. It's got one more arc, and then I think it'll be done. I hate to end it, but it feels like it's coming to it's natural conclusion.

Aside from that, and Pride, I'm going out with my friend from 911 on Sunday, but other than that, not a whole lot going on.

I was hoping to have a hat in time for Pride, but things are not looking good. I may just wear a baseball hat.

Okay, time for me to get myself together. If I'm going to have someone standing close to me, I'm going to need to take a shower. Everyone have a stupendous Thursday!

Happy Tuesday! We got Monday over with! Monday wasn't terribly bad for me. Busy, but not overwhelming. Towards the end of the day, I was just filling in spots where people had cancelled, and then working on the PET Scan queue. Which just means calling people to get their (usually cancer related) very expensive scans. On a good day, I manage to give people the illusion that Hopkins is magic, because I'm doing it as the doctors put in the orders, so for some of them, I'm literally calling as they are leaving the doctors office. It's good, because it makes them feel like we're really looking out for them, and concerned about their well being. (Which to be fair, we are. See also: cancer patients.). For some of them, they just got their cancer diagnosis, and my heart always aches at the thought of how much they're going to have to go through over the next months. Some, it's just a yearly thing to confirm that they're still cancer free.

So when dad's money came in, I had a little spending spree. And now, all the packages are comeing in. Today and tomorrow may be a bit of a deluge of things. Next week, all the Temu packages come. I've actually really liked the furniture we've gotten from there. It's been much sturdier and better made than some of the pieces we've gotten from elsewhere.

Yesterday, after work and dinner, we went over to IKEA to check out the Bookcase/sideboard combo that we were looking at for our kitchen pantry. I really like the one that I chose and it feels like it could be sturdy enough to hold all of our stuff. I got a couple of containers for the potatoes and onions, which can sit on the floor next to the pantry. Of course, this morning, when I went to put in the order, it says no delivery spots are available, so I'll have to see if any open up. I'm definitely not going to be picking it up in my Kia Soul.

If that doesn't change, I might have to reconsider.

After we viewed the sideboard, we proceeded to the cafe, to pick up a dessert and have some of their delicious pear water whiel we waited for our Too Good to Go order. Holy shit y'all. They just went through what they had left at the end of the night and boxed it for us. We have salad, we have salmon, we have chicken tenders, sides, baked goods, you name it.

We're definitely having a good lunch, and for $19, it was a hell of a lot of food.

Okay, time for me to consider waking up. I'm thinking about a nice hot shower to wake me up. Everyone have an outstanding Tuesday!

It's Sunday! Today shall be a day for relaxing and having a couple of games. It should be a lot of fun, if the everyone is up to play.

Yesterday was a long day! I had my shower and then we took Mao down to be cremated. The dude at the cremation place was SUPER nice. I was really pleased that I went with them. After it was done, I felt good that we'd finally gotten him taken care of. We'll be able to pick him up on Wednesday. (We'll probably have to wait til Saturday. I can pick him up in the morning before I head out for Pride.)

Then, we came back and piddled around until it was time to go bowling. The alley is very nice, and it was good to see friends, but since I wasn't willing to bowl with my back, it wasn't very engaging. It was all fine, though. The food was good, and we got out for a bit. We also stopped at Trader Joes on the way back, and bought way too much shit. Today will be a grazing day. We all have leftover food, so we're just going to eat what we've got.

The fridge is full, so we all better get cracking.

I say shit, but most of it is stuff for lunch for Jess and I. Tomorrow, we need to get back to cooking like a normal person rather than takeout.

And now, I'm going to get myself together and forage for breakfast. Everyone have an amazing Sunday!

It's finally Friday! Whoohoo! It's a short day at work for me, which I'm looking forward to, because the rest of my day is busy as hell. First, work til 11am, then I go to get my hair cut and dyed. I'm a little nervous about this, but I'm sure it'll be fine. The person I'm going to was in the same shop as my former hairdresser (the one who died suddenly) and they do good work. I'm not asking for anything particularly tough. I'm a little worried about borking my back up, but I'll be fine. Then, its home to relax for a few minutes, then we drive 45minutes to get Jess' new computer. Then, we go grab dinner, and then head home. It's a lot, but it'll be good.

Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, which just figures. Tomorrow we shall go down to get the frozen cat cremated. Once that's done, we have a bowling party tomorrow night. With my back, I won't be bowling, but I want to go to see people from work.

Sunday, we have games, which will be fun. I'm hoping the weather holds off tonight while I'm driving in the dark. The bowling is at 4pm, so I won't be out too late on Saturday.

Yesterday was busy, but not horrible. I had one spicy patient, who was scheduled incorrectly by a team member who is no longer with the team, so it fell to me to reschedule. They were not happy, but y'know, it's nothing personal, and I don't actually care that she's upset.

The other day, I went a little insane on pastries from Paris Baguette, a new bakery that opened in Towson. Holy shit, y'all, it was so good. The pastries are light and delicious and I will definitely be ordering from there again.

Tonight, since I'll be getting my hair cut, Jess is going to take care of dinner, which will be chicken. It's the first chicken I've had since the money came in. I'm sure it'll be good, but a little part of me was really enjoying the steaks.

Oh well, maybe more steak on Monday. We'll see.

I now have completed the trifecta of big box stores. I reupped my Costco membership and went ahead and got BJs, too. BJs had the creamer I wanted, and I've always been a fan of their fruit and veg. And Costco has Gimbap, and other ethnic foods that the others don't. And Sam's is cheap.

Okay, time for me to get my shit together. I still do have three hours of work to do today. Everyone have an excellent Friday!

You may get nothing but Ghost lyrics between now and July. I'm trying to learn the words to the new songs, but it's coming slowly. But the music is super catchy so I'm sure I'll get there.

Ghost is weird. They bill themselves as Satanic metal, but and they have a few songs that bear that out, but most of their songs are more pop or hair metal. And despite the lead singer saying that the new album is "darker," I'm finding it really hopeful. And as I said, their music as a whole is very catchy. We've got 1 month to concert #1. I can't wait.

Day two post back scritches, and my lower back is still peeved. I dislike it. IT's not as bad as yesterday, but still cranky. We'll see if today is the kind of "work things out" cranky or the "get worse as the day goes on" pissed off.

I've got some good steaks to cook, so I'm hoping for the former.

Tomorrow is a quiet day--nothing much going on. Friday night after work, we need to drive down to get Jess' computer from best buy. Then we're going to go forth and get a late dinner. It's a fairly long drive, so we're best waiting til my sister gets home at 6 to go fetch.

I got a reminder on facebook that 8 years ago on this day, we went to see a wrestling PPV. It was fun, but nothing we felt the need to do again.

This weekend is pretty busy. I've got a haircut and we've got to pick up the computer Friday night, the appointment to drop off Mao for cremation after a decade at least, and then off to a work party at the bowling alley. I will probably not be bowling, owing to the bad back, but I will go and have snacks and visit with people.

Sunday is less busy, with just two games, one that I'm DMing and then one that poisontaster is.

I'm definitely going to be sleeping in on Sunday.

Oh, and *finally* we're closing on the house. No more albatross around our neck.

And on that note, I'm going to go consider the merits of pants. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday!

And somehow, we're back to Monday.

I had an excellent weekend. Saturday and Sunday were both filled with my favorite things, and while I am sad that I don't have another day to fuck around, I'm okay with work today. It's bound to be insane, but it's okay.

It's going to be a busy Monday, but in a good way. I've got work til 4:30, then an appointment for an AMSR back scratching at 5, and then back home for a psych appointment at 6:30pm.

https://www.instagram.com/fitzhairstudio/reel/DJzmxavy1S-/

The morning isn't getting off to the best start, as the dog has begun acting like an asshole. My sister insisted that he had to go, so I took him out, despite the fact that the pain meds haven't kicked in and I am hurting. He'd drag her down the stairs. No matter what she thinks.

I walked him up and down the apartments, and he did absolutely nothing. Then I gimped back in and now I'm pissy. Both with my sister, who wouldn't listen to me when I said that he absolutely did not have to go, and the asshole dog.

I was going to take a shower, but I don't feel like I can go in there, because the moment I did, the dog barked at a noise outside.

The dog is frustrating the hell out of me lately. He's such a sweet baby, but he's also neurotic and a total asshole.

Maybe this weekend, we'll take him for temperament testing at the doggy daycare.

Okay, anyhow. Sunday was fun. I had D&D, and then we made cheese fondue. I think I need a different recipe, because it stayed really thick, but it still tasted amazing. The hot pot still owns my heart, though.

Tonight, I think we're going to have carry out, and then tomorrow when I only have the farmer's market, I'm going to cook steaks. I have two Tbones, and an enormous tomahawk ribeye to cook, and I'm looking forward to it.

I'm debating what I want to have for breakfast now. I usually have a couple of hard boiled eggs, but right now there is so much food in my fridge that it's hard to decide.

Okay, time to get myself together for work. Everyone have the best Monday you can Monday!

It's Saturday! And a day when I don't have to work, so I slept in until nearly 7:30. It was lovely. My back feels a bit better today, which is nice. I'm still going to take my anti infammatories for a couple of more days, though.

Yesterday was bugfuck busy. We had a bunch of late cancellations, so I was getting a TON of emails to schedule urgent patients in those spots. It was a lot. But that's okay, we got a lot of urgent patients the slots they needed. After work, I had our annual training material to work through. Honestly, I did most of it while I was working, and just fucked around for the majority of the hour afterwards that I was supposed to be training. I get paid OT for the extra hour, so I'm happy.

Today is kind of a question mark. We have a game at 12:30, and my sister has a birthday party, so that part is done. The question will be what we do afterwards. I got a grocery order to make hot pot, so that may be what we do for dinner. This may depend on whether the hot pot itself gets here on time. Otherwise, we may do the hot pot in a fondue pot, which will sadly only allow for one broth. (the hot pot has a divider that lets you do two. My grocery order, which has the hot pot meats is due in between 9:30 and 12:30, so hopefully it gets here before game.

I got so much shit. Dipping sauces and rice cakes and gyoza as well as the meats. I ordered from Weee!, which is an Asian grocery delivery service. I swear, they have everything. If the delivery goes smoothly, and the stuff is good, I can see making them a regular part of our shopping.

Tomorrow my sister has another birthday party, and I have a game at 1pm, so I'll have to see what we're going to have for dinner.

And now, I must get myself together, as I am going to get a pedicure. My toenails desperately need attention, but with my back, I definitely can't do it right now, so off to let a pro handle it.

Everyone have an excellent Saturday!

It's Friday eve, and I'm hoping for a quieter day today. It ended up being a good day, but whoo baby, it was pure chaos.

I started the day working on the PET exam queue. When we get orders, we call the patients to schedule. Don't want to risk the cancer patients on them calling, so we track them down. During some downtime, I texted the financial people to see if I could get the tracking # for the check. Once I got it, I refreshed that shit every 30 seconds.

It was a busy morning--lot of calls, ad a fair amount of emails of people to call. One time when I was calling someone back, Jess popped in to say that they got the email to schedule their appt for a top surgery consult. Unfortunately, the doctors who have availability are in Washington, DC, so that's going to suck, but we'll manage. They have their consult on 6/25, which is sooner than either of us expected, which is awesome. I'm very excited for them, though I know they are very nervous.

Around 11:45am, I checked the tracking and lo, there was a picture of my front door, with an envelope in front of it. I immediately grabbed it, and found my check. It's lovely and has a lot of numbers on it.

At 12:27, I couldn't stand it anymore and went to lunch 3 minutes early so I could deposit said check. It was smooth and easy, and I had the cutest little teller. He was personable, and sweet, and seemed to feel like I'd be angry that there would be a hold on some of the money for 5 days. My dude, I literally made this account two weeks ago, and I just deposited over $40k. Yes, I expect that you're going to hold my money til it clears. They actually are clearing a generous amount this morning at some point, so I'm happy.

All in all, I was back home by 12:45, having taken less than 15 minutes in the bank.

Then I got back from lunch and all hell broke loose. Our scheduling software was letting adult patients be scheduled in a pediatric room. So there were a dozen patients who were scheduled incorrectly, and I got to call each of them to break the news. It sucked and took most of my afternoon. But I got most of it done. I have three patients to try back today.

Either way, busy, chaotic day. Add to it the excitement over Jess' consult and the check, and you get a severely discombobulated Teresa.

Today will hopefully be slightly less chaotic. I have my "you hit all your goals for the month" hourlong lunch, and then I'm staying a bit late to do some annual training package.

And motherfucker. I just got an email from Wells Fargo that my deposit will not be available until 6/6 at all. Goddammit.

Oh well. That sucks. But there's nothing I can do about it, so I'm just going to have to suck it up.

I may call them this morning, just to touch base and verify that they're not going to honor the original information.

Well, guess we won't be going out this weekend after all.

And on that note, going to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an excellent Thursday!

It's a Tuesday that's going to be like a Monday! Work is going to be so psychotically busy today. It always is the day after a holiday. At least the day is going to go quickly. Tonight is the farmer's market, so I'm definitely going to go pick up some tasty treats.

Yesterday ended up being a mixed bag. Work was feast or famine. Some of it, I was sitting twiddling my fingers, but then some of it, I was stuck on the phone for a full hour with one oncology coworker scheduling 17 patients. I ended up with 29 for the day, which is a lot.

After that, it was onto our Arvandor game, which went really well. People got to be sneaky, and Jess' character had a good backstory reveal. And then, dracolich. I killed a player's character. Don't worry, they got better, but they were fully dead for a few seconds.

Tomorrow, the check will come! And I will put it in my bank account. And then, I will see how long they want to hold it.

I'm plotting what to do with some of the ill gotten gains. I mean, I'm definitely paying off my car. Aside from that, vet visits for both animals. And then we shall get a few things for the apartment, and then we shall have a lovely lunch with our friends, and then, we shall go see Ghost.

And with $448 less a month that I shall have to pay, I shall actually be able to get ahead of my bills. I'm so excited about this. I'm looking forward to being mostly debt free. That's going to be amazing. Maybe, I can rebuild my credit some!

Okay, time to get myself together for work. Everyone have an amazing Tuesday!

It's Sunday! And I slept in quite a bit. Almost until 8! (To be fair, I did get up at 4:30 to go to the bathroom and at 6 because the cat wanted food, but still)

Yesterday was busy, but SO much fun. First up was work, which was surprisingly busy for a holiday weekend. And of course, I got the last second call of the day at 11:59. Fortunately, it was a nice little old man calling back to see if we'd had cancellations. And we had! So that was a good call. I had to call the site, because they had blocked it, but they okayed it, so I grabbed it. He and his wife were both very effusive in their thanks, the wife basically blessed everything about me. My family, my pets, my home, me, my health. It was sweet, but a little embarrassing after a couple of minutes. I also had someone tell me that I was the nicest person they'd ever spoken with in a medical office, which was super sweet.

After that, it was time for Arvandor, which continues to be a fun, chill game. Time flew until we had to be off for our second game. They're still in the gathering clues stage. The steward of the court was just murdered, so we'll see how that goes. I think one of the tangled mysteries is close to being unravelled, but I'm not sure. It might need a couple of more clues. I continue to really enjoy playing it. We have a game next week, but I'm tempted to offer to DM tomorrow to get another short one in.

After that, it was the beginning of the Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga, which was also a riot. Annoyingly, the maps totally failed to match up with the rooms, so I'm going to be sorting those out between games. They were free, but c'mon.

Aside from that, we had dinner from a new place, Krunchy Chicken, which had pretty good chicken tenders. And then we made a quick trip to Sam's club for some groceries, and then we all crashed.

Today, I have one game at noon, and nothing else. Debating if 72 is too cold to go to the pool after game. We'll see.

Tomorrow, I will work half a day, and enjoy making $77/hr, give or take. I have a feeling that oncology will have us hopping, but that'll be better than the alternative. After that, nothing exciting planned unless we do a game.

Tuesday, the check will be mailed out overnight, and I should get it on Wednesday. Then, we'll see how long the bank is going to hold it for. And what time I'm going to get it. I'm hoping to have it early, so I can run and deposit it on my lunch. If I'm correct, it should be cleared by 6/7, which is when I booked my hair appt. It's SO shaggy right now. I hate it.

Okay, time to go forth and get myself together to make breakfast. Not sure what I want to cook. Everyone have a wonderful Sunday!