And then, there's a bearded fetus.

And now we come to this week's subject line bonanza for the week. And, it's going to be Ghost!



Jess (as always) introduced me to their music, and it quickly took hold. Now I can sing along with a lot of their songs. And indeed, in just two and a half months, we're going to see them in concert. They're a Swedish band that sings about normal things like love and death and Satan. They're very theatrical and over the top, and their music has that good good mix of metal and 80's hair band. Rocking, but oddly melodic songs about some weird shit. And there are church organ solos. So, this week I'll definitely be posting their videos, because more people need to know about them.

Yesterday was so much fun! I started out with work, which actually was a bit annoying. I did the stuff I needed to, but also ended up jumping on the phones pretty regularly, because one of my coworkers disappeared for like an hour and the phones were moderately busy. I took 9 calls, which for a Saturday is about normal.

After that, I ran down and got soup dumplings, which were excellent, and then came back and got ready to play. The first game was the one set in ancient Greece, which was a lot of fun. The party got a bit beaten up by some skeletons, and then headed into the necropolis. They sweet talked their way past the guardian, and now are checking out the tombs. When we ended, they had just stumbled onto an Iron Golem. They're third level! That golem has 210 hit points, and can do enough damage to instakill all of them. I'm seriously hoping they run away, but we'll see! They weren't supposed to get past the guardian, but the Sorcerer rolled a ridiculously high persuasion check.

Then, we had a little break, which was stressful, but turned out okay. So our dog is a little fuckface who never met a person or other dog he wouldn't bark at like fucking Cujo. Mind you, when he gets up close, he just sniffs and dances, but it's daunting, especially after the trauma of Tucker, who was all bark *and* all bite.

So we headed out on a walk, and as we're heading down the walkway, a kid comes out from the apartment below us to play with his ball. Right in front of our apartment. So, we take him on his walk, and wave to the little girl in the upstairs apartment who likes to howl with Yoda. She adores him, and when he barks, she loves it. So he barked hello, she was thrilled.

Then, we wait for the kid to go in. And wait. And wait. Finally, I said I'd take the leash and get him in. And I pulled out the treats. And don't you know it, it worked. He was so focused on the treats that he practically danced past the kid with nary a bark. The kid probably thought we were insane, but for all intents and purposes, it looked like we had a functional dog!

Then, we had Monster of the Week, which is always so much fun. This was a continuation of an earlier game, and honestly, I love everyone in this bar. It's hilarious to me, because when we started, nearly 5 years ago, the characters were very, very protective of their humanity and morals. Because they were fighting against the monsters. Five years later, they're the knights of the Summer Court of fae, having shucked some of their humanity. Now, I've put the choice before them to stop a war between the Summer and Winter Courts and the Courts of Air and Darkness and Water and Light that will inevitably spill into the human world. To do it, they're going to have to become less human, and it has been super fun role playing that. Also, they used to have hour long discussions about murder, and now their shoving guns in normal mortal's faces like no one's business.

We haven't gotten to the point where they have to make the choice, but it's coming in the next session.

Today, I shall go to lunch with my friend, and then come home and figure out something for dinner.

For now though, I may take a quick shower. Everyone have an outstanding Sunday!

Happy Friday! One more day of talking and then I can take a break. Saturday I'm on Admin work, so I won't have to talk at all! I'm a little nervous, since it's my first time on Admin duty. It's basically scanning all the orders that come in so that we start fresh on Monday. Nothing horrible, since we don't get a ton of orders on the weekend.

Today though, we shall talk. A lot, probably. It's been that kind of week. Hopefully the coffee/Vyvanse kicks in, because I am very sleepy this morning. I woke up at 4:45 to go to the bathroom, and I should just have gotten up then. I was thinking that I wouldn't fall back asleep, but of course I did, and now I feel woofled.

Tomorrow, we have two games, one at 2pm and one at 7pm. I've got a bit of prep work to do for the early game, so I'll do that tomorrow morning so it'll be fresh. I just need to look at backstories and see how it can tie into the campaign material properly.

On Sunday I'm going out with my friend from 911. We try to get together every few months to catch up. We're debating on where we're going out to. Somewhere tasty, but not too expensive. Fortunately, the Baltimore area is rife with those types of restaurants.

Hm, I have a bit of a headache this morning. Nothing horrible, but annoying, and my sister just got up to talk at me.

The dog continues to be a holy terror. I really don't know what's going on. We are not allowed to sit in the living room together. I'm thinking the only solution might be to lock him in the bedroom after his evening walk so we can relax for a little while. Otherwise, he'll sit in front of my sister or Jess and just bark.

I can handle it during the day when the Vyvanse is active, but when it craps out around five, it just shreds my nerves. And then I get angry and it does nothing, because the dog is dumb as hell. I'm not thinking that locking him up is punative, just something to spare our nerves.

We'll see! And on that note, I am going to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an excellent Friday!

It is very cold outside, and I'm kind of glad we forgot to turn the heat off last night. Yes, it meant that it was warmer while we slept, but it's also 29 degrees this morning, and I would have frozen my butt off getting out of bed.

Boodle seems to think that I should be getting up at 4 am. Not sure why. It's only been the last week, but it's annoying. She's very cute, but good lord. I want my extra 90 minutes of sleep.

Yesterday was again a busy day at work. I did 47 calls, but I would have done more. I spent over 30 minutes on the phone with a pt who was highly claustrophobic, talking them through an MRI. Otherwise, I probably could have done 50.

Today should be slightly less busy, I hope. Gotta figure out what I want to have for dinner, I suppose. Last night was pork chops, so I guess chicken tonight. I would kill for a steak, but that's not going to happen. Even if I get a steak, it'll be ordered after I get paid, and I probably wouldn't have it in time to cook it.

So maybe tomorrow, we'll see.

Also pending the delivery of the groceries, when I make my Greek Cheesecake. Might have to wait to do it after dinner. We'll see.

It's very windy here today. Our power just flickered long enough to knock out the internet, then came back up.

Okay, I think it's time to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday!

Good lord, I'm sleepy today. With playing all day, and drinking all day, I as up a few times last night, which I'm sure contributed to me being sleepy today, goddamn. I seriously considered sleeping a extra 45 minutes, but Boodle jumped on me wanting food, so that went out the window.

Yesterday was full to the brim of games. I think in the future, three may be too many. Two is good, but that third just kind of kicked my ass. I loved all the games for different reasons, but the third was especially fun, as we solved a murder mystery almost accidentally. This is one of the high level games that we play, with our characters at 9th level. I'm playing a bladesinging wizard. The thing about playing a wizard in D&D is that once you get past 6th level, they start getting crazy powerful.

But this session was not about combat, it was about solving a mystery and role play. I've become much more fond of role play as I've gone on. Early campaings were more fighty and now things are relaxing to become much more balanced. This character is also one that I just figured out backstory for relatively recently, so I'm looking forward to see how my lovely DM poisontaster is going to twist the knife I've presented her. Bits have come up, and I'm excited to see what comes next.

Anyway, murder mystery. We split up and began covertly interrogating the guests, hoping to have an answer before the death was found out. There were three of us in our group, and the other two had already done their interrogations. I was interrogating an elf, who for backstory reasons, had decided that Irsu was nearly his equal. We were having a conversation in which he displayed his disdain of the murder victim, but no remorse or anything that I could grab onto. Finally, desperate, I cast suggestion, and told him to tell me that he'd done it. I didn't expect it to work--elves get advantage on saves against charm effects. But sure enough, he went full A Few Good Men and damn near "You can't handle the truth-ed". After that, we kept him from being murdered, and called it a day. And with a little luck, poor Irsu won't be called "My Lord" for a while. It's giving him a twitch.

It was a good way to close out the night. Only two games for me this weekend, though Jess has four. Of course, my two games are all in one day, and a work day for me at that. Saturday, I'll get up at 5, work from 8-12, then game at 2, and another game at 7pm. Fortunately, the second game is a homebrew, and they're mid mystery, so no real prep for that.

But for now, we shall have a Monday, which is always fun. Everyone have an amazing Monday!

It's Saturday and I have absolutely nothing planned today. No games, nothing beyond making our Sunday brunch a day early. Tomorrow, I have games planned all day, so I wouldn't have time to cook it, so today it is. I got butterscotch chips to make pancakes with. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I use this recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/21014/good-old-fashioned-pancakes/ which has been a family favorite.

Yesterday was back to work day. It wasn't too horribly busy which was nice. I spent the day trying to move people around. Then, I made grown up grilled cheese, which involved Boursin, goat cheese and granny smith apples. They turned out really tasty. No complaints from me. Or as Jess always says when they cook, "I'm not mad about it." Next time, I think I would put both the cheeses in the microwave for a few seconds to make them easier to spread. That was a little bit tough. But I got 6 sandwiches out of one round of Boursin and a little log of goat cheese, which wasn't bad at all. It was a little more expensive than some of my meals, but it was a good splurge.

Not sure what we're having tonight. I'm thinking maybe some chicken thighs in a nice creamy sauce with green beans on the side. Or over mashed potatoes. That is also possible. I had gotten some celery, so that and some onions garlic and herbs could give it a nice sauce. I think I also have a pound of baby carrots, so I could make up those, too. Oooh, or I could make a spicy Creole chicken. Yes, I believe I will do that. I've got the holy trinity for Creole food, so that should be good.

Tomorrow, I've got games back to back. I'm not DMing any of them, otherwise there's no way I could handle three games in a row. Jess is in two of the three, so they'll have a little break between 1 & 3.

Aside from that, not much going on. Yoda continues to throw an unholy temper tantrum whenever we're all in the living room. Not sure what to do about that. He frustrates the hell out of me.

Oh, we did find out about the lost 401k of my uncles. Sadly, it fell short of what I was hoping for, which was 60k. It ends up being about 29k split between my sister and I. We've decided that we're going to use it to pay off the rent for 6 months, and some bills and then put the rest in savings for emergencies. Seems like since they found it after dad was dead, it may come directly to us instead of the probate. That would be amazing.

Okay, time for me to go forth and maybe put on pants. Everyone have the very best Saturday!

Had an annoying morning already. My head is still not feeling great. I've had a two day migraine thanks to the weather, and it's still bugging me. I actually ended up calling out sick yesterday, because I just couldn't deal with having people talk to me.

The dog, as usual was a little terror, and I ended up spending a good chunk of the day at my desk working on some NPCs for the continuation of the mad mage game. As long as I'm in the kitchen, he's happy. I can be working or cooking, but I must be in the kitchen to keep him happy. He did let me have a few minutes of peace in the living room, during which I figured out how to cast my computer to the TV and watched a couple of episodes of Mid Century Modern.

It's not the best show in the world, but it's cute. It made me chuckle a couple of times, and the leads are appealing and the plots, while ridiculous, are fun. I'll watch the other eight episodes later.

I also made ginger cookies. I probably could have used more ginger, but they're very tasty. I had a few with my coffee this morning. I used this recipe: https://cloudykitchen.com/blog/gingersnap-cookies/
I probably would have added another 1/2-1 tsp of ginger, and I did add in a pinch of cloves. The cookies are rather crunchy, just fyi. There's another recipe for chewy cookies that I want to try soon.

After dinner last night and walking Yoda, I just went straight to bed. I didn't feel like anything else. Might do that again tonight.

I hate to miss time at work, but I'm really hurting and I don't know how much good I'll be. I will consider it. I've got the time, but I hate using it. I will think on it.

For now, time to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an outstanding Thursday!

Another day, and an very Eagles-ish song from Zachariah and the Lobos Riders. I really love the sound of this one.

I am very sleepy today. I fell asleep last night only to wake up at 11pm with the cat on my chest. Normally not a problem, but I woke up anxious, ad needed her to move for a few minutes while I took some anti anxiety meds. She was very obliging, and only flounced a little.

But now, because of the anti anxiety, I'm a little bit extra tired this morning. It'll be fine and won't last long, but for the moment, I just want to curl back up in bed.

Instead, I took ten minutes and washed both pans from last night while my coffee was brewing, so that's done.

I ended up making a Chinese five spice pork with rice and collard greens. It was quite tasty, though a bit salty. I was going to throw the Fried pork in and reduce it, but due to the salt, I just drizzled it. Today, if Jess wants to make it is lemony braised chickpeas, probably with rice again. If they don't feel like making it, then I'll figure something out. Maybe some gochujang glazed chicken or something, though the new gochujang paste I got is a little more firey than my old one. So we'll see if we want to go that route. I wish I had some noodles that I could make ramen or something. I've got some veggies I could toss in.

Yesterday was really busy at work, unsurprisingly. Then, we had two hours of Cardiac MRI open as well as a Cardiac CT. I got them both filled with no problems, but good lord. I understand that sometimes, things happen, and appointments need to be cancelled, but goddamn. Cardiac CTs are a month out, and Cardiac MRIs are three months out! I was pulling patients from July to come in this week.

Things are much less stressful without dad, but also much more dull here. I worry about what food I'm going to make and how to clean the apartment. I go out once in a while, to go get plants for my windowsill or to pick up orders from the grocery. And that's fine with me. I'd still like to get out more, but when the time comes, half the time I just...don't. I like my living space, and I like taking care of my family.

For now, though, I'm going to go get myself together for work. Everyone have a wonderful Tuesday!

It took me a little while to decide on the artist for this weeks subject line. I went as far as scrolling the artists page, trying to see who I could get 7 days worth of lyrics out of. And lo, at the very bottom of the list, I found my answer. Zachariah and the Lobos Riders. They're a barely known country band that I found by way of a SPN connection, namely the Jeffrey Dean Morgan movie "Dead and Breakfast," which the lead singer, Zachariah did the music for.

I really enjoyed the bit that I heard in the movie, and checked out the album. I found some songs that immediately caught my attention, and I wished that he could have the little surge of popularity that Christian Kane did from his association with Jensen, but alas.



Yesterday ended up being a very busy day. I started out by working, and then, I did go check out the pawn shop. one piece of jewelry was worth $150. Surprised by this we went towards Sam's club and decided to stop at IHOP and have a little snicky snack. Then, Sam's. By that point, we were getting close enough to game time that I figured I'd go out after to get extra groceries.

Game was lovely, and they were kind enough to push it back half an hour to accommodate all the shit that I needed to get done.

My sister had gotten a check, so we ate high on the hog for dinner too--sushi for all!

Once fully stuffed, we discussed the options for where to go to get some vegetables, creamer and some maple syrup and maybe bacon, and came up with Sam's club, so back we went. Apparently, 6pm in the evening is *the* time to go. We were in and out in under half an hour.

Then, we came home ad crashed. Went to bed early and slept until 7am when Boodle felt that I'd had enough sleep (I mildly disagreed).

Today, we shall have waffles and bacon and maybe eggs, we'll see how ambitious I'm feeling!

For now, I'm going to go look up some waffle mix ideas, and maybe put on pants? Everyone have an excellent day!

We have made it to Friday! Yay! As expected, the paycheck is now gone. I'm still hoping for that refund from the fireplace to come through today or tomorrow to give me some wiggle room. I put in the food order this morning, so that's done. I'll pick it up tomorrow after work. Won't be much extra, but it'll keep us fed for two weeks. I'll have to come up with some good recipes for drumsticks, since they're the cheapest cut. I also got some pork chops, and thighs, as well as flour and and peanut butter.

Yesterday the patients were a little weird. Not mean or angry, just abrupt. They would get their business done and just hang up. No pleasantries. It was very strange. It persisted through the whole day. It wasn't bad, just threw me off a bit.

Tomorrow, I'm working, so hopefully, it'll be a mostly quiet day. I will spend it taking calls, and attempting to fill in any egregious openings over the next few days. Then I have a game on Saturday, which should be fun. It's a Scooby Doo themed game. I'm playing Daphne, who is a sorceress in this.

Also tomorrow, I'll pick up our very small Sam's club order. Like I said, it's plenty of food, but lacks variety. I also still have some left over meat from the last couple of weeks, but again, mostly pork and chicken.

Sunday, we have no games at all, so I'm going to try to get some cleaning done. Also finally make the collard greens. I'm saving my last few slices of bacon to make them good. Also Sunday brunch. It's going to be waffles with a caramel syrup or custard, whichever I feel like making.

We've started making a habit of breakfast/brunch on Sundays and it's nice. I enjoy it.

Last night for dessert, I made egg custard tarts, which turned out very well. The dough stuck to the cupcake pan I used, but they were so good. I was really pleased with them. Dinner was a curried pork chop over rice, which had a nice flavor.

I burned my thumb a little bit in the making of it, but not bad, just a little sore.

Okay, time to go forth and get dressed. Everyone have an excellent Friday!!!

Once in a while, mornings seem to come super early, don't they? I woke up at 4:40 and took my Rybelsus, then laid back down on my side, and promptly fell hard asleep. When my alarm went off, it kind of startled me, because I was seriously slumbering. Oh well. It'll wake up the rest of the way soon.

Yesterday was another absolutely insane day at work. Didn't take quite as many calls, but that could be because I had a new patient, then I had to talk an 83 year old through attaching a picture of her order to an email. New patients always slow you down.

It always drives me crazy when people don't use interpreters correctly. Aside from the beginning of the call, you're supposed to speak like you're talking to the pt. No "will you tell them" or "please say." Just a conversation. That goes for any type of interpreter, including sign language. When I was training, that was a sticking point for my classmates.

Last night, I fried up some super thick pork chops and made baked french fries with old bay. I started the oil with a teaspoon of minced garlic and a few ripped up sage leaves. Holy shit, it turned out really well. Even my BIL, who was a professional cook said how good it was, which made me feel good. My sister and Jess always say nice things about what I make, but he is a little bit less effusive, so when I get a compliment, it's always really nice.

Today is probably going to be chicken, no clue what. I had a request for chicken thighs, so I'll go with that. I need to grocery shop, so we're down to the basics. Parmesan, mozzarella onions and a little bit of bacon.

This week, the BIL would like me to get some stuff from Sam's Club for him. We'll split some of it, since he only lives with his mother, and doesn't need 4lbs of sausage. I'm debating between going up and shopping vs just putting in an order. I may see if I could take a few hours on Friday and go shopping.

Today is payday, so we'll watch that disappear quickly!

Okay, time to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an excellent Wednesday!!