And then, there's a bearded fetus.

And that quickly, we're back to Monday. It's a busy week this week. I've got games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and Saturday and a work picnic on Thursday. I'm very excited about all the games.

First up, we have the end of my homebrewed mini campaign, loosely based on the movie Toys. I think this is going to be the last session, as they have a fight to finish, and then they're off to see the war mage, and presumably. smear him across the carpet.

Then, on Wednesday, it's a very Among Us murder mystery set in a D&D world. Each character has an archetype that informs their character. We rolled randomly, but I was very excited with the archetype I got, and poisontaster allowed me to pick a slightly OP subclass that I happen to adore. One of the players is the murderer and the idea is to find them, while they're putting out red herrings. (Is it me? I'll never tell.)

Thursday is the work picnic. On one hand, the phones will close at 2pm, but on the other, it's a picnic and it's going to be 90 degrees. I will definitely be digging out my straw hat, and getting a handheld fan, because goddamn. I have to show up, because otherwise it's an occurrence. Also, I offered to volunteer, so I'm on the check in desk for half an hour. After that's done, I can go home, but I'll probably stay for a little while.

Friday is Curse of Strahd, which is always fun. They're in the Amber Temple, which is full of temptation to take some awesome Dark Gifts. (Which generally have consequences.)

Saturxay is not one but two games! First up, we have Mad Mage, which was on hiatus while one of the players gave birth to a whole ass human being. I've missed it a lot, so I'm glad we're able to get back into it.

Second on Saturday is one called "Festival of the Lost," which seems like a sweet little module about grief. I'm hoping I can do it justice.

It's also pay week, so yay for that! I have a bunch of shit still to get for the surgery. The button down dress I got turned out to be a very nice dress with completely decorative buttons sewn on, so back to the drawing board. At some point, I want to stop by IKEA and get one of their little pillows to bolster my shoulder.

Okay, on that note, it's time to get myself together to start the day. Everyone have an excellent Monday!

It's a quiet morning where I am the first person up. I am sipping my coffee, secure in the knowledge that Dad's going to want to get up any second--literally as I was typing, he yelled. He is now all put together for the day. I know I'm in bitch eating crackers mode with him, where everything he does annoys me. Today, it was asking me for things while I was doing something else. Like while I'm taking the cpap off and taking the oxygen hose and putting the cannula on, he's going "get me a warm cloth for my eyes." And normally, it just irritates me, but today It makes me want to strangle him with the oxygen tubing. I need a vacation.

Aside from that, things are good. My back is less sore today, my shoulder is mostly behaving. This morning, Jess has their acupuncture, and then we are going to go pick up groceries, bring them home and drop them off, then we're off to get cupcakes for Father's Day.

Because I'm annoyed with him, I'm getting cupcakes from the place I like. It won't matter to him, he just wants sugar, but a snickerdoodle cupcake will brighten my day.

Later, we will have game, then I suppose at some point I'll have to get shit together for dinner. We're just having hamburgers, I think, but we'll see.

Okay, gotta take Jess to accupuncture, so it's going to be a short one. Everyone have an excellent Saturday!

We're creeping ever closer to the weekend! Two more days to go! I have a boatload of games this weekend, which is always nice.

My sister is very talky this morning. It's wall to wall about the Orange Asshole's trial and sentencing and everything he's done wrong. I do not need to hear about him ever, but especially not before 7am. Jesus, give me an hour to wake up. (This is why I used to get up at 5am. That way I had a quiet hour to myself.)

Had a lovely game last night. weyrlady did an excellent job as DM, guiding us about halfway through the NASA themed D&D game. It was super fun, and I'm enjoying playing. This weekend is all GM all the time, which I love, but once in a while it's fun to kick back and make chaos on a smaller level.

Yesterday was mostly quiet. Even work wasn't busy-I only managed 42 calls. That also may be because the calls that I did get were mostly detailed calls. People with two or three different scans, or STAT orders that I had to do some wiggling on. I got everyone situated eventually.

While I was working, I got a few texts from former coworkers. Sounds like shit has gone massively downhill at IKEA. Their last employee survey was a shit show. I put a post up on Facebook about my employment about a week ago and mentioned the referral bonus, and that if anyone wanted to use me, I'd split the bonus, and no less than 5 of my IKEA coworkers asked for the info, and one asked if she could forward it to a couple of others. I said sure, because, fuck, if they get hired and stay for 6 months, I get a thousand dollar bonus. Even split between us, that's an extra $500. I will not turn it down. One of my coworkers has an interview tomorrow, so hopefully that'll go well.

I have no idea what we're having for dinner tonight. I'm debating between making reuben sandwiches vs chicken tenders. Both sound pretty good, so we'll see.

Okay, time to put on my big girl pants and get myself together for the day. Everyone have a lovely Thursday!

Whoo! We survived Monday! Go us! It was a busy Monday at work. I had a lot of difficult studies to schedule (Nuclear Medicine and Flourouscopy, I'm looking at you.) and the phone was pretty much steady, with no break between calls until 5pm. Today will probably be pretty busy too, but we'll see.

My stuff for the surgery is slowly arriving. The wedge pillow came on Saturday, and the sling/pillow comes today. Next pay, I have to buy more stuff, including a button down dress for easy dressing after surgery and specialized ice packs for my shoulder as well as some implements for personal hygiene. It's annoying that above and beyond the expense of the actual surgery, I'm having to put so much money out ahead of time. At least the actual sling was covered under durable medical supplies.

I'm a little nervous about how much this is all going to cost. I need to do it, so I'll have to make it work, but I have no doubt that a shoulder scope rotator cuff repair, possible PRP injection and AC joint resection are not cheap. I've seen anywhere from $8k on up to $30k.

Overall, I'm starting to get nervous about the surgery. I've only had anesthesia 4 times in my life, and I did fine with it, but the last one was when I was 30. The last surgery I had was when I was 18 for a tonsillectomy. This is totally outside of my zone.

I'm worried about post surgical pain. I think I have a high pain tolerance, but what if I'm wrong, and I'm a whiny baby about it?

I know I need to do it, but I'm also fretting about the effect it's going to have on my family. I won't be able to get dad up at all, which means his whole day is going to shift. They're going to have to get him up in the evenings when we don't have games. I won't be able to do anything with him at all for a few months. That's a lot on Jess and my sister. Mostly Jess, if we're being honest.

In a couple of weeks, I'll go for my preop, and get that out of the way. I'm probably going to go to Urgent Care for it, since my appt with my new primary care isn't til the day before my surgery.

Currently, I'm plotting what cupcakes I'm going to pick up for Father's day. We're going to the cupcakery that's my favorite, since dad doesn't care beyond it being sugar. I'm debating what I want to get. On one hand, snickerdoodle cupcake. On the other Strawberry Fields cupcake. Decisions.

Okay, time to consider getting myself together. I have two meetings this morning, so I have to put on actual clothes. It doesn't have to be nice clothes, but it does have to be something I'm not ashamed to say I work in. I guess I'll have to wear a bra, too. Ugh.

Anyhow, everyone have a lovely Tuesday!

It's Sunday again! This'll be a short one, since I want to get to the pharmacy and get my and Jess' pills. Lets start the day with my favorite Pride surprise:



I really love this Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa is adorable, and they're giving him all the really fun stories. And now, a gay love interest. I really hope they have many many plans to bring back Jonathan Groff this season.

Yesterday was a fun day. Had lunch at Cracker Barrel, and then headed home for a fun game, in which I pulled 90% of it out of my ass. As written, the module was a detective story. But, as per usual, my crew of chaos muppets went in an entirely different direction, so I pulled up Fantasy Name Generator and went to work. Instead of people from the undercity attacking the sacred magical institution, it became the evil Chancellor of the magical institution being a bigot and a general asshole who was plotting to murder a vulnerable population of people who deserved care. It ended up being a lot of fun, and I think a good time was had by all.

Today, aside from the pharmacy, not much going on. I have to go to the pharmacy and take my sister to do laundry/pick up my sister and the laundry. Dad's a bit fussy, so we'll see how that goes.

And on that note, I shall head to the pharmacy. Everyone have a most excellent Sunday!

It's Friday! One more day of work to do, and then the weekend will be here!

Yesterday felt extra long. The phones weren't horribly busy, but I still ended up taking up 47 calls. The meeting was boring, and we mostly went over things that had been emailed here and there, I guess they just wanted them in one place. Did find out that in 2 weeks, we'll be having a Patient Access Center picnic. They're closing the phones down at 2pm and it goes til 6. If we show up, we get paid for those 4 hours, otherwise we can use PTO or work on administrative tasks for four hours. I'm probably going to go, since it's pretty close to my house.

I also got an email with my May statistics. They were all in the green by a good amount, and the head of the department said that they were "super impressive." I will admit, I preened a bit, and felt superior. It was a nice switch from 911, where I felt like I couldn't do a damned thing right. I get a free hour lunch one day since I hit all my stat goals (by a lot).

Today should be a busy day until about 4:30, then dead. I'll probably still take 50+ calls. Then, after work, I'll have about an hour, and then it'll be game time! But first, I must go to the pain management doctor, so I can have my tramadol for another month.

And with that in mind, I've gotta go get clothes on. Sorry for a short one today! Everyone have an awesome Friday!

A little ear worm for your Wednesday. It'll never replace the original version, but I'm really fond of this one by Adam Lambert.

Almost halfway through the week! I ended taking 64 calls last night, and I was so tired. I fell asleep listening to the Adventure Zone, during a fight no less. Jess will have to tell me what I missed, because everything after roll initiative, I do not remember. I was wiped. I mean, I also helped give Dad a bath and helped with taking the trash down, so it might have not been just work that tired me out. But I crashed nonetheless. I didn't wake up until about 5:30am. It was a nice sleep.

If poisontaster feels up to it, tonight will be Brindlewood Bay, which will be fun. (If not, early sleep will also be fun.) Tomorrow is our staff meeting, which will be interesting. I've not had one yet, so I'm looking forward to getting more information. So far, I've really enjoyed working at Hopkins. The managers are nice, and not micromanaging, and the patients have mostly been kind.

Friday is the day of appointments. I've got a follow up with my pain management doctor, and Jess has their first appointment with my shrink. Theirs didn't show up for their last two virtual appointments, so they're trying mine.

Then, Saturday! I think we've decided on Smokey Bones for lunch.

And on that note, it's time for me to get my ass together. Everyone have an amazing Wednesday!

It's Monday! I'm very sore today, to the point that The first thing I did when I came up the stairs, was pop ibuprofen and Tramadol. Now I'm sipping my coffee and thinking about going back to bed for half an hour while they kick in. Probably won't, but it's a nice thought. I just don't feel like doing anything right now. My sister has the TV on, and it's annoying. My sister keeps telling me shit from her twitter feed, and I want to scream and throw my ears across the room so I don't have to listen.

But alas, I cannot do that, so I'll just try to relax, and maybe when she leaves for the day, I'll lie down for 30 minutes in her room. I need to perk the fuck up by 9:30 when I need to start work.

Sunday was fairly busy. I went in the morning and picked up prescriptions from 2 pharmacies. First, Safeway for dad's, then our little pharmacy for me. Then home to get dad up. He stayed up about 2 hours and then went back to bed. Then, I took my sister to the laundromat, went to get some groceries and sat until it was time to her up. Then, I relaxed a bit until gametime.

I tried a module from a new creator last night, Kelfecil's Tales. It was pretty good. A lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the way the plot worked. Simple but well structured. I took out a fight in the middle of the game to shorten it, but I think it was pretty good anyway.

Jess made a suggestion last week, and at the time, I discounted it, but now I'm thinking about it. They suggested that since we both can't go to CONfab this year, I should go solo. We could definitely swing it financially, but do I want to be away from home for 4 days. I would probably go in on Thursday and come home on Sunday night. I'd miss the tail end of the con, but I'd have a day to help out before it, so that's possible. Right now, I'm just thinking about it. I feel guilty leaving Jess and my sister to contend with Dad for 4 days, but I may give it a try. I really want to go to the con. We missed last year. Next year is virtual, so I will definitely be doing that. It's something to think about at least.

Okay, time for me to get myself together and decide whether I'm napping or not. I feel slightly better as the pills are kicking in, but my head still hurts. Eh, we'll see. Everyone have a wonderful Monday!

We've made it to the weekend, and I slept in til 8. The cat came to visit, but decided that she wanted a more sleepy time and laid on my stomach and snored quietly. Eventually, my shoulder decreed that I should get up and take some Advil. I felt like history's greatest monster for moving the cat to do so. Also, it's kind of awkward getting up. We have a weighted blankie (best invention ever) and I sleep on the right side of the bed, so to uncover, I used to use my left arm. Now I can't do that, because the arm hurts too much and is too weak from the tear, so I have to kind of shove them with my right arm and wiggle free. Not sure how that's going to go after surgery. Jess may have to wake up to uncover me so I can get up.

There is a large crow on my car. He's just wandering around on the roof of the car. We named it Raven, so maybe he feels a kinship.

The last few days, I've been hurting, but I've had some good brain days, so of course, I scheduled a pile of games. This weekend is full now. I had Strahd last night, one tonight that supposes "what if Sauron had won?" It's a whole thing about a world where the baddies won, and you're the little spark of rebellion. Tomorrow, we have one about strange happenings at a church in the woods. They both look like fun. I also scheduled one for next Friday, and scheduling is currently happening on another game.

Today, we're probably going to go out to lunch--there's a place not too far called R House. It's a grown up version of a food court, with some interesting looking places. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I'm torn between the Creole and the Empanadas. They all look amazing.

Tomorrow, we have nothing to do until game, so we can just futz around until game.

And on that note, I looked at the calendar, and now I need to go schedule more games. Everyone have an excellent Saturday!

I can not even this morning. I slept really well until about 4:30 when the cat decided it was an awesome time to come bug me. I nudged her off the bed and tried to get back to sleep, and 20 min later, she was back. We played this game til about 5:30, when I finally rolled on my side. Dumb idea. At 5:45, she was back and stepped directly on the rotator cuff tear, to the point that I nearly levitated, ad Jess had to move her off me, because I couldn't move, it hurt so bad. It made waking up a grumpy thing, for sure.

It was only 15 min before I normally get up, but still. It definitely woke me up. I am still sitting here feeling the echoes of that pain. I thought I was being all smart, but no, I was not. I definitely won't do that again.

Had a fun night last night with our Blades in the Dark game. It was the tail end of another game that's now lasted 3 sessions. I wasn't sure how long it would take, so I had a backup game ready, but I didn't need it. I'll have that one for next session. My Blades notes are generally about the same length as my MotW notes--short and not particularly detailed. I usually leave it for my players to come up with what they want to do. I feel like it makes for more spontaneity in the game. Plus, if I only have one or two scenes, or even in some cases, just a central conceit, it puts the games less on rails. The players can go afield as far as they want. It runs the risk of going completely off topic, but that's okay. I can always throw an NPC in to point them back towards the right direction.

Today, Dad's doctor is stopping by. We're going to ask him about his various diaper rashes, and see if he has any suggestions. His thighs are improving, but he has one in a fold of his skin along his side that's particularly red and irritated, so we need to at least have him look at that one.

Tomorrow, I have a telehealth with my psych doctor in the morning, and game in the evening. Curse of Strahd, and time to continue to work their way through the Amber Temple. Time to see how many players make unfortunate deals with dark entities!

I seem to be on a bit of a scheduling spree, getting three seperate one shots, plus a couple of campaigns. Even with my back and shoulder, I'm feeling pretty good at the moment, so I figured I should get some ducks in a row. Of course, I'm trying to keep the schedule around my surgery light, so of course, I have games Friday and Saturday. (Surgery is on a Wednesday.) Hopefully, I'll be up to it. Friday is Frostmaiden, and that's a relatively easy game to DM. On the other hand, Saturday is the newest campain, Odyssey of the Dragonlords. That could be a little more challenging.

Okay, time to sign off and get myself together. Everyone have an amazing Thursday!