And then, there's a bearded fetus.

It's a lovely two game Sunday! Boodle is very chatty and playful this morning, running around and yelling as she goes. I went over to give her some love, and she allowed it, but what she really wanted is crunch treats. I of course gave her a few, which were summarily eaten. Now's she sitting there giving the sad meow of her people, trying to coerce me into giving her more treats. She seems to be saying "I know you have Churu treats, woman. Now kick some down." (Which reminded me, I need to get her more Churus.)

I am very much looking forward to having some games, one this morning and one this afternoon! The morning one is DMed by coyotegestalt, and I'm the DM for the evening game. We have a lot of games this week! We have a game every day from Wed-Sunday this week. It's going to be so much fun! The Wednesday game may be in a little jeopardy because Dad is scheduled to come home Wednesday evening. But we're gonna play it by ear and see how it goes.

I had a pretty good day yesterday, though it was busy. First, I set about building my new temp chair. I'm not sure I love it, but I think it'll do for a few weeks until the really nice chair arrives. The cat seems to really like it, though. It was a pain in the ass to put together, and I am definitely feeling the soreness today from it.

Then, we went to get hot pot. After some discussion, we decided to try a new place that had both hot pot and Korean BBQ. Holy crap, it was so good. I mean, the place we normally go to is nice, but this was just excellent. They had so much good stuff. I got a miso soup base that was so good. I need like a gallon of that next time I get a cold. Jess and my sister both got the spicy Szechuan broth. (They did not lie about the spicy.) We ordered a ton of meat, both for the hotpot and the grill. There was so much good stuff. I did not dislike anything I ate, honestly. There was a spicy garlic pork belly that pretty much won the day, though. It was a thick roll of pork belly that was marinated in garlic and soy and it crisped up and the fat rendered and it was amazing. I think next time we go, we will be ordering a couple plates of that to start. They also had really good gyoza and rice cakes. Oh! And their udon noodles were really good. Very hard to get out of the pot, but very tasty.

After that, we headed home for a bit, and then Jess and I went up to see Dad, who was in a bit of a Mood. Understandable, since he was expecting to be home, but still annoying. We didn't stay for long because it was roughly 7000 degrees in his room and I was having anxiety about being trapped. It's one of my big triggers, and for some reason, it decided to kick in hardcore. So, we left a little early and went to Target to get some new t-shirts. With me being work from home, we definitely needed more clothes. It was one thing when I was wearing a work "uniform" like I was at 911, but if I'm going to be home, I'm going to be comfortable, and we only have so many pairs of leggings and t-shirts to share. So, once the taxes came in, I put in an order at Old Navy for leggings, and we headed to Target to get some nice shirts. Fortunately, it wasn't too busy for a Saturday, and we were able to get six new shirts in various colors. The old Navy order was here by the time we got back, so we are set.

Tomorrow it's back to work, for one more day of shadowing before I start insurance training on Tuesday. So far it's going well, I'm starting to get the hang of how to use Epic, which is good. I'll have Epic classes starting the week after, so I'll hopefully be a little bit ahead of the game.

It's strange to be back to work, honestly. It's been about 5 months since I was working from home in any capacity, and I feel like I'm out of the habit. I'll get used to it, of course. It's just a little strange at the moment.



Big, stupid action movies. Jess and I were discussing movies last night, and a lot of what we were talking about was your big budget high octane action movies. The bigger and dumber the better. I loved Battleship, for instance. It was dumb as hell, but there's something about disengaging my brain and just letting the movie take me where it wants me to be that I adore.

As my brain has gotten harder to wrangle, the breadth of movies I'm able to sit through has diminished. Whereas I used to watch a variety of genres, now I'm mostly stuck on the big budget action movie. Next month, once I have insurance again, I'm looking forward to finally having the ADHD discussion with my doctor, and just maybe I'll be able to focus on things again.

Okay, gotta get my brain in gear for game this morning! Everyone have a wonderful Sunday!

I did not want to get up this morning. My alarm went off and I just turned the alarm off and snuggled under the covers for another 30 minutes. Finally, I dragged myself upright. To be honest, there's really no reason I have to get up that early. I just tend to do it so I have a few minutes of quiet to wake up in. As proven by yesterday, some days I really can't handle noise in the morning, but sometimes a buffer will help. I've gotten better at not reacting to my overstimulation as I've gotten older, but when I was a teenager, I would just go off and yell and cry about it. I think it was much more sensitive back then, though. Someone stirring their coffee too loud would set me off. Drugs are a wonderful thing.

I'm still incandescently angry about that. I spent from 13-17 showing all the hallmarks of depression, but not a single person did a goddamn thing about it. I flunked out of school, got my GED, couldn't handle college, and not a damn thing was done for me. No medication, no psychologist. Just "oh, it's just teenage hormones." I honestly don't know what the fuck anyone was thinking. I know it was the 80's, but a kid goes from honor roll to flunking in one semester, you would think it would throw up some red flags. I wonder sometimes what I'd have been if action had been taken. Would I have gone to college? Maybe I'd have become a doctor or nurse.

Of course, if that had happened, I might not have found Jess. And that's worth more to me than anything. So I guess it's okay.

My trainer's phone system was out yesterday, so we ended up being sent off to watch other employees for 8 hours. The morning wasn't bad, because my dude was taking phone calls, and that was interesting. Unfortunately, he was on scanning duty in the afternoon, and that was boring as fuck.

It actually worked out, because I needed to make some calls to set things up for dad's return home. Namely, how the fuck we were getting him home, and getting a sit/stand frame so we could get him out of the chair and into bed. Of course, that was 100% my job. To be fair, my sister did contact the social worker to see what time we could pick him up. But after that, it was all on me. Fortunately, even though we waited til last minute, both places were able to accommodate us, so we are ready as we're going to get.

I am dreading him coming home. It's been such a nice little break from constant care. And now, we're right back in it. Oh well. We'll see how it goes.

I ended up cancelling the game last night. There was just no way that I made it to dad and back in time for game unless I didn't eat at all, and I would have been thoroughly stressed the entire time. It was r/s for two weeks out, which isn't horrible. Today, my sister is going up to see him at lunchtime to watch his therapy, so I don't have to do anything when I get off work, aside from get ready for the game.



Yoda! I mentioned Boodle earlier in the month, but that's only half of the duo of small furry goblins that share our home. The other half is our 7 year old bichon mix, Yoda. He accounts for a good 15% of the stress in my life, worrying about his poopy butt and grooming and what not. But he also contributes considerably more love. He's a very affectionate puppers, shoving his head under your hand like a cat when he wants pets and climbing halfway into your lap to flop over like the fluffiest version of Michaelangelo's Pietà. I love him very much, even when he frustrates me, and my life would be infinitely sadder without him.

Okay, time to finish up here and do some actual game prep. Maybe get some more coffee first, though...

Everyone have a terrific Friday!

Hump Day! We are at the halfway mark of the week! I'm not really counting because of the job, more because of them sending dad home. I'm really not looking forward to that. My sister went over to watch him do his therapy, but he's gotten a little illness of some sort. Had a little fever yesterday morning, and just felt kind of blah. They did xrays and labs, so we'll see what's going on. Hopefully, it's just a little cold and passes quickly. I'm not quite sure what we're doing this week with him, because we have games tonight through Friday, which would make it very tough to get up to the rehab and back after work. I could go super early, but he'll still be asleep, so I don't know if that's really viable. I have no idea what I'm going to do. I don't really want to reschedule any of the games, because scheduling is always such a challenge anyway. He might have to go visitor free one night? I'll be up there on Saturday to pick up his clothes and stuff, so it's possible I just won't see him til then.

Work went well yesterday. It's kind of a weird training class. The other trainee has been there for a few weeks, mostly taking the insurance classes and the stuff I'll start next week. But she's been observing for longer than I have. What'll happen is that we'll both watch and get some information this week. Then, next week, she'll start controlling the trainer's screen, during calls, and I'll be going into insurance class. I have so many classes to do. A week and some change of insurances, then a week of training on their software, Epic. Once that's done, I get Patient Access training, and then I'm back to listening to calls, and eventually starting to control the screen, and finally taking calls.

I'm looking forward to learning more. Right now, it's just learning the rhythm, and seeing what the scheduling looks like, which is cool. I'm learning what the quality team is looking for, and how to use some or the ancillary tools. It all is a little confusing at the moment of course. I kind of feel like it might have been a good idea to do the Epic training first, then let me listen to calls?

I'm slowly starting to understand, though. And I'm taking notes and doing my best to pay attention.

ION, it sounds like since I left, IKEA has continued it's tailspin. The Deputy Manager at the call center who started the bullshit "everyone knows everyone's Job" and advised my team to apply for team lead? Yeah, he was fired. A handful of other managers have left, either by quitting or being fired. Two of the specialists were suspended without pay and declined to come back at the end of their suspension. It sounds like a complete and utter shitshow, and I'm so glad I got out when I did. Everyone I keep in touch with is miserable. No one wants to be there.



I unsurprisingly missed this yesterday, so today you get two!

Sushi Burritos! There's a place near us that has a Hawaian Dragon roll. It's cucumber, shrimp tempura, faux crab, pineapples and spicy mayo. Good lord, it's tasty! I could eat two easily.

My office. In the three years I worked from home for IKEA, I slowly built my office to be exactly how I wanted it. From a cheap desk in the corner to a very nice hardwood desk, with my Minnie Ears from Disney mounted above the monitors, and the painting I chose from Great Big Canvas. It's all the way I want it. I'd like to clear out some of the junk on the other side of the room, but I'll deal for now, and clear it a little at a time. The next big step is a new chair. The one I have was fine for IKEA, where I wasn't chained to the desk, and could get up every so often, but since I'm going to be taking calls, I'll be sitting, and it's not good for any long stretch. My back was so pissed last night, and is still a little cranky this morning. My tax refund is supposed to come through tomorrow, so I'll be ordering one then. Possibly, depending on what time they send dad home on Saturday, I'll go hunting.

Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday!

It's D-Day! My alarm went off bright and early at 5am, and I bounced out of bed to grab my coffee. I've got the morning all plotted out. I've got til 6:10 to do my thing, then I need to wash out my travel coffee mug, because I'm going to need that. Then, get dressed and be ready to go by 6:30. If I get it right, I'll be at the office half an hour early, and will hopefully get a good parking spot.

I swear, the moment after I hit disconnect on Discord last night, all the anxiety that I'd been ignoring jumped up and started bouncing around yelling "Pick me!" I managed to get to sleep through the marvels of modern chemistry, but it sort of sucked for the two hours before I got to sleep.

I got to pull a Rusty Quill special during our game last night. While surrounded by green hags, my red dragonborn decided to cast fireball, centered on himself. Since he's a dragonborn, he was going to take half damage, even if he failed the save (which he totally did). The hags on the other hand, took full damage. Even with my hit points dropping to twenty five, it was 100% worth it for the 31 points of damage I dropped on them. And since it worked pretty well, I'll 100% do it again.

In addition to that game, we played another in the morning, which was awesome. After that, we went to see Dad, and then we went to pick up groceries. Jess went in and saw Dad, while I waited in the car. I'll go see him tonight. I'm not quite sure how we're going to work things with me working this week, and games from Wed-Friday, but we'll figure it out.



Looks like I missed a few days of these, so, in no particular order, four things I like.

Sparkling water: I am a huge fan of any kind of unflavored fizzy water. It just makes me happy

Natural History Museums: Dinosaur bones and shark dioramas? Yes please!

T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon's books: I haven't read her horror novels, though I've been told that they're very good, but her non-horror books are fucking amazing. Nettle and Bone was one of my favoirte books I've read in the last couple years. She writes compelling, practical heroines, who don't end up carrying the idiot ball much if at all.

My Bed: We got a Hesstun mattress while I was still with IKEA, and I love it. It's soft and has just enough firmness that I can get out of bed in the morning, but I don't really want to.

Okay, time for me to get dressed. Everyone have a wonderful Monday!

Good morning from snow covered Maryland! It's not as bad as they originally said it might be, only about 2 inches instead of 6.

Yesterday, we did all the things. Except my hair cut. That got bumped til today as the stylists kid got sick at school, and she had to go pick the kid up. But in the morning, I got off my ass and drove down to the Hopkins campus I need to go to on Monday. It's not a bad ride, though I'm going to leave a little extra time for traffic. (Which of course means I'll be there a minimum of half an hour early. Then, we took the dog to the vet. I was a total wreck, but he was a little angel for them, of course. Not a peep out of him for the shots, the exam, the butt shave or the blood draw. They gave us some doggie ibuprofen, and that seems to be helping him. He was a little mopey and clingy, but not crying, which was a huge improvement over last time he had shots.

Today, I will have my hair cut at 12, and then I suppose as long as the road is good, it'll be up to see dad. Then, back in time for our 4pm MotW game at 4pm. Tomorrow, we have two games, one in the morning and one later in the afternoon. Both should be a lot of fun!

Then, it's time to get my unemployed ass back to work.

I have some stuff to do this weekend to get ready. I need to clean my car out a bit. It's gotten a little trashy. I need to unearth my coffee mug and my messenger bag, both of which are kind of hanging out in the back seat somewhere. I want to empty my messenger bag of all the 911 crap, and refill it with some new legal pads and pens.

They told me to bring my phone and charger to do the zoom orientation on, which I will, but I'm also thinking that I will take my laptop. If it's feasible, I'd rather watch the orientation on there, since I'm old and have bifocals. If I can't, that's fine, too. I just figure I'll take it just in case.

As I was saying to coyotegestalt, I'm not quite qure why I'm going to this location? It's not the call center's location, it's an actual radiology office. The only thing I could figure was that maybe it has a conference room or office that they can tuck us in? (That's assuming it's going to be more than just me.)

I'm a little nervous about Monday, but it hasn't really kicked in yet. I'm sure tomorrow night I'll be completely anxious. Which reminds me, I need to stop at the pharmacy and grab my anti-anxiety pills and a new inhaler.

Okay, time for more coffee! Everyone have a lovely Saturday!

I've been really struggling this week. My brain has not been good. Part of it was due to medications, because there was one that Jess and I both take, and I'd been giving it to them instead of taking it. Turns out, it was doing a lot of the heavy lifting in my brain chemistry, so I restarted it yesterday, and hopefully that'll help some.

It's just been really rough. I'm anxious and sad, and I don't know how to fix it. The dog has to go to the vet tomorrow for shots, and he's going to be all mopey and crying, and I am dreading it, because it's going to make me cry too.

The cat was off her food yesterday and hasn't eaten a ton this morning, and I'm freaking out. Because we have no money if she's sick to get her treated.

I hate this. I hate everything about it. I hate not having something to do, I hate being afraid, I hate that my brain chemistry is conspiring to make everything worse.

It's just not been good for me.

I need to get my anxiety meds filled today, because I need to settle the fuck down. I've gotta go see Dad today, so that's something to get me out of the house.

He'll be coming home in 9 days, and I'm anxious about that, too (of course). We'll have to find a new normal, while I'm still trying to find a new normal with the job, and I think it'll be a little tough.

Hopefully, the pills do their job and start fixing my brain chemistry soon. I'm starting to annoy myself.

I missed this yesterday, so today I shall do two!



1. My bed. It's soft, and fluffy and I love snuggling under the covers.

2. My spouse. We've been together for 24 years now, and I love them so much. It hasn't always been easy, but knowing that they're in my corner makes things so much better. I'm so lucky to have them in my life.

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

Welcome to a rainy morning in Maryland! Supposedly, it's going to change over to snow in the next couple of hours, but we shall see. Either way, I have to visit Dad, and pick up a king cake from the bakery, so hopefully it isn't too bad.

Yesterday was a quiet day. I did nothing exciting. I didn't even do my stated goal of working on Wednesday's game. I just surfed the internet, and did not a whole lot. In the afternoon, we did watch Aquaman 2, so I suppose I did something?

It was a bad movie. Not bad enough to not finish, but not good either. Actually, it wasn't even so much a movie as a collection of set pieces pulled from better movies, vaguely strung together into an almost coherent plot. Star Wars? Sure, lets mash the cantina scene with Jabba's Palace. Kong: Skull Island? Sure! And for our climax, lets just wholesale borrow the plot and set design from Lord of the Rings. It'll be great. Spoiler, it's not great. It's pretty bad, actually. It's filled with talented actors there to cash their checks. Of all of them, the best two parts were Randall Park and Patrick Wilson, both of whom seemed to recognize the movie they were in, and did their best with it.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get my hair trimmed, so I don't look like a total idiot when I start work in a week. The sides have gotten to the point that they're kind of sticking straight out, and I kind of hate it. And then we have game, which will be fun. It's a Valentines Day themed one shot. Seems like it'll be fun.

I'm currently trying to be good and not buy another module, no matter how cool it sounds. I need to at least finish one or more modules before I do that. I do think Strahd is winding down. They've got the sidequest they're on now, and then one other thing to do before the only thing left is facing Strahd himself. Storm Lord's Thunder is almost done, but there are a couple of follow up modules that we could do if anyone wants to. So, we'll see

Okay, I am definitely in need of more coffee now. Everyone have a terrific Tuesday, and a happy Mardi Gras!

I slept fully until 7am, no waking up at 5 and debating whether I wanted to get up. It was awesome. Today will be a busy day. We've got two games, one at 12:30, and one at 5:30, and so before then, I've gotta go see Dad. It's either that, or I'm going at 8:30 when we finish tonight and I'm definitely not in the mood to do that. So, early it is. I'm going to try to get myself together by 9:30 and get my ass moving.

Tomorrow, I'm going to attempt to get my ass in gear and finish prepping for the Valentine's Day game. I have. done absolutely nothing beyond reading the module, so I need to upload some maps, and make some character sheets for the NPCs. Then, on Wednesday, I have an appointment to get my hair cut, since next week, I have to go in office for my first day. Don't want to look like a total schlub. Oh, and on Tuesday, I have to go pick up our king cake for Mardi Gras.

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We went to the movies for a matinee to see Argylle. I know it's not gotten great reviews, but it was really delightful. It was silly and fun, and the characters were all appealing, and it had a fun twist. I can see where some people went in expecting Romancing the Stone, and only got that for like the first 40 minutes, before it switched to ( cut for a pretty big spoiler. )

After that, we went for a nice visit with Dad, who continues to be Mr. Sunshine. Not a single bitch while we were there. It was lovely. After that, it was home to change clothes for dinner.

I decided that with my Unemployment, I had enough to take the three of us out for dinner, since once Dad's home, we won't be able to do that. So, we went to the Local in White Marsh. Expensive, but oh-so good. One of their specials was poached pear sachettis with various cheeses and a parmesan sauce. It was SO good. I loved the bits of sweet with the slight sharpness of the blue cheese, and the creamy sauce. Honestly, if the meal had just been that, I'd have been happy. My sister had the cream of crab, which was excellent, and had a ton of crabmeat. Jess had the Chef's Chowder. It had blackened chicken and was a touch spicy, but so good. After much deliberating, Jess and I did the Beef Wellington, and my sister decided on a ceasar salad with steak.

They brought out my sister's salad, which looked amazing, and a moment later, a cart trundled out with a smoke filled glass dome on top. They swirled the dome around a bit, and then lifted it to reveal a double fist sized beef Wellington, which they split between Jess and I. Then, they deposited our sides, a delicious creamed corn that had just a touch of spiciness, and some parmesan potatoes.

Holy crap, it was SO good. The Wellington was so tender and tasty. The pastry was crisp, and the mushrooms cooked just right. It came with a demi glace that I wanted to lick off the plate. The parmesan potatoes were good, but the creamed corn was the best. Just a hint of spiciness to it. My sister decided that she was really in the mood for a salad, so she had the ceasar with steak tips, which were amazingly tender.

All in all, it was an amazing meal that may have ruined us for other restaurants.

Okay, time for me to go forth and get dressed so I can go see dad and get another cup of coffee. Everyone have a wonderful Sunday!

Started my day off right--by looking at my bank account and seeing that the unemployment check finally cleared. Now, it is 100% time to pay the bills, whoo.

Nothing exciting planned today. A visit to my psych doctor, but otherwise, just going to relax and take it easy (be bored). I have 10 days until my start date, and I really want it to hurry up, because. holy crap, I do not do well with nothing to do. I just pace the internet a lot, going from site to site hoping that there's something new. I am annoying the crap out of myself, so I feel for poor Jess who has to put up with me. I thought having a confirmed date would make it easier, but not so much.

Tomorrow, we're going to go out, which is good. it'll actually be a pretty busy day. Movies in the morning, go to see Dad, then a nice dinner. It's been nearly a month since we went anywhere but to see Dad, so it'll be good to get out of the house for something fun. Sunday, we have two games, which will also be fun. One we haven't been able to coordinate for a couple of months, so I'm going to have to remember what the hell we're actually doing.

Yesterday, aside from the boring parts, wasn't too bad. First, I had the appointment for a taste test with McCormick. I tested a handful of Doritos to see what flavor I liked best. It was simple, and worth $40 to them, so that's awesome. Then it was off to see Dad.

God, I like this version so much more. When I came in, the nurse asked me if I was the daughter who had talked to him about his behavior. I nervously admitted that yes, I was. She thanked me for doing it, and said that the last week, he's been an absolute sweetheart.

While I was there, I could see the difference too. Very minimal bitching. I think he mentioned that his butt hurt a bit twice, but otherwise was very easy going. I would love to know what I said that made a difference. I was not under the impression that I'd gotten through to him, so this whole switch came as a bit of a surprise.

I almost feel a little bad about it, because whatever the fuck I said apparently hit hard? And it makes me feel like I might have been a little harsh. I mean, I know whatever it was, he deserved, but I didn't mean for him to feel bad about himself.



Things that I like February: Cultural festivals. During the summer and fall, we try to hit as many festivals as we can. I love learning about other cultures via their food and crafts. (Especially their food.) We go to the Russian and Greek festivals almost every year, and I want to expand that this year. There's a Native American Pow Wow every year that I'd love to visit. I will be keeping an eye out online for things we can try. Now that I have weekends off, I can make plans to do things!

Okay, time for me to hop off and get myself some pants and more coffee. Everyone have a wonderful Friday! You've almost made it to the weekend!

Good morning on this lovely day! It's a cold, but clear morning, so that's a good thing. I again have nothing planned for the day, so I'm just going to take it easy and relax.

Bonking myself on the head seems to have pissed off my neck (in addition to my head), which is kind of annoying. I mean, it's not surprising, my neck tends to get pissy about almost anything, and between the initial impact and flinching back, I probably jerked it around pretty good. But it's still annoying.

I got my work email set up yesterday, so that's ready when I start. They must have activated my account when I first got the job, because holy shit, I had 260 emails. Most of them were trainings that I need to do. When I start, my first four weeks are all training, which is good. It gives us a few weeks to settle in with Dad home before I'm on the phone.

I'm dreading having him home. This has been such a nice break. I'm not looking forward to going back to the physical grind. Hopefully, it'll be slightly less, but I'm not holding my breath. I think it's still going to be exhausting.

He continues with project "Don't be a dick," which is nice. And he said that other residents have started to engage with him, coming over to cheer him during his rehab. Hopefully, he can keep that attitude for us.

A few dollars of my unemployment check cleared, so I paid some smaller bills, and splurged on a king cake for Tuesday. I fucking love king cakes, and I got an email last week that our local bakery was going to be selling a limited number. I was going to get two and take one to the rehab, but there was only one left when I tried to preorder, so no cake for them. I will try to take a cheesecake or something next week. They deserve a treat for putting up with him.

With the rest of unemployment check clearing on Friday, we have actual plans this weekend! I need to get new tennis shoes, since mine were a casualty of the stomach bug. I usually get Sketchers, and there's an outlet downtown. It's not far from the Original Pancake House. So, I plan to go get shoes and then go get a Dutch baby pancake.

We have no D&D scheduled until Sunday this week--I had planned to go get my covid booster on Sunday, but the stomach bug messed that up, and I just don't have the energy to do it this week. It always makes me throw up, and I have done enough of that for the moment, so it's probably going to wait a little while. I really want to get it, but the previous iterations of it kicked my ass so hard, and I've seen so many people who never had a reaction having a rough time with it, so I'm honestly a little anxious about it. Last time, I threw up three times and had a 102 fever. I'm a little scared to find out what this one does to me.

Okay, time for me to get more coffee, and maybe consider pants. I was a total sloth yesterday and never changed out of my night clothes. Everyone have a lovely Wednesday!