Five on Friday #239

EINS - Random Shit

I ordered a 24 pack of Carnation Instant Breakfast shakes in cookies and cream and wild berry flavors.  I knew that the cookies and cream was delicious, so I wasn't worried about that.. but I hadn't ever tried the wild berry version... and I have now.. and I have regrets about buying 24 of them...

They are way too sweet... and that's coming from me, so that's HUGE.

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I'm a HUGE fan of some foods as leftovers because when they settle they are even better... This week's awesome leftovers were:
-baked (like actually baked in the oven wrapped in tinfoil after being coated in bacon grease and salt) potatoes topped with bbq (thanks to Teh PT Husband).
-beef stroganoff

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I purposely didn't bathe the dogs this week because I won't be here for several days to enjoy clean dogs.  I am not sorry. /shrug 

But for real, my hands stink SO BAD after petting Sandy, especially around her ears/face because of when she licks whatever she's laying on, then lays on it.   She really needs a bath the most.  And the other dogs are starting to be smelly because they also lay on her licked spots.. UGH.  So next week's goal: bathe all dogs and dog beds and bed covers, UGGGHHHH.. it's the worst.  Just trust me.

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On Wednesday, I finally tossed my hand-dandy notebook I've been using since 100% teleworking became a thing.  From work to-do's, to interview notes, to personal to-do lists, it was all there.  It was a notebook I hated (for several reasons) that I got while I was in GTMO, so I was trying to use it up.  There were 3 blank pages left and I finally decided that was enough.

And then a few hours later, I had to go fetch it out of the trashcan to reference an interview I'd done.
Because, of course.

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I had to go fetch the notebook because I was offered a job with DISA and I couldn't remember the specifics of the job.  The job would have paid a LOT more than the DOJ job, but it wouldn't have been technical (like I want).  It was located in Ft Meade, so still would have required moving.  It would have combined my intel experience + computer science things, but not in the ways I really wanted.  The interviewers had seemed liked they wouldn't be so bad to work for, but I just wasn't sold...

And so, I turned it down on Thursday morning, after discussing it with Teh German and sleeping on it.

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Workouts:

Monday:

This was a satisfactory burn.
+dog walks.

Wednesday: (holy fuck)

Look, if you're a normal person that doesn't shit talk the leaders of video workouts, good on you.. I am not that person.  Once I get tired, the shit talking starts and I'm pretty confident that pissed off Teh German.. but well, I'm fucking miserable and I'm not hurting anyone with my shit talking, soooo I shall continue to do so.

We were both dripping after this workout.  It was BRUTAL.  Also, my shoulders were sore before the end of the day and the chiro couldn't get my neck/back to pop like normal because of the abuse.
+dog walks.

Friday: (why is it so fucking hot at 0530?  To the point that it is difficult to breathe.)

+dog walks.

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For no reason other than to challenge my own domestic skills, I sometimes repair dog toys.  This involves a needle and "thread" (I use dental floss instead of actual thread since dental floss is stronger than thread and is technically "safe" to eat).

This session, I "fixed" the rocket pop and amputated a bunny leg.

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My laptop has been sitting at the Geek Squad Service Center since the 20th and ZERO diagnoses have been made.  I'm trying to be cool about it, but I am not cool.  I need to know if I'm replacing it or it's getting repaired, how fucking hard is this?  This wouldn't even be an issue if the box had been sent to me in May when I originally requested one.

I've been satisfied enough with the Best Buy warranty up to this point, despite the pain of last summer and having to send the laptop back 3 times for all repairs to be correctly completed... but this is horrible and I don't understand blaming this situation on COVID.

I dropped it off on the Aug 8th.  It arrived on Aug 20th.

IT'S AT YOUR FACILITY.
FUCKING LOOK AT IT so I can move on with my life.

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I'm gonna be honest, I was rather disappointed that my PM (aka boss) didn't come to my going away gathering.  Not sure if he's social distancing or what, but either way, I was disappointed.  I did appreciate the few people that did make the effort to come out though.

And I got my motherfuckin' fried Oreos!  I ordered them as soon as I got there and ate them before everyone had even arrived because #NoFucksGiven.

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My WoW subscription is on a monthly renewal plan and it was set to renew tonight at 8:48pm.  I just cancelled it as I've been playing less and less since I don't have a laptop to play on AND I'm about to go out of town without a laptop and won't be playing anyways.  Also, I have no idea what the new job holds, so I figured I'd cut the string.  It was good summer/end of school entertainment while it lasted, but I was already getting bored, so it's better to cut the string now than sinking even more time into it.

ZWEI - Money Shit

-Groceries
-Awkward Yeti sticker pack... I told myself no, but I've done this multiple times and I figured I'd finally just bite the damn bullet... after I found a coupon code that actually worked.
-Desk decoration to self-celebrate new job.
-Toothbrush heads
-Razor heads
-Stuff for the cleaner (magic erasers, swiffer dusters)

There were actual fraudulent charges on my credit card that I noticed when I was making this list... so I had to call Chase and report it.  So annoyed.  I hate people who do this shit.  It grieves me in my soul that people just STEAL.

DREI - From My Phone Shit

I should really just rename this section: pictures of my dogs.  /shrug

Monkey-Doodle naps warm my wine chilling heart.

Check out Pax's thicc ass thunder thighs.

Pax sleeping, a series:

When you go to get leftovers and there's only 2 bites in the bowl.... /rage.

Company Disney Trivia + accessories.
PS.  For wearing multiple sets of ears, the ideal number to wear at once is 3. 
4 creates slippage chaos.
Trust a professional on this matter.
It's me.  I'm the professional.

Friday office situation.

Lawdy this Doodlebug melts my heart when she does this...
and so many other things.

VIER - From the Internet Shit

Hurricane Laura is so destructive and bad for America, Donald is trying to get it to speak at the #RNC tonight. #HurricaneLaura2020

— NastyWomanLizStewart (@LizStewartComic) August 27, 2020

Teh Bestie highly recommends this video: Celebrating 100 Years of Women Equality.  It's an hour and a half long, and I will be listening to it on my drive up to MD tomorrow, but I trust her, so I'm putting it here for you.




YOU GUYYYSSSS...
The other day on Amazon, I was clicking around and there was a strange merman ornament listed as a suggested item I might be interested in.  Do I know why?  Absolutely not.  Did I click on it?  Yes, because I was confused why a merman was wearing a belt.  So I'm checking out this ornament and in the "people also purchased" section was MORE mermen, aptly named "Pet The Puss" and "Flaming Oh!".

I could not help myself.  I just kept clicking.  I clicked on the company name: December Diamonds and was taken to SEVEN(ish) PAGES of mermen, fairies, mermaids, and other etc ornaments/figurines + some ads thrown in.  I think what really got me was the names of the figurines/ornaments.

Some of my favorites, in no particular order:

I'm going to assume "Cock Daddy" was not allowed.

You are welcome, Gentle Readers, you are fucking welcome.

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 more days.
2. Another job offer... even if I ultimately turned it down.
3. Lint balls from jean strings.
4. Motherfuckin' sexy mermen hilarity.
5. Going away gathering.
6. FRIED OREOS.
7. Teh German accepting a MD job offer this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8. My phone being filled with cute dogs photos.  #NotSorry
9. Counting down to #Megney time!!!!!  (that would be Teh Megan + Teh Bestie).
10. People being excited for us.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.

Weekend Review {8/24}

FRIDAY

It was a miserable workout since it was just about to start raining when we started.. Then it started raining as we were doing our 400m laps.  See also: reasons I can't fucking breathe: 100% humidity.  Oh and the rain did NOT bring the temp down.  It just got wet and more miserable.  I did hard mode for my workout and, since it was raining, the dogs didn't get walks, but they were appeased with bully sticks instead.  /praisehands.

After a shower, it was time for productive things.. which mostly meant me sitting at the computer doing random work things.  I did my last tech writer task, which was bittersweet. 

After work, it was couch time.

He was eating his foot/scratching his face.
Mostly I was worried I was going to get stabbed in the eye with a paw.

This cutey-patooty. <3 

We had a Friday evening argument, leftovers for dinner, and watched Community until bedtime.

SATURDAY

Teh German got up with the beasts on Saturday morning, while I stayed in the bed and scrolled and drifted in/out of sleep.  I did eventually get up and put on clothes and went out to pick up the grocery order and the few items that weren't from Sam's, Octoberfest beer for Teh German, Halloween Oreos for myself. #YOLO

When I got home, we discussed the afternoon plans.  We had dinner reservations at Myles and Jun Yakitori with Twin Mom and Dad and another coworker and his wife at 6 and we were originally supposed to go to a gathering at one of Teh German's coworkers, but that ended up being cancelled because of the weather, which actually worked out...

Because around 1230ish, Teh German got a call asking if he could bring our trailer to fetch a crashed motorcycle.  It was a very bad situation, the rider was taken away in an ambulance and had several surgeries within 12 hours of being at the hospital.  And here's how/why this applies to me.  This person was riding with a group that I've ridden with before.  A group that I wasn't overly comfortable with because of how fast they'd go or stupid stunts they'd do.  This accident validated the way I feel about riding with certain groups and how vehemently opposed I am, the majority of the time.

That said, I'm also ~10 years older than the person that went down and I'm not shy about when I'm uncomfortable.  I've straight up said, "If this shit keeps happening, I will go home."  This person's inexperience, coupled with the pressure to ride at a higher level than their actual skill level, plus a bike that was too powerful/large for them made it a recipe for disaster and... to be completely honest, I was part of a large group of people that expected something like this to eventually happen, and that feels horrible and is completely unfair to the individual that went down, but is true, since they refused any guidance about the situation.

While Teh German was being a tow truck, I played WoW.

By the time Teh German came home, I was showered and ready for dinner so that way he could get ready and then we'd both be ready when it was eventually time to leave.

Dinner was fucking fabulous.  I tried to drink an entire pitcher of the sangria but couldn't because I was sooooo full.  I had warned Teh German that dinner was my job celebration since he had refused to celebrate any other time that it was appropriate, so I ordered the whole pitcher of sangria (should have gotten half, didn't think), beef tongue yakitori, and the wagyu beef entree.. and had ZERO RAGRATS.  Twin Dad ordered half the yakitori menu and he shared some of the stuff with the table so I also tried beef heart and some type of mushroom.

After dinner, we went over to Twin Mom/Dad house and hung out for a few hours before finally heading home to feed the beasts the rest of their dinner, sit outside for some scrolling time, then it was finally bedtime.

SUNDAY

Sunday was my day to get up with the beasts, so I did that, then went back to bed for scrolling and naps.  I, eventually, got up and went downstairs to talk to Teh Bestie about dinner plans while I'm there next week.  Teh German came downstairs and decided to make breakfast instead of having cereal.  I got off the phone and helped him by dicing the potatoes for the potato skillet he wanted to make.

Teh German is the one who has to cook fried potatoes because I can never get them to properly fry.  He just does it so much better.  So he did sage sausage, fried potatoes, and eggs in the skilled, topped with cheese, and he also made bacon, just because.

After breakfast was 2nd coffee time, then Teh German decided to go out to the garage to do garage things.  I gamed.  Meri was confused at extra voices in the garage when Teh PT Kid came by to chat with Teh German.

In the evening, we had totchos (tater tots + taco chicken dip) for dinner.  After cleanup and doggy dinner, we watched Community until bedtime.

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Despite a Friday evening tiff, the weekend actually went well.  Sometimes, I feel super lazy not being crazy busy on the weekend, so I guess that's still the residual Stockholm Syndrome from being in school for 3 years.

Teh German has the rest of an interview (it's weird, don't ask) this afternoon for an MD job.  So fingers crossed on that situation.  This week I'm wrapping things up and trying not to be an asshole to the Cyclone who keeps insisting they are going to "work on the pain points" of all the shit I've been doing for the last 2 years, as if I didn't try to make the processes better and why not attempt these things sooner than now since everyone knew I was struggling?  Fuck you.  Ugh.

I keep telling myself that current Company problems are NOT my problems anymore, but apparently I'm always in disaster mitigation mode.  Even Teh German told me the same thing.. I just need my brain to comprehend it.  One day, maybe.

Until then.. 3ish more days... as I'm not planning on doing much on Friday.. because.. well.. just no thanks.

Five on Friday #234

EINS - Random Shit

Me: Alexa, play Top Country on Amazon Music everywhere.
Alexa: Playing Top Country on the everywhere group from Amazon music.
Spot starts playing Lady Gaga - Stupid Love.
Me: Alexa fucking cancel.  What the fucking fuck?

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Gentle Readers, I am not a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan.  I'll admit it.  BUUUTTTT.. Josh Gad has been doing these Reunited Apart videos and he brought most of the LOTR main cast together via Zoom and it was a fabulous way to spend an hour of my life.  And at the end Pippin sang us out and I actually teared up.  They were all so excited to hang out together (abet in a virtual setting) and it was just so great to see that.

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Now, the reason I found the LOTR Reunited Apart video was because I was letting the "Stream to Donate" video play while I was working and I forgot to check it.  I'm not sure if it actually works, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

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I have decided that the meaner I am when I review your personal documents (resume/cover letter/paper/etc), the more I love you.  I show my love in strange ways, Gentle Readers....

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I'm not sure I'm going to keep playing WoW because it is such a time commitment.  I know, that's kinda the point, but I'm mostly playing alone and that isn't nearly as fun as playing with other people and finding groups to do difficult quests is annoying 90% of the time.  There are some other tasks that I would like to take care of, so maybe I just need to be very specific with my time and play WoW last.  It's just hard because playing is enjoyable for the most part.  It feels comforting, as weird as that is/seems.

This fucking shit happened and I almost lost my mind.
Player1: Fort buff!
Player2: NOW.
(I buffed both being nice before I saw these comments in the chat)
Player2: GOOD GIRL.
Me to Player2: How about you go fuck yourself with your demeaning bullshit.
Player2: I love you more.

I had to tell myself that a few assholes aren't all assholes and move along.  It was EXTREMELY difficult because a button was HULKSMASHED and I knew that was a fight I wouldn't win because it's the internet.

But later I ended up running an instance with a decent group of goofs and we managed to 2/3/4 man a 5 man instance at different points, soooo ya know, adventures.

TL;DR: I'm a nerd.

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My brain loves sequences of numbers.  So the fact that this post #234 makes me smile.  When the clock says 12:34, lurve (btw this only happens once a day in this house since we run on military/German time).

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I guess people at work thought I haven't been doing work and I finally had to break down the process of doing technical writing/editing to the scrum master so the people complaining about a project's documentation not being complete would STFU.

I had to explain that:

• I translate technical into human with absolutely ZERO reference to what is being discussed.  This means making assumptions and doing research and having to sometimes ask the technician who wrote the garbildy-gook wtf they are talking about and they have no idea because they wrote it potentially more than 6 months ago.  Oh yeah, and sometimes, what they wrote doesn't even apply anymore because of the things that have changed in that 6 months.
• I am correcting their lack of proper English skills. Capitalizing proper nouns, putting in periods.  All shit that these people with college degrees should know how to do and if they'd actually DO IT, it would save me a LOT of time.
• Adding in the markup formatting for the Asciidoc format we are using, in addition to learning Asciidoc, is also time consuming.. Because... the techs definitely don't know this markup language, but they know potentially another, different markup language and they used THOSE rules for THIS markup and it doesn't work... AND it's inconsistent since the documents were written by several different techs all using whatever markup they "thought was best", which makes all the documentation look like garbage.
• Our review was at the end of April and technically I'm not finished with those corrections because... the techs ADDED MORE DOCUMENTATION AFTER THE REVIEW.  Cooooooooool.  (and because of some fuck-off-ary due to the fact that I'd rather clean all the toilets in my house every day than have to deal with one of the tech's writing.)

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I'm trying to get on the self-education train and read these books about race that I've had for over a year.  Reading them isn't the difficult part.  It's the carving out time to sit down with a book that is the problem.

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So I've decided that I'm not allowed to play WoW until my to-do pile in the office is handled. 
That includes:

• Getting rid of my GTMO conch shells that I do not intend to keep (or at least determining new homes for them).
• Determining photos for frames that have been empty since.... we moved into the house.
• Editing necessary photos for frames.
• Ordering said photos for frames.
• Ordering a shadowbox for my Navy I *heart* me box.  This is made more complicated and expensive that it needs to be because the flags flown for me in GTMO were 4x6 instead of the standard 3x5. Fuckers.
• Determining what to do with the 25+ Princess House lead crystal figurines that I discovered under the conch shells.
• Getting rid of my old glasses (what does one do with old prescription eye glasses?) and empty cases.
• Tossing or donating this Manic Panic bleach kit.
• Getting rid of my non-kept Citadel school papers/work.

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Know what I hate?  Waiting.  For all my years in the military, everything was always "hurry up and wait" and I don't do well in that circumstance.  Granted, I learned how to endure it, but I'm in another of those seasons and it's difficult for me.  I graduated and I want to use my degree NAOWWW, or more like yesterday, but I have to be patient for things to fall into place/to get my Sec+ cert/get some technical experience.

In my rage of job applying, I updated my LinkedIn so recruiters have been finding my profile and emailing me.  My BIGGEST fear is leaving the safety and security of current Company only to find myself in a similar situation wherever I go. 

That said, I also applied for federal positions, so if I actually make it to the interview/hiring stages of any of those positions, I'd have to debate whether to leave the probable higher pay of the contracting world for potentially less pay but more security for a government position.

I acknowledge the privilege I have of even having options like this, but I did also work my ass off to get here, so I'm grateful and proud of where I am.

ZWEI - Money Shit

-Sunglasses.. because I have fucking problem.
-Heartworm prevention for the beasts.  I give up on this liquid/topical application shit.  I'll donate it and it will be gone.  I'm horrible about NOT giving it to them because it was topical and well, that's no bueno.
-Groceries (ok, it was only almond milk and juice, but they might kill us because I forgot them in the car for 6 hours, but they were in my insulated bag sooo meeeyyybbeee not?  IDK, if we die we die.)
-Hairs did. (*Praise hands*)
-McGriddle + sweet tea = fatty.
-2020 Graduation virtual run registration.
-This spray that I shouldn't have wasted my money on for 2 hot spots on Sandy that are healing, but the vet talked me into it saying it might be viral or ringworm....

DREI - From My Phone Shit

Floofernoodle and I explored the grassy field beside the vet's office before her acupuncture appointment.
She would sniff and sniff and explore all day if I'd let her.

This goof.

#AlumnaeLife

When you need a little boost.

This bite from a mysterious creature was hard and swollen and HUGE and I did not like it one bit.

When Husband raves over a helmet because it's the same color as his bike and "how cool would it be?!"
And soo you file it away as a future Christmas/Bday gift (because for $600, it would definitely be a combined gift).

You can almost kinda see just how much longer/bigger Sandy is than Pax in this photo.

And this floofy Monkey-Doodle. Lurve her.

VIER - From the Internet Shit

Ya know what, I'm not gonna bother because this space would be filled ways to better yourself to fight a long fight that people have already been fighting without us (us being white people).  You need to find some resources that are NOT your friends of color and enlighten yourself in the ways you ARE privileged and how seeing color is far more effective than NOT seeing color.

FÜNF - Things that made me happy this week

1. Running an instance with individuals who were fun and it was complicated and irritating but it was fun, so I didn't hate it.
2. A good networking lunch.
3. Someone reviewing my resume in asshole form and their inability to find actual problems with it other than shit they don't like because they are a self-admitted MS Word nazi.
4. The smell of my laundry detergent/softener.  This makes me happy every time I do laundry, but I just wanted to point it out.
5. Runner friends and accountability partners.. because without them, these miles wouldn't be getting done.  And we each admitted it this morning.
6. Sandy floofs.
7. Meri butt scratches.
8. Pax chicken cutlet scritches.
9. Potential Cmas/Bday gift idea for Teh German.
10. Being able to step back and critically think about things that are going on and help my friends through with words of logic and encouragement.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.

Weekend Review {6/1}

Even I, who often consider myself as "living under a rock", could not avoid the shit that went down this weekend.  My heart hurts.  My SOUL hurts.  My brain hurts.  I can't sleep.  My stomach is upset.  I want to find comfort in anything but that feels like cheating.  So I sit with my discomfort and gnaw on it. I want to find ways to BE BETTER.  I want to find ways to soothe my soul and comfort my heart and make my brain quiet, but this isn't the time for that.  This is the time to remind people to acknowledge your privileges and your differences and be kind to each other and support each other. 

FRIDAY

Friday was fRUNday!  As I mentioned on Friday, I met my personal goal of 50 miles for the month.  Woot.  After my run, I put Sandy's boots on her and we went on a neighborhood stroll, then I took Meri and Pax out for their stroll as well.  They had a special walk since we got to walk with Roux and his Mom!

After walks was shower then work time.  I actually ended up going to Commonhouse for Lunch Beers with some coworkers.  I'ma be honest.  Some people being on video and some people being in person did not work.  Because if anyone is on video, only one person at a time can speak and some of my in-person coworkers (who haven't really socialized since March) don't comprehend the idea of SHUT THE FUCK UP so people can hear and be involved in the conversation.  Ugh.  I was over it.  Also, it was a mabillionty fucking degrees outside and I had sweat trickling down all my nooks and crannies and I did not like it.

I spoke with someone about my work woes and confidently explained that the management idea of "documenting the process" is NOT going to solve the problem for me, nor will it solve the problem for the next unfortunate soul who has to do the job.  Later I realized that documenting the process may also have something to do with the fact that I updated all my job site profiles/resumes.. soooo an intelligent individual could have deduced that I'm open to opportunity.

I ended up taking my sweaty ass home at 2:15 and came home to shower and check on work emails one last time (since I took half days WHF) and then signed into WoW (World of Warcraft) and enduring grinding out levels for the evening.  Teh German ordered Chinese for dinner, which didn't hurt my heart, and it was delivered.  We spent the evening on our screens.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning I woke up with a pressure headache from hell and went right back to sleep.  I slept until 1030/11 and finally decided to get up and medicate.  I went downstairs for breakfast lunch with Teh German and checked the internets.  It's good I did this, as I was reminded when I looked at my calendar that I had a hair appointment I had forgotten about.  Oops. 

Teh German had put on the SpaceX/NASA launch on the TV, so we watched that while we scrolled.  When it was time to go, I headed out, picked up sweet teas for myself and my lady, called Teh Bestie to poll her about if I should go back to blah blah brown or continue with the blue (I had already polled Teh PT Wife and Teh German).  When I sat down, my stylist and I discussed the fact that soon I would have to lighten my hair again if I wanted to keep doing the blue and I explained to her that was the point at which we would definitely be going back to blah blah brown.  Soooo, we did the blue again. 

Let me just say, I LOVE the blue.  LURVE IT.  BUUTTT I hate the expense and I hate feeling like I shouldn't wash my hair because of the blue and how it's literally wasting money to wash it too often because it strips the blue out and then I have to go more.  I mean, it's a classic over-thinker situation.  Blah blah brown might be boring, but it's at least stress free.

I stopped at Walmart on the way home to pick up a hair brush and raised feeder for Sandra Dee.  I couldn't find the $5 feeder and I didn't pay attention to the cost of the only other option because I had to pee sooooo bad.  When I checked out, the feeder I had picked up was $25, soooo that will probably be getting returned because that's ridiculous.

When I walked in the house, Teh German announced, "15 seconds till launch!  Come on!  You're gonna miss it!!"  I had to pee sooooo bad, but I didn't want to miss it, so I stood in the living room literally holding my pee in by pressing my hands to my crotch while I watched the rocket take off.  It was worth it because it was soooo cool.  IDK why, but everything about going to space is cool. 

After I peed, I set about the task of brushing Sandy.  Lawd, I should change her name to Tingle-Tangle Bob.  First, I used the hair brush on her, which she didn't love, but did tolerate... BUT THENNN, I used a rake on her after reading somewhere that was a good idea for Irish Wolfhounds.  She hateeeeeedd it and kept switching couches and walking away from me, but I just kept going.  We had almost half a trash can of Sandy when I was finished/gave up.

Also, I have to admit that I blatantly lied to Husband when he complained about me brushing Sandy while she was on the couch.  I told him I'd vacuum and it was a LLIIIIEEEEEEEE.  Actually, at first it wasn't a lie.  I did intend on vacuuming the couches, but then I had to fight with her for 45 minutes to get her all brushed out and then I wasn't in the mood to vacuum.  Also, fun fact, Teh German is a capable adult and if he's really worried about it, he, too, has the ability to run the vacuum cleaner!  Crazy concept, I know.  I'm not sure if he's aware, but I didn't want to scare him off, so I didn't mention it.

While I groomed Sandy, Teh Dad messaged me that one of my young cousins, who I didn't actually know, but have watched grow up via Facebook, had died in a motocross accident. 

After getting Sandy semi-defuzzed, I went to the computer and grounded out some more levels in WoW, because I lead a real riveting life. 

In the evening, Teh German went over to Teh PT House for socializing and came home at 11 to announce, "The Apple Store is empty!" 

Gentle Readers, I have to tell you something.  I don't deal well with people trying to vaguebook me or try to make me inquire about a topic they obviously want to discuss with vague statements.  You see, I took an editing class, which included a period on headline writing.  I know how it works.  I don't like it being used on me.

I responded to Teh German, "What are you trying to say to me?"
Teh German, "They broke all the windows and there's nothing left in the store."
Me, with zero patience, "Are you trying to tell me that there are riots and looters?"
Teh German, "Yes."
Me, "Then say that."
He was exasperated with me, expectedly, but we did ultimately discuss the riots that were happening in downtown Charleston.

We went to bed and ended up having a conversation about privilege before we fell asleep.  To his credit, Teh German acknowledged that in Germany, the minority population is so small that it never really affected him in anyway.  So we had to have a culture lesson about how, yes, non-white members of American society have the "same opportunities" as white members of American society... in theory.  Teh German argued that there are successful people of color (doctors, nurses, lawyers, etc) and I had to explain that they are more like the exception.  Maybe this wasn't the most accurate way to describe it, but it was almost midnight and I needed to make a point about cultural opportunity disparity.

To drive the point home with an example, I took it back to 2004 Sociology 101 at NC State style.  I asked him, "When you go to the store and buy band-aids and you don't want cartoon characters, can you get something that matches your skin tone?"  He said, "Yes."  I said, "Now, let's say you were black and you wanted something that matches your skin tone.  Can you go to any store and find matching skin tone band-aids?"  He said, "They have to make those."  I explained, "They do now, but they didn't used to.  Someone had to be like, 'Why are there no 'flesh colored' band-aids for people of color?' and then someone made them.  But I bet they aren't easy to find.  There is NEVER a shortage of 'flesh colored' band-aids for white people." I also explained how self-perpetuating some part of low income society are, in relation to people of color.  I can't attest that my explanations were 100% accurate and didn't make some generalizations, but I am going to tell myself that Teh German went to sleep chewing on our conversation and having some light shed on his ignorance.  Or maybe he just went to sleep.  Either way, I shared my favorite sociology lesson with him and tried to explain why people of color protest and how being color-blind is less helpful that being cognizant and aware of your privilege because of your skin color.

While Teh German fell fast asleep quickly, my heart was hurting for people that are hurting and my anxiety over the riots plus my toes being cold kept me WIDE-AWAKEEEEEE.  So, I dragged my ass out of bed, took a Xanax and tried sleep again.  It was a success.

SUNDAY

Sunday I woke up with the beasts and went back to bed after breakfast.  We slept in and woke up about 15 minutes after Dragon had docked at the International Space Station (ISS).  I was kinda disappointed, but oh well.  We got up and Teh German loaded the space stream on his laptop so we could watch while we ate breakfast. 

Teh German ended up going on a ride with a friend, which I turned down going because 1- he needed man time, and 2- it was too fucking hot for me to go sit on an engine with a helmet, coat, jeans, and boots on.  Instead, I gamed until Teh PT Wife invited us over for pool time.  Teh German left on his ride and after taking care of the laundry, I headed over to Teh PT House for socializing.

These beasts.

Teh German came home around 5:30 and came over to socialize.  I headed home at 6:30 for doggy dinner time and to take a shower.  I was gaming when Teh German came home and gamed until about 11, when it was finally bed time.

Again, I couldn't sleep from the anxiety of watching Charleston protesters for most of the afternoon.  I didn't end up falling asleep until after 1, ugh.  At 0545, I was up for my run with Teh Running Advisor.

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It was a roller coaster of a weekend.  Good things and absolutely heartbreaking things happened.  I sat at the computer/TV just thinking, "That is soooo cool!" over and over and over in my head during all the space things.  It doesn't matter that we've done space things before, every.single.time it's awesome.  This is my hill.  If it hadn't been for space things, this weekend would have crushed me.

I hope that lessons from this weekend are taken to heart and that white people begin to be better advocates for people of color, to include myself.  I cannot say I've been the best advocate, but I do at least try to be cognizant of my privilege.  I know this is not enough, but sitting with my discomfort is also something that I'm adjusting to as well.  I'm like a deer, I can't look directly at me, or I might get startled and run off.  What this really means is that I'm definitely going to make it a priority to read these books about white privilege that have been sitting on my bookshelf for a year (maybe more, can't actually remember when I got them, but it was while I was in school).

Unrelated to that, I'm back to work this week and it's depressing.  A weekish of vacation was delightful.  I miss it already.

Oh yeah.. and it's JUNE.  DAFUQ happened?  It was like yesterday it was March and we were facing never ending days of staying at home.. and while 1 of those 2 things hasn't changed.. we're magically in June and I cannot comprehend so much time passing since I was in Denver catching snowflakes with my tongue.  But here we are.

Weekend Review {10/08}

FRIDAY

Friday was a loooooooooong day.  Gym, then school, then teleworking from school, then evening make up classes because Hurricane Florence.  Since Teh Sister had been talking about them, I couldn't get them off my mind, so I went to Panera and picked up a pink ribbon bagel.  It was not as delicious as I remember them being when I was in college.  Oh well.

We had to take 2 quizzes in my 0900 computer science class, then a test in my German class.  I haven't been to the Vet Center on campus much this semester since I go straight to work after class ends, so it was nice to go sit and hang out and chat with some Citadel vet friends.  My 3:00 class consisted of another test, and my 4:30 class was really just a torture session where I worked on a project that I couldn't get to work properly, but the instructor had strongly suggested we work in teams on it, so I used someone else's results and answered the questions.  The class felt like it was lasting all my life and I was relieved when I drove off campus.

Teh German and I had agreed to meet for dinner at Lewis Barbecue since I was already so close to downtown.  I arrived before Teh German, so I stood outside my car and read my ebook until he arrived.

Saw this #DateNight happening on my way to Lewis.
Couples that moped together, aren't cool together.

Noooommmm

We were enjoying dinner until a group of people sat at "their" table nearby and requested the fans be turned on.  There was no need for the fans to be turned on, the bugs weren't bad and the flies went away after a while.  Nonetheless, their request was acquiesced and then all my hair wispies were all in my face while I was trying to finish my sandwich and I was so fucking angry I wanted to stab the douchey bro who seemed to be the leader of the group in the leg.  We didn't sit around after we finished our food because my hair was still blowing in my face and I was so fucking angry.  It was unfortunate since we'd been having such a good time until that point.

We went straight home after dinner.  We agreed on watching Shameless to pass the evening. 

Pax gave me a finger dent while I was trying to get the toy from his mouth.
#BoyMomWoes

SATURDAY

Saturday I got up with the beasts so I could get a start on accomplishing my weekend homework.  When my mouse started acting funky, I decided to change out the batteries.  That was a disaster that pissed me off so badly that I ended up organizing the battery cabinet and another drawer where I was hoarding some battery things.  Teh German eventually ended up getting the AAA batteries open and even he struggled.

I was done with ALL my homework by 12:30 and I had NO idea what to do with myself after that.  We had lunch and Teh German was trying to troubleshoot the security camera wifi dongle thing and then I tried (not having any idea what I was doing) and neither of us were successful and I, again, suggested he call the camera help people and his stubborn ass still insists that "I've fixed it before!" so fine, his problem.  Fucking security cameras.

Instead of dealing with crabby ass, I laid on the couch and read some for a bit and then decided on a nap.  When I woke up, Teh German was here:

There was a video playing, but he was definitely falling asleep.

I took the opportunity to peruse Groupon to find something to do.  When I rolled over to ask Teh German if he wanted to do a ghost tour, he said that his Biker Gang Friends had asked if we wanted to meet them at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the UFC fight.  I was not interested in watching the UFC fight, nor am I ever interested, but I was interested in dinner.  So we agreed to meet them at BWW at 7:30.

Since I had some time before hand and Teh Sister had notified me that Cartwheel had 40% off our favorite chapstick, I took the opportunity to go to Target.

Nothing screams "I hate good gas mileage" and "fuck you" to the people behind you on the road quite like this.
I almost had a heart attack when I saw that mattress fly up.

Now if only they would combine these products.  My life would be complete.

Christmas toys for the beasts!

I made it to BWW right at 7:30 and not a single person that was supposed to be there was.  Immediately, I was annoyed.  Add to that, BWW was doing a thing where if you were there to watch the fight it was $100 for a table for 6, which included 50 wings and 2 appetizers.  I managed to get a table outside on the patio and slowly, everyone else showed up.  I don't know why I bothered to be on time, it's very rare that anyone in the group is actually on time (besides Teh German and I). 

Eventually, it was decided that we'd all go to our house and pick up frozen pizzas and beer on the way.  This was a good idea in theory.  Except instead of following ME, they followed Teh German.  There was some drama and after a failed attempted, we all ended up at Publix.  Once beer and pizza were acquired, and cupcakes for me, we headed home.  Teh German had went straight home to get the UFC ticket set up and turned on.

When I got home around 9, I was hangry and I'd be frustrated since 7:30 and I was over it.  Even after saying I wasn't doing it, I still ended up cooking everyone's pizzas, which only served to piss me off more, even after I'd eaten a cupcake and 2 pieces of pizza, yes, in that order. 

I finally went and sat down on the couch with the other lady that was with the group... at which point all the dudes went outside..  So we were the least interested in watching the fight and we were the only ones inside semi-watching the TV while chatting to keep ourselves awake.  The guys were outside for over an hour before they finally came in around midnight to watch the actual main event fight.

It was after 0130 when we finally crawled in the bed.

SUNDAY

I had planned to get some miles in on Sunday, but I woke up at 0930 and misread my watch and thought it said 1030 and almost had a heart attack since that's when we were supposed to leave for brunch.  I knew I didn't have time to get in significant mileage like I wanted and I was (and still am) dealing with the BJB monster from last week, so it just wasn't in the books.  Instead, I snuggled with Meri and Teh German and then we finally got up and got ready and met Teh Dental Hygienist, Teh AF Maintainer, and his family at Rutledge Cab Company for brunch.  I was torn between the poutine and the huevos rancheros, and, expectedly, I went with the huevos rancheros.  The option of extra cilantro sold me.  I lurve me some cilantro.  No pics because I was fucking starving, and it looked exactly the same as it did almost a year ago for my bachelorette weekend brunch.

After brunch, we stopped at Sam's, then we went home.  It was quite people-y in public, so it was for the best.  When we got home, we were bored and ended up watching Warcraft.  I was so disappointed in that movie.  So much could have been done with that and it was so limited and lacking.  And I also couldn't restrain myself sometimes to tell Teh German about how things weren't accurate or were accurate. 

We ate leftovers for dinner because there was so much pizza left over from the night before (oops) and there was still chicken and gnocchi soup.  After dinner, we watched Shameless until it was bedtime.  I know, we were killing it.

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My BJB and I are not fighting as much, but it's still giving me some problems.  Nonetheless, I got out this morning and got in 5 miles (4.5 on my own and .5 jogging with OMG YAY (Meri) and UGH PLS NO (Pax)).  I, unfortunately, think I have done something to mess up my left foot and I'm not sure what it is.  The foot hurts really bad when I walk and do certain movements, but doesn't hurt as much when I'm running.  It also cramps randomly.  Of course, less than 1 month before the first of four half marathons my body starts to act a fool.  I'm wondering if it may have been caused by the BJB since when the BJB is angry, it affects my stride/gait, thus causing me to injure myself.  Teh Running Bestie has put me on no-running rest until Thurs.  She didn't say I couldn't go to 9 Rounds though... >:D (do people still make the devil emoji like that? lol)

Teh German called the HVAC company this morning and on the first talk they offered to pay 50% of the repairs since it's not 100% who is a fault for the mess up (us for installing drain pipe extensions (the extensions are completely clean of debris, so I strongly doubt we're at fault) or them for their last completed work).  That's not ideal for us, but it IS better than nothing. 

I earned an 98 on my German test, even with stupid errors, and I have a 104 average in the class.  100's on both CS quizzes from Friday (although prob a 70 on today's quiz...) and I'll find out tomorrow how I did on my circuits test.

I'm finally in my school routine/groove and that makes life way easier.  Since it is around midterms time, last week was pretty hellish since there were multiple tests/projects within a week of each other.  My online class continues to be stupid, but it's easy, so I'm not going to look that gift horse in the mouth.  We do not get a fall break at the Citadel, but we do get a week off for Thanksgiving, so, also not complaining about that.  The downside to getting into my routine is that Leadership Day will disrupt that, then we're off for election day (GO FUCKING VOTE, GENTLE READERS), then thanksgiving break for a week, then 2 weeks of school and the semester is over (praise be to Allah).  I will have officially made it HALFWAY at the end of this semester.

I'm starting to consider our Thanksgiving plans.  I'll be in Tulsa the weekend before with Teh Running Bestie and Matilda and I considered a pit stop in El Paso to visit Teh Sister, but I can't change my plane ticket, which is a real bummer, so I'm not really sure what I'll do. 

We're still waiting on Teh German green card stuff, so most of our travel plans are on hold.  This isn't just irritating Papa G anymore, but also me.  I'm ready to get on with my life.  Make plans.  I NEEDS some travel to look forward to.  We were discussing diving in Mexico at brunch on Sunday and I'm all, YASS PLEASE!  Siiiiigh, fucking government with the hurry up and wait for always.

In case anyone was wondering, it's still hot AF in Charleston and fall is no where to be found.  We're still in Charleston Summer.  There is a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that is probably going to slam into FL and while I hope the destruction is minimal, I hope for 1- RAIN, that sweet sweet sky water, 2- post-hurricane hoodie weather (this is usually what happens).  I'm seriously tired of elbow sweat and literal dripping sweat from my face when I run in the mornings.

PS.  I moved my massage from Friday to Tuesday and this is probably the best life choice I've made all month.