March 2006 Archive

March 31, 2006
Eulogy

Gene Emerson Resler
June 6, 1944 - March 26, 2006
The measure of a man is in his actions.
It’s taking the high moral ground when circumstances make you want to do otherwise. It’s helping those in need selflessly and without hesitation. The measure of a man is in his words and his actions towards his family and his loved ones. It’s making sure anyone that needs to be cared for is cared for.
My father was a proud man. He wasn’t afraid of a hard day’s work. His rough hands worked hard both in the factory and on the farm, and he rarely complained. He loved his horses, his cattle, his farm, and his family.
I once told him I wanted to take over the farm someday. He told me how hard it was to keep things running and told me he wanted more for me than that. So he put me through school, and he encouraged me to make something of myself. My father was proud of me. I know that. He was there for me every step of the way. He made sacrifices so that we might have whatever we needed to be successful in life.
He taught me to ride a horse. He taught me to fish. He taught me to drive. He brought me along on the fender of the tractor when he weighed and tagged the spring calves. He plowed the fields and supplied me with a bucket, so I could go out and collect fossils in the upturned earth. I was at his side every minute that I could be as a child. My dad was there for me in the ways he knew how. And I will never forget that.
The measure of a man is more closely examined after death than in life. And the measure of this man is so great that I think he humbles us all.
March 30, 2006
Sleep
I'm so tired. So very, very tired. We had the visitation tonight. It was really wonderful to hear all of the nice things people had to say about my dad and to know that so many people are keeping us in their thoughts. We received bouquets from my previous employer Barco, my old EQ friends in Toronto, and my DAoC/WoW guild Dark Valor. Just amazing. And many, many others have donated to the church fund, which is just fantastic.
Tomorrow is the memorial service at the church. I'm doing a reading, which should be fine. I also wrote a eulogy for my father. We'll see how that goes. I may not be able to finish it. Kev is going to go up with me to help me get through it. Think about me and wish me strength to say the things I have to say. I'm going to need it.
I stood up there and shook hands with a few hundred people, easily, and all I could think the whole time was "I don't have any hand sanitizer, and I'm up here for the next 4+ hours. lol It's weird what runs through your mind when you're under stress. I'm really not a "hand-sanitizer" type of person. I don't feverishly scrub my hands at the slightest hint of dirt, unless Kev's sick. Then I hook up the Lysol IV and hide.
I only cried once today when Kev and I got to the funeral home and started looking at who all the flowers were from. I knew it would make me cry because I'm just so happy that so many people care about us and loved my dad. I was trying to get it all out before my mom showed up, but she got there a few minutes too early for me to have it pulled together. But I wasn't crying because I was sad. I was crying because I was so touched by the sentiments of so many wonderful people. It was really just the overwhelming kindness we have received that moved me to tears.
Some of my old coworkers showed up, which was really great. And a lot of my friends made an appearance to support me, which I can't thank them enough for. You don't know how much it means to me. Really.
But anyway. Being around my family has been really great. It's amazing how people pull together when tragedy strikes. My aunt has been staying with my mom all week, which is a godsend. She's taken care of food preparation for the small army people at my mom's and stayed there every night. My grandma was cracking me up with stories about how she could have her pick of any man at the senior center if she wasn't so picky. In her words, "I don't want one in his 80s. I want a nice 70-something-year-old. I don't want one that's going to cash his chips in right away." LOL She kills me.
I love seeing my brother. I just wish it was under better circumstances. He might come back up in a couple of weeks to help mom get everything taken care of. We have a farm to liquidate, more or less. That's no small undertaking. There's a lot of hard work and hard times ahead. I'm just sorry it had to end this way. I love you dad.
March 29, 2006
Running on Empty
Today was a long day. We planned the Memorial Service with Father Caserta and covered some poster boards in photos for the visitation. Mom had a hard time today. Father Caserta made her feel a lot better though, in the way only he can. He's such an amazing person. I've got to write a eulogy still tonight, and I have to make two mixed CDs of country music for the visitation yet. I'm so tired. I feel like I'm running on empty for the fourth day.
I found tax statements in the glove compartment of my dad's truck. That man cracks me up. When I see him again, I'm kicking his ass. lol
We'll be starting to pack up the house next week. That's going to be the hardest part. Not only did my mom lose her husband of 31 years, she's losing everything she held dear. Her house. Her way of life. Her security. Everything. My sister, brother, and I are experiencing it from a different perspective. We've lost our father, but our lives go on the same, relatively unchanged. No, we'll never get to see him again, and we'll miss him in a way only someone who has lost a parent can understand, but we go home to our homes, our spouses, and our lives go on. This just isn't fair. This shouldn't have happened to her again. It wasn't supposed to be like that. This wasn't supposed to happen.
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I just finished the mix CDs. It's around 2:30am. I have absolutely no ability to sleep on my own. I went to my doctor and got some sleeping pills to get me through the next month. He specifically prescribed me Lunesta because it's not habit-forming and can be used safely long term. My insurance refuses to pay for it because they'd rather me try two other brands before letting me have Lunesta. You know, my damn doctor prescribed it for a reason. So I had to pay $126 to sleep for the next month. What a load of crap. I'm so tired right now, I'm shaking. I'm not going to be able to stay up much longer.
Anyway, as I was making the CDs, I really felt like my dad was with me. I found every song I wanted, and most of them are for mom, things I know she (and my dad) would like. It just seemed too perfect. As I listened to a lot of the older country and western, I suddenly began to understand some things about my father that I never knew before. He was a tender-hearted man. He liked the old love songs like "Lady" and "Always on my Mind" and "You Light up my Life." His CD case was full of stuff like that. It's amazing what you find out about your parents only after they're gone. The old sap. I love him so much.
March 28, 2006
Passage
The private viewing was today. Initially, I didn't want to go see him. But I changed my mind once I could go in alone. I just didn't want to be in there with other people. It was nice to see him looking so peaceful and not half-zipped up in a body bag like I saw him on Sunday. He didn't look bad on Sunday, just nicer today. I helped pick out his clothes for the viewing. I wanted him in something he liked to wear and looked sharp in for my mom and brother. The funeral home did a wonderful job making him look just like he would every other day. I think it was incredibly helpful for my mom to see him at peace and not have her last memory of him how she found him and helpful for my brother to be able to accept he's really gone.
I went to the cremation alone tonight. It was an amazingly transformative experience. I felt this incredible surge of peace and energy from beginning to end. It didn’t really bother me when they loaded him up into the furnace. I knew he wasn’t really in there. It was just his body. When they started the furnace, I actually had this sense of total freedom, like all the pains and burdens and worries of my father's life were blasting away to ashes. I chanted 108 rounds of Moksha Mantra, 3 rounds of Om Swaha, some Om’s, and about 15-20 rounds of Gayea Tree Mantra. I meditated for a little bit until it felt right, and then I left. The funeral home was very accommodating to me.
And a calf was born while I was gone. Which is too funny. We've been talking about when the cows were going to be ready to calve. Looks like it's a bit sooner than we anticipated. Thankfully, one of the neighbors is coming over and taking care of all the feeding and care of the livestock for the foreseeable future, and he's taking care of tagging and tracking all the calves-to-be. Country folk may be simple and alien to some of you, but let me tell you something. They all take care of each other. Our houses may be a mile and a half apart, but everyone knows everyone and takes care of those in need without fail. Name one community like that that you know, and I'll be impressed. My mom has had an INCREDIBLE amount of support from everyone in the area. They've all stopped by and dropped off food and offered to help in any way they can.
I've barely cried at all today. I don't know why. I just feel like it's all all right. At least until tonight. On the way home, the sorrow started to set in again, realizing that next week we have to pack up the entire house and say goodbye to the farm. It's just not fair. It's not fair. I just can’t believe it’s happening this way. But mom can’t stay out there alone, and grandpa told us tonight that as soon as mom goes, the farm is getting sold. I can’t blame him. He says he can’t bear to go up there again, and he doesn’t want to stay in his house all alone. He’s either going to move to Troy to be closer to my mom and sister, or he’s going to move in with his sister in Tipp City. Either way, we're going to make sure he's taken care of.
I made it very clear to dad's sister how I felt about her today. She is such a fucking bitch. She slandered my father in our community for YEARS, trying to ruin his name, and tonight she comes down to the house and hugs and kisses all over my brother but won’t even extend her sympathies to the rest of us. I hate her. My sister and I probably should have been muzzled before she came down. We promised mom we wouldn’t rip her head off completely, but we made it very clear she is utterly and completely unwelcome. If she thinks she can prance in and pull this shit after treating my father and grandfather like trash for the last two years, she's got another thing coming.
Mom is moving in with Lori for now. She says she can’t fathom the thought of buying a new house and living alone in it. So Lori and Jeff might just build a bigger house. But maybe mom will feel differently in a year or so. Who knows. I really hope my mom finds another man she can be happy with someday. I would love for her to find happiness with someone again. It won't be any time soon. I know that. She's been through this once already, but it doesn't make it any easier. But all we can do is move on from here. Life goes on whether we want it to or not.
Someone once told me that you're not truly an adult until you've lost a parent. I think maybe she was right. I feel 100 years older tonight.
March 27, 2006
Falling away
First I'd like to thank everyone for the love and emotional support we've received. We have some truly amazing friends and family. A huge thank you to the crew at Green Ronin. The bouquet is beautiful. It means so much to me. I wish had time to thank each and everyone one of you personally, but I can't. I'm drained. Just know that each one of you has made this more bearable. I don't know what I would do without you.
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Service information:
Visitation: Thursday, March 30, 4pm - 8pm at Jamieson and Yannucci Funeral Home
Memorial Service: Friday, March 31, 10:30am at St. Boniface Catholic Church
In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made to St. Boniface Catholic Church for the Children's Tuition Fund.
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I cried most of the morning. On the drive out, I couldn't help but think that this is one of the last times I'll be driving out to the farm. Those days are almost over now. Mom waffles between wanting to not be there and wanting to stay there. But the truth is, the bills of that place are crushing. Even after we sell off all the livestock, the heating and maintenance bills will still be outrageous. And she doesn't feel safe living out there alone. It's extremely isolated. Which is what I loved about it.
My sister and I pulled it together by the time we had to go to the funeral home to make plans. Mom was starting to break down some today. I think she's trying so hard to keep it together for everyone else that she's not letting it go. But it will come. When she went upstairs with us and saw his clothes in his closet, she collapsed on the bed. All I want is for her to stop hurting. And there's nothing I can do. My sister and I will be taking care of all of his belongings and getting his estate in order.
Something I've found out about my dad is that he was an incredible packrat. We've been trying to track down his holdings, his debts, etc., and there are just files and papers all over the place. My mom is now power of attorney for my grandpa. We have to talk to him eventually about what his wishes are to protect his interests from those who would take everything from him. You know who you are. My sister and I stopped to talk to him tonight, and he just broke down and said, "I've lost my best friend." I assured him that despite what my father's sister has done to him and us in the past, we would make sure everything was done fairly. I will not abide by that money-grubbing bitch throwing him in a home and taking everything. So that's something we're going to have to deal with. I hate her. I hope she's happy with herself.
I took pictures of the entire house inside and out and took pictures of the farm area. I want to remember it just like it is. Mom saw me doing it and thanked me. She said she never would have thought to do that. But this is our house. This is where I grew up and she had her life with dad. I want to preserve it in any way I can. This is just so unfair. My mom has already buried one husband. Why is this happening to her again. She is the most loving, generous, kind person you could ever know. How could this happen to her AGAIN? It's just not fair.
All I keep thinking is
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
This wasn't supposed to be the way it happened.
But here it is. This is it. It's real. When my sister and I picked up my brother at the airport I couldn't hold it in any longer. I saw him, ran to him, and hugged him, sobbing. I pulled it back together, and I talked to him a bit on the way home. We've made some preparations already, but we wanted to make sure he was involved in picking out pictures and flower arrangements. Today, I've had this bizarre mixture of biting, chest-crushing sorrow and total resolve. I'm so tired I could fall down, but I'm wide awake at the same time. How is that possible?
I can't believe he's gone. I just can't believe it.
None of us think we're going to die tomorrow. But the reality is we could. And there's nothing anyone can do about it.
Family is everything. Just remember that.
March 26, 2006
I love you dad.
My dad was killed this morning. My mom called me in hysterics. He was changing the oil on the car, and it fell on him. I just got home. I couldn't be there anymore. I felt terrible leaving, but I just couldn't be there anymore. I had to go home.
His shoes were sitting by his chair. I just can't even think. My dad is dead. My daddy. Daddy. I want my daddy. If he had just had a heart attack or a stroke or something where his body gave out. I could cope. I think I could cope. It would have just been his time. But no. It was a stupid fucking accident. An accident. A fucking fucking accident. Why did this happen? Why does my mom have to lose a 2nd husband? Why will my unborn children never get see their grandfather? He was supposed to teach them to fish and to ride a horse and let them ride on a tractor with him. And now. Nothing.
I am so numb. None of this seems real. This isn't happening. I keep telling myself this isn't happening. This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real. Why is this happening? Why now? Why MY daddy? Why? This isn't real. This isn't real. This can't be happening. Not me. Not to me. Not to my family. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. yes.
I feel so tiny. I feel like the world is swallowing me. I feel like my insides were scooped out and replaced with this nothing. This horrible, horrible emptiness and sorrow. Why is this happening to me? He deserved better than this. We deserved better than this. This isn't fair. This isn't supposed to happen. Not now. Not now. Not now. Not now.
But it did. And where do I go from here? What do I do? How do I survive this? Why?
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This morning I was concerned about shaving cream and stupid little things that mean absolutely nothing now. Nothing. How does a tragedy take all of life's minutia and turn them into vapor? My in-laws stopped by tonight. And Lorie showed up out of the blue. It made me feel so much better. Lorie chanted with me about halfway through the 108 rounds of the Moksha Mantra. It's believed to prepare the soul for the journey ahead. I finished the rest on my own. Face down and semi-conscious, buried face-first in Zen's back, but finished.
Mom said Kyle had heard a Tim McGraw song on the radio this morning about fathers dying and got choked up...almost exactly when mom found dad this morning. Sorry, but I don't think it was coincidence. My brother isn't the type to cry over a country song. I think he knew. Something inside of him knew. Him and his wife are flying in tomorrow night. Tuesday, we're going to take him to view the body. And when they cremate him, I've arranged to have a ceremony lead by my yoga teacher to help the family accept the passing and enable his soul to pass on. And yes, this part is for me. It's to help me cope with all of this. I know that. We plan to scatter his ashes on the farm. That's what he would have wanted. He loved the farm so much.
My grandpa is not coping well. You're not supposed to bury your children. It isn't supposed to happen like this. I just don't know what's going to happen. I made some calls today to get dad's horse taken care of. We plan to just give it to the people my dad used to board with. It's no where near broke, and they'd be willing to put time and effort into it. We just don't want him to be auctioned off and done away with. Dad loved that horse so much. None of us can bear to think of anything bad happening to it.
I am having this cyclone of thought. Bizarre random thoughts. It's becoming more real. I saw him. I saw his body as they loaded him on the truck. I squeezed his hand and said goodbye. I saw him. He wasn't in there. I knew he wasn't in there. My dad was gone. Seeing him made it more real. It drove home that this is all really happening.
Nothing makes sense. I can't think. I can't concentrate. I can't do anything but sit her and think. Why? It's just not fair. My dad was healthy. My dad was alive 15 hours ago. My dad was just in another city. A phone call away. Now, he's gone. My dad's never coming back. And I didn't even get to say goodbye. I just want one more minute. One more second to see him. One more time to tell him how much I loved him. I know he loved me. I know he was proud of me. I know that. It's just not fair. It's not. It's not. It's....not.
I love you dad. I hope you know that.
March 25, 2006
Together, we can prevent grave-babies
Tonight was a Sci-Fi Original Movie night. Tobe Hooper's "Mortuary" was delightful romp of the usual non-sensical actions taken by people you don't really care about.
That chick who played Tasha Yar was the wacky mother who moved her kids from town to town. This time around, she decided to open a mortuary. So what does she do? When she has some bodies to embalm, she says how excited she is about doing her first embalming, shows a bunch of dead bodies to her kids and their friends, and proceeds to have a wacky misadventure trying to follow the "Embalming for Dummies" manual the previous owners apparently left behind. Because, you know, you can just become a mortician because you feel like it, with no schooling, or training, or apprenticeships. Just wake up, declare "I'm a mortician today," and start jabbing vacuum pumps into dead people. Voila!
People get possessed by black goo, and it ends badly for everyone. Big surprise. But I have to say, my favorite line in the whole movie was, "Together, we can prevent grave babies."
I'm looking forward to the Dragon King mini-series on Monday. I wonder how awesomely cheesy it's going to be.
March 23, 2006
I <3 SoaP
Fantastic fan-made audio trailer and song. With casting credits such as "Ipod Girl" "Big Leroy" and "Deli Counter Guy" how could this movie be bad?
So which one of you is going to dress up like a snake for the premier?
March 22, 2006
Reformed need not apply
I came across this article in the DDN today.
ACLU challenges federal loan ban to students with drug convictions
The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday challenged the constitutionality of a federal law that blocks students convicted of a drug offense from obtaining federal student loans.
"Closing the campus gates denies these students a crucial chance to get themselves back on track by staying in school," said ACLU attorney Adam Wolf, who called the law "an unfair and irrational barrier to education (that) singles out working-class Americans."
At least one Dayton-area college financial aid administrator supports the ACLU's challenge and wonders why no one challenged the law sooner. Emphasizing she was speaking for herself and not on behalf of the college, Kathy L. Wiesenauer, director of Sinclair Community College's financial aid office, said, "I believe that the current law unfairly singles out a class of individuals who have already paid their debt to society through fines, imprisonment or service to the community."
The law denies aid to drug offenders but not to rapists, murderers or sexual predators, Wiesenauer said.
"The allegation that this law unfairly discriminates against the poor is also valid," she said. "Wealthy folks who are not in need of financial assistance to attend college are in no way penalized for their past indiscretions. They can simply pay their tuition and go about their business."
About 14 million Americans apply for financial aid annually, and the ACLU estimates that the law — passed by Congress in 2000 — has blocked aid to hundreds of thousands of would-be students. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in South Dakota.
You smoked the marijuana and got caught! No college for you! EVER! Idiotic.
March 22, 2006
GTS Pics
GTS Photo Gallery
March 21, 2006
Alien Nation
Kev and I watched Alien Nation last night. I haven't seen that movie in at least 10 years. I love it. I loved the short-lived TV series and all the made-for-TV movies that came after it. I was cracking up at one point where the record player is skipping in the background. I pointed out that this HAD to be an old movie because it had a record player. And yes, I'm old enough that I HAD a record player growing up. :P
March 20, 2006
Marvel at the suckitude
Marvel sucks, and not just because they licensed out their IP to the stupidest pog game ever created. Not only are they willing to plaster their name on whatever piece of crap is being produced tomorrow, they're money-grubbing, desperate bastards.
March 19, 2006
Thank you, Chuck Norris.
Nice guys finish last.
March 16, 2006
And a festic time was had by all
We just got home from Vegas about an hour ago. I've already dumped all the laundry on the floor, and our couch is completely covered in games we picked up at GTS. We got so much free swag that I had to sacrifice a few things that came with me and leave them behind in the hotel room (cheap crap, don't worry). But it was a really great show.
Sunday, March 12:
We arrived at the airport an hour and a half early, only to wait about 8+ hours to get out on a flight. Buddy passes are cheap, but wow what a gamble. After a rousing game of rock, paper, scissors, robot claw to determine who would get the first class seat if only one of us could sit there, we were lucky to have even got on the last flight to Atlanta and the last flight to Vegas from there. We rolled in McCarran airport in Vegas around 3:30am EST.
There's nothing like an airport to bring out the idiot in people. We watched some woman allow her leashed 3-yr-old to climb all over the back of this old woman's chair in the gate waiting area (and no, the old woman was not with them and had sat there first). This kid was jumping, screaming, hitting the old woman's shoulder, and generally acting in a way that would have gotten my ass knocked off had that been me at that age. But no, this mother just sat there smiling as her sweet angel acted like a f-ing Tasmanian devil. And when the kid's dad walked over, he did nothing to rectify the situation either. People wonder why America is overrun with assholes. They're raised by assholes. How can they have any hope of becoming anything other than an asshole.
Monday, March 13:
I hit the Impressionist exhibit at the Bellagio and the Rubens exhibit at the Venetian. I walked around and checked out a few stores here and there, and then promptly crashed in our room, face-down in my tracks like a kitten, for about 30 minutes. I probably walked about 5 miles, not including any time I strayed off the direct path to the Bellagio and back. We went to the WotC dinner that night, which was really awesome, and had a good time hanging out with Adam and Greg.
Tuesday, March 14:
WotC put on really nice breakfast, and then I went to the morning seminars. After that, we wandered around the convention hall, not really getting sold on much of anything. We ran into Adam and Greg, who had free swag up to their gills, and decided we didn't have faces that say, "give us your booty." They gave us a few locations to check out, and we ended up getting a few free things Tuesday, even though I had to just come out and ask for a couple of them. I was really pissed that I demo'd the new Avatar CCG, and I didn't even get a demo deck. They give out demo decks at Origins and Gencon, why not here? It didn't help that it was a painfully long, boring demo with someone who apparently didn't know how to teach someone that had never played Magic. Hurrah.
I managed to sound like a hyperactive psycho at one point in the day, probably seeming to invite myself to something even though I really wasn't. It was more along of the lines of a presented idea sparking a craving for something I haven't had in a couple of years and spontaneously gushing about wanting to go, but really meaning for the next night because we had our hearts set on a specific thing for the present day already. But oh well. That's my gift in life, to come off sounding like a total moron when speaking to other people. And some of you wonder why I'd rather write an email than get up from my desk and just go to talk to someone. I'm much better at putting thoughts on paper than blathering face to face. I just never seem to come off right verbally.
We had dinner with Rob from GR that night. We all had a pretty good time, and I look forward to meeting up with Rob again at Origins if he comes up for it. We took him to the Italian restaurant we visited on our honeymoon at the Aladdin. I knew it was tasty and not terribly overpriced or fancy. They have tiramisu to die for.
Wednesday, March 15:
We accidentally got up an hour early because I screwed up the alarm clock and set it ahead. /sigh We headed downstairs for the Bandai breakfast, where there were just two guys sitting in the hallway. Were we late? What the hell was going on? Kev looks at his watch and says, "Oh great, my watch has stopped. It says 6:30." I look at my watch. It says 6:30. At that point we realized what happened and laugh, but suddenly we were very, very tired. Just the knowledge of that lost hour of sleep drained us to the very soul.
The breakfast turned out to be total crap. It was some lousy continental breakfast accompanied by a horrifically boring PowerPoint presentation that started with condescending Naruto pronunciation lessons, continued with untold numbers of useless, pointless charts and graphs of numbers we couldn't even read along with way too many branding promises, and ended with a bunch of crappy Naruto swag being raffled off. The ONLY reason anyone stayed in that hall was for the raffle. Most of our table had degenerated into bitching about being treated like 3rd graders. Kev actually bailed about 20 minutes into the presentation, yelling "SUCKAS!" and running out the door.
Towards the end, some guy in a suit sat down next to me and asked, "What do you think of this presentation so far?" He asked, so I told him. "Not one person in this hall gives a flying flip about Naruto's brand expectations, charts and graphs of unreadable numbers, and especially not about the condescending crap fed to us at the beginning. No one, not even those of us with a marketing background care about anything other than whether Bandai is continuing to support the brand or not. That's all we need to know, yes or no. Tell us about the new products and expansions, and save the marketing logistics for the board room." He stared at me passively as I spoke. I wasn't bitchy, just very matter-of-fact. I'm a very direct-to-the-point kind of person, so don't expect me to sugar coat the facts if it's not absolutely necessary. But shortly after he collected mine and Adam's observations, he scuttled out the back door. I can only assume he was a Bandai employee trying to gather the "impact" of their presentation on the audience.
After the breakfast, I went to few seminars. There was a couple who had felt the need to bring their 6-month-old infant to every seminar I had attended. You know, if you HAVE to bring your baby to something like this, maybe one of you should sit in the hotel room while the other one goes to the seminars. Take turns even. Don't assume everyone is going to enjoy the cooing or crying or bellowing of your damn baby as they try to hear what the speaker is saying, because they won't. It was unbelievably rude. Take turns going to the seminars and take notes to review with the absent spouse. What the hell is wrong with people? Every time these people wheeled their giant stroller into yet another seminar, everyone groaned and sighed.
We ended up with a TON of free stuff Wednesday. I stood in line for an hour to get a copy of the Warrior Knights board game. In addition to that, I also got a starter deck of Game of Thrones. We got a ton of other card games, some lousy Clout Fantasy (I think we have a full set now...argh), several card binders (one with rare Full Metal Alchemist cards), and a metric fuckton of free T-shirts. We also got a few hard back RPG books and the new hardback Confrontation rules.
Wednesday night, we went to the AEG/ACD/Rackham/etc. sponsored dinner, which was a hoot. Never give gamers nine beach balls per table and think a riot won't ensue. It was a friendly riot, but more than one drinking glass was shattered, not to mention the half-eaten plates of food stilling sitting on the tables that scattered food shrapnel everywhere. The food was amazing. And they gave all 500 attendees a copy of the DVD version of City of Villains, along with a bunch of other stuff. Insane.
We packed up after dinner, forcing all our loot into our bags. I had meant to bring along a couple of more bags but forgot. Lesson learned. I've REALLY got to get some decent luggage.
Thursday, March 16
We got up at 3:45am EST to get to the airport. I think the only reason we got seats on the flight is because I got weepy with the desk clerk, begging him to do whatever he could to get us on this flight. lol It worked. I told him I loved him when he handed me the boarding passes and ran off. And no, I wasn't faking the weepy part. I was so f-ing tired and stressed that I was about ready to fall on the floor and sob. Thankfully, the flight was smooth, and Rick came down and picked us up in Cincy. Kev sorted through some things before passing out face down for about two hours. Meanwhile, I've got a mountain of laundry to do.
Overall, it was a great time.
March 11, 2006
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I just haven't had much time or much to say while getting ready for vacation this week. Work was stupidly busy yesterday morning as I tried to crank out a few last things before taking off. Everything should be caught up until I get back at least.
And getting the apartment cleaned has been a nightmare as well. I'm possibly having company over next week, and while we live in a neighborhood of dirty rednecks, I refuse to live like one. So I've been scrubbing my place down top to bottom. Nothing is nicer than coming home from vacation to a spic-and-span house. Every spring and fall I do a super-heavy-duty cleaning, which involves shampooing all the carpets and getting the PC room into some sort of array.
All I have left to do today is scrub the kitchen down, mop the entry way, finish the laundry, and straighten the living room. I was already so tired this morning after scrubbing out the shower and shampooing the living room rug that I had to lay down and take a 20 minute nap at 11am. While not terribly refreshed, I have to get the rest of this done today. Kevin thinks I'm completely insane, but men just don't understand. I haven't talked to a woman yet who doesn't do the same thing. We leave tomorrow morning, so there will be no time for anything, and I don't want to do anything next Friday but laundry and vegetate.
My cats HATE the wet carpet, and the smell of bleach drives Sunny wild. She keeps attacking my hands whenever I sit still long enough, rubbing her face all over them and then biting them if I don't shoo her away. Zen was stranded on an island of dry carpet in the bedroom last night, yowling until I came and got him. My cats are so spoiled. heh
March 6, 2006
Creeeeak.
My entire body feels like it was put in a wine press. Four hours of yoga kicked my butt. I slithered out of bed this morning and took an Aleve, and it barely took the edge off. I decided I hurt too bad to go to the gym.
I'm trying to get a ton of stuff done at work this week. I think me and my boss are going to go to an AMA meeting on Wed. about utilizing techniques like video tours for recruiting. Should be interesting. We already have several video tours of our EDs, but maybe they can offer some new insight.
South Dakota's recent anti-abortion move just depresses me. With the current Supreme Court line-up, I think we're all utterly and completely screwed. I don't like where this country is going, but I don't see it changing anytime soon. In fact, I think it's going to get far worse before it gets better. If it gets better.
My friend Jeff and I were discussing the state of US affairs tonight. He lives in Canada and believes Reagan's push to have the drinking age set to 21 has had a ripple effect in our society. Our 21 year olds act like Canada's 19 year olds. People don't learn responsibility until it's given to them. I'm inclined to agree. But I think it's far more than that. Parents now-a-days want to shelter their precious babies from every ounce of realism they can. It doesn't work. All America is succeeding in doing is creating a generation of people who will be utterly incapable of making their own way and who have even the slightest grasp on what real life is like. Mommy and Daddy don't live forever.
March 5, 2006
Om
I went to a four hour yoga workshop this afternoon. It was good, and I feel pretty good for it. The tougher summer poses always kick my ass, more so when it's four straight hours of yoga. We did two meditation sessions, and as usual the second set of poses and meditation were better. I've got my out-of-control brain reined in by that time and can actually focus. There was a girl next to me who was really awesome. She'd obviously been doing this for a loooong time.
The Oscars are tonight, and I'm waffling on whether or not I'm going to sit through them. Usually, I make an effort to see as many of the Best Picture nominees as I can beforehand, but this year I don't think I've seen a single one. They're all movies I wanted to see, but life just gets in the way. They're airing on ABC, which means it'll be fuzzy crap trying to watch it. We have DirecTV, and I refuse to pay an extra $10/month for local channels. So it's bunny ears if we want to watch any network TV, which we rarely do. I think Kev occasionally watches Damon Wayans' sitcom (which is pretty funny) and maybe Simpsons.
The club was same-ol-same-ol on Friday. It's getting a little more comfortable. It was pretty packed; I think it's the biggest crowd I've seen there yet. I'm glad the scene is doing well. It was kind of an odd night, though. There were tons of people, but hardly anyone on the dance floor. Even when it's less busy, there's usually a fair amount of people out there dancing goth. And it wasn't because of the DJs; they were playing all the right things, but people just didn't seem to want to leave the bar for whatever reason. Oh well, as long as they're buying alcohol, we'll have a place to go. I can't complain.
March 2, 2006
I do the rock!
I rarely post twice in one day, but I was sitting here listening to WOXY.com Vintage, and a song came on by Tim Curry called "I do the rock." I was like wtf? THE Tim Curry? No way. So I looked it up. And lo and behold, Tim Curry put out a vinyl LP in 1979. I almost crapped myself when I erupted in giggling. Check this out...
I was a Rocky Horror geek like all the other nerds in high school, but I had no idea he had put out an album other than that soundtrack. And oh was "I do the rock" bad, not that RHPS was a masterpiece, but at least those were catchy. And it wasn't nearly as bad as anything by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, as every time a song comes on by them I have to choose between 15 minutes of obnoxious, self-important crap or just mute it till the next song comes on.
Speaking of WOXY.com, they need your help. If you're an avid listener, you can pay $9.95/month for CD-quality streams or continue to listen to the lower quality ones for free. But they're in dire need of financial help to continue providing the incredible selection of music they play. If you don't want to subscribe, you can always make a one-time donation through Paypal using the link on their site. Give up McDonalds for a day and donate $5. Every little bit will help.
March 2, 2006
Whee! Look at me! I'm artsy!
I've always wanted glasses like this, but I was never able to find a pair I could pull off. After trying on something like 32 pairs of frames, Amanda helped me find 4 that didn't make me look like a complete tard. These won out in the end, obviously.
Whaddya think?
I forgot to put a comments section on last night's post. Corrected.
March 1, 2006
Yar.
I keep thinking of things to write about, and when I go to write about them, I've totally forgotten what it was I had planned to write about. /sigh
Anyway, I had a meeting in Columbus today. Boss let me call it an early day afterwards, and I came home and worked on some little state illustrations for the company newsletter I've got to have finished by Friday. Then I edited some and sat around feeling blah.
Everyone at work is sick. Like really, really sick. I just crouch in my cube and spray Lysol at anyone that gets too close. I don't want it. Kev's been sick all damn winter, and I was sick the first part. I don't need anymore of this crap.
I think I'm going to go read some more of the book Cory lent me. I'm a notoriously slow reader, probably because I only read for about 30 minutes right before bed to calm my mind. And I don't have time to read every night. They only time I ever make any headway is on a road trip.
I'm so looking forward to Vegas. I'll be sitting poolside, reading said book at some point. I'm trying to figure out some fun, cheap things to do while I'm there. Kev will be in seminars most of the day, and I'll probably hang with some people here and there that I know will be in attendance. We don't have much money to spend. I think we'll be eating as cheap as possible for the most part. I want to make sure he has some money to play a little Blackjack or some Texas Hold 'em.