Catching up with the big bear...

It's kinda like Depeche Mode...but not really...

Lessee... I left a week ago for Huntsville AL. For the first time in 15 years, I was doing Thanksgiving with my Dad and step-mom. Was a completely uneventful flight from Chicago to Washington-Dulles and then to Huntsville (ORD-IAD-HSV)...

Alabama was lousy when I landed. 65 and pouring rain...which continued into Wednesday. I can't complain too much as the rumbly thunderstorms at 3am are quite nice...except I crashed at 9pm..so I was up at 3am.

I helped my step-mom get everything set up for the day and getting all the food ready. A few people were in town already but most were travelling in Wednesday. All was good until the reports of 4-8" of snow in Peoria. My two step-brothers were supposed to be driving down with their uncle Nick. They were nearly killed in a near-miss accident as they left Morton. Thankfully it was just a close call.

Thanksgiving was actually an okay day. It started out grey and gloomy but turned partly cloudy and warmer. We had 28 people in the house and it was quite enjoyable.

Friday was a "casual" day for everyone to just hang out and enjoy the get together. Mother Nature certainly cooperated with temperatures in the mid 60s and sunny skies. We had a nice bonfire that evening. Derek (one of my brothers) and I spend a couple of hours down there while David (the other brother) spent time talking investments with Dad and Debbie.

Saturday started out nice and quickly clouded over with yet more rain. Everyone pretty much left Saturday afternoon leaving just me at the house with Dad and Debbie.

Sunday was spent going to church, dinner at a great steak place up in Hartselle AL called OH!Bryans. Best steak I've had in years...and very reasonably priced too. We went shopping and I got a new pair of tennis shoes as well as a pair of waterproof boots that go about 6" above the ankle. I'm about 6'8" in those boots. Fun, but I have to duck even more often.

Monday morning was the very early wake-up call. I had to be at HSV at 7am for my 8:50 flight. Yeah. Right. I got there right at 7am...and was standign at the gate, completely through security at 7:20am. *yawn* Flew to IAD no problem. 45 minute "Air Traffic Control Hold" later...there's a 45 minutes weather delay...finally get going at 1:30pm and finally get into O'Hare at about 2:30. Called my friend John and got a ride from O'Hare home. Apparently it's only $25 for a taxi *from* the apartment to O'Hare but it's $40 from O'Hare due to some tax/fee/something. The bigger issue was that I gave him wrong directions to O'Hare. He lives in Schaumburg...just off Algonquin and 53...not far from ORD...until you give someone wrong directions...

Two hours later, John made it to O'Hare. I finally got home about 5:45pm.

Aside from the weather delay and the snafu of getting from O'Hare to home...it was a great week. Much much better than I expected.

Now if only Christmas will go so well...

Phone Post

*urf*

I'm still sick. I'm finding that my stomach is *very* finicky. It's currently rebelling again against something.

I'm sure the "family restaurant" we ate at last night after game will not help that either.

In other news, it's that time of month where I try to figure out how to pay bills. The big things right now are car insurance and the neurontin that I take daily. Not too major but enough to be a major pain in my tail.

It's only money...and only a life.

It doesn't seem possible that a week ago I was in Minnesota and things seemed so much better. It's wierd how that works. At least I should be eligble for state assistance this time next week and I'm down to six weeks before I see the second neurologist (the one who specializes in brain and spinal cord issues) to find out exactly what is wrong with me. Until then, I suffer with a body that's being medicated into placation that keeps me from walking/talking/functioning about 4 hours a day, makes me sick most of the time it seems, but keeps me pain free.

*sigh* I'm 32 and I'm hitting that great big "I give up" as if I was 82.

*weak cheer*

I'm finally getting over 48 hours of living hell.

It seems that I got a nasty intestinal bug either from dinner at Byerly's in St. Paul on Friday night (I got *really* bad indigestion from just iced tea and a bowl of their wild rice soup...I couldn't even think of eating my entree) or it was the pot roast pot pie on the train back from Minnesota. I'm strongly suspecting the soup at Byerly's.

Either way, it was 48 hours of bathroom runs. I missed the Garou game in Kenosha on Sunday night as I didn't dare leave the proximity of the bathroom.

I'm finally getting back to normal. My insides are trying to get out every 10 minutes, I don't sound like a pot of boiling water inside, and I'm getting my strength back.

I slept a good deal of today, but I'm still tired and physically not up to scratch.

I napped from around 8p to 11p tonight so I'm up later than I normally would be...

On a better note, I finally got a major stumbling block resolved in my novel...*finally*

Duh Becky!

"If there is someone on your friends list who you would either like to tie down and have your way with, teasing them mercilessly and making them beg for release, or have them tie YOU down, post this exact same sentence in your journal."

The only question I have...is do you post this as many times as there are friends on your list that fit that circumstance? If so...my journals gonna be getting a lot longer...

Well duh...

You are 87% Virgo

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

Phone Post

Phone Post

Why...

That's all I want to know the answer to....


WHY!

Bummed out...

Okay, so now it's *four* of my Minnesota friends who want me back to at least visit...and three of them have said that they'd like me back for good.

It's a warm fuzzy feeling but at the same time, I'm not getting back there any time soon and it doesn't look like I'll be moving either.

I'd have to find a job up there, transfer all my medical care up there, and deal with moving in general.

I have $23 in my pocket and a full tank of gas in the van. I pull up Mapquest to figure out mileage to Maple Grove, MN from here. 410 miles. The wierd thing. I just put in Maple Grove MN..and the "location" of Maple Grove that MapQuest picked is less than 2000' from where the friend I'd be crashing with lives. Wild.

*sits quietly in his chair*

It's wonderful to have great friends...it's even more wonderful to be able to visit them. I'm really starting to think about staying off line a lot more. No more IRC, AIM, Yahoo, etc. I'm just to fed up with things to really deal with things. I'm reaching that point where I don't care any more. I'm ground into this position and I'll be here for quite a while.

I've made the bed. I'll sleep in it.

Fellow Patriotic Pagan...

Did you vote today? Show it!
Get your LJ Vote Sticker here!

#112...

I was voter #112 in our precinct today. Was quite busy with a small line that never quite went away...but with 74 judges up for retention...it was a long ballot.

FWIW, I voted Kerry/Edwards.


Here's hoping enough Americans are thinking today.

National Novel Writing Month...

NaNoWriMo is ON!

I'm using the 50,000 word "contest" to try and push the end of my own novel...though for some reason I've started writing something completely silly and stupid so far...

--

It was a dark and stormy night when Alan had his date with destiny. Unfortunately, Destiny was a sleazy hooker on the southside.

--

Oh boy...I'm doing this voluntarily and I feel more apprehensive than I did for any term paper in college or high school!

I have 28K words in my novel so far...and I need to aim for ~100K... *whimper*

Time for the occasional meme...

You come from the Ocean. You've always been drawn
to the sea, the sound of the waves, the crystal
blue water, near the sea is where you belong.


Where Did Your Soul Originate?
brought to you by Quizilla

Rather fitting since in magickal work I identify with the Water element.