Day 133

No new comics in my box, so I went straight home instead of to the Stop. Accomplished my goal of packing my books, movies, CD's and general miscellanea. Also packed up some seldom used clothes and my desk and nightstand areas. Packed so much that I ran out of reasonably sized boxes. (damn)

Started OCD-style checklist of things to do for the move and things to get rid of. I fear there will be a dump run.

Gave written notice for the 26th, so hopefully I can get everything moved, disposed of, and the apartment cleaned in 3 days. Or I'm screwed. HA HA HA HA. *whimper*

Watched Law & Order.

Attempted to play Yoshi's Cookie and the unthinkable happened. My Messiah gaming system is broken (since when I played it yesterday). It would not play Yoshi or Mario 3 (the only two games left unpacked). I will now slowly go insane. I now have both a non-working Messiah and a non-working, original 1985 NES. Damn it.

Read more The City and The Stars/watched The Daily Show and Colbert Report.

I got a lot accomplished today, but my Messiah suddenly blue screening me really threw off my groove.

Day 132

Tough days at work continue.

Grilled with Steve and Addy.

Watched Robot Chicken and read more of The City and The Stars.

My house is a depressing mess of piles to get rid of, packed boxes, piles I'm not sure what to do with, and mess I have not dealt with because of all the damned piles.

Day 131

Went into work just before 6:30 for a ridiculous meeting. Left early. Dropped off some library books.

Tidied my place and watched Bones (from season 1), How I Met Your Mother, and Big Bang Theory while I packed.

Then passed out. (At 10, sheesh.)

Day 130

Fed Quincy breakfast and watched the news.

Went to Brad's and had to go to three different auto supply stores to get replacement bulbs for my turn signal. (Almost forgot! My car is now wearing its first piece of duct tape. It is holding the cord to the signal casing. This is like a training bra for cars. Today it is holding together a loose connection, next year the ENTIRE BUMPER.)

Helped Auntie cook dinner. Watched Ugly Betty and Lars and the Real Girl (fantastic). Jess was quite sick.

Went home early to tidy and prepare for the week. Finished up an episode of Bones. Read a little more The City and the Stars.

Spoke with Steve and Mom.

Day 129

Watched cartoons and made dutch babies and bacon with Amber. Went shopping. At Target a woman started screaming hysterically. Amber started to walk towards the sound, but I would not let her as other people had walked over already. (Blood curdling screams in crowded shopping centers do not equal me running over. It does not seem prudent. And certainly not necessary with a gathered crowd.) A woman had passed out and EMTs arrived as we were leaving.
We also went to Ross and I bought 2 shirts, 2 pairs of shoes (one for inside one for out), and two dresses for under $70.

Picked up Addy for lunch at the Sunlight Cafe and mani/pedis at Blushing Beauty. Fed Quincy and Smokey dinner. We returned to Steve & Addy's for her birthday party. It was quite fun. Everybody likes a cowboy party.

Got home quite late and immediately passed out.

Day 128

Baked a white layer cake with white frosting for Addy. Had margarita's with Amber and chatted with her till the wee hours.

Spoke with Grandma, Steve, Bonnie, and Mebbie.

Watched Bones.

Day 127

No tutoring today so I dropped by the thrift store to look for the new furnishings I need and ended up buying Yoshi's Cookie for the NES and a purple duck umbrella.

Met Steve at Display and Costume to shop for Addy's birthday party. Can't reveal the theme, but it is AWESOME. Then we had a burger at the Ram.

Went home to pack and tidy, watched The Daily Show, read the most recent Walking Dead and Fear Agent comics.

Spoke with Amber and Addy.

Day 126

Went to the stop and ended up loitering with George. Later Paul and Tom showed up and we continued to loiter.

Watched Men in Trees and packed.

Spoke with Steve.

Day 125

Work is depressing. Between the weather, political climate, economy, and work place things are pretty much craptastic for me right now.

Packed up from dogsitting and met up with Paul for dinner at a diner (with dessert from DQ) and TV viewing. We watched Aftermath, HIMYM, and Big Bang Theory.

Tidied and unpacked.

(Celebrated Earth Day by not showering. Take that hygiene!)

Day 124

Had dinner with Lynn and Michael then saw Dennis Dimick speak on climate change at Benaroya Hall. He was not gifted in the area of public speaking, but the importance of this topic seems to have moved him to act.
(Confession time: Chris, I told you I didn't believe in Global Warming to piss you off. Sorry, dude. It was really funny tho.)
It made me motivated to put more effort into green living, but I still can't see how slowing our carbon emissions will save us from the consequences described. We need regression, not slowing. Will taking shorter showers rebuild the polar ice caps? I don't think so. BLEH! (See, Chris, this is my actual belief.)

Came home, played ball with Quincy, read more The City and The Stars, and tidied.

Day 123

Watched Shoot Em Up (AWESOME) with Quincy. Then played some ball and read a little.

Went to Sunday Family Dinner (Mexican Night!) and played some wii games with my Auntie (my arm is sore from getting just one more achievement in hoop shooting).

Watched Law & Order, SVU because this is what women staying alone in other people's giant empty houses should do just before bed.

Read some more of The City and The Stars. Still kicking ass.

Day 122

Woke up early and watched Viva Pinata while making sausage soufflé and coffee cake. Angie joined me for breakfast and shopping. We hit two Goodwills, 2 Value Villages, and 1 St. Vincet's. I bought:
1 pillow in the shape of a blue footed boobie
24 Easter egg shaped jello molds
1 apron featuring Welsh vocab words
2 packs of unopened Easter cupcake wrappers (and an "8" birthday candle)
8 sets of knitting needles (for a dollar!)
1 pair of green slacks
1 shirt with flowers
1 pair of scuba-diving sock monkey pajamas
1 present for someone who reads this blog
1 mug that proclaims its adoration for San Francisco
1 cardboard sign featuring a hippo that informs the viewer to be sure that their brain is engaged before opening their mouth (for Lynn)
1 full deck of playing cards featuring famous world explorers

Had pizza at Chris and Andy's with Chris, Andy, Jenn, Mairead, Ramesh, Amine and Leigh. Leigh and Andy made the pizzas and they were delicious.

Watched The Brave One with Quincy and Smokey. Started The City and The Stars by Arthur C. Clark. It is very good so far.

Day 121

Found out that a close friend and coworker is to be laid off. I'm pretty ticked off.

It was snowing like crazy, so I left work early. Steve and I went shopping for a new BBQ, accessories, and food to grill. Snow should not interrupt our Second BBQ of 2008. Went to Loews, Home Despot, and a BBQ shop in Ballard, snagging a Krispy Kreme and a Cupcake Royal cupcake on the way.

On the way home we stopped for limited edition Iron Man Slurpee cups and straws. We were heckled about Slurpees in the snow by a man buying WINE at 7-11. I think when you buy wine at 7-11 you are not in a position to judge. Additionally, the African man behind the counter made Steve pay for my limited edition Iron Man holographic Slurpee cup and matching straw. Suck it, Steve!

Made perfect steaks, asparagus, zucchini, and roasted garlic. YUM.

Swept the snow from my car and went home to pack some boxes.

Today would have been awesome if work could have managed not to completely blow.

Day 120

Worked a very long and crappy work day. We had a budget cut meeting, replete with lay-off news. It stinks.

Tutored my awesome student who wanted to stay after we finished her English homework to work on more, totally not required, poetry. That was pretty much amazing.

Plopped down in my chair and had soup and grilled cheese and watched Torchwood and the Colbert Report. Played a little Dr. Mario and Super Mario Brothers 3.

Day 119

Woke up phlegm free (ta-da!) and headed into work.

Jim and I grabbed burgers at Quincy's in Seattle Center and headed over to Key Arena to see Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D., Rhianna, and Kanye West. Lupe Fiasco was fantastic, N.E.R.D. was also great, Rhianna was... kind of boring, but Kanye West absolutely blew me away. He had a whole storyline behind the concert with space ships and gold painted ladies. Notably (or inexplicably) in the middle of the show, when all hope was lost, Kanye got reinvigorated by listening to Don't Stop Believing. Nothing perks me up like a bit of Journey.

The concert went pretty late, so I went straight home and conked out.

Today was super-awesome.

Day 118

Woke up feeling crummy, but not terrible, so that was a nice improvement.

Worked.

Came home, packed another box. Watched Deadliest Catch and had some tea. Finished The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, which was fantastic. I recommend picking it up.

Spoke with Grammy & Steve.

Day 117

Woke late. Used my neti pot and things came out of my nose that absolutely do not belong there- think slabs of congealed turkey gravy. From my nose. MY NOSE.

Went to work. Coughed a lot.

Jim and I had dinner at a shnazzy Argentinian place, Buenos Aires Grill. It was awesome. I had steak kebabs with peppers, onion, and fancy bacon.

Then we saw Marjane Satrapi lecture at the Moore. She was very witty. It was also awesome.

Finally we popped in at Cupcake Royale to chase the steak mouth. Also awesome.

All in all, if not for the nose gravy/coughing fit/Stevie Nicks voice this day would have been spectacular. As it was, the day was still awesome.

Day 116

Tidied a little. Still sick, though, so I finished the disk of Torchwood flopped on my bed.

Went to Family Sunday Dinner where we had a breakfast for dinner extravaganza. Crepes with strawberries and cream, chocolate chip waffles, muffins, bacon, sausage, and tofu sausage. It was pretty much awesome. (Tofu sausage is quite delicious when wrapped in bacon....)

Watched the pilot of The Sarah Jane Adventures with my uncle. I guess if Torchwood is the sexed up no holds barred version of Dr. Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures is the toned down, family friendly version. It was ok. I've certainly watched much worse things. I'll probably catch it on dvd further down the road.

Spoke with Mebbie and Jim.

Day 115

Slept on and off all day. Watched cartoons (tho the schedule right now is just garbage) then Torchwood and drank Chai Tea.

Had ramen with Kim at Samurai Noodles, then walked to the stadium and sat in row 1 for the Mariner's game. Good game. Any game is pretty good with seats like that.

Started The Fortune Cookie Chronicles and it is great. (Started Nocturnals a few days ago and forgot to mention it, I'm having some trouble following it. Probably the zombie plague kicking in.)

Asleep by 10.

Spoke with Monica, Czabrina, Steve, Jim, Paul, and Amber.

Day 114

Dragged my disgusting phlegmy self into work. Left early.

Went to a BBQ at Courtney's and sat around eating my weight in asparagus, bread, and delicious salmon with Steve. Watched Bedknobs & Broomsticks. Fought sleep.

Went home and immediately passed out.

Day 113

Woke up very snuffly and late. Coughed up some mucous.

Went into work and got to use my fancy new computer, which was fantastic.

Same client stood me up for the third time in a row. I officially hate them.

My tutoring student got her weeks mixed up and no-showed as well.

Had dinner at Rosita's and then dessert at Bottega Italiana with Steve.

Packed 2.5 boxes.

Day 112

Still disgusting. Slept most of the day. "Watched" (mostly dozed) more Psych, Big Love, and Bones.

Hacked green phlegm up. It is awesome. Wish you were here?

Spoke with Megan and Bonnie.

Popped in to the office. Coughed a lot and finished up some stuff. Everyone I saw told me I looked like crap. (Thanks, guys.) (PS- I have some congealed green phlegm for you guys. I've been saving it up, just for you.)

Today would have sucked more, had I the energy to focus.

Day 111

Didn't sleep well till I took some cold meds at 12:30. Woke up with almost no voice and painful coughing. Called in sick to work at 7. Slept until 11. Checked email and voicemail. Slept until nearly 3.

I can't stop checking the email and voicemail. My boss is out of town and it is my busiest season. I'm really upset. I'm always sick for long periods of time because I have nobody to back me up in the office. It is nice to be needed but I have no choice but to go into the office tomorrow. I hate to be a whiner, but I simply don't get paid enough to work when I feel so shitty I can't stand in the shower. [Be prepared for further bitching in tomorrow's exciting post: I can't believe I dragged my pitiful ass in here to intercept FedEx in order to pass on these materials to someone else.]

Reheated some chili from the last time I was sick. Ate some bacon bits out of the bag. (Cry for help?) Chased that with the rest of a pint of Ben & Jerry's.

Watched some Psych and napped intermittently. Spoke with Paul.

Today was terrible.

Day 110

Felt extremely ill at work but couldn't leave because I had appointments and important things that could not be put off. So I felt exhausted and panicky in addition to my throat hurting, sinus and ear aches, and general wheezing.

Was supposed to go see the sneak of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but couldn't make it. Didn't make it to the Stube either.

I pulled a bunch of recipes from my back issues of Gourmet and Martha Stewart Living Magazines and passed out very early.

Spoke with Mom, Jim, Steve, and Grammy. Lost my voice by the evening.

Today was not good at all.

Day 109

Watched Eastern Promises and it was fantastic. You should watch it. Cover your eyes during the scary parts tho.

Napped for hours. I feel some bronchitis coming on. Nothing sexier than hacking up a solid sheet of back of the throat phlegm. (Still Single!)

Had chicken noodle soup and dumplings at Family Sunday Dinner (recorded meal convo with digital voice recorder- hopefully I'll figure out how to cut the audio and put it on my blog or at least post transcripts).

The girls left and then we watched King of Kong, which you should also see on account of the awesome.

Finished Adrian Mole and Sense & Sensibility (on Masterpiece Theater).

Spoke with Steve and Addy.

Day 108

Met Beau, Jim, and the Jasons at Paul's to help him move some things into storage. Paul has a lot of boxes of comics and toys. Consider this a cautionary tale. I don't think I was very helpful. Perhaps I should do extra pushups so I can be strong enough to carry stuff.

We had a celebratory lunch (and cookies) and Jim and I headed down to Ikea and Mor Furniture (For Less!). Jim thinks he has couches and his office furniture sorted. I found a drop leaf table that might work nicely for my sewing machine.

We popped in to Loews and looked at paints and I realized that I need to get my shit together to get this move going since I will be dogsitting and working like crazy but, naturally, have made no plans to get any moving accomplished. I think I'll take a few days off work to pack and un-pack.

Next we went to poker night at the Comic Stop and I simply couldn't pull it together enough to actually play anything so I sat around and chatted.

I spoke with my mother.

Finished Bone and read a little more Adrian Mole.

Today felt very long but was good.

Day 107

Did some shopping and left my dogsitting house.

Went to Kim's parent's house and fetched her for dinner at Samurai Noodles and some shopping in the I-District.

Went back to Kim's parent's house and played with their dog and made brownies.

Read more Bone.

Day 106

Went to SAM with Jim to check out the Roman Collection on loan from the Louvre and the 3 panels of the Gates of Paradise ("never to again leave Italy!"). It was super crowded and I wish that we could have come in the middle of a work day, but it was amazing. Very fascinating and just gorgeous. I'm a bit of a Roman history nerd, so that aspect was nifty too.

Afterwards, grabbed a bite at Red Robin (only thing open on the waterfront aside from fish joints). The waitress tried to over charge us but thought when the register said "overpayment" that it meant "overdraft". So all night I was worried about my checking account. (Which is fine, by the way.)

Played with the dogs, packed to go home, and read more Bone.

Spoke with Burke.

Day 105

Measured the new condo to make important furnishing decisions. (Furniture? Yes, please.)

Made steaks, asparagus, and potatoes with Steve. Then we went to DQ for Blizzards.

Read some more Bone.

Spoke with Grandma and Mebbie.

Day 104

Had dinner with Lynn & Michael (mango chicken & pork, carrots, interesting rice).

Saw a fantastic lecture at Benaroya Hall. Herpetologist, Brady Barr was awesome and informative. He had some really interesting things to say about conservation and the way that scientists study animals.

Played with dogs and read more Bone.

Spoke with Steve.