Sunday, I got up at a ridiculous hour of the morning to go Downtown to see Tiff. For whatever reason, we decided it would be best to stay in the Arden B instead of Uptown. I still don't get that one. I got back on the road before 11 and made it back sooner than expected. I have no idea how both places seem to be equidistant from Arden B, yet I live five miles from Tiff. Hrm...

Jerry still had to pack, clean up around the house, and lord only knows what. I wanted to be ready to leave at noon, but I doubt we left before 1:30. Plus, we had to stop to get drinks and snacks for the road. All told, I think we were ON 94 around 2pm. We are really awesome at being on time to things. :P

The drive out was pretty uneventful. He played The Memory of Earth by OSC on his iPod. The reader's voice is so freakin' soothing that I kept falling asleep. Lulz.

Mom and Doug took us to the Pizza Ranch for dinner. I love that place so friggin' much! That was also nice, because then we didn't have to wait until Tuesday to take Grandma and Grandpa there. :P We went to the playground after dinner and burned off a few bites of mashed potatoes. Mom, Doug and Darin stayed through the end of Survivor and then bolted for home.

We stayed up for a bit, mostly bumming about the cabin. We didn't stay up too late, because we had to be up at 9 to get to the Gloege's by 10 for breakfast. Jacuzzi time was had, and I taught Jerry the ASL alphabet. He's really good!

I <3 Walgreens. They are having a print sale right now, something like "buy 25 get 25 free". So great! I also have a coupon for a free 8 x 10. I have to redeem them both today.

Dig through my photos and tell me what to print!

Monday: Worked out with the Wifey. Had lunch with the Wifey. Rode to bingo with the Wifey. Had cuuuuuute beers with Jerry B., Amanda, and the Wifey. Went home and made amazingly tasty bacon-shells-and-cheese-crescent-roll-thingies. So great! I stayed up late with Jerry B. watching The League of Gentlemen. Also, extremely great! We partook in a round of Jynnan Tonnyx, too.

Tuesday: Hung out at home, in bed, ALL DAY. :) Dropped off my scooter at Meeeeeguel's place, and he gave me a ride to the Vesc. That was very nice, especially since it was balls cold and RAINING outside. :( After my freakin' awesome day at home, I really thought that nothing could ruin my mood. I was wrong! Shitty tippers ($8.50 on a bill of $85, and $6.50 on a $70 bill...arg), pissy co-workers, and just plain moronic behavior from more than one person was just enough to tip me over the edge of not having a great night at work. :/ I got a ride home from the closing hostess, though, so that was nice. Saved me a cold, wet, looooong ride home on the bus. :)

Wednesday: Got up and worked out with mah Wifey. We had lunch together again afterward. We rode together to SPW at Ryan's. Awesome times were had.

Thursday: Worked out yet again with the Wifey. I had much business to attend to, so we weren't able to go as long as we usually do. I dealt with my student loans, made appointments at various locations, set up more jobby stuff. Greh. What a busy day before werk! I had a shower, then headed off to werk. Had a decent night, still rife with shitty tippers. I had a table of five teenage girls show up right as I was about to be cut. They tipped me a grand total of $6.88 on a $70 tab. Awesome. Went to Arden B to watch Jurassic Park with Jerry B. Good times were had by all!

Friday: Got up at the ungodly hour of 9am in order to make it to work out with Jess by 10am. Jerry, Jess, the Pantsmom, Matt Anderson and I had an awesome lunch at Ping's. What a way to celebrate Friday! :) After Ping's, Jerry and I came back here for a bit. He worked on the couch (lucky guy with a mobile work station!) and I took a catnap before werk. I had a decent night at the Vesc in terms of customers. We were still slow as hell, but it was better than Tuesday and Thursday combined. :/ I caught a bus downtown and went to Target to pick up a few necessities. I'm currently chilling solo in my room while everyone watches horror flicks in the living room. I really hope that their volume level isn't offensive to the caretakers. :(

On an unrelated note, I'm craving pizza and thai food (independently of each other) like a crazy person as of late. I want cheese back in my diet! :P

Monday last--turns out I didn't have to work. Mom wanted to do lunch, so we hit up Ping's. That made me super happy! I had my little run-in with humor on my way there, and Mom dropped me at Target on her way out of town. I can't for the life of me remember what I wanted at Target...food, maybe? I honestly can't remember at this point. :P The lovely and talented Stylie came over for some one on one ROCK BAND action. She awoke me from a much needed nap that was filled with crazy dreams. We created R. T., who now lives on my wall, as well as INSIDE MY XBOX. So great. :) PROMPT WATER. 'Nuff said.

Tuesday--I worked lunch as a server, which was a nice change of pace. Didn't make much money, but still had a good time. I'm pretty sure that the Wifey and I went to work out, but I don't seem to have much supporting evidence of this claim. Yes, yes I did. I took the bus (it took forever) and met Jess for some much needed physical activity. Got back home to a very lovely surprise from the UK. I am so spoiled! :D The Wifey and Jerry B. came over for moar ROCK BAND. We also watched old commercials on youtube. Good times were had by all. We also watched some Rockapella! Carmen Sandiego, FTW!

Wednesday--another day, another night of South Park. The Wifey and I went ellipticalling and back. Had a good crowd on Wednesday for LEFTOVER NIGHT. Nobody was allowed to bring food. We did pretty hefty damage to the stash of food. I just hope it stays this way. Kicked the last of the rockers out at 2am. I honestly have no idea how I keep functioning!

Thursday--Javier picked me up before work. It's nice to get a ride once in a while. The bus isn't bad...I'd almost rather deal with the bus than Javier most days. :P Worked till 4. Nothing special. Wifey and I hit the gym again. Good times. Meeeeeguel came over for yet moar ROCK BAND. I passed out fairly early, feeling cold-like. I'm amazed I haven't gotten it since nearly ALL of my friends and family HAVE. I am so lucky!

Friday--woke up rather later than anticipated. I wanted to go to the gym with mah Wifey, but didn't want to push the cold-feeling. Lazed about the house till shortly before worktime. I made some really amazing Special K bars. I made decent money at work, stayed far later than originally expected, then went to Crystal's to visit with her kittehs. Jess and I spent over SIX HOURS hanging out at Crystal's place--without Crystal! I couldn't believe it! We had a really awesome chat about life. I <3 mah Wifey so hard!

Saturday--got up at some unreasonable hour to get Tiff up. Headed out to Arden Hills with Amanda to paint Jerry B.'s kitchen. I met his ADORABLE kitteh, Mojito. He's got a PIMPIN' HOUSE! Too bad it's in the middle of nowhere. :P It's got a bar in the basement, the Best Couch Ever, four bedrooms, and a fully functioning studio with a green screen and light grid. Amazing. After painting, I came home and had a lovely conversation with fleur. Glad to hear she's doing better, and hopefully our crazy schedules will mesh up soon so I can get kitteh play time in! :) Headed over to el Manfort with Jerry B. for a Saturday night drink-a-thon. Ended up bailing out early due to being a hell of a lot drunker than I thought, and DST and werk the next day. Sometimes, I have to be semi-responsible.

Sunday--got up shortly before I needed to be at werk. Hauled ass Downtown. Mom and Darin met me at Tiff's place, and we headed to the Kinh Do for tasty lunch. It helped slightly with my nasty hangover, but the Advil several hours later really sealed the deal. Mom and Darin and I went SHOPPING. At Rainbow, they had the beans I like but NO TORTILLAS. They also had fire fighters. Look for a picture soon! I call shenanigans on the tortillas. They also did not have the rice paper Mom wanted for making spring rolls. We went to the Midtown Global Market. The Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus was the live entertainment. I has a video! I will post it later. We bought Crazy Mexican Candies, rice paper, tortillas, tomatoes, cilantro...we basically walked out with the entire market in tow. Got home around 3 and did not stop playing Rock Band until about half an hour ago. Much hilarity at SPS ensued...too many things to even recall. Asian Dan logged in on my Xbox and downloaded all of his songs for us to use. SO GREAT! Darin was a trouper, just pooping out at 2am when the last of the guys left. Mom is going to skin me alive for letting the ten year old stay up all night. :P

That leaves me where I am now. Tired. A little hungry. Thirsty. Bored. Lonely. How I'm lonely after having an entire house of people over for nine hours is beyond me. I'm so needy. :P I'll try to update more regularly...I hope.

An actual conversation I just had with Darin:

Darin: Who's RT? (we are playing Rock Band, and he saw RT in the lineup of available players)
Pants: I'll show you! He's our Mayor!
Darin: How did you find the Mayor? How did you get to pick him?
Pants: We made him.
Darin: You did good at making him.
Pants: Yep, he's pretty great.
Darin: Is he cool?
Pants: YES, YES HE IS VERY COOL!

I <3 my little brother. :)

We left off on Monday of last week! How does the time get by me so quickly?!

Tuesday--my wrist was still sore when I got up. Major bummer when you work in the serving industry, I can tell you that! :( Werk was fine--I just made Corey do the brunt of the heavy lifting. :P I was actually supposed to work dinner, but got my schedule all jacked up in my brain. I got up, packed, took the bus across town, and got to werk before anyone else showed up. By the time I realised that I wasn't supposed to be there, the girl who WAS had arrived. She agreed to come in for dinner for me. That was so great! I took the bus up to Elk River after werk. Mom, Darin and I went to the Chinese buffet in Elk River, even though I wanted to go to Monticello. It was still tasty. I spent the night at home and did some last minute packing and hammering of details before Mom's birfday party. I think I managed to go to bed at a reasonable hour (before 3am, anyhow) since I knew I was getting up early the next morning.

Wednesday--got up around 9, I think. Took a shower, ran some errands with Mom. We had an AWESOME ADVENTURE at the furniture store in ER. :D We ate Taco Bell for lunch, yet still stopped in for milk with Darin at school. So great! Mom brought me home in the early afternoon. The Wifey and I were supposed to go to Costco, but my timing was poor. I checked in on Crystal and Jessica B. to make sure they didn't need anything. I still have beans and oil for Jessica! Our schedules will work out one of these days, I promise! We had a successful SPW, complete with Church Basement potluck foods. So great, I tell ya!

Thursday--I had to get up FAR too early to go to werk. That's the only downer to SPW, is working the next morning at the ungodly hour of 10:30am. :P I worked my tail off all day, despite a severe lack of sleep. Stopped in to see my good friend, Jeneane (sp?) at Ragstock with dinner in tow. She spoiled me with tidings of a cute wallet and two reusable bags. I have the bestest friends! I also hit the bank and the grocery. I replaced Crystal's three year old condiments. :P I hit up Powderhorn Park with Meeeeeguel, Dave, Bertine, Ryan, mah Wifey, and E-Man. SO GREAT, was the sledding! We went to Crystal's afterward for cocoa and treats. Tofu lo-mein, butterscotch schnapps, and an unflattering nap later, I had a great night. :)

Friday--After sleeping in extremely late, I eventually dragged my bum ass out of bed and hit up Costco with mah Wifey and Meeeeeguel. We procured many goods for Mom's b-day party. We went to Bertine's for Raving Rabbids and pizza before she and Crystal went to a concert. The Wifey and I weren't feeling up to a concert on a Friday night. I'm just not much of a 'let's go out on Friday night' kind of person. Meh. I'm too cheap and get easily overstimulated. I loaded up many party goods into Grimace (Wifey's car) and called it a night...or, at least, I tried to. Seeing as I slept in half the day, I wasn't able to fall asleep till well after 4am. BUMMER. Oh, I was also having a hard time falling asleep due to the fact that there were ANTS crawling all over my ceiling. Plunkett's was called in to inspect the damages--the lady "laid some traps" in hopes that they would eat the bait and take it back to the nest. I bought a shiny can of RAID and killed every last one of the bastards. I haven't seen an ant since. :D

Saturday--got up just in the nick of time to finish packing, get dressed and RUN to the bus with my little old lady cart in tow. :P I spent the day at Tiff's--worked out with the Wifey, baked two cakes for the party, set the party room up, took a shower...bleh. The party was a rousing success, save for the fact that Mom was the FIRST PERSON TO SHOW UP. :P Usually, when she says she'll be somewhere at 5pm, that means 5:30 or 6. She got there at 4:30. Whoops. :P A bunch of family members came, as well as a lot of my friends. I think Mom had a really good time. I know Darin did! We had lots of Nerf and Nerf-esque guns to play with, and lots of camo was worn. SO GREAT! Mom and Darin ducked out around midnight, but the rest of us partied till nearly 4am! I got so tanked...

Sunday--I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and got over to Tiff's around noon thirty. She headed off to breakfast, and I stayed to clean her place up. Thankfully, Meeeeeguel lent me a hand and packed up the party remnants into his van to bring back to my place. I thanked him in the form of lunch at Los Ocampo. OMG, I <3 Mexican food after a night of heavy drinking. I came home with the intention of taking a nap. I got here after 3pm, spent a solid half hour unpacking leftovers from the party and finding new homes for them. I laid down to take a nap, and then Amanda and Chris showed up! This is why I am off to bed as soon as I finish typing this goofy thing. I'm wiped! Ann bought lots of awesome new animal hats to go with the Frog Hat that Bertine gave me. We lost a guitar due to a broken spring. We had many technical difficulties with the webcam, so we called it quits on that front for the evening. Everyone hit the road fairly early--Amanda and Chris first, around 9 or so (so awesome to see them again!), and people slowly filtered out after that. I think Asian Dan was the last to go, and that was around midnight.

That leaves me where I am now. Calm, cool, collected. Tired as all get out. I don't have a copy of the schedule for this week...I hope I don't work tomorrow. :P

Pantsmom's 45th b-day from the comfort of your own living room!

:D

We left off, dear SBj fans, at 4am last Thursday. How do I manage to pack so much stuff into my days?! :P

Thursday, I didn't actually end up falling asleep till 6:30am. I don't know why. I just couldn't sleep. I was NOT a happy camper when 9:30am rolled around, and I had to get up and catch a bus. >:( Work was fine. We actually got busy, and I made some decent $$! That's always a nice bonus. My replacement didn't show up till nearly 5:30, as per usual. I hope they figure out that her tardiness affects everyone else in a major way. Javier was nice enough to stick around and give me a ride home. I really appreciate that, even if Javier is a little creepy. We sat in his car and had a nice chat until I was falling asleep in his car. I then hopped upstairs, took a fast shower, and mah Wifey picked me up to go see Crystal. I went armed with three bottles of wine and the intention to drink at least one of them all by myself, due to the shibby news. Meeeeeguel met up with me and my lovely girlfriends for Chinese food and girly movies. I sincerely apologise to anyone (Bertine) whose movie experience(s) I disrupted. I was sleepy as hell and looped up on a bottle of wine. SCORE ONE FOR THE PANTS!

Friday, I got up at a reasonable hour (11am...lulz) and headed DT to meet up with Michelle. She's the one who helped me file my divorce papers oh-so-many years ago. She helped me file my harassment restraining order against Damian. I will write an entry on this adventure, as it was detailed, difficult, and necessary. I will never forget this day. I want to write the judge a thank you card. At the end of the day, I had a mini-SP event. Amanda and Bridgette were able to come, so we invited some people over for fun and RB. Amanda and Bridgette both had to leave early, due to illness and TV programming, in that order. :P Everyone was glad to meet A and B, and I'm so thrilled they were both able to come! Things got a little out of hand later in the evening. I still maintain this was all Asian Dan's fault, even though he wasn't there. Pantsless snow angels, camera flashes, and general craziness ensued after Asian Dan told us he wanted his bottle of whiskey to be GONE by the next time he came over. That guy... *shakes head*

Saturday, I got up at headed to Tiff's. I really like my weekend routine. It gets me out of bed at a decent hour, yet allows me to go out and party the night before. :) Tiff and I hung out till almost noon! I headed out to run some errands, hit Target pretty hard, picked up some sammich meat from Crystal, then came home to bake in my bathrobe for the skiers. The lovely Bertine was kind enough to bring me a can of baking powder. I am so grateful for that, I don't think she even knows. <3 When the skiers got back in town, we used up the ground beef that Chris brought on Wednesday and had BACON CHEESEBURGERS. I had Velveeta Shells and Cheese. :P I made neon spritz cookies, and we drank hot cocoa with Bailey's in it. YUMMO. We played Rock Band, as Jess and Ryan couldn't fathom my TV with anything other than RB playing on the screen. ;) We called it an early night, as everyone was fatigued from some hard slope hitting.

Sunday, I went to Tiff's and headed home pretty quickly. I spent much of the day lazing around in bed, not really doing much of anything. AMANDA AND CHRIS were the first RB attendees!!! I am so happy they came. :D Chris and Peter were the two newcomers. I hope we see more of them soon. :) Bertine even brought Crystal! We had a fairly large crowd, topping out at 15 people! I still am so amazed every week that all of my lovely friends come and cram themselves into my tiny apartment for hours on end. I <3 you guys, srsly. We celebrated Pete's 1/2 b-day with a tasty cake with HOMEMADE frosting that mah roommie made, as well as healthy snacks, and Bacardi-diets. A great time was had by all!

Monday, my Mom called around 9 or 10...I'm not really sure which. She had went to coffee with my Grandma (Doug's Mom) and had to tell me the news. Something about Darin being off from school, Grandma fighting with her sister (sad!), me going to Elk River tomorrow, and lord only knows what else. I hate it when she calls me so early! :P I tried to fall back asleep, but of course, the neighbor's dog started barking, as well as someone kindly running their chainsaw in the alley. Lovely. I did manage to fall back asleep, staying in bed till nearly 2pm! I am so lazy. :P I got up and did some business, ate some tasty popcorn, and headed to work. I got home around 9:45. Nothing eventful really happened at work, for which I am thankful.

No dice on the daily updates, eh?

Tuesday (10th): Mom and I went and had school lunch with Darin after mailing packages all over the world. To those of you who have already received them, I can't wait to hear what you think, and to those of you who will receive them later, I also can't wait to hear what you think. :P We contemplated stopping in at the dentist, but they were out for lunch, so I'll have to have my tooth looked at another day. I also think my wisdom teeth are coming in, so I'll need some consultation on when I'll be having those out. Boo! Mom and I called pixiecup to see if there was anything she needed, seeing as she had a busted up arm. She said she needed olive oil, so we got her some. :P I did some cleaning of my room, washed some whites, and then went to Psycho Suzi's with Jerry B. and his pals. I filled out an application, but I doubt I'll hear anything from them. I got home around 2am and crashed around 3, as per my new usual.

Wednesday (11th): I went over to pixiecup's house to help her fill out MN Care paperwork. I need to finish mine, too! I had a great chat with her, helped do the papers, and then washed her dishes while she fed me chard and Wheat Thins with hummus. She's a great lunch date! We had a LARGE scare when Owen got home from school. He said that Wes wasn't on the bus. We got in Jessica's car and started speeding around town trying to find him. We were extremely relieved to see him sitting, teary-eyed, on the front step of the apartment building. I have never known such fear as thinking that someone's child could be missing. Once we were all happily reunited, Jessica's cat, Fay, started nomming on my hair, so we took some pictures. I can't wait to see how they turned out! On my walk home, I picked up some Taco Bell. Sick and wrong, I know, but still tasty. :P During SPW, we celebrated Tiff's 1/2 B-day, so we hired the lovely and talented Warr N. Piece to strip for her. Good times were had by all. But you don't have to take MY word for it. :P

Thursday (12th): I never want to get up on Thursdays to go to work. It's hard after staying up till all hours partying to find the motivation to get up, get on a bus, and go to work for 6+ hours. :P Work was fairly uneventful, aside from the fact that I felt an ear infection coming on. I got a ride home from one of the cooks, and he even took me to the bank and the grocery store! I scored some hella awesome bacon and tasty bits for cooking food. Mike and I had dinner and video games together. He also put peroxide in my ears. They did start to feel better, but I was really dizzy. Odd side effect, I thought.

Friday (13th): Didn't get up till 1:30, and didn't actually roll out of bed till after 3. Mike and I went to a late lunch at the Independent, hit up Game Stop for some lovelies, and Ragstock to see my favorite used clothing cashier. I spent Friday night with Jerry B. drinking Sapphire gimlets, eating bacon, and watching crazy British television. SO GREAT.

Saturday (14th): Was supposed to go to teh pancake breakfast with Ann, Bertine and Crystal, but for many reasons, I didn't make it. Went to go visit my favorite Tiffiny in the whole wide world, and waited for Bertine to come pick me up. Went to Bertine's in search of a suit, and found something super! I was planning on going home to sleep and do laundry before going to work, but of course that didn't happen. :P Bertine and I hung out and gabbed for HOURS. I love that about her, that we can just sit and yak for EVER. So great! I worked at the Vesc from 4:30-11pm. I had no idea I'd be getting out that late! Mike picked me up so we could go to dinner and hang out. For one reason or another, didn't make it to sleep before 3am...again.

Sunday (15th): Went to Tiff's. Got her up. Met Mom and Darin and Mike for lunch at the Green Mill. I will have to post pictures and specifics of my pizza order later. It was fucked up! Darin and I went home so he could play Rock Band and so I could have a nap. People showed up to watch some movie that Ann wanted to watch, so that left Darin and I on the couch. :P I drifted in and out of sleep until around 5 or so, until the movie was over and other people started to show up. The lovely Sarah and James were the first ones to show up not for the movie. What a great surprise! It was Dani and David's Engagement Party, coupled with the food theme of the Seven Deadly Sins. I'll link the gallery after werk. :)

Sunday night into Monday morning: I got a phone call from damncutekitty, asking me to take her to the ER. I am an unlikely candidate for this job, mostly due to the fact that I don't have a car. Even if I hadn't had access to Ann's vehicle, I would have taken a taxi, I would have run across town, I don't care--I would have found a way over there to take her to the hospital. I spent a very tense and worried six hours in the ER, watching Crystal's blood be drawn, ultrasounds be taken, and listening to her moan in pain when the meds weren't working. I was so numb from lack of sleep and shock from the situation to cry, but I wanted to. How stressful!

Monday morning (16th): I made the call to Crystal's mom, telling her that Crystal was in the ER and that I wasn't going to leave her. That is one of the worst calls to make--telling someone's parents that their child is in the ER. I'm just so glad that it wasn't for something worse! I also called Crystal's boss so she would know Crystal had a valid excuse for missing out on work on Monday. :P I got a call back from the boss, and I thought that was sweet. What a nice lady to work for! In addition to Crystal's business that needed handling, I tried desperately to get a hold of my Mom, so that she could come and get Darin. As much as I wanted to hang out with him, I knew I wouldn't make it to noon with him hanging out on zero hours of sleep. She was able to come get him around 8:30, which was nice. I think I got home around 9, and it was super nice that they hung out for a bit until I got there so they could say goodbye.

Monday afternoon into the night: I slept from 10am till 3pm, since I had to work at 5. Whatever in the hell I was thinking that I would be "fine" to work, I don't know. I desperately wished I had called in the morning and found someone to work for me. Fortunately, mah wifey told me she would give me a ride to werk. I can't even tell you how much I appreciated that. Bertine said she'd pick me up from werk, and that sent me over the edge. I cried for the first time that day when I felt the love from my friends over something as simple as a ride to and from werk. :)

Monday night: I got to werk and immediately regretted it. I was so tired that I could barely function. I tried to find someone to replace me, to no avail. Oh well. That wouldn't have been a problem, until 7pm rolled around. Damian showed up and hung out for an hour. I was so tired and numb that I couldn't deal with the fact that he was there. He kept telling me that he would leave me alone, and that he was having trouble concentrating over us splitting up. I burst into tears after he left. I just felt so dirty and slimy and manipulated. I still feel gross thinking about it. I'm going to file a restraining order. I'm really sad about that. :( Bertine got me, and we went to Fedex/Kinko's to make a copy of my resume for my interview on Tuesday morning. :D We also had a glass of wine, talked about life, and then I passed out around midnight.

Tuesday (17th): I woke up at 8 and promptly told my phone (alarm clock) to eff off. 8am shouldn't exist in my world, I swear. :P I got up around 8:30, lurked about the internets for a while, then took to getting ready. I think the interview went well. It's so close to home! I can't wait to find out. :) The wifey came over and we walked to Rainbow for tasty lunch bits. Got some sammich goodies and chilled for a while. That was a nice change of pace. I hung out solo till around 6:30, when she came back to get me so we could go get groceries for Crystal and some dinner for ourselves. The lovely Amanda joined us about halfway through dinner, and Crystal called HOURS before we were expecting her! It was so great to hear that she was doing better than expected. :) We headed over to her place and immediately set to work cleaning her domicile. Jess washed the majority of the dishes, I cleaned the fridge, Bertine did the drying and putting away. I stayed the night and we passed out fairly early.

Wednesday (18th): Crystal woke up several times to go the the bathroom. I kept telling her she needed to take her temperature, since that's the first sign of an infection. :P I'm glad I stayed. We ended up sleeping in pretty late, which was nice. I stayed till after 5, when Ann came and got me. We had spent the day watching Clueless (OMG SO GREAT) and BS-ing around. Crystal's friend Rox sent flowers, and of course they came to deliver while we were on our 15 minute junk food run. I think if Crystal was in the mood for Cheetos and dark chocolate that she'll be fine in NO TIME. That makes me happy. :) Ann took me to Chicago Lake Liquors, where I procured tasty beverages for the group. She headed out for a friend's birthday party, so it was a PANTS only night. ;)

Wednesday night: I got the brilliant idea to broadcast ourselves on the internets via this here website. We had over a hundred hits, and at the peak of our famousness, we had 21 viewers at once! So great. I think the webcam will become a staple of all SP/RB get togethers. :D Owen came tonight, as well as a few new friends. I <3 me some new friends!

So, that leaves us where I am now. Alone, nearing 4 am, needing to go to sleep and think about working 10:30-5 tomorrow. I don't wanna! I want to sleep all day! I'll prolly go to work, though. :) I also have to think about filing that restraining order, finishing my MN Care paperwork, and getting to pixiecup's house with the beans and olive oil for her. What a week that is left for me!

Monday: Tried to go to the AQ with Corey. Turns out, every first Monday of the month is Poetry Slam, so no dice on the comedy. I did look hawt, but to no meaningful end. We got Burger King and chilled at my place for a bit. I stayed up and played RB solo...go figure.

Tuesday: Worked lunch at the Vesc. Didn't get out of there until nearly 3. I'm too cheap to pay for rush hour bus fare ($2.25 instead of $1.75), so I started to walk. I remembered that I needed to pick up some pictures from Walgreen's for my Grandma Lanie. It was her birthday on the 2nd. And yes, I DID call her on Monday. :P I ended up leaving Walgreen's with a HUGE bag of Valentine's goodies. I hope everyone watches their mail. ;) I walked across Calhoun and ALL THE WAY HOME. I was very cold by the time I got home. The Wifey picked me up to go to Tiff's for some Simon and Garfunkel goodness. We had a blast with Ceitius's hookah and Turkish Delight. TASTY!

Wednesday: Had another successful South Park Wednesday extravaganza. Wine and cheese were the order of the day. I picked up some Franzia and cheese in a can. GHETTO TASTIC! Jeremy showed up before the crowd and played a few songs with us. We now have a super sexy blue haired character to add to the band! The lovely Claire brought Taco Bell and her lovely self. We all oohed and aahed over her bento goodness. :D We stayed up WAY too late...as per usual. Jerry B. brought me a new mug from Suzi's--a Marlin. :P

Thursday: I worked 10:30-5ish. I headed out around 5:30, even though my replacement had yet to show up. I wanted to get home and have plenty of time to pre-game before DOLLAR TACOS. Mike and Amanda came over for beer and RB. Amanda is INTENSE. I can't wait to play with her again. Keep your eyes peeled for a special South Park (insert day here) featuring Amanda! Mike's friend Teri showed up after class and played for a while, too. Amanda left before she turned into a pumpkin, so it was just the three remaining characters that piled into Teri's smokin' hot Mustang to go get TACOS. They had BACON TACOS. I was a super happy camper. :) I don't think I went to sleep until nearly 5 the next morning, and even then, I only got a few hours of sleep, due to the fact that the neighbor's dog doesn't know how to respect my sleepy time needs.

Friday: Got up WAY too early after not nearly enough sleep. My Wifey came over to pick me up before a tasty lunch with Sarah B. at Ping's. I love me some potstickers. :) We also went to Target, and then to copy Sarah's keys so I can be a kitty auntie again! I love it that all of my friends have kitties. :) The guy copied the WRONG key, so we will have to go back next week to get it fixed. Friday night, I hung out with Jerry B. and made burritos. We made one for the lady at the grocery store, and brought her a daffodil. I think she was really surprised. :) We watched some League of Gentlemen...funny business! We also went to Aaron Gipe's going away party at the 1029. Good times were had by all. It was excellent to see Mike, Aaron, Dan, and yes, even Red. Wow, I'm old. Around 3am, I kicked a bottle of beer AT my TV, so of course, I couldn't fall asleep. :P

Saturday: Operating on FAR too little sleep, I got up and went to Tiff's a tad bit early. I boogied on out of there when I could, as I had to jet on off to Crystal's to carpool over to Ryan's for the ART SLED RALLY! We stopped and got some BK. I was craving fries. :P Made it to Ryan's in time to eat a quick bite of lunch, then hop in the van (and Bertine's car) to head on over to the park. We set up shop, skidded down the hill, and 12 seconds later, we burst through the poor sled. Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing major. We drank some Premium at Ryan's house. I got good and drunkish by the time Mike arrived. We were off to a game night at his friend's house. Turns out, we were about six blocks from my house. I decided I couldn't handle bowling, and told Mike that I wanted to dip out of Jess and Noah's at a reasonable hour. We ate tasty Perogi (OMG SO GOOD), drank many beers, and played a few hilarious board games. Jess and Ryan joined us later in the evening. We stayed up WAY too late, as per my usual. Mike stayed over since he was FAR too drunk to drive, and was generous enough to allow me to use his van to go to Tiff's on Sunday morning.

Sunday: Got to Tiff's and most of the way home without incident. I stopped to pick up bread and to wash the damned windows on Mike's van, and when I went to start the thing, the alarm went off. I had to call Mike and wake him up for help. :P I came home and started laundry, breakfast (OMG BACON) and a jell-o cake. I got going too late and ended up leaving for werk without my serving apron. I also had to run most of the way there. BOO to that. At least it was nice out. Werk was busy as hell, even though we had two large parties in the back. I asked them to cut me since I was seriously falling asleep. Jess and Ryan came to pick me up, which was SO NICE. I made a decent amount of tips, so I'm a happy camper. SPS was kind of a downer--people spilled many beverages on the carpet, the mic broke, and I was really super over tired. SPW will be much better this week, I'm sure. :) Asian Dan, bless his crazy little heart, drove all the way to Lakeville and back with a mic for me to have. I owe him a big one. :)

Monday: I decided that it was time to come home for a visit. I called Mom last night in my drunkitude, and asked her if she'd be agreeable to picking me up in Elk River at the Park n' Ride. She said she'd do me one better--she'd come get me Monday morning and drive me around town. I am so happy she did! We went to OCB for lunch, and then to Best Buy to spend a gift card I had hanging out. I got three DS games for $10 (after the $20 gift card). They had a bunch of games that were on sale, with an additional 50% off that price! We scored big time. We had a tasty dinner, packed some items up for their trip to the post office tomorrow. I also worked on a resume and cover letter combo for a bitchin' job in my hood. I hope I get it. That would solve a LOT of problems in my world. Financial ones, boredom ones, routine ones...I need a job like this one SO BADLY. :D Wish me good thoughts.

It's now 2:30am on Tuesday. I've already got plans for the rest of the week...go figure. I'll try to update on a daily basis instead of a weekly one.

Would you like to hear the most insulting thing anyone has ever said to me?

"You know, even with that scar, you are still very beautiful."

Why can't I just be beautiful? Does my scar really have to come into play in that respect? Why can't the scar make me even MORE beautiful?

Stayed up WAY past my bedtime last night. Drank WAY too much Vodka. Played WAY too much Rock Band...if that's possible.

Woke up this morning at 7:45 with an intense need for water. I also hydrated Asian Dan, who had slept on the couch. Hooray for not having to werk and a night of heavy drinking!

That was the case until 8:22. I had been contemplating going back to bed, but bed was really far away, and sounded like a lot of effort when the couch was pretty comfy on its own. Luckily, I had stayed up, because my boss called and asked if I could serve lunch today. SURE, WHY NOT?! I like money. :)

The stragglers went to Sunny Side Up for breakfast. The waitress dumped water all over Pete's jacket, and I found a hair on my egg. I'm sure we'll go back someday. :P

Werk was fine...slow at first, but then I got hit pretty hard toward the end. Mom came and had a salad and some wine. She likes Beringer. $3 a BOTTLE at liquor stores, $6 a GLASS at Vescio's. Alcohol markup is ridiculous. I bought her lunch and we shared a piece of Marta's chocolate chip cheesecake. TASTY! Anney's smokin' hot coworker likes our cheesecake. O_o

Mom took me to the bank so I could deposit my check and my tips. I have a lot of money in my account and that makes me happy! I have enough to cover my loan payment AND rent, and it's only the 5th of the month! That makes me a happy panda.

Mom was supposed to give me a bag that has my left over things from the trip in it. We got to talking about my New Year's Resolutions--to GET MN care, and to GIVE UP Damian--and we forgot. :P We'll just have to get together again soon. I want to do something fun with Mom, because Doug will be in Japan for THREE MONTHS. :( She'll be lonely.

I'm off to Chino Latino for dinner. I have a gift card that I want to use before it expires, and I don't want to cook tonight. Anyone wanna be my dinner date? :D

It's over. The ceremony was less than 20 minutes, which was nice. Our family is Catholic, so I was slightly concerned about a 1.5 hour long Catholic ceremony. :P

I cried three tears. Two when Nicky walked out with Dad (for real, the rehearsal run didn't do shit for me) because she looked SO BEAUTIFUL, and one during the vows. Nicky was starting to waver in the voice and sniffle a little, so I started to lose it. The worst part about my crying is that I have had a cold for about a week now. When you start crying, your nose starts running. When you have a cold, it runs like crazy. My one tissue was on shaky ground, but it did survive the ceremony.

Jud's family is great. They are nice, caring, funny...they all love Nicky very much. I made Nicky cry with my speech. I did my job there--that was the first time she'd cried all day!

The reception was so freakin' fancy. Seating arrangements, table runners, hand made party favors...I can't imagine planning an event of that caliber. Dinner was so beautiful that I didn't want to eat it, I wanted to put it on my wall. :P

A few of us stayed till 11 when it all ended. We had a final dance with the stragglers. Two of my aunts, an uncle, Mom and Doug, a few of Nicky's friends. It was really sweet.

All in all, as much as I bitched to everyone that I didn't want to go, I did have a good time. Just like you all told me I would. :P That doesn't mean that I'm not chomping at the bit to get home, though. There is talk of stopping in Wisconsin Dells tonight and not coming home till tomorrow! :( Hopefully, I'll be home by 1.

I had a really cute idea for whatever speech-type thing I might have to make at the wedding tomorrow. I totally forgot it. Next time, I'm writing that shit down.

Joined Twitter today. I'm jesspants. Go figure.

Nicky and Jud don't seem to like being warm. I'm absolutely frozen sitting in their living room.

Watching Anchorman with Joe and Kate. Kate's never seen it before. I love watching people's reactions.

Finally starting to feel better. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be back at 100%.

After the wedding tomorrow, I have to stay at the hotel with Mom, Doug and Darin. Glad I brought my bathing suit and a lot of books.

Can't wait to come home. I'm so ready to be sleeping in my own bed instead of this goofy futon thing. Not sure I'm ready for the drive home with the family.

I really need to start being more active. Getting older, my weight is shifting. I carry more of it in mah belly than I used to. Bleh.

I started 2008 off in a very down state of mind. I had recently found out I had miscarried Damian's baby. I was deeply sad; I was deeply relieved. We were fighting ALL THE TIME. I knew it was going to end, but I didn't have the courage to end it myself. He was mentally and verbally abusive. I felt trapped in the relationship with him, and seeing as I was so isolated from my friends and family, I honestly believed that I would stay with him forever. We celebrated our one year anniversary at the end of January and I thought I would never actually leave.

On January 29th, he ripped my cell phone apart after an entire day of fighting...I know it very easily could have been me.

After a long absence from communication (internet AND telephone) during 2007 due to a controlling boyfriend clinging to my shoulder and questioning my every move, I finally started reaching out to friends through LJ. And you responded beautifully.

I am so grateful to every single one of you. For every comment. Every word of support. Every affirming statement that told me I was better than he made me think I was, and that I deserved to be treated better. I value your value in me so very much. Thank you.

Those of you who have known me for years know that I am NOT the kind of person to roll over and take many things. I fight for what I believe in. I stand up for what I think is right and fair.

For anyone who has never experienced a controlling relationship, I hope that you never will. I have never been more depressed or felt more unloved and WORTHLESS during that year and a half than I have in my entire life. I sincerely doubt I will ever allow myself to be subjected to that kind of treatment again. I also doubt that I will permit a friend to be treated in such an awful manner by anyone.

There were many lessons that I learned during my struggle to make Damian love me for who I was. There were more lessons yet while I struggled to make him love me for who he wanted me to be. The most valuable lessons were learned when I believed all of your beliefs in me and LEFT.

In April, after several breakup/makeup stints, I finally decided he HAD TO GO. I ordered myself a new cell phone, called advocacy help lines, picked everyone's brains, and made plans. On April 13th, 2008, I called Amanda in a panic, and she and Chris came to my rescue outside of Applebee's by Lake Calhoun. Staying at Amanda and Katie's place for a week saved my life.

During that week, I had a DNC to remove the "retained products of conception" from my uterus. I felt that even though I could have used Damian's support during my time of recovery, it was symbolic and appropriate to go through all of this without him. Relying on my Mom, my friends, and my own inner strength got me through some of my darkest days.

When I finally moved back home, I was ready to get back on with my life. Shortly after getting the locks changed and settling into MY apartment, I was fired from my job. Funny how life works, isn't it?

I took it in stride. It was a harsh blow, but it was also a blessing in disguise. I needed the money, but I hated working at Garden and Associates. This was someone's way of saying that it was my time to make a change. After taking a month or so off, I applied for a hostess position at Vescio's. I've been working in food for ten years (!) and this is by far the EASIEST job I've ever had. I love it. Full service restaurants are great fun.

Most of the summer (into the fall and winter) was spent trying to get Damian out of my system. If you look back through my journal or my Flickr, you will find evidence that supports this. I've never experienced addiction before...it was--and frankly, still is--hard to let him go. I am happy to report that I haven't spoken to him AT ALL since December 20th.

Over the spring and into the summer, I tried to replace Damian with a kitteh. I was too busy enjoying my newly rediscovered freedom and working my ass off to be the kitteh mommy he deserved. I made a wonderful new friend in Jennifer, the new kitteh mommy, and all became right with the world again.

A happy little event turned my life around in July. I attended my first Convergence. I felt silly at first, because I used to make fun of all the cosplaying, LARP-ing, gaming, Con-goers. Now, I'm one of the many, one of the proud. I won't miss another Convergence come Hell or high water.

After CVG08, I fell into the most wonderful group of friends a girl could ever ask for. We started out on July 3rd and haven't quit yet. I don't wanna sound like a queer or nothin', but unicorns are pretty kick ass. And so are all of you. :)

Many happy comings and goings have occurred in the months since July. Many sad ones, too. I'm a little older, a little wiser. Just like Wayne, I'm starting to get hair in really weird places. Getting older comes at a price, I guess.

Friends have come and gone--some even came back again. :) We will have a new President in less than a month. Relationships have started and ended. Jobs have been acquired and lost. Modes of transportation have been changed and rearranged. Roommates have been made and are working out well. Engagements have been made into concrete plans for the future. Babies have been born, older folks have passed on.

Basically, everything since early July has been one big, fun, crazy, full of friends, awesome blur. I wouldn't trade this year for anything in the world. Garcia, Hunter, Lesh and Weir said it best: Lately it occurs to me: What a long, strange trip it's been.

I am waiting anxiously for everything 2009 holds in store for us all.

Peace and love--

Jessica V. Lindgren

Today, my family will be in Brooklyn Park or Brooklyn Center...I can never remember which. We will have dinner, tasty treats and beer. My Mom also wants to go to Midnight Mass.

Tomorrow, my family will be in Elk River at my home. We will have tasty food, beer, and good company.

Please email me, send a text, leave a comment, or otherwise get a hold of me if you want to come with. The more the merrier! We can give you a ride, too. My parents are coming to get me today at 3.

Lucille Gloege, Terry [Gloege] Passe, Sara [Passe] Nardinger, Kyla Nardinger.

* Got to Tiff's and discovered her battery charger is not working. Bummer!
* Met up with family at Macy's for lunch at the Oak Grill. SO TASTY!
* Did Dayton's Display (it will ALWAYS be the Dayton's Display, don't care if it's in Macy's now) with Darin (pics to come)
* Learned that a cousin has been through rehab for alcohol and drugs, another one entered rehab while we ate lunch. Subsequently learned that no matter how much I may feel like I'm not doing that great, I actually am.
* Got a call from My Mike, asking if I would want to attend the afternoon's performance of The Nutcracker. WHY I did not just say YES is beyond me...maybe because I felt like I belonged with my family. Everyone even gave me a ton of shit when I got back to the table and said that I had passed up a ticket to The Nutcracker to hang out with them. Oh well. There will always be more Nutcrackers. It HAS been over ten years since I've seen The Moscow Ballet, but I think I'll live...maybe.
* On the way to the party, Doug said that I'm the "most normal" of us four kids. I had a good laugh about that. Mom agreed, saying that Chris is a little iffy, Nicky is "a little too anal retentive" [LULZ] and I'm right in the middle. I was amused and proud at the same time.
* Forgot to pick up awesome holiday cards at Walgreens, so I had to borrow Mom's car and go pick them up. The man at the counter didn't even ask what I was there for, just handed over the pictures. I felt like a pseudo-celebrity. I can't wait till I'm famous. :D
* Bought two bags of Brach's Christmas Nougats for Doug, and a box of White Zin for Grandma and Grandpa. I buy the best gifts ever, I swear. :D
* Had a lovely time at the party. Managed to sit with Grandma and Grandpa, which I liked. I know they won't be around forever, and they probably won't live to see me have kids. I like spending as much time with them as I can. I love it when Grandpa holds my hand and squeezes my shoulder. I love it when Grandma rubs my arm.
* Nearly got teary-eyed when Sue (Grandma's brother Tony's wife) asked how I was doing. I told her [quite honestly] that I'm great. She said "We're happy to hear that. You've had enough icky stuff happen to you." I love my aunt Sue. :)
* When we pulled up to the apartment building, there was a random man standing on the stoop. Mom asked if I knew who he was. I said no, but upon further inspection, decided it could be jck. I told her that if it wasn't, I had no qualms about getting right back in the car. I shouted to him from across the street, and it sure was him! YAY!
* Arrived home around 6pm, and have now been online for about an hour. It's time to step away from the internet machine and GO CLEAN MY ROOM. I need to so badly.

PS--duchess_of_pie sent me the CUTEST card EVAR. I shall show pictures later. :D

Every year at my family holiday party, we have paper bags set up in the back of the room where people can leave holiday cards for each other in lieu of mailing them out. I usually put a picture in said bags with my address and a "happy holidays" message written on the back.

Poll #1314340
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16

appropos christmas card from THE PANTS?

If you don't feel this picture is a good one for family distribution, please (very quickly) dig through my photostream and link a better pic in the comments. I want to send the picture to Walgreens tonight, because the party is tomorrow. I am such a lazy ass. :P

I haven't slept a wink. ;)

It's nearing midnight. I need to floss, brush, mouthwash and GO TO BED.

Honestly, I've averaged around 3-4 hours of sleep a night for the last week. I'm exhausted! I can't believe how much stuff happens in a week.

Friday, I don't work till later...I will totally be sleeping in on Friday. I think it's funny that I have to plan out my sleeping in days.

A few random notes I have forgotten to post about:

* Over Thanksgiving, my aunt and uncle (mom's sister and brother in law) picked Nicky and Jud up from the Amtrak station by their house in Wabasha, MN. On their way home from the train station, they hit/were hit by a deer! A BIG one, too! Steve (uncle) had a black eye, and we gave him shit about it all weekend, since he was obviously covering up for the fact that Terry (aunt) smacks his bitch ass around. I want you all to come observe a day with my family. Then you will no longer wonder where my sense of humor comes from. In either event, the only thing that sustained damage was the car and Steve's eye. Oh, and my foot a couple of days later. A tiny glass shard was on the steps and I was walking barefoot. :(

* I met my cousin Sara's baby. She is SO cute. Like a little doll, only she's alive. I can't express to all of you just how grateful I am that I'M not the parent. I'm not ready. I love it that I can give the baby back, I don't have to worry about diapers or puke or anything like that. :)

* Finally got the fabric from Nicky for the dress. I'm ready to make it. Just need to cut the pattern pieces out and we will construct like mo-fo's over at Crystal's. YAY!