Geek Alert!

Just made my pre-order! So excited. Because money is does not grow on trees I will wait and purchase my first game with the next paycheck. Have to pay the house payment first, which is really nifty in and of itself! Still, I am so very happy with my purchase. I don't have any bells and whistles yet, but all things come with time.

Until I got a dog, I had no idea what this really meant (Guest post from Cheyenne)

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Not long ago, I got a dog.

I'd been thinking about getting a dog off and on for a while, and always deciding against it. I was living in an apartment, with three cats, and I'd want a good sized dog. And while my apartment was nice, and kind of roomy, it was not big enough to add in another 80 or so pounds of good sized dog.

But life changed. It does that, you know. Rather a lot too. Bit of a nasty habit sometimes. But it changed, and I found myself moving from a kind of roomy apartment to a fair sized house, and switching states while I was at it. Everything old was new again - sure, I'd had the bookcases for years, but not in a long room that's bright yellow. I was no longer an apartment dweller - I had moved on, to become a home owner. True, I would be responsible for my own upkeep and repairs, but if I want to paint the walls, I can paint the walls. I can paint them black if I want to. Or orange. Bright orange. And then go over them with paint the color of raspberry sherbet on a textured sponge.

Which might sound weird, but my sister actually did that in her room at Mom's, and it doesn't look that bad.

But it was my home, and thus my rules, and I had been wanting a dog - so when the opportunity arose, I picked up a puppy from one of my neighbors. Suddenly, I was not only a home owner, I was a dog owner.

Moreover, I was part of a pack.

The Editor has three dogs, and I've heard her talk about separation anxiety before - but it's not quite the same. Cats can watch you come and go all day long, and they generally only get concerned if you're feeling particularly bad or if the food bowl is empty - at least my three cats only get concerned at such times. Dogs, though, want to make sure that everything is all right. They want their pack to be safe and stable, regardless of how big or small it is. If my dog - Jake - can't find me, he comes looking for me. I've left him in a good sleep, snoring good and hard, in one room and gone to get a book or some water or to put something away, and within five minutes, he's up and on his feet, almost asleep, following along to see what I'm doing. When I have to leave the house, he sits near the door waiting for me to invite him along right up to the last minute. He'll hop up on the couch to watch me head to the car. And when I come back, if he's not on the couch napping - waiting on me to come back home - he's usually running up from another room, tail wagging so hard his butt moves and tongue flapping right along with it. Doesn't matter if I'd been gone for a couple hours or if I walked to the mailbox. Simply by coming back, I have made everything right with Jake's world.

And I'm noticing the same things happening to me too. When I sit down at the computer for any extended length of time, I glance one way or another every few minutes to see where Jake is. If I hear him walking across the linoleum in the kitchen, I look to see where he's going. If I realize that it's been a while since I've seen him, I go looking for him. If Jake isn't there when I come through the door, I go looking for him. The groceries will be fine - where's the rest of my pack?

I love having Jake around. The cats can take care of themselves pretty much - I'm only important because I have thumbs and can refill the food and water. Jake can get along without me well enough, but he's a bundle of happy when I'm around. Doesn't matter if I'm not feeling great or if I'm busy. We're a pack, Jake and I, and that makes him happy as all get out.

It does wonders for me too, if you were curious. Right now, he's asleep behind the printer stand, snoring lightly. And having my pack close by, should I need him - for any reason or none at all - makes me happy too.

This Was Me Today

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Spring Cleaning

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Finally feeling better. Not great. Better. Today I have had the worst headache imaginable; however, after a pot of coffee and a little more food it is a little better. It isn't going to stop me from going to work tomorrow, and, now I am also able to think a little clearer. Clear enough to know it is time for my mental spring cleaning and putting things into order.

The beginning of Spring is a time of getting rid of all of the heavy clothes we had to wear during winter, and preparing ourselves for the growing season. Renewal.

This entire year has been about renewal for me apparently. I have made decisions about my life and stuck to them; I have worked very hard to be as independent as possible; I have made sure to also be as healthy as possible; and, I have kept up with being creative. This sure does mean a lot of stuff rolling around in my brain. Sometimes it seems there is too much in my brain, so it is time to do some mental spring cleaning, as well as physical spring cleaning in my house.

It is time to let go of the baggage and arrange the necessaries in a more readily accessible order. The main thing currently is the stories that need to come out of my head. There are far too many of them in there at the moment.

Another thing I am also going to do is re-instate fiction here at The News, both my own and others' as well. Within the next couple of days I will post the writer's guidelines for here.

Let the Spring Cleaning begin!

ICK

I am sick with the flu. Right now I am feeling better, but I took off work today in order to try and beat this thing a little faster.

One really odd thing that I noticed today was that my body refused to just lay in the bed and relax. It had to get up and at least be up. I have not done anything major since getting out of bed, which, I think, has helped me start to feel a little better. I am going back to work tomorrow. It is my short day and easier to handle than a full day.

This was the last "free" day I have. It is going to take me six months of not missing any days in order to get this "event" taken off of my record.

Some times work sucks.

Still, I am thankful I am resting today and still have my little job. It is important to me to keep it and also important to keep it.

The World is Damp

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It is raining this evening. Hubby and I were in Northern Kentucky yesterday and came back today. It looked as if it was going to rain the entire time we were on the road.

Our trip was cut short because we had some electrical problems with our van. Major bummer. There is a good chance it is going to be very expensive to fix, which means there are several signs pointing to the possibility we may be having to purchase a new van sooner than what we had planned.

It was wonderful just going up for the day and then deciding to stay over. I slept well, mostly because the bed had an extra firm mattress and Hubby was relaxed more than he has been for several months. While up there we saw Watchmen and I was surprised at how the directors and movie makers were able to get by with full frontal male nudity. I guess because Dr. Manhattan was completely CG (he was completely CG right?) they were able to get by with it.

Watchmen was a very well-made movie and told a very interesting story. It reflected humanity quite well, and, despite the bleakness of it, I can honestly say it was a very good movie. Since I had never read the Watchmen graphic novel(s) I knew nothing of what to expect. Hubby said he knew it was going to be a very dark comedy. I would have been happier with it if it had just been a little more happy. Well, not every movie is for me, of course. Hubby really enjoyed every moment of it, which was two hours and forty-one minutes of moment.

The drive home was beneath dreary gray skies, and it only began actually raining around seven o'clock this evening.

And now, I get ready for work tomorrow. *le sigh* Monday approaches at a rapid speed.

Monday? Again?

There are moments when Mondays are those hellish things you wish you never had to experience again. There are times when Mondays aren't so bad and you can handle them without too much concern. There are yet other times when Monday can be a mixture of both the hellish and benign kind. Today was just a plain old annoying Monday.

Yesterday I purposefully saved the last of Emerald Hell to finish today while at work. Each and every time I picked up the book my phone rang. After the third or fourth time I was tempted to give up on reading at all.

I will finish tomorrow. I am determined!