Thursday Thirteen: January Insanity

I haven't posted here on measi(dot)net in a while - it honestly has been slipping my mind. I don't know. I think I just want to keep all of the fandom insanity separate from my blog over here, but it seems that my life is just wrapped in fandom these days... so, eh. I probably just should let it bleed over and give up, eh?

In any case, it's been insane since the beginning of the year, and here's my thirteen things that have been taking over my life since the New Year:

1) Birthday celebrations. I'm 33, had a fantastic birthday with friends over a Pats game and some delicious strawberry hookah smoking.

2) The Patriots. Sundays have been owned by football. Absolutely owned. And I'm loving it. The Superbowl party is in the works. :)

3) Being sick. I fell ill with a cold on New Year's Eve, and still have the annoying cough that goes with it, despite otherwise feeling fine. It's not a painful cough, mostly in the mornings and evenings, but the cold weather (and the hookah smoking on my birthday) didn't help.

4) Fanfic writing. I've been finishing up pieces that were due around the holidays. Got one done and posted last week. Now I'm working on the other one, which I hope to have completed this month. A small idea just snowballed and, with some help from another writer, looks to be a much better, satisfying piece.

5) Work. I've been absolutely insane with work lately. Lots of little projects, lots of paperwork to get through because insurance policies have just renewed as of the first of the year, and lots of really random little things like redesigning the company letterhead (eep!)

6) Torchwood & Doctor Who - Torchwood Series 2 just started airing in the UK last week, and it starts on BBCA this Saturday, along with Doctor Who series 3. Both shows are must-see, IMHO. The second series of Torchwood is already MUCH better than the first. Much slicker, stronger plots, and much more sure of itself. And Series 3 Who? Absolutely wonderful. The first six episodes are a mixed bag, but the last seven are much-watch. Particularly Human Nature, Family of Blood, and Blink which should be on in March. You must watch Blink if you haven't done so. It's a brilliant piece of television, regardless of science fiction leanings. It's up for a Nebula award, and undoubtedly will go up for a Hugo this year (the writer, Steven Moffat, has won for his Who outings the past two years).

7) Money issues. Erich and I have been... let's say, stressed. Partially holidays related, partially increase in heating bills related, and partially issues that come up with his mom's estate. I'm just really worried about financing our trip to England in October.

8) Emotional stuff. Erich's worn down by his mom's estate affairs. I'm worn down from being constantly on the run since, oh, last August. We're both in dire need of a break. Thankfully we're not snapping at each other, but both of us are just exhausted.

9) The weather. Unlike last year, where it was nearly 50 degrees for a good portion of January, it's been quite cold with lingering snow. I think it's contributing to some of the emotional exhaustion.

10) Attempting to get our lives back in order. Vet appointments are being caught up on, getting stuff cleaned around the house, finishing up the final few thank you notes from the wedding, etc. - we have a lot of little projects around the house that we desperately want to get done.

11) Cat issues. Along with the generic vet appointment, we've been dealing with some feline frustration. One of the cats was taking to peeing all over the house. We've added a couple additional cat boxes (one upstairs, one out in the sunroom), and that seems to have stopped most of it. We still have an idiot cat who is apparently going into a cat box and peeing, not realizing its ass is hanging out of the box when it goes, though. Haven't caught the culprit, but somehow I think it's one of our bigger three - Colley, Gus, or Hoodsie.

12) World of Warcraft. Attempting to have some me-time has resulted in a lot of hours playing WoW again, and doing all of the in-game related stuff I've wanted to do but couldn't commit the time to while also planning the wedding. Meaningless to real life, of course, but still a little sense of accomplishment all the same.

13) I really don't have a thirteen. Maybe commuting time? The MBTA continues to suck and get worse. This morning's sightseeing excursion on the commuter rail took us ringing around the city through Dorchester because apparently there was something wrong on the mainline track. Never mind the fact that when we got to the junction where both lines meet up by South Station, there were three trains that came through the main line. AND, our train was forced to wait through three trains coming through (10 minutes, standing still), despite us being the ones that were running 20 minutes late into the station. *sigh*

Will February calm down? I hope so!

Dear Puffs brand tissues -

Your idea to put Vicks Vapor Rub into your tissues was a weird idea, I grant you - I was concerned as I considered the box in CVS this afternoon.

But I decided that I was intrigued, and would do a temporary subscription to your newsletter, seeing that my nose is congested to all hell today and I'd give anything to be able to breathe.

Upon breathing in the instant nose-clearing scent of them tonight? You have won me over. Even though I believe they are strong enough to give me a Vapor Rub high. I can just sit here with a tissue under my nose, and I can breathe! Without taking brain-fogging meds!

Brilliant!

Puffs? I love you. I really, truly love you.

Safe and Happy New Year

I'm ill with a chest cold, which is why I'm quiet...

but Happy New Year all - may 2008 be a good one for all.