On the sideline, unphased

So it's New Year's Eve, arguably the biggest party night of the year. One might call it the Super Bowl of party nights. Well, thanks to this unbelievable cold, I'm sitting on the sideline, doubtful to play. I tried going out last night and found I could barely breathe at the bar, not good. So tonight, I'm sucking it up and sitting in with a fatty pizza and DVDs, and I'm actually very surprised with myself that I'm not mad or disappointed about the whole situation -- I would have expected to be pouty about missing out on a night like this. But I'm not. Maybe it's a sign of maturity. Maybe I'm so out of it and I'll miss it later. Regardless, I'll wake up tomorrow to a fresh year, definitely a good thing.

Above I mentioned that I was doubtful to play. That means I might still go out, but it's not likely. But if I have a sudden change of heart, there's a party 4 miles down the road at a buddy's. We'll see what happens.

New Year's Resolutions

Hmm, I don't have too many bad habits compared to some people I know... not a smoker, don't chew, don't bite my fingernails... what shall I pick? One thing I know I can do a better in is keeping in touch with people I don't see often. Actually, this sounds familiar, did I try this one last year? Anyways, it won't hurt to make a conscious effort.

Another resolution: find another way to make money... this could mean becoming serious about the P word again, or by going to bartender school and getting a bartending job. Both have their pros and cons. Poker is something I can do any time, but it requires concentration and a bankroll. Bartending would mean giving up some weekends and/or working some weeknights, but I would definitely meet more people, something I'm always looking to do. Maybe do #2 and #1, I don't know. I'll see where I sit after I get my two things I want by the end of January, a cat and the party bus. I will try to poker my way to these, but there are never any promises there. After that at the end of January, I'll see where I stand.

So about this cold I've had for what seems like forever... it got so bad at work today that I picked up the phone and made an appointment. I got antibiotics, nasal spray, and claritin, and my body is at war with the drugs right now, and I'm a bit out of it. I'll find out if I'm rambling when I read this later... actually I think that I am rambling. Blah blah blah, fight antibodies, fight! Okay, time to cut off this post... sheesh

Almost speechless again...

...but for a completely different kind of reason on the negative end of the spectrum.

I will not go into too much detail on here, but the consequences of something that happened has left me with no choice but to postpone getting a cat and might have wiped out the possibility of a party bus on my birthday. If you really need to know why, ask me. I won't be speechless then.

I'm not completely sour today though, I really did have a sweet weekend besides this "thing". New Year's is coming up and plans are in the making. Maybe this "thing" will be fuel to make me really let loose this weekend and make for some good memories. Let's hope so.

Almost speechless.

From two things, really.

Saturday night was so fun, out for a friends b-day, went to fun new places, caught up with some friends I haven't seen in what seems like forever, and met a bunch of cool new people. Words alone cannot express how much I enjoyed the night, it wasn't typical as so many things were fresh and not same-old. Thanks, big fat birthday girl ;)

The other thing happened today (well, yesterday now). It wasn't a gift I'd ever received before, I knew it would eventually come, I knew about it before I got it, I knew I'd probably cry when it happened, and then it came. My sister got engaged! We were at her boyfriend's (of almost six years) parents' house for Christmas dinner, and I knew he was going to ask the day before. Believe me, I tried hold back the tears, but they came, and I knew they would. Congratulations B & L, I couldn't be happier for you :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Cold not cool

All I want for Xmas is to rid myself of this cold. After a workout today, I felt very faint and had to lie down on my floor to catch my breath, and I fell asleep for an hour, then woke up freezing. Ick. For the first time, a thought passed through my head as a result of living on my own... what if I had fainted or something? What if, what if... now I know a little what it feels like M.

Xmas presents to myself: cable, and a cat. I've been thinking of names, and most of them are just plain silly: Kit (so it would be Kit the cat or KitKat or Kitty which means kitty etc.), Carrot (my family has this tradition of naming animals after foods, it would have to be an orange cat and I'd call it "Carrie" rather than Carrot but it would be officially Carrot, crazy...), OJ II (again, an orange cat to be the second OJ after my last cat that my parents had and as a tribute to Arrested Development [Lucille and Lucille II]), and so on... weird that I can't just pick some normal name, must make me crazy.

Satisfied!

... with my weekend! First time in a while!

Friday: after work, went straight to Dave & Buster's (it's like an upscale GameWorks) for a buddy's birthday. Note to self, go to Dave and Buster's more often. Beer and games and a good crowd make me happy. After that, went to the birthday boy's house for drinks/bonfire. A few got out of control and made for some sweet entertainment... let's just say some pictures that could have gone without the high quality of digital photography were taken... yikes.

Saturday: woke up on a couch, went to Chipotle with b-day boy, got home, worked out, then made plans for the evening... The Myth Nightclub in Maplewood, very new and is the new place for big concerts to take place. First went to ex-roommate's parents' house for a drink, went to ex-roommate's girlfriend's parents' house and had a big muffin that hit the spot, went to ex-roommate's girlfriend's friend's sister's place for a drink and got barked at by a funny pug dog, then finally went to Myth. I had heard a rumor about the clientele at they Myth, and I was happy to find out it was true. Just walking into the place, I felt right at home... just the right amount of lighting, good color scheme, music to dance to playing, and plenty of good-looking female clientele. The drinks and cover were a bit more than I've been used to lately, but this was no problem as I am more than happy to give a little more to get a little more, i.e. awesome venue. There is a huge stage in front of the dance floor, and they had dancers re-enacting music videos which made for good entertainment, and the people I was with knew one of the girls in the show, pretty cool. At one point, someone on stage grabbed a mic and announced "free shots at the bar!" and that's just what happened. Bartenders grabbed bottles and poured them into tens of open mouths, it was a first, and it was fun... yes I was one of the open mouths :) Another random happening: got into a butt-shaking contest with a girl on the dance floor and turned a few heads. I think everybody won there, hehe :)

Today: Well somehow I got this idea in my head to make a vat of soup like when I made lobster bisque, so that's exactly what I did. I made my main ingredients hamburger, bacon, and potatoes, not sure why but it sounded right at the time. The base was made from scratch with steak bones, onions, carrots, celery, thyme, parsley, garlic, and pepper. This was all thrown in the pot and boiled for a good 3-4 hours. After that, the base was strained and to that I mixed in some mashed potatoes to slightly thicken it. A roux was made from the hamburger and bacon drippings and was added to the base for more thickening and flavor. The meat and potatoes were added, and I finished with a bit of parsley, pepper, and salt... after 8 hours straight in the kitchen, phew!

Good weekend, very good weekend :)

KILL KILL KILL

.... all of this recent pessimism! I looked back at my last few weeks' worth of posts, and they suck. Stop it, me.

Best part of the day: when I won a free lunch for 10 at Chevy's! I dropped my business card in a box and I won! Woooot!

And I'm going to a wine party tomorrow night. What? Out on a Thursday? Is it 2004? :)

Insomnia

W T F. Sunday night I didn't fall asleep until 5 and got up at 6. Yesterday was hell. Got home and crashed at 6. Then I woke up at 10 and couldn't sleep again until 3. WTF. Definitely feel better than yesterday though, that's for sure. But seriously, WTF.

Way too much time to think

Friday night was good, a drink after work with co-workers follwed by The Alarmists at the Turf Club in St. Paul. Plans to continue the fun Saturday night were talked about.

Saturday more plans were made, a few of us were going to meet at my place to go out. So I waited. And nobody showed. I called all three, and all three decided on other plans without telling me. So it was 10 PM Saturday night and I was left alone. I wasn't exactly angry, it was was more disappointment than anything. Actually, it was more disappointing than anything I've come across in the past year. Maybe in my entire life. But I didn't sulk or feel sorry for myself, I sat and thought about it for a long, long time. I'm still thinking about it, where I'm at, what I want to do, where I want to go. If part of this journey is a solo trek, I'm prepared to take it on. I just wasn't expecting it so suddenly and so soon.

Settled

Busy busy busy busy busy week. A sacrifice of one weekend... for the next six months... or more. Last week began with clean/pack/clean/pack/unload and followed with unload/unpack/unload/unpack. Then came organize, shop, unwrap, unpack, store, refrigerate, reorganize, shop again, unwrap, unpack... until my apartment was set up Sunday night. No going out or anything, is it sad that it's hard for me to not go out on a weekend?

Everything is the way I want it now, and only I can change it. I like it.

Across the hall from me is the refuse/tanning room. Weird. Down the hall is laundry and the weight room/indoor hot tub/sauna. Nice. Outside my patio door is the patio door to the party room and outdoor pool and hot tub. Very nice.

About that party room... it's $25 to rent for the day with a $250 deposit, and after observing the activities that have gone on in there since I moved in, it looks like they have a clean up crew, must be part of the $25. Very nice. I think a party or many are in order...