Boing!

Regarding this entry:

The winner is 3fingeredsalute, for the word in question was "heat."

Not even *I* am desperate enough to eat pee-infused Duds.

(The complete transcription is: "Happiness is playing *all* weekend at the renaissance festival with my friends. Sadness is discovering that my bag of Milk Duds was exposed to heat, and it's a bag of Milk Dud.")

Dana and I spent a blissful couple days up in Arlington at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City, where we caught up with old friends and ate a LOT of damn food. On Friday we wanted to get Thai at our favorite place, only we were far too full from breakfast, so we went to see a movie and then reassessed. Still too full, so we saw another movie and then beat feet back to Georgetown to go to the Sea Catch, where our wedding chef is now the executive chef, only he wasn't there. Yummy food and a GREAT room, though.

Very, very tired now.

And tomorrow morning we're taking a bike medic class, which will be 4 hours of lecture and then 4 hours of on-bike time. My bicycling skills, they are nonexistent. I fear there will be crying. And then our regular duty shift from 6p to 6a, albeit sans bikes.

I think bed would be prudent at this juncture.

( because I care about your friends' page length )

-fin-

P.S. I photoblogged some of this at the Mangoblog for your viewing pleasure. All Jill, except for the parts that aren't.

I'm back out on the porch this morning, blinking at the brightness of the light, and enjoying the current just-rightness of the temperature. I expect I'll be changing into less substantial clothing as things heat up -- we're slated for 87 degrees today. I'm hopeful actual Spring is here, instead of that stupid fake Spring that just frustrates everyone. I saw our first robins in JANUARY, for pete's sake, so it's about time.

Saturday I flung myself in a northerly direction, and (crap -- my "N" key just popped off...will fiish later oce I figure that shit out -- help is appreciated)

Edit: A little Krazy Glue later, and I have an N key again. I'm like MacGyver over here -- next, I will fly a plane using only a paperclip, a bag of flour, and a ferret.

Saturday, I flung myself in a northerly direction, and managed to miss most traffic on my way to mydwynter's house to rehearse (hang on, doorbell. hello, $1000 from Killian's sweepstakes! where was I?) for a most-of-the-Cups event that queenmaggie was kind enough to recommend us for. (yes. that's a preposition there at the end of that sentence. and I don't care, la la laaaaaaa!) We came up with a good list of singable songs, some with teachable choruses, some that will transition nicely into new repetoire. And there was giggling and cat loving and cookie eating and Hugh Laurie admiring, and then I stole her Firefly DVDs.

The return trip was mostly uneventful until I was on the home stretch to discover that all of the lanes on 95 were closed, so now I know more sideroads in my squad's district, which is always a handy thing.

Sunday I decided that it was not only within my grasp but also my mandate to do fuck-all, so I lazed on the porch with Mr. The Dog, with a few frisbee breaks, and we were joined by Dana when he came home from a particularly patient-rich stint at the hospital, so HE was happy. We got to the squad an hour early (to discover that the previous crew had just marked down their unit, and rather than thank us for coming in to relieve them, got all snitty that we were less-than-impressed by their work ethic), marked up a unit, and were sent out on a call that someone else squirreled from us before we could pull all the way out of the bay. Our next call waited until we were just done with dinner, which was very considerate, and the patient was pleasant and talkative and rational, which almost NEVER happens, and then we had no calls until morning. I got my QA paperwork out of the way for the month, and we made some good decisions about how our forms need to adapt and what we'll need to address first.

The End. Or "To Be Continued." Or something.

MANY many thanks to all the people who stayed with me last night and talked me off the ledge when I lost my keys last night -- I know I will forget people, but Dave Lister and Vyxen and Steve and Kee and Doc and Randy and Chris and Jill and Glenn and Darcy -- y'all are the best.

(I thought I'd left them on the table with the LOVELY Ani and Russell, who had of course packed everything up tidily and left by the time I made my discovery. One spectacular panic attack, 2 calls to roadside assistance, and much damage control later, I found them. Tucked into the top of my boot. Where I'd PUT THEM FOR SAFEKEEPING.)

Despite several offers of places to crash locally, I doggedly headed down 95 (for the second time in 2 days -- I get to come back up again on Wednesday), going very very quickly and zigzagging all over hell and gone due to the 25 mph winds. Made it safely home at 2:30, called Vyxen to let her know all was well, and crawled into bed.

Six hours later, I'm up. Of course, it wasn't six hours of sleep, because I came home all caffeinated and sugared up, but I'm up. I'll try to grab a nap before hopping on the ambulance tonight.

Thank you again. :)

At long last (because I know you're all just foaming at the mouth about this), our NYC "Apprentice: Martha Stewart" trip. ( It's a Good Thing. )

Dana and I are comfortably ensconced at 54th & 7th. The flight up was unremarkable, although "the car" never met us so we took a cab in. Sad, I always wanted to be met by a driver holding a sign with my name on it.

They're coming at 6:30 to take me to the finale. Dana is sick and may opt to stay home, but I will go and see it all. Turns out it's not just the taping, but an "all VIP" event and after-party...and we dressed for a city in a transit strike. My most comfy walking shoes are my duty boots, and if anyone has a problem with me in jeans & clompy boots, they may kiss my ass and get me event details before I travel next time.

Maybe there will be a Martha goody bag!! :-D

I haven't really posted since we got home from Atlanta, but I have been reading y'all!

( click here for the unending details )

Does anyone know if top soil has a shelf life? We have about 9 bags of it from this June/July, still sealed in the original opaque bags, and didn't know whether it should be pitched or just relocated from the middle of the garage floor.

I've been playing phone tag with the travel people about my MS:Apprentice sweeps win, and I've scored big. I *believe* she was able to get us tickets to "Spamalot," and instead of the giftcard for food/spa (because the hotel has no spa and the restaurant is under renovations), she's getting me a check for that amount.

AND I get to see Hateful Jim in person! (no one will understand that, because no one else watches the show, but there you have it)