Stolen from Hannah's LJ so I didn't have to think what to write, and because she's smart and has her shiny new MA:

hannah_phi, endotoxin and I will be hosting a post-Thanksgiving potluck brunch at Dave's house. We'd love to have any or all of you show up and continue the eating marathon. If you don't have something to bring come anyway - I'm sure there will be more than enough. We'll get started around 10 am. If you know how to get here no need to RSVP. If you need directions give one of us a call, or shoot an e-mail. The usual Bastard Base [Dave's house] rules apply. Drama will get you squirted with the spray bottle, or asked to leave. Don't steal the cats or molest the silverware. If you can bring a chair that would be awesome.

Tonight's festivities will be in Santa Fe. We will meet for dinner at Il Piatto at 6pm. Then we will go Contra Dancing (read the "Events" section) at Oddfellows Hall around 7-7:30pm.

For anyone who doesn't want to go to Santa Fe, or can't, or is busy tonight, or anything:

Tomorrow is family work day at sunflowerriver. You can come to that if you want, but the important part is that we're going to have dinner in the evening. We'll make tostadas with farm eggs and veggies and stuff. I'll probably get some ice cream. Let me know if you don't have directions.

Hugs to everyone. :-)

I've been doing a lot of hiding in my cage lately, but I'm thinking about coming out of it for a birthday-related thing, at least. The travails and pitfalls of my birthday season will be resolved this year in this way:

On Saturday, June 13th (yes, Pride), I'll gather with people for dinner at 5pm, someplace where I haven't decided yet. It would be fun to see you there. Wherever there is. I'll let you know.

After that, I'll drag whoever is interested to Santa Fe to go Contra dancing. No, you don't have to know how to do it ahead of time, and it really is a lot of fun. And it's live music for seven bucks.



Next year will probably see yet another different solution to the birthday dilemma.

There's this party Saturday night. It's complicated and poly, and many of you don't actually know him anyway, so here's what you need to know, for simplicity's sake:

Big party, hannah_phi and I are catering, so the food will be fantastic. If you'd like to come and entertain me or keep me company, text me and I'll get you the details. (You can call, but I'm terrible about not answering the phone, and especially bad about never listening to my messages.) If you don't have my phone number, you can let me know here.

I am in this show. I've been spending lots and lots of time practicing for it, which is why I've been too busy to post. You should come see it - it's going to be great.


Vertical Expressions: Horizontal Desires

So. I have this new job, and it's pretty great, but it starts at 7:30am, and I'm on my feet all day, which is an exhausting habit I thought I'd kicked a few years ago. So I get off work, take care of errands and engagements and walking the dog and even occasionally bathing myself, and by that time it's past my bedtime and I collapse into bed. On top of that, I've had a head cold or something (probably or something, since the people around me don't seem to have caught it, and lord knows I haven't been as careful as I ought), which has been exacerbated by the freaking cold weather. I have no computer access at all at work, and little to no time before bed for firing up the home machine. So I've been reading emails and LJ in little bits here and there, and listening to my voicemails every couple of days, but mostly I haven't managed to send outward communication like I should.

All this is to say, I'm not ignoring you. When I manage to get into a rhythm of sorts, I'm sure I'll be more communicative.

Okay, I'm off to do chores and walk the dog, actually bathe myself, and then to an engagement. Maybe I'll even find some lunch while I'm at it...

I am now a gainfully employed person. :-) I applied last week at Tricore, to work in their labs. I like the people - and apparently they liked me, too. The HR person who called said the person who will be my boss has been in her office all week, asking her if they had called me yet. :-) That's the kind of boss I want - someone who really wants me there.

Now all that stands between me and having to be at work at 7:30am is a drug test and a TB test.

It doesn't pay as much as I needed, but there are six month reviews with raises, and opportunities for advancement, so I think I'll be okay. The student loan people will just have to wait.

All this means I will stop sulking and hiding and freaking out and stuff, and be back to your regularly scheduled (albeit sleepy) Jenny.

Lucille has been having great fun chasing *something* in my room for the last few days. She digs under cast-off clothes, scrabbles at plastic bags, dashes patter-patter across the room. It's very cute.

Cute enough for me to forget the bottom line: cats are predators and their fun is grisly.

I rescued the poor lizard (which she probably brought in from outside so she could have a nice toy in my room) after she got its tail off, but before it lost any innards. I put it outside, but it looked stunned. I hope it recovers.

I asked Lucille to, if she has to bring her toys inside, restrict herself to insects. She can kill more complex organisms as long as they entered the house of their own free will (I wouldn't want her to stop mousing).

*needs hugs*

Wait, no.

*needs answers more than hugs*

Oh, you know, the usual: Got up, had a nice breakfast with my biological family. Then I came home and spent some time fondling rabbit genitals.

Yeah.

Even the books say it's hard to tell them apart when they're young. Too young to differentiate, but old enough for incest. So we have to try to separate them.

There's a party tonight, for which I am the designated driver. I'm pretty sure it's the kind of party where everyone is going to be completely trashed, so with any luck I'll find someone with a brain left to talk to (I don't resent being the DD - I rarely drink, anyway). Then some hard labor tomorrow, possibly followed by Holy Water & Whiskey at O'Neil's (4-7pm). (That's a band, not a drink.) That one depends on how successful and/or tired we are.

On Monday, my geeks-are-really-hot boyfriend is going to take me on a private tour of the VLA. :-)



I'm looking forward to it.

Assuming that job-hunting is now my job, I spent eight hours with a break for lunch doing job-hunting activities today. If I do that every day, it's bound to pay off pretty soon, yes?

I've been thinking a lot about the concept of career, and making lots of money (which is what we are supposed to want), and making enough money (which I do want), and making not quite enough money (which is what most of Albuquerque has to offer). I've gotten to the point where I think I'm old enough and experienced enough to go out and start demanding the kinds of jobs I actually want to spend my time doing. I've worked off and on, through my life, for non-profits and organizations that serve the public. If I'm going to be working a job, and not going to school, this is what I really want to be doing.

There actually are non-profit organizations, hiring for the kinds of jobs I'm qualified for, paying enough for me to live, right here in Albuquerque. I just have to figure out how to convince them that I would be an amazing employee.

Truly, going to school is designed to feed this same drive. If I can do research in the biological/biomedical sciences that helps save people's lives, then I'm serving my community and my world. If I'm working for an organization, for example coordinating services that give comfort to families struggling with cancer, I'm also serving my community and my world.

I'll keep looking. If I have to take a shitty job in the meantime, to get the bills paid, I will, but I'll keep looking. If none of these organizations will hire me, no matter how well I make my case, and no matter how many times I try, then I know I'm supposed to be in school. I have a year to figure it out.

And in that year, I'll build more fences, plant more seeds, build a bridge and a road, dig a foundation, learn how to milk our new goats and make cheese, learn how to slaughter a rabbit, learn how to tan a hide, build a root cellar and a smokehouse, and train a guardian dog and a herding dog. I'll watch the seasons move over the big cottonwood, as it turns golden yellow like fire in the sunlight, loses its leaves, slowly pushes the hint of light green out of the ends of its branches, and erupts into the full deep green shade of summer. I hope by then I'll know what path I'm walking.

Stupid sore throat that I've had for maybe three or four weeks now, and it won't go away. It's possible I have a sinus infection, not sure. It might have been made worse by the fact that the room where I've been working is bring-a-sweater cold. Good thing I got laid off.

After being jerked back and forth a few times by the management at the great temp job I was working, I got laid off yesterday for real. So, instead of the advertised lot of work through probably September, I'm out a job.

It worked last time: Anybody know of any good jobs out there?

In the meantime, I have decided to defer my enrollment into grad school for a year. That decision still has me freaked out, so I'm not going to talk about it much, but it does mean that I'm now job-hunting in earnest.

I've been feeling guilty for not posting anything at all, so at least this is something. I'll try for something cheerful next time.

I took the job. It's a couple of blocks from korith's job, and has flexible hours. Hooray for carpool!

I told them I want to start Monday. I checked myself out of prison this evening. I am very tired, and very hopeful.

And if you're planning on coming to play cricket on Sunday, for heaven's sake bring a hat. There's a lot of sun out there. (unless it's cloudy like today, but still)

Party One:

Games. Pizza potluck. Bring toppings. 6pm until we stop, Saturday 7/28

(I'm a bit worried this is going to be one of those, "Oops, there are forty people at my house" parties, which is truly awesome... but might necessitate running out for more crust and cheese. Or maybe it will be six of us like last time. If there are enough people, "games" will turn out to mean Red Rover, or Sardines, or something (If you've never played Sardines, you really should. It's like reverse Hide-and-Seek, where you find the person, and then join them in their spot until there's only one seeker left...).)

Party Two:

2pm until sunset, Sunday 7/29

BBQ - bring stuff to eat, including raw things to put over fire.
Cricket - I hear that joyouschild is busily knocking her bat in preparation. I decided that Sunflower River needed a sport, and cricket presented itself. We will all be learning at the same time, which should have predictable results. Spectators encouraged.

Both parties:

At sunflowerriver. (Let me know if you need directions)

Kid friendly. I'm making an ice cream cake for each. One mint, one peanut butter (not sure which is for which day). No need to bring gifts, or for that matter, sing the birthday song (sigh). If you end up bringing along a girl I'd be interested in dating, though, that would make a nice gift. :-D

(Disclaimer: I'm officially blaming aisa_o for that last part.)

Thank you everyone, for all the happy birthday wishes! I feel very loved. :-)

Hmm. I think I will have games on the evening of Saturday, 6/28, followed by BBQ and cricket the afternoon of Sunday, 6/29.

People can come to one or the other, as it suits them. They could come to both. Or even stay the whole time, really. :-)

Possibly this will work. In order to make sure there are enough game players, I might send a call out to the Geek Reserves (I know a couple of groups). Don't know how to ensure we have enough cricket players/grillers of food...

Must make ice cream cake.

Games party will be a pizza potluck: I'm going to have everyone bring an ingredient. That means, though, that we will need to coordinate RSVPs for that one.

So here's the deal. I want a birthday party. Most of the good parties I've had have been evening-into-the-night kinds of parties. So of course, I think it would be best to have an evening party. Here are the facts and complications:

* My actual birthday is June 19th, a Thursday, even though kestrelle was right when she tried to move it to May 19th. Sigh.
* ABQ Pride is the weekend before, and lots of the people I know will be working like crazy, exhausted, or recovering from heat stroke the whole weekend. I also scheduled a photo shoot with crrreature Saturday night, so that's busy anyway.
* Longdance is on the 21st, which involves dancing etc. from dawn until sundown in honor of the solstice. It is very dear to yarrowkat, so that means neither Friday nor Saturday night will be available that weekend, unless I skip part of longdance, which is not polite.
* The next weekend is korith's anniversary. My schedule is free to have a party the evening of both the 27th and the 28th, assuming I don't go to Midsummer Mirth (pagan camping gathering), which I probably won't do since I've no one to go with. However, a party either of those nights would mean no korith.
* Another option would be to have an afternoon party on the 22nd or the 29th, but it's not an evening party.

Things that have been suggested, or things I've thought of to do:

* Drum jam - Though this has been something that I've enjoyed in the past, I haven't been very comfortable in these sorts of atmospheres lately. I blame brain damage. I have recently made friends with some Most Excellent drummers, though, and I've been wanting to give them an opportunity to play near me. :-)
* Cricket - joyouschild could come over and teach us how to play cricket, as long as it's not so hot that we all get heat stroke.
* Alcohol - I don't mind if there is alcohol. Since I've been more or less taken off the stuff, it won't do anything for me as far as an activity. I've never been the sort to go to parties where drinking is the point, though.
* Standing around - Most people throw these kinds of parties. I arrive, and all there is to do is stand and talk. And drink. I want an actual activity, so we can all do something together.
* BBQ - see cricket.
* Games - The absolute most fun I've had at a party recently was having people over to play games. Not all of my friends are game players. This points to the possibility of having multiple parties for different friends, but one of the strains in my life is having very diverse groups of people who I love. I'd like to find a way for them all to be able to come to one festivity. None of them has cooties, after all. (Wait, no, they do. Last time someone demanded they didn't have cooties I came home with the flu.) SO maybe everyone has cooties, same as everyone else.
* Have my birthday at Thunder, in July in Colorado - This would be fun, and I'm sure I would meet all sorts of new people, but it wouldn't fix the "wanting to get together with my ABQ friends" problem. And seriously, that's the part that actually matters.

There are other ideas, but I'm tired of typing. The question: What do you think I should do about my birthday, and when? (be sure to tell me if you're busy any of the proposed times)

Ah. I just remembered I need to remind everyone we are having a games party this Saturday, at sunflowerriver.

Saturday, 5/24, 6pm
Bring potluck stuff
Bring games if you like
Bring game-playing friends

I hope to see you there! (I will have slept by then)

Finals are over. Time to move on to the next thing on my to-do list that's on fire. I did the math: it will actually cost me more to take the work-study job than I will make, given the amount of time it will suck up, and the fact that I have to buy three credit-hours of classes to qualify for the job. So I currently have no idea how, exactly, I'm going to pay my bills this summer. I might go back to the corporate whore job for a bit. It pays pretty well, and at least it's finite. My good friend who is still there was begging me to come back. I would just have to deal with being a lackey instead of being in charge. appleang suggested I try to get one of the grad-student TA positions for the summer, but I don't know if I qualify. I'll ask. EDIT: Looks like TA for the summer is not an option.

I guess what I need to do is decide what I really want. Frequently these things come to me when I ask (though lately it's been with a variety of genie's wish kind of sub-clauses and misdirections. I'll try to actually get this one *right*.)

Anyone know of any great summer jobs I ought to know about?

This Saturday, after the work party at sunflowerriver, a group of us is going Contra dancing. It's great fun, you can do it even if you don't know how, and we'd love to have you join us. Check here to learn more about the group that puts on the dances.

We will be meeting at 7pm at the Heights Community center at Coal and Buena Vista. It's $8, or $4 with a student ID.

*************************

Next Saturday, the 24th, I will be co-hosting a board (etc.) games party with some friends. We are trying to get a good-sized group of people together to play games together, so are drawing from various groups of friends. Feel free to invite people you know who like to play, and bring games you like.

It's likely that this event will take place at sunflowerriver, although I haven't asked my farmmates, so that's not 100% sure. :-) Time TBA. Bring snacks.

Let me know if you can make it to either or both. I'd love to see you there!