Lyric alert.

Holding On – VNV Nation.

I’ve been trying all day, on and off, to think of something to write today and it hasn’t been working out for me. This is a very odd and highly unusual occurrence. Normally I’m quite full of the kind of drivel that those of us who partake in this mass experiment called Live Journal seem to thrive on.

Today, however, my Muse seems to have left me.

Or distracted me with thoughts of shower curtains and chocolate sauce.

ANYway…

This is going to be one of those “this is what is going on in my life, and for some reason you should be interested in it even though reading this crap is about as much fun as watching paint dry” entries.

Just giving you a heads up. Because I’m all thoughtful like that.

I had what can be characterized as a truly boffo weekend. Meeting netgoth was, as she and I have both made pretty clear in recent entries, a truly wonderful experience. The drive home on Friday wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, either. I guess all the holiday travel was already done. Went to the cookout at depotmode‘s house that evening, but missed out on any of the fireworks shows. Alex, unfortunately, didn’t even get to shoot any off at my sisters house because it was still raining over there when they arrived.

Side rant about fireworks : I’ve come to the completely irrational conclusion that all people who purchased fireworks in the Tampa Bay area this year are complete and utter assholes. No, seriously. How many nights in a row does one need to shoot off fireworks? The holiday is called Independence DAY, not Independence MONTH. On top of all that, they are insisting on doing it well after the time that a lot of people who actually have to get up on weekdays have gone to bed. Way to be inconsiderate, folks! I’m also getting really tired of seeing spent fireworks shells all over the damn place. Seriously, I’m starting to understand why more and more local governments are cracking down on fireworks sales. Between the risks of someone getting hurt, the stress caused to any number of poor animals, the litter, and the loss of sleep that I’m sure a score of people have encountered, I’d say that the whole fireworks thing in general has become a bit of nuisance.

Of course, there’s always a flip side. People who do things like hold roman candles in their hand and consider that a “safe” launching pad deserve to lose limbs as a result. It’s called Natural Selection. Darwinism in full effect, boyeeeee!

Saturday was filled with a blissful amount of inactivity. I basically farted around my house all day. I did have to leave for a brief time to take some clothes over to Alex for his diabetes camp, so I went ahead and picked up a few things at the grocery store while I was out.

Welcome to the world of stupid choices that is me – I go to the grocery store with 25 dollars to spend, and one of the things I buy is a five dollar bottle of Merlot. I haven’t even opened it yet, but I’ve really gotten attached to the occasional glass of wine late at night before bed. Scientists have proven it’s good for you anyway! Yeah, anyway…So I end up spending 28 bucks.

I’m really hoping that the automated withdrawal that I have set up with my mortgage insurance company doesn’t kick in soon. I had to send them information about my new accounts, and I’m pretty sure the wouldn’t have gotten it until late last week.

Pretty sure. Whooo. Gotta love that level of confidence.

So hooray for cheap entertainment. I resist the urge to spend money I don’t have by going out with the LJ crowd to a concert in Ybor (which apparently turned out to be a good thing) and stayed home to play Everquest instead. I created a Bard on Fennin Ro named (wait for it) Critus. Heh. Yeah, ok. So my Rogue on Erollisi Marr is named Critus too. Bite me. I’ve used the same name for my online Avatar since I’ve been around computers, and I’m not changing it now.

I am what I am and that’s all that I am and I am what I am what I am.

Our intrepid hero, having distracted himself with a line from the much lambasted movie “Popeye” with Robin Williams, goes on a quest to find the lyrics to the song “I Am What I Am.” He is shocked to discover that there is a decided vacuum in cyberspace when it comes to web sites about this gem of a film. He sees this as a travesty and a bit on the unfair side. I mean, come on people, there is a web page dedicated to the Hostess Snacks Super Hero comic strips. You’d think at least ONE net geek with too much time on his hands would have liked “Popeye.” Hey…what are you looking at?

On Sunday it was time to return to Sam’s house and rejoin The Guardians in our quest to rid the world of evil doers. Of course, yet again, I show up at the very end of the adventure and dispatch the Big Bad (and ruin a suit in the process). Poor Gangbuster. Seems like every time he walks into a situation with these guys they have discovered some new level of hell to test his catholic mind. Then it turns out we aren’t going to be playing Silver Age Sentinels again for a while, as Sam has far too much going on in his life to get an adventure written every week (and trust me, folks, it’s well worth it to have Sam put effort into these things. At the end of this adventure we found out about a place that was mentioned by one of the heroes in the group who had come back in time to warn us before conveniently dying in his own arms. This happened MONTHS ago, and I’m pretty sure the majority of us had forgotten about it. Great stuff.) We’ve created Advanced Dungeons and Dragons : 3rd Edition characters and we’re going to use that as a side game when Sam hasn’t had time to prepare.

Oh, but I hate my character and want to create another one.

Went for a walk with Lu last night for about an hour, then came back home and wrote a few emails to netgoth.

I think she might have liked them. A little. Maybe.

So yeah, that’s my weekend in a nutshell. For some reason I’m exhausted today, but other than that it was great. I think after I rest for a few more nights I’ll actually be up for some kind of weeknight activities (gaming, side work) again.

Tonight I must face the music on the scale again, and then it’s off to depotmode‘s place to work on her computer (and I’m getting a free meal out of it! w00t!). If I get home early enough I’ll see if Lu wants to go for a walk again.

Wow. You actually read the whole thing.

And now, the update that isn’t a gut wrenching exploration of my past.

I want a bike. I really want a bike today. I’m going to be joining the Silver Age Sentinels at Sam’s house again today, and I would love to be able to bike over there. It’s perfect biking distance. A bit far for walking, especially considering the fact that me and the sun aren’t so compatible anymore.

I really want to get out and do some exercise. Even if just a little. I think I’ll see if Lu wants to go for a walk after I get off the phone tonight.

My self-inflicted financial situation is getting very frustrating. I know I bitch about it here a lot, but it’s really making me crazy. I am making more money than I have ever made in my life, and yet my paychecks are gone before payday is over. It’s insane.

It will pass. I know. I will get caught up. Sooner than later, to be honest. Once January rolls around, and all the vacations have passed, and Christmas is over…Things will be significantly better. I’ll be able to save a little money. To put extra money on the credit cards and watch those numbers go down.

To get ahead.

Such a foreign concept.

Oh, for those of you who are Everquest players, I’ve got a new character on the Fennin Ro server. I’ll be splitting my time between that and Erollisi Marr. In fact, it’s likely I’ll be there most of the time. netgoth plays on that server, and past experience has proven that as messed up as it sounds, it’s a fun way to spend time with someone who isn’t geographically close to you.

GAH. I think I ruined a ten dollar piece of salmon. I took it out of the freezer and put it in some hot water to defrost. Son of a bitch started to poach.

Damnit.

It’s all falling apart and mushy now.

So I threw some teriyaki sauce on it and threw it in the oven. We’ll see what happens.