Feeling Lucky-Even More So Than Usual

I am one of those sappy people that really does thank the powers that be (be that God, or someone else) for the loving husband I have and the wonderful life we have together.  I'm not in any way saying I'm better than anyone, but I am thankful for what I have.  The could-have-beens, and what-ifs, well, I would have felt trapped and I would have been miserably trapped in who I was in high school.  Just the thought is enough to drive me to the drink.

What brought this on?  Well, I was looking around MySpace today.   They have this feature that lets you look for/reconnect (ha ha) with people that may have been your classmates.  Once in awhile I check it out, just to see if someone that didn't treat me like a fat piece of crap joins.  I was looking tonight and found a lot of people are on MySpace now.  Looking at the pages of the "popular" group was interesting.   It looks like quite a few ended up returning to our home town.   It also looks like serveral people married their high school sweetheart, and are still friends with the people they were friends with in high school.  I thank god that I didn't marry either of the two guys I dated in high school (sorry guys-no offense).  I did have a few friends, and none of them, well at least none of the ones I still talk to, live in LC.  Some how, we managed to get away and become better people than we were.  I appreicate my parents for encouraging me to get out, get away and find myself (and I really should drop them a random thank you note).  I also need to give my David a big thank you for supporting and understanding as I grow and find myself.  Thank you for making it so easy to never ever want to look back.  If only I had known all this back then, I think it would have made high school less of a living hell, but I guess that would mean the realization now and what I have now would not seem so sweet.  I am content. :)

~Emily

Yay Yay Yay Yay!!!

After some concern that there was no room on the plane, my sweetie is safe in Oregon and headed home as I type.  It was a rough couple of nights without him.  For some reason I could not sleep worth a damn, and the cat has been even stranger than usual (really-and that says a lot).  I am just giddy, waiting for the truck to come roaring (it's a Dodge Ram, it roars) down the street and into the drive way.  I'm going to do my best to *NOT* pounce on the David.  Not only is my better half returning, but he is returning to a three day weekend with crazy me.  Things are looking up. :)

~Emily

Week 9

Just wanted to do my weekly update (now what week 10 is almost over-I'm really behind).  All is good, we are still moving right along!

~Emily

I Miss My Lady

Soon I will be jetting off to California for two days of product training. I am going to miss Emily something fierce. I hate leaving home without her and I won't smile again until I'm home.

A very sad,

~David

Week 8

Well, I have to say with each week it really does get easier.  We have walked every day for 8 weeks now, and we have continued the eating smart plan.  It feels good.  I'm very proud of my David.  I don't know if he knows this-but I really couldn't do this without him.  I know how lucky I am (and not just because of the Angel DVD's).  Thanks sweetie! <3

~Emily

I Am So Adored!

David bought Angel seasons 2-5, so now I can watch Angel all I want (well, at least until one of us goes crazy).  I just had to share how sweet (tolerant, supportive, adorable) my David is. :)

~Emily

Angel Season 1

I am on the second to last disc now, and I have once again found the Joss Whedon joy.  I have accomplished nothing else today-and after the week I had at work this has been good for my soul.  David made me a fantastic dinner, we had the lovely bottle of wine, and ended the evening with chocolate.  Today had been a really lovely day.

~Emily

Because Emily Said So

It's Saturday evening and I've just imbibed two, wholly wonderful glasses of wine (I don't know what it's called, but there's a kangaroo on the front). I have a very healthy buzz and because Emily has one also, she suggested I blog. Since we started losing weight and eating a whole lot less, my tolerance for alcohol has dimished. Now I get drunk very easily. Hehe. I guess there are worse things.

So what have I been doing lately? Let's start with gaming.

As many people know, I was once hopelessly addicted to World of Warcraft. I had a Horde-side toon called Demonsfury, an "affliction-spec'd" warlock, and I belonged to a raiding guild called Requiem on the Silvermoon server. Well, after about two years of raiding, I got burned out and just couldn't do it any more. It was the same for Emily. So we quit. Cold turkey like. Just one day we were raiding, the next we weren't. Since that time (and after a long withdrawal period), we started playing again, but only casually, which is much better for us. We have some toons we're leveling, but we're not very serious about it.

I still love games, so I've recently been playing three new titles that are all really fun: 1) On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, a really quirky role-playing game from the makers of the Penny Arcade comic strip; 2) Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, a real-time strategy game recommended by a friend who lives in Houston (hiya James); and 3) Mass Effect, another role-playing game, again recommended by James. All of them are a ton of fun, but all very different.

I've never been a big fan of RTS games; this is really my first foray into the genre. I do own Warcraft III, which is really cool, but I never could get into very far. So I'm giving the genre a new shake, equipped with a good game guide. I need this, because I'm about the least strategic person in the world. My hope is that I learn enough about RPG games to enjoy StarCraft 2 when it makes its debut, oh, in about a decade or so.

There are some cool new titles that I'm very much looking forward to. They include: 1) the new expansion for WoW--Wrath of the Lich King; 2) Diablo III; 3) StarCraft; and 4) a coupla new shooters from ID Software, which will be released for Mac OS X (yaxxors)!

Let's see... what else?

Many people know that I'm a trained violin maker. But until recently, my tools and my workshop have gone unused, which is really a sad state of affairs. However, I am now, albeit slowly, getting my workshop back in order. I've been working on a new sharpening table (violin makers are constantly sharpening their tools, so having a dedicated space is really necessary); I've added some cabinets to the workshop, and I've bought a few needed items. By the time the fall is here, I'll be ready to get back into the swing of things and make not only violins, but also some much needed furniture we need in our home.

Work is the suck. I guess that's a universal truth no matter who one is or what their chosen vocation happens to be. But I think my work is a bigger suck than most. Or maybe it's that I have a huge chip on my shoulder and a general bad attitude stemming from a premature take over of the start-up company I was once proud to call my own. You see, I used to work for a small company that developed and sold clustering software. We had a product that was unrivaled in the marketplace--a product that a lot of competing companies wished they had. We all thought we had something special that would, at the end of the day, make us all a healthy chunk of dough. Now, I never really wanted to be wealthy, but I did have dreams of paying off my house and maybe having some different options available to me (like full-time violin making). That was not to be, however, because the people running my beloved small company decided to take the easy way out and sell us to a very large company. A few got rich and the rest of us got screwed. It is a very common tale. So now I'm one of 180,000 employees (soon to be 300,000 owing to a recent, huge acquisition) and I have a job that is about as stupid as it can possibly be. But it's a steady paycheck and I just don't give a s**t anymore. I really don't.

Still, I am blessed. I have a wonderful life partner in Emily and I really am lucky in so many ways. No more complaints. Now I will enjoy the rest of my wine buzz in...

Peace.

~David

I Know How Much My David Loves Me...

He bought me the first season of Angel, and I have been watching it all day.  I am loved!

~Emily

Possible New Addiction

Well, either that or maybe a branch off a previous addiction.  I am a huge fan of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, and very sad to see it end (even if it was time).  During the last few weeks I I started watching the spinoff series, Angel.  I had trouble getting into it when the show was on prime time, but I'm enjoying it now in the mornings on TNT.  Maybe watching the two shows at once was too much of a good thing (although I would have never thought that possible) or maybe I wasn't ready to divide my love and affection between the two shows.  At any rate, it is like I have discovered a gem.  I find myself getting ready for work at the last minute possible just so I can watch as much of the second episode as possible.  I have missed Joss Whedon's characters, and the writing.  I loved the cheesy, witty, punny (master-bater, tee hee) dialog.  The musical episode, "Once More With Feeling" is one of my favorites.   I hope Joss is busy somewhere cooking up his next project.  I haven't heard much from his camp.  I will patiently wait.  At least I have Angel, and Buffy DVD's to amuse me until then.  (I'm soooo lucky David puts up with my strange addictions!)

~Emily

Week 7

I have had a little too much wine to drink, so this is going to be a short update with possible extreme typos.   David and I were finally able to look at some prediet and current photos and see that magical things are happenimg to us.  I'm still hating my pictures, so I'm in no hurry to post for the world to see, maybe in a few more weeks.  I don't see us going back to our old ways.  I even got up and walked with a migraine this weekend.  I am very proud of my David, and all that he has put up with (from me) and over come.  It's nice to have found something that really works, and feels good doing.  It hasn't been easy, but it's been logical and ultimately rewarding.  We went to a wedding this weekend (that's why we took some new pics of us) and had a really lovely time.  For the first time in a long time plastic chairs were not uncomfortable, and it's okay to share a piece of cheese cake.   I think I'm going to regret the two glasses of wine, but with it being Sunday and tomorrow being one of the most evil days of the week it was a must to.

~Emily

Week 6

Once again I'm behind in my weekly status report.  We are still going strong, walking every day and eating right.  We actually cleaned out our closet some this week and were able to throw away some things that were too big, and reconnect with some clothes that we can wear again.  I suddenly have more black and grey pants than I ever thought I would own.  It's little things like that (and more time with my David, oh and new shoes) that keep us going.

~Emily

w00t!!!

SYTYCD has announced the final four, and they are exactly who we thought they should be: Katee, Courtney, Joshua, and Twitch. Mark and Chelsie have been eliminated! I'm still sad over the early ejection of Will, but I would have had a really hard time picking amongst Will, Joshua and Twitch. One of them had to go and no choice would have been a good one.

Now that the top four are named, I think that if I had to pick a favorite to win, it would have to be Joshua; such an amazing talent. But I don't really care who wins at this point. They're all great and each has a very bright future in dance.

My faith in humanity thus restored, I shall await the finale with bated breath.

Peace.

~David