11/13/13

Starting vacation tomorrow. I'm excited, but scared out of my mind. I have to make the long drive to Kennedy Space Center on a deadline. Technically, there's wiggle room in that deadline, but I'm still worried.

The Xyrem seems to be helping. I didn't get up quite so rested this morning, but I was alert and focused, even if I was still a bit tired. I've learned that the reason people keep saying "if you wake up before the alarm for the second dose, and it's been at least 2.5 hours, it's ok to take the second dose" is because when the Xyrem wears off, you wake up. It's weird.

I'm mostly done packing for the trip. I just have some toiletries to pack up. And I got most of the stuff on my to do list done. More than I expected to.

11/12/13

I woke up this morning at 6:45, before my alarm went off. And I didn't feel too bad when I got out of bed. I felt almost like a normal person. Hopefully this isn't a fluke and the new medicine is starting to work.

After work, my wife and I went to sign papers for refinancing the new car. Same term, slightly better rate, and free gap insurance. It's a good deal, and it's done before the trip, so in case there's an issue, we're covered.

Gaming was tonight. I only got through setup, which is ok since I didn't have anything set in stone as to what we'd be doing. I want to do a short adventure with some skill checks and 1 combat. I just have to figure out what to do. I guess I'll figure that out when I get back from vacation.

11/10/13

I don't think the Xyrem is working. I slept 9.5 hours last night and I wanted to sleep some more most of the day. However, it's still early in the game. I've only been on it for 2 days and I'm still on the lowest dose. It may take a little while to start working and I may need to increase the dose (Which I'm supposed to do next weekend). So I'll keep going.

My brother didn't show up to work on the kitchen. I still got some work done. I installed the garbage disposal, adapter, and P trap. I also hooked up the waste water for the dish washer. So while there's still no electricity in there, we at least have running water. It only took me 5 hours or so.

Made dinner and watched the Walking Dead. It was a good end to the night.

11/9/13

I was up early today. I think that was because of the Xyrem. I was tired, but at a point where I couldn't sleep anymore.

I spoke to my brother, who says he'll be over tomorrow to work on the kitchen. I picked up what I hope is the last part for the plumbing. If we can finish the plumbing and electricity, I'll be a very happy boy.

We also did some grocery shopping tonight. And I made a frozen lasagna.

And we went to Crossing Vineyard for a wine tasting, complements of my mother. She got us a gift certificate.

11/8/13

I figured out a problem that I've been struggling with for the past 2-3 days. It's not an easy solution, but I at least know the logic and how the numbers go together.

Tonight was Friday gaming. I had fun.

We also did Fridays, which was nice. Even though I forgot that I'm not supposed to eat for 2 hours before I take my new meds. I don't think it'll be a problem though.

And speaking of new meds, I'm starting the Xyrem tonight. Hopefully all goes well and this actually helps.

11/7/13

Got into work closer to "normal time", but I was able to get to work faster this morning. I needed less wake up time once I got to work. So that's good.

I had a relatively pleasant meeting with my boss and ex-boss that ended up devolving into car talk. Those two are usually at each other's throats, so it was nice that everyone was able to get along. It made the meeting much less stressful.

I watched the Cornhuskers play tonight. It was a close game .vs Northwestern, but the Huskers won with a last second hail Mary. Good game and I'm glad the Huskers won.

11/6/13

I got into work at 9:20 today, which is earlier than normal. I also stayed until about 5:45, so I worked my 8 hours and then some. Then came home and worked for another 2 hours or so. So I should be good for hours this pay period. Which is good, since I'll be just about out of PTO after the Florida trip.

I went out to lunch with one of my coworkers today. We had Thai. It was good, but it just seems a little lacking to me.

We were approved for the refinance of the new car. It comes with a slightly lower rate and built in gap insurance. We currently don't have gap insurance since that was extra. I'll work on pushing that through tomorrow.

11/5/13

The Xyrem was delivered today, so I have the new drugs. I'll probably have to wait until the weekend to start them, but at least I have them and can try them and see if they help. That's a huge step.

I worked from home today and finally realized what the problem I was having with the new cubes was. Now that I know the problem, tomorrow I can fix it. It's just a pain since I've been wracking my brain with this for the past 2 days to no avail.

Gaming was had tonight. I had everyone bump up their characters from 5th level to 9th. I don't think everyone is done, but I think this will be the final play test. I may spot check a few things here and there, but I think by and large things work. I have a few things still to write, but then I'll lay it out and release it to the world.

11/4/13

I was off to a slow start this morning, but I think I did pretty well. I got into work at 9:10, which is probably 30 minutes earlier than normal. I was also at work until 6:30, so I started the month off with a little extra time under my belt. Which is a good thing, since I'll be just about empty of all PTO by the time I get back from Florida.

I was relatively awake today. I upped the Nuvigil to 150 mg to try to keep me awake as a short term resolution until I get the Xyrem. At the very least it helps me get up in the morning (it's not supposed to, but it seems to regulate my sleep cycle).

I spoke with John at SDS and he's still having trouble getting to talk to the sleep doctor to resolve insurance issues. Apparently insurance now isn't going to cover any refills? I don't know. However, he said he was shipping the Xyrem out again and putting me on the coupon plan they have. I got a tracking number this time, so hopefully the meds will actually reach me tomorrow.

11/2/13 & 11/3/13

Yesterday we got up early to go to Shady Maple for breakfast for Mick's birthday. It was nice to see everyone, and breakfast was very good, as usual.

From there he hit the grocery store and bought stuff that we didn't need, but would taste good.

I also bought a bunch of stuff from Lulu, since I had a coupon.

That evening we went to Jenny and Damian's place to celebrate Halloween/Jenny's birthday. It was nice and we saw the same people from breakfast. There were a lot of great costumes.

Today I made some popcorn that we got at the Shady Maple grocery store.

I also worked on Happy Feats some more. I was going to lay it out today, but I realized there were still some parts to write, so I worked on those.

We ended the night with going to Valley of Terror with Matt and Emily. It was a great haunted hayride/walk/paintball experience. The actors were very interactive, the animatronics were fantastic, and the whole thing was very well put together. I had a blast.

11/1/13

Worked from home today so I could be here when the Xyrem showed up. Someone had to be here to sign for it.

I got a fair amount of work done. Not great, but I made some progress.

I got a call from the sleep doctor letting me know that the doctor "fought and fought" and finally got the insurance company to cover 2 months of Xyrem. Which is a crock of shit, since the insurance company denied the claim because they never heard back from him and his own office said he'd been out for a week (and apparently no one picked up the slack.)

It turns out UPS never came with the package, so I called SDS Pharmacy. They told me they never sent it out. So when I talked to John, the guy who's been managing me, I let him know how unhappy I was. He said he only found out insurance was going to cover it today. So why the hell didn't they send it out yesterday? And why the hell didn't they give me a call when they found out? I made it clear I expect more communication from them.

10/31/13

Happy Halloween!

I was up early this morning to get my costume on. I took my straitjacket outside and flung blood on it. Then I dried it. Then I had my wife buckle me in. Then did my hair and blood. I looked good, I think.

I also made it into work at 9:05,which is almost a record this month. The only time I was in earlier was on the 1st when I had a 9 am meeting and was in at 8:50. Other than that, I've been super late just about every other day.

When I got home, we handed out candy. We had 22 trick or treaters, which may be a record for this house. I sat outside for a while and scared some kids. It was a lot of fun.

We also watched Pontypoint. It was a strange little movie. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It did suspense right. There was a little gore, but mostly it was verbal descriptions and people being afraid. It's an interesting take on the zombie/infection genre.

10/30/13

I had a really tough time getting out of bed this morning. And since I was already running late, I emailed my boss to let him know I would be working from home. It's nice to have that option. I hate to use it, but it's there when I need it.

I spent a good portion of the day on the phone with the SDS pharmacy, Patient Advocacy Foundation, my insurance company, and my sleep doctor. Turns out the claim for Xyrem was declined because insurance asked for more information and the doctor hasn't been in the office all week.

Regardless, the pharmacy got me enrolled in a coupon program through the manufacturer so that I pay $35 to get the Xyrem, even if my insurance won't pay for it. I set that up and it should be here on Friday.

That said, they're still going to work on getting my insurance to cover it by getting the doctor to respond. But at least this way I'll have something to try without waiting another month for people to get their ducks in a row.

10/29/13

I called the SDS pharmacy today about the Xyrem. The didn't call me back last night or this morning about the advocacy group. I didn't get in touch with anyone, but I left a voice mail.

I also called my sleep doctor to see what they could do to help the appeal, as well as give me something in the meantime to help with the sleepiness. They phone was busy the first 3 times I called and I got voicemail the 4th time I called. It's apparently not my day for phone calls.

Gaming was tonight. We played Dread, but I didn't get to kill anyone. Apparently my players are all Jenga masters. They all escaped the killer and made it home alive, though they were in a heap of trouble. Still, I had a lot of fun, and I think the Jenga tower added some suspense to the session. I'd like to play the game again.

10/28/13

Today was a day of phone calls.

I called the oil company to come fill us up. I noticed that we only had about 1/4 a tank left.

I talked to the drug company that makes Xyrem. After playing phone tag, I found out that the insurance is denying coverage for it. The drug company is going to get me in touch with an advocacy group that will file an appeal. If that fails, then they'll see what programs I qualify for to help cover the costs.

I spoke to the insurance company today. We got the new car covered, took off collision on the other cars, and talked about refinancing the new car. Their rate is slightly better, but they offer free gap insurance. Chase/Toyota wanted to charge us a few thousand for that. So if we can get the new load with no price increase, then it's a good deal.

10/27/13

I was supposed to work on the kitchen with my brother today, but he didn't show up. Regardless, I went down in the crawl space under the kitchen and put up all of the insulation we had down there. So at least that's done.

I also used spray foam to fill up the gap where the drain pipe is. We had to cut out the foam that was already there to make a repair to the drain pipe.

I also took the AC unit out of the bedroom window and put it in the garage.

I made a fire today, but didn't keep it up. Still, it helped heat up the house.

And I put in the storm window in the powder room.

I also showered and shaved, since I was incredibly dirty.

Fun stuff was we caught up on BBT and the Walking Dead. We then watched the current Walking Dead.

10/26/13

My wife and I went car shopping today and brought home a Prius C. It's the first new car either of us has ever bought. 38 miles on it when we picked it up. While it won't save us any money in the short run, once it's paid off, we factor in maintenance, and reduced price of our other cars, we should at least break even.

I called insurance to make sure were were covered. State Farm picked up after 2 rings, so there was no wait. They were incredibly helpful and quick.

Gaming was tonight. Since Frank wasn't there, we played a few games of Eminent Domain. It's a fun game where 4 different players can be playing 4 completely different games, but playing together. It's neat.

10/25/13

Changed gears at work to start a different project. It was something I'm good at, so I got to the place I need to be within the day. I think I budgeted 3 days. So technically I'm ahead of schedule.

Gaming was had. I had fun playing.

We stopped a little early since Anne's mother came over. She' taking a load of stuff back down to Florida, so I helped load the U-Haul truck she brought with her this time. It's nice to be able to help. I hope shifting is kept to a minimum on her drive down.

10/24/13

I think I finished up the cube design for work today. Now I just have to write the reports and I'll be done this project.

Went car shopping tonight with my wife. Test drove a Mazda 3. She's not really thrilled with it, even though it had the best pickup of any of the fuel efficient cars we've tried. We may end up keeping her Bug and just me getting a new car. That wasn't on the table before, but maybe it is now.

I made some breakfast this morning. Or at least heated it up. Still, I ate breakfast without stopping at Wawa. And it was probably a few dollars cheaper.

10/23/13

I struggled with the cubes some more today, but I think I made some good progress. Hopefully I can finish this up tomorrow and start working on reports.

I went to my sister's to try to fix her computer. She needs a new Ethernet card. BestBuy doesn't carry them anymore. So I have to get one online.

I stopped by my parents' place to go through some stuff my mom is getting rid of. While I was there, I fixed my father's computer. He screwed it up somehow so that it didn't know how to open a shortcut. I had to fix the registry, but it's fine now. Until he breaks it again.

10/22/13

Gaming was had tonight. We're playing Dread and we got through character creation tonight. I thought about starting play tonight, but we'd only get an hour or so in, and I was worried about losing a character early on and leaving them nothing to do next week.

I got some more work done on the project plan at work. Doing more cube work, so it's a little slow going. But I think I just got into the swing of things again.

I was also 5 minutes "early" this morning. 9:25. It's not the 9:00 I was hoping for, but since I officially changed my hours to 9:30 to 5:30, it'll do.

10/21/13

Got part way through the rules of Dread today. I at least have enough to run the game. I also made the character questionnaires, so I should be good on that front. At the very least, tomorrow can be character creation and I'll have another week to digest the rules.

I corresponded with NASA about the launch and registered through the site. I also called the drug company about the Xyrem (since I haven't heard anything in 2.5 weeks). And I called to schedule the wine tasting my mother got us as a gift. It expired this Saturday, and they were booked up, but they said they extended the coupon so I was able to schedule it for ext month.

I was late getting into work today, and I came in to a boatload of emergency emails, but I was still able to devote the majority of the day to working on the project plan. I haven't been able to do that for over a week.

10/20/13

Had Subway for lunch. It was good.

My brother came over today and he worked on the kitchen. I ran to Home Depot a couple of times while he installed a new waste pipe, faucet, and hooked up most of the plumbing and electricity. We couldn't find a coupling for the sink and garbage disposal, so we can't use the sink yet. But the faucet works.

Afterwards we went out to Pennhurst Asylum for some Halloween fun. I had a really good time. My wife screamed a lot, I saw some friends, and as usual, the effects and actors were great.

10/19/13

I painted some of the cabinet doors today. I didn't get them all done, but I made some progress. Unfortunately it started to rain, and the paint took longer to dry than normal since it was cold and humid. But it's a start.

Gaming was had. We finished the adventure. People seemed to like it. There was talk of continuing with it. I don't know if that's just excitement from finishing tonight or whether we're actually going to continue in the next few weeks.

I got an email from a friend looking for a bio for his game/Kickstarter. It's cool that he's trying to include me, since I did some work for the original game. So far it's my only credits from a published game.

10/18/13

Called out of work today because I was insanely tired this morning. I ended up sleeping until noon. that's a bad thing, but I did feel better around 3-4 and up until now. I'm tired now, but it's like a "normal" time to go to bed tired. So I guess that's good.

I bought some gaming stuff today. Bought from a charity, bought a favorite author's game, and picked up some other cool stuff. Spent too much, but I have the money right now.

I apparently won a social media contest NASA held. I get 1 ticket to get into the MAVEN launch next month. It's in Florida, so I have to figure out how to get down there, where to stay, and how to afford it. But I'll be able to watch the launch, meet with engineers and techs, and hobnob with media. I'm not sure my wife will be able to go down with me or not. She had to check with her boss. Technically I have to check with my boss as well, but I don't think it'll be an issue.

10/17/13

Had lunch with a friend from work today. It was a nice change of pace. And since he had to drop out of gaming, it was nice to chat a little bit.

Hit the gym tonight with the wife. I've been just too tired to go most days. I've been really suffering with my sleep the last few weeks. It's been worse than it's ever been. So it was nice to be able to go tonight, even if I didn't go for long.

The wife and I got Qdoba for dinner after the gym, which was also nice. We haven't been there in a few months.

10/16/13

Bought a game of Jenga in preparation for the game of Dread that I'll be running next Tuesday. I'm excited for it. I think it'll be fun. It'll definitely be different.

Took a nap tonight after work. I really needed it. I probably needed more. And I probably should have gone to bed early tonight.

Made some changes to Happy Feats. I think I'm mostly done with the mechanics. I think I just have to write up some descriptions and polish it off. Then I can lay it out and release it into the wilds for people to tear apart.

10/15/13

I got a fair amount of work done at work, even if it wasn't stuff from the project plan. And while I was tired, I wasn't dead on my feet.

I got a little bit of work done on Happy Feats, so that's a plus. I'm slowly getting to a completed draft.

Tonight was gaming. While we didn't finish the battle, I think it yielded some good info. The super tough monsters I made were a challenge for the PCs. The PCs probably would have won out, but it was touch and go there for a while. I think I just need some guidelines on how many monsters to use and how to use them. Otherwise I think they're in a good place.

10/14/13

Solved a problem today that's been a problem for the past week. I don't know if my boss didn't or couldn't look into solving the problem, but I somehow was able to squeeze several extra minutes of efficiency out of a report to allow it to run without timing out anymore. I got flack for it in the same breath as I got praise, but what are you gonna do?

Watched Tucker and Dale vs Evil tonight and was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I'd been avoiding it because it looked horrible. 

I got a little bit done on Happy Feat today. I'm more than halfway through the very brief monster write ups. Part of me wonders if I should write more, but I think that since a few sentences are all I'm giving to PC races, a few sentences will suffice for monsters. Besides, I've got pictures to go along with the monsters, so it'll all be cool. 

10/12/13

I've been having a really hard time with sleep, the house, and assorted drama, so I decided to take the day off. Completely off. I turned off my alarm and decided that whenever I felt tired enough to sleep, I'd go lay down and sleep.I got up at 10:30, laid down (but didn't sleep) at noon, laid down (and did sleep) at 5. I feel better, but we'll see if it keeps up.

I watched V/H/S today to get my Halloween fix. It was a fairly good anthology horror movie. I started watching the Innkeepers, but turned it off when I got tired. I'll probably finish it tomorrow.

I vacuumed the house and had to empty the vacuum 3 times because of all the dog hair. I let it go far too long. But the house looks a little better now. Hopefully it smells a little better too.

10/11/13

I took lead on a meeting for probably the first time at work today. I thought it was the most productive meeting we've had in a long time. I think other people seemed to think that as well.

Gaming was tonight, and we had fun. At least I did. And we leveled.

Hit Fridays after gaming. Had some good food with friends. It was nice.

10/9/13

I was relatively productive at work. I got several ad hoc projects done and even a little bit of what I was actually supposed to be working on.

Got some of my Halloween music on my Walkman. I also thought up some other stuff to put on there. So it should be shaping up to be a good mix this year.

Watched the season premier of American Horror story. Not a bad start. We'll have to see how it turns out.

10/8/13

Good play test tonight. It gave me a lot to think about. I need to ensure that clerics and thieves have something to do in combat, and I need to work on the spells section, since the charm spell decimated the enemies. There was some good discussion after the game about where things are lacking.

Started assembling my Halloween music ensemble today. I still have some work to do, but it's starting to take shape.

Wife was at gaming again tonight. I really like having her there.

10/7/13

Wrote my first stored procedure today. And it worked on the first try. So not bad. Sure, it's not supported on the system we have, but it worked.

Got a little brainstorming done for Happy Feats. I'm hoping to revamp the magic item section soon. After that, I'll do the feat, monster, and equipment descriptions. I might be done at that point. We'll see.

Did some reading online. Almost caught up on the "interesting things" I've found from last week.

10/5/13

Gaming was had tonight. After a rough start, I managed to pound the PCs pretty hard. They're losing and getting desperate. That's a good thing.

The wife and I went grocery shopping today. We spent over $300, but since we haven't done a real shopping trip in a month or two, that's not too bad. Plus, we have lots of food now.

I bought a copy of Codex Seraphinianus today. At least I preordered one. I'm curious to see it. It got it for $80, when most places it's going for $270. Still, it's a lot of money. Hopefully it's an interesting book and I'll enjoy the pictures and script, etc.

10/4/13

I got the monsters revamped for Happy Feats today. They should be in the right shape for playtesting on Tuesday.

I also shared the Happy Feat draft with one of the guys at work who expressed interest. I haven't heard back from him yet, but I'd be curious to see what he thinks.

Watched Over the Hedge and Rio tonight. Both were cute movies. Not great, but cute.

10/3/13

Worked from home because I had a doctor appointment. I was able to get at least a little done, as well as help out one of the consultants at work with some SQL issues.

Saw a sleep doc today (my doc is out on maternity leave, so he was the replacement). I got a prescription for Xyrem. He's not sure if insurance will cover it, but he agrees that we've exhausted all other options. He also thinks taking it could be diagnostic. If I respond well, then I have narcolepsy. If I don't, then it's something else.

I got a call from the Xyrem people tonight, which was faster than expected. It was just a welcome call, but still nice to know things are moving.

Bonus: I made dinner (pasta with eggplant, zucchini, and breaded chicken) and we ATE ON REAL PLATES. My wife protested, since the dish washer still isn't hooked up, but it was nice. Real nice.

10/2/13

Had a training thing today at work. Since it lasted most of the day, I got free pizza out of it. I generally don't turn down free pizza.

I also had my review today at work. Things seemed to go fairly well. Probably no big raise this year, but I'm also not in danger of losing my job.

Played some Ingress on the way home from work. I'm slowly getting closer to level 6.

10/1/13

I had a meeting at 9 this morning and I managed to get in on time for it. I even beat my boss in.

Thought it was stressful, I managed to get all the feats done for Happy Feats in time for gaming tonight. Now I just have to revamp monsters.

Gaming was tonight. While the monsters weren't really ready, I think the PCs were doing what they should be - fighters were hitting, wizards were casting, etc. I think the priests need a little help with meaningful choices during play. And I'm still working on thieves. Regardless, things are coming closer to how I expect them to work, which is good.

9/27/13 - 9/30/13

Friday was gaming. I had a lot of fun and big things were happening. It was a nice change from the "boring monotony" of the previous parts of the adventure.

Afterwards I hung out with some friends and we talked some.

Finally, I came home and packed for the big weekend ahead of us.

Saturday my wife and I drove to Wildwood for our belated anniversary celebration. It was a nice drive down with her trying to guess where we were going.

We ended up walking most of the boardwalk, then back along the ocean. It was a really nice time.

We spent some quality time together, which was nice.

That night we walked all over the place looking for somewhere to eat dinner. We settled on a fairly fancy place with some hiccups in service. However, the waiter didn't put the appetizer or my soda on the bill, then he gave us a coupon for 1 meal free. So the bill was less than half what it should have been. I tipped him almost 100%.

Sunday we walked along the beach some more.

We stopped and got some fudge for my MiL and some candy for my FiL.

We drove home, watched a scary movie, and had cheesesteaks. I ended up sleeping a lot on the vacation, which was bad. But at the same time, my wife did as well, and she probably needed it.

Monday we both had off, but she was busy. I painted some cabinets.

I also worked on Happy Feats some more. I'm almost ready for tomorrow night.

I also made dinner, shaved, and took my shower, since I'm expecting an early morning tomorrow.

9/26/13

It was a pretty crappy day all around.

I downloaded an app that lets me set the GPS coordinates on my phone to anything I want. It's a bit sluggish and doesn't do everything I want it to, but it does allow me to play Ingress when I'm not directly next to a portal.

I went out and got Wendy's today for lunch.

I got a little bit of brainstorming done on Happy Feats. I'm redesigning several feats to correct math issues.

9/25/13

Had grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch today. It was good, though not as filling as I'd hoped.

I designed a new character sheet for Happy Feats today. It's more of a worksheet now, so hopefully people will be able to track their modifiers better now.

I played on Ingress on the way home from work. I took back a few portals, secured one that had died out, and made some new links.

9/24/13

I got a Microsoft Surface tablet at work today. It's neat, but I don't know how I'll use it for work yet. If it's a replacement for my laptop, then I'm cool with it. Otherwise it just seems a bit superfluous.

Gaming was tonight. We got through 1 combat, which lasted 5 rounds. I think I need to work on my math a little bit. It seems like the defense bonuses outpace the attack bonuses fairly quickly. Regardless, it was a good session, since it highlighted some problems that I can fix. And this fixes should be fairly simple, though it may require a fairly wide-reaching rewrite.

Got salads from Redner's salad bar for dinner. I ate way too much. It was really good though.

9/22/13 & 9/23/13

I apparently forgot to update last night, which makes sense because I was really tired...

Yesterday the wife and I met with a group of friends to watch Labyrinth. Some of the people hadn't seen it before, it was interesting to see their reactions to it. It was also interesting to see it 15 years after the last time I'd seen it.

From there it was off to my nephew's birthday party. Saw most of the family. It was ok, though I started getting really tired during it.

Finally we stopped off at my parents' where my mother gave us our anniversary gift - a certificate for a wine and cupcake tasting. While I'm not a drinker, I think it will be nice to go out and spend some time at a vineyard.

Today my wife and I went out for breakfast, which we almost never do. So it was a treat.

I painted the majority of the drawer facings, so the kitchen is half a baby step closer to being finished. I was hoping to get more done, but it just didn't happen.

I also went out to Sears and bought a new lawn mower, then mowed the lawn. Since the last mower broke (probably over a month ago) it's been tough to keep up with the lawn. But the new mower seems to work really well. Hopefully it keeps up.

9/21/13

Went to a wedding today for my wife's coworker. We had a really nice time. The food was good and we saw some friends we don't get to see all that often.

The weather was beautiful today. Even though I got a little sun burnt, it could't have been a nicer day.

The wedding site had a spectacular view of the city skyline. Really amazing. I'm hoping that I can do some tweaks and turn the pictures I took into amazing pictures.

9/20/13

Got to come home this afternoon and work the rest of the day from home because of the parking situation due to the rodeo. That was nice.

I watched Red this evening. It was a great movie. I really liked it. Now I need to see the second one.

I also played a little Ingress on the way home. I didn't reclaim all my lost portals, but I made a little headway.

9/19/13

Worked from home today because I had a doctor appointment. I didn't get a whole lot done because my boss wasn't giving me the tools I need. But me being in the office wouldn't have changed anything. 

I went to the sleep doctor (saw the nurse) and they're going to try me on Xyrem. It's pretty much a last ditch effort. They're out of options at this point. They sent me home with a packet of information, because they won't just give it to me. There's a whole support system and DVD, etc. So I need to be "informed" before I give consent. So hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to give it a try. 

Hit the gym tonight. I've been shirking it, so it was nice to go, even if only for a short period of time.

Afterwards, I spent some quality time with the wife. 

9/18/13

I finished up a report today. Right on time. It should have been done earlier, but I just couldn't muster the energy or the concentration to do it. But it's done now, at least in draft form.

I tried to fix the lawn mower this evening. It didn't work. I looked up the replacement part, which apparently is "engine". I called Sears to see how much it would be to replace it, and if I needed the whole thing. Turns out the answers are $250 and yes. So it sounds like I'll be getting my wish of a new mower.

Watched "Requiem for a Dream" with the wife tonight. Crappy movie, but at least we spent time together.

9/17/13

Gaming was tonight. I was under prepared, but still able to put something together. Hopefully I'll be able to get a little more planning done for next week.

I got a little bit of brainstorming done for Happy Feats. I think I have something in place for monetary goals by level. Now I just have to figure out experience.

My wife gamed with us again. She's there most weeks since we've been playing Happy Feat, but I really like having her there.

9/16/13

Had a rough morning, but I seemed to wake up and be productive later in the day. That's good, since I've been rather unproductive at work recently. I just can't seem to get my butt in gear. I think the 9.5 hours of sleep I got last night helped, as did the Nuvigil I took. I just have to watch it since I build up a tolerance to drugs fairly quickly and I've already been on Nuvigil twice (and the second time to lesser results.)

Today is my 8 year wedding anniversary. I got the wife some flowers, made dinner, and we watched ParaNorman. Dinner was mostly good (the mushrooms tasted a little funky) and the movie was cute.

I did a few dishes after dinner. They were pretty funky since I kept putting them off. But they're done now.

9/15/13

Forgot to post last night.

Went with the wife and one of her co-workers to see Opera Macabre: Edgar Allen Poe. It was an operatic version of "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Black Cat". I liked the first. The second was a little too "artsy" for me. But I've never seen opera before, so it was interesting. It was a very small venue, and while I applaud their drive in doing shows like this, the small venue always seems amateur to me and tends to "taint" my feelings about the show.

Then my wife and I went to Bistro St. Tropez in Philly for an early anniversary dinner. It's a French restaurant tucked into the top floor of a weird kind of mall. The food was amazing. Watermelon-tomato Gazpacho (sounds weird, but pretty good), Escargot (never had it before, really good), Sea Bass, and Petiteroles (vanilla ice cream in a sort of creampuff-like pastry covered in chocolate sauce).

Played some Ingress in Philly. Lots of portals there. And while I didn't have time to really hit the game hard, I still got some AP.

9/14/13

I painted the lower cabinets in the kitchen. They now have 2 coats of white and are complete.

Gaming was tonight. While I thought we were playing D&D, it turns out everyone was ready for Dresden. So they were able to defeat Famine tonight. The only horseman left is Death, and they've already struck a bargain with him. So now they just have to deal with the Outsider. Fun times.

My mother nudged me in Words with Friends. My games with her were apparently stuck saying it was her turn, when in fact it was my turn. So I think that's all straightened out now.

9/13/13

Got to work from home the second half of the day because of the Lulu rodeo (and the limitations on parking because of it).

I took some Nuvigil this morning to try to work on my productivity at work. It seems to have worked pretty well. I was able to concentrate and get slightly more work done than normal.

Gaming was tonight. I had fun. It was much more eventful than the last couple of sessions.

We also went to Fridays for our monthly outing. Good food. Good friends. That kind of stuff.

8/6/13

Increased my dose of Ritalin this morning and I was more focused on work today. While I didn't get whole lot done, I still was more work focused than I have been in the past couple weeks.

I left work early to go pick up my new prescription. Surprisingly, insurance covered it without any kind of hassle. The past couple of times I needed to get them to talk to the doctor before they'd fill it. That took several weeks to work out.

We gamed tonight. I had fun, even if there was some controversy over the adventure. I ran "A Spell Named Catherine" and had almost immediate revulsion for the wizard and pity for Catherine. Hopefully it wi

9/12/13

Got some new priorities at work. It's SSRS stuff, so I should be able to knock that stuff out pretty quickly.

I saw the therapist again tonight. She basically told me she didn't think there was anything she could do for me. My issue is physical, not mental. And until that's taken case of, there's not a whole lot anyone can do. She also didn't think I really need to see a therapist even after I got the sleep issue taken care of, since she thinks I'm handling things pretty well on my own. So cross another treatment off the list.

Had Qdoba doe dinner tonight.

I also captured 2 new portals in Ingress. Getting closer to hitting level 4.

9/10/13

Gaming was had tonight. I had fun. We finished up the adventure. We'll be starting a new one next week. I think I need to create a cheat sheet for the game to help me out.

There was a little bit of progress on Happy Feats today. Not much, but every little bit is good.

Had a salad for lunch. That's always good.

9/9/13

Went out to see friends we haven't seen in a few years tonight. It was nice to see everyone.

Stopped reading "The Turn of the Screw" today because I couldn't get into the writing. This is a good thing, since I don't want to waste weeks struggling through a bad book if I don't have to. With as slow a reader as I am, there's just not enough time for great fiction. Why waste what time I have on bad fiction?

Got a new list of stuff to do from my boss. This should actually allow me to get some stuff done, rather than struggle with the stuff I've been doing and falling behind all the time. So that's good. My boss seems to have a lot of confidence in me.

9/8/13

Took my mother out to breakfast for her birthday. Went out with my sister, her husband, my wife, and my parents. She seemed to appreciate it, even though she was cranky.

Watched "Life as We Know It" with the wife tonight. Realized something that bugs me about "chick flicks". And how much I don't understand women.

Had less than 3 sodas today, which is something I've been working at, but something I've been sucking at recently.

9/6/13

Apparently I forgot to update last night.

I went out at night to see the LADEE probe launched. It was really nice to finally see a rocket launch. The weather was perfect for it and I could easily see the launch, even though the rocket was launched from VA.

I mounted my wife's full length mirror in the bedroom. She's been wanting that mounted for a while.

While I called out of work sick, I was available for a meeting my boss scheduled. Even though he never responded to any of my emails. And never bothered to call me about the meeting. But whatever. At least I was available.

9/7/13

They came and installed the counter tops today. That's HUGE. There were some problems. Apparently the counter tops weren't cut right, so the install guys had to cut it to fit. They had a lot of trouble, but they got it to work.

I went to my nephews' first birthday party today. I had to drive all the way to NJ, but it was ok. I got to see some of the NJ family, which was nice.

I came home and put away some of the canned goods in the cabinets. I also reorganized the totes and bags of kitchen stuff to make more room in the parlor, where it's all sitting because we haven't had a kitchen. I also swept up a bunch of dog hair that had accumulated around said stuff.

9/5/13

Made tacos for dinner. They were good.

Hit level 3 in Ingress, which is cool. It happened a lot faster than I expected.

Had a baby shower for one of the guys at work, which means cake. So there's that.

9/4/13

Hit Home Depot on the way home from work. I picked up almost everything that was on my list. Spend about $120, but that should be most of the rest of what we need to finish the kitchen.

I hit level 2 in Ingress. I also linked my first portals today.

Hit the gym. Even though we didn't get there until after 8:30, we still got half an hour in. I still took it easy, so we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

9/3/13

I was fairly productive today at work. I didn't get as much as I'd hoped done, but I did get some stuff done. So there's that. I feel like recently, I have trouble concentrating on work and I'm just not getting done what I need to get done. I'm usually making some progress, but I'm not progressing like I want to.

Gaming was tonight. We finished a combat and found that no one died. Only 1 person was seriously injured, and by the time the battle was over, they were ok. For whatever reason, I feel like there's still too much missing going on in the system. And the fact that 1 PC was un-hit-able was troubling. But, I'm thinking that the other defenses might make up for that. We'll have to see.

I helped a friend take care of some wasp nests tonight. I may have to go back later and take care of some more. But it's nice to be able to help.

9/2/13

Played some more Ingress. Captured my first portal. I'll probably lose it again tomorrow, but at least I got some AP for it.

My brother came over and we worked on the kitchen some more . Got the ledger boards in for the counter tops, installed the radiator, and capped the other radiator. So at least we'll have heat if we need it.

Got Big Ben's for dinner.

9/1/13

Played some more Ingress. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm doing. I'll have to see if I can find a cheat sheet or a strategy guide or something. But I'm accumulating lots of stuff.

Had my wife play for me while we were in the car. She started to get into it, which was neat.

Went to a party tonight. Saw some people, at some food, swam. It was rather warm and humid today, so swimming was really nice. I really enjoyed it.

8/31/13

Woke up this morning and used the stove for the first time in almost 4 months. Made eggs and bacon. It was good, especially considering that I was able to make it.

Hit the gym today, also for the first time in almost 4 months. I took it slow, but I'm fairly sure I'll be sore tomorrow. But it was good to go.

Gaming was tonight, and I had fun. The party managed to defeat the horseman, War. It was pretty epic.

Played some Ingress. Starting to make some headway in the game, I think. I still don't entirely know what I'm doing, but it's interesting to play so far.

8/30/13

I didn't feel too bad today, which was nice. I was still tired, but not incapacitated. And I was able to focus at least a little bit on work.

I got out of work early because of the holiday on Monday. So that was nice.

The wife and I went out to the Olive Garden for dinner, which was also nice.

I got a little bit of work done on Happy Feats. I'm slowly working through my to do list.

I bought a new hard drive for my father. I'll install Ubuntu on it tomorrow and install it next time I see him. Hopefully I can wean him off of Windows. That'll make my job easier.

So there's 5 things.

8/29/13

Worked from home today because the washer repairman was scheduled to come out. Washer was repaired for $200. High, but the first door latch control he installed was bad, so he had to install a second one. If I did it myself and it didn't work, I probably would have replaced the control board next. And since that wouldn't have fixed it, I would have had to call someone out anyway. So in this case it was worth it.

The people also came out to template the counter tops for the kitchen today. I have a short to do list for that, but there were no problems with the templating.

Spent some quality time with the wife, even though she was super late getting home from work. It was a nice, relaxing night.

2/28/13

Got the sink lowered in the kitchen so it's flush with where the counter tops will be. Also got the stove hooked up and the dish washer in place. All big things in preparation for the counter top measuring planned for tomorrow.

Got a complement on gaming from last night. That's always nice.

Got about 2 extra hours of work done at home after I left early. So I shouldn't be too far behind on hours because of it.

8/27/13

Got some more stuff done on Happy Feat. If I can keep getting little bits done here and there, I think I may actually finish it. Which would be awesome.

Gaming was tonight. I thought it went well. I changed the way armor works. It doesn't necessarily alleviate the problem of ineffectual attacks, but it does keep the fighter relevant. We'll have to see how things go. I may need to put in some other combat options.

The wife came to gaming again. I really enjoy her being there. Even if she doesn't like the adventure.

8/26/13

Called someone to service the washer today. I also scheduled for someone to come out and measure for the counter tops.

Got a little bit of work done on Happy Feats. Not a lot, but little bits. I also read a little bit, which was nice. I didn't start dozing off while reading, which is also good.

Spent some quality time with the wife when I got home from work. We need more time together.

8/25/13

We lost a large branch off a tree a month ago, or so. I cut that up into firewood today.

I also brushed and bathed the dog.

And cooked dinner on the grill.

And did dishes.

And tried (but failed) to fix the washer.

In addition, the wife and I went to Rita's for some water ice, which we ate while sitting on a bench outside the Richard Wall House. It was really nice to be outside and doing something.

8/24/13

I replaced the batteries in 2 of my wife's watches today. I was able to find the batteries at Rite Aid, so it wasn't too hard or expensive to replace them. I wasn't able to get the waterproofing seal back on one of them, but it shouldn't be an issue.

Gaming was tonight. The party was able to defeat one of the 4 horsemen. They also bartered with death, who is willing to give up if they perform a task for him.

Made a list of all the things I need to do. It's a long list. Hopefully I can start working through it. Some of it I need to wait on, but other things I can get started on now. So hopefully this will help me stay focused on getting the kitchen (and the rest of the house) in better condition.

8/23/13

Worked from home today so I could take an extended lunch and go counter top shopping. We ended up buying the counter tops today. Hopefully in 2 weeks they'll be in and that'll be one more thing to check off the kitchen to do list.

Met up with friends for an Indian buffet at New Delhi. The food was good.

Then it was off to watch the Wrath of Khan and The Last Starfighter on the big screen. It was rather enjoyable.

8/22/13

Got a breakfast sandwich at Wawa this morning. It was good. I also picked up some cottage cheese for the salad I brought for lunch, so that was good too.

The Funemployment Kickstarter funded today, so I'll be getting a copy of that when they complete it. That's nice.

I also found out that Metatopia is in November. I'm hoping I can go to that con. I have to check the calendar, but it'd be nice. I rarely hit cons, so the fact that there's one so close to home (1.5 hours) means I should make an effort to get there.

8/21/13

Rough day for being awake. Insanely tired while I was driving into work today.

That said, I got a little bit of work done on Happy Feats again. So there's that.

I was able to show my boss some progress. He's been peppering me with all sorts of side jobs, so I don't want him to think I'm not doing anything because I'm not getting anything done on the project plan.

My wife worked late, so I ordered her Big Ben's for dinner. It was good.

8/20/13

No drugs today and I was very tired for most of the day. I did start to wake up around 4, so that's good. I may end up taking some Ritalin tomorrow.

Gaming happened tonight. I thought it was fun. We had a new person - someone from work. He seems nice enough. And he seemed to get along ok with the crew. I'll check with everyone and see what they think, but I didn't notice any personality clashes.

Got a little bit done on Happy Feats today. Not much, but a little.

I also read some. Though it was tough and I started to lose it after a few minutes.

8/19/13

First day being D.R.U.G. free. Lots of ups and downs. But my mood is still improved. So that's good.

Got at least a couple of things done today. Not a lot, but there was some progress. And I worked a full 7 hours, which is good. That doesn't happen all that often.

I also worked a little bit on the feats only thing, now officially code named "Happy Feats". Not a lot, but slowing filling in the gaps.

8/18/13

My brother came over and we got the bottom cabinets in. That's a huge thing.

I did a little bit of work on the feats only thing tonight. Mostly some edits, but I did add a little bit of text.

Had some good pizza for dinner.

8/17/13

I dropped down to 10mg of Ritalin today. I was tired, had a headache, and didn't get much done today. We'll have to see how this works tomorrow to see if I'm in as bad shape tomorrow. 

I weed whacked most of the back yard today. It really needed it. 

Gaming didn't happen, but we ended up playing the Walking Dead board game and a game called Kingdom Builder. I really liked both, though the Walking Dead was a really tough game and we lost. 

8/16/13

Day 2 of only 20mg of Ritalin. My mood was still improved, so I think that's a good thing. I was also not as tired when I came home from work. And my concentration at work was better. So these are all good things and point to the Ritalin making me worse, not better.

It's Friday, which is definitely a good thing. I've been a little worried about getting through the week, both on the Ritalin and off it. I hope I feel ok tomorrow and can get some stuff done. I have a large list, and I hope to get at least half of it done.

Went out with the wife tonight. Ate at Elevation Burger and then went shopping. We got me some new shoes (the old ones broke earlier this week) and some groceries (which we desperately needed). Elevation Burger was ok. Better than McDonalds. But it wasn't quite what I imagined.

8/15/13

Started weaning myself off the Ritalin today. I only took 20mg in the morning and skipped my afternoon dose. My mood was much better today, even though I was really tired on the drive home from work. And while I had a headache for a good portion of the day, I didn't take anything for it. I was also slightly more productive at work today than normal. So we'll see how this goes.

There was a wedding shower at work today for one of my coworkers. So I got a free lunch. I also got to talk to people I don't get to talk to much anymore now that I'm in IT.

I got paid today, so I picked up some new RPGs on Drivethrustuff.com. I need to read through them now. Hopefully my ability to read will hold up for at least a little while.

8/14/13

Called the sleep doc today and talked to the nurse. She was less than helpful. I still made the effort.

I'm going off the Ritalin. I'll wean myself off to minimize the withdraw. But I'm tired of feeling depressed and tired. I can feel tired anytime, but I would rather not be depressed at the same time.

Talked to the new guy at work. Sent him my rules for the feats only thing. He was able to make a character without any real problem or without much guidance, so it sounds like the draft is at least partly intelligible.

8/13/13

Gaming tonight. We didn't get a whole lot done tonight, but it was still fun.

Had lunch with a new guy at work. He's a gamer and looking to join a game. I'll probably invite him to gaming next week and see what people think of him.

I got some more reading done today. I'm really enjoying the book. The fact that I can read is a good thing, even if I'm still tired.

8/12/13

Today was better than yesterday. Or last week. So there's that. While I was still tired, my mood was improved. I didn't feel as defeatest, depressed, or irritable as last week.

I saw the therapist tonight. This was apparently session 7. I don't know if we're really doing the cognitive behavioral thing anymore (or ever were). Mostly just talking about my childhood. Sure, there might be something there. But I don't know if there's anything to be done about it or that will help me in the long run.

I'm reading Sinner, by Greg Stolze. It's a fun book and the fact that I'm reading is a good sign. I rarely have the motivation, concentration, or physical ability to read anymore. So that's a definite good thing.

8/11/13

I didn't take my Ritalin today, as per the doctor's orders. I was toast the whole day, which isn't surprising.

Still, I managed to move the bottom cabinets out of the dining room and into the kitchen. They're not installed yet, but they're moved.

I also cleaned the beams and the floor. I was eventually going to clean the floor, but since I spilled the waste water from cleaning the beams all over myself and the floor, I figured it was a good time to clean the floor.

Watched Snow White and the Huntsman with the wife tonight. Not too bad of a movie, if you can ignore Kristen Stewart's lack of acting. I think it would have been a better movie if they would have digitally removed her from every scene.

8/10/13

Pretty good day, considering I took 1/4th my normal dose of Ritalin.

I finished painting the kitchen. We're all ready to start moving cabinets in tomorrow morning. I cleaned everything up, pulled off all the tape, pulled down the plastic over the door, on the floor, and over the beams. We can access the kitchen without going outside again.

Had gaming. I had a lot of fun. I got to unveil the big reveal and let everyone know what the adventure was really about, who was behind everything, and what they needed to do to fix things. Seems like it was a head trip for most of the players/characters.

I created a new profile for my phone that turns the CPU way down when the screen is off. I don't know how much that's going to help with battery life, but if tonight is any hint it's going to make the battery last a lot longer. While I haven't done much with my phone since I charged it last, I've only lost about 9% in the past 5 hours, which is a lot better than 100% in 14 hours.

8/9/13

Ate out a lot today. Hit Wawa for breakfast. Michael's for lunch. Taco Bell for dinner. Then Friday's at night. 

Gamed tonight. It was fun. A little slow, but still fun. 

I was relatively productive today at work, despite being very tired. So there's that. 

8/8/13

Rough day, but here goes.

Watched "John Dies at the End". It was... A movie. Yup. Weird. Didn't make a whole lot of sense. The author apparently wrote himself as the main character. I'm just not sure how I feel about it.

Had Papa Johns for dinner. That was nice.

Got my hard copy of Ambition & Avarice in the mail today. I'm excited about that.

8/7/13

Took the day off to work on the kitchen. I got the ceiling and half the walls painted. I apparently taped the walls before the primer fully dried, so some of the primer came off when I removed the tape. I'll sand it tomorrow and then finish painting this weekend. Regardless, I got enough done that it won't hold up putting the cabinets back in this weekend.

I made what will hopefully by my last credit card payment today. I'll double check later this month, but that should be everything, except maybe a little interest accrued this month. It's nice to be credit card debt free.

I did dishes. Well, dish. I also cleaned the dehumidifier that was covered in spackle dust and wasn't shutting off automatically anymore. While I don't know if I fixed the problem yet, it seems better.

8/5/13

I was relatively focused on work today, which is a fairly substantial change. That was good. Unfortunately there was a lot of crap to sift through at work and it's not making my job any easier. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Watched Cabin in the Woods with the wife tonight. I dug it. I liked rooting for the monsters. The spoilers I'd heard weren't really spoilers, so the ending was still a surprise. I enjoyed the trip.

I finished some good stuff on the gaming thing today. Enough that I think I can leave it be for a little bit and just play test it without stressing too much. Granted, I still have to come up with a quick adventure for tomorrow....

8/4/13

Today went fairly well considering I only took 10mg of Ritalin in the morning, rather than 20mg in the morning and 10mg in the afternoon. I did start to crash around 6, but that's normal. So hopefully I won't be completely useless on the weekends, as I had feared. This should also slow down how quickly I build up a tolerance to the meds.

Went to the Legend brunch today. We watched the director's cut of Legend. It wasn't as slow as I remembered. Though they cut out the bit where they restore the unicorn's horn at the end. Supposedly there were 30 extra minutes in there, but I didn't really notice them.

I finished mowing the front yard with the weed whacker when we got home. The lawn really needed it, and I broke the mower yesterday. I'll have to do the back yard later.

8/3/13

Finished the second coat of primer and got paint on 1 wall of the kitchen today. I called my brother to schedule time next weekend for him to come over and put the cabinets back in. In a few more weeks we may have a kitchen again.

Mowed about half the lawn before the mower died. It's been far too long since I mowed, and the mower was struggling with the grass. It died when I want too fast over a thick patch. When I tried to start it again I tore the top of the mower off. The metal tab that holds the top on just sheered off. Not sure if we should get a new one or try to get this one fixed.

Watched This is 40 with the wife tonight. I'm not a big fan. The soundtrack seemed a little jarring with the movie and I wasn't a fan of the antics in the movie. Too much negativity. We did order out, which was nice. So I ate a lot of food that wasn't good for me. 

8/2/13

The nurse's assistant at the sleep doc called me today. Apparently the doctor was out sick. I didn't even know the office was open today. Anyway, they want to up my dose again, since I've been struggling and they think I'm building up a tolerance quickly. They also want me to not take the Ritalin on the weekends so I slow down the tolerance I do build up.

I forgot there was a going away luncheon for one of the IT guys. I got a free lunch out of it, even though I was told we'd have to cover our own. So that's cool.

I got some good work done on the gaming thing. I'm checking some stuff off on my "to do" list for it. I may actually be ready come Tuesday. We'll see.

8/1/13

Called the sleep doctor today to talk about the meds. They're not working so well anymore. Anyway, since she didn't call me back today, I'm probably not going to get a call back until Monday. I should be able to hold out that long.

Today was a better day than I've had in a little while. I was pretty tired and miserable yesterday. Today I was still tired, but not to the extent that I was yesterday. I was also in a better mood. So that's definitely a good thing.

I made dinner tonight. I also rearranged the freezer, tossed a bunch of old mail, and got some work done on my new project at work. So there's that.

7/31/13

Rough day, but here goes.

I solved the problem that cropped up yesterday at work. Turns out it was a data issue, not an issue with my report suddenly flaking. So that's good.

I got some good brainstorming done on the game thing. I'm just about ready to finish up the class feats. I'm also going to do some treasure tables to make things a little easier to know how much treasure to dole out.

I didn't map tonight. I wanted to. But I'm hoping that going to bed at a normal time tonight will help me tomorrow (not that it's helped me much in the past, but here's hoping.)

7/30/13

Gaming tonight. There were parts that worked and parts that didn't. I'm still pondering the implications. That said, they were barely able to defeat a level 1 dragon, so the numbers seem to work fairly well on that end. I need to prepare for next week when they'll be something other than level 1. Lots of work ahead.

Got Chipotle for dinner tonight. It was good.

I just kicked off a process for work that'll run over night. That should get 1 issue out of the way tomorrow.

7/29/13

Took the day off to work on the kitchen. Got all of the spackling finished and the first coat of primer on the walls! Yay, progress!

I also completed installing Cyanogen on my phone. There were issues and I almost bricked it, but its working now. The backup of my apps and data failed, so I had to go through and set everything up again. And some of the apps are different enough that I had to go through all my shortcuts and remap them. Hopefully this will save my battery life.

I had subway for lunch and my wife cooked dinner.

7/28/13

I finished up sanding the second coat of spackle in the kitchen. I also circled all of the places that need touch ups. I need to hit HomeDepot tomorrow and get some more spackle to finish up those touch ups. Then I can start on the primer.

I'm in the process of backing up my phone now. I'm going to install a custom ROM to try to fix my battery issues. I was nearly drained (down to 24%) by 4 PM yesterday, with little/moderate use (I used the GPS, but the screen was off).  It's taken me a while to get to the point of being able to install clockworkmod. Now that I have, I think I'm on my way to getting the ROM setup.

Spent some good time with the wife. She made dinner, which was very nice.

7/27/13

Helped some friends move some stuff from NJ to PA. They seemed very appreciative.

The bought me breakfast, which was nice. They also bought me lunch, which was good too.

Went to a birthday party this evening. While we missed a bunch of people (I think), it was nice to see the people we did, even if it was only for a short time.

7/26/13

Today was the IT picnic at work. Lots of food, fun activities, and I got to not work and come home early. And the weather was great. I'm really digging the weather now that it's in the low 80's. Much better than high 90's.

Gaming was tonight. I had fun.

I offered to help a friend move some stuff tomorrow, which will entail a trip to NJ. It's nice to help out, even though the circumstances are less than ideal.

7/25/13

Got some good brainstorming done on the gaming thing. I'm still struggling with a few pieces. And I think I may need to revisit a few feats that didn't look done to me. But it's progress.

I bought a bunch of stock art off drivethrurpg.com because they're having a sale. I'm probbly jumping the gun, but since I want to be published and I can use the images in other things, I figure I'll eventually get some use out of them.

Rescued my wife when she locked her keys in the car. And I made dinner. So while I wasn't greatly productive tonight, I did do something.

7/24/13

Started looking at stock art for this gaming thing. It's probably too soon, but there's a sale. I haven't made any purchase yet, but there's some nice stuff out there.

Started putting some of the changes from last night into the gaming document. I still have a lot to do, but I'm getting there.

Saw Wicked with my wife tonight. It was surprisingly good. Amazing sets and costumes. Great story, though it could have done without the happy ending. I really sympathized with the witch (I know that's the idea, but they did a good job with it).

7/23/13

Tonight was the first play test of the feats only game. It was very helpful. There were several things I'd forgotten to include, some math I need to check, and some new ideas. And my wife played :)

We got SaladWorks for dinner, which was nice. I feel like I'm not eating enough vegetables recently.

I moved the dehumidifier from the kitchen to the basement. I've been meaning to do that for a while. The basement seems to have gotten pretty damn in its absence.

7/22/13

It looks like I forgot yesterday. I thought I might have. 

Anyway, I got some work done on the gaming thing. I updated the character sheet, cobbled together some quick start rules, and got ready for the game.

I saw the therapist again. I'm not sure if we're making any kind of progress. But I'll stick with it for a little while longer.

It rained and was relatively cool, at least for a while. It was nice. 

7/21/13

Got some work done on the kitchen. More sanding. Even with my wife's help we didn't get through it all today. We need to spend at least another day on it. Assuming it doesn't get too hot (it was warm today, but not dangerously hot.)

Got some brainstorming done on the gaming thing. I decided to completely rework the feats. All of them. And I need to get them done by Tuesday for play testing.

Went out and got Boston Market for dinner tonight. It was good. I've never had it before.

7/20/13

It seems like the heatwave has finally broken, as forecast. I guess we'll find out for sure tomorrow. But it's fairly cool outside, which is nice.

Awesome game tonight. Lots of action, biting choices, and conflict. I love Dresden Files.

Tried to refill the AC in my wife's bug. It didn't work. Lots of people online said they had issues, and I had the same issues they had. Looks like we'll have to take it somewhere. But at least I tried.

7/19/13

I took that day off today to work on the kitchen. It was really hot (we're still in he middle of a week-long heatwave) so I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped. Still, I got about half the sanding done in the kitchen.

Gaming was tonight, and I was fun.

Fridays was also tonight, which was nice. Though we only had a small crowd, it was still nice to talk to people and hang out.

7/18/13

Finished a few things for the gaming thing. I feel like I'm getting close to a completed zero draft again.

Went to the park with my wife and saw "The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged" tonight. I was fun.

Got Qdoba for dinner.

7/17/13

I was up late last night, so I was a wreck today. But I started feeling better his afternoon. So that was good.

I got some good work done on the gaming thing. We're going to start playtesting it next week.

I didn't take a nap today. I want to try to get back on a normal schedule. I don't know it it'll work or not. But I'm staying up today and heading to bed early. Hopefully that will leave me rested enough tomorrow to actually be productive and not miserable.

7/16/13

Got a little work done on the gaming thing. Also did some brainstorming for it so I know vaguely where I'm going with it.

Finished up the adventure tonight. I had fun. It was a win, but it came at a cost. And it may have only been temporary.

Finally finished fixing a report at work. I don't know why it broke, but I don't think it was the report, I think it was a change to the database. Regardless, I can't optimize the database, so I did what I could with the report. It's as good as it's going to get.

7/15/13

Did dishes and made a lunch this morning. I was late to work, but those two things make it seem worth it. Which might be a little sad.

Did a little brain storming for the gaming thing. I think I'm maybe not as close as I once thought.

Took a nap. Man, I needed that. I probably needed to just stay in bed until morning.

7/14/13

Got the second coat of spackle in the kitchen. Now I just have to sand and paint.

Ordered Big Ben's for dinner.

Shaved.

7/13/13

Worked on the kitchen today. I'm about 4/5 of the way through the second coat of spackle. I should finish that up tomorrow and start primering.

Spent a little time with my wife before gaming.

Awesome gaming session. I was a little disappointed in how I handled the bad guy, but the group is worried they're not going to make it. So good times.

7/12/13

Date night with the wife tonight. We saw Star Trek: Into Darkness. Not a bad movie. I'm not sure how I feel about it being a Star Trek/Khan movie.

There were some issues with the screen before the movie so I got up to tell someone about it. They ended up having to reboot the server, so the movie started 30 minutes late, or so. No big deal. But after the movie they came around and gave us free passes to another movie. So that's definitely a win. The must be under new management, since the other times I've been there they've had pretty horrible customer service.

After the movie we went to Friday's for dinner. I ate too much. But it was a nice end to the day.

7/11/13

Got a little bit done on the gaming thing. Still making progress.

Saw the sleep doc. She's upping my meds. We'll see if that helps.

Worked a little on the kitchen tonight. We're officially out of spackle. I'll pick more up tomorrow. I hope to finish the spackle and start painting this weekend.

7/10/13

Had to hit the ground running this morning. And I didn't stop until about 3pm. While that's not a good thing, per se, I did solve a critical problem. One with a high visibility. And I looked good doing it.

Took a nap when I got home from work. I'm still tired, but it feels manageable.

Got a little bit of work done on the gaming thing. Progress is slower than I'd hoped, but progress is still being made. So that's good.

7/9/13

I am, at this point, ahead of schedule at work. But that's only because we adjusted the project plan to try to get back on track. Regardless, things are getting done.

I finished up magic items for this gaming thing. I'd like to do more, but I think I'll let it sit at the items I have. I have a lot of other things to work on.

Gamed tonight. It was supposed to be the last session of this adventure, but we didn't get a whole lot done. real life and all that. No worries. We'll finish it up next week.

7/8/13

Remembered to bring lunch.
Made dinner.
Took a nap.

7/7/13

Worked a little bit on the gaming thing today. I'm making some good progress on it, I think.

Went to a party in the afternoon. Saw some people I haven't seen in a while. Swam in a pool. Stood in the rain (that's a good thing). Watched some fireworks. It was a good time.

7/6/13

I spent about 2 hours on the kitchen today. I got 1/2 the sanding done and maybe 1/4th of the second coat of spackling done. Not bad for a heat advisory.

Spent a little time with the wife. It was hot and we huddled in the bedroom to take advantage of the AC unit.

Kick ass Dresden Files game tonight. It seems like people had fun. I know I did.

7/4/13

Wow, I apparently forgot last night.

Spent some time working on my gaming thing.

Went to the in-laws for a barbecue. Good food.

Finished the first coat of spackle in the kitchen. Tomorrow I'll sand and start the second coat.

7/5/13

Worked from home today, so that was nice. I feel like I was pretty productive, even though I didn't complete all that much. I did get one thing off my plate though.

I also got some good work done on the gaming thing. Maybe in a week or two I'll have a completed first draft that I can edit and layout.

Went to a party tonight. Saw some people I don't get to see very often. Saw a fire juggler. So that was fun.

7/3/13

Went out to Tamarindos for lunch with a bunch of the department folks. I think it's good team building to go out on excursions like that. Even if I did bring my lunch today. The food was good, the atmosphere was fairly "authentic", and it was enjoyable.

After lunch we were allowed to leave in preparation for the holiday tomorrow. So that was nice.

My boss called me later to deal with some crap at work. So while I had to work, even after being told I could have the rest of the day off, I think it looked good that I was willing to take care of things. So there's that.

7/2/13

Got some brainstorming done on the gaming thing. I'm running out of steam on it, but I really want to try to get to a point where it's "workable" so I can try to release it as an open beta. I'm 59 pages in. I feel like I'm nearing the end of a zero draft. So close.

Repopulated my database last night and generated cubes. Had some issues with it, so I had to do a hot fix this morning. Hopefully the real fix I made today solved the problems. I'll know better when I check on it tomorrow.

We ended up not gaming tonight, but we sat around BSing instead. Not a bad way to spend the night. Puss is home now, so it was nice to see her for the first time in about a year. Got her setup with a character for next week.

7/1/13

Made some good progress at work today.

Had Subway for lunch.

Saw the therapist. I'm still not sure is she knows what to do with me.

6/30/13

Spent some more time spackling the kitchen. I have 2 more seams of beading to finish, then the first coat will be complete. I've also finished the second coat for most of the screws. If the humidity ever drops below 90%, things may dry out enough for me start the second coat of spackle.

Did a little bit of work on my gaming thing. Then realized the idea I had wasn't going to work right. So I'll need to cut that bit and start over. But no big deal.

Spent some much needed time with the wife.

6/29/13

Just got back from a good session of Dresden Files. I had a lot of fun with the game tonight. I think everyone else did too.

I worked a little on the kitchen today. I got the last of beading up. I still have more spackling to do. Hopefully tomorrow I can finish up the first layer. It's a lot of work.

Spent some time with my wife this morning. I was a fairly relaxing morning.

6/28/13

Had the day off of work so I could work on the kitchen. My brothers came over and got me started. Then I spent the majority of the day spackling and taping. I'm beat.

My wife and I went out to breakfast this morning after my brothers left. It was nice. We don't do that very often.

Hit Home Depot for some ancillaries. Got the last of the lights for the kitchen, some gardening tools, some flowers, and some more spackle.

6/27/13

Pretty good day today.

1. The company picnic was today. That means free lunch. 
2. It also means we had the dunk tank setup again, and I was able to sink my old boss a few times.
3. Talked to one of the guys at work for a while. It's nice to be able to chat and not be focused on work all the time.
4. Submitted my update for the week and had several things to put on it. 
5. Completed my latest task on deadline.
6. Went out to dinner with my wife tonight. We splurged on the Olive Garden, with 2 appetizers.
7. Sent some money to someone getting rid of some GURPS supplements. I should have them in a few weeks. 
8. Responded to an email about a friends' game/kickstarter. It only took me 2 weeks. But I think it was a pretty good bunch of advise. 

6/26/13

Got the big stuff out of the way for this latest report. Now I'm just wrestling with some display text. This should be the easiest part, but for some reason SSRS is arguing with me.

Requested Friday off to work on the kitchen. My wife has off as well. Hopefully we can get pretty darn close to finishing it up.

Got some brainstorming done for this gaming thing. I don't know if I have my groove back or not, but at least I'm making a little more progress again.

6/25/13

Worked from home today so I could sign for the new sink. They delivered it, so now we just have to finish the kitchen.

I got a fair amount done for work today. Not as much as I'd hoped, but still not bad.

No gaming tonight because of lack of players. But we played Zombie Flux instead. And watched some YouTube videos.

6/24/13

Got the majority of 1 report done today. I probably need all of tomorrow to get the rest done (and a second). But the logic seems solid.

The wife made dinner. I finished the whole thing, so it was good. I probably ate more than I should have, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

Got some good reading done online today.

6/23/13

My brother came over and finished the drywall in the kitchen. It's all up now, so we have to tape, spackle, sand, and paint. The end is in sight!

Also, our new sink should be here tomorrow. Apparently it should have been delivered last week, but no one was here to sign for it (and they didn't' leave any notes, but a phone message).

Watched Immortals tonight. I was curious. It was ok. Not what I expected. And a rough around the edges. Some parts didn't make sense to me (how many titans were there?) And it wasn't a feel good movie. So there's that.

6/21/13

I missed Friday night? That sucks.

Gaming in the evening. It was fun. Played Rifts.

Prepped my new note book by coping all of the interesting tidbits from the previous notebook into it. It takes some time, but it allows me to weed the wheat from the chaff and boil down my best ideas. It also sparks new ideas and trains of thought from the old ideas.

Hit Fridays for a late night snack, even though it wasn't a normal Friday's night.

6/22/13

Gaming tonight. The game was a little lack luster, but we still had some fun. We also BSed a good deal more than normal. So the socializing was a plus.

Went to a birthday party for a friend's husband. It was good to see them, even if it was only for a little while.

Got a new toolbox for my dice. I got a little organizer a few weeks ago, but it was too small to hold all the dice. Hopefully this one will work better.

6/20/13

I was able to mark several things off the project plan at work this week. That's nice.

I replaced 2 outlets after work. One was only half an outlet, since the other half apparently fell out before we bought the house. The other one must have a short in the wiring, since I got shocked even with the breaker off. It was low voltage, so it just tingled.

Watched some TV with the wife. It was nice to just relax for a little bit.

6/19/13

Took the day off to work on the kitchen. My brother fell asleep, so he didn't make it over. But I was still able to work from home some. My boss called me around 7:30 pm to go over a few things. I found out yesterday that he'll be out for the rest of the month visiting family. So I at least looked good fielding calls well after work hours.

I also made some more progress on the gaming thing.

Tonight I watched Iron Sky. It's not a horrible movie. A little heavy handed and campy. I may watch it again, if I don't have to pay for it.

6/18/13

My brother texted me this morning to say he was available to work on the kitchen. So both brothers came over around 11:30. About 2/3 of the drywall is up. The kitchen almost looks like a real room now!

Gaming was tonight. I was late and tired, but we still got a little bit done. I think we may finish up the adventure in the next week or two.

Apparently the Phillies won last night, because my wife got a 50% promo code for Papa John's Pizza. So I was able to feed my brothers in the cheap.

I also saw my niece today. It's always nice to see her.

6/17/13

Saw the neurologist today and got a clean bill of health. That's good, but doesn't leave me any where to go for a reason for my sleep issues.

Saw the therapist today. She told me what I already knew - there are no studies linking CBT to benefits when used by people with long term, chronic sleep disorders.

In the plus side, the extended release Ritalin seems to be helping. I almost feel like a real person. If put me at 75%, which is better than I've been in a long time.

Since the therapist thing probably doesn't count as a good thing, I'll add that I did some brain working for this gaming thing and I should have a few more days of work planned out.

6/16/13

Father's day breakfast with my family. Web, Harley, Mom, Dad, and Jill. It was nice.

Hit the grocery store afterwards for some essentials. Spent less than $100, which doesn't happen often.

Mowed the lawn.

Brainstormed for the gaming thing, though I didn't make any progress. Just spun my wheels.

Watched "Jeff, who lives at home" with the wife. Ok movie. She liked it though. And we spent some time together.

Broke 4,000 points on Words with Friends this week. I'm #1 among my friends, but way, way down there in public. I think anyone with 70,000 points must play it full time.

6/15/13

Got primer on all but 1 cabinet today. Tomorrow hopefully I'll get the last cabinet and all of the doors and drawers. 

Hit the "Too Many Games" convention today. I bought 3 adventures. 

Went to the after party and saw my 2 friends get engaged. It was nice. I also saw several friends I haven't seen in a while. 

6/14/13

Finished up the arcane spells for this gaming thing. I started working on divine spells but ran into some road blocks. So I started brainstorming monsters instead.

Got breakfast at Wawa this morning. I don't do it very often, so it's a treat.

Today was payday. That's always nice.

6/13/13

Finished up that report for work today. The next few tasks seem like they'll be quick and easy. So yay for that.

We had a storm this morning and I arrived to work in a downpour. Since it wasn't raining when I left home, I didn't wear a coat. I did have an umbrella, but the water just ran off if an onto my back. I was soaked when I got in. Luckily, I have a spare change of clothes at work, so I was able to change into something dry, though not professional. I started keeping a change of clothed at work (and another in the truck) when I started going on sleep meds in case I had any strange/automatic behavior. I've never needed it until now.

I'm about halfway through the arcane spell descriptions for this gaming thing. Not bad work today. Hopefully I can finish them up tomorrow and move on to either divine spells or monsters.

6/12/13

Finished up the report I was working on. That's something I can put on my status update tomorrow.

Got to work some more on the gaming thing. Just finished the planning phase for arcane spells. Next step is to write them up.

Got trash and recyclables collected this morning. And I was relatively on time to work to boot.

6/11/13

Good gaming session tonight. Finished the latest "adventure". Next week they'll need to fight off an invasion of deep ones.

Started the ball rolling on some stuff at work. Hopefully it all gets done and my boss will be happy.

Dropped off my sister's computer. I fixed it over the weekend. I also gave her some pointers on how to use her Kindle (and she used my phone as a hot spot to register it - after having it for 2 years).

Oh, and bonus - I went to the dentist today and didn't have any cavities. That's the first time in....Probably ever that that's happened.

6/10/13

Got some work done on the gaming thing. Changed how I build feats. Hopefully it all works out.

Did a little bit of cleaning tonight. I vacuumed up the dog hair and found my credit card. I noticed it was missing this morning.

I soldered the head lamp I picked up at 5below. It didn't work when I bought it. I found it had a broken solder joint. So I fixed that. Now it turns on, but won't turn off. The button is toast (as are more of the screw mounts). So I'm not spending any more time on it. I'll reclaim the LEDs eventually. Maybe make something cool out of it.

Also, I stopped at HomeDepot on the way home and bought 2 plastic cases. 1 to organize my dice and 1 to make a small toolbox out of.

6/9/13

Met my nephews today. They're 9 months old now. They're cute kids. Noisy, but cute.

Saw Moo for the first time in about 2 years. It was good. I don't expect to see her for awhile again.

Fixed Jill's computer today. It wasn't tough. Though I do want to try to get it online so I can run some updates and more troubleshooting. I'll have to try to find my wifi dongle.

6/8/13

Kick ass gaming session tonight. We didn't get to or do anything that I expected, but it was fun none-the-less. I think everyone had fun.

Celebrated my FiL's 70th birthday today. It was nice to spend some time with the in-laws.

Even though I was late picking up food for the celebration and was late to the party, I wasn't as late as I expected. Which was nice. And I think the major reason I was late was because I had to turn around and get something I forgot at home.

6/7/13

Started the extended release Ritalin today. The highs weren't quite so high, but the lows weren't so low either. I only took 1. It seems like it lasted about 14 hours. I don't know if I'll follow the doctor's advise and take 3 per day. That's a lot.

Got some more work done on the gaming thing. Good stuff.

Fridays tonight. Had some good food. Saw some friends.

6/6/13

Finally got a call from the sleep doc office. They were able to push the new prescription through the insurance company. I'll start it tomorrow, since it should be basically the same stuff I'm currently on. We'll see if it helps.

I got some good work done on this game thing today. I'm almost done the feats. Then I can start on a small selection of spells. Then the "fluff" and instructional stuff.

Switching out my music tonight. It'll be a nice change.

6/5/13

My brother came over today and we kicked some ass on the kitchen. We got all of the batting up, so it's now completely insulated. Drywall is next up, and hopefully we can get that done in a day. We'll see...

Got a call from the cardiologist today. My hearts perfectly fine. So that's one more thing we can check off the list of things that might be causing my fatigue.

Made a little bit of progress on work today. I may actually have something to report as completed for the weekly update tomorrow. We'll see.

6/4/13

Gaming was a lot of fun. Things are coming together and the players and their characters are starting to see the bigger picture of the adventure. Really good stuff. And everyone seems to like the adventure.

Went to the cardiologist today for a stress test. Turns out I'm healthy on that end too. I guess it's just one more thing to check off of the possible causes that aren't. Eventually we'll find the issue with me.

Got some good work done on this gaming thing I'm working on. I'm wondering if I need to take things a little further and move from a choose 2 to a choose 3 schema for building powers. But maybe not. I'll have to see how it plays first. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have something in a play-test-able form.

6/3/13

Got a little work done on this gaming thing. Still wrestling with how to approach certain things. But making some progress.

Went to the therapist today. Apparently there was some kind of a scheduling snafu. They thought it was at 5:30, I thought it was at 6. So we talked for a little bit, but it won't count as an appointment.

Made some phone calls to get the ball rolling on some things.We'll see if it pans out.

6/2/13

Polyurethaned the beams in the kitchen.
Caulked the windows.
Planted more grass and watered the lawn.
Brushed the dog.
Gave the dog a bath.
Grilled dinner.
Cleaned the bathrooms.

Not a bad day's work...

6/1/13

Went to a funeral for an old friend today. It was nice to see how many lives he touched.

My mom's retirement party was tonight. She retired yesterday. It was good to see people, even if there was drama.

My brother came over this morning and we spray foamed the kitchen. That's a huge step. Dry walling is next.  Regardless of whether we get that done tomorrow, the end is in sight.

5/31/13

Having a rough day for no reason at all, but here goes.

I watched Hancock. It's a really good movie and I'm glad I had the time to watch it.

I got a little bit of work done on this new game thing I'm writing. But I've run up against some fairly serious design decisions. I need to work them out before I go much further.

I've been thinking about trying to publish one of these game designs, but I think that's jumping the gun far too much. But I'm wondering if it might be a good idea to publish a little throw away game before I do 3D. It would teach me a lot about publishing and what it takes to get something out there. And while there'd be a lot of work involved, it would probably be better to do it on something I'm not quite as invested in as 3D first, so when it comes time to do 3D, I do it right.

5/30/13

Relatively calm day at work today. It was nice.

I was crashing from the Ritalin around 3, so I got up and talked to some people. It was a nice break and it helps foster relationships between departments, I think.

It sounds like we'll have 4 people (myself included) working on the kitchen this Sunday. It'd be awesome if we could get it insulated and dry walled in 1 day (technically 2, since my brother's supposed to come over tomorrow night to do the spray foam). That would really get us close.

Oh, and I gave blood today. I'm apparently at my max for donations this year. I have to wait until September to give again. It's good, because I can give double donations and I'm O+, so people really want my blood.

5/29/13

I got my new dungeonmorph dice today. I was excited about them. Still am.

With the dice I got a free box of Soylent Green crackers. They taste like crap, but they're funny.

My brother finally found a lead on the spray insulation for the kitchen. We were supposed to install it today, but it wasn't available. Hopefully tomorrow we're be good to go. I hope it doesn't cost too much, but it should be cheaper than what a friend of me found. That was $1,400. Since my brother's going through a supplier, it should be cheaper.

5/27/13

How did I miss yesterday? There was so much stuff done. I:

• Cleaned the kitchen (not done yet, but we're getting close to finishing the remodel)
• Put plastic down to protect the floors when we insulate
• Weeded
• Mowed the lawn
• Took down the temporary braces in the kitchen
• Foamed the last cracks in the kitchen
• Installed the nail plates
• Hit Lowes and bought a new ladder, new fan for the kitchen, some paint, and grass seed
• Planted and watered the grass seed
• Showered and shaved
• And still managed to spend a little time with my wife

It was a good day.

5/28/13

Worked from home, which was nice. I didn't get much done though. Fighting with reporting services.

I went to the cardiologist today. He says I seem pretty healthy, but he's going to do an echo cardiogram, stress test, and test for coronary disease to verify that there's nothing wrong with the ol' ticker. That should rule out another series of possible problems, assuming the tests come back negative.

We gamed tonight. Which was nice. We didn't get very far, but we did play. Tuesdays have been tough to get people playing, so this is a good thing. And we ended on a good cliff hanger.

5/26/13

Spent the day working with my brothers on the kitchen. While I didn't help all that much, we're ready to insulate. That's a huge step. Hopefully on Wednesday we'll get the insulation in. Then next weekend we can drywall.

I spent some time after they left working on gaming related stuff. I'm glad I got the chance, since I haven't had much time for that recently. I've got some cool ideas. It seems like I've been stuck in this zombie-like haze brought on by lack of sleep and haven't been able to be creative in far too long.

Tomorrow's memorial day, so I have off. That's definitely a good thing. I hope to spend the day getting stuff done. Mow the lawn, work on gaming stuff, paint the cabinets, etc. I really hope I can get done about half the things on my list.

5/25/13

Gaming tonight was really fun. We got exactly as far as I wanted. Things are shaping up really well and I think everyone's really enjoying the adventure. I know I am.

My brother got a new truck last night, so I went up to help him transfer everything from the old truck to the new one. I offered, but he told me not to come up since it was "too far". I went up anyway, but he wasn't ready for me. I had to leave before he was ready to move all of the tools over.

I spent most of the day fixing my father's computer. For the 100th time.

5/24/13

Got to come home early today because of the holiday on Monday. That was nice. When my boss saw me walk by, he came to check on me and ensure that I was going home early. So it was also nice that it looked like I was a hard worker.

Leaving work, I saw several monster trucks in the parking lot. We share a lot with the Shriners and they're having a rally this weekend. I snapped a few pics, since it was neat.

Started the new Rifts game tonight. It sounds like a lot of fun I'm definitely excited to play.

5/23/13

Made some good progress on a report. I have a good idea of what else needs to be done with it to complete it.

I vacuumed the living room because it smelled very heavily of dog. I should probably swiffer the floor as well. We'll see how it smells tomorrow.

I made a new home screen for my phone. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I think it's still missing something though.

5/22/13

Got my new Ritalin prescription last night. I haven't had a chance to refill it yet, but I should be able to do that tomorrow. Hopefully it helps.

Spent the day today watching my niece so my brothers could work on the kitchen. I did help a little, but my main job was babysitter. They got the old plumbing out, the old wiring out, some of the soffit built, and half the new wiring in. Not as much as I'd hoped, but still progress.

After they left, I did dishes, cleaned up some, and took a shower. So I did get some stuff done. Just nothing for work. I'll just take today as a vacation day. I have enough of them at this point.

5/21/13

Progress at work was slow today, but I did make some strides on the next project. There was some type of feeling of accomplishment.

Gaming tonight turned out to be a bust. But we still hung out, which was cool.

I did some grocery shopping tonight. Got some stuff we needed, and some stuff we didn't. I shouldn't go when I'm hungry.

5/20/13

Broke up some of the kitchen demo and put it into trash bags for Wednesday morning. Hopefully they take it.

Talked to my brother today. He says he'll be over tomorrow evening. He also says he'll be over Wednesday all day. Hopefully we can get some good work done on the kitchen.

My boss called me today to tell me not to ask about working from home/leaving early to work on the kitchen. I should just shoot him an email saying I'm doing it and go. It's very nice, considering I was worried about "taking advantage" of the system.

5/19/13

My brother didn't make it over today, so I went out to a late brunch with my wife, MiL, and BiL. It was nice. I originally wasn't going to make it since I had to work on the kitchen.

I made my character for Next Friday's game. It's a Rifts game where we play redneck Coalition soldiers in the vein of the show Cops. Sounds like fun.

The wife and I did some shopping. She hit Target, we both hit 5 Below, and Home Depot. I have some neat little tools/gadgets from 5 Below and we have charcoal for grilling from HD (along with some more caulk to finish up in the kitchen.)

5/18/13

Started caulking the kitchen. But I ran out of caulk. I'll get more tomorrow. Once I finish that, it'll be pretty much the end of my homework.

While caulking, I found 2 substantial holes in the kitchen that lead directly to the crawlspace. Not only is that bad for insulation, but we have a mouse problem, and that's probably easy access for them. So I sealed those up. And then spray foamed the entire perimeter of the kitchen, just to be on the safe side. In multiple places, the straw went down well below the floor level.

I started vacuuming the crawlspace. There's a whole lot of dirt piled up against the walls down there. Some if it is probably normal flake from the foundation. Some of it might be there normal "dirt floor". But it's piled fairly high and it's loose. I want to get rid of it so it won't attract bugs (or get rid of any bugs already down there). 

As a bonus, I ran the Dresden Files game tonight. People seemed to enjoy it. We'll continue with it next week.