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.