Journaling: Ten Days in Review

Current Music: Bare Naked Ladies - One Week
Current Mood: Working-on-a-school-holiday grumpiness

Alright... so I've stayed away for a bit. The last week and a half have been pretty awesome, with minor exceptions. I'll try to make it a pretty quick review, but I like to go into detail usually, so no promises.

The first weekend of October saw me heading out straight from work on Friday to meet up with Bill at PSU Shenango, or rendezvous for a trip to Cleveland for a couple days. We drove up and arrived with a few hours to spare before our dinner reservations. We just sorta lounged around the hotel, recuperating from the week and the workday, and eventually we got changed. Dinner was at John Q's, a fairly fancy steakhouse in downtown Cleveland. Bill had a gift certificate for fifty dollars, so it made it a much more affordable trip, though someone with a mind to could easily drop as much on an individual entree. We got some tasty steaks and potatoes before heading back to the hotel, where we watched and joked about the news and went to bed.

The next day, we hit up the West Side Market with Leanne. Then, laden with tasty purchases, we departed for the JCU football game against Wilmington. It was fun, though I got a little toasted and temporarily had untanned splotches where I had some facepaint for support. It's always cool getting to see the band and football's pretty fun to watch. The game was followed by a quick change of clothes at the hotel and a really spectacular performance of one of Bill's favorite musicals, Caroline, or Change. I, unfortunately, was highly allergic to the much perfumed woman in front of me (I can only assume she was the cause), and sneezed/sniffled through the whole show. Even still, it was awesome and I was able to clear up my noggin enough to taste the marvelous creations of Michael Symon's Lolita restaurant. We went during their happy hour, so food was cheaper and Bill got some good (I contest this on principle, but whatevs) wine, too. There was some serious foodie romancing that I'm not sure I ever would've expected myself capable of, but it's just a really amazing sensory experience - smelling the food, tasting the food, holding Bill's hand across the table, seeing the lovely presentation and handsome company, hearing the fun '90s music and the gradual crescendo of noise as the dining crowd gave way to the bar crowd. For the sake of space, I won't detail the meal beyond that, but if you care to know, it's worth a trip to find out for yourself; or just ask me and I'll probably go on for a while. :)

That Sunday was sleeping in and a quick lunch at the Wink in Conventry. Then driving home and relaxing there for the rest of the night.

Monday was a standard workday, nothing special enough that I remember it a week later; however, that night I went to the Rainbow Alliance game night to maybe meet some people and just to get out. I was really pretty disappointed by it. I joined a game of pictionary, which I typically love, but found myself altogether bored and secluded. There were 10 or 11 people playing that particular game, all of whom knew each other well and didn't seem particularly interested in meeting me. Anyone who's played pictionary knows it doesn't work well even with eight people, so as many as were there was just plain not fun. I went home after about an hour and a half without having had much at all in the way of interaction. It's possible I just don't belong in the group, but I sorta expected a more friendly and accepting crowd, rather than one that passed notes written in Chinese and barely spoke to me. Oh well...

Tuesday was pretty uneventful and mostly just tired. Wednesday was another joyful day of fruitless labor - I truly hate searching for parts, particularly when I don't know what I need, but a bit more so when I do know what I need and just can't find it anywhere. After work, I stayed late to wait for Jake to arrive and then we headed out to our first PA Motorcycle Safety Program class. This mother was out in the eastern boonies, 40 miles away from Pittsburgh and about an hour drive. Seeing as we left New Kensington at 5:30 or so, we were something like 45 minutes late for the class. Fortunately, "Ridercoach" Roy let us join the class late. The class went til 8:45 and was pretty unexciting. Think middle school health class, but everything's about motorcycles instead of awkward social interactions and vague references to sex. After class, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed home, forgetting to stop in New Kensington to get my car en route. We got home at about 10 pm and I was really pretty distressed about the idea of another hour worth of driving to get my car back. We retrieved after a short respite at home and I came home to go to bed.

Thursday was soccer night, which is easily my favorite weeknight. Jake and I went up to the Cost Center, dodging the heavy Fifth Ave traffic (stupid PA construction) with a narrow escape up a side street and winding through the hill streets that I'm always very pleased to know my way around. We parked behind the building and got to the field in dramatic fashion, pounding on the locked back door til we got the attention of our players and had them let us in. We got there just in time and had ourselves an exciting game. Team Xzibit won 3-1 and is looking well placed for a playoff appearance with a 3-0 record.

Friday passed fairly slowly during the day, but was a good time that night. It was a fun night of just hanging out together that we hadn't had in a while. Friday also marked the end of Josh's subscription to WoW, meaning he will finally have a bit of a life again instead of just raiding every night. Jake and I had to get to bed early so we could get up bright and early for an 8 am PAMSP course at the same hour-away location. This was the hands-on course. My first time on a motorcycle and first time driving a manual transmission. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous getting started (not helped by the bike I was borrowing for the class not wanting to start and having a real pain in the ass clutch). I was surprised to find that riding the a motorcycle is remarkably easy, though it takes a bit more concentration than driving an automatic car. I had my share of stalls and mistakes, but altogether I felt pretty good about the whole experience. Also, I can definitely understand why people enjoy riding; there's this incredible sense of mechanical power from the rumble and vibration of the tank between your knees. Every roar of the engine roars in you and the beautiful feeling of momentum-based balance (just like riding a bicycle) is tacked on to that. I still don't plan to get a bike of my own (other than a standard pedal version), but I could see myself having one some day for "weekend warrior" purposes. It's still more of a risk than I'd like to take on a day to day driving basis, but I can't say I didn't enjoy the experience.

Saturday afternoon was eaten up by a crazy detour around traffic from yet more idiotic PA construction (this time closing all but one lane of one of the major arteries of Pittsburgh). That night was our post-LSAT celebration for Marcelius (his LSAT was on the 4th) and also just for the opportunity to throw a party. In retrospect, I don't altogether regret it, since it got me to bed earlier than I would've otherwise and I needed some sleep, but I definitely went a bit overboard at the party. I was still in control and thinking almost completely clearly, as always, but I got sick and ended up taking myself out of the party by a little after 11 o'clock.

Sunday, I recovered from Saturday night and watched Philadelphia. Other than that, I talked to Bill a few times, getting the updates on his trip to D.C. with his mom. I really miss him lately, in some ways it seems like a week is such a short time, but when everyone else I know sees their boyfriend or girlfriend almost every day, it makes me sad that I don't at least have the opportunity to do so. One of these days, though :-D Hope works for now.

This morning was highly distressing because I lost the power cord for my work laptop. I looked around here, then raced home, and still no cord. Turns out that I somehow lost it here at work on Friday. It fortunately turned up in the conference room and I didn't have to go through the chaos of getting a new one (and not being able to do much work until it came). Otherwise, just another day at the office/warehouse... exciting.