Not reading LJ last few days. The Project from Hell has eaten my life. Well, actually, I've enjoyed most of the actual work I've done, but the deadline is killing Leslie, so it's at least wounding me. >_<

The book WILL go out today, by the gods. Just waiting for Leslie to send a pdf, then we talk, then I go in, and by all that's holy we will send this $@#!* thing off to Korea!

Then we shall all get drunk.

And there was much rejoicing.

*yay*

Much better today. I took two naps yesterday, and felt better after the second. I actually walked to the store, as the cupboard was verily bare. This morning it was a real struggle to get out of bed, but now that I'm up, I don't feel so bad. My throat is still itchy, which makes me cough sometimes, and I'm stuffy, but I don't feel so brain dead. So I'll be back to work today, though I will probably give the gym another miss -- I can just see me on the elliptical snorting and coughing...

So, I have paying work, so I'd better get to it. ^_^

wtf am i doing here at 10:30 am w/no e-mail done and just fucking round in deviantart? okay, i slept for shit last night/this morning. is that enough? or am i just a pathetic lazy ass?

i've got most of my currrent covers done -- just dalai lama colour correction (wow! it's bad!), then i can go in and get two more covers. and if i run out of covers, i've got the rumi and sulamith pages to work on. no problem there. i did some kinda lame fractals and posted them to deviantart...amazing...

elf is gone again, dammit. well, only one night this time (last night, quelle surprise), but he won't be back until 9pm tonight. bleh.

10:45am

oh, i got a new wacom this weekend. cloning is now my BITCH. and masking, too. fear me!

there is sleeping in my immediate future, oh yes. i will make a swipe at the dalai lama photo first, though.

luff y'all. i am at least caught up in reading. ^.^;;

Ah, shit. The old calibration package won't work on 64-bit Windows. Um, folks -- 64bit OSes are for *artists.* Artists *care* about calibration. Wouldn't it be a GOOD IDEA to upgrade your products for 64-bit? HUH?

Well, damme. Means I'll have to go down to ProPhoto today. (shucks! >:-D) My next job depends on colour, so me must have calibration. Job due Wednesday!


Update: I did go to ProPhoto and picked up said device. I've got the monitor all nice and snugly calibrated and whipped through an hour of work before dinner. Superkitty!

'Cause I sleep a lot, I change my mind midstream, and I'm cuter than two hamsters wearing party frocks. That's wherefore! ;-)

I've taken a break from the Web recently. Elf came home Friday night (LAUS DEO) and since then I have sort of curled into my very immediate, physical world. Oh, and the catalogue stuff for Amber Lotus ships Thursday, so I've been rackin' up the hours. ^_^

So the Beloved is home. Yay! Yay! Yay! I'm insanely happy to have him back, and judging by how he's been much he's been singing the "Kitty Boo" song, I'd say he's pleased to be back as well. ;-D Sleeping has become an interesting proposition, however. When he was gone, Ezri got used to sleeping next to me, taking up a fair amount of room -- and now I can't scoot over to Elf's side any more to make room! I've been feeling a little hemmed in the past few nights. ^_^; Time for a King size? Nah, she'd just expand to fill the space...

The weekend is a bit of a blur now. I know I worked most of Saturday morning, while Elf was at a SOLV day at Jackson Bottom. Sunday morning was the Fall Sangha Forum, and of course I was there, both as a Board Member and as Secretary. I finally bought Sims 2: Pets, though I've only played it once, what with work and Elf and whatnot. Man, the pet-creation system is wild! 'm looking forward to having all my projects done for a few days (before the cards come in) so I can PLAY! ^_^

Monday: work. I did make it to the gym, at 3:30, 'cause I needed to get The Lakota Way done. Leslie loved it! Yay! Dinner of frozen veggies and sausages 'cause I hadn't had time to pick a menu item or go to the store. In the evening we watched Mythbusters. Yay! Then I stayed up till 11:30 researching Sims 2 mods and researching a possible case of plagiarism which turned out not to be, thank gods. ^_^

Tuesday: went to the gym first, then worked the rest of the day. Elf was a dear and went to the store (at least I picked out a recipe) and made dinner. Another Mythbusters, then I went up and finished eight background variations for the Collage calendar and e-mailed 'em to Leslie. ^_^ To bed at the reasonable hour of 10:30.

Today: must talk to Leslie about the backgrounds, then either do more work on them or pack everything up and take the files over to AL. Tonight Doug and I are going to MOMIX! Yay! I hope to squeeze the gym in there somewhere, but AL must come first.

Well. That's my life. I'm almost caught up on reading my flist, but haven't had time to respond to anyone. Sorry!

Saysh: congrats to your sister! Wow! What an ordeal...

Gemms: Congrats on leaving PL -- hope you feel better soon! Kisses to Poots...

Tea: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Beo bliðe, all!

Very productive, though some things fell through the cracks because of it, namely the gym. I started work after brekkies, thinking I'd get another draft of Chinese Astrology and the tweak of Hafiz done, then I'd go to the gym in the afternoon. As if. I worked until 5:00 or so with breaks for a shower and laundry.

Actually, I overdid it. I kept poking and prodding CA till I got tired, frustrated, and stupid. This made me grumpy kitty in the afternoon. But in the end I got both jobs out out, and Leslie loves CA and only has a few tweaks...so far. ^_^;

After I'd called it a day, I unwound with Weird Al and Sims2. "Pets" was released today, but the only time I went outside was to walk to the store with Doug for chocolate and the mail. If I can juggle my schedule better tomorrow, I'll swing by Freddy's and glomp me a copy. I'm sure there will be more objects! ^_^

When Doug got home I showed him a bit of the Sims, which he hadn't really seen -- including the house I based on his house, which I had built in my thinly-veiled Portland neighbourhood ("Bridgetown"). Then we had broccoli and cheese ravioli for dinner and watched an episode of "Due South" that he had out from the library. Cute, in many senses. Leslie Nielsen was a guest star in this episode, and it took me a while to stop expecting absurd humour out of him. ^_^;;

We went and got the mail, then I came back and did more Sim building until eleven-fucking-thirty, because I am an idiot. It is now on the sliver edge of midnight. The cat pan is done and now, to bed!

Sweetheart, I don't know if thee tried Skype at 2:00pm, PDT -- I was working and completely spaced. I'm sorry. :-( Let me know if thee wants to try Wednesday. Love thee! Just 69 more hours! :-D

Ain'tcha all lucky? Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiity's here!

Okay, whatever. ^_^;;

So what's up with felis semi-domesticus? Not a fuck of a lot, but that's okay. ^o^

Sunday, Elf went away. Think I've already mentioned the brunch and stuff. Watched Monsters Inc..

Monday, I went to the gym and worked on Amber Lotus stuff. I watched Finding Nemo in the evening.

Tuesday, I did more Amber Lotus, then went to the eye doc for my follow-up. Everything's fine, laus deo, but Dr. M decided that she hadn't had enough therapy this week, so she told me ALLLL about the problems she's having with her partner. Said partner sounds nutso, but of course I'm only getting Dr. M's side of it. Man it was SOOOOO inappropriate to dump on a patient, but I thought, well, maybe it will make her feel better. I didn't do much commenting, just occasionally murmurring something neutral but vaguely encouraging. My gods, what do you say?

I forgot she was going to dialate my eyes, so I didn't do much the rest of the afternoon, though I did start in on work again before I was quite back to normal. Good thing I'm nearsighted. ^_^

In the evening I watched Toy Story 2.

My boss thinks I'm a jerk, I didn't get that raise.
I haven't changed my underwear in twenty-seven days!
And when I'm kissing you, I fantasize you're a midget.
I'm so sorry Debbie...I mean Bridget!

Man, I've been listening to Weird Al's new album non-stop. Hee hee. The lyrics above are from "Confession (Part III)." Trés amusant.

Wednesday: Today I got to the gym, then went straight to see Aleta and exchange projects. Must have work! (Anybody need Photoshop work done? Reasonable rates!) We had lunch, then I came home to a lurvely little chat with my Elf over Skype. Kewl! Then some work for AL, and some time for my own icons, which I haven't uploaded.

Mac and cheese for dinner. Hoped to watch "Ghost Hunters," but they were all re-runs, dammit. So now I babble here.

Douglas du Fromage will be here sometime tonight, to stay with moi until next Friday or so.

You know, it occurs to me that this Friday is Friday the 13th...in October. I kind of wish I hadn't told Doug to get tickets for "Metamorphosis" for Friday -- might have been fun to find something scary to do. ^_^

Okay, sweetie? Thee has an update from thy Kitty. Gripping, wasn't it? >;-D

La la la...More Weird Al. Yay. Off I go...

Feeling pretty normal this morning, a huge change from yesterday, which sucked so much I ended up putting the posts on ever-more-restrictive filters. >:-P

It's our 18^TH ANNIVERSARY!!! Yay, us! Our trip to Hood River was kind of in anticipation thereof, but I think we'll be going out for fondue tonight. Yum!

Okay, now that I'm human again, I must get stuff done. First, the gym (which I bagged yesterday), then the Meditation Arts cover. What happened to "buried in work"? I'm almost done! ;-)

Byee!

hee hee hee

It's 11pm and I am squiffulent. hee hee. We went to see Cian (pronounced shawn, if you've forgotten) and Mindy play dodgeball tonight and went with them to the dodgeball bar afterwards. I had more beer than I usually do. Hee. Cian and I had a heated debate on philosophy, psychology, and the scientific method, and my clothes now smell like cigarette smoke. In the end, Cian and I realised that we basically agreed and that our "differences" were mostly in terminology. I got to use a lot of big words and, I think, held my own pretty well considering the beer. Actually, it was great. I haven't had that kind of impassioned, abstract conversation for a long time and I think I held my own against an actual Philosophy major. (He has a Bachelor's degree -- in philosophy!)

Man, I gotta wahs all our clothes -- they stnk! Bleh! But I pe3rsonally did okay with the smoke, which makes me hopeful for our next trip to Europe. Hee.

Cian and Mindy's team did well. The first time I saw them, they whupped ass, so tonight I thought they were off their game, until I found out they were playing the best fuckin' team in the league, AND gave 'em a run for their money -- they only lost 6-4. Mindy's so fun to watch, 'cause she gets so intense and moves around like a sniper in a guerilla ambush. he3e.

So i was very productive today. I fasted over 12 hours and was able to get my lab blood draw done before the gym, then did sweating and then came home and worked. I was able to get the Geisha cover first draft off. Go me! ^_^ I be productive kitty. I've even been working on my own art. Yay!

Okay, I've finished my milk and cookeis, literally, so I should go to bed now. My elf boy was very sweet and didn't remind me of the time until 10:30, so I could stay and drink beer and shout philosophy over the babble of the crowd. Not that he was hurting, with Mindy as a conversational partner. ;-)

So I go. I am happy. I have had a good week so far, which is muchly happy-making, because frankly depression sucks diseased donkey dongs. hee. To bed!

Oh, first cat pan....then to bed!

Much better today. Actually feeling even a little get-up-and-go-y, which is good because I blew off a lot of stuff yesterday because I was playing with the Ultra Fractals demo. Oooooooooooooooh, pretty! *drool* Oh, and trying to fix something I did wrong in the Orchids January file, but Photoshop kept crashing on me. Damn Alien Skin filter...

Already this morning I have watered the front garden and done the indoor plants downstairs. For the rest of the day:

- call Matt about getting together [well, e-mail]
- go to dentist appointment
- go to the gym after lunch [oops...I took a nap after I got back 'cause my cramps were killing me...^_^;;;]
- water upstairs and check palm's moisture level
- finish Aaron's birthday card and package everything
- package Grandma's photos
- shop for dinner
- do more Orchids work

Hmmm, looking at my allowance, I see that I could not only get Ultra Fractals 4.0 (without animation capability, it's quite inexpensive), but I could also get buZZ.pix or buZZ.pro... Ooooooooooooooooh, shiiiiiiiiiny...

1. The house is almost done. The Nice Young Men with Little English^tm are finishing up little splotches and splootches as I type. It's beautiful, but very blue. Paint always looks different over a large area. ^_^;

The Nice Young Men did destroy my delphinia, however, as well as smooshed other flowers. The boss took $25 off the bill.


2. Girls' Night went well. We drank lots of wine, ate expensive cheese, and talked Girl Stuff. Kendra was mostly silent, poor dear. I hope she enjoyed herself.

So, Aleta's 40 -- merciful gods, I think that's the last of the Inner Circle!


3. "Bloodlines" is cool, but I wish there were a way to turn off the splattering.


4. The new Doctor rocks and rolls! Wow, was the 1941 story arc spooky or what? O_o

(I'm sorry to see Eccleston's already left the show. I hope David Tennant can live up to his incredible energy.)


5. I have more work. And must finish cards. Stuff. ^_^;


6. I got most of my cards done, though. Good Girl!


7. It's been Fucking Hot^tm here -- just when the house was all closed up for painting, naturally -- but it's beginning to cool down. Might get back into the sixties, which is not unusual for this time of year, but I was just getting used to summer...


8. I need new LJ icons!!!


9. 'Bye!

Arthur of Avalon is done. Just Sacred Images of Tibet. And a painter at noon. And seeing Hollie before she heads to Parts Unknown (sob!).

Tomorrow should be more relaxed.

This is an official e-mail I sent to Amber Lotus, my client, who pays me a decent amount per hour to play with Photoshop. Okay, the contact person is a personal friend, but still... ^_^

Aleta-sama,

It's 12:40am. Do you know where your Kat is?

Sheesh.

Anyhoo, here are samples, at 50%, of the four backgrounds. The names of the files reflect which borders they belong to, and hence which images they belong to (you DO still have my Guide to Celtic Borders™, don't you? ^_^). I can give you variations on a couple, if you really need them, but these colors really do work the best both with the borders AND the images.

I am dead, Horatio. Horatio, I am dead.

Is there any possible way I could get the Sacred Images of Tibet to you Thursday? On my own dime. *sweats*

This project was much more difficult than it looked to me. When changing the colors of the borders, different color combinations brought different artist boo-boos to light: what looked fine in one color scheme was bizarre in another. And it was harder picking the colors than I'd anticipated, because they had to match so many things.

Not that I'm complaining. I can't. I'm dead.

^_^

I leave now. Kitty go sleep-sleep

SOOO busy! That Amber Lotus stuff just smacked me in the head. I even worked on it over the weekend, but geez!

What's happened: Um, I bought a chandelier for my office, with Elf's help (birthday). It's a genuine antique and has sparkly crystals all over it! SQUEE!

We also bought an antique china cabinet yesterday. I don't know when it will be delivered. It is gorgeous and though not the most expensive piece of furniture we've ever bought, it's probably the most beautiful, with the probable exception of the mantel Elf built. ♥

I've been working, but I did get to the gym. Yay!

So, here's a meme from darkpoole. It's quick.

( Funny names meme )

I mean, it's freaking snowing. In Portland. On March 9th! Not quite hell freezing over, but close... *wails* My poor garden!

I think the first Amber Lotus job is done. Just need to hear from Aleta some time this morning. Then I'll go out in the afternoon, stop at Winks for a decorative grill (HOPE!) for the stereo cabinet door (and it would be DONE!), go drop the files off at AL, have dinner with Aleta, then off to the Board Meeting. Yay.

Can I get to the gym today? Please, Mommy? The snow isn't sticking to the roads -- it's barely sticking to the grass and rooftops. It's over 34°. I'm not coughing to speak of. Let's go, already!

Elf helped me set up the Toy (named Athene, thanks so much) last night. As in, he did most of it. Ah, geeks... Unfortunately, it still can't see the house wireless network, which means it can't connect to any of the other machines (and, more importantly, the RAID, so I can't do easy backups), but it's got its internet connexion, virus protection, software firewall, so I can get online if I like. I'm still on the old laptop right now, though, 'cause Himself has been futzing with Athene all morning. Heh. Geeks. Gotta love 'em.

Geh. Got up at 6:00 this morning. My body's still not sure that's such a great idea. But I don't have time to nap today, frankly. Pleh.

Well, I'm pretty much done here (it's not even 8:00 yet!), so maybe I'll go up and see what kind of crap I've got to uninstall on poor Athene (man, did Dell load a PILE of shit on the poor girl!).

Guten Tag, alles!

I'm slowly getting over this cold. The goofiness and extreme lassitude are gone, thank the gods.

Saturday I was well enough that Elf, Aleta and I could go antiquing in Sellwood. It was a bust from the standpoint of finding a cabinet for the CDs, but we had a good time and it was a beautiful day. I got pretty wiped out though, so slept when we got home even though we'd stopped at Freddy's and picked up Open For Business!

Sunday was better. We went on a nice walk, saw Hollie and Greg loading up the new van with Goodwill stuff. Damn, I can't believe she's moving. But on the upside, she brought out Poppy, her baby turtle, who was just as cute as a -- um, well -- as a baby turtle! ^_^ It's an African tortoise, to be more precise, and will grow to be more than 150 lbs or something absurd like that.

Unfortunately, the cough is just not going away, dammit, so no gym AGAIN. I'm feeling slug-like, positively molluscine! Well, I'll try to get out and about by walking to Walgreens for my prescription and cough syrup, the bank for a deposit, and the store for dinner.

But first -- WORK! Yay!! When Aleta came over Friday, she left a huge wad of work. For me! Joy! I thought I was done for the year, but no! Hee hee hee hee! I'm quite giddy... ^_^

Okay, first lunch, as this has taken longer (duh) than it should have, or rather, to speak more precisely, the previous friends-only post took too long. Ah well. I will quite nobly forgo Open for Business until after I've finished my first work goal. But lunch now, and Mansfield Park! Hoy!

Feeling marginally accomplished. Yesterday I got Lizzy her FIRST BIRTHDAY present (^_^); I was able to do the gym yesterday without catching Looming Boy's eye (gah); I took Elf's boots in for a re-sole; and I got mochi ice cream at Trader Joe's (yum!). Unfortunately, the long shopping trip (I went all the way to the Washington Square Powell's and completely struck out at Burlington and Linens 'n Things) kind of pithed me, so the rest of the day was a bit of a wash. In the evening, for our walk, we went to the "old neighbourhood," and I kept seeing Tristan with us, and so quietly cried for much of the walk. When we got home, though, Jane Austen and then "Katamari Damacy" did serve to improve the spirits.

Today's looking pretty good -- the sun is out, though it's freaking cold, and I have one of my jobs done. I'm going to get going to the gym as soon as I'm done with this, then probably pop over to Bally's to see what I can work out: at least a few days' pass to see if the machines I need are available at the times I need. Maybe get my hair trimmed. Maybe a new pair of jeans. Then home to more Amber Lotus stuff, calling HAC, calling Comcast about Aleta's e-mails, laundry, Lizzy birthday card. Let's see if I can get through the entire day without sleeping, eh? ^_^;;

To reiterate:
- gym
- hair trim?
- Freddy's
- Bally's?
- M&F?
- call HAC
- call Comcast
- laundry
- Amber Lotus
- Lizzy card
- dinner plan and shop

I think that's good enough. Out into the great cold, then. ^_^

First day home alone. I'm mostly numb today, a bit blue, but not bad. I keep having to stop myself from all the little rituals: the treat before I leave the house, the morning and evening feeding, the walk, the treat before bed, pre-wash of dinner dishes. Evenings have been especially weird, I'm not sure why.

I dreamt about him last night: I'd taken him for a walk, apparently, and had taken him off the leash before getting all the way home, and he didn't come home. My father(?!) said that, since I couldn't take care of him, I couldn't have him any more. Tristan did finally show up, as well as another corgi. I was quite relieved.

Thank the gods we have two cats, one of whom is a total love-slut.

Saturday night went and had a fun and LOUD dinner with Aleta, Sue, and Barb. The waiter was extremely cool about these loud, drunk (some of us), early-middle-aged women. I'm not sure what the other patrons thought, though I noticed they sat as far away from us as possible. Sunday Elf and I picked up Marce and Doug and went to Franck and Aleta's for beaucoup de munchies and a game of "Arkham Horror." I was a little down that day, alas, but it was good to see everyone. Barb and Sue were there for part of it, though they didn't get to play the game. The game, alas, was not as fun as I'd been hoping, but I'd be willing to give it another try when I'm in a better mood. Ought to at least go smoother next time, as we kind of have the rules down now...

Today I have to start the new Amber Lotus jobs -- the first is due at the end of this week. I've already got the gym over with and the auto-pay bills recorded in the checkbook, so this is good. AND the Sierralupé Yule gifts are finally gone south, where they belong. Some stuff off the list that should have been taken care of looooong ago, but they're gone now. Yay. ^_^

Okay. Gotta get the minutes fixed and summarised, then off to art, I guess. ^_^

Today:

- gas car
- pick up prescription
- gym
- Dollar Tree
- Stark's?
- Post office
- bank
- bills
- start cleaning for Twelfth Night (Hollie, did you get the invite?)

No rest for the wicked. ^_^;

I had a dream last night that I was in a dungeon-crawl. I took out some orcs with laser-beams, but they kept getting back up, so I went and cut their heads off, but both the laser-beam and the sword were invisible, so it was only conceptual. I beheaded another orc, but he turned out to be a nice guy and we ended up talking a lot and making bad jokes about his headlessness. He actually had a head, but of course he didn't, 'cause I'd chopped it off, right? Dreams. I finally rationalised that there must be a pocket of magic around. I told him I was sorry I'd chopped his head off before getting to know him, but secretly suspected he only became nice after the beheading. Something about an old house and our cats. Whatevah. ^_^;;

Got the Amber Lotus stuff done that needed to be done by this week. I think I can get the "real" files to Aleta at Twelfth Night. It would be good if she could look at the Sulamith Wülfing so I can get rid of that stuff, too, but I know she's really busy, esp. with Leslie out till next Monday.

Feh. Must go. Have to get gas and pick up meds before the gym, 'cause I footled around and I was out of wellbutrin as of last night. Oops!

I'm here. really. Had a hectic week-before-christmas, a nice holiday, and now I've got work to do I've put off because of 1) and 2) and cramps from hell. Yay.

Haven't been reading lj either. Now i'm daunted. eek!

Hope everyone had a goodly whatever. Thanks for the cookies, Doug! I'll probably be bringing your hat in tomorrow. ^_^