Grrr/Hopeful.

I didn't update last night because I was extremely cranky.

I am officially angry with this cold.

First it knocked my boyfriend out for a good three days, scaring the hell out of me after the hospital incident.

Then it hung around for a week, making me feel like crap. Work was miserable. Sleeping was miserable. Existing was miserable.

Now, it's mostly gone...except for the cough.

I will admit, grudgingly, that the cough has gotten better in that it's not completely constant. However, it's still pretty damned consistent. It has been ignoring medicine, ignoring juice, ignoring tea, ignoring water, ignoring everything. It interrupts me when I'm trying to do things like talk or breathe. I wouldn't be surprised if it scared off customers yesterday. It tickles and hurts my throat without the benefit of actually evacuating it of the offensive material.

I also still have some sniffles, but those are at least showing a distinct trend toward going the hell away. This cough seems to have moved in and settled down. Work yesterday consisted of manning drive through while spending half my time with my mouth buried in my elbow, trying not to scare too many customers...or co-workers. This made work difficult, to say the least.

So, yeah, when I got home after an annoying day, with the annoyance living in my chest, exhausted and ready to rip my own throat out to make it freaking stop....I didn't really feel like posting.

Sorry about that. I do feel better today. I got up early for the sole purpose of being productive, which is kinda nice. I've done laundry (the main reason for getting up), written in my diary (so incredibly beneficial, holy man), and signed up for NaNoWriMo.

Yes, NaNoWriMo is in November, so I'm way, way early. I figured it couldn't hurt to start early, as starting late would put a big crimp in the plans.

For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is a yearly event, taking place during the entire month of November, where writers all over the world attempt to craft a novel, from scratch. The rules are that you can't have any written material before November 1st (not counting outlines, character sketches, research, that kind of thing), and the novel has to be 50,000 words long to count as completed. As it says on the site, win or lose, you rock for even trying.

The idea of having nothing before setting out into such a goal is, well, scary. I don't do well with pre-story-writing prep, like plot outlines or character ideas. As I fully realized this morning (yay diary writing!), I do better when I start with a scene in my head and go from there. Planning it all out...I'm not sure if I can do that.

At the same time, I know that if I sit down on November 1st with absolutely nothing, I am not going to have the slightest hope of succeeding. Yes, my chances are slim anyway, but there's no reason to throw in the towel before the game has even started.

So, I'm giving myself until then to put together the structure, without allowing myself to furnish it until the clock starts ticking. We'll see how this goes...

She Was....Volatile.

Well, I never got around to visiting my Starbucks to ask my store manager for the next Sword of Truth book. I did a bunch of laundry, though, and cleaned up our room a bit, and even relaxed on the bed for a little while, just reading magazines I've fallen behind on, chomping on some edamame. Not a bad day off.

...that's really all I got.

Oh! Ryan, Sameh and I watched The Losers tonight. Not a bad action flick--army guys that done been wronged trying to get revenge, hot chick with guns and rockets. Not the most intellectual movie, but it certainly had some moments, and, most important of all, it was fun!

Tomorrow is back to work, Friday's the next day off--and it's Ryan's day off, too! Best thing ever :) For now, more reading and relaxin' in the last few hours of freedom...

Compromise ls Golden.

I really enjoyed working at the Ironwood store today. The store is designed crappily and completely backwards, but the people were very nice and great to work with. :)

Tomorrow is my day off. I have two plans: laundry*, and visiting my store to ask my store manager if I can borrow the next book of the series I'm reading, which she high-fived me for reading. It shall be a busy...busy day.

*In what may one of the smartest moments of our relationship yet, Ryan and I agreed to trade off on chores we absolutely deplore in exchange for ones we don't mind. I am now in charge of laundry, and Ryan does our dishes. I am more happy about this new arrangement than should be allowed.

Despite getting out of work almost an hour early, I've had a long day. To bed!

Half Distinct.

The rush today was, from what I was told, done before I even arrived. We were a bit busier than usual for quite a while, but quieted down quite a bit once the game started (for those who care, Notre Dame buried Purdue, something like 23 to 17?).

The traffic getting home was ridiculous. I left at 8 and didn't get home for half an hour. At one point, while in standstill traffic on Cleveland Road, I took a side road in a desperate attempt to bypass the traffic light I was attempting to reach...and ended up back on Cleveland, behind the exact same car as before.

I laughed and laughed...

Pomplamoose has been my honest obsession the past few days. I had it in my head all day, after having their YouTube channel on loop during last night's ICC raid in WoW. This song, in particular, has been stuck in my head. It's called "Another Day," and I like it for several reasons.

First, it's a great song. Second, I have a tendency to play the music videos in my head while listening/thinking of songs, and this video makes me happy to think about. Something about their enthusiasm--especially recording the stomps and claps--just makes me glad.

Third, and finally, the lyrics are great, and they remind me of my relationship:

Another day
Shows its face
I'm half awake
Half in space
And if you told me I was beautiful well that would just be in poor taste

Another hour
Flying by
I've yet to shower
Yet to dry
And if you told me I was wonderful I probably would wonder why

I am yours
You are mine
I am yours
You are mine
So it's alright

Another plate
In the sink
We're half the same
Half distinct
And if you told me I was perfect I'd assume you'd had too much too drink

Another day
Fades away
We're half asleep
Half in space
And if you told me we were dreaming I would pinch you to prove we're awake
Yeah if you told me we were dreaming I would pinch you to prove we're awake
Yeah if you told me we were dreaming I would pinch you to prove we're awake
If you told me we were dreaming I would pinch you to prove we're awake
Yeah if you told me we were dreaming I would pinch you to prove we're awake

I think this song reflects us fairly well. If he told me was I beautiful when I was still in Full Morning Grog, I would give him a dirty look. If he told me we were dreaming, I wouldn't hesitate to pinch him, just to make the point. Then giggle when he gave me a Look for it.

I love us. :)

It feels like tomorrow is a day off, but it's not; I work at Ironwood (Sameh's Starbucks!) from 3 to 11:30. I'm apprehensive about closing at another store, but I'll live. Then it'll be Monday, and that is my day off, and I'll like that. Hee.

(Also holy crap check out Pomplamoose's cover of Beat It, it's fantastic.)
(Linky!)

Wish Me Luck?

Today was a pretty good day off. I got up fairly early (well, early for me, 9ish), and spent the morning cleaning up our bedroom and the living room, and getting the laundry done. It's great to feel accomplished, especially over something that has built up over two weeks...sick people aren't the greatest cleaners >.<

Speaking of which, I seem to be 99% better, with that 1% representing a continuously dripping nose and continuously tickling throat. Both are quite annoying, and add up to gross behavior that I have to keep in track while at work. Argh.

Tomorrow is not only the first home game for Notre Dame (against Purdue, if you care about that kind of thing), it's my first football game at Starbucks. My co-workers of course scared the daylights out of me about it, but I will make sure to follow their advice and stay where I'm put. I have a tendency to try and help out wherever it's needed, whether that means making a drink for drive-thru while I'm front, or warming a sandwich for front when I'm drive-thru, or what-have-you. They said that really, the best thing to do in a rush is to just stay put and do your given task, whether it's barring, register, or just brewing endless urns of coffee. I'm hoping that I'm put on front register, as I can see myself getting overwhelmed both quickly and easily if it really is a scary rush of people.

I might try a Wii Fit workout tomorrow morning...household schedules seem to be more or less set, finally, so I can be sure that I'm not going to accidentally force my sweaty, workout-clothes-clad self on anyone's eyes. If I can get back into the habit, that'd be great--convenient, free, customizable, etc etc. If not, I will be giving Curves a stern try.

For now, to bed, to attempt to arise early again tomorrow!

Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum, Bum Bum Bum Bum Bum!

Today was a normal sort of day. The only things that stand out, I won't be talking about, because one is a rant about two customers that no one really wants to hear, and the other is about money, which, again, no one really wants to hear about.

Tomorrow is my day off! Huzzah! There will be many a phone call to many a place, visits to bank and grocery store, and cleaning of the room and house. Further huzzah!

I am currently mildly obsessed with a band called Pomplamoose. They're a couple who record songs--original and covers--and post the making of them to YouTube, where you see every instrument, every vocalization, every source of every sound. The woman is very talented (and adorable!), the variation of instruments and "instruments" is both impressive and amusing, and there are usually little after-song clips that show the funny, human side of the couple.

Here, I shall leave you with one of my favorites, both by them and in general: The Chordettes "Mister Sandman":



(For the non-embedded-video-enabled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xMCNmUaGko&feature=related)

No Longer Just Certifiable.

Today was fun and interesting...in a not-genuine-but-not-quite-sarcastic-either kind of way.

I got up on time only because I'm neurotic about time. My alarm was set for 9, I was waking up and checking my phone every 15 or so minutes from 8:30 on. I was surprised to see that it was 9:05 the last time I checked, then realized that I had never taken my phone off vibrate after leaving work yesterday, so I hadn't hear it go off at 9. Whups!

Got fairly lost on my way to the Goshen store for my class, but got myself unlost at a fairly good pace. As usual, I second-guessed myself right into a wrong turn, getting off the bypass an exit too soon, only discovering this when I took the correct route back home.

The class wasn't bad at all, actually. The only other "student" was the Ironwood SM, who has also been at the company about three months. The class was mostly taught by the Goshen SM and the Main SM. It was mostly watching videos and discussing corporate principles and missions, with some coffee and pastry tasting sprinkled in. I got a Green Apron book (little booklet outlining partner goals and such) and a Tea Passport (akin to the Coffee Passport, where you jot down notes and get a stamp for each coffee you taste, except--surprise!--it's for tea), and I should be getting a special pin in the next few weeks to show that I'm certified.

Um...yay! I guess!

We got out an hour and a half early, I got to drive home in pounding rain, and spent the rest of the day chatting to Chris and poking around online, in my pajamas, while eating way too much edamame.

Tomorrow is work, and Friday is off. I am looking forward to Friday, and even to a "normal" work day tomorrow. I prefer making drinks and serving customers to all other aspects of my job, and am hoping it's a day full of just that. :)