Okay, I've had it.

New England has been beset by hideous nasty weather. Grey coffin skies, rain varying from gentle to torrential. I've been getting depressed and I'm not the only one. It's July, fer goodness sakes. It's supposed to be sunny! Everybody's spirits have been flagging, and frankly I think there's only one cure:

Endorphins.

I am personally throwing myself back into the 21 Days Challenge; specifically, the original one that was posted on the now-dormant twenty1days LJ community. 21 Days to a Rockin' Body, exercising every day for 21 days.

Since support is crucial to success with this sort of endeavor, I thought that it might be nice to canvas my friendslist for anybody who'd like to join in with me (who isn't already exercising daily). I also made a post on the twenty1days LJ, but it's waiting for moderator approval.

Because I will at the Funfair until then, I won't be starting the challenge until a week from Monday; however, this is nice because it gives people time to gear up and join.
Begin: Monday, July 13th
Complete: Sunday, August 2

Type of Exercise: Your choice. I will be playing a lot of Dance Dance Revolution (Stepmania, actually), biking (when it's decent out) and shovelgloving.

Suggested Duration of Exercise: As with the original challenge, 45–60 minutes for 6 days of the week and 15–30 minutes for 1 day of the week is suggested.
This is up to you too, though, as the real purpose of this challenge is to make exercise a HABIT!

To Participate: Just do it!
But if you want to share support and have other people around to help 'keep you honest', please comment here before July 13th!

Provided the mods don't have any objection, I'll have twenty1days be where I make posts about this, but we'll see if I get approval for my post.

So, that was my last day at the Burlington Marketplace Starbucks right there.

I shall commemorate this occasion with a pop quiz. What are two traits that all of the following behaviors have in common?

• Rolling your eyes when told that something is out of stock
• Hanging up on someone when they go to check on the thing you just asked them
• Queuing a large order, then going out to your car to get your money
• Being on your cell phone, saying "Hold on a second," saying your rapid-fire, complicated order once, then resuming your god damned phone conversation before your order is rung up
• Paying for an order under $10 with a 50 or 100 dollar bill
• Asking for a discount on an item because of a flaw that you perceive as discount-worthy
• Imposing a (one-sided) conversation on a cashier when there is a line behind you
• Leaning on the glass divider to the bar and staring at the barista making your drink, interjecting instructions that you did not tell the cashier
• Making an 'ew' face when a drink is suggested to you by a barista

1. They are rude. If you do these things on a regular basis, you need to call your mom and tell her she dropped the ball.
2. They happened! In my store! Today!

I have been inundated with my own negative energies today, and looking back a bit I see it's not just today. Negative energy has been bleeding into my interactions with people I care about for the past week or so, just about since the sun went away and didn't come back.

I think that I need to provide myself with more exercise, more sunlamp time, more sleep, maybe a few baths.

'cause this doesn't get to keep going.

Nine Killed in Washington Metro Crash

I'm really glad neither xiombarg or my little brother happened to be on that train, as both were riding the metro at the time of the crash and Fort Totten is on a section of the Red Line that my friends and family spend a lot of time on.

Not everyone was so lucky.

So the branch manager of Infocurrent (the Boston branch of my old temp agency I was with for a decade) just sent me an e-mail.

She included tax and health insurance forms for me to fill out as attachments, and the title was 're-hire process'.

I think that's a pretty good sign, right there.

It's a start!

At hermitgeecko's suggestion, made a simple version of my t-shirt. I think I like it better than the original version.

• Drove a housemate somewhere
• Turned in a job application for Harmonix
• Did some work and scenes for the Funfair
• Made the BEST T-SHIRT EVER.

Goings on in my life.

Yes, I will be putting my two weeks' notice in at Starbucks on Friday. No, I do not have a job nailed down.

The primary reason for this is that as of this moment, I am leaning on beloitst completely to be able to get to work. I am incredibly grateful that my kind roommate is allowing me to inconvenience her so that I can keep working, but I am not comfortable with continuing this arrangement beyond a month. The secondary reason for the decision is that the store is kind of in terrible shape. Our poor (brand new) assistant manager is working herself dead trying to keep the store afloat with too few partners, and we're bailing on her like rats from a sinking ship; the store will likely be losing FOUR partners including me. The manager is out on maternity leave. The company is sadly just not doing us right like it needs to, and we are responding in kind.

Anyway, I need to get a T-Accessible job on the quick if things with Infocurrent fall through (the Boston branch of Telesec Corestaff, my old temp agency). I've already gotten some promising leads from friends, so THANK YOU! The more of you who send me this stuff, the better my chances are.

The other thing is that ... zomg! At loooooong last, the Bedlam Funfair game of Threads of Damocles is coming up the second weekend of July! This is really exciting, as I have been the primary author for this plot and this game will see the culmination of most of my stories. Also, it's been a good long while since I got to play the inimitable Halston Dark, and it'll be nice to put on the ole top hat and do some singing.

The last thing is that to unwind, I have been doing some video gaming. I played through Braid (beautiful but pompous) and then picked up Plants vs. Zombies.

Oh my lawd. Plants vs. Zombies is CRACK. It's by far the most accessible and playable tower defense game I've ever picked up. Also, it has an adorable music video (wait, what? somebody wrote a stepmania pattern to it? OK DOWNLOADING RIGHT NOW). The only time I failed to have fun playing the game was when I played Survival Mode Endless, and that's only because surviving 25 flags and then getting holes punched in your defense isn't actually very fun. Having beaten the rest of the game, though, I'm very impressed by the replay value and general fun to be had.

Anyway, I think that's all the booze news that's fit to drink print.

For those of you who don't know:

Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving for Threads of Damocles on a farm in Pennsylvania. Once I get there, which should be sometime in the afternoon or evening, I'll be out of contact (both internet and phone!) until I leave on Sunday.

If you have urgent info I should hear before then, please let me know now! :)

So, when's the last time you were by yourself in the bathroom, and you made goofy faces in the mirror until you cracked yourself up?

Has it been a while?

Well, the next time you are in the bathroom by yourself, you will remember this post and you will feel an impulse to make faces in the mirror until you crack yourself up.

Go ahead and follow that impulse.

You're welcome.

I get out of work at 15:00.

For the next 3 hours (until I leave for Games Night), I will STAY AT THE STORE and work on BGAs and my scene.

That is all.

Supreme Court Says Suspects Can Now Be Interrogated Without a Lawyer

We all know how I feel about this one. Feel free to discuss.

Now THAT ... is a hangover-clean bathroom, right there.

Also got some composition done and a whole lot of laundry. It's been a productive morning.

Sadly, I still have a lot of BGAs to take care of, and my room is a disaster. So much catchup to do post-sickness.

Hhello!

As I, Dog, have not beeen stuffed in a closet and replaced by 1,000 mice inn a human costume, I am happy to announce that the holliday that I invented, Drink Alcohol on a Friday™, will be clelebrated today!

Just like I do every time I declarc this holiday, I will be online, typying with my human fingers and imbibing alohol tonight! This will be wonderful and you will enjoy itt.

We hope you will join me, not 1,000 mice, onling!

Hi everybody.

This morning at about 7am, my physician team surrounded me in an imposing phalanx like they've done for the past three days. They poked around uncomfortably in my mouth and declared, though not in so many words, that the most physically torturous week of my life was over.

My well-meaning-but-kind-of-obnoxiously-incompetent nurse with the gooselike voice bustled about making my last preparations, someone pulled the other rubber drain from its home in my jaw and, faintly nauseated from the percocet finally penetrating my system, I stumbled out of the hospital with four bags full of stuff.

I am endlessly grateful to my friends for the support that I have been given throughout this ordeal. Whether or not you made it to my hospital room, whether or not you sent me anything, whether or not you commented, if you were thinking about me and 'there for' me, I have deep and abiding gratitude that I have you in my life.

My heart goes out especially to those who made it to see me, brought me things and made my stay at the hospital easier. It was a really difficult time, and seeing keshwyn walking toward my room after the third needle-and-blade invasion of my mouth was the first sign I had that things were going to be okay after all.

While perhaps I could have survived this without you, I think I would have walked out with far more baggage than the gifts I was given.

Thank you all.

If you have calming or cheerful music for me (no jangly guitar or strained 'rock' vocals plz), please link to it here! I can download it to my PSP and listen :)

Dog here. Operated on again. Lots of needles and knives in my mouth. Can't go home. Very unhappy. Can't check e-mail. Can read comments, can't reply. Thank you.

My face looks and feels like a football. A painful football.

I'm pretty sure this was not supposed to happen.

I wonder if this is dry socket.

An old, light-hearted, narcissistic meme to offset the pain and whining.

If you woke up and I was in bed with you, what would be your first thought?

Comments are NOT screened, but feel free to reply anonymously if you want. :3