I woke up today promptly at 7:05 AM.
Yay me.
I got to work at approximately 8:15, I think, and set about preparing for a branding training session at 1:00 PM. There was a lot to do, but it turned out alright in the end. I was a bit... stressed... for a while, though. It was a frustrating morning.
After the meeting, Marty and I had a long talk about brands and what we need to do to feel more comfortable handing kits out. A good start, I think.
Around 3:15 PM, Jason came into the office to talk to George. Cool - sounds like it was a good meeting, from what both told me. Around 4:30 or so, Jason and I wandered outside and took a quick walk around East Cambridge, from the office up 2nd Street to Cambridge, and back down 3rd Street. Following that, I decided to take advantage of the free ride home, and we got outta there.
At home, I bummed around for a little while waiting for Mike to get back, and then the two of us (Mike and I) drove out to Dave FR's place in Sudbury for a night of Magic.
Oh yeah.
We did some sealed deck with a box of Worldwake. Jason and I both had nearly perfect records (I think I was like 6-1, and he was about the same). I made this lovely little green/red deck with a lot of instant speed buffs, Tims, and nasty little creatures. It worked well!
After all that, I came home. Now I'm sitting here reading. Go me!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Business - the state of being busy
Today was... busy.
I didn't have enough time to get everything done that I wanted to get done. At 3:00 PM, I started on the tasks that I was hoping to spend the whole day on. Frustrating.
I went to Dado this morning, learned the name of the Nepalese girl who works there. At least, I think she is.
After work, I went home, fretted for a bit, and then decided to call up Dave and cancel my lesson today. I just... couldn't figure out how to take out the time to go do it, and still be able to get some work done. Instead, I sat and worked for two hours. Julia had told me, as I was leaving work, that she and Paul were going to go to The Cellar for dinner/a drink, so I decided that my fun for the day would be a little relaxation right at the end. So I went there and met them - getting there a bit later than they. They'd already, mostly, eaten. I ordered some tomato soup and a grilled cheese. It took forever to show up. I had some Guinness. It was Guinnessy.
After that, Julia and I walked home.
Once here, I read a chapter of The Gathering Storm. So far so good.
Now, I'm sleeping.
I didn't have enough time to get everything done that I wanted to get done. At 3:00 PM, I started on the tasks that I was hoping to spend the whole day on. Frustrating.
I went to Dado this morning, learned the name of the Nepalese girl who works there. At least, I think she is.
After work, I went home, fretted for a bit, and then decided to call up Dave and cancel my lesson today. I just... couldn't figure out how to take out the time to go do it, and still be able to get some work done. Instead, I sat and worked for two hours. Julia had told me, as I was leaving work, that she and Paul were going to go to The Cellar for dinner/a drink, so I decided that my fun for the day would be a little relaxation right at the end. So I went there and met them - getting there a bit later than they. They'd already, mostly, eaten. I ordered some tomato soup and a grilled cheese. It took forever to show up. I had some Guinness. It was Guinnessy.
After that, Julia and I walked home.
Once here, I read a chapter of The Gathering Storm. So far so good.
Now, I'm sleeping.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Junky days gone right, eventually
We're going to try a new thing tonight, boys and girls.
It's called "getting to sleep before midnight!" Exciting, isn't it!
Originally, we were going to try something a bit more difficult called "getting in bed at 10:00 PM and being asleep by 11:00 PM," but that proved to be a bit beyond our current capabilities. Its difficulty was compounded by the discovery that I could create the coolest, most dreamy textures ever by setting Garage Band to "Dream Pop" and then using a slide to play the first string on a guitar about a centimeter from the bridge. Stuff like that. Glorious. I think it needs to become part of a song.
The difficulty of the original plan was also exacerbated by the delicious, straight rye whiskey Eric brought me around 10:00 PM. I couldn't very well not drink it, nor could I not finish the beer I had already started.
Don't judge me.
But, here I am, 11:20 or so, and I've made it to bed. All that remains is to tell you fine people about my day.
I woke up very grumpy.
I hated the weather, I disliked my clothing choices for the day (and, indeed, ended up looking like a bum), and wasn't thrilled with my prospects for the day at work. Not a good start.
It didn't get much better throughout the day, though everyone else's cheery attitude certainly helped a bit. I did manage to get a lot of bugs fixed, which is good. Otherwise, Hillary and I camped out in Trinidad all day (the conference room, not the island). Marty figured we were hiding. I kinda was. Don't know about H. Just really wasn't feeling particularly social. Sometimes, there are emotional days, it seems. I do my best to get through them.
Eventually, Hillary and I left work around 7:00 PM. The place was empty except for Vita.
Upon returning home, I had a little something to eat (can you guess what it was?), then headed over to Jason's place for an hour or so. We talked about what Allurent does, mostly. Was cool. We also, briefly, played a Tetris game (on the Internets) where the whole screen rotates instead of the piece. Awesome spin (hah!) on the game.
After an hour or so there, I came home, got out my geetar, and practiced some West Coast Blues. Then, well, the Dream Pop stuff started, etc., and you've already heard about that.
Yeah. So, well, the day ended better than it started. And now, I should sleep! It's still before midnight!
It's called "getting to sleep before midnight!" Exciting, isn't it!
Originally, we were going to try something a bit more difficult called "getting in bed at 10:00 PM and being asleep by 11:00 PM," but that proved to be a bit beyond our current capabilities. Its difficulty was compounded by the discovery that I could create the coolest, most dreamy textures ever by setting Garage Band to "Dream Pop" and then using a slide to play the first string on a guitar about a centimeter from the bridge. Stuff like that. Glorious. I think it needs to become part of a song.
The difficulty of the original plan was also exacerbated by the delicious, straight rye whiskey Eric brought me around 10:00 PM. I couldn't very well not drink it, nor could I not finish the beer I had already started.
Don't judge me.
But, here I am, 11:20 or so, and I've made it to bed. All that remains is to tell you fine people about my day.
I woke up very grumpy.
I hated the weather, I disliked my clothing choices for the day (and, indeed, ended up looking like a bum), and wasn't thrilled with my prospects for the day at work. Not a good start.
It didn't get much better throughout the day, though everyone else's cheery attitude certainly helped a bit. I did manage to get a lot of bugs fixed, which is good. Otherwise, Hillary and I camped out in Trinidad all day (the conference room, not the island). Marty figured we were hiding. I kinda was. Don't know about H. Just really wasn't feeling particularly social. Sometimes, there are emotional days, it seems. I do my best to get through them.
Eventually, Hillary and I left work around 7:00 PM. The place was empty except for Vita.
Upon returning home, I had a little something to eat (can you guess what it was?), then headed over to Jason's place for an hour or so. We talked about what Allurent does, mostly. Was cool. We also, briefly, played a Tetris game (on the Internets) where the whole screen rotates instead of the piece. Awesome spin (hah!) on the game.
After an hour or so there, I came home, got out my geetar, and practiced some West Coast Blues. Then, well, the Dream Pop stuff started, etc., and you've already heard about that.
Yeah. So, well, the day ended better than it started. And now, I should sleep! It's still before midnight!
Not at all what I originally planned.
Things were going well today until I decided I needed to do a merge.
Well, kinda well.
I started out this morning kinda down. I don't know why, exactly, it was the sort of down where it just felt like how I wanted to feel. I felt like being slow, and methodical, and un-lively. I was thinking about people I used to know, and how weird it'd be if they showed up in my life again.
But, well, the day went better after that. That is, until I decided to do that merge.
What a mess.
I've never seen such a completely conflicted merge. I hardly know where to start. I think I need a full compliment of faculties just to get through it. Daniel was kind enough to sit with me and try to work through it, but we both eventually just kinda gave up in disgust. I'm not entirely sure how we got the branch into this situation, but it's not pretty. We'll get it all squared away tomorrow, certainly, but it's a bummer. I was hoping it'd be straightforward.
After work, which ended at 7:00 PM or so, I T-ed it over to Harvard Square with Hillary, and met Jessi at Dado. We had originally planned to have coffee/tea or something, but after deciding we were both hungry, we opted for Japanese instead. She had some sushi (avocado and tuna, I believe), I had some bi bim bap in a stone pot, which was awesome. We also had a huge scallion pancake. Awesome.
I had originally planned to head over to Justin and Ali's tonight to watch LOST. It being, though, that by the time we were finished with dinner it was 9:00 PM, I decided I was pretty unlikely to get there at a useful time. Unfortunately, I was supposed to give Mike a ride home. Argh! Sorry about that, Mike.
All of this being the case, Jessi and I wandered over to John Harvard's for a drink. Delightful conversation ensued for a few hours. I had a stout of some sort, and a frostbite ale, or something like that. Both pretty good, though I could have done with something a bit more hoppy and a bit less flavorful. Was feeling the hoppitude tonight.
Around 11:somethin we went in opposite directions on the T at Harvard, and maybe midnight or so saw me back home, chilling on the couch with Eric, watching Letterman.
And now, I need to crash.
Well, kinda well.
I started out this morning kinda down. I don't know why, exactly, it was the sort of down where it just felt like how I wanted to feel. I felt like being slow, and methodical, and un-lively. I was thinking about people I used to know, and how weird it'd be if they showed up in my life again.
But, well, the day went better after that. That is, until I decided to do that merge.
What a mess.
I've never seen such a completely conflicted merge. I hardly know where to start. I think I need a full compliment of faculties just to get through it. Daniel was kind enough to sit with me and try to work through it, but we both eventually just kinda gave up in disgust. I'm not entirely sure how we got the branch into this situation, but it's not pretty. We'll get it all squared away tomorrow, certainly, but it's a bummer. I was hoping it'd be straightforward.
After work, which ended at 7:00 PM or so, I T-ed it over to Harvard Square with Hillary, and met Jessi at Dado. We had originally planned to have coffee/tea or something, but after deciding we were both hungry, we opted for Japanese instead. She had some sushi (avocado and tuna, I believe), I had some bi bim bap in a stone pot, which was awesome. We also had a huge scallion pancake. Awesome.
I had originally planned to head over to Justin and Ali's tonight to watch LOST. It being, though, that by the time we were finished with dinner it was 9:00 PM, I decided I was pretty unlikely to get there at a useful time. Unfortunately, I was supposed to give Mike a ride home. Argh! Sorry about that, Mike.
All of this being the case, Jessi and I wandered over to John Harvard's for a drink. Delightful conversation ensued for a few hours. I had a stout of some sort, and a frostbite ale, or something like that. Both pretty good, though I could have done with something a bit more hoppy and a bit less flavorful. Was feeling the hoppitude tonight.
Around 11:somethin we went in opposite directions on the T at Harvard, and maybe midnight or so saw me back home, chilling on the couch with Eric, watching Letterman.
And now, I need to crash.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
And after that...
Wow, I almost forgot to write.
Lets see... I think I'll start with yesterday.
I made the mistake of having a Pepsi last night at around 8:00 PM. This caused me to be so entirely caffeinated that I had issues sleeping last night. Argh.
There, now, on to today with the proper context.
So I woke up later than I would have preferred, couldn't get in the shower because I was too late, and thus became later, and if it wasn't a vicious circle, it was at least a vicious series of unfortunate events. Eventually, I got to work and proceeded to start Getting Stuff Done (GSD). Today was 50% taken up by meetings. The other 50% involved a bit of code.
After work, Mr. Erik and I took the T to Park St. together, because he happened to be going into the city himself. Me, I was on my way to class. 6:00 PM saw me over at NEC, sitting down for Jazz Theory. Class went pretty well, all told. Ear Training was a lot of fun. We spent a good 10 minutes going around the room scat singing to Tune Up (Miles Davis). It was pretty cool. First, someone would make up a line, the next person would repeat it, the third would modify the end of it, and the fourth would just do whatever they wanted (Which mirrors the form of Tune Up). We had 7 people, so it went around the room unevenly, so everyone got a chance to do each part. We then did the same thing, but each person did a set of two phrases, each of which was four bars, instead of each person doing a single four bar phrase. It was really cool.
After class, I found an empty classroom and bummed around for about half an hour playing guitar. I brought it with me for Jazz Theory, but we barely used our instruments, so I figured I had to get some sort of use out of it. Also cool. I'd been itching to play all day at work. I can't wait for it to get warm again so I can actually go out on the deck and do that.
After said bit of practice, I left the school, walked back to the Green Line at Hynes and started the trek home. After a few stops of standing on the train, lookin' around at the tired, 9:15 PM commuters, I somehow looked down the car towards the front. And who do I see sitting there, minding his own business?
Erik.
How's that for a coincidence? I walked up, planted my guitar in front of him, scowled, and said, "Hi!"
Or, well, the scowling might be an exaggeration.
Turns out he was on his way home, too. This, I would hardly scowl about.
So we both took the Green Line to Park, and the Red Line to our respective stops. It's always pleasant to have good company!
... And here we are. I took a spare couch cushion and shoved it under my desk for a kind of thingy to prop my feet on. So far so good! I ran out of soup, so dinner consisted of some milk (Ahh! Delicious!), cheese, crackers, and hummus. Doesn't get much simpler, or better, than that. I would have preferred an apple to go with it, though.
... And it's now past my bed time. That is all.
Lets see... I think I'll start with yesterday.
I made the mistake of having a Pepsi last night at around 8:00 PM. This caused me to be so entirely caffeinated that I had issues sleeping last night. Argh.
There, now, on to today with the proper context.
So I woke up later than I would have preferred, couldn't get in the shower because I was too late, and thus became later, and if it wasn't a vicious circle, it was at least a vicious series of unfortunate events. Eventually, I got to work and proceeded to start Getting Stuff Done (GSD). Today was 50% taken up by meetings. The other 50% involved a bit of code.
After work, Mr. Erik and I took the T to Park St. together, because he happened to be going into the city himself. Me, I was on my way to class. 6:00 PM saw me over at NEC, sitting down for Jazz Theory. Class went pretty well, all told. Ear Training was a lot of fun. We spent a good 10 minutes going around the room scat singing to Tune Up (Miles Davis). It was pretty cool. First, someone would make up a line, the next person would repeat it, the third would modify the end of it, and the fourth would just do whatever they wanted (Which mirrors the form of Tune Up). We had 7 people, so it went around the room unevenly, so everyone got a chance to do each part. We then did the same thing, but each person did a set of two phrases, each of which was four bars, instead of each person doing a single four bar phrase. It was really cool.
After class, I found an empty classroom and bummed around for about half an hour playing guitar. I brought it with me for Jazz Theory, but we barely used our instruments, so I figured I had to get some sort of use out of it. Also cool. I'd been itching to play all day at work. I can't wait for it to get warm again so I can actually go out on the deck and do that.
After said bit of practice, I left the school, walked back to the Green Line at Hynes and started the trek home. After a few stops of standing on the train, lookin' around at the tired, 9:15 PM commuters, I somehow looked down the car towards the front. And who do I see sitting there, minding his own business?
Erik.
How's that for a coincidence? I walked up, planted my guitar in front of him, scowled, and said, "Hi!"
Or, well, the scowling might be an exaggeration.
Turns out he was on his way home, too. This, I would hardly scowl about.
So we both took the Green Line to Park, and the Red Line to our respective stops. It's always pleasant to have good company!
... And here we are. I took a spare couch cushion and shoved it under my desk for a kind of thingy to prop my feet on. So far so good! I ran out of soup, so dinner consisted of some milk (Ahh! Delicious!), cheese, crackers, and hummus. Doesn't get much simpler, or better, than that. I would have preferred an apple to go with it, though.
... And it's now past my bed time. That is all.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Repaid
I came to the conclusion this morning that there are things you can't do in an unscripted, collaborative story. Generally. The aesthetic of "The Wanting Comes In Waves / Repaid", off of the Decemberists album The Hazards of Love, made me think of it. It's just not the sort of story you can tell when everyone has a vested interest in some character being a hero. A boy, pleading with his mother for mercy and freedom. She, elegant and powerful as a queen, furious that he could even ask such a thing, lords her power over him, mocking his love for Margaret, forcing him to repay her for the slightest courtesy. Players would never stand for it.
This is why there will always be a place for despotic, planned, fiction from a single author. There's just things you can't do, otherwise. I see no particular reason why it was ever in danger of dying out, but it firms my respect for the form.
This is why there will always be a place for despotic, planned, fiction from a single author. There's just things you can't do, otherwise. I see no particular reason why it was ever in danger of dying out, but it firms my respect for the form.
A day of tasks and rewards
I got a number of tasks done today.
First was waking up before 11:00 AM. In fact, I recall waking up before 10:30, too! Good for me, on the weekend. After waking up, I realized I had no food in the house and a list of things I needed to get done before 3:00 PM when Julia and I were scheduled to go for a run.
Said list:
1. Some stuff for work.
2. Two Jazz Theory assignments which I've been having issues with.
3. Prepping for this evening's Ars game.
I couldn't see myself eating bread and peanut butter for another meal (ooof.), so I resolved to get myself ready and go down to Dado for the late morning/early afternoon to get some stuff done.
So I did that. And arrived there around 11:45 AM. The work stuff went quick enough, and I then spent an hour or two on the Jazz. It always feels a bit weird to be sitting in a cafe surrounded by parchment paper and with a bunch of staves (I assume that's the plural of a musical staff as well as one you hold?) all over your computer screen. If I saw somebody in there doing that, anyway, I'd be curious what was up. It went relatively well, anyway. Converting chords to slash chords and poly chords confuses me a bit, though. Some of the examples didn't really make sense.
Around 2:45 PM, I decided to head back home in preparation for our run. As I was on my way out, Julia called, and suggested that perhaps she make some scones instead of running. And that we should eat them.
Sadly, I am easily swayed when I'm being baited with scones. So I went over to her place and hung out with Paul while she cooked. This is when I got #3 done. At least, done enough. Then there were scones, and they were delicious and crumbly.
Julia had asked if she could sit in on our Ars Magica session - something we arranged several weeks ago. I'm not entirely sure why she wanted to bask in the funny light of supreme geekdom, but, hey, I won't complain about having excellent company. So we decided we'd head out around 5:00 PM to get out to Sudbury. On the way, we stopped for gas, my car almost stalled, and then wandered through Hannafords looking for, 1) chips, and 2) beer. We came away with #1.
Ars went well, I think. Julia was a champ, and put up with our wackiness well. Here's hoping she enjoyed herself. She didn't participate - just hung out. Good stuff.
Aaaand here I am. Not half bad.
First was waking up before 11:00 AM. In fact, I recall waking up before 10:30, too! Good for me, on the weekend. After waking up, I realized I had no food in the house and a list of things I needed to get done before 3:00 PM when Julia and I were scheduled to go for a run.
Said list:
1. Some stuff for work.
2. Two Jazz Theory assignments which I've been having issues with.
3. Prepping for this evening's Ars game.
I couldn't see myself eating bread and peanut butter for another meal (ooof.), so I resolved to get myself ready and go down to Dado for the late morning/early afternoon to get some stuff done.
So I did that. And arrived there around 11:45 AM. The work stuff went quick enough, and I then spent an hour or two on the Jazz. It always feels a bit weird to be sitting in a cafe surrounded by parchment paper and with a bunch of staves (I assume that's the plural of a musical staff as well as one you hold?) all over your computer screen. If I saw somebody in there doing that, anyway, I'd be curious what was up. It went relatively well, anyway. Converting chords to slash chords and poly chords confuses me a bit, though. Some of the examples didn't really make sense.
Around 2:45 PM, I decided to head back home in preparation for our run. As I was on my way out, Julia called, and suggested that perhaps she make some scones instead of running. And that we should eat them.
Sadly, I am easily swayed when I'm being baited with scones. So I went over to her place and hung out with Paul while she cooked. This is when I got #3 done. At least, done enough. Then there were scones, and they were delicious and crumbly.
Julia had asked if she could sit in on our Ars Magica session - something we arranged several weeks ago. I'm not entirely sure why she wanted to bask in the funny light of supreme geekdom, but, hey, I won't complain about having excellent company. So we decided we'd head out around 5:00 PM to get out to Sudbury. On the way, we stopped for gas, my car almost stalled, and then wandered through Hannafords looking for, 1) chips, and 2) beer. We came away with #1.
Ars went well, I think. Julia was a champ, and put up with our wackiness well. Here's hoping she enjoyed herself. She didn't participate - just hung out. Good stuff.
Aaaand here I am. Not half bad.
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