Still alive and kicking!
Jul. 7th, 2004 10:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kitanziAbout time I updated, don't you think?
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autographedcat actually logged most of what's been happening lately, including piles of photos, but here's the short(ish) version.
June 19th we started making general announcements on our wedding, and started hammering out details. We're keeping this as small and minimal and SIMPLE as possible, and people still insist on trying to complicate things - namely, my father. I'm not even going to start describing my issues with my father overall, but enough to say that he's been insisting that a wedding is for the family and friends and not for those getting married (a direct quote - no, he's not paying for any of it), and trying various manipulation and guilt tactics to get things changed to suit him. It's not happening, but my brother went as far as warning me that dad's getting more and more like his dad - and that's not a good sign. I'm actually wondering if he will refuse to come visit at all, given that I am not doing this his way. I hope I'm wrong - except for the nasty little part of me that hopes I'm right. *sigh* My mom, on the other hand, was immediately enthusiastic and her first response was to say that the soonest she can visit is September, is that okay? That's wonderful! I don't think my brother will come, but that's perfectly fine - the purpose of this never was to disrupt people's lives, and given that we're having several small, scattered celebrations anyhow, I'd be happy to call anything in the next year a wedding celebration anyhow, if that's what people want. Hell, at least one PLANNED celebration (at the British filkcon) will be a good six months after the ceremony!
The next weekend was ACat's birthday on Friday (yay!) so I took a half day to surprise him. Due to poor time planning, I still didn't have time to bake him a cake but at least I figured that out in time and instead managed to have roses, a Key Lime cake from Harry's, a card and another small gift waiting to surprise him when he got home. He was very satisfactorily surprised! I also officially relieved him of laundry duty for the weekend, so Saturday was mostly that plus other household duties. However... Saturday we also picked up the computer game City of Heroes on a whim. ADDICTIVE AS HELL. Now we both have it installed (had to get a second copy for that), we've upgraded both video cards to play the thing, and it's eating our lives. It's allbedlamhouse's fault! Due to that, we skipped out on the filk and stayed home playing The Game for hoooouuuurs, then Sunday we got up and resolutely took the MARTA to the Atlanta Pride March. Neither of us had ever been in or even gone to one before, but it was a lot of fun and we met some good people. He has much description, plus a gallery worth of photos! We were dead tired when we got home, and quite sore for the next day or two, but we've already resolved to march again next year. Possibly with the Human Rights Campaign again, or possibly some more local group if any of the local groups can get organized this time! (Online inquiries in the week before the march this year pretty much got "Sure, great idea! Why don't you organize it?" Um, not for a group of complete strangers a week before the event, no.) I'm definitely glad we went, but a little sorry we didn't manage to hook up with anyone we know!
The week immediately following this was quarter end, and pretty crazy at work. On the plus side, I got some very nice praise from a supervisor I really like and respect for how well I was handling the heavy call volume (consistently highest in the department, and still consistently handling things well and accurately), and there is just no comparison for how much better I feel about this job than I did at year end, or even the end of the first quarter. It helps a lot, to me, that I'm not the newest person anymore. It helps even more that I'm finding I know enough to help teach the new people. That's making my supervisor very happy as well, but even more it's making ME feel hugely better about my competence in this. That's the role I'm used to, I'm just not used to it taking 7 months or so to get to where I can do it!
The NEXT weekend (this is last weekend, now) I had arranged a half day at work on Friday because we were driving to NC for a family reunion for ACat's family. It was a LOOOONG drive - due to bad weather and such, about ten hours. We got to stay with his mom, who I really like, then go for the reunion itself at the riverside cottage his grandfather used to own. I got to meet a couple dozen assorted relatives,about seven of those under ten. Not surprisingly they were all adorable, and everyone generally seemed to like me and boggle at how much ACat has grown in fifteen years! No surprise there, but I can understand the shock at the contrast. I've seen some of his photos from back then! Sunday we started driving back so we could stop and visit with Jeff and Francie and their sons (there are photos of them as well as the reunion and the trip in general, though I don't think ACat has posted about the weekend yet.) We got to see fireworks from the highway as we tried to push on a few more hours, then we stayed overnight at a cheap hotel a little less than halfway home and pressed on the next day. Got home early afternoon and crashed - a little laundry, food from what was already in the house, more of The Game, talking tomaedbh7 briefly, snuggling and TV. That was about it...
Yesterday and today have been mopping up the last of quarter end at work (including a really awkward issue that I thought was going to have to be a real mess and an irate customer, but I managed to think of a creative way to fix it that the supervisors okayed and really liked! Avoided hours of rekeying, and late fees for the client. I was pretty psyched that my nightmare turned into a happy client who was no longer insisting I screwed her up!) We're probably going back to things nice and quiet and largely boring there, but I'll take that. Later this month, more training for another product, half of our department being reassigned to yet another product, and general shakeups and moving of desks for the second time in a month as they finish the remodeling.
Overall, stuff is good. ACat and I are happy and healthy and getting married (still can't quite believe that!), Maedbh7 is visiting us in August, work is going remarkably well, most of my family is being very good about a wedding that has minimal involvment for them personally, and my dad can go piss up a rope if he insists. (Brave words, I'm not so resolute in confronting him.)
Anyhow, that adds up to a good set of happy for me!
autographedcat actually logged most of what's been happening lately, including piles of photos, but here's the short(ish) version. June 19th we started making general announcements on our wedding, and started hammering out details. We're keeping this as small and minimal and SIMPLE as possible, and people still insist on trying to complicate things - namely, my father. I'm not even going to start describing my issues with my father overall, but enough to say that he's been insisting that a wedding is for the family and friends and not for those getting married (a direct quote - no, he's not paying for any of it), and trying various manipulation and guilt tactics to get things changed to suit him. It's not happening, but my brother went as far as warning me that dad's getting more and more like his dad - and that's not a good sign. I'm actually wondering if he will refuse to come visit at all, given that I am not doing this his way. I hope I'm wrong - except for the nasty little part of me that hopes I'm right. *sigh* My mom, on the other hand, was immediately enthusiastic and her first response was to say that the soonest she can visit is September, is that okay? That's wonderful! I don't think my brother will come, but that's perfectly fine - the purpose of this never was to disrupt people's lives, and given that we're having several small, scattered celebrations anyhow, I'd be happy to call anything in the next year a wedding celebration anyhow, if that's what people want. Hell, at least one PLANNED celebration (at the British filkcon) will be a good six months after the ceremony!
The next weekend was ACat's birthday on Friday (yay!) so I took a half day to surprise him. Due to poor time planning, I still didn't have time to bake him a cake but at least I figured that out in time and instead managed to have roses, a Key Lime cake from Harry's, a card and another small gift waiting to surprise him when he got home. He was very satisfactorily surprised! I also officially relieved him of laundry duty for the weekend, so Saturday was mostly that plus other household duties. However... Saturday we also picked up the computer game City of Heroes on a whim. ADDICTIVE AS HELL. Now we both have it installed (had to get a second copy for that), we've upgraded both video cards to play the thing, and it's eating our lives. It's all
bedlamhouse's fault! Due to that, we skipped out on the filk and stayed home playing The Game for hoooouuuurs, then Sunday we got up and resolutely took the MARTA to the Atlanta Pride March. Neither of us had ever been in or even gone to one before, but it was a lot of fun and we met some good people. He has much description, plus a gallery worth of photos! We were dead tired when we got home, and quite sore for the next day or two, but we've already resolved to march again next year. Possibly with the Human Rights Campaign again, or possibly some more local group if any of the local groups can get organized this time! (Online inquiries in the week before the march this year pretty much got "Sure, great idea! Why don't you organize it?" Um, not for a group of complete strangers a week before the event, no.) I'm definitely glad we went, but a little sorry we didn't manage to hook up with anyone we know!The week immediately following this was quarter end, and pretty crazy at work. On the plus side, I got some very nice praise from a supervisor I really like and respect for how well I was handling the heavy call volume (consistently highest in the department, and still consistently handling things well and accurately), and there is just no comparison for how much better I feel about this job than I did at year end, or even the end of the first quarter. It helps a lot, to me, that I'm not the newest person anymore. It helps even more that I'm finding I know enough to help teach the new people. That's making my supervisor very happy as well, but even more it's making ME feel hugely better about my competence in this. That's the role I'm used to, I'm just not used to it taking 7 months or so to get to where I can do it!
The NEXT weekend (this is last weekend, now) I had arranged a half day at work on Friday because we were driving to NC for a family reunion for ACat's family. It was a LOOOONG drive - due to bad weather and such, about ten hours. We got to stay with his mom, who I really like, then go for the reunion itself at the riverside cottage his grandfather used to own. I got to meet a couple dozen assorted relatives,about seven of those under ten. Not surprisingly they were all adorable, and everyone generally seemed to like me and boggle at how much ACat has grown in fifteen years! No surprise there, but I can understand the shock at the contrast. I've seen some of his photos from back then! Sunday we started driving back so we could stop and visit with Jeff and Francie and their sons (there are photos of them as well as the reunion and the trip in general, though I don't think ACat has posted about the weekend yet.) We got to see fireworks from the highway as we tried to push on a few more hours, then we stayed overnight at a cheap hotel a little less than halfway home and pressed on the next day. Got home early afternoon and crashed - a little laundry, food from what was already in the house, more of The Game, talking to
maedbh7 briefly, snuggling and TV. That was about it...Yesterday and today have been mopping up the last of quarter end at work (including a really awkward issue that I thought was going to have to be a real mess and an irate customer, but I managed to think of a creative way to fix it that the supervisors okayed and really liked! Avoided hours of rekeying, and late fees for the client. I was pretty psyched that my nightmare turned into a happy client who was no longer insisting I screwed her up!) We're probably going back to things nice and quiet and largely boring there, but I'll take that. Later this month, more training for another product, half of our department being reassigned to yet another product, and general shakeups and moving of desks for the second time in a month as they finish the remodeling.
Overall, stuff is good. ACat and I are happy and healthy and getting married (still can't quite believe that!), Maedbh7 is visiting us in August, work is going remarkably well, most of my family is being very good about a wedding that has minimal involvment for them personally, and my dad can go piss up a rope if he insists. (Brave words, I'm not so resolute in confronting him.)
Anyhow, that adds up to a good set of happy for me!
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Date: 2004-07-08 06:35 am (UTC)