Kitanzi's Colloquium

Just for novelty's sake, maybe I'll post about something other than memes and/or movie nights, hmmm? It's a concept.

I just got home last night from an excellent weekend in Michigan visiting a close friend.

Friday ACat dropped me off at the MARTA which kindly delivered me to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport in plenty of time to... stand in line for security for nearly an hour, followed by running down escalators and getting to my gate just as they were preparing to wrap up boarding. Whew. Carry-on luggage gains weight in direct proportion to the attempted speed of the carrier.

The flight was fine, and D was waiting for me right where he said he'd be, to whisk me off through the streets of Detroit. It turned out to be a lovely weekend with lots of snuggling, no lunches, tasty dinners, great company, a baby panther in the house, the Comfy Bed, many stairs and a trip to the New Detroit Science Center to see Our Body: The Universe Within. That spawned lots of slightly macabre jokes about the possibilities of haunting and/or zombies at the museum after the lights went out. The exhibit itself is more than a little bit controversial, with some evasive answers about where the bodies originally came from and on whose authority but it's absolutely fascinating. The museum has many other excellent exhibits, but that plus the Imax theater's film on the human body really made my inner bio-geek very happy.

Sunday afternoon D got me to the airport early enough to placate my neurotic certainty that I'm going to miss the plane, no matter what - only to get conflicting information once we were there on when the plane was actually leaving. Sadly, the Detroit Metro airport isn't designed to let you comfortably kill time before passing security, so we said our goodbyes without stretching them out very much, and parted ways. Security on this end was a snap, and of course since I was on time/early they delayed the plane. Twice. Dammit.

I spent the time reading, watching the clock, and speculating on how much of a spectacle we might have been able to make of ourselves next to the security checkpoint if we'd known we had that much time. *ahem* Oh well, this chance is gone - perhaps to grab the next one! *evil grin*

I'm home today, having scheduled it off for rest and recuperation (and unpacking, and laundry, and PT, and groceries...), but it was a really good weekend. Just thought I ought to mention that those do still happen, even if I haven't been posting about them much.

We just now got home from the Michigan, where ACat and I attended the wedding of aiela and davehogg, as they and Aiela's daughter Brittany formalized the family they have made. The ceremony was as beautiful as the rehearsal was chaotic (and that's saying something), and I believe Dave and I managed to convince each other of our reality by thorough and rigorous proof. (I maintain there is still a possibility he may evaporate from existance between visits, however. Further proof may be requested.) My pants are entirely bankrupt, and I doubt I'll be able to make much effort to catch up, but we had a really wonderful weekend. Coming home, I remarked to ACat that it felt like coming home from a convention (yes, that IS a compliment!) - we're exhausted and running on autopilot, and missing people left behind as we head back to our everyday lives. ACat brought his laptop but I didn't touch it all weekend, so if I missed anything good, catch me up!

Being a part of any given poly community, even peripherally, can be very oddly entertaining. Every so often you find out that people you didn’t even know knew each other are suddenly radiating NRE together like miniature power plants, and the web of relationships seems to instantly get that bit more compacted and tangled together. The whole community seems like some amazingly intricate origami creation, which folds and folds as people come together, until some day some critical density will be reached and the whole thing will simply implode, and everyone caught up in it will vanish like a pack of boojums…

Work continues to be insane, and likely will for a couple more weeks, but I did manage to NOT work yesterday which was perfectly wonderful since it meant I got to go with autographedcat to Aphelicon 2, the official microcon of Aphelion. Among other things, this was a celebration for the newly minted marriage of vila_resthal and his charming wife Lyn, which was the easier for being held at their home. We had a great time, and I'm sure there will eventually be photos even though ACat forgot our camera. We saw old friends from last year, and met new ones we'd never known before. There was good food, good drink, good music and great company, and even though Life happened later, the con itself was an unqualified success.

Today is the second anniversary for ACat and me. (I just asked if this was the second or third, since I couldn't quite be sure - he said "The second. It just seems longer." He quickly added that he meant that in a good way when I dissolved into laugher.) I wish Vila and Lyn a marriage as happy and strong as the one we're celebrating today!

Anyone who wishes to ask me about my perspective and understanding of recent changes and developments in my relationships is welcome to.

Anyone who believes they know that perspective without asking is most likely mistaken.

(Apologies for being vague. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you are also welcome to ask but you probably will be confused and/or bored to tears by the answer.)

No, I'm not dead. No, ACat and I are fine. Yes, the shoulder is slowly getting better - thanks.

However, I will not be posting in this journal for the forseeable future. The things that are currently eating my brain are going to take a lot of working out on my end, and talking directly to the people involved, and I see no good or help in spreading them out in public during the process.

Please assume I had/will have a great Gafilk, lovely to see you all again, sorry I won't be making it to any other cons until OVFF, still temping, still employed, still married.

Still working on stuff.

It's that time of year, and I do have a lot to be thankful for. Sometimes I feel like I do nothing but whine and complain about my health, my finances, my personal issues, but the truth is I have a job that isn't driving me to a breakdown, I have a home I can walk into at night and feel is a place of safety and relaxation, I have (more than) enough good food to eat, I have people that I love dearly who love me back, even if some of them live toooo far away and are having life-eating issues of their own. (Big Bearhugs to all of you, especially Maedbh7!)

I think, though, that I should especially give thanks to and for my husband. He gives what I need and needs what I can give, and is the truest partner I've ever had. I never, ever planned to get married - I had no faith in the institution, having seen what seemed to be the vast majority of those I observed crumble insidiously around the heads of those who took that plunge. Still... It's been just a few months over a year, and maybe I'm jinxing us here, but I think I've found a person I can actually see living together, growing old together and finally breaking that March marriage curse with. I am, in fact, truly thankful.

Happy first (legal!) anniversary for ACat and me, and I'm looking forward to many, many more. He's one of the sweetest, smartest, most loving guys I know, and I don' know if I'll ever quite get over waking up in the morning, looking over at him sleeping, and thinking "My husband? Wow!" Love you hon!

I'll think I'll keep him! *g*

Just to clear the record, yeah work sucks at this time of year but I do know it's better than it was last year. This time last year I would have been spending Sunday night in barely suppressed terror at the prospect of going back tomorrow. :)

I'm also actually being a lot more sociable this time this year - whether that's helping manage the stress, or a result of less stress because I'm not screamingly new at my job I don't know. Likely a bit of each! ACat and I have gone to a couple holiday parties and had quite a bit of fun. Last night's was hosted by vatavien and rslatskin. ACat had a great time playing Dance Dance Revolution (which neither of us had ever seen before) and I did get up and risk my neck once as well! Surprisingly fun - we might just get that. We're being very indecisive on just how much we want to forgo gifts to have extra money for England, but it will probably have to wait. Lots of interesting people there, some new and some already known, mostly from overlapping poly groups. Amusingly, maedbh7 called while everyone was doing (again) the round of introductions for the newest batch of people showing up. I *think* I eventually heard everyone's names, but I doubt I'll remember them for more than one or two of those I hadn't met before. Since she met a few of the people, including the hosts, the last time she visited us I told her she'd have to qualify for the "furthest away virtual attendee" award. *G* If anyone got into the common "I'm on LJ, are you on LJ? *Who* are you on LJ?" round of conversation, I missed it. I'd be quite interested in knowing, if anyone has that information on hand for me?

Heh, and now by odd coincidence my ex-gf is instant messaging me from the clear blue sky, suggesting she might be coming to the area soon and can she visit. Life has a funny way of coming around. (In fact, the ex-bf of my old college roommate also found me unexpectedly online the other day. TC, you reading this? *G* Scared you off yet?)

I am trying to be more consistent in posting. I am also trying to do better about everything from catching up on email to cleaning the house. Ha. Toooo many distractions, however pleasant they are!

( And so on, and so on... )