Non-social post-birthday girl

And now begins my self-declared non-social week. I have schoolwork to catch up on, house stuff that needs accomplishing, errands to run, and other things to do, all of which have been procrastinated for long enough. Richard happens to be out of town, so the timing is perfect. I'm not going anywhere except to run errands and to meet with a fellow ASIS&T officer for some officer-business lunchiness.

My birthday was really, really good. Definitely in my top 5 birthdays ever. Richard threw a Virgo birthday party for me and a few other Virgos which went well. Not too over the top and still very fun. Steph was in town up from St Louis and one friend group (mostly all library people) met another friend group (mostly all GSLIS people). My social networks definitely follow a theme. Good food, good friends...good times.

I got served breakfast in bed the next day, accompanied by schoolwork in bed (yes, us grad students really know how to par-tay down). On my actual birthday I got roses, a gift card for a massage, and taken out to a nice dinner. I also got nice presents from friends and family, of course. And a ton of Facebook birthday wishes, which was surprisingly fun and made me smile all day long.

And now that I've been pampered and spoiled and treated so nicely, I'm going to hole up and work on getting all stressed out by all the things I need to get done. But I keep reminding myself that major stress now means much less stress in the very near future.

If I feel like I've accomplished enough by the end of the weekend, I think I'll go use that massage gift card.


----------
As always, on the day after my birthday, I like to remember all the good times with my best friend C, who died of lymphoma in 2004 on Sept 19. I miss you.

Woman, know thy limits

I knew there was a reason why I'm not a good student. I just don't know my limits! And all the knowledge pours out of my head after awhile.

Also? Party Girl is even funnier when you're in the middle of getting your LIS degree. Best line: "He's not a dick, he's a patron."

Thanksgiving was great; good friends, good conversation, good food. Except that since I don't have any leftovers (Kathleen and Shea provided most of the meal) beyond the pumpkin cheesecake which I made, I now have a powerful urge to roast an entire turkey.

And now back to my silly little paper.

Tattooooo!

My tattoo (at about 5 minutes old)

On Saturday, June 5th, I got my first tattoo. I've been planning on getting one for quite a number of years, but my (now ex) husband didn't like the idea of me having any body mods (beyond my pierced ears). Needless to say, that didn't fly well and eventually (post divorce) I got a very attractive (at least, I think so) tat on my upper left hip, towards the back.

And the story behind the tattoo: My best friend C has lymphoma and after two rounds of chemo and stem-cell replacement therapy has decided against a third. So, I said that we needed to get matching tattoos as a memorial. He came up with the design and I and his other best friend Kathleen got pricked at Cherry Bomb Tattoo in Chicago by Patrick Cornolo (who was pleased to deflower two tattoo virgins in a row). Unfortunately, C decided not to get a tattoo after all, since his immune system is not up to par right now. Which is not a problem, I'm just going to draw it on him with a Sharpie the next time I visit him. :-)

It tool about an hour and a half, and while it hurt, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. My tat has healed nicely and I love catching a glimpse of it in the mirror and in the shower. I think it is a nice reminder of someone who will soon not be around. I keep telling C that I'll think of him whenever I sit down.