I feel like one particular choice at work last year has made things absolutely snowball. I thought I was just doing it to ensure I got to travel at all that year, little did I know that it seems to be the key to unlocking all those things I've been anxiously awaiting being able to do in my career. I'll be in Seattle next week, then I come home for a bit before heading off to Thailand. In May, it looks like I'll be off to Budapest. And in October, it looks hopeful that I'll be going to Vienna. Holy (*&#$ing hell, I'm excited. And that's just one aspect of the freaking awesome things that seem to be coming down the pipe this year.

What have you all been up to lately? How're you coping with the snow?

Snow. Lots and lots of snow. And cold. I was so excited that the rhododendrons were starting to bloom too.

You know, you can hear a thing a dozen freaking times but sometimes it gets put in a way that everything becomes entirely clear.

I've heard now from 3 different people this weekend, talking about how difficult it is to get other people to accept invites to "do stuff'. Something totally non-specific like "Hey, I'm available to hang out tonight. Wanna do something?" or something like a good friend inviiting you to an important event, like a birthday or something. If it's an "I'm busy, sorry" response, I can understand that. If it's an "I don't feel like driving that far" or "I don't really feel like going out", seriously...WTF? Especially if it's someone the rejecter normally goes out of their way to hang out with.
There's a part of me that thinks this is a kind of a social self-absorption, they just don't think about how their answer will affect other people. But it seems to be far too prevalent to be explained just by that. I can only think of a small handful of people who don't fall into this category, that I know personally. And clearly this is not just something I'm dealing with. At least in one case it's also someone who's very good about reciprocating in this sort of situation so it's not that people are doing unto others as has been done to them.

Are you guys aware of this phenomenon? If so, how have you dealt with it? Have you successfully gotten specific individuals to quit doing it? If so, how?

I'm so happy that I have such good friends. This weekend's been strangely heartwarming that way. Life's feeling like an oak tree again. Strong and protective, showering me with abundant acorns. Some of those little buggers are pelting me in the noggin, but I still understand that they're a gift.

I'm feeling right now like I'm trying to give up smoking or something. Twitch, twitch, don't call. Twitch, twitch, stop thinking about that! Twitch, twitch, no more emails. A friend of mine was talking about how his friend quit smoking by harnessing his astounding powers of procrastination. Kinda makes me wish mine were a little better.
I just need to be able to calm down and think things through rationally, mellowly. Need a vacation from hurting. I'm not quite in vacation mindset yet, I hope it happens before I go nuts.

I learned a new term tonight.

Roadskull.

Not to be confused with Radiskull.

I'd heard of Roadhead...I guess this is like its dirty cousin.

Best quote of the night: "I HAVE THE POWER...OF ROADSKULL!"

I'm never gonna look at skeletor the same way again.

Last night was bizarre. Woke up in the wee hours, feeling entirely shivery and gross. Continued to feel gross for a couple of hours, and then it started to go away, and suddenly for the first time in years I started to feel ...peaceful, I guess. Like things were okay and the running dialogue in my head about things to fix or do or what have you, it all went away. Like I just couldn't hang onto upsetting thoughts. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep so I'm not feeling quite as astounding this morning, but I still feed bizarrely calm. Kinda cool.

This is starting to smell like a crazily fucked up year already. In good ways and ...who knows. My head is spinning.

Well, doesn't look like I'll be ditching the cold in time for NYE. C'est la vie. Something low-key and home-bound actually sounds pretty good for once. Goes well with my overall plan of slowing the eff down this year... before my next world tour that is.
Hope you guys all have a fantastic time tonight, with kisses and craziness added to taste!

Mmm, merry sickmas.