☆paging doctor gorgeous☆

Good: I found a dollar on the ground today.

Better: My final Disneyland day was yesterday, and honestly it was a really good day. It was very hot, but I managed to get on tons of rides, all my faves more than once. I wandered around, enjoyed the vibes, took a bunch of nice photos, did some things I don't normally do often simply because it was my last chance to do so, and just. I don't know. It was a really nice day. A good final visit.

Best: Last week I had sent an email to the owner of a massage clinic in Wisconsin, where I'll be moving to, and we connected over the phone. I wasn't expecting an actual interview, I was just going to ask a couple of questions, but he ended up giving me a full rundown and talking to me for over twenty minutes, and by the end of the call he said that he would be willing to take a chance on me without meeting me in person and that he would like to offer me a job. I was shocked, but elated. Holy shit, look at me go! I just need to make sure I can get my California license switched over (there are a ton of hoops for me to jump through) but he said that even if I can't get it done in time, I can apply for a six-month temporary license through the city, and that he will help me.

Haven't had a ton to report. I've just been chuggin' along.

Today, Blair visited the leasing office of our favorite apartment option, after we'd been unable to schedule a showing for so long. Not only did she see the place, she loved it. It's everything we want. We can afford it. They gave her an application, told us that as of right now no one else is looking at the unit we want, so if we apply ASAP and are approved we basically have our pick.

We spent hours filling that goddamn thing out. I know some of y'all know how trying apartment applications are. We submitted it, along with a package of all the documents needed, so now we just wait! I'm excited. I'm happy. But I don't want to get my hopes up just yet.

I'm not doing much else besides working, hanging out at home, apartment hunting, and looking forward to the next thing. I do have a Disneyland day tomorrow. My second-to-last visit, before my pass blacks out for the summer and then I gotta move.

Caught up with The Last Of Us (god) and am still trying hard to catch up with Andor.

I'm pretty proud of myself. I have been getting lots of really kind comments on the two drabbles I wrote for seasonsofdrabbles. I do feel like I did a pretty good job this time around, so I'm really happy people like my little ditties!

I finished my submission for seasonsofdrabbles a whole two days early. Who am I?

Watched Freaky Tales (mostly for Pedro Pascal, I'll be honest), Another Simple Favor, and now am starting Conclave, though I don't know how far I'll get tonight since it's nearly 2AM.

I popped into Trader Joe's after work to load up on goodies to lift my spirits. Man, I'm gonna miss Trader Joe's.

I'm going through a phase where I'm not sure if I'm tired, lazy, or depressed. There's a lot I want to do, but I drag my feet. I am tentatively making plans to catch the train to LA on Saturday to go see a Yellowstone wolf photography exhibit by a wildlife photographer called Ronan Donovan, who I am quite the fan of, which will only be shown through mid-June. I want to visit Little Tokyo also, and load up on snacks I won't have access to in a few months so that I can ship a big ol' box of them to Blair's place and fetch them when I arrive in Wisconsin. I want to eat at some of my favorite restaurants; the best curry is in Little Tokyo, mm-mm. But then I just think. Wouldn't it be way nicer if I slept all afternoon curled up comfortably in my bed and did nothing for a whole day?

Maybe it would. But that's neither here nor there. I have a funk to clamber out of.

Happy May the 4th for all who celebrate.

My own day is off to a pretty rad start. Scored some good SW sales, was inspired by the reel posted by a voice actor I very much admire, and realized he liked my story.

Later: pizza, cake, and a special D&D session. Round out the day finishing up the remaining episodes of Andor that are out currently.

• Duke is in his new home. It was very hard.

My cousin's sister followed me outside and, with her very limited English, expressed to me that she does not know why her sister is sending Duke away to someone we don't know. She kept saying "I am sad. I am very sad. My heart hurts. I will miss him." This sweet seventy-something woman, on the other side of a language barrier, was expressing her grief to me as I took this family pet away. I tried to communicate that I was also very sad, and that I would miss him, too, and that I made sure that Duke would be going to a very good home where he would be safe and happy.

To those who missed it: I moved in here a little over a month ago. My cousins had inherited this dog from their deceased mother, and did not wish to keep him for very much longer. Cousin #2 told me that she was going to call the local animal shelter and "give him back" (this is the shelter he was initially adopted from eight years ago) and I said no, please don't do that, let me find a good home for him. Cousin #2 is the Filipino wife of Cousin #1, my blood relative. Cousin #2's sister and brother-in-law also live with us; these two do not have much English, and while they are very kind, they are difficult for me to communicate with.

I don't know how much she understood, but I hope she doesn't blame me, and that she understands that I also regretted the necessity of rehoming him.

It is the best possible home, I am certain of it. When I went to take him today, I learned that his new mom had already invested in new bowls, a chest full of a variety of brand new toys, new bedding, handsome new leash and collar, and more. She is patient and soft and kind. She re-arranged her entire schedule to be home with Duke for a solid week, because as she says, "I don't want him to be lonely or scared in a new house." When I left, she handed me an envelope containing a card she had prepared for me. Inside was a lovely message thanking me for letting her be Duke's new mom, and promising me that she would take good care of him and make sure he never wants for love and attention. She also included a $50 gift card to Olive Garden. What? She is a wonderful woman and I am very happy with my choice. I do miss him already, though. She said I can visit periodically, at least until I move to Wisconsin.




• Blair will be here in four days! I am SO excited to see her, and to get up to some fun things around SoCal. It's a relatively short trip; she arrives Wednesday and goes home Sunday, but that's enough time to have a nice experience. We're going to Star Wars Nite on Thursday night, Disneyland on Friday, and then on Saturday I'm taking her to La Brea Tar Pits, they Greystone Mansion, and Santa Monica Pier, then the beach. Hell, maybe we'll go on a nice date to the Olive Garden at some point, courtesy of Duke's new mom.

I have a lot to do. I have to do laundry, pack my bags, bring down all our cosplay stuff so I can make repairs on a few items and wash others. Clean out my car. Take a trip to my storage unit to store some things I've lazily just kept in the trunk.Gas up the car. Re-do the pins in my Ita bag for SW Nite. Back up and delete a bunch of photos and videos from my phone to make as much space as possible; my poor phone is consistently at like 97% capacity. T.T

We've got DnD tomorrow and I work Monday, so it'll all pretty much need to get done Tuesday.




• I've gotten back into this cute, silly little browser game called Furry Paws, where you raise, train, breed, and compete your dogs. Goals are to level up, gain fame, breed the most genetically sound pups possible, and help improve the gene pools of the game world at large through selective breeding and caring for your litters. I used to play it years and years ago. The game is over 20 years old now. Back in the day I was a top player, not to brag, so starting over completely has been really hard. Still, it's just as fun as I remember. Anyone know what this game is? Anyone play? Anyone want to? If so, let me know: I've got referral codes.

The lovely: I went to Disneyland today, which is always a good time, because I mean, it's Disneyland. It was exciting getting to meet Luke Skywalker at Galaxy's Edge; for years we've been begging Disney to let us have Luke, and they finally have. He's so cute, haha. And so polite and even and softspoken. I got to shake his leather-gloved hand, hue hue hue. Disneyland closed early today to clear the park for Star Wars Nite, an after-dark event, separately ticketed. They close at 8pm, but people with event tickets are allowed in the park starting at 6pm, so it was really fun getting to see all the Star Wars party revelers and cosplayers. I can't wait until it's my turn. Blair and I will be attending this event in two weeks.

The lame: When my cousins told me "eat whatever you want, whatever you find in the kitchen," I should have understood that this was going to work both ways. Still, I was surprised to find a lot of the groceries I'd bought last week gone, eaten by other people before I could get to it. I'm torn on whether or not I should say something. After all, I do end up getting to eat a fair amount of their food also, and this is kind of just their way? Meh. I will just buy groceries in very small batches. No more than I will eat within the next couple of days. It will mean many, many extra grocery store visits, but it is what it is, and it'll keep the peace.

It's been about a week since I got sick, and I'm feeling a lot better now, even if things like throat-clearing and nose-blowing are still lingering, and I still can't really hear out of my plugged left ear. I'll take it.

I slept again pretty much all day yesterday.

Today we had DnD, and it was a great session. It's so easy these days, it's hard to believe it ever made me so uncomfortable and nervous.

What was also great about today was that I took Duke to see another potential adoptive parent, and we've done it, this is the one. Early sixties, retired, lovely little house, big sunny yard, quiet, well-kept neighborhood. She has owned and even fostered animals her whole life, is a happy, active, healthy woman with a close, dog-loving family, and has done all her research on what the best care and training and foods are. She has a cozy, plush dog bed in every room, and stairs for the bed and sofa so whatever animal in her life has an easy time getting wherever it would like to go. She even has a little cabana out in the back yard, if the dog should prefer napping outside.

I love this lady. I told her how Duke blew his chances with another woman because the minute we brought him inside, he peed on her chair. This lady just laughed and said she would understand if that happened, on account of this is a new environment for Duke, and he's probably scared and confused, and all any animal needs is love and patience and understanding. She even said that she would clear her social calendar to be home for a solid week if she received Duke, to bond with him and help him acclimate. I am very, very sure about her, and I told my cousins that I believe she will provide the best possible home for Duke. Truly, he is a lucky boy who will be spoiled for certain, and live out his days in peace and coziness. She told me I could visit, too, whenever I want, since I live so close (until I move to Wisconsin) and that she'd text me pictures all the time so I can see how he's getting on.

I'm not sure when my cousins will part with him. I will miss him, but I'm also very happy and proud that I've managed to find him such a great home, and keep him out of the animal shelter or out of the hands of someone who would make him miserable.

Don't want to go to work tomorrow, even if I am feeling better. But I must. I need to make that cheddar, because Blair will be here in two weeks, ahhh! For Star Wars Nite, and Disneyland, and a couple of other fun excursions I have planned for her.

I will try to catch up on some messages and on my reading page but honestly, no promises there. Instead I will simply say I hope everyone is doing well! I am sending good vibes toward y'all.

I've been keeping quite busy.

WonderCon was this past weekend, and I had a great time. I've also been taking Duke around in my spare time to meet potential new owners, and I really like this young nerdy couple who live in an apartment just down the street, and have another small dog already that seems to get along with Duke well enough.

I've been cramping like crazy the past couple of days, which has left me feeling quite blah, but I'll be right as rain soon.

Kara's would-be birthday is on April 1st, and as I have done every year since she crossed the rainbow bridge, I'm going to purchase a cupcake and light a birthday candle for her.

A new therapist started this past week at my job, but I have only worked with her once and haven't really gotten to speak to her much. Hopefully she works out. I... will soon have to break it to my boss that he'll have to hire another therapist too, to replace me when I have to quit this summer to move away. Not looking forward to that.

Can't believe March is over. It's flying by. Slow dowwwwwn.

I'm super behind on everything. If you're waiting to hear back from me, apologies!

I'm more or less settled.

Today is the first day I haven't had to spend my free time doing hard physical labor of some kind. All I had to do was dump another donation of books at the library, mail a package, and pop into the store for some food. I also got myself some boba, as a treat, for all my hard work. And because, even though it is still March, it's already 75 degrees outside.

I've still got some stuff to organize and put away, but that's pretty much just at my own pace, or as long as I can handle leaving these boxes in the middle of my bedroom floor, heh. I've also got wifi now! And I've been bonding with the little dog my cousins have, Duke, who is the sweetest yet shyest little boy. I don't think anyone really pays much attention to him; he was my cousins' mother's dog, and they kept him when she passed away late last year. I love him, and he has taken quite the shine to me, the little attention-starved baby.

This weekend there is a Star Wars event I caught wind of, called The (Inland) Empire Strikes Back, which will be held at a park in Riverside that is known for hosting festivals and other events. I've already got a ticket, so I'm going to go. It won't be anything huge, but they'll have vendors, food trucks, raffles, lightsaber demonstrations, and part of the cast of Skeleton Crew is gonna be there for photos and autographs, so that's pretty cool! If nothing else, it'll be fun to be out and about and surrounded by other Star Wars fans. I'll have to remember to take some bracelets along to give out.

Yesterday I drank my last Space Coke.

I had been saving it since it was discontinued at the end of 2022. Can you believe that? And guess what? It still tasted great. Like space. Perfect carbonation.

But all things end, and I figured I would crack the very last can on the day I moved out of my home of nearly seven years, as a way to embrace change and mark the occasion.

I'll miss you, Space Coke. Rest in deliciousness.