☆paging doctor gorgeous☆

• 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.

I spent all day pulling and packing stuff and I am so, so tired, and my feet hurt, and I really don't want to go to work tomorrow but I must make that cheddar.

The plan is to make another run to my storage unit and the new place on Saturday, as well as take more donations to GoodWill and the library. I still need to acquire more boxes, but I prefer the plastic bins I can re-use, lift by the handles, and neatly stack versus the cardboard variety.

I officially move on Tuesday (unless the movers cancel on account of the rain) but I know I'm absolutely not going to be completely done. I'll have to return here at least once, maybe twice, to finish up with my books an the rest of my clothes and dishes.

I was going to go to Disneyland on Thursday but honestly I think I'll probably be so tired I won't want to do anything at all haha.

On a nicer note, I was able to start chatting with the person who placed the high bid on me for Fandom Trumps Hate! I think I'm actually really looking forward to writing something, and something long at that, because I think I offered up some longfic in an attempt to make people feel like bidding on me would really be worth it. I'm happy, too, that I in some small way helped to raise money for a good cause.

Ugggghhhhh god moving is expensive. I'm not even leaving the city!

The first place I tried quoted me a whopping nine hundred dollars just to move a bedroom set, a few book cases, and a computer desk. FOR REAL?

The second place I found quoted me about half that, which is still really expensive but, like, a whole lot better.

The third place I managed to get about a hundred bucks less than the second one, and time is running out, so I booked them. Holy shit, dude.

I'm moving next Tuesday, on the 11th, and I'm looking around and I still have so much to do. I have today off so once I get out of bed, I'll pack the car up and do another run each to both the storage unit and the new place to dump more stuff. I've also got to stop by the post office to mail a bunch of packages, and I'll need to pop into the grocery store too. I've been really needing to get my hair cut, but I haven't had the time. Hopefully this weekend?

If it costs this much just go move within the same city, I am full of anxiety and dread thinking about how much it is going to cost to move across the country.

It's been a rough couple of days, fam haha

Yesterday I was on Day Two of my period, which is always the worst, and I'm having a particularly bad one this month. I don't know who I pissed off, but they scheduled me for three 90-minute sessions back to back to back, which is literally unheard of. It was a very difficult shift, particularly while I was dealing with being so emotional and in so much pain.

Today I had to go in to the storage facility to sign the paperwork and get the keys to my unit. I packed my car with a load of stuff to take and while I was doing that, even though I was being careful, I felt the trunk I was carrying collide with my roommate's car. I look over and there's this long, deep scratch, and I felt like I was going to be sick. I was going to be late for my scheduled appointment though, so I had to just finish packing my car, go take care of the paperwork, move my load of stuff into my unit, and freak out all the way home.

I am already struggling financially because of having to move TWICE this year, and pay for my unit, ect. Now I have to pay for this car repair, I was very sure he would be really upset with me. But when I approached him about it he said that's been there; he could see where I did bump, but essentially it just sort of made an already existing scratch a little longer. I was so relieved I could cry. Then I DID cry, because I am so hormonal right now.

I had a virtual assessment scheduled for 3:30pm today that I hurried and made sure I was home for, but no one ever got in touch with me, so I had to email them about it and now I'm waiting to see if they get back to me, if/when I have to reschedule it, ect. My goal is to be moved out on March 11th if possible, so like. I need to get this done and if I do the assessment and they're too expensive, I will have to find different movers.

No amount of ibuprofen is helping with my cramps. I'm hungry. I am really thirsty. I'm just trying to rest and calm down and stay hydrated at this point. Later, I'm going to try and photograph more stuff to list for sale. We'll see if I get that done.

Today I got off work a little early, so I used this opportunity to get into the cabinets in the garage while my roommate was still at work (meaning his car wasn't blocking them from access). I pulled a bunch of my things out so I can look through them for more items to get rid of, and I found some of Kara's old things. Her dog bed, her dishes, some of her blankets. All very old, faded, covered in her hair. Not suitable for selling or donating, so I threw them away.

It was hard, though. Her fur was all over these things. Physical remnants. Her blankets smelled of her, and I got very emotional even though she's been gone for several years now. It hurt a little to discard her belongings like that, but discard them I did.

Just missing her extra tonight.