Faire season has come and gone, with the major high point being TOH’s and Silver’s job sharing.  It was really nice to be able to spend time with my husband.  I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but one of these days, I’ll put up the ones that I did take.  And maybe last year’s.  And maybe the 2009 cruise pictures, too.

Silver’s new garb turned out wonderfully, and eventually I’ll have pictures up.  We’re already thinking that for next year, we need to create something outrageously ostentatious.

The winter blahs seem to be setting in early this year, though.  All I want to do is sleep.  And then sleep some more.  And have a nap when I wake up.

Work is still quite insane.  I finally have a list of candidates for my assistant position.  But, the list presents new problems of its own.   I need to pick and choose between candidates, set up interviews, check references, etc.  But I have all of these other tasks to work on as well.  There’s too much to do, and never enough time to get it all done.

The commute is still meh.  Normally the trains run great, and it takes me about 3 hours round trip to get to work and back.  Lately, though, the traffic on the roads between the house and the train station has been ridiculous.  It has been taking me an average of 40 minutes to drive the 6.7 miles.  To add insult to injury, Tuesday night’s train home broke down, and it took me 3 hours to get home.  I spent about 5 hours in transit that day.

I want to get back to sewing, but motivation has been lacking.  Klumpen says I ought to make a list of all the things I need/want to work on, so maybe I’ll tackle that sometime soon.  Sven still needs to go in for servicing, and the laptop we were using to run the pattern making and embroidery software has kicked the bucket.  My personal laptop has also died.  Apparently, laptops do not like me right now.

Music-wise, there have been a couple concerts since I’ve posted.  Back in August, we went to see Carbon Leaf and Great Big Sea at Wolf Trap.  We had fantastic seats, in row 2 of the orchestra pit.  Which can be a liability when the kids say something to make me laugh hysterically during one of the quieter songs.  (Sorry, Bob.)  Then last month, the kids and I went to see Guster at the 9:30 Club.  It was a great show, as always.  They played all of “Lost and Gone Forever”, in order, as well as a bunch of other stuff and 2 new songs.  They did a few songs that they rarely play, had a guest string section, horn section and children’s choir.  And, of course, Scooter with Cowbell.

I have been reading voraciously lately.  In the past month or so, I’ve read Company of Liars, Elantris, Mistborn, The Well of Ascension, and Warbreaker.  I’m currently working on The Hero of the Ages and after that will either read The Gathering Storm (which is a continuation of the Wheel of Time (WoT) series, written by the author of most of the other books I’ve read lately), or The Autobiography of Henry VIII, or maybe even go back and reread some of the later books in the WoT series before I start on the newest one.

So, that’s what’s new here.

My life has been a bit crazy lately.

Work is kicking my ass.  There is so much to do, and never nearly enough time to get anything done.  I have been working 10 hour days fairly consistently.  When you add my 3 hour round trip commute on top of that, it doesn’t leave much room for anything else.  By the time I get home most nights, it is nearly 8 pm, and too late to do much of anything beyond eat and head to bed.

So, I’m sure people think I’m being antisocial and a bitch that I never respond to any social invitations (the few that I get that is), but I’m too tired to do much else.  I hope that some day I’ll be a little more settled into this job, and will have time to go visit friends, but that day is not in the near future.

I am moving my office next week, and while I’m trying to pack my own stuff, I’m helping the other 26 or so people who are moving.  As well as planning for the move 2 weeks later of an additional 50 people.

I’m also working with our Human Resources office to fill about 20 vacancies that the Division has, as well as bringing on board summer interns.

The kids and I are going to a concert on Friday night, and on Sunday we’re throwing the “Spring Shindig at the Stupid Big House” for Klumpen’s birthday.

So, I’m pretty wiped.  Happy Spring.

The cruise was a lot of fun.  On Sunday the 1st, we barely made our plane to Miami, and I do believe we were the last people onto the plane.  When trying to use the self check in, we should remember that automated systems do not like the space in the last name, and we should always just head straight for the counter.  Or use our passport to check in.

Once in Miami, after a cab ride that felt like rush-hour on the Beltway - rather than a Sunday drive, we arrived at the port, and the check-in process for Norwegian was much smoother than at the airport.  I’d say we were through and on the ship in less than 45 minutes.  Once on the ship, we were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine (orange juice for TSM) and left to wander until our cabin was ready.

While I liked the speed with which Norwegian gets you on the ship, I did not like having to wander around aimlessly while waiting for them to make up the cabins.

So, it was killing time until the mandatory lifeboat drill, and then off to the first show of the cruise – BNL‘s sail away set on the pool deck.  After that, it was a stop at the Superbowl Viewing Party, where we stayed until about the 3rd quarter.  By then it was time for Gaelic Storm on the pool deck again.

Have I said how much I love this band?  I probably shouldn’t say how much I love this band, as it usually leads to bad things.  Anyway, they always, always, always put on a fantastic show.  For their final song, one by one the band members left the stage (via crowdsurfing) and went into the deck pool – fully clothed.  Somehow, Klumpen ended up in with them.  (She’s “fallen in with a bad crowd”.  Her quote, not mine.)

Monday’s shows were:  a very brief stop by the BNL Snacktime show, a walk-through of Mike Evin‘s show in the Atrium, and another Gaelic Storm show on the Pool Deck.

Tuesday was our shore day in Cozumel.  We didn’t opt for any shore excursions this year, which was probably a good thing, as the weather was quite chilly.  (I was more comfortable in pants than in shorts, and at night on the open decks, it was downright cold.)  Anyway, we just wandered around the kitsch shops just off the docks, and bought cheap t-shirts.  Oh, we stopped at Starbucks for coffee for TOH and Klumpen, and then we all had ice cream at Baskin Robbins.  (I know, we go to Cozumel to do things we could do at home, but honestly we weren’t there for the shore days as much as we were for the music.)  Oh again, and we met a cute little monkey named Pasqual, who had sweaty paws.  The vendors in Cozumel were extremely aggressive, which was a drag.  And we need to post a picture of the “Drougs” sign.

Tuesday night’s music was the Great Big Sea sail away set and then a Gaelic Storm show in “Bar City”, the area of the ship where most of the bars were located.  Not an ideal location for a show, but still fun.

Side note – speaking of locations of the shows – none of the locations where I saw shows, with the exception of the main theater, were any good for seeing anything.  The stages were maybe a foot off the floor, and the areas were not designed for large standing crowds.  I think Carnival’s pool deck is more suited to concerts, and their main theater was fine.

On Wednesday, we attended both Songwriter’s Panels (one hosted by Steven Page and one by Ed Robertson).  This year the format was different.  Rather than the crowd being able to ask questions, each panel member said a little about how/why they wrote a song, and then performed the song.  On the one hand, it gave us a taste of each artist, but on the other, I missed the more interactive style of previous years’ panels.  (Although now, I can sort of see why they didn’t want to open the floor to questions.)  The next show on Wednesday was the “Covers Set”, which was BNL doing covers of other artists’ songs – stuff they normally do for their sound-check, etc.  Sean Cullen’s wife, Kim Temple, did a version of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song”, and Sean Hearn (Kevin’s brother) did a version of BNL’s “What a Good Boy”.  I thought Sean H. did a great job with it.  The kids and I then went to see The Weakerthans and a Great Big Sea main show.

Thursday was another shore day.  We were supposed to go to Great Stirrup Cay, but due to the weather, we were diverted to Key West.  Where it was 48 degrees.  We decided it was too cold to do much of anything, so stayed on board and had a nap.  Our music that evening was the Gaelic Storm sail away set, where Patrick’s voice was absolutely shot to hell, and the BNL main show.

So, the BNL show.  In the years where we’ve had to decide which show to attend, I’ve always picked the last night’s main show, since that’s where they tended to make the announcement that there would be a cruise the next year.  This year, there was no announcement.  And none of the “standard” songs.  No “One Week”, no “If I Had $1,000,000″.  Odd, but then I figured that even they might get tired of those songs, and when you’re performing for fans who know all the songs from all the albums, and the variations on nearly live performance, why do the easy applause ones?

Fast forward to the 24th, when the announcement that Steven Page was leaving BNL, and it all made sense.  There was speculation on the message boards, and apparently some on the ship, that his recent drug troubles and his new girlfriend were reflections of his wanting to go in a different direction than the rest of the band. 

All this to say, I can say that I saw the last live performance (until a reunion tour) of Steven Page as a member of BNL.  Which makes me sad that I didn’t feel like dragging the video camera with me.  But, we got some good photos, I think.  (I still haven’t weeded out all the crap ones from last year’s album!)

And then, finally, after the main BNL show, I watched part of the Acid Wish All Star Jam, where anyone from the performers who feels like it will jump into the show, and it perpetually revolves around to a chorus of “Hey Jude”.  That show was moved inside (away from the pool deck because of the cold weather) into Bar City, and it was way too packed for me to put up with it for very long.

Other highlights/lowlights:

Highlights

• TSM managed to get pictures of himself with all the band members of BNL.
• Andy Creeggan passed us in the hallway, and then turned around and came back to show TSM that he was wearing the same Guster shirt as TSM.
• More new music to like!  Especially The Weakerthans (One Great City, Relative Surplus Value, The Reasons, Tournament of Hearts, Plea from a Cat Named Virtute), Mike Evin (Stripper In My Car, Danish Bullies).

Lowlights

• Kevin McDonald’s (of Kids In The Hall) stand up act.  As the gentleman in the elevator said, it was like sitting in on someone’s painful therapy session.   TOH and I actually got up and left.
• Not seeing the various band members out and about as much this year as in past years.  I never even saw Sarah McLachlan.
• The lack of late night dining choices.  The late night buffet was actually just left overs from the lunch/dinner buffet.  Ick.

Overall, we had a great time, again.  I think we got a better value for money spent on Carnival.  I wasn’t overly impressed with Norwegian’s food, or “Freestyle Dining” – I didn’t go on the cruise to pay extra money for the “nicer” restaurants. 

Since we’ve been back, work has been insane.  The office moves are rapidly approaching, and we’re in the midst of trying to hire to fill all the various vacancies.  Add to that the yearly budget cycle, and I’m here from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm most days.

So, that’s my latest rambling update.  I hope to post more frequently, but I’m a realist and know that never works out.

And, I really don’t have time to update now, but I just upgraded the software here, so I thought I’d take a minute to babble semi-coherently.

The new job is good.  It makes me absolutely crazy, although generally in a good way.  Today is a “snow day” in the DC area, and I am the only person of my staff to actually make it into the office.  Three people are teleworking, and one is just “not in”.  And I’m the one who lives farthest away.  Getting out of the driveway was interesting.  I made TOH get the car out of the garage and down to the street.  Once I was on the road, though, everything was fine.

I think I’ve found the candidate for my assistant.  I need to check references and then have OHR make the actual offer, but if everything works, that’s one less stress on my plate.

The good news is that our vacation is now less than a week away.  We set sail on Sunday for 6 days on the Norwegian Jewel for Ships & Dip V.  And believe me, it’s a well deserved vacation.  We’ll be sailing with roughly 2 dozen musical and comedy acts, with port stops in Cozumel and Great Stirrup Cay.  Bring on the fruity boat drinks!

We threw another New Year’s Eve party, and I believe it was a success.  We ended up with about 55 people (including the 4 of us who live at the Stupid Big House) in attendance.  Nothing was broken, and most of the messes were minor.  I think everyone had a good time.  I know I did.

I’ve been knitting a little here and there.  For a while, I was working on something nearly every day on the train ride home, but lately, it’s been hit or miss.  I’m trying to finish up the projects I’ve got going already before I start on something new.  And, unfortunately for my fabric stash, that means no starting sewing projects either.

So, that’s the last 4 or so months in a nutshell.  And the daughter can hush. 

Knowing me, probably not. But, I’m updating today, so here goes.

Sometime around Wednesday of last week, a friend of ours called TOH and asked if we wanted to go see Rush with him, his girlfriend, and several other people at Nissan Pavillion. We said ok, and Saturday afternoon found us hanging out in excellent company.

We decided to have dinner at The Original Steakhouse and Sports Theatre before we went to the show, because someone was craving steak.  Not that I mind at all, since a good steak is one of my favorites, too.  Then it was a brief stop at the grocery store before we headed out to Nissan.

And about 80% of the way there, we (TOH & I) were forcibly reminded of one of the reasons we rarely go to Nissan, even though we’re only about 20 miles away.  The traffic.  It sucks ass.  It always does.  As soon as you turn onto Wellington Road, you crawl along.  It’s one lane in each direction, and it can take you 45 minutes or more to drive the 3.5 miles from the Parkway to the parking lot.

But, once we got there, and then tackled the hill to get to the lawn, it was more than worth it.  No opening act, just Rush playing for about an hour and a half, a short intermission, and then about another hour and a half of Rush.  Outstanding music.  And once the sun went down, a great night to be out listening to music.

I may not be the biggest Rush fan out there, but I enjoy good music no matter what.  So while I can’t go all geek-girl and name the entire set list (like I’m sure TOH probably could), I can say it was money well spent.

Plus I was enjoying the company of our friends more than anything else anyway.  It’s not often enough we get to see them in the “off season” when we’re not at faire every weekend.

Rather than drive ourselves crazy and waste the gas, we sat out in the parking lot for about 45 minutes, waiting for traffic to clear before we headed home.  Then it was a quick pit stop for our friends before they hit the road back to Maryland.  Overall, a fantastic way to spend our Saturday afternoon/evening.

In knitting news, I’m still slowly plodding along on the Goddess Knits Mystery Shawl.  I’m on row 7 of a 95 row section, and I have a small bit where I have to drop a couple of stitches, and carefully work them back up, because I have an extra stitch in there somewhere.

This morning when I came to work, I had no desk, no computer, no chair, no telephone, etc.  But I had fresh paint and carpet.  Of course, I think it’s fugly carpet, and it’s going to give me headaches, but for the first time since I moved into this office, I know the floor is semi-clean.  (Our cleaners leave something to be desired in their thoroughness.)  Even though we asked that the movers be in the building at 7:00 am, and the IT folks hooking things back up by 8:00 am, it wasn’t until 11:00 am that I had access to a phone or a computer.  I hunted down my chair before the movers got around to it, because I was tired of just standing around in my office.

So, that’s about everything.  Tomorrow is my interview, and I’m feeling nervous.  But more tired than anything.