Here, There & Tired...

My roomie & I usually don't do much for the New Year's.  Half the time we can't due to illness or an overly restrictive budget.  This year wasn't like that.  We had no desire to try for the bar scene, so we opted to splurge a bit on ourselves for the day.  We planned a good lunch, would stop to hit Candy Craze & Papa Murphy's.   It seemed like such a simple plan.

On the way there, we noticed the tires felt low.  Never mind we just aired them up yesterday.  We flipped the car around.  The mechanics couldn't find anything wrong with the tire, but still replaced the valve stem & sealed the thing.  It didn't cost us anything but time. 

We were on our way again.  We get to where we wanted to eat & it was out of business.  There was another branch across town, so we headed over there.  It took us a bit to find it.  Then it took them forever to get our food to us.  The food was good, but we were starved.  We'd originally headed out at a little after 10 & was now after 1 in the afternoon.  

The drive to to get the candy, pizza & some stuff from the grocery was very annoying.    I thought we'd be back by like 1 at the latest.  We finally got back at 3:30.  

I don't travel well anymore.  I'm tired & a bit light headed.  This is all I have for today.  Have a very happy New Year's & best wishes for 2014.

Goodbye 2013.  Until the next lifetime, farewell.  You certainly had your moments.

Cya...

Too Chilly...

We've been cold here again. What makes it worse is the high humidity.  Our normal Winter is cold & dry.  This wetness is making the cold seem so much worse.  It's hard to stay warm, when you feel wet.

It brings about a host of issues for me.  1st, I hate being cold.  Then there is the near constant nasal drip & scratchy throat.  My skin is still very dry this time of year & that means using lots of lotion.   My hands look like a cracked, river bed.  The weather isn't easy on the breathing either.

I think the worst of it for me, are the chillblains.  I started getting them while we still lived at the trailer.  I've gotten them every Winter  since.  That was about the same time I developed gout.  It could be my weight, the HIV, the weather, my age, all the above or something else entirely.  

The chillblains come &  go throughout the season.  It isn't just that you get your hands or feet too cold  during a time of high humidity.  Instead, it's that you got them warm too quickly.  The abrupt change causes the chillblains.  Mine can be a bit tender & cause swelling.  At least, mine don't itch.  That would be hell.

So, no, I am not a fan of cold weather.  Never have been.  I just hope it does it's job & kills off the bugs. And think, we're technically just now into the Winter season.  Yippie!

Cya...

The Last Sunday...

There will be no more Sundays in 2013.  They're all used up.  You get another Monday & Tuesday & then it's all gone forever.   I hope you've gotten out of the year what you wanted, because your time is nearly up.  

I guess I'm strange on this.  Days are days, but I still think things like this need recognition.   There are too many things in our lives that we don't give a 2nd thought to about losing or leaving behind.   Maybe, at some point we regret those flippant allowances.  I hope not, seeing there won't be anything we can do about it then.  

So last Sunday, I would've preferred for you to have been a bright, sunny day.  Instead you've opted for the grey, dismal overcast of Winter.   I'll try to enjoy you for what you are, it seems only fair.  You didn't ask for it to be cloudy or for someone like me to cast his opinions at you. 

I'm trying to exit 2013 in appreciation & not run out, slamming the door behind me.   There were a lot of rough patches, but it wasn't all bad.   I saw some good movies, found a couple of new restaurants, started a new game.  My health didn't decline & there wasn't anything that was insurmountable in our way.  Even if me & mine only break even, I'll take it & call it a win.

Cya...

4, 3, 2, 1...

Counting today, there are only 4 days left in this year.   What will you do with the last  few days of 2013?  I think we'll play it safe & keep to ourselves mostly.  No sense in tempting the year to end on a bad note.

The holiday season is almost over & that's just fine by me.  I get tired of the holiday stuff about a week after Thanksgiving (US).   Passed that, the whole thing starts to wear on my nerves.  Once we're into constant TV reruns, I've had it with the holidays.    These things always overstay their welcome with me.

I'm looking forward to 2014.  I think it could be a good year.  I certainly hope so.   We've all had enough of bad for a while.   

My resolution is simple.  I'm going to try to re-embrace some of my better habits.  Beyond that, we'll see. 

Enjoy what little's left of the year.

Cya...

Anniversary...

A year ago this time I posted this entry, Sick Kitty.  I didn't realize I had greatly underestimated the severity of the situation & that would begin my final hours with my cat, Alice.  She passed on this day last year.  Some days it seems like a lot longer, but not others.  

After she passed, the house was a lot more quiet.  She was a loud cat.  Soon after, Ruffian stopped coming by.  I haven't seen in our windows in almost a year.  I've only seen him twice since & only got him to come to me once.   Fluffy passed in August.  The girls are somewhere around 12, this has been a weird cat year.

Tinkerbell has come inside, but she's not as personable as the others.  We gained another outdoor, orange cat with Clementine.  He's nice, but he's not Ruffian.  I shouldn't compare.

I'm just a little down today.  I've lost a lot of cats since my diagnosis & it doesn't make this any easier.  I'll be glad when all this holiday stuff has moved on & I can get back to my normal routine.  Take care.

Cya...

Ways Off...

There's been talk lately about a drug that can stop HIV from being destructive to human cells.  There's another study proclaiming a way to affect human immune systems in such a way to strengthen the bodies ability to fight off HIV.    I don't like these articles.

No, I don't like these articles.  They are far too lab bound & theoretical.  1 such article was about a drug thought capable of inhibiting HIV's rampant destruction of cells.  This is via an off-use of a drug meant to treat epilepsy.    The problem here, is that this info is being generated purely in a lab environment.    We have no idea if this will work in a human body.

Much of the studies I come across are very early in development.  Perhaps too early to even be reported on to anybody outside the research community.  These early starts lead to false hopes & make some people believe there's a cure for HIV right around the corner, when there isn't. 

Even if the cure was developed tomorrow, it'd still be years before it got to the market.  Hell, it could be that long just to get to human testing.  It is highly unlikely any cure for HIV will be developed for wide scale use within a decade.  Not even then if it threatens pharmaceutical companies profits too much.

I try only to report on research articles that have a chance of promoting other studies or furthering the fight against HIV.  A cure is still a long ways down the road.  I'd rather be a bit depressing, but realistic, than to get people's hopes up for nothing.

Cya...

Christmas Day...

It's quiet here.  My roomie & I do very subdued holidays.   For people from our kind of backgrounds, the holidays are a not so nice mix of holiday cheer, nostalgia & anxiety.   These were a time of nerves for me as a kid.

We refuse not to acknowledge them.  But, we also know that for us, they'll never be a greatly joyous event free of unwanted memories & stress.  So, we choose to celebrate them in our own way.  We watch holiday specials & sing along with them.  We make our version of a holiday dinner.   We make it as simple as possible, so we don't feel the nervousness of holidays past.  We also don't have to deal with that anti-climatic feeling that often comes with Christmas.

Wherever you are today, I hope your day is going well.  I wish for the best this holiday season & the up coming year.  Take care & be kind to yourself.

Cya...

Pre-Holiday....

It's Christmas Eve, but more importantly in this house, it's my roomie's birthday.   The day is going well.   For that, I'm grateful.   I don't need stress on the holidays.   

The roomie will be heading out to see family.  I've taken the stuff out of the freezer that I need for tomorrow's dinner.  We'll most likely be staying put tomorrow.  It's warming up & staying sunny today,   I needed that.

I hope everyone's holiday goes well.

Cya...

The Monday Before...

It's the Monday before Christmas.  Somehow this morning went fairly well for me.  I was expecting the computer to throw a fit & declare itself inoperative.  I'm not sure what we would've done then.  Luckily it worked.

We did our morning shopping & other than it being stupidly busy, it went well.   My roomie is finishing her holiday stuff.  Tomorrow she'll be going to her family's for the holiday.  

We've almost made it through the month & the year.  There are only 8 more days in 2013.   We're 97.8% of the way through.  I hope the rest of the year goes smoothly.  I'd like to enter 2014 gracefully & not hurdling through so I can slam the door on 2013.

The best holiday wishes to eveyrone.

Cya...

Bad Morning...

Apparently to balance out my previous good morning, I had to have a bad 1.  I tried to get on my computer this morning & nothing went as planned.   Somehow during the printer installation, many of my computer settings got changed. 

I couldn't even get the computer to recognize it was capable of connecting to the internet.    I ran my virus & malware checks, got zip.  I could barely get much of my system to operate.

There was an attempted chat.  My roomie got that going.  Then there were many failed attempts to reset various things.  I've even considered hardware options.   Somehow, 20 minutes into the latest restart,  (because restarts can generally fix all ills), the damned thing just started working like nothing had ever happened.  

I finally managed to get system restore to work & reset the computer to an earlier date than the printer installation.  So far, it seems to be working.  I hope it holds.  

I hate things that screw with my mornings.    I don't have the wherewithal to deal with much of anything in the morning, yet that's when most crap in my life seems to go wrong.    I hate mornings.  Hopefully, this problem will not repeat tomorrow.  I don't need any more stress, I'm already feeling a bit rundown.  

Cya....

Good Morning...

So far, this has been a rather good morning.  It's also been productive.  We got the new printer set up & registered.  It didn't like our wi-fi, so we went with the USB option.  It's not quite as convenient, but it works.  The thing's light enough to move about with no problems.

It's raining & a bit chilly.  There's a flash flood warning  until later today.  I wonder how much rain we'll actually get.  

We're making plans for culling some more stuff in the living room.  Some of it will find other places to live.  Some of it will hit the curb.  I love clearing out stuff we don't use.  I'm not a minimalist, but I'm definitely anti-Victorian clutter.  It also keeps me from becoming a segment on some hoarder show.

Things are going well.  I'm not going to push my luck today, so I'm going to end this now.  Have a great weekend.

Cya...

Shopping Done...

It's Friday & our usual shopping day.  We hit Walmart & it was obnoxiously busy.  I had to go back out in the foyer to find a cart.  I found most of what I needed today.

It was time to get a new printer.   The old 1 was beyond difficult & required a direct cable.  We opted for a wi-fi printer.  I haven't set it up yet, hopefully it works.  I don't want to have to take it back.

We still had to go to the other grocery.  I forgot some stuff & refused to venture back into Walmart yet again.   I hate going into Walmart twice in a day.   

There I found a new treat.  Too bad it's $15.00/#.  It's okra chips.  I know that sound it sounds wrong, but they're really good.  I wish they weren't so expensive.

Shopping is done.  Groceries are put away.  A printer was purchased.  Now were home & it's supposed to begin raining fairly heavily.  We won't be going back out if we don't have to.   Overall it was a fairly productive morning.  

Cya...

Another Day...

So far today is proving to be far less stressful & annoying than yesterday.  I think the mess sorted out with that idiotic cable company.  At least for now, anyway.

My appointment with the doctor went well.   He says he'll get the pharmacy thing worked out again.   He had me do another ANSAR test.   I guess it went well.

After that, the day revolved around  dealing with Suddenlink & trying to get my printer to work.  It didn't work & the receipts for my printer got printed at the library.  A new printer is on the need to buy list.  

Today is doing much better.  I hope it holds for the rest of the month. 

Cya...

Not Now...

I'm not in the place to blog right now.  After having to deal with my doctor's appointment, which went well, I'm having to deal with the stupid cable company.  Now, Suddenlink is trying to claim they own my modem & that they can charge me rent for using my own property.   All the while the local office is closed for some reason, even though it's supposed to be open.   Please let another cable company come to our area.  I hate dealing with Suddenlink.

Cya...

Shining A Light...

In the last few years there's been a hard push for more & more people to get tested for HIV.  Especially with the development of new, faster & less cost prohibitive testing methods.  Suddenly there seems to be this huge surge in the numbers of people living with HIV.  

For the most part, the number of + people hasn't altered, just those people's awareness of their status.   Some people are acting amazed & stunned.  This is ridiculous.  We've know for some time a large population of HIV + people had no idea they were infected.   

This isn't like being bitten by a zombie & having a sudden craving for brains. Until a person shows symptoms, without testing, no would no they were +.   Many times even when symptoms are present, the patient is diagnosed & treated for something else, like the flu.  The only way to know, is to be tested.

Yes, over the past decade & for years to come, a lot more cases of HIV are going to present themselves.  Some from new infections, but many from the newly diagnosed.  This is what's coming.  At least we have the testing & treatment methods we do.  If not, things could be a lot worse than they are now.

Cya...

Stressed...

My morning hasn't gone as well as it could have.  It could've been worse, but it definitely could've gone much smoother.  The web started throwing fits this morning & somehow locked up my browser, which in turn locked my computer.  It finally calmed down, but it was close to a hard reboot.  It kept slowing my morning stuff down.

Finally, I'm just about out the door & notice that my pharmacy called.  Guess what?   They screwed up my order yet again.   I'm going to have to look into this more & see if I have any options at all or if I'm just stuck with CVS's BS.

Then there was Walmart & it was very busy.  We finally get back & there's 1 thing waiting for me.  I need to go fix the damn rain gutter.  It was still hanging, but just barely.  They hung it wrong & it holds water.  I couldn't adjust the incline, so I refastened it & punch a hole in the low end so it'd drain.   Not exactly ideal for a runoff gutter, but oh well.

I'm tired & stressed.  This is it for today.  Hopefully, tomorrow is better.   December is not being my friend so far.  I think it should be off the invite list.

Cya...

14 Years & Counting...

Somewhere about this time 14 years ago, I was laying on a couch, shivering & not sure what was wrong with me.  I had a few more weeks before I was diagnosed +.    What I did figure out was that I could no longer smoke.  It wasn't only I couldn't, I didn't want to.  Somehow, via the being too sick to smoke method, I quit smoking pretty much cold turkey.

I haven't smoked since.  I kept a pack of cigarettes for years.  Occasionally, I'd just lok at them & smell them.  The smell nearly made me nauseous.  Of course by then they were really old.  When we moved, I finally tossed them out. I haven't had the urge for the nicotine.  I've missed having something to with my hands though.  I missed the trappings of smoking more than the act, itself.  

According to some savings calculators, I've saved well over $20K & if I'd put those saving in the bank at a decent interest rate I could've gained half that much in interest.    I'm not sure about those numbers, they seem a little, but then again these calculators come from places trying to get you to quit smoking.  It's in their best interest to make the amount higher.

Regardless of how much I could've saved, I had that $ to spend on other things, like food, gas & rent.  More importantly, I haven't had smoking interfering with my health.  So,  hurrah for me I haven't smoked in 14 years!    

Cya...

Saturday...

The morning shopping is over & the weather is a damp, blah mess.  I'm glad we went to see the movie yesterday.  I feel like I'm on the verge of catching a cold & that wouldn't have been fun for being at a movie.  It also means something good came out of yesterday & it wasn't just the pharmacy screw up.

Not to mention, going out allowed us to get our new, favorite addiction, sea salt caramels.  Those things are wonderful.  Luckily, we have to go out of our way to get them or they could prove a problem.

I'm just trying to stay warm.  The ice did a little damage to the rain gutter.  We'll have to fix that once the rain stops & things dry up a bit.  

I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday.  It's just a regular appointment but I'll talk to him about the screwed up script.  Hopefully, it won't be a total pain to fix this.

Cya...

The Busies & Stupids...

Going to see the movie got bumped back up for today.  This is moving us along faster than I'd thought.  Unfortunately, not fast enough to avoid yet another screw up by my pharmacy.  Apparently, somehow the dosage on 1 of my meds got upped without me being told about it.  

Fortunately, it just got doubled so I can take half & have my regular dose.  I can't even get a hold of my doctor until Monday.  The original error may have been on my doctor's end.  However, I've talked to the pharmacy 3 times already about this order.  They didn't bother telling me about this until it was too late to do anything about it.  That is entirely on them.  

I'm just a little too tiffed to blog right now.  This is yet another reason it's not good to live in a rural area as a + person.  There are no decent pharmacies near you

Cya...

A Little Irritated...

Whether I be a mouse or a man, my plans usually get screwed with on a regular basis.  It gets very tiring.  It's difficult being a person who likes basic plans when life refuses to cooperate at all.

My meds arrived yesterday.  Wonders of wonders, my pharmacy screwed up my order, again.  They somehow forgot to tell me, 1 of my meds needed a refill order from my doctor & it didn't get shipped with the others.  I already had to reschedule the damn delivery once, because of a previous schedule issue.  

I call & get the order rescheduled for Monday.  At the time I didn't have anything scheduled for Monday.  Silly me, I just failed to foresee the need to reschedule our trip to the movies.   Tomorrow, when we had planned on seeing the film is now forecast to having freezing rain.  I'm not driving 30+ miles to & fro in freezing rain just to see a movie.  

My roomie suggested Monday & I was like, "Sure, that'll work..." Oh wait, no it won't.  Because I had to reschedule that damnable drug delivery for Monday, because my pharmacy screwed up again.   My roomie generally has stuff planned on the surrounding days.  

I know she doesn't mind having to alter here schedule if it needs to happen.  I just hate when it has something to do with an issue of mine.  I seriously hope who ever screwed up my order this time has a nasty accident, preferably a fabulously, nasty accident with just a touch of the humiliating.  

It looks like we'll be seeing Bilbo on Sunday instead of Friday.  Unless of course something else decides to screw with my schedule.  Virgos should definitely rule the world.   Then there would be order in the cosmos.

Cya...

Another Busy Wednesday...

I have a lot of little things I'd like to get done today.  Some of them for myself, others for the house & the roomie.  Wednesdays have a tendency to be a little busy for me.  

I'll be going to Fort Smith tomorrow to pick up my roomie from her friend's house. Afterwards, we might pick up tickets to see the Hobbit.  We'll definitely stop by the place that sells the sea salt caramels.

Friday will be a belated birthday gift for me & an early one for my roomie.  Her's is later in the month.   We'll go see the movie & grab a bite to eat. 

So, I've got things to do this week.  In just 2 weeks, it'll be Christmas.   Hope the holiday season is being kind to everyone.

Cya...

Melting Off...

There isn't much going here today.  We've handled what had to be done.  Now, we're staying indoors until more of this mess has melted off.  The roads are mostly dry, but the rooftops & trees are still ice laden.  I keep knocking icicles off the porch.  We can't have the mailman getting staked.  That'd be a lawsuit for sure.  

The sun is out & the weather seems to be settling.  Our cats are in the windows enjoying what little Winter sun they can get.  It's still cold, but it doesn't feel quite as wet, which is very good thing.

I really hope we don't have a terrible Winter.  I know we need the cold to kill off the bugs & let the plants rest.  But, we don't need another mega Winter like a few years back.  Here's hoping for a pleasant season.  Considering, Winter doesn't even start for a while yet.

Cya...

Afterwards...

We went shopping this morning.  It was an interesting trip. We got to see all the damage the ice storm had caused.  We were very fortunate.  Most places at least some significant damage. 

The mailbox place reopened & our mail arrived.  Walmart was still wiped out from the pre-storm shoppers.   Most of the roads were clear, but there were still some nasty spots.  

Hopefully, this will all be cleared up by later this week.  We have plans.  The second part of the Hobbit should be out Friday.  We want to see it before all the schools let out & the theater's packed with children.  

Until tomorrow.

Cya...

Set Back...

This article, talks about how an attempt to replicate a development of a functional cure using bone marrow has failed.   In 2007, a man was functionally cured after receiving a bone marrow transplant containing a HIV resistant gene.  His viral levels have been undetectable ever since.  

Researchers attempted to repeat this phenomenon..  They gave bone marrow transplants, minus the HIV resistant gene.  It seemed to be a "cure".  However, the effects didn't last & the virus reemerged.   The patients are now back on medical regimens.

This may not have been successful, but the data gathered during the time could further research into the matter.  Luckily, it doesn't seem if the subjects are any worse off than they were before other than the let down.

Cya...

Chapped, Congested & Chilled...

Today I am those things.  My lips are chapped.  My head is congested.  I am chilled.  Adding to that,  I'm slightly feverish, stiff & achy.  I'm very glad I got my flu shot.   

We won't get above freezing temps today, but the ground's still warm & the sun is shining enough to start melting off this mess.  I drove to the mail box place today, it was closed.  That's OK, the van needed driving & it gave me a chance to see the mess of broken tree limbs everywhere.

We opted to trim our bushes back quite severely this year.  All exact the big crepe myrtle along the drive.  It got whacked this morning, so I could get out of the drive.   The 2 trees in the yard held up well so far, here's hoping they keep doing so  throughout the season.  

This weather has made a mess of things.  It's made me feel like a wreck.  I am not a fan of Winter.  Hopefully, it will at least kill off some of the damn bugs.

Cya...

Hazy Shade...

The weather didn't listen to me & gave us an ice storm.  It's not nearly as bad as it could have been or even as bad as it has been in the last decade.   Still it was a storm with ice & that sucks.

Last night there were power outages in our area, our lights flickered, but the electricity held.   There were some crashes as limbs broke from the ice.  It's cold (25 F) & getting more so by the minute.  Our low for tonight is supposed to be single digit F.  BRRRR!!!!

I started the little car fine this morning.  Not, that we're going any where.   The roads looked passable but the crepe myrtle is bent over from ice & blocking the drive.  

The van was no where near as cooperative.  It took me 10 minutes just to get the door open.  Then it was a back & forth for nearly  45 minutes trying to get the ice off the windows.  The back windows had close to an inch.  The sloped front had almost 5 inches at the bottom.  It took forever to get that ice off those windows.  

Now it's snowing.  According to the weather channel, we've had almost 2" in ice & over 7 in snow.  The ice I can see, but the snow totals seem a bit high.

OK, my fingers are frozen & typing is questionable right now.  I'm not sure how much worse the weather's going to get today, so I'm getting this post done early.   We still have power & electricity.  We don't have to go anywhere, so we're pretty much set for the day.

Cya...

OMG WTF COLD!!!

Yesterday seems so far away.  It was a nice balmy 70 F & people were sporting shorts.  We were complaining the car was too warm.  Silly us, silly Summer children. (Quick nod)  This is the 5 day forecast for my  area now.

The unseasonal cold will remain a few days longer past this.  Then we're supposed to be getting back to normal temps.  I seriously do not need an ice storm.  Those things suck!  

We opted to do Friday shopping today, in case the ice storm is as bad as they're saying it can get.  They've called for anything from a 1/4" ice & a few inches of snow to an inch of ice & a foot of snow.  How about we settle & just go for none.  Too late for that, the stuff is already coming down.  Hopefully it doesn't get too bad.

Cya...

Bills, Trash & Stuff...

It's a busy day.  We have a lot of errands to run & bills to pay.  That means hitting the bank, Walmart & a few other places.  With everything else I have to do, that won't leave me much time to handle a post today.  Sorry for the short sports, but things should get better after this week.

My dentist appointment went well.  I was in & out.  I have a regular doctor appointment later this month.  Hopefully, that's all there is for medical stuff this month.  Other than having to deal with the pharmacy.  

Have a great day.

Cya...

Dentist Time...

I've got a lot to handle today.  Some of which requires me to be on the road, so this is a brief today.  It's been incredibly foggy this morning.  I can barely see out across the street at times.   I hope this passes before I have to head out for my appointment.  They'll finish up my crown today.  That only leaves 1 more temporary from my childhood to replace.  

Cya...

It begins...

We're back in the 1st week of the month.  This is a busy week for us.  We have lots of errands & bills to pay.  I have a dentist appointment to finish my crown.  My roomie has a friend to see & an appointment.  There's more shopping & bank trips.

This week can get a little tiring, but once it's done, it's done. Then the majority of the bills are paid for the month.  That's a nice feeling.  

Tomorrow is my time with the dentist, so I probably won't write much.  There doesn't seem to be a lot for me to cover in the articles lately.  Other than our errands, that's about all I have for now.

Cya...

Hello December...

December is here & it has a habit of not being my best month.   It usually leaves me longing for New Year's.  This is the holiday season.  I've never been the best with this time of the year.  I've gotten better, but I'd still rather just skip it.  This is not a time of pleasant memories for me.  At best, my oldest memories of this time were those when I could manage just to be ignored & let be.

When I was in college, I didn't just stay in the dorms, I lived in them.  For the duration, that was my home.  There wasn't any place else to go.   Holiday season went like this.

• Thanksgiving week came & the campus was mostly empty
• At least the cafeteria was reopened past Friday
• Then there was desperate dead week, when everyone panicked
• Then came finals & people left
• The campus was a ghost town
• There was no cafeteria, no student union, nothing 
• It was semester's end & I was usually broke
• There was no $ for entertainment or even decent food
• For 3 weeks you were solo with nothing to do
• You were supposed to be happy because it's the holidays
• Then everyone came back & told you what a wonderful time they had
• Even worse, then they asked you what you did over break

No, I'm not fond of the holidays.  I'm no Grinch about the matter.  When I was in college & working, I'd usually volunteer to work those days.  Everyone thought I was being nice.  I wasn't.  I'd rather have something to do, than sit in my dorm room solo.  Besides, I usually got paid more on holidays.

Again, greetings December, please try not to suck.  No bad crap allowed.  No major illnesses.  No major breakages.  Just let it be easy this year.  Also, no more dying cats this month.  We're coming up on the anniversary of Alice's passing.  I don't want much, just not to be screwed with, OK?

Cya...