Longest Day

I left Chumble at the vet today for his follow up, overnight. Then I ran a few errands (milk and half & half at Hannaford; ham & provolone & pickle sub from Subway; Ice & beer at Kappy's) on the way home for a lake visit.

I was there from 4 pm to nearly 9 pm. I had the place to myself, and it was glorious. I ate the sub and had chips & a 22 oz. Pond Jumper IPA from Flying Dreams Brewery in Worcester. Good stuff! I listened to Ozean and Tiny Fireflies (the latter's "2040" on heavy repeat). I did a lot of thinking and staring into space. I enjoyed the scents of pond water and freshly-mown grass. I inflated my float ring and paddled out with a Mountain IPA from The Shed Brewery in Vermont, to enjoy the water for an hour or so. I read for a bit, until the sun started going down. There were no clouds in the west, so the sunset wasn't amazing, but the day was fantastic...

I Just Finished...

...Seven days in a row. Bleah.

Thankfully, I only worked until 1:30 today, and I food shopped on the way home, so I had a great late lunch of fried chicken, bread & butter, and ice tea. TV ("FRIENDS", "Robot Chicken", sports, etc...) for a few hours (plus dozing, and "Clash of Clans"), and then a thunderstorm (with tornado potential!) rolled through.

I have tomorrow & Thursday off, with a 2-9:30 shift in between on Wednesday...

Vet Time

Well, after a couple of weeks of lesser appetite, then a swollen cheek (tooth?), then a bloody abscess eruption all over the apartment, then a preliminary vet visit, and lastly, a five-day span of waiting, Chumble is at the Clinton Vet overnight tonight to cure whatever ails him.

Since his appetite and bathroom habits hadn't changed, I am hoping it's just a bad tooth (the antibiotic shot he received on Thursday removed the swelling immediately). However, because there was more blood than pus, the vet is checking to make sure there isn't some kind of gum tumor.

So he is overnight tonight, and tomorrow he will be back, and hopefully good as new! Poor guy...

Solo: A Star Wars Story

text later

I Need a Change...

Of:

• Scenery. I'm going to go to one of the islands very soon. I also have 3 concert dates (8th, 9th, 28th) on the horizon, but I want to wake up somewhere other than my own bed for a change.
• Employment. I've finally had it. Time to search again, hard. I'm wasting my talents (and my happiness) trying to keep things afloat. There are individual people who care (my district manager is fantastic), but the company as a whole is 100% about profit.
• Productivity. I have all these art supplies, but nothing in persistent/constant progress. February's #DungeonDrawingDudes challenge and April's D&D writing/drawing experiment were both fun, but the gaps in between (and incomplete work) make me sad.

Also, I need to spend more time outdoors, at the lake and hiking (perhaps bicycling too). I want to be in tip-top shape at the end of the summer, so I don't have another sluggish winter...

Random Notes

The past couple of weeks have been mostly work, but a few things of interest have happened:

• I finally visited the Union Coffee Roaster coffee shop in Ayer. Good coffee, fantastic blueberry-coconut muffin!
• I drove home from work via Route 2A instead of taking the highway (Route 2). What a beautiful drive! The road has been recently repaved so it's smooth sailing the entire way to John Fitch Highway, and during non-rush hour, just as fast.
• I bought two tickets to see Aly & AJ on June 28th. It's turning into a very "poppy" concert season.
• I bought a pair of black selvage denim from Brave Star. Size 42x36 for maximum room and shrink resistance. Due in July.

Other than that, not much to report, other than Dad & Ma will be in California from the 1st to the 10th...

UGH!

Including this coming Saturday's closing shift, I'll have put in nearly 120 hours over the last 2 weeks. WTF?

• My new store's other ASM went on a much-deserved vacation a week ago Monday (the 7th).
• My new store's new manager's car went into the shop later that week.
• My new store's manager fell at work and broke her arm (and cell phone) on my only day off during this span (Friday the 11th), but I wasn't able to go in.
• I had to work open to close that Saturday (the 12th).
• I had to work open to close Tuesday (the 15th).
• I had to work open to close yesterday (Wednesday the 16th).

Thankfully the other ASM returned late last night, and (poor thing) will work 2 doubles and a morning until I have to return on Saturday afternoon, but JEEZ!

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Today:

• I slept in until 9 am.
• I had coffee & apple pie for breakfast, and caught up on tv shows.
• I sat online all day, did laundry, and had Domino's for a late lunch (2 pm).
• I showered and then had coffee & apple pie for supper.
• I watched tv all evening.

I have tomorrow off too, and am thinking of a day trip to Boston...