So here I am, writing up a paper on the statutes of child abuse standards for the state of Texas when I came across a little surprise. I had to add the word "incestual" to my Word dictionary. I had to do Google searches to make sure I had it spelled correctly.

Some days I really wonder if I'm considered a red flag in a CIA database somewhere.

I'm going through my belongings, taking the items I never wear or don't fit in anymore and donating them to charity. I'm going to be moving down to Houston for a month and during that time I shall hopefully find someone somewhere to hire me. My main application sites will be Houston, DFW, and Austin but I am willing to take my chances out of state as well if necessary.

If you have any leads please let me know- I am grateful for any assistance.

I found out two things last night while checking my e-mail. The first was that a blue merle sheltie that we were looking at had already been sold, the second being that my old supervisor Glen had died and that I can contact his wife for more details on his funeral. Glen has been a constant text and e-mail companion of mine for the past 6 months or so, and I had just received an e-mail from him concerning the ACLU on Wednesday. He has given me a long list of extremely inappropriate gay jokes, I've seen both of his tattoos (one is a rainbow triangle on his arm that was done by his stepson, the other was Bullwinkle the Moose on his left butt cheek), and now he's gone.


It doesn't feel real. It never does.

I finally stayed awake through an entire DnD game! Got to bed at 4:50... and then woke up at 8:30. Between the dog and my coughing I couldn't go back to sleep, so now I'm wandering about sleep deprived and sick again. I broke my teapot this morning while I was making tea... it makes me sad to admit that. I didn't get too many glass shards in my feet for which I am grateful.

Zephyr has an infection in his right eye, so I'm going to take him to the vet to get that looked at. We have plans on going to the dog park with David later today so that should be fun.

All my free time this weekend is dedicated to finishing up my semester project before Monday. I also get to go to court Monday morning for my speeding ticket in Hurst. Good times.

Thanksgiving with my family was awesome, though it took Jason a couple of hours to realize that my Canadian cousins really are sincere when they compliment you and that yes, my dad is a very sarcastic and humorous individual, and no- my aunt is always that domineering and intense. We played with Lego's and drank lots of wine. I learned the difference between 'organic' and 'bio-dynamic'. If was a lot of fun.

Today I shall be motivated by habit. It does not seem like it is going to be a good day but I will make the best of it.

I feel starved for physical affection. I don't think its safe to talk about it.

I finally managed to get called for three substitute job offers between 10-10:15 this morning, all of which are located in Grand Prairie and all required that I be there at 8:05am today. I feel that Arlington ISD has some weird expectations for their teachers, not the least of which is the ability to time travel.

My plans today involve cleaning, taking the dog to the dog park, giving said dog a bath, treating the room for fleas, getting my oil changed, and seeing if I can get Zephyr's rabies shots set up. There's a place on Green Oaks that will do rabies vaccines tonight for $7 and it's right down the street from the dog park so I feel that works itself quite nicely into my plans. There will probably be homework involved as well.

Nothing very exciting. You know how it goes.

Unfortunately, I am now in a lot of pain. It happens though.

This past weekend was incredible: David and Rachel's wedding was amazing (though Brad and Amanda can vouch for me when I say I should probably be kept sober for such events) and I spent Friday night through Monday evening doing fun and exciting things in Austin. Rock climbing, exploring a cave, watching movies with guild mates, cheering on a kickball team, met Riley's mom, wine tasting, etc. Great times were had by all.

While driving back I heard a woman talk about how it is the duty of a Christian to be the visible actions of an invisible God. That has stuck with me all week.

NERO has been canceled due to scheduling conflicts at the site, so I get to go to Aftermath! Yay! I'm really excited about this.

By the end of today I will have completed all of the hourly requirements for my Practicum. I still have a bunch of projects and a professional portfolio to work on, but that should be fine.

Last week Robert quit from CPS. Today Tiera put in her two-weeks notice and Meghan plans on following suit within the next couple of weeks. I am worried about the likelihood of getting hired for this job vs. the chance the unit will be dissolved. We shall see how things go.

I have learned that it is hard to take a suicide note seriously if it is written like a text message. "It feelz lyk no 1 but my dad understandz me. Their is no hope 4 me here" is not acceptable for a 15-year old who tries to "end it all" with 7 Prozac. It doesn't help that she admits later she did it for attention, and because she was pissed at her mom.

A caseworker quit today, so guess what? Everyone's caseload (which was already rather hefty) has been increased once again! Exciting times, oh yes it is.

I have to leave early to pick up Tilly and take her to the wedding tonight- we're going to drink before the ceremony and make fools of ourselves. Then I drive down to Austin tonight and engage in crazy Guild Hijinks, as we're having an international guild gathering! More drinking will ensue. I don't know exactly everything that will be going on while I'm down there, but I'll let you know when I get back!

We think the dog swallowed a hypodermic needle. I'm staying home with him today to make sure he'll be alright. He has also recently consumed a 6-month supply of heartworm medication meant for rottweilers when we weren't looking, so that's another issue we've been keeping an eye on.

I'm really worried about him.

I'm dreading going to CPS today as my joints are really sore and I have trouble talking, making it difficult to do my two primary tasks (calling up collaterals and typing stuff). I haven't been sleeping well either so that doesn't help.

Yesterday was pretty terrible. It involved another speeding ticket, my insurance decided to stop covering the cost of my medication, my doctor up in Denton relocated and didn't inform me of this, didn't have records of my appointment, and being stuck in a waiting room for so long that by the time the nurses got to me the doctor had already left. I did however end up getting my estrogen shot in my arm, so I woke up feeling nauseous (yay for false-morning sickness), got a bunch of snot-filled sinuses, and I didn't sleep very well. My spine hurts. The joints in my hands have swollen to the point that I can't get my rings off.

I feel like crap.

I need to start drawing again, get back in the habit of it. Work on the strength of my designs and the speed I push them out. I have been thinking about tattooing and while I don't think I'd want to have that be my life long career I do think it is something I'd be good at and would enjoy doing on a part-time basis. Supplemental.

I'm going to be working my butt off this week to get a lot of the work I need down for my practicum out of the way since my weekends are full for the rest of the month. It should not be too hard, I don't think.

Last night Jason, Charlie and I were hanging out at David's house with the scattered remnants of Freebird scattered before us like the carcass of a wildebeast, learning how to play Little Big Planet. I have very little console experience so I kept getting caught up with fighting with the controller and learning the game simultaneously. Long story short, both Jason and I managed to develop full-blown flu symptoms in a 30-minute segment of time and we're not sure how. Fever, joint pain, throat so sore it hurt to swallow and talk. So yeah. We're walking plague bags at the moment. Between Arlington ISD calling me constantly and the dog jumping on my face because he wants me to play with him since 6:30 this morning I have not gotten as much sleep as I would like. I'm already tired- the DnD game tonight is going to be hellish. I am probably going to fall asleep halfway through it and Jason's going to be upset that I passed out in the middle of his game.

I hope Jason doesn't infect the bachelor party. That would be uber-lame.

I feel like I am play-acting an adult. That I'm a 12-year old in the skin of someone larger, bouncing around and pretending to know what the hell I'm doing. I keep getting these weird epiphanies, like "oh my gosh! I have friends that are getting married and it is socially acceptable to do so!" or the realization that I can legally make babies. It's all very disquieting.

It makes me wonder how many other mischievous children are scampering about in false skins, people who still look forward to swirling around in rolly-chairs and secretly hate coffee and filing cabinets. I suspect that most people who larp fall into this category but I don't think there's really a right way to ask. "Hey, um, are you an adult yet? Oh yeah? Well that's cool. I mean, me? Oh totally, I'm a complete adult too. So uh, politics and weather? How are those going?" When secretly you're thinking oh man, I bet there's got to be a HUGE mudpit somewhere 'cause of all the rain and dang I haven't rolled around in mud in like FOREVER...

And then I go back to playacting Adult Jillian, making embarrassing personal calls to people being investigated for child abuse and talking to exhausted overworked cops about protective orders. I pass people in the hallway who ask if you share their complaints and you nod sagely and agree with them, muttering something about deadlines. I really hope that we are all play-acting together, because when we start believing in our script we lose sight of what it ever meant to be happy.

It's almost 9am and I can't go back to sleep. Jason and I plan on going muffin hunting today! Elusive little tasty baked goods...

Halloween was fun, we went to a laid-back party at David's house- Jason was a mad scientist, I was a patchwork monster. Homemade cheap outfits are much better than some of the "skank-in-a-bag" options that hang from the walls of Halloween stores that cost around $80 and are one-shot items. Yesterday we went back said stores and took complete advantage of their 50% store wide selection. Jason has been bleeding from the face on and off for the past 24 hours and blood covers his clothes. The dog couldn't stop licking his pants and hands last night as I was introduced to "Juno". I have a low tolerance for awkward scenes in movies/TV shows so I had to be pinned down to the couch for some parts of the film to keep me from running away.

I have been listening to "Kings of Leon" and I'm not generally impressed by what I've heard so far. They're pleasant, but they don't exactly stick out in any way. I had higher expectations for "Sex on Fire".

I need to focus on my internship projects more. Get some of them out of the way. Unfortunately I am a bit of a procrastinator that is not fooled by fake deadlines that I set for myself.

Oct 29, 2009- President Obama signed legislation expanding federal involvement in hate crimes.

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act would expand the federal definition of hate crimes to include those motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. It also will allow federal authorities to pursue hate-crimes cases when local authorities are either unable or unwilling to do so.

"We must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits -- not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear," said Obama at a White House reception Wednesday commemorating the signing of the bill, which he signed earlier in the day as part of the $680 billion defense authorization bill.

"Because no one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love," he said. "No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability."

Obama also noted that advocates had been working to pass the bill for more than 12 years. That included a number of Jewish groups, led by the Anti-Defamation League. ADL national director Abraham Foxman said it was a "monumental achievement and a great day for America" as he joined with civil rights leaders and members of Congress at the White House ceremony.


I approve of this. Well, except for the $680 billion part.

And there was much rejoicing. (It was under a bookcase.)


Found out that Clint bought a husky puppy from the SPCA- I will hopefully meet her on friday.

WoW + chardonnay = fun!

The Aftermath tavern thing was rather interesting- I am now unexpectedly in change of the police force of a small city-state that has the power to resurrect people. Not exactly what I had in mind when I showed up today, but that's fine. I now get to sit down and come up with laws that I'm willing to enforce... in a larp. There are several layers of nerd there, I know.


Oh hey, distraction! peopleofwalmart.com

I want you to notice the percentage of these photos taken in Texas.

So today is "stay at home and be semi-productive day!" My deathknight hit level 70 in WoW; I went grocery shopping and bought hair dye, vague food products, and discount wine and sake for under $3 a piece; laundry is being done as we speak; and I will possibly write a couple of papers for my class sometime today. I will finally dye my hair again, but I am skeptical about the shade advertised on the box. Hopefully it will come out fine. Jason's day will hopefully be more productive as mine, as he's currently in a job interview (right now! as I'm typing this!) and guess what? Jobs are awesome things. We have a DnD game tonight so that should be fun.


So yay, I've been having a remarkably good day. How about you?




update: Yeah, the color was not as advertised. Boo...