Bandolero by Day

► This Saturday my parents and I went to the Farm at South Mountain, which is a farm. At South Mountain. OK, it also has three restaurants, a gardening/souvenir shop, a cactus/succulent shop, a small grocery stand, and (once in a while) a crêpe stand. The restaurant we ate at was excellent, the crêpe was thicker than I would have liked but still delicious, and I can think of a number of people that I will definitely take here if/when they ever visit here! Also, I purchased some edible flowers, and I deeply lament that mymindsplinters's flower cookbook is on the other side of the country.



► A group that sat down at a table near us were complaining that there were leaves on the table. Of the outdoor restaurant. Situated under a small grove of large, old mesquite trees. This turned into a running joke between my mother and I. “What the fuck is with all this nature at this farm?” “I think a leaf touched my plate; I can’t eat anymore.”

► Work was rough this week. I can’t go into too much detail of course, but it boils down to adjusting to an increase in business, which is good! But that didn’t make it any less exhausting. It led to a spiral of exhaustion triggering depression triggering even more physical symptoms and I left early on Thursday. Which reminded me that I haven’t seen my counselor since before Jake was born. I need to fix that! (I also need to remember that I have alprazolam for these occasions; I haven’t needed it in so long that I forgot.)

► Friday was much better, and also, I made my butt radioactive.

Actually, I was wearing a disposable lab frock, so it was a simple matter of taking it off and donning a new one, but HOW DID I DO THAT? The only thing I can figure is that I got some radioactive material on my glove and, just, scratched my butt without even realizing it? And if I hadn’t set the geiger counter at butt level and then turned around, I would never have noticed.

► MEEJ WROTE ME AN INCREDIBLE FIC ABOUT AKHET AND DIAMOND SUBDUING A MAGMA SPIRIT AND IT GAVE ME GREAT JOY. They CAN team up for the greater good on occasion! NOTP! NOTP!

► Next week, I need to: 1) finally register my car in this state; 2) finally (you will note I’m using this word twice in this list) work out a budget. I said I was going to months ago, but I saw that I have more money coming in then going out, so I just said “eh” and moved on to other things. :\ I need to figure out WHY there is more coming in, and HOW MUCH more, so that I can do things like, uh, put it in my 401K? WHOO, ADULTING.

► I FINALLY HELD TINY NEPHEW JAKE! He is so small, it’s like holding a football with a head. He’s been doing really well this week, eating regularly and putting on weight! I’ll be going to see him again this weekend, of course, ♥

► This week was actually kind of boring but highly productive! Every day after work I’ve been cleaning and organizing, and I made it through five years of backlogged papers and files. See? BORING! BUT! Finally getting myself organized, and getting my semi-new apartment in a manageable state, means I’ll be able to spend more time WRITING and EXPLORING/TRAVELLING again without worrying about all the tiny daggers hanging over my head! So I’m very happy that I made a lot of progress towards that this week.

► This is also excellent news because it’s evidence that my mental health has been very stable this week. I mean, the levels of productivity I’ve had this week were previously unimaginable to me. Two days of doing something other than curling into the fetal position after work used to be a high point for me. Also, a couple of times this week, I didn’t feel like doing anything, but I TALKED MYSELF INTO IT. THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE. Once depression takes hold, there’s usually nothing I can do other than to call it a day and make sure I’m getting enough food and sleep to try again tomorrow. I think a combination of experience, luck, and actively working to manage my mental health better are finally paying off.

► Work was much less hectic. It was actually pretty great. Some time I need to go through and talk about why I’m so happy to be in my new lab, and out of the toxic work environment that was my old lab. (I’m sure that not dreading work and not being emotionally drained by the people there is another factor in my improved mental health.)





► MY mymindsplinters Z-MAS PACKAGE MADE IT HERE INTACT! SKULL MUG KISSING ruukachoo'S SKULL MUG! SKULL LIP GLOSS HOLDER! SPOCK, MESSIAH! A SCIENCE SHIRT WITH MYTH BUSTERS, NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, BILL NYE, AND CARL SAGAN? I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS EXISTS BUT I'M GLAD IT DOES. AND THANK YOU tatterpixie FOR THE METALOCALYPSE COMICS, I HOPE YOU READ THEM BEFORE YOU SENT THEM OUT? NOT PICTURED: HOLIDAY COOKIES, IN MY STOMACH.



► And the Star Trek earrings that aren’t ACTUALLY Star Trek earrings, but they sure as hell look like it! Which mymindsplinters assures me was totally on-purpose (“subtle geek-chic!”). Another bonus: they are red, and the swirly design mimics the engineering/security insignia from the original series. ONE EAR FOR UHURA, ONE FOR SCOTTY.



► So, since it was a pretty boring week, have a random picture I took near my home of a sexy Impala

On December 30th on tumblr I posted that my pregnant sister had been admitted to the hospital with possible preeclampsia. It turns out that she DID have preeclampsia, and they had to induce labor, so Jake came into the world at 2:03 pm MST on December 31st! He’s only 4 lbs 11 oz, and though he did not cry initially, he later started the sort of wailing that lets everyone know his lungs are a-ok. When my brother-in-law went to cut the umbilical cord, though, they saw that there was a KNOT in it, meaning that it’s probably a good thing he was born when he was.



Unfortunately, his blood sugar was dangerously low (18) when he was born, and they’ve been working for days to get it up and make sure he’s getting adequate nutrition. Because of the early birth my sister’s been having trouble breastfeeding, but she’s started pumping and he’s having a combination of her milk and formula, via both bottles and his feeding tube (my poor bitty-boo has a feeding tube). She was discharged from the hospital a day or two ago, but she’s able to stay in a room there for free so that she can be close to Jake.



I haven’t been able to hold him yet, but a few hours after he was born I was able to spend some time with my sister and him in the hospital, and stroke his head and watch him make funny faces. And my sister shaded his eyes with her hand so that he could open them a little and look around. I am smitten.



(Not smitten as in “I would like to grow a human being inside my body and pop out one of my own”, but smitten as in “I love this tiny human and I will dote on him for the rest of my life.” Also, we can bond over having terrible birthdays.)



Ugh, and I just heard from my mother: they took out his IV today, but his blood sugar dropped again and they had to put it back in.



I still want to write up a review of 2014 and goals for 2015, but so far I’ve been too busy just working and cleaning and being the most fretful aunt.

So in addition to moving across country and starting in a new lab, did I mention that my sister got married? She did! On May 3rd!

First, I should mention she's been with her husband for 9 years now. He's a good guy and has the family stamp of approval.

She paid for it almost entirely on her own, because she is hardcore. My parents contributed a little, but they couldn't afford much. The groom's parents gave her a little money after the wedding was over (because they wanted to be sure their precious baby boy didn't get stood up at the altar?). Whatever. I'm just proud of her for making it exactly what she wanted. (Almost. More on that in a minute.)

Tangent: I recall having a conversation with her about shaving (she does and I don't) and I was going on about the stupid gender double-standard when it comes to shaving/body hair, and she said "Pff, I make [husband] shave too!" to which my response was something like "Ha ha! Awesome!" She is deceptively hardcore.

I was one of three bridesmaids, but the gowns were picked out while I was still living in PA. She asked if I had any preferences, and I said "As long as it's something that works for large or small breasts, I'll be okay." But the other two (D-cup and thin-to-average) bridesmaids coerced her into buying the dresses THEY wanted, so I was the only one who had to pay for dress alterations because I had to have the seamstress sew some goddamn breasts into the huge cups of the corset top.

Said bridesmaids also complained to my sister about the money they spent on the bridal shower. Even though that's tacky as hell. Even though my sister paid for nearly the whole wedding herself. Even though they are both what I would consider to be fairly wealthy.

I am not really fond of her other bridesmaids.

And oh man, I was so out of my element throughout most of this. Darn heteros and their confusing "traditional gender roles". WHAT DOES ANY OF IT MEAN. I AM SO LOST.

Onto happier(?) things.

Her bachelorette party was at Talking Stick, a resort/casino here in the Valley. It was fun and not-too-traumatizing for me as the older sister, until my sister and I ran into each other dancing: her elbow, my head. I went home early with a headache and a bag of ice and a minor head injury, but it was still kinda fun.

The rehearsal dinner turned into "Z watches the kids" night, mostly because the kids started following me around? Long story short, they ended up in the pool with their clothes on, because that's what happens when you leave your children with me: I throw them in the pool (not literally though). They had a good time and also they survived, so I consider it a success.

The wedding itself was at Pioneer Village, which is exactly what it sounds like.



Ooo, aaah! There were flocks of quails and jackrabbits everywhere!

It was a long day, so it's list time:
‣ We got our make-up done at MAC, so if I look good in the photos you know it wasn't because I did it myself.
‣ My sister had a corset-top wedding dress, so I got to lace her up like a tennis shoe.
‣ It was 97 degrees F that day. I thought I was gonna drink ALL THE WINE, but I ended up drinking mostly water on account of sweating so much.
‣ My sister kept doing a little hip twirl/swaying motion while the minister was talking because she was so excited. Too fucking cute.
‣ "look up while you're walking down the aisle" it's an outdoor wedding there is danger at every step how do you even do that
‣ The bride and bridesmaid dresses were all so long you couldn't see our shoes, so my sister wore flip-flops (BUT THEY SAID "BRIDE" ON THEM SO IT WAS LEGIT) and I wore leather boots (good for rattler country). FAMILY.
‣ I was like a foot taller than my groomsman. I like being taller than as many people as possible so this made me happy.
‣ I gave a speech that was really well-received, though possibly because one if my sister's friends gave what was essentially a long, drunken ramble first. ("You saved it." I'll take it.)
‣ My parents were on the dance floor all night long. How did they get so much more energy than me?
‣ Our side of the family started dancing in a large circle, and I tried to make room for the groom's side but his dad shut me down and told me to stay on my side of the line. WHAT. A. DIIIIIIIICK.
‣ At one point I pretended to crumple to the ground on the dance floor because I was so damn tired, so the flower girl grabbed me by the hand and pulled me to one of the tables, saying "You need a break!" Smart kid!
‣ After sundown, there were tiny little frogs all over the water feature, calling to each other! AAAAH SO CUUUUUTE
‣ Instead of throwing rice at the end, we all lit sparklers. No one caught fire. A happy ending.

I took her grocery shopping today because her car broke down. She pulled something off the shelf for her husband. "The things I do for him now that we're married. Oh my god, Stacy..." I thought some deep confession was coming. "Did I tell you they stopped making my favorite frosting??"

Nope, nothing's changed.

WELL HEY! I've been meaning to update regularly with progress notes on my goals for the year, but all that was turned on its ear because my company gave me the opportunity to transfer to Phoenix. And I took it.

I'm still with the same company, in the same position, but there are some perks:
+ I'm working in a bigger lab, with a wider variety of radioactive material, so I'll learn a lot of new skills
+ Arizona requires pharmacy technicians to be licensed whereas Pennsylvania doesn't, and licensing comes with an automatic (and none-too-shabby) pay increase
+ sub-perk: since I'm already nationally certified, all I had to do was show the AZ Board of Pharmacy my card (they give us cards, for some reason) and pay the fee. Easiest raise ever.
+ LESS WORK DRAMA. Actually there is probably just as much drama, but since there are many more employees it seems to get diffused, sort of. I'm not coming home from work emotionally drained every day.

Incidental perks:
+ I'm close to my family again, and all my AZ friends
+ AZ has a lower cost of living, so I'll be able to save more money

Downside:
- I no longer get to live with Angie and Pixie in the magical land of Casa deRP, and I miss my few but wonderful friends from the east coast. :(
- And there are other things I miss about the east coast. It's not home, but it's a lovely place.


So here's how it happened: last year, my boss in Bethlehem knew the manager of the Arizona pharmacies, and let her know that I was available should any positions open. And one did! In February. He put me in contact with the Phoenix pharmacy manager. I did a phone interview. I was offered the position. After some heavy consideration I accepted. I had a week between my last day in the Bethlehem pharmacy and my first day in the Phoenix pharmacy to haul ass across country. And I did! And I'm living in my parents' house for now. I'll be moving out sooner or later, but I have to balance the pros and cons of living here and figure out when that might be.

The cross-country drive wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it was last time. Part of it was because I was in a rush to get there so that I'd have time to settle in before starting work, and part of it was because I was just so darn sad about leaving. BUT! I did at least discover that the "world's largest wind chimes" are in Casey, IL (making it Tian Xia on the Silvermoon world tour?).

Since getting here, I've been too busy/sick to be sad. Especially sick. Caught a week-long death cold. Actually MISSED A DAY OF WORK my first week there because I was coughing so much that I vomited in the clean room (this is the opposite of what we are going for in the clean room). I just started feeling better this weekend, just in time for a reunion of the Usual Suspects (my 3 bffs from high school).

So that's how the first quarter of my year has gone. HOW DID YOURS GO?? ♥