Nerd up

I think I just had he best weekend in probably forever. At least, it started well. The ending left a little to be desired, but while I was in the thick of things, I was a happy kitty.

Friday we spent some time with MB’s D&D crew. Artie was among them, and we met up with Veggie Girl later at their house. But first, we played laser tag. Can we take a brief time out for me to whine about laser tag? I hate laser tag. Scratch that. I don’t like the basic concept. In fact, for 4 1/2 of the 5 1/2 years I’ve been with MB, I’ve fought him tooth and nail about going to play laser tag. I’ve played exactly once in my entire life, not even sure when but it was in 2009 for sure, and…

… heh…

… turns out it doesn’t exactly suck. I still don’t like the idea of running around in the almost dark under a black light, shooting at people, and tripping over ramps and other obstacles. Just doesn’t sound like a good time to me. Especially not at $8 for 15 minutes.

But that first time I went, I decided to go because I felt like I owed it to MB to go. And since it didn’t completely suck, I eagerly agreed to go on Friday with (most of) the D&D group. There was a birthday party there, so we were surrounded by elementary-aged snotballs. Fine, whatever. In our group, we decided that we would play guys versus girls, as there were six of us and evenly matched (as it were). There are two teams, red versus blue, and all the names on the vests are those of super heroes. I got the dubious distinction of being Megatron.

I have no idea who Megatron is, but it sounds like someone from Transformers. It’s after 1 a.m., you Google it.

Anyway, the teams ended up being unevenly matched, with red having the advantage. Us girls on the blue team got our butts handed to us, but it was fun.

Then we all caravaned to Artie’s house to play Munchkin. I heart Munchkin! It’s like D&D lite. It’s not as complicated, definitely more hilarious, and you most certainly level faster. With the 7 of us playing, it took a helluva long time for someone to win, but it was so fun trying to keep people from getting the winning level.

Saturday morning MB and I actually got to sit and do nothing, and loved every second of it. He even remarked to me that this was the first Saturday in a long time that we didn’t have to prepare for company or rush to be somewhere. We did, though, go to Poker C’s for a first-ever Texas Hold ‘Em tournament. Lots of MB’s co-workers were there, which was awesome. There was over 20 people over three tables. MB and I didn’t win in the two games we played. But it was still great to see our regular card group and to socialize with new people and ones that we see elsewhere. Poker C and her hubby have lots of games in their basement (where we held the tournament) for those of us that went all in and lost. Basketball, shuffleboard, darts, fooseball.

I’ve missed playing poker. Apparently MB’s co-workers want to play again soon. We’ve been wanting to host here for a while, but between two D&D campaigns and other social demands, plus me working on Sundays, who’s had time? We’re tentatively thinking early January — rather, I’d prefer January, that way Christmas is out of the way and I won’t have to worry about school just yet.

And now I must get my butt to bed. Tomorrow’s my last day before Turkey Day and with some baking I want to do, it’s going to prove to be a long one.

180

Whooo! Can we say “overemotional” and “bipolar”? That was me well over my head in the middle of a monster of an anxiety attack. I went to bed shortly after posting that entry and I surprisingly got 5 hours of sleep, even with the brief interruption to take Toots out around 5:30. I wasn’t overly grumpy or dragging all day, so go me? I am mostly caught up with my grading, at least in the immediate assignments that matter. Those I’m behind with can wait until class tomorrow. That’s what set this whole thing off, my lack of time management. As soon as I got a few assignments graded, I felt instantly better. Man, I’m a dunce sometimes. I totally did this to myself. Good job, Ter!

Today I managed to get all of the drafts done for my Friday class. I also managed to play with my wedding playlists — consolidated into one big musical wish list (I’m giving up doing the music myself in favor of paying someone far more qualified to do it) — and made a loaf of cheese and herb bread — the apartment smells uh-may-zing! So this is what it feels like to feel accomplished… I’ve known all along, but once I hit the lazy button, sometimes it’s hard to reset.

My anxiety comes back in small waves when I think about the last entry and the stuff in it, but it goes usually as quick as it comes. I’ll basically have an anxious hangover for a little while, and that’s okay. I’ve come to expect it. It’s all about addressing it head on, acknowledging it, and saying “be gone!” I’m not exactly a pro at this stuff, but I’m dealing. I’m far better at it than I was ten or more years ago, back when I was contemplating bad stuff (that I could never follow through on anyway because I’m a collosal chicken and my conscience is surprisingly loud at times). At least now I know what it is and not scared that I’m nuts (although… nah…) or mistaking it for something else. This will probably be something I’ll have to deal with my whole life, and I’m okay with that because I have some coping skills. If I hadn’t figured it out two years ago when I woke up in the middle of an anxiety attack (fun… no…), I’m not sure how the other night would have turned out. I’m not saying I’d have hurt myself, but it may have gone on longer than it did.

Meanwhile, now that the bulk of my grading’s done, I’m getting ready to head to my niece Brittsie Cat’s basketball game. Her college is playing the school I work at tonight in a make up game from last week. I’m definitely cheering for her school, especially since I don’t know anyone on our team this year. No allegiances (implied or explicit) = no problem rooting for the away team. I’ve seen Brittsie Cat more times in the last year than I did when I lived back home. I love it!