We just got back from Mari’s birthday party, and I’m pleased to say that a good time was had by all. Lil’ couldn’t make it on account of migraine, darn-it-all, but Geoffrey put in an appearance (and graciously gave two non-driving folk a ride home!), Lyse was there for the duration, and a bunch of Mari’s other friends (including Leopoldo, who I’ve met before, but I never managed to put two-and-two together until now to realize that I’ve been to his website a few times) were there as well. We ate meatloaf, as threatened promised, though we only had two loafs to choose from because the third made a mad dash for freedom. We snacked, we enjoyed desserts, and we played games. All in all, it was a rousing good time.

Happy Birthday, Mari! I hope you had a fun evening with your friends.

This evening Dawn and I went out to dinner with Sis and her hubby. We went to Koji, which is where you go when you want sushi. I chickened out and had teriyaki steak, but nobody really held it against me. We had a good time, I’d say, and the food was quite good.

Afterward I stopped by the hotel room where Granddad and his wife are staying while in town to see Sis. He’s looking and sounding old and tired, I’m afraid. It’s a bit disconcerting to see that someone you’ve known your whole life is now trailing an oxygen tube hither and yon. Ah well.

Tomorrow we’re heading out for Mari’s birthday shindig, which should serve as a lively cap to a busy and fun vacation time!

The weatherfolk have been predicting snow around these parts for a couple of days now, and tonight the white stuff is supposed to be due. After we were done watching a DVD, Dawn and I watched a few minutes of “storm team” coverage by a couple different local news affiliates. Oh, are they ever desperate for a news story to justify their continued existence!

So what’s the gist of the coverage at this hour? “Well, nothing’s happening yet, but if anything does, our city services will be prepared for it, and so should you be!”

There’s not a flake, or drop of precipitation at all, to be seen or felt. That won’t stop them from milking the “impending snowfall” for all it’s worth. Me? I’d just as soon forgo the winter wonderland for another week or three, thanks…

This afternoon I captured the last episode of The Day The Universe Changed from VHS to the hard drive of my A/V editing computer. I’m about seven hours’ work away from finishing this VHS-to-DVD project I started a few months ago.

It wouldn’t be such a big deal, I suppose, if I wasn’t so terrible at actually finishing projects I start. My basic dilettante nature trips me up time and time again. The solution, I’ve decided, is to set myself a couple of projects at a time and steadily see them through. If I can build one small-to-medium success upon another, maybe I’ll instill in myself a better work ethic… or something.

What’s the other current project, you ask? I’m posting weekly recaps of a series currently running in Japan, Mai Otome, on the anime site. Nifty, eh? And once I’m done with this VHS-to-DVD project I think I’m going to tackle making another AMV. It may end up being my last such endeavor but I want to go out on a high note, having made at least one video I can be proud of.

Go, me!

It’s a bit disconcerting, not to mention annoying, to enter your room at the end of the day to find your trashbins knocked over and a grey tabby at the head of your bed.

Note to self: Start latching the door firmly every time we leave the room, eh?