contentFriday: Had weird twinges in my chest while driving to work. This made me ask the First Question of evaluating an unexpected medical symptom: Am I about to die? (Note: this is usually spoken in a rising tone, similar to the way one says "I have monkeys in my pants" (hey, someone really said that)). Analysis determined that I tweaked my pectoral muscle, or perhaps connective tissue to it, and while it kinda hurts, it wasn't anything more dire. Still, as
sanguinity pointed out, "Doesn't not being twenty any more suck?" Yes, it does.After work, I went for a walk with
sanguinity. While the company and conversation continues to be superlative, the weather is being less and less conducive for spending an hour or two outdoors. Still, I feel virtuous for countering my Sedentary Lifestyle, even if it's kinda chilly at times. I stayed for dinner afterward (it's okay, she invited me). We'd almost finished when grrlpup got home. As always, enjoyable time well spent.Saturday: Tired and soggy most of the day. I set to working on Monday's comic around 8:30 in the morning, and spent most of the day poking at that, and doing other reasonably-important things as procrastination. Went to the NaNo TGIO. One the plus side, I got to chat with
hhw, and have a brief "Hi, good to see you!" exchange with another NaNo I know. But, the group was overflowing the tables we had and I wasn't feeling up to chatting with strangers. I didn't stay long (I missed the Readings of the NaNo Excerpts, which is generally my favorite part of a TGIO), and then went to my Company Holiday Party (CHP).Because the lead-up to the event happened in November, I really didn't blog about my difficulty in deciding whom to invite to the CHP.* I really need a girlfriend. I finally decided to ask TJ, and as she had nothing better to do, she accepted. And it's a good thing she did. What with the rain and threat of snow, and feeling rather low-energy all day, I might not have gone if I wasn't going to meet her there (and she wouldn't have known anyone). So I got dressed up and drove downtown.
Like last year, there was much tasty food, free drinks, Celtic music and presents! The order of gift selection was determined this year by an Icebreaker game. As we arrived, we were told to draw a small plastic animal from a container. I spotted a red octopus, and had to grab that (I might have gone for a penguin if I'd seen that first, but as my motto says, "You can't go wrong with a Cephalopod"). Then we're told that when we find the other person who has a matching animal, we get put on the list. Because I stuck my octopus prominently on my nametag, I quickly linked up with my octo-partner. Meanwhile, TJ had found the other person with a neon-green frog, so those two #1 and #2 on the list. Team Red Octopus were #3 and #4.
So after dinner, thoughts turn to presents. In order of our match-finding success, everyone gets to choose from a selection of gift certificates, food baskets or the booby-prize, a platter of dried fruit (which really wasn't so bad). TJ and I, in the top 3, promptly score gift cards for hardware and general merchandise, respectively. While the rest of the crowd gets their presents, TJ and I continue our conversation, and she rips the head off her snowman party favor. The evening concludes with the Big Prizes: Two people get Weekend Getaways at the Coast! The first goes a woman who works at the same client site as I do. And the second goes to... (I'll say it, although you probably have figured it out, as I've bothered to go on about this whole process) ... ME! I couldn't quite believe it when my name was read, but it was really me! Good thing I decided to go to the party, huh? Now I totally need a girlfriend.
The other great thing was that the husband of the woman who owns the company (a Mr. S___ ) came over and raved about how he's enjoying my comic. He complimented the writing and the humor and how much expression I get from the action figures. I lost track of how many times I said "Thanks!" He's a very funny guy in his own right, so to have him lavish such praise was quite complimentary indeed.
Sunday: After being up so late (after 10:00!), groggy today, too. Sanguinity called to ask if I was okay about the latest Jennifer Love Hewitt news. Fortunately, I'd heard earlier in the week (if you don't know what I'm talking about, pay close attention to the Vote Incentive comics on Monday).
Managed to finally finish scripting Monday's comic, and so could assemble it. Watched the Rat Movie, on recommendation from
oh_that_jocelyn, and found it quite entertaining. Now I'm finishing up this LJ post, preparing the upload of tomorrow's comic, and thinking about dinner. I'm very pleased that I had such a relaxing day, that I won an awesome prize, and that I didn't die.
* If I was still married, it would be an easy choice: Either my spouse, or an attractive twenty-something who would be introduced to everyone as my niece (I know this is a staple of Britcoms, but if you're confused, just let it go).