Death and taxes.

It's that time again, just about.. and once again I start my panic mode about taxes. As always, I save up from my freelance pay for them, but there are always slower times when I have to dip in... and then this time hits and I'm playing some catch up. The thing that makes me most nervous all the time is when I pay them, there is no more money for the cushion. Eeekk.

On that same note, I have an offer shaping up for a 3 month contract in-house at an office, so that will be a change of pace (getting up EARLY for work, commuting, all that great stuff). The best part of it will be knowing there is a steady check coming in while I'm there, rather than waiting for end of projects, etc. It will be a good thing, just a little adjustment.

On the social side, we had a great event this past weekend. About 175 people, lots of fun, and I think it's going to be that way for a while... with the weather changing, people have a more "go out and have some fun" attitude. Spring and summer are usually a lot of fun. :)

I'm actually looking forward to getting out for drives in Twinkle, it's been a long winter, and she needs a bath and some loud tunes!! I'm ready.

Hmm, what else? Ohh, I'm thinking of doing this cool thing called Lo*adP*od. It's a neat little service that will come to you, get your CDs and load up your Pod with all your music. It's not super cheap, but for the amount of time it can take to get 100s of discs loaded up, it's pretty cool. Plus, they do it within 5 days or something, and bring it back to you as part of the cost. Something some of you may be interested in. You can of course load up songs on your own, but it's insanely time consuming if you're trying to get tons on there. This is just a nice little alternative.

And, here is a recent Fri*day*Fi*ve:

1. What are your five favorite all time TV shows?
This is really hard, I love TV and have enjoyed so many shows. Here's a random five: The West Wing, NYPD Blue, China Beach, Twin Peaks, Amazing Race

2. What five things you want to do before the year is out? Go to Vegas, go to CA, maybe date someone, become more financially secure, learn Flash and InDesign.

3. Who are five people (alive, dead, or otherwise) you would want to have dinner with?
Hmm, I just don't think like this. George Clooney (because he's a joker), Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton. . . dunno. That's all I can think of right now.

4. Where are five places (cities, states, countries, etc.) you would like to visit?
I would love to go back to Italy (preferrably with someone I love), Amsterdam, New Orleans, Colorado, Greece.

5. What are your five favorite desserts?
In no particular order: chocolate pudding, mudpie, cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, maybe cookies?...can't think of another. I'm a fairly simple dessert eater. :)

And just a side note, band I am really digging right now - Sn*ow Patr*ol. Whew, like 'em a lot.

Okay, more questions from you guys.

Here we go:

From Donna and Dana: Clothes?
Well honestly, I don't have any HUGE secrets (a couple, but I am tight lipped with those, it's hard to be unique in fat girl clothing land!). But overall, all my undies and bras come from either Avenue or Lane Bryant (store, NOT catalog). I only have about 1 bra from Avenue, so all the rest are from LB. Moving on, I get some of my shirts there as well, and also at Fashion Bug, or some places online (sizeappeal.com, but they run small for a girl my size, beninaandlu.com - same deal, somewhat smallish). I do a lot of searching and poking... don't forget places like tjmaxx or Marshalls, AJ Wright, not sure what you have in your areas. Most larger, discount-type places have a large size section, and you can sometimes find shirts and sweaters there. I get my jeans at the Avenue (Denim Lite, 32), and they pretty much all fit me fine. I have a lot of trouble finding many other bottoms, although I've been a bit luckier lately.


To Chuck, about a drink in SF... but of course, I love beverages. I will be busy working, but if you're attending anything, just let me know. :)

To Jamie: ok, not a question, but thanks anyway girlie... I certainly hope so. :)

To Al: Under what conditions would I get nekkid? LOL Funny guy. I have no intentions of doing so beyond what I may have already (innocent bare bottom type), but I suppose perhaps in an art book or photo I would consider something a bit more revealing, although I really can't imagine a cirumstance where I'd be bare breasted. It's just not something I want to do, or share. Not sure if that makes sense, but I guess I'm just comfy with the lines I've set up. Who knows, life changes, you never know what you'll do down the road.

To Janice: What still bugs me with my size? Well, I'm usually quite honest about how most travel bugs me. I find the least accomodating circumstances by far when I'm using planes, or renting cars, or dragging luggage, etc. I find seating, overall, to be the biggest obstacle, but even that is not constant. Far more often than not I have little issue, but it's still present on planes, at movies, in a theater, a concert... things that I would really like to enjoy more, but the seating makes it a real pain in the butt (or hips as the case may be!). You can still do everything, you just have to plan ahead, hit the right places, etc. Takes much more planning than just a call, tickets and a quick trip out. All the confidence in the world doesn't change the physics of space, so I guess that's my largest issue.

Thanks guys! :) If you have more, just let me know.

We had another minor storm here over the weekend... big in some parts, small near me, but still enough to mess up my weekend plans. I had planned a fun night out with friends where I was finally not someone hosting the event. Oh well, another time I guess. I am soooo looking forward to the season change, and hoping 3 more weeks will end the snow for good.

I'm off to make some dinner, it's slim pickins here tonight, might likely end up with a sammich.

:)

Back from the missing.

I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry about that. I have been working, freezing, chatting, updating things, working on the NAAFA convention stuff.

I sort of feel like I'm coming out of a fog, although I don't recall being in one. I think the winter has sort of isolated me in many ways, which I'm sure it does to many. Lots of snow, freezing weather, work, friends far away, and the days just tick, tick, tick by.

I have seen people for the past couple of weekends, and it feels nice to be social again. I'm really looking forward to a change in the weather and a bit more of getting out and about, having fun.

Nothing going on in the social life to speak of, but that's not different than normal. I don't know why, but I have a good feeling about this year... maybe I'm due. :) Who knows.

So, what's going on with you guys? Anything new? Thoughts? Any more questions?

:)