how do you live so happily while i am sad and broken down?

I am declaring tomorrow Anti-Procrastination Day!  I'm going to do some of the things I've been putting off:

a) Put my new license plate on.
b) Sweep up all the damn cat hair and mop.
c) Put away all the random crap I've left in the living room.
d) Backup personal computer and clean it so I can take it to Best Buy and get the screen fixed without them making judge-y remarks about it being dirty like they did last time.
d) Go buy laundry detergent so I can do laundry.
e) Start laundry.

That last one might not happen, as tomorrow night is my birthday karaoke party!  So excite!

This week has been sort of a non-entity for me.  My BFF called last night, and when I went to tell her what I'd been up to since we talked last week, it was basically, "Er. I played tennis one night."  That's okay though - it's been a hectic summer and I needed to veg a bit.  Plus between this weekend and Dragon*Con coming up weekend after next, it'll be good to have some rest.

And if I'm going to get anything done tomorrow, I suppose I should go to bed soon.


*Lest you think this is apropos of something, it's not.  I'm just going back to my 'song lyrics that's on the radio as journal title' phase.

 You know what's really not an awesome idea?  When you're already writing (ish) two One Direction fics, and you decide to start a third.

*headdesk*

At least this one is a) short and b) completely plotted out.  An unfortunate side effect of that was that I was so busy plotting it in my head while I was pumping gas this morning that I didn't see a homeless lady come up to panhandle me, which a) nearly scared me to death and b) reminded me that gas stations are not the safest place to zone out.

I have had to get up early the last two mornings to go to the doctor's.  I still have a sore throat - 2 weeks tomorrow, ugh! - and I decided on Sunday that enough was enough.  So I went to see my fantastic GP yesterday, very worried that he would tell me I needed to have my tonsils out, or you know, that I had throat cancer.  WHAT?  It's an option!  Did I mention I'm a hypochondriac?  Anyway, he examined me, and said that he thought I was having reflux issues at night and that that can lead to throat issues and a susceptibility to infection, which could explain why I've been sick 4 times already this year.  He referred me to see an Ear Nose Throat specialist, the same one I went to for my otosclerosis in 2008.  So I saw him this morning, and he agrees.  I'm taking Pepcid for a month, and I'm supposed to elevate the head of my bed with books and not eat 3 hours before I go to bed.  Oh, and he's running a DNA test to make sure it's not throat cancer.  WHICH I DID NOT ASK ABOUT, I SWEAR.  I am aware of my own neurosis.  He is just thorough.  

( Cut for medical grossness )

I have a ton of things to do, and I need to make a master to-do list to calm myself down, but I'm not in the mood right now.  I'll just add that to my mental to-do list.  *sigh*
ETA: OH! And I have an AO3 account now! Am vixalicious there too. (thanks MrsQ!)

So in an effort to feel more productive, I have decided to start a new routine.

I use this site called Tada List to make To Do lists. Each day (either at the very beginning or very end of the day, will have to see which works best) I am going to add 5 things to my list for the next day. Those are my goals for the day, and that's going to be how I judge my productivity. I will also keep a separate list for things that I know I need to do, but haven't made it on to the list yet. If I do more than what's on the list, fantastic! But if I only do my Five Things, then ok. I was productive. No remorse, no recriminations.

Will it work? We shall see!

Saturday's karaoke party was good times! I did a solo of My Chemical Romance's I Don't Love You, and got a round of applause even though none of my friends had ever heard it before. And we sang Bohemian Rhapsody :)

Today, I didn't get as much accomplished as I'd planned to, but I don't really care. I got my room put back together, and the guestroom mostly cleaned up. I really should have done some yard work but pfllt. I didn't want to. I went out to dinner with friends instead.

I did try to fix the freaking hole I punched through the floor of my office yesterday. I was getting ready to leave for the party and was searching for my camera and the heel of my shoe went through the floor. The floor that I previously thought was entirely concrete slab but now know is only mostly concrete slab. I seriously managed to put my full weight down on the heel of my shoe in the one (as far as I know anyway) spot where the concrete has a space. I have put a layer of caulk down and am letting it dry, then I will use more caulk to stick the linoleum piece back in place. Then possibly I will buy a rug. And never wear heels downstairs again.

Oh, and also now my dryer won't turn on. It worked fine this afternoon, now it doesn't. I checked the fuse box and nothing was thrown. Oh well, worst case scenario, I'm having the guy from Sears out on Tuesday anyway to have all the appliances checked as the warranty runs out in March.

To do list:

Mon: Call about recycling, Repair office floor, re-pot cactus, do laundry if possible, pack for the weekend
Tue: Lawn: weed eater and sidewalks, Repair downstairs toilet, Sears appliance check
Wed: Clean litter box, put soft paws on Cinnamon, clean refrigerator, sweep & mop all floors
Thur: Put clean sheets on guest bed

Fri - Mon: Dragon*Con!!1!

Tomorrow's Agenda:

930: Stumble downstairs for breakfast
10: Walk on treadmill
11-1: Clean up self, house
1-hopefully 7: Work
7-9: Tennis
9: Pick up food

We'll see, anyway. I may be being optimistic about getting done with work in time to get to tennis.

This weekend was kind of blah. I went to tennis on Friday night despite having a headache; playing didn't make it worse, but it also didn't make it better. I went home instead of going out like I normally do, and then I slept most of the day away on Saturday. Like, I slept til noon, then took a nap at two. I was finally getting around to doing a couple of things when Scott called and invited me down to dinner and a movie.

While I was there, he mentioned that he might have a lead on a renter for me if I wanted it. I said no, but now I'm re-thinking it. He said she's looking for something short-term. It would mean moving my drumkit to the basement, and moving the guestroom stuff into the packing room, and my guest bathroom would be for the renter. I've emailed him to say that I might be interested after all. I think it would depend on meeting her, her not being allergic to cats, and being willing to stay at least 6 months. The extra cash would be nice, though.

Then today, I slept more, then went grocery shopping. I start back on my meal plan on Tuesday, and I am looking forward to it! I need to detox after a month of travelling. I don't want to step back on the scale though, ugh. I think I'll leave that til next week. After that, I came home and cleaned up the kitchen & the living room a bit (possibly due to thinking about having a roommate and me being a slob) while ruminating on how unfair it is that things get dirty when you're barely there to use them. I spent the rest of the evening working on my photo album for 2006 - I did all of May's trip to Paris, and laid out June. *sigh* I miss international travelling. Just the fun touristy parts, not the actual work. I keep reminding myself of that.

Oh, and I didn't win the lottery last week. I have three more chances on the ticket I bought, where I am betting that I will continue not to win the lottery. Which really is too bad as my plan for my winnings gets more detailed every day.

All day today, I was unfocused and scattered. I felt like my brain was spinning. I kept mainlining caffeine, thinking I just needed to wake up. Then around 4:30 I took a quick break to take a shower (yes, my workday is not like others') and when I went to rinse out my hair, I got so dizzy I almost fell in the shower.

Hello, fever!

It's sad that my first thought was, "Yay, I'm sick, not actually stupid." It's the little things that get you through. Any way, I feel ok - just the aforementioned difficulty concentrating, and a little tickle in the back of my throat. I still went to tennis practice and actually felt better once I was there and moving, but it only lasted 20 minutes before we got rained out. :( Also, standing in the rain for another 20 minutes and then going into an over-air-conditioned grocery store probably will not have helped. Oops.

Today's To-Do List| Tomorrow's Goals:
1. Do actual job.
2. Vacuum living room rug/remove cat hair from couch.
3. Cook dinner.

They are small goals, yes. But given that I am having company for dinner, I doubt I'll have time for much else.

I don't know what it is, but lately any time I go on a trip, I spend the next week after I get back unable to accomplish anything more than sitting on my couch. Part of it this week has been working 12 hour days, but part of it is just hibernation.

Things I really must accomplish this weekend:
Mowing the grass before people think my house is abandoned.
Cleaning my bathroom. No seriously. Things are breeding.
Start exercise program.

Things I'd really rather do this weekend:
Read. I has liberry books \o/
Craft. I have all the photos in for doing my March and April memory albums, and all the photos for my childhood photo album. Plus I'd like to pull out my sewing machine and refresh myself on how to use it so I can finish up the blanket I started aaaages ago.
Hang out with friends. Festivals galore this weekend!
Play tennis. Between work and vacation, it's been over three weeks since I've picked up a racket.

At least I have an extra day, maybe I can do half from each list.

I know, these are all I ever post lately. I'm having a party at my house this weekend, and entertaining makes me nervous. I love having people over, but the stress of getting my entire house clean (or well, at least the public parts) is a lot.

Buy brandy for the sangria
Mop the living room
Hang the new outdoor light, without electrocuting self. (seriously, this could get ugly) Yay boyfriend!
Vacuum bedroom, guest bedroom, living room rug
Make up guest bedroom
Straighten up living room and kitchen
Chop up fruit to soak in brandy overnight

I need some focus tomorrow, so here goes:

Re-pot cacti.
Hang bathroom stuff.
Gather everything for scrapbook for January and February.
Mail beads and hard drive.