Catching Up

Sooo... been a while since we've posted here and just wanted to make a quick update with a few things:

• Our New Years was fun. Had some friends over and actually had two "New Years" - one on New Years Eve proper and one the previous weekend due to work schedule conflicts. Good times.

• Then, just post New Years, we had some oh-so-fun issues with the shower leaking and the drain in the basement backing up... Thankfully the owner of the house we're renting got that taken care of relatively quickly. Just not fun while it lasted.

• Around the same time we both got super-sick - first Jenny and then me. There's been a couple of nasty bugs circulating the area, and undoubtedly she picked up what we had from work. Took some time to fully recover, and greatly diminished productivity for a while, but at least we didn't get the actual flu that was also going around...

• The Emerald City ComiCon is very soon (March 1-3) and we'll be headed there for a mini-vacation. We haven't been the last 2 years, and the last time we were there I was tabling in Artist Alley and barely saw the rest of the show. So this time we're looking forward to just being free to be fans and see as much as possible, and also catch up with a lot of people we haven't seen in a long time. While I'm not exhibiting this year, a lot of my friends from this area are - check out the list over on the Comicsmiths' Guild site: CSG at ECCC!

• However we will be exhibiting at the Spokane ComiCon, which this year falls on June 1st (my birthday!). We're splitting an Artist Alley table, so I can show off my art and comic stuff and Jenny can sell her crafty stuff. We've even got some ideas for collaborating on a project, but we'll keep mum on the specifics 'til we're a bit further along with that...

• Recently I did a guest strip for my buddy Matt Nelson's webcomic Catbeard the Pirate, while he was taking a short break after finishing up a long storyline. Catbeard's a great all-ages comic that's a mix of comedy and adventure - it's been going for nearly 2 years now, with one collected book out so far. You can see my contribution here: Catbeard Guest Strip!

• I'm starting to post more on my Tumblr blog, as it's a good place to quickly throw up sketches and works-in-progress along side finished works and other things. I'd recommend following me there for more frequent updates for now: Peter on Tumblr

• This site probably won't see a lot of updating, as it was originally meant more for personal blogging and updates, and a lot of that is covered by things like Facebook and Twitter now. But we'll try to post when anything relevant or important comes up... I'm planning on sprucing up my personal site relatively soon, as well as get a proper site set up for Jenny, but I don't know how quickly that will actually happen...

• And finally, for any local artist types, this coming Saturday (the 23rd) is the first Spokane Drink & Draw of 2013. It'll be at the Saranac Public House downtown, from 6-10, and is an all-ages event. It's being organized by Nathan O'Brien, who runs the Spokane ComiCon, and he's hoping to make them a regular thing. You can RSVP for the event here: Drink & Draw Social Club February Spectacular!

Thanks for visiting our somewhat neglected blog - hopefully we'll have some more to share with you soon!

Sick Days

Jenny's been knocked out with something the past couple of days - we think it's probably the flu, but doubt if it's of the swine variety. She called out sick to work Sunday and Monday, but she is starting to feel better and will probably be going back to work tomorrow. I've been doing my best to take care of her while she recovers, although I've caught myself coughing a little bit and my head's hurt off and on, so there's still a chance I'll get whatever she had as well. Great.

Sunday was our monthly meeting of the Spokane Comicsmiths' Guild, our local artist/writer group. We had a good turnout, and made some headway on a lot of group organizational type stuff. The main thing is that we will definitely have a presence at the Emerald City ComiCon next year in Seattle. We're still ironing out the details, but I'll post up some specifics as soon as I've got any. Should be fun.

Trying to Blog More Often....

Nothing too crazy going on at the moment, although I did apply for a job today (Monday) that I think I've got a decent shot at. I actually applied and interviewed for the same job a few months ago, and was in the running for it, but apparently it's open again so I figured I should go for it. It's part-time at the library, and seems perfect for me, so I've got my fingers crossed.

Jenny was feeling sick today, and her throat was really sore, so she called out for both of her jobs to rest up. I stayed up really late last night getting my application ready, and then went to turn it in first thing this morning, so I was pretty exhausted too, so we both spent a good chunk of the day asleep. Exciting, I know. ;)

Yesterday was our monthly artist meeting, and this time it was a BBQ hosted by one of the members (Erik Thompson, who doesn't have a website yet, or I'd link to it because he's an awesome artist). The BBQ was a ton of fun with a lot of great food, and we ended up staying there pretty late (hence me not getting started on my application till even later).

Our group was also out at the Spokane Main Street Fair last weekend. We've got a couple of photos of us up over at our blog: Spokane Comicsmiths' Guild Blog!

The next big event for the Guild is the annual 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge, which is on October 3rd. Last year's challenge was actually what got us all together in the first place and sparked the formation of our group. Hopefully we'll end up with even more members, since we're expecting our biggest turn-out yet this year.

Otherwise, things have been going all right. The weather has been pleasant, not too hot and occasionally rainy. Us both being sick off and on is annoying, of course, but we've still been keeping busy with art & crafts stuff.

Plus the Fall TV season is starting, so we're getting all of our favorite shows back, plus a couple of potentially good new ones. Maybe I'll use an entry to just run through all the shows we're watching now, which is probably too many. But at least we don't have cable or we'd most likely be glued to the couch...

Local Comics & Games News

Sunday was our monthly meeting of the Spokane Comicsmiths Guild. It was a good time, and fairly productive, with some brainstorming done regarding the upcoming 24 Hour Comic Book Day event and discussion of various projects. Not sure on the exact date of the next SCG meeting - we're going to try to meet more often, so the next meeting may not be at Merlyns or on a Sunday.

The Marvel Birthday event we sketched at did make it into the Coeur d'Alene paper, and one member, my friend Matt Nelson, got his picture and name featured on the front page! That was, of course, incredibly cool, but unfortunately there wasn't any actual mention of the SCG group. Here's the full article: The Coeur d'Alene Press

I've been thinking about working on painting miniatures again - I haven't touched any minis or paints in months, but I've been looking through my gaming books and thinking about working on an army again. I'm sure hanging out at Merlyns and being surrounded by games and gamers probably has something to do with it as well.

Not sure when I'll get back into it, but I have been looking at gaming websites for the first time in ages, trying to catch up on new releases. In my internet browsing I also discovered that Gamer's Haven, the awesome game store in Idaho that tragically burned to the ground, is going to re-open in October! The store was originally in Coeur d'Alene (I even briefly worked there), and the new location will be in neighboring Post Falls (in the Outlet Mall along I-90). The new shop is scheduled to open October 1st, and I'm sure I'll swing by and check it out. :)

In other news, I think I might be coming down with something. My head's hurt pretty much all day (slightly less after some DayQuil and Aspirin), and I've just felt cruddy, like I have no energy. Hopefully I'll shake whatever it is quick, 'cause it's annoying...

Blogging Catch Up

I haven't blogged (or even Twittered) in a while, so just wanted to start remedying that:

Jenny and I have both been sick off and on the past few days - sinus stuff and head aches, but thankfully no real flu. I also did something to my back last week which I'm still slowly working out. Probably wouldn't have seemed as bad if I hadn't got sick at the same time.

It seems Summer has arrived. It's been blue skies and sunny, and in the 70s the past few days. Still pleasant and not horribly hot yet. Just a matter of time, though...

I might have some temp work lined up at Borders next month. They're apparently doing a big re-organization of the store and will need some people to do overnight work for a while, moving stuff around, which would be perfect. I'd love to get back on with them, if even part-time, but they haven't had any regular hours to spare. I'm friends with the store manager, though, so if something opens up I'm sure I'll hear about it (which is how the temp job came up).

In the meantime, I've been trying to throw myself into art and also starting to write again. I want to get my superhero comic back on track soon, so I can start it up as a web-comic. I'm also working on a second, completely separate, project which I'm hoping to do something similar with.

We're still way behind on TV shows from this season, with the last few episodes of a few of our favorite shows still taped and waiting to be watched. We have been watching a lot more movies than normal, as Jenny's dad has been taking us out to see some of the big summer blockbusters he also wants to see. Besides Wolverine and Star Trek, we saw Angels & Demons last wednesday and are looking forward to the new Terminator movie this week. I wasn't really impressed by The Da Vinci Code, and mainly just wanted to see Angels & Demons for all the art and architecture that's shown, but I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It was incredibly rediculous, but entertaining.

Also, both of our birthdays are coming up relatively soon, although we don't really have any plans or ideas for what to do. Probably nothing too exciting, due to lack of money, but I'm sure there will be cake involved. :)

Misc. - health, Watchmen, social networking

I've been cleaning the apartment over the last couple of days, which was dearly needed, although I've been dragging due to still getting over this cold thing, so it's taking longer than planned. But apparently there's some nasty flu going around, so we're just happy we haven't come down with that.

My wisdom teeth have been in bad shape for years, but I've never really been able to afford to do anything about them. But now that Jenny's got health/dental/vision insurance through the library, we're going to try to get me in and see what all they'll cover. One of the teeth is obviously cracked, and needs to get pulled - though I'd really like to have all 4 of them out. I should also go ahead and get a new pair of glasses while I'm at it, as I got my current pair while I was at Borders, so about 4 years ago.

The Watchmen movie came out today, which I do want to see, but don't know if I really want to sit in a theatre for 3 hours. May just wait for the 4 hour DVD version to come out and watch it at home, where I can pause it whenever I want (really, I'm all for getting my money's worth, but I still would like them to bring back intermissions at the cinema for anything over 2 1/2 hours). And I've read the book enough times (and have heard about the changed ending), so it's not like I'm worried about the movie being spoiled if I wait.

Oh, and I also deleted my Facebook account. There were a variety of reasons for this, which I'm not going to bother going into. Anybody I was friends with on there I'm also in contact with through other channels, so no great loss.

Marching On

With it being the beginning of the month, I figured now would be as good a time as any to try to start blogging more regularly. Maybe this'll be the time I'll actually keep at it....

Thanks to everyone for the advice and suggestions regarding my digital TV rant. There's a couple of things I can try now to maybe help, and hopefully when we move we'll either have better reception or the money to afford cable.

It doesn't look like we'll be making it to the Emerald City Comic-Con this year, which is disappointing but kinda unavoidable. Really just can't afford to make the trip right now, as it's only a month away. The Spokane Con is coming up at the end of May - I'll be sure not to miss that and hopefully we'll be better off next year so we can go to the ECCC. Of course, we'd also really like to make it down to the San Diego Comic-Con one of these days, but that's far less likely....

Jenny's been knocked out sick the last couple of days with a sinus infection, and I've still got a lingering cold that hopefully won't turn into an infection as well. But we're stocked up on soup and juice and taking it easy.

Um, I guess that's it for now. Perhaps I can actually keep these entries short-ish and often, instead of occasional and way too long to read....

Appliances! (update) + Misc.

We got our shiny new appliances yesterday (the 29th)! New fridge, range, dishwasher and washer & dryer! Everything is quite awesome and we're super-happy to finally get them. It's not enough to keep us from finding a new place to live, but we'll enjoy having them while we're here.

We got another note from the apartment people today - apparently they're going to re-key the whole complex, starting next month. We're slightly curious as to the "why"s, but it's not like it really affects us one way or the other...

Jenny's finally starting to get over being sick, and now I'm coming down with something, probably the same thing. Stuffy head, general aches and pains, normal stuff. 

I've been re-reading the excellent Emberverse series from S.M. Stirling, and just started the 4th book after checking it out from the library. I just started it yesterday, and am almost half-way done; afterwards I've still got the newest (5th) book in the series to read. Then I'll probably re-read his Nantucket series, which is (loosely) set in the same universe. Stirling is a (in my opinion) great alternate-history/sci-fi author - highly recommended.

I think Jenny wanted to blog some more about the appliances, so I'll leave the details to her. :D

Apartment Stuff, etc.

So we got a note from the apartment people today, saying that the appliance replacement process will (supposedly) begin this week, and will take place over the next 2 months. That's something to look forward to, atleast (new, working, oven!).

Our lease is also up at the end of the month, so we'll have to sign another one of those. We haven't decided how long to go with, but we're leaning towards the year long one. We've been wanting to move out of here for ages, but have never had enough money set aside to do it easily. Now we don't have enough money to do it at all, and until we've got some more coming in, it's going to be quite a while before it's possible.

They're raising our rent again, but atleast if we sign a year long lease, they hopefully won't be able to raise our rent in six months (it's only been six since our last lease/rent hike). And I suppose if we were somehow able to afford to move (win the lottery, find a big bag of money, etc.), we'd probably be able to afford to break our lease as well. Oh well....

My head's hurting again. I thought it was a tooth ache at first, but now I think it's just more sinus problems. Fun.

It's cold here (like, it seems, most places right now). Cold enough for us, I think. Seems like we might be finally acclimating. If it was 4 years ago, I'd probably be wearing shorts - now I just keep turning the heat up.... :)

Winter Wonderland

We just went for a walk around the block in the first snow-fall of the year. It's still coming down pretty hard - big fluffy flakes - and is sticking pretty good. It may still warm up and melt away quickly, but I wouldn't bet on it. I think our first snow last year was also a day or two after Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving day was nice. Nothing too exciting, just stuffed ourselves to the gills, and sat around for the rest of the day chatting and (unfortunately, but not surprisingly) watching the Seahawks lose....

Still sniffly and sneezy. We need to make a run to the store later for more cold medicines, but otherwise it will mostly be a day for resting and recuperating.

Smashing Windows

Some time ago (months, really), I mentioned getting an old lap-top from Jenny's dad (her sister's old one) that I was thinking of trying out Linux on, since I was getting so frustrated with Windows. Well, I finally did it - I ended up going with the latest version of Xubuntu - and all I can say is "Wow!"

I never thought this old thing could run this fast or this smoothly. And while I had only tried the Live CD versions of a couple different distributions previously, the install was so simple and painless, I was amazed. I think I'm officially a convert to the wonders of Linux. :)

Granted, I haven't done much with this thing yet - so far just installed Opera (which I've been using as my primary browser on the PC and love) and got that set up the way I like it. But I've got to say I'm impressed so far.

Otherwise, in non-computer news: Jenny and I are both still getting over this sinus thing. I'm finally feeling better, tho Jenny's still run down quite a bit. Hopefully I'll be recovered in time for the library to call me for an interview (hope, hope).

We've both been trying to write some on our NaNoWriMo novels, tho we're both way behind what we're supposed to be at, wordcount-wise. Jenny's ahead of me, but not by as much as previous years.

Vote!

Whoever you are, whoever you vote for, just get out there and do your part if you haven't already. And remember, it's not just the Presidential race - there's plenty of other important jobs up for grabs and initiatives on your local ballots to be aware of.

We cast our votes today. I also turned in my application for the library job. It closes on Friday, so hopefully I'll hear from them soon after.

Head was still hurting too much to do anything creative, so I cleaned the apartment instead - it certainly needed it. I think I'm feeling a tiny bit better, although Jenny might be getting the same thing now. Yay. But I figure a clean apartment, clean dishes and clean laundry is always a good step towards getting healthy.

Tomorrow may involve writing and drawing, if I'm up for it. Or maybe just sleeping. Got to stay up late for election coverage and watch the results come in....

Sick + Task List

Jenny and I have both been getting sick, but I was hoping it was just another cold. I took half a dose of NyQuil last night to help me sleep, but I woke up last night (long before the NyQuil should have wore off) with my head pounding and my face hurting horribly. Took a couple of Aleve and eventually got back to sleep, but woke up still hurting.

I've felt like this before, and I'm pretty sure it's a sinus infection - I get them every once in a while, and I think it's usually about the same time of the year (though I've never really paid very close attention). Not fun at all.

Starting slowly on my NaNo novel - only got half my word count goal yesterday, and my head hurt too bad to write today. Hopefully I'll get caught up over the next couple of days.

Tomorrow should include:

• job hunting and applying
• rent paying
• writing (NaNo)
• voting (dropping off mail in ballots)
• artwork
• retrieving Christmas tree and decorations from garage
• cleaning (atleast the studio, before putting up Christmas stuff)
• a whole lot of T.V. (Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, My Own Worst Enemy)

I guess it all depends on how I feel....

Weather or Not....

Winter hung on way too long around here, and now that it's finally gone, Summer decided to sneak in early. We've had to crank up the air conditioning this week, and leave the fan running in the bedroom overnight just so it's bearable. You'd think we would've acclimated better to this kind of thing by now (we've been here four years), but I don't think I'll ever really like hot weather.

So, with the heat comes the need for shorts, and the pair I've been wearing are (unfortunately) getting too small. I've (well, we've) been putting on weight since we got down here, and we really need to start slimming down. I've got pants I've been hanging on to, pants I got after we moved down here, which I can't wear anymore. Just rediculous...

Well, we went shopping yesterday and picked up some comfy new shorts which fit great, but I had to go up another size to make them comfortable. Not good. Need to lose weight, need to get in shape. Of course, that's just one of the many things on the big to-do list. At the moment, finding a job and cleaning the house are above it, but I can't ignore it forever.

I've been sick since we got back from Seattle - well, actually I started getting sick while we were there - and it's had me wiped out all week. I've been in NyQuil induced coma-sleeps every night (complete with crazy dreams) and sleeping in every day, eventually dragging myself out of bed by noon. I think it's finally starting to break up, so hopefully I can get moving on all of the various projects and what-not that I've been meaning to start since we came home, like finding a job and cleaning the house....

Randomness

Been working on putting the apartment back together, specifically our studio space. It's beginning to actually look like... a studio! (amazing)

I haven't done much in the art department recently, but Jenny's picked up some canvases and is working on more water-life-series paintings. Hooray for unemployment!

I've now become hooked on Sudoku puzzles. Eh, so I'm a little late to the scene on that one...

Jenny's job hunting continues. She's only had one interview so far, and while it apparently went really well, she still hasn't heard back from them, which is unfortunately discouraging.

Finally took care of our thank you notes for the wedding. Just snuck in under that "send out within 2 months after the wedding" window...

Oh, and I'm well over the plague I had a little bit ago. Jenny and I both keep passing some little cold back and forth, but nothing major. Just normal sneezing and sniffles. Would be nice to be completely over it, though.

I'm So Sick of Being Sick....

Just a cold or something like it, maybe the flu, whatever's been going around, but it was enough to knock me out for the day. Took off from work and slept most of the day away, except when I was in front of the computer or the TV. Yay for productivity... Did watch the recent Zodiac movie on DVD, which was really good - highly recommended. Although there's apparently a special edition with deleted scenes and what-not coming out relatively soon, so folks might want to wait for that.

So we've been home from Fairbanks for over a week and had every intention of posting some thoroughly indepth review/analysis of our week back in AK, with pictures and a day by day recap. Obviously that hasn't happened yet... Don't really know when that's going to happen - whenever I've got the time and/or energy to dedicate to organizing all of our pictures and thoughts into a slightly more cohesive whole.

Jenny's on the job hunt right now - she's got some prospects, but no real bites yet. There's a job at the museum that she's qualified for and really wants, so we've got our fingers crossed for that one. Otherwise, I'm just plodding away at my job... I decided I was going to wait until she was actually hired somewhere before putting in my notice, so we're not jobless for any stretch of time.

Catching Up....

We've both been fairly sick, off an on, for a while now. Jenny had a sinus infection for a couple of weeks that'd been keeping her down, and she really didn't have a way to take time off to recover. Realistically, she could, or atleast she should, but the corporate mess that is Michaels can't keep enough capable people in the framing department to cover any loss of hours so she ended up going into work anyway.

I've had a little bit of a cold that won't go away, even with copious amounts of vitamin supplements, but I finally was feeling really good at the end of last week. This, of course, was a now obvious precursor to me getting completely bowled over by this horrible sinus/stomach flu thing that's knocked me out for the last few days. It couldn't have picked a less desirable time to hit, as we're counting down the days till our weekend mini-vacation in Seattle for the Emerald City Comic-Con.

Jenny was able to get the time off she had requested (which was amazing in it's own right), so we'll be leaving sometime during the day on Friday and coming back on Monday, probably later in the evening. We did this trip this time last year, but without the extra buffer days for travel, so we didn't leave until Friday evening and most of the journey was in the dark. Atleast we'll be able to drive over during the day this time, actually see where we're going and enjoy the sights, and maybe not while driving directly into the sun the whole way, if we leave early enough. Our friends Shane and Rita have offered to put us up for the weekend, so we'll get to see them and have all sorts of geeky fun at the convention. Hopefully we'll get some more sketches, meet some cool creators, and find some cheap comics to fill out our collections.

I really hate having to call in sick, but I didn't have much of a choice the past few days. I woke up this morning and thought I'd be going back into work, but after I got up and started moving around I knew that'd be a bad idea.... As much as I'd like to have some sort of medical benefits, atleast I have a job that lets me take sick days off with basically no questions asked. I'm still looking for a new job, but I'm not holding out too much hope of finding a better paying job (that I'm qualified for) in the classifieds. I'm also looking online, but I think if that "perfect job" is out there, I'm going to have to know the right person and be in the right place at the right time.

Our friend Eric let me in on a job opening at his firm for a file clerk, which I probably had a pretty good chance of getting, but ended up opting not applying for. As much as I'd really like to find a new job, this position wouldn't have been any closer to something that interests me and would require learning a whole new world of technical jargon and probably would've required a lot more selective and expensive wardrobe (that can't be covered by a labcoat). It would have come with some benefits, but also paid less, and there wasn't the same guaranteed schedule that I currently have.

Besides, I know that if I had taken the job, I would have ended up quitting as soon as I found something better, and I wouldn't want to leave Eric in a lurch like that. I guess that as much as I complain about my current job, it's not really that bad, all things considered. But it's definately not what I want to be doing long term (obviously), so I really need to buckle down and start working on my art and writing if I want to get out of the 8-5 grind.

Still no word yet on Jenny's possible new job prospect. She hasn't heard anything from the other frame shop, although she does know she's getting sick of working for Michaels. They've got a revolving door of employees, and it seems the frame shop is the most difficult to keep staffed. Her ex-manager left (for the frame shop she wants to work at), and they got a replacement who lasted for 3 days before walking out and taking a better paying job at a completely different company. His replacement is way too young and has no management experience. I'm sure they'd like to promote Jenny, but there's no way she would ever take it (and her superiors know this).

My hopes for a clean break from the IRS were shattered when I received yet another statement in the mail this month, for a completely different amount (a little over a $100 this time). I'm through with dealing with them by phone. I know I need to just go into the local office with my checkbook and ask them "how much do you want?" At this point I'm willing to give them more than they're owed (which, if they never find that last check, I already have), just to be done with the whole situation. The problem is when I'll actually be able to get to the IRS office, as I'm at work from 8-5, Monday though Friday.

Well, that just about brings us up to speed with all the basic going-ons....

Small Update

Well, I guess it's been a while since either of us updated the blog! Nothing too exciting has been going on. I've been sick with a nasty sinus infection for going on 3 weeks now. I've been feeling much better for the past week, but still very sniffly.

My sister turned 26 back on Feb. 21st, and had a good time. My Mom's birthday is coming up on the 21st. I have to close at work, but I might head over during the day to wish her happy birthday. Or, I'll head over with Peter on Thursday after he gets off work if she wants to wait to celebrate then.

Patty called this morning to tell me that my aunt who lives in Post Falls, ID is over her larengitis. In fact I could hear her and Dad laughing over the phone. So that was good. Patty also told me that Mom's sisters were coming up very soon, and was wondering if I was coming over. The memorial for Grandpa is supposed to happen sometime this month, but I don't know when that's happening exactly. Mom's been making quilts for herself and her siblings out of some of Grandpa's shirts and out of other material with scenes that remind her of him. I know she wanted the quilts to be done before the memorial, but I'm not sure how far she is at the moment.

About 2 weeks ago, I house and animal-sat for Jenni while she and family all went down to visit her parents-in-law in Arizona. That was fun. They have a nice house, and funny animals.

On Thursday, it was one of our friend's 29th birthdays. We hadn't spoken in months, but I figured it would still be nice to wish him a happy birthday. It turned out the e-mail address I had for him didn't work anymore, so I spent a couple hours hunting him down with Google, finally finding him through an image search. I got his work e-mail and wished him a happy birthday, and was imediately sent back a message saying that he would be out of the office till Monday. So, I hope he got it today and didn't get in trouble for getting a personal e-mail at work.

Hmm. Peter and I also saw some good movies lately, but I'll let him talk about them. -J

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5im0Ssyyus

Sick and Not Quite So Tired....

I spent all of yesterday at work with the hugest migraine type headache that felt like my head was going to explode, while fighting off bouts of nausea and alternating hot/cold flashes. So today I stayed home and slept for 12 hours. I'm still sick, but I suppose I do feel better - as long as I don't move around too much and stay out of direct sunlight.

Turns out the truck's problem was the alternator - Jenny took it to the local Toyota place this morning and they replaced it and fixed up the leads on the battery. Didn't cost near as much as we thought it would, and atleast it's fixed (until something else comes up).

It also appears that while our tax problem should be remedied, they are still claiming that we owe money. I had sent in a "final payment" check after getting a total from an IRS rep, but then received another statement with a completely different amount a couple of weeks ago. I called the IRS back, explained the whole situation, and the rep I talked to that time had No Idea where this new amount came from. And although the final check cleared, and I have copies of the check in question with all the US Treasury jargon plastered all over it, she could find no record of a check for that amount being received. But she did have a record of a check being received for an amount that I never sent! Sooo.... I've got to send in copies of said check to some IRS office where (hopefully) some guy in a suit will push a magic button and fix everything. I'm not holding my breath.

'Tis the Season....

Well, Sunday was our first day at Borders. I pretty much fell right back into step there, remembering how everything was done. Jenny picked up everything pretty quickly as well, although she hasn't got a chance to run thru register training yet. But we spent an hour on the floor as the only booksellers in the store, and everything went smoothly - it ain't rocket science though. :)

I'm still sick. In fact, I got more sick over the weekend, and I've been burning thru kleenex and Dayquil pretty fast. I called in sick today and yesterday. I'm going to attempt to go into work tomorrow, but they may send me home when I start sniffling and sneezing. We'll see, I suppose....

We did get the Christmas tree up today, along with most of the decorations. We haven't trimmed the tree yet (there's only the angel on top, and a solitary ornament so far), but it'll be soon. We also picked up a couple more Christmas albums and have those on rotation in the CD player. I ordered the Kingston Trio CD on Sunday (it should be in within the week), but apparently there is no Limeliters' Christmas album. I could have sworn I remembered listening to one as a kid, but apparently I was just remembering them performing the song "Go Where I Send Thee" (a Christmas song on one of their albums). Maybe I can find it on iTunes or something.

Oh, and Sunday was also 40% off day, so we picked up a few things: a couple of reference books for Jenny for her novel, a couple of CDs, and some other assorted books, including the Maya 8 Foundations book I've been wanting. It includes a free copy of Sketchbook Pro v. 1.1.1, plus I can download a complete "learning" edition of Maya 8 from the Autodesk website to teach myself how to use it. So many things to learn, and so few hours in the day....