The past week has been quite busy. In that exhaustion-inducing way trying to do everything can be. I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the week or at least Thursday to recuperate from all the busy.

In trying to do everything I wanted, I seemed to get quite a bit accomplished at work last week even though I was in a different branch. I went swimming with the kids in my new fancy bathing suit. And had supper with two good friends in Calgary and their little girl who is very cute. Spent some time with a friend of mine from high school. And helped someone buy a new office chair. Heh. Because maybe we threw out his old one.

The drive home in the rain was fun. I was so happy to see Cheruby when I got into Saskatoon. All my fears about just being with someone have been put aside. While there is no label for our relationship besides that we are seeing each other, it's still good. Although, he got his first taste of crazy today because I haven't eaten enough and was getting all anxious about my to do list this evening. I've had some Nerds since then, but nothing substantial. I'm still proud of having noted my craziness while still in it. My powers of communication are completely shot though. A simple conversation has been very difficult for me.

Hmmm... it seems that I have less friends than I thought in Saskatoon. Everytime I look at my list of frequently called numbers, I keep running into a peculiar problem - they're mostly long distance. When did that happen?

The weekend was spent in the fabulous company of Cheruby with some naps and X-Men 3 with friends and TV and games with Neuba thrown in. I eventually had to sleep yesterday, but it was great while it lasted.

It's funny how talking about the people I know with the other people I know about what I read on so-and-so's blog has become a natural part of conversation and keeping up with friends. When I get busy and don't have time to read every day or two or seven, it takes me a few hours to catch up. Like now. I just spent the last few hours reading and commenting on other's blogs. I feel like I've spent some time with each one of those friends and they don't feel so remote anymore. I know a bit of what's going on in their life. I know that I can't possibly actually know how they are really doing without actually spending time with them in some way, but at three in the morning, it's the best I can do.

I was touched by the personal exposure that some people shared. One of my co-workers took the time to read some of my blog and asked how I could put so much personal information out there. What have I got to hide from the world? I learned a long time ago that the world doesn't revolve around me and that mostly, I'm the only one that thinks about me that much. That actually takes a lot of pressure off me to be perfect. No one expects me to be perfect and doesn't spend time thinking about all the ways that I'm not perfect.

Did I mention that I've been feeling really happy lately. I've got a lot of good things going and I've started figuring out how to just be happy without trying to find the next big flaw in me to correct.

I've got a lot of good things going and a lot of really great friends and family to share it with.

Today, we started out with breakfast at Phil's. That prompted a story about chemical drain dissolvent. You'll have to ask TUO is you want to know. Brunch was good and it was exactly what we needed before heading out to the zoo.

I took lots of pictures and played with my video capabilities on my phone. I ended up deleting the videos of the snow leopard because I didn't have a lot of room on my camera. They were good videos, but I got a lot more pictures. Camels, baby muskox [delighted squeal], monkeys, elephants, baby big horn sheep, a gigantor snake [shudder], hippos [YAY!], giraffes, tigers, and so much more.

It was a good day and my previous unhappiness at seeing all those animals in cages was much less this time, but probably because I was waiting for it and squashed it quickly. It just seems so wrong.

All the walking and sunshine made for a sleepy Suzi. I'll try to post my pictures later.

I know that I like to talk. And talk and talk and talk. But I can't hold a candle to my dad. I mean, WOW! He's incredible at the amount he can talk. We drove to Calgary together last night and there wasn't any music or any other distractions. The only silence I got was when he was eating and he's trying to eat less so that means talking more. He managed to get me all fired up about something which means I have to talk loudly and more forcefully. That's the easy part when I get passionate about a topic. Mostly, it was just so that he wouldn't interrupt me and try to explain something else about what I was saying. (I have to get it somewhere. [grin])

Great Allergy Man has now threatened my dad's life many times. It seems that when I have an energy drink, I don't shut up when I get excited. And I was very excited to be in the company of so many good friends. Wheeee! I was so tired that I was able to sleep anyway once I managed to be quiet for five minutes. Of course, I woke up and still felt giddy and giggly. There is too much tired in the late night and early morning for this much cute. [happy dance]

Being surrounded by the friends I've made over the years was so amazing yesterday. Not everyone could make it, but they were with me in spirit. Especially my dad, Cenobyte and family, Cheruby, and my brother and family.

I learned so many great things are going on my friends' lives that I didn't know about yet. An engagement, a bid on a first house, a job interview, new opportunities, a possible reunitement, etc. So many good things happening for so many people. Oh, and an invitation to a D&D game. Sweet!

Forty people came out to help me celebrate and five people had well wishes via other mediums including a lovely phone call with my grandma in the morning and my dad calling from the road singing happy birthday to me.

And once again, I was surprised at people getting me presents. You'd think that I'd learn this one. The celebration of my birthday was supposed to be the present to me. That doesn't mean that the stuff i got wasn't incredibly neat and cool and delightful and appreciated. I got gardening stuff for my new favourite hobby, a hammock, an acre of rain forest, frog magnets, Lego knights, magnetic poetry, Logan's Run, thanks for inspiring a friend, money, a silk scarf, a glass bead necklace, balloon animal menagerie, Satsuma essential oil set, chocolate covered almonds, etcetera. And what meant the most was the well wishes from everyone. I cried several times throughout the day for good reasons and none for bad reasons.

And last but not least, showing my age by showing you how much I love this particular piece I found on Nueba's blog.

And lastly, I didn't have a chance to tell everyone why I wanted to celebrate my birthday with so many people. I wouldn't be the person I am today without the influence of all my family and friends and their experience and support and constancy. Thank you everyone for everything you've been through with me in the past 30 years. You mean the world to me.

Thanks very much to Drang and his tallness, I now have patio lanterns in my back yard! YAY! They're awesome and I can't wait to test them out tonight.

Cheruby, as he will thusly be known, is leaving on a jet plane to Vancouver tonight. A trip planned much in advance, but he did give me a birthday present yesterday. Cosmic Cows. Sounds right up my alley, eh? It's a cross between Yahtzee and beaming cows up to your alien space ship. What's not fun about that? Heh. I'm really going to miss him.

The little one has learned how to open the screen door by herself when she wants to come outside to see me. Today this resulted in my opening the screen door as her paws were in it. She was practicing her technique. The she ran under Drang's car as he was preparing to leave.

When I sent out my birthday invites, I know that I asked for RSVPs. Only about a quarter of those people actually RSVP'd. And if all the people that didn't RSVP that I expect to show up anyway actually don't show up, I'm going to have a lot of leftover food and drinks. Pirates don't keep that well.

I had a really funny thought the other day after my dad told me that he didn't think he was going to make it to my party. I completely understand that he can't hear that well anymore and it's even worse where there are a lot of people talking. So I thought, "What could I do to make it better for him?" I came up with the perfect solution! Invite Cenobyte's dad! They could sit together and say, "What was that again?" or "Can you repeat that? I didn't quite catch it." Heh. Of course, I didn't buy any Pil for Cenobyte's dad so chances of him showing are slim, but still, the mental image of those two in the corner hoping that everyone they were talking to would just yell so they could make out the words. I have no idea whether Cenobyte's dad is hard of hearing, but it's funnier if he is. Then I imagined them not getting along and having two old guys in two different corners of the yard. Or getting into a fistfight which is just as amusing to me.

Didn't I hear that somewhere? Life ends at 30? LOL I'm just poking all you REALLY old folks out there like cenobyte, tuo, R:tAG, etc. Oh, I suppose my mom fits in that category too, but she's so young at heart that I forget how old she is most of the time.

My to do list in the next few days isn't that long either - final food and drink arrangements, vacuuming, picking up the last of the borrowed items, string up patio lanterns and get a massage. Sweet!

And I have a date tonight. Too bad he won't be in Saskatoon for my birthday party. One of my friends has asked me several times when she gets to meet him so we're playing Shadows Over Camelot tonight. Great game so we should have a good time.

I'm going to try to get my running around done today so I'll be home all day tomorrow to do whatever I please. Maybe even play some City of Heroes.

Well, I have to say that I'm very, very happy. You may have noticed that already what with two weeks of nothing but sickeningly sweet posts about my dating. We had another date last night which I think went very well. The new Battlestar Gallactica movie is quite good and creepy.

So, I have been doing other things besides going on dates lately. I formed my garden yesterday and the cats are doing their best to destroy it. There was spray painting of plastic leaves yesterday to make "laurel crowns" for work next week. Planting of peas also happened although nothing else. I noticed just now that my callalily that she gave me for my birthday is already poking through the soil on my computer desk. I made something grow!! And my little one is getting very big indeed. My mom came to visit last week and I should get to see her again today. A dear friend came into the city and we went to an expo at Centennial Auditorium which was interesting. Getting the last of party details all lined up so I have a worry free weekend with nothing to cause me stress.

I'm so happy.

Last night was another fabulous date. Oh my goodness, my belly is still full of happy little butterflies. [sigh]

We went to a ceili, an Irish dance. He was playing for parts of it and came to dance with me for parts of it. I learned three Irish dances last night and had a blast. I got to laugh at myself and have fun as a bunch of us were learning the new dance. There were some people who knew what they were doing which was very helpful for me to see how it's supposed to be done. I picked everything else up fairly quickly. I liked the Haymaker because I got to stomp my feet. Heh.

The kids running around on the dance floor for the first part of the evening were great. There was one kid who would lay "sleeping" under the tables by the stage and the other kids would come partway to the front until the "wolf woke up" and then they'd scream and run to the back of the hall. They played that one for a while. And they played Duck Duck Goose and they played some form of tag that I remember playing, but don't remember the name of. It's the one where if you get tagged by the It person, you have to stand there with your arms out until someone runs under one of them so that you're free. It wasn't as good as dodgeball, but then again, what is? [grin] They offered me great entertainment along with the really wonderful music.

I feel so young with this whole dating thing. It's fun and it's odd to think that I'm going to be 30 next weekend and still dating. The two ideas aren't congruent to me, but I suppose that's just a product of having my parents married since forever and my brother having his first kid at the same age my mom was when he was born. Apparently, 23 is the ideal age for your first child, or so my mom's doctor told her when she was pregnant with my brother. I'm a little behind the times. Of course, the doctor could have just been settling my mom's fears. Either way, it's what I believe and it makes me feel young.

The best thing about dating this guy (I've let myself start calling him Sweetie), is that I'm not afraid of getting hurt. The knowledge is there that it's a possibility as with any risk, but I've been wonderfully naive to it this time around. It could end at any moment and I'd be hurt, but I'm savouring ever wonderful moment of starting this relationship.

My coworkers actually used the word sickening in regard to my skipping and beaming around the office. Don't care - they can suck it up.

You can do your part by talking to at least one unstable person.

I was driving at the speed of light down 8th Street tonight.

Okay, so I was skipping around the office this morning. I'm having a hard time finding words to describe how I'm feeling because I haven't tried to analyze it to death. I've just been enjoying it. Submersing myself in the excitement and not worrying about ifs and whens. No doubts, just looking forward to the future whatever may come.

Having said all that, I'd like to thank all you folks out there that taught me strategy. All those games I played and lost - apparently, I'm not good enough to beat any of you, but I'm good enough to have beginner's luck at some new games that require some strategy.

Tonight, the young man and I played Acquire which, as he puts it, is a game they made back when they tried to teach business strategy through board games. Hotel chains, mergers, and stocks are all part of this game. And guess what? I won. Heh. It's so silly. I could feel the competition monster rising in my chest, but there was so much random luck involved rather than just my skill, I couldn't really be upset about anything.

I'm enjoying myself so thoroughly that it doesn't matter about anything else.

I was quite excited that I was invited to make up a goblin tonight. It was like being asked if I wanted to be his girlfriend, but not quite. I'm not even sure what to call him yet except the guy that I'm dating. That's all it is, but I don't like things not being more ... stable. But that's the silly in me coming out. Not wanting to wait to see how things turn out and yet wanting to take things slow so that I can savour every moment. [sigh]

My coworker giggled at me today when I skipped back to my desk. I hadn't really noticed that I'd done it.

In other news, some significant items have left my house and gone to my ex-roommate's new place. YAY! There is an upset poor kitty in my sewing room because her momma is also moving and needs a safe place for her baby so the building manager doesn't see her. My mom is coming to visit this week. YAY! And my birthday party is in less than two weeks. HUZZAH!!

Oh and I had to tell my chiropractor that I'm kind of dating someone so maybe I shouldn't meet the guy he wanted to set me up with. He said that the news lead into what he needed to tell me - the guy is also seeing someone! Unfortunately, he won't be able to make it to my birthday party as he has a very important AGM to attend that day. Poopy. I'll live.

And I've had lots of invites as short-notice as they are, from an old friend. They have been very welcome invites out to things so I hope that one of these times, I can make it.