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Before we get started, here's some new LCD Soundsystem for your listening enjoyment... (Awesome, SteveK, your tip about just shrinking the height on the YouTube player works!!!)

Much of my thoughts go like an agile retrospective these days... project management is permeating my thinking patterns.

Good

• I made it to DrupalCon San Francisco, and despite being sick and going late, had a great time, and rested lots so I got better and not sicker while I was there.
• Over the flu. After shaking the death cough, my lungs actually feeling better than they have in over a year and a half. My voice is back which makes me very happy, except my high singing range, but I'm sure that will return with a little more time.
• Work is busy. I feel like I am being effective, and like my hard work over the last year and a half is paying off making things run smoothly, having everyone feel self-actualized, having happy clients, and getting to do the kind of work we enjoy.
• I feel more appreciated and at peace in various aspects of my life than I have in a long time. (Ever?)
• Eating lots of good food; I have gained back about 2.5 of the 8.5 pounds I lost since February. Might not seem like much but I was worried it would be even harder to gain anything back.
• Got a crapload of blood tests done last weekend, and they all came back normal. I was getting lots of bruising, but I can safely assume now that it is just from being a bit malnutritioned, and that some steady Vit C intake will fix me up.
• Also, I went back to the old walk-in clinic I used to go to before I started hunting for a GP...Holy I forgot how much better a couple of the docs there are. 
• I've mostly been sleeping a lot better lately, and sleeping/waking earlier than is normal for me. It's felt very odd, but in a good way. I doubt it will last much longer, but it's been nice.
• I have been feeling more relaxed in general. I like this. I'm pretty sure the people around me like it too.
• I have more spoons lately.
• I've been doing a better job at keeping a balance, taking care of myself, asking for help, not being mad at myself for not feeling well.
• Oh, and my Drupal Voices podcast that was recorded at the conference was posted this week!

Bad

• My stomach is still generally feeling awful, more awful than normal, as has been the case since last summer. (Luckily looks like I'm gonna get a referral to a new, hopefully more helpful, GI doc when walk-in doc is back from vacation.)
• My apartment is getting more construction. It makes me crazy. I am househunting. I don't find moving fun.
• My back and neck have been fucking killing me lately. Too much computer and sickness, not enough yoga and off-computer time.
• I ate moldy soy yogurt today. No biggie, just gross.
• I don't have much Drupal Docs mojo right now.
• I really, really miss several beloved friends who are not here.
• Not sure if this is really a "bad" but I'm not sure going to DrupalCon Copenhagen is really going to be the best thing for me right now.

Do differently next time

• Get annual flu shot. It's just not worth getting the flu (I've had it 4 times in 3 years since moving downtown!)
• Not stand for useless and/or rude doctors.
• Not eat suspicious soy yogurt. (I have made this mistake more than once now.)
• Do more yoga! Do more yoga! Do more yoga! When will I learn?

Friday, December 19th - lovely dusting of snow, viewed through the window of AB headquarters.  Finished off and had a great evening with friends, then spent Saturday and Sunday running around prepping to leave for LA, where I was heading to spend Christmas with my cousins.

Then came the onset of the snow-mageddon.  I have never seen such a thing in downtown Vancouver, nevermind what hit the entire country!  By Sunday night I was growing very concerned about the state of things, and by the time I was supposed to be leaving for the airport, I realized that the likeliness of being able to get to the airport, nevermind actually fly out was quickly dropping.  I admitted defeat, and Boris cheered me up with some stick to yer bones, hot tasty lunch, and a big tupperware full of leftovers.  Good thing too, as the snow continued to fall so much so that I couldn't even get to the North Shore for Christmas to hang with my mom's side of the family, and happily ate the leftovers for the next three days.

Needless to say, it was a quiet Christmas. Steven suprised me and saved Christmas Eve by making the trek across downtown to hang out for the evening, which was very nice as we were long overdue for some quality time.

And on the upside, I got a full refund for my flight, so I'll be able to reschedule and go later on.

Aside from that and the occasional venture out on foot to stock up on food, it was a quiet and relaxing week...maybe a bit too quiet, but I did my best not to let it get to me.  One perk of being downtown when it blizzards, is that I (being a person who normally avoids boxing day like the plague) took the bus up Robson on boxing day and did a little shopping--it was totally dead out there, and I scored a few great things including a nice wool jacket (I've been searching a loooong time for one).

Then, since I didn't go away, I got to hang with Tall Scott on Sunday before he headed out to go visit with Scott in Argentina for the next few weeks.  Looking forward to having both of my Scotts in back town again a month from now!

Today I finally managed to get my car out after it being stuck in the snow for the last 9 days, and went and bought a new mattress, which will be arriving Wednesday.  Exciting!  The rest of the crew continues to trickle back into town, and this week is looking like it's going to be a lot more fun, which is great after all that resting!

Hope everyone has an excellent New Years Eve--stay warm, be safe, and appreciate having your loved ones nearby!

It's supposed to go down to -19C with the wind chill tonight.  Totally unheard of.  Everyone is complaining about the cold like crazy, and yet I'm pretty sure a lot of people are really enjoying it (myself included).  Maybe it's the lack of rain, but people seem pretty cheery.

Of course for a lot of people who aren't as lucky as us, it's very, very tough dealing with this kind of weather.  I feel even luckier that usual just to have my warm, dry apartment and a nice bed to sleep in.

By the middle of the week I finished my antibiotics and started feeling quite a bit better, which was a huge relief.  At least I got through the worst of it before going to visit my cousins.

Yesterday and today have been great days, especially in contrast to the rest of the last week and a half.  Spent the evening doing some power Christmas shopping on Denman with Tall Scott, which was perfect as all the stores were open, but totally not busy, and Denman's actually great for shopping for presents!  Then did a little impromptu gift exchange with a few friends, and spent the rest of the night reading each other excerpts of some funny books, and laughing hysterically to the point of tears and cramped stomach muscles.

What a lovely way to finish off the week.  Feeling very optimistic right now.  Like finally I'm starting to get things right.  For all the things that have gone wrong this year, each one has been a great learning experience and has brought me closer to where I want to be.  A better version of myself, unappologetic for those things about me that I can't change, and constantly improving those that I can.

1. Beautiful snow-covered Vancouver.
2. Friends who are family.
3. Awesome job, working with awesome people, doing awesome stuff.
4. Good books.
5. Sleeping in.
6. People making me cookies made of love.
7. Family who are friends.
8. Mom and dad.
9. Legwarmers under jeans.
10. Getting to pet a dog in the bookstore.
11. Someone mysteriously brushing off the tank so I could drive it today.
12. Laughing till you cry and your stomach muscles and face hurt.
13. And what would a happy list be without cute boys?

Lots of love, safe travels, and happy and relaxing holidays to everyone!

First things first--I just got a bunch of film from the past 2 years developed (including from the Gastown/Chinatown all film photowalk from earlier in the summer). A few shots here, and if you want to see the rest of them check it out the set on Flickr.

Went out to Launch Party tonight for a little bit, but just really flaked out pretty quickly and decided to head home after saying hi to everyone. Last day on antibiotics, yay! Hopefully the dreaded sinus infection is gone for good, I don't think I can take any more of it!

My parents came out last weekend for a visit because my dad had a consulting thing here on Tuesday, but he had to go home Wednesday morning so he could get back to his teaching duties. My mom's here till tomorrow evening, so we got to spend a little extra time together. Pretty good visit and got to see some relatives too earlier in the week, which was nice.

In other news, I'm about to start a new job next week, which I'm really excited about! It's going to be a bit of an adjustment after being so lucky to have a bunch of time off, but I think it's going to be really great and interesting, and all that good stuff, so I am looking forward to getting back into a routine and being productive again!

My apartment is an ongoing gong show: bed bugs (last spray is Monday but I actually finally saw one, it was floating in my toilet and I think fell out of the ceiling vent above, since I still haven't actually had any in my bed, but now I'm freaked out!), pipes bursting and water being shut off randomly (no water for me tomorrow, boo), chunks of cement falling off the balcony, and still to have new windows installed...if anyone hears about a good place in the West End or Mount Pleasant, let me know!!!

Otherwise, the residual summer craziness seems to be quieting down, and I am starting to feel a little more balanced again. It's going to be nice to have a routine again and also just to get back to doing normal stuff. Hopefully it will also help get my sleeping patterns somewhat normalized again as well... Going to the gym, reading, spending time with friends who are finishing big endeavours (you know who you are, congrats!), maybe getting the ol' crafternoons going again. It will be very, very nice... Hello fall, it's good to see you.

Been having a crappy day, on top of a fairly stressful few weeks, so decided to take a cue from Rachel and focus on the positive:

1. I reorganized my hall closet, and it's much better than before, allowing me to keep my entrance less cluttered, and access stuff, which makes me happy.
2. I'm getting my hair cut and coloured tomorrow, with Martin, which makes it fun rather than a chore.
3. The Jazz Festival starts tomorrow.
4. Four and a half more workdays till 10 glorious days off (including going to the cabin!!!)
5. Flirting with boys

What are your five things today?

This was by far one of the most fun weekends I've had in a long time. It was largely because I'm finally feeling a fair bit better, probably back to 80% or so after a few weeks of all my health crap flaring up. I forget how nice it is to actually have the energy to actually do all the stuff I want!

Friday was pretty low key, but highlights involved going swimming for the first time in a couple years. The funny part was there was a couple triathletes there (World Triathlon Championships were in town this weekend), just to contrast the two ends of the human swimming ability spectrum. Things I forgot about swimming: 1) how psyched I get when I throw on my jeans and a hoody over my swimsuit before heading out, 2) how fun it is, and how relaxing swimming under the water can be, and 3) how much I totally suck at it! Good times none the less, and I will definitely have to go more often now that I broke the seal! Friday night, headed over to Snootytown...I mean Yaletown, and watched House of Flying Daggers with some friends, which was actually an okay movie, very visually stunning even though the story line was a little iffy. Much goofiness and fun was had over the course of the evening.

Saturday was action packed! I didn't even leave the West End, and it was one of the best days I've had in ages! The day started out with the first West End Farmer's Market of the year, and boy was I ready for it. The Farmer's Market is one of my favorite things about summer, and I love making the trip over there every Saturday once I'm up and at it. Stocking up on tasty food for the week is just as much fun as chatting with the farmers and vendors, and running into random friends and acquaintances from the neighbourhood. I'll be writing a more detailed post about the first market of the season on Spend Locally.

I had kind of a loosely planned afternoon, because I wasn't sure what the weather was going to be like, it's been really off and on lately. If it was raining, I was going to go to pancake breakfast with some lovely peoples, and if it was sunny, well...have you heard about World Naked Bike Ride? It was indeed a sunny afternoon, and I almost chickened out, but I was like, "Hey, why the heck not?", so I took my lovely bike and headed down to Sunset Beach. Admittedly, I did not go full buff, especially since there were SO many gawkers taking pictures, but I did ride around downtown in some cute undies and had a fabulous time! Not too many people I knew turned up, though there were probably a couple hundred people--but I did see more of one old friend and one new one than I had ever hoped I would! Hah. Fun times! It was a riot...until we rode up the hill on Robson, where I finally succumbed to my asthma and general lack of being in shape, and knew that it was my time to put my dress back on and coast back home. I can't even explain to you how great a time I had, riding with all the free spirited great people, but suffice it to say it was a big win for project YES.

Leslie took some photos before the ride started, and they're really wonderful. I know I've said it before, but she's such a great photographer--if anyone in Vancouver is looking for a wedding photographer, you should definitely check out her site! She got a bunch of great shots that she made into the amazing (and tasteful!) montage above. She also took the shot of me in all my pale glory...

Then after a shower and throwing together a salad, I walked over to Alex's for a BBQ which had a great mix of people (mostly who I didn't know), including accountants and actuaries, a lawyer, a few techies, a few academics, old friends, and a guy from Austin, TX, who was couchsurfing for the night on one of her friends' couch. Much chatting and eating was done, and then a rousing game of Catch Phrase, which was actually stupidly fun--we played boys against girls, and I have no idea who was winning, but it was hilarious! Eventually, the night rolled on and I started getting sleepy and strolled home.

This morning I tackled the pile of dishes that I made over the course of the last couple days before heading out for a quiet brunch/lunch over in Yaletown with my best buddies. I wasn't going to go originally, but a little gentle arm twisting got out there, and I'm glad I went mostly due to the company, but an honourable mention goes to the tasty roasted chicken I got, which will last me a couple more meals yet.

The grey weather was just what I needed after a fun-filled weekend, to slow down and take care of many loads of laundry, tidying, sewing, and random computery stuff I needed to catch up on. All that's left now is to make some food for tomorrow and the cozy up in my freshly washed bed.