the harmonious notes of life

This last week I've been somewhat helping my beloved husband with the inherited Debian booth at OSCon in between work days and hours. Despite lacking in sleep at the moment - I've been a little deprived since Sunday, I've had the pleasure of meeting new people in the open source community as well as greeting acquaintances and new friends. It actually... amazes me... how many people I know in this community /around here/, or at least who travel to the area for such things and I 1) remember and 2) am happy to see. (Tom, you'll always be a pleasure to drink with! Jeff, I miss you again already! And Bruno, I'll remember you by your smile and name, I promise - not by the flag you wear around your shoulders - but thank you for doing that, had you not, I would likely not have approached you to ask why you were wearing a Brazilian flag!) Meeting and drinking with Brad Fitzpatrick was interesting. He's a pretty laid back and nice guy. I swore he was taller, though that may have been in part due to the wine consumption - perhaps my impression is a bit foggy. ;) I believe Steve set out with BDale's plan to make the Debian booth about *community* and *people*, and... I think it was very largely successful. While we didn't necessarily have a lot of people at the booth at once yesterday, I hear that today, there were a lot of people there just talking and generally enjoying each other's company (largely in part to, I'm sure, Keith Packard emerging from work duty rounds!) The Sun party last night was a lot of fun, guys. I really enjoyed myself, and don't think I've laughed that much in a long, long time. (And, Mark, I'm still not convinced I have the biggest smile in Debian - perhaps we should have some sort of contest to see who does?)

But, my life hasn't just been about beer and brownies. I've also had work responsibilities - which, nicely, are very few outside of work. I did use some of my time off yesterday (I claimed the hours) to work on the schedule for the tech (nursing) staff. I, personally, think I did a good job with this one, and managed to make everyone happy (I think). But, I was getting ready to return to work after my lunch hour (I just spent in the breakroom with a book as I normally do), when I was hunted down by the hospital manager (think: Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny) and presented with a nice card and a box of chocolates to *thank me* and show appreciation for my hard work, dedication and ability to calmly handle everything that's been happening lately. It was.. unexpected. Had I not been sleep deprived and unable to think clearly, I would have likely offered up the chocolates to the rest of the nurses and insisted we all had a hand in keeping order and thanked her, but... well, I thanked her, floored and taken quite aback, and put the chocolates in my bag for personal consumption later.

It was ... /so/ ... the right choice. I haven't had chocolates this good in a long, long, LONG time. And while I've been raised to share with everyone around and to be generous, there's only so much kindness one can show when faced with something this delicious. Sorry, Kathy. I know you'd be disappointed to know I'm being greedy with my chocolate, but /damn/. Bernard Callebaut is... simply amazing. I've never had anything that's melted in my mouth quite like this before, and I fear Steve's now going to be stuck when he needs to purchase chocolates for one reason or another. If you happen to be near one of their locations, check them out - you won't be sorry!

But, general social life plus some amazing chocolates. Now if I could just get some sleep, I'd be one happy girl.

P.S.
Switched back to Debian. Multiple Desktops, transparent tool bars and Turny Bally Game make life grand. Skadi seems to be much happier now, too. She doesn't seem to freak out as much.

Steve and I celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary yesterday, though after some discussion, we joked about having 2 anniversaries - one on the day we decided we were a couple, and one on the day we were formally married. We always seem to miss the first date, and the latter, well, we almost missed this year - or at least Steve did until I asked him what we were doing and his response was, "Let's go see a movie!" And I stared at him, and he looked at the calendar, and he said, "Oooooooooh. *This* weekend..." and proceeded to wait unitl Saturday to decide anyway. Oh well.

Unfortunately, I had to work, but such is life. I did end up getting half the day off, so Steve and I wandered around the Lake Oswego Farmer's Market, got lunch, bought berries, and then wandered homewards for him to get some work done and me to quietly read. (He desparately needed his time, and... I understand. So, I gave him a little while longer, then demanded his attention.) We ate at a lovely little Persian restaurant downtown and had a couple glasses of Plum Wine over dessert at home. Then, we talked. It's just so nice to lay back, cuddle and *talk*, and we rarely have the time to do that anymore. Lots of things, the future, our plans, our hopes, potential job offers.

It's interesting how we're here today. We've now known each other for 11 years - friends first and always. It's very comfortable and very comfort*ing*. Although we have our spats, and we usually take out irritations and frustrations on each other, we really do think in terms of "we", not "I" or "him/her". I like it. I don't feel alone when we're this close. I don't feel as though I have so much to take on myself. I know he's there to help me - to support me however he can, and it's the same the other way around. If he needs me, I don't hestitate to be there for him.

I love Steve with all my heart, and he loves me every bit as much. We make a great team, and I know we'll be even better next year.

After a bit of drama missing our plane in London, and getting on stand-by for a plane to PDX from Houston, we've safely made it home. Well, we made it home Monday night, but I pretty much passed out as soon as I could, then worked all day yesterday and passed out shortly after getting home from work.

It was a fun trip, all told. I had the opportunity to visit some places I would never have had the opportunity without friends (Stonehenge and Cambridge - could someone point me towards the university, please?). I tried sausage and mash, but strayed away from the haggis. I reconnected with friends I haven't seen for 3 years, and joked with friends who live just a few miles from me, but only ever see when we cross oceans for DebConf. I danced on a sprained ankle (only a waltz!) and lost my keys somewhere along the way. So, my keys are still on vacation without me, and it cost Steve about $300 altogether to replace them all (Toyota keys are expensive to replace). So, if anyone sees my keys out there living it up in Scotland, please kindly tell them it's time to come home.

But, now, I'm home and loving on my kitties and enjoying the fresh Portland air through our windows.

Pictures have been uploaded to my gallery site. I have pictures of DebConf, though not a lot. Pictures of Wales and England (including Stonehenge!). And pictures of the civil union ceremony for Daniel and Rob.

It was a great trip, but as always, I'm glad to be home. I love my friends, but there's just something about seeing Mt Hood through the plane window that makes me tear up and feel welcome back here. Mmmm. It's good to be back, even if our condo is a pit at the moment. =)

Went to Daniel Silverstone's civil union ceremony in Wales. Now he has a husband, too! He finally understands my pain! This trip required a short plane trip from Edinburgh to some small airport in Wales, where we rented a 7-passenger van for the 6 of us plus our luggage, then a 3 hour drive to the coast (Solva) where we stayed at Bed and Breakfasts until the next morning where we drove to London via Stonehenge. For those not in the UK, From Solva to London, going via Stonehenge is Not Normal (apparently).

But! I got to see Stonehenge! It was cool, but unfortunately it's a mystery, and one nobody knows about, and it's something I'm not going to figure out in the few minutes I had to look it over, so it frustrates me. However, I have pictures, but I haven't uploaded them and I need to shower then sleep so I can make an early flight and not want to kill people. We'll see how well that works out. So, I suppose I should start insisting the geeks in Steve McIntyer's living room find suitable geek space so I can force Steve to get some rest so we aren't snapping at each other tomorrow morning.

I'm so very tired, and as much fun as I've had, I'm really looking forward to getting home to my bed and my kitties.

Oh. Yeah. Lost my keys somewhere between PDX and here. Hopefully they're at home. =/

We arrived Saturday. It was nice and misty, perfect weather, really. Tired, but after some rest and food, all was good. Sunday, I asked what was going on with the Day Trip only to find out that the local team had given up on the prospect because there was no sponsorship available for it, and thus, they believed nobody would want to go (everyone would have to pay out of pocket). Well, I asked for ideas of what *I* could do on the traditional day trip day that Steve and I could steal away and enjoy Scotland for a little while. I was given ideas, and thought, "well, why can't we let more people come, too?"

So, I requested BoF time to discuss this with a few other people at the conference. There was interest in the ideas presented - especially one idea, going to The Isle of Bute. Well, with this in mind, I decided to make a general announcement on the mailing list, including the price (about 20 GBP per person for travel only).

I received a rather overwhelming response. This was Sunday. Moray and I discussed how we could do this, and started stressing - it looked like about 30 people were interested. But, no worries. As long as it stayed under 50, it was going to be easy to manage on short notice with no planning. We decided to collect monies from people interested so we could purchased their tickets while we gathered information on the best way to get there, and what would be the best idea once we arrived, then how to get back.

By the time I went to bed on Monday (way too late, honestly), I had 107 confirmed people for the day trip - 107 people /who had paid/ and followed the instructions I'd sent in the announcement email, and I knew a few more people were still interested even though they hadn't paid. I spoke with Neil McGovern about purchasing tickets, and we spent time trying to find a better alternative than taking a train to the coast - now we knew we were in trouble. We were looking at taking 120 people across the country and needed a sane way to do it.

During the day, we had a few people trickling in with more interest, but they either didn't understand the instructions in the email, didn't read the instructions in the email or simply didn't think the instructions in the email applied to them. So, I upped my count to 130 and added a sign-up sheet for people to get extra tickets on a first come, first served basis.

After much stressing, Neil came back with the hearbreaking news that we couldn't get coach buses on this short of notice. We were back to plan 1 of using the train system, and started building contingency plans on that - breaking the group into a couple of smaller groups; sending one a little earlier than the other, etc. But, I kept thinking back to our daytrip in Brazil, and how well that worked out despite the short notice and so forth. We would make this work. We had to.

Neil left for the train station to purchase the tickets. I remained behind the answer questions and look positive for everyone, even though my faith was wavering with each passing hour that Neil didn't return. More and more people signed up on the sign-up sheet, and we ended up topping 140 between those who had paid and those who had not, but wished to get one of the extra tickets. I managed to get the news to Neil that we needed *150* tickets, and he nearly fainted.

He returned, after having apparently stressed the Train People out and setting a record at Waverly Station for the most tickets sold in a single transaction. We now had *152* tickets. AND IT STILL WASN'T ENOUGH. However, the last 2 tickets were easy to work with. We did have a few restrictions on the 152 tickets - travel time restrictions - we were not allowed to travel during peak travel times - and we had to travel in groups of four since we were using FAMILY PASSES. Yes, Debian is apparently a family, and somehow, I'm the mom.

Now came the fun of imparting this information to the masses, ensuring they understood the information and were going to follow the instructions, and get everyone there and back with the very little planning we had.

We asked people to organize into groups of four and appoint a leader for their group. The leader was charged with the safety of the group - getting to the island and returning to Edinburgh and was given 3 UK phone numbers where Moray, Kevin and I could be reached in the event of an emergency. Steve helped figure out what to do and organize the chaos when handing out the tickets. ... And we managed to get them handed out in just a few hours. It worked amazingly well.

The next morning was Wednesday and we met early to get to the train station, then away. Noodles, Steve, Aigars, broonie and I took up the rear to help answer questions and direct people as needed - in both directions.

The island was beautiful, and it turns out there were no known issues. I know some people had hoped for more of a *forced* group activity, and some people had hoped for less travel, and some people yet had hoped for more individual options. In other words, there was no way to please all of them, and I accept that.

At first, I thought this was a thankless, hard job. And, hard it is. Absolutely. However, I've received such an outpouring of gratitude and appreciation from most of the attendees that I honestly feel my hard work was worth it. It paid off, and I believe they all had a chance to relax, enjoy each others' company and *have fun*. And sleeping until noon today I'm sure is helping my disposition on the whole thing.

Would I do this again? In a heartbeat, I'd just like more than 2 days of warning. I think a month or two should be sufficient, and never again will I be naive enough to believe it'll only be a couple dozen people. I now realize I need to plan for at /least/ 150, and I think, the next one will be closer to 200. Phew.

But! Pictures of the Isle of Bute at my gallery site!

And now, I get french lessons from Christian Perrier - probably the only person who can talk me into trying French. ;)

We leave La Coruña tomorrow, but today is our last day of staying at the gymnasium in the Universidade with the rest of the conference attendees. So, after I got up, I did the respectful thing of folding up our sleeping bags and mattresses, getting our shit organized and mostly packed, and otherwise preparing to leave. Steve, however typed at his laptop and bitched that I was doing that instead of showering and eating breakfast - I pointed out we had a huge mess where we were sleeping and it needed to get /done/. I got ready to head to the shower and Steve decided to pack up his laptop and head over "to get breakfast", which naturally consists of getting orange juice, some muffins and sitting at his laptop and typing some more.

...Which left /ME/ to fucking finish packing my stuff PLUS HIS *AND* tote *all* of our shit (minus his laptop) over to the building where we were having breakfast, since our hostel services are no longer available at the gymnasium. So, I get here, and before I can put shit down and get some juice (and chocolate so I'm calm enough to fucking TALK to him instead of YELLING at him in front of everyone), he demands to know if I got everything packed, because he seems to be the only person at this conference who it wasn't clear to that we needed to move our shit out of the gym. I informed him that it would be wise to not speak to me until I've had chocolate.

So, the thoughtful, considerate husband that I have, decided to follow me around while I was getting my juice and chocolate, repeating himself over and over and over and over again until I finally responded before I was forced to punch him in the neck.

I'm angry and on the verge of crying. And there's not a damned thing I can say or do to point out what an ASSHOLE he was being because of all the people here - it's not fair to them. Though, with as angry as I am, I doubt any of them would understand a single word I said since i tend to talk pretty damned fast when angry.

ETA:
After typing up this rant, I went on a walk to calm my nerves a little. I got back, and he approached me again, asking, and I quote, "Are you still pissy with me?" to which I responded, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." and I proceeded to very quietly and calmly enumerate the reasons why I was irritated. He doesn't seem to understand *why* I'm mad - he keeps insisting I'm angry for things he didn't know about. Which is bullshit. He could have been a little more respectful and considerate and *helped* me instead of sitting in ANOTHER BUILDING TYPING ON HIS LAPTOP AFTER HE ATE HIS BREAKFAST. I pointed that out, and he informed me I should have *walked over here* to get him, then *walked all the way back over there* to pack up our crap and *come back over here* so I can get breakfast and juice. Yeah, fuck that. I told him, "yes, I'm still angry with you, and I'm going to continue being angry with you until you apologize."

His response? "Have fun with that today." and he walked off.

Yeah. On the verge of tears again.

And let me tell you how much I love to see him joking and "being funny" with people online after he's acted like that towards me. I really mean nothing to him. At all.

Like when we got lost in the metro system underground in Barcelona - and I was getting clearly frustrated and tired of walking all over with our luggage and my heavy bag which was cutting into my shoulder (seriously, I have wounds), I kept my mouth shut. I didn't say anything. Seriously. He asked me a question and, yes, my reply was short and clipped - but that's all it was. So, he goes off on me for being a bitch and insists he's never going to take me out of the country again. This is what happens *after* I keep everything that was going through my mind to myself - didn't say a word - didn't go off on him about how we were walking in circles, about how tired I was, about how I didn't think this trip was a good idea /in the first place/, about how both of us were fairly sleep deprived, about how we were running low on time to get to the aiport, about how we could take a fucking taxi and have it over with, about how for a "vacation" this was turning into a pretty miserable experience for me... Nothing. I didn't say a word. I didn't even say anything after he called me a bitch and informed me he was never taking me out of the country again.

No, my only response was, "That was a very cold thing to say considering I haven't said *anything* that's been on my mind for the last hour, despite how much I wanted to." and didn't say another word to him.

This sucks, considering a week ago, I was singing his praises. And today? I'm wondering what it would take to get on a plane here and head back home without him.

We're in Barcelona. We've been here a few hours, but had to wander to our hotel, where I refused to leave until I had a hot shower and a nap. Steve tried to argue. I woke up a couple hours later to find him snoring beside me - and then subsequently told when he didn't wake up for a couple more hours, that it was all my fault because I took a nap. Mmmhmmm. I just smiled and nodded.

My right ear still hasn't equalized since we landed - about 12 hours ago. I've taken sudafed. I've taken a hot shower. I've stretched. I've yawned. And it sucks. Hopefully it'll equalize overnight. this is irritating. I can't hear *anything* in my right ear at the moment, so trying to listen carefully to softly-spoken Catalan in a restaraunt is not... fun.

Tomorrow we do the tourist thing.

Interesting notes about Barcelona:

1. Everything is uphill. Everything. Even when you're returning after having spent your entire leg energy going uphill, you still have to go uphill. It's amazing. I think Escher designed this city.
   
2. You will be pushed out of the way on the Metro. Seriously. Or run over by someone's luggage. It does not pay to be polite - and if you're polite and courteous, that marks you as a tourist. - Or at least as someone from the US midwest.
   
3. If someone smiles at you on the Metro, it's probably because they're in the process of trying to pick your pocket.
   
4. Where the hell can you just /buy some water/?
   
5. Holy crap - motorcycles. They will run you down.
   
6. Food is good here! Hurrah!
   
7. BBC on Telly \o/
   
8. People /can/ be nice here, too. If you earnestly /try/ to speak in Spanish (or Catalan, in Steve's case), people really will try to help you.
   

Ok, sleepytime, so Steve and I can actually get up in the morning and see Barcelona. We missed a full day thanks to jet-lag and my ear issue. We have a lot to make up for tomorrow before we fly to La Coruna Friday for the Get-ToGether.

Huh. Interesting things happen when Etch releases.

...The bed gets made. I asked why. Steve paused and responded, "I don't know... I think because Etch released."

So, before I went to bed, I pouted at Steve that I didn't get any jelly beans for Easter this year.

I got up this morning to find jelly beans in my glasses case, chocolate on my laptop, and more chocolate on the sofa where I normally sit. Wandered around a bit, and found a vase of tulips on the dining room table. They're /gorgeous/.

All I have to say is 'awwwwww'.

So, apparently, this nasty cold has made its way around Portland, and I seem to be the last to contract it. It's been awful. Coughing fits that last several minutes, until I'm gasping for breath and/or vomit. Stuffed nose, but when it isn't stuffed (either from the psuedoephederine my GYN was so kind as to prescribe for me or the nasal dam releasing), the amount of snot that runs down my throat or upper lip, though disgusting, is quite impressive. My throat is raw and sore from coughing, my chest is feeling the same way, and my head is so congested that I can barely hear normal conversation. It's sad. Yes, Valentine's Day was full of Steve bringing me cup after cup of cough medicine and holding me while I cough up little pink-splotched mucus strings. Now, if that isn't love, I don't know what is.

I stayed home from work on Monday. My annual was Tuesday, and I went to work *early* because they called and were in a frenzy about how busy it was - and oh my god, I have to be there, and so on. Had acupuncture yesterday (which is my 3rd session! I let her acupuncture my ears! I didn't let her get anywhere near my nose, though, which she was eyeing), and decided at the last minute to go to work (against the acupuncturists advice). I left early yesterday because of how incredibly *horried* I felt. Got home, watched some TV (annoyed that it was hard to hear), ate some take-out Chinese and passed out. Woke up a couple of times to a coughing fit, and passed out from exhaustion.

I'm starting to feel better today. I'm still wiped out, but at least, I'm not coughing every few minutes. My head hurts from all the coughing. It's annoying. But, anyway. Through all of this, I woke up today, trying to figure out how I'm going to get some stuff at work done today with how busy it's been lately - and trying to figure out my new schedule. I'm going to be moving to days coming up - probably 10am-6pm, but the trade-off is going to be I either have to work Friday nights (2pm-9pm) or Saturdays. I hands-down declared I'll take Friday nights, but have to figure out *how* I'm going to. they /need/ more people in the morning on Friday, but there's no way I can go in at 10am and stay until 10pm or later (yes, I know I said 9pm. You have to know the doc I work with on Fridays) without 1) going into overtime or 2) going insane.

As I figure it, they need more people Monday and Friday mornings (Monday is LT's day off and Friday is LH's day off, so they're shorted on those two days for surgeries and such). I figure if Monday I go in at 10am and leave at 5 or 6, depending on the schedule, then T-Th I can go in at 11 and leave at 5 or 6 (depending on the schedule). And /Friday/ come in at 11, and hopefully get out of there at 9pm, but a little later won't *kill* me. And, hopefully, coming in at 11 will be fine enough. I hope. I really don't want to have to work Saturdays. =(

Of course, if the new schedule just /isn't/ working, and the boss isn't willing to have me go into overtime *every single week*, then I suppose I could declare it's time to hire another part-timer. They've been extremely receptive to most suggestions I've made (Digital Radiography and completely restructuring the surgery suite being the only exceptions), so it probably wouldn't take much.

The plague has made it hard for me to think straight. =(