Last week, Gilly was officially diagnosed with Crohn's disease. The doctor was really surprised to find it, and even more surprised at how much damage she already had despite having only mild symptoms. Her only reason for doing a colonoscopy was because our dad also had Crohn's.

So this morning Gilly went for an intestinal x-ray. She sent me the following messages from her Blackberry.

Gilly: I look and feel as if I've been drinking paint
Ali: Eeewww
Gilly: Yeah
Gilly: First bottle wasn't too bad but second was really thick
Ali: Same stuff?
Ali: Oh! Barium
Gilly: It had half the stuff but was twice the weight
Gilly: Yes
Ali: Gross
Gilly: First was dilute : P
Gilly: My tongue is now white
Gilly: Awesome
Ali: Photo!
Gilly: Lol
Gilly: Well it's faded a bit
Gilly: But my lips were white too
Ali: Haha
Gilly: And I somehow managed to get it on my hands AN gown
Ali: Lol
Gilly: Oh
Gilly: And feet
Gilly: Whoops
Ali: Lmao
Gilly: Hehehe
Ali: When you're done, can you drop in at Ramsey's to pick up my meds?
Ali: Or are you in a different place?
Gilly: I am at belmont
Ali: Oh, ok
Gilly: I am in the distant future
Gilly: Went in for first scan just now
Gilly: Stood on a platform against a wall
Gilly: And the wall rotated into a bed
Gilly: FUTURE!
Ali: Lmfao!
Gilly: In 20 mins I will be there again

Awesome! There's a good attitude for a gross test. Next week she gets a bone density scan, which shouldn't be nearly as exciting.

As for me, well, today is my last day of work, at least for a couple of weeks. I'm being laid off for now because clients would still rather phone my boss and try to convince him to show up in person than just connect to me online and get instant help. The company just can't sustain the project for now. At least I get to right back on disability pension without reapplying. Scott and Jamie are truly gutted to let me and Josh go, but we all strongly believe it will just take some time and plannig to take another crack at this project. In the meantime, I have told them that they can call me any time if they need help or want to consult on anything, and I will happily take whatever work they can throw my way. I am certain this is not the end. I am just looking at this as a summer holiday of sorts. Gilly and I are already talking about places to go hiking and exploring, people we might visit, and so on. There is lots to do on the cheap, and this is the best time of year for it. Her tutoring is slowing down and will pretty well stop after exams begin, so she'll be looking for something to do too.

Going to Wasaga to camp this weekend. Relay For Life in Newmarket next Friday, and seeing Andre Rieu at the ACC with mom and Gilly on Saturday. Yaaay, going to the ACC in the middle of the G20 summit! Not looking forward to that. but oh well, Mom bought these tickets, so I've convinced her we should take the subway down and hopefully there won't be any serious riots or anything going on. I guess we'll find out earlier in the day if bad things happen and can abort plans if necessary. News this week is that 15 Toronto police uniforms have been stolen from dry cleaners recently, so anything could happen!

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Well, I spent 8 days off my meds and then started back on them, and so far, so good. I'm still kind of dopey at times, but then that's narcolepsy for you. I am starting to settle into my new routine, although it's weird. I'm pretty much sleeping from 2PM or 3PM until around 6PM, then up all evening, and sleeping again about 2AM to 8AM. That's still 11-12 hours of sleep per day, but at least I can make it work so I can work in the morning and go out in the evenings. My gym schedule is suffering but I'll sort that out as I go.

The job itself is awesome. I'm still taking baby steps as far as I'm concerned, but Jamie and Scott say I've hit the ground running. I'm still not 100% on the support part of things, but there aren't many calls coming to me yet. To make use of my time, Jamie sends me things to brainstorm and to write up for the web site. Every time I respond to her with all the ideas in my head she raves about how fantastic I am. My trial period ends this Friday, and we are 100% going ahead with my official employment starting next week. Hooray!!!

On my first day of work, I quickly discovered that my 15" LCD monitor is simply not big enough to see everything properly when I'm remotely accessing a client's computer. I'm trying to find a program that will pay for a new 22" monitor for me, although I'm running into the typical buck-passing roadblocks that come with government programs. I am also looking for funding for a proper office chair, although if it comes down to it I can buy that myself, or the company might do it for me.

So things are going well, communication is good, and I'm feeling very friendly with Jamie, as I work with her the most. We have success!

This past weekend was very busy, and very enjoyable. On Friday night Gilly and I went to Mitun's bachelorette party, which involved 6 girls drinking bubbly and taking a chair dancing lesson. We had a blast, and Mitun was an awesome dancer. I have seen a few photos, and am still waiting on the video! After the class, three of us went to the Rum Runner pub and met up with a whole whack of people for a few hours of crazy (largely dirty) conversation and playing with a 4-month-old baby that someone had brought along. Somebody handed the baby to Gilly, who was moderately drunk, and it was pretty funny. She was entertaining us and the baby by making a stuffed beanie zebra perform our chair dancing routine on the table top. Also, the question of the night was, "Have you ever been licked within an inch of your life?"

Saturday morning, we met with a bunch of the pub people from Friday night and had breakfast at a nearby diner. The wedding began at noon, but I was a few minutes late as I was waiting for Cam to come in on the bus from Toronto. He was so late due to traffic snarls, I gave him directions to walk to the wedding and meet me there. I managed to get quite a good photo of the ceremony from close-up as I passed an open door at the side of the room where the wedding took place. Then I sat near the back of the room with Gilly and Al and watched the rest of the ceremony.

Oh my, was it ever beautiful. A red and gold canopy hung overhead. Mitun wore a red and gold sari with a white headdress which had Ganesh on it. Her hands and feet were covered in mehndi. On Friday night Mitun told us that she had Luc's name hidden in the mehndi on her hand, and tradition says that if the groom can't find his name on the wedding night, he must give the bride  present. I couldn't see Luc's name even when she pointed to it, so I'm certain he was unable to pick it out himself!

I saw photos afterward, and saw the fantastic palanquin in which Mitun was carried down the aisle to the canopy. It was white with white flower strands hanging down from the sides. Mitun's brother and other male relatives carried her down the aisle. Her parents gave her away to Luc by placing her right hand in his right hand and declaring their blessing. The ceremony continued with 13 steps, including walking 7 times around a small fire. Luc had gone to Oktoberfest the night before as his bachelor party, and although he had gotten very, very drunk he had woken with no hangover. He said he got a bit dizzy and woozy while circling the fire, but managed not to let on.

The Hindu ceremony was followed by a brief Catholic ceremony, after which the couple and family promptly retreated for photos outside. It was a beautiful day, so I'm sure they got some lovely shots. I have seen a couple of them already, and am dying to see the rest!

We had 3 hours to kill between the wedding and the reception, so Gilly, Al, Cam, and I returned to my place to relax. Al went straight to bed, as he is really, really sick with mono. Last week he was diagnosed with both strep and mono at the same time, and he managed to finish his antibiotics before the wedding. Still, his glands are so swollen you can see them sticking out of his neck. He has difficulty speaking and swallowing. I keep calling him Typhoid Mary because he refuses to take the necessary time off work to get better. He complains he's used up all his sick days and "can't afford" to take time off, but he's catastrophising (as he does) and claiming he's going to lose everything. Seriously, the guy has a big pile of money saved up for a down-payment on a house, and if he takes a couple of weeks off to get better he's not going to be financially ruined. But anyway...

We went to the reception at 6PM, and when Cam and I walked in I met all four parents for the first time in the receiving line. luc's mother asked how I knew the couple, and I happily introduced myself as the matchmaker. All four of them got noisy and were very happy, thanking me for putting them together. Luc's dad said he'd send me the wedding bill. LOL! I hugged both Mitun and Luc, and told them how happy I was that they turned out to be so good together.

The reception was awesome. Speeches were kept relatively short, but they were very touching. Mitun's uncle made a lovely speech about Mitun's non-traditional ways, and how happy the family was when she said she wanted to have a traditional Hindu ceremony. He also talked about the wonderful melding of cultures that had happened that day, and how people from such different backgrounds celebrating together was representative of what is great about our country. Luc's dad expressed how happy they were to have such a beautiful new daughter, and how proud he was to see his son marry her. The funniest speech of the night came from the best man, who said that while the man wear the pants in a relationship, the woman holds the zipper. Touché!

Dancing was begun with the couple, the parents, and the wedding party as usual, and then everyone was invited to dance. The music mainly consisted of Indian dance music mixed with American dance and pop music. It was just amazing! I got to use my bellydance moves a lot that night, and danced so hard I found myself torn between dancing and drinking water so I didn't collapse from dehydration. The dancing ended at midnight, after which we hugged everybody good night and headed home. I think that was the best weeding I've ever been to! It's particularly special because I know Luc and Mitun won't take each other for granted, since they spent so much of their lives without dating and wishing to find someone very special to be with. Thinking about them makes me feel all fluffy inside! <3

Anyway, busy week ahead, so I'd better sign off for now.

Today is Day 1 of my "medication holiday". That is a term commonly used among narcoleptics, used to describe a few days of not taking stimulants in order to reduce you tolerance. I have not taken a medication holiday on over a year, although I've needed one for quite some time. The last couple of months, I've found my meds to be less and less effective at keeping me awake. Now i'm biting the bullet and doing it, since I have two weeks until I start my new job and I need my drugs to work!

I don't remember being anything but sleepy last time I did this. Today, however, I am giddy beyond control. Everything is funny, even things that aren't really funny. Al came over half an hour ago, and Gilly said, "I warn you, Ali's off her meds on purpose, and she's a total retard right now." I burst out laughing. While at times Gilly's been a bit annoyed with me, she has also gotten caught up in my silliness and we have had some good fun today.

Funny things:

The song "That Smell" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
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Blackberry Solitaire
Gilly being redundant
Hot dogs
Waffles being a "Wookie bear"
Al having eight balls on his boxers

I was supposed to go to Concordia Club for dinner with a Meetup group tonight, but I decided I'm too weird to go. I'm in a fog, eyes won't fully focus and I'm easily confused. Woke up this morning at 9AM, had tea, went back to bed at 10:15AM. Slept until 3PM. Had a breakfast of cheese dogs and soup. Sent D a crazy hot-dog-related text message. Did a few dishes. Got silly and sat down again. Lasagna pending.

I'm hoping 4 or 5 days of this will be enough to reset me. I'm sure the giddiness will wear off at some point

Got an e-mail this morning saying my start date will be October 1. Huzzah!

I believe I've neglected to mention that I will soon be employed.. Huzzah! I'll be working from home doing remote access tech support for a company here in town. This is an established company, owned by a married couple. However, this job is the result of a project they have thought up.

They decided they wanted to try to create jobs for people with disabilities who are otherwise unemployable. They intend to have people work from home and accommodate their limitations in order to provide meaningful, well-paid work. This is perfect for me, as I have quite a lot of experience and technical knowledge, and love to tinker with computers and learn new things. When I get really stuck, I call Luc and pick his brain, and he says he enjoys trying to fix my problems because I only take interesting things to him. He teaches me a lot without even trying! Because of this, I used him as a reference, and I gather he gave a glowing report of my and my abilities. Thanks Luc!

So I'm the first to be hired out of five expected hires.I've been told that although they're searching for others, I'm the only one who has applied that appears to have the technical ability to do the job. Another man, a quadriplegic, has been hired to demonstrate the process in order to sell the idea to clients. I hear he's really cool, and I look forward to meeting him.

The employers seem awesome. I've spoken with them on the phone many times, and finally met them last week. They're straightforward people who value communication and the ability to learn without formal schooling. They were interested enough in helping me that they checked out my sleep site and read a bit about narcolepsy. They also asked if I needed special equipment (I don't) and what else I would need. I said I could work about 20 hours a week, and would like to stick to weekdays and on a fairly regular schedule. They were totally on board with that plan. What a rare find!

In addition to that, they offered me some home learning materials, which I can study at my own pace and then take tests for certain kinds of certifications. That's very much of interest to me, because training sounds good but I'm always concerned about the idea of paying for courses I might just sleep through. If I can study the materials and then just pay for the tests, I think I could do really well. I do need to start out with swotting upon some things that I didn't quite pass on the trial with the boss, but it's nothing I won't pick up quickly with some notes and repetition. Once I'm doing it regularly, I won't have a problem recalling what I need to know.

So my anxiety about starting this particular job is minimal. We have mutually decided to do a trial period where Scott (one of the owners) will be on the calls with me to make sure I know what I'm doing. This will also allow me to get a feel for my suitability for the job and my comfort level in dealing with clients. Even once the trial period is over, Scott will always be available if I get stuck on something. I have also requested keeping the lines of communication open so that we can problem-solve any shortcomings I may have or difficulties I might have with the owners so we can just say things honestly and constructively. I like to know exactly where I stand and what's expected of me, so I can strive to reach and exceed those expectations. I suspect we'll all work very well together, and I'm excited about the whole thing. I don't yet know when I'm going to start work, as there are still things Jamie and Scott need to figure out. However, they're keeping me informed of their process and I'm totally confident that the job will come through.

I figure the very worst possible outcome from this is I try it out, it doesn't work out, and we can say we gave it an honest try and part with no hard feelings. I won't lose my disability pensions from trying it out. At the absolute best, I stand to improve my finances, get some training, and work in a flexible job that could even potentially turn into a career. There is nothing here to lose, and infinite possibilities for gain in so many aspects of my life. It's also good for the self-esteem, because of course the first thing people ask when they meet me is "What do you do?" I have two standard responses:

"I don't!"

"I'm a professional volunteer."

People aren't sure what to say when I tell them I have a disability, although with a brief explanation they seem to relax. Still it would be very nice to be able to say I have a REAL job that doesn't involve a drive-through window or a hairnet. I could actually feel like an adult for a change! Yes, I'm 30, but there are still so many rites of passage I've missed out on. I've come a long way in the past year, and it's only getting better! (knock wood)

I met someone great at Abstract on Friday. My attention was held by self-confidence and an unconventional sort of physical attractiveness. I took a risk after a brief exchange, handed over my card and said "You're intriguing, I'd like to hear from you." My boldness was rewarded with a huge smile and eyes that lit up and made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I got a call Sunday morning. Went for coffee last night, it went great. Unlike the last person I successfully hit on while dancing, D is intelligent, funny, liberal-minded, and easy to talk to. We stayed out until sometime after 1AM, thoroughly enjoying each other's company and the fun conversation we had. The attraction is clearly mutual, and we agreed we'd like to see each other again. Yay!  The weird part is...D is MtF transgender.

So this is new to me, although I'm not uncomfortable with the idea. Mainly my concern is making sure I don't make assumptions or be inadvertently disrespectful. When I met D in the club, she was wearing a woman's shirt, eyeliner and two earrings. I asked about her tattoo on her arm, and she said it represented a goddess of change. I told her it was beautiful (it was) and the rest of the night, although we weren't dancing together, we kept catching each other's eyes. She was dancing with a female friend, but as they weren't touching I assumed they were not a couple. Turns out I was right.

Anyway, a friend saw me hand D my card, and he said to me, "You didn't just give your card to the gay guy, did you?" I told him I did give my card to someone, but that I'm simply interested in knowing "his" story (not knowing gender identity at the time, I referred to D as male) and would really like to make contact later. Although I have never had any Trans friends, I am very aware that gender and sexual orientation are two separate aspects of a person, and the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to see this person again.

Last night, we shared our personal stories. I learned that D is MtF, but only realised she was female three years ago after a marriage and two children. The kids are still pretty young and call her Mummy D, which I think is just awesome. Her wife wasn't so understanding, but they split up and share custody. I also learned that while D identifies as female, she is still attracted to women, as well as Transmen and Transwomen.

Through the evening, D kept asking what I was thinking, and later got more specific in asking what I had hoped for when I handed her my card. I said I hoped she'd call, and I'd get to know her and see what happened. She said she'd never had anyone give her a card like that before, and it made her feel great to be hit on for the first time while wearing the clothes she liked wearing. I did tell her I found her attractive, and more so after our conversation. She was pleased but also confused, as she was concerned that I was only really seeing her masculine looks and not the person inside. It's a fair concern, as I still don't really know her. I reminded her that this was a new situation for me too, and that I'd just like to see her again and get to know her better. I don't know what will come of it, but certainly we could be good friends if nothing else.

As an added bonus, D is in hairdressing school, and I need highlights! She's a good dancer, an actor, and a reiki practitioner. She must be cool with cats as there was one in the window at her house when I dropped her off. She's into obscure indie movies. Most of all, she's genuine, which is hard to find. Dating a Trans person has never really come to mind for me, but honestly, is she has all the important qualities I'm looking for, I'm happy to explore the idea. Today, I'm feeling happy.

I just got home from the Repo show, and saw that my mom had called several times while I was out. I called her back. Argh.

She said something weird happened to her tonight. She kept hearing this very shrill alarm sound, it would go for about 5 seconds, then stop for 5 seconds, and repeat. On and on. She turned off her air conditioner, but that wasn't it. She turned off the TV, that wasn't it. She then thought it might be the lights overhead, but that wasn't it. She opened the door to the hallway to see if it might be the fire alarm, but it was definitely coming from inside her condo. So it stopped about that time, so she just sat there in the dark.

I asked if it was her carbon monoxide detector, and she said "Oh! I never thought of that!" However, instead of DOING anything about it, she just kept repeating her sentence. I kept telling her to go and check, and she was stuck on repeat.

"OKAY! I know you never thought of that! But if your CO detector is going off, you need to know why!" Stupid woman! I told her to go push the button on the thing and see if it made the same noise she had heard. She said she couldn't, it's behind the couch. "Use a stick then!" So she put down the phone and I heard a few steps, then some shrill beeps. She came back and told me it sounded like what she had heard.

She wasn't going to do anything further. She didn't see the logic when I told her to call the fire department and tell them what happened so they can check it out. I also told her to open all the windows just in case. She has electric baseboard heating so I have no idea where CO could come from in her place, but if it's going off, it's best to have it checked out rather than doubt the alarm and die from apathy. It took several tries to get her to stop repeating herself and hang up the phone and call for help.

Perhaps it was just the moron alarm going off. <sigh>

I shouldn't speak so badly, but seriously. Anyway, we just had a great couple of days together. Mom came into town yesterday, and she, Gilly and I met Allan for lunch at Zellers. Today is Allan's birthday, and Mom really wanted to give him her presents in person. She gave him FOURTEEN golf shirts, mostly in sizes large and extra large. This despite the facts that she has given him many golf shirts, and he doesn't wear golf shirts, and we also keep telling her he's a size medium. She also gave him a nifty tool cart and a work bench, both of which he liked, although he forgot to say "thank you" until I kicked him under the table. he looked at me all confused, and I mouthed the words to him. Fortunately Mom didn't notice. He made a special point of thanking her for lunch as we were leaving.

After Allan returned to work, the rest of us went to Stratford. We spent the afternoon bumming around town, checking out shops, eating good stuff in Rocky Mountain Chocolate, and enjoying the lovely weather. We went to the Parlour restaurant where Gilly and I went two years ago, and Gilly and I had dinner. Mom wasn't interested in anything but a cup of tea and a little bread and butter, as her false teeth move around too much for her to be able to eat properly. I managed to convince her to eat some of my giant pavlova, and Gilly had a few bites too. 'Twas a good meal.

After dinner we saw Cyrano de Bergerac, which was excellent. It was very funny, with lavish costumes and one scene with a lot of very impressive pyrotechnics. After the show we headed back home to Kitchener for some sleep.

This morning we went to the St. Jacobs market. We bought a bunch of fruit and some corn, cinnamon buns, buttertart squares, and lots of other good things. Mom got herself a 2010 Coronation Street calendar. We picked up some tiny tomatoes and munched on them as we browsed the market stalls. Then we went to the outlet mall and did some clothes shopping. Mom bought Gilly a couple of blouses in Jones New York, and a dress for me from Red Coral. She found some huge fluffy bath towels for herself. We had been talking about going to the Laura outlet store in Cambridge, but we were all getting tired and it was getting late, so we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. It was a very pleasant visit, with minimal aggravation and maximal enjoyment.

When I got home, I passed out for a while before going to Repo: The Genetic Opera. A group of students was performing a shadow theatre in front of the screen at the Princess, and it was a hoot. I hadn't seen the film before, but I got a kick out of it. There was a meet and greet afterward at the coffee shop around the corner, and I sat with them for an hour, goofing around and making friends. Good times!

My mother strikes again. Fortunately, this time I"m not the target. Still, I'm unimpressed.

Since Grampa died, Mom's been going on and on about $175 000 that she claims Grampa said was supposed to be shared equally among her and her two brothers. Uncle Pete says she and Dave the Baby Rapist are entitled to $3600 each. I really don't give a crap, and I'm quite certain my mom has yet again fabricated  a story in her mind. I'm staying out of it, other than when she brings it up I tell her to just leave it alone and get on with her life.

Tonight she phoned me and told me that she was in Kitchener yesterday with Dave, and that before heading home she bought a bag of manure and put it on Pete's front porch with a note saying "From your favourite sister." I told her that was useless and inappropriate. She told me what she'd really wanted to do was fill his mailbox with manure, but she didn't have a shovel.

I asked if she'd consulted a lawyer, and she said she had and was told that the insurance policy named Pete as sole beneficiary, and thus she wasn't entitled to that money. I told her that was true, that the money is not part of the estate if it's named to a specific person. She is only entitled to one third of the estate. She says two lawyers told her that she could fight it in court, but it would probably cost her $10 000 and she'd almost certainly lose. I told her that she should take the advice of the lawyers and drop the issue.

Mom claims that she hasn't received her $3600 yet, but that Dave already has his. She also said she was pissed off that Pete "is having all kinds of huge parties and going on holidays and stuff" and that it's not fair that he's hogging all the money. Argh. Pot, meet kettle!

I told Mom that if she doesn't stop harassing Pete, she could have police knocking on her door, and possibly a restraining order. It doesn't sound like he responded to her at all, which would be for the best as she just wants a fight.  Hopefully she'll feel she got her point across and settle down, but knowing my mother she won't drop it. If she doesn't drop it, I can only hope he does report her for harassment, as she won't back down for anybody except police, and even then it's after a fight in most cases.

On the upside, on Sunday Mom told me she's afraid she's going to have a stroke or something, and her cats will starve to death before anybody finds her. All along she's maintained that her LifeSign button is sufficient for her safety, and even now I find it laughable that she s incapable of seeing the risk to her own safety from living alone. Anyway, she said she was wondering if she should go into a home. I encouraged this line of thinking, saying that it's best for her to choose a place now rather than waiting until she urgently needs to move and then just trying to get stuck in wherever will take her. Unfortunately I think I set her progress back a bit by dropping by CCAC the next day and picking up some brochures about assisted living residences, as she didn't lok pleased when I gave them to her. I just handed them over and said it was for her information, and she should check with CCAC herself and then go around and check out a bunch of places. Hopefully she follows through, because there would be a lot less to worry about if she had someone looking out for her. She claims she doesn't have the money for such a place, but honestly, she owns her condo outright and gets as much money in pensions as Gilly makes working full-time. Between penions, funds from the condo sale, and the RRIFs, she would easily be able to cover the costs of living in a residence. She could have her own apartment, meals provided, cleaning staff provided, laundry assistance, and freedom to come and go as she pleased. It would be like living in a flippin' hotel! I hear some even accept cats, although I told her not to worry, that if she couldn't take her cats we'd figure something out.

Parenting a parent is surprising and complicated!

My mom just phoned to say she's home from her 6-day trip to Gananoque. She was on a seniors' tour where they stayed in a hotel on one of the 1000 Islands. I hadn't heard from her all week, as when she got off the bus at the other end, she left her cell phone behind. That night I got a phone call from her cell, from one of the Greyhound staff that found her phone when the bus returned to Toronto.

Anyway, she had a good time, and she didn't talk about shopping so I'm guessing she didn't do that much of it.

As for me, well, I've been taking an entrepreneurship course at Lutherwood. I was gung-ho about it two months ago, and halfway through had to switch business ideas as my first one was simply too expensive for me to start right now. At that point I lost my steam. My mind has begun racing in the past few weeks, which hasn't happened in quite a long time. My thinking is cluttered, and while many of the thoughts are good and exciting, they are overwhelming when combined with worries about money and housing and health and car troubles and fears of Teffy being unwell.

A couple of weeks ago Teffy developed a very bad limp, so I took her to the vet for x-rays and found out she has arthritis. She figured Teffy had been fighting with Waffles or jumped the wrong way and aggreavated her little kitty elbows. Fortunately, one day of sedation followed by a day of pain medication let her rest long enough that her joints healed and she got back to normal. She's been very, very affectionate since then, even with me. She's 14 years old (that's what, 90 in cat years?), and for the first time is starting to show her age. So now I'm having twinges of panic over the thought of her getting sick or being in pain and dying. Part of my PTSD, I suppose.

Then there's Ellen and Brian moving away any day now. Last I saw them they told me they'd be leaving July 1 or 15. Tonight we're going to meet them in Woodbridge to go to Yuk Yuk's. Gilly, Al, and I are going, and will be coming home after the show. I have a friend coming from Kingston tomorrow, which should be fun. He's the older brother of a student that made a video about our narcolepsy group last year. This guy is my age and also had narcolepsy. We've been chatting online for a few months, and he seems like quite the character.

Saturday I'll be driving to Newmarket, again with Gilly and Al, because Sunday afternoon is the World's Longest Street Sale in Aurora. I got a booth for my sleep disorders group, and I'm hoping the 1000 bumper stickers I ordered will arrive in time for me to sell some. I'm trying to get us booth space at Toronto Pride later this month, and also seeking a flatbed truck so we can have a float in the Aurora Canada Day parade. So all these ideas are going, but so many are maybes, and that's stressing me out, too.

Last night I didn't sleep much. I got up at 5:30AM and had some warm milk and a bowl of oatmeal. When I returned to bed, Waffles laid on my chest and purred. When he got tired of that, he left and then Teffy came up for some pettin's. I finally got to sleep sometime after 7AM, and next thing I knew my alarm was going off to say I had to go to Lutherwood for my appointment. Blargh.

I'm wearing my workout clothes as I had planned to meet Michelle at the gym at 1PM to work out. However, I'm not in the mood for it today, and instead scrubbed the bathroom floor in preparation for my guest. You know you really don't want to do something when your preferred activity is cleaning bathroom floor tiles! Yurgh.

Why am I still writing? I have no idea. I'm exhausted. Need nap. Need nap now. Off to bed. Over and out.