go back to April
I called Ace for her birthday. Scott was on the other line, but we talked for a minute or so. Ace is 21 now!
I left Andri a message saying happy birthday. Rachel had a test at school. I spent the morning cleaning out Priscilla, starting to sew up the velcro on her seat covers that keep coming apart, and taking apart one of her old speakers to get the big magnet out.
I drove to Rachel's school to finish one of the seats, and she saw Priscilla just as she was paging me. We once again searched for the right huge non-stick frying pan for injera. I finally settled on a 12 inch pan on sale at Vallco mall, after we were worn out from shopping.
After we went back to Rachel's house, I got a headache. I tried to rest it off on the floor, and woke up there the next morning.
I waited outside with Big Boy this morning for the tow truck to take Akane away. He showed up, looked under the tarp at her, and shook his head. They didn't want her. She was already stripped. It was a waste of his time coming here. I told him that I'd explained the car and been given three different appointments. He left, and I left for work.
I had lunch with Rachel. It was raining lightly when I went outside. Lois warned me about the rain, but I told her that silk dries quickly. On the way to the library to meet Rachel, it started to rain heavily. When I got to the library, my glasses were covered, and my silk shirt stuck to me. I went to the bathroom, took off the shirt, wrung it off, and dried off my glasses. I was glad no one else walked in.
I found Rachel, and we went to Sono Sushi. The sushi was very good, and when we left, it was sunny.
I took the bus home, leaving Priscilla there, so tomorrow I can drive the Blue Lion to work and leave her there in the parking garage.
At work, not everyone was here, so we each had a half-hour massage (we were scheduled for 15 minutes).
After work, I drove Priscilla and took Rachel and Debbie to get free Ben & Jerry's cones (it's their anniversary present to customers every May 5). I had four sorbet cones. Debbie had three but didn't finish her third. Rachel had two. Actually, Rachel had had one earlier too.
Tiger went to the store with her mom. On the way home from the store, her mom dropped a bag with a bottle of wine in it. The bottle broke. Tiger had said it was a sign from God, which her mom hadn't believed.
Miwa saw her picture on my page. She is going to look for a picture of her wearing kimono.
I finally got ICQ at work this week. I didn't have anyone on my contact list, so I started searching through my email box for people to look for in ICQ. I found an email from my friend Shepard in Maryland. I didn't find him, but the email was about his girlfriend Christy's web site. I went back to her site, found her email address, and searched. It came up! I left a request to be able to add her to my list.
I found some other people, and today Christy came on and approved me. We talked for an hour or so about Shepard and life in general. She had lots of questions. She seems like a nice person. Shepard has done well.
Rachel and I drove to San Francisco, fought for a creative parking spot (very close to the truck in front, a bit into the bus stop area with the back bumper), and met Linda and Ray at Raw Experience. We had lots and lots of food. We shared two pizzas (one mexican, one mediterranian), a plate of sushi, a salad, and a pasta-like dish, all raw. I hadn't imagined such food before, and it was all very good. The bread stuff was sprouted grains mashed & dehydrated. Ray paid $80 for the food, and I left a $20 tip. I almost left $25, but Linda thought that would be too much.
I bought the cookbook before we left. Now I just need a dehydrater.
I took Rachel to drop off some applications, and then we watched movies on tape at her house.
It wasn't bad for a monday. That's what I kept telling people when they asked how I was. There was a strange message on my machine. I wondered if the person had heard my machine.
Rachel got locked out of my room when she went to the bathroom. She called from a payphone, without her shoes on, and I gave her advice on how to get back in.
Vanished Children's Alliance doesn't really want Akane. They suggested Pick N Pull auto wrecking. I called Amy and told her Tiger won't be coming to BayCon (and can't work registration).
I talked to Christy on ICQ again. She had read my journal, and asked some intelligent questions about multiple personalities and Faith. She recommended I read All Around the Town.
When I was just getting ready to go home at 5, I was needed for a rush mass-invitation email, then for a virus outbreak on the server & two machines. Suddenly, it was 6:30.
I got more strange phone calls, and finally figured out I no longer have my phone line. I have someone else's. That someone else called Pacific Bell, who called me, and I wrote down the number they said they were calling. Now at least I can receive some calls for me. They will try to fix it wednesday.
I actually watched tv at home. Our cable box is dead, and Tara and I got the tv to work with an A/B switch I found in my closet. We watched the New Love Boat! Andri said it's good, even though the previews suck. It actually is good. I will have to watch a few more episodes.
I tried to wake up this morning, but it just wasn't happening. My throat was sore, and I was incredibly tired (and I hadn't stayed up late). I was sick.
I called in sick and went back to bed. Later, I woke up and watched Teletubbies for the first time. I can see why some people call it The Prisoner for pre-schoolers. It is rather bizarre... and since I was sick, it was nearly disturbing, in a good way. If you haven't seen an episode, do.
After Teletubbies, the tow truck came to take my beloved Akane, what's left of her, away. I threw on pants and shoes (no socks) and helped push her in range of the tow truck.
The color printer supplies I ordered wednesday were supposed to be in the office thursday, but they weren't. I even asked for a rush. So, in my zoned-out sickness, I called around and found a place that not only had the supplies in stock, but it was cheaper than our current supplier. I picked up the stuff, still dressed for helping the tow truck driver with Akane, brought it to work, and took Akane's title, which I'd left on my desk.
I picked up my $50 for Akane and took one last look at her. I started to cry.
Rachel and I ate at Carrows.
Rachel and I went to Pick N Pull this morning. We got a new bumper and a few lights for Priscilla and put them on. I've never been to a self-service junk yard before. It was pretty cool.
Then we went to Shoreline Amphitheater to buy tickets for BFD. We were in line about a half hour. My ATM card wasn't working well, so I had ordered a replacement. I haven't received the replacement yet, and they already deactivated the old one, but Shoreline takes Discover, so I decided to use that.
We got through the line a little before closing time, and my Discover card wouldn't go through! We went and got cash and got the tickets at Bass, with the service charge. That was annoying.
We went to the Grocery Outlet, bought some food, lion toys, and a marker to color them red, and went to a cemetary to have a picnic. The lions turned out really cool (red lions). The fur of the lion manes appears to be real animal fur. That was kind of gross...
I went back to Pick N Pull this morning to return the old bumper and get a few more parts. Then I took Rachel to the BayCon meeting.
While we were at the BayCon packet stuffing meeting, stuffing packets, we found out that after the meeting, there was a registration meeting to put together badges. I'm not even working this year, but I was Rachel's ride, so I'd have to stay for that too. So, I ordered a pizza from room service.
The meeting started at 11am. The registration meeting was late afternoon. There were problems getting the inkjet printer to work, so they finally got ribbon and stock for the dot matrix printer, after trouble with getting Fry's to accept a check because of a bad check 7 years ago...
At 1am, we decided a few things could wait till thursday, and we went home.
I got up early and went to Foreign Affair to get the spark plug wires from Pick N Pull installed.
I made a Red Lion logo mask at work with 2 printouts and corrugated cardboard.
After work, I did laundry at Lattes & Laundry (the machines at home were full of clothes). While the clothes were drying, I walked around San Jose State. I went to the Student Union and looked at the bulletin board. I found a rice cooker for $7, a tiny refrigerator for $65, and a beige 1980 2-door Honda Accord for $750. I made some calls, but only was able to leave messages.
It's BayCon! I met Rachel and the other registration staff at the Doubletree for thursday night pre-registration. There were a lot of people there, and there wasn't much work to do. The biggest thing I did to help out was go on a food run.
Rachel stayed at my house, so I could get her to the con for her morning shift.
We checked in early and got our second floor party space. Rachel got started at registration, and I moved in the refrigerator, seats, and car door from Akane. I picked up Rachel a smoothie from Jamba Juice on the way back to the convention with the second load.
Niki arrived with Jesse (The Hat). Niki decided to stay with Tyler and his girlfriend Lea, who were otherwise alone in their room. Then Ace and Scott showed up with Dave (Tazmanian Wolf) and Shawn. Dave went to find another place to stay, as he and Jesse don't get along for more than five minutes at a time. (See update October 8.)
I threw the Red Lion Party that night. People came and went. Rachel's brother Ewen and his friends were there for a while. It was loud sometimes and soft other times (I'm sure the Klingons next door didn't mind the noise when it was loud). Rachel brought her stereo, but Jesse brought a bigger one. I talked at lenght with one guy about college radio, Mr. T Experience (who I was playing, which started the conversation), and the Muffs, which he thought I would like.
Some people came specifically for one of the 20 Red Lion masks I made. We finally closed down around 1am. Scott, Ace, and Rachel piled into one bed, so I got in the other, and Jesse set up his cot for himself.
In partial awakeness, I noticed Rachel had wound up in my bed, though she got up early to work. I went to the Christian birds of a feather meeting. It was neat! There were Catholics, protestants, and Orthodox Christians all talking about what it's like to be Christian at cons, and how some people think there is a contradiction there. We talked about listening and being considerate of others, and how sharing about God has nothing to do with winning a debate...
I went to get more food for the afternoon party. I also picked up Twister (the game that ties you up in knots (tm)). I had a terrible time trying to find parking, and finally parked in a business area across the street. Twister was a big hit for a while, though there wasn't a big turnout, as it was an odd time for a party (2pm to 8pm).
I spent a little time with Gretchen while I played with play-doh. I also spent some time with Faith, and she introduced herself to Jesse.
I saw the party review for last night. The reviewer liked how I was decked out as a Red Lion employee, complete with badge, and said the party had the best tchotchka in a limited edition Red Lion mask. Oh, and they called it the Dead Lion Party in the review.
Ace shaved her head and freaked out Scott. Well, okay, she only shaved the back of her head, but then Dave took a big wad of hair to show to Scott, who was playing video games down the hall. We heard a shriek of "No!!!" and soon, Scott came bounding into the room. Ace had tucked her hair into a hat. She guided his hand to the back of her head to feel its baldness. He looked down in shock, until she could get him to look up again. She took off the hat, and a near-full head of hair came down.
Scott was relieved and laughed hysterically. He was a good sport about it, and we all laughed for quite a while.
After the party, I went to the masquerade dance. It started off with costume presentations and prizes before the dance started. Queen for a Day won a prize (I forgot which one), and I ended up dancing with her a little. Later in the evening, I danced with Cyndi a lot. She did some acting with one of the songs and said I was fun to play off of. J9 gave me tango lessons to the Masochism Tango.
I stopped by a few parties on the way back to my room. Andrew walked into one where I was. He asked how I was doing, and I asked how he was doing. He seemed concerned about me. He didn't say anything about my recent fallout with Carol, which was nice. (See March 28 through 31.)
We lost Shawn to Boris. He came to the party dressed as Death, and gave Shawn a backrub or three. He didn't come back that night (or the next); he stayed in Boris's room.
I woke up early and took Akane home. You can get funny looks even at a con when you take car seats and a car door on an elevator.
I went to the charity auction. There were three Red Lion items for auction, and I walked out with two of them. The auctioneer for those items was Danny Jewel (?), Cat from Red Dwarf. I didn't get the San Martin room sign, but I got an elevator light cover logo ($75) and a Red Lion Motor Inn sign (molded fake pseudo wood-carved, $120). Danny was amused when I would bid again right after he'd say "going twice..."
I also got his autograph for me and most of registration, on our badges.
A little later, I walked around with Faith for a while. People kept running into us and stopping to talk, but we still got to spend some time together.
I ran into Hilary. She was worried about Tiger. She's living in Sacramento now, and I got her number so I can visit sometime.
Scott talked to me alone for a little while. He apologized. He said he should have let me cuddle with Faith instead of taking up all the room by their body, because he gets to take Ace home at the end of the weekend. I was impressed... Ace's boyfriends in the last two years haven't minded my relationship with Faith, but Scott is actually understanding and willing to talk to me about it.
Ace and Scott went home, taking Dave and Shawn and Faith with them. I missed them, but hopefully I will see them again soon. Niki moved back into the room. Our friend Keith came to visit, and we decided we were hungry. Jesse and I went to pick up sushi in Cambell, a quarter mile from Tiger's house. I miss Tiger. She belonged with us at Baycon.
We ordered $45 worth of sushi and got drinks at Walgreens. I saw a home electrolysis thing for $30, but didn't have the money handy. Katy was watching the door to the con suite across the hall from our room and wanted our leftovers, but we went through all that sushi quickly, including 30 pieces of avacado maki.
Keith and Jesse and I went to the dance. Keith went there to hang out, but Jesse and I were dancing most of the three hours we were there. I saw a girl on the dance floor with dark hair and a cute black outfit with a skirt slit up the side. I thought wow, that outfit is cute on her. Soon, Warlock showed up at the dance.
Warlock is a friend of mine. Back when I was dating Suzanne, he liked her too, and we didn't get along so well. My relationship with Suzanne was open, and one BayCon (probably '94), Warlock and I were flirting with the same girl. What I'm getting at is, we seem to have similar taste (though I don't think he's noticed Faith yet...)
So anyway, not too long after I noticed this girl, Warlock was dancing with her. It kind of made me laugh, and I really think we do have similar taste. Now that I mention it, Suzanne and I had similar taste in women too...
One girl at the dance recognized me from other years at BayCon and introduced herself (her name was something like Mara). Later, as I got sore, I wound up sitting down with Jesse and Briana. Briana is another friend I know just from cons. We talked for a while, but towards the end of the dance, I was dancing most of the songs. Nobody but Lunatic (you may have noticed a guy with long hair, mirror shades, and black shiny pants... he is one of two such people who go to BayCon...) seemed to know what to do with the Rasputin, and there was no Russian dancing circle like they do at Portland conventions.
The details are sketchy as I got more tired and disoriented and danced in circles the last two songs (You Spin me Round was one). I sat down with J9 after the dance to get my bearings, and Carol walked by and started talking to J9.
What could I do? I talked to Carol a bit. She said she had a present for me, purple nail polish that look black. I have only worn nail polish a few times, but it sounded interesting. I said thank you, but I didn't see her again the rest of the weekend, or see the nail polish. I think that's all we talked about.
J9 helped me back to my room, and Carol walked Jesse back.
Rachel went to work early in the morning (8 something), and she was staff and had to work till 1, so we got special late checkout at 3pm. We dragged ourselves out of bed and our stuffs to my car and Jesse's truck. We were going to go to a bookstore, but by the time we found Jesse, it was time for Niki and Jesse to leave. In the parking lot, while saying goodbyes, we ran into Jessie! She is at eye level with me now, and is living in Berkeley. She was there the whole weekend but hadn't found me. I got her email address. Rachel and I hung around for a bit, but we were too tired to help out with teardown and go to the Dead Dog party, so we went to Shebele for Ethiopian food.
BayCon must have been very good this year, as this is the saddest to see it end that I've been in a long time.
Blech. I hate going back to work at a con and finding out that the common-use pc half of the people enter their time on has had a hard drive head crash. I bought another hard drive in Sunnyvale and spent the rest of the day at work rebuilding the machine. At least it has three times the hard drive space it had before.
After work, I went to Rachel's house. We watched the Simpsons, then went to Cafe Leviticus. Then we went to Whole Foods for snacks, and Walgreens. I bought that home electrolysis thing I saw sunday. I hope it works. I get tired of shaving and still having grey stubble areas, and weird hair has begun to grow on my upper arms.
Work was better. I loaded everything I could think of on the common pc. After work, I took Rachel to Colleen's house. We played Star Wars Monopoly.
My piece was Darth Vader, and I played the part. I spoke in a deep voice, and made evil deals with people in order to obtain the best monopolies, and ultimately Coruscant (Boardwalk and Park Place). I would have probably crushed the rebellion, but Katy had to go to bed around 10.
Faith updated her webpage. She added a Bible verse I emailed her, and put in neat stuff about being an alter.
go on to June 98