Curiouser and Curiouser

GOING TO JAPAN BRB

(seriously, we find out in ~3wks specifically where.)

Today started off as a trip to Colt State Park, which contained a few dealbreakers.
1. No alcohol whatsoever.
2. 3-hour limit on weddings. (People were complaining that the park wasn't available enough for booking. Ironic.)

With some resignation, elenuial and I checked out some of the sights along the shoreline, had lunch, looked at a beautiful library building, and headed to my parents' house to say hello. They weren't home, but as he and I ate our takeout, we came up with a few other ideas that were quickly shot down. Arnold Arboretum has a 40-person max for group bookings. Barrington City Hall doesn't do tents. Other places that were meaningful to either of us all had similar giant drawbacks. It was frustrating.

Then he suggested the Zoo as a half-joke, and I mentioned that I'd spent half of my life at Roger Williams' Park. It was on our way home (literally, right next to the 95N ramp), so we drove around in it a bit and I pointed out the Temple of Music and the gazebo, both of which are very popular wedding spots. Then we parked and wandered over to the carousel, where I casually asked who to talk to about booking things. I was introduced to a couple of very obliging and nice men, one of whom happened to be the owner.

See, I was thinking that I could set up tents on one of the fields and get a bunch of carousel passes for the guests. But the owner, Roy, was so open to everything that he took elenuial and I for a walk around the premises, talking about how it was rare for weddings to be there, and how they only got maybe one or two a year. I told him how much the carousel meant to me and my childhood, and he was very pleased to hear that his vintage go-round was appreciated by someone who was now an adult.

Some amazing things about the site:
- He's willing to walk me through getting a liquor license, which I can get because the carousel is private property!!
- The bathrooms are in the carousel buildings. Park bathrooms INDOORS and right next to the site.
- Right next to the boathouse and japanese gardens. Literally.
- Carousel rides for the guests!
- Concrete ground, where he'll let me set up a series of tents in this awesome hexagonal curve around the building. Not grass/mud = good for guests, tables, and dance floor. When I told him my idea, he just scratched his head and said "Well, no one's done that before, but sure. You can do whatever you want."
- There'll be a fresh coat of paint on the building next year.
- Total electrical access!
- Awesome and obliging owner who takes total pride in his work and wants me to have a fabulous wedding in his carousel.
- It fits the aesthetic perfectly.

There are more. Many more.

Basically, he's told me I can do whatever I want to the space, and he'll keep the normal event price (about the same as a birthday party). Also, he's blocking off the two dates we want and won't book anything there until he hears from us, that's how important it is for him to have the place for someone who loves his baby as much as he does. This is... absolutely unheard of. I almost cried a little in the car.

I was stressed and panicky when I researched the other venues. And trying to think of ways to make them work. Instead, this one just flooded me with good news and I felt so relaxed looking around the space. I think that it was that "aha" moment so many people talk about, where you just know. And Roy said he'd even call the Providence Journal to see if they wanted to cover something like this.

I'm really, really excited. Getting married at the carousel. In a place I grew up. Going to chat with people about it tomorrow, and hopefully call Roy on Monday.

Emotional significance aside, how awesome would it be to get married in a carousel?

Fingers crossed.

I love Job Lot and the Christmas Tree shops.

In an effort to redecorate (Uncle Don is letting me paint!), I went out for some home decor things, like bath rugs and curtains and whatnot. I also wanted to get some things to make my house more gaming and crash space friendly. Also, elenuial's brother is likely moving in with us this summer. And springtime = spring cleaning. Therefore, the apartment is getting a makeover.

18x 24 canvas: $5
Sheer curtains: $5
Giant dog beds that make awesome floor cushions: $12
Big, fluffy pair of guest pillows: $10/pair

The list goes on and on. It's so awesome - I didn't know there was a Job Lot nearby! - but I'm a huge fan of cheap furnishings.

And I found this absolutely beautiful unfinished furniture warehouse. I want to buy everything.

OH AND AND AND Uncle Don told me yesterday that I can have the dog. He will most likely be coming home with me in July.



Win.

The theme for this Intercon, apparently, was Haz Wins. Seriously. Pretty awesome.

The pre-con stuff was pretty fun: a few panels, some socializing, that sort of thing, and it got me into the Intercon mindset. It also gave me a chance to hang out with people (and people to ask me questions about Leash) and try to relax a bit before Saturday night.

My game recap, as hidden below the cut.

( Redemption, Limbo, and Securemarket: some spoilers below. )

Leash gets its own post, which is forthcoming.

Also, won two passes to Wyrd Con in the raffle! Fun. And passing on Dead Dog was possibly the best decision I've made in the last year. Dear LORD was I done.

5 years today.

<3 Love love beam.

Long and short of it: My PCP is an hour away. I needed to get on a new birth control pill. I mixed up the appointment time, and therefore missed my appointment.

I need to start taking the pills on Sunday.

This was a problem.

I'd heard that Planned Parenthood could dole out prescriptions, and not only do they take my insurance, but also walk-ins from 9-3 on Fridays. And it's ten minutes from my house.

After getting through security, despite a full waiting room, I only had to wait for about twenty minutes before being seen. It was low-fuss, the nurses were very nice and very efficient, and it was basically a matter of:
"No health problems?"
"Nope. Just wanna be back on the pill."
"Here are some mandatory questions."
"I will answer them."
"You are not at risk. Yay!"
"Yay!"

So, less than two hours total (that's including getting through security and new patient intake procedure) and $15 later, I was handed a prescription for the pills I needed for a year.

I dropped it off at CVS, and can pick it up at my earliest convenience.

Sweet.

Totally forgot to post this.

I've been driving my dad's beat up old Taurus for 5+ years now. A few weeks ago, he called me out of the blue to tell me that he may have found me a car. I said great, my car still runs fine, but whatever. No big hurry.

Last week, he tells me to take Thursday off so we can go to the DMV and swap the titles.

...What?

So you did find a car. Thanks for letting me know.

What kind of car is it, Dad?

"A silver one!"

...Thank you. That was so helpful, I'm speechless.

So I headed down nice and early, and thanks to the lovely people at the DMV, we had titles/insurance/registration/plates swapped and done with in less than two hours. Whoa!

It turns out, I'm now the owner of a silver Pontiac G6 with red interior lighting. It's awesome. It makes me want to play Splashdown all the time.

The best part about the car? The price. It belonged to one of my dad's employees, who blew a cylinder in it and was going to scrap it, but gave it to my father on the condition that he haul it away himself. Papa agreed, as the car was otherwise in fantastic shape, and took it to my mechanic cousin. They found an engine with less than 40k miles on it, slapped on new tires, cleaned the damn thing, and fixed up the climate control. Car looks like new, runs like a dream, and total money paid to get it so?

Less than $1800.

I'm so happy with it. The only trouble is, I need to find an adapter for my iPod (no tape deck in this one), and the car is crazy fast. I can go 80 and not feel it. I just need to keep an eye on that, but otherwise, I couldn't be happier. And I need to find a way to repay my dad and cousin - probably grooming the latter's dog for a year and cooking something low-cal yet palatable for the former.

I love my car.

...my newest additions, home safe and sound and happily snoozing. =)



( More photos under the cut! )

No names as of yet, but they're docile and sweet and very nosy already. I can also start to see a little as far as personalities go - the orange baby is a lot braver and more mobile, while the white baby is more reserved. They're brothers, though, and two months old - so we've still got a ways to go. They're even cuter in person, and I fell in love right away. I also got to meet their mother, which was really neat, but neither of them look like her at all. =)

I'm so happy. I'll post about the expo later, but for now, I'm just enjoying having new babies in the house. <3

...makeover makeover, MAKEOVER.

I did a mini-makeover on my model today.

( Before and after photos below the cut! )

I really hope she likes the photos.

What do you guys think? My first portfolio makeover! =D

EDIT: Fixed the "after" photo. My bad.

The DVD with the proofs is coming in the mail this week. Until then, I need to decide which shots to edit.

I'm not editing ten photos in-depth. Far too much work.

So, you're going to pick for me!

Here are some of the unedited shots.

( My top ten under the cut. )