When Fibro Kicks, We Kick Back

It's Tuesday, and I'm finally feeling like I've almost caught up on my energy deficit from the concert. My back is no longer hurting, but the blister on my heel is still a bit cranky, but it was pretty impressive, so that's going to take a few days to go away.

Something I forgot to mention in relation to the concerts, I think is that if you have something of high decibels coming up soon, I highly recommend the Loop Experience ear plug. They did a really good job, without muffling things too much. Very pleased with the purchase, 10/10, would get again. Won't have to, since they're reusable, but still. Also, pretty comfortable. They've got three ear tips, so you can get the fit you need.

I'm definitely having a bit of post concert depression. I looked forward to these two shows since April, and now they're done. They were awesome, and I have great memories, and people on Facebook and TikTok and Reddit that I talk to about it, but it's done, and there's not another one to look forward to. There's always a chance that they'll do a second leg, or the ReSkeletour, and I'm willing to go anywhere within 3 hours to see them again, but that probably won't be announced for a while.

It's really funny, for a band whose whole schtick is that they're Satanic Metal, an inordinate amount of their songs are about coming together and hope. They're your typical Swedish Socialists, I suppose. Also about community. Sure, it's community under Satan, but it's a warm and welcoming community. Apparently, the lead singers version of Satan is about acceptance and love. They did the Metallica benefit album and chose a Trans summer camp for kids as their charity. (Which I love them for)

Eventually, I will stop being Ghost 24/7, but right now I'm reveling in having a fandom. It's not a ficcish fandom, but it's more than I've had in a long time. It's a nice feeling.

Work was bugfuck yesterday, and I had not one, but three cardiac MRIs to fill. Ugh. I got them done, but it was a pain in the ass, trying to get that done, and keep up with the phones. Plus some other people's mistakes to fix, which is always fun. (They were out of the office.).

Today will probably be busy again, but we'll see if there's anything that needs to be filled in. I do have a few days to clean up. My coworkers are idiots, and can't figure out how to schedule properly. I know I've talked about it, but they have a habit of scheduling on the half hour for specialized appts, which tanks the entire time that those are scheduled for. (ie, Cardiac MRIs are scheduled for 60 min, between 11am-1pm. Scheduling at 11:30 means that the whole two hours is obliterated.) It makes me crazy. I've been going in and trying to shift people so that we have a more appointments. So far, I've opened a Cardiac and a Breast MRI, with plans to get a couple more today. The breast MRIs, we're booking in Sept, and the Cardiacs are in October. It's just bad.

I know it's not technically my job, but someone's gotta do it, and I'm in the position where I can do it, so I shall.

Tomorrow, we shall be a bit quieter, which is always nice.

Okay, time for me to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an outstanding Tuesday!

It's Sunday morning, and I feel like I was beaten by a shoe. I just popped some ibuprofen, but lets face it, they're not miracle workers. We're in Philly, coming off our second Ghost concert and getting ready for brunch with friends. Okay, mostly I'm sitting here mainlining the coffee. The room has a netspresso machine, and I've gotta say, it's not bad. I'm actually kind of digging it.

Yesterday was a good day. I got up, did my work. I was on admin duties, which means that I was going through the faxes and emails and scanning orders. There was enough that for about an hour I was busy. After that, I took a few calls, had breakfast, it was quiet enough that I was just kind of chilling for most of it. Combined with the OT from last week and next week, I will have paid off either the hotel or the tickets, so yay!

After that, we got ourselves together and headed out. Traffic was a little slow in places, but we pulled up to the hotel/casino right at 2:35pm, and they were kind enough to check us in a few minutes early. After that, it was down to the casino to find a late lunch/early dinner at the Pan Asian restaurant, Luk Fu.

Despite the concept, the food was pretty good. Jess had Char Siu, and had the Korean Short Ribs. Both were excellent as was the lychee cheesecake we finished with.

Then it was back to the room to prepare ourselves for the ritual (that's what Ghost calls their concerts). I went full slutty goth queen, complete with nuns veil. (the veil didn't stay, because I took it off to get on the hotel-provided shuttle bus.)

Pic beneath the cut.

( Read more... )

The boots turned out to be a less than good choice on my part, but I looked pretty good in the fishnets and skirt.

Once we were all ready, we hopped the shuttle bus to the venue and stood in line for an hour and a half. The sun came out and we roasted. But I had fun in line, passing out the bead bracelets I'd made. People got so excited about it! Some traded, but I was passing them out to anyone who wanted them.

I had thirty two bracelets, plus three that were kid sized. Despite the whole Satanic Pope thing, Ghost is a good band for kids. Very theatrical and fairly tame. Sure they're going to be singing what amounts to Satanic choir music, but there won't be profanity or violence or any disparaging of women. It's a safe introduction to metal for them.

The kids bracelets were my favorite to hand out. One went past me, and I offered her a bracelet and she lit up and traded me one. The other two, just as we started moving towards the entrance, there were a couple of girls, and I went up and asked their mother if I could give them bracelets. She agreed, and good lord, for some elastic and plastic beads, they were so happy. The older one told me it was her new favorite piece of jewlery. The people in the line were super cool and super chill.

Eventually we got inside, and found our seats. They were 12 rows up, right beside the stage. They were amazing.

The concert was wonderful. Ghost has a no-phones policy--when you go in, your phone gets secured in a Yondr pouch, so there's no video or audio of the performances. It's just you, and the connection with the band. I fucking loved it both times. No screens blocking your view of the performers, or bright lights facing back at you. Just you and the band and Papa Perpetua V.

It's funny, out of makeup, the singer comes across as a slightly awkward dork. But he puts on the makeup and mask, and boom. He's still a dork, but a magnetic one. Like a tiny powerhouse who just owns the stage. (Good lord, he tiny. His thigh is probably smaller than my upper arm.)

The music was amazing, though again, there were a few songs I didn't know well and one I had never heard at all. The boots started to kill my back, so I sat down for a few of the songs I didn't know and got up for the ones I did. The sets were amazing, more so since I could see them, and they sounded great.

After that, we got a cab back to the hotel, and changed into comfy clothes, and then wandered the casino floor in search of cheesesteaks. Then, we ate and crashed.

All in all, a good and sucessful day. Soon we will go meet up with poisontaster and chaneen. Everyone have an amazing Sunday!

Happy Friday! We're almost there! I'm a little sleepy today, but overall good. Today (and tomorrow) is for getting through the day so we can begin our little weekend adventure.

Yesterday was a busy day. First we dyed Jess' hair. They wanted a dark blue, but they left the dye on a little long, so it ended up being more of a blue/black. It looks super cool, now, and I'm sure it'll turn great colors as it fades. Not to be outdone, I ordered hair dye. The box showed it as blood red, but the final product was a little less blood and more fire. Despite that, I like it.



The the Torrid came late, so I didn't get to do a fit check, so that will be today. I've got two possible outfits, so we'll see which looks best.

My eyeshadow palette came early enough that I did an eye makeup test yesterday, but today I'll do the full test, with foundation and color correction. Plus, I had an idea for the eye makeup that I want to try. Pictures tomorrow. I fucking love this palette. It's De'Lancie Warcraft red and black. It's gorgeous and heavily pigmented. I'm at the point that I want my makeup to show up on my face. Especially behind glasses. I don't want to look natural. I want to look like I'm wearing eyeshadow, dammit.

Fortunately, the demanding patient called the main line and ended up escalating to management. So that's off my plate. Instead, I had really sweet old ladies yesterday. Which was a nice change.

Tonight, I shall pull out the suitcase and get ready for Philly. I've got a few products that I definitely need to bring, but I'm going to wait for the makeup test tonight before I lock it all in.

Tomorrow, I'm on Admin duty, which just means that I won't be on the phones as much. I'm okay with that. I'll be scanning orders from the fax and email box, and only handling overflow calls if needed.

Then, it will be off to the City of Brotherly Love for a whirlwind visit. I'm hoping to get in right around check in, and take a few minutes to relax. Then, get ready and off to the concert. There's a Phillies game at 6, so I'm hoping the shuttle bus is as good as the hotel says it is. We'll have to get down there early, just in case there's a line.

I have one more thing to get here today, since it looks like my nail polish is not making it in time. That's a purple purse that's a little bit bigger than what I have, because the Yondr pouch they secure your phone in is a little bit bigger than the purse I normally use.

And on that note, it's time to get ready for the day. Everyone have a wonderful Friday!

Happy Wednesday! I'm very scattered this week. I've got the concert on Saturday, and that's where my attention really is. I'm getting through the day, but it's not easy. Saturday morning is going to be really bad. Especially if it's busy like last week. But money is money is money.

Adding to the overall vibe of the week, my article came out on the Johns Hopkins Radiology internal site. It was really well written and looked nice. I'm not going to attach it, since it was the internal site, though I will put a screencap of the blurb, but it really talked me up and I feel like I came off really well. My boss poked me to let me know that they sent it out to the entirety of radiology leadership throughout the health system, and that it was "Quite the email thread," of people I'd helped singing my praises, and them saying they were going to forward it to other employees to use me as the standard, and proof that we make a difference. If nothing else, the email was sent to our team via the big boss, Peg, who apparently now knows my name and face. (It had a picture I provided.) It was kind of a lot to take in.



After that, I struggled through my 8 hours, and then logged off to make more bracelets for the show. My boots actually did come, and are perfect. They're pretty comfortable right off the bat, and look fabulous. I'm going to wear them a couple of hours a day until the concert so they'll be comfy. They're just your standard shit kicker combat boots, but they'll look great with the fishnet leggings and outfit. Tonight, after the leggings come, I may do a full makeup fit check, just to make sure I'm good for the show. If so, I'll post pictures.

Tomorrow, we have a few more things coming, but nothing for the concert. Jess' hair dye is coming today, so that should be awesome. I think we're going to do it tomorrow, since they have a therapy appointment this afternoon and we have a game tonight.

After this concert, I'm going to have such an adrenaline let down. It's been so much fun to get ready, and I've really enjoyed being involved in the chats for the specific venues.

Okay, time to go forth and get myself ready for work. Everyone have an awesome Wednesday! We're halfway there!

Yawn, this morning feels early. Boodle woke me up at 3, but when I shooed her off, she didn't come back til 5:15, which I felt was very kind and considerate of her. She's now had her breakfast, and I'm having mine (by which I mean coffee). Today is sure to be busy, and I need to get ready for it.

It's a full week at work, which is going to be very long, what with the prospect of getting to go away for the second Ghost Concert. I've been very busy getting ready for it. Fans will trade and give away beaded bracelets, so I started making some or them. I tried temporary tattoos, but those didn't work so well. I may give it one more try, but we'll see. I think I may have misunderstood the directions.

I also have been assembling my outfit for the concert. People dress up super gothy for the shows, some dressing as one of the various incarnations of the front man (all the same dude, just different characters.) Some dress in clergy robes or collars, some in nuns habits. I dressed up nice last time, but this time we're going over the top. I found a different shirt in the boxes that's black, adn has billowy diaphanous sleeves. It's super low cut, so I do need to find a necklace of some sort to break up the line between throat and boobs, but I figure a quick trip to Hot Topic will do for that. I also got a nun's veil, which I'm still debating on. I also got some black lipstick, which seems to stay fairly well. I'm going to look a bit over the top, but if you can't have fun, why bother. Plus, I'm also going to look hot. And that makes me happy, even if Bucky Barnes would look at my eyeliner and go "whoa."

I've got a few things coming today, including a big BPAL order, which I'm very excited about. I got the incense and gourmand packages. I'm going to spend this evening sniffing things. Also, my IPSY bag comes today, which should be fun. Usually our mail comes kind of late, but I'm going to stay up til it gets here, dammit.

Yesterday, we had our Strixhaven game. It's a lot of fun, and I finally feel like I have a grip on my character. I'd planned for her to be a kind of sulky goth, but it turns out I'm too practical to even play that. Instead, she's a bit of an Ursula Vernon heroine. She's a lot of fun to play and I'm enjoying her a lot. Our schedules continue to be a mess, so the games are a little way off, but we'll get there. (July-Sept is just brutal.)

This week, we have one possible game on Wednesday, but aside from that, we just have the concert on Saturday. After this, we shall have some quiet time. Games, but no other extravagant outings. Rebuild the savings account a bit.

Then, in August, we have a fandom get together, that I'm very much looking forward to. I'm renting a van, and picking up everyone from DC up at the MARC station and we're going to Rodizio's grill. I love fandom get togethers, and this is a good chunk of people from the TTRPG server. It should be a lot of fun.

Okay, time for me to go forth and get ready for work. Everyone have the best Monday you can Monday!

It's Saturday! We decided to switch Superman to today, since we were both still a little hung over from the concert yesterday, and neither of us was excited about being out late. Today, I work from 8-12, and then we have the movie at 1:30, then the MD German Festival for dinner. It should be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to it.

Yesterday, the person who normally makes calls for the team was out, so I was kept jumping. At any given time, I'd have four or five emails of people to call. I got all of them done, so that's something. Scheduled a lot of people for STAT tests.

At about eleven, my boss thanked me again for helping out. He said he'd depleted his balance of points for our in house recognition system, but when they replenished, he was sending some my way, but he also wanted to do something else. He's trying to decide what. (Money is always a good thing. lol)

( Cut for some mental health thoughts )

Tomorrow, I have my Strixhaven game, which is always fun. It's a game light weekend, but that's okay. We're going to actually go. out and do things! Movie! German festival! It's going to be a good weekend, I think.

On that note, I'm going to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an amazing Saturday!

Day two post concert, and I'm still stiff and sore. I guess I really overdid it during the encore. I had off yesterday, so I'm not as tired as I was, at least. Around 4:30, my energy totally tanked and I was just wiped out. People were lucky that there wasn't much prep work left in dinner, otherwise, we'd have been having just cupcakes. (Yesterday was my father's birthday, so my sister felt we needed to have cupcakes.)

But I pushed through and made a really good French onion soup. I had bought little handled ramekins offline, which is always dangerous, since it's hard to tell how big they are from a picture and from ounces. It worked out well, though. They're just right size., and they're pretty! They handled the oven like a champ, and I melted a nice thing of cheese on top.

The rest of the day was pretty chill. We went to the bank and added Jess to the account, and then had a very low energy, easygoing game. I relaxed for a bit and then chopped a shitton of onions and sauted them while I made some broth in another pan, and added that in with pepper, sherry and a fuckton of thyme. (might have overdone that a bit, but it tasted good.

Today, it's back to work, for what will hopefully be a quiet day. Afterwards, we shall go see Superman. It's gotten great reviews, some from people I trust, so I'm looking forward to it.

Tomorrow, I work til noon, and then we shall go see the Ooompah bands at the German Festival. I'm looking forward to trying the food and walking around. I'm sure it'll be super fun.

The Londontown Lakur continues to be pretty solid. My nails are still pretty, even after a concert and typing a lot. My sister fell in love with both the formula and the brush, and bought a few, including a moonstone chrome topper that I covet.

I'm still wandering around the house singing Ghost songs quietly to myself. There really isn't anything I would have done differently for the concert. The sedan service, the VIP tickets, everything was stellar. I'm looking forward to seing them again in Philly. We don't have sedan service there or VIP, but we do have good seats and a hotel shuttle, which I am appreciative of. I'm seriously considering getting a crafty side and making some bracelets to give out/trade. I have no talent, but since it's just stringing beads, I think I could do it.

Okay, time to go forth and get myself together. Everyone have an absolutely banger Friday!

It's Ghost concert day!!! I had trouble sleeping last night, because I was so excited. I was on the Reddit forum before bed, and people were talking about what they're wearing and the bracelets and stickers they're making to give out, and it just made me more excited, which might not have been the brightest thing to do before bed. Instead, I listened to some music and wound down, but that took a while to relax me, so I got to sleep late. I'm a little tired this morning, but the excitement will carry that.

I'm working for the first half of the day, til noon. Then, I will hop off and relax for a couple of hours til around 2pm, when I'll start getting ready. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my makeup. Heavy winged eyeliner, outlined in gold, I know that much. Fenty lipstick. But beyond that, no clue. I haven't decided on eye shadow. I think that'll depend on whether my nail polish comes early. if so, I may go purple for the eyes. Or, I may go blue. We'll see. I'll have Jess take a picture when I'm ready.

My pinafore actually came, and it makes my bustline look freaking amazing. I am pleased. I will look pretty for dinner and Papa Perpetua V. (By the end of the concert, I will probably have sweated it all off, but that's okay.

We're going to have to sneak in, so as not to awaken Yoda.

Tomorrow, I'm going to sleep in a bit, probably til 7, and then we'll try taking the dog for a walk. Since the beeping and the fireworks, he's gotten very tentative about going out. We've been having to take him on a little ride up to the school to get him to leave the house. It's very strange, and very stressful.

Then, we have to head over to the bank to add Jess to the account. After that, we have a game to play for a couple of hours. Once that's done, I think I'm going to make some French Onion soup for dinner. I've got cheese and bread, and little ramekins to bake them in. It should be very tasty.

And on that note, I'm going to get myself together. Everyone have an amazing Wednesday!