Well, today was definitely a weird one. This morning my alarm clock did function as it should, but I just didn't get up. It was almost like my body would not co-operate with me, instead it picked me up, shut off the alarm, and put me back to sleep where I dreamt that NEW finally fired my ass for gross insubordination. Lovely, eh? What made it worse that it was one of dreams that I call a displaced-reality dream, because you don't know that it's not reality until you wake up. Ugh...I hate nightmares. Hate them with a passion. The last week or so I've been nightmare free, but I hope this isn't an indicator of a relapse.

  I promptly got up and went through the usual routines of checking email and the computers for important messages. I half-wrote yesterday's entry last night, and so I finished it up and started working on this one, since I've posted the photos that I sent Nicki of my birthday gathering (the word party did the actual even an injustice as it implies a big celebration when it was in fact small and pretty quiet), with captions explaining each one. Around 1230 hours my mom came up and advised me that Easter dinner would be about 1430 hours or so, which I was fine. I didn't attend Easter mass, and to be honest, I'm not sure I really wanted to go to church anytime soon. I have my own relationship with Him, and to step into a church fills me, honestly, with the pain of past problems and incidents that have involved the church. Nothing criminal, but painful and damaging none the less. About the only time that I go to church is for Christmas and any special family occasions.

  Anyways, the time flew by pretty fast, and I was summoned for dinner at 1400. Our guests included some of the same friends of my parents that were present last night, as well as another gentleman that, awhile back for, I used to film church services for and help edit the video for broadcasting on public TV. That, of course, was back in middle and high school...some very bad times. Dinner was kind of bland, though. The turkey was a little dry, but the corn and the baked potatoes were good again. The only thing that was missing, of course, was my wife. I'm hoping that this is the last holiday that she has to miss being with me for a while. I didn't stay long at dinner, because it wasn't my friends that were there, and I usually don't feel like I belong in my parent's functions. The only other Easter thing that I got from family was from Nicki's dad and step-mom. I thank them for that, but nothing, of course, can fill the empty place at the table or my heart but her. True to military form, and as I completely expected, she didn't get a chance to call.

  After the dinner, I just came back up to my room and started prepping my gear for the week, which involves putting Nicki's mailing address on a week's worth of envelopes, putting stamps on them, filling my water bottles and storing them next door at the shop. I also checked to make sure my backpack was loaded with replacement rechargeable batteries for my gameboy and MP3 player, and making sure I have some spare change loaded for the vending machines in case I need a snack mid-day. Unfortunately, it only takes about an hour to go through all of that. I still have to sort the Bonnet Parade photos, but I'll do those either late tonight or early tomorrow. Sitting down tasks are the worst, because all I'm doing is sitting there moving my hands, and the data load on my mind is negligable, leaving basically extra processing power for it to wander and daydream about other things.

  I didn't go to the gym because of the Easter holiday, as I recall I thought that I saw some sign there saying that they weren't open today. However, tomorrow I'll be there, and if NEW ever gives me the shift that I want, I can start going there before work. I like to go before I've eaten, because then I have less mass to haul around, and if my body ever does throw up like it usually threatens to do, there'll be nothing but water. 

  Anyways, there's not much else that happened, so I'll just end this log for now. Gathering photos are below. God, I hate Sundays....

  Personal Exercise Log

  No exercises conducted due to Easter holiday

This is a photo of me with our two dogs, Bobo (left) and Mishka (right)

Closeup of Mishka and

Me blowing out the candles on the cake with my mom looking on.

Picture of my dad (left), mom (center), and myself (right)

Me yelling at the photographer

Me reading a card with my sister looking on

Me reading cards still

Me eating cake and ice cream.

Me eating cake and ice cream still, with Katie (center), and Derek (right)