Happy Anniversary?

So I believe somewhere in that month of lollybloggerdom the one year anniversary of my blogging came about. We don't need to have the celebration yet though, because for me I think that's only about a dozen posts.

So what's new and unexciting in my life over the last month and a bit? Let's see, looking back I seem to remember a lot of work. Hopefully strong drink will dull that. Yes once again due to a lack of other options I went to another refinery shutdown to do refractory work. And this one was a long one let me tell you with all sorts of highs and lows. Actually it was mostly just lows, but the pay was pretty good.

The job was at an oil refinery in Southern Edmonton here so it was close to home at least which is a big plus when you're driving home after a long day. I've actually worked at this plant before a few years ago when I was also layed off from the bookstore temporarily. We had about three times as many guys on the crew as we did last time, but it took us longer to complete. Go figure. The amount of bureaucracy and safety stuff we had to go through was astounding. I'm sure a good productive day of work for us was one where we actually worked half the time.

One day I had something in my eye so I went to one of the eye wash stations that they had stationed around. I figured it would be no big deal, I would wash it out and go on my merry way. Not quite so easy though. When I open the door an alarm goes off first of all bringing a plant employee with it. I wash out my eye pretty good, and it feels alright at this point aside from being a little battered by all the water hitting it. So I'm good to go then, right? Nope, I have to go to the first aid center and get them to look at it. Once there the nurse flushes out my eye and declares that there is nothing in there. I just nod and leave. Of course after that I have to write a detailed statement. I wasn't really sure how it happened in the first place, but I made up some stuff that sounded good. I joke about all the safety now, but I guess I prefer them to be ultra-careful rather than not at all.

The j0b really dragged on endlessly near it's completion. I don't mind working (that much), but it's really hard to plan stuff when they tell you, you have to come in for one more day a few times in a row. It's also really depressing to see everyone getting laid off ahead of you as they run off to enjoy their blessed freedom. One day they had told me I was laid off which was fine by me as my enthusiasm was really at a low ebb by this point. I had returned all my equipment, taken off my coveralls, said my goodbyes and I was just about out the door when the boss tells me he needs me to stay. Honestly, I've never been closer to crying in front of a bunch of men then that point.

Alls well that ends well as they say. I got my money I survived, now I can look back on it and laugh. At least until I start working on with my Dad which could be said to be torture personified. Now I just have to spend some of that money on some desperately needed new clothes.

Onto the gaming front now. Everything was really good that I managed to jam into my schedule. The Purgatory game before last I lost my seat on the primogen council due to overconfidence and treachery. Really excellent game though. The site in Fort Edmonton park was awesome with most of the evening actually spent outside of the building walking up and down on the street. There was a great moment where my character had a tense stand-off with the entire Sentinels covenant in the middle of the road.

Paradise Lost was a lot of fun as well. Although I'm going to need a bulldozer to get through all the plot that seems to be hitting us all at one time. Personal highlight was the brawl that broke out between the Infernal and Divine right when the game was ending. The whys and the wherefores probably wouldn't make a lot of sense to others, but suffice it to say I felt compelled to jump in and get a few hits in before I started to play the peacemaker.

Sadly I missed my Crown of Thrones game. I had to work late, and by the time I managed get home, cleaned up, and run some errands I was way too late to get costumed up and play. Especially since I was working early the next morning as well. I did drop by the game briefly to get my fantastic downtime results and say hi to Shani. I was pretty sad then because it looked like everyone was having an excellent time.

Tabletop gaming was non-existent. Strangely didn't really miss it. I hear that the group switched games anyways while I was away. And in my Galactic Wars strategy game I am getting my butt kicked due to my inattention, impulsiveness, and short-sightedness. I doubt I'll miss that headache either when I'm out of the game which should be very shortly.

Last but not least is the Purgatory Saturnalia game. Which is a night where vampires celebrate, and all are considered equal except for the members of the crazy Malkavian clan who are the Lords for the evening. As Elder of the clan technically I would have been the big boss, but I decided with others that it would be more fun if I abdicated my throne and give the position to another. The vampire we chose was a low status one who believes fervently in the writings of Karl Marx. Ironically he took to his power like a duck to water. The evening seemed to go by incredibly fast with the highlight being an insult contest where the winner won by calling into question another's manhood. The frivolity was nice, but now it's really time to get into the back-stabbing and politics.

That's about it for now. I'm hoping that sometime soon I'll be able to get out and go drinking and dancing. If anyone is planning such an outing please let me know.