*tink* *jangle*

A month into the change or so and I've found that I really do miss the long hair. It doesn't really bother me; I just miss it. At least it's a given that it will grow back. Bushyheaded critter genetics and all. The lack of reaction by my bosses towards my 'look more businesslike' efforts was a bit disappointing. Taking the positive look, though, I think it's safe to assume that they accept me for what I am and I shouldn't worry so much about fitting into someone else's ideal of "business casual".

The part about a long mane that I missed most is one I'd not done properly in over a year, anyways: having proper jangly bits and beads on braids that would make little sounds as I went about my day. In an attempt to recapture that I took a little detour tonight after dinner to get the earring setup replaced. reality_fox didn't even complain about having to camp out in the lobby for the 20 or so minutes it took. The shop re-stretched it back to 0-ga no problemo (it had shrunk to 4ga or less due to not wearing anything for a few months) and put a new grommet and captured-segment loop in. My ear clanks and tonks again when I walk, if a bit quietly. Happy. *spins the ring*

It used to be 00ga, yes... but upon looking at past photos of it I think that was a little too big. 0ga is fine. I'm going for 'mechanical' and 'solid metal' looking, not 'right from the pages of National Geographic'. Someday I'll get around to saving/spending the money on a proper precious-metal segment ring to replace the simple steel one. I figure I'm allowed at least one bit of fancy-metal jewelry in my collection. It's no hoard, but it's a start. :)

I'll post a pic later if anybody is curious, though most of my friends will see it at FC. It's pretty usual as far as Tug-looks go. No picture tonight, though; the ear's still a bit red-and-angry. Re-stretching does that.

Learning to relax.

For weeks now I've been pent up and stressed over, well... the holidays. Not the holidays themselves, mind you! Friends are good, finances are good, work is good, family is good. No, instead it's about having these 2 weeks off that I didn't know what to do with. Since when did I lose the ability to simply go off and vacation? Eeek.

In fretting over what to do I spent a few weeks doing, well, nothing. Procrastination of a degree I don't think I've had before. No housecleaning. No motorcycle riding. No planning and pre-buying tickets for a proper vacation. Just a lot of own-tail-chasing and worrying over what to do.

Meanwhile, the vacation started last Friday. I've spent the last four days of it puttering around the house, playing video games, dropping roomies and friends off at airports and generally being twitchy. Twitchy enough that I've annoyed a few online folks and would probably be driving poor Revar and Chipotle crazy if they weren't already gone for the holidays.

So, this morning, I finally kicked myself into gear. I cleaned most of the house but ran out of steam before getting to the bedroom. I made a concerted effort to be social and get out of the house, doing dinner with my crazy little sister and reality_fox at Aqui Grill. I fixed the earring I've been grumping over for a while (as noted one post earlier). And, most importantly, made a decision: I'm sticking around locally for Christmas itself. Tomorrow is the traditional Amundson Family Christmas Eve Pizza. I've invited Reality_fox and traveller_blues (and his family) over to join my sisters, bro-in-law and me for an evening of homemade pizza (everybody brings toppings to share) and games. Most all my other friends are out of town or I'd invite more. The kitchen is clean and ready for guests.

Just having gotten started and committing to a decision makes me feel a whole lot better. I still don't know what I'm doing for NewYears, but that'll wait for revar's return. Poor Revs isn't going to get a lick of downtime (*wrings forepaws evilly*) as I plan to hit the road as soon as Revs gets back. I'm not sure where we'll end up, but we have most of a week to figure it out and enough cash to just crash in motels and national parks as necessary. Or, heck, a nice hotel if we happen to be passing any cool cities (like Vegas). Maybe Carlsbad cavern is a good place to see... anybody I know in Arizona want a drive-by-wave-hi when I go through? Or, maybe colorado. My sister says it's beautiful, having just come back from a skiing trip. Either way I want to get beyond the sphere of my normal Cali/NV/Utah/Oregon travel boundaries.

Also, tomorrow: DimSum! Fox and I are going to Ming's at the noon hour to Destroy All Monsters, er, Pork Buns. Any other locals who want to join? Just show up! Call me if you want to chat about it, no problem. I just want to hang out with everybody for the rest of the week. It's the holidays. Time to be social!