the other side of sleepy

i'm *so* close to breaking... but i'm having so much fun getting there, that i don't really care ^_^

i just got back from michal geva's album debut performance, which was great fun and starred some really great guests. unfortunately, i was sitting at exactly the right angle to catch the bright red light that was lit to the max towards the end of the show, which hurt so much that i was either squinting painfully or watching with one eye shut tight. the show was still excellent :)

danny gilboa's new single has a brilliant new video :)

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tuesday morning:
one of the guys in charge of the shuttle surprised us by appearing with a rifle at the very last possible stop, allowing us to continue on to base after we'd assumed we were going to have to get off and take the bus as we'd done on monday. i ate my miserable breakfast alone in the mess when we got there.

my previous TL (or my current, nobody knows what the hell is going on) caught me playing the guitar in the morning, and asked me if i didn't have anything productive to do. i had an excuse in hand, but the real reason was "i feel like it, so i'm doing it".

i caught the base discipline officer for the chat we needed to have. i'm still angered by his response, and this morning i passed it along to our SC who agreed with my plan of action.
the discipline officer informed me that he'd already canceled the illegal order i was complaining about, but that "it's not exactly a hard-and-fast rule, there's room to maneuver". i explained to him that there isn't.
"well, we're not doing it anymore. except for big events."

was he trying to upset me? our plan is to let this slide, and then to pull out all the stops if we catch him trying it again.

[i visited the medical base for a certain test. when i got back all i could think of was "i don't wanna talk about it". as i said to the girl in charge, that was one of the most emotionally difficult things i can remember doing.]

i had lunch with tahoma and nyah-nyah, and because i'm completely bombed right now i can't remember why i made a note to myself that says "(smacked back)" :/

i was thrown out of my new office (without clearance, i have to be at least two walls away from any interesting conversations) for a while, and was introduced to the religious heavies from our sister / nemesis section. they're not particularly sharp.

at the same time, one of the techie girls took an interest in my reading the iliad - i think she was flirting with me. i didn't notice anything until she said something quite unusual, and when i asked what she meant she ran away :P

[a fight over use of a script to automate work vs doing the work manually begins]

i've noticed that now that i'm back in uniform, i'm eating constantly again. not good. it reminds me of fat bastard. i put up two posters on my wall. the first is the number of months i have left in the worst case scenario that i'm not released early, with the title "the worst possible situation". the second is a sign that says that if you're not irritating and you're not bothering, then you're probably not influencing.

a few people came by to ask what the hell i was doing in my new office, and it took a while for some of them to "get" that my moving there is real...

i managed to nap a little on the shuttle home, and on arrival switched clothes for climbing and strapped on my blades. i went to megasport, bought shitty pads to use until mine are repaired and eight wheels that i discovered later are simply not good enough to put on my chassis. i went straight from there to buy four good wheels at the serious store, and the owner sorted me out without any hassles. he also informed me that everyone was planning on dressing up for the rollerblading...

i bladed from there to the sportec, most of the way eating a lafa. i'm well impressed with myself for not having made a mess, but i have to admit that eating such heavy food right before climbing was possibly not the most intelligent thing i could have done. and i started to feel a twinge in my left knee, which is worrying.

just before strapping on the harness, i became aware that my bladder was full - this is an area with no public facilities. i'm very proud of myself for overcoming my shy bladder and managing to relieve myself in nearby bushes. i don't remember how, a few days ago, i came across a web site dedicated to helping people with shy bladders, but it seems to have helped :)

we did a fair amount on the walls, but the going was tough and i'm fully aware of just how much work i have to do on my technique.

as soon as we were done, i scrambled back home to change - running into one of the girls on the way, who was dressed in moo cow - and managed to roll out ready on time. the group was fantastic, a lot of people showed up, and most of them dressed up. a night of silliness ensued.

moo cow and i sat at the dancing camel for a couple of beers, and i escorted her home before returning to mine, stopping on the way at a new kiosk to buy chocolate. i had a good laugh at the dude's expense because i was completely bombed and in dire need of sleep, and he was having more trouble than i was subtracting fourteen from twenty :P

this is the track i went to bed with: scorb - stupid science. it's very nice.

i noticed that a ton of laundry had accumulated...

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this morning's wakeup took longer than expected; i had to take a taxi in order to arrive on time to meet our SC, and he was late as usual so i didn't have to spend that cash. he agreed to let me draw cash on our way to the base - you know, at 7.50am, one doesn't expect to run into a line for the atm.

the woman in front of me seemed to be doing all her banking using the atm. i held my breath, counted to many, and sighed when she eventually withdrew her card. it took her a while to put the cash she'd withdrawn in her purse, and i made my peace with that.

then she pulled out her other card.

*clenches fists*

i had a decent pastry for breakfast, and spent the morning napping and playing with the guitar. i was woken for lunch; the discussion around the table was about lord of the rings (the books vs the films) and braindead (why i think everyone should watch it).
when we got back to our building, nystire and i investigated head-mounted displays. they're expensive.

[the automation argument gets worse, nystire and i mission across base for nothing]

our unit commander is even happier with me as a secretary than he was yesterday :P
i read a bit, and dove into my project towards the end of the day, making some tangible improvements, and quite enjoying it :)

the shuttle home was uneventful, and i did manage to shut my eyes for a while. i hurriedly got my gear and my self sorted out for training in the park with nystire, but it was only after i'd left that i learned that he'd been waylaid. i warmed up and stretched while i waited, and we had a comfortable session when he arrived, primarily focused on balancing on the ball of the foot.

the training lasted a couple of hours. on the way back i was feeling a mite peckish, and stopped at the thai place that i usually don't even consider. they've just be upgraded from despised to delightful; not because of their crappy service or the slightly above-average food, but because the price is decent and they're finally using the standard chinese take-away boxes so i can eat while i roll.

i was taking out the laundry when i discovered that i'd forgotten about the show tonight, and hung it up and scrambled to arrive just in time :)

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i'm definitely in need of my duvet.