Don Iago's Den of Arrogance

And so was my annual review, a few weeks ago now. I don't want to say it was status quo, though it kind of was... I did get an "Exceeding" rating, which was nice to see, and possibly not something they give out lightly (at PUB they discouraged that because it did have implications for pay increases). As I anticipated, Julie had nothing negative to say and didn't really give me much to aspire to in 2026. Thankfully, the subject of where my 'career' is going was brought up by her before I brought it up. As I kind of expected she was apologetic and acknowledged that the restructuring had kept getting shoved aside by other things, but that she was hoping to revisit the matter after we get a couple of other initiatives addressed in the next 30-60 days. She also claimed she'd talked with Brian and Tony about this and had expressed concerns that I might end up looking elsewhere; something that had sporadically crossed my mind.

New Year's was basically what I expected except for Amanda getting surprisingly inebriated and, during dinner, going on a tear about some woman she fooled around with over 20 years ago. I think Holly and I were both gobsmacked by her performance. It started out funny but got boring pretty quickly...and at one point she made a really cutting remark to me regarding Tom and Brandon that might have resulted in my wordlessly walking out on her if I hadn't known she was drunk. That weekend she did call me and apologized a bit for her performance, which wasn't really needed but which also wasn't unwelcome.

My new Pupjoi head should be arriving fairly soon, which is pretty exciting!

The FWG has an actual meeting tomorrow night. I'm curious to see whether Tempe will attend and what kind of mood he'll be in considering he seems to have been in a snit in the chat ever since his idea met with serious critique, initially from me but also from others. For myself, I've been working on a Financial Policies & Procedures document since we...uh...didn't really have one.

I have significant periodontal work coming up next week which I'm oddly unexcited about.

John proactively invited me to hangout with him and Casey at some point after they return from Costa Rica, where they're going and may already be as I'm writing this. It was nice to hear from him and actually kinda-sorta make a plan, especially since they'd had to back out on New Year's.

As of this past weekend I'm editing Book 5, woo!!! So far I'm enjoying the experience, though we'll see how I feel three months from now. :p

I've started regularly using my walking pad with 'AI-generated' plans, trying to make more of a point of getting exercise.

On Monday I called the place I was planning to bring my car into around 3:30 (they close at 5) just to make sure they were open given the holiday. To my dismay they said they were open but they don't do paint work. Sigh. Called my dealer who also doesn't do paint work, but who referred me to Autobahn, which is ironic because they're actually within (long) walking distance of my home but in the past they seemed a little pricey (enough that Allstate at one point told me to get an estimate at the first place instead). Autobahn said they could do the estimate...but they closed at 4 instead of 5, and by that point I wasn't going to be able to get there in time. Frak.

Double frak, as yesterday it rained all day and I was very ambivalent about driving my car through pouring rain while the paint was damaged without knowing whether that might cause (more) issues.

Brought it there this morning, and to my horror the repairs are estimated at $4K. This is partly a mix of needed to remove the rear windshield and being careful to track down the root of the paint failure and address it, as opposed to just covering it up.

I wondered whether I was being taken for a ride, but John and someone else said they thought it was a reasonable estimate. Sigh.

The good news is they can take my car right after FurPoc. The bad news is they may need it for up to two weeks, which is not a comfortable thought.

I tried calling my folks earlier today to convey all this to them, but they weren't around, because they're never around when I'd really like an opinion from them.

Otherwise, things have actually been fairly good. I should get the stuff from Scrap Yard Leather this week, Andrew Fox got my other stuff in the mail and it should arrive next week, and at least my car's running well enough. I've still been hitting the gym on the regular.

Thought I met a new guy online who I found compelling, but it turned out we both knew each other via alts. Still, we ended up having a bit of an unexpected OOC chat, which I'm hopeful is a positive sign for the future. Though I am kind of sad that I didn't actually meet an entirely new person.

I've managed to keep hitting the elliptical in my building's gym. Last night I did a bit over a mile in 30 minutes, burning over 300 calories. Feeling good about that. Hopefully I'll maintain it.

My Scrap Yard Leather head, harness and collar should be on their way to me soon, which is exciting. I shared pics with Veyote, who to my surprise said he might attend (or try to attend?) FurPoc this year. I pointed out that if he did he could perhaps stay with me if he was so inclined (he brought up the idea of possible cuddling first, which was nice). I don't know whether that will happen, but I also mentioned that I'm likely to be hosting a Shiny Social, and I have to admit, if he does come to the con, I like the idea of him DJing at the social. That would be a bit of a coup.

Brian messaged me today with a list of five restaurants in Burlington and asked me to rank them ahead of his and Leslie (his boss)'s visit next week, which threw me for a bit of a loop, especially as I'd never been to any of them. He included the option to add my own ideas, so I suggested the Italian place that I went to with my parents and friends during my move, and then ranked the others as best I could. One of them was the Waterworks, which I was kind of hopeful about since it's within walking distance of my apartment. It didn't make the cut into the Top 3, but the place I added did. I don't think Brian meant for this to feel like a test or such, but it kind of did, a little bit.

Yesterday I spent far too much time at work reviewing a statement recon where it ultimately turned out that the issue was that the client hadn't included uninvested cash in their calculations. This would have gone faster if a) they hadn't implied that they thought the variance was due to a reversed transaction, and b) we'd been provided with their numbers upfront. It's irksome when I'm asked to try to fix numbers that I can't see.

On the other hand, after work I not only disassembled my old TV stand and trashed it, but I even checked out the in-building gym and used the treadmill for about 30 mins. So, progress on two fronts!

This morning Donukitsu said that if he ended up struggling to find work in Boston or a couple of other places that he might try Burlington. I'm pretty sure that was just an off-the-cuff remark with no real thought behind it, but still...that was...unexpected.

Got what are presumably more modern HDMI cables than what I'd been using, the premise being that it would allow for better sound quality than what I was getting as well. I'm not entirely sure whether the new cables are really making a difference or not, but they certainly haven't made anything worse.

Over the weekend I went to see "Coyote vs. Acme", which I deeply enjoyed...perhaps more than I expected, and then saw "Spider-Man: Brand New Day", which was enjoyable in different ways. I did get home a bit late as a result, but I had nothing going on yesterday, and at least I went out and did something. I did invite the VT Furs to join me, to (predictably) no effect. Granted I didn't give them a ton of notice either, but nobody in the chats ever proposes doing anything, so I'm at least doing better than average.

Heard from Donukitsu last night, and it's kind of sad that a guy I met almost randomly via Nocturne at FCL is doing a better job of being a friend than Nocturne himself. DK even said he'd like to visit me at my new place one day, which was very flattering...and his credibility is certainly higher than Nocturne's right now as well.

Saturday I got the new jabs for flu and COVID, and then while grocery-shopping I became extremely hungry, which was unpleasant because I was surrounded by food but also because I was trying to find something my dietitian recommended and I had to abort on that. I also bought donuts I likely wouldn't have bought if I hadn't been starving. I'm not sure whether it was because of the shots or because I'd let too much time pass since I'd last eaten, but that was a dreadful experience. The shots on the other hand, I'm pleased to say I've had no meaningful side-effects.

August, a security guard at my office, is buying my old A/V receiver and speakers off me, which is awesome. I'm throwing in speaker cable because I might as well...especially since I originally said $50 but today she said $100 and I didn't correct her. It's still a decent savings.

Turned my old telecom equipment into a 6" chicken salad sub and a Rice Krispies Treat. Ah, the power of positive thinking! :p

Pride is this weekend. My enthusiasm for it is immeasurable. :p I did reach out to John though, to ask whether he might like to go and spectate with me. I don't think I'll have nearly the energy to march. Turns out he probably isn't free though, so oh well. And I just realized how incredibly disconnected I am from the VT Furs these days, and how little I care.

Shea confirmed that I'm all set to get keys in a week!

John said he can help me out with moving stuff over next Monday as well, which is helpful.

I've dropped off a literal shit-ton of stuff at Goodwill and Staples, and even got rid of two old monitors on Craigslist. So far no luck getting rid of an even older monitor, or getting rid of a pair of like-new boots that I'm asking $40 for. I'm not going to offer those for free.

Busy busy...

Job, pack, exercise...job, pack, exercise...

Got my electricity all set to transfer over. Called Burlington Telecom but had to leave a message.
Ordered a new bed. Hopefully it will arrive at a good time.

The CD storage boxes I ordered are now backordered until late August, so it's a good thing I bought mine when I did. I'm starting to think I have far more than 500 CDs though, even not counting my collections.

Late last week I signed, sealed and delivered my lease. I need to stop by the post office to formalize my address change. It's pleasing to me that I'm actually going to live very close to it.

Ezen messaged me about Eufuria last week, and we've chatted a bit since then. I'm a little surprised, and curious to see whether this will portend more communication between us.

I really wish it would stop being so hot, and especially so humid, outside.

Called Hannaford Saturday morning hoping I could pick up boxes that afternoon, and was a little put-off when they told me I should come by the next morning...however, when I did so I got roughly ten boxes that are larger than most of the ones I've had, which is really exactly what I've been needing to do more substantive packing, so I can't exactly complain.

I did laundry Saturday night, and then I watched "Pillion", a movie featuring Eric from True Blood hooking up with Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter...or rather, the actors who portrayed those characters. If you'd told me a few years ago that I'd see that, I never would have believed you. Ultimately a rather sad little film (though perhaps with a happy ending) that came across to me as a cautionary tale about the dangers of failing to set expectations. There was a nice commentary track with the two actors and the director, and I like it. It makes me wish I was still a part of GLAM so I could suggest it for a movie night and discussion afterward. Alas, my GLAM days are long behind me.

Picked up the boxes Sunday, and then loaded old kitchen appliances into the trunk of my car and set off for Goodwill...only to discover that while they are open until 6, they close for donations at 4:30. Fucking inconvenient. So that will likely have to wait until this weekend.

However, since it was a beautiful day, I went for a hike for the first time in far too long!!! Nothing too stenuous, but I was seriously out of practice anyway, and I do feel accomplished.

...and I'm not going to take it anymore!!!

I'm not really mad, but man, things went a bit crazy and intense yesterday.

Besides my normal afternoon dietitian appointment, I had a periodontist appointment and then a massage (oh boo-hoo!), which was kind of a lot for me. I thought the periodontist was just going to be a quick check-up, but it turned out to be measuring my gums (god I hate that) followed by a cleaning. In a development that was both hilarious, in a way, and kind of unsettling, I saw the son of my usual periodontist, who is also a periodontist, and a hot guy who looked to be in his last 20s or 30s. As a 51 year-old, it felt pretty surreal to have someone inspecting me who was that much younger than I am. Clean bill of health, though they want me back in February.

The massage was pretty great.

To my significant surprise, Khaki messaged me yesterday morning, but due to...everything...I didn't get back to him until yesterday night. To my greater surprise, he was kind of apologetic for the harshness and/or lack of clarity/empathy with which he'd rejected my earlier overture, and clarified that he does hope he'll get his own life under control enough that he can seek me out, and that he does like me. We didn't talk for very long, but the words we exchange were nice enough, and it did help. Still, we'll see if/when I hear from him again.

I was less-than-thrilled to hear that Pepper got drunk at Anthrocon and proceeded to make a proper arse of himself...appparently so drunk he had no recollection of it, and apparently this may have been the kind of act that was so unambiguously awful that even he has freely admitted he was an arse and publicly apologized for it.
With reservations, I reached out to ask him if he was okay, and because he was wondering why he's such a jackass sometimes, I kind of seized the opening and finally, after years, pointed out the ways I felt he'd wronged me in the past. I wasn't trying to heap more shit on him, but if he was going to question his own behaviors...well, I had some examples.
The conversation actually went a little bit okay, though he also said he generally isn't very responsive online in general these days, claiming it's because he's work-focused.
I'm not going to delude myself into thinking much positive change will actually come from this, but at least I spoke my piece.

And damn, between Nocturne, Khaki and Pepper, July really seems to be the month for releasing my long-term burdens. I wonder who's next... But seriously, I'm so glad I've finally said aloud the things that have been weighing on me for so long. At least people can no longer claim they didn't know.