ailurophile6

So, this year I was originally slated to attend 8 cons.

Cleveland WW was cancelled due to weather. I did go to Sherlocked. Star Trek in June was cancelled because Karl Urban cancelled and Colm Meaney was appearing too late on Sunday evening (my flight home was at the same time and would have cost $400 to change).

I went to Shore Leave and Stargate Chicago. I did not go to WW Chicago because Matt Ryan and Arthur Darville cancelled :(

Dragon Con is coming up this weekend. Really looking forward to seeing John Noble, Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie from Sleepy Hollow, as well as my favorite person, DAVID HEWLETT :D

Then, more disappointment, because Colm Meaney cancelled his appearance at WW Pittsburgh....

However!!!

They added Mitch Pileggi and David Duchovny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, this is the best news :D I can't wait!

And in October, it's off to London to see Benedict in Hamlet (twice), Mark Gatiss in Two Days in the Country, and John Finnemore's Souvenir Cabin!! Also Madame Tussauds, London Eye, Speedy's and Stonehenge are on the must do list. And the National Gallery to see any Van Gogh they have, and the Celtic exhibit at the British Museum.

P.S. So happy with the Cumberbaby info: Christopher Carlton Cumberbatch, born 6/1/15 \o/ LOVE the alliteration, the use of Ben and his dad's middle name, and the connection Christopher has to Ben's career. Perfect choice :)

This is my favorite time of year. Football season is underway, hockey is not far behind, the weather is perfect.

I am still working on home renovation. Finally got a decent quote for flooring, now I just have to find time to have it installed, lol. Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity are next on the list.

So, what are you all up to?!

I don't really celebrate Easter. Today, I get to visit my sister in the hospital and then my parents and I are going to dinner.

My sister recently moved to a new group home, and started 'acting up' so now she's in the pysch unit and frankly, not doing well. Her brain has been destroyed by 25 years of medication (for schizophrenia) and she isn't recognizable as my sister anymore. They'll adjust her meds and the downhill cycle will continue :(

In addition, a couple weeks ago, when I was with her, my mom had a TIA. Scared the hell out of me. She's been fine since, and all her tests are coming back ok, but listening to someone spout gibberish as they think they are making perfect sense is creepy. She turns 80 tomorrow.

We're in the middle of planning an 80th birthday party for her and my dad, to be held next month. I hope they're both up to it!

We went to see Barry Manilow last week. As awesome as ever!

Next weekend I'm meeting Noah Wyle! I'll post my pics :) Really glad The Librarians got a second season, as I loved the first one. And of course, he's in Falling Skies!!

Less than 3 weeks until the Sherlock Con. In addition to autographs and photo ops with SIXTEEN guests!!!! I have a GROUP PHOTO with the main attending cast on the 221B set! I might just keel over after that one, lol. I can't wait to meet them all, especially BENEDICT OMG.

And one of my 13 year old cats went missing for a day and a half. Turns out he snuck into the garage and then hid from me. He finally decided he'd had enough and asked to be let back into the house, lol. But I was relieved to find him, I'd looked everywhere.

The Pens are playing so badly they might not even make the playoffs. Unbelievable! We have the 2 best players in the world. The new coach is a huge disappointment.

So that's what's been going on with me recently. What are you all up to? No one seems to be on lj anymore :(

Seems like no one is around these days. I'm here every day, posting to hewlett_daily if nothing else....

Finally caught up on everything on my DVR yesterday, lol. With hockey season in full swing, I record almost everything I want to watch.

Today I'm going to see my nephew E play in his third consecutive PIHL All Star Game. He's a senior, so this will be his last (high school) all star game. GO E! \o/

Tomorrow I'll be trying to get a ticket to Sherlock: The Event in London April 24-26th!! I'm going all out on this (happy bday to me!) so wish me luck! However, this is only happening if they have Ben and/or Martin signed on.

Believe it or not, they are not announcing any guests until the tickets go on sale! Crazy London people!! :/

I'm still going in October too, but probably not for a whole week.

Julian continues to keep my old cats on their toes! He and Jack have a great time playing every morning. Amazingly, they haven't broken anything! lol

In 2 weeks I'm going to Cleveland to see Sasha Roiz (Renard on Grimm) and some hobbits and dwarves ;)

In mid April, Steel City Con here in Pgh has NOAH WYLE!!!! I'm doing the photo op and autograph. LOVE Falling Skies and The Librarians :)

Also going to Chicago in August for Stargate (no DHew makes me sad) and Dragon Con in September.

Wizard World is having a con here in Pgh the weekend after DC. Can't wait to see who they get!

And I've seen 7 of the 8 movies nominated for Best Picture. Boyhood better not win, it's the worst of them. I still say The Imitation Game should win simply for the entertainment factor and terrific performances. Or The Grand Budapest Hotel, which is a great movie! I know Benedict is not going to win, but Michael Keaton BETTER WIN best actor; he gave the performance of his life in Birdman!

So, what are you all up to? What do you think of the Oscar race?!

And if anyone is ever coming to Pgh, or wants to go to a con here, please let me know!

Things that make me sad:

The terrorist acts in Paris :( My sympathies to everyone there, especially the family and friends of the hostages.

Another AirAsia plane lost at sea :(

The Steelers losing in the first round of the playoffs....

Seeing birthday notices for lj friends who haven't been around in years....

Listening to the last ep of Cabin Pressure (even tho it's hilarious!!)

Things that make me happy:

THEY'RE FILMING SHERLOCK AND IT'S A THROWBACK EPISODE!!

Benedict is going to be a daddy! :)

All of the nominations for Benedict and The Imitation Game!

The Pens are in first place \o/ and are as always, a contender for the Cup!

My new kitty (even tho he bites, hard!)

It's Saturday :D

And one minor irritant that really is terrible of me, but!

I'm sure Eddie Redmayne is great in The Theory of Everything, but it burns me up that he's being nominated for and may win awards for a role that Benedict played to perfection in Hawking, years ago. I know, that's stupid of me, lol

SO, anything you all want to get off your chests? LOL

As a treat to myself because my new job is going so well and I'm making so much more money now than I have for 3 years, I bought these:

http://www.bigchiefstudios.co.uk/store/sherlock/sixth-scale-figures/sherlock-holmes-and-dr-john-watson-numbered-pair




Ridiculously expensive and unfortunately not the signed versions that are sold out, but awesome \o/

I also preordered the box set of Blu Rays/DVDs with the busts, lol.

I'm just a little obsessed :)

I've also been spending a little here and there on practical items, like new dishes and flatware, cookware, bedding, towels, etc that were sorely needed but I just didn't want to spend money on. I'm saving a lot too, so I can get some new flooring and doors (thanks to my cats who have scratched the hell out of my interior doors). Can't do that stuff until I'm able to take time off next year. My six months probation is up in January, and I've already been told to fill out the health insurance paperwork asap so it will go into effect in January (guess that means I get to stay, lol), so I'll be able to take a couple vacation days to have workers at my house.

I reconnected with some high school friends this week, which was very nice. Spent yesterday at an outdoor craft show (my feet are killing me! lol) and today will be spent watching football \o/

How are all of you?!

Just added Patrick Stewart (Sunday only)

That means if you're planning on seeing him at DragonCon, you need to do it Friday or Saturday!

Yet another reason to go to Fan Expo....

Job interview went well, but I have no idea if I have the job; they said they'd make a hiring decision this week or next. I still have other options too, but this would be my first choice.

ETA: Big box store just called and I have an interview on Friday :)

And just because I need something amusing:



lol

Surely I am not old enough to qualify for AARP! LOL

Got my card in the mail today :)

In other news, I start my new Audiology job on Monday (unless they push it back a week, which would be ok by me).

My nephew E is playing in the Keystone games (hockey all star teams from all over the country). Yesterday he had a hat trick in their first game \o/

Tomorrow, I'm going to Steel City Con to see Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes :)

Have a busy couple of months coming up. So happy to be back on a 'regular' schedule soon!

And I hope you're all looking forward to a great weekend :)

Just got back from a visit to the facility that I might be going to work in.

It's a vision center that wants to add a hearing aid dispensary.

I went to meet everyone today. It's very close to my house (9 miles) and everyone there was so nice and seemed glad that this is happening.

The best part? I know one of the optometrists from my previous job with the ENT. Not only did he remember me, he hugged me! I guess I made a good impression :)

So, fingers crossed, this will be happening soon (maybe not as soon as I wished, but I can afford to take some time off between jobs if they hire me and give a definite start date).

This job is definitely a better fit for me than the other one, so I really hope this works out!

on my day off, on which I cleaned house and shoveled snow :)

First, got a second interview at the job I interviewed for on Friday.

It's not ideal, BUT, I would only work every other weekend (one shift) and it has much better benefits than my current job.

It pays a little less, but instead of 10 paid days (no sick days, no holidays), this new job has FOUR WEEKS paid vacation (I've never had that much paid vacation!) and SIX sick days. The health insurance is less expensive as well.

I chose the midnight to 8 am shift so I would have evenings and weekends free, since in general the midnight shift has less pressure and that's one of the things I'm looking for at this point in my life, lol. There is also the possibility of an 8 am to 4 pm shift, which would be fine as well.

Best thing about it is I would not be chained to a desk/phone and have every minute of my day micromanaged!

Second, I filed my federal tax return and I'm getting over $1100 back \o/ That's more than I've gotten for a long time! I'm going to use it to pay my real estate/school taxes and my flight to Chicago :)

After the second interview I'll know if this job is something I can be comfortable doing and if I take it I'll post more about it.


Oh, and did anyone watch the Pro Bowl last night and think it was completely ridiculous?! I couldn't even choose a team to cheer for and seven or more turnovers?! (I stopped counting at 7!). SO STUPID. NEVER DO THAT AGAIN, NFL.

I get to watch the Pens game tonight! YAY!

I'm really looking forward to the festivities tonight and tomorrow, even though I can't watch live.

But watching all of these wonderful 11 episodes is making me dread the Christmas special, when Matt leaves :/

I just adore him....

First week of training went well; passed the first exam this afternoon. Two people did not...and it's open resource, so I can't understand how they could not get 70%. Oh well.

Off this weekend and back to training Monday.

Hope you all have a great weekend!