Last weekend was really rough, but this weekend was fine.

I spent most of the week working of course, but I also got away to see a movie and to have dinner with friends. And of course I went out Friday! I also went to brunch with a friend on Sunday, and then out for Sunday happy hour too. And seriously, through the therapy of good friends and not letting myself hole-up in my house and wallow, I'm really doing okay now. The shock, the anger, and the hurt are pretty much in the past now.

Nobody is more surprised by this than me, to be honest. The last time I was dumped, some fifteen and a half years ago, it took me months to recover, and calling it years wouldn't be unreasonable. It's nice to see I've grown emotionally and am more able to handle and deal with set-backs and shocks to the system like this. Shake it off, and move forward... don't wallow, don't look back, but just get on with getting on with life, and know when I deserve better.

All of which, of course, doesn't change the fact that I still want to know what the hell happened! :-) I mean, really... after two days of silent treatment (and having not seen him in almost two weeks) I go to his door to see what's up, and get it slammed and locked in my face without a word. What could possibly justify that in his mind? I'd love to find out. But I'm not counting on it. And I'm certainly not depending on it. It would, however, be a nice parting gift, should it ever come to pass.

But back to my week... I saw "Cloverfield" on Wednesday night, and it was pretty okay for what it is, which is a straight-forward monster-movie with a little "Blair Witch" twist. Unfortunately, that twist, while initially interesting, left me feeling mildly motion-sick about half-way through the movie. Eh, it's worth a matinee if you're into monster movies. If you're not, it's certainly nothing special, so nothing lost :-)

I also made a lovely Chocolate Amaretto Swiss Roll for dessert to bring to dinner with my friends on Thursday night, and Friday night, we all went out early, got drunk, and spent two hours stuffing our faces at P.F. Changs.

Sunday I had a great conversation over eggs and pancakes with Amy, and later that evening went out with more friends at happy hour, and even ran into a lot of people from the cruise. I had a great time, and a very interesting talk with another friend I've never been that close with before. I honestly think that's changing, and that's a good thing, because I've always liked him and his partner. And of course I stuffed my face on free happy-hour food.

Which brings me to my last point. The one drawback to getting over the depression as quickly as I did is that my weight loss plateaued at about 7 lbs, and is likely to regress from there the way I've been eating lately :-) Oh well...

You can't have everything I guess. Nope. You sure can't.

Okay, so far this year has sucked. Work hasn't been going well, allergies are off-the-scale (worst "Ceder Fever" season ever), and then...

Brian, my boyfriend of two-and-a-half months, just dumped me in one of the coldest and harshest ways I can imagine, with no explanation, no nothing. I have no idea what happened, but he made it emphatically clear he doesn't want to see or talk to me. Finality but with no closure.

I'm pretty devastated.

I'll spare everyone the details. But my unlucky streak at love continues.

Just... fuck. As in, "What the?"...

Okay, I'm leaving tomorrow for a long weekend with my favorite person in the world, my cousin Lanora. I'm visiting her in Milwaukee, and I'm still not packed yet. I don't even know what to bring... I don't have cold-weather clothes any more! But before I go finish getting ready, I have to -- am being compelled to by certain individuals who shall remain nameless -- tell the story that has remained untold the last week or so, but heavily hinted at.

( You shall find the story and one final picture after the cut )

After all the fun on the beach, it was back to the ship for an early dinner, and then we all got dressed up in our Halloween Costumes and went to the costume ball at the Stripes Disco.

Given the open bar on the beach, and the free flowing drinks as everyone had dinner and then got dressed, I wasn't exactly on the ball with the camera. It's a shame, because there were so many great costumes, including a butcher-knife wielding "Psycho Dorothy" with a chopped up Toto in her basket. It would have been nice if I had taken tons of pictures.

I danced like I haven't danced in ages, and stayed up late, and had a very late midnight snack, and then... well, maybe the rest of that story should be saved for another time.

But I do want to say, it was seriously one of the most fun nights on the cruise.

( I do have one picture to share )