3/27/2013:
Had an awesome weekend at PAX East! Mark, Jen, Wills, Steve and I attended on Saturday. We attended some panels (DayZ and a crafting panel myself), but spent most of the day wandering, seeing the sights, signing up for raffles, talking to vendors and developers, playing games. It was a great time, and we plan to go for 2 days next year. It would be nice to have a day to just explore all the new tabletop game possibilities and still have time for everything else.

Had my fourth Reiki I class last night, and it was great. We did some aura work, and practiced body scanning. We also talked about techniques for expanding and contracting our energy fields. Next class, we are doubling our class size, going from 3 to 6, as we move into Reiki II (next class is our last Reiki I, and we will start working on each other then). I'm really looking forward to having more people join our class, and look forward to learning and experiencing more as we go forward.

Energy observations: I always feel very elated at class, but I think I am not cleansing my field properly before I leave. I want to start doing that at the end of each class; it will be very important when I start working on others in earnest. I have the tools and the knowledge...now to remember to use them!


03/07/2013:
Had my third Reiki I class last night. Sherry was upset after last class, but we talked it out in this one and she is feeling better now. She felt I had adopted a "know it all" attitude that she found offensive. She also misconstrued the hug Jen and I shared at the end of last class. It was a long, energy-sharing farewell hug; Sherry saw it as something sexually intimate. Not our intention of course, and once we got it all talked out everyone felt better. We moved on with class, meditated, and played with beaming and energy balls. We had a fun time, and I look forward to the next class.

In local news, our washing machine stopped working yesterday. Disappointing, but it happens. It fills with water, but doesn't spin. And then it leaks all the water out onto the floor. I have next Monday off, and we plan to go washing machine shopping on that day. We'll definitely need to get it from a place that will take our old one away; we have no way to get rid of it otherwise.

Energy observations: I felt very good after class last night. Came home, ate, relaxed awhile, played some Closure. Once in bed, I felt very warm, very comfortable, and I drifted to sleep easily. I slept pretty well, and woke mostly rested, though I was still reluctant to get up. But here I am, and now less than 2 hours to go in my work day. Yay!


03/03/2013:
It has been a good weekend. Joanna and I got some errands done friday night, and finished the rest yesterday afternoon. Yesterday morning, Sean and I took a nice hike over at the Arcadia nature preserve. We didn't see much nature, other than some ducks and other birds, but we saw plenty of evidence in tracks and droppings along the trail. It was great to get out in the woods, though it was cold and damp. I look forward to our next hike.

Last night, I dreamed of a girl that I haven't seen or thought about since high school. In the dream, she was beautiful and attuned to the same energy frequencies as I am. Our connection was very strong. I found her on FB today, and she looks exactly as she did in my dream. I can't describe the feeling I get in my chest when I saw that picture; mixed wonder and hope, I suppose it is. If she accepts my friend request, we will talk, and see where this goes. Why her and why now? Hopefully those questions can be answered.


02/25/2013:
Had a nice weekend down in NJ with Sean, Wills, Mark, Jen, and Steve. Played a lot of games, board, card, and video, and watched Cabin in the Woods, which all enjoyed. It was a longish drive down and back, but with Sean for company it didn't feel that long at all. Didn't get as much sleep as I normally would on the weekend, but it was worth the time spent with good friends :)

I had my 2nd Reiki I class last Wednesday and it went very well. I feel more at ease with the energy flowing through me now; it feels more a part of me, a part of my life now and going forward. We learned 13 hand positions for self healing, which we are encouraged to use every day. We are not expected to use all 13 every day, though that would be ideal. I admit to date I have not used all of them, but I am doing some of them each day, along with a chakra opening exercise each morning. Plan to look over the charts again this week and do some reading, to become more comfortable with each position. I also picked up a new spirit guide during that class. She is an elven girl who knows a fair amount about healing in general. I look forward to learning more from her.


02/11/2013:
Had a nice day off from work today. Joanna and I were able to get out and get some errands done that we weren't able to on Saturday. I got a haircut, and we hit the library and Joanna picked up a few books. I'm currently re-reading a trilogy, so I didn't want to get anything this time. Grocery shopping is done, bills are paid, receipts organized. Outside of Ocean State Job Lot, Joanna found someone had dropped their wallet. I called their credit union and they called the customer. The man was very greatful that we recovered it, and he came and retrieved the wallet this afternoon. Returning it to him made both of us very happy.

After errands, I spent a couple of hours updating some of my D&D creature conversions and browsing online. The creature conversion is a long-standing project of mine, and I enjoy doing it. I look forward to utilizing some of the converted creatures in my campaigns soon. I think it might be time for a game or two now. Colonial Marines comes out tomorrow. For tonight, I think some League of Legends or Magicka sounds good.


02/10/2013:
A massive snowstorm swept through here Friday night, leaving about 2 feet of snow behind. It was windy, too, and some of the drifts around the house are about 4 feet deep. I went for a walk in the storm Friday night, before it got really bad, and it was really beautiful. I walked along the sideway by route 33, and it was mostly quiet, except for the occasional plow truck. All the parking lots were empty and covered in snow. The walk was a little worse on my way home, since I was walking into the wind, but I am glad I went out. It was very refreshing.

Saturday morning, I spent about 3 hours cleaning up snow. I had to break out with a shovel. After an hour or so of that, I borrowed my neighbor Eric's snowblower to do the heavy work. I got my car all cleaned off and the driveway done except right in front of the garage -- the drifts there are very deep and heavy. Joanna's car will need to stay inside for a little while, until those melt down a bit. I broke them up a bit with the shovel today, so hopefully they will melt down quicker in the rain and warmer weather we're supposed to get this week. I cleaned around the downspouts today, so hopefully everything will drain properly and there will be no major icing problems.

Other than cleanup activities, I've been doing a lot of gaming this weekend. I've played some League of Legends, some DotA2, some Legends of Grimrock (playing through on hard dificulty with two fighters, two rogues), and even some Heroes of Might and Magic V (Mark and I played a 5 hour co-op vs AI game last night). No video gaming yet today. I cleaned up some outside, had a shower, and got the clean laundry and dishes put away. Going to work on some D&D creature conversion stuff for awhile, then maybe I'll see about some video games.

Energy observations: I am feeling more in line today. My intuition about friends sparked up again Friday night, and I shared those dreams with the friend in question, finding them to be accurate of her current life situation. Several months without communication, but our connection is still strong. I plan on some meditation later to keep myself open and my energy flowing in the proper channels.


02/04/2013:
Had a very nice weekend. Played some League of Legends on friday night, for the first time in probably 6 months. It was rough going, but I feel like I'm getting back into the swing of it a little bit. A bunch of a new champions and items for me to learn about, but I'm having fun, so I'm going to keep at it for awhile. Played some ARAM to get the feel for playing in a group, without the stress of a real match. Lost both games, but did significantly better the second game than the first, so that's something. Saturday, Joanna and I ran some necessary errands, and in the evening I hung out at Sean's with him and Nathan. We watched Soloman Kane and played some Soul Caliber IV and Playstation Battle Royale. It was a fun time. Sunday, I did some stuff around the house - vacuumed, got the boys' cage cleaned, tidied up. Played a little more League as well, just a few bot games to browse through the store and practice playing a bit. Had a massage w/ Kristen in the afternoon, which was wonderful as always. My arm is still sore, but I think it feels better than before. After that, I just felt like staying on the couch the rest of the day, and I did just that. Joanna and I watched 28 Weeks Later, and then I watched some more of Wolverine and the X-men before bed.

Today, I am feeling quite tired. My dreams have been stressful lately; a lot of anxieties about being late for things, and I wake frequently in the night. I may take a sleeping pill tonight, to ensure a restful sleep. A week of this definitely won't help me.

Energy observations: I feel more at ease and more energized when working on someone with massage/energy than I do when I'm not. When I'm not, I feel both restless and tired, and I have trouble being motivated. I know it will pass as my energies become stronger and more grounded. I need to meditate a little while. I think it will help.


02/01/2013:
I think I tweaked my arm while I was flailing during my ski wipeout last weekend. It was a little sore going into the weekend, but it's worse now. I have pain from under my shoulder all the way down to my hand. Stretching helps a little. I have a massage scheduled for Sunday and I will request some focus there. It should help immensely :)

Energy observations: from chakra 6 down to 2, on my right side, I feel like there is a shell that needs to be peeled away, for reasons of balance. I felt it more strongly last night, as I was going to sleep. I still feel it today, but much less intense. I will meditate on that, see if I can feel it out, understand better what is going on.


01/31/2013:
I experienced my first Reiki I class last night, and it was very good, as expected. I received my attunement, and am now imbued with the symbols for enhanced energy work. Much of the session was us getting to know each other. It was just Kathi (our teacher), myself, and Jennifer for the first night. A woman named Lisa was supposed to attend but she couldn't make it. We hope she can join us for the second class (and onward). Small class, though, which will be very nice. A direct, focused learning experience. Jennifer and I both have a history of energy work, but nothing formal. She took a Reiki I class previously, but felt she needed more exposure before advancing further. This is my first energy working class ever. 3 weeks until the next class, and I wish it was tomorrow :) The time will go quickly, though, and it will give me time to get more comfortable with my attuned self. So far, I have not had any strange after effects. I had some heartburn last night, but that is easily attributed to the meaty tomato sauce I had on my pasta. Kathi recommended we keep a journal of our experiences, though, and I think it's a good idea. And what better place than here :)


01/28/2013:
Enjoyed a fantastic ski weekend with Steve, Jen, Chris, Serena, and Chris. Drove up to our lodgings in Charlemont Friday night after work, arrived 8:30ish. Chris was there already, Steve and Serena arrived shortly thereafter. Steve and Chris went out to find some dinner, so Serena and I got some nice chat time. It was nice to catch up; had been quite awhile since we'd seen each other. Steve and Chris came back eventually, and Jen and Chris showed up a little while later. They had had a rough trip through the snow from Long Island, but made it safe and that's what is important. We got to bed soon after they arrived, so we could be up early to ski at Berkshire East. We had a great day of skiing on Saturday. It was quite cold, so the conditions were very good. Everyone had a good time, and no one sustained any major injuries, though we had some fairly spectacular wipeouts, including my own, in which I smashed myself in the eye with the top of my pole. Thankfully, I was wearing my goggles, so while I have some bruising around my left eye, there was no extreme damage. It was about food time anyway, so after a little break for that, I was good for the rest of the day. After skiing, we went out to a nice dinner, then returned to our lodge for a game of Last Night on Earth and some visiting time before bed. We slept well, and went to breakfast in the morning before going our separate ways home.

Today I had planned to take off from work, and that worked out very well. I closed on refinancing the house today! Yay!!! Halved our loan %, which is great. 3 day period for me to go over the paperwork and decide if I want to change my mind (unlikely), and then it is official. Also got some other errands done today, but that is of course the big one, the culmination of several months of work. Whew :)


01/20/2013:
I haven't been sleeping well the last couple of weeks. I either have trouble getting to sleep, or I wake up often after falling asleep. Sometimes both. I am having trouble turning my mind off and just drifting with the gentleness of good sleep. Not sure why I'm having such trouble lately. I don't feel particularly stressed. Not any more than usual. This has made my weeks difficult, as I am often tired and/or irritable, which makes work more difficult to deal with on a daily basis. At least my weekends have been good...

Last Saturday, Sean and I visited with Rob and Brittany at their house for about 3 hours. We had planned on a little hike, but the weather was damp and cold, and in the end we decided against it. It was very nice to catch up; I hadn't seen them since July. I hope to see them more often in the future. The day after was low key. Got a few things done, then had a nice massage with Kristen in the afternoon. Always very pleasant.

I was sick this past Friday; some nasty head congestion that made me feel dizzy and sick to my stomach for most of the day. I decided not to work; looking at the computer screen made me feel worse, and that's what I do all day. It's my first sick day in quite awhile. I don't feel too bad about it.

Yesterday was nice. I felt better when I got up, and I was able to get all the chores done around the house that I wanted for the weekend: dusted the bathroom and bedroom, cleaned the boys' cage, and vacuumed the house. Joanna and I got all our grocery shopping done, and she made a delicous beef stew for dinner. We have a lot left over; I look forward to eating it for dinner the rest of this week. Later in the afternoon, Sean and Ian came over and we played D&D for a few hours. It was a solid session, and everyone had fun. I spent the rest of the evening playing Legends of Grimrock. I got a little stuck on a puzzle, but I'm now down to level 10 of the dungeon and greatly enjoying the experience. I look forward to playing through again with a different party makeup, possibly on a higher difficulty.

I am glad I got everything done yesterday, because today I am again not feeling well. My sleep was terrible; my dreams see-sawed between comforting and pleasurable to disturbing and sickening; sometimes the transition was within the same dream, which put a disturbing edge on the previously pleasurable. It did not make for a restful sleep, and I'm feeling tired out and sick again today. I was able to get my receipts filed away and checkbook updated, and I walked to Walgreens to pick up a few things. The walk was nice; it's very pretty out today. However, the result is that I feel even more exhausted now. I would guess my body is still fighting off whatever was holding on to me Friday. I'm going to spend the rest of the day relaxing as much as possible, and hopefully will sleep well tonight so work tomorrow is tolerable.


01/06/2013:
New Year's day started well. I slept in, then cleaned up around the house. Cleaned the boys' cage, cleaned up around the fireplace and vacuumed. Then I decided to do some dishes, and broke a bowl in the sink, slashing my right thumb very deep. It hurt and bled a lot, but Joanna wrapped it up nicely in gauze and tape and it started feeling better later in the day. However, I wasn't feeling very well for the rest of the day: upset stomach, running nose, sneezing, so I stayed on the couch the remainder of the day. I felt better the next day, thankfully, and have felt pretty decent all week.

This weekend has been very nice. Yesterday, Joanna and I went up to Hadley for some shopping. We went to Whole Foods, and she browsed Barnes & Noble while I looked around for some new ski gear. I found what I wanted at Sam's Outdoor Outfitters: a new hat, new goggles that fit over my glasses, and new ski pants. I opted to spend a little extra to get the North Face ski pants, since they come with a lifetime warranty. I also picked up a new face mask, for those extra cold days on the mountain. Now I'm really excited to go skiing, which is planned for the weekend of January 25. Just a few weeks away :)

Today has been a good day as well. I slept in, then got a few things done: cleaned the boys' cage, got my receipts in order and filed, ordered a new mouse from NewEgg, which should arrive this week. It was really nice outside, so I took a walk to Walgreens and Price Rite for a few things. Now home, I think I'm going to game for awhile. I finished the Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty campaign last night. It was very enjoyable and I am looking forward to the next one. I may go back and complete some of the other mission challenges; there are some I could do pretty easily. After finishing that, I started Legends of Grimrock, a throwback RPG that came with Humble Bundle 7. I played for several hours last night, and I think I'll play some more tonight, and venture deeper into Grimrock.