After working another long week, (38 hours this time) I finally have a little room to breathe. I've got the next three days off to rest and recuperate, plus I'm taking some time off next week to go laptop shopping with my mom. We've both finally saved up enough money and I am SO excited to be so close to getting myself the laptop I've been wanting for over a year now. :) Plus, after I'm finished purchasing my lovely new Apple, I can start saving up for the other pieces of technology I've been craving, such as an Xbox 360, a new iPod, and of course lots of video games/music to go along with them. *squee* My poor 20-page-long Amazon wishlist has been sadly neglected over the past couple of months! It'll be nice to get back to shortening it.

Also, words do not describe how happy I am that the new Hellboy movie is finally coming out. I saw previews for it last night and I'm still squeeful. Unfortunately I haven't seen any of the other cool movies that have come out this summer, which is just terrible, but such is the danger of working life. (And not having a car) That's OK though, since I think we're going to go see Iron Man next week after laptop shopping has concluded. I'm amazed at how many interesting movies are coming out this year. Last year it seemed like we had hardly anything worth watching and now my list is so long, I can't keep up with it. On the bright side, maybe now we'll go see more movies since I can finally afford to pay for my own ticket, which makes it a little less expensive. (Though not if gas prices keep skyrocketing)

My writing hasn't been going so great, again thanks to my job. I'm so exhausted when I get home that trying to do anything creative is just too much for me to handle. I have managed to do a little work, though, and Episode 3 of Dreamfall is almost finished. I swear it's forthcoming, plus I'm going to use the extra time off this week to see if I can't get Episodes 4 and 5 done as well. No promises, though, because I've also got to spend time on other things, like catching up on chores and another project I've got going that I'm keeping under wraps for the moment.

The job hasn't been that peachy, either. All but a handful of my friends have left. Yesterday is probably the last time I'm going to see one of my best friends there, and it seems my superiors have decided that they just can't be bothered to train me for anything new and different, which means that I get to be a cashier stuck doing the exact same job day in, day out, from now until doomsday. I am not the sort of person who deals well with monotony. Especially not minimum wage monotony that's so exhausting and painful it's keeping me from my real work. Writers: don't quit your day job, but don't let your day job take over your life, either. Mine is dangerously close to doing so, not to mention I've developed a creeping depression because of it. Things will change soon-- I'll make sure of it-- but I am sad that a job I once enjoyed has so quickly turned sour. And I miss my friends. Not all of them are gone, but the ones I was closest to have moved on, and it makes me sad. Bright side: all this emotional turmoil will make for a wonderful story someday.

And that's your window in to the life for Amanda Cales for this week. :) Have a cookie.

Sorry I haven't been around much. A lot of people at work have either quit or been fired, which means that we're desperately short staffed this week, which in turn means that I'm working almost forty hours this week and I'm totally exhausted. That means I don't have as much time for surfing the internet as I used to. I've also been working hard keeping up with my real work, trying to make up for the fact that there was no episode of Dreamfall last week. Unfortunately I was so sick and tired (literally) after camping that trying to do anything creative was completely out of the question. But, I finished draft 2 of Episode 3 on Monday night, so I'll be posting the finished product it a little later on today. I had hoped to get two episodes out this week to make up for the delay last week, and I still might manage it, but I'm not going to make any promises. Today is my last day off and I've got a killer nine and a half hour shift this Saturday, so unless it gets done sometime in the next two and a half days, it's probably not going to get done at all. At least, not until next week. You wouldn't think that writing a weekly web series would be so hard, but of course appearances are deceiving. It also probably doesn't help that I'm a completely neurotic perfectionist when it comes to my work. =P

For those of you that don't know already, I'm taking a bit of a break from The Dead Robots' Society. I consider it a summer hiatus, to help me recharge my creative batteries and really focus on my writing. So far it's working, too. I won't be completely absent, of course. I've got plans for at least one or two special episodes, and you can still find me on the forums any time. I also plan to be present at Dragon*Con for at least a day this year, so I can meet my fellow co-hosts and properly heckle Justin when he's hosting his podcasting writers panel. XD

It amazes me how quickly the months are passing. It seems like only yesterday the air was chilly, everybody was drinking hot drinks and I was shopping for winter clothes. Now summer is here in full force, the air conditioning is running, and my 20th birthday is just around the corner. My life is virtually unrecognizable compared to where it was this time last year, and June also marks the four year anniversary of my family's move to Tennessee. Again, none of that seems like it was that long ago. Funny how time works, isn't it? Or maybe it's just the human perception of time that's funny. Who knows. (Doctor Who pun not intended.)

Well, that episode of Dreamfall isn't going to edit itself and I've probably blathered on about my life for long enough. If you're reading this, I hope things are going OK for you like they are for me. :)

Finally, after what seems like a week full of exhaustion, bad dreams, and friend-related turmoil, I had a good day today. In fact, it was an absolutely fantastic day which I feel proud to have lived. It is made even better by the fact that I only have to work two days this week, and that as soon as Friday rolls around I will be headed out into the Smoky Mountains to go CAMPING! =D Yes, I'm going to disappear into the foliage with my tent, notebook, and trusted family members for the entirety of Memorial Day weekend. I'm very excited. We visited the campsite a couple weeks ago and it's so gorgeous. And so quiet. I'm going to love it, I just know it. Plus I get to wear my new huge shiny knife that I bought at Smoky Mountain Knife Works. =D I have dubbed him Mr. Pointy and he will be going with me everywhere to protect me against BEARS. (Since I am in Tennessee this word is, of course, pronounced "bars" for full comedic effect.) And VOLS. (*sigh* that comment will probably get me hate mail...) Naturally of course I will blog about everything when I get back. ^_^

In the meantime, I think I'm going to take my friend's advice and spend tomorrow curled up in bed watching movies. ♥ Or reading a book, whichever.

Also, I am finally caught up on the new season of Doctor Who, (I'm watching it on Sci-Fi, just so everyone knows, so technically I'm still behind compared to all of you lucky dogs living in the UK. if you use that fact to gloat, I will tell you to shut up.) and SQUEE. I mean, seriously. U.N.I.T. SONTARANS. (oh, I had such a fangirl moment with all the old skool camera angles and the helmets and everything. hell, I'm giggling again just thinking about it.) Donna not being a whiny bitch. David Tennant's crazy hair. SQUEE. And, of course, that special moment in the first episode which I won't mention since 'tis spoilery in the extreme. I'm also really enjoying the fact that the Doctor's companion this season isn't totally in luuuurve with him. It's a lot more casual, and more like the old days. The humor is good too. Oh yes, I am a very happy Who girl tonight. Again, SQUEE!!!!! Haha!!

Damn. Do I know how to neglect this thing, or what? Heh.

Unfortunately most of the things that are happening to me at the moment I'd either like to keep to myself or share with close friends, so blogging about them publicly seems a little dumb. Suffice it to say I'm exhausted but happy, with increased hours at work, a little more money, and the same friends I've loved hanging out with ever since I started this job. Wednesday is going to be my 7 month anniversary, which isn't as pretty a number as 6 but there you have it. This weekend was awesome for various reasons, some of which involve large amounts of caffeine. (Well. Large for me. Since my sensitivity to caffeine is practically legendary the rest of you would probably laugh at how little I actually consumed, but whatever.)

Recently I've spent entirely too much money on clothing, though who can blame me when one of my favorite shops ever was absolutely bursting with $3, $5, and $7 racks full of adorable tops and jeans? You can't beat getting a great pair of jeans for $7, I don't care who you are. But the fact that my dad got a shiny new laptop and my mom got a shiny new iPod on Saturday, thus totally outstripping me on the technological front, has kind of made me realize I should probably start saving up if I actually want to catch up with the rest of the world and listen to my music on something that doesn't look and feel like a paperweight. On the bright side, I can occasionally borrow my dad's laptop when he isn't using it, which might help my writing productivity. I'm a little behind on my Cool Secret Project, mostly because of work, but I haven't abandoned it by any means so it'll be nice getting back to that.

I also went to my very first play on Saturday, and even though it was a high school production and I got there about forty five minutes late, I enjoyed it anyway. ^_^ One of the boys I know at work was in the play too, so I had a great time cheering him on. Next time I'll try and get there a little earlier so I don't end up camping out on the steps upstairs during the first act... *grin*

And that's pretty much all my news. :) Hope life is treating everyone well these days. It's been good to me the past week.

Lovely day at work today. There's a lot to be said for good weather and the presence of friends. :) I'm thoroughly exhausted, and not really looking forward to tomorrow much, but I'll cope. This week will be pretty light for me--only 20 hours--which is good. It's nice to have a little break every now and then. Plus there's a little camping trip my family has planned in late May to look forward to, as well as my dad's birthday coming up soon. I'm especially excited about the camping, since I've never been before in my life. It's going to be really cool. =D For now, my biggest challenge at home is to keep writing (I've got a new project that I'm very excited about--no details yet but it's going to be fun) without convincing myself that it's no good before I even get started. I've encountered a couple of small plot snares and they've been beating my motivation to a pulp, but I've decided to set them aside for now and fix them later. The answer will come to me, I just have to give myself a chance and not succumb to the urge to head for the hills. Hopefully I'm making the right choice by doing that and I won't end up with another gnarled monstrosity like TSW on my hands. I just can't think straight when it comes to that book. *shudder*

I love being busy. :)

Oh, and before I forget, this is my new favorite thing. These reviews are brilliant and funny and definitely not safe for work. >=D If you like video games at all, check this guy out.

Well, today wasn't too bad. I got stuck on express lane all day long, which sucked of course, but my sick friend was back today, and not sick anymore. :) I missed him. He looks tired but otherwise is all right, which makes me happy. We talked about books a lot and he got to leave work before I did, the little punk. *grin* Got to see a couple of my other friends too, and pass on some of the gifts I won as prizes for raising money for the MDA, (I got 3rd place for raising $447 dollars) which was nice. I like spoiling my friends and giving them things.

I was pretty exhausted when I got home but after some good dinner and time loafing on the couch, I decided to go out for a walk in the rain. (That's my twisted logic for you. Feel tired? Go for an hour long walk! Uphill!) It was fabulous. Unfortunately I think I must have pulled something in my right leg because it REALLY started hurting about mid-walk, and I had to cut things a little short, but I still had a good time. I probably looked like a crazy person with my hoodie on, splashing through puddles rescuing earthworms, listening to my iPod and not appearing to care that I was getting absolutely soaked, (I looked as though I'd had a nice long shower by the time I got home) but I don't care. It was perfect, and I felt a lot better/less depressed afterwards.

Sometimes I tell people at work (customers and employees both) that I like to walk in the rain, and they fritter about it and think I'm nuts, but I don't care about that, either. Sure, it's unusual, and sometimes a little dangerous, but that's what makes it worth doing. If you can't appreciate that, it's your loss, not mine. I'll do as I please and get away with it, just like I always have. ^_~ (It's one of the perks of being made entirely of Awesome.) Besides. Every now and then, you meet someone of a like mind, and that can be a lot of fun.

And with that, I now have to drag my tired, achy self to bed so I can prepare for my massive eight hour shift tomorrow. Let's all give a quick w00t for money and seeing friends for more than thirty minutes.

Well, if any of you have been wondering where I am, I got sick. Yes, AGAIN. Gah. Though I think this time it might have been more allergy than germ related, since I contracted my "illness" on Wednesday and I'm already feeling pretty much back to normal. (Though my voice still sounds like crap) Regardless, I've been out of the online world since about Wednesday. My evil 37 hour week is finally over and I'll be working a mere six and a half hours on this likely-to-be-insane Easter Sunday. Yay. I've got a lot of days off this week so maybe that will help me catch up with all the things I've been putting off (*coughwriting&voiceworkforJustincoughhack*) and also give me some time to relax and hopefully keep from burning out on my job completely. Dunno what I'm going to do about next week, though. We'll see...one crazy part of me is half considering throwing open the floodgates on my schedule and going full time just to have something different to do, but I doubt with my "limited availability" they'll like that suggestion. Something to think about, though. I would like more money, especially since I've been saving up for a laptop for almost a month now and I've still only got about $750...(I really am excited to get a laptop, though, because I think it will vastly improve my writing productivity, not to mention my online presence. In fact, I'm sure it will be a good thing for me all the way around.)

Anyway. I'd better get upstairs before mom finishes making pancakes, and also I should probably make some attempt at getting ready for work this morning. =P

Episode #27 of DRS has been successfully recorded and by recorded I mean we now have even more material for that bloopers reel we're eventually going to do. :) In all seriousness, though, it was a good show, despite any bullshitting that may have occurred beforehand...

As for me, I'm dreading this week. I'm working 37 hours and a good majority of those are probably going to be on the express lane from hell. Today was an absolutely glorious day off, but that doesn't change the fact that I now have to go to bed and try and sleep with the knowledge that I'm going to be up at 7am tomorrow bleary-eyed and cranky just so I can go stand around in an empty grocery store on sore knees and twiddle my thumbs for eight hours. Yeah. Maybe I can convince them to let me go outside and push carts or something, so I'll be too exhausted to care that I'm wasting valuable hours of my young life doing absolutely nothing amazing. XP

Anyway. I've still go laundry to fold and it's cold down here. Good night, world.

As usual, DRS inspired me to write. I've begun revisions on my Top Secret short story which will be seeing the light of the day soon-ish. My plan is to polish it up a bit then post it on our restricted critique forum, which is viewable only to a select few Dead Robots listeners. I'm going to get some feedback on it and then maybe, just maybe, I'll be putting it into a collection Justin's going to be putting together in the next few months of short stories written by the Dead Robots. I'd like for it to be available. I'd like people to read it and send me money for it. Finally, I think I'm ready to handle that. When I first wrote it, the story was very personal and very...startling? I guess that's a good way to put it. I wasn't expecting to come up with the story I ended up writing. Very unusual for me, since I generally believe that everything in life needs a plan before it'll work right. I certainly wasn't ready to share it, though I think I'm past that now. Good to know that the fear does eventually wear off. I'm sure I'll get all nervous again when the time comes to actually make it public, but for now I think I'm going to make publishing it a solid goal.

I've been working on coming up with a lot of goals recently. Things at my job have definitely reached a plateau. I'm bored, put simply. My friends are still wonderful, but interaction continues to be limited by my superiors, and it's just not enough anymore to keep me interested in what I'm doing. So I've started thinking about what I can do to change that boredom. I'm also pursuing several new hobbies, using the money I earn during the week to fund projects I'm hoping will help increase my happiness and give my creativity several new outlets. Writing is good, but sometimes I need to do something creative that doesn't involve the written word. There's also a possibility I might be able to sell some of my creations later on, though that's not a concrete goal at the moment. I'll post further updates as things develop, since I'm sure you're all WILDLY interested in the minutiae of my daily life. ^_~

Anyway. I should probably get to bed. Tomorrow's going to be a full day and I'll even be getting up early. Huzzah. XP Ah well. Two of my favorite people will be there tomorrow so at least it won't be a total wash! Good night, world.

Today was surprisingly good! I won a prize, got to see one of my favorite baggers, wasn't on express, (though they tried to put me there and I evaded them, mwahahaha) found out that they make sugar-free Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and I got paid. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun too, I think, and I'm slowly starting to get back to my old happy self, which is nice. I dislike being depressed. Anyway, hopefully tomorrow will be just as good as today was, maybe even better. I'll get to spend almost three hours with at least one of my favorite baggers, so unless the evil managers conspire to keep us apart again (an order which I will defy at every available opportunity) I am going to stick to him like glue. Especially since I will be without his company for awhile when he goes on vacation next Friday. =(

Squee! Today was good! I got so lucky with the whole express lane thing...yay. Maybe my luck will hold and I'll end up on lane 14 or 15 tomorrow. *maniacal giggling* I'm glad today went well. I desperately needed a good day. I've been so bummed out lately. *sigh*

Later Edit: Adding to the squee, I have placed a second order on Amazon! Yes, I have a bank account, and there's no stopping me...