I am pessimistic about how the election will turn out but I'm going to vote and hope that everyone who is pessimistic votes and that will do something.

Today M and I went to the Southeast Game Exchange/game convention. It was really fun. It's small in terms of a convention and the first convention I've been to in a very long time. There were only 2 rooms with panels and the only panel that I thought looked interesting was tomorrow. But I didn't ask for tomorrow off. I got 2 large really cool art prints (one the artist said she was leaving Meta because of their AI scraping and I really want to share the print so I'm trying to figure out how to do that). 3 smaller prints (it was buy 2 get 1 free I couldn't resist), a really cool purse/dice bag--the creator said she started making dice bags and then sized them up for purses and then branched out to making other things. The one I got is Wonder Woman print and then this keyfob money/ID holder that is Scooby Doo. Some really cool washi tape. 2 stickers. An art card that was thrown in as a freebie. Light saber ear cuff. Very cute Supernatural pin. And I swear some thing else.

I was admiring the cool earrings and ended up getting the ear cuff because the creators were like "oh hey if you can't wear earrings try an ear cuff". They also said they might be able to switch one out but I wasn't really paying attention and I like the light saber. So now I'm going to be looking more into ear cuffs for ear jewelry. (one of my ears always ends up with cysts and it's closed up so I'd need to get it re pierced and it seems like too much of a hassle).

I also ran into a co worker (the one I shared the fanfic with) and he said he saw another co worker there.

M and I went to Recraft after (to say hi and look for frames) and as we were leaving we ran into that other co worker who had left one kid at the convention and was taking the other to the maker's space at Recraft since that kid was tired and bored.

There is a one day ComicCon in Oct or Nov which I kind of want to go to and a Retro Toy convention the week before Thanksgiving which we are going to look at.

I totally splurged today but I had cash I've been hanging on to and that's what I used for this and it was so much fun to see everything and talk to people.

Then when we were coming home I mentioned Dragon Con to M, who hadn't heard of it so I explained what it was. And then discovered how large it has become.

Oh and I saw someone wearing the Loop Earplugs I've seen a few places and she said they worked really well and blocked out almost all the noise at the really noisy end. They had a free play arcade I wanted to try but it was right by the Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band contests. They literally had those 2 next to each other. It was sensory hell over there.

I bought loops and hate them. I hear loud ocean type sounds when I use them that are worse than the background noise.

sj--oh no! that sucks! Next time we go to something like this I may just wear my earbuds, they do a decent job of cancelling noise when there isn't music playing.

Timelies all!

Well, the hits keep coming. Thursday Gary and I were eating dinner in the dining room when we noticed a bulge in the ceiling with water starting to drip out. I grabbed a bucket and Gary called various plumbers, including Root-Rooter. Nobody could come out, so Gary turned off the water. We were able to get Roto-Rooter to come out Friday, where they found a leak in the cold water supply line and fixed it. We also had called the restoration company our insurance recommends, and they set up a dehumidifier. They will be back on Monday. (Luckily there was no water damage on the floor)

Yesterday was even more of a mess. Mr. S has a tendency to sit on the toilet for long periods of time. After one such session he was complaining about things hurting back there so Gary took him to urgent care. Apparently the providers there didn't give the answers Mr. S wanted, so he had a meltdown. Gary took him to a different ER and got him settled. They came back and ate the Chinese I had ordered. Somewhere along the line Mr. S acquired a bottle of 5-hour energy drink and drank it. This led to him not being able to settle down, and becoming a bit manic. Off to the crisis center, where his behavior didn't calm down at all, so 911 was called and he ended up at the usual ER. There they gave him heavy duty sedatives. Gary and Mr. S got back here around 5 this morning and Mr. S slept until 3 pm.

Mr. S wanted to ride his bike, so he and Gary went out. He got disregulated again and Gary is currently following him as he wanders.

Oh, Sheryl, what a time! How old is Mr S now?

Theo, he'll be 9 in a week.

He ended up being taken to another ER by Gary....

Poor kid, poor you.

We've had a rough week at work, three of our long-timers died -- residents who were there when I was hired, so I've had nearly 5 years to get to know them, given them plenty of rides, knew what their particular treats were.

One thing the long-time staff here points out is that it used to be that we got long-timers as residents, but with changes in health care options, we're seeing sicker residents who don't last as long, a higher stage of Parkinson's or heart failure or whatever.

Anyway, back to the grind on Monday. We have a sweet batch of residents and staff I'm proud to work with.

Sheryl, my heart aches for you, Gary, and Mr. S. Also, your home should give you a break!

We have a sweet batch of residents and staff I'm proud to work with.

I'm sorry for the losses this week. It is still very hard even at this type of residence where you expect losses.

Timelies all!

Mr. S has been checked in to the pediatric behavioral unit of the hospital he ended up at last night. Don't know how long he'll be there...

I'm sorry, Sheryl. I hope they are helpful.