PERSONAL NEWS #227

Dec 2^nd I had an appt with Dr Tan at 4pm and in the evening attended private yoga class with Fabrice and Shiva.

Dec 3^rd, after work I volunteered to assist with the yearly BFP fundraising phone-a-thon.

Dec 5^th, I attended the monthly TGTSNBN meetup at Simple Studios.  It was great seeing friends and acquaintances who love HP.  This meetup was geared towards decorating holiday cookies with an HP theme.  It was a lot of fun  J

Dec 6^th, I along with other EA’s had to take the first 3 of 5 exams today at work.  What a nerve racking nightmare that was and my health suffered due to it.  Despite that, I think I passed 1 of the 3 exams, which means I’ll have to take two of the exams again in March 2014.  UGH!  I thoroughly loath testing!  That evening I attended my private yoga class with Fabrice and Shiva.

Dec 7^th, I finished decorating my apartment for the holiday season and my tree looks lovely.  I then participated in the BFP fundraising phone-a-thon and afterwards I did some holiday gift shopping at B&N, as well as Trader Joe’s.

Dec 8^th, I attended an enjoyable friends annual holiday party at a delightful Cuban restaurant in LIC.  It was like a mini-NYDoP reunion … we had many laughs, caught up on news, eat good food, etc.

Evening of Monday, Dec 9th, the “NYC Area Friends of JRR Tolkien and Fantasy” Meetup group was at the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd Street for a special exclusive screening of "The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug".  This is part two of Peter Jackson's new "Hobbit" trilogy.  [We saw the film at IMAX in 3D, so that explains the special glasses we wore.] What a roller coaster ride of a film! Excellent! My only real gripe was too many Orcs. I sat with Wendy, Margaret and Pauline.  It was great chillin with everyone and seeing others from our meetup group.

Dec 10^th, I attended the monthly BFP Fundraising / PF committee meeting, which was very productive.

Dec 11^th, I facilitated a conference call with several members [ie: Matt, Charlotte, Tom, Melissa and Gary] of BFP.  We are creating a 1.5 hour presentation for Brooklyn Museum in early January dealing with war, photography and the aftermath.  It was an informative and productive call  J

Dec 12^th, I participated in the BFP annual fundraising phone-a-thon after work.

Dec 13^th, I attended private yoga class with Fabrice and Shiva.

Dec 14^th, I joined my friend Jackie for movies and dinner while it snowed throughout the day.  We saw the film “The Desolation of Smaug”, then dined at Cosi and exchanged gifties.

Dec 16^th, I attended private yoga class with Fabrice and Shiva.

Dec 17^th, I took the last two of the five exams in the afternoon, and I think I did pretty well.  After work I briefly attended the company holiday party at the Marriott before heading home.

Dec 18^th, I facilitated a conference call with several members [ie: Matt, Charlotte, Tom, Melissa and Gary] of BFP regarding a Brooklyn Museum event we are participating in.

Dec 19^th, I participated in the monthly BFP A&C committee conference call, and we got quite abit accomplished.

Dec 20^th, I attended the annual BFP holiday gathering at Martha and Gary’s home in Park Slope … a great time was had by everyone.  We enjoyed lots of good food, drink and interesting, diverse conversations.  Earlier in the day I learned I passed 4 of the 5 exams at work.  I was quite relieved about that and will have to retake the 5th one in March 2014, so as to obtain my certificate.

Dec 21^st, I had a much needed chiropractor appt for my neck/back.  Later on I headed into Manhattan to meet up with Wendy and Deborah to see “Desolation of Smaug” in the cinema.  Afterwards we took a taxi down to Chelsea for a delicious meal at an Italian place on 9^th Avenue.

Dec 22^nd, I had a much needed acupuncture appt, and then in the evening a private yoga class with Fabrice.  I gave his six month old kitten Shiva some catnip toys for Xmas.  Shiva went bonkers over them  J

Dec 23^rd to 25^th, I headed upstate NY to spend time with the parents, my brother and sister-in-law for the holidays.  While up there I came down with a lung infection and had to take the 26^th off from work.

Dec 27^th, I facilitated a conference call with several members [ie: Matt, Charlotte, Tom, Connie and Gary] of BFP regarding a Brooklyn Museum event we are participating in.

Dec 27^th to 30^th, my friend Cindy came in from Ohio for a brief visit before heading off Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.  We had a very nice time together despite us both being abit under the weather with health issues.

Dec 30^th, I attended private yoga class with Fabrice and Shiva in the evening after work.