Vegetable Rights Activist

totchipanda @ 2009-07-17T21:45:00

2009-07-18T03:51:04Z

Dear self,

Quit putzing about and do something productive with your lazytiem.

And now, a moral question.

When some innocent-looking lady stops you in the hall and asks if the guy you're sorta-tailing is your boyfriend because he's walking faster than she is and you'd decided to tail him because she's moving close to the wall and you don't want to bump into her as you powerhouse your way home, and you reply omg no! and then she hands you a flyer and asks if Jesus is your boyfriend and have you accepted him as your personal saviour....

What is the appropriate response?

I lied through my teeth ._. and I wonder if I shouldn't've said something more to the effect of "no, but the Flying Spaghetti Monster is pretty sweet". (Also, I am going to try to amass an army of volunteers to move me, and I'm wondering if I should feed them burgers or spaghetti and meatballs...)

My theory is if there is a god, and he is as forgiving as he's supposed to be, then what does it matter if I actively believe/worship or not? At least the cute asian girls who came to the door believed in a god-mother...

totchipanda @ 2009-07-17T00:09:00

2009-07-17T06:09:12Z

The lion king broadway show was amazing. And I'm so tired and want to sleep so bad but I'm waiting for dad to bring me boxes. Oh and I got approved for the apartment so I am much relieved!!

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Writer's Block: 5//7//5

2009-07-16T03:29:47Z

Sum up your day in the form of a haiku.

Submitted By cpnspuff

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Harry Potter love.
What day is it? Confusing.
My sister is hurt.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was awesome (I totally cried).

I totally didn't get enough sleep and eventually had to take a nap when I got home as I couldn't remember what day it was. A part of me knew it was Wednesday, and the rest of me was all "bwah?"

And one of my very dear friends suffered a personal tragedy yesterday, which has been on my mind all day. I'm hurting quite a lot for her, really, and I wish I could blame the tears on my lack of sleep, but I don't think I'd be any less upset were I fully rested. Really, the only thing stopping me from jumping a plane to Portland this minute is a distinct lack of money. (That, and it would probably be counter-productive, but that is a minor concern.)

totchipanda @ 2009-07-15T03:14:00

2009-07-15T09:14:13Z

HBP is the best Potter movie yet.

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Writer's Block: Le Quatorze Juillet

2009-07-15T01:38:17Z

Happy Bastille Day! Today the French celebrate the event that sparked the French revolution. In honor of our Francophone friends, what is your favorite French thing? Bonus points for answers en français.

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Je suis omelette du fromage!!

Non?

Je suis avec pomme de terre?

...non?

Oh alright. Those are in-jokes anyway XD

I love the best French thing EVAR (or rather, French-Canadian)

POUTINE.

Camping in Dinosaur Provincial Park

2009-07-14T04:25:24Z

This past weekend, I went down to Dinosaur Provincial Park with raspberry_belle, losemymouth, dobbin477 and Denton for a fun weekend of tents, hiking, badlands and dinosaurs!

Joe (raspberry_belle) came over around 9 on Friday morning. We went to Safeway to do all the grocery shopping for the weekend (except for hot dogs) first, then picked up a card game at the Mall right around 10, and then hit up Canadian Tire for a water container and an air mattress. We hit the road and got on our way at 10:24am.

First we drove to Viking (1 hr east of the city, but it took us half an hour to get far enough to even see that sign lol) where we stopped at noon and had lunch. The waitress was rather rude to us but seemingly very pleasant to people we assumed were locals. We figured she could probably tell that we were city girls, and here we were in a small town having lunch. Screw you lady, we railed once back on the road. We may be city girls, but we were raised in small towns. Not to mention, I've spent ten years in retail.

Back on the road, Highway 36 is rather... straight. Like, to the point that Joe got really excited when a bend showed up in the road. We followed the roadway on the map, getting really pleased when it was time to turn a page! OOOOOH. We discussed why things were named what they were (why is an orange called an orange? If the colour orange was called something else, would the fruit still be called an orange?) and wound up renaming apples to "Flagstaffs" as we happened to be passing into Flagstaff County when I was hypothesizing this. It was a very uneventful drive, of which I will post minutes of later (funny convo happened on the way lol). Heading south, though, there are NO signs for Dinosaur Provincial Park. We decided to pass the turn off to a town near by and go 15km further south to fill up with gas, just in case.

Heading north on that same highway, LOTS OF SIGNS. WTF. Anyway, got onto the road leading into the park, and there was a sign pleading with motorists to keep an eye out and avoid hitting any snakes to conserve the population. We saw what we thought was one snake, but it was still there on Sunday, so perhaps it was a smushed one... Up to this point, it didn't look like we were in badlands at all, the area was just typical flat prairie. OH but it hid a wonder! Shortly after seeing the maybe-snake, there was a glimpse of the badlands! YAY!

Get down into the campsite area at like, 4:30, and promptly lose cell phone service. LOL, not so fun when our third car is a couple hours behind us and now we have no way to tell them that the campground is, in fact, nowhere near Drumheller. Someone has checked into our site already, and we drive around to find that Denton has arrived! And not much sooner than we did, because he was only half-unpacked. We proceed to set up camp in full sunshine, as our site gets shade in the morning, and in the evening after 7-ish when it drops behind the trees across the lane. Then we go to find out if there is a phone to be used, and pick up a cord of firewood and some ice for the coolers. Afterwards, Joe goes to drive up to the top of the hill to call the other car and tell them where to go, and Denton chases after her because there was a boxed lamp on the back window of her car. I sit down with my book (see previous entry) and wait. In the meantime, there is a very bold seagull looking for tastys, and an almost-as-bold family of sparrows flitting through for the same reason.

A car pulls into the site behind me. I stare at it for a few seconds, because Joe's car is the same colour, but it's definitely NOT Joe's care. Hooray, the rest of the party has arrived! Yay! Joe returns moments later, and we proceed to wait for Denton to return before starting a fire and cooking up hot dogs for dinner.

Denton has a grand time splitting the wood to manageable pieces, and gets a fire going. 'Dogs are roasted on sticks. One of them eventually falls into the fire, where we push it under the flames and it's never seen again. After hot dogs, it's time for s'mores! One marshmallow gets sacraficed to the fire too. Finally full of almost-food and sugar, we play card games until about 11:30 and then head to bed.

I didn't sleep well the first night, as I rarely do in a new place/situation. For some reason, both nights my bladder decided that it wanted to be emptied within 20 minutes of lights-out, which I was NOT about to do in a dark campsite with outhouses >.> (Though to be fair, they were among the best outhouses I've ever been in.) Luckily, it was not insistent and I didn't have to get up until morning. As usual, it seems, for me, I'm tired early in the evening, and awake at the ass-crack of dawn. I got up at 7:30 to discover that Denton had been up for an hour already, and exploring. Laina (losemymouth) and Joe got up not too much later. However, I went back to bed soon after as I had a migraine and wanted to get rid of it or I'd be useless for hiking >:C Breakfast was made, the bacon was delicious, I couldn't stomach the eggs, and after we ate and cleaned up a little, off we went to see what kind of hiking trails were available in the area.

I think the visitor's centre is also the Tyrell field museum? I was there once in 1991, but I don't remember it was. The sign on the front said "Field Museum" but we never went inside except to ask about trails. So we went back to the campsite (climbing some of the hills on the way lol) to pick up water bottles, snacks, and pile into Denton's car to drive to the first trail.

We did the first trail, the other went on a unofficial trail up what seemed like a mountain while I rested at the bottom (friggin' hate migraines... my legs were shaky), a second unofficial trail (there was a cave! It required exploring), and a short hike from an area with a dinosaur skeleton covered over but left in the rock. We discovered the second trail head a short distance away, but decided to have lunch first. So we went back and had lunch (burgers, chips and some veggies) and Joe and I rested a bit while the others went to see about the guided tour at the visitor's centre before heading back to tackle the second trail.

That was an interesting one... the trail seemed to run out a short distance in, and we were left to explore a series of "river" bottoms and drainage areas, as well as more hills which were fun to climb. We couldn't tell if the trail kept on anywhere, so we just headed back and decided to get ready for the guided tour. But walking around these areas, it was so easy to get inspired for novel-related things, and I have lots of ideas for future stories :)

That was a really fun trip, and well worth the $8 it cost to take it. Our guide, Kate, was really quite fun. We learnt a fair bit about the area, such as the trees and why they were unique, how to identify bone fossils, how the badlands are formed, and a bunch of other stuff. The tour culminated in a mostly-complete Corythsaurus display (the tail is on display at the Royal Tyrell), a large section of a fossilized tree, a pincushion cactus, a piece of bone sticking out of the ground, and a large bull snake on the roadway as we drove back lol.

That was it for the day. The bus let us off at the campground, where we chanced upon someone from another campsite with the cutest Akita puppy, who let us pet her. So cute! Got back to the site and started dinner. I daresay the potatoes us girls made were rather amazing, despite throwing one package into the fire, and the chicken Denton fried up was tasty too ;) (and I also really enjoyed the salad). After supper, everyone but me went off to check out a program at the campground's outdoor amphitheatre, but quickly returned as they were doing the hokey pokey upon arrival ^^;;

When the sun went down, we played another round of the card game. I got up to poke the fire a bit, but noticed right away a thread of spider silk running from the pokey stick to the edge of my vacated chair. Sure enough, there was a spider near the stick, industriously working. Arnold (dobbin477) bravely saved me from the spider by brushing it away lol. During our game, the weirdest beetle I've ever seen landed on the table, twice. I'll have to try to find it online to find out what it was. I guess around 11:30 we went to bed again? Slept perfectly fine this time :)

The next morning, got up at 8. Breakfast was a pastry/granola bar and fruit affair, pretty quiet. We struck down most of the site and packed the cars before driving out to the final trail, which was a flat walk tour of the cottonwood poplar forest near the river. It only took us half the time the trail head's sign said it would, so we got the rest of the stuff and headed out around 10:45 to start the trip home.

Once in Drumheller, we stopped for lunch first, and then wound up repacking the cars as Laina and I live on the same end of town, where Joe and Arnold were going to the same area, so it made no sense to criss-cross our paths like that. We said our farewells, and headed out our separate ways. (Denton lives in Medicine Hat, for those curious. So sweet of him to drive up to Drumheller just to have lunch with us :) )

Laina dropped me off around 5:15, and it was soooooo good to be able to take a shower and get my fingernails clean. (Oh, the little things you miss...) It was so nice to be able to spend the weekend with friends, not caring about what you look like (we didn't go into the running-water-and-mirrored bathrooms at the concession stand until the final day, and I wore pajamas hiking on Saturday because they were the lightest clothes I brought ^^; ) or whathaveyou, and being out of contact with technology. It was really quite relaxing, despite the heat. I had a really great time, and I look forward to doing it again :)

totchipanda @ 2009-07-13T20:59:00

2009-07-14T03:11:25Z

I was recommended to read A Woman Worth Ten Coppers by Morgan Howell in a rather roundabout way. Meaning, I was looking at Zutara fanart on a comm and someone had done cross-over art of Zuko and Katara as the main characters from the book. Intrigued but uncertain, I finally just bought it in Chapters' buy-3-get-the-4th-free sale and technically paid nothing for it. Woot.

Well damn. I'm totally hooked. I finished it last night. Hot damn, I thought, I need a sequel like whoa. It was getting to the good stuff! But I had an inkling that it would be a wait yet, as it only came out last year. Amazon has the sequel as coming out on October 27.

Whiiiiiiine. A: It's a long wait. B: October 27th? I can't read a novel that close to Nano! Anything I read in October flavours whatever I write in November! I was planning on writing a space opera which got changed (maybe) to a steampunk novel with a Klapperschlange and an epic chase scene through Badlands in the middle of a storm in which several men and regrettably many horses die during our hikes through Dinosaur National Park on the weekend. But if I read that novel four days before Nano? I'll wind up writing a fantasy (perhaps the sequel to my 2005 nano that I never finished).

So I whined to Debbie, and she said "well why not write a steampunk space opera fantasy?" And I thought about it for a second, and then figured, it worked for Treasure Planet...

Anyway, A Woman Worth Ten Coppers is a good read, and I have some planning to do.

totchipanda @ 2009-07-09T19:39:00

2009-07-10T02:07:22Z

1. Reply to this post and I'll assign you a letter.
2. List (and upload, if you feel like it) 5 songs that start with that letter.
3. Post them to your journal with these instructions.

learan gave me R :D

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER because I just can't do that! ;_;

Rushed Blue - NOi'X
I can still remember the day I first watched this on VHS (shut up) and thinking "omg, who is that adorable redhead running around the stage??"

Rosier - Luna Sea
Favourite karaoke song! I impressed myself by being able to belt the chorus from memory when I hadn't listened to the song in several years :D Also, pay special attention to the bridge, when Sugizo's thighs make an appearance.

Riyuu - Dir en grey
I don't agree with this song being called "wake". The karaoke place has it listed under the R's, so it's an R in my book as it has been since Macabre was released in 2000 :P (why yes, that is my oldskool elitist entitlement coming out)

Reddish -diva ver- - D'espairsRay
One of the bestests song evar! I swear I'm going to marry Hizumi some day...

Rainmaker - Yanni
My boss and I saw this particular concert tour a few years ago, and we STILL talk about it. (I can already feel my hardcore club card being revoked...) Besides, it has a didgeridoo! How awesome is that?

BONUS!!!

THE REBOOT RECAP SONG!!

WATCH IT >:C

totchipanda @ 2009-07-08T22:17:00

2009-07-09T04:19:01Z

I really want to read some fanfic of one of my OTPs (icon related XD) but there isn't anything new. Conclusion: I should clean up my 12k monstrosity and work on the sequels and write my own.

That sounds a lot like work, though...

totchipanda @ 2009-07-06T20:29:00

2009-07-07T02:40:02Z

Pheewwwwww time for an update? Dzi and company came up on Saturday, where we had a whirlwind tour of Nightshade, Fabricland, and the karaoke place in the space of about 6 hours. Fabric for Miaka & Yui = gotten.

Sunday was waterpark with 10 people (super fun!) and then Transformers 2nd viewing. I think I'm good on it, now. Twice was enough.

Last night was me trying to sleep and being entirely unable to for almost two hours. I was freaking out and should have posted a status update along the lines of "can't sleep and will have a mental breakdown in about 2 days". Stressed because of work, having a kitten I really shouldn't keep, and needing to find a place to live at the end of the month. Moving while A: on a fixed budget, and B: during year-end inventory, has to suck harder than almost anything I can think of ATM. I also busted up my savings bonds account online, so now I can't access that money, and I will probably need it to help afford the deposit for my silly cats.

So... slightly less stressed than I was this morning. But that isn't saying much.

totchipanda @ 2009-07-02T18:53:00

2009-07-03T00:55:54Z

I got tired of ads and shit and bought myself 2 months (for now) of paid time.

Mostly so I could upload this icon XD Brings my Bitch Plz icons up to four!

Toph is awesomesauce and bitches best recognize.

Also, my legs are full of ITCHINESS and its DRIVING ME CRAZY D:

totchipanda @ 2009-07-01T11:12:00

2009-07-01T17:13:49Z

Watching an old episode of Reboot reminds me what a fantastic show this is :D "Gun: Death Blossom Mode" = me ROFL'ing. Obscure The Last Starfighter reference FTW!

Writer's Block: First Aid

2009-06-28T18:48:24Z

Have you ever performed CPR, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, or the Heimleich maneuver on someone in an emergency?

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No, but I am fully certified for the next year to do so. I hope I never have to use those skills.

totchipanda @ 2009-06-28T01:32:00

2009-06-28T07:37:18Z

I need my icon space back :/ I'm getting a nice collection of "BITCH PLZ" ones XD I think I'm up to 4 now (its a nice collection, stfu)

I'm also looking for a specific Sokka icon... He's making a D: face and the text reads "Crazed Sokka Expression #39" or something very similar. I think he's wearing something from S3 but I could be misremembering that.

totchipanda @ 2009-06-27T23:57:00

2009-06-28T05:57:56Z

AHAHAHAHA its funny to see a dude from 300 with his clothes on in a different movie XD

totchipanda @ 2009-06-25T21:24:00

2009-06-26T03:23:29Z

So I'm sure you all heard that michael Jackson died today @@ what a crazy world, just hours after farah fawcett and days after Ed McMahon...

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Writer's Block: Department of Burning Questions

2009-06-25T02:55:54Z

In your opinion, what is the cutest animal baby?

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In order:

Otters
Polar bears
Pandas
Kittens
Ducks

totchipanda @ 2009-06-24T19:47:00

2009-06-25T01:48:35Z

Transformers was pretty fricken sweet :D

Got home just before 3, slept some time around 4, and had to get up at 8 (but actually got up at 7:30). I am friggen TIRED.

totchipanda @ 2009-06-22T23:16:00

2009-06-23T05:17:47Z

AVATAR ABRIDGED MADE ME MISS A NEW HARRY POTTER TRAILER D:

...But it was fookin' hilarious XD Yay Kung-Fu Action Jesus!

OH BOY PROSTATE HEALTH SPOKESROBOT OPTIMUS PRIME! I love Robot Chicken!

totchipanda @ 2009-06-21T23:01:00

2009-06-22T05:05:25Z

Am eagerly watching the final two episodes of Avatar.

Azula is currently being completely foolish D: I'm gonna guess that she is going crazy.

Ozai is already crazy >.> Why do these take-over-the-world megalomaniacs never realize that taking over the world is not all its cracked up to be? Will be interesting to review the Evil Overlord list later to see how many violations he has...

ETA: Finished part 3. GAH-HAH!!! Was my very loud reaction D:

I really enjoyed the fight between Azula and Zuko. The sound effects were quiet under the music, it was a really nice scene (or two or three)

One more to go, back in 20!

ETA2: Hmm. Not sure how I really feel about the end of it. (except for the closing music. Holy heck, is it pretty!) Well, OK, I like how the defeat was handled, nicely played. Not sure about keeping him in a prison cell, but, well, I suppose he doesn't pose a REAL threat to anyone anymore. Obviously would have preferred something more ship-friendly, but hey, I didn't hate it. (May have helped that I already knew how it ended, and without a strong ship background, like others had, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting). And really, there's lots of future to explore in fic... (although how to handle it without being a basher. I really hate fics like that :/ )

I dunno, I guess I was feeling like the series was being rushed, or something, but when it's all said and done, it was pretty well-paced. I enjoyed it a lot. :)

totchipanda @ 2009-06-20T23:18:00

2009-06-21T05:22:45Z

Whyyyyyyyy am I writing fanfic? Why? Why are some of the words so awkward to type out? It's like writing pr0nz, when you're shy of the words. Did I feel this way when I started writing Bleach fic?

I have so many other things to worry about, writing plot bunnies shouldn't be on the list at all. But the darn things just don't go away.

totchipanda @ 2009-06-19T00:21:00

2009-06-19T06:31:35Z

Happily busting my way through S3 :D 13 episodes and its FINALLY getting around to "the point" and stuff I'm more familiar with from the fanfic I read. Too bad its going to end so soon and so... "interestingly". Kinda excited for the teaser trailer that will be before Transformers :D

Some thoughts on yaoi, if you will.

- S2 closing ep was so GAH, of the "omg don't do that it's a trap!" variety, for the most part. When I thought about it, I couldn't blame Zuko for going back to his family. He's what, 16? And had spent the last three years on a very single-minded mission. Giving that up was just too foreign an idea. He needed more time before all that happened to make the "right" decision. (I don't know if anyone was like "geez what a dumbass" but really, giving up all you've thought you wanted for the last three years, going from one end of the earth to the other, in the span of less than a month? Tough call.)

- I was really undecided on Azula. My biggest complaint was the shade of her lipstick. It was hideous. Ok, so she's also a conniving backstabber and is totes in line for kingness (she'd be a king too, it'd'be awesomesauce. Except for the evil part.) After "The Beach", I decided that she is hilarious, and I like her. Nyah :P Perfectly punctual party guest, indeed *snickers*

- Won't get into the "mushy" scenes. Eugh. Not just 'cuz it "interferes with my 'ship", I have no real opinion on that. I've totes based the shippyness on like, three scenes as it is. Heh. It just seemed so... wrong.

- Toph is amazing, and I love her. Cosplayness, here I come!

totchipanda @ 2009-06-16T23:32:00

2009-06-17T05:36:29Z

Finished Season 2.

GAH.

S3 is started and the first two are almost done (silly me, I COULD sort it in episode order...) but so help me, I need to go to bed at a decent hour tonight. I have to get out a teeeensy bit earlier to go get my first aid and CPR recertified, and I didn't bring my book home to study D: (not that I would have, I've been glued to the monitor sine 7pm watching this XD)

I may need a new keyboard, but I can't figure out why ONLY the X, C, V and main enter keys are the only ones that are fussy on working properly.

totchipanda @ 2009-06-15T21:40:00

2009-06-16T03:43:47Z

MAY?! SERIOUSLY?! THEY PRONOUNCED IT MAY?!

I'm trying not to be judgemental or nothin' cuz of my learnings or anything (and by that, I mean hours upon hours upon some 300k words of fanfic more suited to my liking *cough*) but... MAY?!

(I hope my flist gets used to the Avatar-ness that will be my entries for the next little while... I promise to post something more mundane later. Maybe even something about my dorries!)

ETA: BWAHAHAHA! Just got introduced to Toph XD I freakin' love her.

Oh look, a post that isn't about Avatar!

2009-06-14T22:06:02Z

I went to Silver Wolf yesterday :D Mum called me last week and said "its freeeeeee", so my response was "HECK YES". Free? Chance to wear my newest dress? THE DELIIOUS FOOD THAT IS INVARIABLY SERVED?! Count me in!

I really need summer garb. It was very warm yesterday. Mum and I watched a teensy bit of the first-evar equestrian competition, since we'd missed most of it by the time we arrived. We walked to the little food store on the corner to pick up something for lunch. We realized too late that the tap water has likely been softened, as it tasted vaguely of salt, and so I didn't drink nearly enough water. Cue migraine. (more on that later)

The food was, AMAZING, as usual. There was a loaf of bread with raisins in it and cheese with herbs in it. Very nice flavour combination. Next was an onion soup that was the most delicious thing I have ever, ever eaten. The pot of leftover soup was put out on the table, and was quickly devoured. (None of the other leftovers could claim that!) There was slices of cold pork roast with fresh-made mustard, of which even the "non-spicy" one was of a delicious sinus-clearing variety, and buttered green beans. Salad made entirely without lettuce and included some flowers and things, and garlic tarts. Mum and I took a break in a cooler room and had an interesting discussion O-o; That was when I realized I had a full blown migraine going on, and absolutely NOTHING with me with which to treat it.

Court is always more interesting to me now than it was when I was a teen. The usual awarding of things to people, a couple of people who are at like, EVERY thing I ever go to, and have been around since the early-mid 80s were raised to court baron and baroness, Prince Hjalti declared that he liked nice stuff and wanted more nice stuff, and didn't we want more nice stuff too? Join him at the Avacal-Tir Righ war at the end of the month so that we could go claim their nice stuff and make it ours! (Nice stuff became a recurring theme by the end, and will likely stick around for awhile. It also elevated him to my second-favourite-prince)

Last bit of food was great pie, which is always tasty. One of the main cooks came out and said "good food?" to which we were like "HECK YES" and I only came out for the food...

So yes, migraine. It was pretty bad. Left-side, at least, which I believe are easier to get rid of. Right-side ones seem to hang around for FAR longer than they're welcome. I felt a little better when I changed into my regular clothes, but there was an hour long drive back to the city, and between the headache nausea and my increasingly more regular car sickness, it was all I could do to stay still and try not to throw up. As it was, Shane had JUST pulled into a parking spot to let me out at my house and BLEEEEH. All that wonderful food is now somewhere in the sewage system once I got it out of my mug. Migraine was still killing me, but I just crawled into bed and went to sleep.

Woke up at 4:50am, still headachey. Woke up every hour after that, always still headachey and nauseous. I didn't take any meds at the time, because I knew I would just throw them up before they had a chance to do anything. Finally did vomit out some stomach acid, promptly took the advil and went back to sleep. Woke up at 12:30, finally headache-free :) There's still some residual ache left behind, but its hardly noticeable and will be gone after another good sleep.

The downside to this is, of course, its already 4pm and I haven't done a darn thing with my day.