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I was very careful. Nose, mouth and eyes covered every time I went out but somehow I'm still coughing. At least it's over now. It is over, right? It's over. I will say though, the 'target practice' I got in this weekend was the most entertaining time I've had since I left the service. Now if I could just top coughing up ash I'd be set for the rest of the week.

Thank god that's over. Got to go home this afternoon and honestly, there is nothing better than sleeping in your own bed after five days of sleeping on gurneys or hospital beds. At least this didn't last as long as the blue flu did last year. I never want to be stuck at the hospital for that long again. So, now that I'm finally home and in my own bed, the only thing missing is my boyfriend.

Speaking of, had a dream the other night. I broke off my engagement. I guess I realized that trying to have the safe, normal life just wasn't what I really wanted.

[Team TARDIS/Torchwood]
Was talking to Rose the other day and she suggested that we all go get a drink when everything cleared up and now that it has, what is everyone doing Saturday?

There's something to be said for tenacity.

My audition for the LA Philharmonic (which I hadn't said anything about here for fear of somehow jinxing it,) was scheduled for this past friday. And then, of course, there was a sudden volcano and I was given the option to either brave the weather and play anyway or to reschedule. Naturally, I went anyway. That probably would've been more impressive if I weren't what I am and had to actually drive from home up into the city. Regardless, I went and played the concerto I wrote for Lucifer for Valentines on the very lovely reproduction Stradivarius he bought for me. Castiel went for moral support and partly because he doesn't much like passing up the opportunity to hear me play. It was...strange to say the least, to be standing on that stage in front of three men who truly believe that they've seen and heard so much of the world. Enough to judge a person's skill, sure, but there's a lot of other factors that go into playing than that.

It felt...

I haven't felt human like that in a long while, vulnerable and nervous. This was a moment I'd been training my whole life for, and while I was on that stage playing my heart out, nothing that's happened in the past few months mattered much at all. The dreams and the pain I suffered through meant nothing. That I could spread my wings behind me and had the power to actually paint that concert hall in whatever shifting colors I wanted mattered not in the slightest. What mattered was that a brother I never thought I'd have was sitting outside the doors as a beacon of calm support basking in the sounds of a song written for a lover I never expected to meet. I gave them the very best I could while staying on book, and in the end that was the best I could do.

This afternoon, I received a phone call congratulating me on a well done audition and offering me not only a chair, but the opportunity for the occasional solo position. It's not first chair or even second, but it's still a chair. It's still my dream, and no matter how angelic I might be now, whatever too human parts remain in me can't stop alternately smiling and sitting in stunned disbelief.

As school is still technically out for volcanic clean up, I plan to spend the rest of the day with the men I love who happen to live with me though I suppose if the rest of the family decided to show up that would only make it better.

Less party. More just quiet celebration.

[Image of Wade sitting on an Oliphaunt at a car wash]

BERTHA IS BACK! YES!! SHE'S MY BAAABY.

omg I've been eating cake for hours at the garage. My coworkers bought a discounted wedding cake to surprise me for my birthday... I've been stuffed with fondant all day.

I don't regret leaving my flat to get to a mate in the hospital. I do regret that I didn't apparently do a better job covering my face. I did inhale a bit of ash. They discharged Alyssa today, and now they want to keep me overnight to make sure I don't in fact have consumption. Bloody annoying.

I'm having a really wonderful time writing my next novel. Who knew mermaids would open such interesting doors to fantastical worlds. Only about half-way through and I'm constantly being surprised by my characters and the twists and turns of the plot... it's great. Really enjoying it right now.

In the midst of the ash and chaos, I welcomed a...small bundle of joy? into the world. I'm not sure what the young are called. Pups? Its mother was a beast of burden and faithful companion in my dream world, similar to a horse or camel. Her name is Rooh and I've decided to call her wee one Owen. I think it's a male, anyway.

I'm noticing a somewhat upsetting trend the last few days around here. That is, people forgetting their birthdays. And I'm sad to say I'm one of them. In the midst of work and the whole volcano incident, it was the furthest from my mind until I got a card in the mail from my parents this afternoon.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one, at any rate.