Cassie's Journal - May 25, 2017

We’ve had a very long, busy day; so let’s get right to the news; and then I’m going to crash and nap for a couple of hours before getting up to do it all again with the only changes being the ‘what’ I’ll be doing all day on Friday.

Tai Chi was by the river this morning; Michael stayed for breakfast; and then we eventually spent another fun school day doing exam review in all of our classes.  Being outdoors for lunch was good, but my day got a bit rushed once we were set free from school for the day.  Rowen and I hurried over to Vicky’s salon to get our hair cut ahead of the wedding and long weekend.  Vicky and Liz are booked all day Friday and Saturday through until shortly-before the wedding; so we’ll have to deal with styling our hair on our own on Saturday; and we didn’t bother having that done today – partly because we also both needed to get to work as soon as we could.

For me, that meant getting to the Inn for the dinner shift.  There was no game night ahead of the holiday weekend, and Miranda has some early guests staying there tonight; so Michael and I ended up working until close to help with the clean-up while she dealt with some check-ins for those early arrivals for Violet and Dillon’s wedding.  Chris, Martin, and Dawn are all in town now too; though I didn’t see them until Michael and I got back to my house after work.  Since we’ll be having a work day at school tomorrow, we don’t have homework that had to be done tonight, but we did it anyway; and got it out of the way so we won’t have to do it on Sunday or Monday.  Dawn sat and talked with us while we did that, and we do have a house full of guests tonight; so using our Magi talents to speed up that work wasn’t an option.  Michael did stay a bit longer tonight to hang out with my family before going home; but he left when the parents and grandparents wanted to go up to bed at a bit after eleven o’clock – and after Violet and Dillon headed back to his house with his parents.

Dawn and I had a bedtime girl chat after we came up to our rooms and got ready for bed too, but then she went to her room; and I got started in on my work and studying.  While I got a lot done, and the family business work in particular was very satisfying tonight; the facts and figures for that would be a snooze-fest for most of you – even if you would like the stories about the people and families I helped out tonight with a couple of new projects and business ventures that will bring jobs and homes to several hundred people.  That isn’t a lot in a world with billions of people, but every little bit that we do helps us move toward the Ascension of the Light; and hundreds will become thousands, millions, and more one day!

That’s something to write about another day, though; and I really need to head into nap mode soon.  Michael and I will be working the dinner-to-close shift at the Inn tomorrow – after our work day at school; we’ll catch the tail-end of Violet and Dillon’s rehearsal party after that; and then there’s a good chance that I’ll be included in the bridal party girl chat after Dillon and the other boys are sent away at midnight; so it’ll be another late night – and trend that will continue all weekend.  I don’t really want to think about any of that – or anything else right now, and that is all I have for tonight; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - May 24, 2017

We had a splash or twenty of rain off and on this morning, but it ended by early-afternoon; and baseball practices were on tonight.  The wet did get in the way of Tai Chi this morning, though; so we were indoors for that instead of out by the river.

My school day was all about getting ready for exams; and we’re fully into the review phase now – especially since we only have five school days left for that review thanks to the annual work day on Friday and the holiday on Monday.  As always, that isn’t a big deal for me, but it is for some of my classmates; and they’ll start feeling the pressure by next Tuesday after taking the weekend off for the holiday.  Okay, most of us will be working at various jobs all weekend, so it only seems fair to have a bit of fun when we can, but that could be different for Michael and me this year anyway; since the Inn is sure to be busier this year with the extra rooms and dining room space; so we won’t be able to take as much time off for exam studying as we have in recent years.

Since the exam prep time in our classes would be boring to write about; let’s move on to the rest of my day.  As has been the case all week, I’ve missed out on the wedding action around the family; though I did get to help out with making dinner and cleaning up for a small gang at our house between finishing school and going to my ball practice with Rowen.  Michael worked as much of the dinner shift as he could before his practice, but didn’t need to do extra work tonight; and that was because the remodel is unofficially completed now!  While he was busy, the dinner that Mom and Dad hosted at our house was for a mix of ball players, kids, and wedding workers; it was an easy-meal, though when you’re feeding a small gang; that’s a relative term.  Cold salads, three meat options that could all go on a bun, and some snack sides was easy compared to baking major entrees, though; and we kept up with the cleaning as we went along while making those salads; so the post-dinner clean-up was easy too – in part thanks to Mom deciding to use our finest paper plates and other recyclable dinnerware.

By the way, I know I’m not that old, but it is sometimes funny to remember that ‘recyclable’ dinnerware was simply ‘disposable’ not that many years ago.  The three R’s were cool around here well-before it became a fad everywhere else – and I’m not talking about the Ridge River Raiders! ;^)

Yeah, I know, but just in case that little joke isn’t still in use whenever you read this in my near or distant future; it is now saved here in our archives for posterity – if not any serious hilarity.

I should be afraid that those thoughts have me giggling to myself – a sure sign that I’m too tired to be doing this right now.  With everything I have on the go between now and Monday, though, deferring these updates for a few days would just pile things up on me for next week – and I’ll be into exam studying then so that’s a bad idea.  Speeding this up a bit is a good plan so let’s do that instead.

Baseball practice went well; we had fun; and Rowen and I had Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden with us for parts of our workout – when they weren’t at the co-ed practice or playing at the playground.  Dad was at the co-ed practice, but Mom skipped this one to help with the wedding work tonight that included what will likely be the last major meeting ahead of the big day.  The church will get decorated on Friday morning; the rehearsal is Friday evening; and the rehearsal party will be after that – and that’ll be at our house because Violet will be here with at least some of her bridal party – and Stephanie and Dawn will be here for sure.

I’m getting distracted again; and that’s news I can write about over the next couple of days.

Michael met up with me on the way home from the park; we did our homework at my house; and then he went home so that I could get cleaned up and ready to start in on my long to-do list of work and studying.  I had a bedtime visit with the twins first, since they’d needed baths before going to bed too; and then I spent some time in my Jacuzzi – partly to get clean; and partly because I may not get to use it much this weekend while sharing my bathroom with my cousins – and giving up my room to Violet for most of Saturday morning and early-afternoon.  I did a bit of work while in the tub, but couldn’t use a time phase for that with our guests in the house because it’s very hard to explain the ‘real-time’ noises that can be heard for things like that to a non-Magi.  Violet’s parents and grandparents may know more than most normal people; but they don’t know anywhere-near everything about Mom, Ethan, Ehlana, or me.

Moving along again, I kicked up my work into high gear after getting into bed with Mandy and my computer; worked in a time phase for more than an hour of real time; and then had to do the rest of my studying and family business work in normal time to have access to the internet and Mom’s business and archives intranet.  Getting everything done tonight was tougher than usual, but I did get there; and can’t let the work pile up right now even if I wanted to do that.  Now that it’s done, though, I really do want to get some sleep, and while that won’t be much more than a long nap; I’ll do another self-healing to make up for the lack of down time – and possibly do that every day for the next couple of weeks until after exams are done with for another year.

I don’t need to go there either, though, so let’s say we did; don’t; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - May 23, 2017

We started the day out with a bit of drizzle that kept Tai Chi indoors; the rest of my early morning and school day was fairly-standard for a Tuesday; and then Michael and I had our usual three music practices starting shortly-after last class.  The marching band and teen praise team practices were most-important tonight because we’re getting ready for the Memorial Day parade and services this weekend; so our last practices also took longer as we polished the music and worked a bit harder on our marching skills to make sure we’re ready for Sunday and Monday.  It doesn’t affect Michael and me, but our trumpet players are also working on their extra music for the ceremony at the cemetery; and deserve a bit of recognition for those efforts that I don’t normally add to my journals.

The extra practice times for the marching band and praise team meant that Michael and I didn’t get home and started on our homework until nearly-ten; and we were getting a bit more rain by then after a reprieve that lasted until our marching band practice was wrapping up for the night.  Ehlana and Naomi were happy about that because they were able to have their baseball practice tonight, but that was also one more thing for Mom and Dad to deal with in addition to wedding work; taking care of our guests; and the ongoing move for Violet and Dillon into their new apartment.  I’m still missing out on all of that action while I’m too busy with my own daily schedule, and while I keep wanting to find a way to do more; that just isn’t working out for me.

Fortunately, I don’t need to feel too bad about it; since Violet and Dillon do have a lot of help from their families and friends.

As for their move – and the one that Jake and Stephanie finished today; there are advantages to starting out pretty much from scratch – it’s comparatively easy to move into an apartment when you’re buying almost everything and then having it delivered to the apartment.  In their cases, they have a lot of family support for that, and in Violet and Dillon’s case; they’re getting quite a few of their wedding gifts early – and not just to make sure that neither of them get cold feet and attempt a runaway bride or groom sort of thing on Saturday! ;^)

It’s funny to think about how good Mom and I had gotten at doing that sort of thing; and now it’s coming up on seven years since our last move – past-seven if you don’t count the move after Mom and Dad got married.  This won’t be the last moves for Jake and Stephanie or Violet and Dillon, since there will be at least one more for each of them when they’re ready for houses and to start their families, but I love knowing that everything is setting up for them to start their adult lives here at home with us – even if I can’t help out with the work right now.

Getting back to my personal news of the day, Michael and I did our homework; he went home after that since we couldn’t do a Magi lesson with Mom while we have company in the house; and I checked in with the twins on my way up to my room because they needed to go to bed at ‘normal’ time for a school night too.  They’d still been awake and playing on their iPads, so I had short chats with each of them; and then it was time for me to get ready for bed – and started on my never-ending work and studies.  That could have kept me busy all night if not for the time phasing, but there was still a lot of work to do in real time too; which is why it’s past-four now and I’m past-ready for my nap.

Some self-healing will be needed when I get up again too, but I’ll keep going; and hopefully have a chance for a bit of rest sometime between now and when I graduate from high school – o maybe college.

Yes, that might be optimistic, considering what I’m meant to do over my lifetime, but I am still a teen; so leave me to my innocent delusions for a while longer!

I’ll be leaving you to flip the digital page and continue reading while I head into nap mode now – unless you’ve already been put to sleep by reading my journals at bedtime for a sleep aid.  If that happened, though, then you’re not reading this until you take up the story again next time; so that doesn’t make any sense at all and just proves how tired I am – and that it’s past-time for me to wrap this up.

Until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - May 22, 2017

We’ve had a sometimes-rainy, usually-overcast day around here, and baseball practices were rained out; but most of the moving plans for Jake and Stephanie and Violet and Dillon got done before the rain hit – and Jake and Stephanie are spending the night in a partially-furnished apartment.  Violet and Dillon could have done that too; but are going to get their apartment ready this week and then move in when they get back from their honeymoon.

The opening of the last apartment building planned for the new section of town was big news today; and other new tenants began moving in today too.  This is a big week for new; so let’s keep on that theme for a bit and I’ll add that the pathway around town is now complete and officially opened – though I didn’t get the chance to ride the full trail after school because we were busy at the Inn and then the rain would have kept us from having a ride later.  Quarry Lake has the new trails ready to go for the holiday weekend too; along with bike rentals and a few new, smaller attractions that should draw in even more campers and day-trippers than they already get from everything else they have there that make it such a great place to play and camp.

While the Inn remodel isn’t quite done yet; it will be sometime over the next couple of days – possibly by the end of the day tomorrow.  Jacob and Miranda worked there all day; Michael, Rebecca, and I helped out from the time we were done school until we were sent home to do our homework at nine-thirty.  All of the newest guest rooms are getting the finishing touches now, including furniture and a thousand other little details that go into opening new hotel rooms; and those guest rooms are going to be spectacular!  They’ll also be unofficially opening in time for Violet and Dillon’s wedding guests this weekend; and they have all of the rooms booked – which is why they will be ready on-time.

I’m sure that you can guess that I’ve again missed out on the ongoing wedding work and the apartment move-in fun too; but others helped out with all of that; including Grandma and Grandpa Rice.  They came home this morning; and will be here to help out with the wedding all week too.  They’re also staying with us for the week; so two of our guest rooms are in use tonight – and that affects my ability to work openly using my Magi talents.  It also meant that Michael needed to spend more time here as we studied in the lounge because the office was pretty much full of parents and grandparents once they got home from working with Violet and Dillon for the evening.  Michael ended up staying until eleven-thirty; and then he went home so that I could get to work – once I’d taken a break for some Jacuzzi time without any multi-tasking.

I’ve done three and a half hours of work since then, but only a bit of it was in a time phase; so it’s still heading toward three o’clock as I write this.  My week is just going to get busier from here, though; I don’t really have anything newsworthy to add from my morning or school day; and I really need all of the nap time I can get right now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!