There and Back Again

There and Back Again:
Left at 7:44a.m.; got home at a little after 8p.m. Had a wonderful time at the convention, and got to meet not only friends I don't see often enough and someone I was specifically introduced to (Hi, M!) but a few other people who've been reading my LJ/whose LJs I've been reading. I'd greet them by screenname, but my brains fell out somewhere on 70 East. (If found, please return. Reward.)

Budget Brag:
Due to a combination of selling a bunch of stuff, not bidding on any art, and not stopping at a hotel on the way home, I not only stayed in budget, I came home with a respectable surplus... some of which is going to go into buying a new dehumidifier tonight, as that mildew smell that I can never pick up at home was pretty damn powerful when I opened up my bags at the con!

But this is something that I'm proud enough about that I want to emphasize it - I made it through an entire con, a long con a long way from home full of glorious temptations, without touching a credit card ONCE or writing a check! Whoo hoo!

Belated Sunday 7:
In addition to the briefcases and books (I now have cleared out my entire Bookcrossing stock) that I took to dump, I sold all the excess Who audios I have. Zine-wise, I sold two, traded four in at the White Hart for Doctor Who stuff, and put the last bits - an intact but water-damaged Beauty and the Beast zine and a BatB tote bag - out in the atrium with a "Free to a good home" sign. They were gone in minutes. So I didn't come back with a single thing that I had taken to get rid of. Go me!

Also, I don't think I ever mentioned that the Monday before the con I gave away all my skeins of acrylic yarn to stratfordbabe, who has just started to learn to knit and likes acrylic. There were about a dozen of them. That counts too!

Misc:
My review for The Deception of the Emerald Ring is up on Reviewing the Evidence.

And now, to try to struggle through a day at work despite yesterday's drive *and* getting up at 2:30 to change the battery in a chirping smoke detector. I haven't even looked at email or LJ in 24 hours, so things are going to be scary (and probably incompletely checked). If there's anything I really ought to know, please put in comments.

Back to the Real World - Request for Input

It is indicative of my state of mind that I'm sitting on my ass in front of the monitor while an exercise DVD plays in the background. Since I worked only 3 hours today - and, to be honest, had enough energy for 45 minutes, maybe - I'm not up for actually doing the thing right now, but I wanted to know if it would bugger my knees.

I need exercise shoes. And since I haven't bought such shoes in years, I need help. Places to shop? Brands to look for? I need cushioning in the worst way, as just doing a week's worth of walking has shot my knees badly. Bear in mind that 1) I can't pay a lot for this muffler and 2) I wear a men's 8 1/2 wide. (Yes, my feet cross-dress. Trannies in trainers, if you will.)

At least I don't have any other expenditures to worry about - I have the treadmill, I can relocate a DVD-enabled TV to the area in front of it, and I've repurposed my rennie bloomers into exercise gear. (One of the points of continuing to exercise at home rather than joining Curves or something is the advantage that I can dress like a dork in my own basement. Also, bonus points for finding a use for something that is otherwise only worn for 8 weekends of the year.)

For those who only read this LJ for the Doctor Who stuff, I recommend:
The Sarah Jane Smith vs Doctor Rescue Tally and nostalgia_lj's "The Truth" series of screencap recaps. Not always worksafe. Drinkables warning.

ETA: voicelikehoney has a great missing scene from the last Who episode at His First Time. Likely to be jossed, but delightful all the same.

And I hope I haven't just committed wank.