Way to Mandalay

Happy Boxing Day

Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:49:57 GMT

Christmas was very good and fun. It started with opening presents with the family (though it was really more like "handing out" presents since none of us bother with wrapping), then breakfast with same. Then we watched Up and all of us cried and I felt really out of sorts after that.

Crying always does that to me, really. I feel just icky both physically and mentally afterwards and I really dislike it. I totally do not understand those people who can have a nice cathartic cry and feel so much better afterwards because I feel like shit.

And because I felt like shit I started to torture myself. See, my parents got me a new iPod for Christmas, which was more expensive than I thought it should be, and it's one of the 160GB ones that I can't even fill up with my entire music collection (though I think Criminal Minds on it would do it...). But I already have a perfectly serviceable iPod Nano, and they forgot that I had it which is why they got me the new one.

And I was torturing myself because I didn't want to appear ungrateful but I really didn't need it because my old one works just fine. And then I talked to my mom about it and she suggested I get rid of the old one. So I'm going to clear out Magellan Jr. and give it to my sister as an early birthday present for her. Yay! Easy solution and I need to stop torturing myself like that, which basically comes down to "I'm not worthy". But I'm working on it!

My family liked their presents from me, and we had a great day that was mostly spent together, but without the usual bickering that happens when we all spend too much time together. So yay!

Wow...

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:44:54 GMT

I am so sorry to everyone who noticed my absence.

...I don't know how you did, since I am pretty much absent anyway, but let's not go there.

This year NaNo was completely different for me. Why? because I worked with one of the Municipal Liasons and she asked me to *help* and I am too damned midwestern to say no.

So I ended up going to at least three or four write-ins a week, helping with the preparation (putting together the notebooks ML gave out, the survival kits, and the sister helped me put together the info booklet this year). I helped with some of the tech stuff as well, because ML friend is pants at technology.

It was exhausting but also really fun.

So that is, largely, where my November went. Spent too much money on food and stuff at the coffee/tea shops where we had our write-ins, dealing with drama which comes with every group (ugh), and writing. Let's not forget the writing.

I cranked out 50,616 words of what amounts to backstory and world building. I had no plot, no actual story, so I just sort of wanked around for 50K. That was actually fine, too, because I needed to do it; I hadn't really thought that concept out before, and now I have some interesting if a bit crack-y backstory to work with if and when I decide to go back to it.

But I also decided that I am going to try to write something to sell, probably to one of the online romance retailers (only the legit ones: I know what to look out for). So we'll see how that goes...

Welcome to my New Year

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:41:10 GMT

Nearly, anyway.

For my personal yearly calendar, I've got the time between my birthday (the 11th) and Samhain (the 31st) to prepare myself for the new year. Yes, this is completely arbitrary but I find it fun and useful for me.

My goals for the new year (not Resolutions because everyone knows those are never really kept) and in no particular order...

1. Let myself learn how to dance
2. Make some actual decisions regarding my future
3. Get a workout schedule established and stick with it
4. Continue trying to better my eating habits
5. WRITE SOMETHING, IDIOT!
6. Make a proposal for the 2010 Sirens, on any of the six or seven ideas I have...
7. Be more proactive in something
8. Save more money
9. Try to be something more of a grownup, whatever that means...

Let's stick with nine. I couldn't think of any more and nine is a nice number.

At Sirens

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:11:59 GMT

Well, technically the hotel we're staying at in lieu of staying at the spa/hotel Sirens is at.

I am having so much fun! And they're doing it again next year!

Going to have to start saving so we can stay at the same hotel as the conference next year, which would be way more convenient (and swanky, if it's the same place).

Yay!

More wishy-washy whinging

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:41:51 GMT

So, I've been talking about moving to Madison.

Of the local people whose opinions I care about, I've gotten one "don't go!", two "go if it makes you happy" and one "take me with you!"

The "don't go" came from my friend who is pregnant, which makes sense because I would be leaving only a few months after her kid is due. She has family, but they are mostly flaky/crazy. And she'd have mom and dad no doubt, but...I still feel bad that I'm even contemplating leaving one of my best friends at a difficult time.

And I know she'd understand if I had to go, but still. I could do the online thing.

Erin is the one saying, "take me with you!" Actually, it's more along the lines of, "I need a chance to start over and if I have a built-in roommate all the better!" She'd go with me to check it out, even, so that's an immediate travel companion as well. This idea has its good sides and its down sides. Good in that I'd have a friend, someone who knows me, and someone to live with without having to worry about scouting out non-psycho potential roommates.

On the down side...we've both debated if it counts as really starting over if you bring someone who has known you since junior high with you...

My parents are the ones saying "go if it makes you happy", which I appreciate. They'd worry, certainly, moving to a whole new place with no support network other than that offered by the school and family five hours away. But they're very supportive, despite the likelihood of racking up more debt I won't be able to pay for.

So largely positive response to my idea.

Life?! What is this life you speak of?

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:01:57 GMT

I blame you, Ryan, for egging me on. Not that I hadn't thought about it, but now I'm actively researching it.

But how exactly does one go about moving to a whole new place where one has no family?

Moving to the UP was easy; I had my aunt, uncle and cousins up there, built-in support network.

But I'm looking at the information for UW-Madison, and I've gotta say I like their programs, and I like the sound of Madison.

Applications for their Fall 2010 session begin this month. I need three letters of recommendation, transcripts, a personal statement, my resume and the application forms. I actually don't think the letters of recommendation are going to be that hard (it hasn't been that long since I was at NMU and a couple of my profs should remember me, I think..., and one of the reference librarians I'm pretty sure would write me a letter), the resume is pathetic, aside from my library job.

And there's two options, really. University of Wisconsin is starting a distance education for its library/information science program, so I could apply for that. Which would mean I don't have to give up the job I love. But on the other hand, moving to another place might be what I need to kick my life into gear.

Going back to school in a year might be doable. But if I can move and start all over, it might be even better...

Anyone on my flist have stories about this? Just going and starting over?

dies of fangirl glee/WHAT?

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:25:53 GMT

They've FINALLY greenlighted Daria on DVD!!

Dude! I've only been waiting eight or nine years for this! I first signed the petition to put Daria on DVD in 2000/20001.

I have to start saving now, so I can actually afford to buy it.

/

And now, the WTF moment of the day: I'm going to be an honorary aunt. One of my best friends (thankfully one who is more or less financially stable and married) is pregnant.

Excuse me while I try to process this. They're in shock too, so I don't feel so bad for not quite wrapping my brain around this...

Rut rut rut rut rut....

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 04:44:14 GMT

I am ... in a rut. Of course, when am I not?

No signs of anyone hiring until the holiday season, so, fine, I'll bide my time and apply again at the end of October. I even asked at Wal-Mart and found they were in a hiring freeze. Sign of the times...

Anyway, my luck I'll get a second job just as NaNo starts. Except maybe not because my friend at the library is organizing a whole bunch of NaNo stuff, because she's the regional liaison-person, and I might be getting some extra hours from helping her out. I'm only a little nervous because she seems to want to stick me with the middle-school aged kids. So we'll see how that goes...

I'm reminded of this because I just signed on as an educator in the young writer's program, so we can get an additional kit.

My friend is very...engaged. She used to be a teacher, so she's much better with kids. She's got all kinds of ideas for making notebooks and handing out prizes/toys/motivational stuff. I listen to her and think, "Why can't I come up with stuff like that?"

I also got the latest GRE prep-book from the library. I just want to look at it, see what I'm in for if and when I decide to take the GRE. I test really well, especially standardized tests, so I'm not actively worried, but forewarned is forearmed and all that...

Ah, romance!

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:28:23 GMT

So, I've been reading the first published work Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books: Beyond Heaving Bosoms.

The first half or so, the part I've read already, is about how and why we as a society look down on romance novels. Which I found interesting because I'm not sure I ever really did. Coming as I do from a largely cerebral family, that surprises me a bit, but not really considering my mother and her sisters grew up reading Georgette Heyer novels (what the book calls Old Skool Romances), and the first real romance novel I ever read was nicked from my mom's shelves.

Still, when I started reading the Harlequin Red Books, I experienced the same sort of vicarious shame that I do for loving lame movies or TV shows that people think I shouldn't like. I don't actually feel this shame, more I feel ashamed that I don't feel bad about my reading choices. Still, whenever I try to read an Old Skool Romance, I have to put it down. I don't like it. I'm firmly in the New Skool mindset.

Besides highly recommending the book (it's amusing even if you don't agree with them, which I don't all the time...), it's gotten me to thinking, and wondering why, aside from a vague embarrassment that I was reading something others deemed unworthy, I never felt like I was doing anything wrong by spending money (lots and lots of money over the years...) on romance novels.

And, aside from the my-mother-read-them factor, it was also that she never, that I can recall, sneered at them the way people *coughDinahcough* do.

And then I was flipping through the channels tonight, and I came across Romancing the Stone playing on AMC, and the lightbulb went off.

My favorite movie possibly ever was my favorite movie for a very good reason. It's a New Skool Romance Novel brought to the big screen. And it's all meta about it because the main character is a romance novelist, who also writes New Skool Romances under the guise of Old Skool Romance. I mean, in the beginning scene, which is the end of one of her books, we have a heroine saving herself from the villian and then in turn being saved by the man she loves; equality that is rarely seen in "legitimate" "literature".

The female lead goes through substantial character change, as does the male lead, although we know less of who he was before than we do the female lead.

Anyway, my point is, that Romancing the Stone is a fabulous movie, and my being able to say I loved that movie is one of the reasons I can proudly state that I love romance novels, even if I haven't read one in a while. And I always smile big at the customers who sheepishly put a pile of romance novels on the counter to check out.

I keep doing this...

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:41:13 GMT

I keep meaning to blog stuff, but honestly, there's not really much to say.

I guess I could bitch about the stupid patrons I get, but I could do that over at library_mofo just as easily...Not that I do it there, either.

Unfortunately, most of what I have to report is only interesting in the fandom front. I've totally fallen in love with Leverage, Criminal Minds, and I've been watching episodes of Daria that I've had on my computer for years and only barely glanced at...

Ooh, on the Sirens front, I reserved and paid for the hotel. And I made a deal with Erin that if she would make a Chicks With Swords T-shirt design I'd pay for part of her room fee too. Her credit card bills are way higher than mine (a couple years in France will apparently do that...) and it's not that big a deal to me. But I want that t-shirt design, and I'm going to put morskimusic.com across the bottom. One of my boss-friends has a screenprinting kit, so I have no issues with actually printing the design, but as I can't draw to save my life I need someone to do a design for me.

Also on the Sirens front, I'm finally reading one of the authors that isn't Tamora Pierce. Kristin Cashor's Graceling came into the library on CD audio book, and I got it first. It's extremely enjoyable, with a fairly unique premise. Full review may or may not follow, depending on my motivation. But I still need to read Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel which has been on my shelf for years, but since she is going to be at Sirens I figure I should at least try to read something. Seems a bit rude to go all fangirly over Tamora Pierce and be all, "Your books are on my to-read list! Seriously!"

*sigh* Time marches on. Going to be 25 in roughly two months. Woo. Go me.

Quick update before work

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:07:07 GMT

I'm still alive. Picking up lots of hours at work (43 hours on this next paycheck! Whoo!)

Trying to have something resembling a social life. I'll let you know how that goes.

Oh, my cell phone works at my house now! I got a phone that piggy-backs off wireless signal to get cell reception, so if anyone wants to call me let me know and I can give you my numbers (or you can give me yours, since I think we've all changed phones since college...).

Okay, got to get ready for work now.

Happy 4th of July/State of the MisCreation

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:45:57 GMT

I did absolutely nothing useful all day. I should've mowed the lawn (but it rained). I should've done the dishes. I should've done my laundry, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned my room, done any number of useful things.

And yet...nothing.

Instead I alternately read an actual book (a rarity for me these days) and watched Criminal Minds. So addicted, you guys. Not even funny. Shemar Moore doesn't hurt either. Mmm, Shemar Moore.

Sorry, where was I?

Right. I'm thinking about filling out the FAFSA again. Debating the paralegal thing, the CSU records-management thing, or the online library school thing. For the last two I'm pretty sure I have to take the GRE, which I haven't done. Can I fill out the FAFSA just for curiosity purposes, or do I actually have to have someplace to send it? 'Cause I'd kinda like to know how much would be out of pocket and how much would be covered, but I don't want to commit to anything yet, because I am indecisive and I dither like mad.

Oh, and I don't work for unpleasant boss-lady anymore. Friday was my last three hours with her. I said something like, "I'm sorry it didn't work out." Her reply was something like, "Yeah, it really didn't. It was bad." (And of course, I'm just thinking, "Then why the hell did you keep me so long you useless bag of inertia?" But I am well rid of her and the job, except what the hell do I put on my resume now? Personal Assistant to a passive-aggressive woman with no personaily and fewer social skills?)

But I might have a line on a retail job, but it essentially means I'll be working right next to my sister (different stores but same owners and right next door). This...does not make me happy. In fact, the possibility makes me damn cranky, because those people love her (why is she only unpleasant to her family?) and so...yeah, no venting outlet at that work any more.

In weather related news, it's bloody fucking hot around here and I'm cranky about it. It's ridiculously humid, too, and we've been getting rain nearly every day. Muggy heat is not my happy climate. Maybe I should move to the Northwest Territories...

Oh, and I'm finishing up a course of anti-biotics, because the new doctor I went to see thinks my three weeks of sore throat was a combination of allergies and infected throat glands. So I'm taking a Zyrtek(sp?) knock-off a day and three anit-biotic pills a day. And I felt better after the first day, which is much improved over the last doctor's orders I got. Ear infection my ass.

Happy Birthday!

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:16:36 GMT

Happy birthday, de_nial!

We've known each other for around, what, seven years now? And I still can't predict what you will or won't like. You're a constant surprise, hon!

I hope you have a great b-day!

Less than four months!

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:22:41 GMT

Until Sirens, that is. Three and a half, give or take a few days, anyway.

I'm registered, Erin's registered, and I just really want to go and have a good time. I haven't been to Vail in a long-ass time, and never on my own. Oh! Indy's first road trip!

That's the other bit of news, too. I can't go to Hiawatha 'cause Erin backed out and I can't afford expenses by myself. But it's a hand-off, because I get to go to the Colorado Ren Fest that weekend, which is the music and dance weekend, and maybe I can pick up some more bellydance music. I'm totally addicted to it. Bellydance and Blackmore's Night is my kick for now. It was metal and country a while ago, don't ask me why...

Anyway, Sirens! It is going to be so much fun! They've put up the list of presentations, roundtables and workshops, and I'm excited for several of them. But they haven't posted the schedule yet, so I don't know if they're going to overlap each other or what.

Papers and Lectures:

A History of the Literatures of the Imagination: A Cross-Cultural Look at the Origins of Fantasy, with a Nod to Science Fiction
Frances A. May
It's always a good idea to know where you've been, to chart the future. We will trace the evolution of fantasy, from ancestral fires to urban lofts and coffee houses. The discussion will cover the ancient myths and folk tales which now form the inspiration for many fantasy writers; the Matter of several countries, including the Matter of Britain; fairy tales and old wives' tales; science fiction, where it enters the picture, and where there is crossover between the genres; and the role of women as warriors, whether bearing swords and axes, or staffs and wands.

History of Fantasy, essentially. Whoo!

Why Don't More Girls Carry Swords?
Valerie Frankel
Silver slippers, golden compasses, magic elixir, enchanted books—why don't more girls carry lightsabers? Heroines actually have the harder journey, battling the terrible mother in the underworld without even a dagger as defense. Dorothy conquers her witch in Oz with a bucket of water; Philip Pullman's Lyra wins a kingdom for her friend Iorek Byrnison and frees fellow children from the land of the dead, all through her “silver tongue.” In Narnia, Lucy and Susan keep vigil at Aslan's deathbed, then return the Queen's victims to life, saving the battle. Each of these heroines accomplishes her quests without violence, needing cleverness and fortitude more than Excalibur.

Note to self: Make Chicks With Swords T-shirt/top. I must have something I can do that with. Maybe Shana can help me silk-screen it... Whoo!

Bite Me, I'm Yours: Vampire Romance, Female Readership, and Negotiating Ideology
Elizabeth Abinante
This paper examines the ways in which non-academic readers may use mass cultural texts to interrogate ideologies and their position within hegemony. I use the example of the contemporary vampire romance to argue that female readers are able to work with the text, no matter how restrictive, to come to a better understanding of the power structures of which they are a part. I cite examples from Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series as well as Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. I argue that mass culture is important to study because of its ability to influence many, and its popularity and presumed innocence.

I'm less interested in this one, but I just know that Erin is going to want to go to this one, and I admit I'm a little curious about what exactly draws everyone to vampires and such because they've always kind of annoyed me, and everyone else seems incredibly fascinated with them. *shrug* We'll see.

Workshops:

Dramatic Dialogue
Anne Osterlund
Nervous about writing fight scenes? Struggle with adding action to dialogue? Use theatrical techniques to turn dialogue into drama. Come choreograph a sword fight between Miranda and Ferdinand from Shakespeare's The Tempest, write your own dramatic dialogue for prose, and practice weaving dialogue together with action, setting, and emotion. Crowns, swords, and chocolate will be present!

I don't know how I am at dialogue. I don't talk the way most people do, for a variety of reasons.

Fantasy Writing Workshop
Valerie Frankel
If you've always longed to write that novel, professional author Valerie Estelle Frankel will guide you through the process from start to finish. Build a magical world from scratch, with maps, cultures, plants, and animals. Create your characters and send them forth on a magical quest. Finally, we'll learn all about the world of publication and discuss how to break into magazines, anthologies, and more. All types of writers welcome.

I'm half afraid my fantasy writing is too unoriginal to stand up to scruitiny. So this will help, I think.

Mary Sue: An Intervention
Sarah Benoot
As much as we'd like to deny it, every writer of fantasy has at least one great Mary Sue inside us. There is, however, one sure way to defeat her. How, you ask? By giving her her time in the spotlight, of course. Here, we will use words and pictures to create the most Sueish Mary Sue we possibly can, for only by embracing our inner Sue can we defeat her.

(Anyone here unfamiliar with Mary Sues should go over to Wikipedia.) Ha! This just sounds like fun.

Roundtables:

Finding Femininity in a Warrior's World
Katie Hoffman
This roundtable discussion investigates how our warrior heroines connect with their inner woman. After first discussing what it means to be “feminine,” we will examine a few specific examples from the works of Tamora Pierce, Sherwood Smith, and J. K. Rowling, and discover the means by which our heroines become comfortable in their own body and their society's “woman” identity. We will critique our heroines' method of working within feminine conventions to become comfortable with their femininity and discuss whether connecting with such an identity is critical to the character. As these heroines' identities often influence our own, discussion will rely on participants' understandings of femininity and influence how we define “woman.”

Tough Love: When Partnership Becomes a Paradox
A. Grey
This roundtable discussion will explore the effects of love and all its complications on strong female characters. We will examine several examples of women warriors from the works of Kristin Cashore, Anne Bishop, and Tamora Pierce who successfully juggle love and weapons. Participants will be encouraged to debate whether women need love in order to be viewed as strong, well-rounded warriors, while at the same time critiquing the commonly accepted social standards of femininity and maternity against which women warriors are judged.

...Actually, I'm not sure about roundtables at all. I don't know exactly what they entail, how much input and stuff. *shrug* We'll see.

Whee! I'm really excited about this! My first conference!

Wow, I'm really bad at this shit...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:33:03 GMT

Okay. So. I have no excuse. I've just been distracted like whoa.

I have a new car. His name is Indy, for a variety of reasons. I am about to start decorating him, because he's my car and I can. I'm also going to make the first payment this week, so that's going to be fun. Another monthly expense away from being able to move out.

Speaking of, I think I'm going to find another job and quit the job with unpleasant boss-lady. I'm not what she wants, but I think she's keeping me around out of laziness, and I'm not making enough money to justify the hassel. As my friend pointed out, working a job you hate for decent pay is one thing, but a sucky job and sucky pay is just a losing formula. So there you go. Now the trick is finding another job that will work around my library job because I am not giving that up.

Shadow of the Moon | Blackmore's Night
DJ Kaos | Faraway
No Time | Frente!
The Window | Wendy Rule
Call Me | Shinedown
Hey Man Nice Shot | Filter
Italy | Patty Larkin
North Amerikay | The Chieftains
Someday The Waves | Iron And Wine
ANA WEHABIBI | MAHMOUD FADL
Circle | Slipknot
Christy Campbell Medley | The Rankins
Harp Piece (A) (6th/7th c. BC) | Anonymous
Mothertongue | Heather Nova
He Said, She Said | Limp Bizkit
Coyote Dance | Robbie Robertson & The Red Road Ensemble

....Can't say I have a predictable iTunes, now can you? The all-caps one drives me crazy but it is WAY too much trouble to fix it.

So had family come, had family leave, was sick while family was here which sucked.

I actually sucessfully cleaned yesterday. Got most of my clean clothes put away, and realized I have too many clothes that I don't wear, so I'm going to separate those out. There's a store opening soon that buys clothes for cash, so I'll put them in a bag and save them.

And now I'm going to open up Michael Jr., put on Pandora and get somewhere with One Bullet Away. I am under 10 items from the library, and I'm going to cut down on the books I get, because those are harder to get read than it is for me to listen to/rip CDs and watch movies.

Basically, I'm alive, getting through, but coasting as much as I ever have been.

I needed that...

Fri, 01 May 2009 14:38:59 GMT

I guess I needed that bitch fest because I feel a lot better now. Weird.

It could also be that my music works again. All it took was two re-boots and unplugging and re-plugging in the external. Whew!

I am putting together a Hermes Memorial playlist/post, hopefully to go up over at LunaTunes if they pick the car theme this week.

I am also hoping to actually write the fannish thing I said I would write and not wuss out at the last second 'cause that would suck.

So, the cars I'm looking at. It's down to an '07 Ford Focus (no Found on Road Dead jokes please) and an '05 Kia Sportage (I think). I like them both equally, and I can find nothing wrong with either of them to make me not want them. They both drive well and have nothing obviously wrong with them (no weird noises, no weird smells, no hitches in the giddy-up). And both are newly-cleaned, so they're kind of shiny inside and out. And they're both blue. I did not do this on purpose, I swear, but I can't speak for my subconscious.

The Focus has MP3 CD capability, but both have CD players and working cigarette lighters so I can use my MP3 radio-adapter again. All good.

So now it'll come down to what I can afford. Well, really I can't afford either, but not having a car isn't an option if I want to continue to make money. If I lived in town I could probably forgo a car, even though it wouldn't be fun. There's buses and my own two feet. But I don't live in town, so se la vie.

Whoa, where did all this life shit come from?

Fri, 01 May 2009 01:50:02 GMT

Wow, okay. So. Much bitching ahead. You are warned.

Mechanical problems: Michael is not recognizing the drive that has all my music on it. Not. Happy. I don't know if it's just Michael, or the connection, but if I lost all my music I will scream. Probably into a pillow, but I will still scream. Thankfully I still have my punching bag so no one will get hurt. I may bloody my knuckles though...

The car situation. Godsdammit I am going to miss Hermes. That car got me to college, to university and back many times. I've had some good times in that car. Damn transmission. If it wasn't for that fucking hole in the transmission I could've kept my car, taken the insurance money from the accident and done something fun with it. (Or paid down my loans/credit card. Whatever....) Now I have to go and buy a new car when all I want is to keep the one I've got. He's stilla good car, damn it!

So the estimate for the body damage is between 1800-2100 (two different estimates, I don't know if insurance companies average it out or what...). The cost of fixing the transmission would be 2000-2500 dollars. Both of those values are more than my car is monetarily worth. So Hermes is twice totaled. Poor baby.

It's probably a bad thing that I just want to whine, "I want my car!" rather than deal with all this crap.

And that's where I'm stuck. I know I need another car. And I don't hate the cars I've driven or the two cars I've pretty much decided on (I don't car which, it'll come down to what I can pay for and either way Dad has to co-sign for me). But deep down, I just want my car.

Change sucks.

Wow...that was fast.

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:00:47 GMT

There is a hole in my transmission. Mechanic's best guess is that I hit a rock. You'd think that hitting a rock hard enough to put a hole in my tansmission would've been noticed. And unfortunately, I can't blame it on the drifter. If only.

I'd show you a picture, but apparently my phone sucks even more than I thought it did, and it didn't send the pictures to My Album like they were supposed to. Fail.

So, now it's a wait-and-see thing. According to my dad, who is being obnoxious about this whole thing, I may end up driving my mom's car. I hate driving my mom's car.

I may also end up getting a new car. If I do that, I'm leaning towards one of those certified pre-owned, and there's some nicely priced Kia's available in town.

Fuck it. I'm going to bed. I'll deal with it later.

Unfortunate (but not horrible) Circumstances

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:57:53 GMT

So, yesterday. The scene is me at the circulation desk. One of the reference librarians comes up to me and asks, "Do you drive a blue Mercury?"

"Yeah," I say, immediately wary. "Why?"

"Someone hit your car."

I immediately facedesk.

So I go to my work locker and I grab my wallet which has all the needed information, grab my cellphone and keys and go out to where I'd parked my car.

So, the library shares the land between four side streets. Diagonal parking on all sides. I usually park over near one of the street lights because some shifts I work until after dark and I like it when my car is in the light.

But it is way before sunset yesterday, so I go out and see my car is now vertical instead of diagonal. A driver on that street had drifted, hit the car next to me, ripped off a third of its bumper (which was stuck between the passenger door and the panel), crashed into my car, moved the back end of Hermes three feet to the left and crashed me into the reference librarian's van.

I can only stare for a long minute.

So, an hour later the accident is all written up, insurance information is exchanged, I've moved my car out with help from the cop and thankfully no further damage to my car or the ref librarian's. The cop says that the only insurance info we need is the guy who hit all of us, which is good news, and that we just need to call his place and get our information.

Mostly, my car has body damage. None of the lights broke, but the paint is scraped and the bumper is dented in three different places. And I might need a new license plate, since mine is now all scratched up and twisted...

So, that was fun.

Life and other annoying stuff

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:21:30 GMT

So...yeah. Yesterday was fun. Not.

Actually, I was all set for yesterday to be fun: I got called in for a double shift at the library, whoo! money! And between those double shifts I had a meeting about the project I and two others are going to be in charge of. And all that was great; I was cheerful, even energetic, which as we all know is weird as hell for me.

And then an hour or so into the first shift, I start to get this headache. Okay, I thought. I'm dehydrated. So I drank two glasses of water on my break and kept making runs to the water fountain when I wasn't working like crazy. When it didn't go away by the end of that shift, I thought, I've been having a lot of caffeine lately, maybe it's a lack-of-caffeine headache. So in the hour between shifts I walked down to Starschmuck's and got a coffee and a parfait. All through the meeting my head was pounding like crazy.

Okay, I thought. My hair is tied up pretty tight and I sometimes get headaches from that. So during my second-shift break I took it down and sat with my head back and my eyes closed. Absolutely no improvement.

So an hour before closing I call my mom and ask her to come pick me up at closing. The thought of driving home against the dark and bright headlights with a pounding headache did not appeal at all.

I got through the shift, hopefully didn't slack too much.

Mom picks me up with the puppy in tow and takes me home. I get home and have a piece of leftover Papa John pizza and immediately feel better. So now I'm wondering if it was just that I wanted to be home, or if it was some sort of lack-of-carb headache? But that doesn't make sense because I had a mocha with whipped cream at Starschmuck's and that has carbs like whoa. *shrug* Stupid brain.

Might also have been that I got up an hour and a half earlier than normal because yesterday, Unpleasant boss-lady decided to call my house before 6:30 in the morning. "Did I wake you up?" she asked. Of course you woke me up, bitch! "Yeah, a little," I reply, because I'm still half asleep and trying to be nice. You also woke up my parents and my sister, so thanks for that from my whole damn household. But anyway, she's calling to tell me that she can't afford to pay me so I won't be called in for the rest of this week. Fine and dandy, I think.

And speaking of Unpleasant boss-lady, I had a dream last night where I quit the job and she started crying. I'm like, WTF brain? I've never heard the woman laugh much less cry. And over me quitting? I don't think so.

And then she calls me this morning at eight-ish, which is a more reasonable time. I was mostly awake, just putting off getting out of bed. She says I can now cash the check she gave me last week, and she might want me in tomorrow, depending on how her checking account looks.

I've pretty much had it with this playing-by-ear shit. I like having a mostly-set schedule at the library. It makes me happy because I know what to expect and when.

Oy. Okay. I need to go get breakfast.

Frustration is annoying.

I love technology...

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:38:25 GMT

I am sitting at Panera with Michael and Magellan Jr's. And I am content.

I've been deeply cranky for the last few days, partly because of stupid-ass hormones, partly because I don't like my new boss-lady.

But I get to sit in Panera, have a yummy lunch, listen to great music, and play on my new toy.

Am thinking that the juniors need new names. But I love Magellan for an iPod. I came up with it before there was a lame GPS by that name anyway... And Michael is Junior. Oh well. I guess they'll just stay Juniors, unless I can come up with something I like even better.

I've got another hour and a half before I have to go to work at the library, and I already did three hours with unpleasant boss-lady. I capped it off with helping her with her computer problems, though, so I think it's getting a bit better there. We'll see, I guess.

I swear, Magellan Jr is trying to cheer me up. Played a whole bunch of Lostprophets and now he's playing "We Still Kill The Old Way" which is one of my absolute favorites of their's. Okay, so all of them are one of my absolute favorites, but still.

I got to play Sid Meier's Pirates! yesterday, which was diverting and fun. I re-watched 6/7th Generation Kill while I played, even if it was backwards because my computer faces away from my TV and I put up a mirror so I could see the TV screen. Which means I can't put on closed captioning. I mean, I can read mirror-printing but it takes me longer than the dialogue is on the screen to do so. But that means that I missed a whole bunch of funny dialogue just because the guy playing Ray can talk so damn fast. You'd think I'd be used to that with Rodney McKay on SGA, but apparently not...

Okay, I'm just babbling now. Off I go to play some more!

Upshot of being more portable...

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:42:08 GMT

Is that I'll probably be updating more, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

My post this morning is going to be one comment with some background for it.

I love watching TLC. I totally love What Not to Wear and it's on in the mornings while I'm eating or doing dishes before work. That being said:

Dear TLC:

PLEASE STOP REWARDING PEOPLE WITH STUPID AMOUNTS OF CHILDREN WITH TV SHOWS AND ATTENTION!

The Jon and Kate Plus 8 was bad enough, but now you're rewarding the people with EIGHTEEN children (and they're going to keep going!). What. The. Fuck.

Stop encouraging the stupid people contributing to the overpopulation in the world! You're giving them money and enabling them to continue being this stupid.

Knock it off.

Also? The fact that there is a show called "I Didn't Know I was Pregnant" both disturbs me and amuses me to no end. What the hell...they found enough women with "surprise" pregnancies to make an entire show on it. Wow...

*****

Also? Got a call from almost-boss-lady. She says she wants me to come in and do the filing (since that's what I'm good at) and she's going to look for someone else. Whoo! Off the hook!

Script Frenzy

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:31:02 GMT

I have decided not to do script frenzy this year. Not that I did it last year, but I also decided not to do it this year.

I still need to edit my NaNo (which I should've done in March since it is Nation Novel Editing Month), and I have other ideas I want to work on.

Hopefully now that I've got Michael Jr. I can do that.

And I'm working on getting used to the tiny keyboard. I think the most difficult thing is going to be having the pg up and pg down buttons in a different place.

In the meantime, it's awesome to have Michael Jr. with me. He's awesome and cute! And I used him to watch an episode of the Sentinel this morning while I did the dishes. Whoo! Useful entertainment!

I didn't have to work for new boss-lady today. She's still not sure if she's going to keep me on. I sort of get the feeling she's going to keep me around long enough to get her backlog organized, and then she might let me go. She says she needs me to "love" the job. I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I can "love" being a professional middleman. It's just not something I get that excited about, even if the products are pretty as all hell.

Honestly, I wouldn't be hearbroken if she decides to let me go. I think there's a personality clash going on, as well as communication issues. All of which do not make for an easy work relationship.

*sigh* But, at least this is giving me a preview about what it'll be like to have two jobs. And I'm getting paid tomorrow for my first week or so.

Whee!

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:36:04 GMT

Tiny keyboard is tiny!

I have a new toy!

I bought a netbook! And it's cute! And a little bit tiny: I keep hitting the caps lock instead of the shift key...

But I will adjust! In the meantime, I have mobility!

Now we'll just see if I actually use it for anything other than web stuff. I hope to be able to get some writing down without being too distracted, which is why it's good there is a wireless toggle switch, so I can turn it off and on.

Yay! New toy!

Icon not directed at anyone...

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:10:56 GMT

So. Stuff has been happening. I might've found another job, as basically an office-bitch for a professional middle-man. I don't know, though; my new possible boss-lady is weird. And given that it's me saying this, you know that's significant. I just don't know. She has very odd mannerisms and she keeps talking about how young I am and how tedious the work is. I'm like, "I know. I signed on for tedious. And I know how old I am, thanks."

I'm not positive it's going to work, but I'll see her on Monday, and if she wants to let me go I wouldn't be heartbroken.

Anyway, aside from all that. I'm feel terribly restless. And I have to get a hold of myself, because I keep looking at travel sites and thinking, "I've got $7,000 worth of credit that I could spend on the trip of a lifetime. I could go anywhere, really... And there are way worse ways to blow all my credit line." I just have to tell myself that I can pay for a couple weekend jaunts, maybe some time in Estes Park or some such, and then for Sirens in October, and that should satisfy me. Right...

But I still haven't bought my perscription sunglasses, although I've pretty much determined that I'm going to also buy this on Cait's recomendation. Pity it doesn't come in purple...

We had Weather! It was awesome, but didn't last long. Schools got a snow day today and a partial one yesterday, though. Work was crazy because everything was backed up because the library closed at 11:30 yesterday because the roads were awful and nothing much got done.