Something Thirty

A glorious evening at the cinema!

2010-08-05T02:01:00.000-04:00

Well, I made it to GenCon without melting or spontaneously combusting - though I came pretty darned close, a couple of times! (Apparently I alarmed a couple of people when I showed up to claim my badge, face matching my red dress...)

I had many happy meets, had dinner at the TGIFriday's that's attached to my hotel. Well, attached to the hotel that's attached to my hotel.

And THEN!!!!

It was off to the Circle City Cinema for an epic double-feature of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

What a fantastic experience - being in a theatre full of happy nerds, all bouncing with excitement.

It was so much fun to see these movies on the big screen, again, after all these years!

And you know, despite all of the silly jokes about Kirk, Wrath of Khan was really a vehicle for prime Kirk-ness - the cunning tactics, the epic battles, The Line! (Oh, yes, when he screamed, "KHAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!" the entire auditorium burst into cheers!)

I spent the whole time with a goofy grin on my face, and left feeling thoroughly exhilerated.

Help! I think I'm melting...!

2010-08-03T17:43:00.002-04:00

The heat index is currently 116F (47C).

I would be much happier if it was 100 degrees cooler.

Seriously.

I hate the summer.

Je regrette

2010-08-02T19:08:00.004-04:00

I was going through some old papers and keepsakes, and came across a picture and program from a voice recital I did when I was back in high school.

My teacher had me sing Send in the Clowns.

I performed it impeccably, with all of the mustered angsty emotion my 17-year-old drama-club self could muster.

I couldn't help but think how silly it was for someone so young to sing that song. No amount of "getting into character" could have given me the insight on what was really happening in it.

I was missing two key things - experience and regrets.

Wheezy with a side of involuntary panic

2010-08-02T15:04:00.003-04:00

Gracious, my asthma is really terrible, today!

I'm not sure if it's the weather, the awful air inside my place of employment, or a combination of the two, but I've been sitting perfectly still, yet gasping for air in a manner that would lead others to believe I'd just run six miles in the 100-degree heat.

Despite the fact that I am (sadly) no stranger to asthma attacks, I still can't avoid getting that additional delightful side-effect of feeling rather panicky, and am doing my best to maintain a calm and professional demeanor to cover up the underlying need to freak out.

Laundry Day Couture

2010-08-01T22:48:00.003-04:00

I love to see the fashions that people come up with on laundry day, when it's clear that anything halfway respectable is about to be stuffed into a frontloading washer.

My own ensemble today included blue scrub pants with gold doodle-hearts on them, and a Starfleet Academy tshirt (that I got at my very first Star Trek convention) that is probably older than many of this year's college freshmen.

Almost time for GenCon!

2010-07-21T23:01:00.002-04:00

Just a couple more weeks until GenCon!

It will be a much different experience for me, this year, as I will not be working at the booth - except for giving some people breaks as needed. Instead, I will be leading several activities in the SPA (non-gaming) programming track, and *gasp!* actually attending some games, myself!

I'd pondered doing the zombie lurch, but it conflicts with another activity that I'd really like to do. No problem, though - as my glorious plan to go as a Borg-ified Starfleet officer went down the tubes when I couldn't find anyone who could lend me a Starfleet jacket in my size. (Though, there's still my Dead Redshirt costume from a couple of Halloweens ago!)

Speaking of Star Trek, I'm looking forward to the double feature of Star Treks II and III on Wednesday night.

But most of all, I'm looking forward to getting to hang out with some good friends, whom I only see at GenCon. We have many plans, already - from heading to our favorite Indian restaurant that is within walking distance (but just far enough away that the other 30,000 people don't seem to know about it), to amassing the entertainers and the authors and storming the WotC booth.

There will be media guests, this year, so I suspect we won't have as huge a space for impromptu jam/dance sessions as we did, last year, though. However, in the past, we've been able to get our "booth neighbors" to join our impromptu jam/dance sessions, so who knows what might happen?

It's been awhile...

2010-04-15T22:41:00.002-04:00

It's my birthday.

I'm officially older.

One thing that has improved since last year is that I now have health insurance. This was most helpful in that I now have real asthma medicine. (Huzzah! I no longer live in total fear that I will drop over and die a horrible, suffocating death because some jerk blew smoke in my face!)

It was also very helpful when I took a header off a curb, back in February and bashed my knees up. (Good news - I did not re-destroy the ACL!)

Now I'm going to go hobble over to a corner and act like the old lady I am...

In which I play dress-up

2009-10-01T18:39:00.003-04:00

I'm working part-time at a haunted house, this season.

Since I can't commit to every night (which would make playing a main character in the storyline a bit difficult), I'm playing a generic spectre in the graveyard scene. It's what I did, last year, and it was quite fun. I dressed up as a faceless (OK, veiled) Victorian widow - no blood, no gore, no zombie makeup. I didn't say a word, but I managed to scare the everloving crap out of quite a number of people.

(Bwahahahahaha!)

My favorite thing to do was to stand in the shadow behind the fog machine and then walk forward when a group came through. The fog would collect in my cloak, and so as I moved, it was pushed along by the fabric and gave the illusion that I had just appeared out of a dramatic poof of vapor.

I took a walk in the gloaming

2009-09-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Something pulled me outside, so I slipped on some shoes and started walking.

I had originally intended to stick to the pavement - once over to the ALF and back, but I found myself steering toward the gated gravel road along the cross-country course.

I stopped momentarily at a break in the trees to my right and watched the full corn moon rise. It was orange.

I cut over into the grass and up the embankment. There's an opening there, between where the old post and wire fence ends and a large tree whose trunk I may or may not be able to span with my arms. The path was worn down to the bare dirt, but very narrow. The grass, which by this time of year would usually still only be knee-high and dry was actually waist high, and caught on my hair, which was down.

I emerged onto the mowed path and started walking.

There was a white fog creeping along the ground in all of the low spots. As I descended a hill into it, I could feel the cool, moist air, but could no longer see the shroud of mist around me. (It reappeared when I ascended the next hill at the other end of the field.)

The ground was so soft that I removed my shoes and walked, barefoot, along the path. I noticed that the field actually looked like a meadow. The grass and scrub plants were high, offering a multitude of colors and textures even in the quickly dimming twilight. I had to stop for a moment and close my eyes, taking in the wonderful smells of sweet wild herbs and meadow grass, and listening to the almost deafening sounds of the crickets. (It's amazing what happens when it actually rains during the summer!)

I realized, though, that it was getting Dark, and it's not that I was concerned for my safety from a "Big Scary Guy Will Jump Out of the Woods and Get Me" standpoint, but rather a "Hidden Critter Hole Will Reach Out and Break My Foot" one, so I put my shoes back on and headed back toward the "exit".

As I emerged back out onto the sidewalk, I knew I was definitely back in reality, as some young men in an apartment in the back section of Fountain Park were blasting obnoxious music and WOOOOOOOO-ing at some Manly Thing one of them had done.

But what good is it if you can't eat it?

2009-08-31T20:18:00.002-04:00

I don't understand chocolate sculptures.

I mean, I can appreciate the amazing artistry and such, but for me, chocolate is something that should be eaten, and the things these artists create are too beautiful to destroy and masticate!

GenCon!!!

2009-08-10T23:14:00.002-04:00

It's two days away, and I'm not nearly prepared.

I've been working on costumes (with the help of my good friend H), but life has gotten in the way, so I just know it will be down to the wire.

I haven't submitted any events, this year, so it will be kind of different.

So a vampire, a werewolf, and ghost share a flat in Bristol...

2009-07-31T20:47:00.001-04:00

Despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the premise sounds like the setup to a joke, I've really gotten into the BBC show, Being Human.

It really *is* about a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost, all sharing a house in Bristol. The vampire and the werewolf are two guys trying to blend in and keep their "conditions" distant, and the ghost is a previous resident who was murdered.

It's quite good, and I hope that the short season doesn't indicate the quality of the show.

I've discovered why zombies are always after braaaaiiiiinnnnzzzzz...

2009-07-17T09:57:00.002-04:00

They're all migraine sufferers, and are in search of a brain that won't cause them to shuffle around in a vacant-eyed, slack-jawed stupor.

In other news, I'm going into Day Three, here, and if experience serves me well, I predict that if it doesn't let up, I shall start developing involuntary tremors and/or becoming incredibly clumsy within the next day or two.

Review: Nekropolis, by Tim Waggoner

2009-07-11T16:17:00.001-04:00

Nekropolis
Tim Waggoner

August 2009 (UK), October 2009 (US/Canada) – Angry Robot Books

Matthew Richter is a former cop from Cleveland, now deceased and making a “living” as a private investigator (or rather, a Person Who Does Favors for People) in the underworld city of Nekropolis – a ghastly and fantastical realm filled with all manner of dark and undead creatures, where the “technology” is alive (in a gruesomely Lovecraftian way), and everything is lit by a reddish “sun” called Umbriel.

Hard-up for funds to pay for continuing voodoo treatments to keep his rotting zombie corpse from falling apart on him, Richter takes on a job helping the daughter of the vampire mafia boss to solve a theft from her father’s collection (of which she is the caretaker), and retrieve the stolen item before her father finds out.

But what starts out as what seems like a simple investigation turns up something far more sinister. Joined by a cast of lively characters, Richter must find a way to keep himself together (literally) in order to help foil a plot to destroy the entire city.

Nekropolis is the first in what is slated to be a three-book series from Tim Waggoner, whose body of work already comprises over a dozen novels and more than fifty short stories and novellas. Those familiar with his work may recognize this as an expansion of his 2004 novella, Necropolis (published through Five Star Press). The story is witty and engaging, seamlessly blending genres in a mix of urban fantasy, horror, a little bit of romance, and old-fashioned pulp detective mystery.

Nekropolis launches in August (in UK, October in the US/Canada) as part of the debut of Angry Robot – the new adult science fiction/fantasy imprint of HarperCollins.

From Tuesday's Hafla

2009-05-25T21:10:00.002-04:00

Photograph by Michael Trace

I think this look works for me, and I may focus future costuming energies on emulating Ruth St. Denis...

A String of Disasters Increasing in Scale?

2009-04-15T11:19:00.003-04:00

On April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank, taking with it 1500 people.

On April 15, every year, all of us Americans have to make sure our tax returns have been filed.

On April 15, 1976, I was born.

The world is doomed, I tell you! DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!

Best hot chocolate ever

2009-04-05T20:40:00.001-04:00

Whole milk (preferably non-homogenized), heated

Chocolate flakes (or chips), unsweetened or semi-sweet

Cardamom, ground

Robot Armies, coming out of the notebook, and exploding heads

2009-03-10T22:35:00.004-04:00

This looks like it could be potentially fun.

Harper Collins has a new genre fiction branch called Angry Robot Books. They're slated to officially open in the UK this summer, and then in the US in the fall.

Interestingly enough, I was reminded on the AR webiste that HC also has this other site called Authonomy, where budding authors can post things for peer review. (The peers, in this case, being fellow budding authors.) I am pretty sure that I originally heard the mention of this page from one of my friends' blogs, but to be honest, I can't remember whose it was, but this second appearance of it into my field of attention made me decide to actually go and check it out.

I think I might set up an account. I have, after all, been trying to work up the courage to take my writing out of the dozens of composition notebooks lying around my apartment and put them somewhere where other people can actually see them and give me feedback.

But none of that will happen if this weather system doesn't finally push through and my head explodes. Gah!!!!

Auntie Em?

2009-03-10T19:03:00.002-04:00

There's been a low-pressure system stalking us for the past several days.

It gets close... and then backs off.

Or, it skirts us entirely.

Meanwhile, it's windy as all get-out (and my roof sounds like it's about to take off), my head feels as if it is about to explode, and my bad knee is making walking rather unpleasant.

Bus FAIL (Part XXXVII)

2009-03-02T08:57:00.002-05:00

I was out at the bus stop, this morning, with plenty of time before either the regular 6 or the 6 Limited (which starts its route at my stop) were to come by.

There must have been something going on at the Business School, as there was a slightly larger crowd of suited students than usual for non-summer months (when the bus only runs once an hour).

When the Limited pulled up (empty), people filed on and filled it to capacity. The driver refused any more passengers, leaving about a dozen of us standing out in the 10-degree weather.

We twelve stood there, watching the bus pull away. A couple of the left-behind business students looked as if they were standing on the deck of the Titanic, watching the last lifeboat leave.

We waited for the regular 6, which ought to have arrived within two minutes.

We waited... and waited... and waited.

After about ten minutes, I finally called Bloomington Transit and asked where the bus was. I was told that one of the busses was "having problems" and would be around as soon as they could send one.

So, we waited until the next Limited came by, on its regular schedule.

All in all, I stood out there for half an hour, and by the time I got into my office, I was shaking so violently it took two tries to unlock the door.

Laundry

2009-03-01T20:49:00.001-05:00

A necessary evil, yes, but I do fancy fresh underpants, every morning, so it must be done.

Tapioca

2009-02-16T20:06:00.002-05:00

I love tapioca.

I love it in pudding, I love it in bubble tea. I love the small pearls, I love the large pearls.

My mother always had an aversion to it. She claimed it was because my grandmother would force her to eat it, even though it looked and felt like fish eyes.

That story prompted me, one time when my father was cleaning some walleye, to ask him for the eyeball. He obliged, and I proudly ran to show my mom.

I'm making some tapioca pudding, right now. I'm using the instant (small pearl) style, because I had a craving and I just couldn't wait to soak the large pearls.

Not quite an experiment, yet

2009-02-09T20:46:00.002-05:00

I'm always pretty bad about taking down my Christmas tree, but since it's fake and it doesn't take up any space that I would otherwise need, anyway, I just can't be bothered.

Well, here we are, halfway through February, and it's still there, cheerfully glowing from its perch on the side table I use to display houseplants.

I haven't made a conscious decision to see how long I can keep it up - as I know that I will, in fact, get sick of looking at it, eventually - but I just can't help but look at it as a comforting constant in my bleary little life. I know that, no matter how crappy my day is, no matter how cranky I may feel, I can come home and plug in my tree, and it will beam softly illuminated cheer into the room.

Also, there are only three ornaments with actual Christmas themes. The rest are generic "winter" decorations or Star Trek and Star Wars ships and figures.

I think it's got at least another week and a half in it.

It's not cool unless it comes with superpowers

2009-02-09T07:53:00.001-05:00

I am starting to develop a silver forelock.

Support me in Race for the Cure!

2009-02-04T20:11:00.004-05:00

I'm going it solo, this year, having failed at rounding up an actual team for the past couple of years.

However, I've decided to get rather ambitious with my fundraising efforts, and have once again pledged that if I make my goal ($1000), I will do the whole 5K in full kendo armor.

Please visit my race page! (:

This was taken during the 2006 Race

UPS FAIL

2009-02-04T19:17:00.003-05:00

Avon sent my order via UPS, instead of using the regular delivery service.

I found a sticky note on my door telling me it was in the office. I went to the office to retrieve it, and the girl who brought it out had a weird expression, and said, "It came like this..."

One corner was totally covered in rubber, indicating that it had apparently been... run over? Used as traction to get the truck out of a slippery parking spot?

There was also a hole:

Needless to say, some of the product was missing...

Blue Boxes

2009-01-29T19:50:00.001-05:00

From the content of this blog, recently, one would think that all I have done is obsess over a scarf dreamed up in the fog of illness.

The good news is, I haven't.

I have made some progress, though:

It turns out, all I needed to do was to incorporate knitting/purling through the back loops to get the recessed boxes.

Stymied

2009-01-15T21:16:00.000-05:00

The pattern didn't work, so I frogged the whole thing. Again.

I'll keep trying things until something works.

In the meantime, I'm getting rather irritable, because my hands want to knit something mindless.

Knerd

2009-01-14T21:00:00.003-05:00

So it's been two years and I'm not yet done with the binary scarf (but only because I had put it away for a year and forgotten when I put it), and I haven't gone anywhere with the pi scarf (I have no excuse for that)... but I couldn't resist starting another scarfy project.

Last weekend, when I was laying around, feeling all rhinovirus-y, I watched a bunch of DVRed Doctor Who episodes and came up with a Great Idea to knit a scarf that emulates the pattern of panels on the TARDIS door.

Except, once I started doing it, it turns out that my Great Idea wasn't quite as simple as I thought it would be. The horizontal purl rows (to serve as the top side of each panel) kept popping out instead of indenting.

It was really frustrating.

Someone recommended some different patterns for inspiration, and I sort of combined them. I frogged the entire project and started from scratch, but I think I've got something.

One level down... four feet worth more to go!

Ex-ter-min-eat!

2009-01-10T22:19:00.004-05:00

Before the holidays, I made some gingerbread Dalek cookies.

Having failed to dispatch them with my sonic spatula, I resorted to other methods.

I can't believe it, myself...

2007-12-25T11:46:00.002-05:00

My family Christmas has been very good, so far!

Dinner last night was drama-free.

There was a fire in the fireplace - and I got to toast some Marshmallow Peeps:

This morning, we opened gifts, and everyone liked what I got them. AND, I got this:

!!!!!

It came with a cape:

Hi-ho, the glamorous life!

2007-12-21T12:54:00.000-05:00

This past quarter has been quite a new experience for me. I have never actually done quite so much business travel - and I must admit, I enjoyed (almost) every minute of it!

Sure, I really never totally unpacked my suitcase for two and a half months. And of course, there were the long, terrifying trips, driving giant, unfamiliar Landyachts filled with 1500 pounds of textbooks and course materials through nasty weather, with tractor trailers riding so close to the bumper that the parking alarm won't stop beeping. And sure, there were the cranky delegates who were angry that they could not sign in when I arrived to set up at six-thirty in the morning. And yes, there was that guy who got up in my face (literally) because he was ticked off that I was making him sign in each day, and wouldn't let him leave early and still get all of his CE credits.

But then again, there were the cushy hotel beds, the hot tubs, the per diem stipends, and accruing enough Marriott reward points that I am now a "Silver Status" guest and only have to pay $25 for my room for my friend's wedding on New Year's Eve.

All in all, I finally feel rather grown-up.

It's too bad that January will be our "slow" period. And that, until next fall, all of my conferences will be here in town.

I suppose I shall have to return to mundane life. (;

It's the Registration Roadshow!

2007-10-23T22:29:00.000-04:00

After two years of not being allowed to go to off-site conferences, because someone had told someone who'd told someone that I couldn't, due to my pay status... my boss did some digging around and found out that I can, in fact travel.

So, from now until Christmas (save for two weeks in November), I will be spending Tuesday afternoons through Thursday evenings on the road, at one of the numerous tax institutes around the state.

Because I had a lot of Stuff to bring out here (the usual registration materials, plus several crates of 3-inch binders, stuffed to the gills with course materials), I was given a 2008 Land Yacht to drive. It's not a van, but it's not an SUV. And, unlike all of the 15-passenger vans that I used to drive around the windy mountain roads when I worked for the Girl Scout camp in the Adirondacks, this doesn't allow me to see the ground.

It's lumbering and unwieldly... kind of like the Titanic, but with a cd-player.

I am pleased to report, however, that unlike the Westin in downtown Indianapolis, during GenCon, the Holiday Inn in Terre Haute has a working hot tub - with ADULT SWIM hours! (No kids in the pool area after 9pm!!!)

But, now that it is closed for the night, I am relaxing in my room, watching some really bizarre French movie, concerning a plucky young girl in a red sweater and pleated skirt, spewing witty banter at the buffoonish adults she encounters around Paris.

GenCon or bust!

2007-08-20T23:12:00.000-04:00

Let me explain. No, that would take too long. Let me sum up:

Wednesday:
Arrived in Indy, missed the driveway to the Westin because taxis were blocking it, drove around the block several times, finally made it.
Tried to check in, but they had lost my reservation. Then they found it.
Met up with M and the booth monkeys. Carried stuff to booth, collected badge.
Met up with my roommate, went to dinner at Alcatraz, played some games.
Tried the hot tub - it was busted.

Thursday:
Woke up, got into costume, set up booth.
Ran to Westin to warm up M's bellydance class while she danced in the opening ceremonies, returned to booth, drove to airport to collect C, went to grocery store to get Real Food, returned to Westin, went to Subway, returned to booth.
Met up with T for dessert, ordered Great Wall of Chocolate.
Tried the hot tub - it was still busted.

Friday:
Woke up, got into costume, set up booth.
Danced around in exhibit hall all day.
Managed to cause a superhero dance party to break out:

Met up with several friends for dinner at PF Cheng's. Found the wait to be too long. Triangulated and found seating at another restaurant. Watched one friend eat a piece of ice cream cake the size of a 3-ring binder.
Tried the hot tub - it was still busted.

Saturday:
Woke up, got into costume, set up booth.
Checked out exhibit hall.
Did kendo demo in the Westin. Returned to booth wearing kendo gear.
Impressed Morgan Shepard, apparently...
Met up with group at Buca di Beppo's for dinner. Had lots of food.
Tried hot tub - still busted!

Sunday:
Woke up, packed, got into costume, set up booth.
Checked out exhibit hall.
Checked out of hotel, dragged loads of stuff down to car, returned to booth.
Danced around all afternoon, closed up booth, packed up, hugged lots of people, came home.
Wondered what to do, now that GenCon is over for another year...

A Sinister Event!

2007-08-13T15:34:00.001-04:00

Today is International Left Handers' Day!

I shall celebrate by doing what I always do - keep my mouse set to left-handed. It drives everyone who tries to use my computer stark-raving bonkers! (Bwahahahahahaha!!!!)

Though, being ambidextrous, I almost feel kind of guilty celebrating left-handedness... but I figure, I'm only partially Polish, yet I pull out the ethnic pride whenever the subject of pierogies and kielbasa come up in conversation. (Who was making them by hand since the age of four - well over a decade before pierogies became the hip food of the 1990s? Boo-ya!)

Geek On!

2007-08-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

In just two days, I will be shutting down my computer, setting my phone to voicemail, locking my office, and heading off to GenCon!

I can't believe it's already here! I've spent months looking forward to it, planning for the booth and the kendo demonstration and the roaming performances (OK, I'm still working on that last part). It's hard to believe that in less than a week, it will be over, again.

What with the official "busy season" at work having ended last week, and the flux of fall conferences all being off-site, I'm not quite sure what I'll have to look forward to, for the next few months!

My main goal in the exhibit hall (aside from selling my own stuff), is to locate and acquire a couple dozen factory seconds gaming dice. I have grand plans for a tassle belt strung with d10s and the like, to wear especially whenever I do that "White and Nerdy" number. (Though, that reminds me... i need to sew some bric-a-brac trim onto the sleeves of my Redshirt red shirt.)

The kendo demo is worrying me a wee bit, as well... as all of my helpers have cancelled. This leaves me with no one to spar with. ): Ah well. In times like this, I ask myself, WWASD? (What would a samurai do?) Well, I'm sure the samurai would track down the people who backed out on him and force them to commit seppuku, or something... but I'll settle for improvising - killing some time by dressing some random six-year-old up in my armor. That's always a crowd-pleaser, because a) the kid gets to feel important and stuff, and b) let's face it, I may be small, but even my armor looks ridiculously huge on a child.

Now... here's to hoping that I remember to pack everything!

Unsophisticated?

2007-03-17T20:49:00.000-04:00

I shall be attending the wedding of two good friends, next month, in Atlanta.

As it is an outdoor wedding, and as my lovely parasol cannot come in the airplane with me (it does not fit into my carry-on), I shall have to acquire a Hat.

I found a dress to wear quite easily - and at the Goodwill store, no less! It's a lovely, slightly irridescent rose color, which will have to be taken in a little, but otherwise looks as though it has never even been worn!

I went to Macy's, thinking that there, of all places, there ought to be Nice Hats. (Especially, since it is so close to Easter.) However, I was mistaken! There were about a dozen hats, mostly of the flopply straw variety, but also featuring a bizarre wide-brimmed baseball-hat style.

Is this the epitome of high fashion?

On a whim, as I passed the fragrance section, I decided to try a spritz from the Chanel No. 5 tester, and was given a sample to take home to try out, later. I figured, I am a grown-up (or so I like to believe), and I should try some traditional grown-up fragrance.

However, having had it on for a couple of hours, I cannot help but think that it smells like fancy soap.

Clearly, I am uncouth.

Ice Storm

2007-02-23T22:03:00.000-05:00

Bus stop

Willow

Sunrise on the tracks

Frozen

All photographs copyright 2007, M. Kocias

Do Thin Mints count as a food group?

2007-02-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

I have to hide my Girl Scout cookies from myself, or else I could easily eat an entire sleeve of Thin Mints in one sitting...

Let's hope I don't suffer the same fate as the cat...

2007-02-19T13:12:00.000-05:00

I gave in to curiosity, this weekend, and signed up on eHarmony for their "free communication weekend".

What I discovered is that, after spending an hour filling out their survey, I must go through their little series of steps before actually being able to "communicate" with anyone!

Well, obviously, by the time you send your pre-selected questions to your match, and they answer, and they send YOU questions, and you answer, and you send them your "must have's and can't stands" (a stupid concept, because, really, as I don't like saying that I "must have" anything...), and then you apparently (if I'm reading the list correctly), get to read a message from Dr. ICreatedThisService, and THEN, you get to communicate with the person... your "free" time is long since gone!

Oh, and then there are the "Oh, our servers are busy... come back, later!"

I suppose it's for the best, anyway. We wouldn't want to pick up a stalker, again, now would we? (;

"And who would've thought...? It figures."

2007-02-14T11:19:00.000-05:00

It's not ironic, but it's finding out after you've roused yourself from your cozy warm bed, showered, caught the bus, come to work, and settled in, before finding out that the campus has closed due to weather, for the first time since 1994, but only until noon, so there's really no point in going back home...

Cold moon

2007-02-02T23:34:00.000-05:00

I was laying on the sofa, this evening, keeping warm beneath a down throw and my laptop, when the rising full moon peeked through the vertical blinds on the back sliding door.

I ventured forth from the warmth of my little sofa-nest, and stood there, gazing through the (poorly insulated) glass.

It was amazing! It bathed everything in a blue light, and reflected off the dusting of snow to make even the frozen mud look beautiful.

After a minute or so, however, I realized that it was Very Cold by the back door, and the draft was making the stray hairs around my face move around, slightly. So, I shut the blinds as tightly as possible.

Driving home from my friend's house, later at night, the moon was almost directly overhead. I felt as though my entire car was glowing in the dark. As I pulled down the street to get to my neighborhood, I noticed that I could see the entire cross country field, a quarter mile away, bathed in the frosty light.

I wanted to stand outside and gaze at it, some more... but even this north coast girl knows when it's just too cold to do that for any length of time.

On a related note... I am puzzled at the fact that it is that the temperature outside is a steady 8F degrees, yet the ice cream that I made earlier, and set out on the balcony for several hours, is still the consistency of a melted milkshake?

Culinary experiments from this past week:

2007-01-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

Key lime dark chocolate truffles

Candied kumquats, stuffed with chocolate ganache

Tart cherry scones, topped with candied sliced starfruit

Curse you, camera USB cable, and your excellent hiding skills!

Brrr!

2007-01-30T20:35:00.000-05:00

Winter has finally arrived, much to my relief.

I fear, however, that once my body adjusts to the 10-degree temperatures, it will get warm, again.

I really should move to Sweden, or something.

The Telltale Heart, Revisited

2007-01-01T19:38:00.000-05:00

I pulled some mail out of my crappy, doesn't-close-properly mailbox, and found an envelope from the university's financial management services.

My heart dropped into my gut, as I thought, Oh, my god... Sallie Mae has now got the university to come after me, regarding that amount that I do not owe them!

I buried it under a pile of things on the table near my door, to avoid ruining my last evening of "the office is closed" vacation.

But it whispered to me. It mocked me. It called out to me and demanded that I pay attention to it.

So, with fear and trepidation, I crept over and pulled it from beneath the gloves and sunglasses and other outgoing bills. I closed my eyes and opened up the envelope, and pulled out the paper inside.

I opened one eye, expecting to see the horrible letter, telling me that they were expelling me and revoking my 4.0 GPA and suing me and sending the mob after me and that they were going to come and reposess my goldfish.

I blinked.

I gaped.

I released the breath I realized I'd been holding.

I stared at the paper in my hand - a check for $200 for some revision work that I had done for a textbook, earlier in the summer.

How many layers of Geek can I have on at once?

2006-12-13T14:47:00.000-05:00

I think I shall knit or crochet a pair of fuzzy d20s.

The thing is, I don't think the MicroMachines X-Wing and TIE-fighter that have been dogfighting from my rearview mirror since I got my Saturn eight years ago would appreciate the veritable asteroid belt that that would create...

Key

2006-12-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

While cleaning out my coat closet, I found a bag that I hadn't used in years.

Before tossing it on the Freecycle pile, I felt around to make sure I hadn't left any cash or wadded-up tissues. Much to my surprise, I came across the key from my psycho ex-boyfriend's apartment in Suresnes.

I had forgotten to take it out of my purse when I left on my last visit, in May of 1999.

I sat in the middle of my living room floor and pondered the heavy piece of steel.

The relationship by which I came into possession of the key had started out firey and passionate and romantic... but slowly downspiraled into a very emotionally abusive and draining experience. In fact, it took quite awhile before I could let go of the negative emotions that I managed to associate with anything that reminded me of the it - even something so broad and general as "France".

Surprisingly, however, when I found this key - something that literally unlocked the innermost sanctum of that ill-fated relationsihp - I felt nothing.

But, I couldn't just throw it in the trash bag, either.

Why was that? Did having it in my possession make me feel as though I finally had some power over the situation? I mean, it's not as though I would ever go back there... and heck, he's probably moved two or three times, by now.

Perhaps it was there to remind me that I never have to allow myself to be taken advantage of, emotionally and physically. Or, perhaps it was a symbol of my own strength. Or, maybe... I don't know.

But I just couldn't throw it away.

Instead, I put it in my cashbox and stuck it high on a shelf.

T-Day Minus Nine Hours

2006-11-22T23:32:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin pie from scratch - check!

Ingredients for pancakes (including real maple syrup) - check!

Totally awesome pink flannel Princess Leia pajama bottoms*- check!

Clean apartment - ... I can just throw it all in the spare room and run the sweeper before everyone gets here for the Pajamas, Pancakes, and Parade Potluck Brunch.

*I ran out of time to make the matching pajama top for tomorrow, but I can always wear that old Starfleet Academy tshirt I bought at my very first Star Trek convention, back in... 1992. Sure, it's mixing genres, but I think that ought to just up my geek points. Right?

Playing Grownup

2006-11-19T14:56:00.000-05:00

I can remember when my parents were the age that I am, now. Heck, I can rememberme when my parents were the age I am, now.

They had college degrees, careers, two cars, a house, and three kids.

I have a college degree, an incomplete graduate degree, a car, an apartment, and fish.

I can't help but think that I"m just not doing something right.

First off, every time I host friends, I feel the same way I used to when I played house as a kid - that it's just pretend.

That being said, since I and other people have mid-day and dinner invitations for Thanksgiving, I am hosting brunch, instead. We will sit around in our pajamas, and make pancakes and watch the Macy's parade.

I'm pondering also making candied sweet potatoes... using Peeps instead of marshmallows...

Battlestar Galacteaca

2006-11-13T20:52:00.000-05:00

So, there I was, in the tea aisle...

I observed a moderate selection of Ceylon teas... that my mind initially interpreted as Cylon tea.

My poor, neglected blog!

2006-11-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

I really ought to post in here, more often.

I blame it all on LiveJournal - that black hole of time-sucking distraction!

Nevertheless, I shall entertain you with my boring, adult to-do list:
1. Tear self away from Star Trek:TNG
2. Go to grocery store.
3. Get a pumpkin. (Yes, I know Halloween is over, but I am craving fresh pie.)
4. Get milk.
5. Throw away expired milk.
6. Clean apartment. (See if misplaced motivation to finish writing those articles can be found amidst the clutter.)
7. Top off the fishtanks. (It must be dry in here... both the 20 and the 39 gallon tanks are an inch and a half low.)

I feel like a real grownup, now.

2006-09-25T21:51:00.000-04:00

I got my first real mobile phone.

Go, me.

Sternocleidomastoid

2006-09-18T08:19:00.000-04:00

This has got to be one of the most annoying muscles in my body.

I must have slept funny on Friday night, because I spent the bulk of the weekend (during which I drove over to the next state and back) trying to not move my neck, too much.

Now, the rhomboids on that side have joined in the protest, and I can feel myself turning into a knotty, cranky mess.

Where's a hot stone massage when you need one?

Believe it, or not...

2006-08-23T22:51:00.000-04:00

I was at the public library, looking for some CDs to listen to at work, and I wandered over to peruse the DVDs. There, on the bottom shelf, I saw something that caught my eye - season one of Greatest American Hero!

I had loved that show when it originally aired, and as I hadn't seen it in twenty years, I wanted to see if it was as good as I remembered it to be.

So, I checked it out.

I spent the better part of the next few evenings watching one episode after another. Suddenly, I was struck with the silly idea to make a shirt with the sign from The Suit on it... to wear while I staffed my friend's booth at GenCon.

So, I did! I did a search online for the logo, and with the help of my neighbors and their color printer, made an iron-on transfer. I ironed it onto a red long-sleeve shirt I picked up at Goodwill for a buck and a half, et voila!

I wore it proudly, and was actually surprised at the number of people who recognized it. (Over half of the people attending the convention had probably not even been born by the time the show went off the air!)

But what surprised me even more was discovering who happened to be in the booth right behind us:

Now, there's a reunion I'd go to!

2006-07-11T13:41:00.000-04:00

So, my evil twin* has notified me that the 50th anniversary of the camp where we worked together is next year, and that there'll be some reunion-y type festivities!

We ended up spending the better part of half an hour not doing what we were supposed to be doing (i.e., work), and instead reminiscing about our days of running amok at Camp Asbury, all those years ago. (Well, OK, I was IMing while I did other work, but he claims that I totally distracted him from his important somethingorother project he's putting together for his speech clients. Whatever.)

We have decided that we must find a way to get him from there to here... so that we can road trip over to here.

He proposed a lemonade stand, but I suggested that he open his own walking tour company, and tell the tourists ~~a load of crap~~ some tall tales, just like we used to do with the campers on some of the more humorous nature hikes. (;

*Though he still maintains that he is the good one

Reflections of myself

2006-06-06T23:02:00.000-04:00

I can't help but think about the fact that I can remember myself when my mother was the age that I am, now.

Shades of blindness

2006-05-04T19:31:00.000-04:00

I went back to the eye doc for my one-week checkup.

He wanted to see if the new contacts were working out, and strapped me into the ~~iron maiden~~ machine that shines the supernova-bright light into my eyes. He said that the base curve, combined with the fact that I am so nearsighted I literally cannot see past the end of my nose, is causing the lenses to slide around.

So, he had me try another pair, with a tighter base curve, and told me to come back in another week.

I'm kind of hoping that they'll work out, since the astygmatism is getting worse, and I don't really want to have to wear glasses on top of contacts...

Geezer mode: ON

2006-05-01T22:56:00.000-04:00

Damn kids! What the hell is wrong with them?

Has the fact that it is finals week reminded them that they only have four days left to jump out in front of my car for the next three months?

It's not that I'm concerned for their safety and well-being, mind you... it's just that I don't want the little fuckers denting my car!

Tea with the Empire

2006-04-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

I sat here on my couch, this evening, drinking a pot's worth of tea from one of the dainty teacups I picked up at the thrift store, and watching The Empire Strikes Back.

It's been nearly a year since I've watched it, and seeing it tonight was like slipping on a favorite sweater that's been pulled out of winter storage for the season. And the music... Oh! the music! There isn't much out there that can top the Imperial March, except, perhaps the tender strains that swell into a dramatic fanfare at the end.

Ahhhh...

"I Can See Clearly, Now..." (Or: Non-Drama in 15 Simple Steps)

2006-04-27T19:32:00.000-04:00

1. Come home from work
2. Try to read article I've been trying to read for a month
3. Give up when the words blur together
4. Remember eye appointment
5. Drive across town to WalMart (because I'm too poor to afford to go anywhere else)
6. Get confirmation from doc that I am still blind as a bat (-11.00 contact Rx in both eyes)
7. Try new type of contacts
8. Shop for new saline solution, antiperspirant, toothpaste, and 70spf sunblock
9. Return to car
10. Accidentally blind self with reflective windshield sun shield
11. Treat self to McDonald's for having been a good girl and not kicking the doctor
12. Come home
13. Try to read article again
14. Give up and conclude that author is just trying to impress us with his vocabulary and technobabble, and that article still reads like one of Wesley Crusher's book reports
15. Console self with Oreos

And they say the mind is the first to go...

2006-04-26T13:45:00.000-04:00

...

Think Pink!

2006-04-22T23:26:00.000-04:00

Today, I did the Race for the Cure!

I'd pledged that, if I made my fundraising goal, I would do the entire 5K in full kendo armor.

I wrote the names I was carrying with me on pink ribbons, and tied them to my shinai.

It was a sea of humanity!

Geek Chic

2006-04-20T22:14:00.000-04:00

I came home from work, changed into cargo pants and an old Star Trek tshirt that's probably older than half the kids on LiveJournal, and headed out to AutoZone to pick up some spark plugs.

I noticed, from my reflection in the glass door, that I had neglected to remove my pearls, and giggled at the sophisticated dork I had become.

While I was standing at the screamingly orange counter, waiting for the guy to bring me my items, I noticed a teenaged boy checking me out! I guessed that, in his eyes, I must have had a "hot chick" trifecta going for me: A female... who likes Star Trek... buying auto parts.

Now, if only I could find a nice boy my own age, using that technique!

Cloudy, with a chance of rips in the time-space continuum...

2006-04-20T20:47:00.000-04:00

We had some strange weather, this afternoon!

Letdown

2006-04-17T21:35:00.000-04:00

I'd always thought that turning 30 was supposed to be some big milestone.

However, it seems that my Big Three-Oh came and went without so much as a whisper.

Brunch with my Peeps

2006-04-16T23:20:00.000-04:00

I had some friends over for brunch, today. We had pancakes and sticky buns... candied yams made with yellow Peeps... and enough Easter candy to make our eight-year-old selves jealous.

We dyed hard-boiled eggs - but not before writing silly and juvenile things on them with the white crayon included in the Paas kit.

While we digested, we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and re-enacted certain scenes with the Peeps.

Run Away!!!

Crossing the Threshold

2006-04-15T07:04:00.000-04:00

Today, I am thirty.

(Here's what I have to say about that!)