|
|
Monday, August 11th, 2008
| |
9:52 pm - And just for the bragging rights...
|
|
| |
8:52 pm - Heh.
|
|
| Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
| |
10:02 pm - Because I Have to Share This...
|
A good friend of mine just lost her grandmother.
We normally have a movie night on Tuesdays, and she called me to let me know she wanted to call it off for the week--totally reasonable and understandable. I asked if there was anything at all that I could do for her, and she considered for a moment before asking if I could resurrect the dead. I told her I was sorry, but that was a bad idea, and to let me know if there as anything I could do for her that wouldn't involve starting the zombie apocalypse.
I mentioned it to my boss, including her request and my response, at which my boss gave me a stunned look and asked, totally serious, "You mean you can do that?"
current mood:  amused
|
|
(3 comments | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, March 30th, 2008
| |
9:39 pm - Progress!
|
I finally decided it needed to be done, and I shelled out for a lifetime membership with LibraryThing.
So far, I've managed to add all of the books that I had floating around in the living room, all of the books in boxes in my room, and all of my shelved non-fiction. That leaves all of my shelved fiction, all of the books boxed up downstairs (because there's no getting to those right now), and whatever books I have floating around in my room that I can't get to at the moment.
I'm hoping to have the fiction added by the end of the week, but that may or may not happen, considering the current preparations for Med Fair. Either way, the rest of it is probably going to have to wait until I move.
I'm extremely pleased. My library is here. So far, I don't have a whole lot of books in common with much of anyone.
I suspect that will change when I get more of my fiction entered.
Either that, or I'm unique.
I've also finally tried to copy my favorite sandwich from a local place. However, I went with what I had on hand instead of what actually went into the recipe, so I think I have something different on my hands.
I'll see how it tastes soon.
current mood:  accomplished
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, January 6th, 2008
| |
1:42 pm - I'm Totally On This Lady's Side
|
I saw a news story about a woman whose house was trashed during a New Year's party who then emailed her whole guest list and demanded they help pay for the damages.
She included pictures of the damage, which included wine on her walls, vomit on her walk-out roof, a hole punched in her apartment wall, the shower curtain ripped, a tampon left on her sofa, and a $450 cleaning bill. There was no mention if it was a clean, new tampon, but I imagine if it was, it wouldn't have been worth mentioning in the article. She also included a paypal link.
Not at all surprisingly, she said that the people who she knows did the most damage haven't responded at all. Also not surprisingly, someone who she knows didn't do a damned thing chipped in well above what she'd be expected to give even if she had done some damage.
It is a little surprising that an ex boyfriend she hasn't spoken to in years chipped in. Even if it's only a dollar, it's something.
I think my favorite part of the article is that the Emily Post Institute agrees with her actions (if not necessarily her wording, which is more or less how I feel).
There are probably people who are just sickened by the idea of someone demanding reparations after the damage from a party, but I think it's entirely a matter of degree. If you throw a party, then you expect to pay for food and drink and possibly some kind of entertainment (unless you include BYOB, or make it a potluck or something, and even then, you should be contributing something). You should also expect to have to clean up afterwards, including possible stains from accidentally dropped food and spilled drink.
However, if people are doing real damage to your home and your belongings, then that's above and beyond what a host should be expected to tolerate.
It's also a sign that you need to be more careful about selecting your friends, but that's a different matter.
I still think that four "friends" who had sex on my couch should have either cleaned it, or paid for a professional cleaning. Most of the rest of my friends thought I was over-reacting. Apparently, I should be fine with other people's body fluids on my furniture.
One of the offenders said that it shouldn't be a problem, since it was technically her couch.
Technically, she gave it to me, and it was in my house.
Anyway, I imagine that the people most guilty of these offenses are exactly the ones who will be most against hosts and hostesses expecting them to help pay for extreme damages following parties. I'm willing to believe they're the same ones who show up to potlucks empty handed, then go back for the most trips to the food and take leftovers home with them.
current mood: amused
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
1:15 pm - The New Year Continues
|
Well, I survived my very first accident without a whole lot to show for it.
No injuries (one splitting headache, which was probably related to the accident, but not really the same kind of thing as whiplash from an accident). No damage to the car, at least none visible. You can see a mark in the dirt on my bumper where I got hit.
I got my car to the mechanic and begged them to fix it. The battery light had been coming on a lot lately. Last time that happened, the two week old battery was dead and the alternator was broken. This time? I climbed into my newly fixed car, turned it on, and...the f'ing battery light was on. I'm still steamed.
That, and my mom came to my rescue after the accident, then followed me to the mechanic so I could just drop off the car and she could take me home. That way, I wouldn't have to sit in the mechanic's for hours and hours. But she charged into the mechanic's before I could get in there, and made a huge deal out of the accident, so they kind of blew off the actual reason I'd already been on the way in to see them, and she told them that one of my headlights was tuck on bright, and the other is dim. I said they were misaligned. The guy taking the notes nodded.
When he called me to tell me my car was ready, I asked about the headlights. The conversation went thus:
Mechanic: "They work."
Me: "I know they work. They're misaligned. One of them looks much brighter than the other."
Mechanic: "Oh, I'll check. Hang on."
*Click*
*Ring, ring*
Mechanic: "Ok, your headlights work."
Me: "I know that. They aren't aligned properly. One is brighter than the other. They need to be realigned."
Mechanic: "Oh, all right. Let me go check."
*Click*
*Ring, ring*
Mechanic: "Your headlights are working fine."
Me: "I KNOW THAT."
Mechanic: "It's possible that they aren't aligned. It's not possible for one to be stuck on bright and one to be stuck on dim. But it is possible for them to not be aligned the same. There's a special tool to fix that. You'll probably need to go to a body shop to get it fixed. We can't do it here."
Me (through gritted teeth): "Thank you anyway."
I'm going to take it by the place where I bought the battery and have it checked again. I'm sincerely hoping that whatever was wrong with it just ran the battery down again, and if I get it recharged, then all will be well once me.
Also, I have to go make a payment on the damned thing today.
I'm an in an unfortunate position where the car is costing too much to keep, but I can't trade it in for something more reliable, because I can't afford that, either. I'm hoping that maybe it'll be a good car for me again now.
On a very different note, I ran into an old friend that I hadn't seen in about two years right between Christmas and New Year's. Don't know if we're officially back in contact now, but it was good to see her.
current mood:  irritated
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
| |
9:47 pm - New Year's Still Sucks
|
Car broke down.
On the way to the mechanic, I got rear ended.
The bitch who hit my car? Drove away.
It was a new (used) car, so there were no tags.
Doesn't look like the car was damaged, but since it was going to the mechanic anyway, I asked them to give it a once over.
Officer who responded to my call treated me like an idiot for wanting a report on file.
I have a splitting headache. I'm going to finish prepping dinner for tomorrow and go to bed.
current mood: aggravated
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
| |
8:14 pm - Happy New Year's!
|
For a number of reasons, mostly involving me getting injured, I've come to not like New Year's Day.
Last year, however, New Year's went by without incident. There's still a little less than four hours left of the dreaded day, so it's a little cocky to say that I've made it through this one, too.
2007 is not going to go down in my personal history books as a year that I did anything of terrible importance. However, I did:
- Manage to squeeze in three cons. I will probably continue to attend SoonerCon, and if it's available, I'll volunteer in the green room again. I'm looking forward to Conestoga, and most especially FenCon, which rocked. I picked up a few books that I might not have otherwise noticed for some time because I met the authors at cons, and now I'm hooked. I also got to meet some of my favorite authors and get a stack of books signed.
- Ride the train for the first time. I'm really hoping that a line from OKC to Tulsa and KC will open. Then I could get all kinds of places by train, and that would rock my socks.
- Win NaNo for the third year in a row. This year, it was really by the skin of my teeth, too.
- Secure a job that, while not my dream job, is definitely not a bad place to pass my time and earn a check. I've still got two months (February 26th) until my year is up and I'm off probation. I guess I need to keep myself braced for the worst, but I'm getting cautiously optimistic.
- Take a cake decorating class. I also learned that I really, really hate decorating cakes. But now, when the need arises, I can do it.
I know I did more than that this year. But like I said, it's not going down in the history books or anything...
I've decided that New Year's Resolutions are more or less useless. Big changes aren't made in your life because you decided you'd do it in the new year. Big changes can be made...you just usually need a little more motivation.
I do, however, have a few goals for the coming year:
- I will get my car paid off.
- I may not have a place of my own, but I will have enough built up in savings to be serious about looking for a place. I'd like to buy a house, but I'll accept moving into an apartment, too.
- I may not have finished tinkering with it, but I will at least finish the first major re-write/overhaul of my 2005 NaNovel.
- In the event that I do decide that I've done what polishing I can with it, I won't procrastinate about doing the research and looking for a literary agent.
- I will polish up at least one short story enough to submit it to Jim Baen's Universe. Whether or not it will be published (by anyone) is out of my hands, but it'll never, ever happen if everything I write sits on my hard drive for my enjoyment only.
- I will also manage to make my best friend a totally ass-kicking wedding cake that she and her hubby-to-be will be proud of. Afterwards, I will only decorate cakes for exorbitant fees, ridiculous bribes, and possibly sexual favors.
I could resolve to post on my blogs more often, or try to lose weight, or get out more, or make more friends, but...
If those happen, it'll be awesome. I suspect that resolving I shall do so in the new year is just a kiss of death.
current mood:  contemplative
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, August 19th, 2007
| |
5:41 pm - If You Hear From Someone...
|
That a friend/relative/loved one of theirs has just been shipped to Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East, what is your first response?
One of the guys I work with immediately looked at me and said, "I hope you're prepared. Because he's coming home in a body bag or without some limbs."
Is that supposed to be helpful?
I answered with a shrug and said that no one had forced him to go over there. My brother thought long and hard before he signed up, he worked very hard once he was there, and the day before he shipped out from Germany, he told me father that he was ready to go, because it was too damned cold in Germany.
I think I still would have let it go without ever thinking about it again if he hadn't kept pressing, wanting to know if I understood what it meant, and if I knew what was probably going to happen.
The problem is, the answer is that he's probably going to serve his time and come home. More troops than ever are surviving now. There are, admittedly, more troops coming home with missing limbs, but do you know what that actually means? They're men and women who, previously, probably would have died of their injuries instead of coming home at all. And that is absolutely wonderful.
Don't get me wrong. That a single person has died is a tragedy beyond measure. My heart breaks for them and their families. When I went to see my Oma's burial site at the national cemetery, I was doing just fine until I came across the plaque for a young man who had been only 18 when he had died, only months earlier. I had been reading the plaques, marveling at some of the amazing men and women who served in not one or even two wars, but in several cases, three. There's a lot you can tell about someone, sometimes, based on what the people they left behind wanted inscribed on their headstones and plaques. My grandfather and this other young man were the youngest I saw that day. I already knew about how young my grandfather had been, and about his story and my Oma's story after he was gone. I was prepared for that. It's hard, though, to see another loss that tragic without being moved.
I can guarantee that the friends and family members of everyone who is serving knows perfectly well just what the price may be for their service. And if you know someone or meet someone who has just see someone they love leave for somewhere dangerous, then nod in acknowledgment, wish their loved one well, say they're in your prayers, whatever.
But if you ask them if they know this means they're going to die, stop that. You're being an asshole, and you aren't doing anything constructive.
current mood: annoyed
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Monday, August 13th, 2007
| |
7:50 pm - Oh my goodness...(updated)
|
Ok, as you may or may not know, I'm sort of in the process of putting together a writer's guide to weapons, as my personal step in fighting 30 lb swords and standing up for physics and all that.
Anyway, I've decided to blog it first, and eventually compile it into a book for availability through LuLu. So, naturally, I need a blog dedicated to the weapons book.
"I know!" I thought. "I'll call it: The Pen Is Deadlier."
Pretty awesome, huh? It would look something like this:
The Pen Is Deadlier
The Writer's Guide to Weapons
Then I went to register the name and...well...this is what you get when you get that name squashed together without spaces: thepenisdeadlier.
Ok...my goal is not to attract people interested in a deadly penis. Though they may not be too far off of my intended audience...
Back to the drawing board. There are many options, and I'm sure I can manage. I can still call it that, but that will not be the email or the URL. If I go with anything at all involving "pen" and "is" next to each other, I may now suffer from a bad case of the giggles. Which would be bad for my reputation as a weapons researcher.
(Updated to add: it's a reality. Check out The Pen Is Deadlier. There's nothing useful on it yet.)
current mood: amused
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, August 12th, 2007
| |
10:41 pm - Stardust
|
I scraped up the money for a matinée and went out to see Stardust today, and I'm very glad I did.
I'm not a total Gaiman whore, and I have yet to develop the 'he can do no wrong' mentality that I've run into a few times. And to say that I sense something of a kindred spirit in him suggests a much greater familiarity with him and his body of work than I can boast. We do seem to share a love of fairy tales, mythology, and their traditions, though, and I can always appreciate that in an author. There's obviously a lot of research behind his work, and I think the power and truth in his words can only come from loving the subject, rather than merely enduring the research to tell the tale.
I've heard Stardust compared to the Princess Bride more times than I can count now, and I think that's unfair to both books and films. They may be in the same family, but it's like comparing siblings. They both have strengths and weaknesses, and it's better to love them for themselves. Princess Bride has the zippy one-liners, Stardust has the better heroine by far.
I also saw complaints that the end of the movie was obvious. Well, it's a fairy tale. Of course you know the ending. The point isn't in the last five minutes, it's in the journey getting there (and flamboyantly gay, reputation obsessed pirates. Those can never hurt). The best books and movies are the ones that stand up to repeated viewing. You know what's going to happen: sometimes you know it by heart. There's nothing there to take you by surprise anymore. But that doesn't stop your enjoyment of the work.
Stardust is a movie I'd happily go to see in the theaters again, though I sadly likely won't. And when it's available on DVD, I'm going to have to get a copy of it, which I'll keep with my copies of Labyrinth, Peter Pan, MirrorMask, and Princess Bride.
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
| |
4:46 pm - Well, I Was Going to Say...
|
Something about how my wonderful daddy came to my rescue. And really, he did. He came and picked me up, he helped me get the very dead battery out of my car, and when we finally found a place that carried the right size battery (more difficult than you might think, actually), he paid for it.
I was (and remain) very grateful.
So I figured my little vacation was still on, and the universe figured it could do one better.
I went to get my tires checked, since I have Nitrofil in them, and I'm supposed to let the professionals handle them, and found out I needed to replace not one or two, but fucking THREE tires. And really, the fourth one, too, but it was fairly newly replaced and under warranty, so I didn't have to pay for it.
So, a somewhat dispiriting three hundred dollars later, I have all new tires, and the vacation's off again. So's renewing my zoo pass for this year. And possibly buying groceries for a while.
I'll get by. It isn't really that bad. But it kind of makes for a crap day, especially since my paycheck next month is going to be short.
I really don't want to spend all (or even much at all) of my time on this blog whining, and I particularly don't want to spend my time bitching about money. But after today, I kind of need to whine.
current mood:  stressed
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| |
8:28 am - And the Universe said, "You Cannot Has Vacations. Not Yours."
|
I went out to go to work this morning, and the car sputtered and died.
I'm almost positive it's the battery, and I'm waiting for a ride to a place where I can buy a new one. Luckily, I do have extra money sitting around, so it's not going to do me any major harm.
Sadly, that would be my vacation money. I vacation really cheap, so the price of the battery pretty close to wipes out everything I'd saved. Luckily, they don't accept hotel gift cards at...places you buy car batteries, so even if I get into really desperate straits in the near future, I get to cling to that and cackle, "Ha! It's MINE. No one else can have it but ME!"
current mood: annoyed
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, July 28th, 2007
| |
11:16 pm - I Have the Bestest Friends Ever
|
The "Jasmine needs a freakin' vacation" fund got a shocking jump when three of my closest friends got together to get me a birthday present: a night in a hotel. :::squee!::: You guys really rock.
As a result, I dragged out the change/savings, and I counted it up. There's almost enough for a second night. I'm going to go back to taking out cash once a week for my groceries and other necessities. Anything left over by the next week is going into the vacation fund. Woo-hoo!
Also, I had a real blast at Conestoga, and I know I need to mosey over here and actually post about it. Sweetest and most amazing thing that happened? ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) verminiusrex gave me a couple of loaves of bread that he'd made. He warned me (like an artist, and if you don't think bread baking is an art, you haven't tried it) that the loaves were no longer at their best. Well, they were absolutely amazing and very, very tasty. My boss was jealous.
current mood: grateful
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, July 8th, 2007
| |
9:46 pm - I Went Outside the Other Day...
|
To take out some trash, and there were two bitty toads hanging out on the porch!
I love little toadlettes. And big toads, too. I haven't seen my big buddy this year.
I just opened the door to peek out, and there was one of the little guys from the other day.
current mood: pleased
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Sunday, July 1st, 2007
| |
6:47 pm - Sometimes the World's Pretty Funny
|
So I was out shopping, and I thought to myself, 'I'm terribly lazy, and I don't feel like even making a sandwich for dinner. Braum's has great hamburgers...' So to Braum's I went.
I was a lot more hungry than thirsty, and when I looked over the menu, I was really sad to notice that they don't have a 'supersize' option. I didn't really want more food, but I definitely wanted the bigger drink. So I placed my order and figured it would tide me over until I got home. Water's probably a better option anyway.
I got up to the window and paid, and the girl who had put my order together already had my drink...when another guy working there came up and set down another drink. She looked at me and said, "I guess he thinks you need two drinks." I laughed, but then she handed out first one, then held out the other. Subtlety isn't one of my strong suits (no matter how slick I sometimes think I am), so I sat there looking stupid while she made quick 'hurry up and take it before someone notices, ditz,' motions with her head and eyes. I took the other drink, thanked her, and laughed all the way out.
So I guess I got my really big drink after all.
current mood: amused
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Saturday, June 30th, 2007
| |
1:00 pm - I Would Like to Amend that Message to My Co-Workers.
|
New message: FOADIAF.
Jerks.
On a very different note, I was babysitting laughterdance's rat while she was having fun in the sun, and to take me, she took me to dinner. I wasn't expecting anything like that. Boy, if I knew all I needed to do to get a dinner like that was play with a rat and antagonize a kid...
Heh. It was wonderful, I'm touched, and I accidentally left my leftovers at their house, so I guess the kid in question has probably already inhaled them. Oh, well. I'm a ditz.
She also gave me a really cool postcard from New Orleans that actually matches some that I got when I was there.
I love you babe. Thank you muchly.
Also, I got to sleep in today. That puts me in a pretty good mood. Also, it doesn't appear to be raining.
Maybe I can cancel my plans to build an ark.
current mood: refreshed
|
|
(2 comments | comment on this)
|
| Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
| |
9:34 pm - To: Everyone Where I Work
|
Re: Those reports I spent most of a day compiling and then emailing to the managers not because I had to, but because it would be handy and helpful for everyone.
Message: FOAD. Ungrateful, bitchy assholes.
I took the appropriate steps and remembered that I'm the admin, and admins are always stomped all over and yelled at. All ire gets directed towards the admins regardless of who's at fault. So I kept my mouth shut while people were yelling, vented with the boss, and remembered that chocolate doesn't heal all, but it does help.
I think I'm better at taking this crap than my boss. They made her cry. How much does that suck? Both of us, and especially her, when well above and beyond the call of duty and our job descriptions to help everyone, and we got nothing but grief for it.
On an entirely different note, Remy has found a new way to get my attention if I'm busy and not lavishing her with the proper affection. She'll follow me around the house and mew and murr at me, and if that fails, she'll stretch up and grab my hand with her front paws. If I bend over enough for her to reach, she'll scrub her face against my hand and purr so loudly...
Also, Keegan has been missing me while I've been out of town. He now curls up on my pillow and wraps himself around my head. He obviously thinks this is cute and shows how loving he is. I haven't found a way to convince him that I don't love getting his paw stuck in my mouth or up my nose in the middle of the night.
At least my babies love me.
current mood: irritated
|
|
(1 comment | comment on this)
|
| Sunday, June 24th, 2007
| |
9:49 pm - I's Sleeeeepy...
|
Remy is on top of my filing cabinet right now, chasing her tail. The dork.
I've haven't had a close relative die since I've been old enough to really know what's going on or be involved in all of the work that comes after someone's gone.
So far, it's exhausting. We've been getting up at 3:30 in the morning on Saturdays in order to get to Texas early enough to put in a full day's work getting the house put in order.
Incidentally, my Oma was a serious packrat. We've gotten most of the trash out, and we've gotten the closets and cabinets cleaned out. The house looks like a going out of business sale at Tuesday Morning.
My aunt and uncle are the kinds of people who think you've slept in if you sleep until 8. Even if you were up until midnight one day, up at 3:30 that morning, and didn't get to bed until 10:30 the night before. If I had any vacation or sick time at work, I'd call in just so I could sleep enough to make a functioning, productive worker. I haven't been able to build up a bank of time yet, and I haven't gotten to take a single day for something for myself (like, I haven't actually been sick, and I haven't taken time off to do anything but volunteer).
Right now, I'm sick of fighting and bickering. I'm sick of my aunt trying to push stuff on me to take home, then getting upset when I give up and try to take it. I'm sick of listening to my aunt and uncle complain about each other like they're trying to get me to play up the other side, I'm sick of hearing my uncle whine about his lack of a will to live, I'm sick of their twisted sense of worth in things and places (there's one crack in the house's ceiling, we'll be lucky if we get 20,000 for it). I'm sick of listening to them complain about the neighbors (oh my gods, their grass is three inches high, we're going to call the city on them), and I'm really sick of my uncle trashing Oklahoma (though there's plenty to trash, it's still my home). I'm kind of sick of going through my Oma's stuff, if only because she was a heavy smoker most of her life, and almost everything is covered in a layer of nicotine and dust.
And really, considering how I've been coughing and sneezing, I might actually be quite literally sick.
Also, I've discovered that all the cool stuff around here happened this weekend. I couldn't have afforded to go to it all, and I probably didn't have time to make it to what I could afford, but I still pouted about missing some of it. I've been looking forward to this year's Pride Parade since I missed last year's due to a fight with a friend (what may have started the death our friendship, actually. I was conscious of it at the time and still fought to try to save it. I can be really dense sometimes). There were a couple of other festivals and events that would have been fun. And a friend invited me out to the movies, which would have been awesome.
So I pouted. But I went down to Texas because I can't really ditch family during something like this just because I'm tired and want to have fun.
And right now, I'm kind of whiny. And tired.
So I'm going to surf the net until the mud masque I put on dries so I can wash it off, then I'm going to bed.
current mood:  exhausted
|
|
(comment on this)
|
| Friday, June 15th, 2007
| |
10:00 pm - To Texas Again...
|
You know what I'd totally kill for?
A weekend where I didn't have to go out of town or volunteer for anything. I'll take heavy cleaning, chores, errands...but damnit, I want to be able to sleep.
Also, I have a really awesome ergonomic keyboard at work. I've officially gotten so accustomed to it that I can't type with my usual speed or accuracy on a normal keyboard.
Guess I need to put that on the 'to get' list along with a new computer that actually works, being as how I'm posting this from the roomie's computer instead of my hugely oversized paperweight.
current mood:  tired
|
|
(comment on this)
|
|
|
|
|
