Darcy's Place

Coming Soon: Non-Fiction by DSDragon

2011-11-09T16:06:00.003-05:00

Yes, you read that right--I'm going to be posting non-fiction works on this blog in the near future. It's mostly going to be the papers I wrote for classes this past semester. There might be some papers from a while back, if I can find them. I'm going to try and polish the ones I like so that they're the best they can be before I post them.

50-Book Challenge

2011-10-15T17:26:00.001-04:00

Okay, I wasn't planning on doing this today, but my Kindle's screen broke, so I had to get a new one, and there were books I've read that won't be transferring to the new device.

The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
Checkmate - A Beginner's Guide to Chess by Adam Stryvnski
I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
By Schism Rent Assunder by David Weber
By Heresies Distressed by David Weber
A Mighty Fortress by David Weber
How Firm a Foundation by David Weber
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (for school)
The Art of War by Sun Tzu (for school)
Mutineers' Moon by David Weber (In progress)

Adventures in Knitting (and Other Stuff)

2011-10-12T15:13:00.011-04:00

Well, I finally got my knitting project pictures from my camera onto my computer. They're not that great--the lighting was horrendous when I took most of them--but they'll do.

I started to get into knitting around the end of January. I just kept thinking that I wanted to knit something. Grandma S. had taught me how to knit at least twenty years ago, but I hadn't really gotten into it then. All of a sudden, I found myself wanting to knit though, so one day on the way to work (back when I was still on the p.m. shift) I stopped at the Michael's store in Leesburg, VA.

I didn't really know what I wanted to knit, and I'd forgotten how to cast on, so I got an "I taught myself knitting" kit--just so I could have an immediate reference should I need reminding. I also looked at yarns, and found a really nice red color. Remembering that Anna's and Tim's wedding colors were black and (apple) red, I thought to myself that I might just like to make a sweater for Anna in those colors--so I did.

It turned out pretty okay, for a first major project. I didn't really know anything about buying proper yarn weights at the time though, so the body of the sweater (the black) was thinner than the sleeves (done in red). I also hadn't tied in the ends properly in a couple of places, so when I washed and dried the sweater the first time in preparation for giving it to Anna, a few small holes showed up! Yikes!

So I called Grandma in a bit of a panic, and she said to bring it by her house when I could so she could let me know if it was fixable. Thank goodness it was, because I really didn't want to have to take it apart and make it all over again!

There are a few "yarn scars" where I had to do quick patch-ups, but they're mostly on the back. There was one on the front though, so I covered it up with a cute little frog patch that Grandma let me have, so it would be "prettier." Anna loved the frog.

When I first started making Anna's sweater, a lot of people at work remarked on it. One co-worker actually asked me to make a sweater for him too. I told him I would, and asked what color. He said blue--the same color as our uniform shirts, because he's a Carolinas fan. I couldn't quite get an exact match just by going to the craft store, so I bought a skein each of three of the closest shades, and had him choose. It ended up being Vanna's Choice Sapphire.

This sweater came out a lot better, since I was working all in one color (so I didn't have to worry about weight of yarn being different) and I knew better how to tie in the ends. Grandma also helped with a bit of confusion over the directions--I was having trouble figuring out how the pattern was telling me to sew on the sleeves. As you can see at the right, her advice helped. This particular picture came out really well, and it's probably the best picture of all the projects I've done so far.

After that, I decided to try making a pair of socks. I'd heard it was somewhat more of a challenge, since you have to use four needles at once. The first sock was kind of iffy--I'd gone the wrong direction when I started, so it has a bit of a "run" down the middle of the back where the rounds didn't quite come together. As a result of that, the first sock is baggier and looser than the second. By the second sock, I'd learned how to keep the tension on without pulling so hard that I couldn't move the needles.

Sometimes, I wear the socks when I'm just bumming around the house. But after a few hours, I start to feel the individual stitches digging into the bottoms of my feet. Unfortunately, the yarn I made them with is hand-wash and flat-air-dry only, so I can't put them in the machines to soften them up a bit. I wonder if there's a way to soften them up by hand?

The socks are black, so you're not really missing much with the uber-darkness of the picture.

Now that I'd finally knitted something for myself, I decided to go back to knitting surprises for other people, namely my bestest friend, H. (Hiya!)

What to make her, though? She lives in AZ, where it gets extremely hot, so a sweater probably wouldn't be all that useful. However, it does get at least a little chilly at times, and she has to take her dogs out to go potty too. So I figured a shawl would be just the ticket. I had bought a book of shawl patterns, and chose one with lots of lacing, so it would be warm, but still light-weight.

Without telling her why, I asked for confirmation of her favorite color, and she told me royal blue, so the picture to the right is lying to you if you're seeing black.

I also thought about putting a tiny knitted swatch onto one of those make-your-own button badge things (you know, the pins that people wear that have things like smiley faces and such on them?) so that she could have detachable buttons for holding the shawl on while she walked the dogs also. But even the lighter-weight yarn I used for the shawl was too thick for my tiny button maker. Ah well.

After that, I tried my hand at pattern making. What I wanted was a sleeveless dress with a V-neck, and a slight slit about 4 inches up one side like my favorite skirt has. Only, I couldn't find a pattern with exactly what I wanted. So I took my measurements, chose the yarn I wanted to make the dress with, made some gauge swatches, and calculated all the stitches I'd need, all the increases and decreases, and where they would go, in order to make that dress. I knitted it in the round (with needles connected at the center by flexible plastic, instead of two separate straight needles), which made the calculations a bit more complicated, since my measurements diagram could only show one side of me at a time.

Over all, I did pretty well with the calculations, except between my bust and armpits, where it came out baggier than it should have been. I just sewed little gussets to the inside of the dress under each arm to get rid of (or at least hide) the excess, since I wasn't about to take apart half of the dress's top just to fix it. I'll fix the pattern by looking at exactly how many stitches those gussets hold and making sure the necessary decreases happen before I make another dress like it--if I ever do, that is.

I bought a solid blue belt (to break up the pattern a bit at the middle of the dress) and some high-heeled backless brown sandals with blue, suede opened toes on to go with the dress. The sandals are my favorite shoes, but I don't get to wear them very often now that it's getting colder and I've got somewhere to be seven days per week (work and school). I did wear the shoes on the first day of the semester though, and that nearly killed my legs. I'm never wearing high heels to FCC again!

I plan to make a solid-colored bolero-style jacket to go with the dress (which will only be worn in the winter, once I've bought a slip--the sun tends to shine through all the little holes between stitches) in one of the darker middle shades of blue that is in the verigated yarn I used for the dress. I also plan to make solid-colored pockets slightly at an angle on the front of the dress about where pants pockets would be. I just don't have time for that project at the moment, what with my crazy-insane schedule.

I had also planned to teach a few people at the Haven how to knit, and actually had planned and scheduled the class. I had planned to have them make potholders during the lesson, and give them some yarn too. I would also let them pick their next project from one of the few books I had--or help them look up patterns on the internet for whatever they wanted to make, as well as give them advice on how to choose yarn and needle sizes.

However, the people who were interested in learning to knit could not make it to the Haven on the day I'd chosen for class, and I could not make it any other day either, so the class was cancelled. Maybe I'll try to have the class again during the break between fall and spring semester or something.

To the right is a picture of the example potholders I made to go with the class flyer on the bulletin board at the Haven. The first two were from patterns in the "I taught myself knitting" kit, and the third is an adaptation I made with cable-stitching. I think I need to adapt that pattern so it's a better square with the cabling, though--it turned out a bit long and thin compared to the other two.

The yarn I used for the example is also not good for potholders, since it's not very heat-resistant and would probably melt if you tried to put it on the table under a hot pot of food, but since these are only for show, it's all right.

That's about all the knitting news for now. On to this year's Renaissance Festival, and then I've really got to get some homework done.

Earlier this fall, I asked Anna and Tim if they would want to go to RennFest with me, if I could get off work one Sunday (the only day both Tim and Anna are off from work during any given week), and they said yes. So I got the 2nd of October off, and saved all the money I could from two paychecks for the RennFest.

On October 1st, the forecast called for cold and rain, however. Anna and Tim, fearing Dylan would get a cold--or otherwise become ill--in the weather, had to back out of our Faire plans at the last minute. I couldn't blame them--I don't want Dylan to get sick either.

So, I posted on Facebook that I was looking for Havenites (or other people) to go to the RennFest with the next day, but I guess no other Havenites were online between the time I posted and the time I got up to go, since only H and one other person (who also lives out-of-state) replied. I went to RennFest by myself, but I had a fun enough time.

The first thing I did was get my name on the list to have my hair braided, because I didn't want it blowing in my face all day. While I waited, I stopped in the nearby pewter shop and bought something to hold my cloak closed in the shape of wolves' heads. Everything else I bought at RennFest (except for some beeswax lip balm), I bought for other people (just the people I found at home when I got back, though):

Anna and Tim got matching wooden boxes, with red stain, which are just small/big enough to hold small things (like change or keys) on a nightstand. I also got Anna a necklace with a green stone in the middle of a round silver pendant with snakes on it.

Kimba got a nifty RennFest magnet. She was doing laundry at my house when I got back.

I got Dylan a RennFest sweatshirt (size 4T, I think, so he can grow into it) and a picture book about bees and honey from The Bee Folks.

I also bought 50 honey sticks in two different varieties to share.

I took a picture of what I looked like with the dress and the cloak (the "sorcerer's robe" Dad made me for Halloween 2000, left open except for the new cloak clasp). I also wore the belt I bought at the Faire a few years back (which I wear to work every day), as well as the belt pouch I bought from the Haven that Erika made a few years ago. The necklace is a medallion that I bought at RennFest also. It's got a sailing ship on one side and Pegasus on the other.

I was the only one home at the time I thought to take a picture, though (and I wanted to change out of the constricting dress), so I had to take the picture in the mirror. My left hand (remember, it's a mirror image) is cropped out of the picture, because that's the hand that was holding the camera, and it looked kind of incongruous.

I have yet to find footwear to go with the dress that I find acceptable. Not only that would match the dress well, but would be comfortable to walk in for hours.

Whoops! Where'd the time go?

2011-10-01T18:04:00.004-04:00

Yikes! I had no idea I hadn't posted since New Year's! So much has happened since then, I don't know where to start.

I do have a list of books I've read this year going, but it's rather short--I took up knitting at the beginning of the year, and am now back to school, so I don't really have much time for reading, other than for school. I am reading a novel for one of my classes though, so that will be included on the list--once I get the list up. I'll also post all the essays I'll be writing for school as well.

To sum up the last nine months (and one day) of the year so far:

I still work at Dulles Airport, and I'm doing pretty well there. I switched to the a.m. shift (4:30 to 1:00) back in the spring, thinking that it would make it easier to go to my morning classes on my days off. Little did I know that my night-owl self wouldn't be able to even attempt to get to sleep early enough for a 1:30 a.m. wake-up.

A couple weeks ago, I was so physically and mentally exhausted, the sheer force of will it took to stay awake made me clench my teeth so hard that my entire jaw ached for days afterward. And then one morning, I woke up aching all over too, so I called out from work and went back to sleep until I heard Anna and Tim downstairs around 9:30.

I've managed to get better at going to sleep lately, so it's not nearly as bad now. But we're bidding for shifts again at work soon, so I'm probably going to go back to the p.m. shift. As much as I love how much less crazy the morning is compared to afternoons at the airport, I just can't seem to adjust my circadian rhythms to the a.m. schedule.

Anyway, I just realized that I hadn't explained the whole "back to school" thing on here yet, so here goes.

Back in the spring, I decided that I needed to go back to school. I had about 35 credits just sittin' there, doing nothing, and it was kind of lame. But if I was going to go back, I needed a plan for where to take my life.

So, I talked to one of the ladies at FCC (that's Frederick Community College, for those of you not native Frednecks), and said I might be interested in teaching. She told me that, in order to teach English, I'd need at least a Master's degree, and I don't really have any interest in a Master's.

I decided to finish my A.A. in English at FCC, and then go back as a Music major. Once I have enough credits, I'll then transfer to a 4-year college and get my B.A. in Music Education. I haven't decided where I'll go for that yet--don't even really know which colleges in the area I am able to attend offer such a curriculum--but I have time.

I talked to the lady who taught my Music History and Appreciation class a few years ago, and she told me to start practicing again really soon. Asked me what level I wanted to teach music in: elementary, middle, or high school. I said either middle or high, and she told me that I could teach either vocals or instrumental music (i.e. chorus or band), so I chose vocal, since I believe I sing better than I play any instrument. Perhaps I'll minor in trumpet.

She also suggested that, while I'm still finishing my English degree, I take the Fundamentals of Music course (and at least start on the series of Music Theory courses), as well as a piano class, and individual vocal instruction. She said that, if I find I don't like the pace of the piano class after the first semester, I could get individual instruction for that too, and told me how to go about planning for that in my class schedules.

I'm headed for my at-least-once-a-year visit to the Renaissance Festival tomorrow. Anna and Tim were going to come with me (and bring Dylan, of course), but had to bail due to forecasts of cold and rain tomorrow. They don't want to have Dylan in the wet and cold all day, and I don't really blame them. It's just not going to be as fun without someone to hang out with, so I posted on Facebook that I'm looking for Havenites (or other people) to go with me.

If no one else wants to come--it is last-minute, after all--then I'll just go by myself. Maybe I'll see other people I know there, or maybe I'll make a new friend or two--who knows?

FINISHED!

2011-01-01T01:06:00.002-05:00

57. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
58. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (Discworld, book 38 - I actually read this one, since I couldn't get a good audio copy in time, and I really wanted to read it a.s.a.p.)

These next seven books are the Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony.

58. Split Infinity
59. Blue Adept
60. Juxtaposition
61. Out of Phaze
62. Robot Adept
63. Unicorn Point
64. Phaze Doubt

I liked that septology, but I liked this next trilogy by Suzanne Collins a whole lot more. It's listed as a Young Adult series, but it's so awesome, with dark parts too, that I would recommend it to anyone.

65. Hunger Games
66. Hunger Games 2 - Catching Fire
67. Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games)

I've started reading a book about Chess, which is looking like it will be finished within a day or two. I've decided that I'm not going to finish reading the Changeling: The Lost RPG manual though; I've gotten stuck in the middle of chapter 3, which is the longest of four, and is so dry I just can never concentrate on it properly.

#56

2010-11-17T22:56:00.003-05:00

56. Death's Excellent Vacation

Still working on the other two, but at least I've finished one out of three. I'm about half-way through both of the other two books I was reading last time. For the RPG manual, that's not really an improvement, but for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, it is.

Stop Congress from Censoring the Internet!

2010-11-04T12:57:00.001-04:00

DemandProgress.org - Petition to Stop the Internet Blacklist

50-Book Challenge FINISHED (Still Reading Though)

2010-10-23T09:10:00.004-04:00

So, I've finished my 50 books, but I'm currently in the middle of 3 books actually made of paper and one on audio (which I've listed as finished, because I will be finished with it in the next couple days). All six of the books listed below are by Ilona Andrews, a couple who goes by the same pen name. The books listed are part of two series, and I think they're both pretty interesting. Due to mis-labeling, I accidentally listened to the second series out of order (book 1, book 4, book 2, then book 3), but I'm going to list them in the correct order here.

50. On the Edge (Edge series, book 1)
51. Bayou Moon (Edge series, book 2)
52. Magic Bites (Kate Daniels, book 1)
53. Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, book 2)
54. Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, book 3)
55. Magic Bleeds (Kate Daniels, book 4)

I'm also currently reading a collection of short stories that I found at Barnes & Noble while I was waiting for my eye doctor appointment time to get closer a couple weeks ago. I saw that it had a story in it by the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series (which is what the HBO show True Blood is based off of), so I bought the book. Ilona Andrews actually had a short story in the book too, which is why I looked up the series--the short was interesting, so I wanted to read more of their stuff. The book is called Death's Excellent Vacation, and I've only read 3 or 4 stories so far, but I'll get through it eventually.

Last month, I started reading the Changeling: The Lost RPG manual, and I'm on chapter 3 (there are 4 chapters, plus some appendices).

I haven't gotten much farther in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel than I was the last time I updated, but I'm determined to finish before New Year's, if at all possible.

A Helpful Tool for the Indecisive Gamer

2010-08-30T00:40:00.009-04:00

I have often lamented my boredom while I am at home, but I'm not really bored in the sense of not having anything to do. Quite the contrary. I have many things I could--or even should--do at home, but I am, by nature, an indecisive person. By the time I decide what I want to do next, it is usually too late to actually do it, and I've just spent X number of hours listening to my iPod (or playing Solitaire, or doing Samurai Sudoku, etc.) while trying to decide what to do!

I've tried scheduling my various possible activities, but didn't ever keep to the agenda. I was talking about this with Carl earlier, and he came up with a solution that is so simple, I'm surprised I hadn't come up with it myself.

"You're a gamer," he said. "Randomize it. Make a list of activities and roll a die. If you don't really feel like doing whatever comes up, just re-roll." (Or something to that effect--I'm paraphrasing.)

The idea was so ingenious that, as soon as I got home and had a chance, I started typing up a list. I even made up some "rules" for it, so I wouldn't cheat and just re-roll everything. Then, I thought maybe other people might be as indecisive as I am--or just have trouble finding things to do--so I changed anything that was specifically for me, so that it could be used by a more generic group of people, and this is what I came up with:

Indecisive and bored, but don't feel like driving anywhere?
Got so many things you could do that you can't decide which one to do at any given moment?

Use this handy list of 33 (and counting) activities which can be chosen at random, and take place either at—or within walking distance of—your home!

Each possible activity is numbered.

To decide what to do, and for how long, roll a d30 for each free hour you have, minus one (so you'll have leeway to go over-time if necessary), or just re-roll the same d100 (or percentile dice) and write down what numbers you get. Match the number on each roll to the corresponding activity.

For each instance of that activity's number, do that activity for one hour, unless a different time-frame is specified in the activity's description. Any numbers above the highest number on this list with a valid activity (or any activities where any bolded qualifications are not met) should be re-rolled.

Number 24 can either be eliminated (for those who are either not musically inclined, or don't have any musical instruments of their own around the house), or modified to fit the situation. The four instruments listed are the instruments owned by the writer of this list. Obviously, the size of the die rolled to determine which instrument(s) to play should be adjusted according to the number of available instruments. If you desire, you can roll only one die, and play that instrument for a full hour, instead of two instruments for half-an-hour each.

Write a story/poem/play/song/whatever, or part of one—note-taking and written planning/plotting/character sketching/brainstorming counts too, as long as you actually write some of the story/poem/play/song/whatever itself the next time you do this activity. Editing/revising/rewriting a past story also counts. Once you've got a story as polished as you believe you can make it, if it's an original work (in other words, not fan fiction) you might try getting it published, or submitting it to a contest.
Write a journal or blog entry—probably ½ hour, but could take an hour for longer entries.
Read a book, fan fiction, a PDF, or some other text-based thing(s).
Listen to an audio book.
Play a card game.
Play a video game.
Play a computer game.
Write/type an essay about something you learned either by doing the encyclopedia thing (#27), or about something in a book you've read. If you wish, post it online (on your blog or on a related message board or something similar) and invite others to discuss the topic with you. This could be a way to not only learn different perspectives on the topic, but also a way to find people of a like mind. Plus, debate is fun, as long as constructive criticism doesn't turn into personal attack. If you've done this activity before, and posted some essays online, take a few minutes to look at and reply to any comments made to past essays before you start on a new one.
Tidy up/reorganize your bedroom.
Clean the bathroom, including tidying up and scrubbing/disinfecting surfaces.
Do laundry—doesn't necessarily have to be your own. If there's laundry in the dryer, fold it and put it away (or put it where its owner requests). If there's some in the washer, move it to the dryer and start another load washing.
Do dishes/clean the kitchen.
Vacuum all staircases, hallways, and the floors in all common areas of the house.
Plan a menu for the next week (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and write a shopping list to go with it based off of what is and is not currently in the kitchen/pantry.
Watch T.V. (DVR counts, and is a good way to be able to watch more shows, since you can skip over time-consuming commercial breaks! T.V. series on DVD do not count.)
Take a nap. It's probably best that, if this activity is chosen, you get it done first—that way, the napping hopefully will not interfere with your sleeping at night, and you won't be groggy during whatever you have to do in the morning.
Watch the first movie you think you would like to watch and can actually get your hands on within five minutes—no long choosing sessions! If you didn't get enough dice landing on movie watching to make up that movie's running time and you really want to watch that movie, subtract an activity for each hour of your chosen flick's playing time past the first. If you only got a single hour's roll for movie watching, and don't feel like watching a movie anyway, just re-do that particular d100 roll.
Call someone, just to talk and/or catch up.
Write a letter by hand to someone, put it in an envelope, address it, stamp it, and put it in the mail box to be delivered. Don't forget to be careful, and write legibly!
Play with the child(ren) and/or talk to the adults you live with, or make friends with some neighbors and talk to them.
Watch one episode of a T.V. series you have on DVD—two episodes if it's a ½-hour show.
Do a puzzle.
If you are musically inclined, practice singing, either a capella with some sheet music in front of you, or with someone to accompany you on an instrument of some sort. You might even try a karaoke machine, a tape/CD with only accompaniment, or the Sing Star Play Station games.
If you are musically inclined, learn to play one new song on each of two different instruments. It cannot be the same song for both! Roll 2d4 to decide which instruments to play—½ hour for each instrument.
1. Trumpet
2. Guitar
3. Piano
4. Recorder(s)
If the weather's nice, or you can reasonably compensate for mildly-bad weather (with an umbrella or a jacket or something), take a walk—½ hour.
If it's not too cold outside, clean out/wash your car. If you don't have a car, offer to wash a friend/neighbor/family member's car--for free.
If there is a complete set of encyclopedia in the house, close your eyes, point to the shelf on which the encyclopedia sit, open your eyes, and pull out the volume to which you've pointed. Then, open that volume somewhere in the middle, and read about the first topic you see. Once you have finished reading through the encyclopedia's blurb on that topic, go on the internet to research and learn more about it. Take notes.
If you're into tabletop RPG's, do some preparation for a campaign you'd like to run, or make up a character in any system, just so you'll have one if you find a game to play in that system.
If there is a playground nearby, walk there and play a game of some sort. If there's no one to play the game with you (like basketball, tennis, soccer, etc.) then just practice—shoot some hoops, hit a tennis ball against a handy wall, kick a soccer ball around, whatever. You'll need whatever equipment is necessary for the outdoor game you've chosen as well, of course.
If there is a playground nearby, walk there and swing on the swing set—½ to 1 hour, depending on how long it takes to walk to the playground (and back to the house), and how long you feel like swinging.
Cook a meal. Don't forget to ask anyone else in the house if they want some! Only include this if you are going to be hungry enough to eat the meal you cook.
Play a board game. Only include this if other people are available to play with you.
If too many of these don't work for you, make your own, customized list of possible activities!

I'm moving to Smithsburg!

2010-08-18T17:32:00.003-04:00

We officially have a place to live again. Anna told me today that we got the house in Smithsburg. The land lord for that house is going to e-mail her the lease agreement, and they'll sign when we've got the security deposit paid. Don't know exactly when we can start moving in, but it'll be either the last week of August or the first week of September.

What Happend to July?

2010-08-17T23:27:00.004-04:00

Goodness, it looks like I forgot to post for more than a month!

And I was so hoping to have at least one post on this blog for each month this year. Oh, well. It's not really important.

The Haven 4th of July party was great, and for my birthday on the 23rd, I borrowed the sjoelbak from Grandma S. I took it to the Haven, and taught anyone who wanted to learn (and wasn't too busy preparing for Pennsic) how to play. It was much of the fun.

For those of us who didn't go to Pennsic, there was the "Anti-Pennsic Pool Party" on the 31st, which Carl threw at his parents' house. That was great--it had been a long time since I got to talk to some of the people who were there, since I mostly end up in the private gaming room on Thursdays for Brian's neolithic D&D game.

The three of us found out either late in July or early this month that our land lord is raising our rent. We can't afford to pay the higher rent, so Anna's been looking for a new place for the four of us (me, Anna, Tim and Dylan) to live.

So far, I've seen one place that we all liked--in Knoxville--and Anna and Tim went to see a place in Smithsburg that they say I would probably like. We haven't heard anything from the people who own the Knoxville house, but the owners of the Smithsburg house are definitely looking over the rental application, because there have been phone calls made to at least Anna's work, and one other person.

We're definitely going to be out of this duplex before September 1st though, so I started packing this past Sunday. The way I pack for moving is last-in-first-out. First, I pack the most non-essential items I own, and then I work my way from those to the stuff in my bedroom, which is usually the stuff I use most often and/or need daily.

Once everything has been moved to the new house, the first things I unpack are the those daily/most-often-used things, and then I go backwards(-ish) to the first things I packed originally. On Sunday, I started by packing my books. As much as I love to read, I know that my books are the absolute least essential things I own.

Once I had all of my books packed, I packed up all of the movies in the basement (Anna's, Tim's and mine), and then I packed my music stuff.

All I have left to pack now is the stuff in the laundry room, the paperwork and office supplies in/on my desk, my extra bedding from the linen closet, my stuff from the bathroom, and the absolute essentials--my bedroom. When I get around to doing that packing, everything but the bathroom and the bedroom will be done at once, and will probably take less than an hour. The last bits will be done the day before I plan to sleep at the new place--wherever that will be--and will be unpacked as soon as it gets there.

Almost there . . . (50-Book Challenge Update)

2010-08-17T23:21:00.001-04:00

21. Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
22. Mission of Honor by David Weber (Honor Harrington, book 12)
23. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

The next three are from David Weber's Dahak series, which I'm pretty sure isn't finished yet, but he just released a book from a different series this year so I don't think the Dahak series is going to be updated soon.

24. Mutineers' Moon
25. The Armageddon Inheritance
26. Heirs of Empire

The rest of these are all by either Anne McCaffrey, Todd McCaffrey, or both, and are all from the Dragonriders of Pern series, in story chronology order (or as close to it as I could get without stopping in the middle of an audio book or four), though when I actually read them, I got some of the second and third pass books mixed up and read them out of order.

That's the way I prefer to read the series myself, but when I recommend it to someone else, I usually recommend that they read it in publishing order.

The two short story collections, I read first and all at once, since I couldn't figure out in the recordings where each story began and ended.

27. The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
28. A Gift of Dragons
29. Dragonsdawn
30. Dragonseye
31. Dragon's Kin
32. Dragon's Fire
33. Dragon Harper
34. Dragonsblood
35. Dragonheart
36. Dragongirl
37. Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern
38. Nerilka's Story
39. The Masterharper of Pern
40. Dragonflight
41. Dragonquest
42. Dragonsong
43. Dragonsinger
44. Dragondrums
45. The White Dragon
46. The Renegades of Pern
47. All the Weyrs of Pern
48. The Dolphins of Pern
49. The Skies of Pern

I also read Where's My Cow? by Terry Pratchett, but that doesn't count, because it's not a novel--just a children's picture book.

Only one more to go! Now, if I hadn't packed up all my books all ready in preparation for moving this month, I might actually pull one out and read it this week. Or if I had any idea what I wanted to read next, I'd download the audio book. But I don't.

Oh, wait. . . . I started reading a book the other night while I was at a club downtown where I am a member, but it was late and I couldn't get past the third chapter. Plus, it's a really long one (Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke and Neil Gaiman), and it's one of those I have to be in the mood to decipher (due to the very British-ness of the language), so it would probably take longer than the rest of the year to finish it, considering I don't have my own copy.

The Karate Kid--BEWARE SPOILERS

2010-06-17T16:36:00.004-04:00

I'm not going to say much about the movie, because there are a few people I know who still want to see the movie but haven't yet. I will say three things though:

The movie would more accurately be titled The Kung-Fu Kid and billed as a spin-off of The Karate Kid, instead of using the same title, since Kung-Fu is the actual martial art which is taught/learned/used.
With only two major changes (setting and specific martial art) and a few minor ones (such as the age of the protagonist, and the name/nationality of the protagonist's teacher), the plot of the movie is pretty much a re-telling of the original Karate Kid movie.
Despite the predictability inherent in #2, the director did a great job in keeping the story interesting, and I will definitely want to buy it when the DVD comes out.

A Couple of Movies and a Book

2010-06-12T15:42:00.011-04:00

Either last weekend or the one before, I managed to watch the SkyOne production of Going Postal, which is one of my favorite Discworld books. Those who don't wish to be spoiled, skip on down to the place where it says END OF SPOILERS.

The movie was great, as movies go--though since it was made for TV, it had to be split into two parts. However, lots of story elements got changed. The overarching plot was pretty much the same, but certain details from the book either didn't happen, happened differently, or got replaced with completely new plot points in the movie.

For instance, instead of just thinking critical things about other people to himself, Moist actually tells them to their faces how stupid he thinks they are--especially Tolliver Groat. (If I've misspelled that name, it's because I've never actually read the books, just listened to the audio versions, and therefore have never seen any of the characters' names spelled correctly.) He seems meaner in the movie than in the two books he's been the protagonist for so far. Not to mention, the actor who plays Moist is in his thirties, but in the book, the character is my age (26).

Charles Dance as Vetinari--I think maybe my favorite of all the main Discworld characters who have shown up in more than one or two of the sub-serieses (i.e. Vetinari, Death, Rincewind, etc.)--just didn't work very well--he was too amiable, showed too much emotion, and didn't really come off as silently menacing (or benevolently tyrannical) as Vetinari seems in the books. For one thing, he smiled too much. And for another, his hair was the wrong color entirely. The hair might've worked if he'd acted more silently intimidating, but he didn't, and that sort of spoiled his portrayal of the character, to me.

And while I'm on the subject of Lord Vetinari, I might as well mention Drumknot (again, the spelling thing) as well. I've always liked the voice that Stephen Briggs uses for him in the audio books. That voice just seems to fit the character's speech patterns to me, and I've always pictured a rather reedy body in a black robe and some sort of scholarly hat (not a mortarboard or anything, just a hat that looks like a scholar would wear it) to go with the voice for some reason; I don't know why. When I saw the movie, and Drumknot turned out to be a somewhat-chubby, short guy with no hat and wearing trousers, it was a bit of a shock. And he talked smoother than Briggs's vocal portrayal usually did. I'm not saying that was a bad thing--just unexpected.

Also, the movie portrays the relationship between Moist and Adora Belle Dearheart throughout the story completely different from the book. When Moist tells her about his past in the movie, Adora Belle goes off on him, and basically says she doesn't want to see him again. They don't make up until the end of the movie. But in the book, she is actually more understanding, and even kisses him before he goes into the burning post office to save Mr. Tiddles the cat (and Stanley).

Not to mention, the movie shows that the only reason she was such a heavy smoker was because she couldn't afford a chocolate habit after her father was swindled out of the Grand Trunk company and her brother was killed. She even quits smoking at the end of the movie. This is especially different from the story, because in Making Money, the sequel to Going Postal, she still smokes like a chimney. Nothing is ever mentioned in the books about why she started smoking in the first place.

But despite the changes made to the story, I still enjoyed the movie.

END OF SPOILERS.

The movie I've been looking forward to for almost a year now comes out on July 2nd! My absolute favorite animated TV series of all time--Avatar: The Last Airbender--has a live-action movie coming out! It's directed and produced by M. Night Shyamalan, who's had some duds for movies lately, so I think it's about time he had a really great one come out again. I hope he does Avatar justice--I'd be extremely disappointed if his slump continues through this movie.

It's looking like the plot will cover that from the first "book" of the animated series, when Aang meets Sokka and Katara, and they go to find a water bending teacher. I'm thinking that the conclusion of the movie will be about the same as the conclusion to that first book.

If the movie is anywhere near as good as the trailers promise it will be, then I'm hoping for two more films, one covering the second book, and the final covering the third book--and the end of the war with the Fire Nation. That would be totally awesome--getting the whole series both in animation and live-action.

The newest of David Weber's Honor Harrington novels, Mission of Honor, will be released on the 22nd of this month, and I'm eagerly looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to book five of his Safehold series, but there's no telling when that will come out (or even what it's called) yet, since book four only just came out this past April.

20 down, 30 to go . . .

2010-06-06T19:10:00.001-04:00

20. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris - Book 10 in the Sookie Stackhouse (a.k.a. TruBlood) series.

And that's a wrap!

2010-05-31T13:30:00.005-04:00

I started watching my MacGyver DVD's in March of 2008. It is now May 31, 2010, and I just finished watching the very last episode. I'm done! I'm going to hold off on watching any other shows on DVD for now. I haven't decided what I'll watch next, but I had an idea for Scrubs a few weeks ago. Not sure if I'll go with it or not though.

Now, I'm going to cut down my most ragged pair of jeans into shorts, put on my bathing suit with the shorts, and wash and clean out the Bug.

Another 50-Book Challenge Update

2010-05-16T22:15:00.001-04:00

I'm back, with more books!

14. Opening Atlantis: A Novel of Alternate History by Harry Turtledove
15. The United States of Atlantis: A Novel of Alternate History by Harry Turtledove

The two books above weren't all that great, in my opinion. I picked them up while I was browsing through the library's audio book section last month.

All Turtledove really does is retell the discovery (in Opening) and independence (in United States) of America, only he sets it in Atlantis, which in this series is somewhere between what we call America (Terra Nova to the characters in the books) and England.

Turtledove could've made it so much more interesting than just having some weird species of flora and fauna unique to Atlantis, but he didn't.

I'm not even going to try and get my hands on the third book of the trilogy, which will probably cover an alternate version of the Civil War, because the first two books were so boring.

16. Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
17. By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber
18. By Heresies Distressed by David Weber
19. A Mighty Fortress by David Weber

Technically, I haven't even finished #18, but I'm going to within the next couple days, and then I'll be going straight through #19, so I figured I'd put them on now, in case I forget later.

I also picked up Off Armageddon Reef when I was on my browsing trip in the library's audio section, and saved it for last when I listened to the audio books I'd checked out. Considering the disappointment of Harry Turtledove's Atlantis series, I'm glad I did.

Of course, I already loved the Honor Harrington series (I'm still eagerly awaiting the release of Mission of Honor in June), so I had some good expectations for Safehold, and I haven't been disappointed yet.

Pictures!

2010-04-17T10:00:00.003-04:00

I'm not going to tell the story about what happened when Dylan was born, because it's not my story to tell. I will, however, post the three pictures that Tim pix messaged to my e-mail when I went to visit on Thursday afternoon. Those of you reading this post on Facebook, you'll need to go to my actual blog to see the pics.

I'm an Aunt!

2010-04-15T06:32:00.001-04:00

Dylan Elliot T.
Born: April 15, 2010, 12:13 a.m.
Length: 21 inches
Weight: 8 lbs. 2½ oz.

Strangely Rested, Considering

2010-04-05T13:58:00.004-04:00

Last night, I was feeling really blah. I had muscle aches/cramps from my rib cage to the middle of my shins.

Around 9-ish, I took some meds, but for the couple of hours it took for those to kick in, I was pretty much miserable. I decided to listen to one of my favorite Discworld novels (Going Postal), to keep my mind off of it, but I couldn't sleep.

Once the meds kicked in, I thought I'd get to actually sleep, but I couldn't find a comfortable position to lay in. Every time I'd find a position that seemed comfortable, there was either an aspect of it that was uncomfortable (due to residual mini-aches that the meds couldn't take care of, or the stretching out of muscles I'd bunched up to try and stop the hurting), or I'd be completely fine for a few minutes before I needed to move again, thereby destroying the comfort.

I had my eyes closed pretty much the whole time, in hopes of getting to sleep. I was still sort of half-listening to Going Postal too, but that helped. I knew if I couldn't remember hearing long stretches of the plot (though I knew I'd heard them while they were playing) I was at least getting some rest, though I couldn't get to anything better than a light doze all night--it was brutal. I kept thinking to myself that it's a good thing I don't have work today.

When I finally got up around ten this morning, however, I felt surprisingly well-rested. That is definitely a good thing.

Whew! (50-Book Challenge Update)

2010-04-03T20:22:00.004-04:00

Huh.

I thought I'd posted a list of this year's reading so far on this site already, but it turns out I hadn't.

Considering I have just finished an 11-book (so far) series which took weeks to do, I have decided to remedy that now. So far, the only book on this list I've actually read in book form is number 3. Books 4-14 are the first 11 books in David Weber's Honor Harrington series. Book 12 doesn't come out until this June.

Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett (book 37 in the Discworld series)
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum
On Basilisk Station
The Honor of the Queen
The Short Victorious War
Field of Dishonor
Flag in Exile
Honor Among Enemies
In Enemy Hands
Echoes of Honor
Ashes of Victory
War of Honor
At All Costs

My next reading projects are more paper-based, since I had this idea for an RPG campaign based in the world of Temeraire: In the Service of the King, a series by Naomi Novik. The only problem with that idea is that the series is set during the Napoleonic War, of which I know next to nothing. So I have decided to remedy that by checking books out of the library on the subject and taking copious notes.

Considering how At All Costs ended, I can hardly wait until Mission of Honor comes out.

Inkwells Updates

2010-03-28T12:56:00.003-04:00

I realize that my Inkwells posts haven't been as regular the last few weeks as usual. I've updated through last week's prompt response (which is actually as far as I've written stories for right now).

I will also be replacing the Personal Challenge prompt response with a different story--once I have written it, that is.

For those of you who don't know, I usually back-date my stories/poetry/whatever to January 1, 2007, so that regular journal entries don't get interrupted by fiction. With anything except Inkwells stories, I usually post a notice that the story has been updated with the current date.

However, Inkwells are updated weekly, and I don't want to have that many update notices clogging up my regular journalling area. So, please feel free to bookmark the page of Inkwells stories, and check back regularly (or irregularly, if you wish) for updates. The URL for the Inkwells page is http://dsdragon.blogspot.com/2007/01/inkwells-stories.html.

I Miss Sev Trek

2010-03-10T23:18:00.004-05:00

I just (and by "just," I mean about twenty minutes ago) found the Sev Trek site again. I actually forgot what it was called, and hadn't had a bookmark to the page in years, so finding it again was difficult. Unfortunately, the artist has stopped drawing his parody cartoons, and the archives cost money to view now, but here's a link to the website, at least! I'm thinking I might buy a tee in a few months (or maybe a poster or the book), just as a reminder of all the great laughs.

A Non-Lazy Saturday

2010-02-27T20:13:00.005-05:00

Yup, I actually did stuff after I woke up at 11:00 this morning!

When I got up, Tim was organizing the basement, but I hadn't had breakfast yet, so I went to the kitchen to get something to eat. I ended up having a glass of Kool-Aid, because I didn't realize that there was cereal in the pantry again (as of 1:00 this morning). He mentioned the need to organize my music better, and that got me to thinking about the movies we have in the laundry room, which are duplicates to ones we have on the movie shelves already.

Tim also mentioned that I need to get my un-read books out of the shed. I was originally planning to wait until the weather got warmer, and then having a yard sale, but today I decided against waiting.

Instead, I got the boxes of books out of the shed and went through the books on my brown shelves. I put all of the books that I'm never going to read (or read again) in bins, and rearranged the books I'm keeping onto one of the small shelves. Somewhere in there, I ate a really great, homemade salad.

Then, I went to Wonder Book & Video to try and sell the books, but they stop buying books at 4:00 p.m, and it was already 4:10. I'll try again tomorrow, since I won't be able to make it to Wonder Book during the week.

I then stopped at Music & Arts Center to see if they bought used instruments. They don't, and the guy didn't know anywhere in town that would. He did recommend Craigslist though.

My last stop was to get gas at Get-Go.

When I got back, I took the empty shelf down to the basement, and organized my music onto it before putting as much of my loose sheet music as I could into sheet protectors and putting those into the binder I use for that. I also put my recorders, my music stand, and my trumpet on the shelf, and put the shelf between my keyboard and the basement door.

Finally, I went upstairs to place an ad on Craigslist to sell my clarinet.

After that, I decided I was done for the day, and after I fed the animals I watched Smallville while playing Scrabble on Facebook.

New Stories!

2010-02-08T17:39:00.003-05:00

I've begun posting more stories here--this time originals. (Don't worry, those of you waiting for installments of my fanfiction; they'll get written eventually.) They're actually stories written in response to prompts from the Haven's writing group, the Inkwells. I've added these stories to their own section of the Original Fiction section here on my blog, and you can also just read the stories by visiting this link to the Inkwells Stories page. Enjoy, and please feel free to leave reviews in the comments section for each story page.

Updating While Snowed In

2010-02-06T17:28:00.004-05:00

There's about two feet of snow on the ground outside, so I figured now would be a good time to update.

I've been working at my new job for exactly four weeks, and I find that I actually kind of like it better than any of the other jobs I've ever had. Over the years, I've figured out that I prefer jobs where I can be "behind the scenes," and don't have to deal with disgruntled customers.

At my new job, that's basically the idea. I'm in the stockroom, pulling parts for the various jobs everyone in the production area does, and management talks to any customers who actually come to the building.

The dress code is good too. I can wear jeans and sneakers, but I also have to wear a static jacket and heel straps to ground me so that electrostatic discharges don't damage the electronic components. So the clothes are comfortable, and the static jacket is actually warmer than it looks, so I can just wear a tee-shirt underneath it and be comfortable, temperature-wise.

My first paycheck was only half of what I'd usually be getting, since I came in at the middle of the pay period. I was really worried at the time, because that meant I'd still be about half-a-month behind on paying my bills. Luckily, around that time, all three of my W-2s from last year's jobs came in, and I was able to file my taxes in the last week of January. I got the state return back ($618) on Friday, January 30th, and my federal return ($655) came early this past week.

I got caught up on the bills that were overdue, and then held the rest for when I got my first full paycheck (plus 2½ hours of overtime, since they'd asked me to stay late last Friday to help finish a project) yesterday.

I wasn't able to completely pay off what's left of my car loan, but going off of the payoff amount posted online, I was able to get about half of what's left paid. I also helped with this month's rent (though I couldn't afford the whole rent, what with knowing I'd have to pay my whole portion in two weeks again), paid my portion of the utilities, and paid all the bills that are due before my next paycheck. I now have about $70 in the bank, and $15.16 in cash (for snacks while I'm at the Haven) until February 19th.

I'm only going to use what's in the bank to fill up my gas tank when I start to run out--I've got half-a-tank still--and then save the rest to go toward bills with my next paycheck. It'll also be used for emergencies, if there are any between now and then.

Tomorrow, Anna and Tim have been planning to have people over for a Superbowl party, but we're not sure if they're actually going to be able to get here, what with the snow and all. Whether they do come or not, it's all good to me. I'm not even going to watch the game (I don't like football), but the three of us are already starting to go a little stir crazy from being stuck inside, so it'll be nice to have some visitors.

I've joined another RPG at the Haven. It's a game called Nobilis. It's totally dice-less, and looks/sounds really interesting. I already created my character, who is completely different from any character I've ever played before.

I usually play characters who are a lot like me (female, relatively good, interested in a lot of the same things I am . . . makes it easier to stay in character that way), but since I know the GM-ing style of the person running the game (I'd been in his Vampire: The Masquerade game for a little while a couple years ago) I decided to try something different. For one thing, my Nobilis character is a guy. For another, he's not all goody-two-shoes at all, but rather devious. It'll be a challenge to play this character, and I'm looking forward to it.

The game itself will have about 30 or so players, but we're not all going to be playing at once. The way the GM is running it, there will be set gaming sessions, and there will also be random, "Okay, who's here from the Nobilis game? Anyone up for a one-off?" sessions. We players just have to participate in only one session every two months, at the least, to be allowed to stay in the game.

Not bad, considering that the weekly Serenity game is pretty much the most regular gaming I can handle. It cuts into my sleep time on Thursday nights, so Fridays are a bit rough, but it's worth it, since the game is so frickin' awesome.

I Got the Job!

2010-01-08T17:13:00.002-05:00

I got a call a few minutes ago from the HR person at the company where I interviewed this past Monday--I got the job!

I start Monday at 8:30 to fill out paperwork and stuff, but my regular hours will be Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Only one thing though: in my excitement to write my new schedule on the white-board calendar we have in our kitchen (and to cancel the interview I had at another company this coming Monday) I forgot to ask the HR lady what the dress code was for my new job! Oops.

Final Reading List for 2009

2010-01-08T16:10:00.004-05:00

Here are all the books I read in 2009. I actually read 16 more than my 50-book goal last year! That's the first time I've made the goal since I started participating in this challenge in 2006.

Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
The Colour of Magic
The Light Fantastic
Equal Rites
Mort
Sourcery
Wyrd Sisters
Pyramids
Guards! Guards!
Eric
Moving Pictures
Reaper Man
Witches Abroad
Small Gods
Lords and Ladies
Men at Arms
Soul Music
Interesting Times
Maskerade
Feet of Clay
Hogfather
Jingo
The Last Continent
Carpe Jugulum
The Fifth Elephant
The Truth
Thief of Time
The Last Hero
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
Night Watch
The Wee Free Men
Monstrous Regiment
A Hat Full of Sky
Going Postal
Thud!
Wintersmith
Strata
Making Money
Mind Meld (Star Trek: The Original Series #82) by John Vornholt
GURPS Discworld (RPG manual) by Phil Masters
The Ashes of Eden (another Star Trek novel) by William Shatner
Pawn of Prophecy
Queen of Sorcery
Magician's Gambit
Castle of Wizardry
Enchanter's Endgame
Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone
Freedom's Landing
Freedom's Choice
Freedom's Challenge
Freedom's Ransom
Powers That Be
Power Lines
Power Play
Changelings
Maelstrom
Deluge
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Numbers 2-38 are Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
42-46 are David Eddings's The Belgariad.
47-55 are Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series. This is the series that the HBO T.V. show True Blood is based off of. After I finished reading the books, I got caught up on the show.
56-59 are Anne McCaffrey's Catteni cycle.
60-65 are Anne McCaffrey's Petaybee series.
All others are authored as attributed.

I started The Bourne Supremacy before the year ended, but only got 112 pages in before that point. That book will be #1 on my list for 2010.

What an Awful Time to Be Sick

2010-01-07T14:34:00.006-05:00

Yup, I'm sick. Which sucks, because that means I can't even go to the temporary manual labor agency right now. It started Monday night, when I kept sneezing and had a really stuffy nose that wouldn't go away. I also had trouble practicing my trumpet without getting dizzy (though I made it the full 30 minutes), so I've decided to amend my first New Year's resolution to include the words "health permitting."

Tuesday morning, I got a phone call from the temp place (I hadn't even gone in to say that I was available) asking if I wanted to drive for the company I drove for the first day I worked for the temp place. My head was so fuzzy, what with the stuffy nose, clogged and ringing ears, and overall blah-ness that I doubted I would be alert enough to drive my own car, much less someone else's expensive company car. So, I had to turn the job down.

Before I went to sleep the night before last, I took some NyQuil, because I wasn't getting any better--in fact, it seemed worse than the day before. I briefly woke up around 1:30 or 2:30 (can't remember which), took another dose, and then went back to sleep until 4:00.

I could've slept longer, but I wanted to actually do something besides sleeping that day, so I went downstairs and got some beef stew before coming back up here to read. Then a little later, when Anna came back from Mom and Dad's house, we watched the first episode of Birds of Prey (I'd NetFlixed the entire series, and the first disc came in the mail a few days ago). By that time, Tim was home, so we watched Good Eats and Unwrapped before they went to bed.

I was still pretty awake at the time, so I watched the rest of the disc, plus the little Gotham Girls cartoon that was on the disc as well. Then I came upstairs, read a little bit more, and went to sleep.

I woke up a little after 1:00 this afternoon, called Bryan to let him know I wasn't going to be playing in the regular Thursday-night Serenity game at the Haven, then called a different temp agency to find out what I'd have to do to be considered for a position they'd contacted me about a week or two ago. I took their online assessments, then called the lady back, and I've got an interview on Monday now.

Now, I just have to find some work tomorrow and Saturday--probably at the manual labor temp agency--to get some money in order to pay the bills that are due before next Monday. I'll take some more NyQuil before I go to sleep tonight, and hopefully that will help me to feel well enough to work.

The Patheticness of Me, and New Year's Resolutions

2010-01-02T14:34:00.005-05:00

Man, you know what sucks? During the second semester of my senior year of high school, I was in both Jazz and Concert Band. Those classes were back-to-back, five days a week, from right after lunch until the end of the school day. That's a total of about fifteen hours a week, playing my trumpet.

This afternoon, after taking a shower, I decided to practice a bit on my trumpet. I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere near three hours, since I hadn't done any serious playing for almost ten years now, but I thought I'd at least crack half an hour, y'know?

I couldn't even make it fifteen minutes before my lips gave out.

Of course, it probably doesn't help that I was trying to play songs from my Disney Star Trek and theme books, which have a lot of notes on the top half of the staff. If I'd gone through and practiced some of the stuff in the books I used in middle school concert band, I'd probably have made it to half an hour, if not forty-five minutes or so.

But that stuff is boring, and I wanted to at least get half of the Star Trek: Voyager theme song played before my lip gave out. Only problem is, I'd played too many other Star Trek theme songs before I went for Voyager, so I only got a few bars in.

I think I want to start practicing every day again. Until I get a job, I'll probably go for early to mid-afternoon, for half an hour (using the boring books only), and then when I get a job, I'll re-evaluate my schedule and see what time is good for practicing then.

I've got an interview on Monday morning at an electronics manufacturing company for a stockroom associate position. The application, and the two little tests they had me take at the time, went pretty well, so I'm hoping the interview goes well too.

But enough of the depressing stuff--it's a new year! I've never really made--and kept--New Year's Resolutions before, but I think I might want to start. Here are three:

Practice trumpet for at least thirty minutes every day.
Practice guitar and/or piano at least twice a week, for at least thirty minutes each time.
Call at least two of my really good old friends (the ones I don't see all that often) at least once a month, just to catch up. Text messages, Facebook messages, and e-mails don't count--must be telephone calls.

I went to the Haven New Year's Eve party on Thursday night. It was fun. I talked to a few people I hadn't seen in a while, since the only time I'm really at the Haven nowadays is when I'm playing in Bryan's Serenity RPG, and we're sitting in the tiny gaming room where we can't see anyone else at the time.

I also creamed Steve at Warhammer--his ogres versus my Bretonnians. He literally had only three models (not units, just models) left on the table by the time we called the game at the top of turn five. He'd managed to take out my general and one entire unit though, so I only won by a little over 400 points--still a decided victory though.

I decided not to stay there for the night, since at home I had flannel sheets, but I was walking around the Haven for a while with my favorite blanket wrapped around my shoulders. It's the blanket that I got from the airport in Phoenix, on my way home from visiting Heather and Stephen back in October 2008.

Drawing Projects

2009-12-26T20:14:00.002-05:00

So, I've decided to draw a bunch of characters from Angel. The whole idea came from when I was watching the last 6 or 7 episodes of season 4--Jasmine's face just looked so interesting.

Anyway, I started taking screen caps of different characters (the ones I hadn't already drawn, that is), and ended up with thirteen screen caps. Here they are in alphabetical order (I've already drawn Angel and Cordelia, years ago):

Connor
Darla
Eve
Fred
Gunn
Harmony
Illyria
Jasmine
Lilah
Lindsey
Lorne
Marcus
Wesley

I decided to start with Fred, and got the basic pencil sketch done, blended it and then sealed the layer with hairspray, like usual. Now, it's time to start adding the low-light layers, and I want to finish the drawing. I just don't want to draw right now, know what I mean? I just kind of lost the motivation to get my fingers all chalky at this point in time.

Ah, well. I'll put the easel in the corner and pick up where I left off tomorrow. Maybe it's just a time of day thing. Maybe my drawing motivation went away because I know that there's no sunlight right now or something, even though there's plenty of light down here in the basement to draw by.

Lost in Austen--Thoughts on the Movie

2009-12-16T21:44:00.007-05:00

I NetFlix'd this movie, and watched it the other night. It was interesting, but just not my cup of tea. The main reason I didn't really like it was because the main character, Amanda Price, was obviously a Mary Sue, and the entire movie was about fulfilling her wish to replace Elizabeth Bennett and marry Mr. Darcy herself. Meanwhile, Elizabeth took Amanda's place in modern-day London and became a macrobiotic nanny who knows how to use Google. That just seems completely wrong to me. Not to mention, all of the male characters, at one point or another, fell over their own tongues to pursue Amanda, and Mrs. Bennett, Jane and Caroline de Bourge all either hated or liked her depending on which part of the plot they were in.

A few of the other characters had some differences as well. They were fun differences, but ultimately just fed the Mary Sue theme. For instance, Caroline Bingley was portrayed as a lesbian who only pursued Mr. Darcy because of his money and society's expectations that she marry (which she revealed to Amanda because Amanda had told Mr. Bingley she was a lesbian in order to get him to stop going after her and go after Jane Bennett instead). Also, Georgiana Darcy and Mr. Wickham were shown to be opposite their characters in the actual book--in the movie, Wickham had allowed his name to be dragged through the mud, because Georgiana had actually tried to seduce him, but she was afraid that Mr. Darcy would kick her out if he knew that.

So, while it was interesting, I'd have to give Lost in Austen a less-than-stellar review, due to the fact that its whole plot was solely a form of wish fullfillment.

Laid Off

2009-12-15T18:23:00.004-05:00

Yup, you read that right. Turns out, all the over-time-ness that was happening was because a few companies were new customers to the pharmaceutical company, so they were getting their stock up of certain products, which is why there were such huge orders.

Those orders were filled at the end of last week, so things slowed way down. Now those customers will only need to replenish their stock every once in a while, and the orders won't be nearly as huge. So, until they get new customers (around the end of January/beginning of February 2010), they won't need so many workers. I was one of three people laid off today. However, the boss guy did say that we'd be the first people he contacts when he needs more help again next year, if we're still available.

At least it won't be so bad now as last time. Tomorrow, I'm going to pick up my second (and last) check from the pharmaceutical company (Yay for apparently having 40-50 hours of over-time since the last paycheck!), deposit it at the bank, and look into a couple of places I heard about for possible job leads. After that, I'll have to go to Staples and buy some new ink for my printer, because I've got to be able to print out resumés and stuff. Then, I'll balance my checkbook and pay the last of the bills for this month, plus whatever I can pay in advance for next month. There will be no Christmas presents bought by Darcy this year--for anyone. :(

Finally, before I go to the Haven on Thursday, I'm going to go to the temp labor place and put my name on the call list for jobs that day. It may be minimum wage, but it'll help me stay at least mostly afloat until I can find another job--hopefully permanent this time.

New Update

2009-12-14T17:53:00.005-05:00

The mystery shopping thing fell through--half-way through my week-long free trial, I still hadn't even looked into any shops, so I called them and asked that the thing be cancelled.

This week marks the first week at my new job where we are not allowed to have over-time. We got done a lot of huge orders last week, and apparently that marks the end of the fall/winter rush, since some of my co-workers are telling me that it'll be pretty slow until at least the end of February. Looks like I'll have to budget really carefully, but at least this upcoming paycheck will be pretty good.

I'm hoping that all three companies I've worked for this year get their W-2 forms sent out to me by the end of the second week of January. That way, I can do my taxes before February 1st, and the money will come sooner too. I'm hoping that my tax returns will be enough to pay what's left on the Bug so that I won't have to budget as carefully as I do right now. (At $277.07 per month, the Bug currently represents my largest monthly bill--not including my portion of the rent--with the combined total of my credit card bills coming in 2nd.)

If the tax return doesn't cover all of what's left on the Bug, then I'm hoping it at least covers half--that way, my last six payments (January through June) will be less than usual.

Once the car is paid off, then I can focus on paying off my credit cards (Two Visa cards, one Discover, and one JCPenney card--I only use the last two, and only for emergencies--like needing all-new underwear because all of the old ones have holes or stretched-out elastic. The two Visa cards are very old and maxed out.) But that's a plan for next year's tax returns (and probably for a few years after that), and I have no idea what my money situation is going to be by then.

Holy Crap, it's Snowing.

2009-12-05T10:14:00.002-05:00

That was my reaction when I went downstairs to pack my lunch this morning and looked out the kitchen window. First snow of the season. We now return to our regularly scheduled lives.

Updateroo

2009-11-29T13:38:00.009-05:00

Around the time of my last post, I was looking into starting up my own business as an insurance agent. Also at that time, I got notification that my claim for unemployment insurance had been denied. Since I thought I was going to be doing the insurance thing, I let the UI slide.

But, the insurance thing fell through, and by the time that happened, it was too late to file an appeal to UI. So, I applied at a temporary manual labor place where I could work and get paid the same day.

The first job I had was only two hours long, and I was paid for four hours' work (since the minimum day at the temp company is four hours long, but the company I drove for needed a driver kind of ASAP). The second job, which I got the next day, was for a pharmaceutical company, and I was basically just sticking security stickers on boxes of medicine.

That job got me repeat tickets at the temp place for more than a week, and while I was there, they kept asking if I wanted to apply for a job there. The person who was in charge of all the people at the pharmaceutical company said that the position I'd be in would pay better than the minimum wage ($7.25/hour) I was getting from temp company--with no possibility of over-time pay--and I still had bills I needed to catch up on and would need to pay regularly come December, so I decided to go for it.

So now I work for the pharmaceutical company, and I'll get my first paycheck from them on Tuesday. I still have to pay my over-due cell phone bill (about $185), and apparently I have an outstanding tab at the Haven for $6.50, which I'll pay along with my December membership. I've also got the fee for the last couple of allergy shots I got before I no longer had health insurance to pay, and then I'll be all caught up.

I figured out a budget, based on whether or not I get overtime at the new job, and also based on how much overtime I get. The way I figure it (approximating 17% taken out for taxes), if I don't get any overtime at all, I won't be able to pay my portion of the rent, so I'll just take over the Dish, internet (Comcast), and power (Allegheny) bills entirely.

But the people at my new job won't let me not get overtime right now. I told them when I interviewed that I could work up to ten hours a day, thinking that they'd schedule me for eight hours a day and five days a week, and then if they needed me to stay a couple hours longer once or twice a week, I could do it, but then after I was hired, I learned that they expected me to actually work ten hours every day, for six days a week!

My first week, I was still at the temp company on Monday, but then Tuesday through Saturday I worked my tail off. By the time I left Saturday night (which was really very early Sunday morning) my back, feet and hips were killing me, and I was so stiff I could barely move. Darn concrete floors.

I'm still looking for a job which will pay better and have less hours, but it's going to be tricky going to interviews when I'm at my new job from either 12-10pm or 2pm-12am every day except Sunday, and if I'm not there (or at the Haven on Thursdays for Brian's game), it's either too late/early to go anywhere, or I'm sleeping off the previous day's work.

I'm looking into a mystery shopping opportunity, which I think I could do if I get up a couple hours early. Right now, I have a 7-day free trial of the mystery shopping job listing site, so I'll try it out for six days, hoping that it'll pay for itself (it's $49.95/month after the free trial). If it does, I'll do both for a while, then if the mystery shopping starts to pay off more than the job would, then I'll drop the job. If it doesn't pay for itself, then I'll drop the mystery shopping and keep looking for a better job than this one.

A couple of months ago, I submitted an application for a job at an airport and passed the assessment they had me take. They'd asked me to fax a couple of forms in for them to get more information, and I did, but apparently the number they had me fax it to before doesn't work right, so they didn't really get the forms. I got confirmation e-mails saying they'd received the forms, but they didn't really.

So I tried to re-send the forms to another fax number they gave me this weekend, but Dad's fax machine apparently can't send faxes to numbers which just forward the faxes on to different machines.

So yesterday, I scanned the forms and sent them through faxzero.com, and I hope they went through, because the cover pages that the organization gave me to put with the forms say that they have to be the first page in the transmission or else it may not work properly, but FaxZero adds a cover page onto the faxes you send through them if you want a free fax. I can't afford to send a fax that costs actual money.

On a different note, Jason and I went to the Haven on Black Friday. Jason played video games while I drew a picture of the character I play in Brian's Serenity game, Maekona Vaine. It turned out okay, I guess. I think I tend to do better when I don't have a picture to work from, but in my mind, Maekona's of Chinese-American descent, so I wanted to make sure her facial features reflected that and used a picture I'd found through Google Images as a reference point.

The shape of the drawing's face makes her look like an alien, the coloring isn't quite right for what I had in mind, and I had to scan it in two parts, so there's a really noticeable line right in the middle that I couldn't get rid of, but it's at least the basic idea of Maekona anyway:

Thought this was fun . . . yoinked it from Heather's LJ

2009-10-10T00:52:00.003-04:00

I read through this, and found only one that I definitely know I use improperly (criteria vs. criterion), but I might inadvertently use a few others from time to time without realizing I have.

The Inigo Montoya Guide to 27 Commonly Misused Words
by Brian Clark

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. ~Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

It may be inconceivable for you to misuse a word, but a quick look around the web reveals plenty of people doing it. And it’s all too easy when we hear or see others use words incorrectly and parrot them without knowing it’s wrong.

We know by now that great copy and content often purposefully break the rules of grammar. It’s only when you break the rules by mistake that you look dumb.

So let’s take a look at 27 commonly misused words. Some are common mistakes that can cost you when trying to keep a reader’s attention. Others are more obscure and just interesting to know.

Adverse / Averse
Adverse means unfavorable. Averse means reluctant.

Afterwards
Afterwards is wrong in American English. It’s afterward.

Complement / Compliment
I see this one all the time. Complement is something that adds to or supplements something else. Compliment is something nice someone says about you.

Criteria
Criteria is plural, and the singular form is criterion. If someone tells you they have only one criteria, you can quickly interject and offer that it be they get a clue.

Farther / Further
Farther is talking about a physical distance.

“How much farther is Disney World, Daddy?”

Further is talking about an extension of time or degree.

“Take your business further by reading Copyblogger.”

Fewer / Less
If you can count it, use fewer. If you can’t, use less.

“James has less incentive to do what I say.”

“Tony has fewer subscribers since he stopped blogging.”

Historic / Historical
Historic means an important event. Historical means something that happened in the past.

Hopefully
This word is used incorrectly so much (including by me) it may be too late. But let’s make you smarter anyway. The old school rule is you use hopefully only if you’re describing the way someone spoke, appeared, or acted.

Smart: I hope she says yes.
Wrong: Hopefully, she says yes.
Wrong: Hopefully, the weather will be good.
Smart: It is hoped that the weather cooperates.
Smart: She eyed the engagement ring hopefully.

Imply / Infer
Imply means to suggest indirectly (you’re sending a subtle message). To infer is to come to a conclusion based on information (you’re interpreting a message).

Insure / Ensure
Insure is correct only when you call up Geico or State Farm for coverage. Ensure means to guarantee, and that’s most often what you’re trying to say, right?

Irregardless
Irregardless is not a word. Use regardless or irrespective.

Literally
“I’m literally starving to death.”

No, odds are, you’re not.

Literally means exactly what you say is accurate, no metaphors or analogies. Everything else is figurative (relative, a figure of speech).

Premier / Premiere
Premier is the first and best in status or importance, or a prime minister. Premiere is the opening night of Star Wars 8: George Wants More Money.

Principal / Principle
Principal when used as a noun means the top dog; as an adjective, it means the most important of any set. Principle is a noun meaning a fundamental truth, a law, a rule that always applies, or a code of conduct.

Towards
Towards is wrong in American English. It’s toward. I went 41 years not being sure about this one.

Unique
Unique means (literally) one of a kind. Saying something is very or truly unique is wacked. It’s either a purple cow or it isn’t.

Who / Whom
This one is a lost cause, but let’s go down swinging. The way to deal with the who versus whom quandary is a simple substitution method.

First, a refresher on subjects and objects.

Subjects do the action:

“He/she/we like(s) to rock the house.”

Objects receive the action:

“The rock star sneered at him/her/us.”

Use who for subjects and whom for objects.

Subjects:

Who wrote this blog post?
Who is speaking at the conference?
Who is going to clean up this mess?

Objects:

Whom are you going to write about?
Whom did he blame for the Google Slap?
Whom did he bait for the links?

The Scoop

2009-10-01T12:56:00.004-04:00

All right, some of you have heard, and some of you haven't, so I'm going to explain now.

The last few months were kind of crazy at work, and due to the stress (and somewhat due to not having certain skills when it came to MSAccess and/or a new eCommerce software we were using), I kept making mistakes. The last mistake I made was on Friday, September 11, and when I went to work on Monday the 14th, my boss told me about it and said that my other (higher) bosses said it was the last straw and she had to fire me.

So I went home a little shaken that day, and used the time I had at home to relax, as I found out this past Tuesday is usually recommended to people who just lost their jobs. The next day, I started my job search and looked into unemployment benefits, but I didn't sign up for those until the day after that.

That first week, I looked at the prospects for seven different jobs. On Friday the 18th, I had an interview at Colonial Jewelers. Sarah Horwitz said that it was kind of interesting that I'd chosen to walk in and apply the day before, since they were only just thinking about adding an office position to their staff. They hadn't even decided whether or not to create the position (or what the duties would be), but they liked to interview everyone who applied for a job there anyway. I also applied for a job at Dulles Airport that week, because I think it would be fun to work at an airport. I had to take a computerized assessment. It was scheduled to be 2½ hours long, but I got it done in less than an hour, and passed.

Getting jobs with the Transportation Security Administration can take up to a year or more though, so I'm not holding my breath on that one just yet. I'll just get a different job for now, and if the TSA people offer me a job then I might even take it, even if the just over $30K they're offering for the position is less than what I make in that other job, just because it would be fun.

The next week, I applied for two more jobs (as is required by the unemployment people), and had an interview at FSK Automotive. They told me that they would make a decision on Tuesday of this week--I didn't get a phone call, so I didn't get that job.

I applied at Jo-Ann Fabrics and CitiBank yesterday. Jo-Ann's said I didn't meet the requirements of the position for Merchandise Team Leader, and CitiBank said they'd forwarded my application to the hiring person, who would contact me later.

I got half a paycheck from my old job, and I'm about to use the few hundred dollars that gave me to pay the bills that matter most right now, and then I don't know what I'm going to do. I haven't gotten any money from the UI people yet, but I've got a phone interview with them to talk about eligibility. If they somehow decide I'm not eligible, then I will have no income whatsoever, and I'll have no way to pay my bills.

I've thought of getting a part-time job somewhere to at least help, but that won't pay all of the bills. The pros of getting a part-time job are that I'll at least be getting some money, I'll get out of the house for at least a little while during the week, and I won't be bored all the time.

The cons are that the schedule I'd have could prevent me from accepting a full-time position right away if one is offered (which is what I have to do per the UI people), it would possibly make me get less UI money than they'd give me if I actually am eligible, and most of the places I can think of to apply for part-time jobs also have full-time positions but I wouldn't take the full-time position since the pay is little more than half of what I was making before.

So getting a part-time job seems like a waste of time, but not a waste of time also. Anyone else have any thoughts on that? I could use a second opinion.

Goal Achieved!

2009-09-08T17:45:00.002-04:00

I made it! I've read more than 50 books so far this year! Here's the updated list:

1. Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
2. The Colour of Magic
3. The Light Fantastic
4. Equal Rites
5. Mort
6. Sourcery
7. Wyrd Sisters
8. Pyramids
9. Guards! Guards!
10. Eric
11. Moving Pictures
12. Reaper Man
13. Witches Abroad
14. Small Gods
15. Lords and Ladies
16. Men at Arms
17. Soul Music
18. Interesting Times
19. Maskerade
20. Feet of Clay
21. Hogfather
22. Jingo
23. The Last Continent
24. Carpe Jugulum
25. The Fifth Elephant
26. The Truth
27. Thief of Time
28. The Last Hero
29. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
30. Night Watch
31. The Wee Free Men
32. Monstrous Regiment
33. A Hat Full of Sky
34. Going Postal
35. Thud!
36. Wintersmith
37. Strata
38. Making Money
39. Mind Meld (Star Trek: The Original Series #82) by John Vornholt
40. GURPS Discworld (RPG manual) by Phil Masters
41. The Ashes of Eden (another Star Trek novel) by William Shatner
42. Pawn of Prophecy
43. Queen of Sorcery
44. Magician's Gambit
45. Castle of Wizardry
46. Enchanter's Endgame
47. Dead Until Dark
48. Living Dead in Dallas
49. Club Dead
50. Dead to the World
51. Dead as a Doornail
52. Definitely Dead
53. All Together Dead
54. From Dead to Worse
55. Dead and Gone

Numbers 2-38 are Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
42-46 are David Eddings's The Belgariad.
47-55 are Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries series. This is the series that the HBO T.V. show True Blood is based off of. After I finished reading the books, I got caught up on the show.

This morning, I started re-reading Freedom's Landing by Anne McCaffrey, so that will be #56, followed by the other books in that series.

The New House

2009-08-23T16:40:00.002-04:00

I moved in with Anna and Tim last month, and finally got around to taking some pictures!

Birthday Wish List

2009-06-25T22:45:00.002-04:00

For once, I don't have any books or CDs or games on my birthday wish list. In fact, I think this list is the shortest it's been in years.

Summer-y clothes:
a sundress or two--light blue is a nice color (I'm not sure what size, but the dress I wore to Anna's wedding--although a lot more formal than what I'm asking for--was size 14)
some nice button-up shirts (no frills, please) in light colors and short sleeves
some shorts (my jean size is 10, if that helps)
new t-shirts, etc.
Supplies for my projects:
60 feet of 2” X 10” pine, cut into 5-foot planks
Three 8” X 8” sheets of ¼” thick plastic
Six 4” X 4” sheets of ¼” thick plastic
2 ½ feet of ¼” diameter plastic rod
20” of clear, hard plastic tubing with an inside diameter of ¼”
3 ft X 2 ft. of plywood
Three 1-inch long black drywall screws
High-strength plastic adhesive
Red spray paint

All Monetarily Contributed Projects Currently on Hold

2009-06-06T19:20:00.005-04:00

Thursday evening at the Haven was the first session of Brian's Serenity RPG game (played using the system from the Buffy and Angel RPGs, instead of the Cortex system, because Cortex system sucks). It's looking like it'll be a really fun game, and I can't wait until next week's session.

So, Tim got a new job. He now works for Chase in their collections department. That said, we've all decided not to try an buy a house, but instead to look for places to rent. We've been looking at ads the last two days, but Anna was only able to get in touch with the people who own two of the houses (she left messages with the rest). We've looked at two duplexes so far, and they both were nice, but the first one we looked at was nicer.

Because of the immediacy of the housing situation--Anna wants to be moved out of Mom & Dad's by the end of July--we've all got to save up as much as we can for the first month's rent and security deposit on any house we end up renting. Which means I won't be able to even start finishing that set of viking chairs until August or September at the earliest.

I also won't be able to get that correspondence course about piano tuning, or to make a Tri-D Chess board, like from Star Trek yet either. *Le sigh.*

I got the Star Trek DVD set last week from Amazon. It was actually the second set I'd gotten of it--the first set was missing season 1, disc 2, so I had to send it back. I'm on the fourth or fifth episode of season 2, and as soon as I finish this entry, I'm going to watch it.

Mom's birthday is coming up on Tuesday. I got her Highlander season 1 on DVD. I was looking for Kung Fu season 3, but they didn't have it at Record and Tape Traders, which is the only store I've been to since I got paid yesterday.

Next week, if I remember, I'll post a list of things I might like for my own birthday.

A Series Almost 40 Novels Long

2009-05-19T21:36:00.006-04:00

Not a lot has happened since April 25th, except that I made a viking chair for Anna's birthday. Steve at the Haven taught me how. I'm going to make 7 more--one for each of the people in my family, including me (Dad, Mom, Me, Kimba, Tim, Kayla, Jason).

I finished the 36th of the 37 Discworld novels written by Terry Pratchett this afternoon. I didn't know that Making Money was also a Discworld novel, because it wasn't included in my audio files. I'm downloading that one now.

I was a bit disappointed by book number 36 (Strata), because it turned out to be sci-fi, when the entire rest of the series was mostly fantasy/satire. It had an okay plot, even though none of the characters I'd come to love were in it, but if I ever re-read (er . . . re-listen to) the series, I won't be going through Strata again.

So far this year, I have read 37 books--soon to be 38. Here's the list (in the order that I read them):

Confessions of a Part-time Sorceress: A Girl's Guide to the D&D Game by Shelly Mezzanoble
The Colour of Magic
The Light Fantastic
Equal Rites
Mort
Sourcery
Wyrd Sisters
Pyramids
Guards! Guards!
Eric
Moving Pictures
Reaper Man
Witches Abroad
Small Gods
Lords and Ladies
Men at Arms
Soul Music
Interesting Times
Maskerade
Feet of Clay
Hogfather
Jingo
The Last Continent
Carpe Jugulum
The Fifth Elephant
The Truth
Thief of Time
The Last Hero
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
Night Watch
The Wee Free Men
Monstrous Regiment
A Hat Full of Sky
Going Postal
Thud!
Wintersmith
Strata
Making Money (I'm including it because I will be reading it.)

It's looking like I'll actually make (and probably surpass) the 50-book goal this year--yay!

A night NOT spent at the Haven

2009-04-25T01:59:00.007-04:00

Ryan's been back in town for the last week or so, and asked if I wanted to hang out and catch up. I took him up on that offer, of course. He met me after work, and we walked over to Five Guys to eat.

After that, we stopped off at the Haven for a few minutes, 'cause I'd told him about it and how cool it was--and we were nearby anyway.

He had a bit of an errand to run--picking up his other car from the shop, which wasn't the one he parked in the Church Street parking deck--so we drove there in my car, and I followed him to his house to drop it off. From there, we decided to see a movie.

We managed to get to the 6:45 showing of Knowing, the new Nicholas Cage movie, while the previews were still rolling. I liked it a lot; they packed a lot of stuff into two hours and fifteen minutes, and it felt longer than it actually was. Ryan said he liked it up until the end, because it "couldn't decide what genre it was supposed to be" (if I elaborated, it might spoil the ending), but I think it worked--the mix of genres kind of helped with the character development, actually.

The movie was over at 9:00, so we went back downtown and walked up and down Market Street for an hour before heading back to the parking garage so he could get his car. He gave me a ride back to my car, and then we went to our respective houses.

It'll be nice, having Ryan back in the same time zone again, since that means communication will be quicker.

When I got there, Mom and Jason were in bed, but everyone else was downstairs talking. Anna and Tim were talking to Dad about cutting costs on phone lines--Dad's going to look into VOIP (voice over internet protocol), which sounds like a good thing to have when everyone has their own personal cell phones. It also sounds a lot cheaper than a land-line, and is something the four of us kids would get when we have our own house. There could be issues with power outtages, but as long as everyone has cell phones, there isn't much of a problem there.

Turns out, Anna had forgotten to tell me and Tim that we'd been approved for the mortgage loan up to $130,000 with certain specifications, but we're not going to go for a house which will cost us more than $110,000, except in certain circumstances.

We're not going to pursue the house on Vienna Court either, even though it was really nice. The lack of a basement, or any other "growing out" space is a major minus. So, it's back to the house-hunting.

I bought a one-year subscription to Xbox Live Gold so that I could connect my NetFlix account to it. Then after the phone conversation was over (and shortly before Camille left--she'd been talking to Kayla in the dining room), activated the NetFlix on it. I didn't have anything in my instant queue yet, so I didn't watch anything though.

After that, I downloaded the trial version of Castle Crashers, and played as long as it would let me. I almost beat the first big boss before it stopped me, and I think my little character guy was up to level 5 or 6 by that time. Maybe I'll buy a couple thousand marketplace points tomorrow (gotta pay the bills and go grocery shopping first) and get the full version, or maybe not.

I came up here sometime around 12:45, but I wasn't sleepy, so I decided to do some NetFlix queueing. I put 19 things on my DVD queue, and 22 on my instant queue, starting with Medieval Lives, a series of eight episodes that I'd seen half of at the Haven, but didn't catch the rest of yet. Among the rest of my queues are Quantum Leap, Shark Week, Murder, She Wrote, and SeaQuest: DSV. I've got a few movies and such on there too, but the serieses take up most of the queue lists.

I think I might actually be sleepy now.

More House Hunting, etc.

2009-04-21T20:30:00.001-04:00

Anna, Kayla and I went house hunting last Thursday. We took Jason with us, because he wanted to go to the Haven with me afterward. We only found one house that we were even remotely interested in definitely pursuing--all the others were low maybes, at best.

It was on Vienna Ct, and if it had had a basement (not to mention at least one more parking space--we do have three cars between the four of us, after all) it would've almost been perfect. As it is, if we do pursue that house, I'll at least need to sell a good half of my stuff--including my desk--since there will only be room for basic living items (bed, dresser, night stand) in the bedrooms, and only the kitchen, dining room and living room as common areas to put other stuff.

But, oh well. It's not like I've actually been using most of that stuff for the last eight months or so anyway--it's all been in storage. But I have been finding that I need to get things out of storage every once in a while; if I sold the stuff that I wasn't using, then one day I might actually need to use it, and wouldn't have it anymore to use. Though the money from selling the stuff could help in a more immediate manner, I'm sure.

I'm on the 9th Discworld book, Eric, and while I listened to Wyrd Sisters a few books back, I noticed that a lot of the plots so far have parallels in other stories. For instance, Wyrd Sisters is a very definite MacBeth parallel (it would probably be more accurate to say a "perpendicular," I think), and Pyramids is like a mélange of Old Testament stories--with some Greek and/or Roman mythology thrown in (Trojan Horse, anyone?).

On Saturday, there was a DCI-sanctioned Magic draft. I played and got some new cards. I had made three decks the night before with the cards I had, but forgot that I should wait until after the draft, since I was going to get more cards anyway. I'll re-make the decks tonight, hopefully better.

Not Much Going On

2009-04-13T20:30:00.001-04:00

The past couple weeks have been pretty routine, with a couple exceptions.Gabe has the entire Discworld series by Terry Pratchett on audio, and let me copy them onto my iPod--or rather, let me copy the first three so far. I've been listening to them as I work, so I haven't caught all of the events in the books, but I've caught enough to be able to get the general gist of the plots. I'm in the middle of The Light Fantastic right now.

In order to catch everything, I went to the library on Saturday and borrowed The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic in novel format. I just finished the first quarter of the first book last night. They didn't have Equal Rites at my local branch, and I didn't feel like going to Thurmont to get it either.

Also on Saturday, I picked up Jason's birthday present at the Haven. The original plan was for him to come with me, so that we could play Warhammer with his new Dragonmage of Caledor (that was the present). I'd bought the model a couple weeks ago, then did the gluing, the filling of the cracks with greenstuff, and the priming myself, but I needed someone else to paint it for me, since I'd never done any model painting before and didn't want it to be awful. Elliot painted it for me, and finished before Saturday. He did a good job, and Jason likes the dragon.

I got him the dragon, because he likes to play High Elves using the Haven's store army, and they don't have a dragon there for store use. So he'd have to proxy in a different model. Now, he doesn't have to.

I went house-hunting a week ago yesterday with Kayla, Anna and Tim. We didn't find any houses that we really liked--the ones we saw that weren't awful were only acceptable. For some reason, we'd only been looking in the Discovery development, so Anna told our realtor that it's okay to be looking in other places.

Yesterday, Anna, Kayla and I got all caught up on Dollhouse. There were seven episodes on the TiVo, and for some reason, it didn't record the March 20th episode, so we watched that one online, for a total of eight episodes in a single day. It was long, but the show is great.

Update

2009-03-31T20:30:00.000-04:00

Well, it seems my luck in the Magic league has run out--I've been stuck at 3½ points for the last two weeks. Either I make a silly mistake in the last game of a match which makes me lose, or I just get a bad draw. It also doesn't help that I didn't play against a lot of people for most of the last couple weeks. But I'll do better this week--I hope.

I started working on a pair of scissors on the forge the Saturday after my last post. I was right about the hammer and gloves thing, plus the metal kept sliding out of the pliers I was using to hold it. But, with help from Gene and Andy (another Havenite), I got a good part of the way through the project. The unfinished scissors are even now sitting on my shelf in the Haven's back room.

I found last time that the weight of the hammer, plus the thickness of the handle, the vibrations from hitting the metal, and the extra bulk of the poorly-fit gloves made my hand cramp up extremely fast. I can't stop the vibrations, and may not be able to find a lighter hammer which will actually work, but I do have a plan to (hopefully) help with the other two problems. Before I do more work on the forge, I'm going to buy my own gloves (so that they'll fit), and a hammer. I will cut a portion of the handle off from around it, so that there's less to get my hand around when I'm swinging it.

I've missed my allergy shots the last couple times--last week, I simply forgot to take the exit onto 15-North before I passed it on my way home, and didn't feel like fighting through traffic to get back to the exit, much less to the allergist's office. Yesterday, I stayed home because of stomach issues, and had an appointment at my regular doctor's office at 4pm. I'll go next week though.

The mortgage loan approval process is slightly frustrating. We managed to get all of the information that the Wells Fargo people asked for together, and Anna faxed it to them. Only, it got faxed to a machine which was on the fritz, so they're missing pages. They figured out which pages it was, and Anna sent them along. Now, they're asking for paperwork that we're all pretty sure was already sent to them. I hope this process doesn't go on too much longer.

I can now officially say that I have seen every single episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The last "book" especially was totally awesome! The last (four-part) episode was mind boggling, and the perfect ending. I also bought the DVDs. I didn't know until I saw the listing on Amazon that Avatar had been nominated for an Emmy. It wasn't surprising though--the show rocks!

Exciting Prospects for Future Enjoyment and Employment

2009-03-16T20:00:00.004-04:00

Turns out, I was right about my points in the Magic League--3½ as of Friday evening.

Saturday's forge safety class was cool. It's going to be difficult to handle the hammer with the gloves on (or even without), since it's a two-pound sledge I'll only be using one hand for, but I'll get used to it. And the work will not only be work, but it will be fun work, so I don't mind the heavy hammer.

I looked up some beginner forge projects online, and found a neat site called iForge. I printed out a few projects and put them in order of what I think their difficulty is. There were some that I knew I wouldn't be ready to do for a long while yet, but still want to do when I am ready, so I didn't print them out yet. Eventually, I want to be able to make at least simple locks, if not the more complex ones demonstrated at iForge as well.

Yesterday, I downloaded a program called DM Genie, which will help me to organize D&D 3.0 or 3.5 campaigns that I plan to write. I don't really like 4th edition D&D, so I won't be making any campaigns for it anytime soon, and didn't want to download any DM's tools for that edition.

The company also has a more limited version of the program called Player Genie, which is basically just a character generator/updater.

I've already started writing a campaign based on the one I played in a year ago at the Haven (my character was a human ranger named Laina). I just needed to get a few things from the Haven before I could go much further than the first encounter or two.

I'm taking my Haven bag home today (it's been sitting on my GM shelf at the Haven for months now), since I need some of the information in it to make my campaign.

This evening, I had to get my allergy shots and go grocery shopping, so I wasn't able to do any forge or campaign work just yet. I also had to get some charcoal at Home Depot before I could use the forge anyway, so I'd only have been able to work on the campaign (or play Magic, of course) if I went tonight.

Tomorrow's a different story though.

Interesting Quote and More

2009-03-13T22:35:00.000-04:00

"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." - Albert
Einstein

I'm not going to discuss this quote here; I just thought it was a cool quote and decided to yoink it from Heather's LJ.

This morning, I was woken up by someone playing the piano--at 7:15 in the morning!--that's a very rude time to be playing the piano, especially since most of the rest of the household is still trying to sleep at that time (my dad just in the very next room from the piano, and Mom just down the hall on the same floor). There is also a keyboard in the house which is able to have headphones connected to it, so there is no excuse to be playing the actual piano so early. Not to mention, that was only 15 minutes until my alarm was going to go off, and being awakened by the piano did not translate into a good last 15 minutes of sleep--I'm a light sleeper nowadays.

The past week has been pretty normal. I joined the Magic: The Gathering league at the Haven, and I've been playing against everyone I could all week. So far, if I remember correctly, I won one "official" game, and three "unofficial" games.

The "official" games are against two other players chosen at random from the list. Winner gets two points, and a card is ante'd from each deck before the game starts. Whoever wins chooses to either keep both ante'd cards, or let the other person keep the card they ante'd.

The "unofficial" games also have ante'd cards, but winner only gets ½ of a point. I've either got 3 or 3½ points; I can't remember who all I won against for the half-point games, but I'm sure I won at least two, if not three.

I also purchased a Bretonnian Warhammer army from one of the guys at the Haven, and have played the game with them twice. The first time was a couple weeks ago, against Jason, who was playing high elves. We stopped that game at the end of the second turn, because we both really wanted to go home.

The second time was just last night, against a Havenite's dwarf army; it was an NPC game I was playing for the Warhammer Fantasy campaign going on at the Haven. I would've done better, if he hadn't gotten lucky with his guess-range canon in the very first turn and not only destroyed my trebuchet (causing the crew to flee off the board), but also causing my pegasus knights to flee off the board as well. Basically, the dwarves slaughtered the Bretonnians. It was fun though. And after that, I beat him in a Magic league game, though that was a close one.

Today is payday--yay!

Tomorrow, I'm going to take the forge safety class at the Haven, so that I can possibly upgrade my membership so that it's GM/crafting, instead of just GM and be allowed to use the forge whenever I want (if it's not already in use). That way, I can make metal stuff and sell it to get some extra money. Gene actually gave me the idea; when I asked what I would make to sell, he said something like, "All kinds of things," and then as an example mentioned door handles.

Wouldn't you know, I had an idea right then for a unique door handle design? I actually designed it with the door at the Haven in mind as a good place to put it. I'm not going to say what the design was here, but I may post a picture when/if I ever get one made.

I'm thinking that, if I do decide to do this side-business thing (Gene said he'd sell the stuff I make at the Haven, like he does for other crafting members), I'll not only make my own designs, but also take commissions for other designs. I'll have to ask Gene to help me decide on fair prices though, since I've never sold anything like that before.

Sandwich Run

2009-03-08T21:53:00.004-04:00

Friday, nothing much happened that doesn't happen every week, except I decided to participate in the Magic: The Gathering League at the Haven.

Yesterday, I took Jason to the Haven and he watched the Living Forgotten Realms D&D game while I did some more Magic League stuff.

After we got back, I watched three episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I've NetFlix'd disc-by-disc. I was on the fourth disc. After the last of those three episodes, Tim was home, so Kayla, Anna, Tim and I all piled into Anna's car to make the 2½ hour trip to Johnstown, PA where Cashaw lives. Once there, we got into Cashaw's car, made the hour-long drive to Pittsburgh, picked up Cashaw's friend Dave, and then went to Primanti Brothers for sandwiches.

I had pastrami and cheese and a Coke with no ice. The sandwich was better than I remembered Primanti Brothers sandwiches being--but I think the fries on the two sandwiches I'd had before were stale. This time, everything was fresh, and warmed to perfection (except for the cole slaw, which would've been gross warm). I added hot sauce to my sandwich, and it was even better.

By the time we got back to Cashaw's, it was about 7:30 in the morning, so we crashed there for a couple hours. The three of us (Kayla's staying until Thursday to watch Cashaw's kids) woke up around 9:30 and headed home, since Tim had to be at work by noon.

We got home around 11:30, and I watched the fourth episode of Avatar on that disc before going to sleep until around 7:30 or 7:45 pm. I've been awake now for a little over two hours, and I'm going to have to go back to sleep around 12:30 or 1 at the latest, so that I'll be able to get enough sleep (without waking up way too early) for work tomorrow.

A Possible New Place to Live

2009-03-05T18:00:00.002-05:00

Anna, Tim, Kayla, Mom, Dad and I all went to look at townhouses for the four of us "kids" last night after I got off of work. We looked at five townhouses in the Discovery area of Walkersville.

The first one was listed for $105,000, and was pretty crappy. We decided it was a definite "No."

The next one, on the same street as the first, was listed at $115,000, and was refurbished to perfection.

The third was another crappy house. I can't remember the listing price.

The fourth one was a possibility, and the fifth was as well. The fifth was listed for $119,500 or something close to it. I don't remember the listing price for the fourth.

Out of those five, we decided that our first choice was the $115,000 house, then the fourth house, and finally the fifth house.

We decided to pursue the second house, and Anna's real estate agent (the father of the flower girl at her wedding) said he would start by looking at how much comparable houses in the same court had gone for, so that we could make a similar offer to those.

After we get a good idea of the money we'll offer, we need to have the mortgage go through. If it does, we'll then get a formal offer together, and about a month (possibly less, possibly more) after settlement, we'll be able to move in.

I don't remember the exact address of the house we're going after, but it's on Foresight Drive.

The Art of Culinary Forgetfulness

2009-02-25T20:34:00.004-05:00

I packed a lunch yesterday with a sandwich, a soda and an apple, but did not eat the apple, so I put it in the mini-fridge at work overnight.

This morning, I packed a lunch to go with the apple, but forgot it on the kitchen counter, so I was left with only the apple. I decided to go to the Haven on my lunch break again, so I was able to get chips and a Yoohoo to go with the apple.

When I took the apple out of the mini-fridge, it was weird-looking--the skin of the apple had wrinkled up, and it was textured kind of like the tops of the folding tables at church. I thought nothing of it, except that that's probably what happens when an apple is refrigerated, allowed to come to room temperature, and then refrigerated again.

So, I got to the Haven, and bit into the apple--it was frozen! I'd put it on the shelf of the mini-fridge right next to the freezer portion, and I guess it was just too cold there. So, I had a couple bites of frozen apple, a bag of Lays potato chips, and a can of Yoohoo for lunch today.

Hopefully, I'll actually remember my lunch tomorrow--at least I won't have to pack it.

New Computer!

2009-02-19T10:11:00.005-05:00

My new computer came yesterday, and when I got home from the Haven around 7:30-ish, Dad was working on Kayla's (he'd bought one each for me, Kayla and Jason). The computer is a Compaq Presario CQ60-211DX Notebook PC.

I brought it to work with me this morning so that I could put some stuff on it from my external hard drive (which I also brought to work) like my iTunes library and a shortcut to my journal file, and later while I'm at the Haven I'm going to get some programs online that I usually use--like Gmail Notifier and Firefox.

Dad also bought an XBox 360 and a Wii. The console we played Anna's Rock Band 2 on the other night was actually Dad's. Last night, we played Wii Sports, and Dad also bought Wii Fit.

w00t!

2009-02-11T11:26:00.006-05:00

Last night after I got home from class, I was talking to my mom in her room and my dad came in. He asked me what kind of computer it was that we'd looked at as my "dream computer," and how long it would take me to save up for it.

I told him it was some tablet-type PC, and it would take me 10-12 months. Then he showed me a print-out with a laptop (not tablet) and its configuration specs, that had the price blacked out. He told me that he would be willing to buy that computer for me in a week if I wanted it.

He must've gotten a really good income tax return, because he was talking about buying a new refridgerator for the pantry and a new computer for Jason (my brother, not any of the other Jasons I know) as well.

Considering I was not looking forward to keeping my current laptop (which takes at least 20 minutes just to boot up enough so that I can use it for browsing the internet) for another year, I agreed. This will also allow me to save up for other things, such as flight school at The Frederick Flight Center.

I've been looking into getting a private pilot's certificate, and I think I'd like to finance my flight training and ground school, but think I should at least save up some for the first few lessons and such. I'd eventually like to own my own four-seater plane too.

I won't start flight school until this summer at the earliest--got to finish out the semester at FCC at least. But when I do, I'll be going for my private certificate, and then I can go on to train on planes with two engines, and get instrumentation training so I can fly in bad weather. Eventually, I want to get a commercial license so that I can do charter flights.

So, instead of saving up for a computer, I'll be saving up for flight school.

Faster computation, here I come!

Okay, I want to sleep now . . .

2009-02-10T00:34:00.008-05:00

After work (which was extremely frustrating, but in the end fruitful), I had Dad look at the job I'd done on my closet as soon as I got home. I'd put the bar back up on Saturday after six months of having no closet (plus the two months in the camper, where there wasn't a closet anyway). When I finished, it was level and seemed sturdy, but I wanted to be certain before I hung my clothes on it so I asked Dad to have a look.

It was fine, so I hung up my stuff and put my spare blankets on the rack. Then I arranged my shoes, toolbox, kite, luggage and laptop case on the floor.

From there, it was just a matter of getting things organized. I started by getting the trash (various papers I'd originally wanted to save but really had no use for in the long run, books which could go under the bed with the rest, things like that) out of the middle of the floor. Then I cleaned the Sterilite plastic storage . . . thing that Jason left when he moved rooms so that I could put stuff in it.

I got a lot of stuff off of my floor, and what wouldn't fit well into the storage thing, I just organized as neatly as possible, as close to the wall as I could get it. For instance, I've got the candles I bought for the large brass candlesticks in a basket in front of my ergonomic keyboard, which is sitting propped up against the wall. And the DVDs and scratch tape which I've been working my way through watching and/or re-watching (i.e. MacGyver, Firefly, Serenity, etc.) are all stacked neatly in front of the storage bin on top of which I've got my TV and VCR/DVD-R sitting.

I've run out of storage things and/or flat, elevated surfaces, so I'm leaving everything else as-is for now. Maybe I'll buy a small coffee table or something. I know my desk won't fit in here, and even if it would, that doesn't help me to organize the stuff I've got in here already--the desk is full as it sits in my storage unit. So I think I should probably get some sort of cabinet or dresser. That could help with the "gotta find a pair of socks in the next five minutes" thing I've got going every morning, what with living out of the laundry basket (which is where I've been keeping my clean clothes; the dirty ones are all in the hamper) and all.

And then there's all the other stuff that still needs organizing if I'm ever going to be able to consolidate these bins. But that's a project for another month--I've got to buy groceries after I get paid this weekend, and also need to save some for Anna's bachelorette and wedding gifts.

After I finished with the room, I took a shower and watched a movie (G. I. Jane), took a shower, and then was too awake to get to sleep. If I'd tried to go to sleep before the shower (when I was actually inclined and sleepy enough to do so), I'd have been wide awake by four in the morning or so, and been dragging my eyelids long before class is over tomorrow. Trying before the movie would have also resulted in a too early awakening. Going to sleep after the movie would've been ideal, but I was still too awake, so I got online and checked my e-mail, among other things.

Now, I'm pretty much just rambling, and I think I'm actually sleepy again, so I'm going to pop While You Were Sleeping (or maybe Sydney White) into the DVD player and set the sleep timer on the TV with the volume down way low.

Hopefully, I'll fall asleep before the opening credits are finished. Last night, I got to at least "Pick a Little, Talk a Little"--possibly further--in The Music Man before I was out.

Art and Taxes

2009-02-05T10:06:00.004-05:00

I had my first class on Tuesday. It was long and boring, like most first sessions are, but it's looking like it'll get more interesting as the semester goes on. For classwork, we drew still life contour drawings. For homework, we have to do the same, only with three objects in our own house. It's due next Tuesday.

Yesterday, I stopped off at the storage facility to get my tax information from last year. I also had to get a new gate key, because the old one didn't work (it was a company-wide thing, so not my fault). In addition to the tax papers, I also got the sustain pedal and music stand for my keyboard.

When I got home, I went to put the pedal and music stand on the keyboard, but Anna told me she'd taken it to Tim's house! She said she needs it to do her homework for the piano class she's taking, but she didn't even ask to borrow it, much less take it out of the house!

Not to mention, there is at least one other electronic keyboard in the house which is much less expensive (ergo, less worry about Twigg pets and little children breaking it) and works just as well. She could've taken the other keyboard, which is also more portable than mine, and Kayla could've kept mine in her room where we'd put it, since I'm almost certain there's more room there than in the Twiggs' house. It just galls me that she had the nerve to just move my property to a completely different house where I can't keep an eye on it, and didn't even make sure it was okay with me first!

All of the stuff for my plan has arrived at the house, except for the mini-fridge. According to UPS Tracking, that should arrive today. So I can set it all up this weekend, but I won't be able to buy food to put in it until a week from tomorrow.

I finished my taxes last night. I owe $15 to the IRS, and Maryland is giving me $182. I'm filing by mail this year, because I really want that Maryland return as soon as possible, but I can't afford the $19.95 to e-File it. Plus, filing by mail means more time before my check to the IRS clears, so that's a plus. I didn't want to e-File the federal return, because then it would've come out of my account right away, and I didn't want that.

I tried doing the federal by mail and the state by e-File, but again the $19.95 e-File fee through TurboTax, and it wouldn't let me do one by mail and one by e-File anyway.

What the huh?

2009-02-02T10:54:00.009-05:00

Anna says I "have to" get a date for her wedding (something about screwing up seating arrangements at the head table or something).

Here are the problems with that pronouncement, in no particular order (except maybe my own head-logic):

Most, if not all, of my current guy friends already have girlfriends. (If they don't, I don't know it; nor do I know how to find out if the ones whose girlfriends I don't already know or know about are single or not without seeming nosy. I refuse to ruin someone's relationship out of ignorance.)
Even if they don't have girlfriends already, I haven't known any of them long enough to even consider dating them even just casually.
I'm going to be meeting new people in my class this semester (which starts--belatedly--tomorrow, provided school doesn't get cancelled due to snow again), but the wedding is only two weeks away, and I won't have known anybody in that class nearly long enough to even consider them friends, much less as possible romantic partners.
Asking someone to be a date to a wedding is a big deal, and in my opinion, should only be done between couples who have an established relationship. It's simply not a "casual date"-type event, and even if it were, I will never go on a blind date, no matter who is trying to set me up.
Two weeks does not an established relationship make.
Finally, and most importantly, all of these reasons add up to: I would not be comfortable so much as asking a guy to come to Anna's wedding as my date, and it's kind of presumptuous of Anna to try and dictate my love life all for the sake of filling a chair. Granted, it is her wedding, but even so, requiring that people bring dates, no matter their current relationship status, is going too far.

I shall now say no more on the matter. On to a different topic:

Last Monday, I had an appointment with the allergist (as opposed to just getting shots), and he gave me some Nasonex and an order for a limited sinus CT scan.

The Nasonex was to help with the stuffiness due to allergies. Even though I thought I had a cold as well, I think it might've just been extremely, severely severe allergic rhinitis, because I've actually been taking the Nasonex as directed every day for a week now, and early this morning, I found myself breathing through my nose as I drifted in and out of sleep!

Dr. M (the allergist) is out of the office this week, but I'll call him next week to get the results of the CT scan. He had me get it because I've had problems with my sense of smell for years now--in other words, I don't smell much of anything. The most common cause of a lack of smell (and by connection, a dulled sense of taste) is an inflamation of the sinuses in the forhead area pinching the olfactory nerve.

So, since I've had this problem for years, and he hasn't had much luck treating it so far, he told me to get the CT scan to make sure it really is a sinus infection, and not some other thing pinching the olfactory nerve.

Last Tuesday, my first class was cancelled due to snow. I was supposed to have Intro. to Business on Wednesday evenings, but that class got cut due to insufficient enrollment. I couldn't choose another section of the same class, since they all clashed with my work schedule, so my only choices were: a) don't go to school this semester, or b) choose a different 3-credit class that I can go to.

I looked in the course catalogue for all the subjects that seemed interesting and also had sections after 5:30 pm on weeknights (none of the courses I looked at had Saturday courses, I think, and I've never had school on Saturdays before so I'm not intending to start now), and came up with an English course and an Art course that looked promising.

The English course (or at least the section I was looking at) was full, but I was lucky enough to get the last seat in the Art class (Drawing I). It meets Tuesday nights from 6-10pm. Sadly, that means that I won't be able to play in the Paranoia game that Matt from the Haven was planning to start, but c'est la vie.

You win some, you lose some, I guess.

I think I have a new show. Yesterday, I hung out in Mom's room for hours, and she was watching The Closer. The 4-6 episodes I saw (they were having a marathon) were pretty good, and I like the characters and stories so far--even though Kyra Sedgewick always looks like she's going to cry for some reason. Maybe once I finish watching my MacGyver DVDs (and have some extra money) I'll get caught up on the series or something.

I have a plan to save money faster so I can get a new computer. I'm going to stop buying lunch at Beans & Bagels (except for on payday, to treat myself) and pack all my lunches from now on.

In order to do this, I have to make sure that there is always bread, lunch meat/cheese, other stuff to put in my lunches, and cereal and milk for breakfast in the house. So I bought myself a mini-fridge from Sears (it's going to be delivered sometime this week) and a bunch of storage drawers from Wal-Mart (also to be delivered this week) so that I can keep my own food and drinks in them.

I have a box I'm going to keep apples, oranges or other whole fruits (not grapes, cherries or strawberries--those are strictly fridge-bound) in, plus a set of plastic drawers for bread, bagels and lunch-size chip bags, and a crate-like-thing for cereal boxes. My new fridge has a place for soda cans to dispense vertically out the bottom, which I think is pretty darn cool. I would've gotten the 6 cu. ft. model, but that was way too expensive.

I don't have any money to put anything in it yet, so I'll just have to set it all up and wait to get paid again. I don't think I'd get a tax return before my next paycheck, even if I filed them today, so I won't hope for that to come first.

First Fitting

2009-01-23T11:23:00.002-05:00

So, I headed to Hagerstown yesterday straight after work. I got to David's Bridal with a full half-hour to spare before my appointment, and sat outside the alterations area while the seamstress pinned up a bride's gown.

Once she was ready for me, I put the dress on (which definitely took more effort than typing about it) and did the whole "stand on the platform, walk back and forth" thing.

The dress fit perfectly--seriously, the bodice was nice and snug (but not tight), and the hem line was just where it needs to be. I'm a little disappointed that the dress is size 14, but that's my own fault for being a bit over-weight.

Anyway, since the dress was perfect, no alterations were needed, and I got to take the dress home. Before I left the bridal shop, I bought a nice ($10) dress bag for it. It's the most expensive dress I've ever owned (and also quickly becoming one of my favorites), so you'd better believe I'm going to keep it as nice as I can, and part of that is putting a sturdy dress bag on it while it's not being worn.

SNOW

2009-01-20T08:47:00.002-05:00

Grrr . . . it snowed yesterday. I hate snow. I mean, it's pretty and all, but it's also cold and wet--one of my least favorite combinations.

The allergist was closed for shots yesterday, so I'm going this evening. Spring semester starts on Saturday, but my first class session isn't until a week from tomorrow. This Thursday after work, I'm going to David's Bridal for my first fitting of my bridesmaid's dress.

That last part is pretty exciting--I get a really nice gown to wear, altered specifically for me! But I won't have anywhere to wear it after the wedding, so it'll just sit in my closet getting old and tatty. :( I wish I could afford to take a ballroom dance class. Then maybe I could wear that to dance events and such.

Chinese Zodiac

2009-01-19T08:58:00.004-05:00

Saw this on Heather's LJ this morning, so I decided to check out my year, and it kinda described me very well (entry title links to Chinese Zodiac site):

People born in the Year of the Pig are chivalrous and gallant. Whatever they do,
they do with all their strength. For Boar Year people, there is no left or right
and there is no retreat. They have tremendous fortitude and great honesty. They
don't make many friends but they make them for life, and anyone having a Boar
Year friend is fortunate for they are extremely loyal. They don't talk much but
have a great thirst for knowledge. They study a great deal and are generally
well informed. Boar people are quick tempered, yet they hate arguments and
quarreling. They are kind to their loved ones. No matter how bad problems seem
to be, Boar people try to work them out, honestly if sometimes impulsively. They
are most compatible with Rabbits and Sheep.

Better Holiday Memory by DSDragon

2009-01-15T11:03:00.002-05:00

Setting: GGGoH

Author's Notes: The title kinda sucks, but it was the only thing I could come up with. The challenge said "a revelation or unexpected gift." They're not big, but I put one of each in this fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the settings in this fanfic. I only own the idea. The rest belongs to Warner Brothers.

-----

Perry had given Lois and Clark a few extra days down in Smallville to let Clark recuperate from the Trask debacle (they had sent the story to him by fax already) and to have time with his parents for an early Thanksgiving celebration. Lois, who never turned down food as good as what she'd been fed for the last few days, accepted the invitation to stay when it was given.

Sitting at the kitchen table, she watched Mrs. Kent--er, Martha--putter around her, preparing a full turkey dinner. Well, "putter" was really the wrong word. Martha's gait and ease on her feet were really too vivacious to call them "puttering." *The woman must live on Energizer batteries,* Lois thought. *She just keeps going, and going . . .*

"You seem contented," Martha remarked, startling Lois out of her reverie. "Kind of like the cat that ate the canary, what with that grin you've got."

"Oh!" Lois gasped. "Um, I was just thinking, that's all."

"Really? What about?"

Thinking it would be rude to compare her hostess to the Energizer Bunny out loud, Lois improvised. "Actually, I was thinking how nice it is here. I mean, I wouldn't want to live here, but it's nice not to be mashed into a few city blocks with crowds of other people every once in a while."

"Huh," Martha said.

Perplexed, Lois asked, "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that, from what Clark's been telling us, and what I've seen so far, I was almost sure I had you pegged for the workaholic, never-leave-the-city-on-your-life type."

Caught, Lois blushed. "Well, yeah. But a girl can appreciate some time off; no matter how much she loves the work, can't she?"

"Absolutely."

Thinking it was time to change the subject, Lois asked, "So where are Cl--the boys?"

A twinkle in her eye as she turned back to the turkey in the oven, Martha answered, "Oh, they're around somewhere. Since this will be our only chance to have Thanksgiving with Clark this year, he and Jonathan decided to hang the Christmas decorations earlier than usual."

"What do you mean? Christmas isn't for another month and a half."

"We decorate on Thanksgiving," came the answer from the sink as Martha prepared some brussels sprouts for boiling.

"Why is that?" Lois asked. "I've never done much more than find a tree on Christmas Eve myself."

"Just a Kent family tradition, I guess. We don't take down any decorations until New Year's either."

"More than a month of Christmas?" Lois couldn't decide whether she was in awe or pure catatonia at the thought of all that . . . cheer. "How can you stand it? I can barely tolerate the decorations they put up at the Planet in the middle of December."

When Martha's answer did not come right away, Lois looked up. The older woman had a somewhat sad expression on her face. "Bad memories?" she asked.

Lois scrunched her head further onto her shoulders and rubbed her entwined fingers together on top of the table. "I don't really like to talk about it."

-----

Clark put the finishing touches on the staircase. He'd wrapped the rails in garland and white Christmas tree lights—for the next two months, his parents wouldn't have to worry about breaking their necks if they went downstairs for a midnight snack. And, hey, it was also festive!

Suddenly, his super hearing kicked in:

~"How can you stand it? I can barely tolerate the decorations they put up at the Planet in the middle of December."~

*Hmm,* Clark thought. *I wonder why Lois is so repulsed by Christmas decorations?* Shaking his head, he resolved to try not to eavesdrop anymore—and to help Lois enjoy the holidays.

But before he could turn off his hearing, he heard his mother's question. ~Bad Memories?~

Hoping it wasn't true, Clark's heart broke a little when his partner answered very quietly, ~I don't really like to talk about it.~

Desperate now to find a way to cheer Lois up about the season, Clark searched the room. He must have been staring in certain places, because his father was looking at him with a question in his eyes. Clark shook his head in a "not yet" gesture, then spotted exactly what he was looking for in a box balanced precariously on the back of the couch.

Going as fast as he could without alerting the kitchen's occupants (or rather one of the occupants) that he was super-speedy, Clark grabbed a bit of mistletoe, tacked it right outside the kitchen, and went back to his place by the stairs just as the door started to open.

-----

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Martha nodded, and turned back to her cooking just as a timer sounded. "Whoops! Looks like that's dinner. Want to help me get it all to the table?"

"Sure." Lois stood and took the dish of mashed potatoes toward the dining room. She carefully opened the door, and took only a step or two into the other room before Martha called, "Stop, Lois!" She stopped.

Looking back to the Kent matriarch, Lois asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," came the answer. "You're just standing under the mistletoe."

Lois looked up; sure enough, there was a tiny sprig of the dratted weed tacked to the ceiling just outside of the kitchen doorway. Her eyes widened--how the hell could she get out of this one?--"Oh."

Movements out of the corner of her eye made Lois turn her head. Clark was walking toward her. *He'd better not do what I think he's going to do,* Lois thought to herself in vain. Clark grabbed the potato dish from her nerveless fingers, gently set it on the table just to her right, and--quick and soft--put his lips on hers.

*Hey, where'd he go?* Her thoughts contradicted themselves as Clark pulled back with a smile.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Lois," he said as Lois mused to herself, *Maybe the holidays aren't so bad after all.*

New Year's and Stuff

2009-01-06T08:33:00.004-05:00

For New Year's Eve, Dad, Mom, Jason and I went down to Grandma's. We did the usual stuff, had the usual snacks, and definitely had the salad after the ball dropped.

I've been uber-congested the last week or two. It got so bad yesterday that I got lightheaded from lack of oxygen whenever I blew my nose!

Yesterday I also missed the turn onto the 15 North exit so that I could go to the allergist's office for my shots. It was just after 5 p.m. and would've taken me twice as long to get to 15 via Ballenger Creek Pike as it usually takes to get from Jefferson Street to the allergist's. So I decided to just go home and get my shots after work today instead.

Later this evening, I'm taking Kimba to Outback for dinner. More on that after.

Last night, I had an interesting dream. I don't remember all of it, but I do remember that it was very The Devil Wears Prada. I even had an Anne Hathaway look-alike ('cause it definitely wasn't her in the dream) to show me the ropes. The boss, however, was nicer, even though he was very absent-minded. His name was something like Sir Quentin Quigley. I'm not sure if that was it exactly, but there were definitely Q's, and he was definitely a Sir for some reason.

In the dream, I was immediately set to work asking for donations for something I've forgotten since I woke up. I think there was an accident, or somebody was sick with some terminal illness (the boss was a philanthropist instead of a high fashion magazine editor). When I started out, I was doing fine, then the boss said, "Darcy, call my (here, it was either wife or mother-in-law, I can't remember which) and tell her . . ." then he started to stammer and be forgetful, and finished with, "the thing!"

The weird part is, my Anne Hathaway look-alike always knew what his cryptic forget-a-grams meant! Eventually (I was "working" in that office for three dream-days) I actually asked her for a crib sheet. She made it, and gave it to me on the morning of the third "day," but I didn't use it before I woke up. After that first morning, I pretty much sat there staring at the phone, trying to remember what I was doing. And Sir Quentin (if that was his name) actually complemented me on what a great job I was doing!

Weird dream.

Oh, pooh.

2008-12-30T19:06:00.002-05:00

I started reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition yesterday (I finished The Year of Living Biblically in less than two days) but the author kept reiterating that it's important to have a good grasp of musical theory. I'm pretty good when it comes to playing or singing music, but when it comes to terms I may or may not have come across in my performances, or the names of scales or chords, overall, my musical education is spotty, at best.

So, I've decided that, before I read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition, I need to buy and read The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory.

So, instead of that book, I'm going to be reading the Buffy RPG option manuals (Slayer's Handbook, Monster Smackdown, and the Angel RPG corebook) which I ordered through the Haven and got this evening. I read the first chapter of Monster Smackdown while I was at the Haven earlier, but I haven't decided whether to read straight through, or go on to the first chapter of the Slayer's Handbook, then go on the the Angel RPG book, and keep rotating until they're all finished. I also ordered The Magic Box, but it's on back-order, so it won't come in for another few weeks.

They're having lasagna for dinner downstairs, but I ate Five Guys at the Haven, which kinda makes me sad, since I love lasagna. But then again, I'm not sure I could handle all the extra cheese my dad puts on his lasagna right now anyway. There should be leftovers though, so I'll probably take some to work for lunch tomorrow.

A mini-rant/essay

2008-12-29T15:28:00.012-05:00

While I've been reading A. J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically, I've come across a lot of really good quotes that I wish I had written down at the time so that I could use them as e-mail signatures and stuff.

There are likewise a few things that have rubbed me the wrong way. For instance, this particular bit from Month Nine: May. He was talking to a pastor from Jerry Falwell's church down south named Tom:

"Yes, homosexuality is an abomination," says Tom. "But I'm a sinner too. We're all sinners. You just have to love them."

This is a pretty mild stance--the hate-the-sin, not-the-sinner idea. I'm guessing he
toned the rhetoric down for his Northeastern Jewish audience of one. But, still, I find this stance intolerant in its own way. It's like saying that we should love Jesse Jackson, except for the fact that he's black.

This, to me, is flawed logic. Jacobs is equating a person's race to his chosen sexual orientation, which is a broken comparison.

People are born with certain racial traits--for instance, I have very light skin, high cheekbones, a somewhat-distinctive facial structure, and other physical traits which show that I come from a mostly-Dutch (that's Netherlands Dutch, not Pennsylvania Dutch, which is actually German anyway) heritage--the other half of me is kind of a hodge-podge. This collection of physical traits that mark a person's heritage are a given--they're born that way and only plastic surgery (which I won't get into a rant about now . . . maybe later) can change them.

Homosexuality, on the other hand, is completely different. It's all behavior to me. A person chooses to only have romantic relationships with someone of their own gender--whether they're physically attracted to the same gender or not, the relationship is not forced upon them, and I just do not (and in some ways cannot) believe that they are born to be homosexual. That's not to say that I scorn people who have same-sex relationships--one of the girls at my work is a lesbian, and she's totally cool as a person--I just don't believe in their lifestyle choices.

I'm not going to try to change their minds for them, but I'm also not going to start looking at women as potential romantic partners, and I'm certainly not going to teach my future children that it's okay to have sex with their own gender either. I will, however, teach them to befriend all the people who will let them, and love all of those friends equally, whether they agree with their lifestyle choices or not.

On the scale of complete and utter bigotry versus extreme over-tolerance, I'd say this viewpoint is closer to the middle, and slightly to the tolerance side. "Intolerant" is just too strong a word for the "hate-the-sin, not-the-sinner" idea. A person's chosen lifestyle does not equal their identity; it's just the way they choose to behave.

R. I. P. Oreo

2008-12-28T18:10:00.004-05:00

Today, Oreo, my brother's panda hamster, died. She's had a tumor of some sort in her leg area for months, and there just hasn't been money available to take her to the vet and find out what it was. At first, they thought she'd just been stung by a wasp or something, but it didn't go away, and eventually got so big she couldn't even crawl through the tunnel off-shoots on her cage.

As I type this, Jason and the others have found a box to put her in, and they're working on getting her in there; they'll probably bury her out back next to O'Malley.

On a not-so-morbid note: Kayla's uncle Stephen (or Steven) has left the house to go back to her other uncle, Peter's, house until New Year's, when he and his mother (Kayla's maternal grandmother) will be going back home to Alabama.

Yesterday, I took Anna to Miyako for a late lunch/early dinner. It was yummy. Anna got the steak and shrimp combo, and I got the steak and chicken combo. We both also got fried rice. I love the soup and salad they serve before the hibachi chef comes out too--Anna gave me her mushrooms from the soup, but even just the broth is to die for.

In the next week or so, I'm going to take Kimba to Outback one evening, and Kayla to Ruby Tuesday.

What spurred this whole "Take each family member to a nice restaurant" thing? Mostly, I was craving a bloomin' onion, but I didn't want to take all of them to Outback, since I also wanted to go to places like Ruby Tuesday, Miyako and Brewer's Alley. So I decided that this month, I'm going to take Kimba, Anna and Kayla for individual meals, and then next month (or next month, going into the month after) I'll take Dad, Mom and Jason. I haven't decided yet whether to take Mom and Dad at the same time, or individually like everybody else though.

Anyway, after our lunch/dinner, Anna and I walked around the mall (we'd gone to the Miyako at FSK instead of Patrick Street, since Kayla, Jason and Stephen asked us to drop them off at the good theater on our way to the restaurant) and I got my shoes for her wedding. We also stopped by the calendar kiosk outside of Barnes & Noble, since I needed a 2009 calendar to keep track of things at work, and I decided to get a calendar for everyone else too. I bought one called "Solitudes" for work, which is basically scenery--pretty, but not distracting.

I got Anna a Crossword-a-Day tear-off desk calendar, and Jason got a Fold-a-Day paper airplane calendar. Kimba was given an Audrey Hepburn theme, Mom got Magic Eye, and Kayla got Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I also got two other calendars: M.C. Escher and Dragons. I gave Stephen a choice as to which one he wanted; he chose the Escher calendar, so I gave the dragons to Dad.

I read What Would MacGyver Do? yesterday--it was hilarious, ingenious, and a quick read. One of the people who contributed a story to it actually wrote the book I'm currently reading: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible--as Literally as Possible.

In the story, he wrote about his first book, The Know-It-All, a memoir about reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z, and how he was petrified of being quizzed at signings. So, he tried to cram-study for weeks, but then realized that he could "MacGyver" a solution--if he didn't know the exact answer to a specific question, he'd give an answer that was related to the subject, but interesting enough so that the questioner didn't realize he hadn't answerd their original question. I've gotten through Month Two of his book, and it's fascinating so far--funny at times, serious and introspective in others.

When I first heard of the book, I thought I'd hate it, then Gene told me a bit about it, and it sounded at least fun. Now I'm reading it, and it's so much more than that--the guy really is at least trying to live a better life by following the Bible. He hasn't changed much yet, but he's already noticed some changes he's had that are more than the obvious physical ones. Like he's noticed that he (or rather, his biblical alter-ego "Jacob") is more careful about what he says, and is somewhat repulsed by certain things he wouldn't have thought twice about before.

He doesn't see "Jacob" as himself yet, but I think his two "personalities" might merge by the end of the year. Not sure yet if I'm going to read another month's worth tonight or not, but I'll definitely pick it up again tomorrow. I want to finish at least this book, if not this one and the Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Composition by 11:59:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

Christmas

2008-12-26T12:34:00.004-05:00

Christmas, overall, was good.

Kayla's uncle Steven (or is it Stephen?) is visiting Maryland, so he's spent Christmas Eve and Day with us so far. After we opened gifts yesterday morning, we went to Grandma's house for the usual gift opening there, and--something new--Christmas Brunch. I guess they decided not to deal with the hassel of a full-on sit-down Christmas dinner.

Mom, Dad and I left earlier than everyone else, and I spent the extra time between our getting home and dinner time finishing Dragons of Winter Night and reading the book Grandma wrote about herself. There was much distraction--I kept getting fascinated by Jason's Erector set. I've also decided that I'm not going to read Dragons of Spring Dawning, etc, unless I have nothing else more interesting or new to read.

Dinner was breakfast, since the brunch wasn't all that. Then, we all played Halo--well, Dad, Anna, Tim, Kayla, Stephen and I did anyway--Kimba and Mom don't do video games, and Jason's grounded until tomorrow. Around eleven, I decided to stop and take a shower before heading upstairs to relax a bit before bedtime.

Gifts I Gave (and the people I gave them to):

Jason: Gryffindor silk tie and lambswool scarf set
Kayla: Guitar Hero Aerosmith for PS2
Anna: An authentic replica of Lucius Malfoy's walking stick/wand
Kimba: A "teaching bag" (as she calls it) with her name on it, and Travel Scrabble
Dad: A digital photo frame, with 13 pictures of the family and special occasions (such as senior class pics, Mom & Dad's wedding, and graduations)
Mom: Two pair of jeans in size 10Long, since she fits my size jeans now

Gifts I Received (I can never remember who gave me what, but anything with a * is something that was on my list):

Electronic Phase 10
Sudoku the board game
The Story of My Life by Grandma S. (the book about her that I talked about earlier)
A book of wide-staff musical manuscript paper*
What Would MacGyver Do?
The Year of Living Biblically
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Musical Composition*

Hilarious, Aunt Julie!

2008-12-22T10:07:00.004-05:00

Go read the first few paragraphs of my Aunt Julie's blog post about wrapping paper. You won't be sorry!

I remembered some!

2008-12-22T09:53:00.004-05:00

Last night's dream was rather interesting. I don't remember enough of it to write a story or anything, but I do remember some fun details.

I was back in that place that looks suspiciously like Scottsdale, only there were hills and bunches of staircases, and I think I was there for some sort of convention or something. I was in my roller skates, just going around the neighborhood with someone who I think was actually my Grandpa S, and someone else--I can't remember who, but they were around my age, I think.

We got to this place where three staircases met--or maybe it was two staircases, and the hill I'd just gone up--and one of the staircases was so steep, I couldn't even see half of each riser from the top. So I turned to the other staircase, which wasn't much better, and walked my skates down.

We finally found someone else from the convention thing, and he said that it was time for whatever meeting we were going to (we'd been out and about just to kill time until it started), so I asked "Grandpa" to have someone bring me my shoes, since I was kind of leery about going all the way back the way we'd come in my skates.

When I got to the place for the meeting, the other two were already there, so I just sat down in the back with them to listen. Shortly after that, I woke up.

I keep thinking . . .

2008-12-18T21:56:00.002-05:00

. . . that my dreams would make great stories--if I could remember more than a few interesting details, that is. Especially the last few nights, since I'm pretty sure that at least last night's dream had *shock* a plot! If only I could remember a whole dream long enough to write it down, or at least jot a few notes for an outline. Then maybe I'd have a bestseller--or at least a published novel or something.

Yoinked from Aunt Julie's Blog (I'm waaaaaaaaaaay behind.)

2008-12-18T13:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Heather! (And various wedding-like details.)

2008-12-18T11:58:00.004-05:00

Today is Heather's birthday! Yay, Heather!

Now, on to our not-so-regularly scheduled blog entry:

Sunday, Anna, Kimba and I went to David's Bridal so that Kimba and I (and Liz F.) could try on bridesmaid dresses. We decided on this dress, with a bolero jacket, in apple for me and Liz and black for Kimba (since she's the maid of honor, and Anna wanted different colors--her bridal colors are black and apple). The jacket only comes in white, since that style's technically a bridal style, but we liked it, since it's an outdoor winter wedding anyway.

Luckily, we were able to pay for and order the dresses in our sizes on Sunday, because the lady who helped us said that delivery time was looking like the end of January. Considering the wedding is February 16th, we'd've been cutting it kinda close if we hadn't bought them there and then. We'll have to go back for first and second fittings--one to have the alterations lady pin them and such, and one to make sure the altered gowns actually fit right.

As an aside, I never really understood the need for more than one bridesmaid--I mean, all the extra ones do is just stand there in their dresses and look pretty, right? The maid of honor at least has some sort of "job" to do during the ceremony. I can understand wanting to appease certain female family members and/or friends, but it's not their wedding anyway.

If/when I ever get married, I'm going to have one bridesmaid, my groom will have one best man, and we will invite our immediate family, specific family members who we are closest to, and our bestest best friends. Everyone else will get announcements only, and possibly invitations to the reception. I'm talking super-duper-small wedding.

Anyway, back on course.

We also got to see Anna in her wedding dress while we were in the shop, since she had just made her final payment on it and had to get the alterations pinned. I'm not going to link to a picture of the dress today, since there's no telling who actually reads this blog, and it's "bad" for certain people to see the dress before the wedding, after all.

Pay day (and the company Christmas party) is tomorrow. Yay! I can finish my Christmas shopping! And start paying off my Discover card (which is how I paid for that gown).

Christmas Questions (Yoinked from Heather's LJ)

2008-12-16T13:37:00.004-05:00

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper--gift bags are just lazy (unless you don't have an appropriate sized box to put a gift in, then a bag is okay), and the holidays are about taking the effort and time to show a person you care.
Real tree or Artificial? Ours is artificial, but we've had a real one before--I get headaches if a real tree is in a small, enclosed house though.
When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving day, either during or after the Macy's parade.
Do you like eggnog? Yup, but recently I haven't been able to drink it without it cut in half with milk.
Favorite gift received as a child? Of the few I can remember, I'd have to say my favorite was the journal my grandma gave me when I was five--it was the first of many.
Hardest person to buy for? My dad--he tells us some things that he wants, but we can't always afford them even if we really want to get them for him, so I usually end up getting him things that aren't really what I want to get for him.
Easiest person to buy for? Anna--all I have to do is walk in the mall, or look in a catalogue, and I see so many things that are just "Totally Anna."
Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. My mom made one out of plastic canvas years ago, and I got a glass one for Christmas a few years back myself.
Mail or email Christmas cards? Neither--I've never been a Christmas card sender. But if I was, I'd mail them.
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Don't remember.
Favorite Christmas Movie? The Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol
When do you start shopping? As soon as I can. I even bought a gift for Anna way back in September once. But I usually keep it to the last 2-3 paychecks before the actual holiday--around Thanksgiving.
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I remember.
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Dinner in general--Gourmette (cook stuff on the table, bite by bite) specifically.
Lights on the tree? Of course, no lights on the tree is just stupid--you can't see the ornaments well without them.
Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home, since my immediate family is all in the area anyway.
Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph.
Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither--we have a spire-type thing.
Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning usually, unless someone's bought us pajamas and wants us to wear them to bed on Christmas Eve, or there's a gift that's specifically meant to be opened on Christmas Eve.
Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The commercialism--I especially hate the song "Santa Baby."
Favorite ornament theme or color? Silver and blue bulbs and beads, white lights, and the tree topper spire thing.
Favorite for Christmas dinner? Gourmette.
What do you want for Christmas this year? A few For Dummies books, some wide-staff musical manuscript paper, and a new laptop.
Who do I tag? Anyone who feels like filling this out!

Ending Thought:"Whose life is better because you woke up today?" Dunno.

Random Stuff

2008-12-12T13:18:00.005-05:00

Not much to tell--life's going on as usual here in good ol' Fredneck, USA.

Last Friday, one of the guys at the Haven showed me the player's handbook for an RPG called Paranoia. It's really kooky, and looks totally interesting. I'll probably play once they get a game going, since he said that they're most likely going to be playing on Tuesday evenings and I've got those free.

I've done most of my Christmas shopping as of Saturday. Just have to get a gift for Dad, which will have to wait until next Friday, as I am out of money again.

I had an interesting dream last night, which was actually interrupted by the alarm clock--that hasn't happened in a while, since I usually end up trying to stay asleep for at least an hour before the alarm goes off. I don't remember most of the dream, but I know it was set somewhere which looked suspiciously like Scottsdale, AZ.

Four-Day Weekend

2008-12-01T09:25:00.008-05:00

I started my Christmas shopping on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening. I'm not typing what I got in here though, since I know at least one person whose gift I bought actually reads this blog.

Thursday was okay. Dinner preparation was mostly hitch-less. I had to get Anna to help me slice the cabbage, because there's no way I would have been able to get it that thin--I'm more of a thick-slice gal.

Grandma, Aunt Tammy, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Dan, Michael and Katrina came over for dinner. We were supposed to have missionaries over too (we were the ones who'd actually signed up on their dinner calendar for Thanksgiving dinner), but apparently they had three other invitations not on the calendar. They didn't show up at all--not even for dessert.

I was feeling kind of ill during dinner, which was kind of aggravated by not having any real support for my upper back/head while I sat at the table (I had a folding chair). The result was not fun, or pretty. But at least it didn't get on the floor. I was not allowed to have pie until Friday. :(

After dinner, Aunt Barbara dropped off C.J. and Danielle, and we watched Get Smart, then when the younger kids went to bed (and Kimba left) the rest of us watched Wall-E. Both were good movies.

Friday was pretty much a lazy day all around.

Saturday, I alternated reading with updating my iPod with new music. My current iTunes library has 2,536 audio files on it, and my external hard drive (and some other CDs) has even more files which I haven't transferred over because I'm not going to be listening to them anytime really soon. I just barely got started with the updating on Saturday before I decided to let it go for the night.

Sunday, I finished the iPod update, including three songs which I bought from iTunes because Kayla hadn't downloaded them when she used my iTunes and I wanted them. I got "Truly Madly Deeply" by Savage Garden, "Rev 22:20" by Puscifier, and "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks. Including those three songs, I have over 1,000 audio files (I'd say "songs," but I've also got Dutch language stuff) on my iPod.

It took the better part of the day (at least eight hours) to pick out the songs I wanted on the iPod, but I managed to fill all but about twelve megabites of my 4-gig iPod Nano. A lot of the songs on there were old when I was in school, so they're practically ancient songs now (like the Beach Boys songs). Some are relatively new, like the Hannah Montana stuff.

Just Catching Up

2008-11-25T14:19:00.003-05:00

Not too much interesting stuff has happened since my last post, but I figured it would be a good idea so that I don't forget the few things that really are interesting.

Last Friday marked the last session of the Changeling game I was playing in. Gene tried to stretch it as long as he could, but it got to the point where our characters would just be "bean counting" after last week's session. That day was also Steve's birthday. I have no idea how old he is, but we had cake. David's D&D 2.0 game was cancelled that night, due to the fact that I was the only player other than Steve who was actually there.

We're having Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house this year, since Mom had surgery last week. We planned the menu, and I'm making brussels sprouts. I've got to stop at the grocery store tonight and get them, plus the ingredients to make them "less boring." I found a recipe on the Food Network website for Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Red Cabbage. Yum.

Due to Mom's health issues, she's lost a lot of weight. In fact, she's lost so much that we now both wear the same size jeans! No lie; I actually had her put on the pair I was wearing yesterday, and she fit them better than I do!

This morning, I packed two sandwiches to take to work for lunch--one was pastrami and the other was salami. I then went upstairs to eat my breakfast before I had to leave for work, and when I came downstairs, I found Tabby (Tim's cat) "chasing" one of the sandwiches off the dining room table! I found the other one on the kitchen floor. Grrrr.

I didn't have time to pack more sandwiches before I had to leave, so I got Five Guys for lunch today.

A Dream or Two

2008-11-13T10:11:00.003-05:00

I had a couple of interesting dreams last night.

The first part I remember is, I was living in this town, in this neighborhood that looked kind of like down near the McCain Drive/Orchard Way area, like when my family lived on Danielle Drive.

Each "morning," in my dream, I would get up and go to this one house, where--get this--Bob Saget had a local morning-type thing. Whether it was a show or not, I have no idea; all I know was that he had this little picture-drawing contest for the few people who found their way there and explained the inspiration for their drawings and had really good "reasons" for wanting to win the contest. I don't even remember what the prize was for winning.

Then, there was a bit of a segue that I don't remember, and all of a sudden, I was at the Phoenix airport, getting ready to go home from my vacation again.

Somehow, I'd gotten on the plane before the previous passengers had disembarked, and I had to get off before I could re-board. So I got off, and then when they called boarding again I went through the tunnel thing, and there was this van there. I got in the van (the inside of which looked like the plane, but without the bathrooms or cockpit--instead just a driver's seat and windshield), and we went on the highway.

Apparently, it was a shuttle to take us to another airport somewhere nearby for our flight. Don't ask me about the logic of that, 'cause I don't know. Anyway, just as the other airport was coming into view, my alarm clock rang and I woke up.

Man, I feel really dumb right now . . .

2008-11-10T08:35:00.004-05:00

Last night, Kimba, Kayla, Anna and I went to Chris H's house (Kayla and Anna call him "Tooth") to play SingStar. That went pretty well, and nothing really eventful happened with the singing--except we all discovered that Chris is a bit tone deaf, but that's okay.

Anna left early, and before that I went outside to put antifreeze in my bug. Pretty easy task, right? Just open the hood, open the radiator cap, and pour.

Well, when Kayla and I left Chris's house around 11:30 last night, the bug's temperature light was still screaming at me! I couldn't figure out what the problem was, so I just left it.

This morning, as I was on my way to work, I figured out why my car keeps saying it doesn't have any coolant--in the dark and the late hour last night, I mistook one symbol for another, and accidentally put antifreeze into the windshield wiper fluid reservoir! Man, I feel dumb.

Luckily, I still have some untainted antifreeze left, so I can put that into the radiator today during my lunch break (gotta wait for the engine to cool down first), but I have no idea how I'm going to clear out the wiper fluid reservoir. I'll have to ask my dad when I get home if he has any ideas.

I forgot to mention . . .

2008-11-09T18:09:00.006-05:00

Either Wednesday or Thursday, Kayla went with Anna to get things for Brian at the Humane Society. While they were there, Kayla saw this really cute grey tabby kitten (with brown highlights). It was the only kitten that came up to the outside edge of the cage and played with her, so Kayla bought the kitten, despite her allergy.

The kitten is female, about three weeks old, and Kayla named her Church, after the character in Red vs. Blue. She has to stay in Kayla's room for 10 days after she first got here, since she might spread kennel cough to the other animals in the house if she's not quarantined.

The total number of animals in this household is now seven:

Cali (female)--Kimba's dog, who stays with us since the house Kimba is staying at has a koi pond she doesn't want Cali getting into.

Mandy (female)--Anna's dog.

Brian (also female)--Tim's dog, who stays with us because there's not enough room at his place, and he's going to be marrying Anna in three months and all their pets will have to get along anyway.

James (male)--Anna's only surviving orange tabby cat. (R.I.P. O'Malley)

Tabby (male)--Tim's grey tabby cat, who stays with us for the same reason Brian does.

Church (female)--Kayla's new kitten.

Oreo (female)--Jason's panda hamster.

I've been thinking I might get a dog (I'd get a kitten, but have no desire to be responsible for a single litter box), but that won't be until after the holidays, at least. I also will have to get my room into some semblance of organization before I even think about getting an animal of my own--it's nowhere near dog- or puppy-proof.

Of course, the chances of me finding a dog that I actually like and would want to take home are probably less than one in however many dogs are at the Humane Society off of Patrick Street, and however many are at the shelter off of Rosemont Avenue.

Heck, if I really like it, I might get something other than a dog or a cat--no hamsters, guinea pigs, or anything else really smelly like that though. Maybe a bird or two, though I have no idea how to take care of them, or a snake (if I could get over the "handling live crickets and/or mice" thing).

Fun, fun, fun

2008-11-09T14:11:00.003-05:00

Halloween was pretty busy, all told. I went to work in my RennFest garb, and we had the annual party there. Then I went to the Haven for their Halloween party. Anna, Kayla and Jason came in and talked for a few minutes, then later on, Anna and Kayla came back and I went home around 10:30 or 11.

The next day, Jason and I decided to go back to the Haven, and I taught him to play Khet (laser chess), and we played Settlers of Catan and a couple of other games before we went home--four hours later.

Monday evening, I went to the Walkersville chapel to help set up for the election, and Tuesday was the election itself. It went pretty smoothly, except that once all the machines were put away, the chief judges kept us there for another hour and a half because their counts were off. We finally got to leave the chapel at around ten though.

We have a new president--Barack (sp?) Obama. I'm okay with that outcome, even though I voted for Nader. When Heather and I were looking online at the candidates' solutions to various issues, Nader's and Obama's solutions were all pretty good, but to me it seemed that Nader's ideas had more of a chance of getting implemented in a four-year time period than Obama's did. So, despite having voted for someone else, I'm perfectly okay with Obama as president.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were work as usual, and then after work Friday I went to the Haven for the "big" Changeling game--the session that could either end the whole campaign, continue with the villain known, or end the whole campaign.

The campaign almost ended, but the villain (Carl's character, H.P. Lovemore) was revived, so we were able to continue. Now, all of us will be playing on Friday's, instead of in individual sessions during the week. I also got my own copy of the Changeling manual, so that's pretty neat.

David's D&D 2.0 game went okay, except for the fact that most of the party members kept arguing about the stupidest little things and wouldn't get their acts together long enough to actually play. The three people rescuing my half of the party had one encounter, then they rescued us in a second encounter. By the time we got to a place where we could have an encounter as a full party, it was already ten o'clock, and time to stop. Grr.

Ah well, there's always next Friday.

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day, but around 4 or so, I paid my bills and stuff before going to run errands around 6. I went to Bath & Body Works for shower gel and more body cream (plus other stuff); CVS for shampoo, conditioner and Blistex; Rosa Pizza for dinner; Advance Auto for antifreeze; WaWa for gas and a lighter (for the oil fragrance warmer I'd bought at Bath & Body Works); and the storage facility for some of my music and writing stuff. I still have yet to put the antifreeze in the bug, but I'm going to do that either later this evening or tomorrow before I head out to work--it's been screaming at me about the temperature for at least a week now.

When I have a question that I need answered . . .

2008-10-30T08:42:00.003-04:00

I go to Yahoo!Answers. Of course, I have to pick out the answers that are actually coherent, accurate, and well-worded enough for me to understand and use, but it's also fun to answer other peoples' questions.

Vacation - Part III

2008-10-27T09:01:00.004-04:00

Thanks, Heather, for posting your little summary on your LJ--I'd almost forgotten the order of what happened the rest of the weekend.

Friday evening, after Heather got up, we went back to the mall. First, we went to JCPenney, where I got four sets of pajamas and two sets of long underwear. I also bought a set of pajamas for Heather.

After that, Heather bought us both pretzels and lemonade at Auntie Anne's, and we went to Zales, so that Heather could get the bi-annual cleaning done for her ring. While she was doing that, I bought a new pair of ruby studs with starter posts, since one of my original studs had gotten lost when one of my sisters borrowed them. I also bought a pair for Heather with the gem she wanted.

We went back to the pet store to coo over the puppies again--that husky was just so pretty--before we went back to her place again to watch the rest of Haibane Renmei. Then, we went to McDonald's to get some dinner, after Stephen got home from work later than usual due to a meeting.

Saturday, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for a late lunch/early dinner before Stephen went to work, and then Heather and I talked while I packed. We then went to Wal-Mart, because I needed a box to put my stuffed animals in from the fair--they wouldn't fit in my suitcase. I also bought a bunch of souvenirs, some bubble wrap, and packing tape.

After packing up the souvenirs and the stuffed animals securely in the box and putting my name and address on it in sharpie, I used Heather's computer to schedule a UPS pick-up for this afternoon. I'll get the box by next Monday at the latest.

Heather and I then went on the League of Women Voters website so that I could show her how to research the different candidates for the election and make an informed decision when she votes. We also decided which presidential candidate's ideas we liked the best, though it was kind of a tie. I can't remember whether we'd decided we liked Nader or Obama more though--we definitely didn't like McCain as much.

We were both reluctant to go to sleep, but around 12:30 I decided I'd better sleep. I woke up at 8am and got dressed, putting the last of my stuff in my luggage and carry-on before taking them both out to the car after I ate. Then I waited for Heather and Stephen to get up.

At nine, we headed to the airport. I followed Stephen and Heather in the car I'd rented, and once I returned it, they drove me to the terminal and walked in with me as far as the security gate.

The first flight was uneventful, except for the fact that we arrived in Atlanta early. Even then, I barely had time to use the restroom and get some food before boarding my next flight. I managed to finish my burger, but I was halfway through my chips (and hadn't even started on my cheesecake) before they announced they were ready to board.

I finished my dinner on the plane to Baltimore, and that flight landed early as well. I had a headache after that flight, since I hadn't bothered to chew any gum during takeoff and landing, like I did for the first flight.

Anna and Kayla met me outside security, and we went home in Anna's car. I un-packed my luggage, and had planned on balancing my checkbook and paying my bills, but I just wanted to lay down so the Excedrin would kick in, so I'm saving that for this evening.

I couldn't get to sleep until around four this morning. I took an Excedrin when I got home, but it wasn't enough, since my head was still hurting more than two hours later. So I took another one at that point. It didn't kick in until around two, but then the medicine head kept me up until at least four. I hate my head sometimes.

Vacation - Part II

2008-10-24T14:28:00.011-04:00

We went to Red Robin for dinner on Monday. We had some chips and dip for an appetizer, as well as a plate of fries and lime sauce--the waiter brought the fries out because the cook was taking so long with our order.

After dinner, we had a little time before the movie, so we stopped off at Borders. I got a new game called "You've Been Sentenced," plus a couple of those mini-book things.

We did end up seeing City of Ember. It was a good movie, and as it should have, left me wondering what happens next.

We all went to sleep at a somewhat more reasonable time then.

Tuesday, I woke up around ten in the morning, and decided to let Heather sleep until I woke her up at noon. So while she was sleeping I got breakfast and checked my e-mail and stuff. Heather was still sleepy though, so she went back to sleep for a couple more hours and woke up a little bit before Stephen was due back.

We went to the Arizona State Fair, and had loads of fun. We didn't ride many rides, but we did play a bunch of games. I won a couple of stuffed animals, and I'm hoping they'll fit in my luggage, but if they don't, I'll have to get a box and ship them to Maryland.

Wednesday morning was about the same, only I let Heather sleep until two in the afternoon before trying to wake her. She stayed awake this time, but was still a little sleepy. When Stephen got back from work on Wednesday, we all went to Subway for dinner and then went to Bookman's to look at the used books and stuff. I got The Origin, a comic about how the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer was actually different from what Joss wanted it--it didn't look too different from what I remember, but it was still fun to read--plus two more novels.

Yesterday, I woke up first, and then let Heather sleep until she decided to wake up--that was much more satisfactory, even though I was awake for five hours and she wasn't. We decided to go to the mall nearby so that she could buy some essentials at JCPenney. Then we walked around the mall for a while.

I got us pretzels at Auntie Anne's, and we looked in a few stores including Bath & Body Works. We also looked at stuff in game stop, plus two other stores. One was a music box/clock/glass figurine shop, and the other was an Asian-themed store where they sold anything from little Buddha statues to rice-eating sets with chopsticks to Japanese swords.

We finally decided to have dinner, so we went to Villa Pizza. Heather had two slices of cheese pizza, and I had Chicken Marsala with a side of potatoes and a side of steamed vegetables. Yummy.

After dinner, we headed over to Master Cuts, so that Heather could get her hair cut. We wanted to go back to JCPenney so I could get some new shirts and such, but they were closed, so we went back to Heather & Stephen's place.

We finally played my new game--it was pretty fun--and then Stephen went to sleep. Heather and I stayed up for a couple more hours, watching Haibane Renmei, an anime series that's kind of corny, but cute, and gets a little more interesting as you go.

After the first two disks, we decided we were both sleepy and went to our respective rooms, but I wanted to watch the bonus features on Heather's copy of Serenity, since my copy has none. I had no idea they would take so long--I didn't get to sleep until after five this morning!

But for some reason, I was still not able to sleep any later than eleven. And I had a weird dream too--something about werewolves and this interesting-looking building which might've been a cross between a log cabin and an airport.

Vacation - Part I

2008-10-20T20:25:00.004-04:00

The last week before I left for vacation was kind of a drag. Seriously, I swear each day took at least two.

Anyway, Thursday night, I did my laundry, and then after my games at the Haven on Friday, I packed--with a little help from Anna.

Saturday morning, I took a shower, then brought my luggage downstairs. Anna came home between classes, and then we went to FCC so that she could catch a half-hour of her Biology lecture before taking me to the airport. I went to the computer lab while she was in class and checked my e-mail.

We got to the airport, and Anna showed me how to get my boarding pass and check my large bag. Then she showed me where the security checkpoint was and gave me a few last tips before saying goodbye for the week.

On my way to the gate, I bought a pretzel and lemonade from Auntie Anne's, and ate it while I waited for boarding time.

The flight to Atlanta was uneventful, and I got quite a bit of White Jenna read. After the first chapter or two, I took a bit of a cat nap, and then we landed.

In Atlanta, I bought a late lunch/early dinner--a cheese steak sandwich and some fries with cheese, ranch and bacon on them. Then I went to my next gate and read.

Just before we were to be boarding, the gate attendants made an announcement that they were still waiting on the pilots for my next flight to get there from Dayton, Ohio, and that unless they could find some new pilots before then, my flight to Phoenix would not take off until 8:15. Luckily, they did find other pilots, so my flight took off at 7:30--only 20 minutes later than it should have.

That flight was just over four hours long. I was a bit confused though, because my itinerary said that, while it was a four-hour flight, the departure time was 7:10 and the arrival time was supposedly 8:17. Turns out, it was almost 9pm in Phoenix when we landed--almost midnight in Frederick. It's kind of annoying that they show the arrival times in the same time zone as you've just landed, instead of in the time zone that you've just left--it'd be much less confusing that way.

My bag took a while to come onto the carousel from the plane, but I got it eventually. Then, I caught the shuttle to the car rental center. It'd been a long day, so I was kind of out of it as I talked to the guy at the counter. He asked me questions about insurance and such, but I thought I'd already determined all that when I booked the flight and the car online--I'll have to look at that contract later when I get a chance to go out to the car (a Saturn Sky convertible), since I left it in there.

I started on my way to Heather and Stephen's house, but, silly me, I forgot to read the directions before I left the parking deck, and I couldn't read them in the dark. So, not only did I get turned around trying to get out of the airport area, but I also didn't know where to go from there. I called Heather on my cell phone, and between the two of us, we managed to figure it out--although I did miss an exit or two and end up driving past the Gila River.

I finally made it to their place, and by then it was 2am my time--11pm their time. There were much hugs from Heather--Stephen was still at work--and Heather and I talked. Oddly enough, I was still wide awake, since I'd had a rather refreshing nap on the second plane as well, and I had a headache from being cramped into the seat and from the pressurized air.

The apartment is huge! Even the guest bedroom is larger than Jason's room at home. It's got to have at least half of the square-footage space of the townhouse on Wheyfield. The guest bathroom is huge too, with two sink basins. I didn't bring my camera, because I don't think I'd have been able to find it before I left, and I don't remember what I did with the cable to hook it up to my computer. But Heather has a camera, so we'll try and take at least a few pictures while I'm here, so she can e-mail them to me and I'll post them when I get back.

Eventually, we decided to watch Angel season five, since I hadn't seen more than the first 7-9 episodes. We watched the first disc, and then finally decided to go to sleep, since Stephen showed up after the third episode.

Sunday morning--well, it was noon, actually--we all woke up and got ready to go to Stephen's parents' house for his dad's birthday party. I met some of Heather's in-laws (they were really nice) and then we went back to the apartment. I watched the second disc of Angel in their car, Kermit, on their portable DVD player.

When we got back, we watched a few more episodes, then Heather decided to go to bed. I took the season box into the guest room, and had decided to watch until Illyria killed Fred (I'd been well and truly spoiled about certain events in the season, even though I hadn't seen them) but after that happened, I just really, really, really wanted to know what happened next, so I kept watching "just one more episode," thinking that the next would be the last before I went to sleep.

I finished the series at seven o'clock this morning. Then I crashed.

Heather finally woke me up about an hour and forty-five minutes ago, and I had chocolate cake and milk for "breakfast." It was really a bit of a snack to tie me over until dinner, since Stephen was due to come home from work soon anyway.

After cake, I took a shower, and Heather and I watched the end of an episode of Charmed that was on TV before she asked if I wanted to see a movie and go out to dinner. We checked playing times and showings on her computer--we're probably going to see City of Ember--and then she said I could check my e-mail and post this entry.

It's been a busy few days, but it's a different kind of busy, so I'm more refreshed than I've been in ages. I'm looking forward to the rest of my vacation.

I read a book!

2008-10-12T20:17:00.004-04:00

Really, if you knew how much fanfic I'd been reading lately, instead of actual books, that might surprise you.

But today after I'd finished the rather long fic I was reading (and balanced my checkbook), I started on Sister Light, Sister Dark. I just finished a little bit ago, and ordered White Jenna (book two in the trilogy) from Amazon, since it was not listed in the FCPL (Frederick County Public Libraries) online card catalogue.

I got the steeply-priced two-day shipping (one-day was even steeper--this way I spent only $18 and change, instead of $25), so I should be able to start reading it Wednesday evening. If I don't finish it by then, I will then be able to take it on the plane with me next Saturday and finish the book before I get to Phoenix.

Just in case I finish the book before the flight--or rather, flights, since there's a layover in Atlanta--is over, I'll bring Dragons of Winter Night, as well as another book or two for the return flight, and one or two of my new Samurai Sudoku puzzle books, which I have not done any puzzles in yet.

Lots of Thinking

2008-10-09T08:49:00.003-04:00

Tuesday I did end up going to the Haven, and I watched Gene and Steve play Warhammer for the fantasy campaign that's going on. They didn't finish until about half an hour after closing time, but it was so fascinating that I didn't feel like going home until they were done. I've watched bits of two different other Warhammer games since then, and I think I might want to learn the game. But I won't buy an army for myself unless I really get into it--and then, only a few years or so down the road. Until then, I'll just use the armies they have at the store for club use.

Last Saturday, I went to Allegheny Optical and got my eyes checked. I found out that it'd been four years since my last eye exam. It's funny--I never realize how long it's been between exams until I put on/in my new prescription in the optometrist's office. I put in those new contacts, and everything was much, much sharper. It made me realize that having trouble reading road signs from the short distance I'd been having trouble at was not normal. I've resolved to go to the optometrist at least once a year from now on, or at least listen and schedule further appointments as recommended, instead of waiting for the money to be there and then scheduling the appointment. I also got a new set of frames. They're like the frames I had two prescriptions ago (which I still have), but they're copper-y colored, instead of gold.

Kayla's currently in Alabama, visiting her family, so when she gets back this weekend there will be two episodes of Pushing Daisies and Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction to watch--much fun! I have yet to get caught up on Psych, Numb3rs, Bones or Smallville though. I'm thinking I'll just catch them on Sidereel later. I've also not yet finished watching my MacGyver DVDs--I've been in the middle of season 4 for at least a month and a half. Plus, I want to re-watch at least seasons 6 and 7 of Buffy and seasons 4 and 5 of Angel--I don't remember much about Angel, and I've only seen those seasons of Buffy once, with a few episodes here and there from when Anna and Kayla were going through the serieses.

I've been thinking too, that I might give up on re-reading the core DragonLance novels--I've been in the middle of Dragons of Winter Night for months now, and I've only read that much because I needed something to read while I got my allergy shots every Monday.

BUT! A girl at the Haven this past Tuesday (not the one with the Warhammer) brought a bunch of books she was getting rid of, and I took 7 or 8 that looked promising (I haven't added them to LibraryThing yet, but I will this weekend), including Sister Light, Sister Dark, which, if I remember correctly, Heather recommended to me a few months ago and sounded extremely intriguing. So, if I do decide to quit on DragonLance, then I'll be reading those books.

Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to catch up and read fast enough to actually make the 50-book goal this year.

I've been thinking . . .

2008-09-30T16:29:00.004-04:00

That I might do NaNoWriMo this year. More on that later.

Saturday was the most fun I've had at RennFest in years. I didn't wear my garb, because it would've been much too hot, despite the rain--I was sweating from the humidity while trying to keep the rain off of my glasses with one or the other of my umbrellas. I hung out with Pippi, Ruth and Evil Dan, among others from the Haven, and went to a lot of shops I'd never noticed before. I bought a set of two tiny knives, a hand-crafted leather belt, and a pocket watch. I left the faire quite a bit poorer, but happy. Fun times.

And with a headache. By the time we got back to the Haven, my head was killing me. I pitched in for pizza--they were ordering--and then my dad called to say he was out and about, so did I want a ride home? I said sure, and about five minutes after the pizza got there, my dad got there too. So I was able to have a slice of pizza before I left.

Sunday, I played Guitar Hero with Kayla and Jason, and yesterday not much happened except my usual trip to the allergist for my shots.

Today's been pretty boring so far. I'm debating whether or not I want to go to the Haven. I think I probably will.

Anyway, about NaNoWriMo . . .

I've never done it before--never had the inclination to try, or the idea for a story. I don't really have an idea for a new story either, but I do have a fanfic that I've been trying to finish for at least two years now. So I'm thinking that, instead of the traditional 50,000 words, for NaNoWriMo (which I'm pretty sure I couldn't bang out in a month right now anyway), I'll probably impose a chapter count on that fanfic I've been writing, and make that my goal for the month of November.

I've been thinking I could bang out at least two chapters (maybe three) of PPKM in a month if I really cracked down and didn't let myself get distracted by all of the readable stuff out there. Goodness knows I haven't written a single sentence since I posted chapter six!

I have the sudden urge . . .

2008-09-26T13:38:00.002-04:00

. . . to play Guitar Hero. A few minutes ago, I noticed that "Paint it Black" was stuck in my head, and I was thinking about that stupid fret board scrolling up on the screen at the same time.

But I'm not going to get to play Guitar Hero until Sunday, at the earliest--I'll be at the Haven from when I get off work today until around 10-ish, and then I'll be at RennFest with the Haven crowd all day tomorrow.

Oh, well. Guess I'll just have to try and get a different song stuck in my head.

D'oh!

2008-09-25T16:21:00.001-04:00

Felicia Day, who plays Penny in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, played Vi in season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No wonder she looked so familiar, but I couldn't remember who she was--I hadn't watched more than an episode or two of season seven since it first aired!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (SPOILERS)

2008-09-24T08:33:00.004-04:00

So, I finally took the time to watch Joss's extra-short creation last night. I'd wanted to for a while, but never took the time. Some thoughts:

I was totally not expecting Penny to die, and was especially not expecting Dr. Horrible to actually become as evil as he wanted to be. I was thinking maybe he'd use the freeze ray on her, she'd live, and then he'd turn good. But then again, this is Joss we're talking about, so I guess I should have expected the ending it got. It was still awesome though.
Having seen Nathan Fillion as both Caleb the creepy, misogynistic preacher as well as Malcolm Reynolds, gun-slinging space transport captain, it was weird seeing him in cargo pants and a tee shirt. 'Cause I'm a whole lot more used to seeing him in camel-colored slacks, a button-down shirt, suspenders and a long brown coat, with a pistol at his hip. He's got a really good singing voice though.
I can't remember from where I've seen the actress who plays Penny before; I'll have to look that up on IMDB later.

Finally, a Vacation!

2008-09-19T16:29:00.004-04:00

I was very happy when I got my paycheck last Friday, because I saw that I had a full week's worth of paid vacation time saved up. So, I talked to Heather, and I will be going to visit her in Arizona from Saturday, October 18, 2008 through Sunday, October 26, 2008. It's the first time I will ever ride on an air plane--unless you count the half-hour-long introductory flight lesson I had when I was twelve.

Yay, vacation!

Sorry about the quizzes . . .

2008-09-15T23:38:00.002-04:00

As I said, I was bored.

And it appears that I am either Simon or Kaylee. Neither of which is bad, and I figure I'd be one of them anyway--probably a mix of the two--but couldn't the quizzes lie to me just a little bit and tell me I was River? At least then I could trick myself into believing I can kick some pi gu. :-p

Yup, still bored.

2008-09-15T23:37:00.003-04:00

You Scored as Dr. Simon Tam

The Medic. While a bit "socially challenged," when it comes down to it you know what you are doing. You usually know the "right" thing to do, but sometimes it gets the best of you.

Dr. Simon Tam

75%

Dr. Simon Tam

70%

Kaylee Frye

65%

Hoban "Wash" Washburne

65%

Hoban "Wash" Washburne

65%

Dr. Simon Tam

65%

Derrial Book

60%

Derrial Book

60%

Kaylee Frye

60%

Hoban "Wash" Washburne

55%

Kaylee Frye

55%

Malcolm "Mal"Reynolds

55%

Derrial Book

50%

Malcolm "Mal"Reynolds

50%

River Tam

50%

Malcolm "Mal"Reynolds

50%

River Tam

50%

River Tam

45%

Zoe Alleyne Washburne

45%

Jayne Cobb

45%

Inara Serra

40%

Jayne Cobb

40%

Zoe Alleyne Washburne

40%

Inara Serra

40%

Jayne Cobb

40%

Saffron / Yolanda / Bridget

40%

Zoe Alleyne Washburne

35%

Saffron / Yolanda / Bridget

35%

Inara Serra

35%

Saffron / Yolanda / Bridget

25%

I was bored.

2008-09-15T23:37:00.001-04:00

You Scored as Simon Tam

You are Simon, Serenity's doctor, and on the run from the Alliance after he liberated his sister River from an Alliance experiment. A bit prim and proper, but Kaylee's working on that.

Simon Tam

56%

Wash Washburne

55%

Mal Reynolds

50%

Zoe Washburne

49%

Inara Serra

48%

Shepherd Book

43%

River Tam

43%

Kaylee Frye

39%

Jayne Cobb

18%

Saw this on someone's LJ

2008-09-15T23:36:00.001-04:00

You Scored as Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye

The Mechanic. You are a natural mechanic, and you are far too sweet and cheerful to live out here. How you can see the good in everyone around you boggles the mind occasionally. Still you don't seem to be any crazier than that, and it is a nice kinda crazy.

Kaylee (Kaywinnet Lee) Frye

56%

Zoe Alleyne Washburne

56%

Inara Serra

56%

Hoban 'Wash' Washburne

44%

Shepherd Derrial Book

38%

Simon Tam

38%

River Tam

38%

Jayne Cobb

31%

The Operative

31%

Capt. Mal Reynolds

19%

Mini-Update

2008-09-15T11:29:00.002-04:00

Kayla and Anna stayed home from RennFest on Labor Day, because if they hadn't, only Mom would've been home to watch the dogs. So Jason and I went by ourselves.

We watched a couple shows (Mike Rose the "Magic Kinda Guy," and The Rogues), then went through the maze and did some archery. Jason went down the giant slide. I bought a brown Rogues tee shirt. It is my new favorite article of clothing--I didn't have a favorite before.

I'm going to go back to RennFest on the 27th with a bunch of people from the Haven. Don't know what all we're going to do there, but it should be fun.

Not much has happened since Labor Day, but I may have some news later this week or early next week--depending on when I get a call from Heather.

It would be really neat if . . .

2008-08-31T17:50:00.006-04:00

. . . there were an RPG for Pern, don't you think?

End thought.

On with the updates:

Kayla and I didn't actually get to see the new Batman movie the day after my last post, but we did see it eventually. It was awesome. Of course, with my little knowledge of the Batman universe, I was kind of spoiled--I just knew that Gordon couldn't really be dead, 'cause he had to become Commissioner first.

Heath Ledger was awesome as the Joker; if I didn't know it was him, I wouldn't have recognized him--his voice was completely different from usual, and the makeup was (necessarily) heavy, of course.

A few Sundays ago (I don't remember exactly how many), Anna found O'Malley (one of her orange tabby cats) on the staircase, struggling to breathe. She rushed him to the animal hospital, where they found that he had fluid in his lungs.

There were four things that could have caused that, and various solutions to those problems which could have been implemented. But each solution had its down-side, and none of them would have guaranteed that he wouldn't have fluid in his lungs later on, so he had to be put down. He was five years old.

Anna was devastated. We had a little funeral for him out back that same night, and Anna painted a cinder block brick with his name on it for a headstone.

A few days later, someone stole the power adapter for the camper. I came home from work that Wednesday (or maybe it was Thursday?) to find that there was no power going to my TV, my alarm clock, my VCR/DVD-R, or my computer. I tried resetting the breakers both in the house and in the camper, but nothing worked. So I looked at where the extension cord got plugged into the camper, and there was a piece missing, which allowed the extension cord to have the camper plugged into it. It still hasn't been found.

So, the day after that, Anna and Kayla cleaned out Anna's old room (Kayla had already moved out of it into Kimba's old room, since she moved into a house downtown), and I slept in the empty room on Anna's "nook" pillows for a night with a few "essentials." The day after that, Jason got his room cleaned, and moved into the empty room. That Saturday, I was able to move
all of my stuff into Jason's old room, and slept on Anna's pillows until last weekend, when I setup my old daybed.

After Anna gets married in February, I'm going to move all of my stuff (except the daybed and my books) into my old room (currently Anna's), and we're going to use the room I'm currently in as a guest room which will double as my library.

Or that's the plan, anyway.

A few days after I moved into the house, Tim (Anna's fiancé) got a new puppy. She's a shepherd mix, and he named her Brian, after the dog from Family Guy. She's so tiny, and cute--too bad she'll have to grow up and get all annoyingly big and everything.

Yesterday, Anna, Kayla and I went shopping for various things, including lingerie and new pillows for me and groceries for all three of us. We also picked up the dress I bought at RennFest a few years back, since we're going there tomorrow--both Anna and I have Labor Day off, and Kayla has agreed to come, as long as we don't make her wear any garb. I said that was okay, as long as she at least tried Anna's dresses on yesterday and looked in a mirror; she did, and then promptly took them off and got in her regular clothes again.

My Friday night D&D game is no more. Actually it was technically a "new to RPGs" game, so since at least two of us had gotten GM memberships at the Haven, we don't really need "instruction" anymore--not for playing, anyway. Instead, Gene started up a new game, based in the World of Darkness. He's doing a GMs-only, mostly one-on-one Changeling game.

Pretty much, the concept is, he'll work with each of us players individually on certain days of the week (my day's going to be Friday), and we'll have to post on the message boards within 48 hours about what our character did during the latest session. We'll also be able to have one-on-one sessions with the other players, I'm thinking as well. The world itself seems interesting, and I'm looking forward to playing it. I created my character two nights ago, but I forgot to give her a name.

My D&D 4.0 character went into the "Old Characters" section of my RPG player's binder. I've also got a GM binder for my Serenity game, as well as for a series I'm writing for the Buffy RPG.

Twenty-Five

2008-07-25T15:36:00.006-04:00

Okay, so this post is two days late . . . so what?

I am now officially a quarter-century old. *cue the confetti* Had a pretty quiet birthday, all told, which is good. I meant to go to the Haven that day, but before I could leave the house (read: camper) I had to 1) pay my bills and figure my finances, 2) do my laundry, and 3) take a shower. I also wanted to go put gas in the bug and buy a new umbrella (my old black one is finally broken beyond the ability to work around), but I didn't get that far either.

It was nearly five in the evening before I got out of the shower, and it rained off and on, so I didn't feel like going anywhere after that. Not to mention, most of the Haven people I'd hang out with would have been too busy preparing for Pennsic War (they left today, and the shop won't be open for a couple weeks while they're there) for me to be much interested in going after all.

So I stayed home and had a lazy day. It helped, because last Saturday I stayed up until 7 a.m. Sunday, and had yet to catch up on the missed sleep at the time, despite getting regular amounts of sleep on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights. But when I went back to work yesterday, I felt refreshed.

Last Saturday, I saw Hancock with Kayla--it was funny, and I liked the story a lot. Great special effects and fight scenes as well. We were originally going to see the new Batman movie, but the show we wanted to see was sold out and we didn't want to have to leave and come back for another show, so we saw Hancock instead.

Tomorrow, we're seeing Batman, so it's all good.

For my birthday, I got a new purse, a wallet, a new watch, and an electronic Sudoku game. I'd never cared much about having a wallet or not, 'cause I just kept my cash in my pocket (or on the cup on my nightstand) and my most-used cards in my checkbook, but it's nice to have it all in one place and not need the pocket or the cup.

I was kind of leery about using a new watch while the old one still works just fine, but the new one is just so pretty (the old one was gold finish, and I prefer silver, which the new one is) that I couldn't resist. So I stopped the old watch (pulled out the knob) so the battery wouldn't die, and buckled it to my old purse.

Brother B. also sent me a telegram for my birthday--he's a ham radio operator, so he sent the message through that to another operator, who called my cell phone and left it on my voice mail. That was pretty cool. He also called to follow up a little while later.

I was going to say something about the last day or two or something, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was now. Oh well, if I remember, I can always make another entry.

I'm too old to be single.

2008-07-14T21:09:00.006-04:00

So Kimba's got a boyfriend. That's nothing new--she's had pretty steady relationships for the last 3-5 years at least. In fact, she's only had two different boyfriends in all that time. Her current boyfriend's name is Jason. On the extremely rare occasions that he and my brother are in the same room, it gets a little confusing.

Anna started seeing this one guy from her forensic biology class by the name of Tim. Kayla and I call him Twigg, or Twiggler (his last name, or a play on it), since we know too many Tims already.

Then there's me. I haven't had a date that was anything more than platonic in so long a time that it can be measured in years. The last date I had that was even remotely romance-based (read: there was actual kissing and stuff, not just friendly chat) was . . . I don't remember exactly how long ago, but it was with Patrick W, before he went to Vermont on that trip with his local YSA group.

Given this information, imagine my surprise when Anna, the youngest of my two younger sisters, came into the camper this evening waving the black diamond solitaire on her hand. It's interesting, I never knew black diamonds weren't actually black. Anna's is actually a dark purple color. But the ring really suits her.

Yes, my friends, my twenty-year-old sister is getting married--in February. Don't get me wrong, I like Twiggler--he's funny, and makes Anna happy. I was just surprised that Kimba wasn't the one to get engaged first (since I'm nowhere near that stage with any guy I know and Kimba's the next oldest, at twenty-three--twenty-four in September), since she's been with her boyfriend longer. Then again, I know I've heard her say stuff about not getting married while she's in school or something, which seems kinda stupid to me, but that's just my opinion.

Anyway, that's the news. My sister's getting married, which is awesome, and I think I'm too old to be single--not that I can do anything about it right now, since I don't know any guys well enough to even consider not being single with them anyway.

Ahhhhhh

2008-07-13T11:39:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I got my birthday present to myself--an hour-long full-body massage from the FMH Wellness Center in the FSK mall. Oh man, was that a great idea!

I'd've gotten it on my birthday (since I've taken off work that day), but the massage therapist I usually go to isn't working that day. She's all booked up for the Saturday after, and isn't working the Saturday before either, so I went yesterday instead. I should've done it months ago--the tension headaches were coming more frequently, and it sucked. Today, there's a little tension, but not so much that I feel a headache anywhere near coming on. I feel sooooo much better.

I need to go to my storage unit today and search for my bundle of index cards. I've looked through all of the bins in the camper here, but I can't find them, so I think I packed them with the stuff I don't need from day to day. Maybe I'll grab MacGyver season one while I'm there, so that Jason can watch the whole thing from the beginning--he's been watching season two, since that was the season I was on when I moved--I'd already packed up season one.

The day of my birthday, I'm going to wake up late (I'm thinking 9 or 9:30 will be good, 10 or so, if I can stay comfortably asleep that long), then go to the Haven until about 4-ish before I come home and have dinner with my family. Which reminds me, I have to choose my birthday dinner food!

The group of people playing in my Serenity game has decided that we'll be playing the day before my birthday, instead of the day after, since one of them (the guy playing the captain of the ship) won't be there on the 24th. I'm hoping Heather can come with me that evening and see the coolness that is the Haven. Or at least that she can come with me on one of the few evenings she's here before that, since she'll be leaving the day of my birthday and might be too tired the night before to come hang out. Either way, it'll be good to see Heather again. (Hi, chica!)

Anyway, I'm going to read some more before I head over to the storage facility for those index cards (the gate to access the units is open until 10pm, 7 days a week)--I need them to prepare for the Serenity game, since I'm so disorganized and didn't even know how much until I ran the first session (the very first session of the very first RPG I'd ever run, and I hadn't even played this particular system before either) and had to stop frequently just to check rules or find my place in the story line again.

I got a tip from Brian (the guy playing the captain) about using index cards for NPC stuff, and I might also use index cards to take notes on the storyline itself, instead of just reading straight from the story, since I accidentally printed four PDF pages per each 8-1/2 x 11-inch sheet of paper, and the print is tiny. I can read it, but it takes a minute to find where I am again. I don't want to waste more ink and paper though, so I'm not going to re-print it. Index card notes should work just as well.

It's a good thing my Serenity GM screen came in the mail this weekend, or else I'd have to look for rules such as weapon damage and armor stuff during game play again. And since my rulebook is a first-printing, it doesn't have an index, so I pretty much have to remember which chapter and/or section the rule is in, or be screwed (in which case, I just make up a new rule based on my somewhat spotty memory of the actual rule, which is bad).

Only Fell

2008-07-09T20:51:00.002-04:00

A Firefly fanfic by DSDragon

A Non-Firefly-Related Note: To all of you waiting for chapter seven of The Pitfalls and Pleasantries of Kryptonian Multiplication, I am sorry to disappoint you with yet another non-Lois & Clark fic. The truth is, I haven’t even started thinking about what will happen in that chapter, but rest assured that I will. I just happen to be on a kick with another fandom at the moment. One of these days, I’m sure I’ll crack down on myself and force my fingers to type some good ol’ L&C.

Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly, or any of the characters therefrom. Joss Whedon, FOX and the studios that the BDM was filmed by do. More’s the pity, ‘cause if I did, I certainly wouldn’t let that be all there was.

Spoilers: Our Mrs. Reynolds—much of the dialogue for this story has been yoinked straight from that episode. Other than that, I’ve tried to explain everything in as close to my own words as possible.

“You guys don’t understand,” Captain Malcolm Reynolds protested as he staggered to his feet. Nearby, Simon was stowing his stethoscope in his bag and the Shepherd, Zoe, Wash and Inara had found places around the captain’s bunk.

“Seems pretty straightforward to me,” answered the Shepherd. “You were taking advantage--”

“I was the one being taken advantage of!” Mal shouted as he pulled on his left suspender.

“My apologies. You were victimized, Wash was beaten, and then Inara found you here.”

“Uh-And then I fell,” Inara interjected from Mal’s bed as she pointed to the floor. Mal thought her voice sounded different—maybe she was sleepy? “My head got hurt like Wash.”

“I don’t get any of this,” lamented the captain, ignoring the Companion on his bed for the moment.

“I only fell is all,” Inara persisted, slightly louder.

“No, you didn’t,” Simon answered her.

“How you know that, when you ain’t even examined her?” Zoe asked.

“No need.” The doctor stood and faced the captain, rubbing his face roughly with a cloth and backing away before Mal could even think to block the other man’s arm.

“Ow!” Mal protested. “What was that for?”

“The Good Night Kiss is tasteless,” Simon began as he lowered the handkerchief to his side.

“Yeah, so?”

“So, Captain, since the narcotic is tasteless, you should be able to tell me whether or not Saffron was wearing lipstick, which has a distinct flavor.”

Mal’s lips pursed as he tried to remember. “She wasn’t--not a smudge. But what’s that gotta do with anything?”

Simon brought his hand up to Mal’s eye level, showing him the side of the cloth—a snow-white handkerchief—with which he had wiped Mal’s face.

Mal peered at the fine white fabric. In the center, barely noticeable, was a patch of color. Mal couldn’t decide whether it was a light purple or a dusky pink, but he didn’t have to look at the woman on his bunk to know where it came from. “Huh,” he said, staring at the smudge. Suddenly, Inara's "sleepy" tone of voice made sense.

“What?” Wash asked from his position beside Zoe.

“Nothing to go crazy over,” Mal answered, filing the information away for a later, more private conversation. He grabbed the handkerchief from the doctor and pocketed it, deliberately not looking Inara’s way. Mal suddenly wondered why half of his crew was currently crowding his bunk and turned to Zoe.

“What the hell’s our status?”