Gaaaaaaaaahhh! How are the rest of you WriMos not whining pathetically? This sucks. My characters are automatons, my settings are repetitious, and my plot is boring me to death!

Doesn't anyone have a cat that needs waxing? Poor Delilah slips on the linoleum, she has been waxed so much.

Phew! I was starting to worry that my NaNoWriMo novel had flat, pointless male characters, but I've finally got two men talking about something other than the female protagonist!

...because I really need to look on the bright side.

1. E and I are both gainfully employed, which is a good thing in This Economy^tm.*

2. I have a good start on planning my NaNoWriMo novel, thanks to the wisdom and resourcefulness of my awesome fandom girlfriend.

3. I will soon be in a financial position to afford to go back to group therapy. And this I urgently need.


*"In this economy, we cannot afford not to start sentences with 'in this economy'"

Mallory's fight ended last night. It turned out to be lung cancer after all. He was terribly weak, and there was nothing else we could do for him. I miss him terribly.

Our Mallory is very sick. He has fluid on his lungs, and almost all of the possible causes are very bad. Odds are he has heart disease or cancer.

If you can send Reiki, it would be very much appreciated. If you would just think good thoughts for him, we would be grateful for that as well.

You know, I'd post a lot more often if I was better at thinking of post titles.

Today E and I had to take Mallory to the vet. His blood work came back fine, but he's losing weight again, and the last time that happened it was a major crisis. This time, so far so good. They don't know what it is, but they know it's not a bunch of the scariest possibilities. We'll see what Pepcid and some appetite stimulants will do.

The job is good so far. Everyone seems like decent folk, and the work I do is varied enough to keep me on my toes. The hours go by fast.

Also, if you haven't heard, we're doin' a Samhain thing. I really, really need one this year, for myriad reasons. For the very few of you don't already have Halloween plans, drop me a line, and I'll fill you in.

psst... wanna know what I've been spending some of my evenings doing? Here's a film shot in Second Life documenting the club I've been working at. It's set to Tom Waits! As far as the work-safe factor... it depends. There's no nudity technically, but it's full of scantily clad dancers, so you be the judge.

My avatar appears briefly at the beginning; I'm the brunette in the peacock feathers!

I got the job!

I am somewhat taken by surprise by this, as I only just started looking in earnest for office work again. It's part time, so it won't bring us back to the standard of living we used to have, but it'll be a really big help. But most importantly, it's a green company that does reforestation and climate mitigation initiatives and stuff.

The Universe pats me on the head and says "good girl" for a change.

I didn't see you there.

While it's true I haven't posted here in ages, at least I haven't been posting to any other sites either. I've just generally been neglectful and spending way too much time in SL.

Today, I am poking my head up to ask for good vibes; I have a second interview for a part-time office job in about two and a half hours. It's at a place with a mission I can get behind, and so far the environment of the office does not seem like it would be toxic to me. Yay!

Hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. Go goof off and be proud of yourselves for putting one foot in front of the other every damn day.

For someone who complains about how quiet it is around here, I could be a bit more of an active participant, huh? There's just not been a whole lot that's worthy of documenting, I guess, save some fabulous group events which many of you also attended and blogged about, so I feel it would be redundant on my part to detail them. I'm just walkin' dogs and working hard on improving my mental health.

I'll be making a few friends-locked posts about some of my processes in therapy, cut of course, in case that kind of thing bugs people. But I haven't got all that much to say of interest to the general public.

*waves*

*shrugs*

List 15 books you've read that will always stick with you -- list the first 15 you can recall in 15 minutes. Don't take too long to think about it. (In no particular order)

(via ego_likeness)

Dune, Frank Herbert
Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Foundation, Isaac Asimov
The Stranger, Albert Camus
Tao Te Ching, LaoTze
Charlotte's Web, EB White
The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
The Whisperer in Darkness, HP Lovecraft
The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
The Lesbian Body, Monique Wittig
Why I Am Not a Christian, Bertrand Russell
Dracula, Bram Stoker
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder

OK, the fact that I included that last one should be proof that I am not editing this list for coolness! I could also throw in The Little Prince. I wonder why so many kids books come to mind?

Ooh, ooh. And Watership Down. Which is sort of a children's book, but woah.

E and I are finishing up with some sort of nasty bug. Unless I am being overly optimistic, I appear to have kicked it pretty fast. If so, I chalk it up to the vastly greater exercise I've been getting lately. I also had my BP checked at the doctor's yesterday, and it's down significantly. With all the meds I'm on (many of them activating), it looked like it was floating up toward the high end of normal, but now it's much better. Hurray for dog walking!

I only have four little beasties to walk today, so I can slide back into my routine after a day off sick kind of slowly. Tomorrow I get to contend with highs in the 90s. Good thing I am part iguana.

On yesterday's train accident, I am very saddened by the loss of life, of course. Naturally, I am relieved that none of my dear ones were involved. Humans just seem to have a hierarchy in our minds, with our loved ones at the top. Even if it was statistically unlikely that any of you were there, I will not apologize for being concerned, nor for being glad you're OK.

Found written on a chalkboard, in a gilt frame in the home of a client:

-Dog food
-Gin
-Absinthe

In related news, I am really starting to like this dog walking gig. The pups are so very sweet, each in his or her special way. And since I'm doing about 6 walks at 20 minutes each, I am on the move for 2 hours daily. Out in the beautiful late spring weather! That's got to be good for my overall health.

I need a dog icon.

Via oletheros

If videos were literal; a lol riot courtesy of peregrin8.

In other news, I just managed to get my two raised garden beds entirely weeded, and plan to plant some vegetables this week. There are even a couple of volunteer tomato plants in there, already a foot high! I didn't think I was going to get around to any new planting this year, due to the low mood, but I've been feeling so good for the last few weeks that I've changed my mind. Also, I got to see what cjpetherick is doing with his garden over the weekend, and I was so impressed, I just had to do some planting. He's really transitioned from gardener to farmer this year. It's amazing.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and that Monday is treating you gently.

It makes me awfully sad that LJ has lost so many souls to Facebook. It's kind of lonely here these days. When I go over there to try to catch up with people, I am reminded of how weak and commercial and free of good content it is.

LJ has thriving communities. It has creative writing and art and actual discourse on topics. Facebook has brief quips and lots of advertising. LJ is helping to keep the art of conversation alive, and Facebook is basically on online forum for text messages.

And when you complain about it, everyone says "yeah, but this is easier." *grinds teeth*

ETA: I do get that Facebook has some uses, such as locating lost friends. What galls me is that so many people who used to use LJ seem to have "left for FB." It is not a reasonable substitute.

Playa del Fuego was fabulous! I think most of you would absolutely love it, although a few of you might be put off by all the naked hippies. But really, every variety of freak and eccentric was in evidence, and it just felt so great! I told E that it was pleasantly disorienting to see those little indicators (freak-shade hair color, tattoos, piercings, etc.) that mean "I must know that person" at every turn. It was like being with a thousand of my closest friends.

Among the highlights was the naked slip-and-slide. I've never seen so many happy, naked people before, and the dramatic variety of shapes and colors of humanity was incredibly beautiful. During the actual burn itself, I got to be a part of the drumming orchestra that accompanied the dancing. Overall, it was a really wonderful experience.

I must thank cyntergomes for all her infrastructure work. The twelve foot pretzel tent that functioned as chill space, and the frikkin' shower she built for the camp were amazing. Also, she was kind enough to let us roll out early to avoid the rush, which meant she got left with the final clean up, for which I am grateful and somewhat remorseful. I owe you, hon!

We are headed out to Playa del Fuego tomorrow! If you're not familiar with it, imagine a much smaller, Mid-Atlantic Burning Man. So we get to see lots of art installations, and hang around with hippies. I actually bought a small, hand-held bubble machine. I am so stoked!

Also, check out my new icon! I just about hurt myself laughing when I saw it.

First and foremost, Trek! Good gods. This movie is a lovingly crafted gift to everyone who’s ever found him/herself thinking “I really love TOS, but how dearly I wish someone could do a little retcon to mitigate the cheesiness and tone down the sexism.” It’s glorious.

( Spoilers )


I could go on all day. I haven’t been so eager to turn right around and walk back into the theater since The Empire Strikes Back. I think I’ll see it another 3 or 4 times while it’s still in the theater. Nuff said.

On the subject of Wolverine… I haven’t as much to say, mostly because I was a bit disappointed. It’s not what they did that bugged me (although, couldn’t they have stuck to just one overhead shot of Logan screaming “noooooo”?) so much as what was left out. More than 100 years of character development is glossed over in the time it takes to roll the opening credits. And I admit I went in hoping for a lot of Gambit, as Logan/Remy is my favorite slash pairing in the fandom, but all we got was about 10 minutes. Also, no proper Cajun accent, but a feeble and spotty attempt at something vaguely southern. Foo.

(And, incidentally, if you don’t buy the pairing, here is some spectacular fan art that might help make the case. Safe for work, unless your boss has a problem with fully clothed man-touching. The artist does some incredible, messed up Batman, too. And some Watchmen. Some of that is NSFW if you click through to the images.)

Still, I’ll pay $9 to watch Hugh Jackman stand at a bus stop, so there’s that.

In conclusion, Star Trek ’09 is a shining tour de force, don’t you think?

I got confirmation yesterday that I got a job walking dogs and doing pet sitting! I'm really happy to have a shot at a less sedentary, less stressful way to make money than office work (which it seems was literally killing me.)

It will certainly not be much money, but it may be enough to keep us afloat. And it might not be very intellectually stimulating, but I intend to seek some kind of school (vocational or accredited college, or both) fairly soon, so I figure I can deal with a day job that isn't too mentally taxing.

I know a few of you have experience with this kind of work, so if you happen to have any pointers, I'd be a most grateful and attentive student!

Dear Universe: please let this work out for me.