Stuffages

I'd say not much has happened recently, but it has been a busy couple weeks. Just a blur of a couple weeks.


The bad stuff:

- Mom was laid off last Friday. It wasn't completely unexpected, though. She works in real estate, and the company had been stripping off personnel all year. I left a message for her to commiserate, but she headed off immediately for a vacation week at the beach. So I haven't talked to her yet. I'm gathering that the beach week means she's okay, though.

- Been sick for the better part of a week with some annoying low-grade thing that just will not leave me alone. I had a couple days in it that were very miserable with multiple trips to the bathroom for a couple different issues (ahem). Feeling a bit better, but I'm still obnoxiously tired all the time. Just drained.

- Work's been stressful due to the people I work with. Nothing new, but it hasn't helped matters.

The good stuff:

- Been doing my writing for Support Stacie. I'm about 1/2 done with wiggiemomsi's fic (hooray!), and then will start on the shorter after-pieces to thank other high bidders. Wiggie's should be done by mid-next week, then off to beta. The others I'll do on my week off at the end of the month.

- I HAVE A WEEK OFF AT THE END OF THE MONTH. Yay! First vacation week since the UK last fall. I need it so badly.

- Went last weekend to the University of Rhode Island for their spring farm fair. The masters students in life sciences grow plants in the college greenhouses over the winter, then sell them as a fundraiser. I got three different tomatoes (already large enough that they're staked), a jalapeno pepper plant, mixed basil, parsley, garlic chives, and 2 lavender seedlings. We're going to build a raised bed this weekend to plant everything. :)

- Mom's offered to come up when I take time off to help decorate the house - badly needed, since we haven't done a thing since moving in. I cannot wait to get rid of our loud, 1970's era wallpaper. She has ideas for the kitchen, and I will happily go along with them since I have no decorating sense whatsoever.

- My clothes are too big, and I need to buy new ones not only because mine are worn - but because THEY ARE TOO BIG ON ME. Woots!

- We're selling the Jeep to a guy who wants to fix it up as a second car project. Only getting $600 for it, but due to the amount of work needed, we're cool with it. And it's more than we'd get for a donation. It's not trade-in worthy, since it doesn't run.

- Soon, hopefully, I will have a new car. We've decided, barring issues with a test drive, on a Honda Fit, quite possibly in "Blue Sensation Pearl" which is so TARDIS looking, it's hysterical. And this car is definitely "bigger on the inside" than it appears. Heh.

UK Trip Recap - Journal Entry 14 October 2008

I'll be typing up my handwritten journal entries over the next few days for my trip recap. Weird spellings and broken trains of thought are from the journal - I figure I might as well be a purist in this and just use the immediate reactions I had. :)

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14 October 2008
Stratford-Upon-Avon

We returned just a few minutes ago from seeing Hamlet at the RSC. Absolutely fabulous! And contrary to my husband's teasing, I didn't stare only at David Tennant the entire time - the entire cast was fantastic (!!).

But still the fangirl in me is all thrilled that I have now seen David perform - in person - and... and now also have seen Patrick Stewart perform on stage, which I've dreamed about since my early teens.

It's hard to believe that the original catalyst for our entire trip - seeing Hamlet - is now past us. It was so worth every penny (pound?).

The almost entirely blank set, save the mirrors and reflective stage, were used in such an interesting way, and right from the start! In the first full scene, the guards and Horatio are on watch, seeing the ghost of Old Hamlet, and rather than having stage spotlights, the actors provided lights themselves, bouncing the beams of slashlights off of the stage surface into the face of one of the others - very clever!

As much as I loved David and Patrick (more on that in a moment), I think Polonius stole the show. I don't remember him beng the slightly absent-minded, tangent-loving old man from reading or watching previous versions. But here I felt he was oddly endearing, not so slimy as int he Mel Gibson version as I remember. Oh, how he made the audience laugh!

Laertes looked so familiar. His program bio had nothign I'd remember, though - I shall have to look him up on IMDB when I get home.

I like dthat the scene in Gertrude's bedroom (and yes, I'm lazy and not referencing the exact scene numbers) wasn't as overtly sexual as I've seen it interpreted before. The hints are still there - a strong undercurrent. But the raw anger expressed instead made a lot of sense... it seemed very "true."

Seeing Patrick Stewart perform has been a dream of mine since I was 13 or 14. I learned of him through Star Trek, of course, but while I was a teenager, he also performed a one-man version of A Christmas Carol on stage, and I desperately wanted to go (but never dared ask Mom for tickets - she'd think I was very weird).

His presence on stage is amazing - his voice just booms from the stage, and his diction is so clear. He played both the ghost of Old Hamlet and the King in this production, and I think the combination worked perfectly. It was an absolute treat, and I'm so happy to have one of those longtime goals fulfilled.

And onto another goal - THE goal that brought us here - to see David Tennant in Hamlet I think Russell T. Davies has it right in his Production Notes in Doctor Who Magazine - I can say I was there. Hamlet. RSC 2008.

Absolutely thrilled. to. bits. Beginning to end, I saw Hamlet. Yes, my more annoying fangirl mind broke through fromt ime to time, but I saw Hamlet. He was a destroyed man in mourning. he was mad. He was hysterically funny. I stand amazed - David acts with every ounce of his being. His body movements, his facial expressions, his words - all are perfect.

And like I said - I am amazed.

One particular point got me - after Hamlet has broken from Horatio and the guards to follow the Ghost and hear its tale, he has a soliloquy on stage -and he was staring right at me. Now, I know he wasn't actually looking at me - I was merely in the way of his focal point. But for one small moment - many lines, in fact, I was breathlessly still because David was staring at me, and for that time, i felt like it was only me in the theatre. Just amazing.

I am in awwe. And osm eof me can't believe that it's now over. At least... Hamlet is. Tomorrow is Love's Labour's Lost. :)

One thing I'm very thankfully about - Maria and Michelle had originally planned on goign to the theatre door after the performance to get autographs. I wasn't keen - over the months I've heard the horror stories, so I wanted to stay away. While yes, I'd love to have David's autograph, I'd much prefer to send him a small note via his agent to compliment him, but still give him at least the portion of privacy that I can provide.

Michelle was chatting with two ladies who work for the RSC, and from what they said,t he poor guy has just been bombarded. So I was happy when Michelle and Maria decided not to go. We stayed for the curtain calls (only a few people standing - perhaps standing O's are not British proper?), and then headed for a pint, wandering into the dark Stratford night, where the streets were dead silent within a half-hour after the play.

More thoughts tomorrow - it's now 1:20 a.m.... must sleep!

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More recap stuff tomorrow, once I get some photos uploaded! :)

Monday musings...

Just because I haven't in a long while, I'm posting this to my blog at measi.net, too...

This past weekend was a bit odd and scatterbrained. A good one, and for the most part I finally feel like I had a productive weekend that didn't leave me feeling like crap for not doing XYZ. I did some chores. I did some writing. I also goofed around. So all in all - the balance I needed.

Friday night was the X-Files movie, which I did enjoy even if I was well aware going in that it wasn't going to be fantastic. It was fun. I think it was definitely geared more toward existing fans, and I don't expect many new fans of the series to come from this movie. But eh, no big deal. Enjoyed it, loved seeing Mulder and Scully go on another adventure together, and laughed along with many others in the audience. So good times. :)

On Saturday, Ivanna was up in the area, and the original plan had been to get together, but the party she said was happening was a bit too far away for our tastes, so we wound up not going. I'm going to have to plan some sort of a weekend to go down Easton-NJ way and see people instead.

We did finally get some good yardwork done on Saturday - the trumpet vines and wild honeysuckle needed to be tamed back quite a bit in the front yard along with weeds that had managed to grow taller than Erich (no... really. 6'4" foot high weeds). Thankfully with rain, they pulled right out of the ground, so it wasn't too difficult of work for me. Erich mowed a decent amount of the yard, and it's starting to look somewhat tamed back.

I focused a majority of this weekend on writing - my ficathon deadline was extended until August 2nd, and while I know where the story is going, I've really been having difficulty getting the "that's what we need to do!" point in the story out through my fingers and move properly. Lots of characters spinning around waiting for me to figure out where they're going. The irony is that the next chapter is already 3/4 written - so it's a basic "get from point A to point C" type situation. But my brain just has not been able to write in a way that I'm happy with.

I realize that I could be a complete slacker, ignore the years of "show, don't tell" that was beaten into me with every writing course I've taken. And yes, I realize it's fanfic and nothing earth-shattering and that it doesn't have to be good. I see fanfiction, however, as a way to practice and perfect writing - working on creating strong, fluid dialogue, improving story pacing, etc. It's a bit of a writer's workshop to me. So even though it's not for a grade or wage, I do take it seriously - perhaps too seriously.

Anyway, I think I've got the solution, and it's progressing nicely now - albeit a bit slower than I would want. I really need to push to get the chapter done today so I can get it to beta tonight and allow folks appropriate time to check them over. I'm concerned that the last two chapters may wind up too late for beta work, and I'll just have to risk it on my own.

Worst comes to worst - I had a half-day planned for Thursday. I'm already planning to spend a good portion of it at Borders writing.

More distractions were added to the home this weekend, too. Matt bought a copy of Lego Indiana Jones (which, from the little I saw, was absolutely hysterical). We also picked up our copy of Rock Band. The guys jammed a bit last night - I was offered the singer position, but I only recognized one of the three initial songs, and couldn't sing it anyway, so I just sat and watched (I generally hate to sing in front of other people. I can carry a tune okay... but I don't have a particularly strong voice and am just a bit too shy about it. That's why I play an instrument instead).

I also picked up two Sims2 expansions, although my CD-ROM drive seems to have died again... so it's off to purchase a new one before I can install.

Busy, busy, busy...

And now off to work!

Updates, stuffage, and such

It's been kind of a long time since I posted... thought I should do an update since I have some quiet time to myself today...

First, I'm doing just fine, aside from a small health issue. So's Erich, so are my parents, and so is my brother. Just busy. Really busy.

Work's great. Nothing big to really report there. I'm happy where I am. :) Only news somewhat related to work is a 7-alarm fire that happened on Friday next door at a 4-generation run seafood distributor. I've put pictures up in my Flickr account. Today they're tearing down the ruins, and the smell is horrid. 60,000 pounds of lobster plus whatever other fish/seafood remains? Ick. I'm just thankful it's rainy and in the 60s today, not the 90s.

The final part of Erich's Mom's estate is hopefully to be resolved soon - he and his aunt are selling the house that they inherited via Erich's grandparents. Just waiting on the town to approve the septic system upgrade that was required. Having that house out of our responsibility will be fantastic. Talk about a money pit. *sigh*

I'm recovering from an annoying back pull that happened three weeks ago. It's so stupid - I was picking up a binder at work. Completely harmless thing, but I moved just the wrong way. Three weeks later, I've gone through a round of muscle relaxers and percocet, and I'm dealing with a pinched nerve that teases me some days with going away, and flaring up on other days. *sigh* I only missed one day of work, but I am getting extremely tired of limping. Gimpy!Mel is in full force.

Thoroughly enjoying the new series of Doctor Who. Catherine Tate is fantastic, and the timing between she and Tennant is hysterical. Sad to think that after this series ends, there are only a couple specials to fill a long wait until 2010. *sigh*

BUT... I do get to see Tennant (and Patrick Stewart) in Hamlet in a few months over in the UK. Really can't complain!

Absolutely thrilled about Obama's victory. I hope that Clinton supporters will vote Democrat this year - I know a lot have threatened to switch to McCain, but I would hope with all that's at stake, that they would continue with the party. We need change in this nation. Bush's presidency has been an absolute disaster, and although the majority of the nation has finally come to realize what many of us who knew this years ago (but were denounced as unpatriotic), I don't know how this nation will vote. But of course, everyone should vote his/her conscience. *crosses fingers* Change needs to happen.

So yeah - I'm fine. Just been busy, as always. :) Granted, I don't even know if anyone still reads this blog!

Best,
Mel.

Weekend Wrap-Up

In addition to continuing LJ drama... I was a slacker for the long weekend.

So my ten plus hours of World of Warcraft on Saturday wound up being probably about eighteen or so over the weekend. Included in said WoWing was:

- Two full instances (Shadow Labs and Arcanium), to help scuba_mo, aka Basmon, with his key quest for Karazhan. I hadn't completely run either before, even though I was keyed for Kara - I was pulled into the instances for the key quests both times. :)

- Twelve Netherstorm area quests cleaned out of my quest log with Basmon & Erich (aka Abudiabudie)

- Nine daily quests

- Respecced Tennetty, created macros for her shots, and worked on the timing for said new shots (this will continue this week before I go back into Kara... I don't feel comfortable quite yet with it).

- Resupplied Tennetty after she picked up tremendously good equipment in Karazhan during last week's raids. My personal haul on 2/14 included my new cloak, chestpiece, legs, and boots. Had to buy all new gems for sockets, get new enchants, and upgraded the enchant on my axe. All told, about 550 gold spent, so finishing the quests in Netherstorm to save up some gold was appreciated. I still need to get the supplies for my gun scope, and hopefully upgrade one of the red gems because nothing I was thrilled with was in the AH.

Her spiffy upgraded spec looks like this now: http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Eonar&n=Tennetty

- Rolling up little noob blood elf females on Eonar with the boys late on Saturday night, and just running around the starting area with the quests... mostly nekkid. Absolutely stupid, silly stuff - but fun. And yes, the threesome included a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. :) We're thinking we should totally make a silly named blood elf female guild for absolutely no reason other than to run around nekkid and tease other players online. If anyone else is interested for shits & giggles, roll up a female BE on Eonar, and then send a mail message to "Quela". :)

- Levelled my lowbie Druid, Silverhoof, up one more level.

Yeah, I'm a geek. Slacker geek.

I did, however, be practical for a bit yesterday and went out to buy new clothes since my old ones were getting... worn (or are ready for recycling/trashing). We went straight to the mall, so I went to Lane Bryant. Bought three new pairs of work pants (yes... blue SIX... friggin' salespeople, I TOLD YOU), two new twinset sweaters, and a new pair of pj's. All costing about $230. There were a few other nice pieces, but nothing that really, REALLY caught my eye. I may look around at Macy's and at the other plus-size stores in the area come next paycheck. My wardrobe needs an overhaul - and a cleanout.

But yeah - total slacker weekend. Which I honestly needed. I feel much better now, and feel up to tackling things again.

WoW quest weirdness

*gasp* Not fandom! Well... perhaps it is. Just - alternative fandom.

And because it's going to be Greek (Tauren? Orcish?) to anyone who doesn't play World of Warcraft... I'll be a bit careful to explain things as necessary.

So my first character ("main"), Tennetty, is a happy level 70 Tauren hunter - max level you can have. But there's still plenty of stuff to do once you HIT that level. Literally it's like playing an entirely different game - the one to get you there, and then all of the stuff you do once you're there (group battles, advanced quests, daily quests, etc.).

Said level 70 game was put on hold until after the wedding because I just didn't have time to devote to it. Now that the wedding is behind me, I've been thoroughly enjoying blowing off steam and just killing time playing WoW. Got through all of my required quests that unlock some of the advanced stuff - and now I'm happily doing the 10-man raid instances with my guild. Until this week, my current weaponry/armor really only allowed me to do the first half of our current raid instance. This week, I was able to join the group for the latter tier. So I'm having a blast - getting some good gear, discovering gorgeous new places (really - one of my favorite things about WoW is just how beautiful the game world is... I can just go exploring and have a great time sight-seeing!)

This week, I was scheduled to run Karazhan both last night and tomorrow. Had some problems with my login, so my spot last night went to one of the other hunters in the guild - someone who hadn't been to Kara. People were all worried when I logged on, and I said no - it's cool. Get someone else geared. I'll bring Tennetty over to the front gates and leave her there in case someone needs to leave and you need a spot filled. But it was seriously no problem. At this point, I'd honestly prefer to be able to try the Thursday night session, since it's almost all new to me.

So I park Tennetty, log onto one of my lower-level alt characters, Kelima - a Troll Warrior - to do some questing/levelling. joined me on a hunter alt alt of similar level, and we cleared out a couple quests. I emphasize couple, because one specific quest took us nearly an hour because the drop rate on the items we needed to collect was so bad.

and here's where the WoW experienced will know what I'm referring to a bit better...

So bad, in fact, that even with the two of us sharing the kill XP, I managed to completely wrap around my XP bar 1.5 times. DURING THE QUEST. I started at level 23 last night. Levelled upon turning in a quest to start the evening. Then we go do this quest in the Barrens (collecting three weapons, killing three named Quilboars in the Barrens... mid 20's level). I wrap around, level, run out of rest XP as I'm still gaining XP - and then upon turning in the other completed quests in my log last night (I hadn't turned in for a while - I had nine to turn in!) - I'm now 3/4 the way to the NEXT level.

IN ONE THREE HOUR SESSION OF WOW.

All the while both of us are having to constantly throw out food, grey items, etc. out of our bags because they're now constantly full, but we're far enough away from town that neither of us really wants to run to just clear out bags.

Seriously... WTF? Not that I'm complaining (other than regarding the drop rate of those effing weapons)... but insane.

So yeah, with really only about 5 hours of play time, i've gone from level 21 to nearly 26 with Kelima this week. Not too shabby.

Of course, now she's out of rest XP, so I'll have her parked at the inn for a couple days to recharge. I need to work on my pet with Tennetty - I've been neglegent about feeding Mousedeath lately. I've had him since level 28, and recently his loyalty is back down to 3. Not good.

Never piss off a cat. Even in WoW.

*sigh*

Thus ends my geekdom for the day.

Looking forward to the weekend

I'm a bit off-center this morning, mostly because Erich's cough sent him into the guest bedroom last night so he didn't have to feel paranoid about being restless (and allowing me to get some sleep). Very considerate of him, particularly since I am such a shitty sleeper as it is.

I did sleep, but I swear, even while asleep, I had this weird sense about being alone in the bed. Marriage is clearly getting to me. :) Not that we haven't slept in the same bed for six years now, of course... but still... there's a LOT of room for one person in a king-sized bed.

The extra room, of course, promptly filled up with cats. I woke up with three balls of fur in various spots on the mattress. I imagine at least one of the additionals was with Erich, playing nurse kitten. Hoodsie was undoubtedly downstairs on his ottoman. Cat #5 (whichever it was) was... wherever.

I have a lot to do this weekend, but I'm intentionally forcing myself to take as much of Saturday as possible to curl up in my office and do some brain-dump style writing. Whether on my OSK fic, other fic ideas, or just random schlock writing. I need to get myself comfortable with my own thoughts, and I just need to make the time for it. As I told Erich last night - what I really need to do is just set aside a day, dump off all of my chores and errands as "will do later" and just let myself go for it. If I plan other things to do, I won't be able to relax and write. It just won't happen at all.

So that's tomorrow's plan. We'll see what comes of it. I do have a lot of little snippets of ideas churning, so it literally may just be writing 100 word images in my head that have absolutely no coherancy beyond the immediate images. But hey, they'll be down in print. And I can see later if something comes of any of them. I just need to get them OUT. If I'm getting too distracted at home, a trip down to Borders for a pot of tea may be used as well.

Speaking of tea...

The sorority Tea is on Sunday afternoon for the potential new class of pledges membership candidates, so I'll be going up to Boston for the afternoon. Should be fun. Hopefully goes well. Need to remember to go buy a car battery beforehand so I can actually get to Boston, though. That may have to kick off Saturday pre-writing.

I read last night that next week's Torchwood is a double-bill. Eps 5 and 6 will be shown back to back on BBC2. Six is the first of Martha's run on TW... we'll see if something's actually done with her character now that the dreaded unrequited love crap on Who is over.

Hmmm...

Thursday Thirteen: January Insanity

I haven't posted here on measi(dot)net in a while - it honestly has been slipping my mind. I don't know. I think I just want to keep all of the fandom insanity separate from my blog over here, but it seems that my life is just wrapped in fandom these days... so, eh. I probably just should let it bleed over and give up, eh?

In any case, it's been insane since the beginning of the year, and here's my thirteen things that have been taking over my life since the New Year:

1) Birthday celebrations. I'm 33, had a fantastic birthday with friends over a Pats game and some delicious strawberry hookah smoking.

2) The Patriots. Sundays have been owned by football. Absolutely owned. And I'm loving it. The Superbowl party is in the works. :)

3) Being sick. I fell ill with a cold on New Year's Eve, and still have the annoying cough that goes with it, despite otherwise feeling fine. It's not a painful cough, mostly in the mornings and evenings, but the cold weather (and the hookah smoking on my birthday) didn't help.

4) Fanfic writing. I've been finishing up pieces that were due around the holidays. Got one done and posted last week. Now I'm working on the other one, which I hope to have completed this month. A small idea just snowballed and, with some help from another writer, looks to be a much better, satisfying piece.

5) Work. I've been absolutely insane with work lately. Lots of little projects, lots of paperwork to get through because insurance policies have just renewed as of the first of the year, and lots of really random little things like redesigning the company letterhead (eep!)

6) Torchwood & Doctor Who - Torchwood Series 2 just started airing in the UK last week, and it starts on BBCA this Saturday, along with Doctor Who series 3. Both shows are must-see, IMHO. The second series of Torchwood is already MUCH better than the first. Much slicker, stronger plots, and much more sure of itself. And Series 3 Who? Absolutely wonderful. The first six episodes are a mixed bag, but the last seven are much-watch. Particularly Human Nature, Family of Blood, and Blink which should be on in March. You must watch Blink if you haven't done so. It's a brilliant piece of television, regardless of science fiction leanings. It's up for a Nebula award, and undoubtedly will go up for a Hugo this year (the writer, Steven Moffat, has won for his Who outings the past two years).

7) Money issues. Erich and I have been... let's say, stressed. Partially holidays related, partially increase in heating bills related, and partially issues that come up with his mom's estate. I'm just really worried about financing our trip to England in October.

8) Emotional stuff. Erich's worn down by his mom's estate affairs. I'm worn down from being constantly on the run since, oh, last August. We're both in dire need of a break. Thankfully we're not snapping at each other, but both of us are just exhausted.

9) The weather. Unlike last year, where it was nearly 50 degrees for a good portion of January, it's been quite cold with lingering snow. I think it's contributing to some of the emotional exhaustion.

10) Attempting to get our lives back in order. Vet appointments are being caught up on, getting stuff cleaned around the house, finishing up the final few thank you notes from the wedding, etc. - we have a lot of little projects around the house that we desperately want to get done.

11) Cat issues. Along with the generic vet appointment, we've been dealing with some feline frustration. One of the cats was taking to peeing all over the house. We've added a couple additional cat boxes (one upstairs, one out in the sunroom), and that seems to have stopped most of it. We still have an idiot cat who is apparently going into a cat box and peeing, not realizing its ass is hanging out of the box when it goes, though. Haven't caught the culprit, but somehow I think it's one of our bigger three - Colley, Gus, or Hoodsie.

12) World of Warcraft. Attempting to have some me-time has resulted in a lot of hours playing WoW again, and doing all of the in-game related stuff I've wanted to do but couldn't commit the time to while also planning the wedding. Meaningless to real life, of course, but still a little sense of accomplishment all the same.

13) I really don't have a thirteen. Maybe commuting time? The MBTA continues to suck and get worse. This morning's sightseeing excursion on the commuter rail took us ringing around the city through Dorchester because apparently there was something wrong on the mainline track. Never mind the fact that when we got to the junction where both lines meet up by South Station, there were three trains that came through the main line. AND, our train was forced to wait through three trains coming through (10 minutes, standing still), despite us being the ones that were running 20 minutes late into the station. *sigh*

Will February calm down? I hope so!

Wednesday musings

- I have listened to John Barrowman's Another Side quite a few times lately. I absolutely adore his versions of Time After Time, Weekend in New England and Heaven. His version of All Out of Love is quite good, too. (Is it just me, or am I hearing his Scots come through on that? Maybe I'm just too used to Russell Hitchcock's Aussie...) It's a fantastic album top to bottom, IMHO.

- Took last night off from all things fanfic once I posted the first half of my fic due yesterday. Needed to for my brain's sake. Getting back to it today. Once I get the rest of the OT3 fic posted and finish up the pinch hit piece I'm doing for OSK, I'll be taking a writing break for a while. I have cross stitching that's screaming at me to get done.

- I really need to get my Christmas cards finished and mailed. At this point, folks MIGHT get them by New Year's...

- I really need to buy something for my dad & his wife today. *sigh*

- My friends list on LJ amuses me, especially the random threads about sex toys. :)

- It's sad that I'm excited that Erich and I are buying a snowblower. But I suppose that's what you have to look forward to when you're married and homeowners. Goddess, I'm turning into my parents.

- Speaking of Goddess... two days until Yule. I probably should get on thinking about what I'm doing this year.

Squirming again

Well, it was a productive night last night. Got the draft of the OSK piece done. I'm fairly happy with it. I could do more, but I can always do more, I suppose. There's always room for improvement. But I needed to get something to the beta readers (thanks guys!!!) and just feel productive about it.

To my surprise before I went to bed, I had beta reads returned from two folks - eep! That was fast. Granted, it's 2,000 words... but still, really fast. I haven't looked at comments yet, though. I want to get the OT3 fic draft done and sent off before I start editing. Keeping focus is good, and I've been struggling with it as it is.

My plan this evening is to loosen up with a small amount of alcoholic shots of my choice and then get to writing the sex scenes of this fic. I don't feel comfortable writing smut on the train - just in case someone's staring over my shoulder. Writing smut in general is very... well... revealing, I think. It definitely exposes a writer in ways that are unique. Perhaps it's one of those societal undercurrents gone wrong - or just my slightly more conservative upbringing. I don't know. But yes, it does make me feel like I'm exposed and on uncomfortable display.

Add to that the unknown of writing male-on-male sex, which I have no personal experience with beyond the occasional purient curiosity regarding gay porn (i.e. "how the heck do guys do this together?", and well, it's getting a bit tougher to figure out. Now add on the third party into this OT3 fic, and things are getting MUCH more confusing to figure out.

*Gasp* Writing threesomes? Measi, you should be ashamed of yourself!

So yeah - I've decided that in order to write this, I need to be drunk.

In case at some point anyone reading it thinks it's completely out of left field and crazy and wonders if I were drunk when I wrote this, I can quite honestly say "Yes. Yes I was."

It'll make me feel better, at least.

Popping the prOn cherry,
Mel.

Today will be an adventure...

And this morning's trip in on the train was only the beginning, I think...

But before I get to the day, OMG - people like The Ritual of Tea. I'm seriously stunned - because I was kicking myself miserably all weekend as I tried to grasp on to this one and write it. Even now, I have no grasp on the plot guys, and I'm in a bit of disbelief. So yeah, I'm stunned... absolutely, bouncing with glee stunned. (insert over-played Sally Field reference here).

And on to the adventure of the day...

First off - free taco day. So for all of you lucky sods who can get to a Taco Bell (and stand in the line that's guaranteed to be there), go munch for me. Given that the only three I'm aware of in the greater Boston area are all too far away from me, I have no chance in hell. BUT... for those Bostonians who don't know where they are - 700 Comm Ave on BU Campus, the Cambridgeside Galleria food court, and on Mass Ave north of Porter Square. I'm sure there are others, but those are the three I've personally been to.

(Fellow Rhodys, both of the ones on Route 2 in Cranston & Warwick are now renovated and reopened... and of course, there's the one at Providence Place. Go forth and taco).

Second - the Commuter Rail trains after 3 p.m. have no express service, so if you take a train that usually runs express in any way (that would be me), it's not happening. With the Red Sox parade happening, everything is insane. People were coming in on the 7:10 from Providence this morning - to the point that they had to turn people away from the train due to over-capacity. Trains after 3 aren't going to be anywhere on time due to this, folks, so be prepared for it. I don't count on getting home anywhere before 7:30 tonight - and that's only a half-hour late.

And on top of it, I'm sitting reception today.

At least I can take my frustrations out on carving pumpkins tonight when I get home, and then introduce my husband to the glory that are roasted pumpkin seeds, which I discovered he's never had before. I'm a bit stunned by that.

Apparently, it's a week of being stunned.

Fanfic: The Ritual of Tea

Title: The Ritual of Tea
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Written For: _elioclya_
Prompts: "Anything with tea - tea is good." and "Chrall, 16th Century"
Author's Notes: This piece is combining two ficathons - the first ficathon on time_x_space and the Anywhere but Cardiff ficathon on time_and_chips. Both are late, and my writer's ego is more than a little bruised at the mo' for that. A longer, more-in depth piece with Nine is also in the works relating to _elioclya_'s prompt - but Chris' voice is being cranky with me and is giving me the silent treatment. David's won't shut up. (typical, eh?)

Now posted over on my livejournal.

Anonymous comments are screened. :)

Freaking at the date

So... I've been bringing my laptop with me to and from work for the better part of two weeks to get my fanfic challenges written?

Yeah. THAT's going well. I have maybe 6 paragraphs written on ONE. *sigh* The one that I've already decided to merge two fanfic challenges into one piece, since Anywhere but Cardiff via time_and_chips is slightly more open to interpretation.I'm already wicked late on it - better to combine it with this new project for time_x_space because hell, it can work. And then I have two projects done.

Then I need to figure out my courage for Nine/Jack smut for dwliterotica. I got a great prompt and should have some fun with it (it may require me to get a tad inebriated to loosen up to write, though). But this other project is just overwhelming me. I need to get it off my plate and over to a beta.

Hoped I'd get some writing done this weekend, but the toilet repair fiasco kinda threw that out the window. Between Tau Beta Sigma events and trying to recreate a functional bathroom in our house, it was... an interesting weekend.

I'm too much of a perfectionist. I really am. But I need challenges with deadlines to force myself to write. And I figured that post-wedding, I'd be fine. I'd be ready to do things. Rah-rah-rah! Free time to let my brain dump into words. Unfortunately, my brain is not agreeing with me. It wants to sleep.

I need some serious ass-kickage to get me in gear. Or inspiration. Please inspire me?

Mew?

Heading back to the Faire

Mel and Erich (in newly purchased garb)
Originally uploaded by measi.

It was a lower-key trip to King Richard's Faire this week. More people - Matt, Maria, Tricia, and Kevin joined Erich and me. The weather was beautiful. We had a great time - and seemed to spend a heck of a lot more time eating and drinking this time around.

Tricia and Kevin bought themselves full new outfits, so they are now officially well-garbed for the Faire and Halloween festivities. Erich bought a leather poncho (it's beautiful!!!) that signifies the beginning of his new full Druid idea for the Faire.

I told him that the poncho made him look like a Moonkin from World of Warcraft. (and yes, I did the obligatory Owlbeast waddling run with my elbows slightly pointed out as I called him an Oomkin... fellow WoW players know exactly what I'm talking about... hee!)

But yes - the new garb I bought last weekend was quite comfortable. I kept getting asked by people around the Faire for shopkeep help... apparently I'm now dressed well enough that people think I work at KRF. *snicker*

The rest of the pictures from the two weekends are on my Flickr account (just click on the photo). A lot came out annoyingly dark, though... I need to figure out why I'm so crappy with my camera.

Shopping at the Faire

With the wedding insanity now over, the first true event to mark that our lives are returning to normal was our trip to King Richard's Faire on Sunday. We went along with Maria and Matt, meeting up with Gina and Gabe, who are two of Erich's college friends, at the faire.

Before the faire, I was dreading the weather report - it said it would be in the upper 70s and sunny. Great normal weather to go anywhere, but when you're decked out in layers of Renaissance period garb? Eh, not so much.

It turned out to be a comfortable overcast day in the mid-60s, although Erich was a little chilly in his modern punk variant of his formal kilt in a t-shirt. :( (he looked fabulous though).

After last year's trip to the faire, I was fully prepared to be seeking out a new bodice for my outfit. The one I've had for eight years is too small for me, and the boning that lines the row of grommits is beginning to poke through the top - so I just can't wear it anymore. I absolutely adore it, too - it's a rust and forest green tartan, with a red reversable lining (that I've never worn on top). Not easy to replace, but I decided that I'd got to my trustworthy Threads of Time, and finally get the bodice that matches what I have. Their prices are fantastic, and the clothes are wonderful and easy to wear. I'm good to go with ideas in hand.

That was before I realized that my overdress from Threads of Time had shrunk last time I washed it, too - and now was sitting a few inches too short in the back. Then again, it also is eight years old.

*sigh*

So now I'm thinking okay- new outfit. I can do this. I'll work around it. I have a new underskirt in basic black that I bought at Threads last year. I just need a new overskirt, and the new bodice, and I'll be set. And because this is the faire, being plus-sized isn't quite as much of a detriment as it can be in other places. Being busty and curvy is a good thing at the faire. :)

So we go to the faire. And we're looking around at the shops. Most of the same folks I recognize from last year, but a few new places. Beautiful things as always... most of which I can't afford.

We head into Moresca, which is the shop that has oodles that I covet, but never can justify purchasing from. And everything always looks too small, so I haven't bothered. Eh, moo.

And then my eyes fall on a particular bodice - deep blues with black accents in rich brocades. (sample of the style here). It's an XL, but the shopkeep assures me that my normal 2X sizing on top will translate to this XL (which does look like it will fit me just fine - but I don't want to deal with the 30 minutes of re-lacing my current bodice post fitting if I can help it). This bodice has lacings on both sides AND the back, so it's quite flexible with sizing.

Have I mentioned how gorgeous this bodice is? Erich loves it too. But it's a Moresca bodice, which means it's about twice what I was planning on paying. I need to sit and think on it over lunch, even though I'm coveting it dearly.

Erich points out over lunch that we do have wedding money, and that I can indulge if I want to. It doesn't take much to twist my arm at all.

Right after lunch, we head right back and I buy it. :)

We collect a couple other things along the way during the day - a new leather belt for me and a

Then I need new skirts to match the color scheme. I find lovely ones in the same deep blue and a pretty moss green (for a brighter top offset) in rough silk at Threads of Time that are just wonderful to the touch. I buy both of those. Nice offset texture, nice soothing colors that I prefer to wear.

And best of all? My outfit's ready for this upcoming weekend's return trip to the Faire.

Rock. :)

(and yes, there will be pics)

Hamlet and Loves Labor Lost

Oh. Yes.

Ordered.

10/14 for Hamlet
10/15 for LLL


And if I'm reading my seating chart of the Courtyard Theatre correctly - holy SHIT we have great seats for both.


I'M GOING TO ENGLAND NEXT AUTUMN!!!!!!!!

I'M GOING TO SEE DAVID TENNANT in BOTH PRODUCTIONS!!!

AND PATRICK STEWART IN HAMLET!!!


AHHHHH.... GEEK EXPLOSION!!!!!

(pop)

Of Stitching and Sorority

I'm back at work today. Still coughing, although my lungs seem to be settling down off the morning hard stuff, and I should be okay until late this evening when fatigue will kick them off again. Bleh. But we have a box of Lemon Zinger tea at work, and it will be my friend for the day so I don't try to drink carbonated soda.

It was an odd weekend. Odd because while still being sick, I was perfectly well enough to have people over. And so I did. Masquedbunny, Whishastar and Myownwench came down on Saturday noonish for the day. My somewhat-but-not-really local cross stitch store, With Heart and Soul, was getting out of the stitching business with a massive 50% off sale of EVERYTHING in stock, and since the three of them also craft, it was the perfect opportunity to go grab stuff.

And I did - all of those patterns I've been eyeballing for years, I bought. Don't know if I'll get to them, but hell - they're all 50% off, so I got almost all of the patterns for about $2-5 each. Can't beat that. AND a good chunk of them were the out of print Teresa Wentzler patterns that are impossible to find (the seasonal fairies and the fruit quartet, fellow stitchers?). With Erich's kind help via credit card, I dropped what WOULD have been $260, whacked down to $130.

Boo. Ya.

Anyway, I can't blame the shop owners one bit. Apparently the town of Cumberland has a yearly inventory tax - so basically any of these patterns that sit on the shelves get taxed EVERY YEAR. So much that the owner point blank said - at this point, I can't make back any of the money on them. We're just recouping whatever we can for the least loss possible. So yeah, I can't blame them at all. Shame they're closing. Wish they'd had some more practical hours, though... 10-5 weekdays and 10-6 on Saturdays just isn't realistic for your average adult woman stitcher these days. We work full time, folks. We're not stay-at-home wives. In fact, most of us aren't. *sigh*

But anyway... we went shopping. And then we came back to my place, where we spent the day doing crafty things, talking about life, the sorority we all belong to (these stitch 'n bitches have been the closest thing we have to official meetings after all), and just hung out. Erich kept the drinks rolling for us, cooked food, etc. He was awesome.

The girls left around midnight, and I went on to another one of my semi-sleepless nights due to cough. Whee.

On Sunday, we spent the day doing some small tidy projects around the house. Erich was daring and jumped in to take care of the worst of my office - it's actually CLEAN now! I just need to go through the boxes to put stuff on shelves, sort through stuff for our yard sale/toss out, etc.

Since I was still coughing quite a bit, I forced myself to do small stuff that would keep me mostly on the couch. Any time I started doing stairs, I started coughing. So I caught up on all of the dishes and got the kitchen somewhat scrubbed up (still need to do those scary floors), gathered laundry up (Erich had to do it, though... due to the aforementioned stairs), and then settled on the couch. I took advantage of the forced couch time to sort through my stitching stuff - both the new stuff that was bought on Saturday and everything else that had been bought but not stored.

So I spent about, I kid you not, six hours winding bobbins of overdyed thread & labelling them. I removed all of the patterns that were in plastic bags from said bags and stapled or paperclipped as needed, and put them all in a magazine rack. They can't stay in the plastic - we have cats who think plastic is a food group. They will literally EAT any plastic bag that comes into the house. So yeah... *sigh* And I had a lot to do, because while I've bought stuff over the past year I haven't really done much of my own stitching - I got too involved in round robin stitching last year to concentrate on my own. So it was good to get a sense of some of what I have. The rest will come as I get my office together. And then post wedding, I'll REALLY get back into my stitching - because I'll be too broke to do much else!

It was tedious, but it kept me sitting still and resting my lungs, which is what I needed to do, but I got stuff done, and that's good. I think I watched the entire season of Ice Road on Discovery, too. Those guys? They are crazy. Driving semis over frozen lakes in Canada in the winter? I realize it's the only practical way to get stuff to those mines... but damn.

So all in all, it was a productive weekend, a fun weekend, and still an annoying weekend because of my cough.

Should be an interesting week, too. ;)

Answers to the Thursday Thirteen... :)

Still home sick today - my cough has escalated a bit, so I'm REALLY not moving much today.

Thankfully, SciFi is doing a Series One Doctor Who marathon until two. So that'll keep me occupied. Good thing - I can't go near my supermarket because right next door they're doing American Idol tryouts.

No. Really.

*sigh*

My little treat to myself (and my 'puter) came yesterday... I haven't hooked it up yet, but I seriously can't wait. And yes, it's complete, utterly dorky. But practical - my iPod won't be plugged into my 'puter via a cord near the floor anymore where the cats will think it's a dangle toy. It can safely sit on my desk.

I am a geek. A seriously sad geek.

But it lights up and makes sound and everything!!! :)



*ahem*

Anyway, here are the answers to the Thursday Thirteen. Laughing Muse? I'm very impressed. :)

1) Contact
2) Princess Bride
3) Young Frankenstein
4) Firefly/Serenity
5) Star Wars
6) Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
7) Field of Dreams
8) Casanova
9) A Christmas Story
10) Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl
11) The Goonies
12) Ghostbusters
13) Logan’s Run

:)
- Mel.

Meta thoughts on LiveJournal and fandom

X-posted from my LiveJournal

There’s been a lot of uproar lately from fandom regarding the suspension of journals, and now there’s a huge cry for people to move en masse to a new site, showing solidarity with the HP fandom whose journals are getting deleted. They’re protesting the right to free speech being trampled, and how LJ doesn’t want them to exist, and how they don’t feel welcome on LJ anymore, and all sorts of other feelings which I respect for being valid…

.. but sorry, guys, I just don’t agree with you.

One of the things that I’ve learned in my years on this Earth is that freedom of speech is not fundamentally free. To say that “you need to accept the free speech of others as well” is too simplifying. The reality is that yes, freedom of speech is a wonderful thing. But freedom of speech doesn’t mean that the speaker/writer is exempt from any backlash for said speech. In this case, since it’s appropriate, the artist can create whatever art, written or visual, that (s)he wants. BUT – others, including the company that owns the servers where the art is posted have every right to respond. The more controversial the opinion, the more backlash can be expected. And that includes having journals deleted without prior notice.

A lot of the screaming right now seems to be coming from the Harry Potter fanbase, particularly those who are creating NC-17 rated visual art and fanfic. I’m having a difficult time feeling sympathy for them in this case, and I honestly don’t want to be lumped in fandom with them, and here’s why.

Harry Potter is, at its core, a story about kids growing up in a fantastic world. They begin the books at age 11, and at the end of the final book (with the exception of the epilogue), end at age 17. Regardless of the audience-at-large, the target audience for these books is elementary and secondary school-aged kids. The main characters involved are underage school-aged kids.

So enter the world of fandom, and particularly the sidebar of fandom that insists that everything has to be smuttastic. They create communities for these adult-natured topics. They play as they wish to play, largely without incident until two months ago, pairing just about anyone up who can be paired up, including some extremely questionable incest pairings and images that blatantly appear to be of underage kids (fictional or not) involved in sexual acts.

And then they get all pissed off when, under recent new management, the server that hosts their material says “hold on, no” and removes their journals. Fandom, contrary to these outcryers’ opinions, is not a significant portion of LiveJournal’s population. And even within fandom, the percentage dealing with underage sex is more miniscule.

It may piss people off on my friends list, but sorry – I don’t have a lot of sympathy here. These fans are dealing with topics that are extremely sensitive, bordering on illegal, and it’s the artist’s responsibility, when dealing with such topics, to prove that (s)he isn’t supporting child pornography. To the outsider, a group like pornish_pixies, which has depictions of sexual acts between underage fictional character, IS going to look like a site which supports child pornography.

And for this reason, the sexual relationships in Harry Potter fandom are walking a fine line. Yes, I understand they’re fictional. Yes, I understand that teenagers have sex. But there’s a huge difference between private sexual relationships in real life and public sexual expression, bordering on exploitation, in the media. And from experience with many fandoms, most of the smut fic out there is written so the fans can get their jollies reading sexual fiction. Are there pieces with literary value? Sure… a few of them. But most of them? Oh heck no. They’re written as porn. And child pornography is illegal.

So yeah, sorry guys – but those of you uproaring about this? You’re dealing with sensitive topics that society – not just LiveJournal – has a problem with. Yes, you have your right to free speech. But so does society, and you have to deal with the consequences of your behavior.

If you want that free speech, you also need to be policing it to keep it in line. And if it's that accessible from the internet, you're doing it wrong. So LiveJournal has stepped in, to clean up servers they own. They have that right.

It sucks to be targeted, but as an adult in fandom, I'm squirmish with the topics you're dealing with. And I find it hard to find much sympathy when it's pretty evident that it's been carefree and unpoliced.

I wish you guys well wherever you end up. I won't, however, be joining you.

When Geeks Get Married...

So... the insanity continues in the wedding planning. Talked to Mom, who I think had a heart attack this morning over money. But so am I, so no worries there.

By process of elimination, we've picked our rings: ooh... shiny!

And then the email thread commenced on vows, since it relates to the ring...

I start the conversation off quietly - with vows I actually really like, either as-is, or with some modifications by us to personalize them:

I love you. You are my best friend.
Today I give myself to you in marriage.
I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you,
and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle.
I promise to love you in good times and in bad,
when life seems easy and when it seems hard,
when our love is simple, and when it is an effort.
I promise to cherish you, and to always hold you in highest regard
These things I give to you today, and all the days of our life.

As a joke, I also suggested that we could send my family into spasms by doing the ceremony this way: http://weddings.about.com/od/yourweddingceremony/a/SeussFunnyVows.htm

In response, Erich sends me the link to a google search... all on the word "Obey."

Now... we've had a lot of discussion on that word - and my distaste about it. It won't show up in my vows (whether Erich decides he wants to say he'll obey me... well, hey... *wink*). But I can joke about it.

So then the next proposal for vows he gives is this:

I promise to put up with your family, pull your pigtails less, and obey the cats.

Followed by a quick revisement, with both sets of vows. Me = Erich, You = Me.

Me: I promise to pull your pigtails less, mow the lawn more often, and obey the petting needs cats always.

You: I promise to cook more (because I’m good at it), clean more (because my office is scary), and buy more coffee (because we both need more coffee).


That may have potential...

Personal exposure

Erich's had a nickname for me, said somewhat jokingly because of my blogging online for so long - "Measi, Queen of the Internets." It generally gets an eyeroll from me, sometimes an amused snort, and we carry on.

And then this week has rolled around, and I feel a bit wigged.

It all started last week when a member on LiveJournal posted a truly atrocious opinion article about a particular subset of Doctor Who fandom, accusing them of ruining the show, being racists because they didn't like a particular character, and just a lot of nonsense that basically is summed up with "they don't agree with me, so they suck." And I got sucked into the fire for a few brief hours, being careful not to troll but also to vent my anger. This type of insane drama, for those not in the internet fandom community, is generally known as wank. And if you're familiar with that phrase and its British usage... you're on the right track as far as the quality of these discussions.

Anyway - I did quickly come to my senses and backed off, shaking my head at the idiots who decide to determine fandom for everyone else, and started my week. But a lot of quiet, kind emails have followed me back to my little corner of LiveJournal, saying I was right to say what I did, in the manner that I did.

Was I? I'm not so sure. I stand by my words - I did mean what I say, how I said them. But I feel a bit dirty for jumping into any sort of fanwank.

And then my first completed fanfic in eight years was published for one of the fandom ficathons... that was early Monday morning. Oh, might I add (for the readers who aren't reading this via LiveJournal, where it's posted), I finally got over my fear of writing intimacy, and jumped in for this fic. And as nervous as I was to write it, it did feel good - liberating, even - to finally cross over that barrier. Definitely a sense of accomplishment, even if my ultra-introvert mind feels like I'm standing naked in the public square with a ton of onlookers. Writing sex scenes is... well, quite the exposure. I was taught, and generally have composed based on the "write what you know" philosphy.

That gets a bit personal when you're dealing with sex. And so I've been terrified of it.

So early Monday, it gets posted. To my surprise, so far people are really liking it. Me - who always thinks my writing is complete utter shit. People are liking it. I'm getting added to favorite author lists on fanfic sites for it. I go to my friends' list on LiveJournal this morning, and I'm seeing it rec'ed by a few people.

All a bit surreal for me.

Does it make me more confident as a writer? Oh hell no. The day I feel good as a writer is probably the day I need to stop. Insecurity is probably the driving force that makes me always try to improve.

Encouraging? Definitely. Once this wedding is over, I'm looking forward to more writing.

But in the meantime, I'll switch between being flattered and wigged out over here in my corner. Because contrary to the "Measi, Queen of the Internets" persona, I'm fairly intimidated by the whole thing.

(but yes, thrilled at the same time)

Random Sunday Thoughts...

My accomplishments this weekend:

1) Wedding invites are DONE (save two that we need new addresses for). All addressed, all compiled, all stamped. They go out tomorrow.

2) The Linens 'n Things portion of our wedding registry is populated. I feel like such a mooch. But I have to admit to being excited that I may actually get some of these things and finally break free of college decor-itis. Somewhat, anyway.

3) Laundry - ongoing. I'm on load 3. One more load of towels, and then a mini-load of delicates to go.

4) Erich and his dad put together our guest room bed (yes, ... an actual bed. With a headboard and footboard and everything!). Unfortunately, the Queen-sized boxspring will NOT go up our stairs. We removed the back staircase pole. We removed the front staircase ceiling molding. Won't happen. So... if you're in the general southern New England area and need a Queen boxspring (now or in the near future), lemme know. We're going to have to go purchase a split-style boxspring for the Queen bed. Depending on how that goes, we may have a mismatched mattress shortly, too. We can make arrangements somehow.

5) We narrowed our wedding ring decision down to five different bands. We've decided to get matching bands, rather than the newer trend of getting ones that each person likes. Thankfully, we both have similar tastes, so it's been fairly easy. Choices we're down to now are: A, B (possibly in the rose/white combo), C, D, or E (not bicolor).

6) Saw Harry Potter: OotP again today. It was Erich's Dad's 64th birthday today, so we treated him to a heavy breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, followed by the movie.

It was better on second viewing. Still not my favorite, but I did like it better this time around.

7) Attended the wedding of Erich's cousin, Katy, and her (now) husband, David. It was at Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, RI. Lovely place. Definitely a setting I'd recommend to anyone looking for peaceful New England space - near the water, surrounded by the vines. Although it was a bit buggy in the evening (welcome to July). Otherwise, weather was incredible for July - absolutely perfect. I can only hope we have such good weather in September.

8) Went a little snarky with Doctor Who fandom. But I'm better now and moving on.



Good weekend. Definitely can't complain! :)

Thursday Thirteen #26: Non-related musings

My brain has officially gone into wedding mush autopilot, so I don't really have anything witty for this week's Thursday Thirteen. But I can come up with 13 random thoughts for the week.

Measi's Brain-Fried Thursday Thirteen

1. My wedding invites are all addressed, save the four that my mom finally just emailed me fifteen minutes ago. That means I can get them addressed and out the door this weekend. Big, big check mark off the wedding "to do" list.

2. If you live in the U.S., love science fiction, and aren't watching the new series of Doctor Who that started last week - turn on the television on Friday night. Seriously. Having seen the entire series, it's fantastic. It's not the goofy sets of the 70s on PBS you may remember, as good as Tom Baker was. The last six episodes of this series are not to be missed, in my opinion. Blink, in particular, scheduled to air on September 7th, is not to be missed TV for any lover of really good, creepy TV shows, sci-fi or not.

3. Next shows on my Brit TV list - I've just started watchng Life on Mars. Brilliant writing, great acting. I garnished stares on the commuter train this morning as I broke out laughing at episode 2. I'm also starting Our Friends in the North, as a continuation of shows starring actors from Doctor Who. I've heard it's an amazing series.

4. I've now lost a total of 20 pounds due to wedding stress. Which I'm really not happy about, because I tend to double-gain back once I'm out of stress.

5. There is a distinct weather line ringing Boston at Route 128/I-95 this week. Outside of 128, it's hot and humid. But inside the ring, it's been in the low 70's, and foggy until today. It's throwing me off on my commute - hot when I leave in the morning, cold when I arrive at work.

6. I'm tired of hearing people chew loudly at their desks at work. The sound of people chewing (presumably with their mouths open) makes my stomach turn.

7. My World of Warcraft guild, the Burrito Bandits, has a new tabard - looking like a lobster bib. (a photo is over on my Flickr page). Our guild leader is insane... in a good way.

8. Speaking of burritos... I think a buffalo chicken one from Boloco is calling my name for lunch today.

9. I bought my first Moleskine notebook over the weekend for doodling and scribbling random thoughts. Because I need more notebooks.

10. I'm tired of my work wardrobe. It's bleh and boring and getting sloppy. But I hate the plus-sized clothes for summer, and can't justify a spending spree. Until after the wedding, I'm just going to endure it.

11. New official count on Hoodsie's toes - 7 on each front paw, 6 on one back paw, 7 on the other back paw. Boy's got a lotta extra claws. And my legs have paid the price as he play-pounces.

12. Holy shit I'm getting married in 9 weeks.

13. I really, truly need about a month-long vacation.

Distracted

The fog that has decided to settle all day over Boston Harbor definitely reflects my attention span today - lots of little things floating around, but nothing's quite distinct.

I have an omnipresent thought floating around regarding Melinda today, who's now recovering from surgery. As of the first update last night, she was doing quite well. Erich, who's had the same procedure - albeit under the methods done eight years ago - was surprised that she was up and walking yesterday. He told me this morning as I read Kevin's email that it took him the better part of a week before he was moving.

Amazing what a few years does for surgical procedures, eh?

In any case, Melinda's a fairly strong presence in my thoughts today, and I'm hoping her recovery goes smoothly so I can envy her in about ten weeks when I see her looking fabulous in a floor-length truffle gown.

Add to that the fact that I'm completely distracted from work today because my office bought out two theater showings for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Erich and I are going tonight after work. I cannot wait. :)

On the planning side, now that it's ever-present...

I'm about 3/4 done with addressing my wedding invitation envelopes, taking a break after every few to rest up my wrist so my writing doesn't start getting scrawly. When my wrist is fresh, my handwriting is surprisingly good - if I'm not using a ballpoint pen, at least. Ironic, considering that I always flunked handwriting in grade school!

Most of my friends have asked why I don't just print out the invitations using a pretty font on the printer, and I've said I don't want to. This is just one of those things I feel the need to do. It's the right thing to do - spending the time to personally address envelopes for my wedding. My love of writing isn't just in the structure of words on a page. I've always loved getting letters written by hand, and whenever possible - I've made a point to write letters by hand. There's something elegant and relaxing about it - reminding the world that it's not all about computers and technology. It's personal, and it's very me. And besides, it's not like I have hundreds of these to do. I have about sixty total. Not too bad at all.

Although I have to admit that writing formal envelopes to my close friends addressed as "Mr. and Mrs. HisFirst TheirLast" is a bit surreal. I'm going pretty casual on the inner envelope, just to stop weirding myself out.

I still have to get in touch with someone regarding hairstyles for the wedding. And I need to touch base with the caterer to start getting those gears going.

T-minus ten weeks...

Busy, fun-filled weekend

The weather was beautiful, and we made good use of it.

Yesterday, Erich and I headed up to New Hampshire to visit Erich's dad. He moved up there a bit over a year ago, but between work hell, the insanity of weddings last year, and then our own wedding planning, we just hadn't been up there at all to see his new condo.

It's absolutely lovely. It's in an old Catholic boarding school - four stories high, and looking like all of those old academy schools you see in the movies - complete with the huge rolling lawn and gigantic brick facade. Erich's dad has about 1,500 square feet of living space - beautifully open and a great floorplan. On the main floor of the building, the front entrance hall has been wonderfully restored with white marble, columns and stained glass. And the original ballroom (with stage) was restored, as well as the side parlour room off of it, which now is a billiard room and public big-screen TV room.

I did quite well through two games of billiards. By the second game, my game was coming back to me. :)

We had a huge lunchtime feast of lobster bisque, three different types of lobster tails, and coleslaw (something to counter the mass quantities of butter). Added to that was a homemade pitcher of sangria, and we were quite happy people. :)

Around seven, we decided to venture out for dinner. We stopped at a little roadside pizza & subs place - very good (and just what was needed after the lunch, honestly), followed by ice cream. And then Erich and I did the two-hour trek home... finally arriving at our house at about 10:45.

At which time I immediately jumped online and watched The Sound of Drums - because I am a dork and am addicted to Doctor Who. (and this episode will be broadcast in the States the weekend of my wedding... so I'd rather watch it now.) The episode kept ideas brimming in my head until about 2:30, when I finally forced myself upstairs to get some sleep.

And then proceeded to have my first "wedding nightmare," in which the new aliens from the episode that evening attacked my reception.

Like I said - I am a dork.

*ahem*

Anyway...

Today we puttered around for the morning, and then headed out to reclaim the yard a bit. Erich caught up on mowing and some hedge trimming (our driveway was getting a tad narrow). I finished planting my impatiens in the front bed that's been weed-ridden since we moved into the house. I planted some hostas in it a couple weeks ago for permanent plants. There are four of them- all different varieties of hostas for textures and such, and they should get to about 2x2x2 feet by the time they're matured. For now there's a ton of extra space, so the impatiens add some color. I'm hoping that they'll become the absolutely lovely bushels of blooms that impatiens tend to become - although I'm worried the sun in that spot might be a bit too bright for both types of plants. We'll see. In any case, post-wedding this year I plan to put some bulbs in the ground in that bed for next spring. And possibly next spring we'll add a couple of smaller bushes behind the hostas for variety and height.

In any case - it's something, rather than the weed-filled patch that it was. :)

My hydrangeas are now blooming - mostly still those tiny premature green balls of blooms, but one is starting to hint that they'll be coming out a lilac purple again this year. Our dwarf lilac bushes are now in full bloom and smell AMAZING. They just have this incredibly sweet smell that fills the air without being overpowering... just little wafts of scent on the breeze. Except in the sunroom, where the smell is just everywhere and to die for.

So now I'm doing some direly needed cleaning on my computer - between Doctor Who, X-Files, and random David Tennant avi files, my 200 gig computer is about to burst. Writable DVDs are currently my best friends in the world. :)

It's been a good weekend. Productive, but fun. Can't ask for better than that!

Thursday Thirteen #25 - Being Productive

It's been a very busy week. I'm so ready for the weekend so I can catch up on some sleep.

For this week's Thursday Thirteen, my list of accomplishments for the week (both good and bad). Most of them are wedding-related.

1) I found a wedding photographer! We've chatted briefly through email, and will hopefully talk over the phone within the next couple days... both of us are just having those "gah, can't talk now" weeks. But yes... photographer is now getting setled.

2) All of my bridesmaids have been contacted and have info to go dress shopping and such.

3) Erich and I picked out our invitations. We still need to decide on the wording - but they'll be ordered this week.

4) I had a LONG talk with my mom about the emotional b.s. that erupted two weeks ago. I still don't feel that she gets my point of view at all, but supposedly she's put out the fires down there. To a point. We'll see. BUT, at least two things were settled, in my opinion-

4a) Erich and I are handling the Unrehearsal Dinner, so she can stop obsessing over it (we're having a BBQ at our house... housewarming for the relatives & relaxed afternoon in one).
4b) My relatives are accepting, in their own levels of acceptance, that we are not catering to their whims with our wedding vows. They can accept a Justice of the Peace ceremony, or they won't. The alternative is for us to NOT compromise out of respect for their religion, and go back to a handfasting. But that's what it is. Full stop.

5) I made my first dress fitting appointment.

6) I contacted vendors for my hair/spa day, flowers, and cakes. All still unresolved but in the works.

And for the non-wedding ones...

7) I wrote 1,500 words on my fanfic for a challenge due July 1st. The minimum wordcount is 1,000 words. That was never a problem. I'm probably about 1/2 done with the first draft. I hope to have it done within the next three days, give it a once-over myself for editing/reworking, and then send it to my beta editors.

8) I figured out what the weird triffyd plant is in our yard that has grown about 15 feet in two years (no. Really. - 2005 - 2006) It's called a Northern Catalpa. I finally was able to figure out what it was once it started flowering this week. Between the flowers and the leaves as big as a human head, I was able to narrow it down pretty quickly yesterday.

9) I've somehow managed to lose 10 pounds, entirely through stress and non-eating over the wedding. It's just enough to make my pants feel like they're going to fall down.

10) I covered an entire day at front reception at work without needing a single cup of coffee.

11) I stupidly got in the middle of a cats-figuring-out-the-pecking-order fight last night between Colley and Hoodsie, and managed to land a pretty nasty set of scratch/bruise marks when Hoodsie latched onto my leg in defensiveness. It looks nasty, but doesn't hurt.

12) I bought a new battery for my iBook, so I can start writing during my commutes.

13) I levelled my character in World of Warcraft.

Productive week. Very productive week.

- Mel.

My inner band geek is going insane

This requires a story. Which makes for the best blog entries, right?

O-kay.

So, I'm chugging over to the train station after work today, running a bit later than I normally do, but I still have a comfortable 15 minutes to make the 4 block walk. My iPod is cranking, and I clear the walk in just over 5 minutes - about what I normally do.

What I *don't* normally do is grab a copy of the Metro. It's a little too McPaper for me normally. But I was in the mood for a Sudoku on the way home. It's free. And the hawker was being ignored, so I decided to give him a bit of love and take one.

Get in the station - the train's already boarding. So I head on out, walk the entire length of the train to the first car (where I'm guaranteed to get a single seat for my hour ride home), plunk down, and open the paper.

I skim the paper before the train leaves, and come to the page of entertainment listings for the Boston metro area. And I see a picture. And realize - it is, in fact, that time of year... and maybe if I'm really, really lucky... this year will be my year. And I make a mental note to talk to Erich when I get home.

Which I do immediately upon entering the car at the Providence train station. And Erich likes the idea. And says "sure... it'll be our sixth anniversary outing."

Six years. ;) Shocking.

But yeah... I still feel lucky.

So we go home. And I go upstairs, credit card in hand.

Try for our original plan - Thursday night. No dice. No tickets available for two people. Friday? Nope. Now I have to double-check with Erich, as Wednesday is a sacred gaming night between he and the guys. Erich says yes, since there's no other choice - and it is a rather special occasion.

I luck out. Two tickets. First balcony center at Symphony Hall. $100 for the pair, night before show. Perfect. Click, buy - YAY!

To see John Williams conduct the Boston Pops.

Now - I've dreamed of attending a Pops concert when John Williams was conducting since I moved to Boston in 1993. He usually only conducts a handful of concerts around Memorial Day. Some years (*cough* Star Wars) he hasn't conducted due to his composing schedule. I played Williams' music in high school band - we played the Overture to The Cowboys, a piece that's a bit lost to the annals of film, perhaps. But I love the piece.

And of course, I'm a geek. I'm a band geek. And he composed Star Wars. And Jaws. And Raiders of the Lost Ark. And Harry Potter. And well... a crapload of other stuff.

And by complete, sheer luck - THAT is what he's conducting tomorrow night. His own compositions, including several from the new Harry Potter movie coming out this summer.

I. Cannot. Wait.

And one of the big things that I had on my personal "Must Do In My Lifetime" checklist can now be crossed off.

*bounce*

My mentality for the day...

Gets summed up here:




Tonight's plan:

- Pet cats (all... six of them)
- Stitch
- Watch Deadliest Catch
- Watch something with Tennant (above) in it. Hell, maybe I'll watch Gridlock (from which episodes behind-the-scenes pics this photo came).


*sigh*

Weekend Plans

Our plans to go to the drive-in were quickly squashed by the current weather. While I wouldn't mind going to see a movie under warm, rainy skies, I don't care to go and freeze my ass off in low 40's damp. Bleh. So change of plans - we'll go to see a movie in Boston tonight along with some friends. The plan is to go see Shrek 3, which was the original drive-in plan, too.

Hopefully we can go to see Pirates at the drive-in next weekend, along with the masses. I imagine it will be crowded as hell.

Based on the weather, the Scottish highland festival is going to feel quite... Scottish. It's supposed to be pretty cool and rainy through early afternoon tomorrow.

Then there's a new Doctor Who episode on BBC One tomorrow night, which I'll probably watch several times before I finally go to sleep.

I have a fanfic to draft up for a ficathon I joined a couple weeks ago. Deadline for the story is July 1st. I have my three prompts to write from. One has me a bit stumped (mostly because I don't want to fall into cliches with Doctor Who fandom that surround the episode particularly mentioned), but as long as I write to fulfill at least one prompt, I'm in good shape. And I'm completely confident with two of them - so I'll start there. Minimum word count is 1,000 words. Not. A. Problem. I may have half of that longhand already, and I'm still in the first scene.

In any case, my goal is to get the draft written by the end of Memorial Day weekend so I can shunt it off to my betas (aka fanfic editors), giving me plenty of time to fine tune it with my betas before the deadline.

Other than that, I have some organizing to do this weekend, some little wedding contact stuff to finish, some big wedding research stuff to do, and a lot of stitching.

All in all, a big weekend. :)

The motherless Mother's Day

A few weeks ago, our friend John R. dropped me a note to ask me what I thought about having a LAN party this weekend. Last year Erich and I hosted a Memorial Day one (to counter the annual Thanksgiving LAN out on the Cape), but John will be in China this year for Memorial Day, and wanted to have one before he left.

So he offered to host. He then asked me how I thought Erich would feel about having it Mother's Day weekend, given his mom's recent death. I told him that I honestly didn't know, but I'd imagine he'd far prefer being with friends than he would be spending it alone.

And so the plans developed. We'll be heading to John's this afternoon for a shortened overnight LAN, partially to just be with friends and goof off, and partially to be there for Erich on the first real reminder of events. From what I've heard, it's going to be a smaller but comfy group of around 6 or so.

Attempting to kick my inner writer in the ass

I've determined that I have three major problems with my writing. And this goes for both fanfiction and my everyday fiction writing. I found this problem during my NaNoWriMo attempts. It annoyed the shit out of me:

1) Fear to actually put words on a page because I can't get my brain to wrap around the concept of a first-draft. My inner editor wants to correct everything in my head before I put a word to the page... so well, nothing gets written. ETA - Nothing, I should say, means that I've actually put about 20,000 words to paper, which is a hell of a lot more than most people can or will write. But I don't feel happy about probably half to over half, and I feel that I'm second- and third-guessing my ideas so much that I'm losing all of them before I get them into written text.

2) I'm getting seriously stuck in writer's block, due to not figuring out how to push my story forward.

3) Somewhere along the line, I've either forgotten how (or never quite mastered) the idea of plot and scene structure. I don't doubt it's causing the most of the writer's block problems.

So, in an attempt to work through these issues, I've done the following:

1) Searched for, and found, two lovely beta-readers for my fic writing. Both of whom I've loved reading, and am thrilled they're willing to work with me.

2) Bought three books at Barnes & Noble to help me do some inner-searching to work through my hangups:

- "Unstuck - A supportive and Practical Guide to Working Through Writer's Block" by Jane Anne Staw, PhD
- "Plot & Structure - Techniques and exercises for crafting a plot that grips readers from start to finish" by James Scott Bell
- "Scene & Structure" by Jack M. Bickham

Hopefully these will help a bit. Regardless of what I'm writing, I definitely want to have my writing improved. Right now, that means putting some damn words to a page.

*pleading* Spring? Hello? Um...

This 60's temperatures in January and 30's temps in April thing has got to go. Seriously. I'm tired of having to crank the heat up every night because it's below freezing.

It's mid-April, Mother Nature... we should have some leaves coming out on trees. And I'd like to see some flowers other than the hardcore weeds that are the plant world's version of cockroaches.

*sigh*

It's positively gloomy outside. It's one of those Stephen King Maine weather days-- that completely grey, foggy day where every object in the distance looms only as a slightly defined shadow. It's been this way since Saturday evening, by the way. *sigh* It's starting to get to me. I'm in serious spring flower and warmth withdrawl. At this point, I actually WANT to deal with my spring allergies, just to proclaim that yes, the weather is in fact beautiful. I'll sniffle and snort around the house all day. May my eyes and nose water - if it's 65 degrees and sunny, I'll take it. (well... for a few hours before I kick in the Sudafed, at least *grin*).

I'm still surprised that the men's winner of the Boston Marathon on Monday managed to defend his title - a course-breaking time last year - by only adding 7 minutes to his time while running in a Nor'Easter. Call me damned impressed.

Despite the weather, it was a productive weekend. I got a lot done in my office - it's not complete, but well on the way to getting there. I simply had to stop due to the dust we were kicking up. We also bought grass seed to fill in our ragged lawn - Erich spread it on Saturday afternoon, but I'm fairly certain that the rain washed it all away and we'll have to do it again. *sigh* I got my taxes mailed off, the last of the Save the Dates mailed off, my final contribution to a stitching Round Robin mailed off, and we bought a new vaccuum cleaner so we can attack the springtime edition of catfur tumbleweeds that plague our house in earnest. I caught up on all of the house laundry. I still have a few of the dreaded pots that need Serious Scrubbing (tm) to finish (I've had them on "long term soak" for way too long now).

I also did six hours of stitching on Apache Wedding Blessing on Monday, thanks to the craptastic weather. I watched the Doctor Who episode which broke the number of episodes Guinness record, AND... I managed to write about 10,000 words in fanfic on Saturday, aided in part by a goodly dose of Tattoo rum and cokes to loosen me up.

All in all, a good three day weekend.

For some reason, I'm a bit tired. But feeling quite good. :)

Plans tonight? Erich's playing Halo 2 online with the guys because two new maps were released last night. I'll be upstairs stitching and being a fangirl celebrating David Tennant's birthday with... something he's been in.

Maybe I'll go the Harry Potter route tonight...

;)

Thursday Thirteen: TV Show Addictions

The new series of Doctor Who is starting this weekend over in the U.K., and I've been jealously drooling over all of the little snippets of promotion that I can find between fandom sites.

The full trailer posted today on YouTube just made my little geek!girl heart go aflutter.

Damn being in the U.S. *sigh*

In any case, in celebration of my geekitude, here's my list of must-not-miss TV shows (both new and old), both geek-related and not.

Thirteen Much Loved TV Shows 1. X-Files: I started watching the X-Files during its 2nd season (but quickly caught up on all of the back episodes through the alt.tv.x-files group and lots of VHS tape trading). My father introduced me to the show while I was home on Christmas break. If I recall, the first episodes I saw were Scully's abduction episodes (which equalled instant addition... seriously... so good). I watched the series religiously all the way to the end of the run. Friends knew that they were not to call me during that hour. For the series finale, I even disconnected my phone to keep from being interrupted. :) I was so heavily into the show that I actually overloaded myself-- but lately I've been wanting to start watching some of my favorite episodes again. I have to wonder how my VHS tapes (all... god, 100+ of them? 2 eps per tape, 24 or 25 eps per season, 9 seasons)have survived. 2. Star Trek: The Next Generation: My first real geek fandom. This came onto the TV the year my parents separated, and it honestly was my weekly escape from all of the family drama that was unfolding. I never really connected with the original series. I enjoyed DS9, but it wound up conflicting with my class schedule in college (so I fell out of watching it). I never was interested in Voyager or Enterprise, either. I'm a TNG Trekker. And still watch it occasionally on G4 now that they've cleaned up some of the episodes. But oh, how poorly they've aged... :) 3. Doctor Who: One of the two current addictions, and definitely the more "she's crazy" addiction. Erich has watched the new series since it first aired in the States last summer. I casually watched it with him on occasion, but didn't get hooked until I saw the last episode (Doomsday) of the second season shortly before this past Christmas. And, both to my glee and annoyance, it was a full onset of geekdom addiction that I hadn't experienced since the X-Files went off the air (I guess I was in need of something to preoccupy my time). It's not that I didn't know about Who before the new series, either-- it's been around since 1963. Even during its hiatus during the 1990s, I remember seeing Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann in all of the sci-fi fandom mags that I'd pick up (for TNG and XF info). And during my childhood, I recall seeing a few of the original series episodes on PBS. I'll partially blame the addiction on David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston, though. *swoon* But now I'm trying to find and catch up on any of the original series episodes that I can for backstory... I'm currently working through the batch of 1970's Who on my iPod. And I'm really excited for the next season - which starts Saturday in the U.K., but won't be on here until the summer. Arrrrgh! 4. Heroes: The other current addiction. I'm amazed at how well this show is written and produced. I love how all of the character storylines intersect and are interwoven. There are a few storylines that bore me a bit, but that happens with any show. Having Christopher Eccleston show up here was wonderful (and brought the quality up another notch, I think). It's arguably the best show on network TV right now- and allows the masses to enjoy geekdom comfortably. 5. Firefly: This is mostly Erich's addiction, but I've enjoyed the ride along with him. Great writing, interesting characters -- but sadly it was broadcast on FOX, which means it (like so many shows that don't have "when ____ attack" in the title) was doomed to be axed before its time. It didn't help that it was broadcast completely out of order, either, nor that it was a pretty specific tuned-to-geekdom show. FOX screwed up. Somehow a movie (Serenity) was made through outcry of the fans, and it spurred a mini cult phenomenon. 6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I was among the many who gaped when they saw that a TV show of that god-awful movie from the early 90s was being made. I mean, seriously-- WHY?!? But then one of my friends commented that it was surprisingly really good. And then another one did. And I, being the X-Phile extraordinare, laughed at them. And then they sat me down and forced me to watch it. And yeah... okay. It was very good. Completely cheesy at times. But very, very good. And I'm enjoying the 8th season, being "broadcast" through comics. :) 7. Red Dwarf: I watched this starting in junior high with my boyfriend at the time. It was on PBS pretty late at night, if I recall, as part of a British TV block (which also featured the Young Ones and Doctor Who). It was very silly, but between the geekiness, the jokes, and it being British (which was so underground in Montana), it became a little cult following. And Erich's a Red Dwarf fan as well... so I've now caught up on any episode I missed through his collection. :) 8. The Cosby Show: Did anyone who grew up in the 80s not watch this? It was one of the few shows my family watched together. We laughed with the Huxtables. We talked about some of the topics that came up that actually were good topics to think about. And I found a little thrill in watching the TV kids who grew up with a dad who was an OB/GYN... because I could relate very closely to that. On the occasions since my childhood thatI've heard Ray Charles' "Night Time Is the Right Time," it immediately makes me think of the family lip-sync serenade. :) 9. Moonlighting: This was our mother-daughter bonding show. My mom and I watched it together every week. Would David and Maddie finally get together? How many fights can one couple have- that made anyone watching them just laugh. Alas, when they did finally get together, that spark that made the show so much fun to watch seemed to wane off. *sigh* 10. Law & Order: While probably not a die-hard addiction (and I actually don't watch the current run), I love watching the reruns of this show. And I have absolutely no idea why-- it must just be the thrill of a crime mystery. I can't get into Criminal Intent, but I also enjoy Special Victims Unit reruns. 11. Project Runway: I'm not into fashion. I definitely don't have a body type that fashion designers embrace in any way, shape or form. Yet somehow, I'm just addicted to this show every year. I think it's simply watching how creativity works in other people- dealing with time constraints, coming up with ideas, and watching people dive into the profession they love. And Tim Gunn is love, of course. This is, by the way, the only competitive Reality TV show I watch. 12. The Mole: Celebrity Edition: Erich and I watched this religiously while it was on. I think it was mostly to watch Corbin Bensen and Stephen Baldwin act like idiots. But it was very funny. And oddly engrossing. Erich was far better than me at figuring out who was the Mole, though. 13. MXC: Another Erich & Mel TV show time. It's waned a bit lately, but we used to watch the what... four hours of it on Thursday nights on Spike? Japanese competitive TV is insane. Who comes up with this stuff? It's painful to watch and utterly stupid-- but it just keeps. pulling. you. in. Next stop: Ninja Warrior (which is insane, too). Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Lazy weekend

It's been a laid-back weekend, which is good. Erich's fallen ill with the most recent bout of plague. Somehow, I haven't caught it yet. Miracle of miracles.

Meadowbird came over yesterday, and we spent the better portion of the day being lazy, crafting, and watching Not Who. Bad Wolf was on during the day, but other than that... not a single episode. Shocking, I know. That's not to say the day was without Who actors. We watched every episode since January of Heroes (oh, scruffy!Chris...) along with the World of Warcraft episode of South Park, which she hadn't seen (and really is a good one).

Erich was at a D&D game all day yesterday, so even after doing the to Boston and back drive to take Meadowbird home - which got me back to our house at midnight, I knew I had hours before he would get home. I did some writing sketches to work on expanding chapters 2 and 3 of Translating Extraordinary before sinking into bed, throwing Harry Potter into the DVD player, and zonking out sometime after 2.

I didn't hear Erich come home- he said it was around 4:15.

Today started out as a lazy morning stitching. I'm finishing up my work on the UFO RR before I have to mail it off this week. I watched the first two episodes of Blackpool along with Erich. I was surprised that he enjoyed it, although he was a bit disturbed by a couple of the musical numbers. I was slightly disappointed - and jarred - to hear a non-Kenny Roger's version of the Gambler at the beginning of episode 2. I don't think I've EVER heard anyone else sing it, and the original was in the broadcast... so it was just... weird. I suppose some licensing rights didn't translate to DVD.

The rest of the day has passed quietly. I've been doing some laundry, doing some writing. I made my grandma's kielbasa & sauerkraut recipe for dinner. And now I'm enviously reading post-viewing thoughts from Brits on Recovery, which aired tonight on BBC1, while continuing to work on fanfic.

Oh... and a side note of semi-worthwhile news... the cards for our Save the Dates arrived on Friday. We're waiting for the magnet inserts (which were ordered separately), and then we can start sending the things out.

Progress, progress...

So... yeah...

... about this fanfic writing thing. It's going surprisingly well. And I've finally told my inner-self to shut up for a while and dive in.

This is the reason I haven't been writing journal entries, actually. My brain has just been filled with ideas for fiction writing for the last three weeks. It's a nice change of pace, and I've long since learned that if creativity is beckoning, I need to embrace it for the short while it might last.

Don't laugh, please. :) I'm still working on this piece. And it's the first real attempt at fanfic since, oh... 1996 or so.

Title: Translating Extraordinary
Author: Measi
Disclaimer: Doctor Who and all the rest belong to the BBC. My fiancé wouldn’t appreciate me claiming David Tennant, as much as I’d love to.
Rating: PG13 (US) / 15 (UK) / T (Fanfiction.net)
Classification: Ten/Rose. Angst/Character Study/Romance.
Spoilers: Everything through Series 2 (heavy post-Doomsday), including The Runaway Bride.
Archive: Feel free! Please tell me where, though, so I can come beam with pride and also know where to send corrections/updates/sequels if they're needed. :)
Summary: Impossible means not probable, but it's not absolute.
A/N: This is my first fanfic attempt in several years, and my first ever for Doctor Who. It's angsty-- but I promise it is going to a happy place by the end. Many thanks to my friends & betas: 1aquaesulis76, meadowbird, mermofdx, and claireej.


Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three

Adventures in blogging

A Holidailies prompt from a couple weeks ago asked how each person got his/her start in blogging online. I'm pretty sure I told this story a couple years ago, but it's lost somewhere in the Diaryland backup of my defunct Diary-X journal...

I opened my first online blog account in 1999 on Diaryland. It was just before the turn of the new year, and like everyone else hyped up about the year 2000, I figured I'd start being good about keeping a record of my life for absolutely no reason other than to write. Three days later, I forgot about it. It sat there until I discovered it about three years later.

In the meantime, I began using a paper journal in late 2000 to vent some frustrations I was having with a friend. I found, however, that my brain was trying to rush through a lot more than my hands could keep up with... so I decided to try my computer. If I recall, I was looking for some downloadable software to make it feel more like a book as I typed on-screen. Somehow, I was led to Diary-X. I opened an account immediately and began my online journal on March 29, 2001.

In 2002, I decided to start a backup mirror of my journal on Diaryland (when I discovered my original account over there) based upon a bad experience with the owner of Diary-X on another website he was running called Nervousness.org. From that point forward, I kept an updated mirror of my journal running on both sites-- and thankfully because I did that, I didn't lose anything but unpublished drafts during the fatal Diary-X crash in early 2006.

Despite griping about it and its elitism invite-only format at the time, I gave in and joined Livejournal after attending Arisia in 2003, mostly to keep up wtih many of my friends who used the service. I never really cared for the layout of the site. The most valuable part of it to me was the friends' lists. But it was handy.

And suddenly, I was posting to three accounts at a time, which was stupid. After a few months, it was time to pare down.

Starting in 2005, I started posting at my own webspace, using Blogger as the formatting engine. Issues with both owners of Diary-X had led me to move on from the forms two months prior, and I couldn't continue to use the service in good faith due to the ethics and behavior I experienced as a customer(which turned out to be a very good choice, based on what ultimately happened to DX). With few exceptions, I've also stopped posting on LiveJournal, only popping in to catch up on friends' pages from time to time.

I kept my archive at Diaryland, although I haven't posted to the site since I stopped posting at Diary-X. It remains my journal archive for my older entries. I plan to slowly bring everything over to my personal webspace... but it takes time to go through entries, delete dead links, and add tags to the posts for archiving. It's definitely an "as I have time for it" project, which lately has been mostly non-existent.

Over the years, my blogging has recorded my entire relationship with my fiance, the adoption of four cats, two apartment moves, purchasing my first home, buying my first car, my experiences on 9/11, a big job move, and all of the little stuff in-between. It transitions between triteness and deep thought, almost always written freeform with little editing (I prefer "raw" writing). I can see how I've changed and how I've stayed the same as I look back through my archives. It's a good thing-- I'm glad I found the outlet online. :)

Addictions not needed

So for the past three hours, I've had the Doctor Who theme stuck in my head. Add to that a rather late night (*shitfaced grin inserted here*), and I'm a tad cranky this morning. More tired than cranky, actually. And I'm definitely NOT interested in having the Doctor Who theme whistling through my brain all day.

But I have a feeling it's here to stay today. I'm the only admin at work today. No one to chat with to take my mind away. More than likely, not a lot of work to divert my concentration, either.

Dammit.

The problem is, I know exactly why it's here, too. The 2nd season finale of the show was on Friday night, and despite being a very casual viewer of the show... I was roped in, and then VERY PISSED OFF at the ending (in both a good and bad way). Then my brain, being pissed off, kept mulling it, kept thinking about it... and then we watched it again on Christmas Day with Erich's dad and Matt... and then it firmly stuck.

Crap. I really don't want to start mulling a show over again and getting addicted to it. I thought I'd learned my lesson after nine years of the X-Files, seven years of Star Trek:TNG. Getting invested in characters, begrudgingly (and then not so begrudgingly) getting interested in fanfic.

What is it about Sci-Fi, anyway? Despite watching a lot of the series, I don't get addicted to Law & Order like this. What the hell?

*sigh*

In any case, share my pain-- get the Doctor Who theme stuck in your head for a while.

Grrrr....

Geek Week

The Heart of Hakkar
Originally uploaded by measi.

While a mild-mannered administrative assistant at work, I tend to fall into pure geekdom mode once I get home. Weekends generally have some sort of a Dungeons & Dragons-esque game going on- not always one I'm personally participating in, but as we have a house where there are no kids that need quiet time after a particular hour, nor time limits to wrap up due to parking restrictions in the neighborhood, plus a good amount of room (and an accessible grill for making food), it often takes place at our place anyway.

On top of that, there are nightly excursions in the World of Warcrackcraft, where Erich and I play - together - while sitting in our own offices. It's silly and odd, but we do have a good time running around together and causing general mayhem.

Last week, however, was a "beat the game patch" week, where we were constantly playing the same game within the game (Alterac Valley, for those in the know) so I could get some nifty items that would be lost with the patch, due to some major changes in how the game fuctions (it was a large patch-- about 450 megs worth). For a straight week, we got home, we turned on the computers, we'd play WoW for about four to five hours, and then go to bed.

If you've seen the recent World of Warcraft South Park episode? Yeah... it was kind of like that. (sheepish) What can I say? I can be a truly pathetic lifeless loser when I need want to be.

I have to admit- I didn't understand the addiction to these online games before I played WoW. I've known several people who were addicted to Everquest when it was at its peak popularity. I've lost friends (and my fiance) to hours of Halo Online. Even when I started playing WoW, I thought it was okay-- a bit cartoonish, a little cheesy. But the detail in the game was so cool. Plus I didn't have to rely on others to play-- if I wasn't in the mood to do XYZ, I could just go run around and explore for a while. Friends who had moved to other states also played, so we could still hang out and goof off together.

In late summer, Erich (alter ego Abudiabudie... because he wants to annoy everyone who tries to spell the damn thing) and I (alter ego Tennetty) joined a guild called Burrito Bandits on our server. They're a fun-loving, wide age range bunch who just like to have a good time. Conversation on the text channel and our audio channel tends to be quite silly. We work well together as a group on some of the more challenging high-level dungeons (which require 20 or 40 people on a team).

It's 21st century social networking at its finest. :)

King Richard's Faire 2006

Meet Hercules the Liger
Originally uploaded by measi.

Saturday morning dawned crisp and bright for us as we prepared for our annual outing to King Richard's Faire. Erich and I were anxious to head back to the Faire - we were forced to skip last year due to the new house expenses. This year, we were greeted with perfect weather - mid 50s, sunny, just a hint of chill in the air (which brought out that wonderful woodsy autumn smell). Some heavy rain midweek caused a few muddy puddles here and there, but it also prevented the massive amount of dust that often plagues the faire by late afternoon.

A good thing, too - all of New England apparently thought it was the perfect Faire day. If there were less than 5,000 people there, I'd be shocked. The place was packed.

Erich and I have gone to the Faire every year we've been together (except last year). Sometimes we've gone twice. Our first photo as a couple is at the Faire- it sits next to my desk at work. I think Erich has his copy at work, too. :) We look forward to it every year. As Labor Day weekend rolls around, we get that 'itch." But we generally wait until late September to this weekend in October, once the last bits of summer heat and humidity have disappeared. We go in full garb every year, and anything warmer than the mid-50s we had this weekend, and we're both dying of heat by the late afternoon.

This year was a bit different for us at the Faire. Normally, we have gone just as a couple or with only one or two other couples. This year, a conversation at Erich's birthday BBQ with The Usual Suspects led to a conversation about everyone going to King Richard's Faire. Many of our friends had never been, but were very interested in going. I offered to organize a weekend, and it turned out to be a very large - but successful - group outing. By the end of the day, we had about 17-19 people (including one very excited 11 month old boy). A few of us were in full garb all day. Several others started their garb with cloaks or hats (the easy stuff to justify).

We started the morning with me being my klutzy self - before we even went through the front gates, I took a spill in the parking lot, managing to twist my right ankle in its yearly downing. It hurt like hell and swelled up quickly. But if there's one thing I've learned about my ankle, it's that I do need to immediately see if I can walk on it. I could. And did- almost all day. We did, however, immediately take to medieval painkillers once we were in the gates:

a glass of mead. It's what's for breakfast. And great, I might add, for eliminating ankle pain. Over the course of the day, I had a couple more glasses. It wasn't until perhaps 3 that I really *needed* to sit down for a while to rest it.

Once we'd had our first of the morning booze, we headed over to the tiger show. We got there just as it started, so we were standing in the far back. It's the most popular show (save the joust) every year, and normally people get there about a half-hour beforehand just to get a seat. This year's show was slightly shorter than in years past, but they still showed some beautiful tigers, leopards, and every year's showstopper, the liger.

For those who haven't heard of a liger, as their name suggests they are a cross between a lion (father) and a tiger (mother). The mixture creates a giant 900 pound, 11+ foot long beast of a cat that is the largest cat on earth. If a female lion mates with a male tiger, the result is a tigon, which is the opposite - a dwarf that reaches a maximum of 350 pounds. And unlike mules, which tend to be sterile, ligers and tigons aren't-- they can continue to cross-breed (into li-lis or ti-ti's, etc).

The boys joined together to do some axe throwing. Many of the group headed to the jousting ring to watch the medieval horseback games. We all took a break later at the field to watch the birds of prey show, including some beautiful training work with falcons and owls.

The one thing that I didn't do like years past was mill through all of the shops. With all of the people in our group, I just didn't wander in. We were chatting and roaming most of the day. A few people purchased items, including me. But for the most part I stayed out of the shops I normally would go "just take a peek" in. Perhaps I subconsciously protected myself from putting myself in a position where I'd be pulling out the wallet. :)

It was a fun-filled day of goofiness that left us so exhausted that we were both sound asleep by 9:30 that night.

Next September can't come soon enough... although I think I'll have to buy a new bodice for next year. My seven-years-running tartan one was rather tight, leaving me extremely well... and high... stacked.


;)

Hockey hockey hockey

The Sign the Taus Built
Originally uploaded by measi.

The Agganis Arena at Boston University fully justifies my four years of tuition. It is beautiful. It's bright. It's clean. It has spiffy jumbotron screens surrounding the stadium.

Oh, college hockey, how I've missed you so.

As I'd mentioned last week in my Thursday Thirteen, the Sisters of Tau Beta Sigma were being honored for their contribution of the Goalie/Sieve sign to BU Hockey Lore. When the new arena opened, the building & grounds folks didn't know where the sign would be placed. And so it didn't go anywhere. It sat in storage as students (and alumni) who came to games became upset at the dismantling of a tradition.

With the help of a flagpole and some ingeniuty, this year... the sign is back. It's hung from the rim of the Student Suite. Over the course of the year, a couple Sisters will be held responsible for trekking to the other side of the arena during the break between periods, and flip it over.

But Saturday night, the alumni Sisters were able to enjoy the swankiness of the student suite and took one last round at flipping the banner. The suite was fully stocked with burgers, italian sausages, chips, and other yummy munchies-- and of course, the suite sponsor, Snapple. Lots and lots of Snapple.

The nine of us in this photo wasn't reflective of the number of people who were in and out of the suite all evening. At one point, it was standing room only.

We laughed. We cheered on the game (BU won over the University of New Brunswick, 3-2). We introduced our required suite chaperone to the joys of the band community (and even made her a temporary honorary as we invited her back to the band room for celebratory cake).

Many of us agreed that the unofficial motto of our chapter should be "Join TBS - We Have Cake." Let it be known that the band director agreed with it, too. So the sisters should start giving out flyers with it! (partially kidding)

All very good times. I seriously need to get to more hockey games and introduce Erich to the addictive insanity that is Hockey East.

Weekends of Warcrack

Aside from the wedding, it's just been a really busy month. This weekend was (believe it or not) the first completely dead weekend we've had all summer-- and it was organized that way. Erich and I did essentially nothing, other than catching up on dishes and a couple loads of laundry. It was dreary outside for most of Sunday and made for perfect couch weather.

I did about 4 or 5 hours of stitching done on Apache Wedding Blessing over the weekend. Nearly all of the pale yellow across the bottom border (where "Apache Wedding Blessing" is backstitched) is complete. I've also started the dark trees just above that block. I'd ideally like to get that entire bottom border- including the trees and sunset - done before I receive the first UFO RR piece in mid to late September. The feathers on the right border will stitch up a bit slow, but the rest of that side will go very, very fast. I'm confident I'll have it done by the holidays. (yay!)

Erich and I both also played quite a bit of World of Warcrack this weekend, including a new instance within the game that I hadn't played before. As I may or may not have mentioned earlier in the month, we decided to join a new guild in-game, and it's kept us quite busy. For the uninitiated... guilds in these massive online games are essentially communities within the game. They organize runs into the multi-player scenarios ("instances") that require anywhere from 5 to 40 people to play, depending on where you're going. Our old guild was comprised only of our close friends- the ones we see on the weekends for Dungeons & Dragons games and such. It was good for the lower levels of the game where we'd only need between 2-5 people to group for some of the quests (aka in-game assignments giving you projects to develop your character). But the problem was that we were simply too small to really do any of the instances at the highest level. In that case, it's easy to get stuck with really not much to do. We needed a change because the game was getting quite boring. A few conversations via email with our friends also really pushed both of us to start looking.

My first instinct was to contact the Burrito Bandits. I've worked on a couple of things along the way with them. They were a friendly group and seemed to have a great sense of humor. They also had a guild philosophy that was in line with the type of gameplay we do. That's the important thing with a guild-- making sure you join one that fits your play style. Some guilds demand a LOT of time-- so much, in fact, that it could be argued that it's a second job. And some players really go for that. Heck, if I were in college, I probably would. The real-life stuff, however, requires that I don't play that often. And of course, there is the fact that I don't WANT to be spending every moment of free time, including possibly some of my sleep time, in that game.

So Erich applied to the guild first, and was nearly immediately accepted. I did the same a couple days later, and was nearly immediately accepted. We've both been learning how to do the 20-man instances. We're meeting new people. We're having a good time. It's geeky and time-wasting, but a great way to relax. :)'

OK... back to work.

He's not old...

My dear Erich is now 32. :) With how crazy August has become, his celebrations are taking on some Polish inklings... festivities that go on for days. Last night, it kicked off ON his birthday with a chicken feast from Boston Market followed by an evening of goofing off and raiding with our new guild in World of Warcraft. Good times, good times. :)

After work tonight, we're heading back to Big Fish (see last entry). Erich and I both love oysters, and Big Fish has them at 49 cents each. Can't beat it. We'll curl up to the outdoor Tiki Bar on what promises to be the best summer weather of the season, toss back probably a dozen each and enjoy some Sangria.

Next weekend, we'll throw a joint BBQ with Gina, who's birthday is on the 18th. Burgers, beers, poker... it should prove to be an interesting evening.

Happy birthday, hon!