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.

Jury Duty, Day One

The court released us early today (hooray!), so I'm home at 2:30 p.m. It was a very unexciting morning. Showed up, took the jury oaths, watched a very school-like "Jury Duty rah-rah-rah" video... then went back to the jury lounge, where I waited the morning away.

Apparently there were three potential cases, but none required juries - so we were released at noon. I took advantage of the nice day and walked down Benefit Street, admiring the buildings of Old Providence & the lower part of Brown University campus, grabbed lunch on Wickenden Street again... and then walked downtown, past the canals, to the bus stop.

The court gave us the choice of either free parking validation or RIPTA bus vouchers. I took the latter. Bus ride home was relatively quick. Drops me off a block from the house. Not bad.

The one good thing about jury duty? I got a decent amount of draft writing done. About six pages in my notebook longhand. :)

I do have to report again tomorrow - service is a mandatory two days here in Rhode Island. Apparently until only a few years ago, it was a mandatory two WEEKS. Eep!

At least it's better than my experience in Boston for Grand Jury... I was quite thankful to see seats in a room, rather than the floor in a hallway I got in Boston several years ago.

So I have the rest of the afternoon to get stuff done. Was feeling a bit bleh yesterday, so I'll try to catch up on some stuff today to make me feel like I didn't completely blow the weekend away.

Whee.

Tomorrow morning? I vote in the primaries. Then back to the court. Armed with little writing projects to do.

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.

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...

Weird Week

This week was rough in a lot of ways - some of it mine/Erich's, but also with friends of mine. 2008 just doesn't seem to be off to a good start, and I'm already in that "do I need to keep my head down?!?" mode.

The me/Erich stuff is the final real battle in dealing with his mom's estate. As part of it, Erich inherited half of his grandparents' house in the town where he grew up in Massachusetts. Apparently his grandmother's name was the only one on the title, and she willed half to each of her daughters, and with Debbie passing, one half has passed to Erich. His aunt lives in the house, but does want to get out of it because it's too much for her to take care of, both size-wise and financially. And this house is NOT in good shape, nor has she even managed to maintain it.

So last week, Erich finds out that back taxes are owed. Next day, he finds out that it's two YEARS of back taxes owed. I can't fathom how his aunt lets TWO YEARS OF HOUSE TAXES slip. I really can't. Seriously... W.T.F?!?

Mind you - we've already dropped a decent amount of money to bail the aunt out here - a sizeable amount of our wedding gift money went towards this. Once I find out about the tax bills? I flip a gasket. Because now I see our tax refund immediately going to this thing - the tax refund that was going to be a sizeable amount of our financing toward the trip to England. And with the house now in that limbo between ownership and foreclosure because of this, I'm even more upset - because the house COULD be lost over this, and said money just disappears.

So Erich and I had a decent row over it. A "go to bed angry" sort of row.

Thankfully, he's pushed forward to get things going on this house. Met with a real estate agent, talked to the town tax board. Got all of his documents regarding the house from the worthless lawyer his aunt had hired up in Massachusetts so he could transfer them to our family lawyer here in RI.

Just a mess. BUT... the house is going on the market next week. Price lowered to be sold "as is." And hopefully there's a buyer out there looking for a project. *shrug* It's in a good town, and the lot itself is lovely (wooded 1/2 acre with wild grapes and such growing on it) in a nice neighborhood. It's just the *house* that needs serious work.

So we'll see.

The other thing this week is that one of our friends, Rob, who I went to college with (and was a roomate with just after college), is very ill and in the hospital. He went in with viral pneumonia last weekend. Took a downturn early this week, and the doctors were forced to intubate him. His heart is enlarged and working at 25% capacity. It's just a nasty situation. Since then, it's been one of those "he's showing some signs of improvement... but..." situations. His heart now is the big focus. They're not sure whether it's due to the pneumonia or due to a pre-existing condition (or a secondary infection), but it's being considered Congestive Heart Failure at the moment. He's going in for a CAT scan and a biopsy in the next couple days, but it's scary, scary stuff. And a lot of it just involves having to be patient, rest, and leave himself up to the doctors who are caring for him.

Mind you - he's 31.

Dealing with one of those "so... how exactly do I recover from this?" situations. The doctors can't say exactly what the long-term damage will be.

Erich and some of the guys went down to New Haven to visit him in the hospital today - they're on their way back at the moment. Hopefully some friends visiting will cheer him up again. He's not so far away that we can't pop down there for a few hours as needed. And thankfully Rob's brother is a nurse at the hospital where he's staying... so at least he has family with him, too.

But it's just so terrifying, these reminders of mortality.

It makes all sorts of stresses pale so much in comparison.

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!

Dear Puffs brand tissues -

Your idea to put Vicks Vapor Rub into your tissues was a weird idea, I grant you - I was concerned as I considered the box in CVS this afternoon.

But I decided that I was intrigued, and would do a temporary subscription to your newsletter, seeing that my nose is congested to all hell today and I'd give anything to be able to breathe.

Upon breathing in the instant nose-clearing scent of them tonight? You have won me over. Even though I believe they are strong enough to give me a Vapor Rub high. I can just sit here with a tissue under my nose, and I can breathe! Without taking brain-fogging meds!

Brilliant!

Puffs? I love you. I really, truly love you.

Hangover Friday

I adore Harpoon's UFO beer - but I swear it causes harsher headaches. I really do. *sigh*

Of course, it could have been the glass of Stella Artois I had, too. But I think that was the cause of my slightly queasy stomach during the train ride home last night.

Beh.

In any case, had a good time at my company's holiday party last night. I didn't stay too late, but I was there for about four hours. The food was decent. I loved the place (International Cafe on High Street in Boston). A newer employee in our office does a damned good Grace Slick, based on her karaoke skills last night.

And today, I have off. Which means I'm doing the following in roughly this order:

1) Coffee
2) Finishing Christmas cards
3) Throwing a couple loads of laundry in
4) Throwing a load of dishes in the washer
5) Writing the draft of my pinch-hit piece for OSK
6) Burn the photo CD for my mom
7) Pack for the trip to PA
8) Finish the wedding thank you notes for family I will see this weekend
9) Drop off Christmas cards to the mail

It sounds like a lot, but I'm an admin assistant. I multitask. Well. :) I should have the vast majority of this done by 1 p.m., and then I'll slack off all afternoon.

Holidays and Charity

I've now been involved in the Holidailies writing project in December for three years. To my surprise today, there's an announcement that Holidailies is planning on doing some sort of a charity drive via the site, and that today's prompt was to write about ideas.

I have to admit that I'm a little bothered by this. And to prevent myself from sounding like a grinch, here's why:

Charity, when done correctly, is something that's personal, in my opinion. I don't need to broadcast who I've given money to, nor who I've donated time to. Quite frankly, I don't feel comfortable announcing what I've done because it sounds far too much like grandstanding to me and a case of who's outdonating who. I have my personal interests of where to donate my money and my time, and I leave it at that.

And it bothers me a bit that a few days into Holidailies, there's now a press for charity, and the "if every participant gives xyz"... NO. I understand it's optional to give, but it's the principle of the thing. If you're planning that sort of a side-project, state that up-front. It sounds disingenuous to me a few days into the project. I don't appreciate peer pressure to give - particularly at a time where I'm scraping every penny and every minute of time to figure out what way is up because yes, it's the holidays AND particularly not through a journal portal that has a completely different focus.

And... if for no other reason, I simply don't have the time and energy during the month of December to go research the charitable organization that may be chosen. And yes, I am extremely picky as to where I donate my money and/or time. Because many charitable organizations are tied to larger organizations or corporations that I do not want to associate with if possible.

Donating my money so Holidailies can continue? Fine. No problem.
Donating my money to a charity organization as of yet unidentified? No. Absolutely not.

If you want donations for charity, please get the site up prior to five days before Holidailies starts so folks can research your planned charities.

And I'm sorry to sound grouchy about it, but considering that no one's commenting on my entries for Holidailies anyway, what does my opinion matter, eh?

Cold

Sometime after lunch yesterday, the really cold winter air pressed into Boston. By the time I left work, the temperature was somewhere down around 20 degrees. And me, being the crazy "I fear no cold!" Montanan that I am, was wearing only a padded hoodie. No hat. No scarf. No mittens.

I'd be lying if I claimed I wasn't completely freezing when I exited the train in Providence - but I have a theory about it, see. Because I refuse to lose my Montanan "fear no cold" winter cred.

It's the station's fault. The tunnel where the tracks rest are under the rest of the station - so there's the wind tunnel effect. Plus it's all concrete - unadorned, basic concrete - which means it's sucking the cold in further, right?

Plus there are the metal rails. AND - because I'm on an Acela line, there are concrete railroad ties as well.

See? It's all of the concrete - which is making me cold.

Yeah. That's it.

.

.

.

WHAT?!?

Always off-season

I'm convinced that the stores are completely out of whack with reality about the holiday season.

I know - thank you Captain obvious. Where have I been, eh?

But here's what really bothers me. The season doesn't match with the Season. It's December 1st, and at Lowes this afternoon, all Christmas ornaments were on clearance. Everything 25% off. Never mind the fact that it's still 24 days until Christmas. No. The end-of-season clearance sales now begin just as the true holiday season is just getting started.

I'm sorry. I'm not one of the crazy people who gets into the holiday spirit in... what was it... September? I think that's when the Christmas tree displays were put up at Lowes this year. Kid you not - there was the glowing beacon of Christmas spirit while the summer flowers were just beginning to fade.

Mind you - by the end of September, Halloween stuff is on clearance sale. By the week of Halloween, you can barely find bags of candy to give out. The stuff you do find is the stuff that used to rot at the bottom of the treat bags for being "sub-par." And personally, I don't want to be those neighbors who give out the crappy candy. But if I have Halloween candy in the house for more than a few days, I know I'm going to start raiding the bag. I don't want to buy it in September, guys.

And now the Christmas decorating season is on clearance on the very first day of December. How crazy has this shopping frenzy become? All I hear is the stores complaining about how hard a holiday season it's going to be. Well, rather than overpower a quarter of the year for holiday shopping, condense it, return it to the proper time of year, and possibly those of us who are tired of Halloween and Thanksgiving being speed bumps toward the shopping frenzy would return to the stores.

Worst of it is that trying to keep your business to the stores that actually do observe the proper holiday season is becoming harder to do. Most stores are taking down their holiday decorations the week before Christmas. This makes no sense to me. I mean, it's not a religious holiday to me, but it reinforces just how superficial and economy-based the celebration of the holiday has become.

Oh - and Lowes? Could you actually have the paper leaf bags in stock the week that the leaves have just fallen from the trees, rather than taking them off of the shelves as "out of season" before the leaves even turn color?

Would appreciate it.

Thanks.

What the heck has been up with me...

So, if it weren't obvious, I haven't been posting a lot lately. Although that should be clarified with an over here. Because at LiveJournal, I've been extremely active. For some reason, it's just an easier place to congregate. I dunno - maybe it has some of the ease of the old Diary-X system. I know when people update there because I have friends' lists.

I feel a bit lonely over here at times.

*sigh*

But anyway... I can't believe it's the end of November already. And contrary to the silence in my blog, no... I didn't do NaNoWriMo this year. I signed up, but never really got writing, never felt all that jazzed for it... so... meh.

What HAS been happening is a whole lot of running around since the weekend of our wedding. Absolute madness. Life returning to normal, scrambling to start returning to the things both Erich and I had blown off for months as part of our "planning a wedding, can't talk now!" excuse. It's amazing how off-kilter life gets when planning such a big event. I am finally starting to feel - this WEEK - that I'm myself again. It took two months to feel normal. Insane. I think the wedding took a permanent toll on my ability to remember things, though. I used to have a pretty good memory - but now I barely can remember things week to week. It's maddening.

Married life is good. Honestly, it doesn't feel that different than it did before, although I imagine I'll find little things along the way that feel different. I have an extra ring on the finger, and official documents are slowly being transferred from one name to another. Hearing Erich's last name as my own is a bit weird. But I CAN sign it comfortably, which is a relief. But it's so comfortable saying, "this is my husband."

I take that as a very good thing. Especially being the one who was convinced she'd be alone her entire life.

Now that the wedding's over, we're both moving into our own little worlds again, which always circle one another and about half the time come together - the comfortable balance that we always seem to have.

Erich's been extremely busy with the affairs of his mom's estate. Things are moving along, slowly but surely. Honestly, from what I gather, the vast majority of the runaround work is done. Now it's down to selling the house in Massachusetts that Debbie had inherited half of from her mother (Debbie's sister owns the other half). Selling the house, particularly in this market, will be a challenge. But it will be a huge relief to both Erich's aunt and him. And hopefully it'll be able to move us forward in some house updates that I'd love to get started - like... getting rid of the wallpaper that's partially coming down on its own, replastering, repainting, etc.

Meanwhile, I've been busy on the weekends with all things sorority related, it seems. I've spent a good deal of my weekends since late September up in Boston for one reason or another - alumni meetings, rush events and degrees with the actives. I even took a little sister (kin sister, actually, since I'm alum). His name's Mark. It's odd being officially tied to a line in the sorority again - since my direct line of little sisters died before I graduated from college. But it's fantastic to be tied closer to the chapter as a whole again.

And I've been doing that odd thing that's sprouted up in the past couple years - having a social life. I don't know where this came from. I really don't. But suddenly, I have a fairly large and diverse circle of friends, any of which I can call and say "hey, let's go do xyz on Friday," and actually have them say "sure, yeah!" So weird. I spent so many years as the wallflower that always felt left behind. Having friends that actually WANT to do things together? God, it's wonderful.

The geeky stuff still continues, although not as intense as it used to be. That may return, though. We're just now getting back into a couple Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop games.

Sports? Oh, gotta love New England right now. :) Well, I guess folks outside of New England don't like us right now. But you know what I mean.

I've continued to dig into all things Doctor Who in my spare time. I'm currently watching the very early episodes... from 1963. I'm still amused how the TARDIS for the most part is exactly the same - even the sound effects! With the WGA strike, I'm thankful for the volumes of Who material I have to dig through. Only 43 years... should keep me busy.

Work continues to go well. I've now been at my job for a year. Other than a few workmates, I don't miss the other place at all. I do find, though, that some of the things people gripe about at my current office simply don't bother me - because they're NOWHERE near as hellish as what I dealt with before. It's just amazing.

And that's about it, I suppose.

Much more to come - Holidailies is just around the corner. :)

Rule #1 about owning a house

That quick "replace the fittings inside the toilet tank so the toilet stops running" afternoon project?

Will never, EVER be just an afternoon project.

Guess what it wound up being? A whole new toilet.

Because the running? Was a slow leak. Which had resulted in FARKING BLACK MOLD growing under our toilet, up the back of the tank, and on the wall. And considering the toilet's at least 60 years old anyway and the bolts wouldn't come undone from the tank without bolt cutters?

We'll solve a couple problems. I'd much rather have a new toilet than just "clean up" black mold. With our allergies? Yeah... remove the source, thanks.

Go to Lowes, get a new toilet - new Kohler with all of the fittings and such in the box for $200. Perfect.

Get home, eat dinner, and then I go upstairs with the bleach and a scrubber to clean that entire area of the bathroom thoroughly to kill any trace of the mold (and just give it a good scrubbing).

So six hours later, Erich's installing the new toilet. And our water connector isn't long enough. So we can't finish installing it.

And it's now 10:30 at night, so the stores are closed.

Mind you - this is our only toilet in the house.


Yay.


*sigh*

Guess tomorrow morning's first events are coffee at a Dunkins with a bathroom and then another trip to Lowes...

Stupid clothing rant

After work tonight, I convinced Erich to head over to the Warwick Mall so I could go to Lane Bryant to grab a new pair of jeans. He agreed quickly because he needed to stop by LensCrafters anyway... and off we went.

So I go in to Lane Bryant, and immediately notice that they have some new trendy "fit yourself to the perfect jean" thing on the wall. Three cuts, based on your waist to hip size. Okay, fine. And here's where it gets annoying - because all of the sizes are now untraditional. So you HAVE to have a salesperson help you to find your size because they have to measure your waist in a similar vein to measuring bras.

*groan*

okay. Fine.

So she gets my size - blue 5. Fine. Whatever. She grabs that and the next size down, a blue 4, and we head to the dressing room.

And I try on the blue 5s. They fit pretty snuggly. They're that effing elasticized denim. And they feel, eh... okay, I guess. But a lot tighter than I prefer to wear jeans. And a bit itchy because they're those elasticized ones and haven't been washed yet.

I'm not thrilled.

And so I go out of the dressing room. She tells me that she thinks they're too big (?!?), and that I should try on the four.

I really disagree with this concept - because I already feel these are too tight. But I humor her. I can't even BUTTON the other ones. I don't even bother to try the universal "OMG get these jeans on" pull. Because if I do manage to get them buttoned, I'm going to have a seriously unflattering camel toe syndrome going on in these things. And that? Ew.

Fuck that. I already think these "5s" fit snuggly.

So I get dressed in my workclothes and come out. Shake my head about the fours and flat out state that I couldn't button them, and that I'm mixed on the fives and want to go bigger. She claims they're going to stretch out - that everyone has brought the jeans back because they stretch out too wide.

And I say, "well, that's good. Because I don't think I'm liking this narrow cut."

Mind you - there's no more relaxed fit jean left in the store- the cut I've been wearing happily and religiously for years. Nice and roomy, comfy, easy to lounge in. And regular denim. All of the jeans are now this elasticized stuff. All based on waist to hip size. Am I the only plus sized woman out there that isn't digging this elasticized denim thing? I mean - it hugs to every flaw in your body. And at a size 26, I have quite a few flaws here. It makes me feel like I'm wearing leggings... which at my size should be banned from anything other than the gym and slacking around the house because they're just awful.

I don't want bootcut. I don't want flare. I just want a basic pair of comfy jeans. Straight leg, roomy fit in the thigh so I can sit down comfortably without my underwear showing in the back.

Is this too much to ask?

And I honestly needed to buy a pair of jeans so I'll have some for tomorrow evening. (and the rare wear-jeans-to-work day tomorrow).

The salesclerk - and the manager - stated that if I didn't like them, I can bring them back post wearing.

*sigh* I caved in and bought a pair - a lighter pair, thank you (because apparently that uber-dark indigo is back in style again... but I refuse to wear Wrangler cowboy new jeans color on a matter of principle). I'm not happy with the purchase, though. I'm going to be making sure to save all tags and receipts - because I do expect these to be heading back early next week.

Had they not have been closed, I probably would have swung by the Avenue to see if they had any normal jeans. They do on their website. But I've been hit-or-miss with their cuts in their store.

Grrrr....

Can't we slightly more conservative early 30's gals just have some decent clothes that are between uber-tight teenager crap and the mumu lazy older woman housedrss stuff?

Please?

Grrr...

Some idiot tried to jump on the train in Providence this morning as the 7:10 train was leaving the station. He got dragged down the platform before the train finally stopped. Farking idiot.

When Erich dropped me off at 7:30, they were just wheeling the guy out - he was sitting up, conscious, holding his arm out straight to support it, and there was a LOT of blood on the removed shoe sitting in his lap.

As always, the MBTA is the bastion of no communication - failing to make any announcement about the situation of the now delayed 7:40 train (which wasn't marked as delayed until AFTER 7:40... I know, because I was physically running down the stairs to the platform at 7:38, when it claimed it was "on time") to find everyone for my train standing on the track, looking confused.

It took 75% of the people waiting for my train to head upstairs, going to the window to ASK for an announcement for them to do anything, and to announce that people not board the train that rolled into the station roughly at 7:45 on the opposite side of the station because that was the 8:10 scheduled train, and that ours would be coming and leaving before that train left Providence.

Seriously - what the hell does it take for communication with the train company? Just TELL YOUR RIDERS THAT THERE'S A DELAY, and confirm the track number. That's all. Simple, to the point. They should not have to go ask for such basic information. Not in a station that is not that busy.

As it was, our train then finally rolled into the station around 7:55 or so (from the yard - it makes no sense that it couldn't have been brought over a bit earlier and just sat at Providence).

And I got in a half-hour late.

Grrrrr...

The weekend, and the future

14 days. Eep!

The bachelor party was easily survived. I, as planned, spent most of my evening on the couch. I did not, as planned, get anything else done. My brain needed a complete break from all things wedding last night, and so that's what I did. I just shut off the phone, took a break, and had a very needed evening to myself.

The unedited Graham Norton episode had me laughing so hard that I went into a coughing fit (and had to stop watching it for a while). Funny stuff. Sometime around 11:30 or so, I threw in my Blackpool DVD and settled down, fell asleep somewhere into episode 1, and woke up when the guys came home - right as the scene in Funny Girls starts. :)

Erich and the guys returned just a bit after 2 a.m., and amazingly, the party broke up immediately- apparently the guys were just exhausted on the bus on the way back from Foxwoods (and most had sobered up by that time). I guess this is the sign of a bachelor party when the guys are mostly in their 30s! Most of the guys went home. I ended up with only Matt, Jason, and Erich's Dad crashing out at our house.

Got up this morning, had coffee and breakfast, and then just relaxed for a while. Some of the guys came back over to watch the Pats game, play board games, and just hang out and plan out characters for Erich's new d20 game he'll be kicking off at some point.

The last folks left around 7:30. Erich and I have just been relaxing since then - I have some laundry going, but otherwise, we're chilling out. We got a LOT of housework done. Other than the kitchen, the entire downstairs is put together and ready for family to see it. The upstairs just needs some work done in my office, and then we'll be good to go.

One very productive thing for today? We bought our full membership to the Royal Shakespeare Company. So as soon as tickets go on sale online for Hamlet? Oh yes, we shall purchase. :)

Reality

Last night, I drove back to Boston after a weekend of couch-lounging, storage box sorting, and general slackerdom.

I dropped her off, and then headed back to Cleveland Circle in Brookline to grab a dinner burrito at Boloco. (because I don't eat there enough during my workweek already). Munched it down, gave Erich a call on my cell, checked my messages (one from from Friday... *sigh* no, I'm horrid with my cell phone), texted her back, cranked my "dance mix" on my iPod, and started to head home.

By taking a right back onto Chestnut Hill Ave, and then a right onto Comm Ave.

No idea why - but that just felt like the right way. Okay. I recognize those weird little "don't know why..." thoughts, and entertained them.

Windows down, music thumping, I drove my way down Comm Ave - swinging by the old apartment on Egremont. Then I continued back down Comm Ave., passing by Hamilton House Hell - now private apartments instead of a BU dorm. Through campus- where life was VERY active with the students who had just returned this weekend. Then by Warren Towers, where I spent two odd dorm years. Through Kenmore Square, which looks nothing like it did when I was a student. Down through the back swing of the Fenway, to St. Botolph Street, to the dead end street, and I stopped...

Got out of the car, and looked up at The Beast for just a bit.

The lights weren't on, but there are colorful drapes in the windows. And there was a cat, resembling how Colley would sprawl, enjoying the beautiful evening weather in the kitchenette window.

And that's where I lost it. Really, honest to god lost it. I sat on the wall where I'd brought Colley so many times to explore outside, and released them.

Holy crap, I'm getting married. Three weeks from today, I will be married, starting a new life (which isn't much different than my current life, yet I know it'll be entirely different). The crying, the depression, the loneliness, the thoughts of ending everything in that one room apartment - all in the past. So far in the past, so foreign.

If you'd asked me seven, eight, nine years ago that I'd have sat there last night, staring up at that three-windowed apartment with a little fear, a little melancholy, a little pride, and then a really fucking huge smile, I'd have laughed insanely at you and told you off. I was the one who would never find someone. I was doomed to be a miserable nerd loner for the rest of my life.

It's a bit overwhelming, honestly.

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.

Preventative Sick Day

So... on Day Three of the unexplained cough from nowhere, I decided to stay home to tend to this thing. It kept me up for the better half of the night. Lots of tossing and turning. Bleh.

The thing is, I have a long and annoying history with bronchitis that lasts for months. Not weeks... months. My dad used to drug me up on codeine to try to calm the cough, and THAT wouldn't do it. So when I start getting a random cough that's predominantly dry and hacking, I start getting a bit paranoid. Especially when I'm in the very plausible "I could still be dealing with this late September" range.

I'm not a hypochondriac by any means - except when it comes to bronchitis. I've had enough days of lying on the couch winded with bruised lungs from pain in the past, thanks. I'll be overly cautious here. The kicker is that other than feeling drained from all the coughing, I feel okay. My sinuses are clear. I've had a couple small bouts of fever here and there, I think. But I just SOUND bad. Bad enough that I was getting some annoyed "god, stay home if you have the plague" looks on the train last night.

*sigh* So yeah, preventative sick day.

So after sleeping an extra hour this morning, I came back downstairs to my still delightfully warm cup of hot coffee, and flipped on the TV. Ooh... X-Files. Sick day with X-Files on SciFi. I can do this. Oh, but it's the damn Chupa-thingy episode. *sigh* Why is it always the crappy episodes that show on sick days?

Dammit.

Still, it's being filtered with a ton of ads for Doctor Who tomorrow night. At least I know the show's actually being advertised now. ;)

In any case, while I will be resting, I'll make the day somewhat productive too. The key is to do stuff that won't require me to be physically active, because that's when I really start to cough. So it's a day where I find things that can be done sitting down. I have a ton of various paper to get through & shred (old bills, etc.) that can be done easily while I stay relatively still. And since Victory over Japan Day on Monday has delayed our trash pickup until tomorrow, I can get it into recycling immediately.

I'm going to push to finish something for the Anywhere but Cardiff ficathon so I can send it to beta. Anyone available for some draft reading this weekend if I get it to you? I figure if I at least get the first portion of it posted for the ficathon, I'll be happy. But I am really going to push to finish it so it doesn't become another floating unfinished WiP.

Soniced_Up sent me Chapter 3 of her fic to beta. I'll most likely work on that today so I can turn it right back around. by the weekend. She has an interesting idea going for her ficathon piece, IMHO. I'm interested to see where it's going.

---

Thanks to everyone who replied to me about my wedding ranting yesterday (mostly over on LJ). I do appreciate it, and I'm relieved to hear that while I may be a bit whiney and crabby about all of this, I'm not being a bridezilla. I haven't replied to everyone basically because I got busy yesterday, and then last night was just drained due to this cough. But I do need to get back to people's comments all over the place now.

Erich has been doing an awesome job of tracking down our missing RSVPs. He's whittled the list down by about half already. As of last count, I think he said we have about 20 more people to track down for answers. Which is awesome, because between the two of us we have about a half-dozen people who have become bigger parts of our lives since the original invite list was put together, and we want to have the room to invite them. AND... my aunt asked yesterday if my cousin can bring her boyfriend (which I said I'd get back to her on, depending on what the headcount is).

Now I just need my parents to return my calls so we can get the transportation issues solved - and in my dad's case, hear from him on my proposed father-daughter song so I can get the list to the DJ and strike THAT off my list.

I may whine about this wedding planning, but I am still plodding along. Slowly but surely.

Today, just a bit slower than other days. :P

Friday Morning Musings

A very happy 33rd to my other half, Erich (occasionally popping on my LJ as , in case anyone was wondering who that was...). :) He's now a year older than me, at least for the next few months. *grin*

We'll be doing some sort of dinnery thing, per his interest, tonight after work. His dad & Linda are coming down tomorrow for lunch and some hangout time, and then Erich will be heading off to geek with the guys for the evening, and I'll probably curl up in front of the telly with those Chris Eccleston DVD's I still haven't watched.

My office had its summer conclave yesterday, where we did an annual update meeting and then broke into groups to do community service around Boston, and then met back up for lunch and some celebratory drinking. My group went to a playground in Charlestown, where we spread mulch over the entire playground area, did some trash cleanup, and some weeding. It looked quite good when we were done. But oh, my back is still tired. I'm not so much sore anymore, but the muscles in my back are just fatigued, which is causing everything to ache. So it's one of those "good" aches, but still, gah, I'd much prefer to be in bed where I can rest my shoulders.

I've finished the initial beta work on both of the short pieces I promised to do. So those will get mailed off later today, once I do a final read through on each.

Today is the RSVP date for my wedding invitations. I've only received half of them back so far. Above all, I think I'm most annoyed that all of the family members who have thrown me through the emotional wringer over the last two years are the ones who haven't sent back their damn RSVPs. Not a single one of them. I'm borderline pissed off on that little snippet. But of course, they probably figure that I figure that they're all coming. And while, yes, I do, there was also the request on my RSVP notes to include any allergies (since we are having... shellfish), and I know for a FACT that at least two of the people who haven't RSVPed do have allergies - extensive allergies - but I don't keep tabs on all of them and kinda need to know. Because if I don't work around said allergies, of COURSE they're going to complain.

And then there's the rest of the family friends and everyday friends who haven't replied. *sigh*

I have to admit that after going through the whole save-the-date mailing, then the wedding invite mailing, the fact that I have HALF of my invitees still not responding is well, a bit demoralizing to say the least.

Moral of the story - if someone sends you an invite that requires an RSVP, please send it back. Right away while it's on your mind, or at the minimum, make sure it gets back by the deadline they print. Seriously, even if you're not able to go. Just send it back so they know. If you're not sure you can get time off for the event, at least call the person and let them know that, because there are reasons why the invites have to go out and come back by a certain time. Now I'm in a monster headache and a slight panic because I need to get counts to my caterer and cake maker within the next few days, and as of right now, I literally don't have anywhere near the MINIMUM number of people I need to pay for for the caterer. I have no clue as to how many to reserve tables, food, etc. for.

*sigh*

I'm so brain fried. I really am.

In any case, I know a lot of people have been commenting, either on the now massive meta thread from the other day, or on various comments on my journal or elsewhere. I'll be responding to them tomorrow, probably.

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.

My brain is mush

I owe three people fanfic beta work - and yes, it's going. I should have two of the pieces done this evening. The third is a long-term project, and I'm hoping to get two chapters completed by mid-week. My problem is that my inner editor isn't letting me READ the stories first, and just wants to jump into editing... and I don't like to do that. I need to read a story first, to see how the whole thing strikes me before I start combing through it.

As for my own writing? Hell if I know when it's going to happen. My brain is just in a pouty don'wanna sort of mood. And honestly, it's probably good for it to be that way, considering I have Lots of Wedding Crap To Do. But I need to get that little fic piece done for the "Anywhere but Cardiff" ficathon. I don't expect to have anything stellar to contribute, sadly. My question is should I post what I have during the ficathon, or shelve it and apologize, but add it in late, when my brain decides to work?

*sigh*

On the stuff-to-do front, it's been a very productive weekend, but I also found time to get some relaxation in, too. I took a half-day off from work on Friday (VERY needed after the three fourteen hour days earlier in the week). As always, the Commuter Rail sucks ass, leaving South Station about a half-hour late. What I wouldn't give for an on-time train. (sigh) But it does beat driving every day, and I have to remind myself of that. The Jeep isn't exactly good on gas, and it IS a 60+ mile drive each way. With Boston traffic.

Anyway - picked up my wedding dress from alterations on Friday afternoon. It fits beautifully now. Hem is just perfect, and the two small tucks under my arms make everything fit just right on the top. The bustle is a contraption to behold, I swear - ELEVEN ties. Because I have a fat ass. But the girls at David's Bridal were kind enough to number each ribbon and each loop for me (without me having to ask for it) to make it easier on the poor bridesmaids who'll have to deal with them.

So now, I basically am done with dress stuff. I bring it back two weeks before the wedding to have it steamed, and that's it.

Since I was in the area, I also picked up some metallic ribbon for my wedding Chucks. I wasn't thrilled with a lot of the color options, but I found a pretty metallic iridescent orange organza that has just a bit of wire in it for some strength. It's pretty close to the metallic shade of the orange on the heel stripe, so it'll go well. I bought three lengths, just in case one breaks. :)

So shoes are now done.

Updated the spreadsheet with our guest invites - so far we have 42 yes, 4 no. About half have sent RSVPs and the deadline is Friday. It's funny - my friends all said that they got a burst of RSVPs the first week or so, and then a trickle. There's really been no burst with us - we'll have one or two one day, none for a couple days, and then maybe four another day.

MY family are slackers. Like... only two families have sent back RSVPs. And I might note that my mom is NOT among the returnees.

(and I wonder where I get my procrastination?)

We got our first wedding gift delivered on Friday. We haven't opened the box yet, but it's from Linens & Things. I'm not sure whether to open it or wait until the wedding. For now, the box is sitting in the kitchen. It's not like Erich and I aren't staying together. But I know the tradition is to not use anything until the wedding, so... I guess it's probably better to wait.

Mom informed me that she has bought me the Margaritaville blender from Williams Sonoma as one of our wedding presents. She also said that "she needs to try it out first." ;) But needless to say, it'll be getting used for both the girls' day/night out if anything happens at my house and for the Unrehearsal Dinner. Because seriously... drinky things are required for wedding parties. And oh, this thing will get used - because both Erich and I like our drinky things.

and can I just say I'm cracking up at the tote bag on that webpage? I seriously may consider it... because I have a feeling this thing will be requested to be transported to various houses for use.

We wrote our vows this weekend so we can order our rings on Monday. Erich just needs to double-check his ring size before he sends in the order (because with the etching of our vows on the inside of the ring, it's not like they'll be easily resized).

And I've done a shitload of laundry. I'm not sure where it's all coming from - I feel like every weekend I'm doing a TON of laundry. There are only two people in this house-- where the hell is it all coming from?!?

And we reordered some of our kitchen, too. About two weeks ago, Erich found a great sideboard for the dining room that