The five things meme, more baking, and a lot of boring stuff
First, a quick meme. anemonerose gave me five things she associates with me, with directions to elaborate on them.
Plumeria: I went to Hawaii for the first time when I was 14 years old, and immediately fell in love with the (genuine) plumeria flowers (aka frangipanni) - their scent, their delicate feel, the lovely leis. They're not sturdy flowers, and in some ways they're rather pedestrian compared to some others on the islands, but they're so quintessentially Hawaiian to me. Don't bother with artificially scented products - they don't come close. But my matron of honor ordered (at, I'm sure, horrific expense) a half-dozen genuine plumeria leis for my bridal shower, and I (and my mother) will never forget the treat. So, anyway - when I was picking a handle for FanForum lo these many years ago (yikes, nine), I went with plumeria. And the rest is history?
San Francisco: I'm not actually from SF - my mother lives about 20 miles to the east, but I still consider the city "home" in a way, especially now that I've moved away. At the heart of my attachment is my great-grandmother's house, as seen in the icon *points*, where we would gather on Christmas Eve every year for a huge (50-75 guest) family gathering (never mind that they're all Jewish). So, it's not like I spent lots of time in the city growing up, aside from the Christmas Eve parties and school field trips or taking-guests-around ventures to Golden Gate Park/aquarium/zoo/Exploratorium, etc, but since my hometown is pretty nondescript and un-famous, SF represents "home" to me in images, news, and sentiment.
Fanfiction: I read my first fic at the end of Roswell's first season, back in spring 2000, and wrote my first fic a few months later. The idea that I could get a fic published (well, sort of) on someone's website, for everyone to read, was an incredibly heady experience. I had always hated writing in school, so it was this amazing discovery, to realize that writing could be enjoyable. I wrote an incredible amount - sometimes two fics per week, though always short stories - for the next year, dabbling a little into Dawson's Creek fic as well; mostly slash/femslash, but a little het along the way. And then I discovered HP fic. I was tricked into reading madlori's PoU around Oct 2000, but was hooked immediately, and was finally goaded into writing my own ("Certain") by iscarus in May 2001. By Jan 2002 I had left FanForum and was a moderator at FictionAlley, where I helped process fic submissions, as well as reading and writing my own. Draco In Darkness was definitely the HP peak for me; no one really reads my recent stuff anymore (for the rare times I manage to write), but I'm honored that my older works still get a steady trickle of reviews. I am also thankful to have discovered fanfiction, and to learn that writing can be fun.
Baking: I love to eat the stuff. I love to make it, too. I've been making my signature chocolate cake since I was 10, and helped my mom make holiday cookies and such throughout my life. Baking is an easy way to make people happy, it's often portable/mailable, it's sometimes healthier (ie bread), and it always tastes better than anything you could buy. There's also a satisfaction in having a tangible product in fairly short order. Cooking - eh, boring. Baking is a treat.
The Phantom Tollbooth: A wonderful linguistic romp in the shape of a children's chapter book. Frankly, I think the story is wasted on anyone younger than 12-13, as younger kids don't have a firm grasp of idioms and a lot of the odd expressions adults use, which are used in such fantastic ways in the story. Reading it as an adult has added even more layers of laughs and comprehension than what I enjoyed as a teenager. A boy (Milo) is bored with everything in his life, so when he is presented with a magical tollbooth, he gives it a shot, ending up in a fantastical land where double meanings lurk around every corner, where you really can jump to Conclusions, and you might want to think twice before ordering a light meal. Along the way, he rescues the princesses Rhyme and Reason and finds corresponding rhyme and reason in his life. One of those books I'd recommend for everyone, and a good comfort re-read for me, too.
If anyone else wants to play, let me know and I'll think of five things I associate with you. (I do need to know you at least somewhat. :) )
Will took today off for his back, although he was doing better this morning. However, at 9:30am he got a call from his office; although he recalls calling in to say he'd be staying home, no one remembers hearing from him so he was completely confuzzled about it. Also, there was an important meeting he totally forgot about, from 2-4pm - a meeting he had to demonstrate a computer program for. So he only got a half day; he went off around 1:20pm and didn't get home until 7pm.
I spent considerable time back in the kitchen. I think my recent cooking frenzy has been a combined desire to make people happy with the goodies (I've been feeling down for several reasons, and you know what they say about cheering others makes yourself feel better, too), a desire to try new things, and also avoidance of less interesting stuff ... like cleaning. :P There's clutter everywhere and it's driving me crazy, but I also know that no matter how much effort I put into it, it'll be just as awful in a day or two anyway, so motivation to actually do anything is pretty damn low. :P
Anyway, today I made my three-mushroom bake and homemade Thin Mints (of Girl Scout fame) - the cookies were easy but getting them covered with the melted chocolate was a lot more hassle. Still, the results were greatly appreciated by everyone, so yay! I also caved and contacted my SIL about bringing veggies - she immediately accepted, so ... no idea how we're going to fit all this into the cooler, but I stocked up on carrots, celery, bell peppers (red/yellow) and broccoli, and made my own onion dip (no additives!). Will says it tastes a little different from the dry-soup-mix version, but, again, everyone in my household said it was yummy. Hope the party folks like it, too.
Nothing else really of note for today, other than it was windy again, three dead rodents were found in our basement traps (oh ... joy), MiniPlu's afternoon bus was 15 min later than usual, and we made our weekly pilgrimage to the public library. Oh, and, prompted by MiniPlu's questions, we discovered which President lived longest. :)
Plumeria: I went to Hawaii for the first time when I was 14 years old, and immediately fell in love with the (genuine) plumeria flowers (aka frangipanni) - their scent, their delicate feel, the lovely leis. They're not sturdy flowers, and in some ways they're rather pedestrian compared to some others on the islands, but they're so quintessentially Hawaiian to me. Don't bother with artificially scented products - they don't come close. But my matron of honor ordered (at, I'm sure, horrific expense) a half-dozen genuine plumeria leis for my bridal shower, and I (and my mother) will never forget the treat. So, anyway - when I was picking a handle for FanForum lo these many years ago (yikes, nine), I went with plumeria. And the rest is history?
San Francisco: I'm not actually from SF - my mother lives about 20 miles to the east, but I still consider the city "home" in a way, especially now that I've moved away. At the heart of my attachment is my great-grandmother's house, as seen in the icon *points*, where we would gather on Christmas Eve every year for a huge (50-75 guest) family gathering (never mind that they're all Jewish). So, it's not like I spent lots of time in the city growing up, aside from the Christmas Eve parties and school field trips or taking-guests-around ventures to Golden Gate Park/aquarium/zoo/Exploratorium, etc, but since my hometown is pretty nondescript and un-famous, SF represents "home" to me in images, news, and sentiment.
Fanfiction: I read my first fic at the end of Roswell's first season, back in spring 2000, and wrote my first fic a few months later. The idea that I could get a fic published (well, sort of) on someone's website, for everyone to read, was an incredibly heady experience. I had always hated writing in school, so it was this amazing discovery, to realize that writing could be enjoyable. I wrote an incredible amount - sometimes two fics per week, though always short stories - for the next year, dabbling a little into Dawson's Creek fic as well; mostly slash/femslash, but a little het along the way. And then I discovered HP fic. I was tricked into reading madlori's PoU around Oct 2000, but was hooked immediately, and was finally goaded into writing my own ("Certain") by iscarus in May 2001. By Jan 2002 I had left FanForum and was a moderator at FictionAlley, where I helped process fic submissions, as well as reading and writing my own. Draco In Darkness was definitely the HP peak for me; no one really reads my recent stuff anymore (for the rare times I manage to write), but I'm honored that my older works still get a steady trickle of reviews. I am also thankful to have discovered fanfiction, and to learn that writing can be fun.
Baking: I love to eat the stuff. I love to make it, too. I've been making my signature chocolate cake since I was 10, and helped my mom make holiday cookies and such throughout my life. Baking is an easy way to make people happy, it's often portable/mailable, it's sometimes healthier (ie bread), and it always tastes better than anything you could buy. There's also a satisfaction in having a tangible product in fairly short order. Cooking - eh, boring. Baking is a treat.
The Phantom Tollbooth: A wonderful linguistic romp in the shape of a children's chapter book. Frankly, I think the story is wasted on anyone younger than 12-13, as younger kids don't have a firm grasp of idioms and a lot of the odd expressions adults use, which are used in such fantastic ways in the story. Reading it as an adult has added even more layers of laughs and comprehension than what I enjoyed as a teenager. A boy (Milo) is bored with everything in his life, so when he is presented with a magical tollbooth, he gives it a shot, ending up in a fantastical land where double meanings lurk around every corner, where you really can jump to Conclusions, and you might want to think twice before ordering a light meal. Along the way, he rescues the princesses Rhyme and Reason and finds corresponding rhyme and reason in his life. One of those books I'd recommend for everyone, and a good comfort re-read for me, too.
If anyone else wants to play, let me know and I'll think of five things I associate with you. (I do need to know you at least somewhat. :) )
Will took today off for his back, although he was doing better this morning. However, at 9:30am he got a call from his office; although he recalls calling in to say he'd be staying home, no one remembers hearing from him so he was completely confuzzled about it. Also, there was an important meeting he totally forgot about, from 2-4pm - a meeting he had to demonstrate a computer program for. So he only got a half day; he went off around 1:20pm and didn't get home until 7pm.
I spent considerable time back in the kitchen. I think my recent cooking frenzy has been a combined desire to make people happy with the goodies (I've been feeling down for several reasons, and you know what they say about cheering others makes yourself feel better, too), a desire to try new things, and also avoidance of less interesting stuff ... like cleaning. :P There's clutter everywhere and it's driving me crazy, but I also know that no matter how much effort I put into it, it'll be just as awful in a day or two anyway, so motivation to actually do anything is pretty damn low. :P
Anyway, today I made my three-mushroom bake and homemade Thin Mints (of Girl Scout fame) - the cookies were easy but getting them covered with the melted chocolate was a lot more hassle. Still, the results were greatly appreciated by everyone, so yay! I also caved and contacted my SIL about bringing veggies - she immediately accepted, so ... no idea how we're going to fit all this into the cooler, but I stocked up on carrots, celery, bell peppers (red/yellow) and broccoli, and made my own onion dip (no additives!). Will says it tastes a little different from the dry-soup-mix version, but, again, everyone in my household said it was yummy. Hope the party folks like it, too.
Nothing else really of note for today, other than it was windy again, three dead rodents were found in our basement traps (oh ... joy), MiniPlu's afternoon bus was 15 min later than usual, and we made our weekly pilgrimage to the public library. Oh, and, prompted by MiniPlu's questions, we discovered which President lived longest. :)