All the things I've done
Yeesh! I feel like I haven't posted in more than a month - mostly because I haven't. Even before that, I have all these backed up ideas of things I want to post about, then never do. I'm just constantly playing catch up with myself. I've just caught up on you guys and all your doings, now for posting on me. There's a lot going on. I keep meaning to post about all the singing stuff, but that would need its own entry, so I'll just post about everything else
Last time I posted, I was sick. It lasted forever. Even when it was over, my voice was so hoarse, I started to fear it would never come back. I had gigs to do regardless and I hate singing sick. But I couldn't do without the gig money and the restaurant gig was especially important to me as it could become regular income and a regular venue (which it did, more on that later). So I soldiered through. I seriously had a white board with sick activities to get my voice up to par. I drank nothing but ginger tea and throat coat, ate nothing but chicken soup and strawberries, I sat huddled over a crockpot, breathing the steam, I alternated chewable aspirin and ibuprofen to take down the inflammation in my vocal chords.
You'd think, with all that time sitting around drinking tea and breathing steam, I'd have time to write, but you'd be wrong. I was just too stressed to concentrate as I seriously thought my livelihood might be gone. Somehow, I got through my gigs and my restaurant performance. And I hated it all because I knew I didn't sound as good as I could. Then, when they were over, I was even more paranoid, thinking I'd done permanent damage to my voice by straining it.
Luckily for me, I was going to PA right after, where I would not have to sing for a week and a half. But that didn't actually help. First, there are cats at my dad's house and I am horribly allergic. So I spent the whole time either dehydrated from allergy pills or full of mucus. That didn't help the voice. Then there was the fact that I couldn't stop talking.
I get lonely in California. I just never have anyone to talk to. See, I might not seem it, but I'm pretty shy. Outside of performing, I don't talk much unless I feel comfortable with the people I'm with. But, if I like or trust the person, I can talk their ear off. Needless to say, I'm very comfortable with my family and we were rarely silent. That was another drop in the bucket of voice paranoia.
I'll just cut that narrative off now and say I'm back in full voice. But I think I've learned a few things about conserving it --- also no more getting sick . I just can't afford it. I've got lots of stuff to say about the singing end of things. But, once again, I'll save that for another entry.
Anyway, the trip was mostly great. I hadn't been back for my birthday since I first moved to Cali. And I hadn't had an actual birthday party in over a decade. Out here, I just don't have enough close people in my life for a bona fide party. In PA, I've got a huge family (grandparents had 13 kids, blah, blah), so it was great to see as many as I could at once. The only problem is that it was less than I expected. See, there are enemy camps. This one won't show up if that one is there. So what I ended up with is with none of the three aunts that don't talk showing up, each in fear the other would be there. Then Aunt Colette and Aunt Monica have both turned into hermits who never go out. Even sweet Aunt Cathy didn't come, but she had bronchitis, so I'll let it slide... this time. ;)
Then there was the Nikki thing. See, my sister has burned some bridges in the family. And I knew that this party being for me and her together would guarantee some people wouldn't show. But what else could be done? Our birthday's are so close together and she lives at Dad's house. For them to throw a party for me and not her would be like rubbing it in her face. I was hoping the added attraction of Uncle Mike being there would entice them to come anyway, but no such luck. We had some scattered friends and relatives, but more friends than relatives.
I had a nice time regardless and Mum and I worked hard, putting out a nice spread. So it was still a pleasant time. I like spending time with her. I only wish she and Dad had met when I was younger as I think I might have been a much more confident teenager if I'd had a steady mother figure in my life. Either way, it's nice to have her now. I just wish they all got along better there. Kevin's still a source of contention for them, as he's a surly teenager.
As I said above, Uncle Mike came out, too, as he had his 50th high school reunion. It was like pulling teeth, getting him to actually decide to go. He got his plane ticket at the last possible minute. He seemed to have a nice time. He's lost weight, so he had that to show off. He also gets so excited, seeing the old sights and hanging out with his family. It makes me wonder why he doesn't go to PA more often. Much like me (except not because he makes way more money as a lawyer), he can make his own schedule and, if he'd just plan ahead, he'd be able to come out at least once a year.
As for other birthday festivities, I had such a fuss made over me. Aunt Eileen and Aunt Mimi had me and Uncle Mike over for pumpkin carving and a dinner party, so that was nice. I still wish they'd come to the party. I just really miss the days when the family had big parties and everyone put aside their crap to show. But I guess I have to stop whining about it. It's never going to happen. :(
On a brighter side, my pumpkins were awesome. I like this one the most
On my actual birthday, I actually forgot it was my birthday since the parties were over. I seriously woke up to all these emails and facebook posts and was wondering what the deal was. Heh. Then I hitched a ride into Philly to meet with Firebunny and Tobes. It was very last minute and we decided to go to Chinatown for lunch. Once again, I was still forgetting it was my birthday and I hadn't made a big deal of it to them. So imagine my surprise when I come out of the bathroom at the restaurant and they have a cupcake and presents sitting there for me. AW!!!!
We had a nice time, they gave me some books on writing and we went to the Hardrock Cafe to have a few drinks and talk some more, mostly about writing. All of us are pursuing it in different ways, so it was nice to talk about stories and fic and have a little Smallville fandom post mortem. I actually have a lot of thoughts on my fandom experience, looking back. But I'll save it for another entry.
The I went to Sean's house and got to spend some time talking to his girlfriend while Sean practically nodded off. We had pot roast. :)
As for the rest of the vacay, I spent it finishing the terrible short horror movie the kids and I made last spring and painting with Dad. LOL. He felt bad that he took a week off and spent all of it painting the downstairs. He thought it wouldn't take as long as it did. Then he felt even worse when I joined in, like he was putting me to work on my vacay. But painting's kind of fun, so I didn't mind. I especially love the part where you scrape the paint off the windows with a razor blade. I'm just a sick girl. :)
Other bits and pieces...
Sean thought Comet Ison was going to destroy the world as we know it (oceans will rise, secret fema camps, the govt shutdown was all a farce to distract us from the TRUTH, all the stuff you find on the deepest corners of the internet). I haven't got a hold of him since I was in PA (he never answers his phone), so I don't know if he's horribly disappointed the world didn't end.
Nikki didn't spend much time with me, but that's just Nikki. In a way, she's the same person she was as a teenager. Fully focused on whatever man she is with to the exclusion of all else. Meh.
The only complaints I have are that some people made very little effort to see me, yet complained about it when I'm stuck without a car (Dad's car is standard). Also, my best friend (?) Theresa didn't show to the party. She also didn't return my texts or calls till the day after. Then she said she'd been busy and we should maybe get together Wednesday. I told her I'd be home all day and night on that day, my last day so anyone that wanted to see me could drop by. A few people did (Aunt Cathy among them, as she was feeling better) and we had a nice time, just chatting. But no Tree. Then she texted me the day after I got back. I was feeling guilty for a sec that I didn't see her, but I don't know. She just didn't seem that frantic to. I don't want to chase her down and force her to see me if she's busy.
Sometimes I feel our friendship just hasn't been the same since the wedding. I don't think she's happy with the relationship. And she'll never confide in me about it because I was the one that told her not to go through with it. I still stand by it. He made a giant mess the week of the wedding, he still posts crazy rants on facebook, and he texts her friends, talking shit about her when they're in a fight. She married a tantrum-throwing child. It's a shame as she's a genuinely good person, if a little emotionally closed off.
There's not much I can do about that, so I'll just wait and hope she decides to confide in me one of these days. I'm not really that upset, just kind of wistful for how close we used to be.
Anyway, I'm glad to be home. Things are settling down and I'm gearing up for another busy season. I got updates on both my fics and just want to get a few more in before I start A Day Late for Phantom Queen. I've decided to stop posting my fic homework entries here and just anounce when things are starting or ending or crosspost the fics. I'll instead put fic homework on the front page of my fic blog. It's just cleaner. :)
Whew! I'll stop there. That was a long one. I'll be back with a rundown of all the singing stuff. with the some links.
For now, I'll just leave you with the short horror movie CEREAL KILLER. This was fun. We spent a day on it. First we all sat down and agreed on the plot, then we shot it on a crappy cellphone camera. Taylor insisted on a British accent, the three older kids got bored and crapped out on us, but me and Taylor and Angel stayed for the dramatic finale.
Six months later, it's finally done. It's grainy with horrible sound and all the plot holes in the world (Why did Kevin just disappear???????). It's hilariously awful.
Last time I posted, I was sick. It lasted forever. Even when it was over, my voice was so hoarse, I started to fear it would never come back. I had gigs to do regardless and I hate singing sick. But I couldn't do without the gig money and the restaurant gig was especially important to me as it could become regular income and a regular venue (which it did, more on that later). So I soldiered through. I seriously had a white board with sick activities to get my voice up to par. I drank nothing but ginger tea and throat coat, ate nothing but chicken soup and strawberries, I sat huddled over a crockpot, breathing the steam, I alternated chewable aspirin and ibuprofen to take down the inflammation in my vocal chords.
You'd think, with all that time sitting around drinking tea and breathing steam, I'd have time to write, but you'd be wrong. I was just too stressed to concentrate as I seriously thought my livelihood might be gone. Somehow, I got through my gigs and my restaurant performance. And I hated it all because I knew I didn't sound as good as I could. Then, when they were over, I was even more paranoid, thinking I'd done permanent damage to my voice by straining it.
Luckily for me, I was going to PA right after, where I would not have to sing for a week and a half. But that didn't actually help. First, there are cats at my dad's house and I am horribly allergic. So I spent the whole time either dehydrated from allergy pills or full of mucus. That didn't help the voice. Then there was the fact that I couldn't stop talking.
I get lonely in California. I just never have anyone to talk to. See, I might not seem it, but I'm pretty shy. Outside of performing, I don't talk much unless I feel comfortable with the people I'm with. But, if I like or trust the person, I can talk their ear off. Needless to say, I'm very comfortable with my family and we were rarely silent. That was another drop in the bucket of voice paranoia.
I'll just cut that narrative off now and say I'm back in full voice. But I think I've learned a few things about conserving it --- also no more getting sick . I just can't afford it. I've got lots of stuff to say about the singing end of things. But, once again, I'll save that for another entry.
Anyway, the trip was mostly great. I hadn't been back for my birthday since I first moved to Cali. And I hadn't had an actual birthday party in over a decade. Out here, I just don't have enough close people in my life for a bona fide party. In PA, I've got a huge family (grandparents had 13 kids, blah, blah), so it was great to see as many as I could at once. The only problem is that it was less than I expected. See, there are enemy camps. This one won't show up if that one is there. So what I ended up with is with none of the three aunts that don't talk showing up, each in fear the other would be there. Then Aunt Colette and Aunt Monica have both turned into hermits who never go out. Even sweet Aunt Cathy didn't come, but she had bronchitis, so I'll let it slide... this time. ;)
Then there was the Nikki thing. See, my sister has burned some bridges in the family. And I knew that this party being for me and her together would guarantee some people wouldn't show. But what else could be done? Our birthday's are so close together and she lives at Dad's house. For them to throw a party for me and not her would be like rubbing it in her face. I was hoping the added attraction of Uncle Mike being there would entice them to come anyway, but no such luck. We had some scattered friends and relatives, but more friends than relatives.
I had a nice time regardless and Mum and I worked hard, putting out a nice spread. So it was still a pleasant time. I like spending time with her. I only wish she and Dad had met when I was younger as I think I might have been a much more confident teenager if I'd had a steady mother figure in my life. Either way, it's nice to have her now. I just wish they all got along better there. Kevin's still a source of contention for them, as he's a surly teenager.
As I said above, Uncle Mike came out, too, as he had his 50th high school reunion. It was like pulling teeth, getting him to actually decide to go. He got his plane ticket at the last possible minute. He seemed to have a nice time. He's lost weight, so he had that to show off. He also gets so excited, seeing the old sights and hanging out with his family. It makes me wonder why he doesn't go to PA more often. Much like me (except not because he makes way more money as a lawyer), he can make his own schedule and, if he'd just plan ahead, he'd be able to come out at least once a year.
As for other birthday festivities, I had such a fuss made over me. Aunt Eileen and Aunt Mimi had me and Uncle Mike over for pumpkin carving and a dinner party, so that was nice. I still wish they'd come to the party. I just really miss the days when the family had big parties and everyone put aside their crap to show. But I guess I have to stop whining about it. It's never going to happen. :(
On a brighter side, my pumpkins were awesome. I like this one the most
On my actual birthday, I actually forgot it was my birthday since the parties were over. I seriously woke up to all these emails and facebook posts and was wondering what the deal was. Heh. Then I hitched a ride into Philly to meet with Firebunny and Tobes. It was very last minute and we decided to go to Chinatown for lunch. Once again, I was still forgetting it was my birthday and I hadn't made a big deal of it to them. So imagine my surprise when I come out of the bathroom at the restaurant and they have a cupcake and presents sitting there for me. AW!!!!
We had a nice time, they gave me some books on writing and we went to the Hardrock Cafe to have a few drinks and talk some more, mostly about writing. All of us are pursuing it in different ways, so it was nice to talk about stories and fic and have a little Smallville fandom post mortem. I actually have a lot of thoughts on my fandom experience, looking back. But I'll save it for another entry.
The I went to Sean's house and got to spend some time talking to his girlfriend while Sean practically nodded off. We had pot roast. :)
As for the rest of the vacay, I spent it finishing the terrible short horror movie the kids and I made last spring and painting with Dad. LOL. He felt bad that he took a week off and spent all of it painting the downstairs. He thought it wouldn't take as long as it did. Then he felt even worse when I joined in, like he was putting me to work on my vacay. But painting's kind of fun, so I didn't mind. I especially love the part where you scrape the paint off the windows with a razor blade. I'm just a sick girl. :)
Other bits and pieces...
Sean thought Comet Ison was going to destroy the world as we know it (oceans will rise, secret fema camps, the govt shutdown was all a farce to distract us from the TRUTH, all the stuff you find on the deepest corners of the internet). I haven't got a hold of him since I was in PA (he never answers his phone), so I don't know if he's horribly disappointed the world didn't end.
Nikki didn't spend much time with me, but that's just Nikki. In a way, she's the same person she was as a teenager. Fully focused on whatever man she is with to the exclusion of all else. Meh.
The only complaints I have are that some people made very little effort to see me, yet complained about it when I'm stuck without a car (Dad's car is standard). Also, my best friend (?) Theresa didn't show to the party. She also didn't return my texts or calls till the day after. Then she said she'd been busy and we should maybe get together Wednesday. I told her I'd be home all day and night on that day, my last day so anyone that wanted to see me could drop by. A few people did (Aunt Cathy among them, as she was feeling better) and we had a nice time, just chatting. But no Tree. Then she texted me the day after I got back. I was feeling guilty for a sec that I didn't see her, but I don't know. She just didn't seem that frantic to. I don't want to chase her down and force her to see me if she's busy.
Sometimes I feel our friendship just hasn't been the same since the wedding. I don't think she's happy with the relationship. And she'll never confide in me about it because I was the one that told her not to go through with it. I still stand by it. He made a giant mess the week of the wedding, he still posts crazy rants on facebook, and he texts her friends, talking shit about her when they're in a fight. She married a tantrum-throwing child. It's a shame as she's a genuinely good person, if a little emotionally closed off.
There's not much I can do about that, so I'll just wait and hope she decides to confide in me one of these days. I'm not really that upset, just kind of wistful for how close we used to be.
Anyway, I'm glad to be home. Things are settling down and I'm gearing up for another busy season. I got updates on both my fics and just want to get a few more in before I start A Day Late for Phantom Queen. I've decided to stop posting my fic homework entries here and just anounce when things are starting or ending or crosspost the fics. I'll instead put fic homework on the front page of my fic blog. It's just cleaner. :)
Whew! I'll stop there. That was a long one. I'll be back with a rundown of all the singing stuff. with the some links.
For now, I'll just leave you with the short horror movie CEREAL KILLER. This was fun. We spent a day on it. First we all sat down and agreed on the plot, then we shot it on a crappy cellphone camera. Taylor insisted on a British accent, the three older kids got bored and crapped out on us, but me and Taylor and Angel stayed for the dramatic finale.
Six months later, it's finally done. It's grainy with horrible sound and all the plot holes in the world (Why did Kevin just disappear???????). It's hilariously awful.
Click to view