loooooong (and belated) update
Sorry for the complete radio silence for like 2 weeks now. RL has been... interesting. Not to worry, however. I've mostly just been tired and busy (and in ridiculous amounts of pain but whatever). I'll start with the less fun updates and then get into happy territory. (omg, she has happy things to say for a change. it's a New Year's miracle!!!)
Work:
It sucks. Apparently, things have completely changed there since the new manager took over some six months ago, which might explain why people who have been there for years are suddenly quitting in droves. You know you work in a troubled workplace when you walk into the break room, you find coworkers sitting and insulting members of management, and then you notice that there's a member of management sitting in the corner absently nodding in agreement. When assistant managers badmouth the manager on the sales floor in the hearing of me and who knows how many customers, you realize that something's got to give soon. I'm not sure whether I need to transfer to another Walmart (which is what many of the longer-term employees at work are doing) or just find another job with a different company. The stock options are attractive (hey, I own $500 in Walmart stock already) but I'm keeping my options open and actively searching for something more tolerable. Having had steady employment for awhile should help with finding a better job.
Okay, enough of that. Except for a cautionary piece of advice: One really needs to learn to check and make sure no one else is around when one tells a coworker "I wonder who I'd have to go down on to get a job that doesn't involve spending time up to my elbows in fish tanks. Stupid heterosexual female managers."
Apparently, some people find comments like that more terrifying than amusing...
Pets:
Spider is being spayed on Monday for no other reason than because I've finally found a vet I like and trust. This is good. I should have had her done a few months ago.
What's less good is why/how I found said vet. I'm a believer in not vaccinating/treating animals any more than is necessary for their health (God's not stupid and, as a result, animals tend to do pretty well health-wise if left to their own devices), so I don't have a regular vet. This has never been a problem before. The week before last, it became one.
Betty has been being increasingly reclusive and grumpy in the past several months which I kind of wrote off as her being forced to deal with Spider Monkey Toe-Chomper, destructo!kitteh extraordinarre. Until she stopped eating or drinking even when I brought food and water to her. At that point, it was time to find her a vet ASAP. I essentially went to the first one I could find who was willing to take her, just meaning to get her hydrated/medicated until I could find her one I actually trusted/liked.
Fortunately, the vet I found myself at is very smart, competent, caring, reassuring and Betty likes him. Unfortunately, even though his prices are very reasonable, I now owe him almost $200 because Betty had some masses/growths in her abdomen. Fortunately, it wasn't cancer like we initially thought. She has Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the first line treatment for that is just steroids. Easy to administer and cheap, thank the gods. But first the doc had to cut her open, remove the masses, biopsy them, get histology and microscopic exams of the samples, etc etc. Tense five days were tense but it's only her second day of treatment and she's eating and drinking and showing a LOT more of her old personality already *pets her* Now we just need to get a couple more pounds on her since she's apparently been slowly losing weight for awhile now and Mummy Kat was just too stressed/preoccupied to notice. Oopsies. Methinks the kitties will now be getting twice-yearly physicals...
Righty-o. On to cheerful updates.
Fic:
My muses are being prolific even if they aren't always writing what I want them to write. Quis Custodiet, for instance, is going nowhere fast (despite the fact that, when I plotted everything out, I did so in a highly episodic format so we could write it like a series of short stories and hopefully be less intimidated as a result). The characters remain vocal and the muses have suggested a couple ideas for both a sequel AND a prequel, but refuse to move on the original. Typical of them *glares*
On the other hand, man are they churning out fluffy (and routinely smutty) Magnus/Will stuff. The time travel and succubus fics have both stalled as a result but they're turning out tons of other stuff for me. Magnus playing the harsh (and hawt) Victorian schoolmarm handing out "discipline" to a naughty Will? Check (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6608065/1/Detention). Magnus and Will having a fun, romantic afternoon at the fair? Check (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6655468/1/Isnt_It_Kinda_Fun). Post-fair romance on the roof of the North Tower? In progress. Magnus helping Will come to terms with his sexual phobias (I say he was abused as a foster-kid, ergo, I tend to believe he has a couple)? In progress. The denizens of Hollow Earth reviving James Watson so that OT3 funtimes can occur? Oh, how the muses are chattering. Smutty body-swap!fic? Not only is it in progress, it's trying to grow a plot on me. My Henry/Kate muse? Really close to being ready to write her first fic *pets her and feeds her cookies by way of encouragement*
So, yeah, prolific muses are prolific and vocal and obnoxious and I love them at least as much as I hate them right now :D
Random fandom stuff:
Sanctuary: I miss it. Badly. I want it back now, kthx. I tend to write more dramatic stuff when it's airing as opposed to the fluff I write in between.
V: Mild spoilers:
Anna is even hotter with a tail. Especially when she's using it to beat the crap out of errant subordinates. My inner Will finds it unsettlingly hot. Then again, between Magnus and Pavor!Kate, it's fair to say he has a thing for the HBICs of the world. Also, this is me gloating since I totally called the thing with Tyler even before it came out that his father wasn't his father. The minute that I saw that they'd changed the premise from the original and that the Vs had been around for ages, I knew that something like this was going on.
Castle & The Mentalist: Fun but not great. I think I've been preoccupied lately so not paying them full justice.
Bones: "You will be... bizarre but wonderful parents." *giggles helplessly* The show's been going downhill and I don't see Hannah surviving the season which is a shame because I like her. Whatever. It's not the same with the new distance between Booth and Bones and not just for 'shippy reasons. I always loved the character dynamic and it's changed too much. It's really just okay these days (which, granted, still makes it better than most of what's on the air) and the Squinterns are the best part.
Outsourced: This show should offend me on a number of levels (between having lost more than one jobs to outsourcing and the blatant ethnic stereotypes) but it somehow manages to be just (barely) charming enough not to. Maybe I'm getting easy but the characters are likable even if the show's trite and sometimes downright stoopid. It gets just enough giggles out of me to make it worth 21 minutes a week
Todd: "I miss meat."
Manmeet: *iz disgusted*
Todd: "Well, I mean, think about it. If you moved to another country, you'd probably really miss the lumpy brown stuff and the yellow goop and the lumpy orange goop..."
Manmeet: "Dude, stop it! You're making me hungry."
But Sanctuary's Bollywood dance number was better. Just sayin'
Fringe: Back tonight, yay! I did NOT like Fringe at first. It was unfocused as all hell (and still is at least in terms of the GD subplot: what is the point of that even?) and sometimes too weird/bizarre/disjointed even for my taste. In fact, I stopped watching halfway through season 1 and only started watching again because a friend essentially ordered me to. I'm glad I'm good at obeying ;p The show's really redeemed itself and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for viewers.
The Big Bang Theory: Not surprisingly, I'm enough of a geek to enjoy this show a LOT. I even get most of the jokes (and I tend to win at Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock -- if you don't know what this is, youtube it, seriously; best game EVAH). And I can totally relate to all the characters (speaking of ridiculously broad stereotypes) in one way or another. I love the sheer geekdom and weirdness of the guys but I also like how much they take each other on their own terms. If there were a lot of over-the-top overreactions to the oddness, it wouldn't be nearly as funny. It probably says something that Raj is usually the show's straight man, though. I never thought about that until last night, when this exchange occurred
Sheldon: "Can I sleep here tonight?"
Raj: *frowns* "Why?"
Sheldon: "Howard is a complete and utter ass, Bernadette is in Penny's bed, Amy bites, and Penny may or may not have coitus with Leonard."
Raj: "Ah, okay." *nods* "Come on in."
I don't even know what to say about that exchange except that Raj is willing to accept just about anything that comes out of Sheldon's mouth without batting an eyelash (well, it IS Sheldon).
Also, The Big Bang Theory has the best theme song EVER. Here, have the full version (the history of the universe in under 2 minutes. how does that not rock? also, the Barenaked Ladies are right. Australopithecus really WOULD have been sick of us...):
random Sanctuary aside:
speaking of youtube, the muses now want to do a Sanctuary fanvid to this song:
(the slightly bizarre part is that they want to make Will Han Solo and Tesla Obi Wan. the REALLY bizarre part? it kind of works in my head and I think I can make it work in the vid, too)
okay, long entry is getting long, but I just have to talk about my beading for a minute
I am making my first piece of jewelry for sale at the request of another and I'm amped. It's going to be gorgeous when it's done (and i'll post pictures). It's a choker made of black Czech glass and snowflake obsidian. I won't spoil about the design but I'm totally hyped *bounces and flails* So, if anyone wants me to design something for them, email me and we can discuss designs/material/cost (use my EM, not my LJ PM, please, since I don't always check the email account my LJ notifs go to)
I also got some Czech glass hearts that I turned into bracelets. Those are going up on Etsy in the next couple of days since I really do need to start selling shit (1 - beads are not cheap ... 2 - i need the cash ... 3 - having strangers buy my stuff would be a very validating feeling)
(and i totally need to restring that one with a purple bead where there should be a white one. oops. this is what happens when you string in the dark because your head hurts...)
I'm also working on a rosary for my grandmother, but that's taking time since I lack the dexterity to consistently turn head pins into proper loops. So that MAY get done in time for her birthday at the end of February but it also may not. And I made my niece a necklace of wood beads:
Finally: Ooh! As I was typing this, I saw a news story that NASA is planning one final shuttle flight and it's on my birthday! I may have to see if I can get down to Florida to watch the launch...
Okay, I think that's enough random rambling. Hope everyone's doing okay *hugs everyone*
Work:
It sucks. Apparently, things have completely changed there since the new manager took over some six months ago, which might explain why people who have been there for years are suddenly quitting in droves. You know you work in a troubled workplace when you walk into the break room, you find coworkers sitting and insulting members of management, and then you notice that there's a member of management sitting in the corner absently nodding in agreement. When assistant managers badmouth the manager on the sales floor in the hearing of me and who knows how many customers, you realize that something's got to give soon. I'm not sure whether I need to transfer to another Walmart (which is what many of the longer-term employees at work are doing) or just find another job with a different company. The stock options are attractive (hey, I own $500 in Walmart stock already) but I'm keeping my options open and actively searching for something more tolerable. Having had steady employment for awhile should help with finding a better job.
Okay, enough of that. Except for a cautionary piece of advice: One really needs to learn to check and make sure no one else is around when one tells a coworker "I wonder who I'd have to go down on to get a job that doesn't involve spending time up to my elbows in fish tanks. Stupid heterosexual female managers."
Apparently, some people find comments like that more terrifying than amusing...
Pets:
Spider is being spayed on Monday for no other reason than because I've finally found a vet I like and trust. This is good. I should have had her done a few months ago.
What's less good is why/how I found said vet. I'm a believer in not vaccinating/treating animals any more than is necessary for their health (God's not stupid and, as a result, animals tend to do pretty well health-wise if left to their own devices), so I don't have a regular vet. This has never been a problem before. The week before last, it became one.
Betty has been being increasingly reclusive and grumpy in the past several months which I kind of wrote off as her being forced to deal with Spider Monkey Toe-Chomper, destructo!kitteh extraordinarre. Until she stopped eating or drinking even when I brought food and water to her. At that point, it was time to find her a vet ASAP. I essentially went to the first one I could find who was willing to take her, just meaning to get her hydrated/medicated until I could find her one I actually trusted/liked.
Fortunately, the vet I found myself at is very smart, competent, caring, reassuring and Betty likes him. Unfortunately, even though his prices are very reasonable, I now owe him almost $200 because Betty had some masses/growths in her abdomen. Fortunately, it wasn't cancer like we initially thought. She has Inflammatory Bowel Disease and the first line treatment for that is just steroids. Easy to administer and cheap, thank the gods. But first the doc had to cut her open, remove the masses, biopsy them, get histology and microscopic exams of the samples, etc etc. Tense five days were tense but it's only her second day of treatment and she's eating and drinking and showing a LOT more of her old personality already *pets her* Now we just need to get a couple more pounds on her since she's apparently been slowly losing weight for awhile now and Mummy Kat was just too stressed/preoccupied to notice. Oopsies. Methinks the kitties will now be getting twice-yearly physicals...
Righty-o. On to cheerful updates.
Fic:
My muses are being prolific even if they aren't always writing what I want them to write. Quis Custodiet, for instance, is going nowhere fast (despite the fact that, when I plotted everything out, I did so in a highly episodic format so we could write it like a series of short stories and hopefully be less intimidated as a result). The characters remain vocal and the muses have suggested a couple ideas for both a sequel AND a prequel, but refuse to move on the original. Typical of them *glares*
On the other hand, man are they churning out fluffy (and routinely smutty) Magnus/Will stuff. The time travel and succubus fics have both stalled as a result but they're turning out tons of other stuff for me. Magnus playing the harsh (and hawt) Victorian schoolmarm handing out "discipline" to a naughty Will? Check (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6608065/1/Detention). Magnus and Will having a fun, romantic afternoon at the fair? Check (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6655468/1/Isnt_It_Kinda_Fun). Post-fair romance on the roof of the North Tower? In progress. Magnus helping Will come to terms with his sexual phobias (I say he was abused as a foster-kid, ergo, I tend to believe he has a couple)? In progress. The denizens of Hollow Earth reviving James Watson so that OT3 funtimes can occur? Oh, how the muses are chattering. Smutty body-swap!fic? Not only is it in progress, it's trying to grow a plot on me. My Henry/Kate muse? Really close to being ready to write her first fic *pets her and feeds her cookies by way of encouragement*
So, yeah, prolific muses are prolific and vocal and obnoxious and I love them at least as much as I hate them right now :D
Random fandom stuff:
Sanctuary: I miss it. Badly. I want it back now, kthx. I tend to write more dramatic stuff when it's airing as opposed to the fluff I write in between.
V: Mild spoilers:
Anna is even hotter with a tail. Especially when she's using it to beat the crap out of errant subordinates. My inner Will finds it unsettlingly hot. Then again, between Magnus and Pavor!Kate, it's fair to say he has a thing for the HBICs of the world. Also, this is me gloating since I totally called the thing with Tyler even before it came out that his father wasn't his father. The minute that I saw that they'd changed the premise from the original and that the Vs had been around for ages, I knew that something like this was going on.
Castle & The Mentalist: Fun but not great. I think I've been preoccupied lately so not paying them full justice.
Bones: "You will be... bizarre but wonderful parents." *giggles helplessly* The show's been going downhill and I don't see Hannah surviving the season which is a shame because I like her. Whatever. It's not the same with the new distance between Booth and Bones and not just for 'shippy reasons. I always loved the character dynamic and it's changed too much. It's really just okay these days (which, granted, still makes it better than most of what's on the air) and the Squinterns are the best part.
Outsourced: This show should offend me on a number of levels (between having lost more than one jobs to outsourcing and the blatant ethnic stereotypes) but it somehow manages to be just (barely) charming enough not to. Maybe I'm getting easy but the characters are likable even if the show's trite and sometimes downright stoopid. It gets just enough giggles out of me to make it worth 21 minutes a week
Todd: "I miss meat."
Manmeet: *iz disgusted*
Todd: "Well, I mean, think about it. If you moved to another country, you'd probably really miss the lumpy brown stuff and the yellow goop and the lumpy orange goop..."
Manmeet: "Dude, stop it! You're making me hungry."
But Sanctuary's Bollywood dance number was better. Just sayin'
Fringe: Back tonight, yay! I did NOT like Fringe at first. It was unfocused as all hell (and still is at least in terms of the GD subplot: what is the point of that even?) and sometimes too weird/bizarre/disjointed even for my taste. In fact, I stopped watching halfway through season 1 and only started watching again because a friend essentially ordered me to. I'm glad I'm good at obeying ;p The show's really redeemed itself and I can't wait to see what else they have in store for viewers.
The Big Bang Theory: Not surprisingly, I'm enough of a geek to enjoy this show a LOT. I even get most of the jokes (and I tend to win at Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock -- if you don't know what this is, youtube it, seriously; best game EVAH). And I can totally relate to all the characters (speaking of ridiculously broad stereotypes) in one way or another. I love the sheer geekdom and weirdness of the guys but I also like how much they take each other on their own terms. If there were a lot of over-the-top overreactions to the oddness, it wouldn't be nearly as funny. It probably says something that Raj is usually the show's straight man, though. I never thought about that until last night, when this exchange occurred
Sheldon: "Can I sleep here tonight?"
Raj: *frowns* "Why?"
Sheldon: "Howard is a complete and utter ass, Bernadette is in Penny's bed, Amy bites, and Penny may or may not have coitus with Leonard."
Raj: "Ah, okay." *nods* "Come on in."
I don't even know what to say about that exchange except that Raj is willing to accept just about anything that comes out of Sheldon's mouth without batting an eyelash (well, it IS Sheldon).
Also, The Big Bang Theory has the best theme song EVER. Here, have the full version (the history of the universe in under 2 minutes. how does that not rock? also, the Barenaked Ladies are right. Australopithecus really WOULD have been sick of us...):
random Sanctuary aside:
speaking of youtube, the muses now want to do a Sanctuary fanvid to this song:
(the slightly bizarre part is that they want to make Will Han Solo and Tesla Obi Wan. the REALLY bizarre part? it kind of works in my head and I think I can make it work in the vid, too)
okay, long entry is getting long, but I just have to talk about my beading for a minute
I am making my first piece of jewelry for sale at the request of another and I'm amped. It's going to be gorgeous when it's done (and i'll post pictures). It's a choker made of black Czech glass and snowflake obsidian. I won't spoil about the design but I'm totally hyped *bounces and flails* So, if anyone wants me to design something for them, email me and we can discuss designs/material/cost (use my EM, not my LJ PM, please, since I don't always check the email account my LJ notifs go to)
I also got some Czech glass hearts that I turned into bracelets. Those are going up on Etsy in the next couple of days since I really do need to start selling shit (1 - beads are not cheap ... 2 - i need the cash ... 3 - having strangers buy my stuff would be a very validating feeling)
(and i totally need to restring that one with a purple bead where there should be a white one. oops. this is what happens when you string in the dark because your head hurts...)
I'm also working on a rosary for my grandmother, but that's taking time since I lack the dexterity to consistently turn head pins into proper loops. So that MAY get done in time for her birthday at the end of February but it also may not. And I made my niece a necklace of wood beads:
Finally: Ooh! As I was typing this, I saw a news story that NASA is planning one final shuttle flight and it's on my birthday! I may have to see if I can get down to Florida to watch the launch...
Okay, I think that's enough random rambling. Hope everyone's doing okay *hugs everyone*