Climbing Mt. Normal

A public service announcement.

2008-06-16T14:41:05Z

If you ask me if I read a particular person's journal...

...and I don't answer...

...THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO TELL THAT PERSON ABOUT MY LOCKED JOURNAL ENTRIES!

WANTED:

2008-04-24T22:05:22Z

~~Weak Minds~~ Strong Backs.

Showing their usual sense of timing and consideration, the landlords showed up yesterday to inform all the tenants that anything other than cars that was still in the garage after 4/30/08 would be thrown out, preparatory to rebuilding and assigning the alleged storage units that have been completely useless in the five years we've lived here. (They also gave us a separate letter, saying that we still weren't up to cleanliness standards - though how they would know that when they didn't show up three months ago when they said they would, and never attempted to reschedule, is beyond me, but I digress.)

All of my crap for going to Burning Man is in the garage, along with an extra futon frame that needs to be set up in my room (and a couple of other things that we'll actually be getting rid of). And while my wrist has dramatically improved in the last six weeks, I simply do NOT have the strength to haul this crap upstairs, nor do I have any desire to foist all the work off on gridlore.

I know a sizable percentage of the locals on my f'list are going to CostumeCon this weekend - hell, I'm going myself on Saturday. But if any of y'all are available to come down to Offhand Manor on Sunday around noon or so, to help us tote barges and lift bales, I would be ENORMOUSLY grateful. I'll even feed y'all.

Email Doug or me and we'll get you the address if you don't already have it.

explodes

2008-04-23T19:50:03Z

I swear to god, if I see one more post - pro OR con - about the Open Source Boob Project, I'm scheduling myself for a double mastectomy.

No, I'm not going to tell you what side of the argument I'm on, because quite frankly, I don't know. And the more I see people hurling invective, the less interested I find myself in thinking about it.

YOU'RE* NOT GOING TO AGREE WITH EACH OTHER. EVER. AND THE MORE YOU ARGUE ABOUT IT, THE WORSE BOTH SIDES LOOK. SHUT UP ALREADY.

* generic you

Oh...right.

2008-04-22T15:40:30Z

I've got this line in my userinfo:

I used to announce these purges in my journal, but it was pointed out to me that making such announcements was likely causing the drama I was attempting to avoid.

Clearly, I forgot about that again.

So I've done what I'm going to do about realigning my f'list, made the other entries private, and I'm moving the hell along.

A last bit of (marshmallow) fluff before I go...

2008-03-24T02:24:47Z

...because this came up at lunch with kor27 today:

Peeps Show II - the second annual Sunday Source Peeps Diorama Contest. (You've got to blow through an ad first or pull a login from BugMeNot.) Be sure to check out the photos from last year's contest while you're there....

Locking the doors

2008-03-24T02:00:28Z

Taking the journal friends-only for a while; I've been locking anything of any great import for a while now, anyway, so it isn't as though you're actually missing anything.

Thank you, drive through.

A meme before bed

2008-03-22T06:14:01Z

Courtesy of okoshun

Were you named after anyone?: murphymom, remind me....
When was the last time you cried?: Earlier this week, while trying to convey to someone I really care about that no, I really care about zir.... (Yes, I'm being deliberately cryptic.)
Do you like your handwriting?: When I actually manage to slow myself down enough, yes. Otherwise I have this nagging tendency to drop letters out of words.
What is your favorite lunch meat?: I guess bacon doesn't count, so I'd have to say turkey.
Do you have kids?: Nope.
If you were another person would you be friends with you?: ...uh...I just took my last vicodin. I'm having enough trouble parsing that question, never mind answering it.
Do you use sarcasm a lot?: Never. </deadpan>
Do you still have your tonsils?: Good grief, it's been over thirty years since they were removed.
Would you bungee jump?: Twenty years ago, maybe. I've gotten exceedingly paranoid about heights, etc., as I've gotten older.
What is your favorite cereal?: Golden Grahams - ideally with chocolate milk.
Do you untie your tennis shoes when you take them off?: Most of my everyday shoes fasten with Velcro these days...whether or not I unfasten them depends on how tired I am.
Do you think you are strong?: Probably stronger than I give myself credit for, at least emotionally. Physically, my upper body needs serious help.
What is your favorite ice cream?: Godiva's Belgian Dark Chocolate.
What is the first thing you notice about people?: Oh, good lord. I'm gonna be largely superficial and say their eyes.
Red or pink?: Depends on the shade of pink.
What is the least favorite thing about yourself?: While I've gotten better about it, I still have a tendency to be an attention-seeker.
Who do you miss the most?: That's a loaded question.
Do you want everyone to send this back to you?: I honestly have no preference whether or not anyone else does this.
What are you wearing now?: Jeans, a red-and-black Asian-print shirt, my wrist brace (still), my glasses, and a black hair scrunchie.
What was the last thing you ate?: A slice of mushroom pizza from Pizza My Heart.
What are you listening to right now?: Some video gridlore just pulled up on YouTube.
If you were a crayon, what color would you be?: Blue-violet.
Favorite smells?: Vanilla, sandalwood, leather, star jasmine.
The last person you talked to on the phone?: gridlore, letting him know I was on the way to pick him up.
Do you like the person who sent this to you?: It wasn't sent to me, but I like the person from whom I acquired it.
Favorite sports to watch?: Figure skating. Arena football.
Hair color?: Brown.
Eye color?: Officially, brown. It tends to vary in depth, however, and if I've been crying a lot recently, they're almost green.
Do you wear contacts?: No.
Favorite food?: Reply hazy, ask again later.
Scary movies or happy endings?: I don't see these two as being opposites, frankly. But I don't watch scary movies if I can help it.
Last movie you saw.: Immediately putting the lie to the previous question, roughly 2/3 of Cloverfield.
Summer or winter?: Both. Summer because it means I'll be going to the playa soon; winter because it's an excuse to snuggle up under the blankets in front of the fireplace.
Hugs or kisses?: This is not an "or" question.
Favorite dessert?: Creme brulee. (You. Shut up. *grin*)
Most likely to respond?: gridlore, if only because he's still awake while I'm posting this.
Least likely to respond?: Any of the several people I know reading this who don't actually post in their journals (anymore | ever).
What book are you reading now?: None, at the moment. I just bought a few at Bunns & Noodle after Doug's last dentist appointment, though, so that will change shortly.
What did you watch on tv last night?: The special edition of Countdown, covering the Obama passport debacle.
Your favorite method of relaxation?: Hot tub.
Favorite sound?: A lover's unrestrained laughter.
Rolling Stones or Beatles?: Queen.
What is the farthest you've been from home?: Massachusetts. I REALLY need to do something about that.
Do you have a special talent?: I'm good at several things, but I wouldn't necessarily call any of them a talent.
Where were you born?: Less than ten miles from where I'm sitting right now. (The hospital in question closed a couple of years ago.)
Whose answers are you looking forward to getting back?: I'm not expecting any.

Posted using TxtLJ

2008-03-21T23:25:02Z

License plate on the car ahead of me: WWFSMDO. With His Noodly Appendage gracing the trunk. I love this town.

Posted using TxtLJ

2008-03-19T18:18:35Z

At the dentist with Doug. Keep your fingers crossed that we manage to do what we came for this time.

Oh. My. God. BRILLIANT.

2008-03-19T17:27:32Z

There is literally no problem that cannot be solved by releasing an equally large boa.

gridlore and I are now envisioning the "Tea, damnit!" icon being remade featuring an Equally Large Boa.

Dude, Equally Large Boa is just fun to SAY!

filkertom, the clock is running - how long till you give us BoaFilk?

link courtesy epi_lj

Wow.

2008-03-18T17:42:32Z

Remember that question in certain versions of the Purity Test about "does your cursing have some style to it"?

THIS is style.

(Safe for work, but you'll find yourself wanting desperately to apologize to the OP, for all that you may never have met zir.)

Testing, testing....

2008-03-18T02:36:12Z

Match It For Pratchett

2008-03-17T02:29:32Z

The more fannish among my readers will remember the announcement last December that Terry Pratchett had been diagnosted with early-onset Alzheimer's. He followed that earlier this week with a $1M donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust in the UK. It didn't take too long for the idea of matching the donation to hit the blogosphere.

The announcement that Pterry had made his contribution hit my f'list on the first anniversary of Aunt Mary's passing. As those of you who were reading me then may recall, she was three weeks shy of her 99th birthday, and was blessed with a fully-functional body and brain until the very end. Her sister, my great-grandmother, was not so lucky...she spent her last five years on this earth descending into senile dementia, trapped inside her own mind for those final 18 months.

After Nana's passing, her daughter (my Grammy) stated on more than one occasion that she didn't want to "end up like her;" sadly, this became a self-fulfilling prophecy, and she has been in a residential facility specializing in Alzheimer's and dementia care for several years now. So it's no real surprise that I read the announcement, heard about the challenge, and found that my wallet felt a little heavy....

The drive to match Pterry's contribution now has its own home online - http://www.matchitforpratchett.org/ - and an RSS feed, available here as pratchettmatch. The site links to a shop where you can buy shirts with the logo featured in my icon, with all proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Research Trust; the site maintainer is collecting links for Alzheimer's charities around the world, if you want your money to stay closer to home. I made my own contribution to the Alzheimer's Association here in the US; if you plan on doing the same, I humbly suggest you use the Tribute link, and note that your contribution is in honor of Match It For Pratchett. It's not perfect (there's only room to note one honor/memorial, so you can't mention that AND a family member or friend), but it would be nice to see how many contributions the other organizations outside the UK receive.

A message from the Ballybran Chamber of Commerce

2008-03-15T01:55:38Z

We've broken the next population barrier, and opened a new link!

Increase population http://ballybran.myminicity.com

Increase industry http://ballybran.myminicity.com/ind

Improve the transport network http://ballybran.myminicity.com/tra

Increase security http://ballybran.myminicity.com/sec

Remember, you can hit any one of the above links once a day per IP address, so sneak onto the site from work and double your effectiveness! ;-)

Posted without comment

2008-03-11T05:58:45Z

The Dirt says Hot, The Label says Kshandra.

Generated by the Advertising Slogan Generator, for all your slogan needs. Get more kshandra slogans.

o/` "Welcome to the real world," she said to me condescendingly.... o/`

2008-03-11T02:10:29Z

Did you date someone from your school?: I dated the drum major my junior year (the closest to trendy I ever got); senior year I was with a sophomore.
Did you win anything in Seniors Who's Who?: No.
What kind of car did you drive?: I didn't get my license until after I graduated.
It's Friday night...where are you?: Home, or working on the latest community theatre production.
Were you a party animal?: What is this "party" of which you speak?
Were you considered a flirt?: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...no.
Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?: Where did you think I met the drum major? ;-)
Were you a nerd?: No. I took computer programming because it fulfilled the math requirement.
Did you get suspended/expelled?: No.
Can you sing the fight song?: I was always too busy playing the school song(s) to learn the words....
Who were your favorite teachers?: Commander McBride (Naval Science II - yes, I was a JROTC geek), Mrs. Norris (Journalism)
Where did you sit during lunch?: Either on the lawn or in the Music room.
What was your school's full name?: Frosh/soph: Archbishop Mitty High School
Jr/Sr: Milpitas High School
School mascot?: Mitty: Monarchs (lions, people, not butterflies)
Milpitas: Trojans (don't ask)
Homecoming court?: Yeahrightsure.
If you could go back and do it again, would you?: Reply hazy, ask again later.
What do you remember most about graduation?: Hoping murphymom didn't go into labor (apandaleaf was born three weeks later)
Where did you go senior skip day?: The senior picnic was cancelled due to lack of response. o.O
Have you gained some weight since then?: ...no comment.
Who was your Senior prom date?: My just-turned-ex-boyfriend. We still spent half the night making out.
Are you planning on going to your 10-year reunion?: I didn't even HEAR about my 10-year. My 20th is on my birthday this year; I'm still toying with the notion of bringing along as many of my local(ish) sweeties (and people willing to assume the role for the evening) as I can, just to mess with peoples' heads....
Who was your home room teacher?: I only remember my freshman home room teacher - Mrs. Ersepke - because she died midway through the school year.
Who will repost?: ...why isn't this the last question?
Did you play any sports?: *snort*
Do you still talk to people from school?: There are a couple on my f'list, even.
What year did you graduate?: 1988.

I want a rockabilly funeral when I die...

2008-03-08T21:59:00Z

...but before I go, I'm going to see Bill Kirchen at the Freight and Salvage on the 29th. Who's with me?

Damn you, John....

2008-03-05T18:27:06Z

muskrat_john just made me cry in the middle of the office.

Now, who's up for a game of Talisman? I have all the expansions except the City board. Or do y'all want to wait until I've picked up the new edition?

Posted using TxtLJ

2008-02-29T22:03:18Z

They called the CEO, and we've officially been cut loose. Yay!

Posted using TxtLJ

2008-02-29T21:03:16Z

Just back from lunch; it's the most productive thing I've done all day. IT says it may be 2-3 HOURS yet. And, of course, the CEO isn't here to let us go home.

Posted using TxtLJ

2008-02-29T18:16:15Z

We've been dumped out of the virtual network @ the office twice in the last 20 minutes. How long before they declare a snow day and send us all home?

A message from the Ballybran Chamber of Commerce....

2008-02-23T18:24:37Z

I've been ignoring my mini-city for a while, and it shows. So help a girl out, willya?

Increase population: http://ballybran.myminicity.com

Increase industry: http://ballybran.myminicity.com/ind

Improve the transport network: http://ballybran.myminicity.com/tra

Hit one of the above links once a day. Leave me a message while you're there!

How touching....

2008-02-20T23:35:51Z

Anybody have any recommendations for massage oil? I'm not looking for anything gimmicky (none of this "warming oil" or whatever I'd find in the Valentine's Day leftover pile), just something that feels good going on the skin. Scent optional, but I'm partial to vanilla and sandalwood.

I had a lovely bottle of stuff from Bare Escentuals, where they used to custom-scent a number of their products for you, but I made the mistake of leaving it on a windowsill, and I threw it away unopened rather than finding out the hard way it had gone rancid. And now I'm finding no mention of that service - or of their massage oil - on the website.

EDIT, 1648HRS: Thanks, everyone; it looks like we have a winner. Sweet almond oil, here I come....

"If you build it, they will come"? More like "Just build the damn thing, they're already here."

2008-02-20T22:48:39Z

*wonders absently if her favorite football hooligan has heard of the Sons of Ben*

(And once again, Radio IO has PWN3D me.)

Help distract me, intarwebz.

2008-02-19T22:44:06Z

I know I've posted this previously, but it was fun, and I've got new people on my f'list, so I wanna do it again.

So... what would your first thought be if you woke up and found me in your bed?

Climbing Mt. Normal

A public service announcement.

WANTED:

*explodes*

Oh...right.

A last bit of (marshmallow) fluff before I go...

Locking the doors

A meme before bed

Posted using TxtLJ

Posted using TxtLJ

Oh. My. God. BRILLIANT.

Wow.

Testing, testing....

Match It For Pratchett

A message from the Ballybran Chamber of Commerce

Posted without comment

o/` "Welcome to the real world," she said to me condescendingly.... o/`

I want a rockabilly funeral when I die...

Damn you, John....

Posted using TxtLJ

Posted using TxtLJ

Posted using TxtLJ

A message from the Ballybran Chamber of Commerce....

How touching....

"If you build it, they will come"? More like "Just build the damn thing, they're already here."

Help distract me, intarwebz.

explodes