Friday, June 01, 2001

Here's another secret:

I _know_ what my problems are, I can see my flaws more clearly than anyone else. I just like to be able to bitch and moan without anyone trying to offer me advice or solutions, because I already KNOW what my options are. However, I'm not going to share, just yet. Writing 15K of vitriol (I love that word) -really- helped, and I don't know that anyone needs to read it.

And Scrubby... Evangelize. Sing it, sister. Let 'em know how things went for you, because you never know. There's gotta be another person or three in this world that can listen/read for context and learn from the experiences of others.

And besides, if I don't rant here, I'll probably... I don't know. Bite someone. Heh. I'm feeling better, kinda. Still floundering around. I think that the whole ECA thing really cut deep, and I'm still finding out just HOW deep. Not fun.

I miss 'em, I do. Alex demanded I sit with him and his dad at dinner, and I did, and I actually had a really good time. Aside from some pre-dinner loudness, he was -so- quiet, -so-... _calm_. It was absolutely _amazing_. (And no, I don't think I'll make any 'tranquilized beforehand' cracks, except for this one. Heh.) Oh, and we played catch with a football (regulation-sized, non-nerf type football!) at lunchtime, and _I_ can throw spirals where he can't. When he asked me where I learned to throw, I told him that my mother taught me, which she did. Hee.

Desiree missed me. I think Jenny did, too, but I didn't get a chance to talk to her. Keir and Sam and Tory... Alex kept demanding to know what I'd been up to. Leeaster even _hugged_ me. (and I let her, -and- _I_ hugged her back. Go Me.)

Jay seemed pretty calm about it, but then, it takes odd things to upset _him_. I don't think Jeff noticed, or if he did, he was too distracted by other things to say anything.

Hell, I even shook Travis' hand, and reliazed that the twit had actually -come through- for this whole thing to even be taking place.

I've got a followup auction meeting on Saturday! Our Goal: $15,000. Our Total: $12,500. *Bounce* People are _so_ generous, and so wonderful...

Odd Auction Story:

My mother has two sisters, my Aunt Merg and my Aunt Kel. Kel is a beader, and she made these two _incredible_ necklace-and-bracelet sets for the auction; one in amber and the other in onyx (of differing colors). They went into the live auction, so I didn't have to think about them until much later.

My Aunt Merg arrived early (she was helping Scotty do sound and MC stuff, which reminds me -- SMK SoundPro!) and was given bid number 11.

My mother arrived much later and recieved bid number 111.

During the course of the live auction, #11 won the onyx necklace and bracelet set, and #111 won the amber one. My mother gave the bracelet to the woman she'd been bidding against, not really as a consolation prize -- Nancy wanted the bracelet more than the necklace, and mom wanted the neckalce more than the bracelet. Besides _that_, she has more than enough of her -own- bracelets to wear.

Then, to top this all off, when mom got to my table (where I was doing data entry so we could print invoices for people), I -looked- at the necklace and realized that Aunt Kel had been working on it way the heck back in -November- -- I remembered seeing laid out on her design board. At the time, though, I only half-recognized it, and so I started to ask her about it... But all I -said- was "Isn't that...." and paused, and mom just looked right back at me and said, "Yep."

Posie was amazed at how much information we packed into a split-second gaze. *Sniggle* Just blown away... But she wasn't _nearly_ as dumbfounded by it as my dad was about mom knowing he was going to Texas. *Blinkblink* I FORGOT!! Aigh! Next time I go out to my dad's, I have GOT to take Live In Texas with me.

That's right, you're not from Texas...
That's right, you're not from Texas...
That's right, you're not from Texas, but Texas wants you anyway!

Yes, I am evil. So? It'd be so GOOD for him to move to a different state and quit pestering me...

Muh... This is nice. I really am feeling _so_ much better, having vented and then gone looking for positive (or at least neutral) things to balance out my rant with...

This morning, my dog went absolutely -berserk-. She wanted out so badly that she woke me up at some unChristian hour... Turned out that there was a mama moose and a fairly new baby in our back yard. I remember last year (or year before last, maybe) that we had a mama and her twins curled up in the tall grass in our back yard... That was -so- cool. Yazminda did -not- go out this morning until they left.

She's funny, when it comes to moose. She likes to watch them. Once, mom came home to see a moose curled up in the yard not too far from the dog... And a couple of weeks ago, there was a moose eating fresh alder twigs out front and she just lay near the house and watched it... She barks at them, sometimes, and when she was younger she very nearly got trampled by one that was way too close to the house, for some reason... Maybe she -learned- that one shouldn't chase moose from that encounter, and settles for barking at them and then watching them. *Shrug* I dunno.

Okay, I'm tired. And, weirdly enough, hungry. I didn't eat all that much at dinner after all, I guess.

G'night, and yeah, I'll be here in the morning.

Oh, and I rescued a wasp, saved a student's lunch from a ferocious giant bee (the bee was walking along the ground, -away- from the lunch, minding it's own business. It _was_ frighteningly gargantuan, though... I'll try to draw a picture of it.), folded one hundred seventy-five programs, and wore my fishnet hose with my MaryJanes and my new skirt.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:37 AM |

Wednesday, May 30, 2001

Apparently, you have to be a member of Xanga.com before you can see search results. Xanga is another 'blog-site, though its similarity to Blogger ends about there.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:58 PM |

I finally gave in and went to the Habbo Hotel... I dunno. It sounds slow and possibly annoying. I -like- using my imagination, I guess, so avatars don't appeal to me all that much.

And -no-, I didn't go because of Reesa's blurb. *Sniggle*

Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:03 PM |

Hee. I've been missing my compound bow...

Medieval Weaponry And You! (found here)

Rank #1 equals your best match.

Your Results:

#1) Crossbow, any - The weapon which doomed the middle ages. A crossbow can fire its bolts through armor at great distances. However it is difficult and time consuming to load.

#2) Short Bow - A smaller bow which is easier to wield than a long bow. Also it is less powerful.

#3) Long Bow - A powerful bow capable of firing arrows through armor.

-----

 

I have 5 CDs in my player. Only one of them has primarily English lyrics. The rest have Japanese, Chinese, Latin, Welsh, and something else I can't remember. (They're Trigun The Second Donut Service Pack, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon soundtrack, 100% no Jibun, Absolute Torch & Twang (k.d. lang), and Charlotte Church: Voice Of An Angel, for the curious.)

Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:23 PM |

I can fit twenty-seven VHS casettes into a bag that measures 12x18x8. I am a packing Goddess.

This, of course, does -not- explain why the hell my room looks the way it does.

I'm thinking about cleaning up... Any advice? Places to start, how to part with things that have been part of your life forever (even if you never look at it any more)?

Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:32 PM |

Israel, The Goth Mime... I can add nothing more beyond "bwahahaha...."

Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:41 PM |

One thing you -can- say about Retail Slut -- Their copywriters have a good time with their descriptions.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:46 PM |

Hey! This should make everyone ooh and ah... I added a section entitled 'I Have No Idea' to my site. You can find it here. It has the stuff I've written most recently on it -- the Dom/Vic barfight, Finch/Herbert, Marc and Vic On Vacation (the club one, rather than the coffeshop one), plus a brand-new little something I haven't yet sent to anyone. Yay me.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:50 PM |

Monday, May 28, 2001

Home again, home again... I actually got home about fourish, but I was sidetracked doing other things, one of which was -supposed- to be a new background. I have my Art pages up, instead... Includes a couple of pics of Lucian and Issy! (skip to the new stuff)

Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:38 AM |

 

First, something funny:

Eeek! It's Daniel Stern in thigh-highs! Okay, so it's not, but it certainly -looks- like him if you just glance at the picture.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:40 AM |

And now, something not-so-fun.

Dear Stupid Boys In Your Mama's SUV:

At first, I was scared. Then I was angry, both at what you said/did and the fact that you scared me. After that I was sad and curious, and now, I'm angry again.

What the fuck do you want me to do it for? You're _not_ gonna love me. You're not gonna want to go out with me. You're not gonna want to sleep with me.

Why the hell should _I_ change _MY_ appearance just so _YOU_ can feel better? Why the hell should I put myself out for someone that won't even appreciate the effort?

Why should I take the time and effort to make YOUR world safer for you?

Here's a news flash, boys: I'm not changing. Not for you, not for the president, not for a million dollars... Well, _maaaaaaybe_ for a million dollars. It really depends.

But I'm not going to change for right now.

I'm not interested in making a change just so -you- can be comfortable. I'm almost _never_ comfortable, I don't see why any one else deserves to be... At least, anyone that hasn't already had to deal with significant hardship. Anyone that has been there, done that has my leave to rest comfortably in a place where they are safe.

You boys, though, in your shiny new car and its ridiculous soundsystem... You're comfy. You've got all the whitebread comfort you can handle.

Does it make you feel like big men to turn that noise up and thump the bass*? Did you feel like a big manly man when you spotted me and pointed me out to your friends and laughed? Because I know you did. I know you laughed. I could -hear- you.

I know you turned that music up to get my attention, because I couldn't hear it when I was following you down C street.

I didn't look at you, you notice. Part of it was because I _couldn't_ see you, and part of it is that I have made it a habit _never_ to look around unless I hear a -very- distinctive whistle. Honking at me? Nope, not gonna look. Yelling and waving? Not going to look. If my tire(s) is/are flat, I'll discover it. If my car's on fire, I'll figure it out before long. If I've run over a traffic cone, I already know about it, thanks.

At any rate, I noticed you, but I pretended I hadn't, because it would only have reinforced your buffoonery. Oh, I take that back... Such a harsh thing to do to innocent buffoons. Your _idiocy_.

You know, your schadenfreude will eventually come back to haunt you... But for right now, I leave you with this curse:

May you suffer a flat tire at the -worst- possible moment; may your vehicle come to rest in the -worst- possible spot for changing said flat, and may you be wearing formal attire when it happens.

Thank you.

Actually, _NO_ thank you.

Get bent, you assholes.

*Cheery grin*

Shan, who actually feels better.

 

 

* I hereby extend a formal apology to the innocent guy in the white Blazer/Bronco/Durango/whatever, whom I thought was responsible for the c-rap that was drowning out Yoshio.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:43 AM |

Captain Obvious's Fun Facts:

1) It takes very little to make me feel special.
2) It takes very little to keep me entertained.
and 3) I am an odd, odd person.

I'll let you figure it out. *Grin*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:05 AM |

I really hope this works... *pokes things*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:28 AM |

*Blinkblink* It worked! Yeeeeeeee.... *Ahem* In that case... I found the background at Free Backgrounds and I changed the colors in Adobe PhotoDeluxe.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:36 AM |

Bwahaha... This should teach me to read more closely: I went back to tin.foil.hat and reread the Kanagawa entry. *Whacks head on wall* She mentioned The Sentinel.

Spo much for me. I think it's time for bed.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:51 AM |

Before I go, though, I just want to say that it's a lot more _satisfying_ to figure out something as complicated as reconfiguring your Blog template on your own than it is to have someone -tell- you how. I'm proud of myself for figuring this out on my own, -and- that it worked right on the first try. -Particularly- when I'd just spent a couple of hours fighting with the coding of my art pages, which is bloody _simple_, comparatively.

Of course, sometimes, it saves a hell of a lot of wear and tear on your nerves to have a how-to guide to refer to.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:55 AM |

G'night!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:56 AM |

Sunday, May 27, 2001

Okay, I decided not to take the job. Kinda bummed about it, but as my mother pointed out, this might not have been about the job at all, but rather, the incredibly positive experience surrounding this foray. Everyone I talked to at IMP was pleasant; no one looked at me like I had a huge blob of spinach between my teeth; Steve was incredibly flexible about me thinking it over... In the end, I decided that I just wouldn't be able to do the morning-shift thing. He -did- say that he'd keep me on-file, so that if there was an evening position available, I'd be on the candidate list.

The other great thing about today was that A) my tax return came in the mail B) my last paycheck from ECA arrived (and it was more than I was expecting, which was -really- nice and C) I get paid for housesitting tomorrow or Tuesday.

What all of this leads up to is that it looks like I can get to VA after all... Yay! And I'm thinking that maybe I should just go, hang with Scrubby and the Collective, and worry about employment when I get back.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:12 AM |

I wanna go to a con. Anime or SciFi, I kinda don't care.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:13 AM |

I was actually looking for more anime sprites... This page leads to a 'guardians' page, and I'm guessing they're kind of like saints. The one I saw for Psychics was pretty neat.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:15 AM |

*Sniggle* Adopt-A-Mech! Even if you -don't- wanna adopt one, at least scroll down for the link-banners. Too bad I never really got into Fuushigi Yuugi...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:24 AM |

I don't like the NA Dubbed Sailor Moon episodes, but I can handle looking at pictures pretty well. These are even kinda cute.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:27 AM |

I don't like browsercentrism; it gives me a headache. The Chibi Adoption Page is for IE only, according to the blurb on the front page... *Grumple* Not that I'm using NS, mind you, I just think that it's possible to develop sites accessible to (almost) all people, and to -any- browser, and therefore stupid to be proud of making other people's lives difficult. They're _graphics_, for cryin' out loud. Just toss 'em into a table, slap an alt tag on 'em, and be done with it.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:36 AM |

*Giggle* And here's a page _just_ for you, Scrubby!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:37 AM |

Is it scary, sad, startling, or just a sign of my geekdom that I recognized (and got excited about) some of the names on Anime Turnpike's list of Seiyuu (among other things)?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:43 AM |

Midorikawa Hikaru did Hiiro and Hiei's voices, too, right? Or am I confusing him with another Midorikawa?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:46 AM |

This person has as varied tastes as I do. They also seem to have about the same amount of time on their hands as I.

I don't understand the 'Only One Character Can Be Adopted!!' rule. It's not like anyone other than the copyright holders -own- the characters, and they're just a collection of pixels. I could make my own, if I were desperate/bored/at home... *Ponders actually -doing- it* *Decides to look for instructions, at some point* I imagine it's rather like making icons for the desktop... *Grin* And there's an idea! Who cares about sticking Vash on a webpage when he can hang with the bunny on my Documents folder?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:55 AM |

Yerk... This is a fun-to-read-on background. It combines such classy anime -- DragonBall Z, in which hardly anything happens -- and the 'Inverse' function of any photo-editing program that it makes my ears burn in shame at my own humble attempts to make graphics. [/sarcasm]

Maybe I should go to bed.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:03 AM |

*Snicker* And if you thought Miaka's bawling 'Tamahome!' every time she turned around was bad, wait 'til you meet Chirichiri! Dubbed, even.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:05 AM |

The Sanrio at the Dimond Center carries Orange Story stuff... *Blinkle* I wonder where I could find it with English subbing?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:06 AM |

The Cute Cute Petshop is going to take for-bloody-ever to load, at home... But it -is-...cute. And the background music is...odd, in that 'I'm not sure I like this, but I don't exactly _hate_ it, either...' way. And if it's a MIDI, it's a really _good_ MIDI, because it doesn't make me want to shut off the speakers.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:07 AM |

Awrighty, I'm going to bed. G'night all!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:16 AM |

'Woot!' is a funny expression. It's also kind of hard not to use it IRL. Okay, okay, so it's hard for _me_.... An Absence Of Light

Your GQ (geek quotient) is.... 103.95 (this puts you in the 83.90 percentile.) Your GQ is about average - your coolness offsets your geekiness. Find out yours, if you wanna.

I like taking quizzes and things, but I always wonder why no one ever adds an 'It depends' clause.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:43 AM |

NSync fans can be frightening... And then again, they can be downright restrained.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:45 AM |

Totchi.net for anime/videogame stuff... Mostly fansite(s).
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:48 AM |

It's not very well-written, but... He likes hockey. *Can justify her way out of a wet paper bag*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:51 AM |

What is 'chao'? Short for chaos? A version of chai? Or something else entirely? I've seen it twice in two days, now...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:54 AM |

I _finally_ remembered that I was going to add an archive link. Did it work?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:09 PM |

Yes, yes it did. Spiffy.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:13 PM |

*Blink* Grrr... Illeagal operation my mottled left foot! *pokes at things and goes to reboot*

Er, just in case anyone was wondering, I highly reccommend Bounce's unscented dryer sheets. A small miracle in laundry products...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:19 PM |

I can't spell.

Spunk.

Spiritchaser -- More on this in a sec.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:39 PM |

Okay, in Spiritchaser's blog, she mentions Soulbonding. This is the fourth or fifth time I've seen it mentioned since reading the stuff linked from Reesa's page.

While agree totally with the principles of the thing, the name gets to me... But I think that's just _Me_, finding 'soulbonding' to be too close to 'lifebonding'.

Some days, Marc and Vic are so _there_ that I'm amazed I don't actually _see_ them. It's kind of disconcerting, but most of the time I don't even think about it. I have yet to have a conversation with them, aloud, in public, but I can see it happening some day... *Snerk* As it is, I spend waaaay too much time smirking to myself as I wander through grocery store and malls.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:46 PM |

Tangled.org -- Recent Discoverer of the You Want Fries With That? Archive. I am jealous, though... You need a PDA to read any of the stories, and it's about the only place I've found Invisible Man slash.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:54 PM |

Everything... And it appears to cover _everything_. *Blinkblink*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:00 PM |

Syrup isn't sticky.

Ron's Blog! - Yet another RGG, -and- he's British!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:48 PM |

Muses is...different. Is it morally wrong to visit other people's site looking for coding ideas? I mean, as long as you're not stealing their layout _completely_, and you're not actually -doing- anything with it...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:59 PM |

Pure Ketamine Taught Me Everything I Never Wanted To Know About Che Guevara.

Need some desktop pictures?

Ramen -- not instant, but close. Or Something.

RandomTandem: surprisingly readable.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:11 PM |

Random thoughts from a big head. No, I can't explain it -- people are beyond me. Fun, but beyond me. *Grin*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:17 PM |

The washer is done. This means that I have to go put the dishtowels in the dryer, then go upstairs and round up all of my stuff, clean up the kitchen, and then I get to go home, yay!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:18 PM |

This also means that my blogging will probably fall off rather dramatically. Unless I decide to borrow my brother's computer... *Ponders this and wanders off*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:18 PM |

One last thing before I go -- The Vengaboys are a EuroPop group.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 2:28 PM |