Saturday, December 29, 2001

NO. NOnononononononononono. NO, NO, NO.

I don't think I can make my feelings any clearer. Perhaps if I vomited on the good doctor's shoes? (Link from Tom.)
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:52 AM |

I keep forgetting! Ev gave me a little book called 'Making Out In Japanese', which is less sexually-oriented than it sounds. It has the usual slang stuff, 'Genki?' as shorthand for 'Ogenki desuka?' to 'Hey, look at that!/Look out!' to, yes, 'Hey, you're cute, wanna neck?'. I haven't read it all the way through, yet, but I like what I've seen.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 8:31 AM |

Dear Kellogs:

If you eat -any- cereal two meals a day, yes, you will lose weight. You needed a university to come to this conclusion for you? Here's another tip: if you cut all dairy, most meat, nearly all sweets, almost all fast food, and all drinks save water and the rare soda out of your diet, you'll lose weight, too. Ooh. Also? Get your tonsils removed and subsit on nothing but ice and ice water! Tada, instant weight-management.

Loathing approaching the amount I have for the Subway franchise,
Shan, who's never eating any of your 'smart' cereals, and possibly none of your others, either.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 8:46 AM |

Um... I have 84 items on my wishlist. Hee! Thank the Lord for TitleWave.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:06 AM |

I feel like such a bandwagon-jumping dork, even though I know I'm not. If you wanna find me on AIM, my new screen name is pearwinter. We'll see if AIM and IE get along better than Q and IE did.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:02 PM |

I'm wearing my new pajamas, and they're fuzzy and warm... I'm sitting on my bed, half-listening half-watching Animal Planet, blogging, surfing, and thinking I really should reply to Scrubby's mail. Have I mentioned that I love my little laptop?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:04 PM |

I found out, recently, that I've been misspelling my dog's name. It's YaSminda, not YaZminda. The s still says zzz, though, she said redundantly and again...

And because I know you're dying to find out, it's a bizzare variant of 'Jasmine', from the Mr. Magoo version of 1001 Nights, referring to the -Princess- Yasminda, even. She gets called 'Princess Yasminda', on occasion. More often than not she's Fluffy (Dog), Hairy (Dog), Squishy (Dog), Fuzzy (Dog), Wanda The Wonder Weasel, Dummy (Dog), and (somewhat inexplicably) Kitty.

My family is bizarre. Not like you couldn't -tell-...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:59 PM |

Wanna know if you can see the latest eclipse, or if there's a solar flare headed our way? Check out Space Weather! (Link found all on my own, while trying to find out how far it is between the moon and the sun.)
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:26 PM |

Yet another webcam in my city. This one is provided by my ISP, ooh.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:11 PM |

And here's the same view, on a clear winter day. Fun Trivia: the building immediately to the right of Denali is the Denali Tower. On the twelfth floor is the office of Dr. Wells, DDS. He took my wisdom teeth out, and I staggered through the parking lot (which you can't see) drooling, bleeding, and crying, still half out of it due to the Valium/Demerol combo they gave me. (The drugs also caused the crying -- I felt no pain until after I got home and had slept it off.)

The building with the satellite dishes is the new headquarters for our Fox station. They've got a livecam, too, and often put shots of the intersection on-air as fillers between shows. The tall silver-blue building to the far left is the Robert B. Atwood building, but I call it the Key Bank building, because when I worked downtown, that was who had the biggest sign on the outside. The tallest building in the center of the picture is the Hilton, the shorter structure directly in front of that is the J. C. Penny's parking garage, which also houses the 6th Avenue bus station (the largest in the city) and a handful of food and sundries vendors. The low blue-and-brick colored structure (barely visible to the right of the garage) is the 5th Avenue mall -- the blue is the skylight, which mostly benefits those in the food court. I believe that the building below and to the right of the red X sign -- no, the first one you encounter, yeah. That's Barnes and Noble, I think. The other one is... A mini-mall that has a big electronics store and a Chinese restaurant, and not much else. It used to have Schoolhouse Express and The Natural Pantry, too. SHE moved over next to Alaska Bead Company; TNP now has two good-sized stores, one near CluelessUSA and one in the more-or-less defunct University Center Mall. Last, but not least, the short mountain to Denali's left is Mt. Foraker, which I am constantly confusing with its neighbor (further left and not visible), Mt. Drum.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:32 PM |

Note: due to a temporary restraining order issued by a Federal District Court judge, the Chena River cam will be offline until further notice. Let this be a lesson to you all: when a judge says to ensure your data is secure, you'd best do it or you'll be very, very sad. Or frustrated, if you don't have anything to do with the department that said judge was speaking to.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:40 PM |

Friday, December 28, 2001

For those of you that are curious about the colors of my yarn... The Fiber Shop's Sirdar Snuggly domino page. I've got 760 (pink) and 764 (red).
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:09 PM |

In case anyone missed it, my dog is insane. *Snerk* She has this poor naked tennis ball that's missing on quarter, so that it neither bounces nor rolls straight, and she was chasing it around the living/dining room and kitchen areas earlier tonight. She -loves- her tennis ball chunks, whether they're mostly whole or only about the size of my thumb.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:42 PM |

Thursday, December 27, 2001

I always write down my userid's and passwords. What I -don't- write down, or do write down but in a shorthand that I alone understand, is the site or software/hardware the UID/pwd belongs to. That way I get the best of both worlds -- security _and_ having my passwords handy.

I'm sure it also helps that I don't use public computers unless I can help it, and therefore don't have to worry about forgetting my cheatsheet at the library or whatever.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:52 AM |

Also: Smash Mouth is the first CD I've listened to in ages where I haven't skipped at least one song on the first listen-through. Ditto Twilight, Red Light, This Beautiful Life, and The Inevitable. Wow.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:54 AM |

There was this book at Barnes and Noble. It was a white-jacketed hardback, with a kinda-noir cover illustration. I think the title lettering was black or red. The author may or may not have had a J somewhere in their name. It was a murder-mystery set in...the 40's? I think. Around the time of WWII, I believe. The main characters were black, either ex-cons or currently incarcerated. It was supposed to be funny -and- a gritty hard-boiled type mystery, and it sounded really good.

Should I bother to add that I saw this book over a year ago? I have _GOT_ to learn to write down the name and author of books I want when I'm out and about.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 6:55 AM |

I have also -got- to get a job. There are too many books I want to read, and most likely too many that my library doesn't have...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:04 AM |

I'm going back to bed, now... Sleep well...?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:45 AM |

Er, in an attempt to have a backup plan in place for any future Blogger outages, I've signed on with pitas. They -are-, too, but I don't know any livejournal users to get a code from, and I'm using a Mac, so greymatter is out. Ah well, I suppose I could go back to doing it the old-fashioned way... *Snerk* Blogging might be making me lazy.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:43 PM |

The URL for my other page? http://gunsmoke6.pitas.com It was the only thing I came up with that wasn't already taken.

Question: Survivor? _Why_? Can we go back to having good old-fashioned fictional shows about pretend people, now? Please?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:01 PM |

Bwaha! Hank Azaria has a TV show coming up? Oh dear.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:05 PM |

This morning, I dreamed I was playing Dance Dance Revolution. I was really good at it, even though the area that I was stepping on was completely and totally unlike any DDR dance-pad in existance.

The other morning, I woke up from a dream about my friend Elisabeth, who died about five years ago.

I have had more, and more vivid dreams since I started my meds than I have ever had in my life. I mean, 100-percent-there surroundsound stereophonic Spielbergian dreams. And sometimes, I have trouble remembering that I was only dreaming, and that I didn't actually live it. *Blinkblink* Fortunately, this hasn't caused me any problems yet, touch wood.

It's kind of bizarre, but also kind of nice -- I went through a period of not getting much sleep, let alone sleeping deeply enough that I dreamed about anything.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:41 PM |

The weather has been evil this week -- it rained most of yesterday and part of the night before. Just a cool little drizzle, enough to make everything sloppy and dangerous but not enough to melt all of the snow and ice. Bleah. Oh well, at least I don't have to go very -far-, tomorrow. Just home, hooray and at last! My last job of the year, which makes me a happy puppy. I'm ready to sleep in my own bed for more than a handful of nights.

I like housesitting (which reminds me that I was going to make a housesitting site... I'll do that tomorrow), but I love getting to have all of my own stuff, and knowing that if I break something accidentally, mom is more likely to be concerned about -me- than angry. Plus there's the dog, and Ev, and mom, and of course cable... I'm just kind of babbling, I know. I guess it's just an extension of the travel adage that it's fun to go, but it's just as fun to get home.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:50 PM |

And now, I must A) go vacuum, B) fold and put away clothes, C) round up the last of my stuff and stack it near the downstairs door, and D) go to bed.

Also: I am a bizarre packer. For a job of a month in duration (Mercury/Scally's) I packed about a week's worth of clothes. (I'm quite sure everyone in my classes though I only own three shirts and two pairs of jeans.) For a trip of a week's duration (Mimi DuBois/Grandparents), I brought enough clothing for a month. I still only have about6 shirts I can wear in public, though.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:54 PM |

Wednesday, December 26, 2001

So. Christmas. *Bounce* Lovely as usual, even if I can't budget worth beans most of the time. Anyhow!

I got a whole stack of music, including Smash Mouth's Smash Mouth, Indigo Swing's Indigo Swing, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Books! Oh, books books books. The Magic Hockey Stick (hee!), Rats, Bats and Vats, Pyramid Scheme... A picture frame that is crying out for pictures (I'm terribly, terribly tempted to print out The Williamsburg Picture). My mother made me a set of PJs -- fuzzy flannel top printed with happy sheep and butterflies, with pink fuzzy flannel pants -- and started a Gryffindor scarf for me, only she wants to get a different shade of red yarn, which means she has to start over. *Grin* I think I'll see about talking her into taking me to Knitting Frenzy with her, and pick up the yarn for a Ravenclaw scarf for her. (Of course, I can't remember their house colors -- blue and silver? Blue and black?) She also got me a beautiful pale yellow bathrobe, which I've wanted/needed for ages.

Ev gave me The Big O Volume 3, and something that completely escapes me at the moment. *Blinkblink* I got the usual assortment of pencils and stickers and Sanrio things, including the Hello Kitty Hello World calendar for 2002. Wonderful scenes, illustrated with the most easily-identified things associated with thirteen major countries, along with 'Hello, [month]!' across the top in the language apropriate to the country. There's India, China, France, Japan (of course!), Ireland, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Russia, and four more I can't remember off the top of my head. It also came with a poster and stickers, just like the calendar I have for this year (which is also a 13-month calendar, not that I remembered that 'til after I'd seen Ni Hao January 2003! in my new one.) The illustrations and greetings come from the Hello World book that I saw in Barnes and Noble some time last year.

As for what I gave? I gave dad Simon and Garfunkle's Greatest Hits and Charlotte Church's Enchantment; Ev got Beck's Midnite Vultures and Static-X's Wisconson Death Trip* on cassette and a gorgeous dark blue with little gold diamonds tie; and I found Eri Sugai's Mai, soundtracks for Harry Potter and O Brother Where Art Thou, and Adagio For Healing, and some Tarepanda stuff for mom. I got Scrubby a nice wooden spoon and found a silver-plated tire guage for Reesa. *Innocent blink* *Grin*

Mmm, Christmas. Hee.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:40 AM |

*Grumple* I forgot that IE and ICQ don't like each other much. Hm. I guess I'll find a new screen name for AIM, then...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:14 PM |

Mom and I went to Knitting Frenzy today. Since I still can't recall the house colors for Ravenclaw, and my mom was with me, I didn't get the yarn for her scarf. We picked out a pretty red to replace the dark burgandy in mine and mom got some yarn in varigated blues and purples. I got four skeins of baby-soft yarn with poofy little slubs in various shades of pink and double-ended needles -- I'm going to ask my grandmother to teach me how to knit socks.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:20 PM |

Tuesday, December 25, 2001

Mm. Last night, Mom, Ev, Katy and I did dinner and loot to and from Katy, which was fun. We had spaghetti, salad, bread, and cake, and I ate better than I have in ages. Tonight, Ev and I went out to dad's house for dinner and presents, as usual, and we all had a very nice time. Dory sent Ev and I the first four books in the Left Behind series; and then she called, so we could say thanks in person (more or less). I also took Mme. Jean's prezzies by her house, which was a riot of loud happy girls, most of whom didn't actually live there. (*Grin* Mme. Jean's sisters are home from college, so their friends have been in and out of the house since they've gotten back.)

Oi! I still have wrapping to do, and thanks to the fact that other people have been into my tea cakes and my fudge (which didn't set up properly anyhow, grr), my Christmas boxes are now Epiphany or Orthodox Christmas boxes, your choice. I'm really sorry about that, too, as I thought I was going to be able to get things off on time. Ah well. Waiting gives me a chance to make more fudge and more cookies -- mom and I want to make Spritz together. Mm, cookies.

And now I need to write some M/V, and try to avoid seasonal sap. Oh, what the hell, 'tis the season and all that... *Grin* And I -like- sap. So, in the future, look forward to Kelvath/Avrath and Marc/Vic sap. Aww.

....well, okay, thank-you notes first, then sap. Notes may wait 'til tomorrow, though. I'm loving everything, though. *Grin* *Hugs for everyone* Happy Holidays to one and all.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:31 AM |

For the first time in a very long time, I had a caffinated soda after 6 P.M.

Hi. I woke up at 3:30 and haven't been back to sleep since.

I'm never drinking soda again.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:14 AM |

In other news, I wish I had the ingredients to make cookies, for some reason.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:15 AM |

Okay, I'm off to try this 'sleeping' thing again... 'Night. Morning. Whichever.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 5:43 AM |

Monday, December 24, 2001

Ack... *Blinks and pokes at IE* You ate my post! You ate my long ranty post! *Ponders* Well, maybe it was for the best. Suffice it to say that A) Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm are NOT (I repeat: NOT) part of Prince William Sound, and B) you should not take the Travel Channel show World's Best Alaska as the Gospel Truth about life and travel in the Last Frontier. You notice that they never ever _EVER_ showed a single city? Funny, that.

*Grin* It's a quarter after twelve. Presents! Yay!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:11 AM |

*Snerk* 'Trauma du jour: The Nick Mix' from Reesa (I'm saving the rest for later today/tomorrow if I can live that long) and Gundam Epyon from Mme. Jean. Aww. I can now go to bed, a happily stuffed puppy. Oyasumi nasai, and happy holidays to everyone. *Grin* *Bounce*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:17 AM |

Sunday, December 23, 2001

*Snerk* The Beastie Boys' 'Pass The Mic' is old-sk00l rap all right -- "M-i-k-e-to the -D..." I found Check Your Head at Borders for six or seven bucks at the end of November, along with Concrete Blonde's Bloodletting for eight bucks, so I grabbed both of them. This is the first time I've listened to Check Your Head, and...wow. Lighten Up is pretty spiffy, if a little heavy on the seventies-esque hooting in the background.

I have no idea why I'm awake this early.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 8:07 AM |

"That's insane. You're -stupid-."
"Ah?"
"You should sleep late. It's better for your constitution."
-- Mark On The Bus, Check Your Head
Posted by: Shannon M.: 8:39 AM |

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/index.html

I don't know that I want to trust a document from my government if they can't even spell 'kids' correctly.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 8:55 AM |

UncommonGoods: Screw earrings

I don't have pierced ears, any more, but boy howdy do I want a pair of these. And I can think of at least three other people in my family that would wear 'em as well. Ooh.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:50 AM |

I'm D. *Blinkblink* Hee!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:22 PM |

Ooh, the Aurora was out tonight. Unfortunately, I was not in the best location to veiw them, not being in the light-deprived section of town. I did manage to get a few minutes in on the shore of Jewel Lake, where the Parks & Rec crew have not yet installed lights, bless them.

While I was trying to drive and watch the lights at the same time, Avrath and Kelvath were hovering around the edge of my mind, watching the lights and breathing in the bright cold air... Brr. *Grin*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:25 PM |

My left big toe hurts. *Grumple* It's red and kind of swollen and unhappy-looking. It's not broken, but I should probably have it looked at by a professional, eventually. A GP or an intern at a First Care sort of place rather than a podiatrist, 'cause the podiatrists I've seen (or been seen by) have all been kind of...creepy.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:31 PM |