A Twist of Things to Come

Made it back safely and with everyone and everything I should have. Whew.

Got a lot of somewhat neglected things done, but now I have quite a bit of catching up to do on other things.

In case anyone is interested, GeekaChicas is now on Twitter:

http://www.geekachicas.com/

In the time I was away, we had a lovely, in-depth article from Nightsky on how to Travel with (digital) confidence which was really amazing, full of great safety tips and answers to many questions I had about security.

Then there was Beatrice Blythe's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, or the Best of the Bunch (a no-spoiler review).

One thing this trip proved was that the site can run just fine without me, which is both comforting and a little disconcerting. ;) But really, it's good because my life is about to get really interesting.

The latest in yourprecious's series on geeks and relationships, Geek Dance Party - Women Don't Like Sand Either, Anakin really struck a chord with me. I'm not sure what it is, whether the Geek Girl Mystique or it happens to everyone, but like Pearce, I was a stalker magnet. I'd had two or three before I was out of high school. These included this one monosyllabic Neanderthal who saw my picture in the paper for an art award and walked six miles to my house, arriving just in time to catch us going to church. My family took pity on him and took him to church with us. I was mortified. After church we drove him home. I sat in stunned silence as we drove away, hoping my parents hadn't thought well of him. My fears were allayed when my dear Papa, without any further comment, began to sing, "Froggy Went A-Courting" in his lovely tenor.

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Hitting the pool with the kids again today, then making the drive to der Hinterland. I'm not entirely well yet, but at least the stabbing pains in the ear have finally stopped. *knocks wood*

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Watched Inkheart with the kiddos last night and had weird decongestant dreams about characters from my novel getting out and coming after me. Not the ones I'd LIKE to dream about, either. Just REM, and she wanted to cut me up. Stupid medicine.

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I'll be out of the loop for a few days. Hope you guys have a great week!

First things first: Our dear soloreader (aka Sweet Clementine), has just done a clever and musically insightful review of one of my all-time favorite Internet Phenomenons, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog over at GeekaChicas. She may have been late to the party, but she certainly groks the musical aspects of characterization better than I do. Go show her some love! ;)

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I slept late (for me) today, but I'm still in accomplishment mode. I've written another 1600 or so words on my novel since last night. It may not be huge leaps of progress, but it's keeping up with a minimum daily goal. Plus, I do have a few other irons in the fire at the mo, as you may know.

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Summer plans keep changing, but it looks like I'm going to be in Georgia pretty much all month. Long enough to have a birthday party, anyway. *grin*

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I left the kidney specialist's office on Tuesday feeling profoundly grateful for my diseased kidneys. I know how weird that sounds, but... I like who I am, and my DNA is part of that, even if it's defective in some spots. Mine happens to be defective in a way that 1 in every 500 people on the planet is defective, so right now there are literally hundreds of individual studies underway dealing with various aspects of this disease. Thousands of people with the knowledge and talent to help me are working on it right now, from hundreds of different angles.

That's really kind of an awesome thing. :)

My truck is now clean and has functioning air conditioning. Woot! That made the trip home so very pleasant. It was great to see my stepdad (Papa)again. It has been way too long.

He always feeds us these huge breakfasts -- eggs and pancakes and biscuits and bacon. I made him a nice sugar-free banana pudding and we took him out to eat for his birthday.

The boys and I walked a lot, which was fun. The neighborhood dogs are friendly, and i think it eased the boy's sadness over Bitey a bit. Big Boy and collected some footage for his summer short series (inspired by portions of the Brit TV show Merlin) called Smokey the Unhelpful Dragon. I can't wait, it's going to be so much fun!

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In other news, narniadear's review of Up is live over at GeekaChicas, and she is soooo on the money with this one. If you haven't seen it, you totally should. Pixar has gobsmacked me yet again.

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I'm so glad to be back! *huggles*

It's weird being the boss's wife. It's a role I'm not accustomed to, to be honest. My Beloved has been self-employed for the last five or six years, and before that he was pretty much another corporate joe.

My point is, the interpersonal dynamics were different. Plus, this is a middling company, not a huge corporate entity like his last non-independent job. There were some pointed questions about whether I worked, and one fellow actually asked me "Who do you belong to?" I didn't snap at him, but, "I belong to myself, you freaking moron" drifted to somewhere near the front of my mouth.

There was a time when it amused me when folks seemed to consider me a lifestyle accessory to my Beloved (in an OMG if they only knew sort of way, with the added ego boost of realizing this probably meant thought I was hot), but now I'm old and cranky enough that it rankles.

Oh, and Wee Boy was overheard at the pool, saying, "Don't squirt me. I don't like it, and I might scream at you. Plus, my dad is vice president of the company." He didn't actually say "My dad could fire your dad" but the implication was present. *sigh* I suppose I'll call it a victory, since he was using his words, just like we told him to do.

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In any case, we had a good time. We had darlingviolenta and her hubby with us, which was fun. The only drawback was that time was short. Once school is out, we'll have more time to play, I hope.

Well, it was a nice visit with family. Papa seems well. Still dating different women, but from the way he talks, none of them seriously. I don't want him to be lonely, but I don't want him to be saddled with someone who would make him miserable, either.

I saw my grandmother's two sisters and my mom's first cousin. I really, really love my great aunts -- they are both wonderful women with a lot of energy and personality, just like my mom and grandmother. It was kind of hard to see my mom's first cousin, LF, because she reminded me so much of my mom. They evidently looked a lot alike as teens. In adulthood and middle age, my mother aged much better, but now LF resembles her significantly again. It's the shape of her eyes and her brows, really, nothing more. She's also really sweet, but it was honestly weird to see someone resembling my mom be so shy and retiring. *grin*

Evidently LF and Papa had gone out to dinner recently. I'm not sure if Papa feels the need to compare his dates unfavorably with my mom for my benefit, or whether he really is doomed to be disappointed that all the women available to him for companionship are not, and never will be, mom.

I'm just staying out of it and hoping for the best. ;)

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We're going to see Coraline today, and I'm rather excited about that. It will be a good way to end the boys' school break with a bang, I think.

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On the productivity front, I have an outline for my first few video projects, notes and, more importantly, a clear idea of how certain writing projects need to go from here. I also have a good rough-in of a drawing project I've been toying with for some time. With art, I have an alarming tendency to over-reach my talent, but it's fun to stretch. The next bit of HMOWK is almost ready for prime time.

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Oh! I learned how to use track mattes and garbage mattes in video editing (these are ways to isolate certain elements of a video for effects). It could be time-consuming, but oh, boy -- the things I could do!

Next up, color correcting and audio editing. Not as sexy as the FX, but it could come in handy.

I was preparing to pack this morning, and while handling one of the suitcases, I had the oddest flash of memory.

The tan bag I usually put the boy's clothes in (yes, I make then share a suitcase, oh, the humanity, but they have separate drawers at Papa's house) has a monogram of my husband's initials. He got it for Christmas when we were in college, from one of his uncles.

He had loaned it to me to use on a couple of occasions before we married, and I know I used it afterward. I used to travel quite a bit, with him and on my own.

I remember being on one of those buses that drives you out to the wee little commuter planes I used to affectionately call "Winnebagos with wings." There was a very handsome man across from me, engaging me in conversation. Where I was going, whom I was going to see, etc. On this occasion I was going to see my Beloved, and I was plain about that, so the fellow wouldn't get the wrong idea. I'm chatty and I smile a lot, which tends to give people the impression that I'm into them. Usually I am into them, just not like that. I like chatting. This effect was much more pronounced when I was younger and hotter.

After a bit we stopped talking, and I started checking my boarding pass and itinerary, etc.

"So, what is it? Wendy?"

I looked up and he was giving me this appraising look. I had no freaking clue what he was talking about, and it must have shown on my face.

"Your name." He gestured at the monogram. "Is it Wendy?"

"No. I borrowed this bag from my finance. His first name is William."

"But you called him R__."

Had I mentioned his name? Probably. (His name is actually William R__ but he goes by R__, which is what I call him.) Here is where I got a little nervous. I mean, the attitude, like I was lying about my name, or about my fiancé, or about having a fiancé in the first place. Like he thought I was making it up because I didn't trust him.

It seemed like an odd conclusion to jump to, and THAT was when I stopped trusting him. His regard was a little too direct, or maybe I just decided that he'd been paying too much attention. I don't know. My Spidey Sense was tingling.

"He's named after his father, so they use his middle name to avoid confusion." That was a lie. He and his father both use their middle names, for whatever reason, but it wasn't any of his damned business.

There's no real point to that story, other than people are strange sometimes. Maybe he was just playing Sherlock Holmes to pass the time. Maybe he saw a 21 year old girl (who looked much younger than that, really) traveling alone and saw an opportunity to be charming and impressive. I don't know.

I do know that I've handled the monogrammed bag a thousand times or more since then, but today, for some reason, I thought of the aggressively handsome man who was offended when my name wasn't Wendy.

Some days it's thrill ride, just being inside my head.

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To those on flist whose fiction I have fallen behind on reading-- I've nipped your recent work and hope to catch up while I'm away from the internet. I hope I haven't' missed anybody.

Catch you on the flip side!

Got home just in time for a cold snap, but the weather in der hinterland was awesome. My Beloved and I walked to the gorgeous, hilltop cemetery where a large portion of my family is interred. The apple orchard next to it is about to be sold off for housing lots, but it's all fields now. The apple trees have been disposed of, making the distance visibility of our walk home a bit better.

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My sister has a new puppy, more than half wolfhound. It's cute now, but I suspect that in a year or so it will take care of her cat infestation. She has around a dozen cats, two dogs (including the new addition) plus various rats, rabbits and turtles. The exact number of pets in the house fluctuates a bit, depending what else her daughter brings home or trades with friends.

She is SO getting the Crazy Cat Lady action figure for her birthday. Hee! She may be a therapist, but that doesn't mean she can't be a tad cracked herself.

I love my family.

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Charlton Heston movies-- especially the religious ones-- are considerably more homoerotic than I remembered. Also, he had nice feet.

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By way of hedgegoth The Engineer's Guide to Cats:



That video lovingly combines two things for which I have great personal affection-- cats and engineers.

We're heading out for a visit with family and a familiar part of the country. I'm looking forward to it, honestly.

My access to the Internet will be very limited for about a week, but I expect the time away will do us all good.

amy34 -- I won't have a chance to post a review for your opening scenes until I get back, but I will probably have it done before we get there. I just may not access to upload anything. I owe another return crit, too, but have no way of telling the guy why it may take a few days. I suppose he'll just have to forgive me.

If this trip is anything like the last one, I shall return bearing fiction! (I wrote the bulk of the story I recently sold while sitting in the room that was once my den of adolescent angst.)

Of course, I also have to make sure Big Boy finishes his book report scrap book project. He's excited about it, but more than willing to let it slip, I think.

I might be ready to take a rubbing of my mother's headstone, or at least visit the grave. Maybe. She's buried in the cemetery where the neighborhood kids used to go to make out. *shudder*

Made it home. I love visiting family, but it is always a relief to be home again. I seem to be fully recovered, and the boys are in good spirits.

For your amusement, a bit of what passes for casual road trip conversation in my household:

Big Boy (aged 10): So, Mom, if you had the choice, would you rather have your brain devoured by ravenous zombies or by cute, fluffy bunnies?

Me, glancing in the rear view mirror: Um...

Big Boy: Awkward question, isn't it?

*Awkward pause*

Wee Boy: Cute, fluffy bunnies. I like bunnies.

Big Boy: Even if they're eating your brains?

Wee Boy: Yes.

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Big Boy: I wonder if there could be bullies in heaven. You know, beating up other angels. Only it would feel good instead of hurting, because it's heaven. And their wounds would gush sparkling water...

Me: (silently) How can he look so much like his father, and be so much like me? At least he comes by it honest.