A Twist of Things to Come

I'm half crazy with the end of school activities, doctor visits to sort before we go visiting all over for the summer, and friends trying to help me plan a 40th birthday party. (I'd like to have a party, but with our current living arrangements in flux, I might have to have it in a cardboard box and finance it with pocket lint.)

Last night Big Boy asked about cards to hand out as invites to his birthday party (this worked very well for the zombie party). He said he'd like to have them to hand out today. This was him telling me at nearly 10pm. Grr. But the hubby threw something together for me, and it all worked out.

But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tomorrow is the last day of school, payday, and the day my honey comes home.

***

The website has suffered from my distraction. Yesterday at GeekaChicas I posted a wee article about The Magic Thief Series by sarah_prineas. Of course, I got to include my son's interview with said luminary again. *g* (I imagine tehre might be one or two people left in the world who haven't seen it.) The occasion is, of course, that the new book is out. And Big Boy's birthday is next week. Hee!

***

That feeling of wanting to get stabbity on someone has passed. That's good. It wasn't anyone in particular, just the vague feeling that the next person to irritate me was going to get disproportionately ventilated. That was bad. At least I appear to be over it.

Well, it's a long weekend for the boys but the hubby doesn't have Monday off, and this is the first weekend he hasn't either come home or had us go to him. Bummer.

On the upside, the weather seems mild still, and the boys have always been a lot of fun for me. I'm sure we'll manage, but I miss him.

Over at GeekaChicas, I've just put up Hawkin's formula for online dating success, A GeekaChicas Guide to Online Dating, which is full of practical advice for culling down the masses of humanity on Craigslist to a viable pool of non-crazy, date-able men. I was impressed by how methodical her approach was, and it seemed to work.

***

The disappointment of having seen how awful Deception was led me to look up No Night is Too Long again, which I loved. So I ended up watching most of it on YouTube, even though I have it on disc. *giggle*

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.

***

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.

The boys are both in school, and reasonably healthy. (Yays!) I've just gotten a call from my friend L. thanking me for foisting The graveyard Book on her. :D It's always nice when you recommend a book and the person really, truly loves it.

Even better, I woke to find that yourprecious had already written and uploaded her review of the Wolverine movie at GeekaChicas, "X-Men Origins: Only for Use by People with Severe ADD".

So the day is off to a good start. Now I get to drive to Rome to see my Chiropractor. I think I'm over the caffeine thing, but my neck hurts. This usually helps.

Got an email letting me know that my smut anthology contributor copies and checks will be mailed in the next week or so. That was nice to know. :) I won't be able to read my contribution without wincing at all the things I'd have done differently, but I'm sure the others will be entertaining.

Lots to do today, but I think I can manage it, and then the hubby comes tonight. :)

What are your plans for the weekend?

So, I'm PMSing and having caffeine withdrawal headaches. Yuck.

The email I sent about my son being sick yesterday bounced for some unknown reason. And when I picked him up he had forgotten to turn in a project that was due the day he was out. He had it completed the night before, so it wasn't because he didn't do it or anything, but it sounds like the one really awful part time teacher was working today (not supposed to be her day) and I'm pretty sure she will not be nice about it. We'll see what happens, but there is a slight chance of my footprints showing up on her forehead by late afternoon on Friday.

Big Boy is still sick. Boo. And with loads of make-up class work he doesn't know how to do. Do you have ANY IDEA how long it's been since I multiplied or divided a fraction? I still know how, but I had honestly hoped never to do it again.

I signed up for online banking and now cannot remember anything about how to sign in to it. Hubby was with me, but he's also drawing a blank. I remember my password, but not the user name.

This video is making me crazy. Even when I get all the scenes cut the way I need them, the contextual video will be wrong and I'll have to convert it. I do not know how to do that, or what I'll need to convert it from/to.

Gggrrr. I am so damned tired.

***

Good things... the GeekaChicas feed is up and running at geekachicas, complete with images and stuff (though the embedded video still doesn't work).

The website is flourishing on account of my homegirls keep writing great stuff like D&D 4e Introduces Geek Class by Nightsky, and Insults in my Living Room. Why the Wii Fit Gets a Big ol' Fail by jedi_diplomat.

I know I'll get past the learning curve on the video thing,too. I'm just PMSing and Caffeine-deprived.

But you know what? You guys and gals, plus my Chicas -- you all make me happy. I'm proud to be a part of your lives, however small. My online interactions have always been a way to keep in touch, or a way to find people with common interests. But this website -- as frustrating as it is for a newbie like me, stumbling through -- has become a source of great joy for me. I knew my homegirls rocked, I just didn't realize how much. :D

Just in from the Memory Files -- Peggy Sue wore Jellies, had a light-brown to dark blond pony tail most of the time, and hugged me a lot. Still no idea just how I met her, or what we were doing. Just flashes -- I think we went to the lake, so probably a church outing of some sort.

***

The hubby is back in NOLA, and I miss him. Paid bills today without having to fight that feeling of crushing despair with which I had become so familiar. Called and had our home phone and cable cut off. We don't use the cable and the home phone is sort of redundant, anyway. I'll have to tell the schools to call my cell in case of an emergency, but I'm going to be there this week anyway. Keeping Internet. NEED Internet for the website, which is beginning to rock my socks. Today we have some new stuff from the illustrious jedi_diplomat as well as some silly stuff from me.

Speaking of GeekaChicas, I hope to get on with making some content that's actually from ME this week. The technical/maintenance side of things has had be busy, but I'm anxious to be getting on with it. ;) I have something special to do for the poll closing, so that should be fun. (Spencer Reid is ahead, with Alec Hardison second followed by a rapidly gaining 10th Doctor. Go vote if you haven't yet!)

***

I think my blood pressure may be going a bit lower than is entirely optimal. Woke up two nights in a row with an arm or hand asleep from having it resting over my head. Not under me or anything. Oh, well, I see the doc again tomorrow.

***

Via agirlnamedluna:



(She says the same goes for Belgium, where she lives.) I try not to get too political here, but it was too funny not to share.

***

Speaking of politics, the hubby compared me to Ann Coulter. I nearly slapped him. *G* He has very good slap-intercepting reflexes, which is probably necessary for someone mated to me. I believe he did it to get my goat. O_O It certainly made us both laugh. ;)

3. Family. Tough subject for me, because I wonder if I should talk about the family I came from, or the family I have built with my Beloved. Most of the former is no longer living, and although I love my brother and sister dearly, I don't feel comfortable talking about them too much. They are wonderful, smart, talented people, but for some reason I feel oddly protective of them -- like their "mine" and I don't want to share. I feel a bit the same about my Beloved, though I have soliloquized on him before. ;)

Family is the bedrock of my life -- something that has always defined me, in the same way water is defined by the glass. My family is what divides me from not-me, and blurs the lines between. In the Writing post, I talked about the shock of discovering I had something behavioral in common with my father. My genetic connection to the rest of my family is easier to spot. I strongly resemble my mother, and in my better moments am much like her. I laugh like her. I have my grandmother Mary's dry sense of humor, and my grandmother Pearl's tendency to worry about those I love.

My kids are of an age now where I can begin to see bits and pieces of myself, my husband, and our separate families in them. That's always fun, or at least interesting. ;)


My boys are enthusiastic, witty, creative and (something I never really was as a child) extremely popular with their peers. They both have confidence and the courage of their convictions, even if it takes an odd shape. (Wee Boy and i were leaving the book fair, and a girl passing by said, "Hey, William!" He said "hey" (this happens a lot) and turned to me.

"That's M from second grade. She likes me but I don't know why. I don't like her."

"Why not?"

"She eats her burgers with stuff on them. Like pickles and onions."

"I eat burgers with stuff on them."

"Even pickles and onions?"

"Yep."

*sigh* "Well, I like you anyway."

Big boy told me he had a "You suck" fight with two of his friends. "You suck." "No, YOU suck." "No, you BOTH suck." "No, YOU both suck." and so on.

Finally, he said, "Let's compromise, okay? You both suck."

*other boys exchange glances* "What if we just say we all suck?"

Big Boy shakes his head. "YOu don't understand. I'm too awesome to suck. It's just not possible."

"Can we all be awesome?"

"Well... I suppose I could teach you some awesomeness."


*snorffle* Now you see why these little monkeys are the cream in my coffee?

I see from his blog that Neil Gaiman has lost his father, just a few weeks before his parents' golden wedding celebration. My heart goes out to him. The death of a parent is something that changes you, or at least changes the shape of the world as you see it inside your mind.

If you don't read his blog, you should find it and take a look at the picture he posted of himself, his father and his grandfather. His father looks exactly like him, only with more orderly hair and not all in black.

It reminded me of how much I carry with me that is my parents. My dad's crooked pinkies and lopsided smile, my mother's laugh and surprising strength (and a portion of her beauty, or so I'm told).

I miss them.

***

My friend who ordered me the book I had been lusting after on Amazon? I had sent her an email the same day she ordered it, and i thought it was odd that she'd buy me a book but NOT reply to the email. As it turns out, she had just ordered the book when she got the email, and decided not to reply until I had got the book.

So we were thinking very strongly of each other at just the same time. How is that for serendipity?

***

The website lumbers along with maddening slowness, but my energy and appetite for progress has not waned. I'm learning a lot, and still enjoying myself. Everyone who has contributed has been consistently witty and wonderful to the point I'm almost abashed at my own meager contributions. I will say that I'm sure my output will improve the less time I need to spend fiddling with the technical side. That will hopefully occur in the next two weeks.

My best friend just signed up to be a contributor this weekend, and I'm jazzed about that. She's a smart cookie, and very careful about her facts (which is a very good thing, in her profession). I know she'll tell me when something needs fixing, and I really need that. :)

I shall try to STFU about it for now (here at least). If anyone wants to hear more about what's going on, let me know and I'll put you on the mailing list. :) I know that, to some of you, hearing me talk about learning how to do various things is the equivalent to a two-year-old bragging about her big girl panties, so I'll try not to bore you. ;)

Hope you all have a good day!

Actually, sometimes I am. The weather here has shifted colder, and I frequently find my hands getting a bluish tint to them. Nothing so dramatic as the first time, and I suspect that this will be the new norm for me.

It happened last night while I was cutting up chicken breasts for dinner, and Big Boy asked me to reach toward him and say, "Braaaains..."

Heh. Such a wit, my Big Boy.

***

It's ten in the AM now and I have already managed to mark three things off my To Do List, which is good.

I have some additional shopping to do, which will likely be the most time-consuming thing on my list -- at least the combined errands I must run using the car. Buy a blood pressure cuff. Drop off poo-cards at the lab and get the BP cuff calibrated. Buy additional foodstuffs for our new, healthy, vegetable-rich diet.

Now, while I agree that my doctor is a bit weird about the whole diet/nutrition thing (recommending an over-the-counter weight-loss drug, suggesting The Zone (a diet I believe is faddish and not recommended for a person with a family history of kidney disease, such as myself)as a diet option), this does provide a good opportunity for my Beloved and I to eat a better diet.

The single worst potential horror of my life would be to lose him, and if this will help him be more healthy, then I am all for it. Plus, so far we've been creative and really enjoyed our tasty food. (For lunch yesterday, we had peppadews stuffed with a nice lean tuna salad. Yum!)

***

It's going to be an interesting week. Big Boy has a doctor visit tomorrow, and I have to take my Beloved to the airport Thursday morning. Hopefully it will be early enough to avoid too much traffic.

First, a thingy I discovered by way of oberonia that was pretty cool, I thought.



Hee!

Okay, on to business. Coraline is freaking creepy. I believe my kids enjoyed it thoroughly -- one in spite of the creepy, and one entirely because of the creepy.

I believe this is a sign of my excellent genes and superior parenting skills.

...

Well, okay. Maybe not. But still, I love a good story that doesn't back away from real peril and horror just because it's for kids (and, to be honest, it is entirely possible that Coraline is scarier to adults than to children). That is exactly the reason so much children's entertainment is unforgivably stupid and bland. (The same is true of entertainment for grown-ups -- nearly all of it is either stupid or bland, and most of it is both. But that is another rant.)

Without spoilers, I will say that certain button-eyed ghosties annoyed me a lot. Not the fact of their existence, which I expected, but their voices and over-all visual presence. I think it may have been a case of not wanting to be too scary tipping the character design into the realm of, well, ridiculous. People chuckled at them. I'm uncertain whether they were supposed to be funny, but I don't think so.

Still, that was the one visual/auditory failing in what was overall a fantastically creepy and original story converted to a fantastically creepy and unusually honest film that I think children and adults can enjoy together. The 3D, which will not be available next weekend, was worth the extra cost of admission, if mostly for the enjoyable depth of field it gave to everything. The "stuff coming out of the screen at you" shots were minimal.

(Plus, there was a trailer for 9 at the beginning, which ,made my eleven-year-old deem it totally worth the price of admission.)