It Started with a Journal

air conditioning woes

2017-08-11T23:32:25Z

Well, I have had my air conditioning repaired... again. Yes, this is the second time in three days. Sigh. Since moving to Washington nearly two decades ago, I've never lived in a place that had air conditioning. It's typically just fine in the Pacific Northwest, with only a few days in the summer that get so hot it's nigh unbearable. Even last year, I never felt like it was hot enough to warrant turning on the a/c. That changed over the last couple of weeks, when it's been really hot here. I decided, okay, it's time to turn it on!

( The story of the a/c. )

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Sorry this is so long. At some point I gave up trying to keep it short.

2012-07-16T17:51:16Z

Avengers fandom things.

* If you're into Clint/Natasha, or might be into Clint/Natasha but aren't sure, or have already been or have been wanting to get into fandom, there's a promptathon going on at the C/N comm here. Meet some people, leave some prompts (which you can do this whole week). Or if you're a hermit like me, don't meet people and just leave prompts. :)) Seriously, the more prompts, the better. If you aren't sure about the ship and want to read a certain kind of story to see if you can get into it, leave a prompt. If you love the ship and want to see some GP thing, leave a prompt. Prompt filling starts at the end of this week, and it's a very casual thing. All prompts are open to any kind of fanwork, and can be used by more than one artist.

* Avengers Assemble #5. The Natasha/Bucky shippers went apeshit on Tumblr because of this and this. I made a comment that I hoped the comic would continue to go in that direction, and I got a couple of eye-roll inducing PMs from Natasha/Bucky shippers/trolls that made me temporarily turn off anonymous mail. They both said something along the lines of, "It's not going to happen, this was an OOC moment. Natasha is dating Bucky and Clint is with Jessica." Oh yes, because in fiction and in real life, there's no such thing as breaking up. Especially in comics. They're all super faithful and never get it on with other people and are involved in permanent unions. Seriously? We haven't gotten to a place yet where we can just let other people ship what they want to ship, even if we might disagree with or hate it? Is it just because Tumblr's full of teenagers? I guess I'm just too old and have been involved in fandom in general for too long (~13 years). Flame wars are stupid and pointless. Ship what you fucking want to ship and let others do the same, jesus.

* I have written two whole stories! They both need editing like crazy, then beta after that, but it is exciting just to have finished a story (much less two). Regular writing is a skill that's evaded me for so long that I thought I'd never get it back. But thanks to a little "program" Jade's helping me with, I seem to be back in the rhythm of writing. It's a good feeling, even if what I produce is crap. I'm slowly getting over the stress and pressure of feeling like I have to produce something better than anything I've written before. I need to get back in the mindset of writing for me, writing things I want to read, and to hell with everyone else. Well, you know, not really, I love everyone else. But you know what I mean.

* Ohmygod, I just love RDJ. He showed up at Comic Con to judge a kids' Iron Man costume contest. My favorite bits:

:)))))))))))))

* Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. I am... cautiously extremely excited about this. :D ( I kind of went on about this longer than I intended. )

In non-Avengers news:

* In the past few days I have baked three loaves of bread using Cooks Illustrated's Almost No-Knead Bread recipe, and it's been a rousing success. I may never make bread any other way again.

* I've started watching Leverage. Shhh don't tell Jade. Unless she happens to see this. :)) I'm planning on telling her once I've finished S1. My problem with the show is that it's too caper-y. I don't like capers -- or at least, not enough to watch hours and hours of it (one movie, like Ocean's 11, is about my limit). All the resolutions are so convenient that the plots don't hold my interest, because none of it really seems to matter much. It'll all get fixed in the end in some easy way. Plus I'm not a Timothy Hutton fan. I do like Christian Kane (though he's so much puffier than his days on Angel, and I'm not into his long hair), and I like Eliot & Hardison, but I don't know if I like them enough to watch the show just for them (they're no Troy & Abed). I like Sophie okay, but she's Nate's love interest, and I'm meh about Parker as a character. Of course, these are all thoughts from the first half of S1 so I could change my tune.

* I'm going to start watching Psych because T. is totally into it and I want to see what the fuss is about.

* I finally finished all of House. Boy were those final three seasons torturous. ( Possibly spoilery comments. )

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I should be in bed

2011-03-30T06:10:58Z

They obviously wrote Fringe 2x18 for adelagia. And now I am FINALLY CAUGHT UP!! Wheeeeeee! Time for my overall Fringe thoughts! ( Spoilers ahoy! )

BTW T., the Fringe season finale is May 6. >< So I will be in Chicago and cannot go to a Fringe finale party. Waaaahhhh. :'( In SO MANY WAYS the random dates ropo and I chose have ended up being inconvenient. But we didn't know!! >< It's also Mother's Day weekend when we'll be there. /sigh

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K. has gotten us tickets to see Billy Elliot during its last week at the Paramount Theater! Wheeeee! We're going tomorrow night!!

It was a total last-minute thing. She found someone on Craigslist selling them at a really good price. Apparently this person's daughter had won the tickets but they're in Canada so can't go, but they can switch the ticket names at Will Call. There is a chance that this is a scam, but they sent a bunch of stuff as proof (including her and her daughter's Facebook pages, the Paramount Facebook contest page where her daughter won the tickets, etc.), and it seems legit. Both me and K. had pinged them about the tickets, so if it'd been a scam she could have told me that they were mine, then had me pay as well. So I think it's all on the up and up, as long as nothing goes awry at Will Call.

This goes a long way to make up for the Indian dinner I'm missing out on. :D

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My mom is visiting at the end of April, right before my Chicago trip. She usually comes with my aunt, K.'s mom, and stays longer than my aunt can. Typically this means they arrive at the same time, then my mom stays while my aunt heads back. During this time she usually spends a weekend with me. This time, however, the extension is going to be at the beginning of the trip (she's arriving first), so she'll be with me first before going to K.'s to help with the kids. This is how our recent conversation about it went:

Mom: I want to come over and clean your house.
Me: You might not have a lot to do, actually! I cleaned!
Mom: What? Why? What happened??

People, this is how bad a housekeeper I am. My mom's total bafflement that any cleaning should have happened without her present.

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Describe dollop-head.

2010-10-17T19:45:56Z

I'm finally caught up on S3 of Merlin! From now on I think I'll be watching episodes in 'real time,' since this time I really only had to wait a couple of weeks to get to 6 episodes, having started the show not too long ago. Plus 3x07 looks like a total squee-fest for those with my inclinations. :D

( Spoilers (aka, go ahead akscully, spam me with gifs). )

I've also been watching The Vampire Diaries, which is definitely way more tolerable than Twilight, but uses some of the typical human girl-vampire guy stereotypes I am totally sick of. However, the show is worth putting up with for Ian Somerhalder alone. :D

( Spoilers through 1x11. )

My faucet broke the other night. I have one of those ones that can pull out, which is super convenient for many reasons. Anyway, the faucet head broke off from the hose, with the plastic part of the head that screws into the hose still in it. So basically, I'd have to replace both the faucet head AND the hose, unless I could get that broken part out. Which would have been fine (I was able to get both parts at Lowe's for about $80), except that the part of the hose that connects to the water line was in a really inconvenient place, and I also didn't have the strength to unscrew it.

My only real hope, if I wanted to get it done myself, was to get the plastic thingy out so I could screw in the new faucet head. I tried and tried for like an hour to get it out with a flathead screwdriver, a hammer, etc. I tried to get it to unscrew and break it out, but it was stuck in there. Totally frustrated, I went and watched some VD and took a nap.

When I woke up, I got some matches, lit a candle, and held the end of the hose to it for several minutes. It took awhile, but eventually the rubber softened enough that I was able to pry it out with the screwdriver. I screwed on the new faucet head and viola! It's not a perfect fit but it was the only one Lowe's had. Also my kitchen smelled like burned rubber for hours. Still, yay for DIY home repair for $40. More than the money though, I REALLY did not want to have to do without a kitchen sink for any significant length of time.

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tomato soup, free refinancing on my house, locking my keys in the car

2010-10-01T19:23:01Z

I made a super awesome tomato bisque last night. It's kind of a lot of work for a simple tomato soup, but that's just because I think a tomato soup should be really fast and easy. Making your own though is so, so, so much better than anything you can get premade at the store. Plus! I got to try out my new immersion blender.

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I have some very good news. It's about my mortgage. I know, you're riveted now.

My mortgage is through Chase. I'm sure, like any company, people have had good and bad experiences with them. For my own part, I've never had any problems. I hesitate to say that means it's been positive; it's not like I've gone around ecstatic that they're my mortgage company or anything.

However, I am now cautiously optimistic that sometime in the next two weeks, I will be able to say that I've had a really positive experience with the company.

Last week, I got what's known in some circles as "the magic Fedex letter" from them about their "mortgage rate reduction program." From what I can tell of what I've read by others who have gotten the letter/offer as well, it's a targeted program, sent to a select group of mortgagees who've always paid their bill on time, still have equity in their home, the home's their primary residence, etc. etc.

Essentially, the letter is FedEx'ed next business day, and you have like 4 days to respond to it. The offer is for Chase to lower your existing mortgage rate (mine was 5.875% for 30-year fixed) to a more current rate (for me, it was 4.625% for 30-year fixed) with zero closing costs. Basically, they're just going to lower your interest rate for nothing.

It sounds too good to be true, right? I was certain it was a scam. So I did my online research and nope, it's totally legit. Nothing official from Chase on why they would do such a thing, though there are forums speculating (generally accepted thinking is that Chase wants to prevent their best customers from possibly refinancing with someone else, so they can keep those customers and look good to investors).

There's no appraisal or anything. Once you talk to someone on the phone to accept the offer, they send you a good-faith estimate. If you want to proceed (and there are very few reasons not to, if any), you send them two documents: a signed authorization for disclosure and a copy of your homeowner's insurance policy to prove you have it. That's it. They then contact you to set up a closing date when you sign all the papers (that's where I am now, I sent my two docs yesterday and am now waiting for someone to call me to set up the closing date). On average they are closing people within 2 weeks.

This might be the first time I have ever gotten anything good come of being a good citizen (or schmuck, depending on how you look at it) and paying my bills on time. Usually you get exactly nothing for that. You get breaks if you're a problem child who can't pay your bills (usually due to living outside your means, but also other, better reasons), so they'll work with you to lower the amount of what you actually owe, which is a really fucked up system, but whatever. Or, you know, you'll get more by switching to a new phone company or whatever, instead of being a loyal customer. Which, again, fucked up. But finally, Chase is giving a reward for good behavior. What a concept! (And yes, of course they get something out of it, too. But that's true of everything.)

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Now in not-so-great news: I locked my keys in my car yesterday. Specifically, they were left in the ignition of the Pontiac. I didn't even realize until hours later, when I was going to take Talis to the park and was hunting high and low for my keys.

My only excuse is that it's nearly impossible for me to get locked out of my Lexus, which I've been driving some form of for the last 3 years, so there are certain habits I've developed. Like, I never, ever have to take my keys out of my purse to drive/lock/unlock my car. So I've lost the habit of pulling keys out of ignitions and putting them in my purse or realizing when they're not with me. Now that I have the Pontiac, I've had to relearn that automatic reflex, but obviously it's still not second nature to me.

The good news is that because of the Pontiac, I do have roadside assistance (I might've mentioned this -- trialing Allstate Motor Club for 2 months for $1.99/month). Of course, I was imagining that I would use this for towing, not locking my keys in the car, but whatevs, still possibly the best $2 I've ever spent.

It took 40 minutes or less from the time I called Allstate to when I had my keys back. They sent someone who came to my house (luckily the car was just parked outside and I hadn't locked myself out at, say, the Mukilteo Lighthouse) within like 15 minutes. That was pretty awesome. It wasn't awesome for poor Talis, however, who didn't get to go to the park after all because it was starting to get dark when I was hunting for my keys, and by the time it was all over it was actually dark.

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TV. Yeah, that pretty much says it all.

2010-09-20T04:46:17Z

There are three reasons I haven't been watching The Vampire Diaries:

1) I rarely watch ANY television during its original airing. I usually watch TV on DVD, so I'm almost always a season or two behind. Shows I love like Mad Men, House, Lost, Arrested Development, Gilmore Girls, Prison Break, Rome, How I Met Your Mother, etc., I watch/watched on DVD. There are a few rare shows that I try to keep up with in real time, like Glee and S4 of Dexter, but that requires watching on Hulu or downloading a torrent, which I am too lazy to do for most shows. It sucks because this means I am more sensitive to spoilers (an entire season could be spoiled), but it's also nice because I can skip commercials AND watch episode after episode of one show and watch events unfold in a less disjointed way.

2) I hate Twilight and am resistant to anything that appears to try and win audiences over because it's trying to take advantage of the 'hot new thing.' I am skeptical there could be quality there for that reason, particularly because the 'hot new thing' it's trying to take advantage of is so low quality to begin with that it's obviously not aiming toward discerning audiences.

3) I LOVED the L.J. Smith book series. I read them as a teenage girl, before Buffy came along and made vampires cool, and it was one of my favorite series. So I was even more resistant to the show based on my skepticism that they would be able to do it well (given point #2) and my fear that they'd ruin something I had really loved. (And my fear that the series itself wouldn't stand up to the test of time.)

However, I've read and seen enough about the show at this point that I think I'm ready to give it a shot. I'm #8 in my library queue for the first season, but I think it's going to take awhile as there's only 1 copy available. Still, I thought it was going to be a show that I'd never watch, so the fact that I will do so eventually is a big step!

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I'm also going to start watching The Shield. I don't actually know anyone who watches this show, but I've heard/read enough critical acclaim about it that I'd like to see it. I've gotten the complete series on DVD; it's kind of cool-looking, actually. It's like a big hardcover book, with little inserts for the discs.

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My BSG Blu-Rays have come! I don't know now whether to start rewatching those or starting The Shield.

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I'm on S7 of XF. It wasn't a bad season but I DREAD what's coming. Why did they attempt to do XF w/o DD?! Greedy fuckers. I mean, XF just isn't XF w/o Mulder and Scully. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT.

The Samantha resolution though, wtf? (The end of Closure is beautiful, however.)

Mulder constantly breaks my heart.

I'm interested in rereading my favorite fanfics from way back when, but I suspect a lot of them won't be available anymore. A lot of people took down their stories after they finally realized that having their real names associated with fanfic might not be such a good idea. I've already gone back to reread a couple, and those unfortunately did not pass the test of time.

I want to go back and rewatch S6. Again. Other than Agua Mala and Trevor it was pretty a much a perfect season, imho. Freaking Agua Mala, I spit on it.

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I still haven't seen Lost S6. Or the latest season of House. Or of course Mad Men S4. OMG so much to catch up on! I have tons of vacation, maybe I should take some time off and just watch TV the whole time. Hey, that'd be a pretty darn relaxing vacation.

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I also want to rewatch Buffy again. Also Firefly, which I also just got on Blu-Ray. Maybe I'll do a Whedon binge after I've watched everything else mentioned here.

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yar

2010-08-18T20:33:10Z

I love Paperback Swap!! I've just requested a few Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys super mysteries that did not come with the set I bought off ebay, including the one akscully claims to be the best of all (and others seem to agree, since it's one of those rare paperbacks that has not only maintained its cover price but actually has gone up in value). Woot! Haha, I don't even know if I will like the books but I love finding stuff this way.

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I drove the Pontiac to the park & ride today! And it didn't break down! You might remember that I'd been TRYING to do this very thing the first time I ever used the car and that's when it went caput. So I've finally been able to use it successfully for the purpose for which it was intended.

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Looks like summer is about to draw to a close around here. I'm going to harvest some basil before too much cold weather kills them and make some pesto to freeze. I've heard that the best way to do this is to make it with everything but the cheese, then freeze in ice cube trays. But then I'm like, if that's true, shouldn't it also be made without the olive oil? Because if it's okay to freeze one kind of fat, why not the other?

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I found a Julia Quinn novel at the library yesterday that I hadn't heard of before (maybe because I lost interest in JQ's books awhile back, though I do think fondly of the Bridgerton series): The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. I read it in one night, which I love about these kinds of novels. It was... okay. The premise was about a girl who falls in love with her best friend's older brother as a little girl, then she grows up and they get to know each other/strike up a romance as adults. On some level I always enjoy novels with this sort of premise (don't know why; I never had a best friend whose older brother I crushed on). Anyway, it was very enjoyable in parts, but overall was just a typical sort of romance with the usual plot twists and a few clunky/forced scenarios. Still, if you're looking for a mind candy read, I'd rec it.

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When D. came over to help me with the Pontiac mess, he was like, OMG you need to clean your gutters! So now I am going to get an estimate for that, as well as for cleaning off the moss on the roof. Plus I need to hire a new gardener (whole separate story on that). And hire an arborist to trim the trees whose branches are getting way too close to the house. One of the things I miss about condo/apartment living is not having to worry about this kind of stuff.

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TV Show Meme, Day 22 - Favorite series finale: Sex and the City

It was perfect, totally perfect. So good, in fact, that the movies are almost unwanted. It's sort of like coming up with the perfect ending and then tacking on more, drawing it out in an unnecessary way. Every single storyline had a satisfying conclusion that was done well. Every series finale should strive to be like S&tC's.

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bogus bagel news

2010-04-22T19:22:56Z

I have received terrible news. Noah's Bagels is discontinuing their sun-dried tomato bagel.

We have this tradition in the office. Every Friday, we get a spread of Noah's bagels with various schmears. My absolute favorite one was the SDT bagel with SDT schmear. So good. Another coworker also loves the same combination -- we have bonded over this a number of times -- and we were both very put out when a few weeks ago, we stopped getting SDTBs. I thought maybe it was a temporary thing, but we have had no SDTBs for 3 weeks! I thought maybe our admin didn't realize that it was a beloved bagel, so today I sent her a fun little email requesting the return of the SDTBs. She was amused and called Noah's to put it back on our lineup... and that when they gave her the bad news. No more SDTBs. Ever.

WHY NOAH'S WHY?!?!

I've tried using their contact form to express my sadness, but it keeps erroring out. Obviously, they have been so inundated with SDT bagel lovers expressing their outrage that we've broken the system. There's even a Facebook group dedicated to petitioning Noah's for the return of the SDT bagel. If you also love the SDT bagel, join the group and/or write to Noah's!

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I have this little garden bed right next to the garage that is growing nothing but weeds at the moment. I thought about planting tomatoes or blueberries or something there, but I've decided to make it a little perennial herb patch. Herbs are more low key than fruit, so I wouldn't have to worry that it might be too tempting for my neighbors to resist taking them, and it will be nice to have fresh herbs around all year. I've settled on rosemary, thyme, sage, and marjoram. I considered mint, but apparently it's really aggressive and as it's not something I use that often, I don't want to have to use a lot of effort to keep it under control. Maybe I will pot some. It's back to Flower World this weekend!

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I live in an unincorporated area. I received a postcard saying that they are considering annexing our area to the City proper. Not sure how I feel about it.

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I'm being bombarded by dogs.

2010-03-23T01:32:24Z

Okay, I've been a member of doggie_pix for many months now, and there have been maybe 5 posts total. Suddenly today there are like, dozens! Post after post of doggie pics! I'm glad the community is more active, but does everyone have to post all at once? I'm going to have to stop watching it if this continues.

The pest control guy has come and gone. ( If you really want to know about my pest problems. )

Also, the fic-writing situation is becoming dire. I've made a deal with myself; for every sentence I write of this journal entry, I have to write a sentence of fic.

Had a very good weekend. First was Saturday, which I've already written about. Next was Sunday, with the D/G gals! Yay! What a lovely bunch of ladies: adelagia, elle_blessing, lyndsiefenele, and slitherhither. <3 Y'all are fab. I hope you know that. Can't wait to get together again.

I woke up early, so made my way to Kirkland with the intention of checking out some of the consignment shops there before lunch. ( Boring shopping talk. )

Then was lunch w/ the D/G gals, and we managed to make it through almost the entire meal without mentioning fandom, but then of course we HAD to go there. I mean, it's what we have in common! It's why we were meeting up in the first place! I'm sure it sounded like total gibberish to anyone who might have overheard us, and that's perfectly okay. There was a tense moment when Draco/Hermione was mentioned and I wondered if there was going to be bloodshed, but we managed to make it through with all limbs intact.

It was such a nice day that when I went home, I actually did some gardening. I know, I'm as shocked as you are. Earlier that morning (I told you I got up early) I'd gone to buy some seed packets and soil. (I really don't understand all the different varieties of soil there are, or how to use them properly, but I hope that dirt is basically dirt and if I use potting soil outdoors it won't totally ruin everything. I mean, nature has somehow managed to propagate itself all these many years without the help of mankind, so surely if I don't use fertilizer correctly it won't backfire on me too much?) I 'planted' some of the seeds (depending on what it said on the back of the seed packet), including: zucchini, carrots, beets, chives, Swiss chard, and watermelon -- just for fun! Then, again due to packet instructions, I started some little indoor ones, such as 3 kinds of tomatoes, basil, rosemary, and cauliflower. I really, really want the tomatoes to do well. That's the only plant I really care about. The other ones will be fun to see if they do well, but if they don't, I won't be too sad about it. But man, I really want dozens and dozens of tomatoes. Also it'd be great if one or two of the basil plants did well. But that's all I'm really hoping for. The watermelon, especially, is totally pie in the sky. It will be interesting to see if anything comes of that.

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Somehow I am dry despite all the rain.

2009-10-19T23:35:22Z

I am almost done with House S5. ( Random, spoilery comments. )

It's been a week, and so far there's been no significant, visible change to the garden. I know, it's only been a week. I'm just impatient! It's been raining a lot, which I don't think is actually a good thing ... it might be overwatered, some of the leaves are turning yellow, which I think I read somewhere means overwatering. Still, the plants are all still alive, which given my brown thumb, is a positive thing in itself. Also, I think the beet leaves look less pathetic than they did when I first planted them, so that's good too.

Speaking of beets, my cousin and I went to the 3-for-$30 at Anchovies & Olives last week, and ended up not doing the special at all but ordering off their regular menu, because the prices weren't that high and the items off the regular menu sounded more appetizing. Anyway, we got this beet salad with pistachios and anchovy dressing that was sooooooooo yum. We also got a fried baby hake with salsa verde, raw geoduck with avocado cream, and a seafood pasta dish. We both agreed that the beet salad was the best thing.

I'm about halfway through A Feast for Crows... ( Spoilers. )

How much does my new Back to the Future mood theme rock, lol? I LOVE the tired icon, haha.

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Have you ever eaten a burger cooked in an airstream trailer? I have!

2009-09-13T05:30:52Z

Today I went to the Seattle Tilth Festival. Because it was an usually warm September day, people came out in droves. My cousin said that it was usually a pretty empty festival, but today it was packed. You could tell the vendors were totally unprepared for the crowds because everyone kept running out of everything super early.

I didn't do anything but walk around in the sun, but it was exhausting. I'm glad summer's not over, but it doesn't need to be in the 80s. Mid-to-upper 70s will do. I also ate a huge hamburger. In reality it probably wasn't that huge, but I had already eaten other things by then and I couldn't finish. It's too bad, too, because it was a great burger. I got it from Skillet, which is a traveling restaurant. It's an airstream trailer that travels around and you have to go to their site to see where they're going to be next. They're famous for their burgers (using seasonal/locally sourced ingredients) and their bacon jam (tasted like pulled pork to me). I took pictures: here is the airstream trailer w/ people waiting to place their order, and here was today's lunch menu, which is written on the side of the trailer.

I bought a big bag of Bartlett pears, a pint of sun gold tomatoes (they were SO juicy and sweet it was like eating candy. Almost), and most excitingly of all, German Butterball potatoes! Why is this exciting, I pretend you ask? Because those are supposedly the best kind of potatoes to make mashed potatoes from, according to the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. But I've never been able to find them, so I always end up using Yukon Gold (which are good too). Now I have to make those buttermilk mashed potatoes again with these potatoes, to see if there's actually a difference. :D

And now, time for a meme, gacked from jade_okelani.

Pick five of your favorite shows, in no particular order, before you read the below questions, then answer them!

My shows:

1. Alias
2. House
3. Lost
4. Angel
5. Sex and the City

They were almost all one-worders until I got to S&tC, but I couldn't bring myself to exclude it.

( Now we play 20 questions. )

Edit: And since I'm bored, here's another meme, gacked from ceilidh.

( All about my journal personalization. )

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