It Started with a Journal

I woke up this morning at 7:33. My bus leaves at 7:55. I scooped Talis off the bed -- he was barely waking himself -- and took him to the yard myself, as I didn't have time for his usual shenanigans. Then I did everything in record speed, considering it also takes me like 10 minutes to drive to the pick-up area. Somehow I made it, but let's just say, I've looked better. Also in the rush I forgot to turn on the Grow light for the seedlings, oops.

Last night I finished reading Jinx by Meg Cabot. It suffers from what a lot of Meg's later works suffer from, which is that it's based too much on a gimmick. It was entertaining enough, but the guy and gal were pretty much the same as all of her protagonists, stuff was glossed over, etc. It would actually have been a really interesting premise if it could have been fleshed out a bit, maybe made into a trilogy or something, rather than rushed through in one novel, but that just doesn't seem to be Meg's thing.

If you haven't been following along, all the stories and artwork for the dgficexchange have been posted! Lots of great stuff to enjoy, so if you haven't already, go check it out! You can nominate your favorites for awards here until May 31.

OMG Lady Gaga episode of Glee tonight. This is one of those rare occasions where I regret not having cable in my room. I just had to look up the time it airs. I don't even know what channel Fox is here, lol. I think my downstairs TV has extremely basic cable though, I might be able to watch it there, if I remember. Otherwise I'll just have to hope that Hulu gets it up quickly.

What's happening in North Korea is seriously scaring me. I'm normally a live and let live sort of person, but in this case I feel like exercising that sort of mentality would just be asking to be nuked in our sleep. Crazy, evil effing people are running that country. It'd make me super uneasy to live in South Korea right now...

The authors for the D/G ficathon have been revealed, so I can finally link you guys to my story (for those of you who weren't following along the ficathon): After All These Years, written for anja_foley, rated NC-17.

I want to thank applecede and inkpuddle for putting the ficathon together; it's always a massive undertaking to manage something like this, so major props to them. :-) You can check out all the stories here. Seriously, there were some great fics written.

I'm too lazy to make a separate post on this, so I'm just going to cut it for disinterested parties. It's been awhile since my last WoW update (or it feels like it anyway), and something HUGE has happened in the last couple of days. ( Well, huge to me, at least! )

Meeting corianderstem tonight at Rikki Rikki for her second try at sushi. Yum!

The next best thing to writing fic myself is making other people write it. That being said, go read this cuuuute D/G drabble that akscully did! I think it's the first D/G she's ever written (that I am aware of, anyway), but it's like she's been doing it for years!

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Comfort food: I'm much more likely to crave comfort food in the wintertime, because it's cold and depressing and if you live in the Pacific Northwest, very wet. All of these are from my childhood, though I wonder if that's the very nature of comfort food -- that it reminds you of being little and feeling safe? I dunno, but I can't think of any foods I started liking as an adult that fits the mold of comfort food. ( Mine are: )

What are yours??

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When did they put an inn in Westfall? New chars should have to travel back and forth from SWC, just like us old schoolers did. Wimps. In that case, they should really put a flight path in Eastvale.

Dear LJers,

I am such a pig. Yesterday our admin sent out an email, saying that she would be ordering Jersey Mike's subs for everyone who was coming into the office today. I asked for a footlong, because 6 inches is never quite enough (*snicker*). But JM's 'footlong' is more like 2 feet long, and I've eaten half of it, and now I feel all nauseated. Oh, there were also barbecue chips involved. Urrrgh. But at least Talis can eat the rest of the roast beef.

Also, I fully aware that I'm usually a terrible procrastinator, but this year has been one of the worst. As of today, four days before Christmas, I have gifts for exactly five people (one is my cousin, who told me what he wanted; one is my mom, who bought herself something and told me to pay her back for it). I have not written one single Christmas card. Of the people I still need to buy gifts for, I have zero idea what to get them. And I can barely fathom that I will have to pack, put my dog into a carrier, and get him and me on a plane in three days. I feel like I live in some weird dimension where time speeds by me while I'm wandering around idiotically (like some hunter has just used scattershot on me). All right, that's not that different from a normal day, but really, the month of December has been completely insane.

And yet I'm stuck sitting here at work, wondering why the hell any of us are still here, eating coconut Slices that lissannej sent me. (OMG TEH YUM.) And let's face it, if I weren't here, I would be at home playing WoW, not doing anything actually productive.

The only things that have made me feel remotely Christmasy this year is a) the Narnia movie; and b) starlettegurly's drawing of Draco and Ginny in the snow.

Bah humbug.

Love,
Your friendly neighborhood Grinch

Edit: OMG, I saw another SWERVE van today. It looked like an ambulance, and on it, it said something like "roadside assistance" or something. It is *so* hysterically funny. They even have a Web site: http://www.goswerve.com/!! Their motto is, "Changing the way people drive." =)) I want to meet the founder of that company.

Greetings, LJ chums! I have so much to do, re: work and moving and what not, so as is my typical response to pressure, I shall procrastinate. Wheeee!

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In moving news...

Still have not packed a single, solitary item. I have had a few false starts, but usually after surveying everything I just give up, hopeless that the task can be accomplished. jade_okelani and ropo are arriving tonight, and before they do I still have to make up the beds and basically shove everything to one part of one room so that we can actually move around. And I have to do the dishes. And throw out the trash. And ... well, everything I should have done, like a week ago. *headdesk*

I'm going to do as gianfared suggested and ask for egg boxes from the grocery store(s). Also, corianderstem is kindly nicking boxes from her workplace for me, so hopefully I should be good there. I just can't wait till this is all over.

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In D/G news...

I've started on my dgficexchange story, but I'm not even sure this is the plotline I actually want to use. I have three different stories I could write, and I'm just not sure which one to go with. :-S Also, I can't wait to be moved so that I don't have that distracting me while I'm trying to finish the story.

Also ... the D/G Classics polls are now up! Thanks to mynuet for putting the work into creating them. Everyone should go vote, because it's fun to fill out polls, and because the more votes, the more 'accurate' the sampling, I think. If this is the first time you've heard of this, there's some background here. (I kind of wasn't paying attention during the nom period, so thank you to everyone who nommed me -- or Jade!)

You do not have to vote for my stories. You should vote for the stories you think are best, period. No one will know who/what you voted for, because those results are hidden to everyone but the poller. Also, if you don't vote, you don't get to complain about the stories that make it to the final list. :-)

Long stories: http://www.livejournal.com/users/mynuet/296779.html

Short stories: http://www.livejournal.com/users/mynuet/297032.html

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In WoW news...

( Cut because there are only a select few interested in WoW news. )

I am rushing off to a doctor's appointment, but wanted to get this posted. In my haste, I might have been a little more lax than usual with my editing. Again, no beta, so feel free to point out anything you see amiss.

If you missed the first part, it's here.

( Still-as-yet-untitled D/G fic, the whole story woohoo! )

Bye!

I've been fighting off massive writer's block lately, and wanted to write something fun and fluffy to get the creative juices flowing again. This was the result. It's reallllly fluffy, if you're in the mood for that sort of thing. If you're not, FLEE. Flee to the hills.

( 'Why I'm Glad Ginny Is Dating Draco Malfoy' | Draco/Ginny | Ron POV | PG-13 | 5,500 words )

*HUGS to everyone on my friends list* It sounds like you need it. Some more than others.

This morning, I drove into the Darkest Cloud Ever [tm], which has apparently moved from the California-Nevada border. But it's okay, because it was 43 degrees when I got into my car, as opposed to the 27 degrees it was yesterday. Yay for cloud cover!

At the moment, I am doing something v. exciting and momentous.

( You know you want to know. )

If, like me, you enjoy the Green Day: They will be on Last Call with Carson Daly tonight (1:30am PST), where they will play the 9-min. "Jesus of Suburbia."

OMG Alias is on tonight, isn't it?! Crap, I have plans to have dinner/go see The Aviator and I didn't set a timer!! That means I have to drive all the way back home to set it, which is in the opposite direction of where I want to go. ARGH. I could always get Jade to send it to me, I suppose, but I don't want to wait that long. And you don't really want to wait that long for my commentary, do you? *snicker*

Also, will likely see Elektra and In Good Company this weekend, both of which look like guilty pleasure fun. :D

When I got back from vacation, I found out that while I was gone I received another MVP award at work! Crazy. And it turns out there is a bonus for getting it, other than just kudos and the chance to put it on your review, only I didn't know about it until Monday because they put it in my physical mailbox at work ... and on average I check that about once every three months. <g> The reward is gift certificates to the mall, which is nice, except I'd prefer cash. The two awards together would have paid for my Kate Spade splurge in Vegas, thus easing my conscience, but now I am being forced to splurge some more. Oh, it's just not right. These are not the lessons I should be learning.

I'm pretty smug right now because UCLA and UW sit atop the PAC-10 (mhoops). (Though I can't believe the Bruins beat the Huskies and the Huskies only dropped two spots while the Bruins remain unranked! :-l) Another reason I want to live in LA again: The PAC-10 tournament March 10-12 is at the Staples Center this year. And tix for the whole shebang is only $100! *weeps bitter tears*

Oh yeah. You might have already seen pimping about this, so if you've already done your fandomly duty and voted, ignore this reminder. The Portkey Readers Choice Awards are going on right now, and many wonderful stories by authors you like are nominated. I would never presume to tell you to vote for one ship pairing (D/G) over another (D/G), so go forth and (D/G) do what you must, as best (D/G) befits your conscience (D/G). The important thing (D/G) is that you make your voice be heard. <3

Also, I want to give a shout out to the nice, loud Ukranian man at the shoe repair shop who fixed the broken zipper on my favorite pair of boots for free. Thank you, Nice Loud Ukranian Man!!!

Edit: You know you're too involved with fandom when you read this headline: Power Plants Agree to Slash Coal Emissions and think, OMG, Power Plant/Coal Emissions slash? How would that work?

I love being on vacation!

I really dread the day when I have to go back and resume normal life. I love not having to go to work every day. I love that my biggest decision from day to day is what meals I'm going to have. I love being with my friends and family. And I love being where it was 75 degrees on Christmas day. :D

As we said we would, Jade and I have been cooking up a storm for the_feast! We've been really busy trying all these new recipes and having so much D/G to read. Man, to have such problems, huh? <g> The stories have been really great so far ... I'm so glad I have help with the judging. We'll start posting all the stories and recipes the week of Jan. 19, so if you want to read them, make sure you're watching the_feast.

The other night, Jade, Ropo, and I went to get manicures at midnight. That's right, MIDNIGHT. It was crazy. It was so busy we were there until 3am!! :O Who ever heard of such a thing. I branched out and decided to get "Fuzzy Navel" as a color, i.e., bright orange. Sadly, it's more of a spring color, but it's still quite cute.

We were in Vegas for a few days, which was fun. I lost most of my money at the craps table (I was up v. little the first night, standing next to this hottie who called me 'honey' heehee, but then lost the next morning when this total boob who couldn't throw dice for crap had the roll). It was going to be a 'successful' trip to Vegas as I hadn't lost that much, but the trouble came when Jade and I went to the Caesar's Palace Forum Shops. They've remodeled it so that it's now this three-story mall, and I saw a girl carrying a bag from a Juicy store. So of course I had to go check it out, only on the way to Juicy, we ran into -- THE KATE SPADE STORE. Augh. Juicy ended up being kind of a disappointment, although I very nearly got a dress there. But Kate Spade completely sucked me in. Although I really, really hadn't intended to purchase anything, I ended up getting a bag. :"> Damn me and my lack of willpower. But it was soooo cute, and the salespeople were soooo nice! A lethal combination. It's a "geneva small travis," which you can read all about here. :D:D:D

Jade and Robbie got me all sorts of Slytherin and Fire & Ice-themed things for Christmas this year. They roxors! :D But I think the best gift of all, however, might be the 1996 UCLA-USC football game that Jade got somehow. It makes me soooo happy, because all of those games from the late 90s are so difficult to find.

And now, here are some pictures of things:

* Super-cute comic that Jade turned into D/G :D
* The Kate Spade bag I got - The color pictured is "pink," while mine is one called "regal," more of a wine/magenta hue. My bag looks much better, even if I do say so myself. <g>
* The Time-Turner won at Toujours Pur - We had SUCH issues with getting this darling little item delivered, but Steph moved mountains to get it done, for which I am very appreciative.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is coming out on Jan. 4. So. excited. about that.

I hope all of your New Years were wonderful, and may 2005 bring lots of health and happiness to you all!!

Today is Dec. 16, which means there are exactly 10 days left in which to finish your entry for the_feast. And you're all participating, right? RIGHT? I really, really hope so! :D

You know, I have a pretty good track record with making premise suggestions and having fabulous fics come from them. I told jade_okelani I wanted to see Ginny being Draco's slave, and she wrote Our Winter. I told mynuet I wanted to see Draco as a cabana boy, and she turned it into the Cabana Boy series. And my streak continues! This time it's sunshinefanfics, with Smoking in the Head Boy's Room, which you can read here or here. It's my reward fic for having won her birthday fic contest. I asked to see a scenario where Ginny likes a boy who wants an experienced girl, so Ginny has to go to our favorite boy-toy for some lessons. :D I am so lucky to be surrounded by such fabulously talented people, who can turn silly, guilty-pleasure suggestions into awesome stories. *huggles you all*

This week was supposed to be a light week. I was really happy to see that my schedule looked clear in the time before I was going to take a 3-week vacation, so that I could just go off without any fuss. But of course things have been completely turned on their head and I'm the busiest that I've been in over a month. :p Now I'm wondering if I will be able to get done all the things I need to get done before I'm supposed to leave, and as is my nature, I'm stressing. So yeah, I probably won't be able to post the last part of Portkey Party until sometime next week, when I'm in California. As long as it's not the thing I forget. (Every trip, I forget one crucial item. In the past I have forgotten: a) contact solution, b) underwear, c) hairbrush.) In which case, it will take a wee bit longer.