Will I ever learn?

One of our car windows was accidentally broken when we moved into our apartment. If you do the math, you'll realize that this was... 20 months ago. If that broken car window was a baby it'd be walking by now. Yes, it's still broken. Not gone, just in a million intact pieces with a layer or two of extremely weathered packing tape over it. Needless to say the car did not pass inspection when it was due for a tag at the end of November. So the plan has been to go car shopping and cleverly avoid paying $150 for a new window. $150 is extremely crazy to me, considering the window broken is that tiny triangular window in the backseat. But apparently that's the hardest window to fix so it's the most expensive. Of course it is. Anyway, sheer lazyness has kept us from looking for a new car over the last month. Now with only days before we go to Oklahoma I'm scrambling to try to find someone who will fix it for only $150. You see, our temporary tag expires December 27, but by that time I'll already be in Oklahoma. I'm sure there's a lesson in here about how I shouldn't put things off. I've had ample lessons like this in the past, but I doubt this one will stick either.

Shiver

We'll be heading to Oklahoma soon for the holidays. Right now everything there is coated with ice. A couple of years ago when we visited there were massive wildfires everywhere. Next year, I fully expect a plague of locusts.

Eventful

Wayne's birthday was a few weeks ago. To celebrate he bought himself some Red Stripe and, for me, a small bottle of tequilla. I'm not a fan of tequilla per se, but one time I drank it and we had a long interesting talk about monkey toupees (there were sketches involved) and since then he's decided that's my drink of choice. I don't actually drink much at all. I've never been a fan of the flavor, unless we're talking Malibu + Sprite or Buttery Nipples. In fact, the last drink I had was some fruity wine cooler thing back in July. I don't avoid alcohol because of the flavor (as I said the night of the monkey toupee - the first half of the bottle tastes terrible, but the second half is pretty good!) or because of any moral issues. I avoid it because it makes my face really hot. Sunburn hot. Not pleasant and, when drinking in public, a little embarassing.

Over time it occurred to me that I must be mildly allergic to alcohol, hence the face hotness. When I felt the urge to drink, though, it never really bothered me. A few drinks in and it would go away (or at least I would forget about it). Lately however, I've been having weird allergic reactions. Two different kinds of medicine and some random-as-yet-unknown-agent have made me break out in hives.

So on Friday, when I finally decided to have a shot or two of that tequilla, I jokingly told Wayne to call 911 if I happened to go into anaphylactic shock. I opened the bottle and took one swallow (yes, straight from the bottle cause that's just how I roll) and a minute or two later I started feeling the burn. My face felt super hot. HOT! I waited a few minutes to make sure my throat wasn't going to close up. When I happened to pass a mirror a couple minutes later...! It was crazy. My face wasn't just red - it looked like I'd smeared red lipstick all over my face. Even my ears and my neck were red. My face was puffy. I had huge splotchy hives all over my neck, back, side, ELBOWS. Strangely enough the area around my scar (from recent shoulder surgery) was red, too. I decided it would not be the best decision to keep drinking at that point. I took some benedryl instead (after only ONE gulp of alcohol, mind you). After an hour or so I was (mostly) back to normal and very sleepy.

You know what the worst part is? I was that person who never had a hang over. Now I'll never have a hang over, but for all the wrong reasons.

(And as an unrelated side note... Saturday night I broke the hell out of my tooth while eating some crab rangoon. It wasn't the food's fault, though. It was my tongue ring. I bit it. Chomped it, really. Those things are dangerous. Granted I'd had mine for almost 10 years before I did any damage, but still. I took it out and now it feels weird. Phantom barbell syndrome. Is that a thing? I wouldn't doubt it.)

Thinking, but not saying...

Get off the phone! If you blow us up I'm going to be royally pissed. And you! Turn off your damn car when you're pumping gas. No! Don't get back in! I know it's cold, but there's a little thing called static electricity that occurs when you slide your lazy ass across the seat. And you know those gasoline fumes you used to think smelled so good when you were a kid? Combine those with said static electricity and, well, things tend to blow up. For the love of god, why is everyone at this gas station trying to kill me?

(And later...)

Sometimes its not about you.

Reading

My mom-in-law loaned me a most awesome trilogy of novels called Queen of the Orcs (King's Property, Clan Daughter & Royal Destiny), by Morgan Howell. I'm just starting the third book, having devoured the first two earlier this week. It's been awhile since something grabbed me like these books have. The storyline is excellent and the characters are interesting, deep and dynamic. The author's use of language makes for a richly developed world.

After reading Holly Lisle's Create a Language Clinic I pondered how I might incorporate a made-up language into my writing. These books have shown me how it's done.

So, shashav, Morgan Howell. You rock.

Loose Ends

I thought I'd update some junk from previous posts...

• I am now sling-free. Still faithfully going to physical therapy - except for yesterday when I didn't go. But we don't need to talk about that.

• The cat that was living under my bathroom floor was actually a kitten perhaps five or six weeks old. He doesn't live there anymore. Wayne captured him and he (the kitten, not Wayne) now lives with a nice family who desperately wanted a new cat. He is overcoming his wild fearfulness and getting fat and spoiled. His name is Milky Way.

• I suck at doing NaNoWriMo. Suck. Diddly. Uck. I got like 800 words then promptly gave up. Well, I guess I didn't consciously give up, I just kept finding ten thousand other things to do instead like rescuing kittens, clipping coupons, reading The Orc Queen trilogy by Morgan Howell (which is awesome) and playing EverQuest II. Oh, and watching TV. And not writing. Maybe I'll start next week. (Ha.)

Madness (in a good way)

A few weeks ago I saw an episode of Unwrapped that featured something called The Grocery Game. It looked interesting so I checked out the website. I ended up subscribing to The List(s) for my area and have since been HOOKED on this website.

The idea is simple. Use in-store sales combined with coupons to save an obscene amount of money. The Powers that Be at the Grocery Game do all the foot work (and brain work) for you, you just clip your coupons on Sunday and faithfully shop with The List. (Believe in The List. Trust The List. The List is your friend.) And it works.

Sunday I invested an hour or so cutting coupons. Monday I went shopping at three stores.

Store 1
Total Value of items purchased: $76
Total Out of Pocket (OOP) Spent: $37
Total Savings: $39

Store 2
Value: $74
OOP: $41
Savings: $33

Store 3
Value: $98
OOP: $58
Savings: 40

The grand total is.......
Value: $248
OOP: $136
Savings: $112 or 45%

If you want to sign up, which I highly HIGHLY suggest you do (at least check out the $1/4 week trial) please put in my email address as a referral (atomicbunnie at yahoo dot com). Thanks.

In related news, check out this great project that uses the Grocery Game to show kids how to save money AND provide for families in need: The Great Big Box Project

I complain a lot

I came to the realization that humor is how I cope with pain. That and crying like a little girl occasionally. Yesterday I was fifteen minutes late to physical therapy because I got stuck behind every school bus in two counties on the way there. When I arrived my therapist skipped the heat and went right into the exercises. The fucking painful ones. I asked her if that was my punishment for being late. She said it was incentive for coming early. I don't see the logic. Next I moved to a ridiculous exercise where I was supposed to walk my fingers up the wall. I was still sniffling (shameful!) at this point and she asked if I needed a tissue and if I had allergies. I said, "Yes, I'm allergic to pain."

I remember Halloween

Halloween was a bust. A bust! I had a grand total of four trick-or-treaters. This was even after Wayne kindly changed the bulb on the porch (which hadn't worked in the year-and-a-half we've lived there). Then Wayne pointed out that we were the only ones on the street with the light on at all. WTF Dover?

So if anyone wants 26 baggies of candy, give me a call. I can hook you up.

Happy Punkin Day

Yes, I know it's been about eighty years since I've updated. No excuses, just acknowledgement. Not that I'm going to vow to update regularly from now on, but I'm updating now. What more do you want?? Geez.

Anyway, tomorrow NaNoWriMo begins! Exciting! I have most of my plot worked out (kinda, sorta) and I'm gung-ho to get started. I guess technically I could begin at midnight tonight, but I won't be doing that because I will be watching the Ghost Hunters LIVE! Halloween special on SciFi. I can't help it. I love that show.

In other news, my arm is still in a sling, physical therapy hurts and there's a cat living under my bathroom floor. Discuss.

Stupid phishing bastards

Stupid phishing bastards (mentioned above) cracked Holly Lisle's website and screwed up her affilliate program/shop. I still HIGHLY recommend her books on writing, even though I had to delete the links in my sidebar. I think (hope) she'll have things up and working again soon, so check with her often. You should be reading her blog anyway because she rocks.

Update: It looks like you can still get her books here. I guess it was just the affiliate portion of the show that was cancelled.

Dessert

After dinner, in the car, on the way to Coldstone.

Me: I guess I could just get ice cream and you could NOT get some because your stomache hurts.
W: And then I can sit there and watch you eat it in front of me?
Me (enthusiastically): Yeah!
W: Or... Why don't I get some, then you can eat my ice cream in front of me.
Me: Even better! Why didn't you get me THAT for my birthday?

The triumphant return

Well, the return anyway. After a summer of lolly-gagging and shenanigans, I find myself blogging it up yet again. It's not that I meant to take the summer off, it just worked out that way.

While I was away, I...

• Passed two classes
• Scheduled shoulder surgery
• Turned another year older (blarg)
• Got lost numerous times in the wilds of Delaware (I didn't think it was possible, but apparently it is. For me.)
• Procrastinated a lot
• Slept even more (We're talking until 5pm some days, people. That is just pathetic.)
• Discovered those Cinnamon Melt things from McDonalds
• Attempted to swear off those Cinnamon Melt things from McDonalds
• Enjoyed a visit from my family
• Walked on the beach (and in an attempt to stop a HUGE fly from biting my leg, kicked myself so hard in the shin I had a huge purple knot for days)
• Saw the Liberty Bell (...twice)

The Goods

The Art Star Craft Bazaar was awesome. It was like Etsy exploded and rained down its Etsy goodness all over Northern Liberties, which is a very cool neighborhood, by the by. Every other table I was saying, "Ooooh, I saw this on Etsy!" The only problems I had with the whole thing, other than the freaking HEAT, were the prices. But maybe that's my own fault for being so poor all the time. (I really must stop doing that.) I could have left with five or six (dozen) items, but my wallet just wouldn't let me. I did pick up a few things which I covet tremendously:


Best. Mousepad. Ever. I believe the artist is Susie Ghahremani from boygirlparty.com, but don't quote me on that.


Spiffy little pocket mirror from myfavoritemirror.com. Artist is Susie Ghahremani.



Purtyful wool is blue faced leicester (quite soft!) from woolarina.com.

I picked up a business card from in-hope.com, but I can't remember why, other than there was something I really liked but probably couldn't afford. Also, I don't know if you're anywhere near New Jersey, but if you are and you are into making things, you have to check out petersvalley.org! From what I hear it is like summer camp for adults. I so would like to take a class or three there. Who knew such a place existed around here? Certainly not I.

In other news, I finished spinning up the fiber I was working on. I even plyed all of it except for a tiny bit. I'm kind of stuck at that point. I'll have to consult the interweb to find out how to ply a single skein all by its lonesome. Anyway here it is, clutched in my claw-like grasp. It turned out pretty okay. I kinda like this spinning thing.

Spintastic

Last Wednesday I went to a spinning class with Nancy at a spiffy little shop in Chesapeake City, MD called Vulcan's Rest Fibers. It was also their weekly Knit Night, so I met lots of nice ladies who share my affinity to fiber and generally being crafty. I got to use a Louet S10 spinning wheel, which was fun. I did surprisingly well at it. I'd only ever used a wheel once before and that was months ago. Anyway, the point is, I didn't go there with the intention of bringing a wheel home with me. So, of course, that's exactly what I did. (Just a rental, but still... That lady who talked me into it knew what she was doing. I wannit!) Although I bought some fiber at Vulcan's Rest (duh), I haven't spun it yet. This is some wool Nancy gave me to try out. I think it's turning out pretty goodly. No clue what I'll do with it yet, though.

Wanna go!

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!



Edit: We're going! Yay!

Aerial Attack

Even Mother Nature hates President Bush.

Ouch

I finally got off my lazy ass to make an appointment with a physical therapist yesterday. I have my first appointment today after work and three times a week for the next month. You see, I have this shoulder issue that totally sucks of the ass. It's been going on for over a year. I have no idea what originally happened to it - I just woke up one day and thought I had pulled a muscle but it never got better. I had an MRI done a few weeks ago, (which by the way is a SUPER fun thing to do when you're just getting over bronchitis and you keep coughing every five seconds) and it appears I have inflammation in my rotator cuff, bursitis and tendonitis. At least the rotator cuff isn't torn so I don't have to have surgery yet (unless the physical therapy doesn't help, which I doubt it will because I already HAD a month of physical therapy last year). I can't raise my left arm higher than shoulder height without pain. I can't put my hair in a ponytail or fasten/unfasten my unmentionable lady garmets without pain, either. Apparently there's some bone up in there that has little pointy bits on it and when I move my arm in a certain way (or, really, at all) the muscles or tendons or something meaty and full of pain receptors gets pinched and it causes inflammation. And did I mention pain? Apparently the cure for this condition is letting strangers yank on my arm and contort it into all sorts of interesting positions until I want to cry or punch said stranger in the neck, or maybe both. FUN!

Ridonkulous

Hah. I'm dumb. See that heart? That heart I was so proud of? Upside down. Look at me! I can't read directions! Start from the bottom? Wha? Dur-dee-dur.

Crafty

I thought I'd post my most recent yarn-related project. This is (supposedly) going to be a cell phone case. The pattern is in this book. Which, I might add, is a great book for beginners such as myself. When I started I had no clue what a garter stitch was or how to do Fair Isle, which apparently I do now. Sweet. I still don't know how to bind off, but there's a section covering it in the book and I have my mom-in-law who is like the Yoda of knitting, so I will figure it out when the time comes. I've yet to actually finish a project, but I think this time will be different. (I didn't even giggle as I typed that!) I picked this one because it is short and sweet and I think my attention span can sustain it.

Edit: Isn't my ignorance charming? This technique isn't Fair Isle, it's Intarsia. Just so ya know.

Shifting Sands

Note: Another SS snippet, different POV. Like the last snippet I posted here, this is not the main POV and may not even be included in the final draft.

Debra sat in a daze beside her husband. Around her the shuttle jostled as it struggled to take off. Lights flickered behind translucent panels running along the wall that curved up over their heads. She clung to Steven’s hand and felt his nails digging into her skin, but she didn’t protest.

His hand was an anchor holding her inside her body. Without him, she thought she might dissipate. She could just let the static in her head take over, push her out. The static muffled everything, glazed her eyes and filled her ears.

She’d seen hundreds, maybe thousands of people die. The Krill had made sure of that. But never had it been by her own hand. Never on purpose. Already she was haunted by her decision, but she’d seen no alternative.

Slowly, she became aware of Steven’s voice. He was saying her name, shaking her arm. Then a burst of white light filled the cabin, bringing with it confusion and pain. She passed out.

When Debra woke there was more pain. Her eyelids felt heavy and it took all of her effort just to open them. She found she was on her side, still strapped into her seat. Large leafy plants surrounded her and she realized she was no longer in the shuttle. She didn’t see Steven or anyone else in her immediate field of vision. She needed to unstrap herself from the seat and find him. She tried to move her left arm, the one that wasn’t pinned down, but the pain made her vision dim and she thought she might pass out. Instead, she groaned and threw up a little onto the jungle floor in front of her.

Fire crackled somewhere and the acrid smell of smoke burned Debra’s lungs and stung her eyes. She didn’t see flames, but she knew they must be out there. And where there were flames, there was likely the shuttle and her husband. She needed to find Steven. She grit her teeth and tried to move her free arm again, determined to unbuckle herself and if necessary, crawl to the remains of the shuttle. The second attempt proved no more fruitful than the first. In fact, this time the darkness won. Her eyes closed.

She noticed the fear and static that had moments ago filled her head were gone. They were replaced by thoughts of her life, her children and Steven. As the blackness enveloped her, she wondered if she would ever see them again.

Paring Down

One person doesn't need 6,473 blogs (that are never updated and no one reads anyway). Truly. I've already quit posting everywhere except here and Scintilla and I think I'll stop with Scintilla. Since I'm participating in Holly Lisle's Friday Snippets (assuming I actually remember to participate) I will just post my snippets here. Gives me some content, anyway.

Speaking of Friday Snippets, I'd like to say that the bit I posted last Friday is not quite representative of the full story (workingly titled Shifting Sands). Not yet anyway. It's just a very small portion that I rather liked. I'm not sure if I will get much new writing done on it in the next week since I'm working on moving it over to Liquid Story Binder and re-working the plot and outline and basically the whole thing. And, oh yeah, FINALS are coming up and work is winding down for the summer. Much the same way a tornado winds through a trailor park, I might add. When May is over, you won't KNOW me from happy. And my parents are coming to visit in June. Yay parents! Yay June!

Irrelevant Side Note: I tried to pare down on my use of parentheses in this post. I had about five sets, but I've narrowed it down to three. So put that in your hat and smoke it.

That reminds me...

W: I told her, "She said you'd know what I want." You being her and she being you.
Me: Could you possibly find a more confusing way to explain that?
...
Moe: Ok here's the plan. This little model car will represent my car, and this olive will represent you.
Homer: (Homer eats the olive) Mmmmm. Me.
Moe: (angry) Oh Great. Now the model car will have to represent you (pulls out toy) and this little toy man will have to represent the car.

Someone somewhere

Monday morning, like most of this week, I was sick and miserable. I dragged myself out of bed long enough to take my husband to class. As I was driving home, a thought came into my head from out of nowhere and made me feel a little better: Somewhere someone is having the best day of their life. Kind of a happy thought, isn't it? I kept saying that to myself and despite rebellious lungs and a disappearing voice, it helped.

...

I had a long, kind of depressing post written out about the tragedies of April, but I deleted it. We've all lived them. We all mourn and remember them. I don't need to rehash them.

Someone somewhere is having the best day of their lives.
I hope it's you!

Wiki-wiki-wiki-whack

I love WikiHow. I'm an expert on EV-ER-Y-THING! And the topics are so random. From the exotic to the mundane. Much as I like the site, though, I can't shake the feeling that I'm the only person there who's not in junior high.

Haiku Friday

Chocolate raisins.
Thou foul and wicked temptress.
Raisins are fruit, right?

Weekends go too fast.
Friday is almost Sunday.
Pretty much Monday.

New Additions

I added Holly Lisle's Holly Lisle's Create A Culture Clinic to my recommendations. Holly has a great way of breaking down something as complex as a culture into easy-to-manage steps. I am a sucker for worksheets and well-organized information.

Also, I just purchased her Create A Character Clinic; I will post my thoughts on it once I have finished it. (Or perhaps along the way. We'll see.) I have been putting off reading this book because most of the other character development tutorials out there are just lists of questions you're supposed to answer on behalf of your character. I hate that. They're like those cheesy surveys that tell you what kind of flower you are or what European city you're most like. Blah. No thank you. I know I need to work on my characters, but I just can't bring myself to use those methods. So here's hoping that Holly's book will show me something different and helpful.

Side Note: I've decided to start spelling "recommend" correctly. It's a bold move, let's see how it pays off.

Two Things...

About Gwen's performance:

1. Chris Sligh was having some clapping issues. Poor guy. He really does have rhythm problems. (And ultimately those problems came back to bite him in ye olde ass, didn't they? So long, Curly Sue!)

2. Akon... his only contribution was the occassional "Woo-Hoo Yee-Hoo" and "Yeah!" and "Make some noise!" Yawn. Oh, and his pants were falling down.

The remote is my razor blade

I've been feeling kind of overwhelmed with work and school and the trials and tribulations of sitting on my ass watching TV when I should be TCB. On more than one occassion I've been just going about my business and suddenly all of my missed deadlines pop into my brain and start wailing at me. A near panic attack most assuredly follows. I was in such a state just now while flipping channels and I stopped on VH1. I don't know why I stopped. "I Love New York" was on and I usually hit the clicker as fast as I can because I don't even want to see one tiny glimpse of New York's hideous face lest I vomit profusely. But I didn't keep going. I fought back the nausea and watched. The manwhores were sliding on some sort of homemade slip-n-slide, then New York's mother was on a tirade, stomping through the house looking for a "buttnekkid ho." (I swear I got dumber just recalling the episode.) When I finally came to my senses and changed the channel, I felt so relieved. The one thing that popped into my head was that THIS is why anorexic teenage girls cut themselves. It was painful while it was happening, but when it was over I felt so much better.

(And on an unrelated note: What the fuck is up with Sanjaya's fucking hair? And why the fuck is he still on the fucking show? Stop it. Seriously.)

Minor Freakout

A big nasty black spider just fell from the ceiling and bounced off my keyboard onto my notebook. Jesus hell! Somehow I contained my urge to scream like a little girl and merely flug the spider across the office. Uck. Now I keep looking up at the ceiling to make sure there aren't anymore and thinking that if I had been typing at that very second that spider could have touched my BARE FLESH. Uck. Uck again. Uck.

Extreme Makeover: Zombie Edition

I was watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition the other day (don't ask me why) and Ty told a mother who had recently lost her son, "We can't bring him back, but we can..." Blah blah blah. I didn't even catch the last half of the sentence (but I'm sure it had something to do with building a house) because I was thinking about what a great show it would be if they COULD bring people back from the dead. People would submit their home-video applications and those with the most tragic, compelling stories would be selected and a Voodoo priestess would come butcher a chicken in their living room, raising their beloved family member from the dead. Yes! I would totally watch that. Of course I already watch it and all they raise is a house. Anyway, just a thought.