My best friend, her husband, and her son were here this afternoon for a visit. The hubs has family here in Indiana, so they were able to carve out a little bit of time on their grand tour. (That's not even a joke. They've been on the road since Monday, and other than me they've seen/will see another friend, both sets of his grandparents, his father, and his sister. All in different cities, as far as I know.)
It was nice to see Keli and Eric, but the real highlight was London. The last time I saw him, he was about 3 months old. He's 17 months now, and the cuteness factor was overwhelming. We had presents for him, and once he got in the groove he really enjoyed ripping the paper. And then once each package was completely unwrapped he had to be sure each of his parents got a good look. The funniest thing to me was when London opened one of the packages (a book), and Eric got all excited. "Richard Scarry!" Keli was like, huh? Apparently, she never read Richard Scarry as a kid (how is this possible?), so we had to explain to her that he was an author, and that his books always had a million fun things to look at. Once the presents were all unwrapped, Eric grabbed London and immediately started reading it to him. I have a feeling that's going to be the go to book when it's Dad's turn to read to him before bed from now on.
And then we sat down for some lunch. Mom had made some potato soup, because it's one of those things that is really flexible and forgiving as far as timing goes. It can sit on the stove and simmer for a while with no harm done. (We weren't sure exactly when they were going to get here.) I wasn't sure that London would go for it, but he loved it! There was a smile and a "yum!" after almost every bite. And he got very put out when Keli would sneak a spoonful for herself. That was his soup, damn it! There were also rolls, and London loves rolls. So he was stuffing bites of bread in his mouth between little bits of potato and carrot from the soup. Then his mom had what was apparently the Best. Idea. Ever! She grabbed a little piece of his roll and dipped it in the soup. He immediately made a dive for the soup bowl to try to do it himself.
Mom was practically incandescent with pleasure watching all this. Especially every time he said, "Yum!" It really was unbearably cute.
And then we all went outside so he could run around and play in the backyard. And we could all run around after him. I did very minimal chasing or picking up and swinging. I would have liked to have done more, but frankly, I'm beat to my socks with what I did manage to do. We had rain a couple of days ago, and it knocked a lot of leaves off the trees. So Eric and London played in the leaves for awhile, which was also way adorable. We have an old lobster trap under a tree in our backyard as decoration. London spotted it and tried to crawl in. Again, the cuteness factor was about 1000. Dad managed to get pictures of some of it, although London gets weird in front of cameras and won't smile. If he knew Dad was taking a picture there was no smile. But there were quite a few of him playing and totally unaware of the camera.
And then it was time for them to move on. :( They've got a lot more miles to drive and people to see before they get home at the end of next week. I was so glad to see them. It was with my parents the whole time, and I didn't really get to talk to Keli about anything other than kid stuff and general chatter. It was kind of like a 5 minute visit from an old life. Very odd.
And now I'm all worn out. For a good reason for once. I took my sleeping pill early, and I hope to be crashing soon. Night night!
Lip Balm of the Day: Gummy Bears
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
Something Crazy
I'm really, seriously thinking about taking on a new project. There's a book I've read in the last few months, and it's stuck with me a bit. Even better, it has a gorgeous cover.
What I'm thinking of doing is knitting a shawl inspired by the book. (No, there is no knitting in this book. Just hot, macho, New York firefighters. But knitting is my medium.)
There's a very popular shawl pattern called Clapotis. (Pronounced clap-o-tee, or so I'm told.) I like the concept of the shawl, but it's a rectangular, and I really prefer triangle shawls. So right now I'm doing a bit of sketching and calculating (well, it's too late for calculating tonight, but definitely sketching) to see if I can convert it. Several other people have done so, but not quite the way I'd like to do it. So this will be a Becky Original, as well as my first attempt at knit design.
I've been looking for yarns to make this in, because I have a very particular idea in my head of what colors I want and how they should be used. No dice, of course. So I have two options as I see it. First, I find an experienced dyer, try to explain my insane vision, and hope that whatever they come up with is in the ballpark. Option two would be to buy some undyed yarn and all the pots and chemicals and try my hand at it myself. While I think it would be great fun to say, "See this? I created the design, dyed the yarn, and knit it, all by myself!" in not sure it's practical. I keep getting hung up on the pots and chemicals (and face masks) and mess and expense of trying to dye it myself. I've never done any dyeing, and I can't guarantee that my results would be any closer to what I see in my head than what an experienced dyer could do. So there's that.
What I see is a shawl with lots of smokey black (they are fire fighters after all, and one of the heroes is Italian with gorgeous black hair) and splashes of red and yellow and orange. Something that screams heat and fire. (And also the orangey red is the hair color of the other hero.) I want to make sure I get that smoke and fire theme across, because it would be very easy for these colors to get Halloweenie. I don't want the yarn colors to mingle too much, or stripe. I want what we in the fiber arts community call pooling or flashing. Pooling is when you get, well, a pool of one color. It can line up funny that way some times. Flashing is like pooling, except that it zig zags across the piece creating a lightning bolt-ish effect.
If all works out as planned, I'll call the pattern Not Clap (because it borrows the theme from the Clapotis, and it's know casually amongst the knitting community as the Clap). And then my particular shawl will be the Hot Clap-- a reference both to the pattern and the book that inspired me to knit it.
What do you think? Too crazy or what?
Oh, and the Lip Balm of the Day is Pink Cake. Too lazy to look up what all is in it right now, but it's yummy!
 |
| Delish, don't you agree? |
There's a very popular shawl pattern called Clapotis. (Pronounced clap-o-tee, or so I'm told.) I like the concept of the shawl, but it's a rectangular, and I really prefer triangle shawls. So right now I'm doing a bit of sketching and calculating (well, it's too late for calculating tonight, but definitely sketching) to see if I can convert it. Several other people have done so, but not quite the way I'd like to do it. So this will be a Becky Original, as well as my first attempt at knit design.
I've been looking for yarns to make this in, because I have a very particular idea in my head of what colors I want and how they should be used. No dice, of course. So I have two options as I see it. First, I find an experienced dyer, try to explain my insane vision, and hope that whatever they come up with is in the ballpark. Option two would be to buy some undyed yarn and all the pots and chemicals and try my hand at it myself. While I think it would be great fun to say, "See this? I created the design, dyed the yarn, and knit it, all by myself!" in not sure it's practical. I keep getting hung up on the pots and chemicals (and face masks) and mess and expense of trying to dye it myself. I've never done any dyeing, and I can't guarantee that my results would be any closer to what I see in my head than what an experienced dyer could do. So there's that.
What I see is a shawl with lots of smokey black (they are fire fighters after all, and one of the heroes is Italian with gorgeous black hair) and splashes of red and yellow and orange. Something that screams heat and fire. (And also the orangey red is the hair color of the other hero.) I want to make sure I get that smoke and fire theme across, because it would be very easy for these colors to get Halloweenie. I don't want the yarn colors to mingle too much, or stripe. I want what we in the fiber arts community call pooling or flashing. Pooling is when you get, well, a pool of one color. It can line up funny that way some times. Flashing is like pooling, except that it zig zags across the piece creating a lightning bolt-ish effect.
If all works out as planned, I'll call the pattern Not Clap (because it borrows the theme from the Clapotis, and it's know casually amongst the knitting community as the Clap). And then my particular shawl will be the Hot Clap-- a reference both to the pattern and the book that inspired me to knit it.
What do you think? Too crazy or what?
Oh, and the Lip Balm of the Day is Pink Cake. Too lazy to look up what all is in it right now, but it's yummy!
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Grab a Boob Today
This totally cracks me up. But it's also an important reminder. So watch this video, and then grab a boob. (Preferably one of your own.) Practice a little self-love, ladies!
I know we spend a lot of time focusing on women and breast cancer in the month of October, but men really ought to be doing these self-exams, too. If you've got nipples, you can get breast cancer. So, men, give 'em a little fondle, too!
Thursday, October 06, 2011
September Gurls
I've been on a serious Bangles kick the last few days, and it finally dawned on me-- it's Jack music. I'm going to have to take a look at some astrology references, but I think Ethan has a September birthday and Jack is December. 'Cause Jack seems to be associating this song strongly with the two of them.
On a purely aesthetic note (har), I don't like Susanna Hoffs' background vocals on this song at all. (It's not so obvious in this live version, but her voice is a real kick in the teeth on the album version.) She's too distinctive for background vocal and ends up standing out like a sore thumb.
The only other songs on Jack's soundtrack so far are Hazy Shade of Winter and If She Knew What She Wants. (Jack is the "She" in that one. He wouldn't even be offended at the idea. He'd be the first to admit his head wasn't on quite straight (har) when he walked out on Ethan.) So. All Bangles. I'm not sure if he's just a major Bangles fan, or if things will even out eventually. I wasn't planning to start on his soundtrack yet. In fact, I've been exceptionally lazy in the Magic/Discovery/writing department in the last couple weeks. But I guess Jack is impatient. He wants his happily ever after!
On a different topic, I have to admit I was wrong. The garage sale went really well today. Over $200 in sales and a full box less stuff packed up at the end of the day than went out this morning. That's way better than I was expecting. Mom is thrilled.
On a purely aesthetic note (har), I don't like Susanna Hoffs' background vocals on this song at all. (It's not so obvious in this live version, but her voice is a real kick in the teeth on the album version.) She's too distinctive for background vocal and ends up standing out like a sore thumb.
The only other songs on Jack's soundtrack so far are Hazy Shade of Winter and If She Knew What She Wants. (Jack is the "She" in that one. He wouldn't even be offended at the idea. He'd be the first to admit his head wasn't on quite straight (har) when he walked out on Ethan.) So. All Bangles. I'm not sure if he's just a major Bangles fan, or if things will even out eventually. I wasn't planning to start on his soundtrack yet. In fact, I've been exceptionally lazy in the Magic/Discovery/writing department in the last couple weeks. But I guess Jack is impatient. He wants his happily ever after!
On a different topic, I have to admit I was wrong. The garage sale went really well today. Over $200 in sales and a full box less stuff packed up at the end of the day than went out this morning. That's way better than I was expecting. Mom is thrilled.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Oy
My mother is subject to... enthusiasms. She gets an idea in her head, and suddenly she's off and running in 15 directions. (Of course, I am, too. But in me it's fun and charming.) I wouldn't mind if it was just her. But when Mom gets an enthusiasm, she drags Dad and I along after her, whether we want to be dragged or not.
Her latest enthusiasm is to have a garage sale. She decided on it just this past weekend. We're having it on Thursday. Never mind that there's probably enoughshit junk crap stuff in the garage for a professional auction house to come in and do an estate sale. Apparently, we're going to do this one small stack of boxes at a time. I'd be overwhelmed with joy if we could just get Goodwill or someone to come empty out the garage. Take it! It's free! But no, this is all precious shit junk crap stuff, and must be sold for top dollar.
I understand, to a certain extent. There are antiques and such in there. Mom and Dad have somehow become the storage repository for all of *their* parents' stuff. (Even though they both have siblings who could have, and should have, taken responsibility for some of it.) Mom sees it all as a potential source of extra cash-- which we could certainly use. But what Mom insists on being blind to is the fact that she lives with two people with exhausting, chronic diseases. I can't speak for Dad, but as far as I'm concerned, the energy expended in this ridiculousness is not worth the measly buck seventy-five we're going to make on it. A good garage sale requires preparation and advertising. Since we're doing this last minute and on the fly, there is time for neither. Her goal is $50. Fifty dollars for days worth of work, and if we're lucky we'll gain an extra 2 square feet of space in the garage. Sigh. Considering what she's willing to part with (barely), I think we'll be lucky to get $10 out of it.
What I haven't been quite willing to tell her yet, is whatever she doesn't get rid of now, I'm tossing when she's dead. A few sentimental items? Sure I'll keep. But I'm not hanging on to boxes of "antique" linens. Furniture. For God's sake-- there are still baby clothes in there! (My brother and I are both in our 30s!) I don't want it, I don't want the hassle of it. It's gone. If we could get rid of some of this stuff now we'd all have a better quality of life, and my brother and I won't get stuck with the burden of disposing of at least two generations worth of junk when they're gone. Mom complained all last winter that they couldn't park in the garage because it was completely full of boxes and junk (stacked 7 feet high, with only a narrow, take-your-life-into-your-hands, walk way). Dad has lumber in there that we moved to Indiana with us when we came here the *first* time. That was 1989! He won't let go of any of that, either. It's not just Mom who is clinging to this crap for all she's worth.
And what really frosts my cookies is that Mom suggested to me last night that I go through the two-- two!-- tubs in the garage that are mine to see if I can get rid of anything. Probably I can. But two rubbermaid tubs vs the whole rest of the garage (plus a rented storage space-- did I mention that yet?). Which one of these is really the problem? And she keeps coming in to ask me if I'm really sure that I don't mind if she puts out this piece of crap, or that pile of junk. I finally just told her that I'm really, really sure that she can get rid of all of it. Please!
OK, I think I better go now. I'm getting even more annoyed than I was when I started this post, and I still have to go write up the Craigslist ad. Damn it.
Her latest enthusiasm is to have a garage sale. She decided on it just this past weekend. We're having it on Thursday. Never mind that there's probably enough
I understand, to a certain extent. There are antiques and such in there. Mom and Dad have somehow become the storage repository for all of *their* parents' stuff. (Even though they both have siblings who could have, and should have, taken responsibility for some of it.) Mom sees it all as a potential source of extra cash-- which we could certainly use. But what Mom insists on being blind to is the fact that she lives with two people with exhausting, chronic diseases. I can't speak for Dad, but as far as I'm concerned, the energy expended in this ridiculousness is not worth the measly buck seventy-five we're going to make on it. A good garage sale requires preparation and advertising. Since we're doing this last minute and on the fly, there is time for neither. Her goal is $50. Fifty dollars for days worth of work, and if we're lucky we'll gain an extra 2 square feet of space in the garage. Sigh. Considering what she's willing to part with (barely), I think we'll be lucky to get $10 out of it.
What I haven't been quite willing to tell her yet, is whatever she doesn't get rid of now, I'm tossing when she's dead. A few sentimental items? Sure I'll keep. But I'm not hanging on to boxes of "antique" linens. Furniture. For God's sake-- there are still baby clothes in there! (My brother and I are both in our 30s!) I don't want it, I don't want the hassle of it. It's gone. If we could get rid of some of this stuff now we'd all have a better quality of life, and my brother and I won't get stuck with the burden of disposing of at least two generations worth of junk when they're gone. Mom complained all last winter that they couldn't park in the garage because it was completely full of boxes and junk (stacked 7 feet high, with only a narrow, take-your-life-into-your-hands, walk way). Dad has lumber in there that we moved to Indiana with us when we came here the *first* time. That was 1989! He won't let go of any of that, either. It's not just Mom who is clinging to this crap for all she's worth.
And what really frosts my cookies is that Mom suggested to me last night that I go through the two-- two!-- tubs in the garage that are mine to see if I can get rid of anything. Probably I can. But two rubbermaid tubs vs the whole rest of the garage (plus a rented storage space-- did I mention that yet?). Which one of these is really the problem? And she keeps coming in to ask me if I'm really sure that I don't mind if she puts out this piece of crap, or that pile of junk. I finally just told her that I'm really, really sure that she can get rid of all of it. Please!
OK, I think I better go now. I'm getting even more annoyed than I was when I started this post, and I still have to go write up the Craigslist ad. Damn it.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
24 Hours Later
It's been 24 hours since Penny arrived (at this point, more like 36-40 hours), and things are going well.
Oh, wait a minute. I didn't tell you about this part, did I? I named my new Kindle Penny. She shipped from Pennsylvania (I know this because I checked the tracking every 5 minutes from the time I ordered her until she showed up on my doorstep on Friday), and I thought, "Pennsylvania. Penny. Perfect!" I'm from Pennsylvania originally, too, so we started out with a lot in common. :p
It is different from my original Kindle, and there's been a little bit of an adjustment period. The page turn buttons operate differently. These click out (which is how I expected the K2's buttons to work, so I guess this is more of an un-adjustment), while the K2's buttons click on the inside edge. I think I'm mostly used to the change in the buttons, but it is still weird every once in a while. Also, there is now a page back button on both the left and right hand sides. On the K2 the back button was on the left, and the button in that position on the right was the Home button. I'm still reaching for that right hand back button when I want Home.
I don't miss the keyboard at all. The only time I used it was when I would create a collection, and I'd type in the name. (TBR, freebies, read, etc.) Now there's a keyboard that pops up on the screen, and you use the up, down, left, right key to pick the letters one at a time. Tedious, but creating new collections isn't exactly a daily project.
The funny thing about the change in size and button location is that I sometimes try to navigate as if I'm reading on my Sony Pocket. They have 10 buttons down the right side that allow you to pick which book you want off the list. With the Kindle you still have to use navigation buttons at the bottom center of the device to pick your book. You basically do it the same way you do on the old Kindle, except the button is in a different place-- coincidentally the same spot that it's in on the Pocket, so that probably assists in the brain glitch.
So those are the things that are weird or different or that I just plain have to adjust to.
I'm loving that it is significantly lighter than the old Kindle. The screen looks really good, and even though the overall unit is much smaller the screen is the same size. The advanced e-ink gives a sharper image, and there's greater contrast between the text and the background, which makes it easier on the eyes. There's none of the screen "flash" that so many people hated in earlier versions. And it's much faster. Sometimes, with the old Kindle, I would give it a command-- click the Home button for instance-- and then I'd sit and wait. And wait. And WAIT for it to finally take me there. There's no waiting with the Penny. I hit the Home button, and I'm on the Home screen. No waiting. It's lovely. Even transferring stuff is faster. The K2 was on Whispernet (Sprint, I believe), and signal strength isn't always so great. Penny operates off of my home wifi, and so far it's worked like a dream.
To wrap up, there are some things that are different, and I'm adjusting. There are some other things that work really well-- better than my original-- and I'm thrilled about that. At 24 hours into our relationship (or 36-40 hours, whatever) I'm very happy with my purchase. And at $79 I feel it was an excellent deal.
Oh, and the lip balm of the day is: Gummy Bear. Yum!
Oh, wait a minute. I didn't tell you about this part, did I? I named my new Kindle Penny. She shipped from Pennsylvania (I know this because I checked the tracking every 5 minutes from the time I ordered her until she showed up on my doorstep on Friday), and I thought, "Pennsylvania. Penny. Perfect!" I'm from Pennsylvania originally, too, so we started out with a lot in common. :p
It is different from my original Kindle, and there's been a little bit of an adjustment period. The page turn buttons operate differently. These click out (which is how I expected the K2's buttons to work, so I guess this is more of an un-adjustment), while the K2's buttons click on the inside edge. I think I'm mostly used to the change in the buttons, but it is still weird every once in a while. Also, there is now a page back button on both the left and right hand sides. On the K2 the back button was on the left, and the button in that position on the right was the Home button. I'm still reaching for that right hand back button when I want Home.
I don't miss the keyboard at all. The only time I used it was when I would create a collection, and I'd type in the name. (TBR, freebies, read, etc.) Now there's a keyboard that pops up on the screen, and you use the up, down, left, right key to pick the letters one at a time. Tedious, but creating new collections isn't exactly a daily project.
The funny thing about the change in size and button location is that I sometimes try to navigate as if I'm reading on my Sony Pocket. They have 10 buttons down the right side that allow you to pick which book you want off the list. With the Kindle you still have to use navigation buttons at the bottom center of the device to pick your book. You basically do it the same way you do on the old Kindle, except the button is in a different place-- coincidentally the same spot that it's in on the Pocket, so that probably assists in the brain glitch.
So those are the things that are weird or different or that I just plain have to adjust to.
I'm loving that it is significantly lighter than the old Kindle. The screen looks really good, and even though the overall unit is much smaller the screen is the same size. The advanced e-ink gives a sharper image, and there's greater contrast between the text and the background, which makes it easier on the eyes. There's none of the screen "flash" that so many people hated in earlier versions. And it's much faster. Sometimes, with the old Kindle, I would give it a command-- click the Home button for instance-- and then I'd sit and wait. And wait. And WAIT for it to finally take me there. There's no waiting with the Penny. I hit the Home button, and I'm on the Home screen. No waiting. It's lovely. Even transferring stuff is faster. The K2 was on Whispernet (Sprint, I believe), and signal strength isn't always so great. Penny operates off of my home wifi, and so far it's worked like a dream.
To wrap up, there are some things that are different, and I'm adjusting. There are some other things that work really well-- better than my original-- and I'm thrilled about that. At 24 hours into our relationship (or 36-40 hours, whatever) I'm very happy with my purchase. And at $79 I feel it was an excellent deal.
Oh, and the lip balm of the day is: Gummy Bear. Yum!
Saturday, October 01, 2011
Today Was a Good Day
I had an excellent day today. First of all, I had the house to myself all day long. Mom and Dad went with their Sunday School class to some sort of Jesus museum. (It had dinosaurs. I don't even pretend to understand that one.) Anyway, this place was a couple hours away, so between driving there, touring, having lunch and dinner, and driving home again, I didn't see them until 9pm. It was lovely and peaceful.
And then the thing that I'd been waiting for since Wednesday finally happened. My brand new Kindle arrived! It's light and little and adorable. I spent some time loading books for the quarterly reading challenge that started at midnight, and then I started a library book that I was able to download wirelessly onto the new Kindle.
As if all of that wasn't happy making enough, my name was drawn in a contest on twitter. I got a free advance copy of Carina Press's holiday m/m anthology! In it is a new story by one of my very favorite authors-- Josh Lanyon. Woo hoo!
Some craft supplies that I'd ordered were delivered, and I ate queso dip and tortilla chips for dinner. (I'm a grown up, I can eat whatever I want for dinner. Also, my mommy wasn't here to say no.)
After that, Mom and Dad came home, and we talked about their trip, and then we watched about half an episode of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, which happened to feature a place here in Indianapolis and another place in Bucks County, PA (which is where we're from originally). And then we all retreated to our rooms, Mom and Dad to zonk out in exhaustion, and me to watch some random stuff off the dvr and write this post.
Really, it was a fantastic day!
And then the thing that I'd been waiting for since Wednesday finally happened. My brand new Kindle arrived! It's light and little and adorable. I spent some time loading books for the quarterly reading challenge that started at midnight, and then I started a library book that I was able to download wirelessly onto the new Kindle.
As if all of that wasn't happy making enough, my name was drawn in a contest on twitter. I got a free advance copy of Carina Press's holiday m/m anthology! In it is a new story by one of my very favorite authors-- Josh Lanyon. Woo hoo!
Some craft supplies that I'd ordered were delivered, and I ate queso dip and tortilla chips for dinner. (I'm a grown up, I can eat whatever I want for dinner. Also, my mommy wasn't here to say no.)
After that, Mom and Dad came home, and we talked about their trip, and then we watched about half an episode of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, which happened to feature a place here in Indianapolis and another place in Bucks County, PA (which is where we're from originally). And then we all retreated to our rooms, Mom and Dad to zonk out in exhaustion, and me to watch some random stuff off the dvr and write this post.
Really, it was a fantastic day!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
I'm Magic, Baby
Today was the last day of Lani's Making Magic class. We talked about Discovery and how important that is to your writing. Very inspiring stuff. (I'm still a little unclear about the difference between Magic and Discovery, especially since two of the homework assignments are the same, but if it gets the juices flowing I guess it doesn't matter.) I have lots of ideas bouncing around in my head, and I'm pretty sure those ideas are going to lead to other ideas which will eventually lead to a good story.
Yay, me!
Next weekend the Discovery class starts. The first lesson is Soundtracks. I might refine the one I've already put together in Magic. I've already done a little bit of fiddling with it. But mostly I want to poke around in tropes and with my collage (which is still 99% in my head and 0% assembled.)
Have I shared my soundtrack yet? Here it is:
Back to December- Taylor Swift
Fuck You- Cee Lo Green
Hit the Road Jack- Ray Charles
Human Heart- Carey Ott
If We Ever Meet Again- Katy Perry/Timbaland
Last Christmas- Glee Cast
Lush Life- Natalie Cole
Make You Feel My Love- Adele
Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
Turning Tables- Adele
Valerie- Amy Winehouse
What'll I Do- Rosemary Clooney
Breathe- Melissa Etheridge
Come On Up To the House- Sarah Jarosz
St. Patrick's Day- John Mayer
Big Bang Theory- Barenaked Ladies
St. Patrick's Day and Big Bang Theory are new additions. St. Patrick's Day sparked a thought about structure (believe it or not), and led to some interesting (IMO) changes and plans. I'm not 100% sure Big Bang Theory really belongs, although it sort of feels like it does. Don't know why yet. Mostly I just added it because I started watching the show this week (one of the local channels started airing two episodes a day during the "everyone else is running the evening news" time slot). I don't know how I missed this show before. It's very funny, and the theme song is fucking addictive. I figured, if I'm going to be humming the damn thing constantly anyway, might as well add it to the soundtrack. I'd been thinking that Ethan was perhaps a tad bit nerdy, and this just reinforces it. (Oh, please God, tell me I'm not going to have to learn how to play some table top, roll playing, 20 sided die game as research. I love me some nerd boy, but that is totally not my thing.)
I think Breathe is going to have to come off the soundtrack, though. The more I listen to all of it, the more I think that it's the other guy's song, not Ethan's. And while some of those songs speak to the relationship as a whole, this is mostly Ethan's soundtrack. The other guy will have his own soundtrack later.
Oh, oh, oh! Good news! The Other Guy has a name! He's Jack. It was right there, staring me in the face, and I finally got it. (Hit the Road Jack.)
I think that's about all the writing news I have at the moment. Eventually I'll get the collage done(ish), and I'll post a picture of that. Oh, and while we're supposed to be working on soundtracks, which I feel pretty solid about at the moment, I'll be working on Kelley Armstrong's Outlining 101. It's fabulous. This is the program I followed (in my own special, Becky-ish way) in 2007, which was by far my best, most productive NaNo year. (National Novel Writing Month for anyone unfamiliar.) I want to mesh some of Lani's Magic/Discovery work with Kelley's Outlining 101 to hopefully get me on the right track and revved up for November 1st. (I hadn't been planning to NaNo this year, but what the hell. And since I'm off in my own world, doing my own thing and making it up as I go along, I might just start before Nov 1! I know. I'm such a rebel!)
If you're interested in checking out Kelley's writing info, go to her website, kelleyarmstrong.com, and join her forum and the OWG (Online Writing Group). That's where you'll find her NaNo prep stuff, as well as lots of talented and welcoming fellow writers.
And now I think I really am done. Pretty jazzed about all the work ahead of me. But it's fun work. Fwerk!
Yay, me!
Next weekend the Discovery class starts. The first lesson is Soundtracks. I might refine the one I've already put together in Magic. I've already done a little bit of fiddling with it. But mostly I want to poke around in tropes and with my collage (which is still 99% in my head and 0% assembled.)
Have I shared my soundtrack yet? Here it is:
Back to December- Taylor Swift
Fuck You- Cee Lo Green
Hit the Road Jack- Ray Charles
Human Heart- Carey Ott
If We Ever Meet Again- Katy Perry/Timbaland
Last Christmas- Glee Cast
Lush Life- Natalie Cole
Make You Feel My Love- Adele
Need You Now- Lady Antebellum
Turning Tables- Adele
Valerie- Amy Winehouse
What'll I Do- Rosemary Clooney
Breathe- Melissa Etheridge
Come On Up To the House- Sarah Jarosz
St. Patrick's Day- John Mayer
Big Bang Theory- Barenaked Ladies
St. Patrick's Day and Big Bang Theory are new additions. St. Patrick's Day sparked a thought about structure (believe it or not), and led to some interesting (IMO) changes and plans. I'm not 100% sure Big Bang Theory really belongs, although it sort of feels like it does. Don't know why yet. Mostly I just added it because I started watching the show this week (one of the local channels started airing two episodes a day during the "everyone else is running the evening news" time slot). I don't know how I missed this show before. It's very funny, and the theme song is fucking addictive. I figured, if I'm going to be humming the damn thing constantly anyway, might as well add it to the soundtrack. I'd been thinking that Ethan was perhaps a tad bit nerdy, and this just reinforces it. (Oh, please God, tell me I'm not going to have to learn how to play some table top, roll playing, 20 sided die game as research. I love me some nerd boy, but that is totally not my thing.)
I think Breathe is going to have to come off the soundtrack, though. The more I listen to all of it, the more I think that it's the other guy's song, not Ethan's. And while some of those songs speak to the relationship as a whole, this is mostly Ethan's soundtrack. The other guy will have his own soundtrack later.
Oh, oh, oh! Good news! The Other Guy has a name! He's Jack. It was right there, staring me in the face, and I finally got it. (Hit the Road Jack.)
I think that's about all the writing news I have at the moment. Eventually I'll get the collage done(ish), and I'll post a picture of that. Oh, and while we're supposed to be working on soundtracks, which I feel pretty solid about at the moment, I'll be working on Kelley Armstrong's Outlining 101. It's fabulous. This is the program I followed (in my own special, Becky-ish way) in 2007, which was by far my best, most productive NaNo year. (National Novel Writing Month for anyone unfamiliar.) I want to mesh some of Lani's Magic/Discovery work with Kelley's Outlining 101 to hopefully get me on the right track and revved up for November 1st. (I hadn't been planning to NaNo this year, but what the hell. And since I'm off in my own world, doing my own thing and making it up as I go along, I might just start before Nov 1! I know. I'm such a rebel!)
If you're interested in checking out Kelley's writing info, go to her website, kelleyarmstrong.com, and join her forum and the OWG (Online Writing Group). That's where you'll find her NaNo prep stuff, as well as lots of talented and welcoming fellow writers.
And now I think I really am done. Pretty jazzed about all the work ahead of me. But it's fun work. Fwerk!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
I Think I Broke Myself
Ouch.
From now on my parents aren't allowed to have birthdays a week apart anymore. I've been out of the house more in the last two weeks than probably the last six months. Today should be the last for a while. Mom and I went to Walmart so that I could pick up a Wii game for Dad. And I needed some OTC meds, and a birthday card, and some conditioner.
Basically, it was the first time I've been to Walmart with my own money in over a year. So I bought stuff. And I wore myself out. I'd just barely recovered from all the running around last week, and now I'm going to be spending the next couple of days in bed and in pain again. I got all sweaty (a major sign that I'm over doing it), and I'm too tired and too ouchy to get a shower. So I guess I'm just going to have to sleep sticky tonight and hope that I can manage it tomorrow.
And then Saturday is Dad's birthday dinner.
I'm taking my sleeping pill early tonight. If I'm lucky maybe I'll sleep 'til Tuesday.
Ow.
From now on my parents aren't allowed to have birthdays a week apart anymore. I've been out of the house more in the last two weeks than probably the last six months. Today should be the last for a while. Mom and I went to Walmart so that I could pick up a Wii game for Dad. And I needed some OTC meds, and a birthday card, and some conditioner.
Basically, it was the first time I've been to Walmart with my own money in over a year. So I bought stuff. And I wore myself out. I'd just barely recovered from all the running around last week, and now I'm going to be spending the next couple of days in bed and in pain again. I got all sweaty (a major sign that I'm over doing it), and I'm too tired and too ouchy to get a shower. So I guess I'm just going to have to sleep sticky tonight and hope that I can manage it tomorrow.
And then Saturday is Dad's birthday dinner.
I'm taking my sleeping pill early tonight. If I'm lucky maybe I'll sleep 'til Tuesday.
Ow.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
It Breaks My Heart
Another gay teen has committed suicide, at least in part due to bullying. Jamey Rodemeyer was subjected to online harassment such as: " JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!" and "I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!"
How is this happening? Bullying isn't exactly a new problem. I went through some fairly significant harassment as a kid, although it had nothing to do with my sexuality. But this is so vicious. I can't imagine any reason, any justification for telling someone to go kill themselves. Where is the human decency? It takes purpose and energy to be this horrible. These aren't careless statements. It's not dragging someone else down to make yourself feel better. This is just evil.
What can be done about this? How do you stop the evil? I suspect it's going to take updating laws to hold people responsible for their online behavior. That takes time and probably won't help the next Jamey Rodemeyer, who is being harassed right this minute. The only thing I can think of that can make a difference right now is to support, with your money and your time, the various anti-bullying and gay-support groups out there. The Trevor Project is a national organization specifically working on the problem of gay teen suicide. GLAAD and PFLAG are working on all kinds of issues in the gay community. There are also lots of local organizations. ALSO Out Youth is a group in Sarasota, FL that is doing good work with teens and could really use your support. And the Gay & Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York is the group in Jamey Rodemeyer's hometown.
If you've got other ideas about how to fix this problem, please share them. Because something must be done. And if there's a group in your area doing good work with at risk teens, please spread the word. These groups need all the support they can get.
Here's an article with more info about Jamey: teenager struggled with bullying before taking his life.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Brainstorming
I don't remember if I told you this or not (I started to write a post about it, fairly sure that I never finished), but I'm taking one of Lani's writing classes, Making Magic. Last week we worked on soundtracks, this week we're doing collages. I'm not visually artistic, so I'm struggling a bit. (Well, except for knitting, but that's more about following a pattern and mastering the mechanics. You're on your own with collage.)
I'm supposed to be picking placeholders-- pictures of people, often actors, who represent the characters. Sometimes it's the look, sometimes it's about the attitude or personality. Whatever you need to help you make that person real in your head, until they take over and become their own person. (People who've done much in the way of fiction writing will know what I mean.)
One of my characters, Ethan, is coming in pretty strong for me right now. This is his story, told from his point of view. He had this great boyfriend who dumped him suddenly right before Christmas, and he can't get over it. He's bitter. He doesn't understand why. And now Christmas is coming around again, and so is the ex. My big problem with Ethan is that I can't settle on what he looks like. He's kind of an amorphous blob at the moment. He shifts every time I look too close. I can feel what he's feeling and know what he's thinking, but he won't let me see his face.
I have an image for the ex. He's a pilot, I think. I don't know what his name is yet. So far he's been Dave, Dan, and Brad. None of them fit. So I'm just going to keep playing the "what name pops into my mind first" game periodically, and see what else comes up. My biggest problem with Dave/Dan/Brad is that I don't know what is motivating him. He basically walked out on Ethan, completely gone, out of his life, a couple days before Christmas. Why? What made him do that? As far as Ethan is concerned, it was a douchey thing to do. I know Dave/Dan/Brad had a reason for behaving that way. It's got to be realistic, understandable, and redeemable. Because I want these two guys together again. But I don't know what the reason is.
What could make someone walk out on a relationship so suddenly? What would make them change their mind a year later? In my mind it feels like commitment phobia. But does anyone want a hero who walks away utterly, no contact at all, and then appears a year later and says he wants you back? How do you justify it? How do you forgive it?
I did have one big revelation today. It has to do with the structure of the story. The first part is unquestionably Ethan's. He's a teacher, so the story starts off at the beginning of the school year. As the school year progresses, he finds himself rehashing the relationship. Remembering the good times, re-examining those moments that might have been warning signs of what was to come. Because he was really hit out of the blue when Dave/Dan/Brad walked away. As we get closer to Christmas and the one year anniversary of the break up, Ethan gets madder. The story ends with Dave/Dan/Brad knocking on the door a year after he left. (You can play with stuff like this in m/m. There's a lot more flexibility. But it would never fly in mainstream romance.)
The second part of the story picks up from there. It's all told from Dave/Dan/Brad's point of view. (I really need to get a name for this guy.) It will also cover two parallel time lines, his build up to walking out a year ago and his present struggle to get Ethan to take him back, with a little dash of how much he missed him after walking out.
So for the immediate future, I'm not too bad. Ethan's story is first, and while I can't see him very well, I can feel him. My biggest concern is that without knowing for sure what's going on with the Other Guy (I just can't type that list of names again-- it's getting depressing), I can't layer it in at all. But then, Ethan is also clueless about what happened, so maybe it's not too bad. More a question of whether or not I want to clue the reader in before Ethan figures everything out. (That balance between letting the reader feel smart for figuring it out without making the character look dumb for not figuring it out.)
So. Thoughts? Why do people just get up and walk out one day, and what changes inside to let them come back?
I'm supposed to be picking placeholders-- pictures of people, often actors, who represent the characters. Sometimes it's the look, sometimes it's about the attitude or personality. Whatever you need to help you make that person real in your head, until they take over and become their own person. (People who've done much in the way of fiction writing will know what I mean.)
One of my characters, Ethan, is coming in pretty strong for me right now. This is his story, told from his point of view. He had this great boyfriend who dumped him suddenly right before Christmas, and he can't get over it. He's bitter. He doesn't understand why. And now Christmas is coming around again, and so is the ex. My big problem with Ethan is that I can't settle on what he looks like. He's kind of an amorphous blob at the moment. He shifts every time I look too close. I can feel what he's feeling and know what he's thinking, but he won't let me see his face.
I have an image for the ex. He's a pilot, I think. I don't know what his name is yet. So far he's been Dave, Dan, and Brad. None of them fit. So I'm just going to keep playing the "what name pops into my mind first" game periodically, and see what else comes up. My biggest problem with Dave/Dan/Brad is that I don't know what is motivating him. He basically walked out on Ethan, completely gone, out of his life, a couple days before Christmas. Why? What made him do that? As far as Ethan is concerned, it was a douchey thing to do. I know Dave/Dan/Brad had a reason for behaving that way. It's got to be realistic, understandable, and redeemable. Because I want these two guys together again. But I don't know what the reason is.
What could make someone walk out on a relationship so suddenly? What would make them change their mind a year later? In my mind it feels like commitment phobia. But does anyone want a hero who walks away utterly, no contact at all, and then appears a year later and says he wants you back? How do you justify it? How do you forgive it?
I did have one big revelation today. It has to do with the structure of the story. The first part is unquestionably Ethan's. He's a teacher, so the story starts off at the beginning of the school year. As the school year progresses, he finds himself rehashing the relationship. Remembering the good times, re-examining those moments that might have been warning signs of what was to come. Because he was really hit out of the blue when Dave/Dan/Brad walked away. As we get closer to Christmas and the one year anniversary of the break up, Ethan gets madder. The story ends with Dave/Dan/Brad knocking on the door a year after he left. (You can play with stuff like this in m/m. There's a lot more flexibility. But it would never fly in mainstream romance.)
The second part of the story picks up from there. It's all told from Dave/Dan/Brad's point of view. (I really need to get a name for this guy.) It will also cover two parallel time lines, his build up to walking out a year ago and his present struggle to get Ethan to take him back, with a little dash of how much he missed him after walking out.
So for the immediate future, I'm not too bad. Ethan's story is first, and while I can't see him very well, I can feel him. My biggest concern is that without knowing for sure what's going on with the Other Guy (I just can't type that list of names again-- it's getting depressing), I can't layer it in at all. But then, Ethan is also clueless about what happened, so maybe it's not too bad. More a question of whether or not I want to clue the reader in before Ethan figures everything out. (That balance between letting the reader feel smart for figuring it out without making the character look dumb for not figuring it out.)
So. Thoughts? Why do people just get up and walk out one day, and what changes inside to let them come back?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Where No Blog Has Gone Before
There are many subjects I've addressed on this blog that have had certain readers reaching for the brain bleach. My hemorrhoids. Farkle the Friendly Carbuncle. Probably some other stuff that's not coming to mind at the moment. But there's one thing I haven't addressed: sex.
That's hard for me. Although you may doubt this considering some of the other things I've chosen to share, I really am a very private person. I have a hard time putting myself out there, expressing my desires, and I think it's the biggest reason why at 36 I still have limited relationship experience. I hide it all behind a wall, and I've been told that reserve can be pretty intimidating. That boggles my mind, because I often feel too intimidated to reach out. (Actually, that bit crosses over into platonic relationships. It's scary for me sometimes even to hold a hand out in friendship. Once I push through that self-imposed barrier I usually do OK. But making first contact is *hard*. And it's almost as hard to reach out a second time if for some reason communication peters off.)
I'm not quite sure how I ended up on that tangent. That's not where I was heading with this. I guess maybe I just wanted to say that this is an area that I'm not the most comfortable getting personal about.
My current situation-- disabled, mid-thirties, living with puritanical parents-- doesn't make having a sex life easy, even the kind that doesn't require a partner. It's a pretty neglected area of my life.
The last few days have been unusual to say the least. In the normal run of things I leave the house about once a month. In the last three days I've been to Michaels, Hobby Lobby (twice), Meijer, the vet, my brother's house (briefly), Buca di Beppo to pick up dinner, and then Mom's birthday dinner at home last night. By the time my brother and sister-in-law left around 10 I was completely exhausted and in major pain.
And then I got online. I got a wild hair and wandered over to a personals site that I poke around at every once in a while. I had a couple of lovely, raunchy conversations, and by the time I logged off I was a new woman. I was relaxed. I felt good, with far less pain than I'd had in days. My feel good still isn't normal. If I think about it I realize that I have a low-level, nagging headache, and my body still hurts. But the change is amazing.
I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here. Maybe I just needed to tell someone how wonderful this was. Maybe I need to start cracking open this part of my life. It's not something that I plan to go into intimate detail about. But just acknowledging that I have sexual desires instead of keeping it all locked down tight feels like a good first step. It helps that I still feel, for me, fucking fantastic.
That's hard for me. Although you may doubt this considering some of the other things I've chosen to share, I really am a very private person. I have a hard time putting myself out there, expressing my desires, and I think it's the biggest reason why at 36 I still have limited relationship experience. I hide it all behind a wall, and I've been told that reserve can be pretty intimidating. That boggles my mind, because I often feel too intimidated to reach out. (Actually, that bit crosses over into platonic relationships. It's scary for me sometimes even to hold a hand out in friendship. Once I push through that self-imposed barrier I usually do OK. But making first contact is *hard*. And it's almost as hard to reach out a second time if for some reason communication peters off.)
I'm not quite sure how I ended up on that tangent. That's not where I was heading with this. I guess maybe I just wanted to say that this is an area that I'm not the most comfortable getting personal about.
My current situation-- disabled, mid-thirties, living with puritanical parents-- doesn't make having a sex life easy, even the kind that doesn't require a partner. It's a pretty neglected area of my life.
The last few days have been unusual to say the least. In the normal run of things I leave the house about once a month. In the last three days I've been to Michaels, Hobby Lobby (twice), Meijer, the vet, my brother's house (briefly), Buca di Beppo to pick up dinner, and then Mom's birthday dinner at home last night. By the time my brother and sister-in-law left around 10 I was completely exhausted and in major pain.
And then I got online. I got a wild hair and wandered over to a personals site that I poke around at every once in a while. I had a couple of lovely, raunchy conversations, and by the time I logged off I was a new woman. I was relaxed. I felt good, with far less pain than I'd had in days. My feel good still isn't normal. If I think about it I realize that I have a low-level, nagging headache, and my body still hurts. But the change is amazing.
I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here. Maybe I just needed to tell someone how wonderful this was. Maybe I need to start cracking open this part of my life. It's not something that I plan to go into intimate detail about. But just acknowledging that I have sexual desires instead of keeping it all locked down tight feels like a good first step. It helps that I still feel, for me, fucking fantastic.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Oh, Lawsy
It's been an oh, lawsy kind of day.
I've got a friend who is scheduled to pop sometime in October. She's been on bedrest for a while now, and she had to see the doctor today for possible preeclampsia. (For anyone unfamiliar with pregnancy stuff, that's not good.) I was very happy to hear just a little bit ago that the baby is a-ok. They are talking about inducing her on the 27th, but the doc thinks the baby may come sooner.
Oh, lawsy. I'm going to have to get it in gear if I'm going to get my gift to the baby before she arrives. We call her mama Diva, and it surprises me not at all that her Sweet Pea is looking to make a grand entrance.
I got an email from my sister-in-law late this evening. She's invited me to join a Bible study that starts tomorrow. Oh, lawsy. I want to be social. I appreciate the invitation and that she wants to include me. But a once a week Bible study is pretty much the exact last thing I want to do.
Suggestion on this one would be much appreciated. Do I politely decline the first away-from-the-rest-of-the-family overture from her, or do I say yes and spend 2 hours a week for the next month studying something I'm actively resistant to learning?
Wednesday is my mother's birthday. Got an email from Amazon. Estimated delivery date on her present is Thursday. Oh, lawsy.
This morning I went out for the first time in a month to check out craft supplies for the collage I'm supposed to be making for my writing class. First place I go is Michaels, with 50% off coupons in hand. I can't find a single thing I'm looking for, and every single employee is in a staff meeting at the back of the store, so I can't find anyone to help me. Oh, lawsy.
So I slog next door to Hobby Lobby, where they have exactly what I want, well organized and all in the same section, and multiple staff members in the aisles, ready to help me find stuff. I spent some money, got exactly what I wanted, and got out. But not before becoming completely exhausted and overheated. Oh. lawsy. Too much. Next time I'm skipping Michaels, I don't care how good the coupons are.
See what I mean? It was an oh, lawsy kind of day.
Lip Balm of the Day: Orange Snowballs
I've got a friend who is scheduled to pop sometime in October. She's been on bedrest for a while now, and she had to see the doctor today for possible preeclampsia. (For anyone unfamiliar with pregnancy stuff, that's not good.) I was very happy to hear just a little bit ago that the baby is a-ok. They are talking about inducing her on the 27th, but the doc thinks the baby may come sooner.
Oh, lawsy. I'm going to have to get it in gear if I'm going to get my gift to the baby before she arrives. We call her mama Diva, and it surprises me not at all that her Sweet Pea is looking to make a grand entrance.
I got an email from my sister-in-law late this evening. She's invited me to join a Bible study that starts tomorrow. Oh, lawsy. I want to be social. I appreciate the invitation and that she wants to include me. But a once a week Bible study is pretty much the exact last thing I want to do.
Suggestion on this one would be much appreciated. Do I politely decline the first away-from-the-rest-of-the-family overture from her, or do I say yes and spend 2 hours a week for the next month studying something I'm actively resistant to learning?
Wednesday is my mother's birthday. Got an email from Amazon. Estimated delivery date on her present is Thursday. Oh, lawsy.
This morning I went out for the first time in a month to check out craft supplies for the collage I'm supposed to be making for my writing class. First place I go is Michaels, with 50% off coupons in hand. I can't find a single thing I'm looking for, and every single employee is in a staff meeting at the back of the store, so I can't find anyone to help me. Oh, lawsy.
So I slog next door to Hobby Lobby, where they have exactly what I want, well organized and all in the same section, and multiple staff members in the aisles, ready to help me find stuff. I spent some money, got exactly what I wanted, and got out. But not before becoming completely exhausted and overheated. Oh. lawsy. Too much. Next time I'm skipping Michaels, I don't care how good the coupons are.
See what I mean? It was an oh, lawsy kind of day.
Lip Balm of the Day: Orange Snowballs
Friday, September 02, 2011
Check Out My Giant Balls!
Ha, ha! Made you look!
I've been making pretty good progress on my shawl, and I got my dad to take a picture of it this evening. (Still haven't found my camera.)
It starts really small in the middle (in the pink section) and grows by a couple of stitches every other row. At this point there are too many stitches to stretch it out on the cord and let you get a good look. But the pattern makes it wavy-- it's called feather & fan-- it's not because it's all crunched up
This is the result of my first, slightly larger than fist-sized, ball of yarn. I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon and evening winding two more, and here's the result:
It's hard to tell, because there's nothing to give you a sense of scale. But these are approximately the size of large grapefruit. And the yarn is sock yarn, also known as fingering weight. That's much thicker than thread, but on the finer end for yarn. Which means that there's a hell of a lot of yardage in each ball. I don't think that there's enough here to finish my shawl (I want the long edge, the wing span if you will, to be 5'7), but it should probably keep me knitting for a week and a half to two weeks. And then it will be time to wind more balls.
Balls!
Oh, and the lip balm of the day is Peacock Puffs. That translates to lime, blueberry, and cake flavor. (I always have to look that one up.)
I've been making pretty good progress on my shawl, and I got my dad to take a picture of it this evening. (Still haven't found my camera.)
It starts really small in the middle (in the pink section) and grows by a couple of stitches every other row. At this point there are too many stitches to stretch it out on the cord and let you get a good look. But the pattern makes it wavy-- it's called feather & fan-- it's not because it's all crunched up
This is the result of my first, slightly larger than fist-sized, ball of yarn. I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon and evening winding two more, and here's the result:
 |
| My giant balls! |
It's hard to tell, because there's nothing to give you a sense of scale. But these are approximately the size of large grapefruit. And the yarn is sock yarn, also known as fingering weight. That's much thicker than thread, but on the finer end for yarn. Which means that there's a hell of a lot of yardage in each ball. I don't think that there's enough here to finish my shawl (I want the long edge, the wing span if you will, to be 5'7), but it should probably keep me knitting for a week and a half to two weeks. And then it will be time to wind more balls.
Balls!
Oh, and the lip balm of the day is Peacock Puffs. That translates to lime, blueberry, and cake flavor. (I always have to look that one up.)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
If You're Happy and You Know It
OK, as much as I enjoy rubbernecking, it's time to attempt to be A Better Person again. So I decided it was time to do another post about things that are making me happy right now. We haven't had one of those lately, and I have more reason to be happy than I have in a while.
The first thing that's making me happy right now is I Am a Paleontologist by They Might Be Giants. Someone is using it in a commercial right now, and it makes me want to boogie every time I hear it.
Something else that had me whooping and bouncing on the bed recently was Monday night's episode of The Closer. Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell) was first presented in the show as a nemesis to Brenda. Then she shifted to an unlikely ally. This season she's been revealed to be a pretty valuable supporter, even if Brenda doesn't always know it. (Chief Pope can seriously bite me.)
Anyway, I loved seeing Raydor lead that chase last night. And then when she whips out that shotgun? Whoa, momma. You go girl! Definitely one of the most badass moments of the series so far. And I absolutely loved the look Tao gave her as she was walking away.
If you haven't ever watched The Closer, and you at all enjoy cop shows, I suggest you do what I did a few years ago and rent season one. It's a fantastic series, and well worth watching. (Although I'm bummed that this is the last season.)
Happy Thing #3 is that it's looking like I've got at least a little bit of my knitting mojo back! I hadn't touched the needles in months, until this past weekend. I poked around on Rav until I found a pattern that looked promising (of course I changed my mind and did something different when the needles actually kissed yarn), and then I hauled out all my sock yarn scrap. Y'all, I have a boat load of sock yarn scrap. Three big, overflowing bags of the stuff, and then some.
I sorted out all the scrap, and most of it was sufficiently bright. So then I sat and watched TV and wound a ginormous ball of scrap yarn, tying on a new color when I came to the end of each scrap. This thing was easily half again the size of my fist. When you consider how thin sock yarn is, that's a LOT. And then I cast on my Shawl of Many Colors. (It'll probably change names a few times, but that's what it is for the moment.)
After a couple of days, the SoMC is on row 87 or so, and growing all the time. This pattern isn't super specific. You get to a certain point and then they give you a general recipe to continue, because the size needed on something like this can vary so much, depending on who it's for an how they want to use it. I could probably stop right now and have a respectable head scarf. But I want a full size shawl, which means the wings span is equal to the height of the wearer. I'm 5'7, so I've got a ways to go. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure I've got enough sock yarn scrap to make it happen. But at some point in the not too distant future I'm going to have to start rolling another ball of yarn.
I'd planned to post a picture of this grand masterpiece, but I can't find my camera. Or the batteries that go in it. So that's going to have to wait for a day or two. By then it will be bigger and more colorful and more impressive anyway.
One more thing that I'm really excited about. There's a challenge coming up in my M/M reading group called the Quarterly Gang Bang. (Trust me, not as kinky as it sounds.) Every person who signs up picks a book for each other member, and they all pick books for you. By the time the picking is done you could have 50-60 titles on your list. The idea is to read all those books in the next quarter. The reading part doesn't actually start until October, but sign ups start on Thursday. I've been wanting to do this for MONTHS, but I felt like I needed to clear out some of the mainstream romance I'd managed to accumulate but not read in the last several years. I did get some of it read (89 out of 198 books read so far this year were non-m/m), and I hope to knock out a few more in September. And then the rest of the year will be dedicated to reading as much delicious m/m lovin' as I can handle. I even have a few holiday reads lined up already. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and I can't wait to dive in.
So that's all the happy stuff. And I know I said I wasn't going to gossip any more, but I just have to mention that we've had our first official *flounce*! Someone who, by her own admission, left the group for a while and only recently came back, felt the need to declare us all terrible people and announce that she was leaving the group again. So there! It was kind of funny, because a) although she claimed we were all rude, her post was by far the most obnoxious one to date, and b)... oh, hell. I forget what b was. But anyway, you know you haven't had a good internet kerfluffle until someone loudly declares that they're taking their ball and going home. I suspect the whole thing will have petered out to nothing by this time tomorrow.
It was all amazingly civil for an internet dust up. If this had happened on my knitting forum there would have been a pile on, and by the time the mods stepped in the offending parties (not always the original offenders, either) would be ripped to shreds. A half dozen people would dramatically flounce (only to quietly return next week), and whoever is left when the dust settles would be quietly knitting sweaters from the remains of the deceased.
Knitters are Hardcore.
I couldn't imagine it happening in the Betties. I mean, I know it could happen anywhere, and we certainly aren't immune to petty scandals. But accusations? Histrionics? I don't see it.
Anyway, that's what's going on with me for the mo. I'll try to control myself in the future. And I'll let you know about positive developments. I'm not quite ready to say anything about them yet (besides, this post is ridiculously long already), but I'll update you when the shift from "things I intend to do" to "things I'm actively doing". Intention is important, but if you don't follow it up with action you won't get very far.
Lip balm flavor of the day: Gummy Bear
The first thing that's making me happy right now is I Am a Paleontologist by They Might Be Giants. Someone is using it in a commercial right now, and it makes me want to boogie every time I hear it.
Something else that had me whooping and bouncing on the bed recently was Monday night's episode of The Closer. Captain Raydor (Mary McDonnell) was first presented in the show as a nemesis to Brenda. Then she shifted to an unlikely ally. This season she's been revealed to be a pretty valuable supporter, even if Brenda doesn't always know it. (Chief Pope can seriously bite me.)
Anyway, I loved seeing Raydor lead that chase last night. And then when she whips out that shotgun? Whoa, momma. You go girl! Definitely one of the most badass moments of the series so far. And I absolutely loved the look Tao gave her as she was walking away.
If you haven't ever watched The Closer, and you at all enjoy cop shows, I suggest you do what I did a few years ago and rent season one. It's a fantastic series, and well worth watching. (Although I'm bummed that this is the last season.)
Happy Thing #3 is that it's looking like I've got at least a little bit of my knitting mojo back! I hadn't touched the needles in months, until this past weekend. I poked around on Rav until I found a pattern that looked promising (of course I changed my mind and did something different when the needles actually kissed yarn), and then I hauled out all my sock yarn scrap. Y'all, I have a boat load of sock yarn scrap. Three big, overflowing bags of the stuff, and then some.
I sorted out all the scrap, and most of it was sufficiently bright. So then I sat and watched TV and wound a ginormous ball of scrap yarn, tying on a new color when I came to the end of each scrap. This thing was easily half again the size of my fist. When you consider how thin sock yarn is, that's a LOT. And then I cast on my Shawl of Many Colors. (It'll probably change names a few times, but that's what it is for the moment.)
After a couple of days, the SoMC is on row 87 or so, and growing all the time. This pattern isn't super specific. You get to a certain point and then they give you a general recipe to continue, because the size needed on something like this can vary so much, depending on who it's for an how they want to use it. I could probably stop right now and have a respectable head scarf. But I want a full size shawl, which means the wings span is equal to the height of the wearer. I'm 5'7, so I've got a ways to go. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure I've got enough sock yarn scrap to make it happen. But at some point in the not too distant future I'm going to have to start rolling another ball of yarn.
I'd planned to post a picture of this grand masterpiece, but I can't find my camera. Or the batteries that go in it. So that's going to have to wait for a day or two. By then it will be bigger and more colorful and more impressive anyway.
One more thing that I'm really excited about. There's a challenge coming up in my M/M reading group called the Quarterly Gang Bang. (Trust me, not as kinky as it sounds.) Every person who signs up picks a book for each other member, and they all pick books for you. By the time the picking is done you could have 50-60 titles on your list. The idea is to read all those books in the next quarter. The reading part doesn't actually start until October, but sign ups start on Thursday. I've been wanting to do this for MONTHS, but I felt like I needed to clear out some of the mainstream romance I'd managed to accumulate but not read in the last several years. I did get some of it read (89 out of 198 books read so far this year were non-m/m), and I hope to knock out a few more in September. And then the rest of the year will be dedicated to reading as much delicious m/m lovin' as I can handle. I even have a few holiday reads lined up already. I've been looking forward to this for a long time, and I can't wait to dive in.
So that's all the happy stuff. And I know I said I wasn't going to gossip any more, but I just have to mention that we've had our first official *flounce*! Someone who, by her own admission, left the group for a while and only recently came back, felt the need to declare us all terrible people and announce that she was leaving the group again. So there! It was kind of funny, because a) although she claimed we were all rude, her post was by far the most obnoxious one to date, and b)... oh, hell. I forget what b was. But anyway, you know you haven't had a good internet kerfluffle until someone loudly declares that they're taking their ball and going home. I suspect the whole thing will have petered out to nothing by this time tomorrow.
It was all amazingly civil for an internet dust up. If this had happened on my knitting forum there would have been a pile on, and by the time the mods stepped in the offending parties (not always the original offenders, either) would be ripped to shreds. A half dozen people would dramatically flounce (only to quietly return next week), and whoever is left when the dust settles would be quietly knitting sweaters from the remains of the deceased.
Knitters are Hardcore.
I couldn't imagine it happening in the Betties. I mean, I know it could happen anywhere, and we certainly aren't immune to petty scandals. But accusations? Histrionics? I don't see it.
Anyway, that's what's going on with me for the mo. I'll try to control myself in the future. And I'll let you know about positive developments. I'm not quite ready to say anything about them yet (besides, this post is ridiculously long already), but I'll update you when the shift from "things I intend to do" to "things I'm actively doing". Intention is important, but if you don't follow it up with action you won't get very far.
Lip balm flavor of the day: Gummy Bear
Monday, August 29, 2011
I'm a rotten person
There's an online group that I follow (for the handful of people who actually read my blog-- it's not the one you're thinking of), and it's experiencing a bit of a crisis. It turns out that two very popular members have been at best misrepresenting themselves and at worst may be completely fictional. And now a third, equally popular member has just announced he's going radio silent for a while. Not that that's not a perfectly legit thing to do. Shit happens, and real life always trumps internet life. But the timing is suspicious. (And now I've discovered there is a fourth member who is supposedly related to guy number three, so if Three is a fake, Four is most assuredly one, too.)
I can hear you all now. "How does any of this make you a bad person, Becky?" It makes me a bad person because I'm enjoying the whole thing way too much.
Look, here's the deal. These three people were all wildly popular. The darlings of the group, with lots of attention heaped upon them. Two of the three posted pictures that showed them to be incredibly good looking. (It was the pictures that started the whole thing-- they were found to be a professional photographer's copyrighted work.) All three claim to be young (18-19) and in incredibly mature, loving relationships. All three are extremely articulate, sounding much more wise and mature than the typical 18 or 19 year old. All three have families who are completely accepting of their homosexuality. Only good things happen to them. Any bad things happened in the past and are straight out of an after school special.
Do you see where I'm going with all this? We're talking about teenagers who have it all figured out. (And not in that annoying, you don't know anything yet kid, teenagerish way.) Kids who have perfect lives, perfect relationships, and nothing but sunshine and rainbows in their future. There's no way that it's real. And yet a whole bunch of otherwise intelligent adults have been taken in by it. Now everyone's scrambling around, some condemning them, in the politest language possible, for lying, while others are getting progressively more upset because they see it as a whole bunch of adults ganging up on a couple of kids who made a mistake.
But the thing is, I don't think these are kids. My pet theory, and I'm starting to doubt that there will ever be any clear truth to match it up with, is that this is a big prank. I think Dudes #1 and #2 (who are supposedly a couple) are actually one person creating a story, maybe for the fun of creating a story, maybe for attention or the fun of pulling one over on a bunch of people too willing to take a story at face value. Maybe just for the hell of it. I think Dude #3 is possibly a little more on the level. I think he really is a 19 year old. I think some of what he's said is true. I think his relationship is probably an invention, possibly because he saw all the attention that Dudes #1 and #2 were getting, possibly because he's a 19 year old who desperately wishes he had that perfect relationship. If that's the case, then Dude #4 is probably a sock puppet invented to prop up the stories of Dude #3.
Other than being kind of amused by the lengths some people will go to for a bit of attention, I don't really care that they've done this. It was so obviously not the truth, or at least not the whole truth, that I have nothing invested in these people or their stories. But there are other people who do, and who are really upset about all this. (See, bad person.) I'm just hoping that the bad feelings blow over soon, because this really is a good group, if a little too willing to believe whatever random internet bs they're fed.
In completely unrelated news, Dad has been running a low grade fever all day, and now I am, too. And the lip balm flavor of the day is peppermint. Yum!
Update: Dudes #1 and #2 have admitted that they grabbed a couple of pictures off the internet and claimed them as their own and apologized. They still claim to be two 18 and 19 year old gay guys, and while they also admit that may have glossed over some things, what they have said has been true. Their supporters immediately started praising them for their courage in coming clean and admitting their mistake. A few brave souls have said (politely) that they don't believe that these guys are really guys. (It's a m/m romance community, and apparently it's not just the authors who are often secretly women in groups like this.) The supporters are now getting outraged at the skeptics, claiming that they are so guys! And anyway, they don't care if they aren't. Lots of people wander in to quote "this too shall pass" at everyone and wander back out again. I think a more apt quote at this point would be "there are none so blind as those who will not see."
Dude #3 popped back up today to say that he had a panic attack and that's why he posted yesterday that he was taking a break, although his wonderful boyfriend helped him through it, and he's considering getting some counseling, because the panic attacks have happened before. Highly dubious, although I'm still inclined to believe that there is a real 19 year old gay kid behind this one, even if a lot of what he's said about his relationship is pure fiction.
And I'm still a bad person, because I'm still sitting back with my popcorn, enjoying the whole thing.
I can hear you all now. "How does any of this make you a bad person, Becky?" It makes me a bad person because I'm enjoying the whole thing way too much.
Look, here's the deal. These three people were all wildly popular. The darlings of the group, with lots of attention heaped upon them. Two of the three posted pictures that showed them to be incredibly good looking. (It was the pictures that started the whole thing-- they were found to be a professional photographer's copyrighted work.) All three claim to be young (18-19) and in incredibly mature, loving relationships. All three are extremely articulate, sounding much more wise and mature than the typical 18 or 19 year old. All three have families who are completely accepting of their homosexuality. Only good things happen to them. Any bad things happened in the past and are straight out of an after school special.
Do you see where I'm going with all this? We're talking about teenagers who have it all figured out. (And not in that annoying, you don't know anything yet kid, teenagerish way.) Kids who have perfect lives, perfect relationships, and nothing but sunshine and rainbows in their future. There's no way that it's real. And yet a whole bunch of otherwise intelligent adults have been taken in by it. Now everyone's scrambling around, some condemning them, in the politest language possible, for lying, while others are getting progressively more upset because they see it as a whole bunch of adults ganging up on a couple of kids who made a mistake.
But the thing is, I don't think these are kids. My pet theory, and I'm starting to doubt that there will ever be any clear truth to match it up with, is that this is a big prank. I think Dudes #1 and #2 (who are supposedly a couple) are actually one person creating a story, maybe for the fun of creating a story, maybe for attention or the fun of pulling one over on a bunch of people too willing to take a story at face value. Maybe just for the hell of it. I think Dude #3 is possibly a little more on the level. I think he really is a 19 year old. I think some of what he's said is true. I think his relationship is probably an invention, possibly because he saw all the attention that Dudes #1 and #2 were getting, possibly because he's a 19 year old who desperately wishes he had that perfect relationship. If that's the case, then Dude #4 is probably a sock puppet invented to prop up the stories of Dude #3.
Other than being kind of amused by the lengths some people will go to for a bit of attention, I don't really care that they've done this. It was so obviously not the truth, or at least not the whole truth, that I have nothing invested in these people or their stories. But there are other people who do, and who are really upset about all this. (See, bad person.) I'm just hoping that the bad feelings blow over soon, because this really is a good group, if a little too willing to believe whatever random internet bs they're fed.
In completely unrelated news, Dad has been running a low grade fever all day, and now I am, too. And the lip balm flavor of the day is peppermint. Yum!
Update: Dudes #1 and #2 have admitted that they grabbed a couple of pictures off the internet and claimed them as their own and apologized. They still claim to be two 18 and 19 year old gay guys, and while they also admit that may have glossed over some things, what they have said has been true. Their supporters immediately started praising them for their courage in coming clean and admitting their mistake. A few brave souls have said (politely) that they don't believe that these guys are really guys. (It's a m/m romance community, and apparently it's not just the authors who are often secretly women in groups like this.) The supporters are now getting outraged at the skeptics, claiming that they are so guys! And anyway, they don't care if they aren't. Lots of people wander in to quote "this too shall pass" at everyone and wander back out again. I think a more apt quote at this point would be "there are none so blind as those who will not see."
Dude #3 popped back up today to say that he had a panic attack and that's why he posted yesterday that he was taking a break, although his wonderful boyfriend helped him through it, and he's considering getting some counseling, because the panic attacks have happened before. Highly dubious, although I'm still inclined to believe that there is a real 19 year old gay kid behind this one, even if a lot of what he's said about his relationship is pure fiction.
And I'm still a bad person, because I'm still sitting back with my popcorn, enjoying the whole thing.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Fully Favorable
I got a letter in the mail today from Social Security, y'all. Fully Favorable. That's government-speak for "approved". I got my Social Security.
I called the lawyer right away to let them know, and the woman I talked to said that was the fastest turn around she'd ever seen. The hearing was August 16th, and the letter was dated August 18th. I don't know what my monthly benefit will be yet (although I have a ballpark idea of what it might be based on the letter that Social Security sends out every year) or when exactly I'll get that first check. Sometime within the next 90 days hopefully. But it's just a relief to know that I'm approved and that there will be money coming eventually.
I'm... actually not feeling a whole lot right now. I was pretty certain coming out of the hearing that I would be approved, and this is just confirmation. No doubt the freak out is coming. If the government agrees that I'm disabled, I must actually be this fucking sick. (Knowing how I feel day-to-day and having the government acknowledge and accept it are two different things. Also, who said anyone's internal logic was ever consistent?) But for now, I'm good.
I called the lawyer right away to let them know, and the woman I talked to said that was the fastest turn around she'd ever seen. The hearing was August 16th, and the letter was dated August 18th. I don't know what my monthly benefit will be yet (although I have a ballpark idea of what it might be based on the letter that Social Security sends out every year) or when exactly I'll get that first check. Sometime within the next 90 days hopefully. But it's just a relief to know that I'm approved and that there will be money coming eventually.
I'm... actually not feeling a whole lot right now. I was pretty certain coming out of the hearing that I would be approved, and this is just confirmation. No doubt the freak out is coming. If the government agrees that I'm disabled, I must actually be this fucking sick. (Knowing how I feel day-to-day and having the government acknowledge and accept it are two different things. Also, who said anyone's internal logic was ever consistent?) But for now, I'm good.
Monday, August 15, 2011
We Are Entering.... The Freak Out Zone
OK. My hearing is 36 hours away. Y'all, I am freaking the hell out. The rest of this post may be TMI, so feel free to either click away or scoot to the bottom and leave a comment, whichever you prefer.
Today was not a good day bathroom-wise. I know it's a combination of stress and the flare I experience every month. And I know it's only going to get worse over the next two days. (My hearing is naturally scheduled for the first day of my period-- my most poop-o-rific day of the month.) And for some reason my left wrist and elbow, the wrist and elbow least likely to give me a hard time, both decided to play up today. The ones on the right are slightly achy, but well within the normal range. Which means if I think about it I realize they hurt, but they aren't twinging and demanding my attention.
To add to the stress, my hearing will be not only on the first day of my period, but also on MTX day, which I occasionally refer to as Poison Day when I'm feeling grumpy about it. MTX is a chemo drug, a poison. I take it one day a week to bring my immune system down enough that it hopefully won't try to eat a hole in my insides. It's not a fun drug. It knocks me out flat-- we're talking Jr Narcoleptic time-- and frequently gives me the mother of all headaches. I'll have to be sure I pack my sunglasses, just in case. Part of me, the conniving part, thinks all this is a good thing. Let them see me at my day-to-day worst (understanding that if/when the Crohn's rages out of control I'm looking at symptoms an order of magnitude beyond that-- and probably a hospital visit). The practical side of me is thinking this is a terrible idea and wondering how I'm going to hold it together under all that stress on what will probably be my worst symptom day of the month.
For the last week I've been preparing mentally. Thinking about the questions he's likely to ask and how I might answer. I've also been mentally rehearsing interrupting the hearing to make a bathroom dash, if necessary. (I feel like I've adapted to the indignities my condition treats me to on a regular basis, but the thought of holding up legal proceedings, with all those Lawyers, because I've ohmygodgottagorightnoweverybodyoutofthepool is not a comfortable one.) Tomorrow I need to weigh myself, because they'll want a recent weight, and I need to find a letter (pretty sure I know where it is), and make sure everything I want to wear on Tuesday is clean and ready to go. And then tomorrow evening I need to take a shower and figure out some way to get some sleep and not explode from stress. And then Tuesday afternoon will be The Big Moment. Mom and Dad want to go out to eat somewhere afterwards, to celebrate I guess, even though it's very unlikely I'll get a decision at the hearing. (It will probably come in a letter in a month or two.) I think I'd rather come home to my own bathroom while my body no doubt continues to attempt to expel foods I haven't even eaten yet. Speaking of, it's about time for me to make another pit stop. Thank god that bathroom reading is accepted practice around here, or I'd be so screwed.
So anyway, that's why I'm Freaking The Fuck Out right now.
Today was not a good day bathroom-wise. I know it's a combination of stress and the flare I experience every month. And I know it's only going to get worse over the next two days. (My hearing is naturally scheduled for the first day of my period-- my most poop-o-rific day of the month.) And for some reason my left wrist and elbow, the wrist and elbow least likely to give me a hard time, both decided to play up today. The ones on the right are slightly achy, but well within the normal range. Which means if I think about it I realize they hurt, but they aren't twinging and demanding my attention.
To add to the stress, my hearing will be not only on the first day of my period, but also on MTX day, which I occasionally refer to as Poison Day when I'm feeling grumpy about it. MTX is a chemo drug, a poison. I take it one day a week to bring my immune system down enough that it hopefully won't try to eat a hole in my insides. It's not a fun drug. It knocks me out flat-- we're talking Jr Narcoleptic time-- and frequently gives me the mother of all headaches. I'll have to be sure I pack my sunglasses, just in case. Part of me, the conniving part, thinks all this is a good thing. Let them see me at my day-to-day worst (understanding that if/when the Crohn's rages out of control I'm looking at symptoms an order of magnitude beyond that-- and probably a hospital visit). The practical side of me is thinking this is a terrible idea and wondering how I'm going to hold it together under all that stress on what will probably be my worst symptom day of the month.
For the last week I've been preparing mentally. Thinking about the questions he's likely to ask and how I might answer. I've also been mentally rehearsing interrupting the hearing to make a bathroom dash, if necessary. (I feel like I've adapted to the indignities my condition treats me to on a regular basis, but the thought of holding up legal proceedings, with all those Lawyers, because I've ohmygodgottagorightnoweverybodyoutofthepool is not a comfortable one.) Tomorrow I need to weigh myself, because they'll want a recent weight, and I need to find a letter (pretty sure I know where it is), and make sure everything I want to wear on Tuesday is clean and ready to go. And then tomorrow evening I need to take a shower and figure out some way to get some sleep and not explode from stress. And then Tuesday afternoon will be The Big Moment. Mom and Dad want to go out to eat somewhere afterwards, to celebrate I guess, even though it's very unlikely I'll get a decision at the hearing. (It will probably come in a letter in a month or two.) I think I'd rather come home to my own bathroom while my body no doubt continues to attempt to expel foods I haven't even eaten yet. Speaking of, it's about time for me to make another pit stop. Thank god that bathroom reading is accepted practice around here, or I'd be so screwed.
So anyway, that's why I'm Freaking The Fuck Out right now.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Closed and Self-Righteous
Dinner was more than 7 hours ago, and I'm still pissed off.
Bigotry. That's the only answer I can come up with. It's infuriating. It's bad enough to know that they feel this way and still be forced to live with them. If she fixates on this, and I start getting regular anti-gay rants, I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep from giving her a piece of my mind. And I won't be able to be any more polite about it than she's been.
Get me out of here.
One of my parents' friends from Massachusetts spent the night here last night on her way to a temporary assignment in the Midwest. (This was not the problem. I met Beth in the short period where I was in Massachusetts last fall, and I really liked her.) But Beth went to the same church as Mom and Dad. After she left it kicked out a whole Open and Affirming rant from my mom that still makes me want to vomit. (It may have been the bologna sandwich I had for dinner, but I'm pretty sure it was the exclusionary, anti-LGBT crap that she was spewing.)
A little primer on the situation. The first church they attended in MA adopted an "Open and Affirming" policy within the church. Here's the language I found for this:
“Open and Affirming” means that it has publicly and specifically declared that those of all “sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions” (or “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender” people) are welcome in its full life and ministry (e.g. membership, leadership, employment, etc.) It bespeaks a spirit of hospitality and a willingness to live out that welcome in meaningful ways.Sounds reasonable, right? Everyone who chooses to belong to a church should have the right to be a member and to feel welcome in their church home. Well some people, like my parents, don't see this as reasonable at all. "It's against the teachings of the Bible!" "It's against the teaching of God!" "The Bible says what the Bible says! You don't get to pick and choose!" (She says as she eats ham for dinner.) I hate to be the one to break it to you, sister, but modern Christians pretty thoroughly pick through the Bible, only following the rules that work for them. I haven't given Leviticus a read lately, nor do I plan to. But if memory serves, the anti-homo stuff is just about the only bit that people like my parents choose to follow. They don't bother with the animal sacrificing, or the "women are unclean after child birth" hoey, so why this?
Bigotry. That's the only answer I can come up with. It's infuriating. It's bad enough to know that they feel this way and still be forced to live with them. If she fixates on this, and I start getting regular anti-gay rants, I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep from giving her a piece of my mind. And I won't be able to be any more polite about it than she's been.
Get me out of here.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
The Lupus Foundation of America- Swagbucks' Charity of the Month
Over at Swagbucks (which I've pimped a few times, and yes I'm still racking up the $5 Amazon gift certificates) they've started doing a charity of the month. People can donate swagbucks (points) that they've earned through different activities on the site. Based on the number of swagbucks donated, Swagbucks will make a cash donation to the charity. This month it's the Lupus Foundation of America.
Now, I don't have Lupus (knock on wood), but I know people who do. It's an autoimmune disease, and in a way all AI's are related. An advance for one usually means an advance for all of us down the line. So in that sense this is personal for me. I'd like to see the Lupus Foundation get the biggest donation possible. Plus, the exposure is really great. Everybody knows somebody with an autoimmune disease, but not very many people understand what they are or what we go through in trying to manage our diseases. (I can't really blame the general public for being ignorant in this. Far too many doctors are completely clueless about autoimmune disease.)
If you'd like to help with this donation drive, you can sign up for Swagbucks here: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/fibrobabe. That's my referral link. An easy way to earn swagbucks is to use their search engine when you want to do an internet search. You won't win points every time, but when you do I'll get a few kickback points. I pledge to donate any of those points to the Lupus Foundation, in addition to my regular donation. There are lots of other fast, simple, free ways to earn swagbucks. If anyone decides to sign up and wants to hear about them, I'll blog about that next.
Now, I don't have Lupus (knock on wood), but I know people who do. It's an autoimmune disease, and in a way all AI's are related. An advance for one usually means an advance for all of us down the line. So in that sense this is personal for me. I'd like to see the Lupus Foundation get the biggest donation possible. Plus, the exposure is really great. Everybody knows somebody with an autoimmune disease, but not very many people understand what they are or what we go through in trying to manage our diseases. (I can't really blame the general public for being ignorant in this. Far too many doctors are completely clueless about autoimmune disease.)
If you'd like to help with this donation drive, you can sign up for Swagbucks here: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/fibrobabe. That's my referral link. An easy way to earn swagbucks is to use their search engine when you want to do an internet search. You won't win points every time, but when you do I'll get a few kickback points. I pledge to donate any of those points to the Lupus Foundation, in addition to my regular donation. There are lots of other fast, simple, free ways to earn swagbucks. If anyone decides to sign up and wants to hear about them, I'll blog about that next.
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