Posting under cover of darkness...

[stillane]

Brace yourselves. I'm about to update about many a random thing, and promise no cohesiveness anywhere therein. Anybody interested in skipping to the good parts: I'm still alive and kicking. Dad's surgery went well, and he's healing nicely. Everything else is in the shrug stage. So, overall, thumb's up.

The Good

- As mentioned, Dad came through surgery just fine. So fine, in fact, that his surgeon seemed a bit stunned at his bounce-back abilities. Now he's pacing around like a particularly stubborn jungle critter, amusing himself with a campaign to educate the cats ala water pistol about the sanctity of the living room. When he's not lurking with unholy glee, squirt gun in hand, he's decimating every crossword in a tri-state range. If you have words across and down, fear him.

- Today was also the day of masculine lawn care. All available males in our somewhat odd adopted familial congregation showed up to tackle our acreage. This included two neighbors and my sister's boyfriend (aka The Boy). It was like having our own personal staff of gardeners, with wages paid in beer (food in The Boy's case).

- There might be beachy activities in the next few days. Maybe. This remains to be seen, but even the remote possibility is more than there's been in a while.

- I feel marginally able to write again. My words got... broken, just for a bit, in the chaos of graduation, etc. This may mean that I'll actually get the Atlantis Basics challenge story finished sometime in the very near future, and thus I could potentially stop feeling like an absolute heel. I just haven't wanted to force it and wind up with utter crap. Of course, at this point, it's going to take a damned masterpiece to make up for my bad case of Delicate Writer. I am sorry, truly. And in my defense, the placeholder I wrote qualifies as a story in its own right under the rules of the challenge. This is what I tell myself, at least, while I try frantically to finish the big one.

- Fidelity was recommended on crack_van by the wonderful scribewraith. Given that the comm was one of the first places I stumbled into in fandom LJland, there's something very full circle about the whole thing. Consider me currently pink, both of the tickled and blushing varieties.

- This is being posted over a DSL line, wonderfully enough. No more weeping with frustration over Dialup Hell while stranded at the Ancestral Abode. I'm shaky on just how much bandwidth we get per month, and leary of being too piratical while on the parents' dime, but the improvement is still huge.


The Not-so-great

- Dad spoke with a doctor on the phone the other day, and a phrase or two pinged my unease radar. He told us afterward that everything was fine, and not to worry. He's likely right, and it's probably nothing really scary, but I'm gun-shy these days. I don't know how much I trust him to tell me what's going on, and it makes me a little unsteady. I don't have any right to demand to be told, of course, I just... I like to know what we're in for. I do think it will be okay this time, though, and might be just as trivial as he's making it sound. We'll see.

- The job thing is not progressing at the rate I'd like it to. *sigh* The non-profit I've been interviewing with would want me to move to New York  (city, not just state), assuming they extend an offer at all. This freaks me out on a number of levels, not the least of which is my severely rural upbringing. I'm not quite sure I could handle that much... well, that much. New York visits always leave me feeling small and marginally disliked. I think I might be too much of a wimp for the place. Plus, you know, the cost of living is going to utterly kick my ass. Presuming, again, that they make an offer. Which they haven't. Yet.

Anybody in the market for a slightly used semi-paleontologist with some background in veterinary medicine and a specialization in Medieval literature? I'd work cheap.

- It's been kind of a bummer of a night. Dad didn't exactly endorse my driving abilities in a ringing fashion when called upon to do so (read: got a vaguely manic look in his eyes and shook his head very fast when presented with the idea of me road tripping). I'm not that bad. I swear. Then the mom... well, there were some youngish pictures of me discovered earlier, and in the midst of the awwing and general nostalgia, a comment of two slipped out about them being taken 'before you began to pick up weight' and the like. I'm entirely too sensitive about both subjects. I need to get less touchy and stop letting it bother me, but in the meantime I still wilt a little. Don't mind the moping.


The Huh

- I've been treating my poor flist like a terrarium lately. I peek in every now and then to make sure evolution hasn't gone spastic and created new species or anything, but am otherwise neglectful as all getout. Because of that, I've got some requests for the lot of you.

1. First, the 'WTF?' Hate memes. What the heck was up with that? My own morbid sense of curiosity leads me to wish they were archived somewhere, just for the purposes of review. The whole concept, though, makes me do that cocked-head, blinking expression of 'wha?' So, great and powerful flist, I solemnly ask you: WTF?

2. 'Cohesion' hates me. The web version defies me on a grand scale and continues to have serious issues. I still have no idea why, and now am additionally plagued with no editing program. I was getting decent with the Dreamweaving, and then the trial ran out. *sigh* Any recommendations on cheap (or free; free is very nice) programs that are comparable and work on a Mac?

2. Going more broad in my net casting: feel free to mention anything you've seen lately that you've really liked. Fic, art, movie, song... any fandom or genre... the world is your oyster. Pimp yourselves, or just tell me what you've been up to lately in your own adventures. I feel like I've been missing just about everything, and all aids are welcome.

Okay. I think that's about it for now. The dog has stopped snoring long enough to give me the baleful eyes of sleep deprivation, so I'm going to toddle off to bed. And feartheotter, I may even be sociable sometime early next week. I've been getting better at keeping a "normal" schedule - and yes, it is approaching 3 am here, shush - but I might not sleep through the cell's ringing now that the Nyquil is out of my system. *g*

Comments

[theantimodel.livejournal.com]

I'm glad your Dad is doing better, that's never a fun thing to have to worry about.

Dude what happenend to Cohesion, it's all broken. Was there anything wrong with it before? Because I've got the original html file and if you were editing it for any reason I could probably change whatever you wanted changed, alternatively if you weren't editing it, I can still give you the orignal html file http://killerstar.net/misc/cohesion.html just view the source and save it.

I use smultron (for os x) to edit html, it's not really like dreamweaver at all, but it does have a handy preview feature, and it's not nearly so processor intensive, especially if all you're doing is hand coding.

In terms of recs, everything good that I've read lately is up at my recs journal: anti_recs and on my website. I highly recommend the two Sports Night stories I recced, no matter whether you've ever seen the show or not. They're long, plotty and fabulous. And if you've got the time, you can totally search for Sports Night Sorkin on youtube.com and watch the first 12 episodes, they're only 21-23 minutes long each.

[enname.livejournal.com]

Hey!

Glad to hear that your dad made it through ok, even if there are a few little things niggling. It is better to have a little one than great whomping bucketloads of fear being tipped directly over you.

Meh, write when you can write and it is not like they are going to hunt you down and slaughter you for not doing it. Well, at least I hope not. Graduation, your dad and job hunting are well and truly good excuses for being unable to find the words. You are planning on getting it done which is more than can be said for some people.

I'd pay you to do research for me, but I can barely afford to pay my own rent let alone anyone elses. Job hunting sucks big time though and it takes so long to get anything you want, that half the time you end up just settling for whatever is passing through. Even if it involves large moves to NY and things like that. I remember going straight from a small rural town to London ... it is a damn big shock. Still, I hope they at least offer.

As for driving, you are still alive? Then that is good enough driving skills for me. *nods* I at least can look at my dad and mutter something like 'two fatalities' to get him to back off.

Fandom wank has some screen caps of a couple of the threads from the hate thing amezri has the links somewhere. If you really, really want to abuse your eyes in such a way. I am not really sure it is worth the curiosity. The word 'puerile' leaps to mind. Followed by a lot of other words that aren't really as polite but all meaning a similar thing. Puerile and badly spelt.

Er, welcome back :P

[feartheotter.livejournal.com]

Well howdy, stranger! :D

Being a bit too sleep deprived to adequately respond to all of that, allow me to hit on some key points and save the minutia for a future conversation ;)

Very glad things are okay with yer dad. It's okay to be a little gun-shy: it's a heavy thing to have on your mind, even mostly after the fact - as long as you don't let that stop you from seeing how well things seem to be going. :)

I'm not unfamilliar with the concept of moving to a city after a rural upbringing. Given that my post-Perry co. upbringing was, perhaps, a bit less rural (as my working knowlege of firearms seems to be a bit less than yours *g*), I still drove by a cowfield on my way to school. The transition is defintiely a bit overwhelming, but it's true that there's no place better to hide than in a crowd.

Given the opportunity to pimp things (consider fingers tented, at this point), I think I might send some more music your way >:D And now that I have a DVD-ripper, I can send you Six Feet Under m'self, if you like - I've been going through season 3 again lately and I definitely think it'd keep your interest - emotional melodrama, sexual confusion (of all varieties), gay paintball, metphysical visions of dead loved ones in hawaiian shorts, pretentious Eurotrash ranting on the nature of art, people done in by falling airplane waste, etc. (If you're not up to pirating it, I can send you some data DVDs if you'd rather). Movies.... I dunno.... how about *ponders briefly* Delicatessen. It's a french surrealist fantasy from the guys who did Amelie, but significantly darker than that, basically revolving around a (presumably) post-apocalyptic apartment building above a butcher shop, in which the tenants have an agreement that they'll keep one apartment open and use the person who rents it as a meat source. This, of course, raises a problem when it's rented by a clownish fellow who falls in love with the butcher's mousy daughter.

Annnnnnnd, I have an eye-patched, peg-legged copy of Macromedia Stuido (including Dreamweaver) that I can ship yer way also, if you like :)

(PS. As always, love your diction :D )

[eccentric_hat]

On the recommendation front, I would recommend flying to Minnesota to see A Prairie Home Companion just for the sake of how much the audiences here are prepared to love the movie. If that's not realistic, see it anyway; it's a sweet, ironic, homey film and an odd kind of comfort if you're, say, a child of a small town faced with the prospect of moving to New York City. (It scares me too. I'm leaving on Sunday.)

[raucousraven.livejournal.com]

Hey there person I missed hearing from :)

Glad to see the Dad's come through all right; I know the feeling, both the wilted relief and the gun-shy kneejerk responses. (I'd endorse the gentle questions route if those phrases remain on your mind [/unsolicited].)

In the Confronting Your Fears arena, I just drove the LA freeways for the first time this week. And I did not die. This is an inexpressible relief. And, you know, it's also kind of ...weirdly empowering to realise that not only can I merge at 70 mi/hr, I can totally get lost on the I-5 and still make it home in time for NBA playoffs if I have to. I mean, if I can do that, what else can I do?!

Santa Barbara had beautiful waves today; I saw both surfers and pelicans, but not at the same time. (Unfortunately.) In a related thought, travel by train is highly underrated, especially when it involves the California coast and ample snack foods near at hand.

As for readings, well, I'm still on the cartoon bender. If you're innerested, lemme know and I'll give details [/geek]

[geek]

[stillane.livejournal.com]

Oh, Cohesion. *sigh* I haven't the foggiest. It was fine for the longest time, and then I began hearing that it had gone psycho. I checked, and lo and behold this was true. The damn thing seems to have a bad case of creeping deletion. At first just the very end was lopped off, but every time I look there's a little more missing. It was resistant to all forms of repair, too. I'm apparently going to be edit capable soon, though, and I think I'll just start over with it. *shrug* We'll see.

Now that the internet gods are smiling on me again - I think I displeased them last week, and payed for it with no access - I'm heading on over to trawl through your recs. I'm not habitually a Sports Nighter, but I trust you. *g* Thanks for providing a direction.

[stillane.livejournal.com]

Yay for a lack of great whomping bucketloads! Unless they are of chocolate, and then all bets are off. *g*

I would love to do research for you, were you to suddenly win/inherit large sums. Let me know when the windfall comes in and I'll be there with bells on. I mean, frenetic friars.

I am all for the 'continued existence = competence' scale of motorist assessment. *nods* As a bonus, you'd never hear the disparaging remarks if you were a 'bad driver'. (Hmm. Except, by that definition, little old ladies should be the best drivers ever.)

Ooo. Puerile. I kind of love the idea of throwing big words at them all. Big words for small minds, I say.

Nice to be back. *g* Actually, it's especially nice after an unexpected weekend dearth of internet (and seriously, what kind of hotel in this day and age doesn't have access of any form? sheesh).

[stillane.livejournal.com]

As I've conversed with you since, I'll just say I'm back. Also, yes, please. *g*

[feartheotter.livejournal.com]

Ah, excellent >:D

[stillane.livejournal.com]

I'll be sure to hop the next flight. *g* Failing that, I'll drag my mom to the theater.

As the internet - in its infinite, binary wisdom - decided that I should assume an Amish lifestyle for the weekend, I'm just now getting to ask: how goes the move? When do you need to begin being productive?

Hope you are settling in well and enjoying the new venture, unnerving as it may be.

[stillane.livejournal.com]

Hey there, person I missed hearing from back :>

Thanks for the Dad thoughts. The gentle questions seem to be keeping me in the loop, so yay. (And unsolicited is never the same as unwelcome here, especially when it's you. I'd say I have an open solicitation policy, but I think you can be arrested for that sort of thing. *g*)

L.A. freeways? Go, you! I visited San Diego a couple times and spent every transportation experience with eyes the size of saucers. Then I made friends with a Connecticut driver, and learned the true meaning of fear. Congratulations on the huge bravery and daring-do.

Incidentally... California? I think I missed something. Is this short or long term? Also, business or pleasure? (Well, okay, it's California, so I suppose it would be more like 'business or businesspleasure'. *g*) And travel by train is so much more than it's cracked up to be. I've become a convert to the ways of the rail in the last few years. I could only take so many hours on Greyhound before I hit my limit. That and the crazy lady of Port Authority who thought I was her long-lost argument partner convinced me that Amtrak was the better part of valor.

As for readings, I'm moseying on over to check out the explanatory post you mentioned way back when. The geek is always good. *g*

Hope the days of beaches continue to rule, with at least a 50 % chance of a pelican/surfer confluence.

[stillane.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Dad is never touching the computer again. Ever. Three days of internet woes, and he never mentions that he decided to play 'What If...' with the cord system. *headdesk* The phone fellow showed up, switched the lines and raised an eyebrow at me. I died. *sigh* Really wish I'd been around for the initial setup. I'd at least know what Right looked like. *g*

[feartheotter.livejournal.com]

Hehe. Well, embarassment in front of tech support isn't so bad. Remember how many dead baby jokes they have to know ;) *g*

Live and learn, as they say. Hopefully you're beyond the stage of getting Luvs, though (or not yet at it, as the case may be).

Annnnnd did it not occur to him at any point during these three days that whatever he did may have been the problem?

[eccentric_hat]

The move was minimal: I brought my airline-allowed two suitcases, and am living in a dorm again. Although I haven't exactly been called upon to be productive, I have attended half a dozen lectures already, all of which have been very interesting and which make quite an exhausting routine. Tonight it was legendary editor Robert Gottlieb, who rambled discursively about his life. And I've now talked to some people more than once, and about things other than where they're from. So on the whole, things are going quite well.

[enname.livejournal.com]

and seriously, what kind of hotel in this day and age doesn't have access of any form? sheesh

One that I don't want to stay in, that is for sure. Or one that is so far away from built up areas ... no wait, most of those places have really good satellite and wireless.

Welcome back to civilisation! :P

Ooo. Puerile. I kind of love the idea of throwing big words at them all. Big words for small minds, I say.

Somedays I think puerile is my favouritest word ever and then realise the irony of it is that I am quite possibly being puerile over the word puerile. My headeth hurteth. *g*

Forced expansion of the mind, or at least letting the mind go kablooey of its own accord. *nod*

Hmm. Except, by that definition, little old ladies should be the best drivers ever.

I do like your definition, because I think it is the current one anyway. They (that nebulous they) just want to pretend otherwise for nefarious reasons.

That is a little old lady Catch-22. Perhaps anyone over the age of 70 should just be categorised as 'unknown phenomena' and avoided?

I would love to do research for you, were you to suddenly win/inherit large sums. Let me know when the windfall comes in and I'll be there with bells on. I mean, frenetic friars.

Oh God, when did the word friar become porn? *heads off to try flagellate self out of the habit* Frenetic friars. *shudder* Twisted, I am twisted.

On that note perhaps I shall start petitioning the living versions (and not like be weird and stalkerish) to see if they can give me a windfall, gotta do my part to Save New Graduates. :P

Whomping bucketloads of chocolate. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. A chocolate bath. Ooooo there is a place here that does Chocolate Fondue - they just pour out 8 litres of softened chocolate couvature. *dies* Stuff dipping fruit and marshmellows, I'll dip me.

[enname.livejournal.com]

I only just noticed the most atrocious pun ever in 'flagellate self out of the habit'. You have my utmost apologies for that. *heads desk*

Brain need caffeine.