If I spoke in prose, you'd all find out

Memeage: Questions from elegantenigma

2009-11-07T00:45:07Z

• Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."

• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.

• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.

• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

1) (and I've probably asked this) How did you end up in Cedar Rapids and why?

I had a friend who lived here, and we were looking for somewhere new to go. In retrospect, it was probably a "bad" decision, but everything happens for a reason, and the people I've met here have far outweighed the relative lack of culture and the shitty weather. Still, I keep thinking it's time to move on. We'll see.

2) Who is your hero? Why?

That's a toughie. I'm not sure I really have one. My kids come close - some of the things they do really amaze me. They have such strong personalities and strength of character, and if any one thing could come close to hearing D.C. reading a book for the first time today, it would be how excited and proud Thalia was of him! Such love.

3) What would you do on your ideal date (money/time/babysitting is no object)?

Barnes & Noble, then a late dinner (either Indian or pizza) then home for a bottle of wine & a board game. Am I boring? I'm afraid I might be boring...

4) What is your favorite musical genre and why?

This is almost impossible to answer. I love so many things for so many different reasons, and some of what I love doesn't even have a genre identification yet (Sunset Rubdown is sometimes called "post-punk," but that just sits wrong with me.) I guess I would have to say progressive, but I'm not even sure I could narrow it down to progressive rock. There's so much more out there that I feel embodies the essence of progressive music, that I wouldn't consistently call "rock" - I like to use a label I call "progressive folk" for artists like Beck, who stretch the boundaries of genre and yet always seem to pay homage to their roots (in the way that all good "folk" musicians do) and who draw from progressive sensibilities, in the cohesive, thematic albums and the constant experimentation. Similarly, artists like the Flaming Lips I tend to call "progressive pop," much like the later Beatles. So, OK. Progressive. I like concept albums and musical experimentation, and I like stuff that makes you think, both musically and lyrically.

5) If you could go on vacation, where would you go and who would you take?

Ireland, and Thalia. My mom always wanted to take me to Ireland someday, but we never made it. So, I figure eventually, when I can afford it, I'll take my own daughter instead.

misplacedmind @ 2009-11-06T12:25:00

2009-11-06T18:33:44Z

Oops, missed a day. I was pretty out of it yesterday. Today, although I'm still exhausted (bronchitis sucks) I can't manage to get to sleep. I've been cleaning instead, probably not the best idea, but hey. I left work early today because I was so wiped out, but every time I close my eyes, I just lie there. Sadness.

The kids have off of school today for some teacher learning day or summat. Luckily, it's simply lovely out, and James decided to walk them up to the park for a few hours. (again, I should be making use of it by sleeping, but can't.) I wish I'd felt good enough to go with them! I am so sick of this sickness.

I've become unhealthily addicted to Psych lately. I borrowed the first two seasons from James' mom, and then started trying to track down s3 online. Was pointed to one site, but it skips quite a lot - would probably be fine with a faster internet speed. So, I started spending the money I had sitting in my iTunes account from some gift card from a while ago. Sweet! Only $2/ep, which isn't bad! The REAL sign of my addiction, though, is that I bought my favorite ep from s1, so I could watch it again (and again. and again.) Crazy.

In other addicted-to-television news, I've become quite fond of Eastwick, and I hope my "nothing I like sticks around for more than a season, if that" curse isn't coming into effect, because they pulled all of the episodes off of the ABC website, and the most recent (from Wed.) never got posted. I will be very sad if it disappears mid-season, because I love Rebecca Romijn, Lindsay Price, and that dude from Slings & Arrows. LOVE THEM!

Blergh, OR, ...in which life is spanned

2009-11-05T01:05:11Z

Being sick is teh suxx0rs.

It has been brought to my attention that I seem to have developed bronchitis. Fail.

In the happy news front, James' step-mom had her baby on Halloween! I have yet to meet little Lindsi Marie, but I find it so exciting that James has so many young younger siblings. I can't wait 'til I'm healthy so I can convince James (for whom the novelty has somewhat worn off) to go visit.

Also, jakeit's friend Sheila should be having her baby any time now. She's in being induced now.

Babies are awesome!

There you have it: from feeling like I'm at death's door, to new arrivals into this world. "It's the CIIIIIIIRRRCLE of LIIIIIIIIFE!"

Or something.

...in which day 2 of the daily blogging experiment turns into a bitch-fest as well.

2009-11-04T00:54:58Z

I guess I'm simply hard to please.

Let me say this to get things started: all appearances to the contrary, I do *not* "hate" my job. It frustrates me no end, most days, and my co-workers drive me crazy, most days... but overall, it's better than many I've had. I like that I'm on my feet all day, instead of stuck behind a desk. I like that I get to help customers. There are many things about my job that make it preferable to many others I've had.

HOWEVER.

I get in to work at 5am. The store doesn't open 'til 8am. The overnight crew leaves at around 7. One of the supposed "perks" to working overnight is that they're allowed to listen to music. How it's chosen varies, but I think often whoever is the "Leader on Duty" just chooses. For whatever reason, all they can play is the radio. There's no internet feed, no CD player - just radio. For reasons obvious to most people (i.e., I'm a curmudgeon, normal people like normal music, etc) they always play commercial radio. More often than not, they play the local "easy listening," "hits of the past 2-3 decades" station.

No matter what mood I'm in when I get to work - happy, sad, excited, depressed, neutral - within 20min of "easy listening" I feel my violent tendencies start to once again take hold. Nothing makes me angrier than radio commercials, for some reason... well, except maybe early morning radio host banter. Then, there's the music. Music is very important to me, generally. I can manipulate my mood like a puppeteer just by playing the right music. Sometimes, if the music is really bad, I can just let it fade into the background. The trouble with "easy listening" stations, though, is that they trick my ears into paying attention by playing, say, Billy Joel, and then before I can shut down again, they've assaulted my aural faculties with, say, Bryan Adams.

Early mornings at work are hell for me. They won't let us bring in mp3 players and listen to our own music. They won't turn the overhead music off. I guess I should just be glad that (a)I don't work overnight, and (b)the store is silent while it's open!

Sigh. I really miss the one time when James was working overnights at Target and they had a contest to see who would pick the radio station for the night and he won, and I came in at 5 and got to hear NPR! Oh, it was heavenly.

...in which her mother was right, in a sense.

2009-11-02T23:08:50Z

I'm not particularly skilled at large numbers of things. I know next to nothing about computers (well, I taught myself some basic HTML 10yrs ago about which I remember little, and I took a C++ class in college about which I remember less.) I can't fix things when they're broken. I can't sew to save my life. Really, if it has a practical use, chances are I'm lousy at it.

However, the things at which I DO excel are quite dear to me. Call it vanity, call it foolish pride: even though I know they are scoffed upon by the bulk of society, I own my skills. I love them. I cherish them.

Which is why, when I see something posted in my department at work that shows an utter lack of concern for such basic details as WHAT WORDS MEAN, I get angry. Like, Hulk-angry. I know that's silly. I know I'm an intolerant pedant. Still, I'm pretty sure I learned the word THESAURUS sometime in elementary school. I'm also pretty sure that a list of common foods and the aisle in which they are located is NOT, in fact, a "Food Thesaurus."

What I don't get is why people won't acknowledge the fact that word meanings are a key component to communication. If someone were to have told me that we were getting a "Food Thesaurus" I'd have said, "Awesome! It's nice to be reminded that chick peas are the same as garbanzo beans!" I certainly would NOT have expected something that would far more accurately be referred to as a directory.

So, in summary, I think I kind of get it now. I may perhaps understand where my mother was coming from when she would nag me, as a kid, only to be friends with my "intellectual equals." I still think she was wrong in demanding that of a high school kid - that's precisely when I was supposed to be exploring my options, learning what people are all about, learning what I was and wanted to be. However, as I go through life experiencing the agonizing frustration she was trying to spare me, I see why she was so adamant.

It's not even that I necessarily think people who don't know or care about these things are LESS than me. In fact, it's more that *they* tend to think that I am less than *them,* for bothering to care. Also, though, it's that I don't like who I become when I "Hulk out" like that. I don't like the anger that rages through me. I don't like the condescension I feel, or the urge to punch people. Still, I also don't like the thought of NOT caring. I just want to be around other people who care, too. Or at least people who care that *I* care, because they realize that *somebody* should.

misplacedmind @ 2009-11-01T14:53:00

2009-11-01T20:54:43Z

I am currently trying to decide whether encouraging myself to post daily (or at least more regularly) will spur my creativity and foster better discipline... or simply add to my list of Ways to Procrastinate.

It's an interesting conundrum. Mainly just because I like the word conundrum.

Thoughts.

2009-10-12T09:50:36Z

Many of you here will no doubt remember that first gathering at the beginning of freshman orientation at William & Mary. They sat us down, and told us, essentially: "Listen. You got here because you're the best of the best. When you leave here, you'll be the best of the best again. However, while you're here, you're surrounded by others just like you. You're normal; you're average, unless you work your tush off not to be so."

I'm paraphrasing.

Thing is, I couldn't handle it. Growing up, I was "the best of the best" (or some close approximation thereto) just by... being. I wasn't made for hard work; I'd abjured it for 17 long years and I wasn't going to start then. Of course, you all know the rest - I inevitably flunked out of that prestigious school, and have spent the rest of my adulthood paying for it (in life; the actual loans I paid off with my mom's 401k when she passed away. don't worry, I racked up more when I went back to school & dropped out, later.)

Now, in the "real world," even though I never got a degree, I'm ostensibly "the best of the best" again. I see it in my workplace, mostly - not that people aren't intelligent (because of course I've grown to realize that there are all different sorts of ways to be intelligent, yadda yadda yadda) but that they aren't CURIOUS. I see it just in everyday life, walking down the street. I don't mean to be vain, but most folks would agree: people (in general, often, and always as a group) are stupid.

Thing is, I can't handle it. Somehow, in my 4+ years at W&M, I got used to being mediocre. Or, more honestly, I got comfortable with being *normal.* Now, as I get older, I would give ANYthing to be put in a situation where I am forced to work my tush off to prove myself. I'm TIRED of being that same lazy teenager who was handed life on a silver platter for the mere freak of genetics that allowed her to out-think her peers. I'm sick of out-thinking people; I want to be challenged!

I want to be told I'm not good enough, so I can step up and say, "Oh you think SO, huh?!"

This is all a roundabout, making-me-late-to-work way of saying that I'm sick of dithering. Each paycheck from now 'til Christmas, if I can afford it, I will be taking $40 and using it to pay the application fee at various colleges. U of Iowa, U Wisconson - Madison, and re-applying at W&M are at the top of my list. Screw this waiting and doubting. I hereby commit it to typing, and enter it as a promise, with you, oh denizens of LiveJournal, as my witnesses. Even though I sound like a pompous ass in the bulk of this entry.

I'm counting on you to hold me to this, guys!

Writer's Block: My Ideal Life Ten Years from Now…

2009-07-09T23:56:44Z

What does your ideal lifestyle look like 10 years from now?

Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow.

View 502 Answers

In ten years' time, I would like to be living somewhere other than Iowa. I want to be able to go to concerts on a regular basis without having to drive 4hrs and spend more on gas than on tickets. In fact, a key factor of my dream lifestyle is attending concerts as often as humanly possible. I would, of course, like to *give* concerts as well, ideally. Spending 5 out of 7 nights a week immersed in the live music scene would be perfect - the other two nights would be reserved for attending theater.

I want to work a job that doesn't require me to be up at 3am.

I want to be exercising on a regular basis, ideally incorporating yoga classes into the routine.

I hope to have finished my first bachelor's degree and be pursuing either a second, or a master's. I think it would be awesome to eventually secure a BA, a BS, AND a BM. I'll settle for just one master's, though.

I want to be making enough money to eat organic, low-impact, and locally. Either that, or I'd like to magically force the government to either subsidize healthy foods so they're cheaper, or penalize crap so it's prohibitively expensive to make and buy. Or both.

misplacedmind @ 2009-02-23T03:40:00

2009-02-23T09:49:44Z

I just want to point out, and perhaps, quite possibly, revel in, the irony of the fact that I went and joined a gym less than a week before having my ingrown toenail cut out. I really want to be good, and not waste money, and feel better, and for all other sorts of various reasons GO TO THE DAMNED GYM... but, a full week later, my damned to is still majorly painful, to the extent that doing half an hour on the elliptical would probably be a fucking stupid idea, heh.

I am the queen of excuses, but even I couldn't have made this one up. Stupid toe.

I still feel like there must be something wrong if it still hurts a week later. I'm nearly out of acetaminophen + codeine! Only 4 pills left... and I haven't been taking the full 3/day that I'm "allowed." IF this doesn't feel better within 2-3days, I may have to go back to the dr... which would suck, as I'm pretty sure they don't take me seriously much of the time. (apparently, everything I complain about is nothing more than a "physical symptom of depression" - which I'm guessing is the new PC term for "hypochondria.")

memeage!

2009-01-27T19:55:24Z

Having just read this entry from athaena:

The Big Read thinks the average adult has only read six of the top 100 books they've printed below.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.

1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series – JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
6. The Bible - various authors (well, much of it, anyway...)
7. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte (why was there no directive to show that you loathed something?)
8. Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11. Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare (many of them, at least)
16. The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch – George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows– Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34. Emma – Jane Austen
35. Persuasion – Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis (as Melanie said, wouldn't this count as part of the Chronicles of Narnia??)
37. The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41. Animal Farm – George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45. The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale – Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50. Atonement – Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52. Dune – Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62. Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones' Diary – Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children – Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72. Dracula – Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses – James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome (I *think* I read it as a child, but I'm not sure...)
78. Germinal – Emile
79. Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession – AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web – EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad (again, LOATHED it)
92. The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94. Watership Down – Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole (I *tried* to read it, but didn't get far)
96. A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet – William Shakespeare (again, like Mel said, should be included in the Complete Works of Shakespeare??)
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Ugh, a paltry 39! How sad am I??

misplacedmind @ 2008-12-15T04:04:00

2008-12-15T10:19:26Z

THE RULES!

1. Put your music playing device on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag friends who might enjoy doing this here meme.

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
You're My Only Home - The Magnetic Fields

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
A Little Better - Gnarls Barkley

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL
Pulse - Ani DiFranco
HAHAHAHA - that easy, am I?

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Whitelightgenerator - Ladytron

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Cracked LCD - Ladytron

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Wontcha Come Home - G. Love and Special Sauce
oh, that's sad :(

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Countdown - Rush

WHAT IS 2+2?
The Spark That Bled - The Flaming Lips
interesting! only science themed album I own... I think...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Rental Car - Beck
my best friends... HAVE rented cars... in the past... ??

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts - Wolf Parade

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Heaven Hammer (Missing) - Beck

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Angels & Seagulls - Kimya Dawson

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Find Yourself, Discover God - Orphaned Land
HA!

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode
Awwwwwwww

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Goodnight Lovers - Depeche Mode
HAHA! I guess I *am* that easy!

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET ?
The Nun's Litany - The Magnetic Fields
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Untitled - Hot Chip

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Skin - Siouxsie and the Banshees

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Being Cool - Kimya Dawson
Best way to die... EVER

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
My Rollercoaster - Kimya Dawson

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
You Bet Your Life - Rush

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
More Bacon Than the Pan Can Handle - Mike Doughty

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Candy - The Magnetic Fields

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
You Made Me Realise - My Bloody Valentine
Hunh

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
For Katie - Kimya Dawson
HUNH

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Illumination - Gogol Bordello
V. Interesting...

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - The Scissor Sisters

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Missing - Beck
does that mean I *shouldn't* post it???

Hardly any of these make ANY sense :(

misplacedmind @ 2008-12-05T04:07:00

2008-12-05T10:30:23Z

I got a total of 2hrs fitful sleep last night, following the incredible awesomeness that was Hamell on Trial (review here.) I never sleep well when I know the alarm is due to go off soon, because I hateHateHATE alarms, and in fact when I'm on a fairly regular schedule and getting decent amounts of sleep, I'll often wake JUST before my alarm goes off, naturally, and turn it off before I have to hear it.

So anyway, I'm killing time, because I showered last night, and my lunch is made, and I'm not leaving for work for another 1/2hr. In addition to farting around on LJ, this time-killing involves farting around on Wikipedia. I was looking at the list of "Musical groups disestablished in 2008." What a fucking awkward way of phrasing that, eh? Seriously.

Anyway, I learned, or relearned, or was reminded, that Quiet Riot disbanded late last year, because Kevin DuBrow was found dead in November. I can't believe I didn't remember that, assuming I ever knew. All I can say, and you can mock me all you like, is that I'm glad I saw Quiet Riot when I did (sometime in '99 or '00, I can't remember which) because it would've sucked to miss them entirely. They were my favorite band when I was a little kid! My best friend at the time was heavy into INXS herself, and my cousin cartoongoddess, whom we also hung out with a lot, was a hardcore Depeche Mode fan. Funny - hair metal, pop, and post-punk. An interesting combination.

Most of the other bands on the "disestablished" list were acts I'd never heard of. Sad. Apparently someone cared about them enough to write them Wikipedia entries... so it's sad that they broke up, and sadder still that no one cares. Heh.

As contrast, I have heard of exactly ZERO of the acts listed has having been established in 2008... which is more reasonable, I guess... give 'em time to get famous, right? Still I'd like to become more well-versed in modern music. I feel like I should, anyway. It's wrong of me, though, I think, that I have this disturbing rubbernecking desire to cross-reference the "Musical groups established in 2007" list with the "Musical groups disestablished in 2008" list. Isn't it?

misplacedmind @ 2008-11-25T17:11:00

2008-11-25T23:19:22Z

Here's a question for you all, part etiquette, part brainstorm:

Say you're invited to Thanksgiving dinner, and the enthusiastic and well-meaning host vehemently insists that you bring nothing. However, you're painfully aware that going to an event like this empty-handed will cause your dear-departed mother to roll over in her grave (not an easy feat, given that she was cremated) AND will lead to feelings of inadequacy and embarrassment.

What do you do?

Currently, my plan is to bring a nice flower arrangement for the table, and a bottle of wine. I'll probably do that regardless of the responses here, but I'm looking for something more. Something different. Something a little less obvious than wine and flowers.

C'mon people! Throw some ideas at me!

Writer's Block: Oh, but it’s cold outside!

2008-11-20T20:12:02Z

"Oh, but it's cold outside!" It's a fact of life that the economic climate is a bit chilly this holiday season. Is that affecting how you're doing your holiday shopping?

misplacedmind @ 2008-11-05T14:45:00

2008-11-05T20:57:47Z

I'm happy about Obama winning, yadda yadda yadda. Historic day blah blah.

NOW!

WHAT THE FUCK, CALIFORNIA?!?!?!

I am so unutterably annoyed right now. It's like the country took one step forward, and two steps back. How can two - TWO! - states that voted for the Democratic presidential candidate ALSO have voted in initiatives to ban gay marriage?? Oh, and CA. Ugh. This back and forth thing is so damned frustrating!

THIS is what I don't understand about all of these constitutional amendments to define marriage as between a man and a woman:

Marriage, in most - if not all - religions is a *sacrament.* Right? Now, in the U.S., even things that are otherwise illegal are often legal when they are religious sacraments. If I understand it correctly, that is. If Native Americans can smoke peyote sacramentally, and Rastafarians can smoke marijuana in a religious context, then shouldn't it also be protected for anyone who is allowed &/or encouraged by their church to get married, to be able to do so? With absolutely NO secular penalties? Meaning, they should be able to enjoy all secular benefits applied to the term elsewise?

I don't know. I was thinking about that today. I'm no lawyer or anything, but wtf, srsly. You can't amend your damned state constitution to PREVENT people from participating in their religious sacraments (unless people are being ACTUALLY harmed - I'm pretty sure Satanists can't sacrifice babies, hehehe!)

misplacedmind @ 2008-11-02T08:05:00

2008-11-02T14:24:17Z

Not one person, at an entire convention supposedly filled with the geekiest of the geeky, seemed to know that I was dressed as a Pastamancer yesterday! Do so few people play Kingdom of Loathing?? (I know that skipperdee was busy with and distracted by all of her various duties in making the Con run smoothly, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt... ;0) )

Maybe it's not that people don't play the game, but that my costume simply wasn't very good. TONS of people commented on my Grateful Undead shirt, on its lonesome. The proprietor of King Zombie assumed I was a fellow zombie-lover (which, y'know, I am, but still...) Lots of people said "Cool shirt!" but I don't think a one of them meant it in reference to the game.

Perhaps the shirt was too distracting. I should've worn the Star Shirt that I made for James, instead. Hell, I just should've been the Disco Bandit instead, full out! Apparently, in life, as in game, my class choice is sub-optimal ;0)

Overall, though, ICON was an awesome experience, and it was incredibly fun to take Thalia to her first Con ever. I'm only disappointed that I didn't get to meet Tanya Huff. If I had the money for another day pass, I'd totally skip out of church today and drive down for her discussions today (the Aliens: Writing About What You Don't Know one sounds particularly interesting!) She is so awesome, and it's cool that she came to Iowa. I REALLY wanted to go to her Are Vampires the Only Erotic Fantasy Creatures? panel last night, but I didn't think it was really something I should take Thalia too. That, and not getting to jump in on a game of Arkham Horror, were the only downsides to going alone with a six-year-old to a sci-fi con.

**************************************************************************

On a completely different note: I found out yesterday that a fella I knew in college committed suicide last week. I've been crying off and on since I heard about it. We were never as close as I wished we could've been... but he was just such an amazing, wonderful individual. Please keep his loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.

the perils of ponderous thinking

2008-10-23T01:54:07Z

I was charged, recently, with the task of spending some time each day imagining myself in various "dream jobs," a different one each day for a week.

The argument for this was based on a study which claimed to have found that paraplegics were notably happier if they spend some time each day daydreaming about walking.

My initial reaction was, "WTF? Wouldn't that just be depressing?" However, I decided to try it out anyway.

Last night, as I lay in bed anticipating sleep, I started imagining my first "dream job" - theoretical mathematician. It started out nice enough: lots of lovely images of long nights spent at white boards. However, my mind then did that THING it does, where it just can't let a good thing be. It was all downhill from there, no matter how I tried to spin it - lots of terrifying thoughts of how I'd have to be attached to a university, so I'd have to be a professor, and even if I could arrange it so that I ONLY taught classes relating to algebra (my favorite subject, at any difficulty level) I still would have to *teach,* which is something that terrifies me and that (not coincidentally, I'm sure) I'm rather terrible at. Not to mention the fear that I'd alienate all of my friends and family, and encourage rather than challenge my social phobias.

Sigh. Sometimes I can't tell whether I'm pragmatic, or cynical, or some warped and twisted combination of the two. I'm willing to keep giving this thing a try, really I am... but I just have no faith in my skills at "playing pretend." There's no reason to believe that any of my other "dream jobs" will fare any better. In fact, I would imagine that the most I would gain from this exercise is a sense of resignation towards my own life, since no "dream" job would ever be all it's cracked up to be. Not a bad lesson to learn, I suppose, but certainly not the increased sense of vicarious joy which I was promised, heh.

For all that I daydream a lot, it tends, I suppose, to be rather negative. I tend to like thinking about all of the bad things that could possibly happen, so I'm never unpleasantly surprised. I also don't like imagining good things, because then I could be disappointed. Pretty fucked up, huh?

misplacedmind @ 2008-10-16T14:18:00

2008-10-16T19:18:52Z

Fun interactivity, via ellen_datlow:

Palin as President

Our days are numbered... this one goes by both 28 and 365

2008-09-28T22:38:32Z

It is important to mark the passing of years. They are the longest spans of time over which we have any sort of control. The next higher standard measurement, the decade, is next to meaningless - after all, we see, what, 8 or 9 of them in our lifetime, if we're lucky? You can't make plans by the decade, really. You waste a lot of time if you wait to see what the next decade will bring. Years, however, are powerful and empowering.

Still, typical New Year's celebrations are overblown and commercial. The placement of months on our calendar is in itself arbitrary. Other cultures - Jewish, Chinese - have their own "new year" that's just as valid as our Western, Roman-inspired mishmash. Resolutions made in the dead of winter, in the depths of depression, melt away with the snow and serve no purpose but to increase disillusionment.

Birthdays! Now *that's* the way to go about recognizing and celebrating the passage of years! Another year seen by our own eyes, experienced by our own senses. Another year we have ahead to plan for, and to encapsulate all of our excitement and trepidation. A true year, more or less (sadly, without taking into account the 1/4 day differential) - not a year reliant on nonsensical names and numbers that no longer even match (September? Really? The seventh month, is it?)

Happy Birthday to starcrossedlady!!!! I'm glad our seasons spin 'round together :)

This has been an awesome birthday for me.

James, of course, gave me my presents a while ago. He gave me the Amanda Palmer solo CD, Who Killed Amanda Palmer - WHICH IS AWESOME! People keep saying that it's "overproduced," but they must be on crack because Ben Folds is a brilliant producer. Silly fools won't accept Has Been as conclusive evidence. Sigh. Anyway, James gave me the CD early, because he wanted to make sure I didn't get it myself :)

James also got me tickets to see Sunset Rubdown, which we picked up well before my birthday, obviously. That concert is Thursday, and OH MY GOD I am so excited. Spencer Krug WILL be smuggling me back to Canada with him. I decree it, and everything I say on my birthday is FACT.

The rest of my haul, so far:

This was from James' mom, Barb. AWESOME!!! As my friend Dave said, "That gift really benefits everybody!"

This was from my friends Jim & Val. Oh my God it's the coolest thing ever.

I also got a card from jakeit, and my aunt told me via email that a box from her is on its way.

Birthdays RULE. I don't care if I'm too old to get this excited. FUCKIT!! Birthdays rule.

OH! and my gift to myself? Copious baking :D I made: tiramisu for my friend Dave, who's party was joint with mine (his birthday was the 24th;) cupcakes to take into work; mini cupcakes to take to the preschoolers I teach at church; coffee cakes to bring to Angel Food distribution yesterday morning; AND (last but not least) MORE cupcakes to bring out to Hamburger Mary's tonight, when I meet up with some people for drinks. I LOVE baking, and my birthday is the PERFECT opportunity to accost people with unaskedfor sweets :)

cute quiz

2008-09-22T01:30:46Z

Your result for Reincarnation Placement Exam...

Deep Space Explorer

66% Intrigue, 78% Civilization, 57% Humanity, 54% Urbanization.

Hmm... You're a tough one to place. Your answers indicate that you like technology and education. You enjoy intrigue, adventure and chaos. You're fine with hard work and civilization. This all bodes well for an interesting, adventurous life.

What makes it difficult, however, is that you don't seem to be much of a 'people person.'

If you were more of a people person, we would have commissioned you aboard the Starship Enterprise. But since you don't care much for the complications of dealing with your fellow man... we have another deep-space mission, more tailored for your tastes... a way for you to enjoy the benefits of high-tech civilization without having to put up with civilization itself. Let's set you up to pursue the solo career of a deep space explorer. You can go ahead and hibernate through the boring parts of your mission, and not worry so much about being a few decades out of touch with your fellows by the time you get home. In fact, you pretty much don't have to deal with people at all, but you can still enjoy a high-flying adventure of a life. Far, far away from the madding crowd, you get to play with your scientific instruments, serve your glorious civilization, and do interesting things with strange discoveries in exotic places.

The career might work out all right. Look what it did for Charlton Heston.

Take Reincarnation Placement Exam at HelloQuizzy

I've never been a fan of Brad Pitt, but...

2008-09-18T02:16:49Z

He's starting to ~~get~~ seem a lot sexier, now that his wife's social activism streak is rubbing off on him:

"Brad Pitt donates $100,000 to support same-sex marriage"

Gettin' my hate on - Faux Suffixes

2008-09-04T19:50:50Z

This is my pet peeve for the day:

Faux Suffixes

I am getting bloody well sick and tired of every political scandal being referred to as "_______gate," and of every summer festival being termed "________stock."

GODDAMN!

When will people cease being such unoriginal bastards?

If this continues to happen without surcease, I may just have to dedicate my life to inventing a time machine, and convincing concert organizers to use nearby Acra, NY instead - that'd be hard to turn into a suffix! Then I'll move on to talking Nixon's buddies into checking into the Topaz instead. Yeah. Let's just see the pundits try to bitch about Monicapaz or trooperpaz!

misplacedmind @ 2008-09-03T17:32:00

2008-09-03T22:37:37Z

"McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told Washington Post editors Tuesday that issues will have an impact on undecided voters but will not be conclusive.

“This election is not about issues,” Davis said. “This election is about a composite view of what people take away from these candidates.”"

WOW. I mean, just... wow. Even if a statement like this holds some truth, given the partisan nature of the average American voter, and given the stupidity of people, in general... doesn't someone have to be a certain heretofore unheard of level of idiotic to actually be quoted saying this?

It's like McCain is going for the sympathy vote: "Look at me, I have an unvetted inexperienced running mate AND an idiotic word-vomiting campaign manager! Feel sorry for me, and express your sympathy at the polls! Obama only got as far as he has by being charismatic and having good advisers! The presidency is MORE than just... awwwww, fuck."

One More Meme...

2008-08-30T02:11:32Z

...no, that's not a promise, just a fact. This is, in fact, one more meme... which is not to say that it's one *last* meme. Sorry, folks! If you want to talk about something serious, I can make a post regarding my conflicted feelings about the Republican vice-presidential nominee. Y'know, if I haven't totally missed my window. I think speaking about that would be almost redundant at this point. Sigh.

ANYWAYYYYYY...

Comment on this post. I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along. The ones chosen for me are the following.

akiralux requested info on the following:

Music: ...is my life. Really, come on. What else is worth ANYthing in this world?! I sing when I'm happy. I sing when... well, that's TMI for most folks. I sing to share my feelings. I have music I listen to when I'm down. I have excited music. I have cleaning music. You're probably all very surprised that I do not yet own an iPod. In point of fact, I'm a bit of a luddite (baliset, at least, will correct me if I'm misusing that term... but see this comic for details!) when it comes to music. It took me a looooong time to even get used to iTunes! LPs kick ass. Ultimately, there is no situation that can't be solved or made better by the "right" song.

Harley Quinn: see icon ;0) Harley Quinn, aka Harlene Quinzelle, is the off-again, on-again girlfriend of Batman's nemesis the Joker. She was originally his shrink (although she only got her PhD by "manipulating" - *coughcough* - her professors) but she fell for him, and joined him in his life of crime. She is the FIRST CHARACTER (if not only - I've been out of the loop for a while, heh) to make the leap from the television cartoon (Batman: the Animated Series, the best cartoon EVAAARRRR!!!) to the in-print continuity. That makes her all kinds of kickass. It's rare for comic books to broaden canon in that way. Also, my first tattoo was an image of HQ, on my right thigh. It's dead sexy. She's dead sexy :)

Pirates: PIRATES! Way better than ninjas. Waaaaaaay better. I've been into pirates since I was a little kid. Disney's Treasure Island is one of the best movies ever (so says my 8-yr-old self.) Pirates of the Caribbean was the most awesome theme park ride, before it was a mediocre film franchise that abused the career of poor, talented Johnny Depp. PLUS the captains were democratically elected, and never took more than twice the share of any one of their sailors. It really was a better life for anyone who wanted to be a sailor; the Royal Navies of the time were utter shit. John Rackham was so damn cool.

Folk Instruments: This is something I want to learn more about. I'm definitely a singer (see: Music) but even though I have less than no talent as an instrumentalist, I'm fascinated by the instruments commonly used in folk music, from all cultures. Particularly, there is this flute-like instrument used in Chinese folk music, that sounds almost identical to an Irish flute (the similarities between traditional Celtic and Asian musics are something that I really, really want to study further.) I'm also obsessed with the mandolin. It's my favorite instrument ever, and as much as I love folk music, I also really dig mandolins used in pop settings (i.e., Toad the Wet Sprocket, a favorite of mine as a teen.)

Russian Literature: Heh. I feel guilty listing this, as I've never read any Nabokov or even Tolstoy, but Dostoyevsky is my favorite author, and I'm also more than a little fond of Bulgakov. I want to read more Russians, esp modern works. I seem to enjoy the style of humor.

William & Mary: Heh. Sad. My erstwhile alma mater. I'll never think of any other school as my alma mater, even though I can't rightly claim W&M as such, since I never graduated. Maybe someday, I'll go back and finish a degree there. Or, maybe, I'll get lucky & get famous like Jon Stewart, and they'll award me something honorary. Heh. I always state with pride that I didn't graduate from the same college that Jon Stewart and Thomas Jefferson didn't graduate from :)

Rush: \m/!!! Yeah!! My favorite band. I'm kind of obsessed. No one understands; all of my friends just sort of smile & nod when I talk about Rush. I can never seem to find other Rush fans to be friends with, which is really depressing, because it's not just a matter of taste, it's a lifestyle ;0) By the way, don't talk to me about Tom Sawyer! You know that Kids in the Hall sketch where Kevin McDonald goes into the record store looking for a Doors record, and Bruce McCulloch is the snotty record store clerk who informs him that once he is a "Doors fan," Love Her Madly is the only Doors record he WON'T like? Yeah. That's how it is with Rush fans and Tom Sawyer. Stop playing that shit, "modern rock" radio stations!! Stop it now!!!

A first grader has I!

2008-08-26T15:55:44Z

Thalia's first day of first grade is today! She's in a new school, because she went to this weird kindergarten that had all of the kindergarteners that would go to 4 or 5 different elementary schools on this side of town. I don't get it, but whatever. She still knows a LOT of the kids; one or two of her closest friends from K are in her class (one boy seemed REALLY reluctant to leave his dad this morning, and I think it helped that T was there.) Her teacher seems nice enough; she's new at the school.

I know I've talked about Johnson School of the Arts before. I am very excited about it! The idea of an "arts-infused curriculum" is perfect for our family. Everything is interdisciplinary; if they're learning about ancient Rome in Social Studies, they're studying busts and frescoes in art class. She's also really psyched to join the Chess Club :) They have a "looping" program for teaching, meaning that kids stay with the exact same class and teacher through 1st and 2nd grades, then they get a new teacher for 3rd grade, then they get another new teacher who stays with them for 4th and 5th grades (6th is jr high around here!) I like that idea. It allows parents, students, and teachers to all get to know one another better.

Here are some photos of my little girl's first day of elementary school!

I have to say I was really irritated at the amount of stuff I had to buy for her to bring. Notebooks and pencils and folders, I can understand (although I hate that they have to be certain kinds, certain colors) - but having to provide tissues? Hand sanitizer? Dry erase markers?! Now, I've bitched about the consumable materials fee myself, since this is a damned public school... but if they're going to charge us $24 ANYWAY, then why the hell not just double it, and buy all that crap at bulk rates, saving *everyone* money?! I guess that makes too much sense. Oh, and I guess also people (ie, the general public) are more likely to donate *school supplies* for kids, than donate *money for school supplies.* Sigh.
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