It’s been a very busy weekend… can I stop now?
Yesterday - Saturday – I went and voted in the Federal Election, taking the cubs with me (they were very interested in the process), then we trotted off to the annual Meccano Club exhibition. After 20 minutes I’d reached the limit of my geek/small boy (there’s not a lot of difference) tolerance and was more than ready to leave but the cubs wanted to stay for a bit longer please, mum…
Got home in time to cook their dinner then get myself ready to go out. Hee. Went to see a Kill Bill double at the Astor with Aaron and some of his friends. I’d not seen either of the movies before (I think I was the only one in the audience who hadn’t! Vir-gin! Vir-gin! Anyway…) but thoroughly enjoyed them both. Once again Tarantino left me impressed and tingly. : ) Dang I like his work. He’s got a phenomenal eye for detail and can genre-hop so smoothly you don’t notice he’s mixing his metaphors, so to speak. And his films always have the best soundtracks! Volume 1 and 2 are very different movies but I think 1 is my favourite cos it made me giggle, and the whole Tokyo sequence was just so cool! Absolutely shits on any attempt at coolness the Matrix movies might have been groping for. <g>
Then today, armed only with a sugar hangover (similar symptoms to an alcohol hangover, just the poison is different) I took the cubs to ScienceWorks. It’s odd but in the last quarter of the year, once the weather starts warming up, ScienceWorks tends to be very quiet, getting busy again in the summer holidays. Not that I’m complaining, this place is way more fun the less people in it. Cubs enjoyed themselves, especially as the ‘do it yourself’ weather reporting thingy was fixed. They love seeing footage of themselves, little hams… :)
The new exhibition about sports and athletes was very interesting, had some t’riffic interactive displays to explore, and the High Voltage show was great! It gives some background info about electricity, explaining how it works, then demonstrates a Van der Graff generator and ends with the firing up of a Tesla coil (!!) to simulate lightning! Cooooool! Now that was fun! A very graphic demonstration about why you shouldn’t go golfing when there’s lightning about. <g>
Heh, I’m ready for a rest though, didn’t have a chance to sleep in or nap this weekend…

Hey, Val, I noticed on the news last night (or the night before, can’t remember) that there was some guy in Dunedin found standing naked on his roof, peering through a rolled-up magazine while claiming to be a pirate.
:) You get the more entertaining loonies in NZ, obviously…

Murphy’s Law of on-line auctions: If you find you’ve bid on more items than you can comfortably afford, don’t assume you’ll be outbid on at least some of them (and so can more easily afford your purchases) because you’re going to win every one of them…
(Just stating this is an observation made on previous experiences, not my current situation. :)

Joules has written some Twins lemon! Aya! <big happy grin> Not that I’ve been hanging out for some or anything… <smirk>

<boggling at weather forecast> It’s going to be what tomorrow? 30 degrees is not spring weather, thank you very much, we’re not sposed to get temperatures like that until late November. <grumble>

It's daft but I've been avoiding rewatching Cowboy BeBop cos I knew the Jupiter Jazz eps would make me cry again.
Heh, I was right. <sniffle> Poor Gren, so beautiful, so tragic... (there has to be a Gren/Vicious backstory, I can taste it!)
Ed's still a hoot, though, I like her. : )

And I thought 005 (from Cyborg Soldier 009) sounded familiar: he's voiced by the same guy (English dub) who did Jet Black in BeBop - John Billingslea.

Started attaching the quilt's 3rd border, won't be long now before I have to hunt down some wadding. That's kind of an intimidating thought, actually - there's an awful lot of quilting to be done...

Thanks, Joules, for posting 'Summer' (my latest Dystopia chapter) for me. At 17ish pages it's the longest thing I've done for a while, I can appreciate the time you've spent. : ) On with the next AC, I guess.

<grump> Just cos I don’t like elves doesn’t make me a dwarf.

Power Puff Girls – The Rock Opera…
I loved it!

”Townsville’s, going downsville… tonight! Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!”

<giggling>

As it happened I didn’t spend the last of my holiday money on food (well, not entirely) I picked up vol.6 of Yu Yu Hakusho instead. Mmm… Suzaku, now there’s a bishie demon for you. : )

Yay! Finished the Dystopia chapter! Another linking AC chapter then the next Dys, I think. That should keep me occupied this week.

The cubs are very excited about the upcoming Federal Election this weekend, to the extent they’re cheering when they see Opposition Leader Mark Latham (Aus. Labor) on the telly, and boo-ing when it’s Prime Minister John Howard. <proud grin> That’s my boys. They’re going to be disappointed if the Liberals get voted in again. According to the latest polls it’s going to be very, very close with the Green’s party preferences likely to have a significant impact on the result. Not surprisingly, both the leaders of the two major parties have been courting the ‘green vote’ assiduously. Not that I believe either of them…

Forgot to mention that I didn't find any snowdomes in Warrnambool, though I did get a slidey-pen from Cheese World. : )
And, Soulsis, the name of that Richard Gere movie is Internal Affairs. <g> I was right!

While I was away the cubs' father was introducing them to role-playing games. <g> Apparently they took to the concepts quickly, not even having a problem using percentile dice or deciphering the character sheets. What can I say? Born gamers...

Back. : )
Fun weekend though not long enough. Just started to properly unwind then we had to come home. Ah well.
Took us about 6 leisurely hours to get there, with a few stops, a nice easy, unhurried journey along the coast. The scenery along the way is gorgeous, and I got a squeaky lobster from Apollo Bay!
We stayed at a lovely little caravan park just outside of Warrnambool, essentially next door to a Golden Arches of Doom with a ship-shaped playground. Niki, Soulsis and I shared a really cute little cabin that had a double bed, 2 sets of bunks and a tiny ensuite bathroom. So tiny, in fact, I was concerned about knocking the door open with my arse while brushing my teeth! <g>
It was good catching up with people - been far too long, as usual, between meetings. We didn't have an itinary as such but we managed to meander our way around to a few things, like a fuge antique place (it had a train carriage as part of it's showroom! <big eyes> ), and down to Logan's beach for a spot of whale-watching! That was amazing, the critters were quite close to the shore and wonderfully active. Visited Cheese World 3 times but only because the first 2 times the place was either closing or closed. <g> It had lots of cheese, funnily enough...
Ate a lot, almost giving myself protein poisoning from all the barbecued meat - hee. : )
We came home via the inland route, quicker but not as scenic. Niki and Soulsis dropped me off a little before 6 p.m. The cubs were glad to see me, so was the cat. : ) I managed to come back with some money despite the squeaky lobster, and the squeaky puffer fish, and the chicken-shaped money box, and the fish-shaped paté knife, plus stuff for the cubs. Quite pleased about that, means I can go opp-shopping or even do something sensible like buy food for my cubs.

It's both good and bad that going away for a few days gives me a chance to take stock of my life. It can be unsettling to confront the pile of unpleasant stuff normally concealed by the everyday getting-on-with-it activities...

[<unhappy sigh>... Pointed comments and thwapping over the back of heads with wings doesn't seem to work... I'll try nagging. Back soon, hab'lan...]

Fine dining in a romantic atmosphere… <sigh> I’ll experience that one of these days. The cubs and I went to Smorgy’s for dinner last night. I had wanted to go see the Thunderbirds movie after we’d taken Mum to the airport, but turns out it was only showing earlier in the day. Sooo, Smorgy’s it was…

Yay! New episodes of Ultimate Muscle. Finally I get to see the Chojin tournament!
And the only female Transformer has put in an appearance.
The cubs thought she could’ve sounded ‘tougher’…

Haven’t managed to finish this latest Dystopia chapter yet but the cubs are back at school next week, fingers crossed I can stop faffing about and get on with things. Wasted too much time already this year.

Going away for the weekend (sans cubs) with Soulsis and Niki and Alarice and Peter etc. Along the Great Ocean Road down to Warrnambool and CheeseWorld. : )
I’m looking forward to it, have to admit, even if it does mean I’ll be without my computer for - <counting on fingers> - 55(ish) hours.
Hee, I’m taking the necessaries to start my neko hat though, just in case I find myself with a moment to spare.
Avagoo'weegend!

Soulsis and her chicks came 'round for a visit on Sunday. They brought me a lovely bunch of flowers including some freesias! I've got them in the lounge room now, can smell them when I walk in the house. <happy sigh>
(Soulsis also gave me a gorgeous old biscuit tin, decorated with dragons and phoenixes, and my first, very own, fluffy bunny. He's pink - and he's sitting on top of my 'puter. <g>)

Cubs and I went to see the Holy Rodent Empire's latest animation extravaganza, 'Home on the Range.'
I don't expect much from this company anymore, saves being disappointed...
The movie was... inoffensive, with a couple of entertaining moments (I especially liked the psychedelic cows sequence). It's a kleenex movie, view and forget.
Tomorrow we're off to the Aquarium! Been a while since we've been there, actually, I'm looking forward to it.

Haven't really done much writing these past few weeks, for one reason or another, but I've almost finished the next Dystopia chapter. That'll be one thing to strike off the list. :)

Aaaand I've finally cut out the border strips for my quilt and started attaching those. I've already got the backing material (courtesy of Mum, via Soulsis) so all that's left to buy is the wadding. Oh, and reels and reels of thread for the quilting... Heh.

I was strangely reluctant to take the Reloaded dvd back to the video hire place last night - but, they’re having an ‘ex-rental’ sale. I asked the clerk if there was a copy of Reloaded available. He found 2 copies of Revolutions but that was all. He did suggest, however, that I come in and ask the boss who would probly be happy to sell me a copy. Hee. :)

I convinced the cubs to try a supermarket brand of one of their favourite sugar-spiked cereals. There is absolutely no chance that I’ll be pinching any of it, it’s foul! Cubs don’t seem to have noticed the difference though. <shakes head> They’re quite happy to eat bowls of the stuff. Bleurgh.

‘Jesus is coming – look busy.’
<snigger> That was tattooed on the buttocks of the fake Archbishop of Canterbury in Johnny English. Ridiculous movie, but that was to be expected – it is farce, and it did make me chuckle.

Hn. Elga is a finite story as well – I could finish that up soon. Then, with that, Dystopia and the AC out of the way I could concentrate on something else, like the Superhero universe, or the fantasy. <g> (Novel? What novel?)

<giggling> This pic is by Joules, inspired by comments attached to the 'My cubs are knackered...' post (Sept 22rd).








<still giggling> Yes, this pretty much sums up our relationship...

The cubs and I went to the Royal Melbourne Show today, which is an annual biiiig carnival/agricultural show thing that’s been going on for years. We got there just after 10 a.m so there weren’t that many people to begin with, but by the time we left at 1.30 the crowds were annoying. It was fun though, in an ouchie-expensive sort of way. Rides ranged from $3.50 for the ‘baby’ rides, to $7.50 for the really cool ones that give you bruises and nausea, while showbags (sample bags) went from $2 - $30. And then there was the cost of getting in to the place. I blew my budget, but I kind of expected that, so’d brought some extra cash just in case.
I love ferris wheels! The cubs and I went on both the medium-sized wheel and the big one that takes over 5 minutes to load/unload patrons. Weeee! You get a great view from the top of the big one. The cubs also got a ride on the dodgems and a miniature railway, which satisfied them though they would’ve quite happily had a go at several other things. Maybe next year, when I’m unnecessarily wealthy...
I’d researched the showbags before going to the Show, discussing with the cubs the 2 I thought they’d be most interested in. That worked, they were primed for those and mostly ignored the hundreds of others available. :) They got a Thomas the Tank Engine showbag each (which came with a back-pack, so they could carry their own food – bonus!) and there was enough stuff in the Garfield bag that they were happy to share one. I love it when my cubs are reasonable... As one of the bonus toys in the Garfield bag, they got an Odie marionette puppet thing. It’s... disturbing. It’s only got 2 legs, so it looks like the dog has either had its front legs amputated, or its backlegs, and it’s dragging itself around by his forepaws. Weird.
One of the things I insisted on doing today was going to see the animals and the art/craft displays. Naturally, there were complaints about the smell in the animal pavillions but the cubs managed to hang in there long enough for me to get a look at the chickens. <squinch> Fluffy feet! (I don’t have a thing about chickens, I don’t!) Saw some Bengal kittens in the pet pavillion – spotty cats! So cute! – but my heart is still set on getting a Maine Coon at some stage. There was some amazing feline furniture for sale as well – love to be able to get one for KittenKong. Heh, the company will do lay-bys...
The use of cross-stitch pattern maker software was evident in the needlework section of the art/craft. Not that that’s a problem, I’m just used to seeing x-stitch that looks like art, not photos. I have to admit I was expecting more from the hand-made dolls, they didn’t seem to be particularly imaginative – Soulsis, yours would romp all over the competition. :) In the ceramics, though, was a beautiful, simple, green-glazed teapot that had a frog as the lid handle, that made me smile.

... so here we are, several hours later. All the lollies have been eaten and the cubs are about to go out to the Golden Arches of Doom for dinner with their father. Tired now - I think I’ll have a nap...

I am desirous of a pink neko hat.
I have the fluffy wool - I have a basic pattern, somewhere, and the ears won't be difficult to fashion. I can do this! :)

The Garfield Movie.
...I've seen worse.
It works, sort of, but I can see why Garfield purists are not pleased.
Not the most rivetting of cinema though, 30 minutes in I found myself desperately wishing it was over...
Cubs enjoyed it.

Hee. I have a new wallpaper, a screen-cap from Reloaded - you'll never guess of who... (Mmmm... snake skin boots...)

Saw a really cute t-shirt in Queen of Wands (which, by the way, if one of the few comics that's made me laugh and cry). Blank, white rectangle with the little red background/white 'X' symbol in the corner - the thing you get when a pic hasn't downloaded. <g> Neat, eh? It says so much on so many different levels. I think I like it even better than the one that has 'Insert Ferret Here' printed above a large, downward pointing arrow...

<g> My cubs are knackered. The movie session finished at midnight last night but they insisted on getting up to see Transformers as normal this morning. They were quite impressed with The Astor, though, as an old suburban theatre it’s very different from the mega-plex movie houses they’re familiar with. Both of the movies were subtitled Japanese, something I was a little concerned about. But the cubs coped easily – they can read fast, and accurately, and were able to see the screen through the gaps in the audience so it wasn’t a problem. :)
Some anime, at least, deserves to be seen on a big screen – there’s so much more detail to be seen. Loved ‘Tortoro’, it went beyond cute to levels of imagination I could identify with. And that would have to be the most accurate depiction of a four-year old’s energy and mannerisms I’ve ever seen animated! : )
I had seen ‘Nausicaa’ before, but it was on video close to 15 years ago when I was dismissive of anime so last night was like seeing it for the first time. Again, the detail was amazing, the plots and characters believable… Somehow I don’t think the Garfield movie tomorrow is going to come close.

Found out we can play audio cds through the dvd player. The sound is so much better through the telly than the on-it’s-last-legs cd player. I’m even having geeky thoughts about speakers and surround-sound systems now. Tch, technology is insidious.

<sigh> And the cubs have slipped back into Thomas the Tank Engine. Don’t know why but after weeks (months!) of ignoring it in favour of Transformers suddenly all the videos and toys came out again. Could be worse, I suppose, could be something I actively dislike.

Her! <points finger at Joules> I blame her for this obsession with long legs and snake-skin boots! Wouldn’t be so bad except I can’t quite get my head around a fic idea so I can work it through. <smirk> Mind you, I can’t complain, she is sharing with me her stash of nummy Matrix Twins pics…

Cool word of the day: (no reason just cos) [Concise Oxford; 1975]

Intussusception: (Physiol.) taking in of foreign matter by living organism, & it’s conversion into organic tissue ; taking in (of ideas, etc.) ; … (L. intus within + susceptio … take up.)

Okay, calming down now that I'm back online after 24 hours. Apparently there's been 'server problems' in Melbourne, again. Annoyed? Stupid question...

The cubs and I went to see Shrek 2 this morning - 9a.m. session. It was fun, I enjoyed it more than the first, mostly cos of Puss in Boots. You have to love a cold-blooded killer who chases butterflies...
Tomorrow evening we're off to see Nausicca and the Valley of the Winds, and My Neighbour Tortoro ('scuse spelling if it's wrong - couldn't be bothered getting up to check it) with Penny and her daughter. Should be fun, though I suspect allll the children will be very tired by the time we get home. <g>

Finally got 'round to seeing Matrix – Reloaded.
I don’t remember being impressed with the first one, either…
My interest would almost engaged by the ticklings of an embryonic plot, and then there’d be another fight scene. Honestly, it was like any of the combat-driven anime at their worst. I can understand the drive to make the fight scenes ultra-crisp and cooly stylistic but to me they just seemed over-worked and wooden with none of the energy you find in a really good Hong Kong flic.
The Twins were definitely a highlight, but they had – what? – 4 or 5 sentences between them? Sheesh. Nice boots, though…
Aside from the pale dudes (<smirking at Joules>) there were a couple of things I enjoyed about this movie. It is an interesting world-frame; I love the idea of programs as ‘little gods’, overseeing the small things in life.
Couldn’t help but notice that no fat or ugly people had been rescued and sent to Zion. I wonder why…?

It occurred to me today that Dystopia really is finite, and the end is in sight. There’s more than a handful of threads, admittedly, but they’ve nearly all run their course. Joules has suggested we could try to wrap this up by Yule as well as the AC. <g> See how we go, I guess.

Talon directed me to this online comic. Queen of Wands. It’s giggle-worthy, and while not the most sophisticated of art, it’s very expressive. It's on my list of regular checks, now. :)

Soulsis sent me these. They’ve been around for a few years but they still make me laugh. :) (I've high-lighted my favourites...)

~ Cat Haiku ~
You never feed me.
Perhaps I'll sleep on your face.
That will show you.

You must scratch me there!
Yes, above my tail! Behold,
elevator butt.

I need a new toy.
Tail of black dog keeps good time.
Pounce! good dog! good dog!

The rule for today.
Touch my tail, I shred your hand.
New rule tomorrow.

In deep sleep hear sound
Cat vomit hairball somewhere.
Will find in morning.

Grace personified
I leap into the window
I meant to do that

Blur of motion, then-
Silence, me, a paper bag
What is so funny?

The mighty hunter
Returns with gifts of plump birds
Your foot just squashed one.

You're always typing
Well, let's see you ignore my
Sitting on your hands.

My small cardboard box
You cannot see me if I
Can just hide my head.

Terrible battle
I fought for hours. Come and see!
What's a "term paper"?

Kitty likes plastic
Confuses for litter box
Don't leave tarp around

Small brave carnivores
Kill pine cones and mosquitoes
Fear vacuum cleaner

Want to trim my claws
Don't even think about it!
My yelps will wake the dead

I want to be close
To you. Can I fit my head
inside your armpit?

Wanna go outside.
Oh, no! Help! I got outside!
Let me back inside!

Oh no! Big One
has been trapped by newspaper.
Cat to the rescue!

Humans are so strange.
Mine lies still in the bed, then screams!
My claws aren't that sharp....

Cats meow out of angst
"Thumbs! If only we had thumbs!
We could break so much"

Litter box not there
You must have moved it again
I'll crap in the sink

The Big Ones snore now
Every room is dark and cold
time for "Cup Hockey"

We're almost equals
I purr to show I love you
Want to smell my butt.

Thanks for that, Soulsis, I’d lost my other copy.

Forgot to mention - Joules has posted the Dystopia chapter (Foundling Pt 2) for me. Thank you!

Heh, sometimes I think of myself as one of those squeezy, 'stress-balls'. I can get all scrunched up tight and uncomfortable but once the pressure's off I spring right back into shape. :)

My current motto is 'I'm not sedentary, I'm dancing on the inside...'.
I'm thinking of adopting a new one: 'What's wrong with sunshine and fluffy-bunnies...?'.
<bg> I think that's apt.

You've been quiz-bingeing again, Soulsis? <g>

I had a dream the other night that I was able to study in the UK. Not sure what, or where, but I had my own lodgings, my own little space. I was sharing custody of the cubs with their father which meant a lot of travelling and disruption for them so regretfully I decided to give up study cos my children's well-being came first...

I got metres and metres of a fabulous fabric braid from Soulsis! It's over an inch wide and it's hot pink! I'm thinking cushion covers - appliqueing the braid diagonally across a backing material. Hee! :)

You know what annoys me about some sellers on eBay? (Don't growl, I'm only looking.) When they say: "This would make a great addition to your collection!!!"
Excuse me? I'll be the judge of that.

Finished the Dystopia chapter. :)
Had a major [ping] (look, I can remember how to change the colours!) for a novel.
Heh, I'll add it to the list...

The old dial-up number has finally died but so far the new number appears to be holding up. This is good cos I'd be one step away from homicidal if I'm denied internet access again for no good reason.

Yesterday was the last day of term 3, 1 more term to go. The cubs haven't enjoyed this year at all - consequently neither have I - but we've had a talk and they've agreed to try really hard in the last quarter. Of course, pointing out to them that if they don't do well enough they'll have to repeat the grade was a great motivator. They don't like their teacher and the thought of another year with him is scary. (Okay, they probly wouldn't have to repeat anyway but I'm not above putting the frighteners on them to get them moving in the right direction...) Tra la la, where was I? Oh yes...
Lots of things planned for the holidays, we'll see how my energy levels (and the money) holds out, though having been given another bribe by the Government (just before the election, too. How selfless of them...) that should make the latter less of a hassle.

Remember the Windows 'star field' screen-saver from years back? The one that looked like you were warping, Trek-like, through the cosmos? It's part of XP! <fuge g> Really missed that screen-saver when it wasn't included in later versions of Windows. But now I've got it again and I can happily sit in front of my 'puter, in the dark, and zone out... <happy sigh>

Anyone know what the <var> html command does? No reason, just curious.

Lashed out and bought the cubs some software from the school's bookclub - Garfield's Typing Pal. It's cute, with little games and a variety of neat typing exercises (and it runs without a problem, woohoo!). Going to have a go later and see how I do. I can touch-type quite well, but typing from what's in my mind is very different from copy-typing.

Mostly finished my next Dystopia chapter. After the past few weeks of grinding away at AC this is coming along very nicely.

There's some lovely things on Sushi Cat's site, including the sushi themed wall-paper I've currently got on my desktop. Need to get hold of a zip program so I can use the sushi icons, and dang but don't those widdle neko/sushi orphans that are up for adoption look cute...

Hah! Managed to find some material for the quilt borders today. Was a near thing though... Not surprisingly, the shop - where I'd originally purchased the material for the hexagons a year ago - didn't have the right shade any more. Oh pooh - quoth I - perhaps I shouldn't have left it so long? But, just as my pout was becoming entrenched, over on the 'bargains' table I glimpsed a familiar colour... It's not the same material, the weave is a bit coarser but the colour is damn near perfect. Happy now. :)

Ah... Sunday morning and I'm alone in the lounge-room... Not alone in the house though; the cubs are playing in their room and everyone else is asleep. This is nice. :)

Still using the old dial-up number though expecting it to be shut down any time soon. And as a bonus, cos everyone else is presumably using the new number, the old line is blissfully clear. Net navigation is positively zippy.

<relieved sigh> My latest - probably last, full - AC chapter is finally finished and posted, thank you, Joules! <g> Now the side-stories beckon. Tch. I'll get cracking on some Dystopia first though - that's bubbling up out of dormancy at the moment...

Taken all the paper pieces out of my quilt (hoorah!) and hopefully I'll be able to get the border material this week. Mum's got some lovely backing material for me already, then all I have to find is the wadding. Dang this is fun! :) (Heh, and having removed all the paper and saved it I now have at least half of what I need for the next couple of projects!)

How do you deal with a virus that's infected a file that can't be removed? Replace it with a clean copy from the original software?

... and here come the cubs - time for the earplugs. <g>

<happy squeak> Finished my quilt!
Well, I’ve finished the main panel, which needs to be sewn to the border sashes then I can start quilting. Neat, eh? : )

<not-so-happy squeak – more of a snarl> Several days ago, when I got online, my computer was hijacked and frog-marched to a site that forced me to change the dial-up number of our server. It was legit - the server had merged with another one and the two groups of users were being ‘streamlined’ but dammit, I’ve had all manner of problems with the connection since. (This update is being written off-line in the hope that one day soon I’ll be able post <grump>). If I can get on-line at all I’ve generally got about 5 minutes of usable time before the connection slows down so much it’s useless. Can’t navigate to any pages, can’t use email, can’t chat. I rang the server and after fuss-arsing about for half an hour with them I was told that, by the way, the new phone-number was giving one group of users problems. Yep, my group. At the time of writing the problem was sposed to have been fixed a couple of hours ago but I’m still unable to get online.
I’ll be ringing the server again tomorrow and asking to be reimbursed for the time I haven’t been able to get on-line.
And then I’ll be looking around for another server…
[Addendum: Still not able to get online with the new number but the cubs' father tried the old number and that's still active. So that's what I'm doing...]

On a brighter note, I’ve now got Word again thanks to Niki. : ) Been using Wordpad which does at a pinch but it doesn’t have a spell-check, or thesaurus, or even a page/word count. However I was pleasantly surprised to find the current AC I’m struggling with is almost 8 pages rather than the 3 or 4 I’d thought it was. Heh.

Slowly rebuilding my files. Discovered some useful old stuff on floppies including the two sci-fi novels my father wrote. I think I’m a better writer than he was. One of these days I’m going to edit those books into something that has the potential for publication.

I’m declaring a fork amnesty. Over half of the bloody things have disappeared! They’re probly lurking about in other people’s rooms… other people who eat their meals in their rooms…

Gave myself a fright yesterday. Went to pick the cubs up from school but when I started the car up it wouldn’t move! There was a short pause while I panicked – hand-brake’s off, it’s in gear, what’s the matter?! – then it occurred to me that the gear the car should’ve been in was drive, not park. <shakes head> Some days the blondeness goes all the way to the bone…

Bother, did I miss my blog's annivesary again? Eh well, it was only by a couple of days... Yay! 2 years of mostly decent service! :)

After months of dancing around the subject our Government has finally decided to call an election. Hoo-effing-ray. Both the major parties are saying their campaigns are based on trust and integrity (there's been much slinging of accusations back and forth over the past year about the porkies the other party's supposed to have uttered <rolls eyes> Honestly, it's like watching kids in the schoolground...) Needless to say I know who I'll be voting for and it won't be either of them.
Hn, I spose the cubs' school will be looking for volunteers to run the inevitable sausage sizzle/cake stall again. Providing, that is, the school is registered as a poling station. Don't know if we've got the room this time, but then again, the community centre is right next door - we could probly wangle some sort of fund-raising activity there as well.

I watched the movie 'Secretary' the other day. Do you remember this one? About a 'sadistic' lawyer (James Spader) and his secretary? It bills itself as a black comedy but I didn't find it gut-bustingly funny. However, it was amusing in the way in-jokes are amusing, in that you recognise/understand the references. I did enjoy the movie though, very much. It was heavily criticised when it was released but I think that's cos the reviewers just didn't get it. It's not tacky, and the female lead wasn't being degraded. If anything it was wonderful watching her grow in strength and confidence because of the nature of her relationship with her boss. This wasn't your standard BDSM story, either, revolving around a reluctant submissive, oh no, this time it was the dom who was having problems coming to terms with his nature. A lot of my amusement came from watching her efforts to get him to realise she was serious. The ending was just beautiful too, very cherishing... the fluffy-bunny loved it. :) I'll be watching it again.

Oh, and thank you, Goodtwin, for all your help armour-plating my 'puter! :)

Hn, yes I see what you mean about calling 'Beautiful Day' songfic, Joules. It's like the couple I've written previously - the inspiration only came from a couple of lines in the lyrics (well, that and the overall emotion the song evoked, I guess). BD's t'riffic though, I'm agog to see what happens...

<sigh> I'm sure my cubs went to school today thinking I'm an ogre-mum. While I was searching for boots for one of them (which turned up in their father's room) I found one of my favorite cds out of it's case and on the floor of the cubs' room. I yelled, they cried but dammit, I let them borrow my things on the condition they look after them but so far they've consistently failed to do so. So, no more playing with my toys until they can prove they'll look after them.

Gah, it feels like I'm banging my head against a brickwall with this next AC. It's just.not.coming. <grump> I could try and get on with something else, I spose, but given that my brain's locked into this particular fic that could be more effort than it's worth. No, I want to get this finished then I can do something else. Tch, writing is not like riding a bicycle - with all the 'puter probs I've barely written anything in weeks and now I'm finding it very hard getting back to. Ah, well, I'm obviously not obsessive enough. :)

Still here, online with my own computer - a computer that doesn't seize up if I try to run more than one application at a time! (Forgive me for labouring the point but this is so effing good! :)
And I can watch Ai no Kusabi on this puter too! <happysqueak> Mmm... blond seme...

Ages ago I had an idea for a story based on the fandom I was active in at the time. Every now and again the idea bobs back up to the surface of my mind and I have another think about it. Yesterday I decided that not only could I rework it as a Dystopia story but I even sorted out the gribbles and plot holes that arose from mushing together two not entirely compatible worldframes. <g> I think I can make it work, what's more I think I can make it plausible. But first I want to finish my next AC which I've been dithering over for days. <sigh> There's maybe only another few chapters needed to tie up the loose ends from my side of the saga, but, like Joules I'm finding it hard to muster the enthusiasm - far more interested in the planned side-stories!

<smirk> So... Joules is writing a twinfic (Matrix) songfic slash, eh? Watching the energy she's expended on research for 'Beautiful Day' I have to say she's gone beyond thorough to, yes, obsessive this time. :) Honestly, she's like a pig after truffles, sometimes... <blink> Uh, okay, maybe not a pig, maybe... um... <thinking hard> maybe a miner after gold, perhaps?
<changing subject>
There's a funny thing I've noticed about fanfic over the years - most of it's written about main characters and most of that is utter crap. However, there seems to be a greater proportion of good fiction written about secondary characters and I believe this is because there isn't a lot of info readily available about them in the primary source so the writer has to think about the characters and not just slavishly follow the trend. Also, from what I've read, good writers are more attracted to secondary charas because their stories haven't been rehashed to death, and because it's more of a challenge to extrapolate from iotas of information rather than cut/pasting standard ideas...
(... and I have no idea how to end that thought graciously so I'll just move right along...)

August 30th... 2 more days and we should start seeing Xmas stuff in the shops. Right now the shops are filled with 'Father's Day ideas'. It's never ending, is it?

Thinking seriously about getting a digital camera now - Goodtwin, the pics I've seen taken with yours seemed very clear. What's the resolution on your camera? I assume the bigger the mp the better the image? And I'd need Photoshop as well? Tch, so much to learn...
(Oh, and Talon, I've lost my 'favourites' list so can I have the url for your other lj, please? The one with the slavefics? Ta :)

Heh, still here. This is a good thing. Currently rebuilding my 'favourites' list.
Here's one that I've managed to keep throughout allll the dramas over the years... <smirk>

Sewed all the sections of my quilt together only to realise I'd miscalculated somewhere. D'oh! Instead of starting and finishing on one particular type of row configuration I'd managed to use the other type. (Remember I had to re-do a couple of the rows cos I thought I'd got the ratio wrong? I hadn't, I just didn't look closely enough at the picture. Tch.) Anyway, not a major cock-up, easily fixed and then I can finally begin finishing off the project. <g rubs hands together> Then it's on to the next one...!

[<happy sigh> Glad to be back. And yes it's been a while since we've had any... attention...]

Right, getting to grips with XP.
So far so good, it seems to be doing what it's sposed to, though after using Win98 for so long the XP interface is just weird. Eh, I'll get used to it I spose. Got a firewall installed (I've already been informed lots of times tonight that it's blocking things - <pat pat> good software :) and tried to download/install Grisoft anti-virus (after Norton's wouldn't do as it was told). Hn. Downloaded fine, apparently, the .exe file is sitting where it's sposed to be problem is I can't run it to complete the installation. Get it started and it takes me to the set-up wizard for the sodding keyboard... Perhaps if I tried putting it somewhere else?
The cubs are happy, they got a demo disc for a maths-game thing and they played with that for a couple of hours this evening. It ran an' everything, no freezing, no falling over...
And I have music again, woohoo! Now to get myself over to Morpheus or similar sometime soon and start filling up the echoing space of the hard-drive. :)
I discovered something really cute by accident as I was poking through the control panel setting things this afternoon... I now have an arrow cursor that scrolls rainbow stripes in it's 'working' mode. Hee.

<sigh> The continuing story...
The new 'puter will not accept Win98 as it's operating system. This is... aggravating. I wanted to avoid using XP but I might not have a choice. I suspect the whizz-bang processor is looking at '98 like it's some sort of primitive, stylised cave-art that originates so far back in pre-history it's beyond comprehension. <grumble> However, my desire for a working computer is greater than my not wanting XP so I'll follow the path of least resistance in this case.
In the meantime I'm still using the cubs' father's computer while he's out. <grits teeth> Could be - has been - worse...

A little while back I was rolling my eyes at some of the stupid junk you could get to fill up your usb ports with but now that I have usb ports all of my very own (6, apparently) I'm thinking a mini-aquarium would be cool. Also a keyboard light, perhaps, and today I saw a 'massage' unit for sale. No, not the sausage-shaped ones (though I'll be buggered if there isn't usb-driven sex-toys designed for the [literal] wankers who use their computers to hunt down rudies) but a round, palm-sized thing covered in nobbles. I think the coffee maker might be going too far though. : )

Been having fun at the op-shops, cheering myself up. Today I found a lovely, fish-shaped ceramic platter which is 2 1/2 feet long! That's going on the wall sometime soon. And earlier this week I picked up a waistcoat that had a grey/silver paisley pattern on the front - perfect for patchwork. Ah yes, and then there was the yellow ceramic chicken-shaped toothpick holder. <g> I like op-shops...

When the name 'Bruce' popped into my head last night I assumed it was what I was going to call my new computer. This afternoon I realised it wasn't the computer's name, it was the name of another gremlin... Bloody hell, I haven't even got the system set up yet and there's one of the buggers waiting to move in! Quite what Carli's going to think about it is anybody's guess but if they don't conflict and/or keep each other amused it might divert their attention from making my life a misery.
Bruce took his time revealing himself to me today, starting with a very strong impression of a wicked grin and tousled, spiky silver hair crackling with static electricity. He looks like a djin, actually, in that his upper half is solid but from the waist down he's a nebulous column of aquamarine/silver sparkles (it's implied he can manifest naughty bits if required). Let's see, what else? Nice muscle definition in his shoulders and arms; gold armbands around his upper arms and a matching torc around his neck; asian-ish face, high cheekbones, almond eyes, irises a vibrant electric blue which stand out nicely against his turquoise skin. Oh, and he has elongated eye-teeth and, I think, cat's pupils. <rolls eyes> Yes, very pretty and I can't wait to discover what his special ability is...
(I've no doubt there's some people in the world who'd consider the above as firm evidence I have a mental disorder. Believing in imaginary creatures? Conversing with them as if they're real?! <smirk> Heh, the things that live in my head are far more entertaining than the majority of 'real' people and hey, I'm a writer I don't live in the 'real' world anyway...)

So yes, I have a new computer - it's still sitting in its box on the coffee table. Unfortunately it's going to be one of those chinese puzzle situations to get it set up. For it to go on the desk I first have to disassemble the other 2 computers, but before I can do that I have to make sure I've got somewhere to put them which in this case means hacking out a path in my room to my desk and making sure there's space there... You see what I mean. It would be nice though if for once everything went smoothly, wouldn't it? Ah well, time will tell.

In my solitary subject at school this term our regular teacher has taken some time off to go teach in Vietnam and the class has had a substitute teacher. She was called away unexpectedly this morning so we had a substitute, substitute teacher who didn't know much about the subject at all but had been instructed by the substitute teacher to tell us to continue ploughing through our work books. This was fine by me, it meant I could go at my own pace and really get to grips with some nit-picky stuff about the structure of catalogue entries I have to know. The past couple of weeks we've been studying the different 'areas' of an entry and the order they come in; this week it was dealing with the specific punctuation that operates within those areas. Let's see if I can remember the basics without looking it up:

Title proper [GMD] : other title / statement of responsibility; subsequent s.o.r. -- edition. -- place of publication : publisher, date of publication. -- extent of item : other physical details ; dimensions + accompanying material. -- series information.
Notes:
ISBN : [terms of availability].

<g> There, wasn't that interesting? I think I've got it all correct as well, I'll check later. This subject has a lot of rote-learning in it and from that aspect it makes it easy - you're either wrong or you're right, your marks aren't dependant on how close your answers are to what the teacher thinks they should be. Just for practise I'm going to begin cataloguing my books, something I've wanted to do for years - now all I need is a database program to play with.

'k, have I finished waffling?
Hn, not quite.
Thank you again, Onna, for your's and rat's giftie, that's really helped things along. And in my last post I should've said it was the 2000^th post not my 2000^th post cos of course I'm not the only one that posts here. :)

Hey wow, my 2000^th post - and only a few days away from my blog's 2^nd anniversary, I think.

I've noticed that when, for whatever reason, I don't write much for a few days I begin to wonder why the hell I bother. Eh.
New computer's on order - fingers crossed it'll be home and behaving as expected (ie: the way it's sposed to) within a few days.

<blink> I thought I had more to say. Ah well...

... and I get a blog-bar too, lucky me...

Well I've had a miserable couple of days.
Hm, no, perhaps that's being a bit melodramatic, but I haven't been having loads of fun, either.
Got into the garage and spent a few hours tunnelling through the stacks of cardboard boxes to find out just what's been affected by the damp concrete floor. Not as much as I'd feared: lots of water-marked books, some warped pages, but only a couple of precious things had to be thrown-out, one of which was my 1905 edition of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management', dammit. (That's not to say there wasn't a lot that had to go, just that of the stuff that did I only regret the loss of a couple of things.) A lot of the items in those bottom layer of boxes felt damp so they're currently strewn about the garage while they air. I'll leave them for a week or so then rebox them. Yes, they'll probly have that damp, mouldy book smell forever but at least I still have them. There's still 3 stacks left to get through, tucked away in a largely inaccesible corner of the garage - I'll get back to that in a couple of days. Was hard work though, shifting heavy boxes to get to the damaged ones, then lugging across equally heavy plastic crates to act as a barrier then piling the other boxes back on top. My back hurts, I wonder why...
And I've been shunting stuff around in my room, trying to make some sort of space in there. There's still crap piled around but at least I've mostly got my bed back. Gah - I want a new house, one where I don't have to fight for space!

On the plus side, though, I've almost (ie: 8cm's left to sew up) finished the bulk of my quilt. Still have to attach the little odd bits to round off the pattern, then get the backing, borders and wadding organised so I can quilt it but still the bulk of it's nearly done. Phew...

Was there something else I was going to mention? Eh, can't remember.

Is knowing what otaku means a sign that you are one? : )

The school had another fund-raising event last night, a performance of A.R. Gurney's 'Love Letters' starring Campbell McComas (local celebrity) and Jane Badler (remember her in 'V'?). Should've raised a tidy sum - all of the $25 ticket price was going to the school and there was easily 300 people attending. As for the play itself? Um… it's the sort of thing which will appeal to a wide spectrum of people - trite, in short. Perhaps I'm being unkind. It wasn't confronting, or challenging, the most controversy it would generate is that 'fuck' is used a couple of times. Essentially it's a conversation between two people, through the letters they write to each other, over about 50 years. In that respect it was interesting, watching them grow up, seeing the directions their lives go in, the decisions they make relative to the era of history, but - I don't know - there just seemed to be something missing. Despite the traumas hinted at in some of the letters it still seemed… facile. Is it an indication of overweening ego to think you can do a better job of something someone's written? <g>

Okay, I've removed most of the paper pieces in the quilt sections and last night I laid the bits out on the floor together. <blinks> It's enormous! And I haven't even done the edging bits yet. Fair enough I slavishly followed the pattern (which was for a queen-sized bed) without adjusting down for a double-sized bed but still… Hee, it's really bright and colourful though - if you squint a little it looks like a scattering of flowers. : )

I love the mermaid, Joules, she's sooo pretty! Definitely worthy of plastic grapes… high-quality ones of course…


(nicked from Onna's blog: )

Squeeeee! Excel Saga!!

What anime are you from? by squasar
Your name:
Your gender:	FemaleMaleOther
Your age:
You are from:
Your color is:	Pink
Quiz created with MemeGen!

Watched the Olympic opening ceremony - well, the replay of it - this afternoon. I always look forward in these things to a bit of national pride tricked out in a tacky display geared to please the tourists. I wasn't disappointed. Bits of it were fantastic, dead impressed, but the rest made me either giggle or cringe. Loved the detailed costumes/props in the 'parade of civilisation' and the discombobulating statue was very cool but the huge olympic torch thing just put me in mind of a plasma canon. I couldn't escape the feeling that the torch-bearer was about to be atomised. <g> Too much sci-fi? I think not... (Hee, and if that woman had really been pregnant I would've been extremely concerned about the background radiation levels in Greece, though I can see the idea of a lamp in the shape of a pregnant woman being quite popular...)
202 nations had sent teams, and I (and the cubs to a lesser extent) watched allll of them march around the stadium. Tell you what, there were some fantastic costume/uniforms on display, very colourful and sparkly, just gorgeous, dahling - except for the UK team's which were very dull. Or perhaps it was the way they were wearing them, the team members didn't seem to be terribly enthusiastic about being there. Eh. Some wit in the Spanish team was sporting a plastic matador hat, which set me thinking how neat it'd be to collect stupid plastic hats from around the world and display them on your wall. There was something I spotted in the NZ team though, that I am intensely covetous of. A plastic blow-up kiwi. I want one!! So, Val, if you happen to see one of these things in your travels, could you let me know how much it is, pretty please? : )
The Olympics are being broadcast in Aus on a commercial tv station so I saw more ads during the three (?) hours of the ceremony than I have in the past 6 months. <shakes head> How stupid do the ad companies think people are? Tch. I'll stick with my ABC, no commercials there, thanks very much.
Heh, speaking of ads, last weekend I got asked to take a survey about brand recognition for household appliances... Given my non-commercial telly viewing, and non-reading of newspapers and magazines I just don't see many commercials anymore; I was hard pressed to come up with a list of company names, had to delve into my memory from years ago. : )
Grrr... and that's another thing... our government deregulated the power companies (or something) a little while back so now I regularly get visits from poor sods employed to go house-to-house to try and convince people to change their supplier. I'm not a sociable person at the best of times and I resent strangers appearing on my doorstep trying to sell me things!
But anyway, the last quilt strip has been attached to the last section and I've started taking out some of the paper piecings preparatory to sewing the sections together. Neat, eh? <g>

It's geek-fest, er, Manifest, this weekend - the anime convention here in Melbourne. Can't afford to go, but I half expected that to be the case anyway. The cubs found out about it and bounced up and down, wanting to go as well... Their eyes bugged out when I told them how much it was going to cost for the 3 of us to attend. "That's almost as much as Scorponok and Ironhide put together!" (Those are 2 Transformer toys the cubs are desperate to have - good to put things in perspective, eh? : )

Got to watch most of CCO 808 this afternoon again (thank you, Joules!) while the cubs were out with their father. Tch, I'd really like to see the subtitled version at some point, given the way my ears work I found I was missing most of what that robot thing was saying. One bit made me giggle though; the gyro-stabilisers on the building stopped working and some bright spark says: "... that thing's going to come down like a ton of bricks!" <snigger> 'That thing' is how many stories tall? Surely "...several squillion tonnes of bricks" would've been more accurate! I like the music in the show, though - this is probly a daft question but you don't happen to have the opening theme do you, Joules? : )

Good grief it's Friday already. Heh, there's something to be said for short weeks I guess...

(Nicked from Onna's blog:)


You're a Dialogue/Character Writer!

What kind of writer are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Plot? What plot? <smirk>

Oh dear. One of my cubs tearfully accused me today of showing my 'angry face' to him and my 'loving face' to his brother. <sigh> It doesn't help that this cub is the one more likely to behave thoughtlessly/dangerously so I'm more likely to growl at him than the other...
But then I cuddled him 'til he was laughing and told me to stop so I think he's feeling better now.

Reformation pt 1, my next AC is posted, thanks, Joules!

Dreamt last night that the Queen (of England) had moved out of Buckinghuge House and I was looking after some of her stuff. She (and Prince Phillip) rang to ask me to find a few items because they wanted some of their old, familiar things to make their new place more like home. Fine, cool - except instead of efficiently organizing the storage space right at the start, like a sensible person would, I'd cheerfully ignored the necessity, thinking to myself there was plenty of time…
I spent the dream darting about frantically, first locating the items then fixing the damage that poor storage, and mice, had caused.
I think there's a lesson in that for all of us…
Interestingly, I had a vaguely similar dream last week. Bit hazy on the details but I had these seeds, or beads or something, that when immersed in water grew into animals. I decided to activate some of these things knowing full I didn't have room/facilities to properly look after whatever emerged. I spent that dream scrambling to get everything ready while keeping half an eye on the 4 kittens and 2 fish growing in buckets. : )

Half-way through my next AC, with plans to start another Dystopia chapter (or two) after that. Feeling kind of scattered though, finding it hard to concentrate. I blame my Libran ascendant, cos Libran's need a harmonious atmosphere to be productive and that sure as sherbet doesn't describe my living arrangements! <g>.

Hee, at the end of the nightly news tonight they showed images of a hot-air balloon festival thing in Bristol. <g> I looked for you and bratling, Joules…

(Oh, I can't take the credit for 'Buckinghuge House', that was something that came up in an '90's satirical political radio broadcast over here called The Cactus Chronicles...)

Right, what software/hardware do I need to be able to play DVDs on the 'puter, and get screencaps? I'm making a wish-list of fun things I want my new machine to have…

I've noticed my reaction to disaster varies wildly, and inconsistently, between sighing and rolling my eyes, and dragging out the sack-cloth and ashes. What is consistent though, is that when I'm taking things badly I only need half an hour or so to vent then I calm down and start thinking rationally again. Don't think the cubs' father ever got the hang of that. He'd get this defensive set to his face whenever I started ranting, which in turn - cos you don't want to upset your partner, do you? - tended to make me swallow my initial reactions. Heh, did that for years, don’t think it helped.

The cubs had a curriculum day yesterday so we trotted off to the Aquarium. Dang, I love that place, never feel tired there. I think I might take the cubs to the Chinese Museum next, haven't been there yet and that giftshop is bound to have a different flavour of tat. <bg>

'Story of O' was an interesting read though initially I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfactory. But then again, there wasn't really anywhere else to go with it, the main character had been well and truly broken by then and any more detail would've simply been repetitive. The postscript was disturbing, but given what had been building in the main narrative, it made perfect sense.

'k, only got one more quilt strip left to attach to the last section. Hee.
And I've started collecting materials for the next one (can't remember if I've mentioned that before), lots of fun. <g>

Penny and I went to see the documentary 'Supersize Me', you know the one? Where the guy eats nothing but menu items from the Golden Arches of Doom for 30 days? It was intriguing, scary in places but what bothered me most was that despite hearing all the bad stuff, after watching him eating all that rubbish I found myself thinking that, yeah, I could go for a burger and chips…
<g> I didn't - I know from past experience that while the first couple of mouthfuls would've been heaven, the rest of it would just sit in my stomach for hours going sour.

Yay! Volumes 4 & 5 of YYH are now in my possession. Mwahahahahah! The cubs are enjoying it, too. <g> And I finally got hold of the final volume of X. <soppy grin> People nobly sacrificing themselves all over the place for their loved ones? The fluffy bunny was in her element… Going to watch it all from the beginning again really soon.

I'm back, sort of. Using the cubs' father's puter to get online, which, cos it's in his room, means I only have limited use but hey, it's better than nothing. Going to have to dip into my savings and get a new machine though - the other 2 I have to work with are really not worth the attempt to upgrade (one's a 486 for gods' sake!). Still, shouldn't take all that much effort to get going again, don't have to get new peripherals straight away, and thanks to Onna and rat's generosity, a substantial portion of the cost of building a new machine will hopefully be allayed. <glomps the pair of them>
... and now I'm back in more regular contact with Joules I'm feeling inspired again. <bg>
Tch, to think... 4 years ago I sniffed disdainfully at people who couldn't live without their computers...

Okay, through Niki's goodgraces (I'm at her place at the moment, hogging her internet connection :) I can finally do a post of some sort.
In short I'm still offline, <grumble>, and not sure when I'll be back. Annoyed? Oh yes...
Tch, it feels like my life's on hold - which it isn't, not really, just that I can't type or chat online. <rolls eyes> Ok, so typing and chatting do form a large part of my life but still...
Um, was there something else I had to say? Probably, I've made a list of things to include in future posts.
Ah! Yes!
Found a copy of 'The story of O' in an opp shop today. Heard a lot about this 'pornographic' book over the years but never got round to reading it. Heh, tell you what, Joules' writes much better, much more involving lemons. <bg> It's interesting, though, <smugsmirk> if a litte dated, a little lame. But, hey, it was written 30 years ago and published amid much controversy. I can see how it set the template for some areas, at least, of the BDSM scene.
Good to hear you'll be getting back to Haadri soon, Joules. :)

(What size hard-drive died, Onna? An old, 1gig pentium...)

[And the tenshi is quite happy to be comforted... :) ]

A further brief note - Lutra's hard drive has died, and she doesn't know when she'll be able to get back online. Hopefully soon, but it's probably wisest not to hold your breath. And she can't access blogger from public terminals...

[sends A'lestrel off to comfort forlorn Lutra...]

A brief note - Lutra has computer problems at the moment and can't get online except at a public terminal, but normal service will be resumed as soon as we can ascertain what constitutes 'normal'...

<sigh> Next time I want to defrag the drive, please remind me to disable the screen saver first...
I can't remember the last time this 'puter was defragged - could be years, literally - so I thought, OK, I'll do that! <rolls eyes> Set it up before I went to bed and it was still going several hours later when I woke. Now, I'm not sure if that's standard for a 1 gig hard-drive or if my 'puter was just being extra methodical, but the screen-saver had of course activated in the meantime and I'd forgotten that touching anything on the keyboard during a defrag will bump it back to the beginning...
So, the drive's at least mostly defragged - I'll set it up again tonight without the screensaver.

Awwww! Yesterday my cubs set about alphabetising the DVDs, of their own volition. As a Library Technician in training I thought that was just adorable...  : ) They got them all in the right places as well within the broad 'letter' categories, and with a little help ("'Sea Symphony' would come before 'Seven Samurai' because...?") they managed to get everything in correct alphabetical order. I love that sudden light they get in their eyes when they've figured something out. <g>

Tch, another 6 weeks and we should start seeing xmas decorations for sale...

Niki and Soulsis came 'round yesterday to help me with the garden again! Soulsis had fun with secateurs and the front hedges while Niki got stuck into the overgrown garden beds. We've put newspapers down over the bare spots to hopefully deter the bloody couch grass. Soon as I can there'll be mulch and actual non-weed plants added to the beds as well. Penny came 'round as well for a little while and contributed a couple of plastic bags worth of excess plants from her garden including native irises and african daisies. <g> 's good, the garden's actually beginning to look like someone gives a damn.

I got some presents as well (I have the best friends! : ). Niki gave me a pretty glass plate embossed with a grape pattern, and in the box Soulsis turned up with were some yummy sherbert cones, a packet of ginger chews (drool), an old microscope and slides for the cubs and... <pause for effect> a fabulous snowdome – it's got a fish in it! <happy squeak> That was actually from my niece. <g> Soulsis is training her chicks as to my tastes in tat. Oh, can't forget to mention the pretty little bamboo box decorated with fishies (also from 'Becca) and the drawing she did of Rufus, the naked molerat from Kim Possible. : )

Finished the latest Dystopia chapter, 'Backtrack, that'll be posted soon, (thanks, Joules : ) . Now I've forgotten what I was going to do next. I'd started on something to be included in the sequel to Joules' 808 bandfic but there's no hurry for that I guess. Hm, getting Ellis out of the way wouldn't be a bad thing either...

Humph. Well the stove's fixed. Would've been fixed weeks ago if the owner had sent someone qualified to see to it in the beginning.
Turns out the reason the rest of the stove wasn't working was cos it'd blown it's fuse in the fusebox. <blink> Never occured to me to check that. What do I know? It doesn't work - fix it! : )
So anyway, once again I can make a cup of tea at the same time I'm cooking dinner. This is a good thing. Thank you so much, Niki, for the loan of your little electric oven!  <hugs>

Oooh! I like your new spotty blog, Soulsis. <g> And thank you for the card, the woman on the front is beautiful! I'm sure I can find a place for her somewhere in one of my fics...

(nicked from Talon:)
 
Umm... <scratches head> Well, yeah I guess so, when I'm not wearing the bunny ears...
 

100% Seme

How seme are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
 
What?! Gabriel is June Acland's son?! <hands on hips> Oh this is just getting silly!

Hee, 8 quilt strips joined! Or rather, 2 lots of 4 joined. :) Then another set of 4, then a set of 3, then I can join them all together. Weee!

Another interesting dream recently. I was contacted telepathically by a spaceship, the last of it's kind. It/we had to go somewhere but first I had to get it spaceworthy, an interesting task considering the thing was being used as decoration in the middle of a busy shopping mall. But anyway we got it launched one night, my self, my cubs and my undefined partner (male, brunette, obviously very important). As we were slowly (very slowly, this was a piece of old-tech) pulling away from the earth the ship told me to look out of the porthole at a spot where the atmosphere bulged, somehow, to act as a magnifying glass. A group of stars came into focus and the ship indicated one of them, telling me that this was were we were heading. : ) Can't remember if we got there or not.

I can't take credit for this line, unfortunately.

"Mecha anime is pro-wrestling for geeks...

<rolling around laughing> It's so true! Most of my early exposure to anime was mecha based, courtesy of the geeks I role-played with. Didn't think a lot of the shoot-em-ups back then, or now for that matter, but I've seen a little bit of Escaflowne and that looks kind of interesting. Except for the lead female... Will someone just shut her up! I'm thinking ball-gag, restraints and a blacked-out room would serve...

It was taking me ages to untie the cubs' shoelaces this morning and I couldn't work out what why. And then I remembered that their father is a south-paw, he tied their shoes yesterday so the knots were all backwards for me. Tch.
(D'oh! Forgot that teaching the cubs to tie their own shoes was something we were sposed to be doing over the holidays. Oh well.)

Enroled for one more subject this year – today was the first class. Bibliographic Control, by definition a pedantic, exacting subject concerning the intricacies, rules and regulations of cataloging. <groan> I fully expect my brain will be hurting again before long, though the lecturer is very good, clear and concise in her explanations. I'll need to keep on the ball with this subject, it's one where it'll be too easy to lose points on the exam from careless mistakes.

Heh, begun the next Dystopia chapter – a continuation of Angel's arc, and have mapped out a couple of others as well. Also my next AC is finally coming together in my head. Joules has said she's going to start nagging me about Dancing again once GoodTwin has left her place. Okay so that's what, 14 days to faff about before I have to get back to work? <g>
Oh, and GoodTwin, in case I don't get round to actually emailing you specifically (lazy/distracted cow that I can be) - I really enjoyed 'Family Business', thank you! It got very exciting towards the end there. : )

Ah, the continuing saga of the stove...
The owner's wife appeared on our doorstop a few weeks ago with a new element to replace the one that futzed. It didn't fit. She went away and we heard no more until last night when, with no warning, the owner came 'round with another element. This one also didn't fit and he discovered the connection was full of molten something. He also hadn't understood that previously when we'd said 'nothing on the stove works', that nothing on the stove works. He'd got the impression it was just the element. <sigh> So anyway, he's gone off to see if he can find a replacement part for the connection and if that doesn't work then we might get a new stove...

Dragged myself after the cubs this afternoon to our local shopping suburb, cos I'd promised they could go and have a look at the Transformer toys.
Squeee! In the same aisle – new Dragon Ball goodies! Squee! Poseable figures of Shenron! The green one from DBZ and the red one from the original DB! Plus some reeeaaaally cute chibi figurines of some of the characters! <fuge grin> I've got a green Shenron and a SS4 Vegeta chibi on lay-by...

And an addendum to the stove saga...
The owner showed up tonight, to hand over all the bits he'd garnered and – wonder of wonders – tell me he'll be calling in a technician to see to the problem. <sigh> Hopefully things will move a little more quickly now.

Heh, finished my first CCO 808 fanfic, 'Conference'. Or is it fanfic? It's centered around one of the characters so technically it is, I guess, though it's a backstory formed from wild postulations. <g>
It's also a lemon and very self-indulgent.
I have real problems writing lemons though I think I've sussed why. It seems that every lemony line I write is one I've read somewhere else before but if I make a concerted effort to do something 'original' it all slides down into truly awful purpleness. Fussy? Hell yes, this is my reputation I'm toying with... : ) Eh, I probly just need more practise, I used to feel this way about everything I wrote.
But anyway, Conference is posted in the 808 section of the Zone, (thank you , Joules!). I'll have a think about whether I'm game enough to drop it in amongst the fen in the 808 community...

Now, what shall I tackle next?
Can't decide – I'll just throw a dart at the list and see where it lands...

And getting back to lemony goodness... Joules has started the next Jade/Damune fic. <happy squeak> Looking forward to that one!

<relieved> My Tom of Finland postcard book wasn't one of the things in the garage I had to trash...

Joules has finished her CCO 808 AU, Band. It's so funny! Had me giggling all over the place. <giggling> (See? :) It'll be posted on the 808 community soon, and not as a 'friends only' so anyone can rock over there (get it? <nudgenudge> rock?) and have a look. Heh, it's got one of the best descriptions of a stage-act I've ever read. Gods I wanna go to one of these concerts! <g>

Waaah! <sniffle> A poignant end to Jubei-chan, but not wholly unexpected. Okay, it wasn't the ending I postulated back in episode 2 but I wasn't thrown a loop, either, and there were a couple of nice twists to keep me entertained. <happy sigh> I really love magical girl stories... :)

Can women have mid-life crisis? Or are we too sensible for that sort of nonsense?

Tch, idiot cat spent the night in the garage again. She followed me in there yesterday then refused to come out when I left. I was going to let her out later but forgot about it until this morning when I was in the supermarket. I wondered why she wasn't curled up on my bed when I woke. Ooops...

<sigh> The cubs' father took them to have their hair cut after school. I really liked their anime do's, they were so cute with their hair flopping into their eyes. But then they have been complaining about not being able to see...
Only now, <sheepish> I can't tell them apart that easily. But they're not identical!

D'oh, that was stupid.
In my new-found enthusiasm for Jubei-chan I ambled over to eBay to see what was available. Not a lot, mostly DVDs and soundtracks but there was a pair of cels featuring the samurai Koinusuke [sic?]. They're not that expensive, really, though I still can't afford them, and he's so sweet! Not that bright, not that brave, but loyal to the point of stubborness. :)
Ah well.

'k, finished another Dystopia chapter and started the next one, expanding an arc I thought I'd finished with. <rolls eyes> Bloody characters – minds of their own...
Hey, there's 60 chapters in Dystopia now. How cool is that? :)

(What the...? Blogger's been fiddling with the edit screen again. Grrr...)

Dammit...
I've been making forays into the garage, sorting stuff into plastic boxes and I've discovered the hard way the garage floor is not waterproof. All of the cardboard boxes in direct contact with the concrete are damp and mouldy, and there's a lot of stuff that's now damaged beyond repair. Mea culpa, I knew I should've put pallets down before I started stacking boxes in there but there was so much to bring over from the old house before we had to hand in the keys I just didn't have time.
Of all the bits in the four boxes I went through today there was only a couple of precious books that had to be thrown out – the rest I can live without – but there's at least another dozen boxes at the bottom of a pile that's taller than me. It's fortunate, I spose that those bottom boxes are buffering the material stored above them but I've got a nasty, nasty feeling a lot of my precious books are in that bottom layer. Ah, well, it's going to take some time but I can gradually work my way through, remove the damaged boxes and shift over some of the umpteen dozen plastic storage boxes to pile the undamaged cardboard boxes back on. <sigh>
I'm happy so say, though, one of the items I was able to salvage is a booklet I bought from the nuns when I was in primary school, titled 'Be a Real Girl.' (printed 1965). <shakes head> It's... appalling; full of advice to young girls about how they should behave with boys and their special place in god's plan. (This little tome of patriachal wisdom has almost been burnt a dozen times, by outraged feminist friends who've glanced at it. :)
Here's an example, from the chapter headed 'Playing with Fire':

"... a wise girl will avoid going with companions or to places where she knows there is danger. You can't play with fire. When a girl is responsible for a boy's sin by allowing her body to be passionately petted, kissed and touched, she is throwing away, for a moment's pleasure, the real loveliness of her youthful body..."

Thought-provoking stuff, eh?
<shudder> If you'll excuse me I have to go wash now...

<penny drops> Tch, no wonder I'm enjoying Jubei Chan so much, it's a magical girl story, complete with mystical artifact and dodgy, implied-nudity transformation. :)
I do so like a mystery solved...

(nicked from Onna's blog:)

<dreamy sigh> Such pretty, pretty eyes - all he needs is fluffy bunny ears...


The Yaoi Selector: Which Uke are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Oh, Talon, did I ever thank you for the Gravitation dj's? I found the disc last night and had a wonderful time looking at the pretty pictures. <sigh> Not enough of K, or Hiro though, and Eiri's brother is a bit of all right. :)

I confess I'm a sucker for anything with 'ninja' in the title. Lashed out and bought myself something called Jubei-chan: the ninja girl - all 13 eps in one box. <bg> It's not as frenetic as Excel Saga but just as silly. I think it's one of those anime which is chock-full of in-jokes and I'm probably missing loads of stuff but what I am getting is hysterical. I'll have to listen to it in Japanese at some point (the cubs watched it with me, so the English dub is easier) cos I'm curious about how the characters sounded originally. There's a 300 year old Samurai bishie (who occasionally becomes desiccated and has to be revived by immersion in water) whose name I can't remember (it's longer than 2 syllables so it'll be a while before I do) who is just the sweetest thing... <blinks>Ahah! He reminds me of Botan, that's what it is, hair-style, face, attitude. That's why I like him - heh. Anyway, he's lovely and you could do worse than have him as your servant.
We watched the first three eps tonight and I suspect I know how it's going to end, but I'll wait and see.

Egad, I've made a clean spot in the garage!
Those plastic storage boxes I hold so dear are on special at the supermarket again. I picked up four of them and sorted out a few more of the tatty old cardboard boxes.
If, as I hope, I can afford to start looking for a new place in October, that only gives me about 14 weeks to get things ready. Eeep! As it stands I might not be able to move until next year anyway but the sooner I'm ready, ie: packed and organised, the less traumatic the whole thing will be. I really do need to put some serious effort into the garden, though. I want that to be up to scratch when I move then I can leave here with a clear conscience. Perhaps it's time to dangle the bait of food and drink and arrange a couple of working-bees in the meantime? <g>

I've decided I'm not going to renew our Museum membership this year. The price has been reduced but under the normal pricing policy the cubs and I can get into the main venues for free anyway. Also the powers that be have altered the membership benefits and now you can only get into the Planetarium for free once a year. <rude noise> Eh, we can get a discount for that and it's not like we're there every week.

Oooh! The Open Range Zoo we visited a week ago has 'slumber parties' in the summer! With a barbecue and 'activities' and sleeping in a tent to the roar of the lions. Wouldn't that be cool? It'd be expensive, I'm certain, but I could save up and treat myself.

Heh, my cubs aren't identical – one of them mumbles, the other declaims...

Had to share this. It was written by Ghastly from Ghastly's Ghastly Comic.
He says on his page: "This is my "Freddy No Goth" poem, which was my take on what otaku-goth poetry written by Freddy would be." (Freddy is a genki s/he-male who looks like James from Pokemon and speaks an incomprehensible form of Otaku Japanglish. Ghastly says it hurts his brain devising Freddy's dialogue... :)

Freddy No Goth - by Ghastly.

Baka baka bleak dispair
Neko neko everywhere.
Darkness fills the world with wai
Heart of pain is so kawaii.
Soul of anguish on chibi wings
Genki genki evil things.
Tormented heart oh so sugoi
Crushed beneath the dark yaoi.
Neko neko everywhere
Baka baka bleak dispair.

Oh gods... <rolling around laughing> The 'genki genki evil things' line gets me everytime. It conjures images of hyper balls of pink fluff with wings and fangs and chibi eyes. I have to work them into 'Elga' somewhere...

Heh, finished my next AC today. It came together relatively easily, unlike the past several which were like pulling teeth. I think back to the 15 page chapters I used to do and wonder what I wrote to fill the space? I don't remember waffling... :)
What's next? A Dystopia, I think and <sigh> 'Cathouse Ellis' is still this close >< to being finished.

Cubs are back to school tomorrow! <happy dance>

You know what I'm going to enjoy most when the cubs are back at school? Being able to walk in a straight line and not have to check my stride every few paces. The cubs will cut in front of me when we're walking, it's very annoying. And while I love the fact they like to be close to me, being pushed off course - so to speak - by a little body bumping into you can be aggravating. :)

Took the cubs to ScienceWorks yesterday for the last day of holidays (weekends don't count). You know it's a bad sign when you arrive somewhere a few minutes after it's opened and already the carpark is full and the entry line stretches out to the street...
Wasn't too bad though, the place is so big that even when it's teeming with people you don't feel crowded. Heh, except for the gift-shop – the smallest space on the property. Tch.
There was a new, fun exhibition there – about toys, how they work, the science behind them. <g> The best bit for me was seeing loads of old stuff I remembered, the best bit for the cubs was seeing some Thomas the Tank Engine pieces in a display about magnets. <shakes head> I don't think they're ever really going to get over Thomas...

Eeeep! <biting nails> I know what's coming in the AC but 'One', Joules' latest chapter, still had me wetting myself!
(And there's a lovely, lemony follow-up to 'Muse' posted at the 808 community. A Joules/Lutra joint story, though I can't claim credit for any of the lemon. <g> You have to be a member to see it.)

<sigh> I know I find fuss-arsing about with fiddly little bits of stuff inexplicably satisfying but I wonder sometimes.
I've loved the tumbling blocks pattern for years and I've decided, finally, I'd like to make a quilt or wall-hanging based on it. Do you have any idea how many individual diamond pieces it's going to take? On the plus side, though, it's another paper-piecing type so I don't have to fret about being obsessively accurate with measuring. <g> Now that's my type of sewing!

... and speaking of Benten, my cubs looked at him and asked if he was a man. I said yes, they then asked why he was wearing lipstick. They seemed satisfied with my comment that some men like to wear makeup. <g>

I'm having problems with blogger at the moment: even though my 'post' pages on both The Zone and Shadows in Jade is confirming the updates have posted, the new entries aren't showing. I've emailed blogger to ask what the problem is - and just had confirmation back that they've received my email - so hopefully I can get whatever it is sorted out soon... (Thanks for letting me post here, Lutra!)

(nicked from Thorne's blog:)


You are Xuan Wu!

Mythological background: Because the turtle has a
thick, solid shell that serves as protection -
this animal is associated with stability. You
enjoy intellectual pursuits.
Also, in Feng Shui (the Chinese myths behind
choosing a house), the black turtle's solidity
is used to protect from cold northern winds.


Which Chinese Mythological Being Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla


Woohoo! Turtles are cool! Look at the Tidja Midja Nidja! :)

Niki got herself a new gardening toy and asked if she could come 'round and prune my roses. <g> I've had to admit defeat where the garden's concerned. First, I've lost interest in this one and second, I'm an indifferent gardener at best. So I happily agreed and she and Soulsis came around today to play in my garden for a little while. Niki likes pruning, it shows, the roses are very neat now...
Soulsis found me some brilliant tat, a purple plastic multi-compartment dips and nibbles party platter, and a decorated piece of glass tube we think is meant to go around a tealight candle. And it's got fishes on it! :) I'm going to have to have lots of parties or something when I get my new place so I can use all this stuff Soulsis finds. <g>

Had an odd dream while I was up at Mum's. In it I saw somebody I haven't spoken to for months. He was dressed, and was carrying himself, to mimic a particular section of society. I mentioned this and he immediately changed his posture and accent and said rather smugly that I was completely wrong. I thought to myself, you swine, you just can't bear to think someone's got your measure. Tch, I'm still annoyed about it.

Hee, finally got to see the first couple of episodes of CCO 808. Half-way through the first one I found myself grumbling that there was only 3 eps. 'k, it's not very pretty and there's something about cyberpunk scenarios that makes my soul curl up and whimper but this worldframe has so much potential! Heh, I'm even warming to Sengoku whereas before I just thought he was a prat. And, nice use of mono-filament, Benten, very impressive. :)
I'm not sure I should've let the cubs watch it, though. They pulled faces at the swearing – which was kind of funny – and squeaked at the gore, and then one of them went off and made cyber-insects out of play-dough and bionicle bits. Hn...

Got back from my holiday <snort> this afternoon – 4 days with the cubs up at my mother's... It rained off and on the whole time but we still managed to get out and do things and have fun. I've got some more prettypretty material to add to my stash, too. :) Ah, I'm easy to please.
On Sunday we drove out to the Open Range Zoo at Werribee. Only got a little bit lost going there and back (Point Cook is a very pretty little coastal town, by the way). We took the safari bus trip around the site which was kind of neat, but it took an hour and the cubs were getting fractious by the end of it. There isn't as much to see here as at the Melbourne Zoo or Healesville Sanctuary, but it's great if you like rhinos, giraffes, hippos...
It's traditional now for us to take a trip on the Healesville Trolly when we visit mum, but today we almost didn't. Almost. I've now ridden the trolly in blistering heat, howling winds, and proto-hail. <bg> Cold and wet but fun.

When I got back today there was a parcel waiting for me! From Joules! <happysqueak> Some more sachets of turkish-delight flavoured hot chocolate and more pink stuff! Plus a cutie little purple-prismatic pen and a booklet of English recipes. Mmmm... suet... <watch Lutra drool>. Heh, speaking of drooling, Joules also sent me a copy of the Cyber City Oedo 808 video! <bouncebouncebounce> I put it on as soon as I'd ripped the parcel open, just to see if the tape would play, you understand... What's that crime where you kill your children? Infanticide? Well anyway, stopped playing the tape before I committed infanticide. What was I expecting, really, trying to watch something enthralling in the middle of the afternoon when the cubs were in the same room? Tch. I'll never learn.
Hee, didn't get more than a minute or so in but - <checking the vicinity for ubersemes> - that first glimpse of Benten stretching, in silhouette, is intriguing...


[<a flurry of soft, white feathers, accompanied by a happy squeak, and the Zasshu disappears beneath the mound of furs...]

Good grief it's the end of the first week of school holidays! Where'd they go?

Cubs' birthday on Thursday. They had a good day, I think, waking up to a room full of balloons and pillow-cases full of presents – transformers, books, lollies... The party at the Golden Arches of Doom with their cousins and a school friend went well also, though I shouldn't have eaten anything, it just sat simmering in my stomach until the fine fare <cough> from Smorgy's later in the evening pushed it through.
<sniffle> My cubs are 9. They were funny the day before their birthday, coming out with things like 'this is the last time we'll eat lunch/dinner/have a bath while we're 8.' <g>
Their father and I took them to the Aquarium yesteday. School hols is really not the best time to go but it wasn't too crowded and we didn't stay long enough for anyone to get cranky. :) As part of their birthday presents I let the cubs choose whatever they wanted from the gift-shop. One picked up a plush eagle-ray and the other a plush shark. Yes, another one. That makes 7 different soft-toy sharks he's got – we counted. <bg>

So what else has been happening?
I've stitched together 4 of the quilt strips, and finished Muse, a Joules Taylor fanfic (based on her Cyber City Oedo fanfic, hee, and posted in the 808 lj community.). Almost finished Cathouse Ellis. Umm...?
I've already mentioned I took the cubs to the Museum, but forgot to say we saw an exhibitionn on collections, part of which was a display of Coca Cola merchandise. The cubs went nuts over the Coca Cola tranformer robot, (remember those?) so I have a quest now to try and track a couple down. Probly won't be that hard, I see them occasionally in second/hand antique places that specialise in Coke merchandise.

LOL! The cubs made chibi Bionicles! They did a good job too, taking all the elements of the particular characters and scrunching them down. :) And I overheard them playing with their tranformers, pairing them up for 'dates'. <snigger> Needless to say the 'bots are all male. Yaoi! They've also been sounding things out in hirigana, which is fascinating. They can't write many of the characters as yet but it's great to see the Japanese they're learning at school seems to be sticking. Fingers crossed they've inherited their father's facility with languages and not mine!

I had a dream last night that friends of mine pinched a large, terracotta dragon that was sitting in the garden of their rented house because their landlady wanted to destroy it and they couldn't bear to let that happen. Wasn't it lucky though, that in the previous night's dream I'd cleared out my huge, barn-like garage so there was plenty of space to hide the pilfered beastie...? :)

Soulsis has been very good to me recently. <g> I'm wallowing in fishy things again including what would have to be the ugliest ceramic fish I've ever seen! Ugly, but bursting with character, it's fabulous! He's sitting on a shelf next to a pair of green, chicken salt/pepper shakers. What can I say? It works...
Soulsis has also made a rag-doll for someone and she's brilliant! Almost 2' high, with fluffy purple hair and biker boots. Lovely shape too, the full-length, laced bodice dress fits very snuggly. Cor, very impressed, Soulsis is very clever. :)

Bother! All of my socks have experienced critical failure at the same time. I've been meaning to stock up again for months, just left it a bit too long. Ah well...