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Feb. 6th, 2013 11:46 pm
State of the Texty: Baby Germs Edition
First off, what y'all really want: A crapload of pics of my kid. :)
And now, on to ( the wordy bits: )
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First off, what y'all really want: A crapload of pics of my kid. :)
And now, on to ( the wordy bits: )
Jan. 1st, 2013 12:27 pm
Yearly creative tally
Not quite as much as 2011, as I was so sick for so long. But here's 2012's approximate tally:
Legit:
Finishing Harper: 32,000
Polishing up Thunderstone: 10,000
Worlds Away (new novel): 86,500
Fic: (Two Primeval and one Leverage): 2,350
Legit blog: 24,500 (49 posts at an average of 500 words each)
"Serious" LJ and Tumblr posts: ? But probably about the same as the legit blog.
Total: About 166,000
Vids:
Primeval: Brighter than the Sun, Heroes
PNW: An alt-edit of the opening titles
Graphics:
Two new designs up at Zazzle, a couple of ARCadians logos/headers, plus a few random things on Tumblr.
Legit:
Finishing Harper: 32,000
Polishing up Thunderstone: 10,000
Worlds Away (new novel): 86,500
Fic: (Two Primeval and one Leverage): 2,350
Legit blog: 24,500 (49 posts at an average of 500 words each)
"Serious" LJ and Tumblr posts: ? But probably about the same as the legit blog.
Total: About 166,000
Vids:
Primeval: Brighter than the Sun, Heroes
PNW: An alt-edit of the opening titles
Graphics:
Two new designs up at Zazzle, a couple of ARCadians logos/headers, plus a few random things on Tumblr.
Tags:
Jun. 8th, 2012 05:29 pm
Fan-o-rama post-script: A case of the mehs
So, there was one slightly odd thing about meeting my lovelies: I wasn't remotely nervous about meeting them, and don't necessarily feel particularly giddy or anything even now. As is most likely obvious to anyone reading here regularly, I've not been terribly stoked for much of anything lately (and quite anti-stoked on a lot of things--the horrid job, the tedious adoption process, stupid health stuff, etc.) Still, I'm kind of surprised that I wasn't more in fansquee mode for this.
( Fading )
Not that there's necessarily anything on the horizon. GoT fandom is a horrid cesspool, so I'm staying quite firmly on the fringes of that, and nothing else I'm into inspires any real squee for me right now. That goes for non-fandom stuff, too. The only two things likely to give me any great joy anytime soon are the adoption and getting my novel published. Both of those things are ponderously slow and the payoff for them depends greatly on other people, so true squee is somewhat unlikely anytime soon.
I suspect I might also be in the middle of a depressive slump, too. I've had so much grief/disappointment in the past 12-18 months (job, cats, chorus, health, politics, blah blah blah) that I'm just exhausted. It's not been horrible all the time, just incredibly stressful, and I've not had a lot of outlets for burning that off. The one thing that was keeping me from dwelling on the bad stuff--fansquee--is fading, now, so I'm left with a lot of ick, and nowhere to put it so I can ignore it again. I expect I'll find something eventually--I usually do--but this limbo period is going to be tough. Damn shame I don't/can't drink. It'd be lovely to just remain pickled while I'm waiting for things outside of my control to resolve themselves.
Anyway ... yeah, I'm kind of sad that this wasn't more of a fangasmic experience for me, even though some of that was deliberate limitation on my part. Trying to stay calm to avoid crushing disappointment is sensible, of course, but it also avoids elation, and I could use a bit of that these days.
( Fading )
Not that there's necessarily anything on the horizon. GoT fandom is a horrid cesspool, so I'm staying quite firmly on the fringes of that, and nothing else I'm into inspires any real squee for me right now. That goes for non-fandom stuff, too. The only two things likely to give me any great joy anytime soon are the adoption and getting my novel published. Both of those things are ponderously slow and the payoff for them depends greatly on other people, so true squee is somewhat unlikely anytime soon.
I suspect I might also be in the middle of a depressive slump, too. I've had so much grief/disappointment in the past 12-18 months (job, cats, chorus, health, politics, blah blah blah) that I'm just exhausted. It's not been horrible all the time, just incredibly stressful, and I've not had a lot of outlets for burning that off. The one thing that was keeping me from dwelling on the bad stuff--fansquee--is fading, now, so I'm left with a lot of ick, and nowhere to put it so I can ignore it again. I expect I'll find something eventually--I usually do--but this limbo period is going to be tough. Damn shame I don't/can't drink. It'd be lovely to just remain pickled while I'm waiting for things outside of my control to resolve themselves.
Anyway ... yeah, I'm kind of sad that this wasn't more of a fangasmic experience for me, even though some of that was deliberate limitation on my part. Trying to stay calm to avoid crushing disappointment is sensible, of course, but it also avoids elation, and I could use a bit of that these days.
Tags:
Jun. 8th, 2012 04:29 pm
Brief trip/con report
Finally getting a bit of bandwidth back, though I think I picked up a cold somewhere, so I'm still quite tired and hurty. Meh.
Anyway ... So: the big reason we decided to go back to London is that I wanted to finally meet my lovely Famous People. They really don't do the con thing at all, so when I heard that two of them were doing this one, I had to. I knew my chances of meeting them in the future were otherwise next to nil, so this was pretty much my one shot. (Two of them--Ben and Hannah--are doing a play right now and are thus a bit more accessible, but the third--Andrew--is very elusive, and only signed on to the con at the last minute. Had to grab him!) And yes, we loved London last year and wanted to see more of it. And did--though I wore myself out with excitedly overdoing it the first couple of days. Oops.
Not really much to say about the non-fan touristing. 90% of it is evident on Flickr. ( Details )
Quite tickled that I finally met all three lovelies, and got all three to sign the same pic (and also had the bonus-FP encounter, too.) It kind of feels like I've unlocked a fandom achievement or something--like how it was for me when I finally got all four hobbits' autographs (also on the same photo.) I feel a little guilty for spending so much money on what was more or less a big autograph hunt, but hey, ya only live once. I could certainly spend my money on worse things. :)
Sadly, as mentioned before, this is probably my last shot at London. I might get to go back someday if I can manage the physical/temporal/financial bandwidth somehow, but practically speaking, I'm basically done. I think the UK treated me very well both times I went, so I'm content. Bucket list items checked, and the next big travel we do--if we do anything at all--will probably be on the other end of the world (Oz/NZ.) So, farewell to the Isles, with fond memories.
Anyway ... So: the big reason we decided to go back to London is that I wanted to finally meet my lovely Famous People. They really don't do the con thing at all, so when I heard that two of them were doing this one, I had to. I knew my chances of meeting them in the future were otherwise next to nil, so this was pretty much my one shot. (Two of them--Ben and Hannah--are doing a play right now and are thus a bit more accessible, but the third--Andrew--is very elusive, and only signed on to the con at the last minute. Had to grab him!) And yes, we loved London last year and wanted to see more of it. And did--though I wore myself out with excitedly overdoing it the first couple of days. Oops.
Not really much to say about the non-fan touristing. 90% of it is evident on Flickr. ( Details )
Quite tickled that I finally met all three lovelies, and got all three to sign the same pic (and also had the bonus-FP encounter, too.) It kind of feels like I've unlocked a fandom achievement or something--like how it was for me when I finally got all four hobbits' autographs (also on the same photo.) I feel a little guilty for spending so much money on what was more or less a big autograph hunt, but hey, ya only live once. I could certainly spend my money on worse things. :)
Sadly, as mentioned before, this is probably my last shot at London. I might get to go back someday if I can manage the physical/temporal/financial bandwidth somehow, but practically speaking, I'm basically done. I think the UK treated me very well both times I went, so I'm content. Bucket list items checked, and the next big travel we do--if we do anything at all--will probably be on the other end of the world (Oz/NZ.) So, farewell to the Isles, with fond memories.
Dec. 6th, 2011 02:10 am
Genericization is, too a word
Naturally, when I should be in bed, I'm ruminating about stereotyping, marginalization, tokening, stock characters, archetypes, blah blah.
All because I've found it annoying that metacultural representations of geeks tend to go with shorthand based on Star Wars, Star Trek, vampires, zombies, superheroes and, if they're trying to aim in a slightly more hipster direction, Whedon (for UKers: Add Who.) And also because I'm feeling rather marginalized these days because I'm not really into any of those things, and therefore I'm apparently not really a geek, depending on whom one asks.
( Big fandoms are big. They are not the only ones. Nor is everyone in them the same. )
We geeks are no longer few and dispersed. We can afford to ignore or even complain about things aimed at us that don't ring true. And we should. We are a force to be reckoned with, after all. Making us angry would be highly illogical, because we are subtle and quick to anger and use our braaains. Shiny? Then don't panic, allons-y and let's avada kedavra these lazy fraks.
All because I've found it annoying that metacultural representations of geeks tend to go with shorthand based on Star Wars, Star Trek, vampires, zombies, superheroes and, if they're trying to aim in a slightly more hipster direction, Whedon (for UKers: Add Who.) And also because I'm feeling rather marginalized these days because I'm not really into any of those things, and therefore I'm apparently not really a geek, depending on whom one asks.
( Big fandoms are big. They are not the only ones. Nor is everyone in them the same. )
We geeks are no longer few and dispersed. We can afford to ignore or even complain about things aimed at us that don't ring true. And we should. We are a force to be reckoned with, after all. Making us angry would be highly illogical, because we are subtle and quick to anger and use our braaains. Shiny? Then don't panic, allons-y and let's avada kedavra these lazy fraks.
Tags:
Nov. 4th, 2011 11:21 pm
State of the Texty: Falling In Edition
So, if you've not kept up with my tl;dr rant and babble lately (and I wouldn't blame you), here's a condensed version of what's been going on in my life the last couple of months!
---
The biggest thing, of course, is that we've got at least a rough plan for getting the adoption going. We've been sorting through agencies, and have found at least one that may be right for us. We have our first intro seminar dealio with them next Tuesday. Assuming that goes well (and it may or may not) we'll get going on the home study stuff soon after. That process will take a couple months, but we'll probably be on the waitlist sometime in January. Then? No clue how long it might take. Could be a long wait, though, since we're going to be pickier than some, and have a few not-so-attractive things as potential adoptive parents. Still more-than-slightly terrified, especially about getting cleared medically, but I'm crossing my fingers.
---
The other big thing is that I'm singing again! I bit the bullet and joined up with SWC. Only a few rehearsals so far, but god, it feels good to be back. It's been ~4 years since I did any serious singing, and getting back into it is making me wonder why I ever stopped. (Well, I know why--time, burnout, scheduling fail, etc. Still.) I've been needing to feed my soul, and music is its preferred meal, so. Yeah. :) First concert's in February. We'll see what I do after that--will prolly depend on adoption stuff.
---
Also still writing like a demon, though it's been ages since I did any fanfic. (Kind of fading interest a bit on the primary fandom. More on that in a bit.) Since I'm not working again yet, I decided to take advantage of the downtime and do NaNoWriMo this year. If you're over there, you can find me with this handle. I seem to be going well on my project so far--have topped 9,000 words in just four days, which is well ahead of their suggested pace. Helps that I put together a decent chapter outline for it in the middle of this, too.
Haven't done more agent shopping for the other novel, but I think I want to give it another edit and maybe a bit of expansion before I do. Have been letting it sit for a few months now, and fresh eyes wouldn't be a bad thing before I go dropping it on someone else.
---
Khaleesi seems to be settling in fairly well. She's still shy of Otter, because he's an asshole and he's almost twice her size, but she gives him (well-earned) smacks on the nose pretty regularly. She's also basically a perfect cat. She's friendly, sweet, has perfect litterbox habits, etc. About her only flaw is that she scratches a lot. But she also responds well when she's scolded for it. Still considering whether we add another kitty--perhaps one more young one to take Otter's focus, so poor Penny doesn't get any harassment at all--but that may be a while yet.
---
Have been diversifying my fandom interests, now that Primeval is on ice for at least the near future. A little burned out on it, to be honest. Still think the cast is adorable (though there's some behind-the-scenes stuff that has me a bit uncomfortable) and still keeping up with our fan groups, but I'm just spending more time on other stuff. Particularly, I've been dipping my toes into Game of Thrones/ASoIaF. Just finished the most recent book in the series, so I can finally go hunting fandom for it without risk of spoilers. Sadly, a lot of the fandom I've found so far seems heavily oriented toward dimwit fangirls. Which is kind of creepy, considering they're way too immature for this subject matter. Ah, well.
Elsewise, I'm watching Sanctuary, Fringe, Downton Abbey, Criminal Minds and a few other things here and there. Looking forward to more Leverage coming soon, too.
---
My mandatory contract break is up, now, and my agency has pinged me about new possible assignments. I'm not sure I want to work again right away, though. We could use the extra money, but it's not critical, and I figure someone else needs that job more than we do right now. I may want to work again while we're in the adoption queue, but for now, I'd rather spend that time writing, catching up on sleep and watching the birdies in my back yard (of which there have been TONS this year.) I may change my mind if there's a really awesome assignment up, though.
---
Also, I want to spend more time socializing. We had a way fun Halloween party, and I'm dying to do more of that. Not that I don't love my long-distance/online friends, but meatspace socializing really boosts me, and I need more of it than I get right now.
---
Bed, however, is my main goal at the mo. Especially because Khaleesi just dropped an atom bomb in the litter box. Ugh. Night.
---
The biggest thing, of course, is that we've got at least a rough plan for getting the adoption going. We've been sorting through agencies, and have found at least one that may be right for us. We have our first intro seminar dealio with them next Tuesday. Assuming that goes well (and it may or may not) we'll get going on the home study stuff soon after. That process will take a couple months, but we'll probably be on the waitlist sometime in January. Then? No clue how long it might take. Could be a long wait, though, since we're going to be pickier than some, and have a few not-so-attractive things as potential adoptive parents. Still more-than-slightly terrified, especially about getting cleared medically, but I'm crossing my fingers.
---
The other big thing is that I'm singing again! I bit the bullet and joined up with SWC. Only a few rehearsals so far, but god, it feels good to be back. It's been ~4 years since I did any serious singing, and getting back into it is making me wonder why I ever stopped. (Well, I know why--time, burnout, scheduling fail, etc. Still.) I've been needing to feed my soul, and music is its preferred meal, so. Yeah. :) First concert's in February. We'll see what I do after that--will prolly depend on adoption stuff.
---
Also still writing like a demon, though it's been ages since I did any fanfic. (Kind of fading interest a bit on the primary fandom. More on that in a bit.) Since I'm not working again yet, I decided to take advantage of the downtime and do NaNoWriMo this year. If you're over there, you can find me with this handle. I seem to be going well on my project so far--have topped 9,000 words in just four days, which is well ahead of their suggested pace. Helps that I put together a decent chapter outline for it in the middle of this, too.
Haven't done more agent shopping for the other novel, but I think I want to give it another edit and maybe a bit of expansion before I do. Have been letting it sit for a few months now, and fresh eyes wouldn't be a bad thing before I go dropping it on someone else.
---
Khaleesi seems to be settling in fairly well. She's still shy of Otter, because he's an asshole and he's almost twice her size, but she gives him (well-earned) smacks on the nose pretty regularly. She's also basically a perfect cat. She's friendly, sweet, has perfect litterbox habits, etc. About her only flaw is that she scratches a lot. But she also responds well when she's scolded for it. Still considering whether we add another kitty--perhaps one more young one to take Otter's focus, so poor Penny doesn't get any harassment at all--but that may be a while yet.
---
Have been diversifying my fandom interests, now that Primeval is on ice for at least the near future. A little burned out on it, to be honest. Still think the cast is adorable (though there's some behind-the-scenes stuff that has me a bit uncomfortable) and still keeping up with our fan groups, but I'm just spending more time on other stuff. Particularly, I've been dipping my toes into Game of Thrones/ASoIaF. Just finished the most recent book in the series, so I can finally go hunting fandom for it without risk of spoilers. Sadly, a lot of the fandom I've found so far seems heavily oriented toward dimwit fangirls. Which is kind of creepy, considering they're way too immature for this subject matter. Ah, well.
Elsewise, I'm watching Sanctuary, Fringe, Downton Abbey, Criminal Minds and a few other things here and there. Looking forward to more Leverage coming soon, too.
---
My mandatory contract break is up, now, and my agency has pinged me about new possible assignments. I'm not sure I want to work again right away, though. We could use the extra money, but it's not critical, and I figure someone else needs that job more than we do right now. I may want to work again while we're in the adoption queue, but for now, I'd rather spend that time writing, catching up on sleep and watching the birdies in my back yard (of which there have been TONS this year.) I may change my mind if there's a really awesome assignment up, though.
---
Also, I want to spend more time socializing. We had a way fun Halloween party, and I'm dying to do more of that. Not that I don't love my long-distance/online friends, but meatspace socializing really boosts me, and I need more of it than I get right now.
---
Bed, however, is my main goal at the mo. Especially because Khaleesi just dropped an atom bomb in the litter box. Ugh. Night.
Aug. 12th, 2011 03:53 pm
State of the Texty: Home Alone Edition
Six weeks into my summer sabbatical, and enjoying it, for the most part. Currently parked in the back yard on a lovely afternoon enjoying the fresh air and sunshine and birdsong and dragonflies and bumblebees. And my spiffy laptop and our awesome wireless. ;) There's something really calming about having my own green space to chill out in--at least when the weather's nice. Even enjoying doing a bit of tending of my little kitchen garden. This year, in addition to the herbs, we have tomatoes, two kinds of peppers, lemon cucumbers, yellow watermelon, Hubbard squash and raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Oh, and a little tree that's supposed to produce something called a limequat. So far, the only thing that we've harvested is strawberries--the plant we have is very prolific--but we have tomatoes and peppers growing, the blueberry bush is absolutely bursting with stuff that should be ripening in the next few weeks, and everything else has at least flowered. Hoping there's enough summer left to get at least something out of most of them.
***
I think I've gotten past the initial panic about not having enough time to do everything before I have to go back to work/start raising a youngun (more on that in a bit), so now I'm just taking it easy and doing what I want/need to do as the mood strikes me.
( Writing, family, kid-buying, blah blah )
***
Gotta admit: I'm actually enjoying 40 so far. It's kind of like having a license to not give a shit what the world thinks anymore. Yeah, they still do care, but I'm out to pasture as far as the must-be-decorative pressure goes just based on age alone, so the rest of it doesn't matter as much. I think I've been a brassy old broad since I was 20. Nice to finally be the right age for it. :)
***
I think I've gotten past the initial panic about not having enough time to do everything before I have to go back to work/start raising a youngun (more on that in a bit), so now I'm just taking it easy and doing what I want/need to do as the mood strikes me.
( Writing, family, kid-buying, blah blah )
***
Gotta admit: I'm actually enjoying 40 so far. It's kind of like having a license to not give a shit what the world thinks anymore. Yeah, they still do care, but I'm out to pasture as far as the must-be-decorative pressure goes just based on age alone, so the rest of it doesn't matter as much. I think I've been a brassy old broad since I was 20. Nice to finally be the right age for it. :)
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Sep. 5th, 2010 06:05 pm
Exhausted but happy
Two more days left here, but it's been a blast so far. Met up with my lovely peeps ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pottsfanatic and ourdramaqueen and had an amazing experience meeting some Famous People and watching them be ridiculous for the entertainment of thousands of geeks.
Still kind of sad that my Andrew wasn't here (as had been rumored) and sad that I won't be able to see him at any of the UK events he'll prolly be at soon, but meeting Neil was thoroughly awesome, and that's made me quite happy, and pleased that I decided to do this.
I still want to see some panels and get some autographs, but I'm really, really starting to feel the exhaustion creep in. Too much walking/time on my feet, too much heat, too many rushed meals. This is far, far more physical activity than I usually get up to in such a short span of time, and my body is starting to let me know that this is Very Stupid.
Given that I start a new job within just a few days of getting home, I really ought to take it easy for a while. At least so I can survive the trip home. May spend tomorrow just doing some driving around ATL instead of hoofing it through throngs of geeks.
pottsfanatic and ourdramaqueen and had an amazing experience meeting some Famous People and watching them be ridiculous for the entertainment of thousands of geeks.Still kind of sad that my Andrew wasn't here (as had been rumored) and sad that I won't be able to see him at any of the UK events he'll prolly be at soon, but meeting Neil was thoroughly awesome, and that's made me quite happy, and pleased that I decided to do this.
I still want to see some panels and get some autographs, but I'm really, really starting to feel the exhaustion creep in. Too much walking/time on my feet, too much heat, too many rushed meals. This is far, far more physical activity than I usually get up to in such a short span of time, and my body is starting to let me know that this is Very Stupid.
Given that I start a new job within just a few days of getting home, I really ought to take it easy for a while. At least so I can survive the trip home. May spend tomorrow just doing some driving around ATL instead of hoofing it through throngs of geeks.
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