no one of consequence.

Once upon a time there were four little girls and one boy who were friends. They played together, laughed, pissed off each other’s parents and did all the things that children do, both naughty and nice.

They all started to grow up. The girls started to go to bars and meet other people and mess around with some things that weren’t really good for any of them. And the boy disappeared.

Many things happened to the girls over the years, and their stories are all their own. But at least one of them often wondered what happened to the boy, and missed him a great deal.

Turns out, the boy was off pursuing his Bliss.

I have the feeling that you will all know his name someday in the not too distant future. And im so goddamned proud of him it isnt funny.

Life, friends | No Comments »

YAY, Im signed up on LibraryThing as dsafire. Currently keying in ISBNs, which is probably good practice, and is arguably almost as fast as having a scanner anyway.

Starting with the paperbacks, since that case is stacked four “shelves” deep mostly. And because this case is in the bedroom, so is less available for casual browsing.

Honestly, Ive gotten to the point where I cant keep track anymore. I managed for years, but either my memory is slipping or the Library really HAS gotten out of control.

ETA: After 195 titles, im tired. And thats just the fantasy and sci-fi titles in standard paperback, and a couple of the trades. Owdustyow.

Life | No Comments »

OK, so Vlad seems to be pretty well known now around our complex. Obviously a cat on a leash is a bit of an attention getter, and even moreso when the cat in question is friendly enough to dash up to anyone and everyone looking for petting and/or play.

He is however so well known that three times now, neighbors have caught him and brought him back to the apartment.

I just put this in the window, to spare the locals from chasing him down.

(Leashcat is currently dashing in and out of his window between chasing windblown leaves on this ridiculously warm day.)

Life | No Comments »

YAY for out-ness with Sassy-Fae! Lucky has himself a new harness that is going to be harder to put on him, but much more secure. He also has catnip. Seriously good catnip. Instant stonercat. But no new toys, because I didnt see anything that I thought would entertain him at a decent price. After the pet store, we went to the dollar store, and then to the thrift shop. I was bought a present of a big *thick* soft chenille throw, to replace the one Lucky has decided is his girlfriend. Cuz it was my birfday, and I worried about not having enough cash on hand. And a goofy hat.

I also bought a small ottoman. Yes, another item of furniture into our overstuffed apartment (hides from Lee). But this is *just* the right height for me to put my leg up on when it’s acting up. AND the top flips up for storage space big enough to hold Lee’s biggest sketchbooks. AND it was only six dollars. So *NYAH*.

On the way back home, we stopped downtown to inspect the movie sets that have gone up. They’ve built Harlem! It’s FUNNY, because it’s both pretty obvious it’s a set in some ways (like the phoney storefront names) and in some ways is right on the money (like architectural details on the false fronts themselves) Very weird and very cool.

More images in the album HERE.

We hung out here and chattered and played with psychokitten, who was very well behaved for him untill he tried to bite. *sigh* Oh, and theres another present here that’s for both of us from the Fae for our anniversary that Im not going to tell, since Lee’s not home yet and I dont want to spoil it.

Life | No Comments »

Today we picked up and installed an air conditioner in Limbo.

The hot is already coming on strong here, and mine just didnt fit in these teeny windows. So for three times the price we bought a “vertical” model. It does however keep the place cool, which is very much better for the over $5000.00 worth of computer equipment in this place. We cant afford fried hardware due to 90 degree temps with 80% humidity, we WORK on these boxes.

I’ve also spent the last hour or so researching burlesque.

Yes, you read that right.

Lee is Best Man to a friend, and put forward the idea of going to see a local troupe perform for the Bachelor night. Unfortunately, apparently lots of people hear that word and assume one is discussing sleazy pole dancers with truck drivers trying to get their fingers as far under that g-string as possible while depositing that bill. And the idle speculation on how they keep from suctioning themselves to the floor. Not that all strippers are trashy, but I’ve yet to see a classy “gentleman’s club” in the vicinity.

So Lee wrote another email reassuring folks, and this being I believe the third on the subject, I decided to poke my nose in and assure the crowd that this is different. So a-googling and youtubing I go.

Here’s one of the more amusing performances I found. Linked but not embedded because (to overstate the obvious) this is a BURLESQUE performance and not safe for work or younguns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YCrl4i7idE

Life | No Comments »

Reposted from LJ archives: Original date September 1st, 2003

So I’m curled up in bed earlier, finally having settled down to watch a movie.

Huh? Oh. A Knight’s Tale. Yes, I know. The soundtrack makes the movie. Anyway.

So I hear Ex Roomate squeal and shriek and scream for me to come “and bring a shoe with ya!”

Oh. Insect sighting.

So I grab one of my sneaker-slip ons and head into the living-room to rescue my roomate from the perils of bughood.

I’m not alone. Like all worthy heroes, I have a sidekick. In this case, Boy, the feline huntmaster. Who alerted his mistress to the existance of prey in the first place and is generally glad of her run-away-screaming reaction because she gets out of his way.

So I’m eyeing the carpet and sifting through Ex Roomate’s’s babbling (who is standing offsides, sneaker in hand, in what suspiciously resembles a catcher’s stance) for what the hell I’m after this time. Ah. Arachnid. “Monster” Arachnid. Whoopee.

Now I dont give a damn about spiders being around in general as long as they arent the biting sort. Spiders are our freinds. they EAT the little nasties that get into the house, which means in my eyes, they’re earning their keep and should go unmolested. But E.R. has a rather common thing and will freak until any insect invader is found and smooshed into the summerlands, so on the hunt I go. Unless said spider can come up with half the rent, its about to become an obituary.

Apparently it ran under the sofa. The heavy as fuck two-piece sectional sofa. Fuck. Cat is still watching it, so Boy hasn’t spotted our little guest making a break for it. Fuck. Start shoving sofa. No spider. Find LOTS AND LOTS of Boy’s little toy mice. No spider. Finally with a heave and a thud I flip the damn thing over. No spider. *sigh* I’m figgering it’s gotta be IN the sofa. So I spray some RAID into the underside of the sofa and Cal goes off to squick in in her room. She aint comming out for a while. So I do the vacuming since I got the damn furnature all over the place anyway, watching the cat, figuring he’ll let me know if he spots the fucker. No spider.

Get the place put back together. decide on cleaning up my room since Im vacuming anyway. Get that done. Grab a shower. E.R.’s still cleaning in her room. Settle back down with a fresh cup of coffee and start the movie back up.

DAAAAAWN!!!

*SIGH* No peace for me till this damn thing is dead.

Grab sneaker again. I may have given up but Boy didn’t. He’s got the fucker cornered, but it’s in the baseboard heating unit. E.R still screaming it’s a “fucking monster”. I can’t see it from my angle, im kneeling in such a way I’m blocking my own light. Cal is still squicking and squealing tho, so I know she can see it. Go grab my trusty can of RAID. while she goes for a flashlight. Come in at a better angle.

Holy Fuck, that is indeed a bigass spider.

Spray the fuck out of baseboard.

Fucker is fast too. Damn. Got away.

DAAAAAWN!!! Boy’s got it in another corner now. By the terrace door. I must have clipped it with the RAID tho, cus the little bastard aint moving so fast now. This is an unfamiliar breed of spider too, fucker is about the size of a half dollar if you count the circumfrence of it’s legs. Now even *I* am squicked. It’s not the little white ones or little brown ones, so I dont wanna use my hand. No spider bites thanks. E.R is still squicking loudly. Distract.

“Get the CAT off it before he bites it, its got RAID on it.”

The thought of her darling Boy eating RAID brings her courage to the fore. She grabs the cat.

Hrmm. Not gonna get the sneaker into that corner. So I arm myself with the traditional weapon of mankind against insectoid household invaders. The Piece Of Junk Mail. I also open the terrace door, hoping perhaps I can shoo it out. Make traditional poke-behind-the-fucker opening gambit. Fucker runs into the track of the door. Damn, I cant get it in there either. Poke again and it books straight at me. It knows it’s end is near, it feels the poison at work it’s seeking mercy, a quick dea…

*SMOOSH*

Carefully grind remains of said critter into the carpet, as E.R. is now imagining that it’s crawling out from under my sneaker. After I dropped my full weight on it. Yeah. Right. *eyeroll* Hell, Peter Parker couldn’t survive that.

Boy looks at me reproachfully for stealing his kill. I could attempt to explain the concept of RAID to him, but I dont think he’d understand. So I just give him a little bowl of milk while I grab the windex and papertowels and wipe down the heater so he doesn’t get RAID on him. I’m forgiven.

Although if E.R. wakes up screaming about spiders, Boy’s gonna handle that one himself.

Life | No Comments »

My sister has a MySpace, and she’s found mine. Not that I use MySpace, it just has a link to my blog on it. I hooked up with a cousin of mine there (the real blood relationship is a bit more complicated, but cousin suits it) so I figured it was only a matter of time before folks started linking up with me there.

Im kinda confused because AFAIK, she doesnt have her own PC, and doesnt have much of an online presence (as opposed to me, who has been blogging quietly for over six years now. And no, most of that stuff isnt publicly available). But then that could just be Mom deciding I dont need to know this kinda stuff again. I ask how people are and I get “fine, fine” as the answer, and have to hope she’s hitting all the salient points. Such as people falling off roofs. And yes Mom, I know you’re probably reading this.

BTW Chica, if you read this I MUST know where you got that avatar made. Post the link. Or to use proper MySpace grammar, PLZ LINK KK?

The kinda disorienting part is that my sister is linked to a couple of people out of the deep past there. The two women I’ve refered to as my “foster-sisters”, a simplifying term chosen that (at least from my end) best describes the now long-past, presumably long-dead relationship.

Im not sure how I feel about that. It’s confusing, nerve-wracking, almost frightening. That’s a very old, very deep wound, and I havent looked under the bandage in a long, long time. Part of me wishes it would stay buried in the deep past, part of me still misses that part of who I was desperately… the part that once could count on belonging there, with those people, when I belonged nowhere else. Especially right now, when I’m hemmed in by so many brick walls I can barely turn around.

Spur of the moment, I sent them both MySpace friend requests. I dont know if they’ll be seen or replied to. I dont know if either of them will ever get as far as this blog. Maybe they’ll come over and take a look, once, out of curiosity. Probably no more than that. Maybe a little voyeristic peek in every once in a while. I certainly dont expect the kind of give-and-take relationship I have with people on the Livejournal edition of this blog. Not that i’d be adverse to real contact, I just dont know if any of us has anything real to say to eachother anymore. My world, my person, my attitude has changed since they knew me, as is natural.

I guess I’ll just wait and see what happens.

Life | No Comments »