peteyfrogboy

Pavel, our previous dog, was dumb as a brick and lovable as all get out. Dumb dogs = good dogs.

Pepper, on the other hand, was a bit dismayed when we ran out of Alpo a few days ago and were feeding her only kibble, instead of a combination of Alpo + kibble. After a day of dry food, I saw her stick her snout into the water bowl and repeatedly flick water onto her bowl of kibble.

I would like to run screaming into the hills now, please.

In other news, we've been notified that Luke has been accepted into the gifted/enrichment program at his school. Now THAT one I'm proud of. :-)

I want to do something.... big in my life. Like, something important. I feel I'm repeating myself over and over again and getting nowhere. What's my contribution to the world? Nothing much so far. So here' my "big" thoughts - they may not seem big, but they are to me:

1. I want to make a Phantom of the Opera costume replica for next years Pink Ribbon campaign. I'm thinking the grand Elissa costume, possibly the US version (as it seems fun to make and is very different from the one I've made already). I'm thinking selling it on eBay and donate the money to the Pink Ribbon campaign in October 2010.

2. I want to contribute to an art history course in Greece, in the monastery/study center I spent the summer of 2007. One of the courses I've been following this autumn has been most interesting, but also so hard! Going from bachelor to master was a bigger leap that I thought, mainly because of methods and theories we are introduced for NOW. We should have learned about them years ago, in my opinion. Every student within humaniora should be familiar with them - discourse analysis, semiotics, hermeneutics etc. I'm thinking a summer course at that monastery, maybe for a month, would be perfect. Now I just need to find some people to convince...

3. I want to write some interesting articles within art history, drawing parallels between specific art styles/eras and modern phenomenons. I have two really good ones, and some less defined ideas.

4. I also want to write more about traveling. I lost my joy of writing in April/May sometime, because of some hellish exams. I want to find that "writing groove" again and make it a permanent thing in my life.

5. I want a boyfriend. I seriously want a boyfriend. Haven't had such an urge for it in the past, now I'm so lovesick it's scary... Overcompensating, possibly.... But I do want a boyfriend.

6. I want to learn languages. I want to at least be able to communicate in Greek and Italian. I can read them fairly well, and understand lots of what I'm reading, but I'm not able to answer back. I stink at grammar, but I won't let that stop me any more. Both languages will come in handy in art history, I'm sure of it.

7. And if I don't get the drivers license by 2010, I'll never get it. I'm halfway there, but I've been that for years and I'm just not getting anywhere. Grrrr. If anything, I owe my boss this. So: drivers license in 2010!

Saying this out loud is scary, as it almost force me to do something about it...

What kind of day has it been:

09:57 is off to play some more Dragon Age. #

19:41 Downloaded Ping on the iPhone. ID is khaosworks. #

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I am working my way back through my posts to tag earlier entries about my Spanish gown and it is taking forever! I haven't even gone back through all the Valois only entries..... Anyway. Hopefully soonish that tag will be done ;)

Jubon 1 and Jubon 2 have been partially cut :)
Brocade, canvas, sateen
Satin, calio
So I have four more layers to cut in total.

There was a spot of creative cutting for the brocade! My sleeves just were too badly gone to salvage so I did manage to cut a side body from one and the other will be used for a collar probably.
I think I have enough satin for sleeves as well as tabs, it will be a bit tricky and I will have to wait until I have a perfect pattern of my arms to use. I thought I did, I just need to hunt for it. The last time I basically laid my arm on the ironing board and drew around it. Got a perfect relaxed curve to my arm that way.

Skirts have been rewashed and reironed and I am about to look at flatlining the Ropa to start fitting it.


Still really nervous about how much braid I have so I am a little hesitant as to what to start pinning it to! I may be about 2m shy of what I'm needing which is a bugger. Can't find it anywhere. Can't really cut down any further as far as how much I am using either except to make it a single wdith down the skirt front and that is not happening ;)

So people are actually getting in line to be allowed to buy the Jimmy Choo stuff at H&M?

I wish H&M would go back to make great clothes all year long, and not just promo stunts with some famous person/designer each November. One month of baluba and 11 months of whatever...

H&M clothes fit me well in general, so I've shopped much of my stuff there. But the last couple of years I think the quality has gone downhill (poorer fabrics in particular) and the style has not been my liking at all. Maybe it's ME who's changed... But I miss the "old" H&M.

I dunno. Is the neighbor poisoning my birds? She's not spoken to me for over a year. Two years ago I invited neighbors to my new home for a meet and greet. She announced, "Every woman who's ever lived here has been a COMPLETE BITCH." Ha ha I thought, this abrasive person does not realize the common factor--her. Sure enough soon she believed me to be a COMPLETE BITCH. She does what she can to annoy me, and I hear she talks poop about me at neighborhood meetings (which I do not attend, being busy.) Now, dead birds are appearing on my porch. Is the neighbor poisoning the finches I feed?

My finch feeder is an active place. These birds could have expired due to natural causes. I hope so. But they look healthy. Young adults, without their full coloring but far from fledgelings. I hate having to wonder if my neighbor is this evil. I dislike dealing with personality disordered individuals. They are capable of anything, feeling justified by their anger.

Back in the days when she spoke to me, she was adamant that I turn off the automatic security light, it was bothering her son at night. I tried to move the bulbs so they did not point toward his bedroom. I had no ladder, only a stool and a broom, and whacking at the bulbs did some good but it wasn't good enough. When she next complained, I asked to borrow a ladder so I could better move them. She said, "We don't lend out our tools." Is that insane, or what?

"As we encounter the personality disordered indivdiuals (PDI) who make us miserable in our everyday lives, we feel discouraged in not being able to make things better or to work things out to improve the relationship. We feel trapped, angry, powerless, and manipulated. We also feel guilty and frustrated in not being able to solve this problem that seems beyond our control. Sometimes, the PDI so manipulates us that we are confused, unhappy, and discontented . . . and we do not know why. In short, we dread being with these people, but feel helpless to find a way out."

Mental problems are so pervasive. Narcissism, bipolar, passive aggressive, etc. Do you suppose there is a societal reason why the human race needs these difficult people?

Here is an article about NASA's news conference today about the LCROSS results.

You may recall the disappointing plume when we observed the crash on the moon. There was lots of ice in the plume.

Also, here's a great new crescent Earth picture, showing one of the poles.

Because I often have ideas for...various and sundry things while I'm engaged in other activities, I make sure to have some way of recording these random, precious gems of thoughts as I have them.

In the car, I have a digital voice recorder so I can merely speak my wisdom and preserve it for posterity (or until I transcribe and erase it).

In the shower, I have Aquanotes so I can jot down things even if I'm naked, wet, and covered in soap. (It's happened more often than you'd imagine. I mean the need to write things down while I'm...not that I'm often...you know, I think I'm just going to stop while I'm ahead.)

In my backpack, I have a variety of notebooks and pens and pencils so that if there's time, I can pull out one and write down whatever bit of brilliance has popped into my head.

But as a last resort, I actually bought a wallet from Levenger that holds 3 x 5 index cards (and, you know, money and credit cards and a driver's license) so I could, in a pinch, write down stuff as it happened and in situations where none of the above methods are available to me.

I keep a supply of blank index cards in said wallet. Every once in a while, I go through the used ones—and I use them pretty thoroughly, writing small and filling up a side before flipping it over, usually—and transcribe anything "important" into Info Select, which is a wonderful piece of software everyone should own.¹ It organizes random notes and makes them easily searchable.

So, today was Transcription Day.

And I gotta say, I have some very odd things written down. Not Skullcosm weird, but pretty darned weird. :)

For instance (this is by no means everything; it's just a representative sampling):

Muammar al-Gaddafi to be Jenny MCCarthy's co-host. He was chosen for his ability to talk for 90 solid minutes and say absolutely nothing.

Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies

New word: transmythsion - passing on myths and urban legends

MANA - gas

Chuck ask body jump after Pratt

purple naked harpsichord

restaurant + mythtv

snowflake method

witch trials - real witch/demon

any seventeen
syllables can become a
haiku, if you try.

Society for the Eradication of Stupid Questions

Now, I ask you: are these the scribblings of a sane mind? :)

Actually, one or two of them I can sort of make out, but I don't know why I wrote them down. Such as the 'purple naked harpsichord' one. Those if you on TinyTIM will get it instantly; those of you who aren't never will, so don't try. :) Revenge of the Fluffy Bunnies is, I think, an actual book title. "Snowflake method" is a method of writing where you start with a single sentence and expand upon it "fractally" until it's a beautiful snowflake finished novel. The "witch trials" is a story idea to write about the witch trials from the POV of a real witch or demon who has to stay hidden while watching innocent people get slaughtered. The thing about Gaddafi might be something I heard someone else say and thought was funny enough to preserve forever. Or it might be original to me. <shrug>

I rather like the idea of the SESQ (Society for the Eradication of Stupid Questions). As for the others? Well...when I remember, I'll tell you, and then we'll all know. :)

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1. Unsolicited advertisement.

What kind of day has it been:

22:23 is Borgified... uh... hooked up to the home sleep study monitors. Photos will follow in the morning, #

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I was originally planning to make a batch of rolls for alasais's party tomorrow, and another batch for adelavanbrugge's company holiday feed today, but then I realized that my paltry pan of rolls wasn't going to make a dent in the factory full of hungry people. That left me with a spare batch of dough (I made a double batch of the usual bread dough) to play with. I decided to try making bagels. So far it seems to have produced a bagel-like product, if not a stunningly attractive one. They're cooling now...

Just a bit of crunchiness in the crust, soft and chewy inside, and I wish that I'd put garlic salt on more of them now. Om nom nom, as the kids say these days.

I have about a dozen brown ones, in good/like-new working order, with all parts functional and without rust. I can't remember if they're all used but I suspect not. However, they have been sitting for a long time, so a cleaning is definitely called for.

Buyer will pay shipping (not handling) and shipping must include insurance/delivery confirmation. I'm happy to send it by whichever method but have found USPS is least expensive at the moment - but I'm not sure if the shipment will be under 5 lb.s to qualify for Priority Mail, my preferred method. While not necessary, PayPal would be good for both you and me.

If you're interested please respond to this post and I'll get a more accurate count and whatnot for you and we'll talk reasonable offers in email. I just came across them, and, well, it will be at least another couple of years before I have a separated-from-the-house brewing or bread-making setup that will use them. Best that they be happily used instead of gathering more dust and tempting the toddler.

I found this amusing... but in a sad way.

The middle school is doing this big "caught doing good" leadership thing. Teachers get coupons to give to the kids they think did something exceptional. The kids put their name on the coupon, select a prize number that they're interested in, and the coupon goes into a raffle for that prize. There's a display of the 9 prizes near the office.

So what are the prizes?

1. Cute little rag doll
2. Little book (photo album, maybe?) on "sisters"
3. Peacock feather mask
4. Photo frame
5. Ribbon board for sticking photos and memos on -- with lots of words on it like "Girls only" and "Glamour"
6. Recipe cards
7. Little spiral-bound memo book with a wooden holder - the holder would be what I call "country kitsch" in style.
8. Pastel colored memo pad

and....

9. SPIDER MAN T-SHIRT!

The first 8 aren't completely focused on girls. I mean, recipe cards could be good for either sex, and the photo frame is also gender neutral. The peacock mask is pretty sweet too. But there's a definite, strong leaning towards "girly stuff" in all but the t-shirt.

So it seems arranged that I'll be moving to N. AL "in the New Year"...actual date not yet set, since mom's b'day is the 2nd, and I'm not going to ditch her right on the day if I can help it.  (Just checked - it's a Saturday.  Helpful, that.)

I am valiantly trying to stay on task, listening to my mp3s.  They are helping - my second practice exam score was passing, though of course I'm not satisfied with that, I want to be *more sure* of passing.  But it's a challenge in meditation to keep my attention on my ears and not be mentally packing.  The knitting helps - I'm nearly done with the first holiday item - which will go to its recipient around Feast of St. Nicholas.

I am way way way behind on blog maintenance, need to tidy/pack the garage, etc...whoa, stop.  Back to non-Pod, teapot, needles.

This evening I will fly home to Camelot. I had some trouble sleeping last night, so I am tired today.

As a consequence of this sleep trouble, I saw:
- a sad football game between two teams with weak offensive lines and good rushers
- parts of an oddly colorful movie called "Sukiyaki Western Django"
- other junk on TV

Sadly the Sheraton (which charged me $13/day for internet connection) was unable to keep my connection going all night, and the outage last night started about 7PM, was restored briefly around 8PM, and then lost for the rest of the night around 8:30. So, in my near-zombie like state, it was TV or not TV. TV would have been a better option if they'd had Comedy Central or MSNBC, but no, it was Showtime, and a suite of Fox and ESPN channels.

I'm trying to make something that are the heraldic colors of all 19 Kingdoms. Could someone help me find sources for the heraldry so I can find the colors? Thanks in advance.

Had a great talk with Bill today :) About the cosplay contest for the next year and possibly beyond.

New stuff planned, contest ideas presented and accepted :) yay :)

Now to get typing up the slightly tweaked rules and work on a certificate to get printed :D Will be hopefully able to get quotes on printing costs and all that (colour process and gold and working out what the budgetis etc.

The prizes are getting a shakeup and I hope my idea is going to work. Basically the problem is defined prizes can lead to double ups. Not often but when they do happen it is not nice for anyone involved- heck it may not happen again but that is how life works anyway ;). So my idea is to have up to three techncial and three performance based awards per class.
If they are not called "best" then there is more freedom in awarding them. The groups will be the best but it just makes it easier to give more recognition.
There may be group and individual awards as well I just need to find that balance between too many and not enough! Having certificates will be very nice. May have to enquire about envelopes to match....

When we started there were 13 awards (top ten, 1st 2nd 3rd) and there are a few more contestants now so I don't feel bad going up to say 15 or 16 with some leeway to adjust for smaller numbers of competitors.

I'm also looking back on my old notes and my judging sheet and wondering if there is a way to implement that too. Cerainly will be useful for the contest page(s) to explain how the judging works :) Problem is I based it on the Drachenwald A&S judging forms which are not intended for quick judging as happens here ;) In SCA judging we have the ability to read and ponder at sort of leisure.

But yeah new info needs to be consolidated asap. But tonight I am catching up on Bones ;)

Project Playlist lets me send songs to my twitter now, so I am going to be tweeting some of my favorite songs over the next few weeks.
http://twitter.com/rosalarian

For now, here is the playlist for the "YU+ME Soundtrack", all the songs that remind me of/have inspired YU+ME.

For the longest time, I idolized certain webcomic artists, such as John Alison, R. Stevens, Chris Hastings, and Jeph Jaques. And they all seemed to know each other. If webcomics were high school, they all sat at the same table. And it's not that they didn't want anyone else to sit at their table, but there's only so many chairs, you know? I felt like I was forced to eat lunch by myself on the band room floor, where all the trumpets empty their spit valves.

But over the years, without realizing it, I found myself no longer eating lunch alone. I have webcomic friends. People to "talk shop" with. To say "Oh, don't you hate it when you're working on comics and this happens?" And we've got our own table. And it's far away from the saliva-ridden floor.

I'm not going to try to name them, because I have such a bad memory and I know I'll forget someone and feel bad about it. But you know who you are. And I love you.