Day 7

Today we had an adventure!
It was awesome!

I monstered and variously got to play a beat-up peasant, a cynical healer, a dog (with keys!), a beat up peasant again, a soldier and a toff (who got totally blown up).

Our adventure might have been influenced by the date :D

Now, rather tired and warm-faced from a day outside in the cold winds.

Later, off out again for fireworks :D

Today has been a better day, feeling much calmer today.

Startling revelation:
It only takes one enthusiastic person to make an adventure fun for everyone.

Well, this reaction is late and probably by now none of you care. OH WELL, I AM POSTING IT ANYWAY.

( spoilers, naturally )

In other news, I have another job interview tomorrow. \o/ I'm rather shocked about it, actually, the unemployment rate is 10% and I got three job interviews in one week. Now if only one of them would pan out. Wish me luck!

So I just watched it.
(And by just, I mean like 5 hours ago and only just posted this entry lol.)

KAYLA YOU WERE SO WRONG AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
I DIDN'T CRY ONCE.

But I did wibble a little bit, yeah. >3>

DragonAge: Origons is LOVE.

I have a DOG.

I have named him MAC:



I love Mac. <3

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/11/final-reminder-for-bookshops.html

A quick reminder (as I was just asked) that today is the day that the bookshop Graveyard Book party reports have to be in to Harper Collins. By 9 pm PST.

http://files.harpercollins.com/Mktg/HarperChildrens/PDF/GraveyardContest_rules.pdf are the rules and info for those who lost them.

Hi Mr. Gaiman,

I was disappointed today to read you won't be part of the judging for The Graveyard Book contests. My not-wealthy, middle-of-nowhere bookstore just sent in its entry, and something we're concerned about is the fairness of judging.

For example, independent bookstores like Powell's (I'm sure you know) easily have enough money and are in a convenient enough location to ask you to come at one time or another. Against stores like that, who were able to put more money into their parties, we stand little chance.

I don't think that it's a lost cause for us; we were very creative. I'm just nervous to know you won't be judging. Can you tell me whether you think the judges will take things like size and location of bookstores into account? It would make me sleep a little easier until the results are announced.

Tusen takk,
Allison

Well, per the rules, the judging is based on:

(i) Overall creativity of the Party, as demonstrated by the invitations, signage, decorations, activities, entertainment, and refreshments.
(ii) Customer attendance and response (i.e., enthusiasm, costumes, participation).
(iii) Ability to capture and represent the spirit of The Graveyard Book.
...specifically to reward creativity, and not the ability to outspend other shops. (That was also why the party had to actually be at the bookshop, and not at another location.)

I asked my editor, Elise Howard, and she said,

Gosh, yes. Here's what we think is happening. We are looking at all the entries. On Monday, we'll send you the best 11, from which you will choose the Grand Prize Winner. The rest will get the first-prize package. So the short answer is that you ARE helping to choose.

The longer answer is that we will be very fair and will consider creativity, which includes work done with available resources, along with pure execution. (Don't you think? We haven't done anything yet; still waiting for more entries to come in.)

...which means that

a) I was wrong and will be the ultimate judge, from the shortlist. (Damn.)

and

b) everyone's on a level playing field.

Does that help reassure you?

PS -- Widgett's Graveyard Book Dessert competition winners have been announced over at http://www.needcoffee.com/2009/11/06/graveyard-book-dessert-challenge-winners/.

This one had NOTHING to do with me at all. But lor' the winning desserts look tasty...

⌈ Secret Post #1036 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

101.

( More! )

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #148.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

So, I finally watched it.
(Took me long enough, right?)

I loved it. It is definitely one of my favorite episodes of all time.

( Obvsly spoilars )

and now I have to do laundry. eeeeeee.

This is a cry for help sent out to the German speakers on my flist. I have to turn in an assignment today and because I'm a moron, I left the revised copy at home. It's short - about two pages double-spaced - and if someone could look it over for grammatical errors, I would be so grateful.

Depression, I have often said, is like an influenza of the soul. A spiritual hamthrax, if you will. I has it. Do not want.

It's actually starting to worry me a little, the intensity of this go-round--it's not the usual stone-cold ennui. Normally I'm not this bad off until after New Year's (well, except for the pity party I throw myself every year in the weeks leading up to my birthday), and, again: that's more of a seasonal apathy-funk. This involves a lot of dread and distress and, at times, actual panic involved. I have to think this is because things are just generally bad around here at the moment, and have been for a good while now. Two different family members are having job-related crises, for example. I'm having performance anxiety in terms of trying to write, I don't have a dependable place to work, I'm just generally very unhappy. But it's taking on a hysterical edge that makes me uncomfortable--I keep having urges to act out in some way. I don't mean harm myself or anyone else; I mean, like, throw a gigantic melodramatic fit du shit. I know I had that minor meltdown where I started throwing shit earlier this summer, but that is the ONLY TIME IN MY LIFE I have ever done anything like that. So I'm not used to having the urge to, like, flounce from the internet for the hell of it or something. And that's why I'm sitting here talking about it so calmly, because I feel like the only way to combat irrationality is with detachment. Take an overview of the thing, recognize what you're doing, shove it into the light of day. So... yeah.

(By the way, laptop has been ordered; money has cleared checking account. It will take about two weeks from November 3rd for Dell to build and ship it, what with the custom art and the crazy-ass 17" facial recognition screen. I don't even know. I spent a ridiculous, extravagant amount of money because I could, and it felt GOOD.)

A little Twi-spam for the hell of it, since Sparklemas is fast approaching:

( T-REX, VAMPIRES CAN HAVE KIDS AND LITTLE DINOSAUR VAMPIRES SOUNDS PRETTY CUTE TO ME )


(Zomg e-book! The Annotated Movies in Fifteen Minutes: Wizards!)

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheComicsCurmudgeon/~3/a-oPRZ4CSJ0/

http://joshreads.com/?p=4855

Gil Thorp, 11/6/09

Yes, it’s “that time” over in prison, that time for something that we can’t really see that well because the ring of prisoners, eager for some kind of diversion from their banal minimum-security lives, is blocking our view. Is it a good old-fashioned prison fight with improvised weapons, or good old-fashioned situational homosexuality? Either way, Gil seems to have found out about it in mid-practice, somehow. “Say, Duncan, do you know there’s this awesome Web site that’s just all streaming video footage from prisons, all the time? And that the school’s Wi-Fi network reaches all the way out here to the practice fields? Anyway, long story short, your brother got stabbed to death with a fork.”

Luann, 11/6/09

“You know what, TJ? I’m 23 years old, I’m a firefighter, I saved Toni’s life by letting her fall on me. If I want to stand outside the bathroom door and masturbate while she poops, I’m allowed to! Whose parents own this house, anyway?”

TJ seems to have been recruited by Brad’s parents to prevent illicit Brad-Toni coupling, and he’ll need all of his abstinence-promotion skills to complete that mission.

Shoe, 11/6/09

“OK, Skyler, it’s about time we had a little talk. You’re getting older now, and you should know … that … you’re a bird. As am I. We’re all birds. I know we wear clothes and have jobs and go to school, so you probably thought that we’re people, but, no: birds. Are there bees out there that are similarly anthropomorphized? Seems unlikely to me, but in a world of freaky suit-wearing coffee-drinking bird-people, anything’s possible, right? Anyway, you might want to keep a lookout for bee-people. I was going to text this to you, but then I remembered that I don’t really have hands, so that would be difficult.”

Zits, 11/6/09

The weird naked degenitaled characters in Love Is: creepy.

Jeremy and Sara’s heads superimposed on said weird naked degenitaled bodies: creepier.

Jeremy grinning widely has he holds his camera just inches from Love Is-ified Sara’s naked upraised ass: That, my friends, is unspeakable perversion Friday.

Day6

Despite being tired as all hell last night I failed to sleep well. Stress and anxiety about various things kept me awake and when I did sleep I had horrible dreams which woke me up leading back to not being able to sleep. Fail.

Getting really anxious now about finding a job, it's been going on for a while now and I hate having nothing to do and no money. Truth be told I'm not eating properly because stress is giving me bad indigestion, I'm not sleeping well and my concentration is about zero due to constantly being jittery. I can medicate with alcohol, fags and friends (seriously, being in a social situaton or just talking to people online calms me right down) but it's only temporary fixes.

I need to sort my life out, I'm just not sure what I'm doing wrong!

Maybe I just need to keep slogging on applying for jobs, but every week that passes I get more scared that I'm not going to find anything because I don't have relevant experience. I hope the job market picks up soon :S

So all in all, today is a bad day. Hands shaking, I'm hot then cold, chest pain followed by sick-feeling, head swimming a bit. Oh god I feel like I'm dying.

Last night I caught myself halfway through making a plan for how to kill myself and make sure my parents didn't find out what a useless person I am. I stopped as soon as I realised what I was thinking (My brain whirls too fast for me to keep track sometimes) I also thought about self-harm yesterday for the first time in a few years. It's the sense of unreality that brings it out I think. Either insomnia leading to me slowing down too much, or stress leading to my brain working too fast - I'm out of tempo with the world, need something to anchor me. Pain anchors me. Oh god, no, it doesn't really help, it's just a gateway onto the next plane of unreality. once you start cutting and stuff you've pulled a barrier down between yourself and the rest of the world. It's fragile, like cling-film and you can interact with the other side, but you're not there. You're stuck in here. Alone.

I'm just having a bad day. One bad day, maybe two. It was after midnight when it all started, so it is only one bad day.

Brain going too fast, thoughts gone before I can make sense of them, can't type fast enough to convey the thoughts I can interpret. It's like catching all the grains of sand in a sandstorm.

Will feel better later, I hope.

Need to act out somehow, express how my mind is falling apart through some physical action. Maybe I'll go run into the middle of nowhere and scream, maybe go kick the sea until I'm soaking and cold.

Oh god I can't just sit here and calmly apply for job I want to cry.

--------------------------------

Edit for sanity: After going to visit a crazy monument and the social wonders of Dre and Ias I feel more human. Now I shall put in my revelation.

Startling revelation for the day:

Who let the dogs out?
The Police. On the fucking motorway. That's who.

Off to the SFX cottage meet this weekend with 30 or so assorted geeks. It's an annual evernt that always promises to be a lot of fun. We have lots of vegging out planned as well as a mass roast dinner on saturday night and we get to dress up in costumes! I'm going as Rorschach and no doubt there'll be pictures when I get back.

Sorry that rev_org isn't going to be there. The venue is the place where we created our legendary black pudding omelette and it won't be the same to not share one together.

Right, time to pack. Just after we've finished watching the DVD of the 70s Battlestar Galactica. Hey, it's geeky. Start as you mean to go on, right?

The tragedy of my headphone's demise cannot be put into words. No more watching trailers, vids, movies, or TV shows until after Thanksgiving. And V does not seem very interesting at all. Everything's a bit too..shiny and a bit of a lesser-BSG. Speaking of which, is Caprica a BSG spin-off?

I just made it through this episode of SPN with some judicious and awkward wire-twisting. It's kind of a startling episode, all told. (Btw, did you know that SPN's gruff-and-rough Dean voice-over advert comes at the end credits of the often high-pitched-weeping of American's Top Model? What demographic are they going for there...) ( spoilers for S5x08 )

I still have half of Amber Spyglass left to listen to and now what should I do when faced with the tedium that's moving for the sake of moving? The universe is conspiring for me to finish NaNo this year I think....Or at least a fic in November.

Never mind the next episode of SPN, I haven't even watched the new Sherlock Holmes movie trailer. The screencap of the placement of Greek statuary at the bow window is amazing XXXD. Also, I suspect this movie is one of the few that can inspire a movie-based slashcomm which does not require photoshop for a header of unsubtlety. The "/" designation is enough....