babble-mode

change

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 22:55:18 GMT

Babble-mode can now be found here. The archives will continue to live here until I figure out a way to incorporate them into the new scheme. test!

trying to deal

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 15:11:47 GMT

I went home last night after my dreadful day and watched the Food Network and war movies and ate pizza. It was reasonably successful. Today, I had a Krispy Kreme (and am forcibly restraining myself from having a second; the box is provocatively perched mere inches from me) and listening to good music. Such is my consolation for all sorts of badness. Also, the word is "patronage", not patronism, you fucking peasant.

not dealing

Fri, 22 Apr 2005 19:22:07 GMT

I need it to be three o'clock. I need to go home. I can't stand being here today; I keep having to go to the ladies' room and take deep breaths so I don't start crying. I'm so angry and bitter and frustrated that I feel like I'm about to snap.

enraged

Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:15:32 GMT

I hate my Mondays. The range of things about which I've been enraged already today is seemingly limitless. Combine that with frustration over splinters, depression over not being at Convergence and a general feeling of helplessness and enervation and you've got one volatile Suriel. I really need a hug.

argh

Thu, 21 Apr 2005 00:10:10 GMT

I was hoping to make some changes, and instead, I accidentally broke splinters. This is not my day in so many ways.

people are weird, part ii

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 19:46:23 GMT

Not ten minutes after the last post, I was in the break room when a new girl looked up from her training manual asked if she could ask me a question. I nodded, thinking, oh, a technical question, or an attendance issue or something. She pipes up, "Do you know the difference between protagonist and antagonist?" Wha~? Also, some catholics at HNHCo. would like the day off to celebrate the annoucement of the new pope. Is this like an Oscars party, only with mitres and prayers?

people are weird

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 17:06:45 GMT

Two examples: HNHCo. shares a common area with our neighbor, which includes back doors to both offices. About half of the employees of our neighbors make a big show of getting out an access badge and waving it at the electronic lock; the other half just opens the door. It's clear the lock doesn't work, but we're supposed to think it does. Cracks me up. I sent email to the entire HNHCo. floor, asking to borrow P.A. speakers. Half of the people who responded expressing interest in Reliquary wanted to know if I sang. Because girls don't do anything else in bands, apparently. You heard it here first.

and then, depression set in

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 18:51:25 GMT

I'm having to stop reading the C11 roll-call posts and emails and whatnot on the various lists and communities I'm a part of. I'm getting really depressed that we can't go. (I'm also depressed that we were not only not selected to play, but were never even notified that we were passed over, but that's a story for another day.) Also, looks like there will be no house this year. The hits just keep on coming.

birthday felicitations

Mon, 18 Apr 2005 13:56:11 GMT

Happy birthday, my belovedest!

masochist

Sun, 17 Apr 2005 16:20:39 GMT

Ever since Dreamhost started with the easy-install thing, I've been dying to migrate splinters and babble-mode to WordPress, despite the fact that I keep saying "This is the last time I'm changing blogging software", and then the next cool thing comes out and I drool. There's no import to WordPress from pMachine, but there is the option to import from an RSS feed, which I will be attempting. What does this mean to you? Well, if you're reading this on a feed, you may well get 1,500 entries all at once. I'll warn you before I do that, I promise. *grin*

omg totally fuxx0red

Sat, 16 Apr 2005 22:50:14 GMT

So I'm listening to the new Qntal, and what do I see in the list but a song called Remember Me. My blood ran cold ... and then I played the song, and yes. Yes. Yes. Qntal is doing a version of Dido's Farewell. Totally fuxx0red, we are.

sacriledge

Sat, 16 Apr 2005 15:44:27 GMT

I've been listening to the new Deine Lakaien, and depressingly, most of it doesn't grab me. Heresy, I know! The one song I like a lot, Heart Made to be Mine, has what I consider to be an entirely extraneous and mood-wrecking bridge, and I wish I had m4d r3m1x sk1llz to get rid of it. This is truly a black day in history.

your assistance requested

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 23:09:39 GMT

I know this is a long shot, and this isn't the only place I'm asking, but does anyone have a couple of P.A. speakers we can borrow? We've got a show coming up in May for which we'll need them, but our finances are currently such that there's no way we'll be able to afford them. If you can help out, or know someone who might be able to, please let me know. (For those of you who may have forgotten, our old pair was stolen when my car was "borrowed" back in November, and which we have yet to replace.)

unreal weekend

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 23:04:12 GMT

This weekend has been spent more or less ignoring ugly reality, with books, movies, tv, evercrack and the internet. It's been largely successful. In a minute we're off to see a movie, then I hope to recap some stuff, alzheimer's allowing.

done

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 19:19:00 GMT

I'm done. I can't do this any more. I am sick to fucking death of being everyone's villain, and I'm sick of being the target of hate all day long. I'm just doing my fucking job; I'm tired of being villified for that. Fuck all y'all and this popsicle stand.

no longer going insane, thanks

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 01:19:55 GMT

I have discovered what that piano bit was: Comptine d'Un Autre Eté from the Amélie soundtrack. Whew.

help me, intraweb

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 16:16:59 GMT

Someone go here, listen to the last 12 minutes or so, and tell me what the piano bit is. I've been going insane since Sunday, trying to remember what it is. ETA : The piano bit starts at just slightly before the 55-minute mark.

tears, pouring down my face

Sun, 10 Apr 2005 17:58:32 GMT

I had to take a break from laughing, and share with you stories from an English teacher in Japan. Go read it. Go read it now. Go read it all. I could seriously not breathe, I was laughing so hard. "You know, before we come to Japan, they tell us a lot of ultimately useless stuff. What kind of computer to bring, if our DVD's will work, clothing sizes, that kind of nonsense. Nowhere, and I mean nowhere, in the 3-4 months of orientations did anyone ever mention that at some point, a Japanese kid may try to stick their fingers up our butt. That's something I would have liked to know, personally."

braindead

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 23:57:49 GMT

Nine hours of HNHCo. has left me feeling emotionally drained and braindead. If I wrote about one-tenth the shit that happens there on a daily basis, babble-mode would be at a zillion entries in, like, an hour. Maybe I'll do that one day. It'd definitely be cheaper than therapy.

runnin' around

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 01:22:15 GMT

It's bloody hot. No, I am not surprised, but still. Today was one of those "getting things done" sorts of days. We're moving forward slowly on mortgageness, presents have been acquired and grocery shopping is done. Now for some Everquesty goodness! Also, this turned into a really funny thread.

inevitable

Tue, 05 Apr 2005 18:48:30 GMT

My mom (hi, mom!) registered today to comment on babble-mode, marking the first time I know for sure that family is reading this. Although this is also pretty much her first computer experience, so I'm not sure she'll actually be back. Welcome anyway, mom! P.S., I have a potty-mouth.

head splodey

Mon, 04 Apr 2005 17:25:48 GMT

I understand that I'm ill and feverish and tired, but when I've been here three hours, and have had three incipient aneurysms from uncontrollable rage, I think there's a problem. I'm probably about to be fired for pulling no punches with a supervisor, and/or for giving agents the sharp side of my tongue. Yay.

my head hurts

Sun, 03 Apr 2005 02:09:48 GMT

First, the cable internet dies. Then, while trying to call Cox to yell at them, my mobile phone starts sounding like my computer fan. So I call up Cingular and listen to Miss Thing reading from a script, and get them to agree to replace my fucked-up phone if I agree to powercycle it once a day for two or three days. Then I call Cox about ten times, trying to get through their stupid phone tree while the fucking connection is still down, and when I finally do this, Asshat Script-reading Tech wants me to disconnect the whole fucking system and plug it direct to the wall, despite the fact that nothing has changed and despite the fact that this whole intermittent sync business started a fucking hour ago. Then I try to actually comply, and the tech who installed it torqued the cable connector onto the modem and I can't get it off. Can I get a fucking break? P.S. My computer speakers have also died. *headdesk*

morning on the doody desk

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 16:53:58 GMT

The Doody Desk currently reeks of Febreeze, a smell I loathe. It is, however, better than the smell it's attempting to cover up (3 unsuccessful applications so far), which is the rancid body odor of the hygenically challenged. I wonder if a gift basket of soap and bath salts would be well-received, or if it'd be like Nobby Nobbs: "It's not like I ever has a bath ..."

all my dreams, torn away

Thu, 31 Mar 2005 18:23:13 GMT

Reliquary has over thirteen thousand downloads on music.download.com, which is cool and weird. All I can say is, we'd better not get so popular that last night's nightmare comes true. (ETA: The dream's behind the cut, for those of you reading this via feed.)

I'm going blind

Thu, 31 Mar 2005 16:16:21 GMT

My monitor, six-year-old senior citizen that it is, is finally dying. I hoped I could squeeze another couple months out of it, but it is not to be. Ah, well. Anyone know where I can lay my hands on a 17-inch monitor that'll do 1600x1200 for under $200? Update: My loverest bought me a gigantic 21-inch monitor. I'm in luuuuuuuuuuuurve.

fair's fair

Thu, 31 Mar 2005 00:29:02 GMT

We now officially have a Mortgage Trixie and a Plan. We've pre-pre-qualified (not quite a pre-qual) for a smallish amount, but it all seems workable and possible and dammit, we are going to buy a house! The extra-amusing thing is, Loki's down as the main buyer, because he finally makes more than me. Which is fair, right? I buy him a truck, he buys me a house!

green

Wed, 30 Mar 2005 02:37:36 GMT

The view from my computer desk is no longer bare branches and my across-the-way neighbor playing the concerned boyfriend-guy cooking dinner. No, the tree next to the balcony sprang into leaf apparently overnight and I see a couple yards of clean balcony, rustic bench and green green green green green.

today is hard

Mon, 28 Mar 2005 21:15:32 GMT

Today is one of those bad, lump-in-the-throat, emotional-rollercoaster sort of day. Maybe I'll elaborate later.

suddenly, ten pounds of candy seems less sweet

Mon, 28 Mar 2005 02:05:02 GMT

The pictures from the Gothic Butterfly Event have been posted, and while this is easily the coolest stage we've ever played on, and while the pictures themselves look really cool, I look gigantic. Like orca-fat. Ugh.

surprise

Sun, 27 Mar 2005 16:25:12 GMT

I had a candy-stuffed* easter basket in my car this morning! Too bad I didn't know we were doing an in-the-car basket exchange or my boi could be enjoying his as well. *When I say stuffed, I mean stuffed. I was entirely unaware that easter-basket tradition requires a dozen full bags of candy and about twelve additional pounds of chocolate. Yum! But, um, wow.

foiled again

Sat, 26 Mar 2005 20:25:08 GMT

I've been having issues of an ... intestinal nature for the past two days, and Immodium hasn't been working. Today, therefore, I decided to go on the offensive. One Homewrecker burrito later, I'm sad to say my plan has failed spectacularly. It comes to something when your insides gang up on you.

for the record

Thu, 24 Mar 2005 03:52:16 GMT

Merchant of Venice rocks. And Lynn Collins seriously rocks as Portia. I was twelve kinds of impressed -- although not, I must say, with the middle-aged couple sitting right next to me in the half-full theatre, giggling at strange and mostly inappropriate intervals.

weirdness ahoy

Tue, 22 Mar 2005 18:35:14 GMT

I'm experimenting with the Flickr account I set up a hundred years ago. There may be weirdness.

mugged in memory lane

Mon, 21 Mar 2005 01:59:42 GMT

I was looking for my little javascript anti-spam mailto: code for the latest Reliquary blog entry when I stumbled across a version of The Dark Tapestry from 1997. Gods help us all. If I'm feeling especially masochistic later I might just put it up somewhere so you can laugh at me.

for the record

Sun, 20 Mar 2005 16:15:48 GMT

I consider "being alive" to consist of more than simply continuing to draw breath. "Being alive", for me, involves a reasonable expectation of intelligence, motor skills and cognitive abilities, and if I'm not expected to regain those, well ... pull the bloody plug. I'll put something in writing and include caveats and definitions and what-ifs and the number of doctors who must weigh in on my condition, but I just had to say something. I don't want to put my family through anything like that.

aftermath

Sat, 19 Mar 2005 14:58:25 GMT

I'm still alive after our show last night, but it's a close thing. Full post-mortem when the caffeine has kicked in -- probably some time next week. Sigh.

the serpent and the ... mandoline?

Fri, 18 Mar 2005 17:53:01 GMT

The temptation is strong in me to just blow the sixty bucks already and get that spiffy stainless steel mandoline that Chef's Catalog keeps putting on sale. I mean, 40% off? Who can resist that?

ready for lift-off

Thu, 17 Mar 2005 21:15:54 GMT

Alert the media. I have finally chosen an outfit for our show tomorrow -- and without my usual histrionics, yay! I went for comfort over fashion -- but I should still look decent. The comfort factor is mainly in my choice of footwear; I got a couple pairs of really cool shoes recently, but the heels are very high and I can't justify them to myself. So yeah. Turn up tomorrow and see me looking not entirely dreadful!

I will quote you warmly and accurately

Thu, 17 Mar 2005 17:45:47 GMT

... unless I'm a New Times reporter who can't seem to pick an angle, then I'll mangle your every word and make us sound like clotheshorses. The entirely silly article is here.

using my power for evil

Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:12:58 GMT

Just so's you know, when I'm in charge of the Doody Desk, if you piss me off, I will change your queue assignments so you get the crappy calls. Yep, my hand is hovering over the Smite button. Where it goes from here is up to you.

this is red berry joy town

Sun, 13 Mar 2005 17:15:56 GMT

Sundays are so boring at HNHCo. Well, where "boring" is defined as "two or three half-hour stretches of enervated websurfing, followed by three or four half-hour intervals of abject madness". On the plus side, tonight there will be band practice, which is good, what with that show coming up and all.

totally need to win the lottery in the next 6 days

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 20:58:01 GMT

So I can bid on this. Also, what's Neil going to do if someone asks for a lame name to be immortalized? Will we be stuck forever with the SS Shaniqua Blue (ship's registry Liberia)?

mom update

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 17:44:19 GMT

Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes. My mom seems to be doing fairly well: banged around, possible broken finger, and achey; all the things one might expect. She's waiting for friends to come pick her up, and she'll spend a few days with them before going on to her sister's, and then home. She was on a four-lane highway when a car came out of a side road, couldn't stop, and plowed into her, sending her out of control, down an embankment, through a fence and into the woods. Thank all the gods there are that she's ok. I'm shaking with relief.

not good

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 03:27:18 GMT

My mom was in a wreck in her big truck. Apparently someone hit her on a snowy road and her truck is totalled, but it sounds like she's only got a broken thumb. I wish I knew more; my aunt called me and didn't have very many details. I just don't even know what to do.

windle likes the corset, too

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 21:08:31 GMT

Or, rather, the box it came in, with Bonus Rustling Tissue Paper.

corsetty goodness

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 15:19:39 GMT

My new corset arrived yesterday! It is gorgeous. And it fits beautifully -- except I should have gone for a bigger reduction; I went for 4 inches and it closes nearly all the way. Guess I'm squishier than I thought. Pictures soon!

I'm not insane

Wed, 09 Mar 2005 17:07:35 GMT

Who was asking me about the lorem ipsum random-text thing? It does have a purpose. So there.

welcome back, dreadlocks of dooooom

Wed, 09 Mar 2005 08:03:43 GMT

The dreads are back! Thank you, thank you, thank you Kara! Now we'll see if they really are the source of my power and evilness!

l'esprit de l'escalier

Tue, 08 Mar 2005 03:30:48 GMT

I just got off the phone with a reporter from the New Times doing a story about goth in general and the Butterfly Event in particular, and I sounded like a total dork. Mainly because she wouldn't leave the whole Marilyn Manson thing alone, and because "Well, he just isn't" didn't seem like a forceful enough reason why he's not goth. I'm sure that in the next few minutes I'll think of fifteen clever things I could have said. All I can say is I hope this article comes out better than that disastrous Channel 15 "exposé" a couple years ago.

icky to infinity

Sun, 06 Mar 2005 23:23:37 GMT

From the subject line of a recent spam: "Can you assist your brother with his impotence problem?" That is the ickiest thing I've ever seen -- and I've seen icky.

totally going to hell

Sat, 05 Mar 2005 20:07:30 GMT

Backstory: we're seriously understaffed today, with lots of agents calling out sick. Then the Callout number rings. me: Doody desk, no longer accepting callouts for today! him: Who's this? me: Suriel. Who's this? him: [agentname] me: And are you calling out, [agentname]? him: Yeah ... my wife died last night. me: ...

hair apparent

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 18:58:33 GMT

At work with no dreads, and enduring endless comments. So, to clarify: No, the dreads were not the source of my power, or my evilness, and I am not deliberately channelling Lydia -- although I'll quote the suicide note at you if you ask nicely. I'm just going to put up a sign: "I took the dreads out. They'll be back on Tuesday."

light-headed

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 04:25:01 GMT

I took out the dreads today, in preparation for the re-dreading on Tuesday (actually, Loki took them out. I love my boi.) The taking-out took about two hours. The de-dreading of my actual hair took nearly four. And the baldness I mentioned? Well, let's just say that I pulled a clump of hair the size of Windle off my head, so the website better not make me yank any more.

hair-tearing in progress

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 19:57:30 GMT

I'm working on the shopping cart for the new Reliquary site, and jeez, it might as well be a whole extra site, for all the work it's requiring: calculating shipping, trying to get the USPS site to play nice (it's supposed to integrate for real-time shipping info), trying to create decent images for all the items ... gah. And don't get me started on the look of the whole thing. I'm going to be bald by the time this is all done.

the new crack

Wed, 02 Mar 2005 19:19:49 GMT

It used to be wasabi peanuts, but since the 99 Ranch Market, damn it all, has stopped carrying them, and since I made the super-fabulous salad the other day, the candied walnuts are my new crack-snack. They are not long for this world. Seriously, they're amazing. Next time: a leetle more spice.

I love my boi

Wed, 02 Mar 2005 00:01:25 GMT

me: where do you want to eat? him: where they have food. me: you're not being very helpful. him: I'm not trying. edited to add: I wasn't being sarcastic with the title. it was a really funny moment. we were laughing and everything, honest!

paper cut + lemon juice

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:28:25 GMT

Guess what? The Pretty Little Jet will be at Scottsdale Airport in a couple weeks. I can't determine from the craptacular event website whether it's open to the public, but the big question is, do I want to go? Or should I just let it go?

not quite ready for FoodGirl

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 01:30:46 GMT

I've been craving chopped salad lately, and my normal purveyor is closed for lunch. So I made my own, with a dozen different lettuces, candied walnuts, gorgonzola and vinaigrette. Mouthgasm ensued. Blurry pic and ingredients behind the cut.

a little tip from your aunt suriel

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:10:00 GMT

In case you weren't aware, metal things which have recently been in 450-degree ovens are hot. Also, skin is not meant to withstand these temperatures. As a collateral to this, injuring one's index finger and thumb together makes life difficult.

further proof that Colin RAWKS

Sat, 26 Feb 2005 01:12:55 GMT

Colin had his bi-annual smog check the other day. I don't know why I was worried. Anyway. His emissions? Less than a quarter of the allowable amount. And he still gets 40 miles to the gallon. Love you, Colin!

marketing gobbledegook at the cosmetics counter

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 19:30:19 GMT

I picked up a new eyeshadow and nail polish at the M.A.C. store yesterday. They're both a sort of shimmery dark blue. I was dithering about the nail polish, so the girl told me, "It goes on really sheer! But if you apply a couple coats, it's really long-wearing." I have experimented with the nail polish, and have successfully translated that conversation to read, "It takes six coats before you can't see your nails through the polish, and it will take a metric fuckton of remover to get it off." Also, the instore music went from The Cure to It's Raining Men, thereby consolidating my belief that M.A.C. is staffed by lunatics and/or transgendered drag queens.

weekend, I hardly knew you

Thu, 24 Feb 2005 16:54:46 GMT

I think I've spent 60% of my weekend in the bathroom. Thank you, lower intestine. You're so being donated for nasty experiments when I die. When I wasn't suffering badly, we went for sushi at Sakara, which I can most heartily recommend. I am now an initiate into the wonderful world that is fried panko, and I am never going back. Also, we saw Constantine. Spoiler-y comment under the cut.

and then, depression set in

Tue, 22 Feb 2005 00:38:01 GMT

I finally called the data recovery folks, as I hadn't gotten a response to my emailed request for a quote, and it's not going to be pretty. $250 deposit, then anywhere from $500-2,700. (That's the most inexpensive, with a 3-week turaround. It goes up exponentially if you want your data faster.) And it's not based on data recovered; it's based on how long it takes them and what tools they have to use. This sucks so very, very much.

it's not funny if you have to explain it

Mon, 21 Feb 2005 15:31:33 GMT

An agent sitting by the Doody Desk told us his caller was complaining that "the DSL is too strong," to which I had to reply, "'Well, how strong?' 'Strong as a small pony.' 'That's quite strong, that is.'" And my philistine colleague required this to be explained to him. I did, but the funny had all worn off by the time I was done.

knock me out

Sun, 20 Feb 2005 23:51:10 GMT

I am thisclose to addicting myself to sleeping pills again. Every night, I'm so tired my jaw is popping from all the yawning, so I go to bed, only to toss and turn for hours while my brain refuses to shut down. Damn you, brain! (It's not like it's especially interesting, either: last night's Dreamless Theatre involved decorating ideas, notes to self and random daydreams -- all of which managed to be boring, but not boring enough to actually put me to sleep. Oh, the irony.)

jam session

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 16:54:47 GMT

I went along to one of Loki's infrequent jam sessions with a co-worker who's starting a band, and it was pretty much the depths of humiliation for me. Without my little fretboard diagram, and with my inability to remember any notes for any length of time, and complete lack of "ear", I was reduced to taking direction along the lines of "third dot on the second string -- ok, now first dot". Argh. However, this has fueled (again ...) my desire to Not Suck as a musician, so that's good.

totally need one of these

Fri, 18 Feb 2005 18:24:00 GMT

I need one of these very badly! I've emailed my dad, just in case he's still in eBay car-buying mode. This is not the one that's for sale, but seriously, doesn't this car rock?

what will you do?

Thu, 17 Feb 2005 21:02:47 GMT

Talked to my dad today. Among other things, he wanted to make sure that when he shuffles off the mortal coil, I'll have room for my share of his cars. (I'm getting the '54 Mercedes. It had better be black by then.) Aside from the fact that I hate it when he talks about dying, I love that he refers to dying as "when I'm room temperature," and I wanted to make sure that everyone knows my wishes in this regard. I do not want to pass, pass away, pass on, buy the farm or go to my long home. I epecially don't want to be said to have rejoined Jesus. I want to die. No pussyfooting, no euphemisms. If this bothers you, you can say I've fallen off the perch. Ok? Ok.

finally

Thu, 17 Feb 2005 00:49:27 GMT

After living here for a hundred years, I've finally gone to the zoo! It was neato -- the mountain lion yelling, the black jaguar looking contemptuous, the orangutans eating lunch, the giant turtles yawning, the tiny monkeys running at top speed on ropes strung across their enclosure, the children screaming for no apparent reason. My feet are killing me, but it was so worth it.

death to the mom-n-pop store

Wed, 16 Feb 2005 01:49:42 GMT

The Scottsdale Kitchen Co., the last great independent kitchen store I know, is going out of business. Feeling like a vulture, but still grateful for all the cool things I've bought there over the years, I picked up another Microplane grater, an Exopat mat, a couple whisks, an offset spatula, a small icecream scoop, and the kickass Zyliss pizza cutter Alton Brown uses, all at 20% off. Turns out that Fascist Square wanted to raise their rent 25% and move them to some unregarded corner of the mall, which makes me sad, but not as sad as the people working there, who smiled far too bravely when I explained how much I loved the store, and how depressed I was that they were closing. Sigh.

bad to worse

Sun, 13 Feb 2005 17:21:49 GMT

Dot was trying to induce me to call out sick today, so I could stay at the Chinese New Year party, but three hours into our day, my colleague is going home sick. So now I'm here by myself, and the day is shaping up to be a crappy one. Yay.

sleeeepy

Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:52:32 GMT

I just finished prepping my summer rolls for the belated Chinese New Year gift-exchange party, and man, I could just fall asleep where I sit. Oh, and Dot? I now know what you mean about cilantro smelling soapy. I never really noticed it before -- and now I can't get it off my hands.

distractions

Sat, 12 Feb 2005 01:49:25 GMT

I'm reading this site to distract myself. It's pretty good, but now I'm dying to know what the rest of the coversation was like. For all of them. Some of my favorites: - I would like to kill everyone. Except you. Obviously. - She crept back in when no-one was looking, and stole all the condoms. - I have a list of new identities I want you to create for me... - 2003 is going to be a big year for Patrick Swayze. - That's not a dog - it's a rat with delusions of grandeur. - It was that point in the evening where he got out the acoustic guitar. - I swear, she is an absolute fucking freak. Avoid. - Apparently, all the koalas in Australia have chlamydia. - You didn't realise? It's obvious. Aslan is Jesus backwards. As far as distractions go, it's pretty good.

is this karmic backlash?

Sat, 12 Feb 2005 00:27:58 GMT

It is a lovely, rainy day and I can't enjoy it. A friend tried to recover the hard drive, and failed. Our only hope now is a probably-hideously-expensive data recovery, which we likely can't afford. I bought a muscular distrophy shamrock at the grocery store. Somehow I don't think that dollar will be enough to stem the karma tide.

note to self

Thu, 10 Feb 2005 22:44:54 GMT

Do not put the hard-boiled egg yolks in the mini food processor where you made the squack, because now your devilled-egg filling has the texture of mayonnaise, and is gross.

help me, internet-land

Thu, 10 Feb 2005 17:52:36 GMT

Loki tried to re-install the frozen hard drive last night. It was not a resounding success. What we did is behind the cut. Any suggestions would be molto appreciated, as Reliquary has a show in about a month and all our backing tracks are on that drive.

mmmmmmmmmmm

Wed, 09 Feb 2005 21:03:54 GMT

Two days, two fabulous meals! Yesterday was fabulous Chinese food at Lao Ching Hing at the Chinese Cultural Center, with fabulous company, and today was sandwiches at Wildflower (also in good, albeit snarky, company). I can highly recommend both the Tofu in Brown Sauce and the Roasted Sweet Potato sandwich -- although the sweet potatoes were kind of an afterthought compared to the massive amounts of arugula, fig confit, balsamic vinaigrette, fresh mozarella and assorted other veggies. But it was still good.

oh dear gods

Mon, 07 Feb 2005 18:22:41 GMT

I really, really, really need someone to tell me that this is on Snopes or something. Please, I implore you, tell me this is a hoax.

upcoming show!

Mon, 07 Feb 2005 18:12:58 GMT

We've just confirmed we'll be playing the third (I'm pretty sure it's the 3rd one ...) annual Gothic Butterfly Event! Pre-sale tickets are $12.00 per person, and the door price for the event will be $15.00 per person. This is going to be an extra-cool event, and you really need to come =)

lost

Mon, 07 Feb 2005 01:20:23 GMT

I'm bored but enervated ... can't work up the oomph to do anything. Don't want to work on the website. Hungry but don't feel like cooking. Cleaning? Uh, no. And I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting to do. I hate this. What's left? Flipping channels? Bah.

more funny

Sat, 05 Feb 2005 18:55:40 GMT

This really explains a lot.

oh. my. gods.

Sat, 05 Feb 2005 17:04:43 GMT

Too too funny.

appeal for help

Thu, 03 Feb 2005 22:22:48 GMT

In the phpBB nightmare-world in which I find myself, I am completely unable to find an answer to my current issue, which is this: how do I integrate phpBB into my site? Basically, I want it to fit into the current site layout, including header, footer and nav elements. As it stands right now, the BB exists in its own little world, with only a single link in the header to the original site, and I can't be having with that. (It's bad enough I'm having to mess with this templating thing, although I did find a style to import which is pretty close to what I want. Now, if I can just replace that silly "Quidditch" header graphic ...) Any help? Undying gratitude and Reliquary merch to the saviour who can help me out of this dilemma.

everyone is out to get me

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 22:16:15 GMT

Mere moments after Colleen pointed out that I can install Solid Components from the Dreamhost site, I got the new Dreamhost newsletter, which tells me that they're no longer supporting the Solid Components forum, and they're now supporting phpBB. So I'm back to the templating nightmare, since I only installed the Solid Components forum on the Reliquary test site, and not the live one. ARGH.

tired of being fucked

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 05:19:06 GMT

So we tried installing Loki's fuxx0red hard drive in my machine, and got the same lack of results: the drive is recognized at boot by the BIOS, but the OS doesn't see it. If we can't get the data off it, there goes everything Reliquary's ever recorded. In other, less pleasant news, I did our taxes just now, and we owe both federal and state, to the tune of over two grand. Sucks to be me.

was he a general or a tanner?

Wed, 02 Feb 2005 00:20:58 GMT

Browsing eBay, I saw a pretty amusing malapropism, and I just feel the need to point out, it's patent leather, not patton.

let me count the ways

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 15:33:00 GMT

Today is not good, and this is why.

I'm tired. Very tired. I'm hoping this accounts for why I've felt on the verge of tears all morning.
I ripped the pocket half off my jacket.
Work is being extra super stupid and the new procedures they're making us follow are an order of magnitude less efficient than our already-crufty system. I've wasted an hour bug-reporting it so far.
As far as I know, the hard drive with all of both Reliquary's and Paris Burning's music on it is still unrecognized by Loki's Win2k box. This is so very, very bad.
Other, little, stupid things keep piling up and making my head ache.

Here's hoping the rest of the day improves.

not remotely good

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 04:11:11 GMT

We were finishing up the kits for the festivals when Loki's computer suddenly failed entirely to recognize the drive with all our music on. I'm going to go cry now.

whew

Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:42:35 GMT

I just submmitted Reliquary for a couple upcoming festivals. That always gives me anxiety attacks ... I'm always terrified that we're really not very good, and that committees all over the country will be laughing at us ...

millionaire's holiday

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 16:56:53 GMT

Somehow, participating in your job's downward spiral to crushing depth is less of an irritant when you can crank up some Combustible Edison. All I need now is some Pizzicato Five and we'll be be-bopping all day long.

frustration

Sun, 30 Jan 2005 04:51:47 GMT

I officially hate phpbb. Ok, well, it seems really cool, but its templates are crufty in the extreme. I can't make it look how I want, and I've been fighting with it for months. Styles seem to be shared for any number of non-similar objects, and I can't seem to get my head around it. Why, I ask you, would the header row color be set to the link color? Does anyone know anything about phpbb templating? Or want to volunteer to help me make a template? I'll be your best friend!

I'm still blaming at&t

Sat, 29 Jan 2005 23:35:29 GMT

Yesterday's nibble called today to say they weren't interested. Clearly I suck at this whole phone-interviewing thing, but I'm choosing to blame the dropped call.

at&t can kiss my ass

Fri, 28 Jan 2005 23:54:16 GMT

So a couple months ago, we switched mobile service because T-Mobile were being jerks, but I'm thinking we should have sucked it up and stayed with them, since it's probably really bad form for one's mobile phone to drop in the middle of an initial consultation for chef services. ARGH.

tie me up

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 23:12:33 GMT

I've just sent off the measurements for my first custom corset. I'm feeling a combination of excitement and depression -- excitement because, well, it's a corset, and depression because I had to measure myself, and the results were not reassuring. I'm focusing on the excitement because it's more fun. So yeah, in a month or so, I should be sporting one of these in black brocade. W00t!

impulse

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 04:46:26 GMT

On a whim today, Loki and I got new tattooes. The color in the picture's not very good -- it's closer to this: -- but suffice to say it rocks.

shopping orgy

Wed, 26 Jan 2005 18:23:41 GMT

I got my present from my dad last night -- finally! He sent me the most adorable slippers : He also included, thoughtfully, birthday money, so I'm shopping. I'm sick to death of not having clothes for shows, so I'm going nuts with the prettiness. Any suggestions on where to find cool clothes suited for the slightly, ahem, Rubenesque?

friday friday friday

Tue, 25 Jan 2005 23:40:56 GMT

It's my Friday and I'm so incredibly happy about that. Work's been ... well, let's just say "not so much the fun" and leave it at that. On the weekend agenda: tons of stuff I intend to blow off in favor of goofing off, plus much foodness. I dreamt last night that I opened my closet and discovered about fifty assorted sewing machines. I'm afraid to know what that means ...

purple-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiize

Mon, 24 Jan 2005 17:22:18 GMT

I have a hangnail and no means of removing it. This bugs me, but it is, in fact, the least of my worries today, none of which I'm going to share with you, because I have another thing to talk about: the Gourmet Girl logo, which is now purple and green instead of green and puke! Thank you, Dot! Soon, great things in the food arena. Stay tuned.

omg

Sat, 22 Jan 2005 20:06:37 GMT

Winter World is on the radio right now!

neato

Sat, 22 Jan 2005 16:58:34 GMT

Personally, I think Tim Burton's out to bankrupt the entire goth community.

I don't get it

Fri, 21 Jan 2005 23:46:55 GMT

One of the food-related communities I'm on has a long-winded answer to a question. The answer contains words like "carmelization", "casserole", "temperature" and other frequently-misspelled words, all properly spelled. "Thighs", howver, appears twice as "thies". Um?

what am I, made of money?

Fri, 21 Jan 2005 00:47:19 GMT

So we had the brilliant idea of adding projected video to our live shows, and accordingly, I've been trawling eBay and Froogle and Overstock.com. I nearly had a heart attack. Jeez louise, video projectors are spendy! And even if you can find a decently-priced one, the bulbs are four hundred bucks! Sigh. Back to the drawing board for us.

listen up!

Wed, 19 Jan 2005 22:43:29 GMT

If you're in the Cincinatti area, or can listen to streaming radio online, my friend, the lovely and uber-talented DJ Lauren, will be playing some Reliquary tuneage on her show this Saturday, January 22. Her show runs from 1pm to 3pm Eastern time (11am to 1pm Arizona time!) -- be sure to check it out! (cross-posted everywhere!)

disappointed

Wed, 19 Jan 2005 17:23:35 GMT

There was a thunderous knock on the door a few minutes ago, and, knowing it had to be FedEx from my dad, and still waiting for my "back-ordered" birthday present, I leapt out of bed, slipped on the floor, ran in place for a second like a cartoon character getting up to speed, dashed to the door in my half-blind contactless bedhead-bangs state. It was indeed FedEx, and it was indeed from my dad ... but it was a package of stuff to use to update his website. Sigh.

murder pays ... a little

Wed, 19 Jan 2005 04:04:25 GMT

I got my 401(k) statement for this last quarter, and all the funds actually went up for a change! And my Murder NetNet Fund did the best. Of course, this is all relative. My entire earnings for the quarter were less than ninety bucks. Homeless retirement living, here I come!

restaurant review

Tue, 18 Jan 2005 03:07:01 GMT

I can heartily recommend Moe's. I had the Homewrecker burrito with tofu and black beans (none of that nasty rice) and it was tasty! Also, at a flat $5 for burrito, chips and a drink (the Monday special), damn cheap. Bonus!

overheard

Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:05:28 GMT

"I'm the only straight-edge virgin pornographer I know."

stuck in my head

Sun, 16 Jan 2005 23:29:54 GMT

I woke up with Man of Constant Sorrow in my head, but that was driven out by the music-on-hold from my twice-daily Doody Desk conference call. I'm hard pressed at this point to say which is worse.

fuck you, spammers

Sun, 16 Jan 2005 16:40:35 GMT

Since my spam-to-real-email ratio has reached about 20-to-1 (no, I'm not kidding), I will be killing off the email address I've used since I got my first domain a hundred years ago. Accordingly, if you want the new one, let me know.

I taste metal

Sat, 15 Jan 2005 17:29:46 GMT

I feel weird today. I feel like I'm fighting off the flu -- my mouth has this nasty, metallic taste, I'm all glass-in-the-bed-y and feverish, but I'm also full of energy and not as cranky as I normally am at work -- I'm practically cheerful, and people are being just as stupid around me, too. I don't get it. On the plus side, I don't have the Migraine of Anger and Frustration that I had yesterday. So I've got that going for me.

... and then her head exploded

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 17:21:15 GMT

I got a ThinkGeek gift certificate from the omg-extra-cool Kara for my birthday, and I'm going insane trying to figure out what I want. So ... much ... cool ... stuff ...

wonderful

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 07:30:57 GMT

I had a wonderful dinner, even though I couldn't talk to Kara or Sage or Twilight as much as I wanted to, and even though Paula and Darrel's truck didn't want to start after. I'm still burping portobello sandwich. Mmmmm, chipotle mayo and pico de gallo. Also, I had chocolate mousse cake. Rockin'. Thanks to my wonderful friends for making my "birthday" wonderful!

I have the black lung coughcough

Tue, 11 Jan 2005 15:13:08 GMT

I'm fighting off impending doom with hot tea and excessive sarcasm, but I've got a wee fever and I feel like people are beating me with sticks. I will not miss my own dinner, though, so no worries on that front.

happy birthday to me

Sun, 09 Jan 2005 15:11:55 GMT

I'm at work, and right off the bat it's sucking ass out loud. My co-worker called out, effectively doubling my workload; I keep learning things that piss me off; and I'm going to have to fight to keep us doing well today. Not fun.

drifting

Sun, 09 Jan 2005 03:08:17 GMT

Had a nasty day at work followed by a braindead evening at home. My plan to make raviolini in brown butter, garlic and sage, with a salad and vinaigrette, lazy-afternooned itself into just the salad -- and a croutonless one, at that. Things are just ever-so-slightly weird and strange, lately.

I'm here to tell you

Thu, 06 Jan 2005 22:59:15 GMT

A Very Long Engagement is very cool. I have to say, though, that it mimics something Dot was saying the other day -- I think there are, like, ten French actors and they just keep showing up in films together. Half the cast of Amélie with some other folks thrown in. Oh, and Jodie Foster ripping out le français like a native. Woah.

and when the rain comes down

Tue, 04 Jan 2005 17:08:01 GMT

Second day of rain. It needs to do this for another week, so I can have rain for both my actual birthday, and my birthday-dinner thing. Are you coming to the birthday dinner?

overheard

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 18:50:41 GMT

girl 1 : "Do pigs have udders?" girl 2 : "Of course they do. Are you stupid?" Words fail me.

beautiful

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 16:41:39 GMT

It is foggy today. There is nothing cooler, especially in the desert, where we don't get fog too often. What a beautiful way to start the new year ...

highly recommended

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 03:47:59 GMT

I can highly recommend Moet et Chandon's 1998 Brut. 1998 was, from all the evidence, a pretty good year.

unsettled

Fri, 31 Dec 2004 16:42:05 GMT

Today is unsettling. Things are just the slightest bit wrong at work, making me feel off-balance, and there are other things on my mind this morning. Trying to cheer myself up with the thought of tonight : vintage champage with my belovedest while we celebrate New Year's early.

un-be-fucking-lievable

Wed, 29 Dec 2004 22:51:37 GMT

I noticed a couple weeks ago that about $200 had come out of our checking account, and thought, neato, the car-payment automatic-withdrawal thing works! Imagine my surprise when I get a call from the car-payment bank going, "Uh. Where's our money?" A round of phone calls reveals that Pinnacle Nissan -- bane of my existence -- did indeed set up both the loan and the every-two-weeks withdrawal service ... and then told the service to send my money to another bank altogether. Because really, it never fucking ends.

auntie suriel

Wed, 29 Dec 2004 17:16:21 GMT

In the horribleness that was yesterday at work, I totally forgot that my brother and sister-in-law were going in for a c-section, and I now have a niece! Little Kennedy (no middle name yet) is nineteen inches long, seven pounds, five ounces, and probably has more hair than me. Mom and kid are doing fine. Yay!

a conversation with my dad

Sat, 25 Dec 2004 23:06:41 GMT

him: "I'm glad your Honda was found." me: "Me, too." him: "... because your stepmother was going to make me buy you that Mini." me: *facepalm*

better today

Sat, 25 Dec 2004 19:46:49 GMT

I'm not as pissy, thank gods, but I am getting a little bummed -- people keep asking me what I got for xmas. I got to open for Faith & the Muse, that's what I got. We lost too much money on the show to be able to get anyone presents, much less ourselves. So stop asking, ok? Ok.

the anger

Fri, 24 Dec 2004 16:27:04 GMT

I am not having a good day. I'm at work (it sucks), the Duty Desk now has to be on the phones (words fail me; I get an incipient aneurysm just thinking about it) and no amount of fucking holiday fucking cheer is going to help, so just shut the hell up and stop wishing me a merry fucking christmas.

suck

Fri, 24 Dec 2004 02:58:43 GMT

I'm the only person I know who has to work both tomorrow and Saturday -- even Loki has it off; he found out tonight. The fact that I don't celebrate the holiday is entirely beside the point. I really don't like my job right now.

demon-baby

Wed, 22 Dec 2004 02:58:00 GMT

At the YC's Mongolian BBQ where Loki and I go, there's a baby-changing table in the ladies' room. It is for both regular babies, and demon-babies with horns:

criminal

Tue, 21 Dec 2004 16:42:23 GMT

It is criminal that this story does not contain photos of the octopus-cannon. It does have a photo with a sign that says, essentially, "Hell is McDonald's". Preach on, my people!

one of those days

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 23:56:37 GMT

My first real day in the new callcenter, and it sucked ass out loud. There were problems, some disorganization, and I spent an hour arguing with an agent via emai. Now he thinks I hate him. I'm still stupid-tired and braindead -- I told a friend on IM today that I felt like a kindergarten tshirt instead of teacher. Yeah, stupid.

exhausted and nervous

Fri, 17 Dec 2004 16:05:36 GMT

I'm tired and aching all over. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in weeks, it seems, and today I'm nearly delerious with exhaustion. And, of course, we have our show tonight with Faith & the Muse, and I'm going all nervene. If I collapse after our set, this would be why.

disturbing

Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:22:31 GMT

So I'm sitting here at work, surfing corset sites, when my old supervisor -- we'll call him Mr. Longhair Jesus-Looking-Guy -- comes up behind me and starts discussing corsetry with an astonishing amount of knowledge and expertise. He expounded at length about boning, lacing, design and wearing, with a side excursion to the realm of costs and the exchange rate. I am, frankly, gobsmacked.

just to top things off

Thu, 16 Dec 2004 02:13:32 GMT

After a day of frustration, tears and rage, checking the mail revealed a holiday card from Boss-Man and Boss-Lady. And if that wasn't enough, they've sold the Pretty Old Plane. I'm too sad to even cry.

incompetence surrounds me

Wed, 15 Dec 2004 21:10:03 GMT

So we're getting all prepared for our show day after tomorrow -- getting our festive new merch ready for sale. Imagine my distress to check my email and discover that our buttons -- the buttons we ordered two fucking months ago -- will not only not be here in time for the show, they won't be here at all because of "personal health circumstances". Now, I understand unhealthiness, but it's not like I haven't emailed them several times asking for an update. First they told me my order would ship "sometime next week" (two weeks ago), but now it's not going to ship at all. I am livid. It's not helping that my instant payment to them via PayPal will be refunded "in the coming weeks". Weeks? Gods help me, I feel like screaming.

discoveries

Tue, 14 Dec 2004 20:57:27 GMT

My co-worker on the Doody Desk and I are presiding over an ever-dwindling callcenter while stuff gets moved to Tempe. Currently, about 75% of the cubes are gone, and I have made some discoveries:

Sound echoes amazingly well in here.
My soccer-fu is still strong. I was able to peg a tottering pile of half-empty tissue boxes from about forty yards out.
It's mind-numbingly boring.

why carnivores suck, part 58,246,357

Sun, 12 Dec 2004 18:02:18 GMT

HNHCo. is having an open house in the new Tempe office, complete with catered food, said food consisting primarily of Chicken Cordon Bleu and assorted side dishes, 60% of which have bacon in. I hatehatehate being completely overlooked whenever they get food for us, and while I normally like the things that appear as side dishes, having them as my only choice really starts to chap my ass after a while. I don't really have anywhere to go with this rant. I'm just mainly feeling hungry and angry and a little sorry for myself.

my monday

Fri, 10 Dec 2004 18:19:18 GMT

Today is Not a Good Day. So far, I've overslept (woke up when I was supposed to be at work, argh), people have been exceedingly stupid at me (no, I'm not in charge of scheduling; you should have read your email which contains the information you're trying to get out of me), the split between two callcenters is making my life a living hell (can we fix the phone switch, please?) and people keep IMing me about paychecks (get direct deposit, you bastards). The fucked-upedness can end now, please.

of all the things I hate ...

Thu, 09 Dec 2004 23:22:01 GMT

... flyering comes in the top ten. Yep, right up there with bad drivers, the grammar-and-spelling morons and agents at work who tell me they have diarrhea.

boredom

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 19:09:32 GMT

I'm in the new callcenter in Tempe, and I have nothing to do. I've spun around in my chair, visited the bathroom several times (automatic towel dispensers!), eaten lunch and waited an hour for my profile to load. Now I'm surfing EQ2 sites and joking with the managers. Also, I've seized control of the whiteboard. The quote of the day is, "Boy, we sure are glad Suriel's here today!" No one's buying it.

in case you didn't know

Tue, 07 Dec 2004 01:21:51 GMT

Lugging sixty-five pounds of merch up the stairs sucks huge amounts of ass. But hey, our tshirts and stickers are here -- this means you have to come to our show on the 17th, so you can get one of each!

too cool

Sun, 05 Dec 2004 23:23:03 GMT

So. Fucking. Cool. My favorite: "This sticker covers a pre-existing sticker designed to subtly undermine the teaching of evolution in your class. To see the full text of the original sticker, examine the books of children of school board members, who mandated the stickering."

crafty

Sun, 05 Dec 2004 04:11:32 GMT

What do you get when you take a silver train case, a yard of high-density foam and half a yard of lovely black velvet? Why, only the coolest iPod case on the planet:

pictures of you

Sat, 04 Dec 2004 19:38:19 GMT

Our new phones have photo caller ID, but if you call me now, you'll likely show up as one of my cats, since I haven't seen anyone to take their picture. This makes me giggle, just a little bit.

temptation

Fri, 03 Dec 2004 23:36:29 GMT

My webhost, rockin' guys that they are, have set it up so we can install WordPress with a single click. Now, this looks pretty dern cool (and I hatehatehate installing blogging software), but they don't have a port for pMachine yet, and I find myself wondering what other new blog I can create ... Because I need another blog I can neglect, you know!

seriously, that's enough

Wed, 01 Dec 2004 20:01:16 GMT

So we go to replace Colin's battery ... and the clampy business that holds the cable on the terminal has rotted through. So he still won't start and we can look forward to another round of Hospital Parking Lot Mechanics Live! I'm really ready for the karmic backlash to end.

non-mobile

Tue, 30 Nov 2004 21:44:51 GMT

I ordered new phones for Loki and I, and as a result, our current phones have stopped working. (Karma fairies? Can we stop fucking with me? Please?) If you need to reach me, email works best. I don't answer the home phone anymore, but you can leave a message if you like.

testing a nifty thing

Tue, 30 Nov 2004 20:05:14 GMT

Just testing a post-by-email thing. Pay no attention to the girl behind the email.

it just never ends

Tue, 30 Nov 2004 01:41:15 GMT

So I walk out of work today and call Loki, only to find out he's in the emergency room. So I run over to Colin, only to find that his battery is dead. So I get a jump and sprint down to the hospital, park Colin and turn him off -- but when I try to restart him, he won't start. So Loki's reasonably ok, but he does have the Ass of Doom -- a painful cyst that needs, in the words of the ER doctor, to bake a little more before they can burst it. Um. Ew. Note to Karma Fairies: Thanks for returning Colin. Can I be done paying for that soon?

argh to end all arghs

Sun, 28 Nov 2004 23:14:58 GMT

We have our first photo shoot tonight. I've put the rest behind the cut on account of an excess of whining and/or self-deprecation.

reliquary is love

Sun, 28 Nov 2004 17:46:14 GMT


reliquary is love


qntal is love


bass guitar is love
brought to you by the isLove Generator

slow day

Sat, 27 Nov 2004 20:29:41 GMT

Slow days make me tired. On the plus side, I'm rejoicing in having my beloved Colin back. Thanks to everyone who send good thoughts/mojo/juju/whatever our way. The only thing wrong with him -- aside from the contents, of course -- is he's missing the left front blinker cover. Uh? Why they couldn't have taken that in the bloody parking lot I don't know.

yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Fri, 26 Nov 2004 18:14:49 GMT

Colin's been found! He's about two blocks from my apartment, in "apparently driveable" condition. The police are processing it for fingerprints it as we speak. Gods, I am so happy.

rolling on

Fri, 26 Nov 2004 16:41:22 GMT

I so did not want to go back to work today. Yesterday was lovely, relaxed and filled with superb food. My new favorite thing is sage and onion stuffing, with just handfuls of minced fresh sage and tons of onions. Mmmmm! Also, Everquest 2 is pretty neato.

fuck

Wed, 24 Nov 2004 00:28:21 GMT

Nothing that was inside Colin -- monitor speakers and about 250 CDs -- nothing is covered by either my full-coverage auto policy or my fifty thousand dollars of renters' insurance. I don't think I can scream loud enough to make this not suck.

must ... spend ... money

Tue, 23 Nov 2004 18:29:11 GMT

Having been thwarted in my efforts to buy boots (the online shop from which I ordered Round Two of the Great Boot Quest is out until 2005), I need to buy myself some trinket. I'm torn between Expression Engine (the new version has a gallery!) or a new Palm Pilot, as my cheap/free one is fuxx0red. Decisions, decisions.

one good thing

Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:42:27 GMT

Out of the complete hell that was yesterday, a shining star: Kara did my hair in lovely black and blue dreads. Of course, today I'm completely shattered from lack of sleep, carting three tons of flyers through our apartment complex, and sitting in weird positions for three hours. Ah, well.

devastated

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 15:08:16 GMT

Colin was stolen last night. I have nothing clever to say here.

because my life revolves around hair

Mon, 22 Nov 2004 02:25:01 GMT

The last of the braids are out. The shoulder-width poof of hair has been plastered down with color. My scalp is protesting at the now-unaccustomed attention, and tingling from the chemicals. Mmm, haircolor. Tomorrow, new hair. Then, the world!

hair hair hair

Sun, 21 Nov 2004 17:23:02 GMT

I'm mid-braid removal, and I look like a dork. Happily, tonight I will remove the last couple dozen, brush my hair and recolor it. I'm looking forward to brushing my hair more than I can tell you. And on Monday, I get the new hair! Yay!

neato

Sat, 20 Nov 2004 21:30:59 GMT

Reliquary has the top downloads for last week in the Goth section of music.download.com. Cooooooooool!

traffic sucks

Sat, 20 Nov 2004 01:33:12 GMT

It took me half an hour to get from the 202 and 44th Street to the 101 and McKellips, a journey of maybe six miles. It was a further half-hour to get up to Raintree and Hayden, about another seven miles. On the plus side, I got to have lunch with Loki and collect a check from the Nazis at Pinnacle Nissan, so it wasn't a total loss.

yay for modern medicine

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 20:24:47 GMT

I went to the doctor yesterday, and among other things, she gave me a sample of an anti-heartburn medication. I took the first one this morning, and promptly put it to the test by absentmindedly eating half a can of BBQ potato chips while I was coding. What the hell was I thinking? On the plus side, no heartburn!

let the hair-tearing commence

Thu, 18 Nov 2004 18:34:34 GMT

Having picked a title for our cd, I'm playing around with layouts for the new website. Can I just take a moment to say that Internet Explorer can kiss my ass? Everyone go download Opera or Firefox so I can use a couple of elegant, standards-compliant CSS designs, please, because what I'm trying to do looks like crap in IE. Thank you very much.

funny stuff

Tue, 16 Nov 2004 16:31:02 GMT

As a prank, one of the overnight supervisors replaced the chairs of four senior supervisors with toilets, complete with water and goldfish in the bowl. Well, we replaced the goldfish in the toilet of our manager with a Baby Ruth. The peanut floaters are an especially disgusting feature.

good things

Mon, 15 Nov 2004 21:30:30 GMT

It is raining, and I am not in an open car. Also, mushroom pakoras, onion bhaji and naan rock my world.

home again

Sun, 14 Nov 2004 23:33:24 GMT

I'm home. I'm alive. It wasn't the best weekend of racing ever, but there are worse things that could have happened. More later when I'm done decompressing.

unwired

Fri, 12 Nov 2004 02:16:12 GMT

I'm going to be away-ish until Sunday, so for gods' sake don't email me if it's important; call my mobile (although I won't be able to turn it on until racing is over for the day, generally 3pm or so). Wish me luck!

commence the racin'

Thu, 11 Nov 2004 15:43:44 GMT

Well, the race doesn't start until tomorrow, but as I'm off work, I figured I might as well go do the technical inspection with my dad, then the Rookie School (which I don't technically need but would be a nice refresher). Also working hard on steadying my nerves after the complete and utter hell my week has been so far.

restraint

Wed, 10 Nov 2004 19:16:54 GMT

I'm having to seriously restrain myself from venting here every ten minutes, because it'd be along the lines of "Damn, it's ten minutes later and I still haven't heard from Fucktard Financial Guy!" It's been nearly 3 hours since I called him first, and nearly three hours since the bloody check was supposed to have been here. (Time enough to rack up four more overdraft fees [we're up to eight now], yay.) In other news, my dad is arriving today, and I'm feeling none too upbeat about our prospects in the Race, among other things.

a conversation, partly in my head

Wed, 10 Nov 2004 17:46:17 GMT

him: Don't come down right away. Give me ten minutes. I'll call you back. I had to take my mom to the hospital and I want to get to work and make sure everything's ok. in my head: Dead grandmother? Well, roll her old bones on over here ... me: Ok. [forty-five minutes pass] me, to myself: Wow, my rent check was returned unpaid. Bet that's going to go over well.

unbelievable

Tue, 09 Nov 2004 23:43:02 GMT

In the throes of my anger yesterday, I got a call from the shop where I ordered my boots. Miss Thing said my boots were in -- had been in for a week. I heroically refrained from blowing her eardrum out with a highly-justified bellow, as, if they'd been in for a week, I could have worn them at the show instead of going shoeless. So I pop down to the shop today, and some college-age slacker hoists a large Gripfast box onto the counter and opens it with a bit of a flourish. I am entirely unimpressed by the contents. "Wow," I say, "those are totally not my boots." Oh, they're 14-eyes, all right, but the straps are conspicuous by their absence. A five-minute troll of the stock of boots reveals a too-large pair of strappy 14-eyes, but no size 6. So I have my deposit back, and some no-name, online chain store that doesn't need the money is going to get my two hundred bucks. With any kind of luck, it won't be staffed by the kind of incompetent fucktard it's been my extreme displeasure to deal with lately.

just barely holding it together

Mon, 08 Nov 2004 21:43:30 GMT

I can barely see, I'm so pissed. I just learned something that means we're fucked, hard, for the forseeable future, and I'm having a hard time not just bawling right here at work.

lovely november

Mon, 08 Nov 2004 00:39:11 GMT

It's been overcast and rainy all day. I just wish it was cold, too, but it's been in the high 70s to low 80s. What this really means is that, as Loki says, the dog of humidity has been humping my leg all day long.

I tried to help

Sat, 06 Nov 2004 20:49:32 GMT

A freaking month ago I sent my dad a list of hotels for the Great Race, which is next week. Did he book one? He did not, and now I get this panicked email: "Help. Those dates are not available at that hotel. Find us another and book two rooms starting on Wednesday the 10th. Thanks, Dad." Argh.

so sleeeeeepy

Thu, 04 Nov 2004 18:40:31 GMT

I had the weirdest dreams last night: vivid, terrifying, and, strangely, linear. There were zombies, boats to escape in since the zombies didn't like water, a huge compound for the zombie-defense, and, for some reason, roller skates, which nicely overcame the whole running-in-molasses thing I normally get in dreams. Then Windle woke me up by drawing aside the curtain and stabbing me in the eyeballs with the Burning Light of Dawn, damn it all.

so not proud to be an American

Thu, 04 Nov 2004 04:33:04 GMT

So, another four years of hatred and fear and finger-pointing and lies and warmongering. I didn't vote, because of that whole ugly, stupid electoral college thing, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway, as apparently I'm surrounded by people who think that hatred and fear and finger-pointing and lies and warmongering are what we need in this country. In other, more personal news, I'm half deaf for the usual reasons and knowing my insurance I probably can't get anyone to look at my ears until next year.

sure, I'll join your cult

Wed, 03 Nov 2004 05:38:53 GMT

We replaced our DAT player today. It was getting unreliable -- Loki was having issues getting the tape to eject, and it was just a matter of time until it died. Since it would be bad to have it die mid-set, we decided to replace it with an mp3 player. So we got an iPod. Don't tell Chris; he'll start clapping and chanting "One of us! One of us!"

even more not my day

Mon, 01 Nov 2004 22:38:05 GMT

My boots are not in. I now have no idea what I'm wearing on my feet tonight. ARGH. In other news, I'm leaving for the Jar in an hour, so if you need me, call my mobile. See you tonight!

completely not my day

Mon, 01 Nov 2004 15:21:40 GMT

So far today, I have overslept, forgot to bring money, forgot my sunglasses (leaving when it's dark will do that to you), had an "incident" with a tub of cole slaw in my backpack (now all over my backpack), and forgot that the time change means my reports are due an hour later, and was at Circle K getting a gigantic diet Pepsi when I should have been here running numbers. If things don't improve, you can expect a horrifying show tonight. You are going to be there, aren't you?

try not to speak

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 18:43:10 GMT

One of my duties as Duty Officer is to take calls from agents who are calling in sick. All I have to say about that is, if one more agent tells me he has diarrhea, I am quitting.

beloved palm pilot, why do you forsake me?

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:03:10 GMT

So we had our show at Bookman's last night, and it went pretty well, I think. More on that later. The main point is, I bought a Palm m505 with our "payment" (trade credit), and it doesn't work. I am crushed. It's apparently not charging, or not holding a charge, and I don't know what to do. Begging, pleading, threatening, bribery -- nothing is getting through. This is what I get for anthropomorphizing gear: I don't know what to do when it breaks.

gearing up

Sat, 30 Oct 2004 03:49:04 GMT

Last practice tonight, before our show at Bookman's. It went pretty well, so you better be there tomorrow at five when we commence the rockin'. Also, Loki got to show off his new truck, and tomorrow he gets to load it with gear for the first time. Yay!

we did it

Fri, 29 Oct 2004 01:22:47 GMT

Only three hours of our time, none of them hellish at all, and we have a new truck. Well, I bought it for Loki on account of my credit being ever so slightly better, but it's his and it's beautiful. (Probably. They're trading it from a dealer on the other side of the valley and they'll be dropping it off tonight, so we haven't actually seen it yet.) Yay!

mmmmmmmmmmm

Thu, 28 Oct 2004 13:57:29 GMT

I'm up way too early for my Sunday, but it's beautifully grey outside, and it's raining. Lovely. Note to self: remember this mood later when you're dealing with the Car Nazis.

muddy waters

Tue, 26 Oct 2004 22:46:25 GMT

I hate financing. I hate credit. But I also know that Loki's car is about to die, and we have to replace it before it does. This will necessitate some description of financing. On the plus side, I was approved for a car loan. On the minus side, it's not enough. Argh. I don't know what to do.

a conversation

Tue, 26 Oct 2004 03:38:48 GMT

her: "Oh, and all the things just past the Krispy Kremes are ten for a dollar." him: "Go look. You want anything?" me: [goes and looks] "Oh, no, they're all sticky buns and things. I can't do those right now, they're evil." him: "Get thee behind me, sticky buns?"

insanity and an interesting fact

Mon, 25 Oct 2004 22:40:37 GMT

Today was madness at work. Thankfully, I'm not there any more. Also on the plus side, my dreads came. On the minus side, the picture totally made them look huge, and they're, like, not. And did you know that, if we were to get an Xterra insted of the wee Matrix, our insurance would actually be less? That makes no sense to me, but then, I don't swim in the dark, cold, creepy-things-with-no-eyes depths of Inn-sewer-ants.

neeeeeeeeeeeeeed

Mon, 25 Oct 2004 03:30:13 GMT

I neeeeeeeeeeeed.

missed opportunity

Sun, 24 Oct 2004 19:11:17 GMT

We're dead slow, thanks to the entire state of California having a DSL outage. This would have been an excellent opportunity to either de-dread and re-braid some of my hair, or get in some target practice. Poot!

password issues

Fri, 22 Oct 2004 14:11:59 GMT

I swear to you, I think I've been hijacked. I can't log into my domain email, nor my hosting account, and my Netscape email, to which my password reset went, is also failing to allow me to log in. Happily, my Yahoo mail still works. Gah, this sucks.

preliminary information-gathering

Wed, 20 Oct 2004 21:18:52 GMT

If I were to throw a party to help with my new hair (which will be easier and quicker than braids), who would come? And would you be free on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening? Usual Suriel-party rules apply: I will make you food, and provide a continuous supply of double-entendre, quotable malapropisms, along with music, movies and cats to play with.

round three

Sun, 17 Oct 2004 22:46:39 GMT

More recording tonight. I'm sad to say I've done next to no practicing since our last session, something Recording-Guy is likely to harp on me for, but there you have it. Life intervened. Hopefully we'll crank out another couple of songs, and move that much closer to an actual CD!

first pic

Sun, 17 Oct 2004 01:31:35 GMT

Ok, so it's hard to take a picture of yourself when you're trying to hold your laces closed (and tying a knot behind one's back is fiendishly difficult), and the back has a ridiculous gap thanks to the crepes (among other things), but here you go.

it's heeeeeeeeeere

Sat, 16 Oct 2004 22:41:43 GMT

My lovely, leathery, strappy, corsety goodness has arrived and ... it's too small. Of course, I knew it would be too small, but part of me hoped the Fat Fairies would come take some away, maybe to give to poor children in some desolate village in Outer Slobovia or something. On the plus side, it fits everywhere but my hips (and the excess of lower tummy to the front), so hopefully my new Health & Beauty routine will take care of that in time for pictures. We hope. See, I thought I couldn't get it until Monday, on account of the having-to-sign-for-it-ness I was anticipating, and if I'd known it would be awaiting me on my doorstep when I arrived home, I probably wouldn't have allowed Arj to buy me strawberry crepes with brandy cream, but y'know, those weren't the cause of the 97 extra pounds I'm carrying and, in any case, they were too good to pass up. And hey, free crepes!

zombies ate my brains

Sat, 16 Oct 2004 17:04:31 GMT

... and went to IKEA after. I am so freaking tired today. Umpteen cans of diet Pepsi and diet Dr. Pepper have availed nothing. Half a dozen caffeinated chocolate Penguin mints have availed nothing. Nor did a huge bowl of quick deli pickles, but then, I didn't expect it to. Glaistig's birthday, the cause of sleeplessness, was pretty cool, the bits we saw.

weirdest Food Network quote ever

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 23:02:39 GMT

"So I'm gonna put my faith in the lord, and go git that cheese!" -- Paula Deen, Paula's Home Cooking

delegation, I love you

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 16:20:08 GMT

So last night's band practice went well. I contributed a whole verse to a new song, and delegated a crapload of stuff to my lovely bandmates. Thank you both! Oh, and we have yet another new song in the works. Wheeeee!

I officially hate politics

Thu, 14 Oct 2004 02:41:10 GMT

Four hours ago, we left home to go look at boots. We would up at the Graffiti Shop, and on the way home, got stuck in the most godawful traffic, owing to failing to turn off Rio Salado Parkway soon enough -- nearly an hour to go about a mile, followed by about three years on Galvin Parkway, damn it all. Damn Tempe, damn stupid people, and damn politics. I did order a lovely pair of strappy black Gripfast 14-eyes, though.

health & beauty update

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 17:47:06 GMT

The get-fit program has begun! I've had some stretching, followed by ten minutes of tai chi to warm up and loosen up, followed by ten minutes on the treadmill, which just about killed me. I think it's the incline -- I'm used to walking on relatively flat ground, and my treadmill's not adjustable. Ah, well. I'll be using this category to track my progress (and shame me into exercising if start slacking off!), along with whatever health-and-beauty thoughts pop into my head. Whee!

corsetty goodness

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 14:56:46 GMT

I broke down and bought a corset yesterday (and apparently induced corset-buying in others, go me!) and I cannot wait to get it. It's a little smaller than I am, which I figure is a good incentive to lose some weight. Oh, potato chips, I miss you already.

grace and style

Sun, 10 Oct 2004 22:25:06 GMT

So I stopped at Osco to pick up some superglue on my way home. When I got home, I washed my hands, applied glue to my fingertips, blew on them for a minute ... and promptly glued myself to my phone. Note to self: glue takes longer than that to dry.

doh

Sat, 09 Oct 2004 22:39:49 GMT

Apparently I'm supposed to be recording tonight & tomorrow ... except I didn't get recording-guy's email until just now. Bugger!

thwarted at every turn

Thu, 07 Oct 2004 15:46:01 GMT

I've recently decided that if we're going to do this whole rockstar thing properly*, I need better clothes, or cooler clothes, or clothes not from 1998. This resolution is made all the more difficult by my email, which today tells me that I can get a stainless steel mandoline from Chef's Catalog for only seventy dollars, and I've been seriously craving a better one. Damn you, cheffy mailing-lists! *tongue firmly implanted in cheek when I say this

crafty

Thu, 07 Oct 2004 00:21:34 GMT

I think I need a dozen of these. Or maybe these.

roux haiku

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 21:00:48 GMT

I'm making Loki chicken and sausage gumbo, which involves making a roux -- not the mild, beautiful roux blanc of cream-sauce fame, but the angry, bubbling roux noir: flour and butter cooked together until they're the dark-brown of swamp-mud at midnight, nutty and smoky and oh by the way about twelve thousand degrees.

roux bubbles hotly why do you blister my face? I hate you now, roux