Overheard at LAN Party
**LOUD THUD**
"No one drink the Mountain Dew for a bit"
Sunday, June 30, 2002
comment <link>
6/30/2002 03:28:37 PM
I'm at my third LAN party right at the moment, definitely learning that more time is required to be spent fixing problems than actually playing the game.
6/30/2002 03:09:00 PM
There is a long article about research on the next Viagra-like product for women. "In Females, It's . . . Complicated"
6/30/2002 03:07:09 PM
Bush was put under sedation yesterday, and transfered presidential power to the Vice President for a couple hours as he went through a colonoscopy. "No polyps were found, no abnormalities were found,." according to the doctor. Makes me glad that I never plan to be in the kind of power where the contents of my colon would be national news. Maybe it's just me, but I'd prefer that kind of thing to remain private.
6/30/2002 03:04:14 PM
Friday, June 28, 2002
I have to wonder why I'm not a vegetarian. I was making turkey nuggets, which involves taking a turkey breast and cutting it into chunk, which for me takes about 45 minutes to cut out all the icky bits you run across in meat, too much effort. I like tofu for it's lack of icky bits.
6/28/2002 03:19:15 PM
Paul had to point out that I'm wearing "normal clothes" today. "I thought you got rid of all of those."
Then multiple people pointed out that a lot of people were wearing black, "except Rebecca". I said that if people have casual days on Fridays, I dress normal on Fridays.
6/28/2002 03:16:05 PM
Thursday, June 27, 2002
I signed up with a new hosted comment service so the comment boxes should be working now. I'll have to figure out the mini-blog later.
6/27/2002 09:19:18 PM
The Pledge of Allegiance ruling has now been put on hold, which reminds me of why nothing controversial but necessary will ever get done in this country.
"The president said the country needs "commonsense judges who understand that our rights were derived from God.'"
How many of these people making decisions even remember that the "under God" line was added in this century? Finally, a good article about why the Pledge is absurd altogether.
6/27/2002 09:00:35 PM
Low blood sugar (thanks Krispy Kreme) and barely being able to stay awake on the bus determined I'm staying home tonight.
6/27/2002 08:56:07 PM
There's free bellydancing tonight. I want to see bellydancing, but I want to stay home and get things done. I don't want to miss a free show, but I don't want to throw myself into an awkward social situation by myself. Not going will prove that I would let being non-social keep me from going out, but maybe I'm just too tired and have things to do? Not to mention that Andrew and I had to plan a day of no plans, in case something comes up that wasn't planned. Is *that* social enough for you?
6/27/2002 08:55:39 PM
I found out there's a joke around work where someone leaves a printed page in your in-bin that says, "Too shy to tell you but you have dirty toilet paper sticking out of your pants." Karla: "Did you immediately check? Because I did..."
6/27/2002 08:55:27 PM
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is a quick read if you devote your every spare minute to reading the way I will with certain books. I would have finished it yesterday if I didn't have to spend the morning bus ride finishing up Queen of the Damned. My experience with real low-wage jobs has only been of the part-time variety, where it's all extra spending money, or buys your food while someone else pays your rent.
The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, freely admits that she's cheating in her research—she's white, childless, and the real "cheat" is that if things don't work out to be survivable, she can consider the experiment a failure and move on.
On the other hand, her Ph.D. didn't turn out to be the kind of advantage–or disadvantage in the case of realism–that she was expecting. Right off I related to some of her experiences:
"Three days go by like this and, to my chagrin, no one from the approximately twenty places at which I've applied calls me for an interview. I had been vain enough to worry about coming across as too educated for the jobs I sought, but no one even seems interested in finding out how overqualified I am. Only later will I realize that the want ads are not a reliable measure of the actual jobs available at any particular time. They are, as I should have guessed from Max's comment, the employers' insurance policy against the relentless turnover of the low-wage workforce."
Here was my experience looking for time work while I was in school. Apply, apply, nothing. Then I ran across my Subway job by accident.
"At least Gail puts to rest any fears I had of appearing overqualified. From the first day on, I find that all of the things that I had left behind, such as home and identity, what I miss the most is competence."
It seems like any new job will have that orientation period where no matter how smart you consider yourself to be, you won't know how to do the simplest things. The lower the job, the more demeaning this feeling is. The experience I have always remembered from my two days at Subway was having a girl, older than me by no more than a couple years, and my superior only because she chose to devote at least a portion of her life to the fast food industry, telling me that I wasn't cutting the bread properly. (The funny thing there is Subway has since switched to the cutting straight across method–simpler, but inferior because they don't cut all the way through and your sandwich filling wants to fall out one side.)
Anyone who knows my Subway story also knows I only lasted two days thanks to the luxury of a better offer to get me away from my boss with the icky habit of trying to get me alone with him and lack of a real schedule (I was expected to show up whenever I wasn't in school) when I needed to plan my free daylight hours for my photography class homework.
About halfway through the book I flipped through the end list of reading group discussion questions. In the wake of recent welfare reform measures, millions of women entering the workforce can expect to face struggles like the ones Ehrenreich confronted in Nickel and Dimed. Have you ever been homeless, unemployed, without health insurance, or held down two jobs? What is the lowest paying job you ever held and what kind of help—if any—did you need to improve your situation?
Going without health insurance sounds so mundane compared to homelessness or working seven days a week to survive. I've been without health insurance, while employed and not, up until recently. I traded regular benefits for the high pay of contracting my first two years out of school, with the rationalization that I'm young and healthy, Planned Parenthood will take care of "maintenance", and I could still be able to count on my parents for support of anything major enough ever happened to land me in the hospital.
I spent too much time last year in real unemployment, not written off as "between contracts". This was the time I discovered how Unemployment Insurance works, and had to get past my stereotype image of someone lazy who spends the day on the couch collecting his share from the government. There were a large number of women on Digital Eve in the same situation to help me get used to the idea. Someone even suggested that everyone out of work sign up for unemployment whether they need the help or not so that there would be an accurate count of people out of work.
I did end up having to take advantage of the cheap clinics a couple times while out of work, and when I couldn't afford the yearly exam to renew my birth control prescription, Planned Parenthood signed me up for a program called Take Charge which pays for the exam and a year of birth control. I know I could get more out of it, through August, but I wouldn't feel right making someone else pay for me when I'm able.
What is the lowest paying job you ever held...?
This would be the one, before the raise. Now at $11.10/hr it barely beats the $11/hr contract I took for the sake of good job karma. Now after reading this book, I realize how lucky I am to be able to live on the job I have.
Nickel and Dimed took place in 1998-2000, a time of unprecedented prosperity in America. Do you think Ehrenreich's experience would be different in today's economy? How so?
I am seeing the answer to this on my mailing lists as well. Too many people who are overqualified can't find jobs at Starbucks, or enough retail hours to get by. I don't know who takes priority in this economy, the usual low-paid workers or "overqualified" people desperate for any job as well. It seems strange with the high turnover as described in the work, employers would be so nervous about hiring someone used to better pay for the fear of them moving on to something better.
After reading Nickel and Dimed, do you think that having a job—any job—is better than no job at all?
Another point I've been relating to is the sort of bitterness that comes over you working this job of job. I'm trying not to let this feeling carry over outside of work and keep reminding myself that for me, any job is better than the hopelessness of no job.
6/27/2002 08:55:22 PM
I finally won my first Diplomatic Victory in Civ.
6/27/2002 08:53:50 PM
Someone's birthday automatically cancels out any diet. First it was brownies, then someone brought in Krispy Kreme and "forced" me to take one.
6/27/2002 08:53:46 PM
Andrew is good, getting me to work in ten minutes or less.
He was playing They Might Be Giants in the car, which I told him would get a certain song stuck in my head. It turned out to be worse and I've been singing, "Youth culture killed my dog!" to myself.
6/27/2002 08:53:25 PM
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
I decided tonight I should start a rumor that my arms are ticklish, extremely ticklish. Really, here try it!
6/26/2002 08:53:10 PM
I just found out tonight that the comment/mini-blog script seems to be broken again, and here I've been feeling rejected when I come home and see that not a single comment has been added. I haven't been able to see the problem and dilinger hasn't been around lately to ask if anything's changed on his end. Hopefully this won't involve redoing the whole thing again.
6/26/2002 08:51:40 PM
This article on electronic surveillance talks about those grocery store cards and says,
"Meanwhile, Larry Ponemon, the CEO of Privacy Council, says that since September 11 he's been hired by at least one major supermarket chain to oversee the handing over to law enforcement agencies of the buying records of customers with specific ethnic backgrounds. The authorities requested the data, Ponemon says, because they were trying to compile a profile of 'terrorist eating habits.'"
Now what exactly are "terrorist eating habits"? Andrew suggested ramen and pita bread which means they're going to catch all the college students, and us.
6/26/2002 08:51:26 PM
People on NWR have been giving their stories of how they resisted saying the Pledge of Allegiance as a kid, and how they usually got in trouble for it, either from teachers or the other students.
I'd never been bothered by saying it when I was in school, but I never thought about what the words were saying until after I had outgrown having to recite it. As far as I was concerned it was a collection of syllables we had to recite each morning.
I pledge-uh-legence... to witchit stands... in-duh-visible...
There's a similar story in the book Almost a Woman, the autobiographical sequel to When I was Puerto Rican. The author was required to learn the Star Spangled Banner after moving to New York, but no one ever bothered to teach her was the words were saying.
Ojo. sé. Can. Juice. ¿Y?
Bye de don surly lie.
6/26/2002 08:42:42 PM
Another story on the pledge issue. This has been an interesting day politically by all the email I came home to. The senate passed a unanimous resolution "supporting the Pledge of Allegiance," (whatever that means) and working on a constitutional amendment!? "We don't agree with the Constitution so we'll make it agree with us"!?
6/26/2002 08:42:11 PM
Wow, the Pledge of Allegiance has been ruled unconstitutional because of the "one nation under god" line.
6/26/2002 08:31:50 PM
I'm having an 'I feel unloved' day because so many people are dropping out of my birthday event, even after I pushed it back a week to accommodate all of the out-of-town-for-the-fourth people.
6/26/2002 08:29:20 PM
Jason is teaching me how to make blasphemous tofu.
6/26/2002 08:29:06 PM
I have been aware that I spent the day reading a book about bad jobs rather than studying something to help me get out of my own job.
6/26/2002 08:28:52 PM
I had a dream that I spent $70 on clothes then wanted to buy a $30 skirt. I woke up thinking 'Good, I didn't really spend all that money. Oh, but there were those books...'
6/26/2002 08:28:37 PM
Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Brunching had the Weblog FAQK a little while back which said, "Soon you'll be able to check out your weblog to see what your opinions are without even having to form them." Well I'm certainly looking forward to that day since forming opinions and writing about them is cutting into valuable sleep time!
6/25/2002 10:43:03 PM
It was an interesting coincidence that two articles came to me today. The first is an opinion article titled Senate Should Reject A Toxic Feminist Treaty.
"The treaty is a blueprint for foisting the West's radical feminism on every nation gullible enough to sign."
The best comeback for this I have comes right off of a bumper sticker, "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people too."
He continues,
"The treaty extends access to contraception and abortion to young girls and imposes gender studies on schools and feminist-approved textbooks on students." I assume he means this to be a bad and shocking thing.
Access to birth control doesn't mean sex, it means availability when necessary. Given the number of women in the world expected to marry and produce children at a young age, access to family planning is a must. As for those "feminist-approved textbooks," how shocking to think that history may have been made by both genders.
"Similarly, its ban on 'any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex' seems to make legal approval of homosexual marriage mandatory. Some analysts think the treaty's ban on "orientation" bias will make pedophile sex legal, since some people are "oriented" toward children."
Once again I must assume he considers legal homosexual marriage to be a bad thing. As for pedophilea, he's stretching especially since "orientation" didn't even appear in the original quote. It's sad to think the concept of equal rights hasn't even caught in on our own country.
The second article, Gender gap among college grads is concerned with the number of women over men graduating from college. Quotes such as,
�What does it mean in the long run that we have females who are significantly more literate, significantly more educated than their male counterparts? It is likely to create a lot of social problems. This does not bode well for anyone.�
and
"As a nation, we simply can't afford to have half of our population not developing the skill sets that we are going to need to go into the future."
were barely a concern when the gender gap was reversed. Now, "Business groups are beginning to worry about a possible dwindling share of men to fill top corporate jobs."
6/25/2002 10:33:03 PM
For the record, I am not allowed in book stores. Five books x $13-16 per book = $77 I spent on a little stop in Borders.
First, how could I resist a book called The Clitourist? I finally picked up Woman: An Intimate Geography which was one book I had been looking for. The rest I found while on the search.
I also picked up Fast Food Nation, Nickel and Dimed, and the only fiction at the moment, All We Know of Heaven. On my list is Dress Codes, and A Bright Red Scream—found at Barnes & Noble recently, but I wanted to have something to offset a depressing topic.
6/25/2002 10:12:00 PM
Nantucket Nectars had a good idea with a bad execution. They sell bottled juice drinks with no high fructose syrup, in glass bottles, which taste so much better than plastic. But for some reason, each drink they throw in something completely absurd according to the label that makes it not the drink you were expecting. Andrew and I mostly gave up on them for that, though they have wonderful lemonade.
Now they seem to have done something right. I picked up a bottle of their orange mango juice, that tastes like you'd expect orange mango juice to taste. The label says "Juice Cocktail blend with One other juice". Why did they bother to write that for one juice, which happens to be passionfruit juice as far as I can tell from the ingredients. It would be a fine as "Orange Mango Passionfruit" juice and "One other juice" sounds silly (especially with the random capitalization.)
6/25/2002 10:04:49 PM
I have a feeling that all of my connection problems are going to come down to arguing over whose hardware has gone bad.
6/25/2002 09:59:35 PM
I am becoming intimately acquainted with my archives as I edit old posts to make everything standards compliant, as well as fixing spelling and minor grammar mistakes. I have to hold myself back from over-editing my past altogether—"Why did I write that?" "I should've gone into more detail there." "I should've worded that one differently." "Oh, that reminds me of something!"
6/25/2002 09:58:59 PM
I feel like I am losing maturity as I get older, rather than the opposite. A proper adult wouldn't take note of company names like "The Erection Company" to tell to all her friends.
*giggle* I typed an order for the Erection Company.
6/25/2002 09:56:31 PM
Monday, June 24, 2002
Seattle is considering a latte tax to fund early education.
6/24/2002 10:08:22 PM
My second E-bay purchase arrived today. I managed to find the Zodiac Cancer Hello Kitty that I wanted for my birthday last year, which had sold out before July. Sanrio is the only thing I've ever seen able to make a crab look cute.
6/24/2002 09:59:20 PM
It's "take out the recycling in a short skirt" day!
6/24/2002 09:55:52 PM
And as if we didn't have our hands full trading personal freedoms for imaginary safety, schools are banning children's games like "Tag" and dodgeball.
6/24/2002 09:54:12 PM
Thanks to that "Patriot Act" from last October, the FBI can now check on what you're reading from the library. Yep, giving up all of our freedom is sure worth it to catch all of those terrorists hiding around every corner. In fact, I think there's a terrorist hiding under my bed right now.
6/24/2002 09:51:27 PM
Walking home from the bus I always pass a flower bed on the edge of someone's yard and want to eat the flowers.
6/24/2002 09:42:56 PM
I've lost track of how many times I've thought, "I must be insane..." since the weekend started. There are the bruise checks after Andrew's moving day. My hips are scary looking, legs and arms have their share. There was the second time around Greenlake on rollerblades. Then walking to the Vogue and dancing in a corset. I put the rollerblades back on today and picked up Thai food.
Karla called in sick today so I had to do all the typing myself, ensuring every possible part of my body will hurt.
6/24/2002 09:39:48 PM
Sunday, June 23, 2002
I hurt now... Yesterday I helped Andrew move. Today was Goth Rollerblading around Greenlake.
Today I learned:
How good many people I know look in rollerblades. (Yum.) Sharon can even make falling look good.
How to wear the wrist pads right, and that I'm not the only person to get the wrong the first couple tries.
I *must* have been crazy to agree to that second lap.
Sharon and I walk like ducks after rollerblading.
Eating ice cream after that much exercise isn't the best of ideas. Trying to eat now makes me feel sick.
6/23/2002 09:20:18 PM
Friday, June 21, 2002
Andrew: Neither of us are goth today
6/21/2002 09:44:55 PM
On NWR today I heard about a drug called Ponstel for cramps, prescription only. I'll have to check into it next time I have access to one of those magical prescription-writing people. Yay for Good Drugs! I'm not so sure when I see the list of common side effects though...
* More common side effects may include:
Abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, stomach and intestinal upset, vomiting
That pretty much describes my period before the days of Good Drugs for me.
6/21/2002 09:44:36 PM
The nice hot weather we're having again is reassuring me about having water park weather in July.
6/21/2002 09:39:25 PM
I have to change now—Paul told me I'm dressed like a normal person.
6/21/2002 09:38:52 PM
How to make a co-worker's head explode:
Paul asked what I'm doing this weekend, then added, "Let me guess, you'll be partying from tonight until Sunday?"
"Actually, I'm helping Andrew move tomorrow."
We clarified that I don't live with Andrew, I'm not about to be living with Andrew, I live with Jason, and Jason isn't my ex. "He's moving in with Izzy."
"And Izzy is a... girl?"
"He's a guy, but he's my girlfriend."
6/21/2002 09:38:24 PM
Happy Summer Solstice! I'm trying not to think that this means the sun will be going away from now on, since summer is just starting.
"you're supposed to see the sunrise & stuff"
"you've gotta be kidding me... I'm not getting up at 5am to see the sunrise"
"get up?"
"oh, right..."
6/21/2002 09:35:06 PM
Thursday, June 20, 2002
Funny how after complaining about not having things to say, I find things to say.
6/20/2002 11:45:51 PM
Random thought of the day: I wonder how much it would cost for laser hair removal on one hair.
I have a single black hair that grows about an inch below my belly button. I have the normal fine hairs that grow everywhere too, if you're willing to admit that little fine hairs grow everywhere you don't bother to shave. Those belong there, I think, but the one black hair is in the wrong place so I must pull it out every time I see it growing back.
6/20/2002 11:44:55 PM
So I'll write about PMS today instead. Though I claim not to get it, I was certainly PMSing yesterday. There was such a drastic change in my mood between yesterday and today, when I am no longer "pre".
I think I keep up my claim of not getting it because I don't get PMS in the "traditional" (bitchy) way. Instead, I get an extreme of whatever emotions I would already be feeling at the time. I have even had a time where it just made me extra happy. Then there's my Andrew doesn't spend enough time with me moodiness every few months. (No need to point out how much time you do spend with me—hormones don't follow logic.) Yesterday, anything that would normally annoy me would have resulted in death if only I could focus my thoughts into energy for a proper hands-off killing spree.
On the other hand, today I was reminded why I would want to sneak in Good Drugs from Canada if only I wasn't so afraid of being caught. I know they won't be any good when I have to work and be functional, but I only remember being in pain in the middle of the night gave me nightmares.
6/20/2002 11:43:07 PM
I think it was easier to write when I wasn't so aware of my audience. Now I feel pressure to provide actual content, and while the ideas are there, the words just aren't coming lately. I also haven't gone to bed at a reasonable time yet this week, so I think the lack of sleep is causing the sentences to fall apart as I try to put words together.
At least I didn't write about PMS yesterday.
6/20/2002 11:37:54 PM
Blogger had a link to an article about women weblogging in Iran. Because the internet is open, women are free to write about topics that otherwise wouldn't be allowed. Of course I was interested in reading their sites so I followed a link to Lady Sun weblog, forgetting the language barrier. The site is well designed, the sun logo is beautiful, and the characters are pretty to look at, but the most I can do is look at where the links go.
From there I found an article saying,
"Nationals from countries accused by the U.S. of supporting terrorism are barred from the Microsoft Certified System Engineering programme."
And I suppose this is supposed to stop terrorism somehow... *sigh* Just try to tell me this who anti-terrorism movement isn't a distraction technique layered on top of a perfect excuse for the government to grab whatever control they want.
6/20/2002 11:03:09 PM
I just got a "when come back bring pie!" desktop.
6/20/2002 10:46:37 PM
Speaking of pie... I had pie! I went to an "I'll make pie, you eat it" type event down the street, met a couple Seagoths who live nearby, and left on a sugar high. mmmmm! pie
6/20/2002 10:45:18 PM
There is much celebrating—Jake has finally been banned from the NWR list! We are now left to discuss our "narcissism and PMS" in peace. It's a wonderful thing.
It shouldn't be any surprise to Jake that I'm happy he's gone. He joined the list soon after we broke up and were in a not talking period, making it an uncomfortable place for me to consider posting. I got used to it him being around, but he's been disrupting the community ever since, more and more so as time goes on. I'm happy the Diva finally came to her senses and did what had to be done.
For some reason he's never answered, at least not publicly, the question of *why* he would stay around somewhere he's so obviously not wanted.
6/20/2002 10:32:55 PM
Orders always seem to come through at work with the "ordered by" name crossed out a couple times with new names written in. I always imagine the sales call going something like this:
"And who am I talking to?"
"John... I mean Bob."
"Okay, Bob–"
"Wait, did I say Bob? I meant Fred."
6/20/2002 10:14:06 PM
Wednesday, June 19, 2002
If you're looking for some new art to buy, try Origami Boulder. He does make a nice looking wad of paper. I almost want to buy one.
6/19/2002 10:15:52 PM
I went to buy a new pair of boots today but they didn't have my size. The big ones always seem to sell out first and yet stores still expect women to have tiny little feet. *grrrr*
So, I bought a corset instead.
6/19/2002 10:12:45 PM
Tuesday, June 18, 2002
I'm trying to make sure this isn't another late night for me. Monday is usually my recovery day but Andrew and I went to see Shannon, be fed, and play Hacker. My first time and I won! I'm having good luck that way lately.
Shouldn't wear contacts for three days straight.
My posting feels weak when sleep deprived.
6/18/2002 09:34:23 PM
People will say "Good morning" in the morning and "Good afternoon" in the afternoon but I've never heard anyone say "Good noon" if the time happens to fall right then.
6/18/2002 09:29:50 PM
I'll have to start playing Civ with the cultural victory option turned off. Every time I'm close to winning a new way or I have a plan for my civ, the "You have won a cultural victory." message pops up and it's over.
6/18/2002 09:29:45 PM
If anything's going to get me fired from this job, it's the fact that I can't possibly type a Kermit order right. I think he uses special morphing ink that changes things around once it's done. That number that overwrote the quantity in pencil, a line with a base and a hood to make it a definite 1 instead of just a line, has changed into a 4 by the time he brings it back. And there it is, obviously a 4 while he is most likely wondering why the incompetent typist can't even read.
6/18/2002 09:29:41 PM
Monday, June 17, 2002
I'm eating a high-calorie dinner before going to Shannon's to be fed more, while reading an article about how an extreme restricted-calorie diet could dramatically increase lifespan. The question, of course, is how long would someone really want to live at near starvation?
6/17/2002 09:27:08 PM
It's scary how possible it is to spend money without leaving the computer. I was researching Sanrio products on E-bay when I found the Zodiac hello kitty I'd never been able to get. I bought it with the "Buy Now" option (no bids yet), sent money through PayPal, and my Kitty should be on her way.
6/17/2002 09:21:45 PM
Talking to myself is like talking to a stubborn child sometimes. "You *don't* need rice crackers just because they're star shaped." *Grabs bag of star-shaped rice crackers.*
6/17/2002 09:21:40 PM
I shocked one of my co-workers today by telling him I don't have a TV. "I've heard there are freaks like that," he said. I then had to admit there is a TV physically in the apartment—I don't think it gets any channels—which we tend to consider as furniture.
6/17/2002 09:21:35 PM
There was someone dancing on the stage at the Vogue last night, first on the upper part by the pole then on the lower part next to me. He had a small toy-like flogger that he started hitting me with playfully. I turned around to see someone I didn't know and immediately walked to a different part of the stage away from him.
He did the same thing to a couple of other people including Steel and they seemed to know each other. I'm afraid I was overreacting, but I'm sure this has to violate the club's rule of not touching without permission.
6/17/2002 09:21:25 PM
Sunday, June 16, 2002
I've been much like a hyperactive ferret, playing with the buttons in Andrew's car and wanting to dance faster than the slow music tonight at the Vogue. It wouldn't have anything to do with the Krispy Kreme I had for breakfast would it?
6/16/2002 11:59:00 PM
I achieved a swimming suit yesterday that I'll be comfortable being seen in for my birthday. As strange as it might sound I'd be more comfortable just going naked. Wearing a small amount of clothing is inviting people to judge your body while being naked just *is*.
6/16/2002 06:19:09 PM
For the third week in a row I'm at another all-weekend party type event—Izzy's house-swarming party (which had some Cure in the playlist Friday night.)
6/16/2002 06:15:31 PM
Saturday, June 15, 2002
"That's what I'm here for."
"Violating my childhood fantasies?"
"Yep."
6/15/2002 07:35:17 PM
"Izzy is everyone's lesbian."
6/15/2002 06:11:06 PM
I'm nearly violating my rule against posting things from Jake, but the music and the rocking make seem to make this so mesmerizing. mmm... pie!
"This is stoner flash isn't it?"
6/15/2002 06:07:38 PM
Friday, June 14, 2002
I'm starting to think I could ward Jake off like a vampire by hanging a Cure CD around my neck.
6/14/2002 10:36:34 PM
Food that was made to be eaten with chopsticks does *not* feel right when eaten with a fork.
6/14/2002 10:31:40 PM
The Power Company, another one of those Metro-owned stores, seems to be going out of business and is selling all of their fixtures. If I had a spare $150 I could buy a naked man(nequin) to stand around in my bedroom.
6/14/2002 10:31:16 PM
My big birthday plans are becoming official for July 13 (one week after my birthday.) If I could have possibly missed one of you (you're all invited, enough with the "but I'm across the country" excuses!), here's what's going on:
Shannon had told me she wanted to go to a water park for her birthday but they're not open in time. So on her birthday, she told me that *I* want to go to a water park for mine. This seems like as good of an idea as any, and certainly saves me from having to think of my own idea. So...
Come play in the water at Wild Waves with me and the other kitty-people! Kitty ears aren't required but getting wet probably is. The individual rate was kind of high so I'm trying to get 20+ people together for the group rate ($17.99).
This invitation is open to SO's who I don't have the email addresses for, friends of friends, etc. If my birthday isn't a good enough reason, come celebrate Shannon's Trip to the Water Park or just the holiday weekend.
* Waiting impatiently for responses *
6/14/2002 10:29:21 PM
Thursday, June 13, 2002
It looks like I'm not cut out to be a villain. "Either that or you picked all the funny answers."
6/13/2002 09:15:54 PM
I just made spiral macaroni with my special macaroni spoon. That's an experience I haven't had since I was going to art school and had a roommate who would complain that I made macaroni too much.
6/13/2002 09:14:07 PM
Bush pushes for 'aggressive' broadband. Can't you see it? Broadband that fights back!
6/13/2002 09:10:42 PM
I just went slip & sliding in the neighbor's backyard! Then I invited them all to my birthday at Wild Waves.
6/13/2002 09:09:54 PM
The bus driver read the temperature on the Seattle Times building, 94 degrees, and said that makes it over 100 on the bus.
6/13/2002 09:09:00 PM
Walking near work I found a perfect puffball plant growing on the side of the road. (I know these plants must have real names. It looks like a giant dandelion puff.) I want to find some hair spray to preserve it and take it home.
6/13/2002 09:08:39 PM
I hate the bus system sometimes. If I make it out the door by 7:20 I can catch a 70 bus and be downtown about 7:40 to get to catch another bus to get to work by 8:00. If I leave at 7:25 I catch an express 66 which gets me downtown about one minute later, but somehow causes me to have missed the most recent southbound buses. I wait in the bus tunnel for about 15 minutes for a bus, *any* bus at my stop, and end up five minutes late for work.
6/13/2002 09:07:01 PM
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Now that I've sorta admitted to being goth, the new hot weather is testing me. How am I supposed to wear my new velvet when it hits 80?
6/12/2002 09:47:52 PM
Talking to Eric last week, he told me he wouldn't date someone who's bi because they obviously have loose morals and would cheat. I had forgotten about this stereotype and I still don't understand why someone who's bi would be any more likely to cheat with someone who's the other gender than you than someone who's straight to cheat with someone who's the same.
To put that more simply, I've had straight guys cheat on me with other girls but never a bi guy cheat on me with another boy or girl.
6/12/2002 09:44:03 PM
I'm washing my clothes in goth Woolite!
6/12/2002 09:43:59 PM
There were already problems with orders before I got into work today, but since they were being discussed before I got there I missed whether anything was my fault or if I just happened to be the one to type someone else's problem.
"There she is."
"Oh, I'll wait... I know what it's like to have someone start yelling first thing..."
There was never any yelling but this set up for me to be paranoid today. As I was leaving for lunch I saw Wendy having a serious talk with Ron (manager). I overheard a "she" saw her gesture in a direction that only happened to be sort of in my direction because I was on my way out and immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was about me. I spend the walk trying to figure out what I could have possibly done wrong, other than not showing the proper enthusiasm for the job. Could she have misinterpreted my annoyed look when she brings over a pile of orders when I'm trying to leave for lunch already late as it was?
Nothing bad happened when I came back from lunch so I jumped to a new level of paranoia and wondered if they are plotting to get rid of me, Misha-style. (I still want to know where Misha got the idea that she would have the landlady's support kicking me out of the apartment I had lived in longer.) Paul, please tell me I'm being absurd!
I've wondered in the past what would happen if they decided to get rid of a typist. I've already proven I can do this job on my own but Karla has the "friendly even if I don't mean it" attitude she must have picked up bartending, which I have a feeling counts more in the corporate world.
6/12/2002 09:43:31 PM
I feel like the typical office coffee drinker. I was yawning so much my eyes were watering but now that I'm on my second cup of tea I feel fine.
6/12/2002 09:43:14 PM
My fantasy this morning is to work at a real dot-com (not a dot.com—a "dot dot com") surrounded by internet buzzwords and cliches instead of flanges, aluminum, and buttweld.
6/12/2002 09:41:44 PM
Tuesday, June 11, 2002
After parties, procrastinating, and connection problems, I finally have this site up to date again. I feel flattered that everyone would be late to work just to read what I have to say. :)
6/11/2002 11:03:11 PM
In other news, I got a jury duty summons.
6/11/2002 11:01:03 PM
One of my dollar bills got a hit on Where's George!
6/11/2002 11:00:26 PM
My mom forwarded me a couple emails yesterday and I sent back the appropriate hoax links. I have to wonder if it's possible for someone to write a believable hoax, since they always seem to be disproved by obvious little flaws in logic and organizations that don't exist. Or is this the hoax-writers' little puzzle for people to figure out?
6/11/2002 10:59:49 PM
Speaking of pictures, there are pictures of Sharon and new hair with me and my shiny new vinyl up here.
6/11/2002 10:53:03 PM
I've been searching all of the Convergence pictures out there looking for any I recognize. I'm still waiting for a couple people I know took pictures, but I've found a few others out there already. Having the kitty ears to recognize myself by pays off.
http://members.rogers.com/tetsab/pix/C8/14FoodHunt1.jpg
http://convergence8.requiella.net/sunday42
http://industrialgothic.com/c8/f009.jpg
http://convergence.jruske.com/images/C8/web20020602_DSC00431.jpg
6/11/2002 10:51:27 PM
"A verbal dick—just what we don't need" – Karla
In explanation, many sales orders taken on the phone come through with a PO of "Verbal" and the person's name. Today we had a Verbal Dick.
6/11/2002 10:40:45 PM
Monday, June 10, 2002
A company called PanIP is claiming to have a patent on using pictures and text to display products on the web and collect credit card information. This would be the internet equivalent of having patented displaying products on a shelf and collecting money with a cash register.
6/10/2002 10:37:59 PM
Jake started, or at least did his best to start another flame war on NWR over how much he hates the Cure. So for some reason ever since I started reading my email I've been wanting to listen to bouncy Cure songs.
6/10/2002 10:33:35 PM
About 6pm was the peak time for Seattle to see today's annular eclipse. I took a couple pictures by pointing my camera in the direction of the sun, and this one came out with a perfect lens flare of the eclipse.
6/10/2002 10:29:15 PM
As Paul was leaving work yesterday he had to backtrack a few steps because he forgot to say "meow" to me on his way out. He then admitted that he no longer remember *why* he meows for me, only that he does.
6/10/2002 10:20:57 PM
They were recarpeting the office over the weekend so Friday we had to clear off our desks and put everything into boxes so they could lift the desks off the floor to roll carpet under. The plus side to this (other than the new carpet pattern that makes everyone feel nauseated when they look down) this morning the disk I had dropped hopelessly between the side of the cube wall and drawer was laying on my desk.
6/10/2002 10:17:19 PM
Sunday, June 09, 2002
Your Evil Spleen: S'up, Becky in the Sky with Diamonds?
Styrdyst: diamonds, obviously
Your Evil Spleen: That's crazy talk. You're crazy. ::smile::
6/09/2002 10:57:17 PM
Does taking out the recycling count as going outside?
6/09/2002 09:04:23 PM
The Law of Andrew Gaming says that on Andrew's planned game days, it will be a beautiful day outside. This applies to Everquest and LAN parties as well. Today would have been a great day to still be at the ranch.
6/09/2002 09:04:06 PM
Saturday, June 08, 2002
It's not that I'm clumsy, I've decided, I just have a strong sensitivity to the gravitational pull of objects around me.
6/08/2002 10:11:00 PM
This weekend is the weekend-long Tabarah Ranch anniversary party. Andrew and I went up last night and found an open spot on the couch where I immediately started falling asleep on him. Both the couch and Andrew were so comfortable it seemed a perfectly worthy thing to do at such a party.
I really love the atmosphere that comes from a party where people spend the night and walk around late or early in bathrobes, naked hot-tubbing and topless fire-eating.
I won't gloat about winning the pyramid-balancing-on-cd game. Really, I won't. And I thought playing before breakfast when my hands are shaky would put me at a disadvantage. No, I'm not gloating.
The strangest moment of the weekend was having an almost-six year-old telling me that I hadn't made a proper pentagram, "because it's missing the magic ring." "Actually I was only intending to make a star"
Cloven fruit was going around as usual, including a cloven kumquat. Kumquat. I looked over as Ocicat was re-cloving the fruit and said, "That looks really small..." Suddenly Ocicat is up in my face looking as intimidating as someone can possibly be with a kumquat in their hand and I was obligated to take the fruit and the kiss.
A bit after I started looking for my own victim to pawn the thing off on, I saw August coming down the hallway towards me. "Here, you look easy!" He told me later that he'll always remember me saying that but I had to point out that he never denied it. What I meant was something like 'Here you look like an easy person to get rid of this on,' but it certainly came out better my way.
6/08/2002 10:09:38 PM
Friday, June 07, 2002
Whenever I listen to the song Suffer In Silence by Apop, I swear one line says "lick you in the eyes."
6/07/2002 09:14:44 PM
Mara: sigh. poor gryphon. every time i think i've got issues, i think of gryphon, and i feel better
6/07/2002 09:10:50 PM
I can't believe how much catching up I have to do since the trip. I have all of my email to read, the message board, my daily web sites. I'm reading the alt.gothic newsgroup looking for Convergence pictures. I haven't even thought about trying to catch up on my comics yet... and with various events I'm not scheduled to sleep again until next monday.
6/07/2002 09:09:58 PM
Thursday, June 06, 2002
French is a very intimidating language. By the end of the trip I was feeling comfortable with being able to read it, but afraid to even attempt to speak it—even something as simple as "merci" which is a word I certainly know, so I become another self-centered American who won't venture out of their own language to do so much as say thank you.
I want to know how a language evolved so that you don't pronounce the last letter of words. If language was spoken before written, someone had to decide to add these extra letters as they began to write words down.
6/06/2002 10:56:11 PM
It's already been one week now since Andrew and I left for Montreal—about time for me to get my notes from the trip up.
Thursday (traveling)
Andrew picked me up from work and we took a shuttle to the airport that evening. This was the first flight either of us had taken since the extra security was added so we got there with hours to spare. Going through security, I had my shoes searched! Either the searches are random or my shiny new Payless boots look scarier and have more explosive hiding potential than the boy's.
We planned to sleep on the plane but airplane seats aren't comfortable to get anything that counts as rest. I kept opening my eyes every time I heard movement nearby because I was afraid of missing the food.
Andrew wondered what that very bright thing was doing outside at 3am our-time.
The in-between day (arriving)
Going by the rule of "It's not tomorrow until you've slept," we had a very long, odd Thursday/Friday combo.
I had no idea what I was doing going through customs for the first time. When I tried to follow Andrew I was nearly yelled at, "One at a time!" At least since Andrew went through first he had to be the one to explain when the man insisted this must be a business trip if we're going to a convention. I would have gotten confused trying to explain and the man seemed the type not to let Andrew step in and help.
The hotel room wasn't ready so we didn't get to nap and change first thing as planned. I was extremely disoriented as Andrew tried to lead me quickly through a new city, surrounded by French, my ears clogged from the flight and only able to hear half of what he said. I picked up some Canadian Sudafed at a drug store to clear out my head. I was in awe of everything—Canadian candy bars, medicine, bottled water.
There was an unofficial list of places Andrew had to show me, take me to eat at. We had breakfast at Eggspectation, a restaurant that served only egg dishes, but seemed to have added to its menu since.
The weather seemed to be a more extreme version of Seattle's "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." The humidity made it feel much warmer than the overcast sky would suggest. It rained *real* rain, the kind that gets you wet after only seconds, as we ducked in and out of the underground city to stay dry.
Friday (Convergence day 1)
Nap, event, nap, event, sleep.
I'd been saying all along that I was afraid of being "caught", discovered that I'm not goth enough to belong at Convergence, and kicked out of the convention. They first gothy type person I saw was rather intimidating looking with very elaborate hair extensions. I told Andrew I was afraid of the scary people in black.
Of course there were the people afraid of us too. An old woman stood in the back of the elevator with a look of horror on her face.
I felt like I "fit" better once I had a chance to sleep, change clothes, do makeup, get rid of glasses, put on kitty ears... all the necessary preparations. We joined a group going for food, 21 people in black winding through the city in search of the (city's? world's?) largest Indian buffet. It was raining again when we left. Most people were huddling under the awning waiting for taxis. Andrew and I didn't understand the big deal over a little rain and walked back to the hotel.
Whoever scheduled the lightning on the way to the Spectrum did a wonderful job of providing the perfect atmosphere for the first night of Convergence.
The Spectrum had a nice layout, with enough tables in the back that there was always one free with a good view. There were notes on the tables saying that due to the licensing, it was a non-smoking club. While couple of people obviously didn't read the notes, we could sit down to watch the shows without our feet hurting *and* breathe.
The fashion show was amazing looking. This night was the bands I know, or at least knew of—Bella Morte (opened for the Cruxshadows) and This Ascension (downloaded from mp3.com). I picked up a This Ascension t-shirt that was made specifically for Convergence and the Tori Amos tribute CD.
Andrew led me around the city more looking for late night food. Someone asked us in French if were two lesbians before asking for change.
Saturday (Convergence day 2)
I had gotten comfortable enough that I was all ready to blow my cover by wearing my hippie-goth skirt and Batz Maru t-shirt.
We went down to the vendor fair first thing in the morning.. er.. afternoon. Many of the vendor probably would have done better if they were set up to take credit cards. We ran around looking for an ATM (found out later there was one in the hotel) so I could buy a new black velvet outfit. "No need to point out I already own five black velvet skirts. There can never be enough."
Took the Metro, played tourist. Andrew showed me the Atwater market, similar to Pike Place. Ate Thai food in a food court because it didn't involve taking a chance ordering in French. There was the Biodome, and an amusement park that cost too much to bother with.
It wasn't until that night when I didn't want to get up from another nap that we realized I was going through caffeine withdrawal. "So that explains the headache I've had all day..." We had a very nice dinner in the hotel restaurant where I could have tea and caffeinate myself. I loved how well the hotel staff treated all of us, and I've read that we were well complimented as well.
Unfortunately I pretty much caused us to be late to the show. We missed Bordello entirely, who I heard were good. We caught the last few songs by Swarf, a band led by a woman with unbelievable hair and voice. I'm having fantasies of Swarf touring with VNV. Cinema Strange was strange enough to fit their name, but I was bored after the first song. Chaos Engine was *loud*. We kept retreating farther away until we were taking a walk outside.
I surprised myself by dancing between bands and after the show. Andrew had told me that dancing at Convergence feels strange with all of the different cities' styles in one place. If anything, that made it easier for me to go out on the floor because I decided if I look strange it's only because I'm from Seattle, and so does everyone else. They surprised me by playing VNV.
I remember more walking and finding Dunkin Donuts. I don't know what we were doing.
Sunday (Convergence Day 3)
More shopping. We were officially shopping for Andrew to have something new to wear that night, but guess who ends up with a new outfit. I loved shopping in Canadian money.
I had an embarrassing time trying to order a bagel in a Tim Horton's donuts from someone who didn't speak English well. I had to point and nod and take the one that was the easiest to point and nod at. Why didn't I ever learn the French word for "poppyseed"?
By now enough French had come back to me that I was reading all the signs around me and figuring things out by context. Once I found out that the "Vente" signs I kept seeing meant "Sale" it all made sense. Reading, not speaking though. I tried to read "Grande Vente" out loud as "Grande Venti," the same as Starbucks coffee sizes.
We had signed up for dinner event at La Maison Hauntee. I mistakenly thought that dinner at five meant eating around five. It was good for a show but not if you're hungry. Various sprits who had done bad things in their lives were condemned to serve food to tourists. We were told to ask them questions, get their stories. Our table's server was the necrophiliac, who was nice enough to serve tea to us non-coffee drinkers.
I'm sure they got a different reaction from us than their usual crowds. Who in that room isn't used dark clubs, loud music, strange lighting. Oh there's someone breathing down my neck and moving my chair. Hello there.
They didn't gain any points with the sprinklers on all of our nice velvety clothes. That didn't bother me but the drippy spot I didn't notice until it had soaked through one side of my skirt did...
I wish we had stuck around to thank the necrophiliac for the tea.
I was still hungry after dinner so we went on another long search for food. Andrew got his poutine which I had decided I had to at least try a piece from to say I have. I had to admit it wasn't too bad...
That night's event took place at Les Foufounes Electriques, which I'd been calling "the foofy club". It was a huge club so that by the time we found the dance floor we were in a different room with different music. I drank something blue, ordered specifically because it was "the blue drink". Andrew says he tends to avoid unnatural colors. I go right for them. We spent most of the night outside at what seemed to be the "popular table". Go us! :)
Monday (going home)
By now I've decided I have to give in and admit I'm goth since I did travel all the way the way across the continent for a goth convention. The "aren't you people gone *yet*" look I got in the lobby must prove it.
We had to be checked out of the hotel by noon, left our bags with the concierge and had breakfast at Eggspectation at my request. I saved the tab off of a Red Rose tea bag and a sugar packet for my Convergence scrapbook.
I had also requested to pick up weird Canadian food before we left, a couple candy bars they don't have in the US and a Kit Kat for the different packaging. I should have picked up some drinks without high fructose corn syrup while I had the chance. Andrew and I are going to have to make a food run to Vancouver sometime for my drinks and his white cheddar. I even grabbed a couple types of Lipton soup they don't have here.
Customs was much nicer on the Canadian side. We expected to be separate and they took us through together, searched our bags and asked about the convention. By then they had seen all kinds of gothy people go through. We watched the people in black pass by in the airport terminals.
Somehow on the long flight back we had an empty seat in our isle. Someone had sat next to us before the plane took off but walked off and never came back. I was afraid we had scared her off joking about the safety pamphlets, "They always show the plane in one piece on the ground, not the burning wreckage it would be." So for a 5-6 hour flight, it was actually quite enjoyable. We watched a movie on Andrew's Powerbook while I played Civ on my laptop until the battery died and sprawled out over two seats.
We got back to Andrew's sometime after midnight. Next time I'm taking off another day to recover.
6/06/2002 10:52:07 PM
Wednesday, June 05, 2002
My first day back from the trip I started craving Canadian food and tea.
6/05/2002 09:23:34 PM
I had forgotten at the time, but yesterday was Andrew and my year and a half anniversary. This makes him officially now my longest relationship!
6/05/2002 08:59:51 PM
I tend to fall in love with certain songs, a complete infatuation, so it's fitting that the current song is named Fall, a song by Swarf.
I have a feeling that Swarf is going to be my band as the Cruxshadows were to Andrew. (The quick version: he missed seeing them at Convergence before he knew who the band was and how much he'd like them later.) We only caught their last few songs and then I immediately went between bands to buy their CD.
6/05/2002 08:55:23 PM
My computer started locking up again so I lost my entire NWR mailbox this morning. Everything I'd saved plus all the mail from Thursday on is gone. I guess it was a forced catch-up.
6/05/2002 08:00:25 PM
Tuesday, June 04, 2002
Given the number of people asking me "Aren't you supposed to be in Montreal?" when they saw me online yesterday (I got back late Monday night) no one should be surprised that I'm taking another day off from posting to recover.
6/04/2002 09:22:12 PM