guiltyred

Since my plethora of icons here had gotten kind of out of control (way too many for one fandom, far too few for others), I'm letting my paid time lapse to force me to clean the dang things up!

So now I'm down to about 15 of the best ones (or the ones I need the most, anyway). Hopefully I can re-up to paid fairly soon, and in the meantime I'll be on the lookout for Just the Right Icons instead of the Icons of Sprawling Chaos thing I had going on for so long.

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Had a corporate event for work, and it happened to be close to where I've got family on the west coast. So, after the event, my brother bought me the best-ever belated birthday present!


( And everyone thought I'd chicken out. ~_^ )

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Coming Home - Chapter 102
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Attempt at email-post, take two.

...what? I'm sleep deprived, AND trying to remember a new password at work! @_@

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After customs, a long drive through traffic, a much-needed bacon cheeseburger (with a cup of potato-cheese soup), a lot of unpacking, a shower, some quiet time with the cats, and a soothing cup of tea, Romy's ready to reset the sleep clock. It's barely 9pm, but from being in transit for so long - and me being all sleep-deprived waiting, lol! - we're hitting the sack.

Time to see if the cats let us have the bed, or if there will be battle... Stay tuned.  ~_^

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Today's the day my sweetie comes home from Japan! In about an hour and a half, the outlaw inlaws - so-called because a) gay marriage isn't legal yet and b) they're Harley people - will be picking me up and hauling me down to the airport in Detroit. At about noon, we'll be collecting a very tired Romy and heading back to a favorite restaurant, where a Real American Hamburger WILL be eaten with extreme prejudice.   ^______^

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The foot's still sore today, but I thought I might be able to hobble on down to the con anyway. And if not, I decided I'd put together my one-man cosplay photoshoot just for grins.

So I start with the costume - the white pants and shirt, and I try the shoes I'd be wearing just to see how they feel. Partway through, I realize that there's no way my foot will cooperate, so I set my sights on the photoshoot. I work on the makeup, getting the Germanic bishie thing just right even down to the ginger eyebrows (thankfully, eyeliner is not required for this one - I tried anyway and ended up with blobs of color in my eye). Got the wig and the hairband, and got the front of it just so. I worked on the back by feel, then, when it all looked about perfect, I reached for the hand mirror to check it out.

...

*keRASH!!!1!*



...cue me having a total meltdown. I'm tired, I'm lonely, I'm stressed, it's Halloween, I'm superstitious, and I just broke a frickin' mirror.

I shut the door so the cats wouldn't get into the glass, then I lit a candle on our altar and called out for protection from our household guardians. Then I sat on the floor and cried my eyes out. Wiley came right up to me and let me cry in his fur.

I called our dear friend K-chan, and she pretty much talked me down from my freakout. She reassured me that mirror breakage isn't automatically a bad sign. I did a candlesmoke cleansing of myself just to be sure. When I finally got the mess all swept up, I announced that I was throwing away all negativity from our home with that mirror, and I hauled it down to the trash.

Since I couldn't very well keep in costume for the cleanup (can barely move in those pants, lol), I'm out of costume and postponing the photoshoot - at least until I get another mirror.

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Thanks to a ginormous blister on my foot, I won't be doing Youmacon today - I've tried six different configurations of shoes, socks, and bandages, and I can barely get across my apartment. *cries*

So...I'll be babying my foot today, and hoping like crazy that it's improved enough for me to go tomorrow.

And if not, I did get to do my "Lost" cosplay yesterday (though it was the damn shoes without socks that gave me the frickin' blister), so Halloween 2010 is not a total bust.

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Thanks, all, for your birthday wishes! With my sweetie away, it's especially appreciated. ^______^

The day was a weird one all around. First, got to work and my computer log-in didn't work. Again. This time it was a password problem, and they couldn't reset it for me. Boss-guy got with tech support, they blamed HR, HR blamed tech support...

The staff gave me a card and a 2011 kitty calendar - one of the pics looks like our Mr. Sqooshypaws! Of course I had to tell everyone that...and other cat stories...all day...

So the day goes on with no computer access. I take off for lunch - had a free taco coupon for the Bell upstairs - and when I get back, not only is my computer still out, but now my phone's offline too!

Turns out the problem hit all contract/contingent-to-hire people in the company (at least in this state, if not corporate-wide). That included about a third of tech support...so they all went home. I could still do something useful at the front desk, so I didn't lose hours, but the boss-guy was about in hysterics by 3:00. It seems that the code for my phone - not the number, the actual ID of the phone station itself - killed two other phones and now mine. Yes, friends, it seems that I inherited a cursed station number. It's not 4-8-15-16-23-42; if it WAS...well, I'd be even more amused than I am already.

So tomorrow is my long day (10 hours), so I'll need to take extra reading material. The lady who also works the front desk loaned me "American Born Chinese" and gave me the entire anthology of "Bone", so that should keep me busy for most of the day.

And now I'm finishing up my birthday dinner. Went to Grand Traverse Pie Company and got a smoked ham and havarti grilled sandwich and a caramel apple dumpling (damn near a full pound of flaky goodness!). Shared the ham with the cats, ate some of the dill pickle slice (a first for me), and warmed up the dumpling until the caramel melted. Life is good. ^______^

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Today was kind of rough. It's the first anniversary of a particularly painful loss, and I'm facing it alone; it's already tomorrow in Japan, so the day is done there, but here it dragged. Had a glitch at work wherein someone didn't know I was still on the assignment, and shut off my computer access. This on a day I forgot to bring my book, of course, and on top of that a day I really really wanted distraction.

As soon as I could manage, I walked through the mall to the library (yes, our mall has a branch of the library! woot!) and browsed a bit. Naturally the moment I stepped through the door I forgot all the titles I was looking for, so I cast about for inspiration. I noticed a movie, and thought, aha! I'll find books by the guy behind that movie, as it was quite good. I did this, and by happenstance found the book the movie was based on. (I also found some Batman graphic novels, but those are strictly for reading at home, not at work.)

So I took my books back to the office and had some lunch, then settled in with a book to wait for word on my computer issue. And it wasn't until I got a few pages in that I saw a picture that brought me up short. It made me smile in a way that speaks of warmth and love and hope and all things good.

You see, I'd seen "Coraline," but today in my close-minded sorrow I'd totally forgotten about the cat.

They got my computer access back, and that's all fixed, and now I can't stop smiling. Happy Mocker's Escape Day, everyone. Don't be so busy surviving that you forget to live.

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Don't know yet if this is going to turn into a daily, weekly, or occasional episode serial, but...it has begun.  :3
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The site's been down all day, and I just found out they've been working to fix it. Optimistic, I go take a look for myself.

"Hey, it's back up!" says I.

Then I notice the "Tweak says" commentary:

Tweak says, "that's what she said."

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I'm really starting to think that the reason Wiley has chronic/recurring upper respiratory problems is the litterbox. We've been using Feline Pine or the generic equivalent for years - pretty much all his life, actually - and over the past few years I've noticed that my own allergies flare up worse and worse every time I clean the litterbox or even buy a bag of litter: just driving with a bag in the car makes my sinuses clog up and then drip like a faulty faucet.

Wiley's been having sneeze/cough/drippy eye issues for a while now, pretty much parallel to the days I have allergy problems too. The vet put him on a l-lysine supplement in case it was a low-level lingering viral infection (apparently common in cats), and it did help: he stopped coughing, his breathing doesn't sound rough in his throat, and that weird backward-sneeze thing has pretty much stopped...

...except when he's coming out of the litterbox.

Tonight I cleaned the boxes, and almost immediately my eyes and nose started to react. Since I'd been touching the box and the scoop, there was no way in hell I could wipe my face, so I just sort of snorked it back, cowboyed up and finished the boxes - then promptly had a violent sneezing fit.

I think it's time to explore other options. We've got three boxes, so I feel confident that I can change the litter in one and not have a full-scale rebellion on my hands on the carpet. Now all I need is a new litter. We've tried Yesterday's News before, and it stinks to high heaven when it's wet, so I don't want to do that one. I've read that cats with food allergies to corn or wheat shouldn't use litter based on those, either - but if we're keeping pine in the other two boxes, I think Hermen should be okay. I want something flushable without any artificial scent, and we don't seem to do well with clumping litters.

Does that leave any viable, affordable options at all??

At this point, I'd take the stink of wet newspaper over this horrible drippiness. I just took a benadryl and I won't be able to sleep until the allergy calms down - I can only imagine how Wiley feels, poor guy. (I've got a kitty clubhouse set up in the den, with one box upended inside another box, and Wiley has claimed that as his own. So far he doesn't seem to be having as bad a night as I am, but then, he wasn't wielding the scoop.)

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While out shopping the other day, I saw something I couldn't resist buying. Then another. Then two more, just to be thorough.

Brought everything home, snipped off tags...and got really weird.

Allow me to present: Halloween 2010 (a little early).
( Halloween 2010 )
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Another reason this job is awesome: when half a dozen counselors, male and female, spontaneously start quoting "Labyrinth" and discussing their favorite scenes at length. (Bonus points for the office clown doing a dead-on vocal impersonation of Hoggle. Bonus bonus points for said clown giving ME points for MY dead-on vocal impersonation of the Helping Hands.)

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I love spicy foods. Especially when I'm dealing with sinus and allergy woes - anything that makes the sinuses go "BOOM!" makes me happy.

Today I was going to hit up Taco Bell for lunch and get some of that hellfire hotsauce or whatever it's called, when I got caught by a free sample of orange chicken at the Chinese joint next door (hurray for mall food courts! the variety, the free samples, the heartburn!). It was quite good, but next to it was a spicy sweet and sour chicken. Got a taste of that, and then noticed, a few bins over, their General Tso's chicken. With visible red chili peppers. And pepper seeds all over the place.

It had to be that one.

Got their small dinner with one entree and one side (got their chow mein, yum!). Couldn't resist the crab rangoon, and splurged with a Coke to finish it all off.

Started to feast.

Started to melt. Nose first, then eyes, then I swear I felt the flesh of my cheeks sliding down my face. Oh, DAMN but it was good! Painful, but good!

I paid probably twice what I would have at Taco Bell, but it'll easily make 2-3 meals for me, so I call that a whopping bargain. And the guy at the counter was cool - I came back for a to-go box, and he actually took my plate, positioned the box over it, and neatly flipped it all in for me. I gave 'em a tip in their jar.

Well worth it.

So...informal poll: Hot & spicy, or mild and safe? If you're on the wild side, what's the hottest thing you ever ate/attempted to eat?

For me, I have to confess it was on a dare... Years ago, in OK, I went with my then-girlfriend to a restaurant that I think was a Korean/Vietnamese fusion (not wholly sure; the town also sported a Thai/Italian restaurant, so anything was possible). One would think that a shrimp dish with water chestnuts would be relatively safe, even if it was listed as spicy. One would not have been counting on the black chili peppers in the sauce. Yes, black. The shrimp had totally picked up the heat, and it was intoxicating.

Then she dared me to eat a pepper.

I did.

Dear. Holy. MotherofGOD! It was like a thermonuclear explosion through the roof of my mouth, past the sinuses and straight into the frontal lobe. Then...the entire left side of the interior of my mouth went NUMB...except for throbbing. Nothing worked to put it out, either: I tried butter, steamed rice, room-temperature tea - nothing. Only time. Eventually the tea helped a little, but...DAMN. That was without a doubt (a) the most intense food experience I have had to date; (b) the stupidest dare I've ever taken on; (c) absolutely frickin' memorable. I'll be telling that story in the nursing home...

...while pouring Frank's Red Hot Sauce on my Cream of Wheat. XD

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Went grocery shopping today, and in addition to getting necessary things at the local grocery (yes, dark potato chips are a necessity!), I went to our favorite butcher shop for some bacon. While there, I noticed they carry Seltzer's bologna.

Fans of "Dirty Jobs" know all about Seltzer's bologna in Lebanon, PA. If you haven't seen it, or just need a refresher, here's video of Mike catching and throwing up (heh!) meat. :3


If you can get your hands on some meat, I highly recommend it. It's not heavily spiced or garlicky, it's actually quite mellow (we tried another variety a while back, and it was rough). Got it sliced about 1/4 inch thick, to cut up and have with cheese and fruit, which I did. VERY pleasant dinner! And a little bit good for me - you see, the grocery had these grapes...



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Got that router replaced today, so now I can actually use my own computer again! *gasp!* I know, right? XD Setup was pretty easy, once I got the cables sorted out. So now to get the Wii online - "Lost" calls!

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And this is what I do when I'm on my own for a couple of days... XD

( you know you wanna click! )

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