KESTREL'S FINANCIAL FREEDOM BLOG

NEW NOVEL

2010-11-04T17:26:00.002-05:00

Apparently people are still finding this blog, so I'd like to tell you about my current project - writing my urban fantasy novel in 6 months, from October 2010 to March 2011. I'm videoblogging along the way, over at Video Novelist. Thanks for stopping by!

ON TO LJ

2008-06-22T21:00:00.003-05:00

So, obviously not a lot going on here. That's because after attending the Nebulas, I joined LiveJournal and have been letting the world know about my life through that venue, since I could friend a lot of the people I met at the Nebs.

So, if you're still interested in me, please visit my LiveJournal. I also respond to any comments posted on any of my blog entries here.

And who knows, maybe I'll be back here some time, or actually get around to updating this space with the LJ news.

KRAV MAGA CLASS

2008-04-07T22:10:00.000-05:00

Tonight we covered:
- Upper Cut Punch
- Defense vs Upper Cut Punch
- Review Choke Front with Push
- Choke Against Wall / Front

While I plan to go to the Monday & Wednesday classes every week, I'm currently actually attending about four classes a month. Spring storms come in every Wednesday and have been playing havoc with my head. The migraines aren't every day (thank every deity possible), but the change in pressure will set one off, and I wouldn't be able to be a good student or partner when my head hurts so much my left eye is throbbing.

The classes I do make are great and I'm very glad I decided to finally take this up. I still need a hot bath after each class so I don't walk too woundedly (is that a word?) the next day. ^_^;

Here's to a stronger and more dangerous me! ^_-

PARTY

2008-04-05T23:37:00.003-05:00

Nissan hosted a food-filled past & present co-worker party at her house tonight, complete with cheese fondue. A chocolate fountain was supplied by a guest (first time I'd seen one in action), and I have no doubt someone drank out of directly before the night was done. Tonbo was free, so we drove out together. Showed up early, had a lot of fun, and left when the number of people and noise level became too much for my introverted self.

SERENITY BETTER DAYS #2

2008-04-02T23:01:00.001-05:00

Buy it, read it, wait in eager anticipation for the last issue ...

Serenity: Better Days #2, new Firefly comic by Joss Whedon released by Dark Horse Comics

BDAY BC TRAVEL

2008-03-27T22:40:00.003-05:00

[I can blog about this now, but at the time, it was a secret ... ]

There are lots of reasons you don't want to receive a phone call at 4 am. One of the lesser evils is that you plane has been canceled. Thanks to a very friendly and helpful American Airlines employee, I was able to catch an earlier flight which left me even more time for my connection in Seattle.

Because I'm traveling on my birthday* as a surprise visit to my Dad for his birthday.

Everything went well. I love the Fireworks Gallery at SEATAC airport, and can spend a lot of minutes and moola in there. The little prop mountain hopper sailed smoothly into Okanagan Valley, where I met my mom at the Kelowna airport. My sister should arrive an hour after me (how cool is that, especially since she left half a day earlier than me from Mongolia. Really, Mongolia).

So lots of people get off various planes and no sister. Since the airlines can't give out personal information, we don't know at what point she stopped traveling along the itinerary she sent. We assumed she made it to Shanghai. We hoped she made it to Vancouver. She obviously hadn't made it to Kelowna.

Therefore, in an attempt to track her down, we ended up having to call my dad at the house and well, there went the surprise. Fortunately, sis showed up on the last flight of the day, and it was all good.

* and Nathan Fillion's birthday. Never forget Nathan Fillion.

UNCLE SAM WANTS MY MONEY

2008-03-19T19:35:00.002-05:00

Saw my tax accountant today. A little less to do this time, as I only did one convention last year with Fan Done. The site gets maybe one sale a month, but I'm going to keep it up because I still have Can't Take the Sky From Me Wristbands available. And if I make some time for it, there are designs I want to put on the Fan Done CafePress store.

A small refund is in my future.

I HAVE RUN OUT OF WAYS TO SAY "OW"

2008-03-16T23:33:00.003-05:00

Remember those padded assailant attacks I so enjoyed yesterday?

Today, it hurts to blow my nose.

I'm sore after my normal krav maga classes, but it's a very localized kind of sore: the arms from punching, or the legs from kicking. Having been grabbed around the waist over a dozen times, and ending up on the ground at least once in a fight with a padded guy bigger than me apparently did all kinds of things to the muscles on my central body. From the hips to the shoulders, I ache. I'm also aware of how many daily actions involve those central body muscles. Like getting up, or sitting down. Walking isn't that bad, and thankfully I don't have to cough often.

Guess Monday's krav class will work out all the soreness ... or overlay it with a new layer.

Go me.

I BEAT UP 3 MEN TODAY

2008-03-15T23:11:00.005-05:00

OK, not really, but I punched and kicked hard enough for them to let go, which was the goal of the 'padded assailant' part of the rape prevention workshop I attended, hosted by my krav maga teachers.

The first 2.5 hours were talking and 2 specific techniques: what to do against a front choke hold and what to do against a bear hug from behind. The last 30 minutes you did anything you could to stop the big padded guy that looked like he just stepped out of Halo from dragging you to the door. Think about trying to put a cat in a bathtub full of water, and you get the idea.

There were about 20 women there, and when it came to the "real" thing, we divided up into the corners of the room and each of us took a turn with our padded assailant. You stand away from the others, your eyes closed, and wait for the attack. As soon as you feel him on you, you open your eyes and start fighting.

The first time he did the bear hug from behind I was picked off my feet so fast it really shocked me. But not for too long. I ended up on the ground with him, and then got away. On the front choke hold, I landed a really good heal palm to the head and was one of the fastest to get away from that attack. Overall, I think I went through the drill 4 or 5 times, I really don't remember. I know I've never had an adrenaline rush like that before, even when I was held up at gun point. After each attack I was extremely tired and a bit shaky, but it wore off faster each time.

I remember the steps of each defense, but I honestly don't remember what I specifically did to get away after each attack. But I did get away. I watch as one woman was within a foot of the door before she really put some power behind her punches. It surprised me how many of them didn't seem to be taking this seriously, or didn't want to try the padded assailant drill again. In my mind, this is one of the few times I'll be able to "practice" in a "safe" environment something like this, so I went for as many drills as we had time for. Wish I remembered more of it. ^_^;

Remember, an ugly win is still a win.

The evening was spent with Tonbo's mother and sister, who took us out to a hibachi grill for birthday dinners and a custard shop for dessert.

Awesome day. ^_^

TONBO BDAY

2008-03-14T22:57:00.000-05:00

Even though he didn't get off work until after 8 pm, we still had a nice evening. Went out for dinner at the local Olive Garden. And happened to meet one of my krav instructors who was also celebrating his birthday.

Good food, good conversation, good end to a stressful day.

Thanks to the Yard Dog Press table at ConDFW a few weeks ago, I found two gifts I knew no one else would have found for Tonbo: Claudia Christian's autobiography and a CD of her songs.*

* update (since I'm blogging from the future right now): Tonbo enjoyed the book and the CD a lot. Says the book is like Q&A sessions with a very casual story-telling style, and that she has a great voice on the CD.

SERENITY: BETTER DAYS #1

2008-03-12T23:41:00.000-05:00

Rejoice Browncoats! The new Dark Horse comic written by Joss Whedon with the Firefly crew is now available: Better Days!

Taking place before the movie Serenity inthe timeline of the 'verse, this is part 1 of 3 issues that tells the tale of the Big Damn Heroes on an adventure where things actually went smooth ...

IN LIKE A SNOW LION

2008-03-03T22:54:00.000-06:00

So, ice rain and snow this week. Gotta love that wacky Texas weather. I don't mind snow, but icy road terrify me, so I'll be working from home if the driveway is slick.

My parents in Canada have better weather than me right now.

Sigh.

LUNCH

2008-02-28T22:51:00.000-06:00

Had lunch with Tonbo today. Not a significant event in and of itself, other than the fact it was a week day work day. There's a BBQ place located almost exactly between our offices, so for the first time in years, we can actually see each other during the work week for a shared afternoon meal.

2008 rocks!

CONDFW

2008-02-24T22:36:00.000-06:00

Full report (eventually) on my writing blog: Drunk on Writing

Friday Highlight
- seeing images from the upcoming manga version of The Last Unicorn. If you don't know about The Last Unicorn or Peter S. Beagle, you need to visit Conlan Press. Now. And buy some books by Peter S. Beagle. And The Last Unicorn DVD. Lots of copies of the DVD.

Saturday Highlight
- dinner w/Connor & Peter thanks to Dr. Marc

Sunday Highlight
- comments on the first page of the first draft of my first novel

*** ConDFW in 2009 will have Jim Butcher, author of the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera series, as the guest of honor!!!

KRAV MAGA

2008-02-11T22:25:00.001-06:00

I've looked at taking krav maga classes for almost 2 years now. The studio is actually right beside Atomic Age, the comic store where I have all my subscriptions. Timing, work locations, schedule, etc. never seemed to work out.

Until now.

I signed up to take a free class tonight. And after 1 hour of the most intense workout I've had in years as well as instruction on basic moves that could save my life, I've signed up for a year. At my current job, I'm only 15 minutes away, which means I'm able to attend the Monday and Wednesday classes.

There were a few other first-timers there besides me. The guy, who wanted to wait and talk to the owner, after I said I wanted to sign up for a year, made the comment "I don't make snap decisions about something like this". Funny, neither do I. Good thing I had already decided to sign up if I liked the free class, because this way I get to attend any class they put on (ground work, cardio, etc.) for free, instead of an additional cost because I signed up the same day as my free class.

Here's to a year of better fitness and self-defense!

Now I have to take a hot bath so I have a chance of walking without grimacing too much tomorrow

2 WEEKS

2008-02-02T17:28:00.000-06:00

Having completed my first two weeks at the new job, I am absolutely positive I made the right decision. Busy as hell, and I still need to finish up some stuff this weekend, but worth it. I like the people. I like the work. The duct tape fixes are fine and the new systems that are being put in place will make everything run smoother eventually. Growth isn't easy or necessarily comfortable. The results of growth, however, rock.

And it is nice to be wanted. I've had more compliments and appreciation of my work in the past two weeks than I've gotten in the past five years combined.

2008 will be a very good year.

FOUND WALLET

2008-01-30T17:16:00.000-06:00

Guess what I got in the mail today? No cash, no wallet, but the majority of the contents of my lost wallet came back to me, including the credit cards, debit card, and signed check with deposit slip. I'm very happy to get back the personally important items, and wonder about the missing business cards, but will not complain.

This week has also herald the arrival of all but one of the new credit cards. Don't bother paying the extra $15 for expedited delivery if you need a new card - it would have only shown up 1 day sooner. The Discover card was the first one to show, and it remains my favorite credit card company to deal with. I've also enrolled in their Wallet Protection program. For $2.99/month, if this happens again, I'll only have to make 1 phone call to card of canceling all my cards and get 90 days of credit monitoring. After spending over 4 hours dealing with that last Saturday, I've decided my time is worth the monthly fee.

Thanks to whoever sent back my stuff - I do appreciate it.

Now I need to buy a new wallet.

LOST WALLET

2008-01-26T20:02:00.000-06:00

I don't know if it happened at the gas station, or if it happened on the way into the Burlington Coat Factory, but today I lost my wallet. Which contained my driver's license, my credit cards, my debit card, a signed check with a deposit slip, some personally important items, and about $80 cash.

After the back-tracking and the searching and the hoping and the disappointment, I spent the rest of the afternoon canceling credit cards and checking when all those immensely until now convenient automatic payments were going to go through.

Monday I will go stand in line at the DMV to get a new driver's license.

Sometime next week I will receive new credit and debit cards.

Until then I will use my new checking account and the debit card that I didn't get to activate this morning because their system was down, therefore it was not in my now lost wallet. Sometimes timing is everything.

This is the second time in my life I have lost my wallet. Not bad for having carried one for over 30 years. And it's not stressful as much as inconvenient. Thankfully, my file cabinet is reasonably up to date and mostly organized, so finding phone and account numbers was easy.

And I even knew where my social security card was ... in general. Half an hour later it was in hand, which saved me a whole boatload of hassle, since you can't just present a Passport to get a new driver's license; an original social security card is a must.

Not the way I planned to spend my Saturday, but a relatively minor bump in the road of Life overall.

[and now that you've read this post, you'll go make sure you know where you're credit card account numbers and the phone numbers to their customer service is, right?]

FIRST DAY

2008-01-21T22:06:00.001-06:00

at the new job. Filling out paperwork to make myself all official. Sitting in on a 3 hours meeting for my first project. Enjoying my desk that was built last weekend. Eating lunch with new people at a restaurant I'd never been to before. Getting my laptop at 5 pm so I can start creating lots of wireframes that are due real soon now.

good day.

good start.

good night.

2 WEEKS

2008-01-21T21:31:00.001-06:00

Turned in my two weeks notice today via email. After 12 years at the same place, it's time to move on. I have enjoyed and learned a lot from all of the professional people I have had the chance to work with over the years. Thank you.

New, scary fun starting on January 21, 2008.

Stay tuned!

ACDT BETA

2008-01-04T16:27:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note, as I document the writing stuff on my Kirean Lloyd-Quinn blog, that the beta of my first novel, ACDT, is now out to a few beta readers. It's a first draft, and while I know if has some rough spots, I like the story and enjoy the characters.

99,330 words total. Not bad, not bad at all.

Now I need some sleep ^_^;

FIREFLY CARGO BAY BLOG

2008-01-02T21:13:00.000-06:00

The Firefly Cargo Bay Browncoat (a truly dedicated lady out of the Great North (Canada)) has joined the blogosphere.

Please check out her store and her enthusiasm for one of the best FOX canceled television shows ever: Firefly!

And don't forget the now available in a shiny collector's edition DVD movie Serenity!

Or the Dark Horse comic now available in as a hardback edition with new shiny cover art Those Left Behind, where you learn what happened to our Big Damn Heros after the TV show ends and the movie begins!

As well as the fantastic Firefly Companion #1 and Firefly Companion #2 where #2 mentions the fan-tastic event known as the Browncoat Back-Up Bash which yours truly was fortunate enough to attend (thanks again to all the BDH and the SoCal Browncoats!!!)

BEST DAY EVER *

2007-12-25T23:59:00.000-06:00

my writing blog

* a Firefly quote

HVAC

2007-12-21T19:08:00.001-06:00

Had my furnace checked today and learned all kinds of interesting things:
- it's installed backwards
- it's almost twice as big as it needs to be
- my roof is sagging due to a lack of supports and cripples (the supports for the supports)

Sometimes it's difficult to express the joy I feel as a home owner.

And then I sit in my living room, listening to the silence, watching the birds play in my backyard, and nothing else matters.

BLOG UPDATES

2007-12-16T23:22:00.001-06:00

the past 9 entries worth - whew!

Got my outside lights up, and while the weather has been too bad for tonbo to put up the icicle lights, I like having them on the brick extensions and then my normal line-the-flower-beds strings. Haven't gotten around to putting lights on the tree yet, but I still have time.

Just need to make it through this week of work, then I've got 2 weeks of vacation that will propel me into the new year in style.

Not feeling sick any more, but still have a nagging cough.

Just over 68k on SCDT. Still on track to mail to beta-readers by the end of the month.

CHICAGO - DAY 2

2007-12-16T23:13:00.000-06:00

Up and pack out, check out of hotel and hang in lobby waiting for optimist. Head of Chicago office come by and I heard about the holiday party. 2 of 3 telecommuter guys come down but I need to get to office for another client mtg, so optimist and I take taxi.

Good enough meeting to run almost an hour late. CEO stop by to see client. Internal meetings separated by a quick run to Starbucks for lunch. Update some docs but not enough to send out, so they'll get them on Monday morning. Pack up, return hardware, say goodbyes, and leave office w/Dallas bunch.

Taxi ride to O'Hare w/optimist for more party and trip updates. Long security line, but we have time. Waiting for place to come in (777 from London). I had the most productive trip of any of them due to all my meetings. Take off about 45 minutes late. Huge storm over OK and north TX, but it only bothered us for the last 1/2 hour. *Very* glad to be in that huge plane, as the turbulence would have been really bad in a smaller craft.

Catch a ride home w/optimist to waiting tonbo and pizza guy take 'n bake pizza. Watching Heroic Age up to the point where I don't have ep#23, but tonbo should be able to get it for a blowout on Christmas Eve.

Likely the last trip for a while, for which I'm glad. Done enough traveling for a while.

Tadaima!

CHICAGO - DAY 1

2007-12-13T23:07:00.000-06:00

Up at 4 am to catch 7:50 am flight, thankful it wasn't the 6:40 am one, all but 3 of the Dallas telecommuters are going. Slept most of flight, non-existant taxi line, which was really great because it's COLD up here!

Go to Aon Center, and we're not on the guest list so have to ask security to call office to find someone to vouch for us and let us up. Talk w/HR and find cubes to set up in. Off to client mtg, then HR lunch & Q&A, then internal mtgs. New creative director is impressive to me, taxi w/optimist to hotel, the Inn of Chicago. Nice room, small bathroom, room service from nearby Italian restaurant. Optimist off to holiday party. Good spaghetti & meat sauce, ok cheesecake.

Got about 1k words out on ACDT before battery died - brought wrong power adapter. Crank up heater while get ready for bed then shut it down so I can sleep. Initially dismayed at skimpy blanket, but it worked fine and I wasn't cold during the night.

BROWNCOAT CRUISE - END

2007-12-06T22:58:00.000-06:00

[stream of consciousness notes posted after the fact. i initially thought of cleaning these up, but then they'd likely never see the blog of day, so here you go]

wake up around 7 am, realize phone have signal and open curtains to see we're in san diego dock, stuff rest of stuff into backpack aqnd go to tiffanies for breakfast - fruit and juice

hang out on entertainment way filling out customn's form & reading virtual evil while waiting for zone #7 to be called, called, follow line down stairs & thru hallways to get off ship, pick up luggage in same structure as had embarkation photo op, over to browncoat cruise line, waiting, talking w/fellow bcs, say goodbye to sue, angie, & tom, get on bus to airport

finally find american gates, go to talk to person to see if can get on earlier flight, yes, confirmed seat, only have to hang around for 1 hr compared to 5, talk w/tonbo to see if he can pick me up early = yes, yay!

sleep part of flight home, get luggage, watching tv with pics from different american airlines destinations and recognize cabo shot - never noticed it before, now i was there ;)

very weird not to see any jayne hats or browcoat cruise dog tags around, starting to finally sink in that it's really over, and that it really was magical, and i'm back in the muggle world :(

home, feeling a bit sick and have not yet got land legs back, ground feels like its moving, nice to be in own bed again, and can sleep in since took next day off work

BROWNCOAT CRUISE - DAY 5

2007-12-05T22:42:00.000-06:00

[stream of consciousness notes posted after the fact. i initially thought of cleaning these up, but then they'd likely never see the blog of day, so here you go]

rough weather at night, closet slide door slamming, eventually figure out safe door is slamming and fix with towel, large falling noise but not repeated - in morning figure out it was the bathtub stopper

sleep in = 7:45 am, look out window because seems odd still moving after 8 am since supposed to be in ensenada, see land, see seal, watch seal jump through waves while debating getting camera, seal not come up again, get camera so of course no more seal, still a great sighting, very happy, captain make announcement that ensenada port is closed due to large swells so it will be a "fun day at sea", all excursions are reimbursed, later get letter under door that everyone gets $25 back to their account

room service breakfast again = citrus, toast, danishes, orange juice, feeling cold, but excited to write on ACDT

break for lunch at tifanny's = pork and chicken from standard bar, sit outside on aft balcony, reading virtual evil in the sun, back by photo gallery, find michael & pirate, and jonathan & pirate, try again to ask to buy copies but it doesn't work that way, buy the photos and will ask if they want them or if I can have them, go by browncoat cruise message board, add a note to explain what it was since several non-bc were wandering by reading it, see bc store open w/discounts at 3 pm, the group photo at 5:20 pm

go to cabin and eat rest of swedish apple cake and watch saimono ep, over to bc store in inspiration dining room, pick up some cool freebies, talk w/brian re fan done merchandise, done the impossible / he'll be at dragoncon as will i with the firefly cargo bay

back to room to write, miss group photo going for another 2k = within 200 words when put shiawase to sleep to go to dinner

at original table as first night, leave at the light flicker to go pack, need luggage with blue zone#7 tags out between 9-11pm

back at 7:30 pm for closing ceremonies, sit in back left, ron come and sit in same round, i order a coke, he says that sounds good too, i buy it for him, he's interested in the basketball & football games showing on the monitors over the bar, michael come in, i go ask if he wants pirate pic, he says i can have it and offers to autograph it, writes a note on the carnival paper card, uber nice man, back to seat, see nectar come in, show her pic, same question, she thinks about it for a moment then says i can have it if i really want, yay!

they show highlights from dvd, fun to see what i was at and what i missed, apparently michael played niska for the serenity rpg folks, words from those involved: staff, volunteers, guests, ron talk a bit then come back to sit down, jonathan come by, wooten center silent auction by socal bcs raised over $1200, then donations took it up to $1400, ron very happy about that, ceremonies end, go to jonathan and ask about pirate pic, he says he has pics for me = got both photo op printouts and he had personalized the autograph on each with a different message (yay!!!), said i could have pirate pic and autographed it again, thanked him for coming and said he made a lot of people very happy, he said it was an accident/unintentional, i tried to emphasize it wasn't, he's won me over, know what you are getting into with him and it is a lot of fun :)

back to room to pack and put out luggage

back to cole porter lounge to get highlights dvd and poster signed by all guests (every one on cruise got one - sugoi!!!!!)

back to room to put in poster tube which was in luggage

back to lounge for cedric concert (hawke is now sick) = lots of fun, different fiddle techniques from around the world (irish, scot, gypsy, viking, polish - hah!, us versions), freedom costs song - not on cd yet so be sure to buy the bc cruise dvd, shameless self-promotion, concert over, leaving lounge when jonathan walks in with drink in hand "where's everybody going?", he gives high five, me tell him to have a good evening

back to room, my suitcase and rei duffle still outside door so empty browncoat messenger bag and tank and shirt into duffle, will need to re-arrange some for the flight home, but not as much as thought - yay!, unload photos, update this log, how the hell did it get to be 12:25 am? burn off photos and this log then go to bed

thank you for a wonderful event, had been thinking would not do another cruise, but if its browncoats, am seriously thinking about it, oyasumi!

BROWNCOAT CRUISE - DAY 4

2007-12-04T22:33:00.000-06:00

[stream of consciousness notes posted after the fact. i initially thought of cleaning these up, but then they'd likely never see the blog of day, so here you go]

autographs in the morning - get in line then realize forgot tickets so have to go back to room, back to dining inspiration room, ron and michael, buy some stuff at bc store, nectar & jonathan autos (he's growing on me) & sonny rhodes, pic up ron & me and michael & me pics, they're having trouble with printer, ship won't let them print any more, looking for solutions, talk with april (browncoat cruise photographer lady) and ask for both jonathan prints, pay for extra jonathan print when buy more bc store stuff, find out they will be putting up & selling the .jpgs as well = want to make a photo album from digital pics, or maybe just a scrapbook since also have already printed pics - not sure which

tarot reading by joyce with gilded deck = renaissance pics, *very* applicable to current job situation, my rewards are coming, lady in the garden with falcon on her wrist = she/me controls what comes in to the garden, sometimes need to open the door or go out and bring in something new

look through ship's photo gallery & buy xmas present pics, ask joyce to tell cedric hope he feels better soon - midnight pizza got to him, see michael in tux from formal night pic but not buy, tell him about it while waiting to get into dining room later that night

lunch at tiffany's again, sit outside at aft left balcony, hot water in large carnival mug back to room for my tea, swedish apple cake, saimono season 1 eps, get in 2k words on ACDT, at new table again for dinner because it's 2nd celebrity dinner night, fun bunch of women (beth, jen, Cana=madonna winner = macarana remix, fran=aussie, molly=austin, blue) then joined by bc staff andrew & (fat) tony, leave at flashing lights before ship crew start their entertainment

didn't go to cocktail party or karaoke, write, felt like a real vacation day

BROWNCOAT CRUISE - DAY 3

2007-12-03T22:12:00.000-06:00

[stream of consciousness notes posted after the fact. i initially thought of cleaning these up, but then they'd likely never see the blog of day, so here you go]

up early for cabo by land & sea excusion, room service, forgot to order butter for toast, still good

meet in cole porter lounge, falling curtains, stickers (i'm green #4), hang w/rose & sue, tom is sick, down gangway with 3 other tours to tenders, hook up with tx mike, ding ding machine, into tender since port too small for large cruise ship to enter, same holland cruise ship from san diego beat us here

over to cabo, pic with native wild dress, pic with stuffed iguana, onto boat, turn right to go up stairs, hot, bright sun, get coke but paranoid and don't drink, have my bottled water with me, ron glass come up, wait a bit, getting hot, wearing firefly cargo bay's badger shirt & jeans shorts, wishing would have brought more sun screen

finally leave dock, pelican boats, seal, start travel up coast, jacques cousteau jr tape narration, turquoise water, beautfil coastal landscape, arch, lover's beach, cave, kayakers, turn around, bit bumpy, back to dock, surprised at butterflies the whole time - yellow & white and more than a few

off boat into browncoat cruise bus line, follow new tour guide jesus up paved area up street to stand in building, parse into 3 lines, wave as canadians & ron go by, hold sticker for mike til he comes back to line, barbara and (husband) friends of mike

on bus, air conditioned, sit by mike, drive to glass factory, beside recycling water plant used to create golf courses, watch creation of glass vase demo from corona and tequila bottles, look through racks and store, don't understand prices until paid, get turtle from broken rack = $3, give $2 as tip, really like turtle, fits nicely/feels good holding onto him

onto bus off to resort/time share, get 7up can as part of tour, beautiful view, fancy place, bc take pic of me i take pic of her, back on bus

to mission and shopping street, decide against lunch/going to restaurant w/mike & jesus, look through shops, spoon for mom, mini fire opal turtle for me since not coming back this way, pics of mission, get confused about time, see older bc from my bus, very happy to see him, then bus pull up, mini walk through really tourist stuff, on bus, eat raspberry main stay, not help headache much - likely sun and air pressue, jesus & group late almost 15 minutes, skip cacti mundi place although i think i saw it on the way to the mission, stop to drop some off at cabo wabo

drop off from bus at pier and flea market, walk through flea market w/mike for a bit, nothing really want, head still really hurts

back to tenders, back to cruise ship, ding ding machine, turn corner and recognize stairs, back to cabin for short break, lunch at tiffany's, see ron at japanese of the day food bar, ask if on desk 9, initially say yes (head very much hurting), then realize lido/tiffany's is really deck 10, he say he'll figure it out by thursday, he only take rice, mike come by ask to eat w/me, go outside to back smoke-free wind shelter, pass ron, talk w/mike, watch parasailers, mike see something jump out of water, me only see remainder splash although looks like splash i saw in the am from cabin balcony, say no to monkeyhead drinks (yesterday was red funnel drinks)

walk top deck and take some pics, back to cabin for nap, headache almost gone when wake up, dress for dinner, go to same dining room and table, told have been moved since it's dinner night with celebrity guest, go to small rectangular table in middle of circular tables (dubbed the 'short bus table') with others who not go with celeb = best friend ladies 1 from monteray 1 from milwaukee=cary?, tim with broken leg and estonian

ask tim about wheelchair access, he give ship a C+, handicap room is same width as regular room doors = has to stand, fold manual chair, shove in, then walk in, floor bars at hallway intersections are a problem, midnight buffet was on a platform with no access, very few ramps, he did go on shore via tender and manual chair, lee not going to be happy about report, milwaukee very down on waiter (robert from poland) so i ask her to give him until the main meal and she say ok, he's not smiling and up like our original waiter at table 249 = very outgoing & smiling, but he's not bad, made a joke about my lack of eating veal parmisangna - "there's more there now", milwakee agree he did do a decent job

jonathan table = all females except 1 guy, lots of drinking, jonathan on the chair for the post light-flickering dance, i wanted to see more of michael fairman dance, ron not dance, ron at table behind me with mike and 1 other guy then all females, not sure about nectar's table but we all assumed it would be mostly if not all males

leave for stop at cabin then go to concert at 730pm, not get started until 8 pm, canadians stop by, sue is VERY red, both are very tired and tom is still very sick but at least not throwing up any more, feel very sorry for him, concert start, ice machines and roaring football fans in the background, ron standing off to the side, nectar sitting front and to the side, sonny rhodes & bedlam bards songs, like it more with guitar than lap guitar, cedric ask for "that song", sony do it, but not really know all the words ('go' instead of 'be' for last verse), bit of a disappointment

leave around 8:45pm back to cabin, towel man with my sunglasses and 2 beach towels as asked for in my note, like the towel man, xfer pics off camera so have room for more, and write this up, going to watch a rescue wings and go to bed, not need to get up until 8 am tomorrow - yay!

BROWNCOAT CRUISE - DAY 2

2007-12-02T22:53:00.000-06:00

[stream of consciousness notes posted after the fact. i initially thought of cleaning these up, but then they'd likely never see the blog of day, so here you go]

up at 4:40 am for bathroom break, go out on balcony = amazing amount of stars, another cruise ship lit up like a christmas tree on the horizon, at least as many stars as lopez island, i think more, cold, back to bed

slept very well, obviously some place else, someplace that didn't rock & move & creak, noticed i have a pink ceiling, no thermostat controls, just 3 vents in the ceilling that i completely shut, blanket on bed last night was useful, feel cold, tan pants, brown tank, rei stripey wrinklen shirt, browncoat cruise dog tags, browncoat messenger bag, camera

room service breakfast from door tag put out last night - small fruit portion, banana, 3 small danishes, orange juice, pot of hot water that tastes like coffee :(

over to inspiration dining room for photo ops: ron, michael on time, jonathan & nectar late, sold sony photo op to mike, gave white elephant gift to couple (??? & steve = first browncoat con & first cruise = daring individuals :), she recommended female scifi author & bufy watcher books, work the night shift & go to school, very happy with her messenger bag and his backpack (i *need* one of these!)

lunch at tiffany's = mexican bar, spicy chicken & rice, excellent desserts of apricot & ginger cake, fruit tart, hot tea, cold, tim of fam w/daughter serenity stop by, women are shopping, talk a bit, his ladies arrive, he leave, i finish tea, see ron come by looking at the buffet

go out to back deck, walk across top deck, turn away carnival photographer with life vest, "oookay" she's not happy with me, down to photo gallery, buy my embarkation photo for tonbo, get me & mike & pirate lady for me, get photo album w/ship pics because so much better than mine would ever be, look through shopping area, buy me a tshirt - uber soft, look jewelry, not get ring, ask about tanzenite, only 1 mine left after other 3 flooded, unveiling at 5 pm w/raffle, put my name in but not likely to show up

back to room for nap, awake from place of no movement to being on the ship again, off to tiffany's for food, hot dog fries & hot tea, sit at back observation deck = out of wind, 1 older guy reading, start to get back into writing ACDT, photo sunset, watch rest of sunset, then cold and going back to room getting cup of tea when bc w.serenity blueprint book shows up and lets me flip through it - i so need one (way cooler in person than i got from website), guy at next table asks about it, knows of firefly, not uberfan, surprised to hear of bc cruise and that ron was on board

back to room, write a bit, room service dinner of ceasar salad with chicken and strawberry cheesecake, watch rescue wings (tonbo will love this show, old couple hiking ep) and eat chicken and croutons, salad tastes like fish, cheesecake ok, strawberry dressing is better, go buy sweatshirt to stay warm and large mug for tea, steward stop by and i say will be out by 6:45pm for event

go to cole porter lounge but no one there, eventually guy from lunch shows, says event is 7:30 pm, go to restroom, back and many more people have arrived, announcement that guests will be a bit late, very glad to have heaty packs on back and hiking boots w/socks on feet

ron, michael, jonathan, nectar show and do Q&A, 1st question is about book's past, ron replies with new comic title = a shephard's tale, michael's dance when it gets to serious, ron & jonathan banter, note from lady who lost her voice about "woodward flop", ron set-up for special event, nectar's robot dance

over a little after 9 pm, back to room, pack for cabo san lucas excursion & lay out clothes, finish this recap, photo towel walrus, sleep

BROWNCOAT CRUISE - DAY 1

2007-12-01T22:34:00.000-06:00

[stream of consciousness notes posted after the fact. i initially thought of cleaning these up, but then they'd likely never see the blog of day, so here you go]

hotel room service breakfast of eggs & bacon - yum! down to check out at 10 am, get in line for bus, wait, wait, wait, reading Virtual Evil, Time Rovers Book 2, first bus loads, move up a bit, wait, jonathan woodward comes by, wait, michael fairman comes by, wait, nectar rose comes by, wait

get on bus, fat tony mc ride to dock, unload bus, take luggage to porter, go to big tent structure#1 for customs, scanner like airport but not as strict - no computer out and didn't have to take off shoes, go to paperwork lines, very fast if did fun pass online and filled out credit card info for sign 'n sail pass, get card, go across street, take pics, going to call tombo and see message from him, listen to message then call, through tent structure #2, embarkation photo op, bedlam bards & joyce ahead of me

board ship = carnival elation, watch forklift luggage loader, up stairs, can't get into cabin until 130 am (1.5 hour from now), go to lido deck, find table w/cedric & joyce, ask them to watch bag while get food, walk around tiffany's, end up back in line for grill, long waiting line for a hot dog & fries, shake ketchup on sleeve since assumed top on and wasn't, back to table, eat,

go wander ship, find olympic jogging track, put-put course, golf cage, basket ball & velleyball net courts, pool, hot tub, water slide, stage, atrium, spa, ron glass coming out of elevator, ask if can help, he's looking for the gym, hadn't found that yet

wander some more, taking pics, go to cabin, call tonbo since still at dock, luggage show up, very nice cabin/suite, safety drill announcements, read back of room door, muster station B, safety drill, carry life jacket to muster station, find seat, end up surrounded by others from a group, follow instructions to put on life jacket, leave group to hear rest of announcements, people already drunk, back to room, unpack, meet steward collin, ask for bottle of water and ice for coke

ship leaving dock = feeling woozy, unsettled, put on relief band on setting #1 = *much* better, can't handle #2, but #1 works well, to tiffany's for snack = apple, on deck taking pictures, back to room

to inspiration dining room for dinner, early seating at 5:45 pm, took a bit to find, still learning way around ship, table 249, very happy all browncoats as table mates, mike there, + 2 others from texas so we rule, decide estonia comes in second, tim w/broken leg in chair w/estonian, not-twin ladies (really best friends) ladies, one = milwaukee, try chicken satay but too spicy so send back and ask for soup, smoothie = plate of small pieces of fruit, beef & barley soup = good, chicked le Grecque & pasta & veggies = very good, diet orange cake = good but a lot of frosting, orange tea = very good

then to cole porter lounge for opening ceremonies, guest intro, bards songs, look at socal browncoats auction items for wooten center (ron's charity), not bid yet

back to room because of headache so not attend sonny rhodes concert, use motion eaze behind-ear herbal so can sleep without band = starting to wear a bit on wrist skin, frustrated can't figure out lights until move pillows & see switches - du-oh!, hot bath, try jacuzzi but in such small bathroom is waaaay too loud, especially w/headache, still nice to be in hot water, although air when got out was cold :(, robe is nice, go through closet to find extra blanket for bed

BROWNCOAT CRUISE - DAY 0

2007-11-30T23:28:00.000-06:00

[stream of consciousness notes posted after the fact. i initially thought of cleaning these up, but then they'd likely never see the blog of day, so here you go]

arrive early in san diego, hotel room not ready, go to horton mall - escher like according to vancouver tourist man and wife who came here to escape the rain, wander, purchase, mongolian grill lunch, not feeling cold but wet so go back to hotel, can now get a room, king instead of twin, still a room with free wifi, im w.tonbo, get out browncoat bag, finish baccano - still lots of pieces, but some stuff is coming together, watch first rescue wings - slow, but going to watch more

down for pre-reg at 4:30 pm, long growing longer line, see mike, meet barbara & chris, tom & sue from toronto & angie from uk, english adam fan from uk, jessi, get shiny goods, love dogtag instead of badge & lanyard, back up, debate going down for dinner, go down just after 6 pm to give bc cruise staff prailines, officially meet brian, he ask if i got everything, intro self to tim with broken leg, didn't get to talk to uber-chair guy, back to room, have headache, go with pizza room service and a coke from lobby fridge, re-pack for cruise loading, on computer researching for ss submission (luck, katakana, swordsmiths, cats, japanese history & folklore), get images from baccano websites, no bath, bed

MONOKURO BOO

2007-11-30T15:50:00.001-06:00

This is what happens when I go to a mall that has a Sanrio store to kill time. Welcome to two new additions to my plushy family: the Monokuro Boo-tachi.

Photo taken with the iSight camera in my new MacBook, Shiawase. Yes, I named my laptop. And I'm stickering the cover, but fret not Apple purists, I have a protective white cover on it (and you can still see the lit logo) and the stickers go on the cover. This way I can remove it and put on another to re-sticker again! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Needless to say, I'm not working today, as I'm on vacation getting ready to party on the Browncoat Cruise.

Blog updates after I get back and internet access is free again.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE DELAYED

2007-11-18T09:56:00.000-06:00

The Good: got a check from lulu.com from Bud the Bunny sales. Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of my first children's book, and for those that haven't, it makes a great holiday-of-your-choice gift.

The Bad: Thursday while I'm in Chicago for work I am told my office is being closed. I will now be a telecommuter working for the Chicago office. Same job, now working out of my house.

The Delayed: needless to say, this has affected my word count and the first draft of my novel will not be ready for the beta readers at the end of this month as I planned. And even given everything that is happening, that's what bothers me the most. :(

SO THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

2007-11-06T23:47:00.000-06:00

So after having a rather crappy day at work, I come home and am just taking off my shoes when the doorbell rings. My first thought is that I don't want to buy whatever they are selling. Then I go and open the door to find my boyfriend there with a beautiful bouquet of roses and tiger lilies.

It isn't until we've been talking for about 10 minutes that I realize while these flowers are in celebration of my reaching the halfway word count on my first novel (45k words), they are also a gesture of love from someone I've been with for 9 years on the anniversary of our first date.

I had forgotten.

So, girls, it does happen: he can remember an anniversary and you can forget it.

So, boys, if this happens to you, don't rub it in, but know that you have accumulated numerous boyfriend points that can be used throughout the year ... judiciously.

And for those of you who wonder what the exciting, interesting life of a first time novelist is like, this is it: I forgot my anniversary.

NOVEL UPDATE - 1/2 WAY POINT

2007-11-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

So lots of stuff has happened since the last post, including a trip to Calgary for Canadian Thanksgiving with relatives and a trip to Chicago for a Forrester event.

But what has really kept me off the blog has been developing the discipline to write 2,000 words a day. And I'm not talking about NaNoWriMo.

Having completed my ACDT novel outline, I have stuck to it, completely abandoned my garden and most of my house, and crank out 2k words a night, with 1 night off per week.

Which means I have achieved 45k on target words as of today.

Tonight, I party.

Tomorrow, I write some more, because it goes to the beta readers the week after Thanksgiving. ;)

FENCON

2007-09-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

I will be attending FenCon from September 21-23 as a dealer for Fan Done, which will have the usual assortment of Firefly & Serenity-related goodies, as well as copies of my children's book Bud the Bunny, Bud the Bunny plush bunnies, and copies of The First Line (Vol. 9, Iss. 1 - Spring 2007) containing my short story "An Angry Winter".

FenCon 4 is also the place for the LoneStar Shindig, so all you Browncoats be sure and stop by as well, because we've got the award-winning Jarrod Davis, special effects guru who's going to share all kinds of behind-the-scenes shiny stuff with us.

I also have the honor of sharing a panel with other crazy obsessive flans on Saturday on the "Can't Take the Sky From Me: A Fan's Perspective on Firefly" panel, moderated by the mercenary Lee Martindale. It will be fun, as fellow panelists include Cedric of the Bedlam Bards and Karen of the Firefly Cargo Bay, who has come all the way here to the mighty state of Texas from the outer rim known as Canada for this shindig. So come by, say "hi", buy stuff!!!

PERSONAL NANOWRIMO

2007-08-11T11:07:00.000-05:00

I caught up and did some back-blogging this morning.

This post, however, is to say that the majority of activity in my blogging life is going to happen over on the Lloyd-Quinn blog, because this is where I'm keep track of my personal NaNoWriMo.

I'm completing my novel, and while not up to the word counts of the official National Novel Writing Month, my work is edited. This makes for low word counts, but a happy author.

HEADACHE UPDATE

2007-08-10T18:06:00.000-05:00

Actually, it's more of a lack of headache update. I sent this in an email to someone who contacted be about my post on the headache remedy I found. He wanted to know if it was still working.

It is.

Here's the email:
-------------------------
I feel fantastic! That sounds very over-the-top, but it's true. My life is completely different right now compared to last year. I live in Texas, and we've pretty much had non-stop thunderstorms for over a month. The lake levels are so high several are closed because the picnic tables and boat ramps are under water. Since I could trace my migraines to weather about 80% of the time, I would have been very miserable if not for the e-book cure. I do still get the occasional migraine, but it only lasts a day, and in some cases I get get through it with a strong cup of tea for the caffeine.

I haven't changed anything else in my life other than following the directions in the e-book. Looking back at my calendar from last year, where I would keep track of migraine days, it's an obvious improvement. I used to have 3-4 migraine-free days a month. Now, it's maybe 1-2 migraines a month - the complete opposite. I was honestly beginning to fear for my job last spring because i was taking so much time off work
due to my headaches (I'm an information architect for large corporate websites and if I can't sit and be productive at a computer, they won't pay me). These days I only miss work for vacation.

I highly recommend this e-book. If you're wife is on any migraine medications, the cost of the e-book is about the same, and you only have to buy it once. I bought my copy in 2006, and received a free update when he added to it and released the 2007 version.

I did feel silly trying out something I "found on the Internet" when the best specialist in the state was recommending different medications and the "wonderful opportunity" to be in a Botox study. Given my severe adverse reactions to the drugs I had already tried, I couldn't stomach the thought of having something injected into my forehead that stayed there for 3 months until they did it again. Now, I will say that my boyfriend's step-mother is having the Botox injections for her migraines and they are working extremely well for her. She has always had health issues and her migraines left her bed-ridden for weeks, including hospital stays. Mine were never that bad. She has a copy of of the e-book, although I don't know whether she has read it or not since the injections are working for her.
----------------------------------------------------

Here's a link to the headache cure that did work and is still working for me. It's from the Women's Health Institute of Texas. http://www.migraine-headaches-information.com/

END OF ALIAS, STILL LOST, ANTICIPATING STAR TREK XI

2007-08-04T23:47:00.000-05:00

Finally watched the end of J.J. Abram's Alias TV show. The ending works, you find out the answer to the uber-Rambaldi mystery, and Sydney ties up all of her relationships in different ways.

Quite the ride. And it gives me hope for LOST, because they totally lost me (ha!) at the beginning of season 3 - too much (seemingly) mindless meanness. I have heard from many people that it gets better, to the point of surpassing its original glory. So once Tonbo picks up the LOST season 3 box set, I'll be watching it again.

I'm also very excited to see what JJ does with Star Trek ...

BC VACATION

2007-07-29T10:23:00.000-05:00

July 19-28 in Summerland, British Columbia. 5 days with Tonbo, then on my own because, well, I have more vacation days than he does. ;)

Hiking, kayaking, hot-tubbing, napping, and writing on my novel. Rode the great steam train. Saw a horse show. Helped put up an awning to keep Dad's TR dry. Shopped the Ladies' Auxiliary on more than one occasion. Consumed 1.5 Okanagan Snowballs over the during of my stay. Visit Summerland Sweets and Tickleberry's to restock.

And plotted around 10,000 years of history in my novel world. This was done in an Excel worksheet since my laptop died on the way up here and I had to work on a loaner from Dad.

Delightful, restful, productive ... and way to damn short of a vacation.

CLAMP FAN

2007-07-11T22:38:00.002-05:00

Because I need another domain.

Trying out some website-building software and support and in-order to do a project, I have to like the subject matter, so here it is, my website dedicated to the Japanese mangaka (manga artists) known as CLAMP:

Clamp Fan

I have always enjoyed CLAMP's work, ever since I got into anime. The following are a few examples of their manga and anime works. Most of these links go to Amazon.com. I'll change them as I get more info up on my CLAMP fan site.

RG Veda
Cardcaptor Sakura (Cardcaptors to some)
Chobits
Magic Knights Rayearth
Angelic Layer
Wish
Legal Drug
Miyuki-chan in Wonderland
Tsubasa Chronicles
Kobato (serialized in NewType USA)
the character designs for Code Geass

Anyway, content is slowly appearing on the website, and I invite you to take a look.

ps. and for those who have visited my Cardcaptor Sakura vs. Cardcaptors site, know that myCLAMP fan site is not the rant that CCSvsCC is. CLAMP fan is just an informational website designed to be a resource for those wanting to know more about these fantastic story-tellers.

CLAMP FAN

2007-07-11T22:38:00.000-05:00

Because I need another domain.

Trying out some website-building software and support and in-order to do a project, I have to like the subject matter, so here it is, my website dedicated to the Japanese mangaka (manga artists) known as CLAMP:

Clamp Fan: http://www.clampfan.com/

I have always enjoyed CLAMP's work, ever since I got into anime, many, many, *many* years ago. The following are a few examples of their manga and anime works. The links currently go to Amazon.com, as I'm still working on adding content to my CLAMP fan site. RG Veda, Cardcaptor Sakura (Cardcaptors to some), Chobits, Magic Knights Rayearth, Angelic Layer, Wish, Legal Drug, Miyuki-chan in Wonderland, and most recently, Tsubasa Chronicles, Kobato (serialized in NewType USA)and the character designs for Code Geass.

Anyway, content is slowly appearing on the website, and I invite you to take a look.

Domouarigatougozaimashita!

JUNE

2007-06-21T11:01:00.000-05:00

Rain, rain, and oh yeah, we had some rain today

I keep the roses trimmed and try to keep the path clear, but am slowly giving up on my backyard. It grows waaaay faster than I can keep up with it on my Saturday morning weeding expeditions. And the mosquitos are extra fierce this year. Any activity after about 3 pm outside means taking my life into my own hands unless I want to bath if DEET ... which I really don't.

PROJECT A-KON WRITERS WORKSHOP

2007-06-03T22:03:00.000-05:00

Project A-Kon had a Writer's workshop this year. I'd been emailing with one of the authors (Jana G. Oliver) involved in the critique, because they kept moving the workshop around. As a full-time working slave with all of her vacation time already accounted for, I couldn't take Friday off to go to a 2 pm workshop. Eventually the powers that be settled on 7 pm, so I left a little bit early and headed downtown. I made the assumption that valet parking would be available, and was disappointed to find it "full" - I didn't know valet parking at a hotel that size could get "full". So I ended up over at Plaza of the Americas and hauled my luggage through the sky walkway to go check-in. Finally settle, I then found the appropriate room and made it just in time.

Four authors, with about 5-6 people each. One guy in my group had taken the workshop before and been critiqued by the same author. I was very happy with the response to my work, even more so as I kept reviewing it over the course of the weekend. So much so that I'm going to finish the novel (my original NaNoWriMo project from last year) and submit it (progress reports available on the Lloyd-Quinn blog).

The rest of A-kon was spent between the dealer's room, panels on writing, and waiting for the elevators at the Adam's Mark. They shut down the escalators at the convention center, so regardless of the amount of time I spent sitting, hiking up 2 sets of escalators to get to the writing panels was a good workout each day.

Spooky black, official people telling you to be aware that there may be a tornado kind of weather came through slowly and left quickly. Had fun handing with writer friends, meeting new people, and being astounded at the intricacies of cosplay.

And spend money in the dealer's room: Code Geass art books, Tsubasa Chronicle manga, some trading card packs (although those are getting more and more difficult to find at shows, I usually shop eBay or Animaxis)

Great, great weekend!

MAY

2007-05-31T18:18:00.000-05:00

2 trips to SF for an internal project that finally died the quick death it so richly deserved

LOTS of rain, glad I only have the occasional headache

THE POWER OF SCOOTING

2007-04-15T21:09:00.000-05:00

Tremendous headache in the morning, but that just confirms the weather forecast that we're going to get another huge storm and temperature drop on Tuesday.

Felt a bit better after lunch & a Starbucks chai. Tonbo came by to mow the lawn, and I excavated my desk, recording receipts and relocated other pieces of paper to their permanent or semi-permanent resting places. Then I did a little banking, setting up some direct withdrawals and paying some bills online. Have I mentioned that I love the Internet lately?

Tonbo left to do some homework for a potential new job, and I tackled the last block of furniture still in the garage. With another potential hail storm coming in, I really want Jumper1 in the garage. The plan was to dust off as much stuff as possible until Tonbo could come back tomorrow evening and move it into the house.

So much for plans. Having decided somewhere in the back of my head that 30 hours was too long to wait, I moved 2 file cabinets, 1 bed-end chest, 2 end tables, and 1 small cabinet myself.

How, you ask?

The Power of Scooting, I answer.

A towel on the linoleum and a piece of cardboard on the carpet does wonders for ease of movement of large objects. I don't have to really carry anything, I just need to be able to lift one end and push like crazy, scooting the stuff around until it's where it should be. Or at least where it's not in the garage and not too much in my way.

By 5 pm, my car was in my garage, an impossibility since mid November when this whole fix-the-house-foundation mess started.

HAIL

2007-04-13T23:07:00.000-05:00

I'd been watching the storms that have given me headaches all this week surge north of us all day. This evening, the little red line of weather that had been marching its way across Texas finally caught up while Tonbo & I were getting dinner from the Pizza Guy. I cringed at every loud and potentially-damaging thunk of thumb-sized hail that landed on Jumper1 and slightly boggled at the ones that slid down the windshield. March may have left as a lamb, but April is coming in like an mad horde of spitting elephants.

DRIVE THIS SUNDAY

2007-04-12T18:16:00.001-05:00

The premiere for the new Tim Minear (and Nathan Fillion) TV show DRIVE is this Sunday, April 15th on FOX, 8/7c.

There was a special sneak preview of the first hour of the 2-hour premier yesterday, and this photo is from a lucky SoCal Browncoat who got to go and see it, and Nathan. I envy their opportunities, but not their state income tax.

clipped from www.flickr.com

PITCHED

2007-04-12T17:11:00.000-05:00

So in the 12 years and 4 months I've been with my company, I have only been on a pitch once. Today was the second time. I knew two of the four people in the meeting, so it wasn't completely cold as the first pitch I was on years ago. It would be fun, challenging work, with a bit of travel to a warm location.

And while other projects are progressing, I still need this job as I have not lost my fondness for hot water, shelter, personal transportation, and electricity.

ING ORANGE

2007-04-08T19:58:00.000-05:00

I love the Internet. I love companies who use it effectively to add convenience and offer custom products to their customers. I love my new ING Electric Orange checking account.

It's Sunday evening, and I have opened a checking account, printed a form to change my paycheck's direct deposit, set up automatic monthly deposits to my Orange Savings account, and will be receiving a debit MasterCard in a few days that I can use fee free at an insane number of ATMs across the country. And while I was at it, I opened a 1 year Orange CD. That alone will get me an extra car payment worth of funds. ^_-

Oh, I also currently get an interest rate of 4.00% APY on this no-minimum required *checking* account.

Pretty spiffy, and a nice addition to the backpack of financial freedom tool I lug around with me.

WAITRESS

2007-04-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

Nathan Fillion's new movie Waitress will be in theatres May 2nd, with a bunch of advance screenings happening across the USA. Check out the Waitress website to see if you can catch one.

clipped from www.foxsearchlight.com

LET IT SNOW

2007-04-07T11:55:00.000-05:00

Really, as I write this, it is snowing. Should be more tonight and into tomorrow morning.

Ain't Texas weather swell?

Global warming my long underwear

HANA KI SOU

2007-04-06T12:26:00.000-05:00

So I bought the hana (flower) version of the Hana Ki Sou anime trading cards on eBay because I liked the artwork, and then I became a bit obsessed. There is dialog on the backs of the cards, but I can only understand about 1% of it (I did figure out (I think) Kurotaka on my own, but it's probably bloody obvious to a native).

A dictionary and a lot of hours later, I'd understand more, but I went to the Internet instead. A lot of hours later, I still don't know that much more, but I now have the opening animation which is uber-cool*.

If you know details about the story link of Hana Ki Sou, can you please tell me? Domouarigatougozaimashita!

I have reached a new level of otakuness in that I now want a Japanese PS2 game even though I understand minimal Japanese, just so I can try and find out more of the story. ^_^;

* this is different from what's on YouTube in that it doesn't have the voice actors speaking over the music.

To download a copy for yourself to see the bishies and hear the fantstic music:

1. go to the DOWNLOAD page on the HaccaWorks website

2. click the middle link:

clipped from haccaworks.net

→ダウンロードページへ

3. scroll down the new page and click on the DOWNLORD icon:

clipped from haccaworks.net

Enjoy!

PAPER MOON JAPAN

2007-04-03T12:06:00.000-05:00

I've been on eBay for years, selling and buying, one more than the other, and it's easy to guess which is which. I've been fortunate that in all of my transactions I have only had 1 person not send the stuff I bought - they just disappeared. It was less than $10, so I didn't care too much.

I go to eBay specifically for anime trading cards. It is my biggest and most expensive addiction. I've slacked off on the non-sports trading cards, but the anime ones still lure money out of my pocket about every three months. I'm even to the point I'll buy boxes of cards from shows or games I know nothing about, just because of the artwork (Hana Ki Sou being the latest incarnation of that fact).

Anyway, just wanted to let anyone know who was interested that Paper Moon Japan is an excellent source of anime trading cards. Great communication, fast shipping (the EMS package arrived within a week of my payment), and a dangerous selection (e.g. I can easily spend too much money there).

BLACK BLOOD BROTHERS

2007-03-29T13:26:00.001-05:00

Very cool anime available (as of this date) via bittorrent. 13 eps tells a complete story, although I wish they would make more so I can see the 'further adventures of ...'

This is also my first test of the ClipMarks plugin for Firefox. Pretty spiffy so far.

clipped from www.black-blood-brothers.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME*

2007-03-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

Took the day off work, ran errands, went through a box of anime trading cards. Dinner with boyfriend at a favorite restaurant. My 30's continue to be better than my 20's, and I'm still inching my way toward financial freedom.

* and Nathan Fillion - he's prettier, but I'm younger ^_-

PIRATE PLAYER

2007-03-26T10:11:00.000-05:00

click the skull to see the trailer and other pirates videos, matey

[yes, i know it kills the template, but it's captain jack & awesome movie visuals & music, so suck it up*]

{i've been reading a lot of the Dresden Files** so rest assured the snarkiness is temporary}

/and for gods' sake, read them IN ORDER! No matter what the cover now says about "as seen on SciFi", there is a major story arc going on here and you'll be all manner of confounded if you read Proven Guilty before Storm Front, the least evil of which is that you will have no idea of the significance of the characters of Butters, Mouse and Toot-Toot. Check the publication date, or note the order first before you get into them./

PUDDLE JUMPER 1

2007-03-23T19:20:00.000-05:00

I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Highlander. :)

And the whole car-buying experience is a lot better on the far side, once you actually own the vehicle. Got very lucky and met David Foreman at Toyota of Plano. You want to work with this man to buy your car. Got the 2.9% financing, so the additional debt for 5 years won't be that bad.

Base model, 2WD, V6, sunroof, leather interior and heated seats (not something I asked for but it showed up that way for the same price so who am I to argue?), audio controls on the steering wheel, 8-way adjustable driver's seat, daytime-running lights, and more fun stuff.

Spent 2 weeks reading CarBuyingTips.com and I truly believe it saved me around $3000 dollars. I hate the haggle, and am also thankful to Dumping Grounds for the suggestion of just avoiding it (as much as possible).

I did to the Internet get quotes from dealers offered through Edmunds.com. And every price was higher than what Tonbo got for me in person. Things that make you go "hmmmm ...."

Pics later, once I find a patch of bluebonnets. ;)

FAN DAYS

2007-03-18T23:06:00.000-05:00

My last con with Fan Done until FenCon / Lone Star Shindig in September.

More fun than I've had at these tings in a while. Awesome assistance from local Browncoats and background music provided by the Bedlam Bards. MorenaBaccarin was in attendance, as well as the glorificus Clare Kramer.

Saw the standard cosplays of storm troopers, jedis, baby wookee, and stargate
personnel. And ... a magnificent Captain Jack Sparrow and lady pirate companion! Yay, pirates! ;)

GOOD BYE AND GOOD LUCK

2007-03-16T07:01:00.000-05:00

To all those "transitioning" on to other adventures, I've enjoyed the time I've spent sharing your lives and hope we meet again.

For those in whose company I remain, we shall persevere, get the work, do the jobs, and prove ourselves worthy of being an office.

Or not, if it be the will of the Tea Party.

to be continued ...

MAD HATTER

2007-03-10T23:49:00.000-06:00

"It's very easy to take more than nothing."

And when you don't trust the answer, there's really no point in asking the question.

The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he SAID was, `Why is a raven like a writing-desk?'

`Come, we shall have some fun now!' thought Alice. `I'm glad they've begun asking riddles.--I believe I can guess that,' she added aloud.

`Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?' said the March Hare.

`Exactly so,' said Alice.

`Then you should say what you mean,' the March Hare went on.

`I do,' Alice hastily replied; `at least--at least I mean what I say--that's the same thing, you know.'

`Not the same thing a bit!' said the Hatter. `You might just as well say that "I see what I eat" is the same thing as "I eat what I see"!'

`You might just as well say,' added the March Hare, `that "I like what I get" is the same thing as "I get what I like"!'

`You might just as well say,' added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, `that "I breathe when I sleep" is the same thing as "I sleep when I breathe"!'

`It IS the same thing with you,' said the Hatter, and here the conversation dropped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while Alice thought over all she could remember about ravens and writing-desks, which wasn't much.

PUBLISHED IN THE FIRST LINE

2007-03-07T21:22:00.000-06:00

My first paid sale of a short story, "An Angry Winter", is now available in the Spring 2007 edition of The First Line. This is a fun publication in that all stories start with the exact same first sentence. In my case, it was "In Pigwell, time is not measured by days or weeks but by the number of eighteen wheelers that drive past my house."

w00+! Kirean Lloyd-Quinn is a published writer!

CHILDREN AUTHORS BOOTCAMP

2007-03-04T22:35:00.000-06:00

Spent the weekend at the Children’s Authors’ Bootcamp. Learned lots about the market, from picture books to middle grade and YA, ad the differences, do's and don'ts
of them all. Hosted by Linda Arms White (Too Many Pumpkins, Comes A Wind, Cooking on a Stick, I Could Do That!) and Laura Backes, publisher of Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers, this is a fabulous writing workshop for beginner to intermediate writers. Or if you just want to know more about this special audience and how to write for them. Lots of real-worldexamples, good handouts, and the opportunity to buy some of their other workshop books (and save on shipping costs ;).

I gave a shown & tell on Bud the Bunny, and sold 3 books! The class was full at over 30 women, a majority of whom were teachers.

Well worth the money. Linda and Laura have been doing this kind of writing workshop for over 7 years, and it shows. Highly recommended!

CONDFW

2007-02-25T22:14:00.000-06:00

ConDFW - Went as a this year guest and had a great time. This is a month-late post-recap so not all the details are here. I'll fill those in later (yeah, right).

Hung out with the Mistress of HarpHaven, went to panels, avoided the massive dust storm that darkened the sky, filtered the light, and blew stuff everywhere. Experienced my first Yard Dog Press Road Show - readings by authors to interpretive dance, no, really. Spent money in the dealers room, learns new things, had dinner with authors, went home tired.

Went home early on Sunday missing Steven Brust's reading which makes me sad (was hoping for the Firefly fic), but the migraine was too much to overcome, especially considering I had to go to work on Monday.

MY LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE

2007-02-13T07:52:00.000-06:00

After sharing Bud the Bunny with a friend, the next thing I know she has taken it one step farther and used Lulu.com to publish a prompted journal called My Life in Black and White, complete with ISBN!

My Life in Black and White is a great book full of questions and thoughts to help you keep track of your life and the world around you. It covers everything from your car to your love life. Unlike small, subject-dedicated journals, this is about all aspects of your life. The comprehensive table of contents lets you easily pick what you want to write about, or you can just flip through and stop at whatever catches your eye and pen. Lots of extra pages for wandering thoughts or detailed events, and no lines to get in the way of free spirits.

Having seen lulu.com's publishing quality in a different format now, I'm even more impressed and look forward to creating more projects through them. Which will then be recorded in My Life in Black and White. ;)

BUD 2.0

2007-02-11T18:01:00.000-06:00

The Second Edition of Bud the Bunny is now available at the Bud the Bunny page on Lulu.com. Fixed a typo and some little tweaky graphic thingies.

So anyone who ordered online or purchased from me prior to this date, you are the proud owner of the very limited (less than 75 copies) First Edition Bud the Bunny book.

And you really want to buy the Second Edition so you'll have the complete set, don't you?

WFO WEEK

2007-02-09T20:53:00.000-06:00

So between being sick, nasty icy weather, and being on a project for the Midwest office and no one needed me in my office, I worked from home this week.

My cable modem is my friend. ;)

DR. ROSEMARY BATES, MD

2007-02-05T13:20:00.000-06:00

So this morning, I wake up to find my throat feeling about half the
width it should be. Scary. Found a few docs from the new insurance plan
website. First office isn't open at 8 am. Second office. I sheduled an appointment. That's how I found my new doctor. Scientific, isn't it?

Went in and did the mounds of paperwork. Got blood taken on the first try, which is impressive
and joyous for me and my little veins, as I usually end up getting
poked a few times before it trickles out. Sat and waited. Currently
reading Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, so not that bad, although I
still felt horrible.

Kim came in to talk with me, and ended up
bringing in Dr. Bates, since she had a concern about epiglottitis. Given that my throat hadn't closed up any worse, and was actually a bit better, consensus was to give me a Zpack and send me home to be checked-up on the next day. If it got worse, there was a trip to a ENT doc, and worse worst was a visit to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics. Great.

Filled the prescription, went home, got in bed, slept.

Was treated like a person with a concern and listened to. I *really* like the new doc & her office staff. ^_^

SICK AGAIN

2007-02-04T19:35:00.000-06:00

So after finally getting well, I'm sick again. Lots of pain in the right ear and side of the throat, so much that it hurts t even swallow, and it hasn't lessened since last night. Which means I'm actually going to the doctor this time, once I find one. The one I found last year was acceptable, until his assistant told me I was mistake about which drug I took when I called to say I had had very bad side effects. I don't know about their other patience, but I'm pretty damn clear which drugs I put in my body, especially when they result in almost 24 hours of misery. If they don't believe me about that, what else aren't they going to believe me about, and how are they representing me to the doctor?

Anyway, I'll start searching tomorrow. Right now, I'm going back to bed.

TAROT ME TODAY

2007-01-24T21:07:00.000-06:00

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

STILL SICK

2007-01-23T23:46:00.000-06:00

I got hit with flu-something last Thursday and am still recovering. The faver and body aches are gone, thankfully, but the constant coughing and not-really-hungry-do-I-have-eat feeling in still there. The first makes for difficulty sleeping and the second difficulty deciding what to have for lunch and dinner. And thanks to 3 days in bed instead of the cube, I'm behind at work, which means longer days that I'm not physically or mentally up to doing well, if at all.

kawaisou aka sucks to be me

LAST UNICORN DVD - BUY FROM CONLAN PRESS

2007-01-20T14:29:00.000-06:00

This is great news, and a step closer for Peter to get some of the money
owed to him for the film adaptation of his work. The URL for purchase is:
http://www.conlanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc

So shop early for Christmas! And birthdays! And Groundhog Day!

per the Conlan Press news release:

It took a lot of cheerleading, plus a lot of work by Peter and Connor (nearly two years' worth, in fact) but we are pleased to report that on February 6, 2007, Lionsgate Entertainment will be releasing a brand-new 25th Anniversary DVD edition of The Last Unicorn. This new edition is a huge improvement on the previous one. It is widescreen instead of fullscreen, it was made from the digitally-remastered German DVD (so the picture is gorgeous and the audio is 5.1), it has extras (including a video interview with Peter), and it has much better cover art. Click here for all the particulars.

Peter is really pleased. He wants every fan of The Last Unicorn to know that this new edition has his complete blessing and approval.

However, he still isn't getting any money from it. That's right — the film's owner, London-based Granada Media, still isn't paying Peter any of the money that he is contractually owed, not even after they've sold nearly a million DVDs and VHS tapes of The Last Unicorn around the world since 1999, and made lots of satellite and cable deals for the film as well.

This isn't right. And while there has been some movement on the negotiation front with Granada, it is anyone's guess when (or if) there will ever be a resolution. Until that day Peter gets absolutely nothing from any Last Unicorn DVDs that are being sold out there. Doesn't matter by whom: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, KMart, Borders, Target, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, your local outlet of any size...you name it.

With one exception. Right here!

The good folks at Lionsgate have graciously agreed to let us sell the new DVD along with all their other retail outlets. And if you buy the 25th Anniversary DVD here, more than half the money goes straight into Peter's pocket.

Naturally enough, Peter hopes that you will buy here if you buy at all, and that you will spread the word as widely as possible.

Lionsgate has sold 530,000 DVDs of the old version of The Last Unicorn since they released it in April, 2004. Imagine the difference it would make in Peter's life if the income from even 5 or 10% of that number came straight through this site to him!

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER

2007-01-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

Part of the date today, after lunch and anime and comic book shopping, was to see the new movie by director Zhang Yimou: Curse of the Golden Flower. Visually beautiful, and while it did have the flying ninjas, there was much more court intrigue and dialog than martial arts confrontations. All of the trailers are filled with action scenes, but the heart of this movie is the relationships between the family members.

I thought Hero was amazing, and enjoyed the House of Flying Daggers. This latest movie from the same director is worth seeing in the theatre if you have less than a 50" television screen at home. ;)

MIGRAINE FREE IN 2007

2007-01-11T20:32:00.000-06:00

Had a migraine today. Strong weather coming in, both rain and a severe temperature change. Nothing like dropping 40 degrees in a few hours to bring on the pain. Fortunately, it's a normal, obviously weather-related migraine that will be over, hopefully by tomorrow, depending how many individual fronts come through.

Not the daily migraines that had crippled me for so much of 2006.

If you've read parts of this blog, you'll know I tried several prescription migraine medicines, saw several doctors, and if I didn't write about it, I was offered to participate in a Botox study to create clinical evidence that Botox is a viable treatment for migraines - I declined. The presciprtion drugs work their way out of my system within 24 hours. The Botox injections would be directly into the muscles around my forehead and lasts for months. The thought scares me.

On the OTC side, I used so much Advil and caffeine that I suffered from rebound headaches and am still overly sensitive to both of those drugs now. I tried to reduce stress, eat differently, exercise (when possible, which was not often, as raising my heart rate too much increased the existing pain in my head). I considered acupuncture. I tried massage. Nothing the doctors suggested or anything I did helped.

And then I paid $50 for an online report from the Women's Health Institute of Texas.
http://www.migraine-headaches-information.com/

It's one of the looong scrolling pages with lots of testimonials and promises and hints. I was desperate and took a chance.

It worked. He says give it 60 days. I felt a difference within the first 30. It is simple, it is easy, it is something none of my doctors asked about. After finding the report, I asked the neurologist specialist that I had worked my way up to seeing after 7 month and got a speech that had nothing to do with my question. I read through all of the documentation he gave me as background research on migraines and none of it mentioned this cure.

If you suffer from migraines, and especially if you are a woman, buy this report. Do what it says. Men with migraines, it also addresses a cure for you, it's just going to be a bit more difficult for you to get the treatment.

I have a pain-free life thanks to Dr. Andrew Jones, Medical Director, WomenÂs Health Institute of Texas creating a downloadable PDF of his research.

I'm now going to put a bunch of key words in here so that hopefully someone looking for migraine relief or some one who suffers from severe headaches, pain behind one eye, ever felt like they had an iron pike being rammed into the side of their head, has taken Imitrex or Topamax or Zomig or the herbal feverfew or applied HeadOn (Head on) directly to the forehead and sill had intense headaches, really bad head aches, migraines, weekly migraines or daily migraines will find this blog post and download the natural cure to your severe headache.

9 AM MEETING

2007-01-06T20:27:00.000-06:00

blech, the things I do for my financial freedom. :
Good meeting, looking forward to seeing some results this coming week. Have documentation to create, a house to continue to clean, and boxes to unpack. And a short story to complete. A a book to revise. And maybe some sleeping and eating. And boyfriend time.

Weekends are too damn short.

BACK IN THE CUBE

2007-01-03T22:24:00.000-06:00

January 2nd was a new company holiday, so today was the first day back at work.

Yep, still the same.

On a project for another office with a tight deadline. Very involved, sharp client, which is cool. It also makes for detailed reviews, multiple revisions, and more hours needed.

Weekdays are going to come down to getting up, going to work, coming home to eat, going to bed. Repeat until Saturday.

Side project is stumbling along, kinda sorta. There are dreams of a true independence day, but the future is still uncertain.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

2006-12-31T20:52:00.000-06:00

Means pizza and a movie with Tonbo. This year it is the extended version of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. With 4 hours of cinematic entertainment ready, staying up past midnight is not really an issue.

And so it ends, the Year of the Dog, 2006.

Definately better, then worse, then better, then much worse, then amazingly better than 2005. Mightly be some living changes in the next few months, and if nothing else, the furniture has been re-arranged and all walls washed down.

2 goals for 2007:
1. write
2. help get 300 m for JH's project

And Fan Done is still a part of my life in a scaled back way. Local cons, yes. Travel to cons, unlikely. Mass production of products, no. Limited creation of fun stuff, yes.

Bud the Bunny has sold over 30 books, which means I'm well on my way to the goal off 100 books sold by October. That means the illustrations are paid for, so any further sales will actually go to me. ;)

KITCHEN & LAUNDRY ROOM FLOOR - DAY 3

2006-12-30T20:49:00.000-06:00

So, kitchen and laundry room vinyls is in, wallboard and shoe molding is down, caulk has been stratigically applied, and excess glue removed. The washer and dryer are out of the garage, and the fridge is out of the dining room.

The construction and re-structure is finally over.

Now there's just clean-up, trash removal, and dusting.

But at least the construction and re-structure is over.

KITCHEN & LAUNDRY ROOM FLOOR - DAY 1

2006-12-28T18:08:00.000-06:00

The Floor Mender is back, this time to tackle removing the old vinyl and putting in the new vinyl floor for the kitchen and laundry room.

Shopped multiple Home Depots and Lowe's, and found a great pattern out-of-stock on clearance which means a 12' x 22' vinyl roll was only $40. Go me!

Multiple trips again today, as we discovered part of the baseboards in the laundry room were little more than paint-covered dust, as the previous termites had eaten all the wood away. Was going to replace the valve on the water to the fridge, but Teflon-taped it instead, as it was going to be a much bigger DIY project than I want to tackle right now. Or really ever.

I have discovered another reason to be wealthy. So I can pay professionals to do these kinds of things. I don't like DIY house stuff, I really don't. It's never simple, it requires multiple specialized tools, it take all frakking day, you fix one thing to discover another is broken, gripe, grumble, whine. I'd much rather spend my time doing something else. It is not fun for me, so no matter how much "cheaper" it is, at a certain point it's not "worth" it to me.

DIY crafts, on the other hand, are my playgrounds. Michael's employees recognize me and say I should get their employee discount as much as I'm buying from that place. For whatever reason, my enthusiasm for creating stuff does not extent to fixing stuff. Go figure.

Activity report:
- refrigerator moved into living room and plugged in again
- washer moved into garage
- shoe molding carefully removed, as I don't want to replace it right now
- old floor out, including the older floor that the old floor was on top of
- glue bits scrapped up and removed
- new sheet vinyl cut for kitchen

Rain due in tonight, so the floor was not completely dry from when he sprayed it down to remove the old floor and glue. Therefore, the fridge will stay in the living room and the new stuff will go down tomorrow.

Then I can rent the carpet cleaner.

Yes, my life is still in boxes in the garage. Probably will be for a while.

sigh.

CHRISTMAS DAY

2006-12-25T23:01:00.000-06:00

I like sleeping in. If you go to bed at midnight, 11 am is a nice time to wake up. I did such a thing this Monday, since I don't have to drive to work it being an official company holiday.

Someday I will do such a thing on a Tuesday, and not care if it is any kind of company's official holiday.

Over to HarpHaven a little after 2 pm. Decorated in early Celtic stronghold, it is a comfortable place, well-lived in and well-loved. Made friends with Eggnog and acquaintances with Mistletoe. Ate very well. Had delightful discourse across many topics far and wide. Received a stunning print in colors I love. Not sure if it will be in the office or by the writing desk, as both are applicable for different reasons. The truffles will go to Tonbo.

Left after 6 very short hours to spent a bit of time with Tonbo. Kept my jacket on and zipped to limit his exposure to the cat dander, but he was sniffing within half an hour, so I headed home.

So, my first Xmas out with friends. While I'm usually on my own as Tonbo does the family thing, this was a very nice change of pace. Might try it again sometime.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

CHRISTMAS EVE

2006-12-24T23:54:00.000-06:00

Morning: carpet finished. Got quotes on doing the kitchen and laundry room, and instructions on what to shop for: sheet vinyl, adhesive, carpet clamp-down (gold), and shoe molding.

Afternoon: dusting/cleaning/vacuuming. A Christmas present to me was a new vacuum, as little red from my college days has been slowing down. I also wanted a bagless vacuum with a HEPA filter which is a lot more common and less expensive than it used to me. Lucky me.

Evening: over to the friend's house where Tonbo has been camping for the past 2.5 weeks. The other inhabitants were very thoughtfully somewhere else from 7-10 pm so Tonbo and I could celebrate Christmas. Having parents from Europe meant for the past 33 years, presents happen on the evening of the 24th, and you sleep in on the 25th. I see no reason to change the tradition now. Although this is the first year it has been at a non-relative's house. Nice tree, with flashing colored lights, and some ornaments that cycled through their own repertoire of colors.

Overall a good day. Not the Christmas I expected, or even conceived of, but a good one nonetheless.

CARPET DAY

2006-12-23T22:42:00.000-06:00

Today my carpet was fixed back into place. And no home improvement effort is complete without at least 2 trips to [insert home-building-supplier-of-your-choice]. So between the z-bar and carpet tack strips, I visited the local Home Depot enough for the floor guy to recognize me.

But I also had a chance encounter with the inhabitants of HarpHaven, which was a very pleasant surprise. They generously invited me over for Christmas dinner on Monday. A home cooked meal with friends vs. cold cuts and my empty house, not much of a choice at all.

Carpet was 90% finished, but he ran into some trouble at the edge where the carpet meets the ceramic tile by the front door. He's got some heavy-duty carpet tack strips to use on the beat-up concrete that will make it better than before, and he'll be back tomorrow to take care of that.

I assembled my bed and felt very productive.

Tonbo came over to see the floor guy out while I legally sped down to the 1/2 Price books to meet Jonathan Hawke. Only 4 hours late. Had good conversations, Swiss Madrissa cake, green tea, and got some goods for the continued DA efforts.

Back up north for dinner with Tonbo and bed. Which was actually reading the WISH manga, which means I was in bed but not asleep until very early. CLAMP writes incredible stories. 3 volumes down, 1 to go.

FOUNDATION WORK - DAY 5

2006-12-22T22:36:00.000-06:00

Back again, this time for the last time. Cement in the holes, clean up, and carpet and padding laid back down. But not finished. "Floor finishing" is not part of the foundation company's bid. Which I assumed meant the hole in the kitchen vinyl. Turns out it also means the carpet.

So I call and cancel the mega-carpet cleaning that was going to happen, because I don't think that will go over too well given that the carpet isn't actually attached to the floor. Home Depot, tc. won't fix it because they didn't sell me the carpet. No, I don't need new carpet, I just my still-in-good-condition carpet stuck to the floor. Fortunately one of the Home Depot guys had a card from The Floor Mender. He does all kinds of repairs to floors, including carpet finishing. w00+!

Now for the dusting. Like wash-down-all-the-walls kind of dusting because concrete dust is mighty fine stuff that got EVERYWHERE. I'm using a wet cloth, and I can smell the mud.

sigh.

- at least I no longer have to camp out at the Starbucks and pay for TMobile day passes

FOUNDATION WORK - DAY 4

2006-12-21T13:38:00.000-06:00

So they were back at 8:30 am today. Mostly the same crew, different foreman. Today the leveling begins - as in making everything level, not totally demolishing my house.

Although a water line did break in my bathroom. Waiting to hear from the plumber about how much that will cost. It's broken at the junction to the sink, so, hopefully, it will be a simple (read: cheap) fix for him.

Got some good pics as I talked with the foreman. He showed me how they work with the piers, and it's .... mundane. Little steel plates on top of 2 piers that are in each hole. A hand-operated pneumatic jack, like something you'd use on a SUV for changing tires. Making sure the doors close. Using a normal everday Home Depot-looking level to check the tops of the door frames.

My bedroom has been raised 2 inches. He said that's not bad at all. He's raised some houses as much as 6 to 8". Guess I'm lucky. I may have to move my mattress to the home office, as all the carpet is rolled up in the bedroom, and I don't know if they'll be able to put it back tonight before they leave.

After everything is level, holes are filled with dirt and packed down. Then cement is mixed, rebar added if needed across the tops of the holes, and the cement poured in and smoothened out. Carpet put back down. We'll see how well the 2' x 2' hole in the vinyl in the kitchen fits back down. May have to replace the whole floor. Small kitchen, not that big a deal. Just another expense.

sigh.

- from the Starbucks on Alma and Parker (compared to the Starbucks on Custer and Parker where I camped out this morning).

CASINO ROYAWESOME*

2006-12-17T22:55:00.000-06:00

Saw Casino Royale today. Wow. The most un-Bond Bond movie ever. When I saw Paul Haggis (love him for Due South, Oscar for Best Pic & Best Screenplay for Screen for Crash, and he's Canadian!) as one of the script writers, my expectations went *way* up and they were not disappointed.

I've been a James Bond fan since Roger Moore (sorry, Sean Connery was before my time) and have read all the books from Fleming to Gardner. Like Joss Whedon can, this movie took all the Bond cliches and flipped them arse-over:
- no female silhouettes in the opening (fun graphics anyway, so it's cool)
- "Bond, James Bond" wasn't heard in the first 15 minutes of the film (happens in a great scene later, so it's cool)
- the first car he drives is a Ford, and not even a cool Ford (but he upgrades to an Aston Martin, so it's cool)
- no Q (but the one and only Q is no longer with us, so it's cool to honor his memory by not plugging in a replacement)
- he doesn't care if his drink is shaken or stirred (he's just starting out, so it's cool)

At first I was ambivalent about Daniel Craig, but having seen him in action, I think he is an excellent early Bond. He can be harsh and suave and even gentle.

Here's to a new James Bond, may he have smart writers for many more movies to come!

* first coined by Nathan Fillion in his Saturday, November 18, 2006, MySpace blog entry

FOUNDATION WORK - DAY 3

2006-12-15T22:49:00.000-06:00

got up, hot free breakfast, drove to the house to let the foundation guys in again. last day for them. the concrete truck is going to show around 3-3:30 pm, and after that is done, i'll be back to lock up the house again. it was going to be tonbo, but he's have a really bad reaction to all the dust he inhaled last night. *really* bad. he sounds like he's 5 feet from death's door, although he assures me he feels fine other than the cough and taste of concrete.

back to the hotel. finished blood rites. took a nap with the intention of waking up around noon for lunch. woke up around 2:30 pm and was very glad i had kept the hotel room today. guess i needed the sleep, because it was deep with no memory of any dreams.

out for lunch and started reading the next dresden: dead beat. proven guilty comes out in paperback in february, although i don't know if i can wait that long. tonbo has it in hardback, but it is packed somewhere in the garage, and who knows if we'll find it before february. jim butcher's third book in his fantasy series is out, so i might start that one. i've got 5 days to kill before the foundation guys come back and "level" the house. again, not sure what all that entails, but i assume it has something to do with filling in all the holes, and putting the carpet back in place.

hung out at the house while they cleaned and packed up. very good job cleaning up, as in washing the kitchen floor and the front tiles because mud, concrete, and large footprints were everywhere when i first stopped by. they also laid down the carpet, so it will be livable for the following days. i have to remember to pick my feet up, as there are multiple places where the carpet covers large pieces of plywood that cover large holes. can't see them, but you can sure trip over the carpet-hidden edges.

didn't notice it at first, but as i made the rounds on the house, it really is filled with dust. i could see it hanging in the air in my bedroom. i'm hoping it settles down tonight, and i may do some cleaning tomorrow.

we tried for kobe for dinner, but with a 2 hour wait, it wasn't to be. took mongolian grill home and watched a start trek next generation ep on tv. i hate the feed on g4. it's a tv show, not cnn - don't run crap headlines across my entertainment. grrr.

tonbo headed out and i caught up on email and this thing. haven't had a chance to download the pics of the foundation work yet, but it's coming.

ok, i can't find the cable that gets the pics off the camera and onto the computer, so it'll be a bit for the pics, which is why i went ahead and pubbed the text of the past few days.

there really are big holes in my house, honest.

FOUNDATION WORK - DAY 2

2006-12-14T22:32:00.000-06:00

okay, no place to stay in the house while they are working, so i went and hung out at a starbucks, then swung by the house for some pics before going to la madeleine for lunch. returning to the car, i discovered i had locked the keys inside. usually, this is not a problem as i keep a spare key in my wallet. it won't start the car, but it will get me inside to the keys that will.

except this time i don't have it. i used to take it out of the wallet when going on airplanes, as it would set off at the security check. then i changed my habit and dumped the entire wallet into the carry-on bag and sent it through the scanner. unfortunately, with the latest round of flights, i never got around to putting the valet key back in my wallet.

called tonbo and he left work, stopped by the house to get the spare set of keys which, fortunately, were in somewhat easy reach amidst the mountain of stuff in the garage, and came by to rescue me. his boss had given him the rest of the day off of work (it was already 3 pm by then), for which i am also fortunate and thankful. the stress was beginning to wear on me quite a bit by now and the whole stupid keys in locked car didn't help.

went to the hotel i had reserved and checked in. very nice room, free hot breakfast and internet at the hampton inn on old shepard in plano. i would say the burbank hilton should take notes, but they are now a marriott, so it doesn't matter. unless they charge for internet access, in which case they really should take notes.

hung out for a bit deciding what to do. ended up going to see flushed away. this is a subtle hint as to my mood - i want to see a movie about a rat getting flushed down a toilet. but it's a rat that sounds like hugh jackman, so all is well. fun movie. sound kept kicking in and out, so i missed some of the finer dialog, but it was a lot of fun to pick out the in-joke background visuals, like the rabbits from the latest wallace and gromit movie, the plush gromit in the opening shot, and the lion from madascar. i think i laughed the most when roddy was choosing what to wear and put the yellow wolverine suit in front of himself.

after the movie, tonbo went back to the house to take pics and lock up after the workers left. i spent some time at the barnes & noble in that mall, and then grabbed some cheesecake from the cheesecake factory for dinner. i mean, after dinner. dinner was actually pizza guy, as i was in serious need of comfort food.

while i tried to image what this event would be like, it really doesn't come close to seeing the carpet ripped up in almost every room, feeling a jackhammer slam repeatedly into the concrete slab, and seeing multiple holes (big, *deep* holes) appear in the floor of my home. and that's what it really is, more than a house, my home.

back at the hotel, we flipped channels while having dinner and reaffirmed that i'm really not missing much by not watching television. there are shows i enjoy very much (lost, battlestar galactica, stargate atlantis) and 2 shows i am looking forward to (the dresden files, drive) very much. but i have other sources for those, and they come ready-to-watch with commercials removed, or at least abbreviated. and it's not like i'm stealing the shows, since i pay for basic cable anyway - it lowers my cable modem bill by $10/month. ;)

tonbo heading out to a friend's house for the night, and i extended my stay at the hotel for another night. given the report of mighty holes and clouds of dust, i think i'm better off hanging out at the hampton one more day. and i'm tired. i think the past 2 weeks of travel and stress are catching up with me.

oh, and for anyone who has read my blog for the past few months i have a significant update on the headache front in that i don't have them any more. at all. and given what i've been through the past 10 days, it's quite obvious that stress is *NOT* a trigger. more details later in its own post.

FOUNDATION WORK - DAY 1

2006-12-13T16:42:00.000-06:00

so, back at home, 1 day to get the rest of the earthly possession into the garage, and then the drilling begins.

i really had no idea of what all "interior foundation work" would really entail, other than the floor plan has little holes indicating piers in neat little lines through every room in my house, other than the kitchen and the laundry room. and maybe a closet, but i'm not sure.

so the guys show up, and it begins. plant removal and digging for the outside piers. carpet and mat removal to drill lots of little holes in a line for the inside piers. then jackhammering on the front porch, and eventually in the living room. 1 foot diameter holes. 9 feet deep. there is a small mountain of dirt beside my driveway and i have my very own dumpster bin beside the mailbox. hope it doesn't piss off the mailman too much.

dust all over the front porch, but, so far, not to bad on the inside. and they guys don't sing half bad, although it's all in spanish so it could be really raunchy for all i know.

took a break in the afternoon for a potbelly's lunch and to get a copy of the sixth harry dresden novel, blood rites. read summer knight and death masks during the chicago and burbank flights, and don't really have a reason to stop now.

am thinking of re-setting my nanowrimo novel. i got more into the research today and am having second thoughts about the world. want to talk to tonbo about it first, though.

BROWNCOAT BACKUP BASH - DAY 3

2006-12-10T22:01:00.000-06:00

up earlier than yesterday to catch a ride with denise back to pickwick gardens. same venue, different room. was told last night by carla that we had minimal space, so packed minimal things. got there, and while the room was smaller, it was a better layout. cooper started to setup our table, we got one for readmychest and firefly cargo bay, and then helped denise, suddenly the official dealers room rep, to label the other tables. had a table left over which i snagged for the "thank you" banner for the california browncoats. went by every now and then to roll it along, and it was a good inch thick by the end of the day which made me feel really good. i've seen lots of people thank the ca bcs in person, but this will be a written record that they can always look at and the words of gratitude will still be there.

donated the rest of the stickers to the goody bags. got a goody bag later for the raffle ticket. i won a pair of gold cross earrings, but since neither of those options appeal to me, i asked them to put it back into the pile. didn't make it around to check again, so i don't know if i ever won anything else. 4117 anyone? anyone?

had a pro dealers who was trying to scam some extra space and i set denise on him. since i didn't bring everything, there was a bit of space on the table and i made room for marylee. lovely lady, talented photographer. got some awesome johnny depp pics from her that she took, and 2 very nice RDAs. i had bought some of the depp pics for a friend yesterday, but after talking with her and learning that they were actually her pictures, it meant a lot more to me to have them and i got a set for myself.

being in the back of the room from the projection screen meant we had a nice view of the presentations. which included 11th hour's unseen art, intro by camden toy (who i knew as someone from the whedonverse but didn't recognize until he put his clapping hands to the side of his head and smiled extra wide. then i got it. ugh. wow. the gentlemen from the hush ep of buffy were uber-creepy, and camden is nice as can be. totally weird juxtaposition) for reverend wallet with accompaniments music by the bedlam bards, shawna trpcic with costume, and omg, tim minear with his own fan vid, firefly ariel ep commentary, including tangents about war stories and torture dialog and the time when he was threatened with castration from a truck driver who didn't realize the intro to drive was done on a soundstage. talking of the premise of drive immediately brought to my mind the movie gumball rally, a fav of my dad's. tim was also nice enough to stick around for autographs and photos, and i got both. one lady asked him to talk to her husband via cell phone in lieu of an autograph. apparently the question was why tim keeps working with fox when it keeps canceling his shows. the repeated answer was millions of dollars. who can argue with that?

talked with the dealers, which is always something i enjoy. jason palmer creates awesome art. i spent quite a bit of money there, and not just because he paid me a compliment on the color of my eyes. ;) the dark horse guys were great, as well as trekplus and out to the black outfitters. i'm revamping what i do with fan done at the cons for next year, but the promo space is staying, and i hope to have some info from both mr palmer and dark horse, as well as my regulars.

sold out of some stuff and greatly reduced the inventory i had brought out on just about everything else. which was really handy considering one of the bags got ripped in two places on the travels out and wouldn't likely keep it together on the travels back. sounds like all the dealers had decent sales, for which i thank all the purchasing people. i know you guys put out a lot of money to attend the original convention, so i really appreciate you dropping some cashy money my/our way, as booster entertainment has our table and permit fee money as well as our ticket/photo-op/autograph/memory book money.

jonathan woodward setup at denise/wash-o-saurus booth to sign photos and have his pic taken. which created a huge line that ran right infront of a bunch of the dealer tables for almost an hour. thanks, jonathan! since cooper and i had come with denise, we passed on the buses and hung out until jonathan went to take a break and we could help her pack up. spent some time talking to 11th hour. i knew her work took a lot of time, being no stranger to photoshop myself, but i didn't realize the extent she went to. her how-i-did-it of one of the mal guerilla posters involved the original head shot, a different body, and hair with better highlights from a totally different shot. wow. i also *really* like her alternate inara art card, for many reasons, not the least of which is the dark purple.

finally home to the hotel. dumped the bags in the room. started to do a bit of re-packing for the flight home tomorrow, and was suddenly aware i was extremely hungry. we ordered room service. kathy browncoat and firefly cargo bay came by to say goodbye. they left the wireworks with the ok bc, and i'll hook up with him at some point to get them. later. the cargo bay made a very generous donation toward the table cost, and kathy browncoat offered me some of her dvds at half-amazon cost. i passed, having bought 6 items at jason palmer's table, and in anticipation of framing at least one of them very soon.

dinner and tv channel flipping. came across the two towers, helm's deep scenes. more interested in talking with cooper, so we shut it down. off to the good works suite party and raffle. bought 2 raffle tix and put both in for a nathan auto. i kinda got a pic, but am still autographless. didn't win, but it's a very worthy cause, so no loss at all. cooper got a tshirt prize pack with some very familiar looking trading card packs and one of those silicon wristbands in blue and white with the text 'can't take the sky from me' debossed on it. the ok bc got the nathan autograph, and while i am happy for him, i also secretly loathe his good fortune.

hopefully nathan will come to texas sometime. sometime what i'm also in texas. i need to be specific about these things since i had a table in the dealers room of the con when adam baldwin came to town last year, and then my company set me out of country that weekend. sucks when someone else owns your time.

also stopped by the ca bc suite which was in full swing. grabbed some chips and headed out. met tommy by the elevator and she asked again, what character? in our other meeting, i had asked about her dressage website, and where one should go to learn more about dressage for a character i had in mind. cooper headed back to the room while tommy and i headed for the bar. in the lobby, she realized she had passed up free alcohol in the room party and went back. i asked for a coke.

while waiting for her, the b3 coordinators came back from their dinner. i got a big hug from them, as they had spent part of the meal reading the thank you banner. very glad to know it made a difference.

tommy came back and we had just started talking about writing when tabin came by with her idea. don't know if it's up yet, so i won't type the details, but it's brilliant, and shines with browncoat spirit through and through. i will definitely be participating.

went through tommy's photos as fast as her slow little dell would allow. i grabbed copies of most of them, sacrificing some adams for nathans when my usb stick maxed out. it's interesting seeing the same events from a different perspective.

back to the room around and bed around 1 am. i'll pack later, really.

Tracey: When you can't run you crawl, and when you can't crawl...when you can't do that...
Zoe: You find someone to carry you. ...

THANK YOU to everyone who carried this weekend. it is a treasure of memories i'll enjoy for the rest of my life, compared to something i wish i could forget.

you are all. big. damn. heroes.

BROWNCOAT BACKUP BASH - DAY 2

2006-12-09T22:01:00.000-06:00

up early. daily grill breakfast. ride with denise to pickwick gardens. find an entrance. look for room. find room and start moving tables to create a dealers area. denise find closer parking lot and we unload bags.

dealers bus gets in and the table grab begins. cooper and i set up a table for us and covert several suitcases into a table for kathy browncoat and the firefly cargo bay. they arrive with more wire works and the ok bc helps them create a good sized table for their goods other dealers tables finally sort themselves out. still putting out goods when the first bus arrives, but all is going well. really well for an event planned in less than 48 hours. sold stuff. saw people, talked with people. visited other dealers.

by the third bus we were swamped. really scary monkeys that live in space were a hit. sold a bud the bunny and passed out several bookmarks. he's not technically firefly/serenity related, but he does wear a brown coat, and as a (currently) self-published author, i need all the publicity i can get.

annoucement was made that robert lee of fruity oaty bar fame was here. i snagged a fruity oaty bar sticker from the bay to get his autograph. he wore a copy of striker's ring. he explained the context and meaning behind of the phrase "i take my face off". he signed my goods "don't be ashamed" and "eat the bar". i made a sign for him and left a bottle of water at his table. he stays all day talking to fans, signing autographs, taking pics. robert lee is a big damn hero.

greg edmonson, composer of the firefly soundtrack showed up. i sold out of firefly soundtracks. he gave a talk. he stayed and talked with fans, gave autographs, and let them take photos. greg edmonson is a big damn hero.

people sitting at round banquet tables, talking, laughing, taking photos, making memories. cooper pointed out there was a gathering to go for food so i joined in. out of the banquet hall, down the stairs, around the concrete barrier, down the alley, and into the parking lot we go. no mention of the destination or what was going to happen that evening, although the ca bc that led us to sustenance said it must be something big when all the senior organizers are walking around with extremely large grins on their faces, although i believe he used a different term.

made a sprint for the panda express inside the pavilion, which looks much like a tom thumb even down to the starbucks inside. waited in line. was joined by other bcs and the alliance officer i had directed to another dealer's table for a patch for his uniform. talked briefly with the man in front of my about the cancelled convention and the fantastic job the ca bcs were doing to give the 300 of us that had showed up something to do. california browncoats are big damn heroes.

grabbed two large bottles of water for cooper and myself and headed back. bedlam bards gave concert. they are here, performing, and selling goods to make back the expenses that should have been covered by booster events. the bedlam bards are big damn heroes.

buses begin taking people home. room clears and dealers pack. back to hotel with denise. up to room. would love to take a nap. re-pack and close out the cashbox instead. re-dress for diner. pack browncoat messenger bag that i indulgently bought from sue of out to the black outfitters that day with a few goods and cameras. down in lobby by 5:30 pm.

annoucement regarding evening plans. food is paid for. cash bar, tip the bartender well. no cameras - don't even bring them, go up to your room and drop them off now, you know the request, let it guide you regarding your phone. no items for autographing. first bus is outside and the other will run 15-20 minutes later. destination is open until 2 am.

brief thought and then checked bag with concierge. got in line for first bus. was number 10. bus holds 50. no idea where going but ca bc did, and led the driver with very female directions - down the road, pass this, road turns, take a sharp right. this is a cross-country sized bus, not your yellow schooler. i'm impressed at the driver's ability to make a sharp right. the faces of the people in the cars he barely missed were also amazed, although for some it was their own fault in that they had the delusional idea that their tiny mass would not be affected by our massive one. apparently the bus driver can also fold space. passed over highways of gridlocked traffic. saw the warner brothers tower. no animaniacs. many posters of tv shows and movies that i have no idea about.

arrive at event site. off bus, into venue - a bar/restaurant with a long thin hallway and outside seating in a courtyard that led to other restaurants. walked to the back and grabbed a seat at a table. waited a bit. asked lady across from me if she wanted a drink. went to bar for drinks, noting how much space the first bus filled. then the very loud music kicked in. huh.

while at bar getting drinks, see a familiar face, but not sure. by then, jonathan woodward had shown up. i get and pay for my drinks and wait beside him for a break in the conversation. touch him on the shoulder to get his attention and he winks at me. sorry, my adoration belongs to nathan fillion. asked him if that was claire kramer? yes, it is. pieces click into place - the club of joss has come to our rescue. i set drinks down and greet her. she remembers me from the las vegas con. her purchases of multiple packs of joss paper realized a new life as three different placemats for her thanksgiving table. wish i had pics of them.

this is her place. they were painting this morning. they are not officially open, which is why she can gives the run of it on a saturday night during the holiday season. claire kramer is a big damn hero.

take drinks back to other bc and made a decision. said she could let my seat to whoever wanted it. went outside to a table and sat down. robert lee was explaining some chinese characters to one of the security team, a lady in a fine browncoat. i sipped my coke. others came to sit out side. and smoke.

making another decision, i left the table and stood outside the rail to remain upwind. i thank everyone and everthing for having the wind come from that direction all night. granted, eventually i was outside on the sidewalk at the entrance to the courtyard, but at least i had some place to go other than back to the hotel.

i don't like parties. i don't drink alcohol. secondary smoke makes me very ill. but ... something is going to happen, and i'm willing to wait to find out what it is. and to hopefully get a chance to present myself to the captain. we share the same birthday after all.

talked with robert lee and became the guardian of his umbrella for the remainder of the night. spoke with security browncoat tommy and became the keeper of her drink of water. i now had purpose for being outside. hÂ'orderves circled. the chicken and veggie quesadillas i tried were excellent. i passed on the shrimp thingy and guacamole nacho thingies. while free, the food was not enough for dinner, and i paid for other bc's dinner if she would get me mcdondalds.

talked with various people as the place slowly filled up with each busload. stopped 6 people who weren't wearing the required orange wristbands who tried to enter the facility. 4 were looking for a party that was in a restaurant further down. i think the other 2 were trying to crash.

having fun, although cold. have worked my way as forward/toward the street as i can and still be associated with the party. taking an observatory writer's view of events. tommy starts backing people away from the entry. nathan fillion arrives, walks quickly past me, enters the bar and jumps into the front booth that has been barracaded for just such a person. he looks like he's entering a battle field.

total celebrity list, from what i saw and those i recognized. apologies for those i miss: nathan fillion (captain malcolm reynolds on firefly, caleb on buffy), mark sheppard (badger on firefly), christina hendricks (yolonda/saffron/bridget on firefly), ron glass (shepherd book on firefly), jonathan woodward (tracey/dead solider in ep The Message of firefly, on buffy and angel as well), james leary (clem on buffy), camden toy (gentleman from Hush ep of buffy), morena baccarin (inara on firefly), one of the twins yan/rafael feldman (mingo & fanty in Serenity), michael fairman (niska on firefly), robert lee (fruity oaty bar man on serenity). all of them are big damnheroess for coming out to this crazy, last minute get-together, sitting in a fishbowl, talking with fans, and braving the few that give the rest a bad name by asking for autographs or grabbing asses. i don't care how much you paid for a ticket, they are not slabs of meat or slaves and you have no right to grab ass. period.

rain. cold. water running in the streets. droplets falling from the sky so hard they bounce back after hitting the pavement. i am having quite a lot of fun.

some bcs leave for the hotel. other go next door for pizza. one has too much to drink and leaves her dinner to wash down the drain. the ca bcs come looking for cash for a cab, as the next bus will be too long. i have $45 and hand it over immediately. they say they will pay me back the next day and i believe them.

dale makes a run for coffee, hot chocolate, and hot tea. takes her a while and i start to get worried. not only that, she has robert lee's umbrella.

i see people having the time of their life and a few that aren't happy. to me, this event is completely what you want it to be. the browncoat backup bash is NOT a convention - it's what was pulled together when a convention was cancelled at the last minute. anything that happens is gravy, a gift, a bonus, a treat, something to be thankful for and not to be complained about. i'm sorry it's not what you wanted, but it's what you got, and that's something.

rain eventually stopped.

tommy started clearing a path out of the bar and nathan came out. he walked the line, looking to the crowds on both sides. he almost backed into dale who was standing beside me. he shook my hand (okay, it was really two fingers as i was holding 2 umbrellas in one hand and someone's drink in the other) and look me in the eyes and smiled. we all know he is a hellofan actor, but i'd like to think the smile was real, and that he had a good time. i know i did. those 10 seconds with him made standing in the rain and cold for 5 hours completely worth it.

having gotten what i came for, i climbed into the waiting bus and sat talking with tina for the next half hour until they drove us back to the hotel. up to my room. tried for a hot shower to warm up, but the hot water still wasn't working. maybe tomorrow. went to bed, very happy.

BROWNCOAT BACKUP BASH - DAY 1

2006-12-08T23:54:00.000-06:00

flanvention II is cancelled. the browncoat backup bash is on.

feeling much better, one of the best mornings I've had in a hotel in a long time - no early morning water-running or door slamming. made it to around 7:30 am when is when I had to get up anyway.

go down to wait in lobby for cooper. talking with people, notice a large clump of people by the starbucks stand. go over, and mark sheppard is being presented gifts and having photos taken with fans. he leaves for a short amount of time to take his goods back to the car, then comes back. cooper is camera ready, and i have my photo taken with badger and present him with a can't take the sky from me wristband, which he promptly puts on and models. mark sheppard is a big damn hero. and yes, that is his real accent.

go to the daily grill which is aptly names and has the menu to support it. 11 am meeting by the california browncoats that lays out the plans as they know it - dealers room in a suite, free day, discounted tickets to the universal park if you want to go do that, bash in the bar at 8 pm, and be ready to head out with good walking shoes and a jacket tomorrow at 9 am.

about to head up to haul stuff to the dealers suite when dave/david (not sure which), husband of denise of booster events shows up. he is not legally representing them, and despite the rumor, he is not part owner ofbe. he said he would take questions back to be. he drove down from oregon that morning because he wanted to see the people that showed up. he was also taking the names of people who showed up as well as phone numbers. don't know if that will lead to anything, but he did try. i stayed around for a bit to hear what he was saying and how he was handling the fans, but the tension and anger was rising.

seeing badger hanging out with the fans and having my pic with him just a little while ago was a delightful surprise and I didn't want to feel the emotions as it slowly got ugly. went to the dealers suite to check it out and claimed a bed. found cooper and dragged stuff over, set up, sold a few things. zrbs has beautiful jewelry and shot glasses. the qmx guy had miranda mini-posters and uncut money sheets. trek plus had photo of the firefly cast I hadn't seen before and I spent a bit of money there - always good to start a con with a debt, ne? out to the black outfitters has a messenger bag I want. i don't particularly like messenger bags, but I want this one. wash-o-saurus had a great selection, lots of fun chinese items as well as her standard gosling kits, bracelets and wristbands. she also really enjoyed the chocolate-covered pecans I brought as a gift which was a joy to see.

then we got shut down by the hotel and had to pack everything up again.

and so it goes.

late lunch in the daily grill (see a theme yet?). cooper tells me about her elevator encounter. no confirmation on the person, although (hopefully with crossed fingers) that will come later this weekend. [UPDATE - man in elevator was tim minear]

did stop to thank corey bridges of multiverse for coming out. firefly will be an online multi-player game. think war craft. i have never been interested in such a thing, but this does have my interest. he was having a very grand time, and was going to extend his flight and see about getting a hotel room. since there had not been any info about a panel, I said if it didn't happen, he could speak from the fan done dealers table, just let me know and we'd get the word out.

got some info about the likely dealers space for tomorrow. back to pack bags up for transporting shiny goods. mark sheppard and brett mathews (script for serenity: those left behind comic) were doing autographs, so I went down for that. cooper followed a bit later, and as it was 1 auto per person, I asked her help in getting a badger auto on a trading card to use in a raffle for fan done at a con for next year. history ahead of me had the idea to have brett sign the "hello my name is" tags that people were using, as neither of us had brought our comics. brilliant idea, and I will stick it on my comic when I get home - assuming I can find a spot with no artwork or copy ...

conversations with various browncoats, meeting new people (laura), online people (jetflair and sue and denise), having a great time for a cancelled convention.

ran into corey again in the lobby. his flight was changed, he had a room, and still only had the clothes he was wearing, in that he had intended to flight out today. he said he was looking for a tshirt. having just met sue a few minutes earlier, I said i'd hook him up with the tshirt ladies. I found dale (unfortunately labeled in my mind as the person who told me flan was cancelled), who said sue had gone upstairs to change for the bash. she was very nice in following me back into the bar so I could point out corey.

dinner in the daily grill. keeping an eye on the phone for final dealers info from carla of the very fine ca bcs. jonathan woodward showed up to much appreciation in the bar a bit later. got the carla call, left the table for details, came back and the food was there. all meals have been excellent, and hopefully people were tipping well as asked by the ca bcs, to which there was a large round of applause. pretty much anything they say gets a large round of applause, and it is richly deserved. the california browncoats are big damn heroes.

then, there was very loud applause and a massive rush toward the bar/front of the restaurant. the captain was on deck. he had a box of goodies that he distributed to the aussies, the uks, to those of good firefly stories, and then random questions. down to "who has not read harry potter?" while holding a copy of the 6th paperback, harry potter and the half-blood prince, saying "this is not special in any way other than it was mine." the end of giveaways was the box, which has been with him through 4 moves, and was happily received. i was among the pressing masses with a flashing camera, although looking at the results, I think there are only 2 that are worth keeping.

he also kept looking over his shoulder. and a little bit after the box give-away he was joined by a scruffy-looking guy in a ball cap who was revealed to be alan tudyk, a cancelled guest of the cancelled flanvention. this also gathered much applause and flashing of camera. alan tudyk is a big damn hero.

and while it sounded like the initial intention was for nathan to walk the bar and restuarant, after a short amount of time, during which I had returned to the dinner table to order desert with cooper, nathan and alan were walking out of the bar. apparantly the hotel needed them to be outside with their massive following.

there was a bit of a crowd at the bar, so I went to see who else was still around. chirstina hendricks was there, looking very lovely. i did a quick scan of the bar, but the ok bc wasn't there. i then headed out to check the lines for alan and nathan. i found him fairly close in the alan line, but it took very little time for him to abandon that position once I told him yosafbridge was in the bar. she was a primary reason for him to get a ticket and drive out here. christina hendricks is a big damn hero.

i went back and finished dessert with cooper, who very kindly stayed and paid the bill while I went out up to the room for a break, to get some give-aways and a bottle of water for nathan. I returned, found kathy browncoat and earthgirl in the lobby and talked to them about the dealer plans for the next morning. a line had formed infront of jonathan woodward where he was graciously signing autographs and having photos taken with the fans. jonathan woodward is a big damn hero.

suddenly cooper is beside me asking if i've had my photo taken yet, and that they were doing groups and I had better hurry. and indeed, in the courtyard on the other side of the far tower, nathan and alan were having photo ops with 8 fans at a time. i got a place in line, and hoped cooper would make it to the front. i was 1 fan away from nathan, and briefly got to touch the back of his arm. yes, this is worth noting. the resulting pics are fun, and decent, given the conditions. and no, he's not reaching out to touch my hair, despite cooper's interpretation - he's high-fiving the guy on the other side of me. :P

nathan had some final give-aways of buffy stuff as well as a brief conversation with a foreign begging bc who had already received a treat.

i truly appreciate these actors giving so generously of their time. i don't like to see them taken advantage of. i can't image what it is like to be surrounded at all times by flashing cameras and demanding people. i don't want to. despite it all, the captain was courteous and his "crazy ideas" made many, many people very happy tonight, including me. nathan fillion is a big damn hero.

back to the lobby, talks with fellow dealers and dealer coordinator. told that the hotel had a 10 pm curfew and that we had to clear the lobby. met dale and sue at the elevator. they hadn't been able to hook up with corey yet. i took a brief look and saw him in the bar. led sue in and made introductions. my work here is done.

back to the room. last minute packing. writing this account, because I don't want to forget the wonderful time i had. and i won't forget the big things, but the details will blur or be re-written over time, and it was worth the half hour it took to write this to save it for my old age.

FLAN II CANCELLED

2006-12-07T23:48:00.000-06:00

So I'm riding down the elevator with CEC on our way to dinner when I hear Flanvention II is cancelled. Shock, pain, hurt at the betrayal, especially given the past few weeks of being jerked around. I was willing to give Booster Events the benefit of many doubts, but to cancelled it the day before, after saying with seeming confidence it would go on - you've burned this Browncoat badly.

Hung out in the lobby listening to the Bedlam Bards, looking over and buying some shiny goods. Was there when Adam Baldwin came in and participated in the applause and sing-a-long. Made it through dinner and watched Adam with the fans. He made this woman from the UK's year with a thorough hug and focused, undivided attention. He is truly a Big Damn Hero in every sense of the word.

He and Nathan Fillion will likely be back on Saturday. Again, BDH in every sense of the words.

So I'm here in Burbank with 500 other Browncoats making our own convention.

Fun will be had.

After the heartache.

Lots of grisly details and conjecture at Whedonesque.com.

Plans and uber-kudoes for the California Browncoats for putting on a convention in less than 1 week/1 day's notice.

And the culprit's website, Booster Events, without forums and any style at all.

"I'm thinking we'll rise again."

CHICAGO

2006-12-04T09:42:00.000-06:00

Brrrr. That's the totality of my thoughts as I have to spend 3 days here for work.

Snow is pretty as long as I'm inside. Long underwear and a working thermostat make it bearable. I'm thankful the winter storms that ripped across the US last week are not making a return appearance, and it was easy enough to get into the city in time for my 10 am meeting. Not that I enjoy getting up at 2 am to catch a plane to a bloody cold place, but when someone else owns your time ...

I consider it "big city research" and am taking notes. I also miss the horizon - looking up and down Michigan Avenue you can see sky, but other than that you'd get a crick in your neck from looking straight up.

Hard Rock Cafe Hotel Chicago is quite the experience, and somewhat wasted on me. No tribute to Yuki Kajiura or Angela anywhere. They are very fond of black, and I have never stayed in a hotel room with that many mirrors, that much crone, and an intimacy kit beside the peanuts and mini-fridge. They obviously know their audience and I am not it. But a company rate is a company rate, and the walk to the office wasn't that bad. Assuming you had long underwear, gloves, a hat, and a long winter coat.

Internal meetings for three days and then I'm home for the night before flying out to Burbank for Flan II - my vacation, my BDH, my table in the dealers room, my reunion with CEC, my high of 77F. Today's high in Chicago is 29F.

Did I mention the long underwear?

NANOWRIMO 2006 - ABORT

2006-11-30T09:37:00.000-06:00

So, my first attempt at NaNoWriMo was aborted about 10 days into the adventure.

My house requires some intense interior foundation work - 15, 12" 9' deep piers. They makes holes for 3 days, go away, come back for 2 days and level the place. And while all this fun takes place in December, the month of November was required to make such a thing possible.

Major boyfriend points for fitting all of my worldly goods and furniture into the garage with room to walk around and house his stuff as well.

I've got a good 20k of stuff, and a complete outline, so the story isn't dead, but it isn't 50k either. I "plan" to get back to it in January, and may even try and WriMo of my own sometime in Q1 2007.

BUD THE BUNNY

2006-10-23T22:56:00.000-05:00

Bud the Bunny, my first children's picture book is now available at lulu.com.

Since Bud didn't fit the requirements for a distribution agreement, you won't find him in brick & morter stores like Border's or Barnes & Noble, or even online sellers like Amazon.com.

Bud the Bunny is exclusively sold through the lulu.com wbesite, and in person, at any event Fan Done attends. Free Bud the Bunny bookmarks to those that get their Bud in person from Fan Done!

So, buy a Bud!

Buy 2 Buds: one to keep, one to give away!

Buy 3 Buds: read one, give one away, keep one until Kirean is world-famous and then sell that first edition on eBay for much money!

NANOWRIMO 2006

2006-10-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

Just signed Kirean up as a NaNoWriMo participant for 2006!

WEBSITE UPDATES

2006-10-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

Fan Done - tweaked layout and nav to make it easier for updates

Lloyd-Quinn Books - pub date for Bud is now October, NanoWriMo counter counting down

Drunk on Writing (Kirean's Blog) - new Bud desktop