I had a long conversation last night with a good friend about people she had been interviewing as a part of her internship. The people are all members/pastors of black churches in the DC area, and some of them have truly inspiring stories. We talked about how reaffirming these stories can be when, like both of us, you’re the kind of person who tends to think that people are selfish and uncaring more often than not.

This morning, I read about John Hughes dying. His movies have always had a special place in my heart, and with all that they are so quintessentially ‘80s, they have a timeless resonance with the teenage experience. Like many others, I find his death is affecting me in ways I couldn’t have predicted of someone I don’t know. Then, I read this blog post about a girl who became pen pals with John Hughes in the ‘80s after The Breakfast Club had meant so much to her. It’s a really beautiful story, and was another example of one of those stories that makes you feel like there is goodness in people all around you. I found it inspiring, and also heartbreaking.

p.s. Check my appropriate crossover icon.

Our new place officially feels like a home now! We just bought a couch and had it delivered today! I didn't even know it was possible to buy a couch and have it in your home within an hour, but apparently so. The couch was a great deal as it was a floor model (our favorite). It's a sectional, with a chaise on one end, and it's PURPLE. Really purple. We had planned on getting a chocolate brown couch, but this one was just so pretty we had to have it. So since we had already painted our living room a very light pink, the room looks a bit like my 7-year-old fantasy room. It's pretty intense. We're going to have to figure out some way to make it less overwhelmingly feminine. I mean, we might as well cover our whole house in Georgia O'Keefe paintings and Indigo Girls posters and have all our shirts say things like, "I'm not a lesbian but my girlfriend is." (I just threw up in my mouth a little, there.)

I have been trying to make a schedule for myself for Azkatraz, and haven't been able to make up my mind about certain times as I'm positive there are things going on that I just don't know about yet. I know I'm going to the movie on Thursday, H/D meetup on Friday, probably Fighting the Slytherin Stereotype and Pacing of Deathly Hallows on Saturday, and the H/D panel and concrit roundtable on Sunday. Who's going to what?? How does one decide where to go and what the potential is for missing other things that are happening?? AHHHHH I'M SO EXCITED AND OVERWHELMED WITH THIS DECISION MAKING.

There is a discussion going on at azkatraz_hpdm about whether or not Draco took the dark mark. This reminded me of one of those little recurring inconsistencies that bugs the hell out of me in fic:

THE DARK MARK WOULD FADE WHEN VOLDEMORT IS KILLED. I mean, am I the only person who remembers GoF, when Snape and Karkaroff were discussing the Mark getting clearer on the skin each day? This clearly shows that the Mark is directly tied to Voldemort's power. Moreover, there's no way all those people who faked Imperius after the first fall of Voldemort could have done so as easily as they did if they had the Dark Mark so clearly on their arm. Lucius Malfoy, anyone?

So while I believe that Draco did take the mark before his sixth year at Hogwarts, I hate the stories all about Draco not being able to wear short sleeves, or his unblemished forearm being a sign that he never took the mark. Either way, I am sure those marks would go away with the defeat of Voldemort. Makes sense anyway, as Voldie would have never used anything as plebian or Muggle as ink, and clearly saw the Mark as his sign of ownership of his followers. The mark is what ties his followers to him, so if they're not tied to him anymore (because he's dead, or even just nearly dead as he was after attempting to kill baby Harry), the mark wouldn't be visible.

That's just my two cents. </rant>

I just got an email telling me I now have tickets to see HBP at Azkatraz! HOORAY! I really didn't think that would happen at all. I guess the change in time has made it less popular...

Life has been insane the past few weeks. Between getting ready for my move (joy!), looking for a place, and many houseguests, I've barely had time to breathe. However, summer hours just started at my work (we get off 2 hours early on Fridays), meaning that I now regularly attend happy hour. Rum + Pineapple juice = WEEKEND.

C and I are going to Austin this week for my neice's graduation. I'm super excited. As much as I love being in the bay area, there's something about going to my hometown that just can't be replaced. We're going to swim and eat Tex Mex and hopefully take the boat out on Lake Austin. I'm also going to exchange the cowboy boots I got for my birthday, so I will post many pictures once I have them. I would have sworn that I would never wear something to Texan, but once I left the state, the nostalgia and kitsch factors went up a few notches.

( And now, some thoughts on my fan practices...Collapse )

First, an update on my roommate sitch:
( July 1, here I come!Collapse )

And how about Maine, huh? That's C's home state, so she was understably really moved when she heard the news. Her childhood best friend's mother is in the ME House of Representatives and called to give her the news personally. She and C talked for nearly an hour, because she was excited to tell her about all the moving things that happened on the floor. I was especially moved by a story she recounted to me about a long-time representative coming out in a speech, and telling the story of his partner who committed suicide a few years ago. Apparently he hadn't planned on coming out, but felt that it was important for the people around him to know that it was personal for him, for someone they knew well. Apparently that really changed the mood of the debate early on.

I also read this quote from Republican representative Sean Flaherty this morning, and thought it was great:

"Madame Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the House,
I was not going to speak today, in fact I actually turned off my light. But then something happened over the course of this debate, I got a few texts messages and e-mails, twitter followers and facebook messages. They were from constituents, from college friends, from supporters, from folks all around the nation are listening in to us today.

Friends, the country is watching us, they are watching to see where a small, proud, and independent State will stand on the issue of equality. And so I wanted to make sure that folks who are watching know exactly where I stand – even if it may cost me reelection. It is more important, that to do what I know is right, than to do what may seem popular.

42 years ago, the Supreme Court found that the right to marry was a constitutionally protected fundamental right when they struck down laws forbidding interracial marriage. It was said then that interracial marriages violated tradition, were morally wrong, and would harm society. But last November, when this country made history and this state overwhelmingly voted for our President, we elected the son of a white mother and a black father who had formed an interracial marriage. Their marriage violated tradition and their marriage was said to be harmful to society. Yet it was their son who grew up to be the president of the United States.

So this country has overcome slavery in the United States, we’ve ensured women the right to vote, and my own great-grandparents, who were Irish, were once prohibited from even apply for many jobs.

Society progresses and makes sure that all people, regardless of their beliefs, must be treated equally. I've heard from so many people in Scarborough who just want to have the equal rights of Marriage for themselves, their friends, their coworkers, and their families. They work hard, play by the rules, pay their taxes, and love this country. I feel strongly about my obligation to vote in favor of granting them such equality."

Did you guys know that Matthew Sheppard's death was actually just a robbery gone wrong? That's what the lovely Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) tells us.

Take a look.

Maybe we'll all get lucky and she'll get "robbed" sometime soon.

Went camping this weekend's for C's bday. We went up to Bodega Bay up on the Sonoma coast, which is where Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds is set. Weekend highlights included a stunning coast with "gale force winds" (which means no kayaking, boo), blue jays that came to eat our butter, hippies who give out free wood from the back of a U-Haul, and stumbling upon a gay enclave in the middle of nowhere CA. I also made some killer sangria full of strawberries and limes.

It was really insane to see a gay enclave in a town with less that 500 residents. It made me even more confused about the passing of Prop 8, since these were the places we expected to find the down-home, middle-America, "God-fearing" residents who supposedly voted for it. We only encountered really friendly, laid-back people here, so I guess they were out of town. We did go through a super tiny town--only 85 residents!--with adorable antique shops, an old renovated train car, and lots of cows grazing. I loved it!

We tried out a new tent for this trip which kept us really warm despite being right on the ocean. It even had a vestibule! I don't think I get nearly enough opportunities to use the word vestibule. We also got a cast iron pan so that C could try out her skills at cooking over the fire. The food was almost as delicious as the sangria. ^_^

( Picspam!Collapse )

You guys, I had the craziest dream last night. I was at some sort of meetup for Azkatraz, and sitting in a big circle of all sorts of LJ people--but everyone looked vaguely like the icon I associate them with! For example, alisanne has those totally crazy, colorful lips, and filmatleven had black wings! It was so funny, I literally woke up laughing. I love when that happens.

I must be getting pretty excited for Azkatraz! Anyone else not get movie tickets? I really want to find another group of people to go see it with since I missed my chance to get tix.

Happy Passover everyone!

Last night I went to the Feminist First Night Seder at my old synagogue Sha'ar Zahav. It was so wonderful! My partner came with me, and it was her first seder. Passover is such an inspiring holiday, and every year I forget how much I enjoy the seder. For those of you who have never been to one, a seder is a ritual telling of the story of the Jews' exodus from Egypt. We eat, sing songs, and go through the story as if it happened to us. The neatest thing about them, to me, is the emphasis on remembering our cultural heritage of overcoming oppression as a way of reminding ourselves of those who are still suffering in the world. During the seder, we invite all who are hungry to come and eat, and we renew our commitment to making sure that we do all we can to make the world a more just place.

The night is structured with the Haggadah, which is basically a prayer book to lead you through the night. There are literally thousands of different Haggadot (plural Haggadah), each with a slightly different way of telling the story and interpreting it for our daily life. For the Feminist seder, there was emphasis on remembering the women whose stories are often forgotten both in Jewish and non-Jewish history, and on the various forms of hardships that women face just for being women. CSZ (the synagogue) is an LGBT congregation, so there was also emphasis on that part of our lives. It was really powerful, and lots of great, quirky people were there. Yay!

Other than that, not much going on in my life. I may be moving in the coming months, but that's still up in the air. More to come on that...

How's everyone else doing?

I've been intermittently sick over the past several days. I hate feeling like this: one minute hot, the next cold, my throat keeps starting to hurt and then getting better, and I'm congested completely for about 2 hours, and then I just have nagging sinus pain. WTF??

Of course it kept me from doing any of the stuff I wanted to for Hogsmeade weekend over at Hogwarts_Elite. Oh, well. I guess there's always next term.

Not much else I can think of to report. Been feeling remarkably boring. I did buy some new books, and I watched the first 3 episodes of Merlin. That is absolutely the slashiest show I've ever seen in my life. Jesus.