Kimmy's Journal

Getting back into the swing of things after Comic*Con

kenderkim — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:31:48 GMT

Whew! Things have been on the very busy side since we got back from Comic Con. Which, I have to say, was pretty darn cool! I still enjoy Dragon*Con the best, as the events take place right at the hotels and there's more fandoms and folks in costume to ogle at! :) But Comic*Con was spiffy all in itself. Joe and I got to see his cousin at the Avatar panel, which was completely full! We were at the back of the room, standing where we could. I had no idea there were that many fans there! Very cool! And the kids in costumes... Oh! How I wish we had brought the camera! It was also cool to get to hang out with Mike and Bryan in a more happy setting than we last saw them. And going out to dinner with the Nickelodeon crew was really fun! And it was such a nice night out to walk around! We definitely need more days/nights like that! :)

Oh! And I also got a chance to meet Mark Evanier! Unfortunately, there was a bit of a line behind me and I had to move along, so I didn't get much of a chance to babble on and on at him... which, uh, is probably a good thing! LOL! I did have him sign my copy of the series bible and synopsis though! He was veeeery surprised to see it! His words were, "Oh, Wow!" and he took a moment to leaf through it. And yes, I did just stand there grinning like and idiot at the creator of my favorite 'toon ever! LOL! Very cool!

I also got to see my friends and author that I only get to see at Cons, as well as help out at her Dark-Hunter booth, which was a blast! It made me think that we ought to try and have a DDC Con again... hmm, I wonder if Conestoga and the fans would be up for that? LOL!

Anyway, since that weekend, I've been working almost every day, as a few folks were out sick, and us being a bare bones skeleton crew as it is. Makes for a good paycheck, but sucks to have to do it and have no time for online fun and seeing the hubbie. Blah. Hopefully, things will get back to what passes for normal soon.

NY Comic*Con!

kenderkim — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:04:54 GMT

Woo Hoo! Everything worked out last minute for us, between both of us getting the weekend off, having my folks watch Ripley (our dog), getting a hotel room for a NYC decent price (though I'm still dry-heaving at what passes for "a decent price" in NYC!) and getting Joe a badge in the nick of time before the prices went up at the door for... NY Comic*Con!

I've seen Comic*Con in San Diego on TV, and have been to Dragon*Con, but have no idea what to expect in NY. Should be an experience! I'll get to check out the panels on Saturday and then on Sunday, I'll also get to help out a terrific author, whose series are being adapted into graphic novels, and friends at an exhibitor's booth. I haven't seen this particular group of friends since October, so I'm really looking forward to this!

I also saw that Mark Evanier would be there as a panel moderator! I wonder just how much D&DC stuff I can get away with having him sign at a comic Convention? *VBG* And there's just loads of other guests that will be there! I'm already overwhelmed... and really should've been in bed two hours ago. D'oh! But that's always how it goes for me the night before I leave for any kind of overnight trip. You'd think I'd be used to it by now.

Anyway, this is just a scattered babble of a post to let you all know I'll be back online on Monday.

Barb- I got your email and Thanks So Much for sending the pics! They were exactly the ones I was hoping for! *jumps up and down and VVVVVBG* Though, I uh, won't be getting those particular pics signed by Mr. Evanier. Though wouldn't ya just pay to see his face! LOL!!! And unless we end up buying a house that depletes our entire savings, Conestoga would be a wonderful trip! :)

Realmlife- I got your email as well and skimmed it over just 'cause I couldn't wait! If you can wait 'til Monday, I'll send you my reactions, thoughts, and any suggestions I might have. I'm a bit all over the place tonight and it deserves a clear head for what I want to say. Heh, even if you can't wait, I'll still send you my reactions. :) Oh, and just to say now, I Love the reason you came up with as to what happened to her! So perfectly reasonable! But more on that on Monday.

Okay, it's off to bed for me and try to snag me some sleep before we leave waaaay to early tomorrow. Hope you all have a fun weekend too! :)

Happy Birthday to Vic!

kenderkim — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:07:37 GMT

Before I head off to bed, let me among the first to wish vicxntric a wonderfully happy birthday chock full of your favorite things! :)

Happy Birthday!

kenderkim — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:59:12 GMT

Before the night ends, I just want to wish realmlife a very Happy Birthday! Hope you had a wonderful day and that your birthday wish comes true! :)

BSG Luv

kenderkim — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:27:14 GMT

I finally got a chance to watch the first ep of BSG 4... God, this show is good! It had me exclaiming out loud at different parts and literally made me yell a heartfelt "Sonovabitch" at the end. I can't tell you how much I love to loathe the words "To Be Continued..." Lol! *sigh* These first eight eps are gonna just fly by, I can tell. *whimper*

Happy Birthday!

kenderkim — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:57:50 GMT

Before I rush off to work, I wanted to wish sharelle a very Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day full of fun, friends, family and of course, cake! *Hugs!* :)

Decisions, decisions

kenderkim — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:36:15 GMT

Oh, the joys of trying to choose the right cell phone plan. Our current cell phone contract with Verizon is finally up and since we've moved, we thought we'd go with a different cell phone company that had better coverage in this area. That, and after dropping my cell phone in the dog's water bowl (D'oh!!) and drowning the backlight to non-existence and the bent wire which gets me really crappy reception... though, that could just be the area we're in, I'm in serious need of a complete working cell phone!

We're strongly thinking of going with AT&T/Cingular, since I could get a signal at work (as the WiFi is with AT&T) instead of having to go outside to check messages while on break (which of course, is at the complete other end of the huge B&N where I work). We can also get coverage up in the hicks where our folks all live, which would be nice instead of having to drive the 20-30 minutes out of the hills to get a signal. But we're doing the compare and contrast thing with all the competitors, trying to see what the best plans are, who has the best deals with new phones, etc... ah, decisions, decisions...

Happy Easter

kenderkim — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:12:08 GMT

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates! Hope you had a nice day with family and got to enjoy the bounty of the easter Bunny! I got to see my side of the family, complete with excited, screaming sugar-shocked nephews who strongly reminded me of a certain ferret on pixie sticks. Whew! Tired me out. They were fun during their Easter Egg Hunt in which I got to play the part of the Hider-of-Eggs. Very cute... in short doses. Lol!

In other news, not so happy, my hubbie and I have to drive down to North Carolina for his uncle Dante's funeral. Ohhh, I am so not looking forward to this! I never really know what to say. I feel so bad for his folks, who were very close to his uncle, and for Dante's wife and kids (who are about our age). And I'm really hoping it doesn't get me all mushy eyed with any left over stuff in dealing with my own Dad's passing. Huh, I can't believe it'll be three years already. *blink* Huh.

Anyway, I'll be back from warm NC sometime Thursday... probably just in time for a snowstorm or something. *rolls eyes* Hope everyone has a nice beginning of their week and I'll talk with ya more later!

Springtime? Is that you???

kenderkim — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:46:17 GMT

I was woken up this morning at the cruel hour of 6:30AM (I usually work a closing shift and so went to bed at 4AM or so) by my poor hubbie getting up for work. As I muttered at him in my usual sleepy sympathy-- he says I giggle at him-- and rolled over to go back to sleep, outside I could make out the low cooing sound of a pair of mourning doves. I've always loved that soft woodsy bird-call of theirs. It reminds me of warm, green spring and summery things. When I got up later this morning, I was in quite a cheerful mood! And then I looked out the window at the drab, blah, gray overcast sky, and at the drab, blah, dirty-beige of the soggy, boggy ground of the flooded backyard from all the rain last night.
Ugh, I really don't care for the March. I'm ready for springtime now!

It's done!

kenderkim — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:24:42 GMT

Yeah! It's done! Finally! Our taxes are done and filed! Oh, sometimes it's hard being such a Master Procrastinator. But with the proper motivation, and finding the rest of the taxes paperwork (which got misplaced for a while when dealing with the townhouse paperwork), and Turbo Tax... we are done. And getting a decent amount of money back too! Woo Hoo! My favorite part! Hmm... what's that? Is that a shiny, new, all-programs-I-want-to-play-with-compatible computer I see in the near distance? *VBG* I betcha it is! And there will be some left over for responsible bill paying and other not much fun stuff.
Not so bad!

And speaking of procrastinating.. I'm trying to be better with that, and with posting here more often. Have ya noticed?! *g* I might not have anything interesting or entertaining to post, but I'll find something to post about, just to keep me in practice. :) So uh, yeah, sorry in advance!

iTunes & D&D

kenderkim — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:09:45 GMT

So for Christmas, my Mom gave all the guys in the family an iTunes gift card. My hubbie hadn't used it until just recently and was kind enough to let me buy some songs too, even though it was his present. Yay! I finally had a chance to go snag all those singles I've heard on the radio that totally got stuck in my head. Yay and Yay again! There's nothing worse than having a song stuck in your head... except maybe for having the song stuck in your head and not knowing the words or having any luck hearing it again!

Anyway, one of the songs I snagged was one I remember having heard this past summer, Pat Monahan's "Her Eyes". I also remember that when I heard it, the song reminded me of the D&D 'toon and could make a possible songfic. And surprise, surprise, it wasn't a Hank & Sheila song! (I know! LOL!)

Now, I confess I don't always agree that Eric & Diana would hook up in the Realm, or later when they got home. I flip flop over it, depending on my mood and what fanfic I've read. But this particular song put me in mind of these two as a couple. I could see it from Eric's POV about Diana after they've left the Realm and been home a while, maybe a year or more, as I could see them a bit older.

Have you heard this song? The video's probably on YouTube if ya haven't. But check out the lyrics!

"Her Eyes" - Pat Monahan

She's not afraid; she just likes to use her night light
When she gets paid, true religion gets it all
If they fit right.

She's a little bit manic, completely organic
Doesn't panic for the most part.

She's old enough to know, and young enough not to say no
To any chance that she gets for home plate tickets to see the Mets.
Like everybody, she's in over her head,
Dreads Feds, Grateful Dead, and doesn't take meds.

She's a Gemini Capricorn
Thinks all men are addicted to porn.
I don't agree with her half the time,
But, damn I'm glad she's mine.

Her eyes, that's where hope lies.
That's where blue skies
Meet the sunrise.
Her eyes, that's where I go
When I go home.

She got the kinda strength that every man wishes he had.
She loved Michael Jackson up until he made Bad.

Tells me that she lives about a hundred lives,
Scares me to death when she thinks and drives,
Says cowboy hats make her look fat,
and I'm so glad she's mine.

Her eyes, that's where hope lies.
That's where blue skies
Meet the sunrise.
Her eyes, that's where I go
When I go home.

She doesn't know the word 'impossible'
Don't care where I've been and doesn't care where we're goin' to.
She takes me as I am, and that ain't easy.
She's beautiful. So beautiful.

And sometimes I think she's truly crazy.
And I love it.

Her eyes, that's where hope lies.
That's where blue skies
Always meet the sunrise.
Her eyes, that's where I go
When I go home.

Her eyes, that's where hope lies.
That's where blue skies
Always meet the sunrise.
Her eyes, that's where I go
When I go home.

She's not afraid
she just likes to use her night light.

Whatcha think? Songfic, yeah? :)

I don't like March

kenderkim — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 00:03:02 GMT

I really dislike the month of March, probably more than any other month, especially here in New England. It's such a cold, drab month after the snow melts and everything is just a murky gray color, or if there is still snow, it's all dirty sludge. Ugh! And oh boy, speaking of which, there's talk of more snow... though I'm hoping for just flurries. I am so ready for warmer weather and not just a teaser day here and there. Oh, for some green vegetation!

So I've also been peeking online at houses for sale and had to laugh at myself as I've been attracted to some houses more than others... and for the most part, it turns out that the pics of houses I like were taken last summer or fall, when the grass was green and the trees had leaves! LOL!

I can't wait for spring. I just want to be warm again!

Getting my life back

kenderkim — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:12:54 GMT

Wow! So I finally feel like I can start to get a bit of my life back... or at least start feeling more like my kenderkin self before we moved to CT. Since we moved, I've been really, really depressed and uninspired to do... well, anything! All that worry about budgets and what to do in what felt like a hopeless situation that felt worse every day that passed.

But now I can try to get past all that since we sold the townhouse! For real! It really, truly happened!!!! I'm still in shock... but I've been smiling. A lot! So it must be real! *VVVVVBG* And we'll be getting a bit more for than we thought after the payoff, which unfortunately, after we put aside the bit we decided on for a down payment on a house here in CT, is already spent. But it will be a nice feeling to be caught up and even on the bills for once!

*relieved sigh*

I even felt a story coming on (well maybe just a scroll *g*) and the urge to actually jot down notes and... dare I say, even think about following it through?!? *blink blink* Naaaaaaaw... maybe?

My New Year feels like it gets to start today! :)

Ah, now if only work would continue to give me more hours like last week and if Darkhaven would just work out all at once and stay that way! More about that later, though. And I know, one thing at a time... but I'm hopeful! Huh, I forgot what that actually felt like. Happy New Year! Lol!

Goings on

kenderkim — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:15:20 GMT

Hi everyone!

Thanks to all who posted with good wishes! It's so nice to be online again. I've really missed being in touch with you. So far, things are going well with the townhouse. We had the inspection done and knocked off a few more thousand dollars off the finagled offer... Ooo, this lady is getting my house for a steal! Kills me! It absolutely kills me! But reality is a harsh mistress and I know we just have to get rid of the townhouse for whatever we can get. Ugh. But if things on her end get approved and whatnot, then we should be closing next weekend, a full week earlier than first discussed. Yayyy!

As far as Darkhaven goes, it looks like my webserver host no longer exists. Crap. As in Crappity Crap Crap! So I need to look yet again for a new host server. Though I think as a present to myself, and to fans of the site, I might look into getting my own domain name so that I won't have to worry about changing the URL every time I need to switch servers. Wouldn't that be nice? Though it wouldn't happen until March. I did peek into Darkhaven as a domain and its name availability, but it looks like most .whatevers are taken. (.com, .net, .org, .info, etc.) Might have to add a bit onto the name. Ahhh, but what? Darkhaven-fic? Darkhaven-BookSanctuary? Kimmys-Darkhaven? Ahh, decisions, decisions. If anyone knows a good domain or webhost server deal, I'm all ears! *G*

What else... oh, the pretty, shiny, glitter of working at a bookstore surrounded by tons of great stories has been worn off by the overwhelming mass of rich rude customers. It's amazing to me that the more wealthy someone seems to be, the less basic manners they seen to have. Makes me shake my head. The good thing is that I won't have to deal with those customers so much starting next week. The bad thing with that is because that's due to the lack of hours I'll be getting. Apparently the new store isn't do as well as predicted, so everyone's hours were drastically cut. *sigh* We'll see how long this goes on for before I need to start looking for a second or different job.

But to end this post on a more positive sounding note... I'll be brave and give a cheer! We have a closing date! We have a closing date! Yaaaay! :)

The Cable is back on, the Townhouse, and Darkhaven

kenderkim — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:44:54 GMT

Hey there! We had the cable turned back on today! Woo Hoo! We now have TV, Computer access, and telephone service again (well, once we get a new battery for the phone to work anyway). In order to avoid any foreclosure paperwork being started we needed to make some drastic budget cuts where ever we could to get the money up to pay enough to avoid that. Ugh. Stupid townhouse. The good news is that someone has made an offer and if all goes well, and the house isn't falling apart in sneaky ways we don't yet know about having not lived there for over a year, and this lady's mortgage is approved... *blink* we might be able to start our lives over like we originally planned. Huh. Doesn't seem real yet. The closing date is set for the end of the month. I'm too afraid to even cross one set of fingers. *g*

I also just found out that my mass email (letting you know about the cable loss for a bit) that I sent out to most of you never made it out. My sister was included and she said she never got it. The many evils of my Mom's dial-up modem strike again! Sorry about that guys. I hope to be in touch more often now, as my New Year will start on March 1st and that was my resolution. :)

In other news, having peeked at my overloaded email boxes, I found out that my subscription to Freespaces (my website host provider) has been canceled. And in trying to contact them about it, I found that their whole site is down, which means Darkhaven is down once again. Arrrrgh! I seriously hope it's just a fluke or maintenance thingy 'cause I really liked their service. If they were going down for good, wouldn't they have sent an email saying so... or would that be too much courtesy? Ugh. So I'll give it the rest of this week to see if they come back online, and if not, it's back to looking for a new service. I swear my poor website's URL has changed as many times as the Gang have had to destroy a chance and portal home.

Next month will be better. I hope.

As for now, it's off to work with me. I'll be in touch here and in emails the rest of this week catching up. Hope everyone's week is going well! *Hugs*

It's what day??? and other semi-bad stuff

kenderkim — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:57:39 GMT

How in the world did it get to be just five days until Christmas?!? I have to figure out presents still for the family, nevermind go out and find the time to actually buy them! That's the problem with working all these extra holiday hours... there's no time left for anything else, or if there is, being on my feet all day dealing with panicked and stressed out customers zaps all the energy and motivation out of me. Heh, I think the Xmas deadline is going to be fine motivation this weekend! Eeks!

All the holiday hours will translate into decent paychecks though, which we are in dire need of. The last two deals (made with the same investor) to deal with the townhouse fell through, so instead of having the mortgage we couldn't pay for the last few months taken care of for us, we now are facing foreclosure. Let me tell ya, getting the notice of foreclosure forms in the mail does not make for a Holly Jolly Christmas. :P But Joe is getting his Christmas work bonus *thank goodness!!!* which will bring us up to dates with the payments and his job said they could help put us in contact with a Disney real estate agent who will help us sell the townhouse. So, we're hoping all this stress we're dealing with will be gone with the townhouse by springtime. *crosses fingers* We just have to make it by until then.

Funny enough, the no deal and foreclosure scare is stressful and sucks but I'm not in a panic yet over it all. I am about to have a major panic attack though if I think too hard about the possibility of my computer having eaten my entire website. After updating it, the computer froze solid, and after rebooting when I tried to reopen my website program... it was gone. Just wiped clean as if no website had ever been created on it. Blank. So instead of dealing with this dilemma with all the different emotions I felt bubbling forth, I turned the computer off and have been coasting through the rest of the week in a nice safe state of pure denial. I think I may stay this way until the New Year comes around and then try booting the computer up again then. If it's still gone, at least I can recreate it as I have all the files and individual pieces of the site... it'll just be a bitch to put back together though. I'm really hoping it won't come to that! Ugh!

At least it didn't snow again today! That's something good. And I attempted to make a pumpkin cheesecake today. It's now cooling and setting in the fridge overnight. It'll be fun to see how it comes out!

Day off and Ugh

kenderkim — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 06:56:02 GMT

I finally get a day off and what do I do... everything that got put off while I've been working the more busy holiday hours. Got lots accomplished though! Did all the laundry, finished up the dishes, cleaned the bathroom, baked a loaf of pumpkin bread for breakfast tomorrow, and successfully procrastinated doing any vacuuming whatsoever! I've caught up with the fun at Helix with Sealgirl's '07 DDCC and got things set up to put a bunch of new fics up at Darkhaven on my next day off this Tuesday. I still need to catch up with emails, as Joe needed the computer again for a last minute extra bit this past week, so my apologies for those who are waiting on me.

We had our first big snowfall the other day. Got 10 inches dumped on us and of course, there's a parking ban while I'm at work, so I ended up parking in an empty lot three and 1/2 blocks away from work. Dang if the wind doesn't make that a brutal walk! Ugh! I hate winter! Yuh, so after the weather pukes up, we finally get the word to close the store early and get to go home. I get to the lot where my car is parked and no snow plow bothered to make any headway in the lot.

Ten inches of snow totally goes over my sneakers and eventually in them. Ugh! And of course, my little car is the one the wind decided to pack a drift against on the drivers side. Ugh arrgh! So, I get the door open, get the car heated and brushed and scraped off the snow and ice and get inside... only to move less than four feet and get stuck. With no shovel. Have you ever tried to free your tires of snow and ice with a combination ice scraper and overlarge eyebrow brush? It doesn't work so very well, let me tell you. Long story short, it took over two hours to get my car unstuck several times enough to gee out of that lot. Ugh.

And now that the storm has passed over and into the Atlantic... oh wait! The Atlantic thought the weather was playing a game of volleyball and decided to spike the snowstorm back onto us via a Nor'easter! Oh joy. Oh rapture. Ugh.

I really hate winter.

And it's only the beginning. *sigh*

I'd better just suck it up and deal else my whole LJ is gonna be filled with this same rant. It's probably old already, huh? *g* And at least we have power unlike a lot of poor folks, so I'll keep my carping down to a minimum... but I still hate winter.

Ugh.

Catching up and colds

kenderkim — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:22:14 GMT

Why is it when bad luck strikes, it always seems to strike in streaks? Maybe it's that misery loving company thing? Eh... I could do without thanks. So after my car up and died and we managed to get me a new used car, Joe's car decided that, being a Florida car, it wasn't going to deal with winter anymore and so up and died. Well, wouldn't work to the point that it was less expensive to get a new car instead of trying to fix this one anyway. So we pooled the very last of our meager finances together and got a new car, which has done wonders for us in getting us both to work on time, but has me wondering how in the world we're gonna be able to afford the higher car payments, along with all the other bills. Ugh.

I think "Ugh" sums up my mood concerning winter too. If you haven't guessed, or heard me grouse yet, I hate winter. I detest being cold. And catching colds as a consequence. And blowing my nose forever. And having to put on layer upon layers of clothes in attempt to keep warm. And having to walk the dog in the cold. And why is it that the dog doesn't seem to feel it even when the wind is whipping her ears away from her head?!? So not fair! And don't get me started on snow and ice and having to shovel the stuff off the walkway and the car, nevermind having to drive in it! Ugh!

We had our first storm of the season this past weekend and instead of the predicted snow and mix, we got sheer ice dumped on us. Oh joy. It makes the world very picturesque, but what a hassle to deal with! And it's only the beginning. :( Pass the Nyquil and Sudafed!

It's nice to be back online now that Joe has finished his work project with the laptop. It'll be even nicer when we finally sell the frakkin' townhouse and can afford to get the other computer working up to speed again. So if you haven't gotten an email response from me lately, they will be coming soon! I have managed to update Darkhaven (yay me!) and can't wait to start hitting Helix for Sealgirl's '07 DDCC and check out everyone's submissions all month! How cool is that! :)

Work at Barnes & Noble has been interesting so far! Since the official opening to the public last month, it seems the entire community has been by to check it out and given me the chance to be placed at almost all the sections at work except for the cafe and music dept., which is fine with me. I haven't decided if I have a favorite work duty between Cashier, Customer Service, and the Children's Dept. All have their pros and cons, but I don't dislike anything yet, so all is going well! Though it is difficult to not browse through really interesting looking books while on the job. ;) The only crappy thing is that there isn't any free parking close by. Only the parking garages, which if you want to park there, can really add up during the week to make it so not worth it. Free parking is a few blocks away, and in the winter with the wind doing it's best to whip your face off, makes it totally suck! And while sucks it does, that's really the worst part of my job so far. Here's hoping the novelty takes its sweet time to wear off! :)

Happy Halloween!

kenderkim — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 20:31:57 GMT

Hey everyone!

I'm back from a wonderful time down in New Orleans... from which I wasn't nearly ready to come back, especially with the gorgeous weather down there and the Halloween parties about to start. Ah well. I'm still exhausted! LOL! It's a lot of work cramming in that much fun, food, and sight-seeing in such a short amount of time. I'll post all about my trip later this week once I catch up with all the RL crap I happily left behind for a bit. *g* Oh, and that goes for catching up with emails as well... I'll do that tomorrow most likely. I was able to update Darkhaven today, though, so at least I accomplished something on my Gotta-Remember-To-Do-That List by the deadline I set for myself. Yay!

I hope everyone has fun tonight in their own way of celebrating, should you do so, and I will catch up with you soon! Now, off to carve my itty-bitty Jack-o-lantern and get ready for the Trick-or-Treaters. I love this night! :)

Be Back Soon!

kenderkim — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:52:07 GMT

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to apologize for not being around as much as I would have liked. Between the job and planning the trip, and helping plan events at the Con/Halloween Ball I'll be at, and organizing dinner out for 43 people (a first for me!)... and trying to get definite responses back from 43 people... ungh... I's a tired kenderkin... or I guess that would be a tired Kimmy-Simi. *g* I can't believe how much I still have to do... never mind pack! Oh God! I have to pack! I knew I was forgetting something! *g* It never ceases to amaze me though, how much goes into getting me anywhere for any length of time! How is it that everything I want to wear is in the laundry? Why am I suddenly incapable of choosing a pair of shoes to wear for the weekend and think I need at least three pairs? And I think I'm going to be able to fit it all into that little suitcase! LOL! I crack myself up.

Anyway, I will be back online probably Tuesday evening and have an update for Darkhaven in time for Halloween! Hope you all have a nice rest of your week and have fun with any and all Halloween parties and preparations! :)

The Kimmy-Simi! Lol!

kenderkim — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 06:44:52 GMT

I don't know how many of you know this yet, but I dabble in another fandom, that of the world of the Dark-Hunters based on a book series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. (Fear not, D&DC is forever!) It's a pretty fun series that takes the vampire myth (as well as weres) and gives it a twist into greek mythology with a bunch of romance and action/adventure along with some smooth and easy dialogue. Very enjoyable and the author is the nicest lady EVER! I mean she is so down to earth and sincerely likes her readers. That she can remember names of readers she's met several Cons ago never ceases to amaze me.

Speaking of Cons, I usually get to ~~stalk~~ see her at Dragon*Con where I usually dress up one day as one of her characters, a goth Charonte demon girl named Simi. When I first encountered Simi in this book series, I LOL and thought, "OMG, she's Kimmy Kenderkin on crack!" For those who have come across the kenderkin in an adventure or two... How fun is that? I know it's not right in so many ways, but how fun! *g* Anyway, Sherri asked me to go as Simi to the Anne Rice Vampire Ball! *VVVVVBG* Me! *VVVVVBG* I am such a geek. But I's going to New Orleans the weekend before Halloween! Thank God I have a job that'll bring in more hours and money come November to pay off the credit card!

So, I have an outfit... mostly. I know what to wear, I have the cute hornays and the demon wings... I just need a goth style wig that's black with some red streaks in it. I've seen a bunch of cheap wigs that will do, but the cheap ones get matted up like a rats nest and look really bad after a few hours wear. So I saw this spiffy wig that had cute dread-lock ponytails that will do the trick rather nicely, only the only one I've managed to find is a different color than the black and red I need.

Does anyone know if you can dye a fake-hair wig, and if so, how the best way to do it is and with what? Can you dye doll's hair? If so, I would think you could dye a wig... couldn't you? Or is this like doing a website where the idea certainly seems easy enough except there's all these rules and codes and stuff that make it beyond difficult? *g*
If ya have a clue about this, give me a shout! :)

And I promise I will be caught up on emails by Wednesday if you haven't heard from me yet! Hope you're all having a nice weekend!

Bookseller job rambling

kenderkim — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 19:47:06 GMT

I can't believe October is here already! A few more weeks 'til Halloween! The leaves are already changing colors into the golds and fiery reds... so pretty! It almost makes up with having to deal with winter... but I won't think about that until November and all the pretty leaves are on the ground. Until, I'll cast my thoughts on when I get to go apple picking, pumpkin choosing, and what I'll wear this year for Halloween! :)

All the training for the new job as a bookseller at Barnes & Noble has been keeping me busy! That and everything I do keeps me constantly on my feet. I really need to go get some decent shoes. It's too bad for me that sneakers aren't allowed. *rolls eyes at casual business attire* That and having to drive through the city traffic to get to the training store has me pretty much beat by the time I get home. But so far, things are going well. I'm learning all the little tricks to run the register and how to handle every transaction situation as they arise. Luckily all the customers have been pretty patient with us trainees. And if not... heh, after dealing with Starbucks customers and Disney tourists... bring'em on. LOL! I can make that transaction last a veeery long time and keep that sarcastically sympathetic smile on my face all the while. But hopefully I won't have to resort to that experience anytime too soon.

The job's been fairly interesting too with seeing how a large corporate bookstore runs things, at least from what I've seen so far. And it's been kind of fun working at the Customer Service/Info desk and helping folks look for books with the computer. That and looking for books I'm interested in on the computer when it's slow. I haven't had the chance to work at a busy time yet, and there's so many of us training, it's almost comical trying to find something to do. We've been rotating in dealing with customers so we all have something to do. Guess I should enjoy it while it lasts, because once the store I will be working at is open, I'll be plenty busy enough. Last I heard, the store will be open to the public on Nov.17th... just in time for Christmas shopping. Oh boy. But I'll appreciate the short drive across town instead of the one I'm making now.

But that's where I've been and what's kept me busy since Darkhaven went up! Now I get to go finish catching up with LJ and all the emails I let amass in my various accounts. So if you haven't heard from me lately, that'd be why. Talk with ya soon! :)

Darkhaven and new job

kenderkim — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:41:11 GMT

Well, I finally figured out the website snafu and why some pages wouldn't load the new content no matter how many times I attempted to upload. It was a nice combo of half stupid computer and half stupid human stuff. So simple when I was able to see the problem. But now Darkhaven's Dungeon and Darkside Gallery look as nice as the rest of the site! WooHOO! And I've already gotten requests for hosting new stories that are being written. That's just cool! :)

Though I do wonder if anyone has, or knows of, a site that hosts fics and fun stuff with "New Young Ones"? Darkhaven is really for fics (and related fanart) based on the 'toon and the original Young Ones, and I hate to turn anyone's stories away without offering an alternative that would better suit their fics/fanart.

In other news, I started my new job as a bookseller for Barnes & Noble three weeks earlier than I expected to. Well, the training for it anyway. Once I learn all I need to, I've already got my sights on the Lead position, as that's what I have experience in, just with past jobs. I have to prove to them that I can apply that experience to bookselling first. *rolls eyes at corporate technicalities* And once I have this bookstore experience down to a tee, I'll then be all the more prepared to open my own little bookstore/coffee shop like I've always wanted since I was thirteen.

Hmm... think the world could handle a real but smaller scale version of Darkhaven? *G*
It'd definitely depend on the town so I didn't get run out for running a satanic bookshop. Lol! I can see it now... "No! No! It's not a shop that sells satanic porn! You, um, you're pronouncing the name wrong! Yeah, that's it! It's not Darkhaven... it's uh, Darkhaven! See? Nothing darksome about it at all! Um... don't look in the Dunge...uh, basement though, okay?"

LOL! Ohhh, the coffee so hasn't kicked in yet. Well, I better go get ready and head off to more training. I just hope I'm not being too much of a moron/bonehead. I used to loathe training at Starbucks. *g* At least it's just not me training. An entire store's worth of people are being trained for the new store that opens Nov. 1st, so I know there will be a few people more eye-rolling worthy than myself. Here's hoping anyway! :)

Darkhaven's Doors Are Now Open!

kenderkim — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:20:04 GMT

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to share the news that Darkhaven is finally, and officially open again! *throws confetti* Yaaaayyy!!
I hope everyone enjoys all the wonderful fics and fanart and maybe you'll find yourself inspired as well! Happy reading! :)

The link is on my LJ, but just in case: http://darkhaven.freespaces.com

PS- Of course, I've run into last minute never-before-seen computer snafus. *rolls eyes* The Dungeon's link, should you be one of those looking for it, is acting up, so hopefully you'll be able to get in without too much trouble. I'm hoping to have things cleared up sometime tomorrow when I figure out why the computer is doing what it's doing now and hasn't ever before. *shakes head* Computers...

Good Days and Sad Days

kenderkim — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:37:18 GMT

Playing a bit of catch up after our trip to Dragon*Con. It was great and I'll post more about it (and maybe some pics too) when I'm in more of the right mood for it.

After we got back, our cat, Pugsley took a turn for the worse. I mentioned about him being sick in an earlier post this year. The cancer became suddenly very aggressive and caught up to him, so this past Monday, the 10th the vet recommended to Joe's folks (Pugs and his sis have been staying at their big farm house) that he be put to sleep before he had to suffer unnecessarily. So the decision was made, the deed was done, and Joe broke the news to me after I got home from a long, rainy drive from my Aunt's house. Even though I didn't know until afterward, I still feel so guilty that I wasn't there to rub his ears and say goodbye. *sniffle*

My poor, cute, cute kit'en.

It's been a few days and I'm still devastated. :(

Joe's Mom was broken up about it, too. The day after, she went to get his remains and buried him in a special spot in her front garden and made a little headstone for Pugs. Aw. Joe and I are going to head back up this weekend and add a plant of some undecided type to watch over him. Might seem silly to some to do that for a cat, but it helps us cope with the loss of a special (and vocal!) personality that's been with us for the last 11 years.

He was such a great cat. Sweet temperament, never used his claws on us... just soft kitten toes, complete attention hog that he'd purr if you just looked at him right, purred so loud he'd wake Joe up in the morning, purred at the vet's 'cause they looked at him, and a complete and total goober who made me laugh at least once every day. *sad sigh* He really was such a great cat.

Aw, my poor cute, cute kitten. *sniffle sob sniff*

My next post will probably concern Darkhaven though, as its Grand Re-opening is just a few days away. Got a bit more to do to keep me busy before the doors open again though.