Navigating Adulthood

just checking in

2011-07-30T05:32:12Z

Still alive. The Pacific Northwest is gorgeous. More about the job once the new guest bedroom isn't full of books and detritus.

Read Ghost Story, which I really liked.

I am a manta ray...

2011-07-14T14:42:33Z

Here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Orientation for the new job happens tomorrow.

I am a mountaineer In the hills and highlands

2011-07-01T16:48:42Z

So, moving.

The company that I'll be working for is paying for relocation, including professional movers and everything. Which is great, except for the part where I talk to a "relocation consultant" and they take care of everything for me. To be fair, my consultant has been wonderful and timely in responding to emails and all that, but it took two whole weeks to arrange for/confirm movers. Two weeks, out of the four we have before leaving. And the movers can't come until the week of my start date. So our plans to roadtrip up to Seattle are bust.

But on the other hand this means I don't have to worry about driving to Seattle.

I'm sure once the movers come to move us and all, I'll be like "Oh thank God someone else is taking care of this", but right now I'm just like "... can't I call people and arrange for things instead of having you call me, then tell me you're passing the task off to a 'move specialist' who will then call the movers"? It's like the wedding cake all over again. Doing it myself sounds like a good idea, but then when push comes to shove I'll be glad someone else is doing it.

But the point here is we finally have a move date. The movers are coming to pack on July 11, and I'm heading out on the 12th while Alex comes out on the 13th (he has to supervise the movers on the 12th, I need to be there before the 13th for paperwork).

And this seems a good time as any to change my LJ theme.

Just about two years...

2011-06-10T03:44:54Z

And it's official. We're moving to Seattle.

I start the new job in Everett on July 15th.

For something that I've been wanting for so long, there are surprisingly few words for how I feel now that the search is finally over.

Weren't vacation slideshows passe in the 80s?

2011-05-12T20:52:11Z

Brief history: Due to some timeshare scam my in-laws got roped into years and years ago, they had accrued a ridiculous amount of vacation points that were about to expire. So they used them to book a three week trip to Cabo San Lucas for themselves, and invited us to join them for a week. Their treat.

And, being not idiots, we accepted.

So last Saturday, 4:30 AM, we were at the airport to fly to Mexico City, then from Mexico City to Cabo San Lucas.

The view from our hotel balcony was gorgeous:

But as gorgeous as it is, we were repeatedly warned by guidebooks and hotel staff to not try to swim in the water too much, because there are very steep drop offs, undertows, sharp rocks, etc, in the water. Basically it was a "do not go swimming here, you will die" sort of thing. So we mostly stayed on the beach. Also, for the geographically curious, this was the Sea of Cortez/Gulf of California. The other side is the Pacific. And deadlier.

Still the Sea of Cortez. And that rock on the far left is the very farthest edge of the Baja Peninsula. But isn't that water gorgeous.

This is Cabo's money shot, the natural stone arch at the edge of the Baja Peninsula. Every tour we did on the water came over here.

This boat tour is touristy as hell, but I kind of love being able to see a pirate ship on the water. (no we never took the pirate tour)

Gorgeous sunset. Also, main lesson from Cabo? I get sea sick. (secondary lesson: tequila tastes like ass)

We also rode horses along the beach one day. Yes, the arch is in the background again. Yes my horse is short. It was also speedy at at one point I thought I might die because it was galloping and decided to veer off in a different direction. I am also still sore even though it's been a week. Stupid horse.

There were also a zillion peddlers selling souvenirs on the beach. Seriously, could not walk twenty steps along the beach without someone trying to sell me silver jewelry or telavera tiles. (Yes I did buy silver bracelets from the peddlers and the street markets. What, I was in Mexico!)

And lastly, my favourite photo from Cabo. It's a little too artsy to be borne, but I like the way the water splashes over my footprints.

Killing time

2011-05-12T19:17:29Z

Back from Cabo, lots of news and pictures, but am still sorting through the latter. Until I get that done though, have a meme courtesy of cornerofmadness .

Comment and I will comment back with a picture of the fictional character that most reminds me of you. Then post the same in your journal.

Not that I post on a regular basis anyway...

2011-04-29T19:09:02Z

Skipping town for Cabo San Lucas tomorrow.

Back in a week, with pictures.

Twisty brains

2011-04-23T06:30:16Z

Nothing cheers me up quite like killing off characters.

Got linked to a death meme and decided to throw Thomas and Lara into it. Then got linked to a fluff meme and realized I got nothin' for writing my characters doing happy fluffy stuff.

Good meme though. I like angst.

Adventures with a GBF 3

2011-04-18T17:16:19Z

Dear GBF,

Fine. You think our public education system is bad and should be done away with and replaced with a completely private system for better, more comprehensive education at higher cost. It's your prerogative to think so.

So... why exactly are you attending a public university on government sponsored financial aid, and going on and on about how great of an environment and how affordable it is?

Interview is go

2011-04-07T01:42:51Z

Just got an itinerary confirmed. Flying out on Wednesday afternoon to Seattle, coming home Thursday afternoon after the interview that morning.

Doesn't give me much time to see Seattle, but that might be enough to have dinner and maybe hit up the original Starbucks.

ack

2011-04-05T16:48:16Z

Think I just got an interview in Seattle.

*cue tentative hyperventilating squeeing*

Adventures with a GBF 2

2011-03-17T02:25:10Z

Dear GBF,

You may want to invest in a dictionary, because these words that you are using do not mean what you think they mean.

Thx, me

It's always weed o'clock somewhere...

2011-03-10T07:50:44Z

Dear downstairs neighbor who smokes a lot of weed because we smell it every time we walk by to get to the parking lot and because it has been going up the vents and into our bathroom,

IT HAS BEEN WEED O'CLOCK FOR FOUR HOURS NOW. HOW ARE YOU NOT OUT OF WEED YET.

No love,
Me

Your rage is like tasty candy.

2011-03-07T06:54:04Z

I LOVE MY GAME.

secondcityrpg and everyone in it, I love you all for being such amazing sports and letting me do terrible things to your characters.

This kidnapping plot is the best thing ever. And there's still Two Harrys and a Deadpool to go.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to deal with Lara being terrifying again.

Things that rock

2011-03-03T21:26:25Z

A month and three dentist visits later, I am finally done with this root canal.

Hell fuck yeah.

And in celebration, I am making a short list of things that make me happy:
* The AU on the side that's developed between Lara and Dean on dear_mun amuses/freaks me out SO MUCH. love it.
* This kidnapping plot is coming together.
* Did not actually need a crown on the tooth that's just had the root canal. Whoooooooo. (Note: Why does dental work cost so much)
* Burritos for dinner.
* Castle the past two weeks has been truly fantastic. I kind of love that they tackled the whole "No, seriously, there are terrorists who aren't Middle Eastern" thing. It's not going to change the way the media/gov't approaches it, but maybe it'll ping the collective TV watching consciousness that hey maybe the way we've been dealing with ~terrorism~ is really really shit.

There's still a couple of things that suck, but you know I can deal with them. I know when to put on the big girl panties.

Oh, and for anyone on my friends list who may have missed it: Ghost Story excerpt.

Meme: 30 Days of Awesome Women

2011-02-25T05:17:20Z

Having a bit of a Lara day. So... meme time.

Day Eight: Favourite Female Character In a Comedy ~~Show~~ Canon

Snow White - Jim Hines'Princess series

This one was a hard one, since I simply tend not to like comedies. But Jim Hines' Princess series charmed me a lot, and I can't help but like Snow White in it.

In this series, Snow is a burgeoning sorceress, who killed her stepmother after her stepmother killed the Woodsman (who was Snow's lover after he fell in love with her and couldn't cut out her heart). She also has the power to call on seven "dwarves", in actuality elemental spirits, to do her bidding. The price of calling these up is, of course, seven years of her life (one per dwarf and they're a packaged deal).

I like Snow because despite the suffering she's gone through, she is still essentially very young, and because of the limitations on her life, lives it to te fullest every day in every way. But she's still vain despite having the courage to sacrifice herself for her friends, she is still worried about the legacy of her mother. In a Charlie's Angels take/girl power comedy series, it's really easy for the characters to simply be a stereotype, The Violent One, The Slutty One, The Smart One, etc. And while the girls of the Princess series do fit those stereotypes superficially, they also have other facets, and I really like how Snow's darker cruel side keeps peeping up through the comedic Slutty One facade.

Day One: Favorite lead female character
Day Two: Favorite supporting female character
Day Three: Favorite female character in a canon you gave up on
Day Four: A female character you relate to
Day Five: Favorite female character on a male-driven show
Day Six: Favorite female-driven show 
Day Seven: A female character that needs more screen time
Day Eight: Favorite female character in a comedy show
Day Nine: Favorite female character in a drama show
Day Ten: Favorite female character in a scifi/supernatural show
Day Eleven: Favorite female character in a children’s show
Day Twelve: Favorite female character in a movie
Day Thirteen: Favorite female character in a book
Day Fourteen: Favorite older female character
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc
Day Sixteen: Favorite mother character
Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Thre: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine:  A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you’d like!

Meme: 30 Days of Awesome Women - The Catch Up Edition

2011-02-23T21:51:47Z

I'm three days behind, so no ramblings just women.

Day Five: Favourite Female Character in a Male-Driven Show

Allison Cameron - House

I know, I know, it's a weird choice. Everyone on House is so unhealthy and so utterly unstable, but I like Cameron. She's the one member of House's team he never managed to play/bully completely, especially in the end where she leaves. She did have a thing for him (see the so unhealthy part of the program), but her heart is almost always in the right place.

Day Six: Favourite Female Driven ~~Show~~ Canon

The Babysitters Club - Ann M Martin

artemisrae has already explained this far better than I could.

Day Seven: A Female Character That Needs More Screentime

Justine - The Dresden Files

Okay, admit it, who's amazed that the first Dresden female I picked isn't either Murphy or Lara?

The more I think about it, the more I find myself really interested in Justine's character. In "Even Hand," we saw how capable she is (hinted at already in White Night), but it was in Turn Coat where we see just how much she knew about Thomas, how deep he took her into his confidence.

And, you know, there's the whole idea that despite knowing all that, she still loves him and she still stays for him. It's one thing to stay with someone you don't know is a monster, but how much more courage and effort does it take to walk willingly in? Not to mention all the little hints we've gotten that Justine might be more than just Thomas' girlfriend, that she's somehow Special enough for all the vampire courts to be after her.

More please.

Meme: 30 Days of Awesome Women

2011-02-21T05:14:20Z

Day Four: A Female Character You Relate To

Winry Rockbell - Fullmetal Alchemist

Hm... where do I even start? Smart, self-sufficient, no-nonsense girl engineer who has to deal with a loud, blond, one-armed boy. Even though I've grown cold in the FMA fandom, I still love Winry. She is basically everything I am/want to be, but with an added layer of innocence and naivete.

For those just joining our program, Winry Rockbell is a crack automail engineer from the small town of Rizembool (spelling will vary), who spends a lot of time taking care of her best friend/best customer Edward Elric, a loud, brash blond who thinks he knows what's best for everyone. From Winry's stormy (sometimes violent) relationship to Ed to her love of everything gadgety, I relate to her. I mean, I drool over Tony Stark's toys in Iron Man, not a half-naked Robert Downey Jr.

I may not have had the tragic past Winry's had, but I understand the drive to know more, to do more, to make something. There's a very real, very intoxicating sense of accomplishment that comes from building something real, and knowing that it works. Every time I see Winry working on automail in FMA, I smile, because I know what it's like. And I love her relationship with Ed. The tension of friends growing into something more, of growing up and leaving home... I could really go on and on about how much I relate to winry, and it would sound completely unhealthy, so I'll stop.

What has always bothered me about Winry was her reception by the fandom. I mean, she is a young woman who is smart and savvy and manages to make a life for herself. She goes to Rush Valley to learn and to become a better engineer for her friends. That takes a lot of guts, and a lot of determination. But so much of fandom boiled her down to a loud, wrench throwing shrew.

Meme: 30 Days of Awesome Women

2011-02-20T07:16:48Z

Kinda sleepy, so a short incoherent rambling this time.

Day Three: Favourite Female Character From A Canon You Gave Up On

Moiraine Damodred - Wheel of Time

I don't think there's anyone I know who wasn't at one point into Wheel of Time. And, in general, all the women in the books are terrible. But I've always like Moiraine, even more so after I read New Spring. As a very young adult, she becomes aware of two very terrifying prospects: 1) that the person who will destroy and remake the world has been born, 2) that the ~~Bene Gesserit~~ Aes Sedai (The Witchy Sisterhood) wants to put her on a throne she does not want. And Moiraine knows that there is an easy/safe choice, and there is a right choice, and without hesitation, she chooses the right one, knowing it will be hard and difficult and likely as not lead to her death.

Unlike my Day 1 and Day 2 picks, Moiraine does not have the most healthy relationships with those around her, but then, I don't think anyone in Wheel of Time has any healthy relationships. But she does have drive, and an unshakeable need to do what is right. And in the process of doing what is right, she manages to save a few people and make a difference in their lives.

And at the end of the day, isn't that all any of us can really do?

Meme: 30 Days of Awesome Women

2011-02-18T22:29:04Z

Day Two: Favourite Supporting Female Character

Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres - Star Trek Voyager

I was actually kind of torn between throwing B'Elanna up now or waiting until one of the later days for her, but given that this character was one of the (indirect) reasons I went off to study engineering in college, the sooner I showed my appreciation the better. Star Trek: Voyager had its faults, but despite them they had a great pair of female role models: Janeway and Torres. Both the Captain and the Chief of Engineering were confident women who were good at their jobs. B'Elanna had an entire engineering staff under her command, some of whom resented her for being Maquis/Klingon/a woman, but she rolled with it. She commanded respect, proved herself, and only twice did she have to punch anyone to remind them of it.

Not only that, but B'Elanna managed to balance that sharp intelligent capability with soul, with people skills. She was friends with Harry Kim, she remained friends with Chakotay. She wasn't a socially incapable engineering savant. She was wonderfully, refreshingly human. She had friends, she had troubles, and oh god did she have parent issues.

I still think she and Tom Paris are one of the few Star Trek couples that were written realistically. She started out hating him, and then they flirted, then they got together, then they nearly broke up, then they got married. And in the whole process she never became less. She tries at one point to become less for him and immediately realizes it wasn't going to work. It wasn't a case of one person completely becoming what the other wants, or neither people having to change at all to be together because they're perfect. Both Tom and B'Elanna had to change if they wanted to stay together, and she never became less because of it.

Meme: 30 Days of Awesome Women

2011-02-17T22:51:24Z

Ganked from artemisrae and enabled by bouncy_erbear , here's that lovely 30 Days of Awesome Ladies meme I said I wasn't doing.

Day One: Favourite Lead Female Character

Special Agent Dana Scully - The X-Files

Was there any doubt in anyone's mind that Scully would be my favourite female lead? The X-Files became obnoxiously unwatchable after David Duchovny insisted on leaving to become A Movie Star (how'd that work out for you, D?), but Scully was always there, always smart, always capable. She and Mulder had enough UST to choke a woolly mammoth, but Scully never let that get in the way of her job, or forgot the fact that she and Mulder were FBI partners first and foremost. She managed to tell him the truth he needed to hear without tearing him down, and managed to be the extremely smart, self-sufficient woman who Got Shit Done. She wasn't squeamish about the blood and the guts or any of the traditional "icky stuff", and sometimes had even a stronger stomach and cooler head than Mulder. Another thing I adored was how often she was the only woman in the show and was able to hold her own, was not condescended to or turned into the Damsel In Distress every week.

I still love Scully's ability to stand up to Mulder's deadpan humour and his neuroses without backing down (her responses to the porn in their office is so great), and I am willing to admit 100% that during my entire adolescence I wanted to be Dana Scully. Hell, some days I still want to be Dana Scully. And really, is it so bad to aspire to be a woman who stands strong in her convictions and who manages to befriend the male lead without losing what makes her appealing, without being turned into little more than X's Significant Other/BFF?

Lastly, this:

Tell me how I'm not supposed to love Scully when she gets to pull stunts like this to save Mulder's dumb butt.

Can't sleep. Time to bust out the happy making.

2011-02-17T08:29:09Z

Having trouble sleeping, so it's time to play "Things That Make Me Happy" in the incoherent half-asleep fugue state that I find myself.

1) 70% dark chocolate with bitter orange
2) Thomas getting himself in trouble.
3) RP!Gwen's continued evolution.
4) leftover chili
5) fried rice made with nothing more than basmati rice, onions, garlic, and eggs.
6) Books. Especially old books that I reread again and again.
7) Everyone (both on my f-list and off) who roleplays with me even when my characters scare me, are terrible people, or are just plain horndogs who won't shut up.
8) artemisrae's 30 Days of Awesome Ladies meme. Every day I see it, I want to start doing it myself. Except I don't have 30 fandoms. Heck I barely have ten.
9) A husband who has absolutely no interest in taking up shared hobbies.
10) The first Iron Man movie. Because while RDJ is delightfully arrogant, it's really Tony Stark's toys that set this geek girl's heart on fire.

Life and Something Like It

2011-02-15T20:26:53Z

A couple of things.

1) Valentine's day dinner went spectacularly. Will put up food porn whenever I get around to resizing them.
2) Still jobless. Still looking.
3) Made a fanmix for Lara, find it here.
4) Participating in this:

[Multifandom friendship fic fest]
I was skimming through the prompts for fandoms and was just amazed by how few of them I know. Damn kids these days with their TV shows. Maybe I'm just getting old. I'll need to look through them some more and see what I can fill. And if anyone's curious, my prompts are here and here.

Impaled on my own delicious sword

2011-02-12T00:34:39Z

*At Central Market, the fancy gourmet grocery store. Think Whole Foods except with non-organic options and less judgment, and cheaper.*

Me: *consults list for Valentine's Day dinner* Okay, we have asparagus and spinach, all we need are the purple potatoes from here and then we can go get the chateaubriand...
Alex: Wait a second, let me go get a printed list of their specials.
Me: Okay *goes to get the potatoes*
Alex: *comes back with the list of specials, hands it to me and points to it, grinning* I knew it, they had good specials.
Me: *looks at the front page of the flyer* We don't need wine, we're already getting the be-- *sees the $6 lobster tails special* You want lobster, don't you?
Alex: *continues grinning*
Me: *mild disbelief* Along with the tenderloin?
Alex: *grins and nods*
Me: And the spinach. And the asparagus. And the potatoes?
Alex: Yes?
Me: ... *stares at* I never should have shown you how good lobster is.

At least I'm not cooking whole lobsters. I don't have any issues with things that have heads attached, but I have this very strange hangup about cooking things that are still alive. I mean, I was squeamish about mussels simply because they were alive when we bought them. They don't even have faces to get attached to!

And on a completely different note, both the sex vampires are driving me nuts. I keep thinking I might be oversympathizing Thomas and Lara. On the one hand, the danger with them is that they are really very human-seeming characters. Which to me means they do have to be somewhat sympathetic, or at least relateable, for the monsterous side to really hit home. At least Thomas is in a place where that can happen (and might soon, if I can just get my head in the game). Lara just gets punted through dear_mun , which is not ideal. I really need to settle her somewhere where she can pull a long-term gambit and inevitable betrayal. I had one planned at XI, but that fell through.

Maybe it's just time for a canon review, but I was hoping to hold that off until April so I can plow straight through to Ghost Story.

I can only function on lists

2011-02-09T20:15:42Z

1) what kind of sadist schedules a root canal for 8 AM?
2) survived phase 1. Now popping aspirin and nursing some chicken noodle soup.
3) Glee: what are you now, shipping chat roulette?
4) rain today + below freezing temperatures = Houston's boned. Again.
5) Dear self, stop wanting to play villains.
6) Soup!