the stars in my sky

So, another one bites the dust...
it look like, after 7 and a half years of gaming (and that's for me, it's longer for some of the members), my group has finally fallen apart, and there is no hope of redemption. With a lack of a central place to play, and DM'ing falling down to me and Ken, I knew this was a possibility, but damn, this still sucks. I guess this means I've got my thursdays free and open now...

I've got three options left to me at this point. One, see if John's group continues any interest at all in gaming. If so, I might be able to play there, but they are D+D phobic, so that could be kinda full of suckage, especially when I don't know my work schedule yet. Two, I can see if Paul will still take me. He gave me an offer to come to his group on fridays, and I'd be more then willing. I'd just have to see what's what with work. Three, Amo is starting up a rolemaster night, but I don't know what night. That holds some possibility.

All in all, I've got choices, but damn if I'm not going to greave for the loss of some damned fine times and happiness that made my world spin for the last 8ish years. Ave, thursday night games...

Current Mood: disappointed
Current Music: .hack, hope of dawn

Drabble Meme Post III: Play With You [TeniPuri]
For

cinoberis, who has waited far too long for this:

Play With You: Oishi's liquor-loosened tongue lets Eiji in on some of his more private feelings.

( It's just really, really sad. )

Current Music: Rufus Wainwright - Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk

Public Art and Dressing Forms
While I know that you're all dizzy anticipation for the second installment of Adventures of The N00b Secretary, I thought I'd tell you that I have pictures on my camera of a truly awesome art installment downtown. And I will post them. But not tonight. Because I'm tired. I'd tell you why I'm tired, but this post is about cool stuff as opposed to the thrilling adventures of my daily life. Suffice to say, art in DC is for the win. Onward.

The other cool thing I did this weekend was buy fabric. Yes, yes, I know. But this fabric came into the house with destiny and purpose. I've got a second 1880s polonaise up on the dress form right now. It's made from the same pattern as my brown one, but with a different neckline and sleeves*. It's done except for the front closure, finishing the sleeves, and adding trim--I mean to finish it this weekend. And it came together so well that I decided I wanted a skirt to match, so I went back and bought the rest of the bolt (on sale at two bucks a yard--too bad they only had 3.75 yards left...). With any luck, I will have the whole affair done in time for an upcoming event (details on that to follow soon). I'll try to get progress pics up over the weekend-- I may be soliciting input on what style of skirt to make.

Wooh productivity. I sleep now.

*Well, by "same pattern," I really mean I took the brown one apart, traced it onto muslin, and used the muslin as a pattern for the second one, because the pattern itself belongs to Earlham's costume shop. But now I've got the traced pattern that I can re-use without taking things apart again. That's right: I'm a pattern pirate.

Current Mood: productive

Two nice days off!!

-biked 10.5 miles and then ran 3
-went to lunch at the Inner Harbor and then saw the Bodies exhibit with my mom
-went to this GLBT OA meeting I'd never been to before, which was really nice
-talked with a guy who will maybe be my new roomie!

-biked 18 miles
-finally got my boating license!!
-got "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "Dreams from My Father (on tape)" from the library
-reeeelaxed :)

Stir Crazy
yup, that about sums me up recently. I'm driving myself nuts with trying to find a job, and I'm going nuts with next to nothing to do. One of the unfortunant things about being so focused about work and trying to find it, I usually have little desire to do anything else during the week. But guess what, this week, I do.

So yeah, trying to figure out what to do to catch my fancy for the near future... I've got some ideas, though.

1) I want to go see Hancock. It's been a bit since I've seen a Will Smith flick, and for whatever reason, that one appeals to me.

2) I want to figure out what the hell I'm doing for 4th of July. I know I'm sure as hell not going down to the harbour... too many people, who'd annoy me enough I'd want nothing more then to throw them all in said harbor. But at the same time, watching fireworks alone sounds rather... dull? I know I'm watching fireworks, I just don't know with who or where yet.

3) I know I'm fighting on sunday. The urge to swing sticks at people is fairly high, especially since I missed Ragnarok.

I don't know... maybe something shiny will pop up, and I'll come up with some other fun ideas. That, and try not to go too far into the world of being nuts...

Current Mood: crazy
Current Music: gackt, oasis

Rainbows
- So, the second Monday of Fort Reno's Season 41 has come and gone. Again, it rained as I was driving to the venue. Again, there was a rainbow as we got set up. This time the lightning and wind came up as the second band was finishing up. It was a moist wind. Again we took down the equipment in the rain. At least it was a little warmer this time. The bands that did get to play, Gestures and The Moderate, were good and quite different. Pics and descriptions later...maybe. I'm still working on pics from the first week. hehehe

Current Mood: accomplished

Might I draw your people's attention to the fact that the Coreys are doing an A&E show?

Kthnx.

Tweets for Today

22:41 Biked 10.5 and then ran 3 today! Irongirl, I'm comin for ya! #

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First Day of Work
Thank you to everyone for the well-wishes about the job. There were so many comments that I don't have time to respond to them all individually, but they made me feel all warm n' fuzzy.

My first day went well. Everyone was very friendly, and while there are still several things I need training on, I didn't get terribly overwhelmed or anything. It's going to take some settling in, but I'm confident that I'll manage just fine.

(But the office fax machine, like all office fax machines, hates me).

Oh, and on the way out of the office, I noticed that the security guard working the front desk was reading a Star Wars novel. I didn't see which one, and it would have been a little awkward to go up to her and go "OMG another geek!" But it made me smile.

I got to go to a barbecue yesterday to spend time with some old friends from Amtgard, which was nice. Even though I have no interest whatsoever in getting back into the game, I met a lot of people through it who are still dear to me. Unfortunately I came down with a nasty headache towards the end of the afternoon, and by the time I got back to my neck of the woods on the metro I was feeling quite sick. I came home and passed out without returning the phone calls I meant to return.

So yes, thank you all for the well-wishes, and I hope you're having a good week.

Current Mood: tired

Jewelry help?
Does anyone know of any good craftsmen capable and willing to do custom engagement rings?

At this point I'll entertain any offer, because my patience is gone. I thought I'd finally found a professional, someone who was good at what he did and almost more importantly, someone who ran his business in a professional and reliable manner. I made an appointment to meet with him at the Potomac Celtic Festival, this was theoretically to be a design appointment. Turns out he dislikes designing at such a fair, too noisy and nowhere to really meet in private. So I was to set up an appointment to meet him at his home, it was all set and ready for Sunday the 29th at 1pm and up until tonight I was expecting to go. I regret opening my e-mail, because it contained a cancellation notice sent this afternoon. It just won't work out. Maybe later, an appointment at the Renaissance Festival he says.

Wow . . . just wow.

Here I thought he didn't like to design at festivals. Well apparently he's trying to make do, though if he was going to make do perhaps he could've done so at the Potomac Celtic Festival, two weeks before instead of two months away. Worst part: He said he likes to meet both people involved before designing the ring, so in order to set up this appointment I had to spoil the surprise to Wren. She's not filtered on this, there's no point anymore. So yeah, I'm just a little pissed as one might imagine. But seriously, it wasn't rhetorical because at this point I'm desperate. I really want to give Wren a custom ring.

So please, if anyone knows a capable and willing artisan, please, please pass their name along. I'm two steps away from walking into a jewelry store, and one step away from going insane.

Tweets for Today

14:33 Happiness is a clean pair of keens. #

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It's Saturday
- So, Xander is out of surgery, and the doctors are happy with the way things went. It will be good not have that worry literally at the back of his head.
- Anybody recognize this cabin? hehehe.

- I'll give you a hint; it's not far from this tree.

Current Mood: cheerful

I am leaving for the Friends General Conference Summer Gathering in Johnstown, PA. I'll be gone for a week with extremely limited internet access. Feel free to call me! Calling me during the day today is highly encouraged, now that I've got a cell phone with a working speakerphone, as I'll be driving all day in a Very Straight Line (I-70 goes all the way from Indianapolis to the PA Turnpike and it is the Straightest Most Boring Highway Ever). Johann (my giant teddy bear) is great company, but he doesn't talk much.

I'm excited and nervous, and looking forward to seeing at least a couple of you there!

Summer Storms
I stepped outside for a walk a few minutes ago to find that the earlier heat had moderated and the bright sun given way to a moist, cloud-covered stillness that smelled of rain. By the time I'd reached the park path, the wind had already begun picking up, and a few minutes after that, the rain began to fall in fat, sparse droplets. I considered continuing on, but with the wind coming as it was, I knew the real rain couldn't be far behind. It was raining in earnest by the time I reached my door.

And now it's coming down in thick, windy gusts that rise and fall like waves against a cliff. Low rolls of thunder pass overhead, muffled by the downy gray cotton of the clouds.

For years now, there have been droughts in this area over the summer--long, hot weeks where the sun beats down until even the streams give up and fade to dust. It's nice to have the rains to keep the grass green and the temperatures moderate.

Now That It's Official...
I have a job.

I don't want to talk too much about the organization I'll be working for, because it's political and this is a personal as opposed to a professional/trade blog, but I'm an administrative assistant for an organization that promotes health care for under-served populations.

I start Monday.

Current Mood: hopeful

don't worry, be happy!: some thoughts on jesus, greed, willy wonka, and infinite abundance
I subscribe to a daily Bible study column produced by the Metropolitan Community Church where I attend. It's a very popular column; people all over the world read it, which is one reason I love it...when I read and contemplate it each day, I know that people all over the planet are also reading it, and finding affirmation from a church community with a strong, outspoken commitment to embracing everyone as a Child of God, especially people who have struggled with our sexuality and/or gender identity.

I started writing some thoughts that came up for me as I was considering the passages from today and yesterday's column, and somehow this whole semi-polished piece of writing came out of me. (This is why I don't go to school: I can only produce this kind of work when I'm not doing it "on command", and in fact, I was motivated to write this out of an inexplicable need to procrastinate writing my massage school application essay.)

( read it? i think it's pretty good stuff. )

What do you think about these passages and their messages?
What infinitely abundant resources do you like a lot? Don't worry about condensing them into one-word answers; I just wanted to make the prayer short and sweet because I've already given us a lot to think about here.

Also, if you found it difficult to relate to this post because the Bible doesn't work for you for whatever reason, please let me know. I am interested in finding other ways to communicate about these ideas with you and have no need to push you into being inspired by the Bible just because I happen to like it!

My shrink brought his NEW PUPPY to therapy!!!

It was the best therapy EVER. With a cute little shelter puppy running around and hopping in my lap and barking at the birds out the window, I stayed in a really chill and happy space long enough that we got some REAAAALLY good work done. I told him he has to bring her EVERY TIME now.

aechei and Keenan came to visit me, en route from Northampton to LA. It was AWESOME having them here. I hope they come back sometime.

There's a LOT going on. As usual.

during the free periods at camp

missing BF (and jenn/huck/wasabi/woodland).

working on figures by drawing from photos i got at a yard sale.

between camp, dogsitting/housesitting, babysitting, spending time with the fam (my cousin roxanne is visiting from france), and my twin peaks marathon with john, i'm kind of exhausted. i just want to curl up in MY bed and sleep.

Wrong On The Internet
In the past hour or so, there have been three separate dumb political arguments on blogs I follow that don't generally get into politics, involving commenters who are total goddamn idiots (which is not the same thing as 'disagreeing with me,' because there are plenty of very smart people with whom I disagree about politics. These people were not commenting on these posts). In each case, I started to write a comment explaining to all these people that were WRONG ON THE INTERNET exactly how and why they were WRONG.

In each case, I stopped halfway through and asked myself: "Do I really want to touch this dumb ****?" And each time, I answered, "Not with a twelve foot pole and gloves on," and deleted the comment unsent.

I think I've grown.

Lollapalooza
I think I've got my schedule planned out

Day 1:
K'Naan (Somalian hip-hop) 11:30-12:15
Black Lips 12:15-1:15
Rogue Wave 1:15-2:15
Yeasayer 2:15-3:15
First few minutes of Duffy (might as well) 3:15-3:30
The Kills 3:30-4:15
Gogol Bordello (half of their set) 4:15-4:45
Black Keys (second half of set) 4:45-5:15
Cat Power (first half of set) 5:15-5:45
Grizzly Bear 5:45-6:15
Raconteurs (first part of set) 6:15-6:45
Bloc Party (second half) 6:45-7:15
Stephen Malkmus 7:15-8:00
Radiohead 8:00-Whenever

Day 2
Margot & The Nuclear So & So's 12:15-12:45
The Ting Tings 12:45-1:30
Dr. Dog 1:30-2:30
The Gutter Twins 2:30-3:30
MGMT (first half)3:30-4:00
DeVotchKa (second half) 4-4:30
Explosions in the Sky 4:30-5:30
Okkervil River 5:30-6:30
Battles (first half) 6:30-7:00
Broken Social Scene (second half) 7-7:30
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings 7:30-8:30
Rage Against The Machine (first half) 8:30-9:15
Wilco (second half) 9:15-Whenever

Day 3
Ha Ha Tonka 11:15-12:00
Kid Sister 12:15-1:15
The Weakethans 1:15-2:15
John Butler Trio 2:15-3:15
Chromeo (first part) 3:15-3:30
Black Kids 3:30-4:15
Iron & Wine4:15-5:15
Saul Williams 5:15-6:00
Gnarls Barkley 6:15-7:15
The National 7:15-8:15
Nine Inch Nails (first part) 8:15-9:00
Kanye West 9:00-Whenever

Bands that I must, regrettably, miss:
Mark Ronson, Girl Talk, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Lupe Fiasco, The Go! Team, The Cool Kids, CSS, Mates of State

And I'm really pissed that they scheduled Battles and Broken Social Scene at the same time, those are two of the bands I was most excited for. Oh, well. It'll be the best weekend EVER.

Rainbows
- So, the season began. Here are some digital shots. I'm working on film.

Quite an auspicious start, eh?

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Olivia Mancini covering Talking Heads

An Observation
The Corner Bakery's Chai tastes like some kind of crunchy herbalist bug spray--and not in a good way (as opposed to the Gin and Tonic at Tinny's in L/Derry, Northern Ireland, which actually does taste like bug spray in a good way). If I'd known my WiFi Tax was going to be untasty, I'd have ordered a small.

Driving around looking for wireless, though, led me to wonder how Montgomery Mall--the gleaming beacon of yuppiedom in the middle of Yupville--managed to avoid attracting Starbucks the way a ship attracts barnacles. They're supposed to be like Yuppieclorians, which means I shouldn't be able to spit without hitting one here. Clearly the Dark Lord of the Yup is attempting to shield his true strength from me.

Also obviously trying to poison me with bad Chai, which means he may have discovered that I'm here incognito as a medical appointment chauffeur. I must be cautious until I can report what I've learned to the council.

The 41st Season Begins
- So, this afternoon, I pulled up WJLA's Doppler radar, and saw a line of storms headed for the District, specifically Tenleytown. I also saw a clear space behind this line of storms, so I headed down anyway. It was raining when I got there, but Marty had put the waterproof stuff on the stage already, and was waiting for the rain to stop before putting up the soundboard. As the appointed hour (7:15) approached, we saw light in the west, and the rain let up. While the first band (scheduled to be second, but they showed up on time while the band scheduled to be first did not) set up, we were treated to a double rainbow (I'll post pics later). Long short, patience paid off, and we got a good first show of the 41st Fort Reno season. The headliner, Olivia Mancini and the Housemates, finished up their set just as the wind picked up, lightening moved in from the west, and the rain resumed. I'll post pics as soon as I get the film processed. Mmmyah.

Current Mood: satisfied
Current Music: Evolution covering Stone Temple Pilots

1) RIP george carlin
2) RIP george carlin

i am sad about this. no much napalm and silly putty. no more conductor. no more nights in wills basement giggling over DROWN THE KITTY.

70 years old tho... not shabby.

rest in hilarious philosophic angry sensible reality peace

3)i am not driving for at least 3 months. interlock was not compatible with my 20 year old need to have the special touch to start it car. so i'm not bothering. i'll save my 815 dollars. - 106 for installation and deinstallation just to find out that it made my car not start no matter what i do to it.
it's officially 3 months, but could be extended to 21st bday depending on the mood of the judge or something.
i dont know.
its kind of a relief though.
i can bike to work and chris can drive me to my meetings and we save on gas together.
i'm just a bit limited.
but thats not necessarily the worst thing in the world.

it does suck though because i hate hate hate my job at the moment and there aren't too many places i would rather work that are in biking/walking distance.
and we are moving in september so i should really just wait to figure out where we are moving and look for a place nearby there

so far we have 4 hopefulls in the city.
1 is our absolute fav. we totally want omg.
Monument Place Apartments. i'm calling them today. only 59 units so i feel like we need to start asking them about it now. we hard core want a loft. only on the 4th floor tho so probably pretty limited.

-.-.-.-
so i called a couple times but " all circuits are busy please try again eleven. " wtf? ill keep trying.
we're also looking at 611 Park Avenue, Jefferson House (which is right by JHU), and Renaissance Plaza.
but we really want Monument Place. !!!

Haven't really looked too much out of the city. Chris isn't sure he wants to move down there, but we both don't want to stay in Towson, and I really really really do not want to go out to Timonium/Cockeysville aka boringville esp with no car. no where for me to work there. no activity. just ugh.

i'm hungry...

So...
I can't sleep. But hey, that's glaring more common for me recently then not. So yeah, random update.

1) I'm supposed to be employed by now, but my contact from the med temp company hasn't gotten back to me yet. I'm losing patience quick.

2) I'm watching over my old man's house most of this week, despite it being quite possibly the most lonely experience I've had in an age.

3) I need a beer.

Otherwise, not a damned thing has changed. I just want sleep, and a job that I can use to make my way. I'm almost tempted enough to look for anything at this point, legal or not. I figure with some of my sketchy friends, I can arrange something.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: teriyaki boyz, tokyo drift