from minviendha
1. What is your favorite picture book/kid's book? If you don't have one now, what was it when you were younger?
When I was little I loved 3 picture books above all others: Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and Howard Pyle's King Arthur (ok that's not a picture book but it has pictures in the middle).

My favorite non-picture kids books were and are to this day: The Vesper Holly Series by Lloyd Alexander. It's about the female teenage equivalent of Indiana Jones- she's super smart, super rich, pretty, and she goes around having awesome adventures and her nemesis is a shady doctor who does lots of mustache twirling. Oh, and she gets a different love interest in every book. Except the last one, which I hated because she gets engaged and the boy didn't obligingly die like Indiana Jones' fiancee did so she actually is going to get married and never have adventures ever again. I refuse to ever look at that book again. My 9-year-old self was pissed and I don't blame her.

2. What character 'gimmick' or trope do you always fall for? /what's the connection between all your favorite characters?
All my favorite characters are pretty much really intelligent girls who if they cannot shoot the fuck out of Paris, can scheme their way into getting Paris shot the fuck up.
That or I always fall in love with the magnificent bastards of fiction- the super scheming awesome types like Lord Vetinari and co who seem to think in multi-dimensional time-warping spirals and can plot out how to destroy the world as a pleasant afternoon activity.

So I guess I love the smart, bitchy types. Um, with the exception of the Vorenus and Pullos of the universe who I love because they stab things and do the best they can to stab the right things but are not above stabbing random things when they're pissed but they'll feel bad about it kinda afterward, maybe.

3. Fellow fanmixer! Give me five songs that are your LIFE. ...or as close as you can get, whichever.
Ooh, difficult question! You're going to get more than five..

Small Town Saturday Night - Hal Ketcham
Cadillac Hotel - Kaci Brown
Edge of My Seat - Thea Gilmore
Natural's Not in It - Gang of Four
Lollipop - Mika
Like a Lady - The Sounds
Hurricane Streets - Hey Monday
Hot Mess - Cobra Starship


4. What is your obscure, strange, random interest (example: I'm obsessed with WWII and infectious diseases)? Ramble about it. How'd you get into it, what's so fascinating about it, etc.
That's probably a list just waiting to happen, honestly:

• Historical fashion (ok ok, it's not that obscure..)- but specifically late 15th century Italy and late 12th century France. Partly it's the fault of my SCA persona, who is late 15th century Italian but there's also the very pretty looks that both of those periods had.
• Sex and sexuality in the Roman Empire. This just sprung out of my love of random historical trivia, because the Romans liked to pretend they were such prudes and really? really, Tiberius?! Plus, I just wanted an excuse to occasionally type the phrase 'circus whores.' There was apparently a lot of sex happening in the Collisseum as a nice garnish to all the death.
• The history of cosmetics (and people think the things we put on our faces now is bad? Try rubbing on some lead every day for a while...). I stumbled into it while researching hairstyles for my SCA persona (I like to pretend I'm not just going to give up and put my hair in a ponytail ok?), and suddenly I realized I had no idea what girls did for concealer before 1970. So I started looking it up, and oh my god it's kind of awesome. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN MAKEUP.
• Crazy monarchs. Because ultimate power + actual certifiable crazy = entertaining reading. Charles ??th of France who decided he was made of glass is one of my favorites. Oh the agony of a feudal society when the king is made of glass.

5. What do you love most about wherever you live?
I love my friends in HomeTown, and the laid back atmosphere about everything ever. I also kind of like living with my parents and not just because everything is free lol.

Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."

• I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.

• Update your journal with the answers to the questions.

• Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions--if you want to, I'm not big on the "Forcing" part of such memes.

questions from zephyrofgod :
1. What's your favourite mundane clothing item in your closet currently? Why is it your favourite?
Um. Uh. My new gray cargos... maybe. Then again, I love all my Vigoss jeans and would cry if you made me not have them anymore (they don't stretch much and make my butt look good and they fit right). But I also love my fur coat, and my white mini trench, and my sleeveless black minidress... omg and my green and black dress that Serena insists is a shirt with an identity crisis.

My black Airwalk boots are definitely my favorite shoes though because they're comfy and nonsqueaky and cute as hell.

2. What's your favourite SCA clothing item in your closet currently? Why is it your favourite?
My gold silk kirtle, because it's a gold. silk. kirtle. With matching sleeves. But don't worry, I'm sure I'll buy a new piece of garb soon that will replace it in the favorite spot.

3. Why summer? :D
Because I hate winter!

4. Other than me dragging you to Bellewode, what else sucked you into the SCA? What would get you more sucked in?
People who love history and dressing up and researching and can also throw kick ass parties- how would I not be sucked in? I would be way more sucked in if I lived anywhere near anyone else who played but hey! we're about to fix that!

5. What would we do without Photoshop?
Have nothing worthwhile to show for it on boring rainy Sundays or sleepless nights. And also we'd all have much uglier lj icons.


questions from rhodri2112 :
1. You're always ranting about George R.R. Martin's Song series, so... Which character from Song of Fire and Ice is closest to your personality and why?
Well, I am stamped as Arianne Martell and Sansa Stark in separate sorting type communities. I was fairly Sansa-like as a 12-year-old but I'm not sure yet she's going to not grow up and be a psychotic nutcase. Sort of like in the first book when I thought I would identify most with Cersei (ahahaha! oh, eesh, I was wrong wrong wrong). Arianne Martell is probably the closest ASoIaF character to my personality: She's got really close friends, she thinks about clothing and fashion, and politics (even if she kinda messed that one up a bit... oops).

2. You're fairly new to the SCA and it has been a while for me, so I would like to hear your perspective. What's been the hardest part of becoming a part of Calontir?
I'm... not sure I am part yet? Sort of? ... I'm living in the middle of nowhere and thus am not readily accessible, and haven't been able to do the weekly meeting thing. That's going to get fixed very quickly as soon as I relocate, but honestly 'logistics' is the hardest part so far. Maybe that will change when I'm going to weekly meetings and stuff.

3. The easiest?
Making friends within Calontir, and finding stuff I want to do/learn.

4. What one thing would you like to improve about yourself?
I'd like to get more real world experience, but I'm working on that one already... I'd like to be a little more zen and a little less easily frustrated when it comes to job hunting.
Also, I would like to have Megan Fox's abs.

5. What one non-SCA event (Indy 500, Kentucky Derby, etc.) would you like to experience?
Kentucky Derby would be a fun thing... but I think I'd rather skip it and go to Carnivale in Venice. *sigh* I want to go there and see the masks and let it all be creepy and fun and hilarious. But failing that I'd totally run away to Australia and go on a zombiewalk with dwg because that looks like all kinds of fun. A festival in Edinburgh or Stone Henge would be killer... omg, or there's always any of the events where they actually turn on the fountains at Versailles.I'd love to see that. Or maybe just sunset at Angkor Wat...

being amazingly unproductive today, mostly because my lungs are like "Yeah this breathing thing is so last season."

*eye roll*

Putting up my summer wardrobe. :(

I got a new fall/winter coat though! And a new pair of cute gray pants. There was a puffy ski vest I wanted but mom sort of vetoed it... I did snag a new pair of flat boots (these a a little slouchy! And there is fringe!), and... I'm debating picking up a new medieval dress for the garb closet. I can't strictly afford it, but I like it and it's on sale and there is trim involved and it's a pretty green and it's linen... Also, I have no willpower today.

I'm going to have to get rid of another half ton of clothing. Eesh. A bunch of my tanks are now way too big... even the ones I really like. Sniffle.

Oh, and almost all of my jeans are stupidly too big on me now. I have like... 3 pairs that are decently fitting. D: I'm not complaining because yay for inches no longer occupying my hips but... but... I like my jeans!

Plus I want nothing to do with this current tapered-leg craze. EURGH. It looks good on toothpicks people, not on anyone who has anything resembling hips. Not even if you're skinny. When it makes a model look like a hideous triangle, it does not need to touch normal people. So STOP IT.

Note to self: take black ankle boots to repair shop. Those heels are not going to fix themselves.

Hi, my name is Summer and I am nothing resembling a ray of sunshine today.

If you require anything of me, I'll be the one sitting over by the window listening to music that would be appropriate for a good solid round of crying jags and wrist-slitting. Possibly I will be solemnly crying through my black eyeliner as well. No one knows why, but my soul is daaaaark and alooooooone. Woe.

I don't know what is wrong with me this week. I'm either a walking zombie or like m'lady melancholia or... I don't know. I do know that I'm sick of it.

Stress I'm sure is a chunk of it, and feeling totally inadequate for life. All my optimism got sucked out by those damn Calormene vampires or something...

Serena had a crisis but she's sorted again, and nothing's broken beyond repair. I'm going to go in on Tuesday and get the paperwork started for financial aid and enrollment and also the townhouse. But I just feel so blah about everything. :/

I had dreams all night last night. Weird ones. And I kept being very insanely frustrated because stuff kept waking me up and they were fun dreams... Not that kind of fun. Um, ok, there was one that was that kind of fun up until the getting woken up happened.

But still, I was running around in Narnia, and then I was blowing stuff up with leet vampiyar ninjas. Not Narnian stuff, I'm not a barbarian. We were attacking Calormen! And then I was in Dorne, being all cool at a party because apparently Dorne and Calormen share a border. Which makes me worry that someone might let a Bolton loose in the Lantern Waste... although that would explain The Last Battle.

And I was just to the part of the evening where I was wearing a Breakfast at Tiffanys outfit and brushing off the Leet Vampiyar Captain to go blow shit up with James Bond when the stupid phone rang.

Later I was hanging out in Some Random Garden with some random girls. There was a random conversation of Great Meaning about fish. I don't know why.

I do remember that I was making out with someone I knew in real life in Some Random Hallway and was a little concerned because I never make out with real people in my dreams unless they're a celebrity (which doesn't count). I couldn't explain it to him though, and then I was distracted because apparently my subconscious has a sick sense of humor and I was wearing FULL DAMN TUDOR GARB. Wtf, subconcious? wtf? Because sure I can pick up the skirts and all but damn that corseting is murder. My Florentine's bad enough but at least I can bend in it! Nooo let's put us in Tudor so there is no moving!

It was just odd because I've been so stressed, and usually that's when my subconscious is all "Let's dream about EVERYONE DIES OF GIANT BATRAPTORS... Or how we will all live lives blessed with MY LITTLE PONIES." Tbh the My Little Ponies pastel dreams are the worst.

Look I don't understand my subconscious, I just live with it.

Applied to several other positions today. Probably not going to hear back on any of them... but maybe. There's always hope.

XD

If only Earth was as easy as Westeros like that.

So while I was off doing the interview of pointless scammery and stuff, D dropped by HomeTown and came by my house. He sat and talked with StepDad for a while, got caught up with him. It made StepDad's day- he thinks D is awesome and like all that is awesome about the Marine Corps.

Fate, you are so random like this.

D's wife is now working as a stripper and they actually are separated. And he's re-fallen for the girl in HomeTown he had a crush on when he was 10. Serial monogamy, thy name is D.

On the other hand he's doing awesomely at being a Marine. Thinking about not signing back when this round's up because he's got some skills that would be very highly paid were he to do the civilian contractor thing. But that's a long way away...

Anyway. It's so weird that this always happens.

I think I'm past being annoyed with him now. It only took like six months and J being more or less over it too... and yet. I know J actually liked this girl, and even if she didn't like him back it seems like bad juju like this... Idek.

Boys are idiots. That's my only conclusion.

Combining this with non-Trio friendship dramedy and me realizing I'm in danger of actually liking someone... I'm so over life today.

I hate liking someone. I hate that I missed Trio-time. I hate that I broke up with a bff.

Also I hate the ucky weather today.

And winter.

I'm not just done with today, I'm putting a hit out on it.

I went to my first ever grown-up job interview! I smiled and was polite and stumbled a little when talking cause of nerves...

And then hid at sister_of_night 's house... after I got totally lost in the labyrinth that is housing development logic where streets are concerned.

And then went to interview with number two agency... And it was in someone's basement which did not thrill me. I wandered out again quickly and marked it off my list.

So back to sister_of_night 's house to hang out with her (It had been THREE AND A HALF YEARS since we'd seen each other!!! ) 

AND THEN I GOT A CALL-BACK.
I did! From my First Real Job Interview Evar!!! I'm going in 9-5 to meet prospective co-workers and supervisors and try to be impressive and cool to hang out with so that they will hire me and give me insurance and moneys. I am not hired, but A CALL-BACK. OMG. So I decided to say to hell with it and called in dead to Sawyers.  It was a 2-hour shift, ok people?? TWO HOURS. I had to drive 2 hours to work 2 hours to then drive 2 hours again 10 hours later.... The logic! It's fuzzy! 

So that happened.

Wound up staying the night and talking about A Song of Ice and Fire and watching Phantom of the Opera and being goofy and awesome and then drinking and discussing teh sex and teh liiiiiiyfe and how it is not fairz!! 

Woke up this morning to find out that the interview I had for this afternoon was a mix-up and so I ended up racing over to have it in the morning before coffee. But I have a SECOND INTERVIEW WITH THEM TOO!! 

So that also happened.

Spent the rest of the day with Jade and her little boy who is the cutest little moppet and was really sweet the whole day. Well, he wasn't having the idea of pasta for lunch/dinner but he was the politest 2-year-old I've ever seen about it.

Now I'm here, writing this, when I should really really really be in bed! Because I have to get up mega early tomorrow and work (for 4 hours... ridiculous isn't it?), then drive to the Other City In This State and GO TO A BALL. AND ALSO A FEAST. BUT! DO I WEAR THE  GOLD SILK GOWN OR THE BLUE LINEN WITH SILVER EMBROIDERY? 

My life. So hard.

The only sucky part is that in the morning, at 8am I get to talk to my bosses about how, ok so I called in dead Thursday night (With several hours warning just so you know! Not like I called 5 minutes before I was supposed to be there), and I really did refuse point-blank to come back for a 4-hour shift on the Day After Turkey Day just because you think you might possibly maybe be busy on account of my planning to be in another state with family! Who I never see! And no I was not going to drive back to work it and then drive out again.
...

And now I 'm going to tell them that sry bbs, I don't care what hours you might have me down for on Monday, I will not be appearing. I can switch other people shifts or do any silly ass shifts for the rest of the week, but Monday is right out. Unless they are interested in giving me insurance, a maaaaajor raise and full-time status. Just sayin.

So if you don't hear from me again, it might be that I've been shoved in the freezer at Sawyers.


BTW, I realize I was totally lying my ass off when I called my boss to tell her I was skipping my 2-hour shift, but this is pure gold: 
Summer: Sorry, my car broke down. We're kinda in the middle of nowhere and this is proving to be an issue.

Boss 1: Can't you have someone come get you? WHY DO YOU NEVER STAY IN HOMETOWN LIKE THE REST OF US?! 

Summer: Darth Daddy is at work. Stepmom is MIA. But I'm working on it.

Boss 1: Cant you just leave it? 

Summer:... SURE LET ME CALL A REDNECK TAXI IN BACKWOODS NOWHERE WITH MY MAGIC PHONEBOOK. ... BECAUSE NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO IT IF I ABANDON A SPORTS CAR WITH EXPENSIVE STEREO IN NOWHWERE LAND? DRUNK TEENAGERS WILL NOT PLOW INTO IT AT 3AM AND DIE IN FIERY DOOM Um, not really. No.

Boss 1: Well who will possibly cover for you?!

Summer: IT's TWO HOURS NOT A TWELVE HOUR SHIFT AT AUCHWITZ.  YOU'RE THERE ARE YOU NOT? BOSS PERSON WHO IS A  BOSS WELCOME TO BOSSING? I'm very sorry, but I can't teleport get ahold of anyone and unless the tow-truck gets in in approximately 10 minutes, with a rent-a-car following, I'm not sure I'll make it.

Boss: Can you try to make it? GOD YOU ARE SO INCONSIDERATE. WHY DID WE HIRE THE FLAKEY BLONDE AGAIN?

Summer: Yes. I know it's last-minute (3 hours is so last minute when you have a staff of 8? ARE YOU IN ANOTHER TIMEZONE?!).

Boss: YOU CAN ALWAYS BE LATE.  UNGRATEFUL WHELP.

Summer: AND THEN GET TO WORK A WHOLE HOUR? HOW GENEROUS OF YOU. I'll try, but seriously, Middle of nowhere! Dead car! HORROR MOVIES START LIKE THIS. I have to get towed! Back to DadTown! On BACKROADS. AND I AM NOT LEAVING MY CAR to be crushed by combines or herds of wild cows or drunken rednecks road trippin down the hills. "Hi, Is this Ms Summer? Your car killed 3 people last night being abandoned as it was in the middle of a county road at 3am... CARE TO EXPLAIN?"  tHIS IS NOT THE PHONE CALL I EVER WANT.

Boss: *SIGH* We are very stressed! And busy! And your presence is so totally required. TIMMY WILL DIE IN THE WELL IF YOU DON'T SHOW UP HERE, LASSY. IT WILL BE A HOLOCAUST.

Summer: SO STOP HAVING EVERYONE WORKING 2 HOUR SHIFTS? I know! It's awful timing! It's so sucky! I'll be there if I can but my phone's on one bar (TRU FAX FOR ONCE). I have to call the tow company again! TTYL! 

Jade: *LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY* You lie so awesomely!!! You need to be my diplomat. Also? If you ever call and tell me your car died, I will never believe you again.

So we head down into the basement lair where the toys are stockpiled like nuclear weapons waiting for the epic year-ending war that IS Christmas around here and as the door opens...

Oh. My. EVER LOVING SANTA JESUS.

IT'S LIKE SOMEONE STARTED A RUMOR THE WHITE WITCH WAS COMING.
100 YEARS OF WINTER AND NEVER CHRISTMAS! 

Mind you, ok, that we are doling out toys for A SMALL TOWN. I could give every kid in the elementary school 17 activity books, 6 sets of pointless beadness, dominos, a handful of stuffed animals, random further activities of all descriptions...
AND WE'D STILL HAVE MORE.

AND MORE IS COMING.

TOYPOCALYPSE IS UPON US.

We spent 3 hours just going through the books. The books.  As in not the story books, not the coloring books, not the sticker books. No. The books of activities: beading, embroidery, origami, cats cradle, 1000 things to time with a stopwatch, a zillion things to do on a road  trip, art, watercoloring, body art, hair art, nail art, art-for-fun, art-from-your-hand, art-from-your-thumbprint, art-from-food, art-from-the-conquored-souls of your enemies, window art, shadow art, how to braid, how to make a battery, how to make a solar car, how to make a neutron bomb, how to draw Marvel Superheroes, how to sing, how to knit, how to play jacks, how to play cats cradle, chinese jumprope (i don't even know), how to do magic, how to make your own fairies, how to make pipe cleaner flowers, how to kill fairies with pipe cleaners...
My favorite is still Make Your Own Tiaras. Every girl should have that one.
Oh, and there's something called Amazing Lacing. I'm not sure if I should be amazed or not. I mean, someone made it... but then someone also made the bendy wire super hero things that are in tins somewhere in the corner...

Next Week: The Toys.

There are at least a bazillion bags and boxes stuffed with toys I have only glimpsed. Their numbers are legion.

Also: There are such things as Melty Beads. I know this now because we somehow have acquired at least 900 of them. They are everywhere. As are the Pop Beads. We have a 3ft box piled 4ft high with these things and they still spilled over into a 2nd large box and it looks like we may need a 3rd.
I dearly, dearly hope some little kid puts those on his/her list. Their parents will never forgive us. I'm just saying.

I did find this awesome animal-head clacker thingy. I don't even know how to describe it but it's wood and painted to be a giraffe. The head is in two parts lashed together and when you move it it CLACKS. With satisfactorily annoying results. I am making it my personal mission to find that thing a toddler with deserving parents. Somehow, its will shall be done.

Anyway, 3 hours of sorting and sorting and sorting and we still aren't done with just the books...

It will never end. This is the Christmas that will swallow us whole.

This may actually be true because the floor of the lair looks like it's got holes. It's a basement! OF A LARGE BUILDING. This cannot be a good thing.

I got interviews! Like, I sent in applications and people! called me! OMG.
 
... Two of them are at advertising/media firms. I swore I'd never do that. But... if they'll take me and pay me til I can make the FSOT... well, it's better than McBurgers, right? 

The other interview is with a company that um, from the sounds of it is probably some form of glorified telemarketing, but again if they're going to pay me what they say they'll pay me, I'll survive.

So I interview with the ad firms on Thursday and with the telecom people on Friday.

Let's hope I can interview decently. After being put through Edward's (my older stepbro) machine gun fire style (I AM NEVER WORKING FOR HIM.) surely no actual employer can be worse than that. And he got me when I was 3 shots of rum into a Bearcat game ("sure I want to work for your company! I'd be good at... what company are you interviewing me for, bro? Putting things where they go! YES! I can totally find stuff on maps. With GPS even.") Edward's kind of scary anyway- boy is too intense for anyone's good. I mean, yay for focus and drive but he's got that "HI I'M IN BUSINESS" edge that just sometimes makes me think he'd be happier taking over countries with giant trebuchets and putting enemy heads on spikes. I'm really glad that we don't live in feudal Europe is what I'm saying. Because Edward would kick entirely too much ass at feudalism. And he'd probably have gotten me married off to Walder Frey someone awful.

On the bright side, he took up my side with stepdad and pointed out that maybe it might be time that I actually was out on my own. StepDad harrumphed and all but hung up on him. lol

Let's face it, he'd never hire me anyways. XP He might, however, fob me off on one of his unsuspecting business friends: "Hey, hire my kid sister. She's smart but DONT GIVE HER A MAP OMFG." 

But now I'm off to go help with Toys for Tots (or our local variant thereof in any case). Yay volunteering! 

Spent allllll day looking at houses/apartments/duplexes. Saw a couple cute houses but one caused asthma issues and the other is not only insanely expensive up-front but also has two "bedrooms" that were nothing like a bedroom should ever be, so where on earth would we put our other roomies? 

Did find some duplexes of appropriate price in a decent neighborhood and such. That could work. Idk.

My mother finally swayed enough to say that if I find a full-time or at least decently-paid job in KC I can just take it and run like a bandit, and she won't question it. But if I can't get that, she wants me to stay home for a few more months. Which even she admits isn't entirely an awesome plan because with current paychecks at Sawyers, it's not like I'm actually saving anything.

My stepfather, as usual, insists that I am in fact about 12 years old and have no business being anywhere near Teh Citeh. It is a trap! I will be caught in their webs of deceit and treachery! I will be sent to debtors prison! And probably mauled by rabid wolverines wearing gang symbols! 
I may exaggerate. But not as much as you'd think.


So here's to hoping I can find a decent job by some miracle so I can just move and get on with all this Real World Experience. Which is of course going to suck a lot, but possibly not quite as much as anticipated. And anyway! I HAVE CLASSES! 

My platonic soulmate always makes me feel better. Even if we're laughing about nothing or making fun of Twilight or complaining about how life refuses to do what we want it to. Because life's a cranky bitch.

Going to run to teh city tomorrow to check out houses/apartments. AND to see sister_of_night because she's awesome! At least that's the plan for now. *crosses fingers* 

Mom's not happy about the idea but a few hours to hang out with Serena and then to hang out with Jade is just... I need to do it! It's almost Jade's bday and it would be so. nice. to get to see her /before/ I'm moving into a new apartment in the city.

And I figured out some places to find a job and I'm going to deal with the FafSFA on Tuesdsay... then enrollment... and I'm going to stop. freaking. out. It will be ok.

So I might be broken up with a bff, BUT.

I can go to Crystal Ball and have a blast with my friends.

AND! I found online political science course for this spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll decide about accounting later.

but: omgyay. my life just got a tiny bit easier.

So um, now to figure out apartment situations for the spring. :/

I want to be in the Foreign Service. I have a goal. It's a ridiculous goal. It's made of fail. I don't care. I want it anyway. So it's mine. I have it.

But this means I want to be a Poli Sci major. This means I want to devote a year of my life to a Poli Sci course of study so that I can hopefully pass the test and the orals next October. 

But if I do this and then I fail again? I have no fallback. I'll have a year of Poli Sci coursework and no career opportunities except maybe just going ahead and doing Pre Law and introducing myself as "Hi, I'm Summer and I am a Dracula." 
Yes, lawyers are now vampires. In my head. Because I said so.

And if it's to be pre-Law that's a bazillion more years at least of school. I don't want a bazillion more years. I want maybe one. Or two if I really have to. And then at the end there's another test that is insane and I may die of it.

I could take a couple courses in Accounting. As a fake minor for the fake Poli Sci degree that I don't actually want to get. This would mean I could theoretically become an accountant like my favorite cousin in a couple years. I don't like that idea per se, but I could do it. They pay you for counting things. I've seen it happen.

I could take the Poli Sci courses and simultaneously do something like... medical transcription. They'll pay you for that too and it takes about a year or maybe two and possibly I could work at home and that wouldn't be so bad because no one would tell me I can't have weekends off.

I could do something like... um, Insurance. They want you to be bilingual with that too now and hey, if I did some actual studying I'd be back to almost-fluent in Spanish. And there's not necessarily a degree with that although it helps and some training wouldn't be so bad and I could do that. Maybe. I don't know.

Or I will fall down the rabbit hole and someone will totally want to buy one of the books I keep scribbling, and other people will take leave of their senses and like it. But I won't hold my breath.

I don't know what to do with my life right now, but at least I know it's going to involve some Political Science classes.

Sounds pretty accurate, I think... And while we're on the subject of friends, I'm going to have to write an entry on that topic. :/

PreHalloween: In TV Land! 
 Serena and Kitty picked me up and we headed south for Jaime's party. As is inevitable any time my friends and I do a road trip, we got LOST. I don't know where those directions were leading but it was definitely not toward Jaime's. So we had to call for directions and it took him and his bro Kevan both to figure out how to get us back on track. However the bonus time with the girls was nice anyway.

We made it to the party, got up to our room and changed. I was Yuna from FFX-2 for the evening, Kitty was Delirium Masquerading As Dream (Yay for Sandman!), and Serena was Slave Girl Leia- complete with a collar and chain.

Jaime had made a huuuuge trashcan full of Jungle Juice that was chock full of Everclear, rum, vodka, whiskey, and gods only know what else. LETHAL AS CYANIDE OMFG, and tasted like fruit juice.

Tons of people showed up and so many people had amaaaaaazing costumes. Jaime and Kevan were dressed as Captain Hammer and Dr Horrible, Goddess and Blue were Goth!Zombie! Stripper and her Russian Madame. Little J dressed as the Green Fairy, complete with a bottle of the most deadly absinthe I've ever had. Unfortunately she'd added some green tulle to her wings and Jaime's cat kept trying to eat it.

I took one single shot of Little J's absinthe and pretty much nearly died of it. Blue and Goddess were like "sit, here is food and water and do not move for a bit." I was too busy considering the likelihood of encountering and miniature green fairies and can-can dancers.

I went back to the Everclear-soaked punch after that. It was totally safer.

And then someone busted out coffee-flavored Patron and I nearly fell over in worship. I basically declared it to be sex in a bottle and I need this stuff in my life.

Surreal moments:

• a Zombie Stripper trying to nom Capt Hammer's brains.
• Yuna, Princess Leia and a busty pirate wench club dancing
• Delirium taking shots with Charlie Brown
• The Green Fairy dancing with Beetlejuice.
• Grave Digger sitting at a sewing machine while Capt Hammer and Dr Horrible debate what stitch to use
• Slave Princess Leia taking over the sewing because boys do not know how to make a female costume apparently
• The vampire who lost her fang

So a very successful party, all in all! Of course, this meant it didn't need to end, so we all eventually dropped over of exhaustion, got up the next day and ran to Waffle House to ready ourselves for actual Halloween, which was set for St Louis! 

Jaime drove and we three girls piled into his truck, and oh poor Jaime, his life! SO HARD. Trapped with three girls for hours on end. No, actually, possibly he should be pitied, but he accepted being outnumbered very well.


That party was quite a bit bigger but so. much. fun. I was half-surprised how many KC people were there, but then again: YAY! I got to see a lot of friends I miss. And OMG the costumes!! 

Halloween: At The Circus
Oh wow do we  have friends who know how to throw a killer themed party. Tons of refreshments, and a max quota on the number of clowns allowed. There was freshmade cotton candy and popcorn, which was so yummy. Everyone got handed tickets and there was of course rampant thievery and the placement of tickets in interesting places. Usually on other people's bodies. I got awarded more tickets for stealing Kitty's with my teeth. I got Cracker Jacks and cotton candy with my tip-tickets.

There were SO. Many. Corsets. I was sad that I had not that much cleavage but on the other hand, I could breathe in my spandex so it seemed an ok trade-off. I was super comfy all night. Kitty meanwhile had to be helped off the couch at one point cause she forgot she couldn't bend.

There were lots of corsetry+super short short nonexistant petticoat/skirts that it was so hard not to stare at every girl and admire her undies... ok, who am I kidding? Like anyone resisted.

I wore a dance costume because hey, I have a ton of them laying around. I actually got comments on how it looked like an real performance outfit and I was so happy I could be all "Cause it is!" Only not for tight-rope walking of course. However my outfit's drawback became apparent when I got suckered into The Devil's Game (aka 3-Man) and someone started making mention of rules involving the removal of shirts. Because oops, My shirt is also my skirt and my sleeves and everything is all  ONE PIECE OMG I DID NOT FORESEE THIS.

How I didn't foresee 3-Man is a good question but I didnt' and oooooops. But I escaped and hid behind tall people until the troublemakers stopped looking for me.

I got to join a panel decision on whether or not a certain gentleman owned a certain black lace thong whose provenance had been brought to question, so I figure I lived up to the expectations of a proper priestess of Goddess. XD 

Surreal Halloween Moments

•  The lion leaping from the bannister and onto the Ring Master Girl
•  Zoot Suit Zombie grabbing the Strong Man's butt
•  Victim of the Barnum Bailey Circus Fire discussing computer games with the Roman Legionaire.
•  Pink Cotton Candy being accosted by the Knife Thrower
• The Lion Tamer handing out shots from his ammo belt
•  Zombies playing with the stick pony

 
I miss Halloween already.

The Ultimate LiveJournal Obsession Test
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( meanwhile, in Summer's vision of Hell... )

I didn't make it.
 ... oh well, next time will go better.  I knew there was a big chance since the major majority of applicants don't pass it on the first try.

Now to start getting stuff together for going back to school/moving to KC/whatever else.

At least now I can have some time living in the same city as my best friends, doing the grown up thing...

I think I'll use the next few months for loan applications so I can see about getting a teaching certification or maybe do the translator certificate...

And I'll start studying for the next test date. I should probably take some Poli Sci classes for electives- that would do a lot for my score, I think.

But right now I'm going to go sit very still and take some very deep breaths and hope that this isn't some dream I'll keep chasing and chasing and never make...

So I got sick a week ago now, and then I felt better so I only missed one day of work, but I should have listened to obislollipop and stayed home a couple extra days... cause guess what? Sick Again/Still!! X(

Do. Not. Want.

I am so over being exhausted, chilling, coughing, and being sick. Thank you, ridiculously inept immune system.


But hey I have now been able to watch movies!!!

Watchmen: Was awesome. I want the soundtrack.

Valkyrie: Was much better than I expected. It was actually hard to watch the ending- even knowing what would happen or maybe because I knew what would happen. I really wanted to leave the room and pretend history was different.

The Princess and the Warrior: German film, of very strange weirdness. It had some of the same still, odd, quiet surreal quality that was so overwhelming in Let the Right One In, but was bright and happier. A much better fairytale, and I fell in love with this thing. OH MY GOD I LOVE IT. You should all see it. 

O_o  Had strange dreams.

I was in our old house- the one I grew up in until the divorce- and I was dancing in the empty front room, complete with its hideous dark paneling and green carpet (what was with that moment of DREARY that every decorator seemed to have circa the late 60s-70s???!). It wasn't all that weird until I looked up and the picture window was overlooking a landscape that included no corn fields but lots of mountains. And then I went back to dancing until I noticed that there were water spouts when I landed certain jumps.

Then I played water spout hopscotch until I realized that possible THERE SHOULD NOT BE WATER SPOUTING FROM THE FLOOR. What if it gave way or something? Due to being wet and OMGMOLD??! 

I went in search of someone to fix it. I found my mother, who didn't believe me even when I jumped and water spouted. What water, honey? Oh that wasn't water. You're imagining it! So then I went to someone else who was like "Well it's ok, we're going south anyway. King's Landing will be so much fun!!" HOW AM I IN WESTEROS??!

Then mom poked her head back in to tell me that I needed to hurry up and get ready and if I was that concerned about the well that I should go look in the crawlspace. (The house has no basement, just a crawlspace which is/was a place I was Not Allowed To Go as a kid and come to think of it that was probably where mom hid the Christmas presents because I was sort of disinclined to disobey about it...)

I had to go to the guest bedroom and empty the closet, the lift up the section of flooring....

AND THERE WAS GIMLI. Lord of the Rings, Orc-killing GIMLI.  F*CKING GIMLI WAS JUST CHILLAXING, floating there under the floorboards in the water that was apparently filling the crawlspace. He opened his eyes and was all "'Sup, human?" 

I sat down cross-legged and stared for a second, then realized that this WAS PERFECTLY NORMAL. Of course there was a dwarf in the basement! Wasn't there always a dwarf in the basement? But what about the water? Was he drowning? 

"I'm dead! How can I drown?"

Right. "You're dead? But I thought you were alive! You can't live down there and be dead!" 

"And yet I do." 

I sat on the carpet in the empty closet, talking to an undead dwarf in the water. I think I got him a beer and I was concerned about the other dwarfs who lived in the caves and whether or not they agreed with Gimli building a recreational pool under the house. He was saying something about not meaning to get it so full when I woke up.

I guess moral to the story is that you shouldn't build a house in the Dead Marshes? Or let your undead caretaker dwarf get bored enough to try recreational architecture? 

Anyway, after that I got up and took an aspirin just in case of fever.

I wonder what it all means....