Stripped Thoughts

Knew something bad would happen this weekend

2006-05-31T15:24:52Z

Hey all -

For those of you who are SCA-dians, Memorial Day weekend means Quest or Roses. My honey and I usually do Quest, but for some reason this year I really didn't want to camp it. I just 'had that feeling" you know the one...

Anyway, I thought it was because of the weather or maybe the construction around Quest...but the weather was lovely all weekend and I even got razed by some for not camping at least the one night even though Adam had to work. Friday my dad got out of the hospital and was home and doing fine. We found out my grandmother was in the hospital on Saturday (she'd been in sicne Tuesday but my aunt couldn't find my phone number to tell me and had not called my dad...*roll*). I spoke with her on Sunday and she sounded fine and told me not to bother coming down and I was already feeling guilty about talking Adam out of camping at Quest, I didn't want him to miss the whole event. So we went to Quest on Sunday and didn't drive the extra hour to see Gran in the hospital.

Then on Monday I found out why I had that feeling. We woke up to a phone call from Dad saying Gran had passed away overnight. I spent the morning dealing with getting myself back together because I had to function today and talking to my dad and trying to keep him ok because my #%$@! brother and sister-in-law have no house phone and decided to leave the cells off or beyond hearing range since they had a rare oportunity to sleep in. Now I wouldn't begrudge them this if she didn't make it a habit of calling me at 7:30 in the FREAKING morning when she knows I don't usually wake up til at least 8 on a week day and 10 on weekends.

I finally at 9:45 had to call a friend who is renting thier spare room at the moment and have him wake them up and tell them to call Dad. Needless to say I was not in the most wonderful mood....spent most of teh rest of the day getting calls from dad off and on because he couldn't get in touch with my aunt or his cousin. He was feeling very isolated dow in FLA and unfortunatly my dad and I together when we are both upset is a very bad thing. Instead of making things better we tend to make each other worse.

For those who would like the info:

http://www.bradleyfuneralhome-marlton.com/

If you click Obits, Gran is the first listed (Rose Batchelor). All the details for funeral, viewing, etc are on there.

Number 8 from Raven

2006-04-11T19:01:58Z

If you comment...

1. I'll respond with something random I like about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. I'll name something we should do together.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me (or just me).
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll leave you a quote that is somehow appropriate to you.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal so you can do the same for other people.

Blogging as a Contest

2006-04-11T15:09:10Z

SOme of you might know that I'm also on MySpace. I'm on both because different groups of friends settled on different sites online. I like to keep up with both so I'm in both places. No big deal, bt recently especially I've been noticing the difference between the two and the similarities.

I've tried to join a couple communities or groups here on LJ and found myself either swallowed up by the avalance of posts or there is no traffic at all on the community. I didn't think it's a big deal, I just decided it wasn't for me and bowed out, but others started seriously attacking each other. One group was described as a Baking Adventure for everyone, however if someone dared to say hello without posting a recipe or god forbid posted a longer recipe or pic without an LJ-cut they got yelled at called names and generally abused. The owner of the community even stated posting what I considered very antisocial rules.....so I ended up leaving a group where I'd found some really cool recipies because I couldn't stand watching people be that mean.

Now at first, this made me hang aroudn on MySpace even more. I found the layout easier to work with and I didn't see as much cattyness. However, recently some of my friends have gotten more serious about blogging. Yes, I said serious about blogging. I'm not meaning to cut on them or judge them, because many are very good writers and they view this as a way to get thier stuff out there. I do have a problem with how seriously they are taking the 'ratings' on MySpace. MySpace ranks the "Most Popular" blog entries. Notice it's ENTRIES and not whole blogs, my first problem with it.

Apparently, very recently there was a huge blow up between the 'serious' bloggers who are writers and artists trying to get thier stuff out there and use thier ratings to show publishers, record people, and other's in whichever biz they are into how much of a following they can achive AND the party bloggers who are posting about parties, sex RP blogs, or basically what they consider trashy blogs. A friend of mine likened them to "girls gone wild' or graffitti. I'm still not sure I agree with the graffitti since graffitti can be beautiful art and the thing that defines graffitti as graffitti is that it's defacement of someone ELSES! property and these blogs aren't seeking out other blogs and posting party comments....they are creating thier own and basically minidng thier own business.

Anyway, the serious bloggers don't like the fact that party bloggers are knocking them off the rankings. I guess my main question is when did blogging become a contest? The fight apparently got very nasty and very heated and just as catty as those comments which made me I leave communities on here.

So it seems both sites have equally nasty people, but I have noticed on LJ if you feel like just writing to keep up with your friends or doing meme's or whatever your not considered less of a blogger for it. Blogging is esseniallty an online journal, whose right it is to tell someone else what should or shouldn't be in thier journal? Why should I be considered less intellegent or less worthy because I write about what I did on the weekend instead of writing a poem or posting a treaties on some social issue? Am I unaware of some definition of blog that says it should be someone 'serious' something intellectual and non-personal?

I even saw a list of blog rules that stated as #1 that you should take yourself out of the blog. WHAT THE #%@%@? I write about whatever I've done or what I'm feeling because I want to share that with my friends.....Anyway i just needed to babble about that for awhile.

Fridays off

2006-04-08T13:56:03Z

I love Fridays off. I know it means I have to work on Saturday, but that isn't so bad and usually so does Adam so it's not like I'd be able to spend any time with him if I wasn't working. Even though almost all Fridays off ROCK, yesterday was especially great!

I had an open house scribal, which no one showed up to, but that is cool. It just means that I had all morning and most of the afternoon to totally get lost in my latest scroll. I almost finished painting it. Well actually I guess I did finish the painting. I still have a little bit of detail work that I will most likely do with a micro pen and a bit of white work, but the main art is done and most of the shading. I'm so proud of myself for this one I could scream. It came out so much better than I thought it would. After it's officially given out I will post a pic online for those interested.

So that was from roughly 9 AM til around 3ish. I emerged when my sister-in-law called me and I got distracted shortly with emails. Good News, my brother has a job again. It's better paying than his last (not counting the dumb place that hired him for a week then laided him off!) and with the same company (Uhaul) and it's a step up. Now he's not in service, but is a manager. I never worry about him. No matter what happens, he always ends up ok money wise and job wise. It's a little un-nerving, but in a good way. Anyway Allie and I shopped together (online) and chatted for a bit then I decided to bake. There was a recipe that I have wanted to try for 2-3 weeks. Cherry Crunch Cookies. They are really good and actually for cookies, fairly good for you since they have fruit bits in them instead of chocolate chips or something like that. Adam's comment was that they tasted like they needed salt *roll*

So I baked cookies and I made Chocolate Cherry Brownies. They turned out good, if a little strong on the cherry flavor. Around this time Adam comes home from work. I'm in the kitchen switching trays of cookies in the oven. When I look up I see a bunch of flowers, a stuffed tiger, a Tigger/Eyore pinwheel, and a box of Bunny Cones. Wasn't that sweet? For no reason other than he loves me, Adam got me a single red rose, a white carnation, a red carnation, and a white carnation with purplish/red edges plus all that other stuff I listed. For those that don't know, I collect Tiggers, which the florist didn't have so he got a tiger.

If the day ended there and we'd just hung out and watched TV the day would have been great, but we decided to go out. We'd just bought an Entertainment Book and there was a place in it called Wild Noodles. Ok, the name just is too cool so I had to try it. It's so NEAT!!!!!

You go in and the menu is posted on the wall where you walk in (and on thr front window). Ok, I love noodles to begin with and this place has asian type things, italian, and american. I mean from Sticky Sesame Chicken and Rice to Thai Noodles with Tofu to Mac and Cheese to Lasagna in a bowl! Then to top it off...or rather end it for desserts they had things like Fried Oreos!, Wonton S'mores, Snicker's Cheesecake, and other mouth watering things.

I got the Sticky Chicken and Rice bowl (I know I went to a place called Wild Noodles and didn't get Noodles...next time, because THERE WILL BE a next time..;) and Adam got Thai Noodles with Tofu (yeah he's weird... I mean who likes Tofu!?) Both dinners were really big. I wasn't expecting that much especially when the guy who greeted us and explained how the place worked...yeah I know, but he was cute and funny and it kinda did need explaining. Menus on walls, no waiters, uber great food and yet serve yourself drinks....was well wild.

So the deal was that you placed the order at the counter and then took a number, your cups and sat down. You got your own drinks, but they brought you your food. Well, the main dishes came out with perfect timing. We were just finishing the starter we ordered. Then just when my mouth was going to go in total meltdown (when they say spicy they mean SPICEY!, but it was good) and I was almost full but didn't want to stop the girl from the counter brough out our desserts and offered to wrap the dinners if we wanted. We were totally indulgent and ordered Fried Oreos and Wonton S'mores. It's a good thing we ordered it all at the start, because if I'd gotten the food and then had to decide about dessert I never would have gotten it. There was so much food and we even ended up packing 1/2 the desserts to go home too. It was a GREAT place!

LONG! Commentary on the restaurant behind the cut...;)

After dinner we attempted to see V for Vendetta, but our timing was off and it wasn't in the theater nearest us, so we just stopped at Price Cutter to check for something that was on sale. They didn't have it so we went home and watched Dr. Who and snuggled up.

All in all....and very good Friday off.

Dogs in the Library

2006-04-06T20:35:33Z

I'm in such a good mood. I love animals and it's just blowing my mind that we started a Read to Dogs program at my library. We're upto aruond 35 kid signed up and I have about 10 volunteers and now we're branching out to one of the schools!

I looked at the calendar and for the next month I have at least one dog a week coming into the library and usually 3-5 of them throughout the week. I shouldn't have favorites, but I do of course. We've also made two of the papers in our area and one gave us a full page spread with artwork.

I know most of you are thinking "Read to DOGS???" but it's really a litteracy program and it works and there have even been studies. For those interested the theory goes like this....

What was the one thing you most likly hated in elementary school? Answer for almost everyone asked....reading aloud to the class. In teh Read to Dogs program kids who havea problem reading, who stutter, or who just are not very confident get practice reading aloud to someone (the dog) who will show unconditional approval. Most of the kids become better readers and better speakers without even thinking about it. beats Public Speaking class doesn't it?

Also we have a huge group of ESL students in the town where I work. Most of them can read at a much higher level than they are comfortable speaking because of pronunciation issues. Again they tend to be quiet because honestly, kids are mean and pick on others or are casually cruel without meaning to be. The dogs arn't then will cuddle with the kids no matter how they pronounce the words in the book. So again kids get practice without feeling like they are doing a huge amount of homework.

So anyway, I've noticed that even when I've had a horrible day when there is a RtD's appointment in the afternoon I go home feeling better about work and everything. Only problem is I'm getting serious dog envy. I love my kitties, but I woudl love to have a dog again.

earthentiger @ 2006-03-29T11:26:00

2006-03-29T16:21:12Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY raven_andubh

pointless sillyness

2006-03-28T16:54:22Z

The Hippie Commune by freckles42
username
zodiac sign
reason for joining the commune
creepy but harmless leader	wgptrey
insists on running around naked	dreamingbear
conceptual artist	farmhouse_ghost
refuses to work in the garden, walks round barefoo	raven_andubh
tries to start a tantric sex group	trimfairy
hugs trees and gets poison oak	divrgrl8
holds a grudge against the government	anglicub
tries to convert everyone from the inside	suba_al_hadid
sells LSD to babies	ghislainedel

Quiz created with MemeGen!

I was Tagged....

2006-03-28T02:46:57Z

Guilt	What is yours?	Explain yourself
Culinary:	Philly cheese Steak	Took them for granite growing up in south jersey...moved to TX......will NEVER take them for granite again!
Literary:	Trashy Romances	I know I know, but brainless reading is needed sometimes so I don't sink into an oblivian of Curious George and Seuss!
Audiovisual:	Chick Flick	I knwo they are predictable and silly, but fun to laugh at.
Musical:	Techno Smurf Remix	Don't ask....;)
Celebrity:	Heath Ledger and Michael Hurst	YUMMY!

Now I tag:-

trimfairy sansobel divrgrl8 gullinbursti and ghislainedel

to complete this same Quiz, Its HERE.

Toenail Color

2006-03-23T21:48:29Z

Your Toes Should Be Blue

You're a little out there, but that means you take guys to a place that's out of this world!

Your ideal guy: Zany, hilarious, and totally unpredictable.

Stay away from: Anyone who has to get up for work in the morning

What Color Should Your Toenails Be?

Recipie and trying to get Lj-Cuts to work

2006-03-22T16:09:37Z

Recipie for Oatmeal Fruit Cookies....

Oatmeal Fruit Cookies (D/P, TNT)
Source: Self
Yield: 24 cookies
1-1/2 cup sugar (I used unbleached organic)
3/4 cup shortening or margarine
1/4 cup water
3 egg whites
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup (well-packed) assorted dried fruit
1 cup chocolate kisses or other chocolate

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Process dried fruit to pretty well-chopped (about raisin-size).

Using an electric mixer beat sugar, shortening, water, egg whites, and vanilla until creamy. On a lower speed, mix in oats, flour, and fruit.

Drop by rounded tablespoons on to silpat- or parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake 20 minutes or until tops begin to brown.

Allow baked cakes to cool on a rack, melt chocolate (I did it in the microwave). Place cooled cakes on parchment paper and decorate tops with melted chocolate using a spoon to drizzle.

Colors...nicked from Ghislainedel and Dreamingbear

2006-03-22T15:22:37Z

you are aquamarine
#7FFFD4

Your dominant hues are cyan and green. Although you definately strive to be logical you care about people and know there's a time and place for thinking emotionally. Your head rules most things but your heart rules others, and getting them to meet in the middle takes a lot of your energy some days.

Your saturation level is medium - You're not the most decisive go-getter, but you can get a job done when it's required of you. You probably don't think the world can change for you and don't want to spend too much effort trying to force it.

Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

YAY! It's not Pink or anywhere NEAR pink!

Memory Sheet

2006-03-21T20:36:33Z

I got something in the mail from my mom last night. I wasn't really expecting anything so I wasn't sure what I'd find.

When I opened it, it was my Grandmother's Memory Sheet and a card from her memorial service. The Memory Sheet was sort of like an obit done on nice paper with a picture of her on it. It listed where (Ohio)/when (1919) she was born and all her siblings, her daughters, and the numbers of grandchildren (9), great grandchildren (over 20) and great great granschildren (3).

On one hand I was thrilled to have it, but it along with the poem on the card and the note from Mom brought it all back and I spent I don't know how long crying alone on the couch because Adam was still at work. The note boiled down to "I hope your enjoying life. You never know what's going to happen so enjoy it while you can and have fun while your young."

Well, I'm going to do my best to do just that!

Happy St. Pat's

2006-03-16T22:58:15Z

You're 40% Irish

You're probably less Irish than you think you are...
But you're still more Irish than most.

How Irish Are You?

Finally Cooled off

2006-03-15T17:39:23Z

I almost logged on Saturday and ranted and raved on here, but I was too mad to even do that.

I lost my grandmother the weekend before last and I didn't really wish to talk about it at work especially with some people who I work with who have NO sense of boundries and think nothing of walking up to me and asking "Oh, Do I hear wedding bells?" or "You were feeling sick? Maybe a baby's on the way" *poke poke nudge nudge* My friends are allowed to do that stuff...FRIENDS! not some person I just have the bad luck to work in the same building with.

So I asked for time off from my boss and requested that he not mention why I was out to people. The assistant director and his admin assistant had to know for scheduling reasons and for bookkeeping, but they too were asked to keep it quiet and just let people think I took personal days. Not a big deal you'd think...but before I left on Tuesday I got more questions about why I was going and where and what was up that you'd think they were doing an expose on my life. I just replied family stuff and that was enough for most, bt one woman followed it up with "What family business?" and when I just raised an eyebrow at her and walked away someone ELSE told her it was none of her business. Her reply? "Yes it is my business." Granted, she probably meant it as a joke, but she would not let it drop.

Then, when I made a special effort to get back to work on Saturday so that I coudl cover a special program instead of having to cancel it because of my private life, she pounced on me as soon as I walked throgh the door. She even had the nerve to call the boss at home (where he wasn't because he was in San Diego on business) and his Mother-in-law called him there so that he could call the library like 5 mins after I did walk in all in a panic and worried that things weren't covered. This person btw, does not work in my dept nor have ANY responcibility for the things she was 'worried' weren't covered. She was just being a busy body and fussing over everyong because I had not kept HER in the loop. Truth be told, I had someone ready to come in if I was not able to get back in time and I had contacted all the volunteers this would affect and had made plans and secondary plans for it all.

I was so angry and annoyed on Saturday that I stayed for the program and then walked out and got busted on again because they thought I was leaving early without permission. I wish that everyone here could mind thier own business. It's not like they pay attention because they are concerned, they want to tattle and whine when someone messes up or gets a privledge they don't have. It's so 3rd grade I could scream!

And to top it off, I walk in on Monday and my assistant greets me with "I was so sory to hear about your Grandmother." Now I really like my assistant and she's one of the people I really didn't mind knowing because we are friends, but who the hell told her? Didn't I ask for some consideration and some privacy? I admit that I ended up snapping at her a bit, but I also apologised and asked her to please keep it to herself because I wasn't ready to rehash it with everyone there because some would not just pass on condolences and leave it at that they would have to ask how and when and how I was doing and what the services were like and what my parents were doing etc etc etc.

What part of fall

2006-03-07T01:44:17Z

I just really liked this answer....

You Are Warm Nights by the Fire

Peaceful and romantic. The best part of fall.

What Part of Fall Are You?

As seen in another journal...

2006-03-06T20:05:35Z

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

"A cell phone rested on a counter beside a pad of hotel stationary."
Death Masks by Jim Bitcher
The only book on my desk aTM that has more than 100 pages I think...oops no I have two other Ya books, but they are on theotehr side of desk.

Flyin high

2006-03-04T03:00:37Z

Some days you just know that the God(s), Goddess(es), or whatever powers that be just love you....others you feel like they hate you...but luckily THIS wasn't one of those days. this was one of the GOOD ones.

First we had work...blah blah not to busy and not too slow just kinda normal, but slow enough that I was looking as sales online while babysitting the reference desk. I found that Kohl's (a store I normally don't even THINK of going into) had kitchen stuff on sale, and hey that mixer I had onmy amazon wishlist was on sale better than Amazon had it...and WAIT the next grade up (KitchenAide Heavy Duty Stand Mixer) was even lower. So I start thinking, I could splurge, just a bit..I mean this is 30% off of a $299 mixer. And i get this really urgent feeling that I have to go NOW to get it. The feeling is so freaky that I call Adam to be sure he's ok with me doing it...not that he has a veto, but it's nice to knwo you won't get lectured when you get home.

The urgent feeling STILL won't go away. I was virtuous and didn't run out on my lunch break or anything like that, but I did stop on my way home instead of waiting til Saturday and going with Adam to the Kohl's near us. So I go in and the elevator is ALL the way in the back, upstairs the kitchen dept is on the oposite corner of the floor as the elevator....basically there is nothing in the store I would have had to walk farther to get to...and then the mixer was mismarked and at $249 so I debated withmyself. did I REALLY want to lug a 40lb mixer across the store, down the elevator and across the store again...THEN across the whole parking lot since I was parked as far as possible from the door...when it was $50 more than online. BUT there was a price scanner behind me when I turned around! And when I scanned that HUGE mixer...It read "CLEARANCE 50% OFF TICKET PRICE" Dude even with it mismarked at $249, half off that was awesome!

So I do lug the thing across the store and down the elevator and start across the sales floor again when a REALLY nice lady stops me and gives me the cart she's been using to stock her dept so I can wheel the thing to the front. i know it begs the question of why I didn't have one of those in the first place...I never saw them! plus i'm a big strong girl I can carry a mixer....OY!

So I get to the front and the guy there is nice and he scans a present I bought for a friend and the other items I had then looks confused as he scans the mixer, andI'm like "Oh shit, what it not come up." And tell him I was able to scan it upstairs and he tells me yes, he can scan it but it's coming up Red ticket and that it's acking for the original price.

Now, I've been lusting after this mixer for around 8 yrs! So i tell him it sells for $299.99 normally, it was online at Kohl's at $199.00 and it was marked upstairs as $249.00 (sale). the manager happend to be standing behind me and said over my shoulder as I was asking if it was 1/2 off the 299 or the 249, "No hon, there' sa special sale...." and to the guy "Does the list go up to $299?" He looks and Yep it did....$75. So I'm thinking AWESOME, I get this $299 mixer that I've wanted for YEARS for 75% off....and the I'm babbling at the manager and the guy thanking them and she turns to me again and smiles..."and half off...THAT"
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my KitchenAid HeavyDuty Mixer for $34 and change!!!! The mixer and ALL the stuff I got totaled under $50. I would have been extatic to get the thing at $150, I would have been thrilled beyond belief to get it at $125...hell I would have been jumping to get it at the $75. I almost couldn't swipe my card at $34!! Plus the guy left the register and carried it out to the door for me and waited while I went to get my car. how sweet was that.

So I go home and I'm flyin high and I unpack it and I coo over it. Then my day geta a smidge better still...I get to feel both virtuous and LAZy at the same time. how often does that happen?
I got my stuff togeth, I drove tot he gym and changed fully intendin g to do an hourlong 25-30 lap swim workout. Got there, changed....went to the pool..to fin out that some poor unfortunate soul (10 brownie points for the Disney reference) had gotten sick in the pool and it was closed for at least on hour maybe 2 while they clean it up. So I got to go home curl up and type this instead of working out...;)

Life is good....and some my honey gets home and we will go play with our friends....at 11 PM *laugh* thank god we're all nightowls!

Some Random Quizzes

2006-03-03T14:53:26Z

Mostly from dreamingbear

You represent... loneliness.
Always alone and always sad about it... unlike

angst, you don't have to look for a reason to

be miserable. You want to be in the company

of people but aren't sure how to act when

you're with them. Sometimes you have to make

an effort. You can't always wait for others

to come to you.

What feeling do you represent?
brought to you by Quizilla
____________________________________________

You're a Winter. You very much enjoy your time

alone but do like other people's company

sometimes. You just need your space. You have

a few priviledged friends who saw past your

colder exterior to find the true you. You can

have pretty bad mood swings (though you hate

to admit it) so you could be soft one second

then storming around the next! But over all,

you're a very pleasant person once people

take the time to get to know you. You're a

good friend for in-depth talks. You're very

talanted when it comes to creative things.(If

you can't see the pics, go to my homepage and

look near the bottom and find your result)

What season are you? (pics)
brought to you by Quizilla
_____________________________________________________

You're the loving smile,the one that is entirely

devoted to others,especially that one

person.You really can't get them out of your

head,but then,you don't really want to.

What Kind of Smile are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
____________________________________________________________--

Your anime hair color is green.

What is your anime hair color?
brought to you by Quizilla
__________________________________________________________

White symbolises innocence and silence,

shyness and secrecy. Lilies represent

purity and sweetness. You are undoubtedly a

lovely person, despite your introverted

nature. Your shyness probably prevents you

from being the center of attention, but you

prefer to watch the world around you anyway.

What flower - color association are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

BOOKS!

2006-03-01T21:23:53Z

Stolen (absolutely shamelessly) from anglicub -

A book that made you cry: Arrows fall by Mercedes Lackey (I usually start crying 2-3 chapters before the scene happens because I know it's coming, but I love the series nad world so much I keep going back and re-reading it)

A book that scared you: Jurassic Park by Micheal Crichton (it's a great one to make you hear a 'bump' in the night)

A book that made you laugh: Dead in Dixie by Charlene Harris - actually this is the first 3 books of her SOuthern Vamps series and they all make me laugh. (People often look at me oddly as a sit quietly laughing, ok not so quietly laughing, to myself over a book)

A book in High School that you loved: Henry V by Shakespeare - sue me I'm a sucker for Shakespeare

A book in High School that you hated: Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare - Not that much of a sucker....way too much stupidity of humans in it for me.

A book that challenged your imagination: Beowulf - Medieval Folklore - the challenge was more disecting it with one of my absolute favorite college professors, who ironically enough wasn't a full professor yet, though he tought me probably more than most others.

A book that challenged your morals: Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold

A book that challenged your identity: I honestly can't answer this one....many have made me think, but I don't think I can say any CHALLENGED my identity. Not sure if that says that I have a good grip on who and what I am or no grip at all....

A book series that you love: So many to choose from Garret Files by Glen Cook, LKH's Anita Blake books and her Merry Gentry books, Hollows by Kim Harrison, Dark Hunters by Sherrilyn Kenyon, All of Eddings books....never ask a Librarian to choose.

Your favorite Horror Novel: Cheating again....Poe's short stories, especially The tell-tale heart and

Your favorite Science Fiction Novel: Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury, Yes it qualifies as SciFI even if it's not in space!

Your favorite Fantasy Novel: I'll limit myself to two: Green Rider by Britian and Dragon Singer by Anne McCaffrey

Your favorite Romance Novel: Unleash the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon, at present at least, but this changes periodically.

Your favorite "Coming-of-Age" Novel: Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Your favorite book not listed previously: Muhahah...since I've only seen Anglicub's my choices are wide open.....

(added by me)
Your favorite worst book: Night Bites by Nina Bangs - yes, it is as bad as it sounds and includes an orgazmic rug, a set of cosmic trouble makers, vampires, and of course the Jersey Devil.

Books that shook your world (not necessarily your Favs): Catch - 22 by Heller, Hobbit by Tolkien, The Lottery (sorry I don't know the author, but it was a fantastic and horrifying short story), the last 2 I don't even remember the titles, but the stories stay with me to this day....one was of an Amusment Park that only a select few got tickets for every decade or so, the catch was that a % of the people who went in woudl die on the rides, everyone knew this going in, but they still rode the ride for the thrill....the other was a story about america after a HUGE population explosion called the Crush. Supposedly the streets were so crowded that if you went out you might never find your way back to your house so food was delivered by a vending machine type system hooked up in your house and everyone got all thier information from the TV. The main character was a boy who fell in love with the actress on one show. He decided to 'break' out of teh house and find her. When he did he foudn deserted streets and when he finally foudn his way to the TV station he found her, now an old woman. He tried to tell people that the Crush was over, but people were used to hiding inside now and he ended up staying at the station and keeping it running after the actress died.

Please feel free to copy into comments section and supply your own answers...maybe I'll find even more books to read!

Ancient Blood

2006-02-28T18:03:01Z

I liked this quiz even though the quizmaker doesn't know the difference between where and wear...

You have Elvin blood: The blood in your veins is

that of the elves. The most noble of all

bloods. The Elves are very honest and wise,

and you share that aspect with them. You are

a very fun and kind person and anyone who

meets you immediately feels safe when youre

around. You are a great person and an even

better friend. Dont ever change for anyone.

What ancient bloodline do you have?
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Random Quiz I couldn't resist taking...

2006-02-23T19:55:35Z

Poseidon

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
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Dads

2006-02-22T00:08:00Z

It's weird...no matter how old I am I will always picture my dad as he was when I was a kid. That huge guy with a head full of dark hair who trekked in the woods with my brother 'hunting' deer, which they hardly ever saw but enjoyed looking for anyway, or went fishing for the weekend or rolled around the the floor rough-housing with the dogs and us kids.

Every time I see him now, I'm always in a slight shock to see his hair grey and him struggling to move from a wheelchair to his easy chair, or the reverse. It's still hard for me to believe that at the moment, he's been in the hospital for almost 2 months straight. A lot of people reading this are probably now going to scold me with "Why didn't you tell me....'s", because I really haven't mentioned it to many people..mostly because I didn't want to think about it or to face the direction it was going.

Anyway, on New Year's Day Dad finally admitted that he'd been having trouble breathing for two weeks. Mom called the paramedics because he didn't have enough strength to get to the car and go to the emergency room. At the hospital they discovered that he had pneumonia (fluid in the lungs). while treating that they decided to do some heart tests since he was there...and found not one, not two, but THREE new blockages. All brand new, the two that he'd had bypass surgery on 20+ years ago were fine. That's my dad it's always got to be new problems. So they were forced to do a triple bypass surgery when he was still weak from the pneumonia. After the surgery he recovered better than they thought he would with just a small relapse of pneumonia and they sent him home the third week of January. He went home on a Saturday i think it was.

He made it til Tuesday. In that time, my mom had to call the fire/rescue 3 times to help me up from where he'd fallen or rolled, because he couldn't move himself and she couldn't lift him. On Tuesday, the home health aid came and couldn't find his BP....at ALL! So it was back to the hospital in an ambulance to find out that his kidneys had shut down. On dialysis for 3 days plus a respirator when he had trouble breathing and suction once a day to keep his lungs clear from fluid. Mom kept telling us it was just a wait and see thing and that we should worry about coming to visit. Of course when I got the call last week that he was finally off the respirator and they were able to take him off the sedatives and he was mostly awake, Mom tells me she had been afraid we had lost him this time. Thankfully, my dad is a stubborn old goat and he's doing better and is gaining strength again, but his kidneys haven't started to work again and his hands remain weak. Sometime this week or weekend, the doctors think he will be transferred to a rehab facility where he'll have to stay until he gets enough strength to at least do chair to chair transfers on his own. Since he hates being stuck there I'm sure he'll work hard at it....at least until he's home then he'll ignore his therapy as usual.

So if any of you have any spare positive energy to send his way or good thoughts, I'd appreciate them and I know he would too.

Some Old quizes I took and liked the art...

2006-02-15T20:17:23Z

Just 'cause they are fun....as if I need another reason.

Your Soul is Blue - Calm, hip, easy-going. You are
a very chill person, and try to stay worry
free. What's the point it fear and stress? You
like to sit back, and roll, just taking one
problem at a time, and doin' it with style.

What Color is Your Soul? {8 results artsitic pics}
brought to you by Quizilla

What Powerful Magic Weaver are you? My result was White Witch, but she didn't have code so y'all ahve to actually click a link to see the pretty faerie.....http://quizilla.com/cgi-bin/result/list/list.pl

Your GAZ from Invader ZIM (my favorite show).You
looooooooooove video games, and will do almost
any thing to get your way. Lots of people are
intimidated by you, and with every right to be.
You don't need friends as long as that
controller is in your capable hands.

What Random Cartoon Character Are You? {DEAR GOD I HATE THIS QUIZ}
brought to you by Quizilla So Incredibly wrong on this one, but can't win them all....

In your dream world there are faeries . . . and
dragons, and elves, and ogres. Your mind is
like a page out of J.R.R. Tolkiens books, full
of action, adventure, and magic. You can be an
evil sorcerer, or elfin hero. You can slay the
griffons, or enslave the humans. Whatever you
want, its your imagination, there you can do
anything . . .

What's Your Dream World Like?
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Well, DUH! I needed a quiz to tell me that one? but the pic is pretty....

Angel (Part 2)

2006-02-15T20:09:39Z

Angel leaned back against the wall. She fully expected to wake up at any minute, after all this could not be happening to her. Sure everyone had always called her a dreamer, but she’d never seen tiny faeries before and she’d certainly never had an hour long discussion with one before. An hour before she’d been ready to sit down and read a few stories and enjoy imagining a magical world with no worries, but no. She opened a book to a faerie who informed her that yes, such a world exists, but no dice there are worries there just the same as here. In fact, they have a pretty big worry at the moment. Their world seemed to be fading.

The faerie, whose name was Ruellia, had told Angel that faeries, unicorns, dragons, and all manner of magical creatures existed. They even flourished in some places. They usually lived in or around libraries in the books written about them or sometimes in the homes of artists or writers who based their works on them. The problem wasn’t universal, but for the creatures who called Tinville Library home it was pretty important. The creatures seemed to feed off of, or enjoy as Ruellia described it, human’s imagination and dreams. An indeterminate amount of time ago, the creatures of Tinville’s library noticed that some of the larger creatures were fading. At first, they would claim to be tired and stay in their books, but after while they no longer ever came out and soon the only creatures still venturing out of the books were the smallest, the Faeries. Now even some of the faeries were starting to feel the drain. Ruellia couldn’t be exact about the time, because she really didn’t understand the concept so well, but she could explain the weary sleepiness that seemed to zap all her friends. She had been starting to feel it too, but then suddenly she felt stronger and more awake. That was when she had noticed Angel and she just knew that Angel would be the one to help her and all her friends figure out why they were running out of energy.

All this information filtered through Angel’s mind as she sat and watched Ruellia fly in lazy circles around her room. She shook her head slightly and blinked her eyes a few times, but no matter what each time she opened them Ruellia was still there. Could there really be faeries living at the library? And if there were, had there really been dragons and unicorns? If she accepted all that, then what happened to them? Why hadn’t she seen them before? Had anyone else? Was she going crazy?

While Angel sat and tried to convince herself that there wasn’t a small faerie exploring her bedroom, Ruellia did just that. She’d never really been out of the library before so she was very curious. Truth be told, Ruellia had rarely been out of her own book home and was always curious about the humans who often came to the library. She started her exploration quite methodically once Angel had informed her she needed time to think about everything. Ruellia wasn’t exactly sure what there was to think about, but she could give Angel time.

First, she launched herself from Angel’s hand to fly up to the top of the room, very careful to steer clear of the whirling blades that circled under the light. The currents the blades created in the air made it a bit difficult to maneuver in the small bedroom, but it was fun to ride them in circles. Ruellia allowed the air currents to carry her in slow circles around the room as she mapped it in her mind. There was the bed Angel was sitting on. Ruellia admitted to herself that it looked like a much more comfortable place to sleep than her book, but not nearly as pretty. The bed was covered in a bright orange and black stripy cover that reminded Ruellia of the books about big cats in the library….those books had always given her chills. Just the thought of an animal whose teeth were probably bigger than she was and who could swallow her whole made her blood run cold.

Across the room from the bed was a large wooden piece which reminded Ruellia of the librarian’s desk, but there was no where for a person’s legs to go if they sat in front of it. Instead, it had 4 large drawers and the top was littered with many shiny objects of different colors. Some were gold and silver, but others were just about every shade of the rainbow. Ruellia made a mental note to herself to look there as soon as she got the room fixed in her mind.

There was the door that leads out into the rest of Angel’s home on another wall and next to it two more doors. One was slightly open and Ruellia was very curious about what was in there, but didn’t want to be rude so she restrained herself. On the floor she noticed an odd type of grass….or carpet she supposed. That’s what the librarian’s called what covered the floor on the library. Angel’s looked more like grass though. There was a dense covering of blades, just like grass and it was a deep jade green, but it looked fuzzy even from way up where she was flying. Other than the piles of books, there was only one other thing in the room….a large basket filled with cloth. Ruellia figured that must be where Angel kept her clothing and thought it must be nice to have more than one outfit.

Angel (Part 1)

2006-02-15T20:08:23Z

This is a story, or the start of one, that I wrote awhile ago and posted on MySpace. Since I was finally worn down enough to make an account here I figured I would transfer it over. Hopefully it will spur me on to write part 3....

Angel had always loved the library. Whenever she was down or just had to escape from her life, all she had to do was visit the library and pick out a book and off she went to the prairies of the wild west or to a fantasy land of dragons and faeries. So when she moved to this new town, one of the first things she did was get a library card.

At first she was so excited, the library was a fresh new building with tons of light and bright colors and shelves and shelves of books. As she began to visit on a regular bases though she started to notice that no matter how bright and sunny it was outside, the library seemed gloomy and shadowed. She also found that she had a hard time finding any of her favorite authors or even and new and interesting books. Oh, there were mysteries aplenty, but almost all of them were the best seller or A is for ___ kind. Not that there was anything wrong with those, they just weren’t what she wanted. When she looked in Science Fiction and Fantasy, she found tons of Star Wars and Star Trek and even a few epic fantasy (covered with dust), but nothing new and exciting.

After months of ordering books from other libraries and being disappointed by her town library, Angel decided to talk with the librarian and ask about some of her favorite authors. The librarian, Mr. Phelps, was perfectly polite, but left Angel with no doubt that he thought the authors and books she asked about to be frivolous and not worth his time nor his libraries’ precious money. He informed her that the library worked on a very limited budget and that they stocked all the NYT Best Sellers and that should be enough.

On her way out, Angel decided to swing through the children’s section of the library. She was surprised by the feeling of light and energy that she felt just walking into the room. A small group of girls were working on homework and giggling about the new cute boy in class. In an adjacent room, some mothers watched toddlers play with puzzles and blocks.

Feeling recharged and more optimistic, Angel headed for her favorite section of shelves when she was growing up, the fairy tales. She felt no shame in being one of those girls who started her love of reading with a love of princesses in frothy gowns who always seemed to need saving from a dragon or witch. Of course, in time she graduated to enjoying those stories where the girls took care of themselves or where the dragons were intelligent and spoke to humans.

But for some reason, heading back into fairy tale land seem to feel so right just then. She found all her old favorites there on the self. When next she looked up, the sky outside was the deep blue of twilight and the room was empty of children. Thinking that she lost track of time, Angel grabbed a couple of volumes of faerie stories and headed to the check out desk.

Out of the corner of her eye, Angel saw something colorful flutter at the edge of one of the books, but dismissed it as a forgotten bookmark left by a former reader. She checked out her books and headed home. That night, curled in her favorite comfy chair, Angel opened The Blue Fairy Collection and got a very shocking surprise. Sitting there on the book in front of her was a small faerie. She was dressed in a pretty blue dress and her wings fluttered slowly like a butterfly’s. This was no forgotten bookmark or even a toy left by a forgetful child. The delicate faerie stood and smiled at Angel.

"Hello," she said in a friendly voice colored with an Irish accent, "we’re so glad you came to the library! We thought everyone had forgotten about us."