I feel just like somebody else...

fuego @ 2009-12-14T20:51:00

2009-12-15T01:51:54Z

I haven't posted any poetry here in quite some time...I put this one up last week at Presque Vu but never put it here. It popped rather randomly into my mind last week, I found it amusing, as did Gavin :-)

An Open Invitation from Tartarus

Dear Sinner,
Won’t you come dwell in my stormy pit,
far below Gaia’s deepest depths?
I have tortures here
you could never imagine
and an eternity in which
to inflict them upon your soul.
My gift to you for your crimes,
and I am most pleased to give it.
Drop in any time, I have a place
already reserved just for you.
No need to call ahead.

In other news, I pulled a muscle in my back the other day or something. The lower right side of my back hurts. It was improving yesterday, but has since gotten more painful again.

Also, I met the folks who were looking for knitting. They gave me some yarn on Friday and I have one scarf made, two in progress. (I'm crocheting one, which I have to keep putting down and picking back up...the yarn in question does not lend itself very well to a lot of chain stitching, but I had gotten too far to just rip it all up when I decided this and so am just working on it a little at a time. Thankfully, chain stitching goes pretty quickly. As soon as I use up the yarn, I'm supposed to give them a call so we can meet, they said they would pay me then and go from there. We'll see how it all works out.

I had an email for a job interview the other day with a staffing company. The place is over a mile's walk from the nearest public transportation. Unfortunately, the job was in-house and while I'd be willing to walk that far for an interview, I would just not be able to take a job that required me walk that far to and from the transportation point- it's up in Sparks and it's winter. One thing to have transportation available and choose to walk that far when it's nice. Whole other ballgame when it's your only choice. And you know, night time out in the middle of nowhere where if anything happened to you, there's a really good chance no one would ever know. So they said they would keep me in mind for future not-in-house positions.

Therapeutic Letter Writing

2009-12-11T16:47:21Z

Dear Job Recruiter,

Yes, I am looking for a job. And I was certainly happy to receive your email asking if I would be interested in an interview for a position with your company. It sounds great, really and I am, of course, in need of gainful employment.

However, I fail to understand why you would even begin to think that I may be right for the position for which you sent a description. It is located in Michigan. Perhaps you missed the fact that my Dice profile indicates that I am NOT interested in relocation. Okay, I forgive you. But there's also the fact that the description indicates that three years' experience with Cold Fusion and Apache and two years experience troubleshooting Linux and Novell servers are hard, unnegotiable "musts". Nowhere on my resumé do the words "Cold", "Fusion", "Apache", "Linux" or Novell" appear in any combination.

Even beyond that, the description indicates that you require a Master's Degree. A half-second glance just for that would tell you that I DON'T HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE AT ALL.

My only guess is that you just send your description to every new profile that you see on the site. Stop wasting my time.

No love,

Fuego

How about "No."? Does "No." work for you?

2009-12-11T01:29:29Z

http://www.redding.com/news/2009/dec/08/redding-womans-christmas-carol-initiative-picks/

Merry Hyatt has found allies in her quest to put an initiative on the ballot next year requiring public schools to play Christmas carols.

Hyatt, who moved to Redding four months ago, said she joined the Redding Tea Party Patriots and recruited several members to help her collect the 433,971 signatures needed by March 29.

Hyatt said she has partnered with a couple of churches in Redding and one in Wildomar in Southern California to collect signatures. All the signature pages must be turned in together to the Shasta County registrar, she said.

The initiative would require schools to provide children the opportunity to listen to or perform Christmas carols, and would subject the schools to litigation if the rule isn't followed.

Schools currently are allowed to offer Christmas music as long as it is used for academic purposes rather than devotional purposes and isn't used to promote a particular religious belief, according to an analysis by the California Legislative Analyst's Office.

"Bottom line is Christmas is about Christmas," said Erin Ryan, president of the Redding Tea Party Patriots. "That's why we have it. It's not about winter solstice or Kwanzaa. It's like, 'wow you guys, it's called Christmas for a reason.' "

Ryan said Hyatt's initiative falls under the umbrella of causes the group supports, which concern limited government, following the constitution and fiscal responsibility.

But some groups say the initiative represents quite the opposite.

"I have two words to say about Ms. Hyatt's proposal: blatantly unconstitutional," said Rob Boston, senior policy analyst for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which is based in Washington, D.C., and has a local chapter in Sacramento.

Boston said he heard about the initiative in the news, which isn't surprising considering national newspapers such as The New York Times have published articles on Hyatt's efforts.

"In the unlikely event she got enough signatures to put it on the ballot and the even more unlikely event California passed it, it would be struck down by the courts," Boston said. "The courts have been very clear that public schools aren't supposed to be in the business of promoting or advocating religion."

Boston said he thinks Hyatt's initiative represents a larger issue of religious conservatives being unhappy with the changes resulting from American society becoming more diverse.

"The frustration some religious conservatives have is they want a mythological religious America that probably never existed," he said.

Hyatt, a substitute teacher who moved to Redding from Riverside, said her motivation for the initiative was to help restore children's moral compasses by inviting Jesus to school Christmas parties.

"He's the prince of peace; he's the only one who can get these kids to stop being so violent," she said in November.

Hyatt said she believes it is Americans' First Amendment right to worship.

"It's our right to have freedom to worship," she said. "That's why we came to this country. They came to be Christians and they're trying to take that away. They're out of line; we're not."

Boston said he believes proponents of Hyatt's initiative have unrealistic expectations.

"They're looking to the public schools system or the government to provide them a religious experience at Christmas," he said. "If you want a full-throttle religious Christmas experience, it's at church ... there's no shortage of those."

If kids want to sing Christmas songs, assuming they're not disrupting normal school activity, by all means let them. But for fuck's sake, public schools are not church. I'm not terribly worried about this passing into law, but it still pisses me off that someone thinks that she has the right not only to shove her religion onto other people but that she can coerce a public institution to do the work for her.

Christmas is a specific holiday, it is called Christmas for a reason. Yes, just like they said- it is. But Kwanzaa and Hanukkah and the Winter Solstice are also called those things for a reason.

Things like this just tie me up with inability to express how stupid they are. No one's preventing anyone from celebrating Christmas, why the fuck is it such a big deal if some people want to do something different at the same time of year? And where the fuck do you get off shoving your activities down other people's throats? Just.....gah....Get the hell over it already. Go to church to sing religious songs or sing them in your own fucking home, or even in the town square if you really want to. I won't stop you. But don't try to force everyone else to do what you want to do.

AND READ THE FUCKING CONSTITUTION, PEOPLE. Keep in mind that it applies to EVERYONE, not just you and the people that agree with you.

I have a new theory: The so-called "War on Christmas" was invented by people who want to shove their stuff on everyone else as an imaginary threat against which they can "fight back". Who's with me?

Thank you to the majority of people who DON'T try to impose your winter holiday and your god and views thereof and what might prevent violence on others.

Incidentally, it's the religiously-themed Christmas songs that annoy me the least. Some of them I even like. (In small, seasonally-appropriate doses.)

Tarot deck and books for sale

2009-12-10T08:18:38Z

For anyone interested in tarot, I've got a copy of the Haindl tarot that I'm looking to part with. Actually, I've got two. Oh, and three books.

I've got one deck-used, still with the box and little while book (though the box is a little ragged these days), one deck without the box and one copy of each of the three books written to go with it by Rachel Pollack.

As a package deal, I'm offering the deck in the box with the three books for $30. So that means you would get:

The Haindl Tarot deck by Hermann Haindl (includes little white book)
The Haindl Tarot: Minor Arcana by Rachel Pollack
The Haindl Tarot: Major Arcana by Rachel Pollack
The Haindl Tarot: A Reader's Handbook by Rachel Pollack

Bonus: I'll throw in the crocheted silk case that I made to keep the deck in. (This alone should be enough to convince you how much you want this set)

Also offering another copy of the deck- all cards present, no box, no little white book for $5. For an extra $10, I'll knit or crochet a cover out of recycled silk.

OR if you're really into it, I'll give you the whole ball of wax- All the books, both decks, the crocheted cover- PLUS I'll make another cover for the second deck for $40.

Considering that you would pay more than $40 for the reader's handbook alone if you went through Amazon...this is a pretty good deal.

The books are all quite used, but the bindings are fully intact and there is no major damage to any of them. I'll try to see if I can grab a picture tomorrow of all the stuff when there's daylight.

Or, uh, hey...if you just want a silk cover for a tarot deck you already own, ten bucks gets you one. I just need to know the length, width and depth of the deck. Color of yarn will be entirely dependent on what I pull out of my big old box of yarn.

If any of this interests you, leave a comment here- first come, first served and first come will be determined by the time stamp on your comment :-P

(PS- I'll take paypal, money order or if you happen to be in the neighborhood, you can give me cash.)

A little bit of luck (I hope?)

2009-12-10T00:48:55Z

So I was just surfing around Craigslist job postings and came across an ad looking for people to do some knitting or crocheting piece work. Decided to give them a call, because hey- I can do that. Figured it was probably really sketchy, but what does it hurt to call, right?

So I just got off the phone from talking to the guy, sounds like a couple are trying to start some sort of business selling handmade goods- planning to start out small with some scarves and work from there. Said that they're supplying the materials.

I don't know how well this wold actually work out, but it seemed kinda silly not to give it a shot. They want to meet me, probably on Friday, said they'd give me the materials to make one or two scarves which they'd pay me for whether or not they liked the work, and if they like it, more from there.

I'm going to give it a shot. Even if they didn't pay me for the first scarf or two, the worst case scenario is that I'm out a couple of hours knitting.

So here's hoping...

Just curious

2009-12-06T02:25:08Z

Is anyone else only getting sporadic LJ comment notifications by email? I've had several today that were never emailed to me.

Not a big deal really, just wondering.

New Blog (and a tiny favor to ask)

2009-12-05T20:44:17Z

That new blog that I mentioned a few days ago- I've created it. Right here: http://almostseen.wordpress.com/

It's title is Presque Vu, and I hope to start making posts of substance soon.

Since I don't have a paid account at the moment, would someone reading who does do me the kind favor of creating an RSS feed for LJ? (It's easy: go here http://www.livejournal.com/syn/ and at the bottom of the page, paste the URL in the little box. When it asks for a title, call it either "presquevu" or "almostseen".

I would much appreciate!

ETA: The feed has been created, thanks to nicanthiel You can friend almost_seen if you're interested in reading on your friends list.

Writing project idea...

2009-12-04T02:55:11Z

so I've had this idea kicking around for a few days and am thinking more and more of details of how to approach it and I think I'm starting to zero in a bit more on what to do.

Basically, I've been considering my fascination with random, usually fairly obscure deities who have little to no mythology and sometimes not more than a few cursory mentioned in ancient texts. I see a name, a few lines of information, and I want to know more but...there is no more, so I sometimes ponder what their mythology may be like and what stories there might be.

So...that's the project. Writing about what their stories might have been. Speculative Mythology is the term that's formulated in my brain.

For this and a couple of other things, I think I'm going to start a second blog, to keep Pain and Light a devotional blog for Apollo.

Watch this space for details.

Speaking of which, I have a new post over at http://painandlight.wordpress.com

Because people tell me that they like my food-related entries...

2009-11-20T01:30:58Z

Just made lamb (and beef, a little) stew, never made it before and I will definitely be making it again.

Threw about three pounds of lamb stew meat (as well as about half a pound of beef cubes...had it kicking around the freezer, had to do something with it) in a stock pot with about four quarts of water and two envelopes of onion soup/dip mix turned on the heat til the meat was mostly cooked, then pulled the meat off the bone and started adding other stuff- probably about a cup of chopped green onion, three or four stalks of chopped celery, about a cup and a half of brown rice, a big heaping spoonful of minced garlic and the rest, well...I couldn't tell you how much of anything else I used, but I definitely used black pepper, oregano, ginger, seasoning salt- the oregano I'm pretty sure was about a teaspoon worth- it was all that I have left (note to self- buy and dry more oregano!) but the other things...well, let's put it this way, the hollow of the palm of my hand is my most-used measuring tool, and I used several palm's worth of each of everything, so if you want to try this particular recipe, just use a bit of each thing at a time until you like it. And then there was, of course, flour, added about a teaspoon at a time and stirred well until the whole mess was of appropriate thickness.

I know I like it...and Gavin just finished a bowl, and I know that she likes it- if anyone else decides to try my little spontaneous recipe, let me know how you like it.

I would write up and publish my own cookbook- I swear, but that whole thing about not knowing how much of everything I use....

Still alive

2009-11-17T17:56:10Z

Been pretty quiet. Looks like I actually had some sort of flu the other week, same ick as Gavin. We're recovered now, with a bit of residual coughing on my part.

Have started to improve my job-searching efforts, got an interview tomorrow with an IT staffing firm.

Other things have come up that I need to deal with and fix. That's all that needs to be said for now.

Quick Update

2009-11-03T20:02:01Z

Landlord came and got the window closed- had to use some serious force, not sure what caused the problem, he's going to check into it.

Seems that Gavin and I are now both afflicted with some sort of ick- she seems to have a cold, while I have...um, a cough and a miserably dry, sore, itchy throat- I feel like I'm breathing sandpaper...which is causing the cough, as well as sore muscles in my chest and a headache. I feel fine otherwise, which really pisses me off because it's like I'm not even legitimately sick and I feel like hell.

I don't want remedy suggestions- unless you can think of something that doesn't involve honey, lemon, tea, cough drops, throat drops, cough suppressants, tylenol or some combination thereof, I don't wanna hear it, I'm already doing it.

HEEEEEEEEELLLLLP!

2009-11-03T01:16:05Z

Okay folks, I have a bit of a problem.

I can't close one of my living room windows. It's stuck open, all the way. This causes two major concerns: one, cold air. It's pretty nice out right now, but it's supposed to drop down to like 45 tonight. Two: the cats. We have window screens, but they're the expandable/collapsible kind that you just pop in and out of the window when you open or shut it, and the window is stuck open a good four inches higher than the height of the screens.

These are those old sort of windows that are on chains. I *think* a chain is stuck or something, but I can't see anyhting wrong.

Got a call in to the landlord, but knowing our luck he's off on a business trip in the great white north.

If anyone knows what might be done, please let me know. Gavin isn't feeling well, so we're hanging out mostly in the bedroom at the moment, so I'm going to put my phone number in a locked post. If you're on my friends list and know what to do, give me a call. Otherwise, leave a comment and I'll just check email periodically.

Reading Material

2009-10-28T23:27:16Z

Somehow managed to miss the monthly update on Jacqueline Carey's website for October until now. There's going to be a sequel to Santa Olivia...but not til 2011. And a novella on the story of Rolande and Anafiel as part of an anthology next year....not to mention her next Naamah book net year...woohoo!

I don't want to wait for next year.

I wish Kristen Britain would get another book out...or at least give some sort of update as to the progress on her website.

Poor me...

2009-10-28T15:39:35Z

Bleh. Yesterday, I woke up and went to stumble forth from the bedroom. We have light-blocking blinds and black curtains, so even at high noon our room is pretty dark- you can imagine how it might look at 645 on a rainy morning- that's right, kids- pitch black.

We've taken to using our cell phones as flashlights (hell, the external screen on my phone is bright enough to keep me from accidentally killing myself) since the light switch is on the other side of the room from the bed, we keep forgetting to pick up a lamp, oh, and it's a lot less of a shock to the poor eyes that have been light-deprived for the last eight hours.

The main downside is that the backlight on a cell phone eventually goes off. I know some of them have timer control. Sadly mine doesn't, it only last a few seconds- I really should learn and just use my ipod, which has brightness control (your retinas don't want to be hit by that thing at 100% in a dark room) and can get up to six minutes at a shot. But I digress...

So I initially had light to see by and then it went out. Before I could hit a button for more light, I started to lose my balance. I put out a hand to grab the wall, but it turned out I was a bit farther from the wall than I thought I was...I eventually got the wall, but I ended up falling and landing on the air conditioner that I had pulled out of the window the other week, one cold rainy morning in order to be able to close off the air leaks, and put down next to the bed because I was really tired and didn't feel like carrying it elsewhere. Between the crashing and my screaming, I think I scared poor chironcentaur half to death, and straight out of her sleep.

Unfortunately, I ended up getting scraped up pretty good- I've got all these big, puffy scratches across my lower back, as well as a few on my left calf and a bit of a knot, plus I landed on my left wrist and it's still quite sore.

Words to the wise, kids...move your air conditioners!

Hoax Alert- Breast Cancer text message

2009-10-27T23:03:38Z

Hey folks, I just received a text message on my phone claiming that for every person you forward it to, your wireless carrier (they list like six or seven companies) will donate a dollar to the Susan G Komen foundation.

If you get one of these, don't forward it, and tell the person that sent it to you to knock it the hell off- it's a hoax, like those email forwards that used to go around saying that for every person you sent it to, five cents would be donated to some little kid in Kansas who lost her teddy bear or something.

It's just utterly false. (Yes, for anyone who doesn't believe me, I checked with AT&T) Anyone who sends it to me will earn a swift dose of my ire, so just don't. It costs me to receive text messages- I don't use text messaging enough to justify adding it to my plan. It's written in textspeak, and it irritates the hell out of me to see text speak.

Oh, and I really can't stand the pink ribbon shade of pink. I'm sick of seeing it everywhere (raise money for the cause, educate people, whatever just get rid of the fucking pepto bismol coating that's on everything from vacuum cleaners to toilet plungers to cat food. Really. Oh, and remember every once in a while that there are other forms of cancer that need to be cured but when was the last time anyone heard anything about a fundraiser for brain cancer or pancreatic cancer or bone cancer? It's all breast cancer all the time, once in a while you see something for prostate cancer and there's the occasional commercial PSA telling people to get checked for colon cancer, and the obligatory summertime warnings about sunscreen and skin cancer. But that's it.)

/soapbox

It's going around again...

2009-10-22T09:28:21Z

The problem with LJ: We all think we are so close, but really we know nothing about one another. So I want you to ask me something you think you should know about me. Something that should be obvious, but you have no idea about. Ask away.

Then post this in your LJ and find out what people don't know about you.

This is what...the sixth time this year now?

2009-10-21T01:28:13Z

Okay, all my friends in Baltimore, has this ever happened to you, or am I just a crazy magnet?

Yet again, I am a racist because I committed the crime against humanity that is asking someone not to scream into their cell phone less than a foot from my fucking ear. Am I doing something wrong? Are there some bigoted connotations to "Excuse me but could you please lower your voice, you're right next to my ear?" that I'm not aware of? If so, someone do, please, fill me in on all the details so that I can avoid being so insensitive in the future.

For serious people, I am fucking sick of getting my head bitten off when I ask someone not to scream when they're less than an arm's length from my eardrums. Why in the fucking hell is this so unreasonable??? Seriously, just lower your fucking voice a little, that's all I'm asking. I'm not talking about people being a little enthusiastic about their conversation, I'm talking full-out yelling.

But no, we can't do that in this city, we continue to make a spectacle and a headache of ourselves and accuse those who would rather not spend the day with ringing ears of hating black people. Dammit, do you really think I'd just sit there and smile if you were white???

No, this doesn't count as racism...

2009-10-16T21:25:42Z

I wonder what constitutes "racist" in this guy's little universe?

Bardwell did not return calls left on his answering machine Friday. He has said he always asks if a couple is interracial and, if they are, refers them to another justice of the peace.

"No one's ever complained about it before," Bardwell said Thursday. "I do it to protect the children. The kids are innocent and I worry about their futures."

Humphrey and McKay were eventually married by another justice of the peace, but are now looking into legal action against Bardwell.

Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to ask about a marriage license. She said Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell would not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples.

Uhhh...at least he refers them to another justice of the peace?

More here.

"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

Silly me. Well, you sure have change my mind! Okay, you're not a racist...

And his reason?

Bardwell said he has discussed the topic with blacks and whites, along with witnessing some interracial marriages. He came to the conclusion that most of black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society, he said.

"There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage," Bardwell said. "I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it."

Right. Because you're so not helping the cause of interracial children and acceptance as it is?

(I orginally read the story here http://blogs.lancasteronline.com/smartremarks/2009/10/16/black-and-white-and-denied-all-over/)

Okay...

2009-10-16T01:01:11Z

Who's gonna ship me boxes of Mocha Marble Crunch trail mix from Wegman's when I move to the west coast?

Because I fail at Google...

2009-10-12T17:15:56Z

Quick, people...what building in Center City Philadelphia has giant replicas of pieces of Parker Brothers board game pieces scattered around its outside plaza?

...in which I cook dinner

2009-10-12T02:20:17Z

Not particularly exciting, but it was quite good. I just made lamb chops in olive oil, asparagus with butter and garlic, brown rice with garlic, scallions and crumbled feta, and heated up the last little bit of couscous left over from dinner yesterday.

I like cooking. Being unemployed isn't the best situation, but it means I have plenty of time to cook good food (I made raspberry pancakes for breakfast this morning!) and what I get in unemployment is more than enough to keep us able to buy good food, so we're not stuck on ramen and mac and cheese (okay, so we eat mac and cheese once in a while...but it's the good kind.)

Sadly, this is going to be released on my birthday.

2009-10-10T23:33:29Z

http://comicsnexus.com/2009/09/22/mike-oemings-god-complex-press-release/

GOD COMPLEX’s Apollo has hung up his superhero cape and now lives in hiding from his fellow gods as a mortal named Paul. Yet the Pantheon are so eager to get him back in their ranks they’ll do whatever it takes to win him back, even if it against his will. For Paul, life as a mortal has just gotten complex.

The cover image has got to be one of the single ugliest pieces of so-called art I've ever seen, nevermind what I assume to be a depiction of Apollo.

This just sounds stupid, but I'm masochistic enough that I'll probably go looking for a copy so I can read it and cry.

How d'ya like dem...

2009-10-07T13:10:47Z

Has anyone else here ever tried Honeycrisp apples?

I think I first heard of them sometime last year, but only tried one a few weeks ago...Gavin and I have taken to eating a lot of apples, since they're generally inexpensive and taste good and good for you and all (well, except Red Delicious. Erg, I can't stand them. No flavor. Delicious my ass. And they make the blandest applesauce ever.)

We usually get McIntosh or Granny Smith but a couple of weeks ago, Wegman's had neither if you can believe that. The Produce guy suggested trying Honeycrisp and we decided to give them a shot.

It was mildly terrifying- we bought one apple that time. That single apple cost $2.50.

Why, you ask? Was it gold-plated?

No, it wasn't. This apple cost more than any apple has any business costing because it weighed almost a pound and a half. And that was one of the smaller ones in the bin.

We took it home and ate it. It was nearly a meal in and of itself. It was like biting into a glass of apple cider still in apple form.

And it was The Best Apple I Have Ever Tasted.

When we went back last week, we were going to get some more (they were less terrifyingly gigantic this time, but still quite impressive) and then we found out that the 3-pound organic bags were actually less expensive than picking them out of the bin, so we grabbed one of those instead. The organic ones were considerably smaller- even on the small side for apples in general, and the flavor is slightly less strong, but I will still say that they are the best apples I have ever had.

Light the fuse...

2009-10-05T07:19:26Z

If things have gotta change,
well that's cool with me,
we'll just light the fuse and then get away,
hell yeah...

Things are just...happening lately. In addition to losing my job back in August, and being just a step ahead of the mass pagan exodus in the last week or so when I left the grove last month, I am now going to be leaving Neos Alexandria and Neokoroi, and my ADF membership, which runs out this month, will not be renewed.

After a whole lotta whathefuckery and some really appalling moments last week (if you know what I'm talking about, you don't need any more explanation. If you don't know what I'm talking about, trust me you're far better off that way.) I think things are calming down.

Also, I've pared my friends list way down. For the most part, people that I cut were either people who haven't posted in over a year, people who I haven't talked to in a ridiculously long time, and a few folks that I couldn't even remember who they were. I will probably eventually shave a few more off, but things stand as they are for the moment. If I've kept you around, it's either because we have a lot in common, you're otherwise interesting, or my own diabolical reasons (or some combination thereof).

I'm mildly surprised to find myself pretty much stress-free over all this at this point, aside from a lot of eye-rolling and restraining myself from giving a few people a piece of my mind. (Well, job search stuff aside, but even that could be a lot worse.)

KITTY!

2009-09-25T07:08:23Z

This would be my cat, Ferarri. And her new stuffed walrus friend. (This friendship will be short lived.)