Those Bloody Layouts! A Layout (and Help) Communit

So, my hours have been cut. Good news is, I can still technically afford to pay my bills, I just won't have much if anything left over.

However, after this week is over I will probably not have a way to and from work. If my hours hadn't been cut I could afford to take a taxi, but now I can't.

Also I think some of the pipes may have busted.

Full Metal Panic - the Second Raid #01:

Sosuke and his military comrades entered a war torn country to rescue some people and realised their opponents also had updated weapons. With Tessa's guidance, Sosuke managed to return back to his quarter safe and sound with victory. Back to the submarine, he resumed his school work but forgot to bring Kaname's school book back to her after his two days military mission. Kaname was pissed off.

I feel kind of silly doing this but...I've been having a crisis of writing confidence for the last few months, so if you have anything nice to say about my fic, feel free to say so here

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Whew, had guests for the Thanksgiving weekend and then much prepping for Christmas going on. Result? Many days worth of posts to catch up on through speed reading.

Speaking of reading, On the Media had a whole episode about the state of books and reading. While I am sure anyone reading this post will likely find various segments interesting, I thought the one on Books 2.0 was of particular interest with its discussion of interactive writing with authors and readers.

"I'm willing to bet you that there’s a young woman who’s getting her Ph.D. right now who grew up in MySpace, in Facebook, somebody who is comfortable and excited about working in a public collaborative space. She is a seed of the future."

So I entered a contest on deviantArt...never suspecting I'd win. I just thought it'd be fun and it was a great prompt. I put it off until two weeks before the end of the contest at which point I went "s*** I have to put this thing together!"

So lines came together and...voila...I had an entry.

And I won!

...first contest I'd ever won...and it was first place :party:

But I'm still "OMFG I won?!"

Mind...this make an awesome way to end the day because work wasn't too good today.

Anyway...here is the link to the contest: http://news.deviantart.com/article/95574/ and this is the news article featuring the winners: http://news.deviantart.com/article/101607/

~~~

I'm also pointing out that today is World AIDs Day. Go--support it: either on dA or through various retailers who will donate x for every y amount spent by you the shopper.

And for those of you who still think it's just the "gay" disease?

For shame!!

AIDs affects everyone regardless of gender, age, financial status, martial status, ethnicity, sexual orientation.

The best way to stop the spread? Education and knowing how to protect yourself!!

A few examples:

If you use a needle to use drugs, be sure you're the only one using your needle and don't use any other needle except your own--don't share needles!

Wear a condom!!

Planned Parenthood clinics, free clinics, the doctor's office, drug community outreach programs--all of these are reliable, free, confidential sources to find information. Go and find out and stop the spread. And then volunteer to help out those with AIDs who may need help--sometimes it's as little as giving a little donation to a center to help AIDs patients get their medication.

And oh yeah--the medication? Super expensive and not always covered by the insurance companies...let that be a helper in helping you stop the spread of AIDs and protecting yourself--do you really want to have to pay for those expensive medications that you may come to rely on?

Go--educate yourselves!!

~~~

Lastly...I've put my the Christmas tree!!

Well, actually, I've got two trees up. I went to the closet to get the tree and there was actually two in there. So I asked my mum which we should put up, she said she didn't care but asked what I'd like...well, duh...of course I want both put up!

So we did.

Both of the trees are table top ones, but so very pretty. One is a white one and has silver and white baubles with white lights and red garland. The other is the usual green one with rainbow lights alas no garland, but all the ornaments. We have a few ornaments that are too heavy for either tree so they're all gathered under the trees.

I also put the Christmas figurines I found in the shed some weeks ago...now I just need to dig out my no-use Nutcracker (but he so very handsome!) and my jingle bell wreath and our house will be ready!

Well that and I need to pick up some more string lights maybe for my room and maybe a garland for the railing on the stairs...and we'll see what I've got left of a paycheck after all that.

Also, when we put the trees up, it smelled of chocolate and mint because I baked chocolate cookies with dark chocolate and mint chips. For some reason, the cookies didn't rise, but they taste amazing!!

And I'm also going to be getting together with a friend some time in the next couple of weeks to do some holiday baking together...not sure what we're going to bake, but...she realized the other week that for all the baking the techies at the theatre do (especially me and her)...we've never had a baking or cooking party. So she called me up and wanted to know if I'd like to get together to bake something with her before she leaves for Germany (I think it's Germany) for the holidays. Yay!

Full Metal Panic Fumoffu #12 - FINALE:

Sosuke frightened the bun seller in school when he demanded for a bun by shooting his rifle into the air. As a result, he had to sell buns during her one week absence. Kaname and others volunteered to help him. A physical fitness teacher had grudge with him and tried to poison his buns but Sosuke's traps got him into sickness and when he finally tried another time, the bun seller had returned and hit him into retirement.

Sosuke was being intimidated by some gangsters but his gun frightened them off. The gang leader ordered her men to kidnap Kaname to subdue Sosuke but Sosuke forced all information from the man who passed the message and intimidated the gang leader instead using her beloved younger brothers. He also listed out weakness of all her men and all of them surrendered and ran off. Kaname was impressed.

Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood #34:

Ed and Al only revealed part of their truth to Olivia and they were sent to work. Along the way, they were surprised to learn that Miles was an Isbavl whom Olivia did not mind as long as he was willing to follow her lead. At their workplace, they met Falman who showed them around the place. Meanwhile, Olivia was informed of Kimbley who had been hospitalised nearby asking for their help and she did not like the idea of a criminal state alchemist being released by the central regardless his crimes. In a mechanical area, a homunculus - Sloth broke out of the ground and created chaos. Ed told the arrived Olivia that Sloth could not be killed and she decided to do something that would be worse than death.

Inuyasha Final Act #09:

While Kouga parted with Inuyasha and others, Inuyasha sensed Sesshoumaru with another demon. Other place, Sesshoumaru ran into his mother who offered to guide him a way to train his sword. A hell hound was summoned and it grabbed Rin and Kohaku into the underworld. Sesshoumaru pursued them and Rin's soul vanished in the process, leaving her dead. His sword technique was completed in his grieveness. When he returned with the dead Rin and a despondent Kohaku, Sesshoumaru's mother revived Rin with her underworld necklace. Jaken thanked her on Sesshoumaru's behalf. Sesshoumaru's mother knew of Kohaku's situation and she told him that he could not be saved by Sesshoumaru's sword. Meanwhile, Miroku and others were trying to decipher Kikyou's last words about protecting Kohaku's light.

Cody was buried at 3:30 p.m. today. We put him on a nice, green flannel sheet & lowered him down then wrapped him up. My brother, s-i-l, 2 older nephews & I gathered around him & said a few words & the Lord's Prayer and then took turns filling in the grave. My brother even had a 'headstone' that he'd engraved (using a drill) with Cody's name. About an hour later it snowed a bit - in honor of Codes who loved the snow.

I just went out again to buy cat food & it was strange coming home & not having him run out of the garage or leave the back car door open.

Good-bye my very good dog.

and now, deeeep thoughts....

lj-tags: twitahs

• 14:43 need to learn French...and Spanish...and Japanese...listening to Elastica...damn this coffee is barely tolerable :p #
• 14:49 @CaitlynBenoit they're so cool :) I've kinda been on a 90s nostalgia kick lately - Prodigy, Chem. Bros., Low Fidelity all stars, US3 ^_^ #

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Well it was a long & bit intense night. The fact that it rained didn't help as the increased air pressure added to Cody's breathing difficulty. He finally ate later in the evening. I knew he was hungry but it bothered him to eat somehow - he ate some cat food & the pork chop I'd cooked up & I'd been feeding him Nutrical all day. Then after much pacing, walking & a car ride I settled him in the garage, leaving the door into the house open if he wanted to come in, & went to bed at 2:30. Checked on him at 7 to give him his final meds and go for a final walk - he was obviously tired - we made it down a couple streets. He stopped at the porch of a house that he's never taken interest in before like he wanted to crawl underneath of. Thankfully it was all closed in but he used to get under the deck at my brother's so I think he was looking for someplace like that. I took him back home & put him in the car - which he readily (tried to) jumped into w/a little help. The vet got here with the tech a little after 8:30. Cody knew something was up & began to get nervous & try to fight it but the tech held onto him & I was petting him & talking to him while the vet did his thing. The vet pushed the med in slowly so Cody relaxed a bit at first then just progressively got limper & that was it. I cut some of his fur and a couple whiskers to keep. My aunt also arrived just before the vet so she was here with me. We sat in her car afterward just chatting - I kept expecting Code to stick his head out to go for a walk. I was really very hungry as I just couldn't eat yesterday - I actually gagged just trying to take my vitamins so we went to get some breakfast. I called my s-i-l & told her, the usual recriminations on her part-I can't feel bad for her - she's seen this dog no more than 10 times since I took him just after last Christmas. So my brother is supposed to now be digging the hole to bury Cody in. I'd offered to have him cremated but they want to bury him in their back yard next to their cat. Cody had such a wonderful spirit - I wish his poor little body could have kept up with it.

And that's the end.



Last pic of Cody about 15 minutes before he died.

bridgetmkennitt, you might want to not click the link until after you're done with your fic fest fics. :D

( Random ideas are pretty womancentric, really. )

I win!

Sort of...

First...yesterday I had a customer who accused me of not being trustworthy and slippery and that I would somehow steal his identity (the last bit he didn't actually say but that was implied).

...

We're supposed to be signing people up for the credit cards Sears offers (which I fucking hate btw because honestly...I can sell a person on something if I know it'll be helpful somewhere in one's life...but credit cards? Not helpful.) and I make sure to tell my customers that the promotion for the cards right now is $15 off the first statement. I don't say today's order like my co-workers because if the customer isn't approved, that $15 isn't taken off (which actually might be the reason why I don't get the credit card applications like my co-workers...you know, cuz I speak honestly?).

I had a customer yesterday who said yes, he would like to apply. But! he didn't get approved. Tore up the privacy agreement and told me to throw it out. When he saw that the $15 wasn't taken off, I reminded him that I had said "statement" and he said I hadn't said that. And then, you know the top portion of a credit application that the store has to keep for records? He wanted to tear that up and when I told him that he couldn't and why...he said he didn't trust me because I was a "fast talker" and "slippery".

This is why I hate selling credit cards--because it's fucked up and some customers don't trust their cashiers.

On top of that...I forgot to give him back his I.D. It happens to us all once in a while. For me, it just happened to be for this customer who made me upset. So I told my manager what happened and that I forgot to give back his I.D. because I was upset and I just knew that if I didn't say something first, the customer would get his side in first when he came back for his I.D. and would also most likely accuse me of forgetting to give it back on purpose.

Fucking customers.

Anyway...

I finally got around to cleaning house!

Except for the bathroom, but I want to take my shower first so I don't dirty the stall right away.

I washed my sheets and then tossed in some clothes I wore this week to make a full two loads (my bed sheets and such don't fit in one) so now it smells like the fabric softener upstairs where they are drying.

The floors have been swept.

The kitchen has been mopped (the floor was sticky >.<)

The counters cleaned.

The burner rings are soaking.

My room has been organized.

New sheets have been put on the bed.

Clothes that needed hanging up are hanging up.

I am exhausted, but now I can enjoy my day off because it's only noon. And the house is clean!!

*happy sigh*

This was a good way to end the busy weekend I had at work xD

One Piece #428:

The villian pirate leader used his same net fruit user skill to trap Zorro and Sanji. The giant beatle attacked the villians and got hurt. It overheard the voices of the people fearing for their homeland and decided to sacrifice itself despite the little girl - Yoko's cries. Luffy freed his arm and punched it away from the giant net. The people regreted their selfishness and decided to fight back the enemy. The beatle shedded its skin and freed Luffy, Sanji and Zorro from the nets. But it exhausted itself and collapsed into the villian’s waiting net. Luffy and others were ready to strike back.

Full Metal Panic Fumoffu #08:

Melissa and Kurz finally arrived to aid Sosuke protecting Tessa. During the stay, Tessa despite Kaname’s dissatisfaction would try all means to go to Sosuke’s bed at night until Melissa handcliffed her together. On the last day of the stay, Melissa and others took Tessa to a hot spring inn. There, Kurz and two of Sosuke’s classmates tried to get past Sosuke’s traps to peek the girls but failed. Before Tessa parted the class, she was given a signed well wishes card and a bouquet of flowers. She was moved to tears. When she returned back to work, she vowed she would protect those people.

So, cleaning out my purse for the first time in...a long time, I found two fic fragments, and I don't know if I ever typed them in/posted them, and in the case of the second, I can't remember which universe it was in, though it seems like something I should have talked about. (The first is clearly a sequel to the fic in which Angelo found Marcello in Pickham.)

So, behind the cut, ( two DQ8 snippets, and hopefully one of you can tell me where I was going with these... )

I think it's sad that I have to rely on other people to remember what the hell I've written, to be honest. But there you go.

And the count-down continues. My vet finally called me back & I told him what was going on. He is out of town tonight but said he would come to the house in the morning to euthanize Cody so it can be done at home - I wish he could have come tonight - the night is the hardest. I stayed outside a lot today doing yard work to be sure to be around him. He was okay this a.m. - went for a long walk but, as usual, as the day wears on he wears down. He's been pacing every once in a while - I think it's due mostly to the theophylline - it has a caffeine-like effect. He's now lying down on the front lawn - don't know how much longer he'll stay there. I had to come in - getting too cold & dark for me but I'm keeping my eye on him through the front window.

This sucks.

20% off downloadable patterns! So I broke down and finally bought the pattern for the Bacchus Socks I've been eyeing forever. Now I just need to convert the pattern to magic loop, since that appears to be the only way I like to knit socks. And get a 2mm circular needle.

what QAF scene makes me melt whenever I see it:

( I was love to me... )

Can't say anything else because...*melts*

Darker than Black - Ryūsei no Gemini #08:

Suou had a flashback of her past when she was competing with Nekki who could last in the water longer and Suou won. Tanya teased her with splashing water.

Back to present. While Hei, Suou, July and Mao were travelling on the train in Japan, Tanya and her superiors pursued them on board of it. As the subordinates and superiors confronted Hei, Tanya abducted Suou. In a room, Tanya told Suou of her inability to feel pain after killing Nekki - the boy she had loved. The superior told Hei of his niece who was killed mysteriously by a contactor and wanted his cooperation, failing which he would explode the train and to take Suou away. Hei destroyed his bomb and refused. The superior and Tanya escaped with the tied Suou. Hei reached them and attacked, giving Suou time to escape. Tanya ran after her, attacking her with insects. Suou was forced to jump into a nearby swimming pool to avert the insects. Meanwhile, the superior was shot by Hei and Hei confessed that he was the one who killed his niece. Other place, forced by her situation, the emerging Suou was again attacked by Tanya's insects again and Suou summoned her rifle again. She had a flash of her past with Tanya and hesitated to shoot. Suddenly, there was a shot and Tanya fell, dead. Hei appeared and did not blame Suou for shooting and Suou retorted that she did not do the shooting. Angered, she left Hei and July and Mao followed her. On a bridge, Shion was keeping his newly used rifle that had just saved Suou from Tanya. His assistant was standing nearby.

Full Metal Panic Fumoffu #09:

Chidori Kaname and Sosuke's senior was the daughter of a gang society that was constantly bullied by other gang over a piece of terrority. One of her gang members recognised Kaname as the girl who had a powerful Bon-kun as bodyguard during the time in amusement park and begged for Bon-kun's help to fight the other gang. Sosuke and Kaname agreed. The other gang noticed Bon-kun's training of the gang members and kidnapped Kaname as well as her senior when they were away from Sosuke. Sosuke got the senior's gang members to wear Bon-kun's costumes and equipments and rescued Kaname and her senior successfully. The illegal purchase of gunpower plot of the opponent gang was subsequently exposed to the media by Sosuke and their senior's gang members.

Full Metal Panic Fumoffu #10:

There was a lack of rooms for school societies to carry out their activities and the societies were forced to join in a competition to get their rooms for their activities by wooing girls. Sosuke who recently joined Photography society joined as well and made a misinterpretation of girls wooing. One society made a bet with him and wanted him to swim naked if he failed. In the end, he failed and when he was about to carry out the bet, Kaname in disguise appeared and helped Sosuke out of the situation.

Full Metal Panic Fumoffu #11:

Sosuke's order came wrongly by the delivery company and turned out to be a bological chemical. Sosuke warned the class not to touch it before he was dragged by Kaname to listen to prinipal's lecturing. When he returned, he was shocked to find it tampered by others and he sealed up the classroom declaring the infection. After a lot of chaos and classmates rushing out of room, Sosuke was informed that the chemical not fatal to human body but would erode clothes off the affected people. In the end, he got beatings from his classmates.