ria_oaks | Entries tagged with rl

Man, I see gorgeous drawings like this for Avengers reverse big bang and I think, I really need to get my shit together and finish my due South big bang. I mean, I've done a lot of work too, and I have 10 drawings, but none of them have backgrounds yet and many of them really just feel like portrait shots, not proper scenes. I really love how this artist has drawn a series of proper scenes, with backgrounds and all. I'm awful at that kind of thing. ^^

(off now to read the accompanying story by

foxxcub - wingfic!ftw)

Also, yes, I have been reading way too much Avengers fic recently... and fandom is pulling me into Clint/Phil, for all that I didn't really get the pairing at first because of, you know. The complete lack of actual canon interaction. ^^ But hell, I was in Pundit fandom and shipped Keith/Anderson... that was definitely an example of how fandom can create an entire narrative of two people/characters who rarely interact! Which I find really quite fascinating, actually, because (esp in RPF), in these cases fandom really creates a collective idea of how these relationships work, and how these two characters interact, without having much of anything to actually go on. And yet, because of this collective narrative, you end up with many fics that are based on that same idea of how these charactes work together, and you end up with a lot of the same tropes (I've come across quite a few common ones in Clint/Phil fic already, most of which I image were basically created by fandom).

Anyway. I don't know if that made sense, but I've been thinking about it lately. :) It's definitely an interesting phenomenon, especially when you get a very popular pairing within a fandom where that pairing doesn't actually have much or any canon interaction or subtext or whatnot. So really, it takes reading a bunch of fic to get into it, and then of course once you DO read that fic, you start to get invested and end up hooked (at least potentially). That's what happened to me in pundit fandom! I started off reading Jon/Stephen because they have all the real life interaction and subtext and slashiness, and then Keith & Anderson who show up in fics as a side pairing, and then I became intrigued. Even though the actual RL interaction between them that we know of is very minor.

(and of course, the ways that fandom creates the narratives of 'characters' in RPF is a whole other (though similar) interesting topic. I used to think about it quite a bit when I was in that fandom, because it's quite fascinating how we take what we know of these people's lives and personalities, and build up a fictional character around that information. And then you have this collective idea of who the character is, to the point that you can read a fic and go "this is out of character!" even though, really, the 'character' has little to do with the real person to begin with.)

ANYWAY. I don't know how I got on this tangent. -_- Oh yeah. I've been reading a lot of Clint/Phil and digging it. The end. :)

Oh, and also, I read this fic where Clint is turned into a corgi (AND IT IS SO CUTE, GO READ), and my mind (which is still partially in Dark Knight fandom) started mentally writing a fic where Bruce is turned into a dog and Jim takes care of him. Except Jim doesn't know that Batman is Bruce yet - he sees Batman somehow turned into a dog (don't ask me how I don't care) and now he has a Batdog to take care of. And wow this sounds even sillier outside of my head than inside. Do not expect this to turn into a real story. ^^ But go read the Clint fic, because it is awesome!

As for my big bang - claim post is up on

ds_c6d_bigbang and I'm still waiting for someone to claim it. I'm trying not to be hurt and depressed that no one has yet... because a lot of people seemed excited about it when I was working on it, but now no one has claimed it. :( Anyway I'm sure it'll happen eventually. I'd just kinda hoped it'd be right away, because I am vain like that!

I still need to finish it by Oct 7, but I made a lot of progress the last few weeks. Much more in a few weeks than I did for much of the summer. During a panel at RCW I finally broke my artist's block and sketched for the entire panel. It was a huge relief, and very satisfying.

And on a final note, to end this otherwise silly post in a not-exactly-cheerful way, I suppose I should mention on here (though most of you know I know IRL already know), that my grandfather passed away last week. He'd been sick for a couple of weeks, and has had dementia for the past couple of years that was getting worse, so it was really more of a blessing than anything. But it's still been weird and rather sad. So yeah. That happened. I'm ok (honestly), but thought I should mention it. :)

And to end this post on an actual cheerful note after that, here, have a rec for some pure, unadulterated, completely and utterly filthy, four-some Avengers Tony-Steve-Clint-Phil porn. Seriously. SO FUCKING HOT.

Also I really need some Avengers icons. -_- All I have is this old Tony one from when Iron Man came out.

Current Mood: bouncy

Booked my flight back east tonight! Non-refundable... *bites fingernails* Here I go, then! I just need to get the hotels sorted out. I emailed my boss a quote with a couple of hotel options in each city, and hopefully the hotels will offer something good. Like, a comp room... I really don't want to spend much. Anyway, I fly to Quebec on Aug 11, there for 2 nights, then train to Montreal for 2 nights, then train (or fly on Porter Air - it's cheap and fast, and flies into downtown Toronto) to Toronto for 5 nights (couple of days to do site inspections, and 3 days for RCW!).

Other than that, I have not been overly productive tonight. Really tired, mostly. Also, I might have maybe started a targeted re-watch of Babylon 5... And by 'targeted rewatch', I mean I started with Signs and Portents, plan to watch Babylon Squared and Chrysalis (maaybe a few others), and then right on to season 2. Get straight to the good stuff. I was going to start with the first ep just out of principal, but really, I've seen Midnight on the Firing Line enough times and it's not all that great of an ep. Was also going to watch Parliament of Dreams just because I love it, but I've seen it plenty. So, straight to Signs and Portents. A good place to start a rewatch. :) 'What do you want?' Oh Morden, so creepy. Also not even credited in the opening guest credits, in spite of having a major speaking role in the episode! Odd. There are still many things I love about that episode - the Morden scenes, Londo and G'Kar both telling him 'what they want' (oh premonitions...), Kosh and Morden meeting, the first glimpse of a Shadow ship, and a bucketload of foreshadowing. Reminds me why I love that show.

Anyway, it's been around 4 years since my last rewatch, so I'd say I'm due! Though I still need to finish watching Dollhouse... Season 2 isn't grabbing me as much, though it's lovely to see Alexis Denisof. I'm on ep7 I think and it's definitely picking up, though.

(I have a sick desire to rewatch 'The Gathering' to see just how bad a pilot movie it was... but I need moral support. ^^ Anyone game? I've only seen it maybe twice, and not for YEARS. I've forgotten most things about it. Thankfully. Well, it did have Lyta - that's a plus.)

*yawn* So exhausted. I got home last night around 11:45pm after a fun night with the gang, and then decided to put up my shiny new Avengers poster before going to bed. So I didn't get to bed until after 12, which is too late for me these days. The poster looks awesome, anyway. I had a nice long thin stretch of wall over my closet that was perfect for it!

Current Mood: tired

Lol I'm so lame tonight... I had a few possible parties to go to, but the truth is I just don't want to do anything at all. Feel kinda guilty and like I should go out, but I've been so lazy today and I don't feel like moving. Just wanna relax at home and watch TV. Guess I'll be ringing in the New Year with Anderson Cooper after all. ^^ I feel like this should disappoint me, but really, I had my New Year's party last night at Fontana's so I'm good with not doing anything tonight. Then tomorrow is the Wii Bowling Tournament at Fontana's, so that'll be fun. Don't need to do anything tonight, and I don't want to stay out too late anyway. If I could drive it might be different, but the thought of getting out and taking the buses and walking is just... ugh. Can't be bothered.

I did finish re-watching Sherlock, though. Yay! Can't wait until s2 tomorrow. The cliffhanger was actually a bit different then I remembered; guess I'd forgotten the details about almost 1.5 years. Didn't seem quite as evil as I thought it was, but that could just be because there's only 1 day left to wait and not an indeterminate amount of time.

Should do an obligatory end of year meme... how about this one.

( Fandom end of year meme )

And why not, let's have another meme.

( 2011 Year in Review )

Ok that's enough memes for 2011. Just over 3 hours until 2012! Most of the world has already beat us there... After us it's just Alaska, Hawaii, and a few other islands, I think. Well, Happy New Year everyone! Stay tuned for some fannish postings later, hopefully. DSSS reveals are up, so I'm going to post that, plus other stuff that I've been too lazy to post.

Current Mood: lazy

Rewatched the first ep of Sherlock tonight via Netflix on my shiny new flatscreen TV (which btw I am somewhat torn about, because on the one hand DVDs and such look great, especially my shiny new Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu-Ray set, but regular TV looks worse than I expected it would... I should probably upgrade to getting HD channels, but then I'd have to trade in my poor old beloved TiVo (damn the lack of new TiVo in Canada!) and get a shitty Shaw PVR. So, conflicted. But it's nice and big and shiny at least!).

Anyway. Right, Sherlock - am preparing myself for the upcoming second season premiere on Sunday by rewatching the first season, since it's been almost a year and a half since it first aired (wow!). It's neat watching it again having just seen the new movie, since it's fun to compare the two adaptations. So different in so many ways, but they both work. I mean yeah the movies are pretty silly, but they're fun and the characters are basically recognizable even if they differ from the originals quite a bit. I'm also making it my goal to read more of the originals - I've only ever read the first story collection (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), and none of the novels. Dropped by the library last week and they only had Hound of the Baskervilles, which I picked up and finally got around to starting tonight. I forgot how funny the stories actually can be - I can definitely see where both new adaptations got various bits of characterization from, even as they changed the character as well.

Will probably re-watch eps 2 and 3 on Saturday and/or Sunday. Tomorrow night is Doctor Who Christmas special at Fontana's, woo! Already watched it the other day of course (very much enjoyed it!) but it'll be fun to watch with the gang.

Speaking of Christmas, it was great overall. ( Christmas ramblings )

ALSO, for my birthday my awesome Grandma made me this awesome Battlestar Galactica-inspired hat that I asked for since it's knitted and I only know crochet. Love it. :)

Anyway, on a random completely separate note (the actual reason I started this post, then I got side-tracked): meme time! Gacked from a few places.

( Meme under cut )

Ok, time for bed now...

Current Mood: tired

Random updates and other miscellanea, in no particular order, because I haven't exactly posted much these days...

1. Still job searching. Well, vaguely, anyway. Was busy with publisher work for several weeks since my program ended mid-September, so I've really only been free to job search for about a week. And other things keep coming up. I've applied to a few jobs, nothing yet, but we'll see... I can survive on my earnings from the publisher until the new year, then I really really need to have some new income coming in. ^^;

2. Am back at school for three days this week, doing CLIA training (Cruise Lines International Assoc; they're the main internationally recognizned cruise lines association, and they represent all of the major cruise lines. They provide the main cruise selling training in the industry.) 2.5 days of seminars on selling cruises. It's good so far. Even if I don't end up in a company where I'm selling cruises, it's good general selling skills for me to learn. It was nice to see my former classmates again, and my instructor briefly. Got my mark for the last module I did before leaving, and for the damned project from hell that I completed the week I left (did I ever post about that here? Went nuts on that project; it was a group project that I basically did myself. Had a mini nervous breakdown at school on the second to last day of class. Rather embarrassing. ^^; It was a pretty damned fine looking project in the end, though, if I do say so myself! And I got 100% on it, so woo. Though granted, she doesn't exactly mark hard... this is hardly university anymore. o.o)

3. Watched season 1 of Slings and Arrows with

quettalinde,

jedinic, and

flamebyrd yesterday, which was fun! Am happy to introduce it to more people, because it is brilliant. Enjoyed it muchly the second time through (first ep was fun to watch now that I knew what was going on/who everyone was!). Geoffrey is still amazing and insane and gorgeous and generally awesome, Darren still cracks me up and I love him to death (the leather pants! the DUEL, oh my god), and everyone else is still awesome... first time I watched I didn't know that Martha Burns and Paul Gross were married, so it's funny to see them now and wonder what it must have been like for them playing opposite each other!

4. I'm finally, FINALLY, watching Battlestar Galactica. Go me, I know! Am almost finished season 2 (2 eps left) and am loving it so far. Don't have any interest in fandom yet, though, thank god. Do not need a new fandom! It's part of why I avoided it for so long. That and laziness. Also, the last ep I watched (2X18 'Downloaded', which was awesome btw) was the first ep that I finally saw some of Dad's art in! I knew he'd rented to them, but hadn't seen any yet... I got super excited, heh. Paintings that are currently in my house (or possibly the studio/storage place, not sure which...) were in the same room as Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, and James Callis! Nifty. Guess I should be used to this, but it's the first time in ages that his art's actually been on a show I'm watching and enjoying. ^^ Check it out - here's one, and another, and one more.

5. Got my due South Secret Santa assignment today. Been brainstorming and have one idea, so we'll see...

6. I think that's about it. Well, there's one more thing I've been working on that I want to share, but I want to finish before I do so... am pretty close. And okay, most of you actually know what they are because you've seen them, but still. Want to finish then post to various communities to show off. XD

7. Speaking of showing off, I need to get off my ass and do a mini art post... got a few things, including a DS manip I did ages ago. And I've been working on this big DS wallpaper drawing thing for freaking ages, so when I FINALLY finish that I'll post it. Gotta get moving on dSSS first, though, and I'll be getting my

yuletart assignment any day now. Eek. Why do I do this to myself??

And now, bed... gotta get up at 6:30 for school, and kind of fell out of the habit after a month of being able to get up after 8. ^^;

Current Mood: tired

Okay, more serious post... and yeah I know, I'm posting a ton these days. Sorry to be spamming ya'll like this. It's partly the general lack of anything else to do since I'm not working and am really just bumming around Melbourne doing not much at all. ^^

Anyway, Mom called me yesterday to tell me that the house in N. Van was broken into while they were up on the island. Only a few things taken (Mom's laptop, which was broken anyway, her jewelry box (and she's not even sure what's in there... still, too bad), and a digital video camera that Dad was borrowing from his movie producer friend (hopefully the guy has insurance, cuz it was probably worth quite a bit...). I'm mostly just relieved that a. there's really not much of worth TO steal in that house anymore, and b. it wasn't burnt down or anything. o.o That was my first worry when she said "bad news - the house in North Van..." me, mentally: 'oh god it's burnt down', "...was broken into last night." "Oh. Okay. That's not so bad." Heh. But yeah, fire's always been the biggest worry there, since it would be... beyond a catastrophe, I can't even express it. Although a lot of Dad's art has moved up to the island, he's still got a ton of it in that house and would lose a good 50% of his life's work. I just.. can't even. o.o (basement did flood a bit once, that was fun - we were running around frantically trying to put wooden planks under the paintings to prevent any damage).

Upshot of all this is, they're planning to give up the place and get a storage compartment (for the art) and a 1-room apartment (to crash in while in town) as soon as possible. Which yeah, they've said over and over again the last few years, and they actually seemed pretty serious about it a few monthes ago (I almost believed them that time! But it didn't happen, as usual...), but this time I think it's actually going to happen. For real. I'm pretty sure I believe them this time. ^^ And yeah, they're right... that place isn't very secure, and there's still that fear of fire. And okay, an apartment can be broken into and a storage place burn down, but... that place is falling down around our ears. *sigh* Was a matter of time, really. And I know they're pretty shaken up and creeped out over knowing that someone was in our house. Still, I'm mostly just rather impressed that it's taken 20+ years for it to happen... I suspect I'd be more shaken if I were there, but being so far away I'm more just relieved that it was nothing truly serious (Mom leaving a message on my voicemail saying "Call me back. I have some news." in a serious sounding voice just freaked me out... "omg someone's died!" okay yes, I'm paranoid).

But yeah... I'm trying not to be depressed over leaving that house, but it's hard. I know we haven't really lived there in 4 years, but... well, realistically we have spent at last a couple days of each week there since getting the house on Bowen, other than my being in Ontario for a year. And it may be a dumpy old shack in the woods, but dammit it's my dumpy old shack in the woods and it's where I grew up. :( And hey, it was in The X-Files! Its finest hour. :) (and okay, in Men in Trees for 2 years... but The X-Files is cooler). Mostly I just hate being here while it's happening, and knowing that if they go ahead with this and it's all finished by the time I get home, then I'm never going to see the inside of that house again. And every time I think that I burst into tears, which is silly but... fuck, I'm doing it again. ^^; I made Mom promise to tell me before she throws anything of mine out, but even still... I hate hate not being there while they're boxing up all my stuff. In part because there's a lot of stuff in that room that they make thing is really stupid and worthless but I'm overly nostalgic and sentimental and I don't want to get rid of it. Course, then all that crap will just go into storage and rot for eternity... which sucks, and I liked having that room to store all that nostalgic shit from my childhood and teenaged years. Though hell, it'd probably be healthy to get rid of a lot of it... I just can't let go. *sigh*

Okay, am holding in tears this time, go me. ^^ Just gotta... not think about it. And gotta make sure they take pictures as they're packing up and moving so I can pretend I'm there. Fuck. :(

*uses Dean sadface icon, for the hell of it*

Current Mood: sad

Whew, just left a pile of prompts over at Porn Battle VII... Always fun. :) Mostly pundit-themed, but with a dash of Tony Stark and Jack Harkness thrown in. And Rahm Emanuel. ;) And one Dark Knight prompt, just for kicks. They're here if anyone's interested. Dunno if I'll write anything this year; we'll have to see if I get inspired...

Tomorrow, exciting day: I'm going to TravelCUTS to officially register with Swap.ca to go on a working holiday to Australia. Yikes!! I know I haven't said much about it on here yet, other than a couple of obscure comments, so there you go... I'm going to Australia. ^__^ In March. For 6 months. I'm... excited, slightly terrified, wondering if I'm insane (I'm giving up one of the rare secure jobs left in the financial industry during a recession to go buggering off for 6 months??), but... yeah, I'm bored of my job and life in general right now, and it's time to do something like this and just go and work and travel and have a good time for awhile. Cuz heck, not going to be able to do it when I'm much older, with a career and a family and whatnot... anyway, I've already given notice at my job (yikes!!! Not leaving til mid-March, but in our small office I want to make sure they can hire someone new who we can train up a bit before I leave) and told my landlady that I'm moving out at the end of February (then will move back to parents' house for the last few weeks before I leave).

Anyway, I'm exhausted and it's past 12, so I'm off to bed. I'll no doubt be posting more about my plans over the next couple of months... promise to keep ya'll updated. :) (and if anyone's ever done anything like this, or been to Australia... now's the time to let me know. ^^ any advice??).

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: Iron Man soundtrack

Just got home from Movie Under the Stars, which was a rousing success... I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, so for those that don't know, my credit union organized a screening of Horton Hears a Who on a big inflatable screen outside in a park on the island. :) Our head office did it last year, too, but this was the first year we did it down here. We've been working on it for monthes - well, mostly my co-worker, really, who's taken on most of the marketing and such for the branch and who corresponded with the marketing dep't at head office to get this organized.

( Details under cut... )

Busy day, anyway. Afternoon I was helping Dad with an outdoor art show he was curating (for another artist, that is. Oh well. But he got paid, at least. ^^). Sat in the shade and directed traffic for a couple of hours... and read, cuz it wasn't especially busy. Also checked out the annual book sale down at the library - they had a VHS copy of the first Tim Burton Batman which I coveted, since I haven't seen it and I can't find it in any local video store, but had no cash on me at the time, and when I went back later it was gone. Boo. Big day on Bowen - at least 4-5 events going on the same day. o.o (Dad's show, our movie, the book sale, Bowfeast (the 'eat only food from within 100 miles' day, which I think on Bowen we try to reduce to just food from on the island. There was some kind of farmer's market set up for it beside the book sale)... it was crazy busy in the cove in the morning. And in the middle of it all, the power went out. Twice. On a beautifully sunny, wind-free, 30 degree heat day. Wtf. Had to write a cheque to the lady at the outdoor hot dog stand cuz I didn't have any cash and the ATM was offline. Heh.

Tomorrow, nothing planned. Whee. ^^ But next weekend is Bowfest, which is the Big Day on the island. I think I've gotten roped in to playing the mascot again for the parade, which I may agree to depending on the weather. If it's hot out, forget it. If they really want someone to do it, they're gonna find someone else... I'm also volunteering for Run for the Ferry, an annual race which happens the morning of Bowfest. I'm taking care of registrations... well, in part. And evidently running in it. Well, walking...

On another note, I have to get my fall TV schedule worked out. Need a list of premiere dates, and a weekly schedule. Gonna miss quite a few of the premieres since I'll be in Europe, though... woe.

Current Mood: satisfied

But in more cheerful news... (as I boredly watch my computer run a ton of tests) I might have a place to live on the island soon! Much though I'd like to eventually get a job and place in Vancouver, at least for a few monthes I'd like the security of a place and a job on the island. I was worried about where I was going to live come summer, when my parents will have to be in town 5 days a week for medical issues. o.o Anyway, the girl who I was briefly going to room with, but who found someone else, is again in need of a roommate because her friend pretty much screwed her over and now she's stuck. She's found a 3-bedroom house in the cove as well as a third person (a guy our age), for $1800 a month. That'd be $600 each, which while I'm still parttime is a bit steep for me, but if I can get fulltime over the summer... anyway, she's going to keep in touch with me and let me know how it's going. Might not be until April, but that's okay for me... long as I have a place in May-July. Not sure if I can get full time, though... we're trying to hire someone else, but my manager is trying to avoid doing that even though I've TOLD her that I may not be here this summer and I'll most likely be gone by September. I really do need to get her a straight answer, though... *sigh* If this place becomes definite, then I'll tell her that I found a place but need more hours to afford it. She can make up her damned mind then. I mean really, we had 4 of us full time for awhile, now she's skittish about 3 full time (inc. me) and one part time (new person, until I leave)? I don't really see why we can't hire a fulltime replacement for our supervisor who left. I know she wants to save money, but... *sigh*

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com/.
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top ten fifteen results.

01. Anthropologist
02. Actor
03. Comedian
04. Critic
05. Casting Director
06. Writer
07. Communications Specialist
08. Archivist
09. Print Journalist
10. Public Relations Specialist
11. Historian
12. Musician
13. Composer
14. Market Research Analyst
15. Translator

Seems pretty right, though it doesn't help me decide between some of them that I've been thinking about. :)

Anyway, bad news from work today... since I was originally hired as part time and have only been full time while we've been getting up and going over the summer, and since we need to save money, I've been dropped down to part time. Wah. Plus side is, I get more free time. Minus side is, less money and the schedule kinda sucks (still there every day, but only until 2:45 - it'd be a lot nicer to just have a day off...). Anyway, not the end of the world, but I need to decide how to productively fill that time. Will likely end up helping Mom with her new business, which should be interesting I hope.

Oh well. Tomorrow I'm off to Powell River for the brand launch! Woo hoo. Free dinner, free flight, free hotel. Should be kinda fun, I guess.

On lunch in the library, as usual... bored. ^^; Got a few mini-updates from the last few days, so figured I'd post about that. Lesse... got a new cell phone! Most exciting thing that happened. XD

bk635, as you remember from last week I've been researching all the cell phone companies... well, turns out that was a bit of a waste of time. ^^ Went into Bell yesterday to insure that my contract woulnd't be automatically renewed or anything (I don't trust them), and they totally talked me into staying with them. -_- What can I say, they gave me $250 towards a new phone! And I have 15 minutes worth of calling to use the phone to test the reception on Bowen. So far, so good - got reception at home and in the cover, so I'm happy. Much better than my old phone. And it's shiny and black. :) No camera, but I don't really need one, heh. I just like the idea. Anyway, cell #'s the same, so call away... well, not too much - I only have 200 min, I believe. Same plan as before; 200 min + call display & voice mail for $35 altogether. Not bad; voice mail is usually another $6+ and it's included here. Miiight upgrade to unlimited evenings/weekends if I'm using it enough - used to be on that, and it was ~$42 per month. So not too much more, but if I don't need it then I won't bother.

Anyway, that's about it. Went from PR to the airport to pick up Mom, then went to Grandma's place to have dinner all together. Ie. ordered in pizza. ;p Got some nice presents (love it when people go on vacation, heh) - though is it sad that my favourite is the stuffed sheep? Seriously, it's SO CUTE. Must post pictures. Decided I need more female stuffies, so she's Sara from Prison Break cause I'm on a PB kick. Am also drawing Sara right now, with the shiny new sketch set she bought me at the Derwent pencil factory in England. Nifty. Almost done; will post when finished. Gotta finish up Michael, too, and post him as well as the one of Alex I did.

Ooh, and I actually wrote some of that Wincest ficbunny. :) Dunno if it's any good; it's just a short drabble. Tried to find a good balance between schmoop and angst while keeping it in character. Cuz Dean's not a schmoopy guy. ;p Trying to decide whether or not to make it porny; I suspect that that might seem gratuitous and just for the sake of having a sex scene. Which... it probably would be. Heh. So I doubt I'll bother. Can't write 'em, anyway. (you should SEE the crappy porn I wrote when I was 15! The old Fushigi Yuugi stuff... I shudder to think.)

Okay, half an hour left... off to work on my drawing of Sara. And possibly write a bit more. :)

Current Location: Bowen Library once again

Just finished my "first paycheck splurge". :) Not a huge splurge, granted, but it's something... ordered Oz seasons 1 and 3 from DVDPacific.com. Came to $68 CDN altogether. Love that place - at Futureshop, each season would have been $50+! Well, s1 is $39 at Futureshop, but s3 is $57 or something like that, so... anyway, I'm excited. ^^ Planning to rewatch season 3. Dunno what I'll do with season 1 when I get it - rewatched it recently. But I wanted to own it just because I want it for converting purposes and such. XD Plus it's one of the best seasons, easily, despite the lack of Beecher/Keller. Now I just have to find people to convert... *looks around pointedly*

Considered a few other splurging possibilities, but they were just too expensive.. considered a 30 gig video iPod - they're only $269 now, which is pretty cheap (they used to be $329). But even with my first big and shiny paycheck, I can't really justify it... plus, I don't like the wheel thingy that you have to use to navigate the menus.

Almost briefly kind of considered either a Wii or a DS, too... mainly because I was at Ryan's friend's house yesterday playing a Wii that he had just bought that day. We played a lot of Wii Sports, and it was pretty damned fun. It's really cool actually having to use your body, or at least arms, to control the characters - the boxing is like a full body workout, seriously! It's the first time I can honestly say that playing video games is healthy. XD XD But eh, ultimely I don't really want one, I just like the idea. They're pretty cheap, too - $289, compared to $499 for the XBOX 360 and $699 for the PS3. But then I'd need a second controller, plus the nunchuks probably, and it would just add up a ton... Ryan's friend spent $700 altogether, for the system, an extra controller, 2 nunchuks, and 3 extra games. Way too much for me to justify right now. ^^

Oh well, I'll have Oz to amuse me for now... I take a sad enjoyment at lining up my DVDs in a row in order and looking at them. XD XD Granted, I'm missing s5 and 6, but I don't really care enough about either season to want to buy them. Though s5 had some good stuff - especially the Toby/Vern duet in "Variety". ;) But it was also the season of Omar White, and... ugh. Well, it at season 6, which is just one of many reasons that I have no plans at all to buy season 6 anytime in the near future. If ever.

Anyway, at the moment I'm just hanging at my grandparents' place making use of their ridiculously good computer (seriously, all they use it for is internet banking, email, and some word processing, and the thing has 200 damned gigs!) and waiting for the fireworks to start. Their apartment is in Dundarave right on the water - AMAZING view from their balcony of all of Vancouver. And there will evidently be fireworks in West Van, so they'll be practically on top of us. Best view we've ever had of Canada Day fireworks. ^^ Anyway, happy birthday Canada and all that stuff. 140 years old, go us! Spent the afternoon in the cove - went to Crippen Park to the Canada Day picnic, then hiked up to Dorman Point (pretty short hike, maybe 25 minutes, and it has a great view of Vancouver at the top). Then took the ferry down and went to Park Royal, where I tried to buy a new suit and failed. Bleh. I have one, at least... it'll do for now. Went to Futureshop to look at RAM, but the guy said I'll have to bring my laptop in so they can see what type I'll need. The guy wasn't too happy when I said that I know people (Ryan and his dad) who work with computers and could probably easily install it for me. XD But I mean hell, installation is an extra $25, so...)

Btw, on another topic - Harry Potter tickets are up for presale now. It's def the 11th - I'm hoping to go to the 7:20 at Paramount downtown, since that will be easier to get to than Metrotown (since I'm HOPING to take the 5 ferry down and get off work 30 min earlier... will ask if I can just cut my lunch hour in half to leave early). If I get the 6, well... Metrotown will definitely be out of the picture, and Paramount will be pushing it (especially if the Lion's Gate is backed up which, face it, it usually is at that time of day).

Speaking of Harry Potter - Mom made a suggestion that I've decided to run with, regarding the decorations for the Deathy Hallows launch. I was originally going to draw small chibi HP characters, colour them on the computer, then print them out and stick them on the walls, but she suggested that I do them BIG, like 3+ feet, colour them with markers, and put them on the walls. Will look much better. :) Though I'm a bit nervous about seeing my work that big and all around the room... I'm goimg to be all critical of myself. o.o

Anyway, this is getting long... and fireworks should be starting soonish. Stopping now before it gets ridiculously long. ^^;

Current Mood: content

Woke up today to 30-40cm of snow on the ground. Finally, real snow! Exciting, albeit also very cold and somewhat inconvenient (the paths to school weren't plowed when I walked over to campus at 10am...). We rarely get snow like this in Vancouver, so I was all excited and happy. XD School was still open this morning, but is closed now (so don't have to go to my evening seminar, yay). Just got back from delivering Valentine's Day cards over to the hospital next door with some others from my Rez, which was nice - the hospital's mainly for older people who live there and need care, so it was nice to do something like this for them. Then on the way back, proceeded to jump into a bunch of snow drifts. XD Some of the drifts are fairly high, upwards to 4-5 feet at least. It was fun. Pictures under cut. :)

( Snow. And me getting very cold. )

So, now I'm inside and warm, planning to stay inside for the rest of the day if possible. Have a bibliography/proposal due tomorrow and a presentation Friday, both of which I need to work on (blah), though I've heard there might be more snow tonight (and it's still snowing right now) so who knows? Maybe I'll be lucky and class'll be cancelled tomorrow. *crosses fingers* Getting worried about the presentation, though, since my partner hasn't emailed me back and I've sent her 2 emails over the past few days... if she doesn't contact me soon, I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. We're supposed to meet up tomorrow... sigh.

Saturday I head to Toronto, staying overnight at Mom's friend's place and she's taking me to the airport Sunday morning. Then, Reading Week with the family which will be nice. Looking forward to hanging out with my cousins. :) Also, doing nothing. Except watching Supernatural and playing FFXII if I bring my PS2 (and who am I kidding?). Up to ep14 of SPN, and really enjoying it. Loving the interactions between Sam and Dean and watching their characters develop. And I keep hearing really good things about s2, so I'm looking forward to that. As for FFXII, I haven't done much recently. Been level raising in Ozome Plain, which has proved to be a pretty decent spot for levelling. Went through the Golmore (or whatever) Jungle and the Eruyt Village, now back at Ozome and planning to move ahead next time I play. Gained about 6 levels in my levelling spree, and managing to keep all my characters; levels up.

Oh yeah, and I have those picture of Chris!Doll and Toby!Doll (some more x-rated than others, haha) which I will post soon. I love them both. :) Was hugging Chris!Doll (who also doubles as Meloni!Doll and Elliot!Doll depending on circumstances) all through last night's SVU. Though am thinking wtf about the ending. o.o

Oh, other kinda exciting news - I'm now a RAC (Residence Action Council) member for my block, along with

shoebox_of_lies! Our 2 original RAC members didn't do anything, so they resigned and we were appointed. Yay. We don't really have to do much; just go to an additional meeting each Monday night and go to all the events (and we go to most of them, anyway...). There's a semi-formal tomorrow night which we have to go do, which should be fun. Though I don't want to trek through this snow in my shoes; hopefully they'll have a place to put boots in the coat check area so I can wear those. o.o

Also, I'm still sick. It sucks. ;_; And boored of studying; can't wait until Reading Week. Maybe I'll do a few minutes of work right now, before Farscape at 3... haha, yeah right. -_- Been enjoying re-watching s4 of FS, which I've only seen the one time last year when I first watched. WSS trilogy pt3 is tonight, though I have class tomorrow at 3 so I'll miss Bad Timing. Might just watch my copy of it, anyway, just to round out the series.

ARGH. Shitty day so far. First, I walked to class in the freezing cold only to find out that it was cancelled (same one as Monday; the prof's still sick). Should've checked my Brock email before I left, but forgot. So, walked back to QV in the freezing cold, then decided to set out fish-shopping. Get on the bus, all's fine until I get off at the wrong stop and suddenly I'm trekking 10 blocks in -10 degree weather (ridiculously windy, fortunately not really snowing). Get to the fucking pet store, only to find out that it's closed because the power is out. -__- Guess I should've called before I left, but really, what were the chances? Buses in Thorold suck, so I started trekking again through the cold in the general direction of the #4 bus to Brock, got to a gas station and went inside to check map and warm up, realized I had a long ways to go and didn't want to wait for the Thorold bus to come because I'd have to get that and then transfer to the Brock one (seriously, buses in Thorold SUCK), so called a damned taxi and paid $8 for the 5 minute or so drive back to Brock. Amazing how fast it is when driving. -_- Blah. Fucking Thorold, fucking power, fucking BUSES. Fortunately the taxi driver told me about another good pet store nearby, even offered to drive me there but I just wanted to get home at that point. Will look up that store, then set out another day. Or ask Steph at the meeting tonight if she's still going to buy a fish for her place, cuz I think she has a car.

So. Now i'm inside, warm, irritated, and planning to do very little for awhile. This day sucks. ;_;

Current Mood: irritated

Copied and pasted directly from the email I just sent out... for anyone on my F-list who isn't someone I email regularly. :) (or who I forgot. XD)

Brock rez is putting on a bowling night next week to raise money for
Big Brothers Big Sisters, and I need to raise $40 to participate. I
have an account set up where you can donate money if you want to, just
click on the link below and follow the instructions. It goes to a good
cause, plus I get to go bowling. :) Even $5 or something would be
great. I have until next Wednesday to raise the money. Any donations
would be appreciated!

Link: http://brock.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=209702&u=209702-162779975&e=937259680

On a totally unrelated and fannish note, I finally got a hold of Supernatural disc 1 and have watched the first 2 eps. Enjoying it so far; it's entertaining. It's kinda strange how I've been relatively familiar with it for monthes through LJ - everyone on LJ is talking about it, these days... Knew the basic premise, caught one ep of s1 over the summer, and am spoiled about the season 2 premiere. Dammit. -_- The main (I assume) spoiler from that ep was everywhere after it aired, and media sites tend to post spoilers in the open even just the day after something airs. Oh well... and I know bits and pieces about the fandom too, heh. Like the fact that it's probably the only fandom where the primary pairing is incest. XD Anyway, I've been hearing really good things about season 2 and from what I gather the show generally improves from the beginning. I feel like the only person in existence right now not watching this show, so it's good to finally see it. :)

Also, I went to another fitness class today! Yay me. Cardio yesterday, strength/stretch today. Trying to be well-rounded...

Tomorrow, probably going to buy Toby the fish. Woo hoo! Found out that there's a pet store pretty near Brock, so will bus there then cab back (don't want poor Toby to freeze while waiting for the bus...). Cab from there should only be $5-10, and it's quite a bit closer than the original place I was going (cab prob would've been $15-20... which is a bit ridiculous for this, really). Can't quite believe I'm doing this, heh, but I'm excited. He'll probably have to go home with one of my roommates at the end of the year, but hell, if it's cheap and I get too attached to him then I'll ship him home. XD It'd be hard to have a fish at home, though, what with having two houses. Not sure it'd be workable. Though in the summer we're almost always at Bowen, or at least one of us will be. Not sure about this summer, though - I might end up down in N Van mostly if I get a job on the mainland. Which, considering the lack of exciting jobs on Bowen (never ever going back to the video store...), is very likely.

I haven't updated since my birthday, have I? Okay, here's a rundown of my last week and Christmas Day, with pictures...

( Things I did )

( Things I didn't do... )

( Things I got for Christmas! )

All in all, good haul this year. XD Very happy with Rygel and the tablet, not to mention FFXII from my b-day. Was playing it a few hours ago and got killed by a stupid Bomb which exploded. :( Was too tired to go back and re-do the dungeon, so I'll do it tomorrow or sometime. Going to be down in North Van tomorrow, then back up to work for Thurs/Fri, then down again for the weekend. Don't know about after that.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Current Mood: tired

Aaand I'm DONE! Woo hoo!!

Last exam was pretty easy; it wasn't even really an exam per se, just a test scheduled in the exam period. Think I did well on it, which is good because I got my paper back (on disaster films, and The Poseidon Adventure and Poseidon in particular) and only got 72% on it... he said it was 'too general' and that I shouldn't have used the first person. *eyeroll* The first criticism I'll grant him, but the second? Dude, seriously, the whole 'no using 'I'' thing strikes me as one of those stupid things they told us in high school that I've been trying to break from ever since. Plenty of academic essays I've read use first person, and I pretty much only used it to say "I will argue that..." They used to say that we weren't allowed to do that (in grade 12... -_-), but I was under the impression that that's a perfectly legitimate use in academic papers. Yeesh. I hope my TA for Theories of Pop Culture doesn't feel the same way, because my essay for that class (the fandom one) is very much from the first person and is based a lot on my personal experiences. Which, again, plenty of academic papers I've read do.

Anyway, I've got my stuff pretty much packed up and now have about an hour until the Niagara Airbus is supposed to arrive (and I'm trying not to stress out over that... I'm sure it will show up. And if not I'll call them and flip the fuck out. And demand compensation for missing my flight. Or something.) Just hanging out now getting last minute stuff packed and making sure the house is clean (though I'm pretty sure Lindsy's going to be back for a couple of days, so she'll be the last one here).

See you guys soon!! I'll post when I'm home.