A Safe Space for Moogles

Only a couple inches before it turned into hail/sleet/freezing rain/assorted Yuck, but all morning we got Real Fluffy Snow and it was really pretty. ...A little precarious when I was out walking the dogs, though - it's hard to keep from slipping when one of the big dogs smells something Interesting and goes *yank!* XD Anyway, I guess the roads were bad enough that the hospital closed down early. And one of the clients had given us a Bertucci's gift card, so we got to have a pizza party before we went home. Dude, I totally got paid to sit around and eat fried mozzarella. I love my job. ^_^

...And then I came home around two and went straight to bed. I kept waking up last night and I was soooo tired. *floppymoogle*

What else... let's see. Well, I tried to pay my student loan online, but couldn't because - funny story - they have my birthdate completely wrong in their database out in Colorado somewhere, and you need that to log into your account, so I called them up for Halp and the lady on the other end said "just send us a certified copy of your birth certificate and we'll fix that right up for you! :D" so I go to my mom and I say "hey, mom, the Loan People need a certified copy of my birth certificate and this is why," and Mom goes "okay, I'll take care of it." *deeeeep breath* And I asked her about it today and she's like, "oh, I forgot, and then when I remembered I didn't do it because I thought 'what do they need her birth certificate for anyway?' " and I'm like, "Mom, I'm home all the time, you could have asked me."

*pant pant*

So, I'm gonna have to send them a check tomorrow or Thursday, I guess. And get on Mom's butt a little about getting my records fixed.

On the up side, I sent in my application for the Vanna's Choice crochet contest. I just hope they appreciate the beauty of my corset and ignore the ugly dumpling wearing it.

...Interesting. I've now officially had more alcoholic drinks in one night than I've ever had before, and I can't even tell. I had a hot chocolate with Peppermint Schnapps in at dinner (kind of a tall one, at that), then a Sprite with limoncello a couple hours later, which probably doesn't sound like much but I'm used to One Martini, Period. I don't even feel all that sleepy, which is unusual because of how my meds react when I drink.* ...I guess I'm Doin It Rite. ;)

The only reason I had that much was because the neighbors came over, so it was kind of a special occasion. We all went out to a fancy restaurant for dinner (private room and everything, you guys, it was amazing. Way too good for the likes of us.), and then repaired home to make asses of ourselves on Wii Sports. The funniest part was, I'd gone in and made Miis of a bunch of FF7 characters, so that's what they played with. It was a little surreal to watch them trash-talk each other as Barret and Marlene at bowling. XD

SO. Day 2: Playing on the Wii makes me happy. :D

Goal for tomorrow: finish up my last couple of Christmas presents to send out. And rest up, because I'm frankly tired of feeling sick. -_-

*Sometimes I think the only reason I'm not a lush is because I can't stay awake long enough.

(Srsly, we've got two dogs and two cats to look after. When it gets busy, it'll be a relief.)

Okay. Virginia? Don't get me wrong, that was some very impressive flurry action on the drive home and I gotta give you props for not making the roadways all messy, but, really, snow? Now? It's not even Thanksgiving yet. ...This better mean we get a white Christmas.

Also, body? It's really not necessary to wake me up around two-thirty AM for no particular reason. I need that sleep.

Also also, I picked up FFX for cheap the other day (oh my god, another RPG, why do I do this to myself) and my only salient observation so far is that Tidus is so Cheetor it's not even funny. Other than that, I have no idea what's going on. I figure if I keep playing until something makes sense, I'll have finished the game in a couple of weeks.

*

Also, I dreamed I was a were-canid of some sort, and me and my friend were trying to get away from a were-lioness - who, it turned out, was only trying to get a better look at us. She was actually quite polite once she had me pinned down. And all this was after I dreamed I was a very small sprite in a pantheon of cat-goddesses who lived in what looked like the Sleeping Forest from FF7: AC, and apparently I did something Rite because I was rewarded. ...With pregnancy. Clearly this is a patriarchal pantheon.

From: protester_in_the_know@gayrights.org
To: organizer@gayrights.org
Re: Saturday's protest

Hello,

I found your protest site online and it said that the protest would be taking place at the US Capitol. The super-secret gay agenda password is "marshmallow." Now, what's the real location?

***

From: organizer@gayrights.org
To: protester_in_the_know@gayrights.org
Re: Re: Saturday's protest

The real location is at the White House. Remember, don't tell anyone! This secret information mustn't fall into the hands of painfully earnest moogles the enemy!

***

*headdesk* In other headlines, I am fail. -_-

It was pouring down rain when I got off the Metro stop, but I zipped up my jacket like a brave moogle and headed out anyway. It wasn't hard to find the Capitol building - once you see the dome you're halfway there, anyway - but skipping across slick black streets while the rain collects on your glasses is another matter entirely. I contented myself with the thought that everyone else would be in the same boat (not literally, one hoped) and there's got to be some karmic points awarded for suffering for a good cause. And so, with damp jeans and high hopes, I crossed the street to the front of the Capitol building and found... nothing.

I guess the rain drove justice away after all. I'd arrived a little late, but not that late. Just in case, I wandered up and down the National Mall, keeping my eyes open for any hint of rainbow flags. I saw some Free Tibet protesters, but no Free Marriage. Eventually I admitted defeat and took some pictures before finding my way back home, my furry butt thoroughly kicked.

*sigh* So, yes. Fight the hate, y'all.

Goin to protest for marriage equality, brb.

Win #1 - I finished the baby blanket I was making for my cousin's sproglet-to-be. And it is all soft and warm and cute!

Win #2 - I went on eBay and found a kickass Christmas present for my dad. Which doesn't sound all that impressive until you know how extraordinarily hard my Dad is to buy for.

Win #3 - I have Dad's sugar cookies. Well, had. *omnomnom*

...Dadadada, da da dadadada! :D

My subconscious is evolving a bit. I've reached the point in my dreams where I know I'm dreaming on some level and can control the physics somewhat - mostly flying and that sort of thing. What I can't do is wake up in the middle of a dream, because I get invested in the storyline and have to see it through to the end. I wind up sleeping through my alarm and having Mom shake me awake a half an hour later. XD

Today there were a couple of harvest festivals in the area, and I went out with a sweater on and I was still cold. Sigh... Indian summer's over, I guess. (One step closer to my birthday though.)

And, since the image wouldn't leave me alone: ( A Galvatron & Rodimus skibble. Slash if you're so inclined. )

The bad news: coming back from another fun-filled day of whoring myself out to the corporate world, I discovered I had a flat tire.
The good news: when I discovered it, I was in a Goodyear parking lot. ^_^ So, it's fixed now, but it may be a good idea to get new tires soon just in case. *worried look*

ANYWAY: Flist, advise me. There's a part-time job opening as an Animal Caretaker at a local animal shelter. The catch? It's on weekday evenings, which means I wouldn't get to see my People then. Guys, I am enough of a hermit. Besides, evening is my writing time.

But... it'd get me some monies, and it's better than retail by several orders of magnitude, and it'd make Mom less likely to get on my case. So do I go for it, or hope like hell I get some hits before my birthday and Mom pushes me into retail?


LASTLY: I found something awesome. I Am Emily X: the blog of a woman who volunteers as security for Planned Parenthood. And there's a fundraiser going on right now that raises money according to the number of protesters she encounters! :D

I can! I can has! :D (I have several Dissidia icons now, actually - it is the shiny. Thanks, Jou!)

Today I made an effort to be Not A Complete Cave-Dwelling Ogre as my parents and I went to Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It was cool and educational and all, but overall I think I would've preferred the aquarium since there weren't any real life animals there. Though the 3D Imax thing was pretty cool, and Mom's reactions were entertaining (her brain doesn't process that it's just an illusion and things aren't really jumping out at you, I suppose ^_^;;). Also, it was narrated by Johnny Depp. So, ahem. Yes. ^_^ I have it in mind to go back to DC on my own sometime soon and take pictures. Since we're in the nice part of fall and all that.

...oh god, my first areyougame prompt is due day after tomorrow and it's not even closed to finished. Flail!

Put deepbluesquee on the Greyhound this morning; received a call at around 8-ish saying she'd arrived at the airport in New York just fine. If she does not arrive in Cambridge in one piece, it is officially not my fault anymore. I miss her already.

...not entirely for her parent-deflecting properties. Yes, Mom, I know I'm not allowed to sleep until noon and avoid looking for a job* anymore. Just because I don't quite live up to your standards doesn't mean I don't know them, even after a brief hiatus for much-needed Hugs. I swear to whatever's-out-there if I get one more Motherly Lecture I will scream.

*Which is a whole 'nother barrel of angst, of course. Lately I've been going around in circles of "I don't even want to work in the corporate sector, I want to work on my own projects, but I can't break into the highly competitive world of Best Job Ever yet, so I need a job and will build up my portfolio and/or write on the side, but I just know I'll wind up with a stressful job that will leave me so burned out I can't even look at my own projects anymore, and I will fade to obscurity with my creativity unfulfilled! Woe!" ...Which is a load of shit, because I can't even go to bed without having drawn or written or crocheted, but my brain does not always have a ticket for the Logic Train. ...Of course, none of this may even be an issue, because so far all I've gotten is calls from the Career Services lady going "My records show you are Still Unemployed! I am Concerned! :O" (omgstfu, lady, I highly doubt you're getting a commission) and somebody from AT&T offering me a job as phone monkey, and I would truly rather fling myself in front of a train. Lol misanthrope.

Speaking of creative, I've started on my areyougame and kinkfest prompts. Snarky Tifa is snarky.

Om nom nom, apple with caramel sauce.

...with my new bank account, I also got a credit card. I didn't ask for one, it just sort of happened.

WTF, O WORLD. WTF.

I've heard too many horror stories about Massive, Crippling Debt and Business Practices That Take Advantage Of Your Insolvency and and and... but mooglemom made noises about building up my credit and such. "You should use it," she said, "just pay off your balance in full every month." "Oh-kay," says I. I figure I'll just buy a cheap video game off Amazon* every couple of months and that'll do me. I'll use my debit card (a.k.a. money I actually have) to buy everything else.

Still, you have to wonder at the credit card company. Who told these people I was a grown-up?

In other news, my new mattress is being delivered tomorrow. No more sleeping in the basement! Yaaaaay!

*After I get a job. I'm not stupid.

First: How cute is this? TRANSFORMING ROLLER, U GUYZ. (okay, they call him Rollar, but screw that.) I want to pick him up and hug him.

Second: Added another plotbunny to my hutch. I want to write what happened during Roddy's little playdate with the Decepticons in (lj)childofatlantis's and my round robot. (No, it wasn't sex. Exclusively.) >_> Look, I'm getting some really pretty images, all right? Leave me alone.

Third, related: I have got to get some priorities straightened out on my writing. If nothing else, if I don't get back in the saddle with TF/Mythbusters soon the series will end before I finish the damn thing.

Fourth, further to above: I may not have a choice right now. Fluffiroth-angst, it compels me.

Fifth, possibly affected by above: I could use a job. Barring that, a hug and someone telling me that I'm not doomed to live in my parents' basement forever.

Sixth, apropos of probably nothing: I first got this song (warning, Axel/Roxas shounen-ai pix set to it- look, just put it in another tab and listen) as a Jenova-to-Sephiroth theme, so if you think of it in that way the lyrics are really disturbing, but oh my lord it's such a beautiful song. If I had that in my head I'm not so sure I wouldn't follow it either.

Seventh, apropos of yesterday: I really need to stop accepting the free samples they wave at you in mall food courts. That's how they hook you. Five minutes later you're sitting down with a plateful of chicken and limp, under-flavored noodles and thinking, "welp, there goes another year of my life to cholesterol poisoning." God, chinese food is crack. -_-

Eighth, speaking of crack: there was a D.A.R.E. booth set up outside of Michael's today. I appreciate what they're trying to do and all, but guys, Hasbro got to me long before you did.

*twirls sword over head and poses victoriously* I finished my room today! :DDDD

...of course, there are still boxes of Stuff that have to go into storage for now kind of hanging out in my room, but my toys are all displayed and my bookshelf is all neat and pretty and awesome. Happy and accomplished moogle! ^_^

I also tried to get a new drivers' license today, but, uh, I couldn't prove I live here. XD That's what happens when you're a dependent. The only mail I get is my game magazine and a metric buttload of credit card offers (note to all banks everywhere: DO NOT WANT). And apparently those don't count as proof. So I'm going to get a change-of-address form at the post office tomorrow, so yes. *nods*

Still sleeping in the basement, though. We finally gave up on the Great Bedbug War and left my mattress behind, and Mom says that they're going to wait to get me a new one 'til Labor Day. I don't mind, really, the couch is plenty comfy, but the problem is there's no windows down there, so no matter how late I sleep I still feel like I'm waking up at 5 AM 'cause it's still dark. *nyeh*

Boxes. Boxes boxes boxes. @_____@ We're up to our ears in them over here, omg. We worked all afternoon and we've almost got the kitchen done. I have a feeling I'll be scarce during the day - we've got a lot of work to do.

Halp, I'm drowning in cardboard. *waves little flag*

(Also, Dana Torres is my hero. That is all.)

...um, yeah. So, we've got Internets. ^_^ We actually got them yesterday, but I was too busy playing catch-up to post. *flails* You people talk too much! And keep doing... stuff! While you know I'm not hooked up!

It's very inconvenient. *disapproving kupo*

ANYWAY. The name of the town is Herndon, and it's right by Dulles Airport, about half an hour from D.C. assuming optimal driving conditions. Therefore it's kind of an expensive place to live, but it's not as white-bread as it first appears: there's quite a few immigrant groups that hang out here. Vietnamese, Japanese, Mediterranean, and Afghan, from what I've seen. (I had Afghan food for the first time today. OMG that bread and that white herb-y sauce. So good.) Also, there's enough of a Hispanic presence that it would behoove me to brush up on my Spanish, seeing as how I haven't used it since high school.

It's a nice place, but... well, I'm ready to start lobbing my resume at anything that moves, to be honest. Right now I'm attempting to set up an online portfolio. It would probably be smartest of me to just buy a domain and upload the portfolio I've already set up, but currently I'm playing around with Carbonmade since it has multimedia capabilities. ...On the other hand, if I could find a portfolio community site, that would be even better.

We get our stuff tomorrow. Lots of exhausting labor in my future, which is why I'm doing this stuff now. x_x

....So, what porn have I missed? :D

EDIT: I can has portfolio! It's not perfect, but it can handle Flash, so I'm pleased.

Huzzah for Dad's laptop and hotel wireless! This may be the last time I can get on the Innernets until, oh, Thursday at the latest, so this is me making the most of it. (It seems to be a bit unreliable though. I'm on Meebo but it keeps fillipping on me.)

Saturday was pretty uneventful (except for the whole thing with Prime, Motormaster, and flowers, of course) until around nine-thirtyish when we decided to finally stop for the night. It's dark, we're tired, we're in the mountains near West Virginia somewhere so we're pretty much in the middle of nowhere (but at least it's a prettier nowhere than Illinois), and wouldn't you know it, the Hyatt's full. As a matter of fact, every hotel in the area's full. And so is every hotel at the next exit up for that matter. We know this because Dad called every single one of those suckers. We were just resigning ourself to the idea of having to drive two more hours just to find a place to sleep when the girl at the desk said, "The EconoLodge up the road has a couple rooms left."

"Scamperfoom," says we.

We managed to get there in time to get one of their last rooms: a Jacuzzi room, which sounds great until you realize that there was only one bed for the three of us. I was ready to sleep in the Jacuzzi until Dad remembered that there was an aero-bed in the van. Huzzah! :D

So that was yesterday. Today I learned that a) while Dad drives quite fast, Mom, er, does not; b) no matter how much you like to drive, seven hours of it is gr-u-e-ling, and c) West Virginia is really, really pretty. Not close enough to the ocean for my taste, but pretty. Of course, all that green started getting a little blurry about hour four. x_x It was all I could do to keep both Mom and Dad in sight, especially when traffic got busy. But anyway, we're in Virginia now. I haven't seen the house yet (the final ceremonial sacrifice of a chicken is tomorrow), so we're staying in a hotel suite in which (this is important) I get my own room. Yaaaaaay!

Also, TF07 was on TV tonight, so now my mind is filled with shiny robots. ^_____^ *skibble sketch drabble plaaaaaay* *.....flop* homigod so tired.

But! Tomorrow I get to see our new house! And meet the fishes! And pick my room! There's a blue one and a yellow one, and whichever one I don't sleep in will be my playroom, Mom says. That's not even counting the basement with the big projector screen. ^_^ I'll probably set up my PS2 down there. Mmm, FF12 on that huge screen, prettypretty... *_*

EDIT: Somebody remind me later when I get Interwebs at home that I have a major edit to make on my Fluffirothfic. I got hit in the face with a mental image earlier but it doesn't work if he still has Mako eyes.

The good news is, ravynfyre and I had an awesome time yesterday, and I am now fifty bucks poorer but seven toys, a pile of comics and a lot of hugs richer. ^_____^ Ravyn is awesome. *squeebounce*

The bad news is, I have to babysit my ten-year-old cousin tomorrow. She's, shall we say, a talker. Not a bad kid and of course I love her to pieces, but I've never had to spend long hours in enclosed spaces with her before. My feelings may change. -_-

(Mom says she will owe me a present. I am disinclined to argue.)

The best news is, day after tomorrow we leave for Virginia! Yaaaaaaaaay! :DDDD My life is finally starting...