email: autumnriver@yahoo.com

Kusanagi and Yuzuriha!  I've been wanting to do a layout with this lovely drawing that Satsuki-chan did  for Smiles of a Summer Night.  It is one of my favorite pictures.  You can see some of her other artwork at Queen of Cups. 

My Passions
Manga: X, Berserk, CCS, Basara, KKJ, Rurouni Kenshin, Sensei!, Naruto, Juline, Suki Dakara Suki

TV: Buffy, Enterprise, Firefly, Home & Garden Network, Iron Chef, International Channel

Sewing:  a wool cloak, purple Calontir tabards

Armoring: stainless steel helm, new brigandine

Biseinen: Kusanagi (X), Fuuma (X), Touya (CCS), Gatts (Berserk), Itou (Sensei!), Kakashi (Naruto), The Red King (Basara), Cho (RK), All the CCD cuties (Clamp Campus Detectives, X) and most especially Bob (Husband)

Hobbies: Learning Japanese, Calligraphy, drawing, writing, hiking, touring old houses, making medieval stuff, collecting foxes.

Cat of the moment: Nabiki

Subterfuge: Star-crossed Lovers

I wanna hold you 'til the fear in me subsides.

Xmas

It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Yeah. Right.

So, I've just about made it through another Xmas. The holiday season is always difficult and stressful and this one has been no different, although perhaps not as bad as some in the past year. I'm still grateful it's almost over.

Bob enjoyed his presents that I got him, especially a little plush owl that hoots and the first two seasons of Father Ted on DVD. I have no idea why Bob loves this show so much, as he is neither Irish nor Catholic, but there you go. It is pretty funny. I got a couple of small items, a bell from my aunt and a couple of ornaments. I tend to dislike surprises and buy what I want when I want it, so I'm terrible to shop for. My family has learned to just send a check. That makes me very happy. Bob just shakes his head. He likes surprises, so I always try to make sure he has a few under the tree.

Our friend Gaston came over for lunch and we hung out for awhile. He's a good guy, very entertaining. He used to live in Tennessee, and it turns out we've attended a couple of the same SCA events years ago without having ever met one another. Go figure.

Later, I surfed around and caught up on reading blogs of people I don't visit regularly, especially some of the Elitist Bastards. It's kind of strange reading their blogs, since I've met most of these people in person at one time or another, and in person they don't always come over the same way they do online. But then again, maybe I don't either. Hmmmm. Anyway, they all seem to have much more interesting lives than myself or Bob, but I guess I've learned to prefer the quiet life.

Those who have been hounding me for ages about the sequel to Smiles of a Summer Night and Wings of Desire will be pleased to know that I'm actually making some progress on it. I'd lost my first version in the harddrive crash last spring, and spent most of last summer and fall distracted by my other hobbies. Now that winter is here again and the warmest room in the house is my office, I suddenly feel like writing again! Imagine that. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. At least the story is starting to make sense again to me. That always helps.

It's tough. When the ideas hit, they hit in droves, so many of them that I can't pursue them all, even if each and every one of them is good. I used to keep a sidebar with prospective titles and ideas, but I gave that up because people were getting disappointed when I didn't pursue something (either for lack of time, or because the idea didn't work out the way I'd hoped it would). So now, I keep my dreams a little more secret, so I won't let my friends down. I should be more disciplined, I suppose, but this is my release, and to structure it would make it seem like work, instead of the play that it is.

So happy holidays to everyone!

Wednesday, December 25, 2002 10:57 p.m.

An Xmas Gift

Merry Xmas, Ammie-chan! Happy very belated Birthday as well! (No, it's not really finished. I want to play with it some more, but I promised that I'd have it posted by Christmas.)

Tuesday, December 24, 2002 10:44 p.m.

Wah!

I can't believe it's almost been a week since I've blogged. I've been dreadfully busy, mainly with work. I'm going to quit at the end of this week (just after Xmas). Maybe then I'll get my life back.

There have been three main problems: one, he's scheduling me for too many hours. This was supposed to be an under-20-hour-a-week job, and I'm getting 35 + hours (almost full time). Two, he's swinging the shifts on me, so I'm going back and forth between first and second shift. It feels like I'm getting no time off at all. My days off are split, so even when I do get a day off, I can't enjoy it since I'm rushing around trying to get my mundane things (Xmas shopping, laundry, housework, bill-paying) out of the way. Three, he said I could have certain weekends off if I asked ahead of time. I did ask, and he scheduled me anyway. Of course no one is going to trade with me. I'm pretty angry. This wasn't how the job was supposed to be. I'd quit now, but that would look bad on me and punish my co-workers, when it isn't their fault. So after Xmas, I'm gone from there.

Yesterday was the Soltice, and there was a party over at a farm of a friend of ours, which of course I missed because of work. Bob went with our friend Gaston, and they both got pretty drunk. I came by later after work. I got to talk to a few people, but the bulk of the party was over, and I couldn't really drink because I have to be at work this morning at 9am. So I took my hubby home. There was a nice bonfire, though. Tonight, some of the Riverwatch folk are coming over for Secret Santa ($10 limit). I was going to make a tunic for my secret Santa present, but there was no time because of evil job. So I'm giving him the fabric with an IOU. Besides, I want the guy around when I'm cutting the fabric, so that I can get last minute measurements that I always forget. Bob had it easy, the gal whose name he got collects bunnies, so we picked her up this. With my discount at work, it came in just under $10. We are sick, sick people.

We did go see The Two Towers on Wednesday. I agree with what Rachel said about Faramir. He was a favorite of mine in the book (along with Eowyn and Boromir), so the character change was not a welcome one. It makes me wonder how they're going to handle his romance in the third movie--they certainly didn't make him very sympathetic in this one. And yes, there were some potentially slashable moments between Legolas and Aragorn this time (although I maintain that Professor Tolkien would be doing handstands in his grave if he knew about all this slashing going on with his characters--he was a very conservative man!). However, Gimli did have a number of funny lines in the book (none about dwarf-tossing, however), so odds were good they were going to make him comic relief. I don't think they're showing enough of his fierce side.

What I did love about the movie was the costumes and sets! Heck, that set for Edoras was a star unto itself! The details that the artists included in the costumes, armor and sets really made the film feel real. Incredible! The battle scenes were really cool, too. For all the mucking about with the story (and it was expected, the novel just wasn't structured in a way that it could be brought to the screen without some revision), you have to admit the film in itself is quite an accomplishment. And dang, New Zealand is gorgeous! I wonder how these movies have affected the tourism trade there?

Shoot, I have to run and get ready for work....I want my life back, dammit....!!!!

Sunday, December 22, 2002 07:04 a.m.

Socialness

Hmmm, is Rachel just a little X obsessed? XD It was funny seeing your observations about X and the latest Star Trek movie. I haven't seen it yet, although I suppose I will have to, there being Romulans and all. I'm quite fond of Romulans. I hope this movie doesn't ruin them for me!

Only a few more days until The Two Towers!!! I'm ready to go!!

Kerianne, War and Peace is actually pretty good, just long. Once you get into the story, it goes pretty fast. Actually, all those books on your list there are interesting. Of course, that being said, I always hated taking English classes because my interpretation of stories was always radically different from "what it is supposed to be".

Yeah, I also loved that scene in the Burrow! I think the second Harry Potter movie was better than the first. I need to go see it again, if I can find some time.

Still working. At least this week, I'm working under 30 hours. I'm a good, dependable employee, but I never come close to reaching my sales goals, so I probably won't be staying on after the season. Which is fine with me--it would be nice to get my weekends back again!

Bob and I went down to La Grande Tente (Waterloo) with Keith, a newer Riverwatch member, yesterday and attended their fighter practice. That was quite fun. We all got a chance to armor up and fight a bit. For me, this was a big step, since it has been almost five years since I've fought. It was scary getting back into the game again, but I did it!!

My technique was rusty, but it was pretty obvious that I had done this before and Keith and Bob were both impressed. Bob's really excited about doing fighting now and is all ready to make some armor. I bought an old helm for $35.00, which I'll use until I finish my new one, and then it can be loaner gear. Bob spent some time last night getting the rust off of it, and it's cleaning up quite nicely. Keith is slender, about the same size I used to be before the weight gain, and he fits into a lot of my old armor. So I'll be re-strapping it so that he can use it until he makes his own set.

Of course, I'm doing all this AND putting in a calligraphy entry into the Queen's Prize Tournament. My entry is a fairly simple one, Artificial Uncial script based on The Rule of St. Benedict, a book fragment from around 750 CE. The script is a new one for me and a bit tricky, but I think it will show nicely. I don't normally enter Arts & Sciences contests, so if I shoot too high, I'll choke! I'm really excited to see the other projects as well.

Work on the Daisuke story continues. There's something that's eluding me on this one...I keep playing with the structure to see if I can add some more sparkle to the story, which is a very simple one. And no, Ammie-chan, it isn't a lemon! XD It's just a little romantic. You know me, I love sweet stories.

Man, there's almost too much stuff going on right now! My brother Jeff just got engaged (or as Bob says "Sliding down the slippery slope of domesticity"). It's been a whirlwind romance (he met this gal in October). I hope things work out okay for them. He's certainly happy. They'll be getting married sometime in June, I think, although all that depends on getting a site, etc. So Bob and I need to save up for a trip to San Antonio.

It should be fun going back down to Texas (although not in the summer--c'mon, guys, a spring wedding would work just as well!). The food there is always terrific, and Bob wants to show me around his old stomping grounds (he was stationed there). I personally would like to swing past Austin to see my old University, although I'm sure a lot of things have changed since I graduated, and I know most of my old friends moved away a long time ago.

Just got the Wish Memorial book for one of my Xmas presents. It's so cool! This series is becoming one of my favorites. I really like Mick Nekoi's art. There's a real sweetness to it (that word again!). Bob let me renew my Asuka subscription as well (another Xmas present)! So more CLAMP goodness for another year! Hopefully they'll bring back Kusanagi this time!

Okay, enough babble. Later, ya'll.

Monday, December 16, 2002 05:57 a.m.

Diagnosis

The "weird throat infection" was a nasty sinus infection, requiring a visit to the doctor and antibiotics that are playing heck with my metabolism. I put it also down to stress, from working and from the season.

I haven't had a chance to work on the Daisuke story, but I will have Thursday and Friday off, so I should have some time then to see to it.

Most of the holiday shopping is done--I just love the employee discount. We did it a little early in order to expedite shipping, since I don't know if I can have enough time off from work to visit Bob's folks. I'm dreading it anyway, so maybe it's for the best if we stay here.

Antibiotics evil. That is all.

Tuesday, December 10, 2002 11:22 p.m.

Ain't that the way that it goes

And I end my stellar week with some weird-ass throat infection that keeps me from talking. I've missed two days at work, and have nothing much to show for it because I spent most of the time sleeping. Hopefully, now that the week is over the jinx will be lifted.

Sunday, December 8, 2002 07:26 p.m.

Oh, yay.

Yeppers, the week continues to shine. Yeeeeeaaaah. I got my work schedule for next week and found that I've been scheduled for even more hours. 1 hour short of full time, in fact. I am irritated, to say the least.

My back tires are now giving up the ghost. The tire place had warned me that I would need to replace them by autumn, so I guess waiting until winter has gotten a few extra months out of them, right? Yeah. Ah, well, kiss another chunk of change farewell.

The Daisuke story is finished, but I need to tweak it a little. It ended up being prose-heavy at the beginning with a little too much dialogue at the end. I need to balance it out a little. And I need a better title, the present one sucks. Soon, soon...

Another story is taking hold in my brain, and I hope to get some of it written down tomorrow before I go to work. Alas, I'm scheduled for so many hours this weekend that I won't have a lot of time to devote to writing. Otoh, it seems getting busy somehow kick-started my ficcing into full gear again. Same thing happened when I was working the hell-project at my old job and having to coordinate our move here. Weird, huh? Go figure.

Thursday, December 5, 2002 10:07 p.m.

Hah


How Annoying Are You In Your Online Diary?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hah, yeah like they'd know. I'm annoying, dammit! Just ask anyone!

Boy, if I was cranky earlier, I am now TEN TIMES as cranky. Stupid battery in Bob's car decided to give up the ghost, in the wonderful 10 degree (Fahrenheit) weather. So I'm out in the cold, freezing for two hours while we get the car jump started (bless you, old guy from Dyersville whose mighty truck had the juice to get the thing started). So we had to fork out $97.00 for a new battery. Looks like it's fishsticks for the rest of the week, ya'll. Dammit.

Ammie-chan, your story has past four pages and is still going. I hit a wall tonight, so have to sleep on it to figure out what to do next. It's turning out kind of odd, I'm not sure about this style. See what you've done? All your fault, chica! I blame you and that tentacled muse-goddess of yours! And the Octopus tie as well! And hell, even Seishirou's eye's gonna take the fall for this! (Hey, was that his right eye or his left eye? I forget and am too lazy to reread Tokyo Babylon to find out...

No, I'm not drunk or stoned. Just real, real bitchy right now. Rarr!

Wednesday, December 4, 2002 09:43 p.m.

Burnt

A painful reminder to all: natural does not necessarily mean healthy. Case in point: picked up an "all natural" lip balm from a SCA friend of mine (she makes them herself). All good and well. Bob tried it and liked it. So it's been sitting around here for a couple of months and now that it has gotten colder, I needed some chapstick, so I thought I'd try the lip balm.

Big Mistake. I didn't read the label. Turns out it has apricot in it, and I am massively allergic to apricots. I was wondering why my lips were so chapped and burning yesterday, and Bob finally picked up on the fact that I had been using that lip balm. So the lips are blistered now. Owie.

Been a weird week. I tripped over a box at work on Sunday and twisted my ankle. Not good when you're working retail and have to be on your feet. Worse when the boss has scheduled you for 34 hours this week (WTF?! This was supposed to be an under-20-hour-a-week job!). So with burnt lips and a nice limp, I'm pretty cranky today.

And lookie! I got flamed for Cujo! Boy, if they thought that was sick, guess they shouldn't read my never-published Yuzuriha/Inuki lemon. Now that was sick. And no, I'm not going to post it, you dirty-minded fiends! It's too, well, too! Ya'll would lose all respect for me! Hell, I lost respect for myself for even thinking such a thing, much less writing it. But you know, what the hell...here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I'm all depressed because no one seems to want to write Kusanagi/Yuzuriha fluffy cute romance. *cries* I'm tired of Subaru/Seishirou! Guess I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and write something.

(No, Ammie-chan, I haven't forgotten your story! I actually worked on it some this morning, and may well do some more tonight, since Bob isn't feeling well and wants to be left alone.)

Alison, the grey is much easier to read, thanks! And Happy belated Birthday! Hope it was a good one! :-D

I finally finished one of the cloaks! Now to finish the other one...dang, it's hard when you have to sew for two. Ah, well, that's the price of having a handsome husband.

Now, I'm off to eat some ice cream, which is medically proven to be an excellent remedy for chapped lips, especially when you include lots of chocolate syrup on the top!

Wednesday, December 4, 2002 03:32 p.m.

*sniff*

I'm battling a cold. Actually, Bob and I are both kinda sick, which means of course a whining contest. ;-D See, marriage can be fun! I'm going to sound disgustingly smug here, so I apologize in advance, but it is really nice to have someone around who doesn't mind if you whine every now and then.

Put in a nine-hour day at Suncoast yesterday, which has me dog-tired today. Fortunately, I'm off, because we're going to see Red Green tonight. Red Green is a Canadian comedy show that plays on PBS (Public Television). There's something about rural Canadian humor that seems to click with rural Midwestern Americans. Red Green is huge in Iowa. It's a simple show, mainly him and a few friends talking about life. The actor who plays Red Green, Steve Smith, also writes for the show. In any event, the show tonight is a live comedy show that he's doing, with proceeds to go to charity.

The Evil that is The Fabric Store drew me in with a huge sale yesterday. I hit the place after work. Came out with some nice fabric at two dollars a yard. 8 yards burgandy/rust, 4 yards dark brown, both in a heavy cotton upholstery weave, perfect for winter garb. Now it goes into storage in my famous fabric stash, where it will mature with the other fabric until I can figure out exactly how I want to sew it. Fabric addiction. It's an illness.

In the meantime, I'm a few hours away from finishing Bob's cloak. It took quite some time because I ended up having to do a lot of hand-sewing on it, as my icky little sewing machine just couldn't deal with the weight of coat-quality wool. Mother sent me Xmas money to buy a new sewing machine, but I haven't settled on what to get yet!

As the weather is getting colder, I'm getting more and more into writing mode. I need to figure out a way to balance this and the job and the SCA stuff (all of which tend to demand a lot of attention). I've never been good at that, though. Absolute focus is the only way I ever seem to finish anything. Unfortunately, that's not considered very healthy!

Watched the English dub of X vol 2 the other day. I'm really growing to like this dub. Kusanagi finally shows up and the English voice actor does a really good job. I'm very pleased! Yuzuriha's voice actor isn't as good as the Japanese one, but then, the Japanese one was incredible, and that's a hard standard to match.

You know, I happen to speak with a Southern accent. Not quite as extreme as in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou", but it's pretty distinct. I do have cousins in Mississippi that DO talk like that. No, I'm not kidding. "Down from the Mountain" is a good show. I saw it on PBS when I was down in Florida for my grandfather's funeral. It made me cry, because the old-timey gospel music (aka bluegrass) was his favorite. I grew up hearing a lot of that kind of music, since my own father is also fond of it. (This despite the fact that he is as Yankee as you can get). Something about it always reminds me of my childhood. What's strange is that the rural south is nothing like it used to be (it's not so isolated anymore).

I'd forgotten there were Maori in NZ, still. (Typical American, I guess, don't know nuthin' 'bout no foreign-type places). Are there a lot of them? Did they keep their culture, or did they get sucked into the White culture like the Native Americans did here?

Rachel, that pic of you and the frog at the fountain is classic! You even have the glasses right! LOL!

I owe folks quite a bit of snail-mail and I hope to be getting to that very soon. I have to do Xmas cards as well. Holidays, they're so much work! I want to be a kid again, when Xmas was easy. Bleh!

Saturday, November 30, 2002 07:30 a.m.

Rachel, welcome back! Looking forward to your write-up of your trip! I always enjoy hearing about people's travels!

I got an email from Newtype USA last week. Seems I won their first fanfiction contest. The subject was, conveniently, X. Bob saw the contest in the magazine and pestered me until I sent in something. I really didn't think I'd have a chance, because I write primarily about Kusanagi and Yuzuriha, and most folk are interested in the Big Four. But what do you know? I'm pleased. Barring any strangeness, the story will be published in the January issue (issue #3, I think?).

Alison, love the lucious Kamui layout! I'm finding the red text a little hard to read, though.

Started working at the local Suncoast store. I had forgotten how hectic retail work can be! But with it being part-time, I'm not too fried. And we get a nice discount, which makes Bob very happy, even if it is just for the holiday season. We picked up a number of things yesterday, including a movie I'd missed in the theatres: Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?. Damn, I don't know how I missed this one. Brilliant. Really funny. Great music, if you like bluegrass (and I do).

Ammie-chan, I am actually making some progress on that story I promised for your long-since-past birthday. It'll be short and sweet, but I think you'll like it. I'm liking it and that has to say something for it, right?

Well, tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Fortunately, we don't have to go down to Bob's folk's house, since I close tonight at work and open on Friday. (Oh, shucky-darn!) I haven't quite figured out what we'll be eating yet. I'm not real fond of turkey. But we will be putting up the Xmas decorations. Bob insisted on getting another tree for the dining room (we just had a little one in the foyer last year). He's really into Xmas, even if we aren't the religious type.

Lastly, I miss you, Satsuki-chan!

Wednesday, November 27, 2002 10:02 a.m.

Sundry

Things were getting a bit long, so I archived again.

Rachel! Got your postcard, thanks so much for remembering me! I'm really envious that you got to go to the Fushimi Inari Taisha. That's one of my "must see before I die" spots!

Alison, I remember you had blogged a good while back that you would be moving into an apartment late October or so? How'd that work out? Did you get the place?

Your recommendation regarding Spirited Away will now be put to the test. It's showing in Dubuque (wow, MUST be mainstream, huh?!) and the hubby and I are set to go see it tonight. I have been really good about not reading spoilers, fanfic, anything that might take away from the impact of the movie. And let me tell you, that is RARE.

In other news, I got the Suncoast job!!!! They called me Monday and told me. I start this Thursday. It's just a holiday job, but I'm still glad. My ego kinda took a hit when I thought that they wouldn't hire me. It should be fun. Plays havoc with my schedule, but what the heck, it's the holidays, most folk will be busy with family and such anyway. Bob is very pleased. He's really hoping I get hired permanently (they're planning to keep a couple of people past the holidays). I'm not sure that will happen and am not banking on it!

I rented Thoroughly Modern Millie yesterday, as I was feeling a little low and there's nothing like a musical to cheer one up! I hadn't seen it in several years and had forgotten how funny it was. It's very campy, quite intentionally. I think the portrayal of the Chinese white slavers is pretty dated and frankly stupid (like that Jerry Lewis portrayal of the Japanese neighbor in Breakfast at Tiffany's), but unfortunately Asians were portrayed that way in movies from the 1960's. Today, if someone did a performance like that in a film, you'd have a mob of Asian-Americans burning down the theatre! Wonder how those characters are handled in the new musical version?

Wednesday, November 20, 2002 07:58 a.m.