spiderine

09:32 pm: 26 + 1 Thinkies About "Sleeper"
Hey! Another new episode of Torchwood, just a week after the last one. One would think it was, y'know, a television show or something. Huh. Imagine that, somewhere in the world they have more on TV than reruns, reality shows and truly nasty political ads.

Once again I am diving into the new episode, "Sleeper", unspoiled and unsullied. Once again, I am baring my shallow squeeing fangirl thinkies to the world as they happen. All the cool kids are doing it.

( You gotta be ready... for SPOILERS! )

And my Plus One for the teaser for next episode: The soldier is cute, but WHERE'S MY BOYKISSING DAMMIT?

09:06 pm: 29 + 1 Thinkies about "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
Finally, FINALLY! Torchwood is back! And it DIDN'T SUCK! YEE FUCKIN' HA!

Once again, I'm doing a running commentary on the episode so I can share the squees and groans as they happen. Don't expect coherence or insight or any interest in what they laughably call the "plot". You know why I'm here, and I know why you're here, so let's get ready for some BOYS KISSING!

( You gotta be ready... for SPOILERS! )

And my Plus One, regarding the teaser for upcoming eps: JACK AND IANTO KISS! Er, there was some other stuff as well... but WHO CARES? JACK/IANTO 4-EVA and EVA and EVA! WHEE!!!

I am so fucking relieved. I STILL LOVE MY CHEEEEEZY SLEEZY BOY-KISSIN' SHOW!

11:02 am: She who hesitates is lost
Um.... I think I just rented an apartment.

It's about 4 blocks from Maverick Square Station in East Boston. The neighborhood is rundown, but my keen spidey senses are tingling with the first scents of gentrification. There's a laundromat at one end of the block and a bodega at the other; right across the street is a "chic" little coffeehouse/cafe, and a few doors down from that is a pet supply store that is moving to larger quarters down the street. In other words, they're making money, and that money is starting to be put into the community. I've also spotted a couple of renovations in the neighborhood. I don't know how it works in Boston, but in NYC this would mean a "pounce on it" neighborhood.

The apartment itself is a huge warren of small rooms, pretty shabby but in good condition in the basics, with a great big kitchen and new appliances -- including a dishwasher, because I've been spoiled. It's at the top of my price range, but for the space I'm getting it's an amazing deal. It's listed as 3 bedrooms, but that's hardly reality - the rooms lead off each other in a weird way. The layout is unusual to say the least, and I don't mind admitting that it's one of the reasons I like the place. There's room for a dining table SO I CAN HAVE DINNER PARTIES and it comes with off-street parking SO PEOPLE CAN COME VISIT ME and one of the "bedrooms" will actually be a craft room/guest room SO I CAN HAVE PEOPLE OVER (*clangs the hint gong*).

OMG -- I can get a sewing machine! (*keels over thud*)

I'm getting a good "vibe" from the landlord too. He's interested in upgrading the apartment and he wants a "stable professional tenant" (*snickersnort*) so he isn't making me put down a security deposit (HAHAHAHA - SUCKER!). We had a good long conversation and I have a gut feeling it's going to work out well.

And get this, the commute to my job will be less than half an hour door to door. :D

It's going to be a tough juggle. My lease will overlap Hole in the Wall by one month -- in February I'll be paying two rents. BUT I have money from my bonus, and I'll have money when I get my deposit on Hole in the Wall back, and I'll ultimately have my tax refund if I jump on my taxes as soon as I get my W-2s, and in March I'll be getting a raise, so I can swing the increase in rent. And because of the month's overlap, I'll have time to pack and move, and to clean the old place and the new place (although the landlord says he's going to clean it and give it a coat of paint, I'll not hold my breath about it).

The whole signing the check and taking the plunge bit is giving me butterflies in the stomach, but I've learned that one doesn't get anywhere in this bastard of a world by being indecisive. I've seen a few apartments, and I think might not be the "best", but I think it's the best for *me*.

Now, I think I'll go throw up.

Tags: boston, moving

09:23 am: Meme
gakked from pepperjackcandy

( What is the meaning of my so-called real first name? )


Yah. Right. I "get along with everyone and work hard not to rock the boat"? I am "so lucky that I don't have a lot of worries"? I "don't get worked up easily"? I "have the whole world under my spell, and influence almost everyone I know"?

Who writes these things? What a crock.

Tags: meme

11:07 am: Cats in the bathroom
Cat evolution continues apace. Last night, my cat Phoenix (see icon) flushed the toilet on me in the shower. Yes, you read right.

It's a universally acknowledged fact that cats insist on joining you in the bathroom. cluegirl says it's because cats herd the dead and many deaths occur in the bathroom. *shrug* All I know is that it really weirds me out when I'm sitting on the toilet and Phoenix tries to jump on my *lap*. That's just ... wrong. (No, I don't close the door to the bathroom. I live alone.)

Aaaaaaaanyway: So last night, there I am in the shower, with Phoenix supervising. She decides the toilet is hers. Luv the toilet! Mine mine mine! Rub against the bowl! Jump up on the seat and rub against the tank! My tank! Mine! Luv the tank! Luv the toilet handle! My toilet handle --

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Yah. She managed to rub against the toilet handle so hard she flushed the fucking thing. I. Have. No. Words.

In other cat-bathroom news, it appears that the bathtub is the perfect place for cat-toy storage. Merlin is the culprit here, because he is the toy-meister. All cat toys in the universe are his. He struts around with them in his mouth and growls and stalks and pounces and flings them about and kills them over and over (I'm so proud of him!). Sometimes he allows Phoenix to play with them, mostly so he can pounce on her and take the toys away. (Crow views all this from the sofa with lazy disdain.)

For some reason, Merlin keeps his toys in the bathtub. Every day I remove them and put them in the hall, the living room, wherever. Every day I come home from work and they're all in the bathtub.

This is why we have cats: so we can look at them and wonder, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON IN THAT WALNUT-SIZED BRAIN?"

Tags: cats

09:27 pm: 50 + 1 thinkies about "Voyage of the Damned"
I've finally just started watching the new Doctor Who Christmas special, "Voyage of the Damned". Only 10 minutes into it and I had to stop the playback and start on-the-fly commenting. OMG.

It's taken this long for me to watch it because I was scared it would be crap. I'm coming to it unspoiled; all I knew was the name of the guest star companion. And I was not thrilled in the least by last season, which in my opinion threw more duds than not. I finally had to steel myself and think, "No Martha, no Donna, no Rose. It's a clean slate: let's go for it!"

I start it .... and holy shit -- RTD, you bitch -- you had me at the CREDITS!

( Spoilers, duh )

and here's my Plus One: The trailer for season 4 ROCKS. I see faces I thought I'd never see again. And I don't mean Catherine Tate; I mean tentacles!

I think I can look forward to Season 4 now. STILL UNSPOILED, THO. All I've seen is that trailer and a couple of nearly unavoidable casting spoilers. So DON'T TELL ME ANYTHING.

Conclusion? Me still = RTD's bitch.

10:18 am: I hab a code.

I was going to rant about looking for an apartment, but all I want to do is curl up in a ball and drink chicken soup and blow my nose like a foghorn and sleep.

Fortunately, the office is dead dead dead. Unfortunately, it's still inappropriate to nap at one's desk. Or under it.

*honk*
*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Tags: blech, work

12:27 pm: E-mail finally back
Well, after sending email after email, yelling IN CAPS, begging to speak to a human voice, and threatening to take my business elsewhere, spiderine dot com is back in business. REPEAT: my primary email address, spider at spiderine dot com, is BACK UP TO RECEIVE AND SEND MAIL. Thank fucking Hermes.

Please use that address from now on.

My actual "site" at spiderine dot com is a gazillion years old and only contains some of my old Sentinel fiction -- and not all of that, even! Hey, does anyone want to help me design a new site to archive all my fic?

11:32 am: Blarg, TMI, all that fun stuff
Blarg. ( Cut for TMI and bitching and general blechiness. )

Gods, I want a nap.

Tags: blech, tmi, work

10:14 am: Random Catching-Up-And-Stuff Post
I am back, post-birthday! Many thanks to those who sent me good wishes. I am 44 years old and STILL HERE, despite all efforts to the contrary (including my own).

Speaking of which, I was neglectful of my very good friends goseaward and cluegirl, who share a birthday on December 2. I hope you both had a happy birthday and have a wonderful year in which you thrive. SAGITTARIANS RULE THE UNIVERSE!

MY SPIDERINE E-MAIL IS STILL DOWN. This would be, it turns out, because I neglected to pay the bill. *headdeskheaddeskheaddesk* It'll be back soon, so they say. *headdesk some more*

Gattaca's holiday party is this Friday at the Ritz-Carlton. It's bound to be a snazzy bash, but I HATE OFFICE PARTIES. Should I go? Please chime in with your opinion -- really! I'm interested in hearing.

O F-list of wisdom, please inform me: On BBC America it says that the new Torchwood premieres January 26, 2008. Is that the same date as it premieres in the UK? I'd rather download the eps because BBCA snips them and puts adverts in them and does all kinds of nasty things to make the episodes airable in the USA.

Speaking of Torchwood... Y'know, I'm in the middle of writing an ambitious epic Supernatural/Boondock Saints crossover fic, which is kicking my voluptuous arse because of yucky blechy plotness (I HATE PLOT) and thematic elements that will blow your mind (I hope!). So what happens? Out of nowhere, Captain-Jack-in-my-head taps me on the shoulder, informs me I've been neglecting him heinously, and proceeds to do something so disgustingly !!!HOT!!! to Ianto-in-my-head that I could not but give it my full *cough* attention. I have a sinking feeling I'll be writing more Jack/Ianto quite soon. Y'know, every so often I try to write real fics with plot and such, but I am far too easily distracted by the shiny, shiny smut. It's a curse, really. Not that Ianto-I-M-H is complaining; in fact, he's so happy that I'm using his "imminent headbutt" icon to celebrate. I love that face, don't you?

Tags: happy birthday, torchwood, writing

09:26 am: Holiday of Me
My birthday officially starts now. Okay, really it's not until Tuesday, but I took this coming Monday and Tuesday off work because I've always felt that the best possible gift I could give myself was not having to go to work on my birthday. And since this year it's on a Tuesday, I might as well take Monday, right? Heh.

Last night, I started a new sourdough starter, a.k.a. the Birthday Bitch.

I shall be divisible by eleven. I kinda like that. :)

09:03 am: Service Announcement: E-mail down
My personal e-mail at spiderine dot com has been down for a couple of days. It should be back by tomorrow, but if anyone's mailed me something I need to see now, you should send it to one of my alternates.

12:35 pm: I am home. The cats are not dead, tho they beg to differ. I am stuffed full of food and moreso with love. Not so bad a life, really.

08:03 am: Over the river and through the woods to cluegirl and aquila_dominus's house we go.

Traveling today, ETA this evening.

I have gone MENTAL in the kitchen. The corn muffins are a new recipe and I'm not so sure about how they came out, but I'll wait for other opinions. The galette dough is frozen and ready to be packed, and the Chocolate Death Grenades are LETHAL. (What? I had to try one of them and one of the muffins. Wouldn't you?)

I have not yet packed, but that's just throwing a couple of t-shirts and underwear in a bag. Most of my bag space will be taken up with FOOD, to be exchanged on the way home for flour from Clue's local co-op.

I am prepared for the 5.5 hour train trip. I have my computer, my iPod, my phone, my knitting. I have 2 episodes of Dexter and the Doctor Who Children in Need to watch. I have stuff to read and stuff to write. Raise your hand if you think I'll probably end up sleeping the entire time. (*raises hand*)

01:18 pm: I need an audio clip of Dean Winchester in last night's "Supernatural" saying "Spiders". Because DEAN WINCHESTER SPOKE MY NAME AND I MUST HAVE IT OMGWTFBBQ!!!11!!ONE!

I'll probably put it on my phone so whenever it rings I'll hear Dean say, "Spider, Spider, Spider..." HEARTS AND RAINBOWS OMG SQUEE!

Oh, and last night's episode? ROCKED LIKE A ROCKING THING THAT ROCKS AND ROLLS.

Tags: geekitude, supernatural

12:57 pm: I have found a yarn store and a used book store, both within lunch-hour browsing distance from my office.

Me = so very, very doomed.

11:41 am: Meme!



Damn skippy, y'all. ;)

Tags: meme

10:32 am: The x-million-dollar question
This morning on the way to work I asked myself the x-million-dollar question: If I had x-million dollars and could do anything I wanted, would I stay in Boston? At this juncture, I must say that the answer is, unfortunately, no.

I know my basis of appraisal is faulty until I find myself a better place to live, but the fact remains that I am homesick as all hell. People say, "well, that means it's time for a visit!" And I reply, no fucking way -- I fear that if I went back to NYC for a visit, I'd never leave.

There are reasons I'm here. The friends I have here rule beyond imagining. My job is great. Bluntly put, I've never worked less hard in my life. The office pace in Boston is so much more laid-back than I've grown used to that it boggles my mind. Hey, I love it -- I've never had anything resembling a work ethic -- but it kinda makes me nervous. I'll get over it, though. ;)

And then there's the Red Sox. No, really! When I was mulling over the x-million-dollar question one of the things that popped into my head was, "I can't leave -- what about the Sox? How could I leave JP's GLORIOUSLY KILTED ASS?" Yes, I've sunk that low. Yes, I could be a Sox fan in NYC; in fact, it would be the kind of obstreperous fun that I thrive on. But there would be no Red Sox Nation, no Dropkick Murphys, no bellowing hardcore renditions of the most non-sequitur-ous (there needs to be an adjective for non-sequitur) fight song a team has ever adopted. I lived in NYC all my life without giving a blind blue damn about either the Yankees or the Mets; I'm here for less than a year and I can name players, match them to faces and positions, converse about their stats, salaries and injuries, and drool over JP's GLORIOUSLY KILTED ASS. I've been to a rally and a parade, and I enjoyed them both immensely. I have a baseball cap and a knitted watch-cap with the B logo on it, and I wear them. And I've figured out that it's all about the people, the fans themselves. They are obsessive, glowing-eyed lunatics. Here, the Sox are not a sports team -- they are the STATE RELIGION. It's not a game; it's a CULT -- but one that has beer and "Tessie" and JP's GLORIOUSLY KILTED ASS.

Remember what I once wrote about passion and connection? Bingo. Funny how that works out, hmm?

And of course, my friends are here. I have other really close friends elsewhere, but it's so amazing to have such good friends right here, and I cannot say that too often or too enthusiastically. And they're fandom friends! Hello, fandom! Hello, Dungeonsauths! Talk about obsessive, babbling lunatics -- and I mean that in the BEST WAY POSSIBLE. You've never seen insanity until you've seen me, femmequixotic and ze_dragon get sloshed together and start plotting DUNGEONS MAYHEM. Holy shit, talk about passion and connection!

Wanna know the funniest thing of all? I started this post to bitch about how much I miss New York -- and don't get me wrong, I miss it like chinga. I could still give you a list PAGES LONG of what I miss about New York... but I'm not gonna. Because writing about things that make me happy... makes me happy. Yah, I'm a frikkin' genius. *headdesk*

Tags: boston, fandom, hp_dungeons, red nation, selfpity

10:07 am: Um, yeah...
This was my horoscope, after the fact. Um, yeah (*points to it*):

"Some Centaurs like to hole up during the weeks before Sagittarius starts and rest up for the festivities to come. If this hasn’t been your practice, then the days leading up to the Scorpio new moon on the 9th would be a good time to prepare for a retreat. Since this ineffable lunar event takes place in your 12th house of isolation and cosmic service, it makes sense, on many levels, to bow out for a while. Whether you can accomplish this while jolly Jupiter is still in your sign is the big question this year."


Sorry to everyone. Catching up now. Will be available for thwaps and other well-deserved chastisement shortly.

06:40 pm: There is no zealot like a convert. But it's hella fun.