lex: Longarm Prime complete with noodly appendages. (NOODLE ARMS)
Personal stuff, mental health trigger warning )

So yeah that's where my shit is at now. Pell got me caught up on TFP last night, which was A-FUCKING-MAZING and I am reminded all over again how much I love this show and all its craziness. I know everyone is screeching at the faction leaders but jfc can I just love all over Soundwave here? WHAT A BADASS MOFO. HNNNNGH. He may be a delicate creeper but he can fuck your shit up like swatting a fly. Fuck yeah. I have such a massive crush on him, it's stupid. XD I just want all Soundwave all the time. ALL THE TIME. :|

Also I picked up the DotM DVD so there will be icons soon, methinks. As soon as I can bear to actually watch it with an eye for good shots rather than an eye full of tears and broken hearts. I mean... No okay I did mean that.

blessyourfaceifyousneezedduringthispostblessyoupeaceoutWHUP
lex: Longarm Prime complete with noodly appendages. (NOODLE ARMS)
Just gonna chatter. :D Haven't posted in a while, have I?

So first off, things around the house are finally looking up. We're getting rid of the broken-down RV after several years of it sitting around in the driveway being an elephant, and it's out front waiting to get picked up tomorrow - which means it's no longer in the driveway. There's still a broken-down station wagon but holy shit I can almost pull my car all the way up to the garage. Do you know how often that's happened? Never. Because I got my car years after these fuckers last moved. Goddamn. Also, Dad pulled the old air conditioner that we never use out of the dining room window, and I put in a screen, and suddenly 1. we can walk along the driveway and 2. we can open windows in the dining room. HALLELUJAH.

Also I got a tent because I'm going camping this weekend. XD It's currently set up in the living room - I think I'm gonna seal the seams some more before folding it up. I am so excited to have a tent! I CAN GO CAMPING NOW. I have a sleeping pad and bag, a tent, a cast iron skillet, and a fishing pole - what more do I need?! (haha a lot probably. like a fishing license.)

Also for once the cat is okay. She's eating her prescription food, wishing I spent more time playing with her, and has started drinking water out of my cups. o-okay. D: I took her on a brief walk out front the other day, and we got farther than ever before - all the way to the steps!

Okay now serious talk about weight and dieting, cut for your trigger warnings: hoo boy )

Also I am looking for a full-body mid-angle shot of Optimus from the front! The camera loves to look up at him for hero shots but I need a pretty neutral angle. Ideally he'll be standing pretty straight. I absolutely need to be able to see the flames on his ankle. Anyone have any ideas? Here, I'll trade you a back view.
lex: (nuuuuuuuuu)
Today I:
  • went to my first day of fall classes
  • decided to drop a class
  • went hungry most of the day
  • got a $50 parking ticket for not having my new sticker up (first ticket for anything ever)
  • bought the cat's new prescription food
  • paid aforementioned $50 ticket
  • got selected for a free bird + supplies
  • turned down said offer because of cat
  • realized that I will never be able to have any other pets while I have the cat
  • realized how many hundreds of dollars this cat has already cost me
  • realized that I'm allergic to food and can't eat dinner


Is it okay that I kinda just want to curl up in bed and cry myself to sleep?
lex: (Default)
Long story short: as a person on the upper east coast of the USA, I'm in the path of Irene. In fact it is forecasted to go right over my house later today. I had to leave the island early, as they evacuated all but four people who had already been through nor'easters on the island and had foul weather gear. My best friend has a phobia of tornadoes and is understandably nervous about this storm, so she'll be coming over later today for a hurricane party. We're supposed to only experience it as a tropical storm, not a bona fide hurricane, so there's no expectation of evacuation orders. I grow a bit tired of not having a way to cook in the event of a power failure, but Dad refuses to buy a cheapo grill, so whatever. Brother is already freaking out because he has a phobia of power failures because then he has nothing to do but think, and thinking is detrimental to his mental health. We're a strange combination of prepared and completely unprepared - I really do expect that nothing worse than a power outage will happen. It will be scary and then it will be over.

In better news, I actually uploaded pictures from this trip to the island. XD I did successfully complete the class, informal as it was, and can now return whenever I want to help the banding station. I can extract birds from the nets without supervision, and in fact I was the first person the teacher had ever let extract a bird on the first day of class. I'd have loved to stay longer, but a storm is a storm and we wouldn't have been able to keep the nets open anyway. Hopefully one day I will be able to afford to go back and do it all again.

SO MANY PICTURES )
lex: Longarm Prime complete with noodly appendages. (NOODLE ARMS)
I LIIIIIVE!

So yeah I think I'm on the tail end of a 24-hour bug. My immune system = awesome. I tend to let my fevers do their thing (they actually serve a purpose, you know) unless they get too bad, so I was pretty loopy last night and did things like
1. Talk to Pell
2. Finish typing and attempt to go back to whatever tab I was in
3. Can't remember which tab, frown at having so many, pick one at random
4. Start reading/watching whatever it is
5. Repeat with a different tab

I am still feverish enough that my spine continues to scream in horror at existing, and the first thing I did this morning was pry a bunch of junk off my tonsils, and my ears are STILL draining into my throat, but altogether it wasn't that bad. I might actually be able to do stuff later.

Hilarious excerpts from last night (aka why you should always chat with me if my status says I'm sick): Read more... )
lex: Longarm Prime complete with noodly appendages. (NOODLE ARMS)
Ohhhhh noooooo I'm sick. :< It came on really really suddenly so it should leave just as quickly. Mostly it's sore throat and lethargy with a side of ew-my-ears-are-draining-into-my-throat, but hrrrrrrgh there is very little I hate more than a sore throat. I don't mind puking as much as a sore throat, because at least after you puke you feel better. Cramps and sore throats are just cruel. So anyway, unsweetened tea and Ricola and bed is my prescription for today. Which means TIME TO READ FIC. Please toss any recs my way! I will read anything TF and if you're thinking "no way does she mean anything, she definitely doesn't want to read that sickeningly fluffy mechpreg Jazz/Prowl thing I'm hiding away in my bookmarks" oh yes, yes I want to read that. I want to read that very much. That is basically exactly the not-guilty-at-all pleasure I am looking for when I am braindead with plague.

Anyway, despite my illness I managed to not only get up and go to school, but also think on my feet in lab (our attempts to separate Gram+ and Gram- strains were unsuccessful, so we had to improvise) AND I got in our soil samples to the Extension. And then I drove home (yes I consider that an accomplishment in this state) and stopped at the grocery store and got stuff to make chicken soup with the breasts I've been staring at blankly. And THEN I actually made the soup, including butchering the damn breasts that came on the bone. I did a reasonably good job. I am rather proud of myself. When everything is piping hot I'll half-heartedly shred the chicken, toss in some pasta, and let it cook to al-dente and then EAT THE FUCK OUT OF IT.

Also, on the 23rd (Saturday?) Lowe's is giving out free trees. I don't know what kinds or anything, I think you have to just show up and find out. But hey, now you know! Personally, I want to get an American Elm. Help a nearly-extinct species by just planting it in my yard? Heck yeah. I just wish I had room for a chestnut, too.

Okay my spine is starting to inform me that I have a fever so it's time for pajamas and tea.

To do list: Read more... )

P.S. the soup is amazing and kale is the best thing to ever happen to me. |D Not that any of you need a recipe for chicken noodle soup, but this is what I did: In a big stock pot, saute an onion (two if they're small, onion is delish), a small bunch of celery, and a few carrots (all sliced thin, on the diagonal for the long ones) until onion is transluscent and that pot smells better than celery and carrot have any right to smell. Toss on the frozen tupperware of chicken stock you had lying around for no good reason (2 cups). Tie up a big bundle of herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary) and plop it in. Also plop in some mushrooms, some sliced or diced bell pepper, and 2-4 chicken breasts (skin them first, and debone or put them in cheesecloth). Add water to cover. Low simmer until the chicken is fully cooked, stirring if you feel like it. Pull out the chicken and shred, then add back in. If it looks like it needs more liquid, add some water now. Toss in a generous handful of shell pasta in and cook for less than the package says to (about 7 of the 10 minutes mine wanted). Take a couple leaves of kale, wash off the creepy bug and remind yourself that organic is good for you, and shred off bite-sized pieces. Toss 'em all in, stir, remove from heat, and let sit for a minute or two. Then eat with a big piece of crusty buttered bread, remember that you forgot to add any salt or pepper, shrug and continue nomming. Makes about 11 cups of soup, which is almost more than I can store. D: I did store some of it in my belly, so that helped. And I'll need to add water whenever I heat it up again - the pasta absorbed a LOT while it cooled. I am very well-stocked now, my friends. XD
lex: (idk my bff megatron)
Doing better today. Thank you all for the good thoughts. ♥ I spent a little time in the garden this morning - we never quite finished sifting out all the roots from digging it up, so I pulled up a bunch and got my hands dirty and smiled at the sparrows. They're not very bright and tend to forget that I'm there, so they'll come to the feeder if I'm more than a few feet away from it. Even if I have the cat with me. Nooooot very bright. Anyway, last night I picked up some bagged compost (FINALLY) and when I get home tonight I'll take some soil samples to bring in to the Extension office. Either tomorrow or this weekend, I'll rope the guys in to help me finish rooting around and work in the compost. And then seeds! :D I have so many things to plant. I got a bit over-enthused. Ahaha. And since I ordered seeds I've also picked up three blueberry plants, a strawberry plant, some herb seeds, and some potatoes that decided to sprout like the dickens. Good thing we also got over-enthused about how much garden to dig up. XD Might need to dig up more, though. I don't even know what a potato plant looks like, to be honest, let alone how much space it needs.

Also, my robodick post yesterday was hilarious. But seriously, spending over an hour painstakingly finding hi-res images of Megatron's robodick, outlining it, animating it, and then doing the same to Optimus Prime? It actually left me feeling a little ill. For over an hour my screen was non-stop giant alien robot penis. I am not that into looking at penises. Particularly not the penis belonging to the guy my generation views as a surrogate father. I think I am going to be kinda sensitive about Optimus porn for a little while. D: This isn't just walking in and going OH SHIT DAD WHY CAN'T YOU LOCK THE DOOR, this is like. Standing there and watching in horrified fascination. For an hour. I feel dirty.

To do list )
lex: Longarm Prime complete with noodly appendages. (NOODLE ARMS)
I feel like enumerating my current cleaning regime, because I find it HILARIOUS. Bear in mind that every single one of these choices of product was made after extensive testing of regular equivalents. I did not jump right to the most hippie option. OKAY.

This is incredibly silly. )
lex: (Default)
First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATARIK!

Second, the party post last night was amazing. Truly magical. Skywarp and Sunstreaker are either going to kill each other or end up making out. Possibly both at the same time. Also: Grimlock continues to be amazing. ♥ And, you know, the Boogie Prime continues to be alarming.

I have a physics test tomorrow. I need to study but... I actually feel more prepared for this one than I did for the last one. I think it's mostly circuits and optics. That seems reasonable, you know? I still need to cheat and copy all the equations into my calculator, but I don't even feel bad about that because he should be providing the damn things to begin with. Why is a string theorist teaching Physics 101? He is terrible at this. Truly terrible. I can say with absolute certainty that I have learned NOTHING in this class.

I hate having a carpal tunnel flare-up. While also getting stress headaches. While also cramping ineffectually. BODY, STOP THIS AT ONCE.

It's cold and rainy and blah. Right now I want nothing more than to curl up with Nostalgia and nap.



Adding a quick to-do list )

*FLAIL*

Apr. 7th, 2011 04:29 pm
lex: (yeah Starscream)
AHHHHHHHH I GOT ACCEPTED!!!

Okay um let me back up - for ages (seriously, years and years) I have had my heart set on going to this island lab for a summer course, okay? And I recently realized that ummmmm this summer might be my last chance for that. So I applied, and did the FAFSA bullshit, and that was a MESS and just a few days ago I finally got my SAR to the financial aid people. And TODAY I got my acceptance letter, with a HUGE FUCKING SCHOLARSHIP. The course costs like $5k and I'm paying 1.5. Fuck yes. I mean, plus the costs of the sheer amount of STUFF I will need, but holy shit! I'M GOING TO THE ISLAND. TO STUDY BIRDS. FUCK YES. HELLO ATLANTIC OCEAN, I WILL BE YOUR BFF NEXT MONTH.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that too - it starts May 23, which is very shortly after finals. And then runs for two weeks, during which my cat will cry herself to sleep every night. Sorry Nostalgia baby, this is super important homg.

SO MANY LISTS )

You guys I barely even know what to do with myself I am so excited. Also scared! BUT SO EXCITED. Gonna live on a tiny island for two weeks! Gonna smell like wet feet when I finally get home! Gonna have 17-hour days! GONNA BE SO AWESOME.
lex: My black tailless cat on top of a piano, beside a painting of daylilies. (Lady Nostalgia)
1. It is snowing. Not end-of-winter snow, but big fluffy gobs of snowball snow. THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

2. I have a new netbook fuck yeah~ Now to fix the old one. Then I will have ALL THE NETBOOKS. (The new one is super sleek and angular and black and hnnnngh so I named it after TFP Soundwave.)

3. I have been a lazy ass in school. I am now determined to catch up. This is very anxiety-inducing on its own, but school has helpfully sent out two emails today telling me that I need to register for next semester's classes at the end of next month (meaning I need to find out what my requirements are, because my major's website TOOK THEM DOWN and it was the only place they were available) and also btw GET READY FOR GRADUATION STARTING NOW. aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh D:

4. Despite point #1, Nostalgia and I just went on an EPIC WALK to fill the birdfeeder. She had a grand ol' time, and eventually I will actually film one of these walks. She's remarkably chill in the back yard. Some chickadees came over to investigate us and she was very interested in them but didn't try to kill them. And the best part of these walks - she is always hungry afterward. She is chowing down right now and it makes me so fucking happy. Seriously, the one time I can count on her to actually eat, even if just a couple mouthfuls, is after a walk out back. I guess the birds get her salivating. XD

5. I have never been able to find a decent moisturizer for my face. Udderly Smooth was the only thing that worked, but then it turned out that I'm allergic to it just enough that more than three days of use leaves me with rashes. On my face. Awesome. Sooooo long story short I just picked up some jojoba oil and we'll see how that goes. Failing that I'll try straight-up shea butter, and failing that I will just throw my hands in the air, grow out my beard, and live in the hills.
lex: (Default)
Photo of my back yard, listing its various defects: No light, unkillable red maples, invasive bittersweet, a former sandbox, etc.

It will be the best garden EVER.

Spring is here, spring is here! I think the most wonderful time of the year is the spring, I do, don't you? 'Course you do. )

Also, last night involved the most amazing chat with the most amazing people that lasted until, no lie, 6am. And then I got up at 7 for school. We watched Nuts draw, and Pell and I made a tentacle comm, and I think we talked about Primus' genitals, and then there was Skywarp in a tentacled strap-on and it was amazing and now I am going to sleep FOREVER.

Nostalgia is too thin. The worry is making me sick. I need to get off my lazy ass and put up a sale post so I can afford the vet.
lex: (ha ha ha no.)
Guess who's the dumbass who forgot that iron is kinda important

yep it's me

I am such a dumbass )

Anyway yeah, expect me to remain listless for a while, I guess. I hear iron takes a long time to do much of anything in the body, and I know it's hard to absorb (the Red Cross and I have had many discussions about my low iron) but it's not like I had to get hospitalized or anything. I am, however, going to go sleep for like 13 hours straight. I think I've been awake for a grand total of 8 hours today and I suspect tomorrow will be much the same. I'd suspect illness but my only symptom is the lethargy soooo yeah. Iron. Jeez. :\
lex: Longarm Prime complete with noodly appendages. (NOODLE ARMS)
1. I keep trying to write a post and then thinking BUT NO ONE CARES and then I remind myself that my personal blog is obviously for this kind of shit.

2. I brush Nostalgia's teeth now. With a Q-tip and cat toothpaste. She's remarkably good about it - and her teeth are visibly improving. (and her breath, thank god) And, in what I think is a very remarkable coincidence, her appetite has vastly improved. She cleans her plate 9 times out of 10 now. I really kinda wish I'd started doing this sooner. :\

3. I can drink raw milk. Seriously. Regular milk actually has me in pain, the kind where I have to sit on the toilet for a full hour crying, but raw milk = no reaction whatsoever. Maybe the chemical alterations of homogenization are fucking something up? idk dudes, I already knew it wasn't the lactose, so it's probably a protein thing maybe? MY SCIENCE CANNOT EXPLAIN THIS.

3b. Why did I make this smoothie with tofu when I have a half-gallon of raw milk in the fridge. GRRR.

4. All the tentacles lately are making me ridiculously happy. I do this thing, it's terrible, but whenever you see me type TENTACLES~~! I have actually flailed my arms in the air as a demonstration. See icon for details.

5. School is TOO EASY. I am increasingly suspicious. Why am I getting a full night of sleep every single night?! Why do I actually have free time for cooking and eating and the gym and socializing?! THIS SEEMS SO LUXURIOUS AND YET SO SUSPICIOUS.

6. I'm getting ready for spring - it was 46F or so today, utterly gloriously warm, and it was very difficult to resist the temptation to just toss a blanket on the snow and sunbathe for a bit. SO WARM. The nights are still in the low teens, so the maple harvest should be awesome this year. Fuck yes maple. ♥ Snow's still 5 feet in places though, and a good 2' still on the lawn. I think we're well into the thaw now though. KNOCK ON WOOD PLEASE NO MORE
SNOW

7. Nostalgia has discovered a new trick: she bites her water bowl, lifts it a little, and drops it. In exactly the same rhythm as the T. rex's steps in Jurassic Park. This, of course, makes an awesome puddle. :\ And then she started scooping her kibble out of the bowl one by one. What a weird cat.

I feel like I have more to say but I have no idea what. I should probably shut up, then. XD
lex: (freedom is the right of all)
I have really got to stop ingesting dairy products. :\ No one to blame but myself.

This week marks the end of a lot of things. Endings always set me on edge, but I'm busy enough to ignore most of it. Today was the last OrgChem lab. We made indigo - I dyed a length of wool yarn and I'm going to make it into a bracelet. This probably seems a little strange to those of you who know the depths of my hatred for chem, but there is a saying I get a lot of comfort from: This too shall pass. So the bracelet, once it's done, will be a physical reminder of that. That's probably a little hippy-dippy but whatever, I don't really care what other people think if it gets me through the day. And there's something really cool about taking 2-nitrobenzaldehyde, sodium hydroxide, acetone, and sodium dithionite and ending up with blue yarn. I made this color. I got it on my hands. It was slippery from the sodium hydroxide and stinky from the sodium dithionite and it was the last thing I'll ever make in the most soul-searing class I've had (and hopefully will ever have). That's kinda neat.

The other day Dad stopped to help a blind man find his way out of an unfamiliar subway stop, and the guy gave Dad a CD of Christmas music (he runs a company that turns records into CDs) which Dad then gave to me because I'm the only one in the house who likes Christmas. Only it turns out that it's not just a mix CD. It's a card. He narrates it, and chose songs from places where he's lived and things that are meaningful to him, and I love it. It's beautiful. I have no idea who this guy is but he sent me a Christmas card.

Life is kinda neat.
lex: (Default)
After finals I am going to get ridiculously drunk. I INVITE YOU ALL TO JOIN ME.

Okay so my current plan: I am going to open up a chatroom in AIM and drink a lot and watch G1, also possibly Beast Wars, and celebrate my Done With Classes-ness. You are all welcome to watch along and giggle with me, laugh at my shenanigans, and request horrible drunkfic. It will be a party. It will be THE BEST PARTY EVER. This will happen on... the 17th, which is a Friday. PREPARE YOUR BOOZE AND/OR NONALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE OF CHOICE.

In other news, I donated blood today and it was more of a procedure than it usually is. I can tell when they've put the needle in too far, because IT FUCKING HURTS. But they don't really listen to me when I tell them it's in a bit too far. Or when I tell them my veins roll a little. Apparently it is unusual for a donor to know these things about her veins?! idk you guys, I tend to pay attention when people are sticking needles into me. I want needle-sticking to be as pain-free and easy as possible. It is not fun to get the senior needle-sticking person called over all the frigging time. :\ I think maybe I just have challenging veins because this happens like, every time. Except for when I get the senior needle-sticking person right off the bat and then everything goes swimmingly.

ANYWAY, my adventures with needles aside, I wrote some stuff. I'm debating posting it. One is some twins/Skyfire written for some friends' headcanon, and one is Grimlock/Prowl dubcon. Sooooo yeah both of those things are kinda *headtilt* and I'm not sure anyone will like them. I am told the Prowl/Grimlock is particularly Not Sure If Want, and the twins/Skyfire probably needs context but whatever.

I am on the verge of writing more words waffling over whether to post them than the damn things actually contain, so let's leave it at that.
lex: (Default)
It's been a long time since I've been into Harry Potter. It still means a lot to me, though. In high school, my group of friends were all into it - as kids do, we picked/assigned each other characters. My closest group was the Marauders. When Paddy and I took Astronomy, we called it Astrology and passed notes incessantly. The teacher put up with it because we got straight As and helped the other students. But that's not the story I want to tell. What I want to tell you is this: I was James Potter and it shaped me.

Cut for some weird introspective rambling due to watching the new HP movie, no spoilers. I end up talking about deer a lot though. )

...and now I'm thinking OH GOD EVERYONE WILL THINK I'M SO STRANGE but this is who I am so fuck it. I'm weird, this is not news. Winter always makes me think of deer, and HP makes me think of deer, and HP in winter is like DOUBLE DEER WHAMMY. There, I made a bad joke, now I feel better. XD