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Sunday, May 13th, 2012
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2:06 pm - For Your Conversations This Week, the Talking Points About Evan...
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- After a month of 4-day work weeks, I’m back to 40 hrs/week, tempered by my now-normal practice of spending weekends with
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=91.7) thrihyrne, with a night or two of sleepovers during the week (enjoy!). - Saw “The Avengers” movie last weekend (enjoyed!).
- Last night had a barbecue at sanguinity & grrlpup’s house (enjoyed!).
- Experiencing a weird pain in my ribcage on the right side, as if I’ve damaged something which hurts particularly badly when I breathe (not enjoying). Friday night/Saturday morning was the worst, but it seems to be improving, so I don’t think it demands an urgent-care visit.
- The weather in the Northwest is being sunny and warm, which does feel good, despite the fairly abrupt shift from 50ish° weather (and it also prompted the purchase of a sunhat and 85 SPF sun block for thrihyrne, which I will share to keep my delicate skin safe).
- Had a long phone conversation with my mother today, for which I will take Mother’s-Day-celebration credit, although I call her pretty much every weekend, so it’s not as if she never hears from me the rest of the year.
So, Life is Good. I wonder what Wonderful Things will happen the rest of the month?
current mood:  cheerful
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| Sunday, April 29th, 2012
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10:57 am - Stumptown 2012!
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| Thursday, April 26th, 2012
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5:42 pm - HEY, EVERYBODY!!
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Put Down That Chainsaw and Listen To Me! Whether you are a fan of Hayao Miyazaki’s* work or not, you should check out the Studio Ghibli series at the Northwest Film Center in May. They will be screening 35mm versions of many Studio Ghibli movies, including several that aren’t available on any home media in the US, and even some that are not about a girl having a magical adventure involving strange creatures! Really!*** Click. Here. Now: http://www.nwfilm.org/screenings/41/428/
* Film director and secret genius behind the “Jackass” TV show and movies.**
** Allegedly. *** There might be singing cats. I don't know. I haven't seen all these films yet myself.
current mood:  bouncy
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| Thursday, April 19th, 2012
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7:49 pm - Of Headaches and Book Critiques
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On a day of heavy rain and a throbbing headache, I received my judge's assessment of my book "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #1 Are Aliens Eating My Crackers?" (a critique provided to those who enter the Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards). Ratings were given on these four things (from 1 - Poor, to 5 - Excellent):
Plot: 2
Grammar: 4
Character Development: 2
Production Quality and Cover Design: 4
The Judge's biggest complaint was that it wasn't a story. To which I would say, "Well... yeah." There wasn't a category for "Collections of Humorous/Satirical Advice Column Letters," so rather than go with the misleading "Nonfiction" category, I submitted under "Genre Fiction." The Judge suggested that he would have liked it better if there was an overarching story line, which I did kind of think was an interesting idea, but I do read that as "We were expecting everybody to submit novels for this category, and you did something different." He also didn't address what issues dropped my Grammar and my Production Quality to only 4's, which I would have liked to know more about. So I can't say I felt I got a lot of useful feedback.
I was amused by the thought that even without plot and character development, I still got '2's for those categories. Makes me wonder if any books get a '1', and what those are like.
On the plus side, the Judge did say, "each letter was original and very humorous," and "the talent shown in the prose confirms that the author is a good writer." Which, honestly, is all I really want to hear.
And now I'll go lie down in hopes of making the throbbing headache go away.
current mood:  meh
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| Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
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5:37 am - Snow Globe Fire FRENZY!
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| Tuesday, March 20th, 2012
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7:00 am - Fire! Fire! Fire!
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As you can probably imagine, thrihyrne and I spent a blissful weekend together, working on projects, going shopping and doing giddily-in-love-couple stuff, which I could go on about, but instead, I'll tell you about the Fire Next Door.
Our first indication that something was up was when BILJ ran into the house and back out. He'd heard the neighbor's smoke-detector alarm sounding, saw a living room filled with smoke, and went for a fire extinguisher and the neighbor's house key. He couldn't find the key, but soon after he was back over there, the firepersons showed up. I"d gone over to be helpful, but once the Grown Ups In Charge arrived, I went and hung out with Hz to stay out of the way.
It turned out to be a smoldering sofa* caused by the sun shining through... A SNOW GLOBE. Yes, a "harmless" snow globe on the windowsill focused the sunlight onto the sofa material and got it going. If BILJ hadn't heard the alarm when he did, it might have ignited, and the damages would have been far worse than a badly charred sofa and a lingering smoke smell.
So be safe, Everyone! Check your smoke alarms and fire extinguishers, and make sure your snow globes aren't trying to burn your house down!
* Note: "Smoldering Sofa" would be a great name for a progressive Ska accordion band.
current mood:  whoa
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| Sunday, March 4th, 2012
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5:53 pm - Hi, Everybody!
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Day 4: Sunshine. After what feels to be a many-week stretch of rainy (and occasionally snowy) weather, thrihyrne and I took advantage of the burst of sunny, warm weather by walking about on Mt. Tabor with sanguinity. This was our second walk of the day, since we started this morning with a walk to the coffee shop with drarwenchicken and Hz (which now seems like quite a while ago, in a luxurious, vacation-day expanse of time). Two more days of leisure stretch before us, but the return to the working world on Wednesday is visible on the horizon, lurking like a thing that's a simile for daily life, that lurks.
Spending time with thrihyrne has been restorative, blissful and profound. For me, 2012 has had more joy in it than the last three years combined. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm personally responsible for a measurable increase in the Global Happiness Index. If I go on about it any more, I'll sound like I'm gloating, so I'll wrap this by wishing that you are happy too, and that you got a chance to enjoy some sunshine this weekend!
current mood: happyhappyhappy
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| Friday, March 2nd, 2012
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12:01 pm - This Week's Reason Why I'm Not Posting
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I wanted to tell you about my current frustration in searching for a list I lovingly assembled over the course of a couple hours several weeks back, which now I CANNOT FIND ANYWHERE (OHMYGODWHYCAN’TIKEEPTRACKOFANYTHINGFORMORETHANTWENTYSECONDSYOU’DTHINKIWASATODDLERORSOMETHING!!), and the series of miscommunications and mistakes I’ve made at BHFT* recently which have caused my coworkers and Project Manager stress (I specifically strive to make my the work life of my supervisors LESS stressful, so this has been particularly distressing for everyone) and the Oscar’s party I attended, and the kick-off of my 50th Birthday Celebration which will probably span all year, but instead I’m going to just cover the current reason why I’m not showing up on the Internet: I’m taking nearing a week off from work and spending almost all of that time with thrihyrne. We’re in the giddy-bliss stage and I want to spend as much time in her company as I can now to revel in the euphoric delight it brings. So sorry, Internet, I’m off thinking about other things. Please carry on, and I’ll check back in later! *Yes, I do make mistakes in my Professional Life. I’m only human (for now, at least; one day I’ll implant my consciousness into an invincible robot body).
current mood: blissful
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| Saturday, February 18th, 2012
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5:55 pm - Three Days of Rain
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Another brief post, but today thrihyrne was with me all day (yay!). We went for a walk this morning with drarwenchicken and Hz (well, it was cold and raining, so we drove to the coffeeshop, walked around the block, had our Treats, then drove home). Once back, we quickly assembled ourselves to meet Awesome Fan ZombieGurlTJ and her husband M at Dick's Kitchen for lunch. Then a quick stop at my credit union on the way to snottygrrl's flat (arriving a fair bit early which caught her a bit out), so we could all go see "The Secret World of Arrietty." Spent a little while staring at my shoes before the show, but we all seemed to enjoy the movie. Then back home, to install Windows Office on my new computer (thanks, grrlpup!). All that remains is to have dinner and figure out what we'll do to entertain ourselves for the next 24 hours.
current mood:  sleepy
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| Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
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7:09 am - Executive Summary of Current Status:
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| Monday, February 13th, 2012
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5:49 am - Stop! Hammer Time!
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How Computers Annoy Me, #29,853: When one buys a new Dell computer and the DataSafe Local Backup recommends making a System Recovery Media on either DVD or an 8 GB flash drive, so one buys an 8 GB flash drive and plugs it in, and the computer sees the drive but won't go forward on the backup because it believes that the completely-empty drive is only 7.54 GB.
At least it made sanguinity laugh when I told her about it.
current mood:  annoyed
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| Sunday, February 12th, 2012
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10:30 am - Something To Celebrate!
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As usual, rather than force you to make do with the rumors and gossip running rampant on the Internet, let me give you the news. You may know that over the past month, thrihyrne and I have been spending more and more time together. This has reminded me (well, both of us) of how we each think the other is awesome, and we've decided that we are more than friends. We're eschewing standard labels for the nonce as we figure out the shape and style of our relationship going forward, but we are a couple again. I'm looking forward to seeing where that goes.
current mood: jubilant
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| Sunday, January 15th, 2012
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5:06 pm - I'm Back! Kinda.
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It's been nearly a month since Douglas the Computer has been connected to the Internet. He'd refused to connect every time I tried, and then today all of a sudden, it clicked. Needless to say, the first thing I did was check my email.
Here's a quick update on the Life of Evan: ( Not too long, but still behind a Cut... )
current mood:  busy
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| Sunday, January 1st, 2012
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8:38 am - Vacation Report, Executive Summary: I'm Still Alive
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Vacation Report, Details.
The Good News:
The Refurnishing has not killed me (but I would disagree with Nietzsche about whether I've been strengthened by this).
Much of my New Furniture will be delivered this afternoon. The fact that today is also the start of a New Year seems symbolic.
My colleagues at BHFT have left me alone all week, except for a single 2-minute phone call.
The Other News:
I've been suffering sinus congestion and insomnia all week. No meltdowns, but my New Year's Eve plans were scrubbed because I just couldn't handle going out.
It's All Taken Much Longer Than Expected. I'd thought to have new furnishings around Christmas, and spend the week assembling and arranging. Getting to a final decision on the major pieces of furniture took most of the week, and the actual order happened late Friday.
It hasn't been much fun. As I ate breakfast this morning surrounded by stacks of bins and boxes, I realized that it's very much like moving. Heavy furniture items have been carried from place to place, and almost everything I own has been boxed up and shifted around. You know how most people don't enjoy moving? It's been like that, with a lot more interior-design purchase decisions having to be made.
Fortunately, oh_that_jocelyn has been a tremendous help with the contemplating, choosing, and carrying. I am grateful!
Happy New Year, Everyone!
current mood: tired
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| Sunday, December 18th, 2011
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2:32 pm - Computer Down!
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Well, I moved Douglas the Computer across the room, and he stopped booting up. This will impede (but not fully prevent) access to my email, and significantly interfere with webcomics and Newsletters. The nice tech at the Computer Shop seemed to think that the issue was fixable.
Further updates as available.
current mood: smurfed
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| Saturday, December 10th, 2011
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10:58 am - The Refurnishing: WIP
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I won't say that my interest in the refurnishing of my apartment is growing to the point of obsession, but I would note that when I was insomnia-awake for two hours in the middle of Thursday night, I didn't revisit my usual contemplation of how I would one day exact Fearsome Revenge On All Who Have Mocked Me, but I figured out a clever custom bookshelf design of four 2'x2'x6" units that would go along the south wall. I drew diagrams. Anyway, here's what I'm currently thinking for the bedroom section:
Design Concept (Click to enlarge)
Over the storage nook the mock-up shows a screen, which will likely be curtains instead. The Health Rider (played here by an exercise bike) will have a cover, so it looks less like a random piece of exercise equipment. I'm thinking there will be a LED rope light around the perimeter at the ceiling, and a sheer curtain that crosses the room to separate this section from the rest of the space. Oh, and there will be mirrors on the fronts of the two tall wardrobes.
So, now to tear myself away and do other stuff for a while...
current mood: groggy
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| Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
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7:07 am - Reminder!
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Just a quick reminder that the Book Launch for "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?" is tonight (Tuesday, December 6, 2011) at the Willamette Writers Annual Book Faire! Go to the Old Church (1422 SW 11th) on at 7:00pm! Admission is free. Refreshments will be served. I'll be signing books, and around 7:30ish, I'll do a 5-minute reading.* See you there?
Also: Here's one of my current projects; making a floorplan of my studio apartment in my 3D Interior Design application, in preparation for refurnishing. It's not an easy tool to work with, but these screenshots might make you think, "Hey, that looks just like Evan's place if you removed everything but the coffeemaker!" And you'd be right!
Looking North (Click to enlarge)
Looking South (Click to enlarge)
I've had to trick the software to make it do some things that it doesn't want to do. For example, it doesn't understand having two types of flooring in one room, so the linoleum of the entrance and the kitchen area is done by making the whole floor linoleum, then covering the carpeted area in large "area rugs". This may hinder me later, since the app will allow you to set furniture on an area rug, but then you can't move it. So I may have to switch back to having the full room carpeted and making the linoleums out of area rugs.
Also, it doesn't understand multi-height ceilings, so the air duct that runs across the room is actual a painting that's 12' thick, with the frame painted to match the walls. (Which amuses me a lot.)
As soon as I have some screenshots of the New and Improved Furnishing Design, I'll let you know!
* In all honesty, there really isn't much chance of a wardrobe malfunction, so if you're going just because of what I said in an earlier post, you will probably be disappointed. Just so you know.
current mood: excited
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| Thursday, November 24th, 2011
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11:53 pm - Delightful Sea Creature Nuclear Blue Grasshopper Jello
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Nuclear Blue Grasshopper Jello* is a delicious chocolate-mint gelatin dessert made with Crème de Menthe and Crème de Cacao (which are the major ingredients of the Grasshopper, naturally). I've been bringing Nuclear Blue Grasshopper Jello to Thanksgiving Dinner for many years. I'm known for it.
I've usually just make it in a flat dish and cut it into squares, but this year, I wanted to do something more interesting. When my sister said she didn't have a jello mold, but she did have a form for making Delightful Sea Creatures, I knew what must be done.
( Here's what I did, in words and pictures behind the Cut... )
current mood:  creative
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| Sunday, November 20th, 2011
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11:10 am - Y'All Are Invited!
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The long-awaited Book Launch Event for my second book is here! Anyone in the Portland area who hasn't gotten their copy of "Ask Dr. Eldritch Volume #2 Why Does My Monster Hate Me?" can do so at the Willamette Writers Annual Book Faire! Go to the Old Church (1422 SW 11th) on Tuesday, December 6th, 2011 at 7:00pm! Admission is free. Refreshments will be served. And many other local authors will be selling their books, so you can do all of your Holiday Shopping at once. And if you're still on the fence after also hearing that I'll be reading from my latest book, I have three words for you: Possible. Wardrobe. Malfunction.
(x-posted from my comic and Newsletter)
current mood: anticipatory
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| Saturday, November 12th, 2011
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8:12 am - Let Me Sum Up...
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NaHoOrgMo, Day 9 - 11: 0.00 hrs. Total: 15.00 hrs. Pace: 22.0 hrs.
For the first time, I accidentally leaked news of an upcoming project via social media and the Internet erupted in rumors*. So to make the announcement official: I met on Thursday with a developer to discuss an iPad app for Ask Dr. Eldritch. We're still in early stages, so no comment on content or release date. It could be like the podcasts and the low-orbit space station/theme park, and be "in development" for years.
This week included breakfast with oh_that_jocelyn, two chiropractor appointments, grocery shopping and a bit of dishwashing, but my NaHoOrgMo experience has pretty much gone off the rails. Looks like I'll have to clean/organize for 11 hours each day over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend to get my 60 hours.
*For values of "erupted" being "at least one tweet."
current mood: smurfy
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