Jump to content
Post-Update: Forum Issues Read more... ×
BPAL Madness!
Post-Update: Forum Issues

Blogs

Featured Entries

  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 7,708 views
snowfox090's Blag
 

National Zombie Movie Day.

I think I prefer that to the other holiday taking place.   So remember when you were a kid, and every year at school people gave out valentines? And the day before, the teacher would take out the craft supplies, and you'd make boxes or bags or whatever to hold all of the good wishes and candy (mostly candy) you got? And on V-Day, everyone would go around the room delivering their valentines?   Remember that one kid, way back in the corner, who was a little overweight, or maybe smelled funny, or had that dad that worked at the gas station and harassed pretty high-schoolers? The one who always got less than everyone else in the class, even though the teacher said you had to give one to every kid in class so no one was left out?   I was that kid. So if you don't like reading pointless angst about things that happened many years ago, now is the time to click over to another blog. Maybe they have some funny cat pictures or something.   I remember once, in third grade, we had a contest to see who could make the best valentine box. I made one with fabric, lace, and ribbon scraps from my mom's sewing pile. I spent all night on it. When I was done, it was absolutely beautiful--I'm not kidding when I say it looked like it could have been done professionally. I was an artistic kid. That year I didn't get any valentines.   Finally, in fourth grade I just stopped accepting valentines. If I refused them all, then it wasn't their doing that I had less. It was no longer a passing of judgement. It was just me being weird. I preferred being laughed at for weirdness, instead of being laughed at for the pettiness of others. (This is my blog, I can angst about grade school as much as I please. )   I've only had two real boyfriends. Both have been in the past year and a half. This is only the second Valentine's Day in my life that I've had anyone to care about, or who cared about me, besides my parents. I'm still a little shocked by that. Doesn't he know that I'm weird, and fat, and unacceptable? His friends will make fun of him for talking to me. If he wants to be popular, he'd better laugh like everyone else.   It sounds petty and whiny. Hell, it -is- petty and whiny. That doesn't change the fact that it took me ten years of school and a move of 2500 miles to actually find a real friend, and a larger group of people that wouldn't spread nasty rumors about me, throw things at my head, and stick sharpened pencils into my butt or thigh when I wasn't looking. When people ask me why I'm so afraid of social interaction, I really have to try not to laugh. What isn't scary about it? The first thing I learned in school was that there were two groups of people--the Acceptable and the Unacceptable--and that you stayed in either one group or the other. The second thing I learned was that I was Unacceptable. This didn't change, not even for a single day, until I moved across the country. Even now I catch myself looking at my friends and wondering when the other shoe is going to drop, and they figure out that I'm not worth the trouble.   Yeah. I kind of hate this holiday. Bring on the zombies.
snowfox090

snowfox090

5
Goth Hobbit's Blog
 

Another GSSS entry...

Well, as of yesterday, Pittsburgh appears to be in the running.   There's no official offer on the table yet, but after talking to the department chairman, the Grad Student is reasonably certain that there's an acceptance / admissions letter on the way. Downside is that said chairman hasn't actually looked at D's application, and therefore doesn't seem to realize that he will have two Masters degrees under his belt, should he chose to enroll there; one of which is in statistics. This makes a difference; Pittsburgh's first year PhD students are usually relegated to standard TA / RA positions, rather than the higher-level floating RA positions, so that they can pick up statistical experience. The RA rotation program has PhD students working on different research projects, much like a med student doing different department rotations during their internships. It also has PhD students taking on some teaching positions, which looks really good on the resume. Needless to say, this is the program option that D. wants; not only does it give him the experience that he needs, the pay is a bit better.   Upsides: good school (hey, he didn't apply to any that weren't), puts him in contact with the East Coast mathematical biology network, close to Baltimore and good friends there, interesting topography, and the housing market is such that we might be able to afford a decent-sized, non-fixer-upper, non-rental house.   Downsides: neither one of us knows anyone in Pittsburgh, neither of us has been there (I might have driven through a couple of times, but that does not count), moving two households to terra incognita would be a logistical nightmare, we have no idea which neighborhoods to look in (housing prices might be great in an area, until you figure in the cost for the Kevlar lining for the walls), we have no idea what the local arts community looks like, we would have no social network or safety net, and did I mention that neither of us has ever been to the city to have a first-hand opinion?   He still has confidence in U of M, and has a good feeling about the interview weekend with University of Colorado. CU-HSC's communications are along the lines of "let us sell ourselves to you", rather than the other way around, and he still has some contacts in CU-Denver's math and computer science departments. U of M hasn't been the most communicative about the review of PhD applications, but he hasn't gotten any feedback that gives him reason to be nervous about his chances.   One drawback is that I can't give him any preference for anywhere except Denver, LA, or Minneapolis, simply because I don't know the cities in question. Denver we both know like the backs of our hands, especially the Capitol Hill neighborhood; that is where the streets know our names, and it is Home. Minneapolis is a place that he really liked before moving there; he was there to visit Lexi and Michael often enough that he came to know the city, and after multiple visits, I know and love it as well. I've been to LA enough times to get something of a feel for the place. The rest? I have no idea.   I didn't mean to make him sad by saying this, but I've become rather resigned to the notion that I can't allow myself to fall in love with any location if I'm going to take up the life of an academic adjunct. A career in academia is much like having a career in the military; you are very unlikely to spend most, let alone all, of your career in a single location. He feels guilty about it, too, but I knew what I was letting myself in for. I was an Air Force brat, albeit part-time, so I know something about being a professional gypsy. Eyes wide open, and all that. I'm not saying that I'm thrilled by the prospect; if I were the type who liked moving around a lot, I wouldn't have so damned many books. Denver has been my home for 20 years. That being said, a certain amount of itinerancy is going to come with the package; I'm not particularly comfortable with the notion of packing up a house and a business every few years, but I have to look at the bigger picture. And that bigger picture is Us.   But still ...Pittsburgh.
goth_hobbit

goth_hobbit

2
Korshka's BPAL Ramblings
 

Out of Town

Ug - yesterday was a very bad day. That is all have to say about that.   Today, was mildly better. I'm in Naples for work. Yes - more fun with Wastewater this time. However, I must mention that this is an excellent wastewater plant that barely has any smell at all. The work itself was much slower than expected. Bleh. I worked until almost 7pm, and I'm still disappointed with my progress. I also still need to write up a few emails. Bleh and double Bleh. I can't decided what to do about tomorrow night. I'm not sure if I'll stay another night. I just don't know. I guess I'll see what happens tomorrow.   Oh well...due to braindeadness - I think that's all for now.
korshka

korshka

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Mock Turtles Lessons

In the bottle: Yummy yummy appletinis, which happens to be my favorite drink right now.   Wet: sweet (not tart) apples and aquatic flowers. As it dries the apple scent fades and it is mainly the beautiful aquatic flowers with a very very faint hint of mint perhaps. The lime doesn't really come out, which is actually ok even though I was hoping for it. This ended up perfect the way it is. It reminds me of something of when I was younger. Something I can't quite remember. It evokes a mix of excitement, longing, and a bit of sadness and regret. I absolutely LOVE this and I am so glad I took a chance to get a bottle. It's not something I normally would've tried but decided to take a chance. I am soooo glad it did.
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
circe_blue's Blog
 

Random Thought

"Here Comes Your Man" by the Pixies must be one of the most cheerful songs ever to me.   A nuclear holocaust could be happening right outside my window, but if I hear this song it'll immediately be puppies and rainbows.   How did I find this out? I'm having a bad day (deciding whether or not to drop a class for which I will get *no refund/or anything back* bye bye $800, it's cold, wet, snowy, and we're all being unexpectedly kicked out of our apartments at the end of May), and this song comes on iTunes and for 3min13seconds life is okay.
circe_blue

circe_blue

0
This Old Snark
 

Change of Fools

Snarky mishears and misremembers lyrics with enough frequency to almost make this flaw an endearing character trait.   "By why would anyone want to play Twister in the sun? And what has that got to do with auto-erotica?" (Not that blisters in the sun make any more sense, really...)   So this morning her brain radio was going "chay-chay-chaaaaaange.... change of fools".   Snarky has been having some slightly disturbing dreams, no doubt because of the mild turmoil swirling around her lately.   A few nights ago it was another one of those school dreams - the ones where you either have missed half of the semester, or campus has reconfigured itself overnight, or the paper is due this afternoon and you don't have anything but the abstract completed. That dream wasn't so awful, but Snarky woke up in a state of near-panic for not having her graphs in order.   Last night Snarky dreamed she was on a school field trip (her old nerd school used to ferry students around in stretch vans that were like rolling perpetual-motion experiments fueled by that heady melange of teenaged angst, lust, irrational exuberance, and anxiety) that was held up in traffic because a large commercial airplane had exploded on the freeway.   There wasn't really any sense of panic - except for the fact that Snarky was going to be late to class again. Weird and kind of... misanthropic?   Snarky hit a bad funk-patch yesterday. The Mister has returned to work today, and she had trouble mustering up supportive enthusiasm for him. She has settled with hopeful, yet cautious stand-by-your-manism.   She has also been working long hours the last two weeks, which can't be helping with her internal rhythms.   Tonight she'll probably self-medicate with a hot, frothy bath and some deep dark chocolate. Sometimes the old stand-bys are the best.
darkitysnark

darkitysnark

3
Is Anybody Out There?
 

I don't feel good

I am so sick. Aaand... I'm about to go to school.   I swear, I have the plague. Ugh. And the crazy thing is that my doctor didn't even give me a decongestant- he gave me cough syrup with codeine, which I can't take during the day, because I'm going to be driving to school, and I'm already not feeling good enough to do that.   I know.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Embalming Fluid

YES! As soon as I smelled it, that's exactly what I thought of. I used to wear the green tea perfume all the time and loved it.   As it dries it becomes less sharp, but doesn't morph all that much. Not really getting any of the musk, mostly green tea with a hint of aloe and lemon. Will be great during the summer!
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Diplomatka
 

Full of Talibs

Last week at a staff meeting, one of the Program Managers was talking about how one of the districts where we work is “full of Talibs”.   Well, apparently, the provinces outside of Kabul are not the only place. Consider this warning from the National Defense Service:   NDS sources report that HiG (Hizb-I Islami Gulbuddin)are becoming the dominant group within Kabul district. The source reported that the grouping had been conducting a successful recruiting campaign in the districts surrounding Kabul. As a result an increase in attacks is expected with HiG expected to operate in Police Districts 12, 7 and 6 of the capital. TB are traditionally strong in the Dih Sabz area (PD9) which accounts for the concentration of attacks on Jalalabad road. (Recall the Jalalabad Road is the road one has to travel to get liquor, as well as being the road the Coalition uses in and out of Kabul.)   For those of you who are unfamiliar with HiG: "Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) has long established ties with Osama Bin Ladin. (HIG) founder Gulbuddin Hikmatyar offered to shelter Bin Ladin after the latter fled Sudan in 1996. HIG has staged small attacks in its attempt to force U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, overthrow the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA) and establish a fundamentalist state."   Gulbuddin Hikmatyar is the one who castrated Najibullah (the President of Afghanistan under the Soviets), shot him and hanged his body in Ariana square.   So the Taliban is in Kabul and ready to fight.   Not really news, but now people are talking about negiotiating with the Taliban. My organization has been in Afghanistan for a while, so we negotiated with the Taliban to have access to provincial areas pre-2001. Last year, while implementing a shelter program in the East, we also met with Taliban leaders in one district so that supplies could be carried in. I am not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, talking to the Taliban is a necessary evil; we are non-partisan and are working in the interests of the people. On the other hand, I feel like it lends them some legitimacy and reinforces the notion that they are the decision makers. Moreover, this could possibly undermine the fragile Afghan government in areas where their power is waning; having to ask the Talibs for permission to do our work might tip the balance.   Anyway, after one month this is NOT MY PROBLEM.
Confection

Confection

0
cranberry's Blog
 

Jessie 2 - sent to spacekitty 2-22

got Jessie 2 today (along with 1 & 3)   Jessie 2 Kathmandu** - reviewed 4-22-07 Lucy's Kiss - reviewed 2-19-07 Seance** - reviewed 6-4-06 Snake Oil** - reviewed 10-12-06 Spellbound** - reviewed 4-22-07 Tisiphone - reviewed 2-19-07 Viola - reviewed 2-19-07 Voodoo** - reviewed 7-4-06     (** indicates imps that I have)   ** sent to SpaceKitty 2-22-07
cranberry

cranberry

8
cranberry's Blog
 

Jessie 1 - sent 2-15-07

Got Jessie #1 today (along with #2 & #3)   Jessie 1 Alecto** Blood Amber - reviewed 2-15-07 Emphemera** Grog** Hellcat - reviewed 2-15-07 Himerus** - reviewed 5-22-07 Iambe** Jack**   ** (imps that I already have)   all right, I've tested all the imps that I don't have, so this pack is ready to go.   sent out 2-15-07 to spacekitty
cranberry

cranberry

3
Forget Everything And Remember
 

A new week begins...

... and so far, it's not much better.   Saturday was fine, but mostly because I slept all day.   Sunday I slept quite a bit, but then I got in a fight with a friend over something that wasn't really his business, and which he did not ask for the full story before starting in on me and my best friend. Fortunately, it was solved, and she's FAR more tactful than I am, especially with still making up sleep and the unfairness of it all, so she did most of the talking while I fumed privately. And all is well now, but at the time I was ready to strangle something.   Today I got woken up at 9 am to go get my son from school because he has pinkeye. I think it's some sort of allergy, myself, but then, the only form of conjuntivitis that I'm familiar with is when my contacts act up. I think I've got whatever it is he's got, but not quite as bad.   Tomorrow he goes to the doctor.   There are some good things going on, namely with finding someone who'll fight to find us a good mortgage, but it's overshadowed by a lot of uncertainty, some depression, and being so... frickin'... tired. And lack of money, can't forget that. Oy.
Kitrona

Kitrona

0
Sourball Ho!
 

Return of Estate Sales!

Estate sales dropped off over the holidays and they’ve started back up again, so we’ve gone to a few. It seems we aren’t the only ones jonesing for them to return, as the past few weeks most houses we go to have been packed with people. This weekend I bought a souvenir shot glass from San Francisco ($2) and an unused Las Vegas postcard of the original Aladdin hotel for 10¢. The coolest purchase was at another house: two big bags of matchbooks for $4! Going through them last night was a lot of fun -- they were from the ‘60s and ‘70s mostly, lots of restaurants and some old Vegas ones, and some from Paris, London, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Cairo, and most were unused. The funniest was from a Chinese restaurant in Berlin named Hung Wang. Hee hee! Yes, I’m ten years old.   We like going to see the houses, but there’s a constant struggle with buying things. I’m trying to be good and not fill the house with crap (especially with my weakness for old souvenirs). I don’t like shot glasses in general, they’re kind of a give-up souvenir that seem to be for sale everywhere, but I have a soft spot for San Francisco and since it was so cheap I bent the rule a bit. I don’t want to start collecting shot glasses though -- I like the older weirder wackier souvenirs like plates or tablecloths or matchbooks.   Another dilemma is furniture -- we like some of the pieces we see, and by the time Sunday afternoon rolls around they’re usually 50% off the tagged price, but 1) where are we supposed to put all this? and 2) how are we supposed to get it home? The house with the matchbooks had (along with the very cool Wurlitzer organ) a huge beautiful bar, like a pirate bar! Two pieces, front and back with 3 barstools, the guy said they paid around $6000 for it and we could have taken it all home for $600. We have a Camry and an Altima, and we don’t know anyone with a beater truck or van. Maybe this is a good thing, as we’d be filling the house with furniture instead of smaller things. Oh, but I want a bar! In my house! I’d never leave
dawndie

dawndie

3
Goth Hobbit's Blog
 

Acceptable Nightgown Quest, phase I

...can now be listed as "accomplished"!   I decided to make another dent in the Macy's store credit card this afternoon. (Yes, Mom got the original receipts to me, and I was able to make Macy's take back the lace-arsed beige pants.) I found three very nice screen-printed long-sleeve t-shirts, but no boots. *sigh* On a whim, I went up to the lingerie department, but wasn't expecting much; the last time I checked, I couldn't even find a brassiere in the right size that didn't look as though it could be worn on-stage for a performance of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries".   This time, though, several items had gone on sale, and a very good one at that. Take another 40% off of something that has already been discounted by 25%? Thank you; don't mind if I do. And among the various gowns was the one that found its way into my shopping bag.   It's not quite the style that I wanted; I was hoping for something more tailored and slip-like. I was imagining something that positively reeks of Jean Harlow-esque glamor (think this one or this.) I didn't find anything like those, but what I did find was an unconstructed chemise style (no fitted bust, in other words); medium-weight satin, ankle length, wider straps, subtly embellished neckline, and a gorgeous shade of silvery seafoam green.   It makes my eyes look almost like emeralds.   For the moment, I'm wearing my flannel brocade-and-skull print PJ bottoms and an old t-shirt. Soon enough, though, I'll have an excuse to wear something slinky and elegant. I don't get enough chances to display my Inner Courtesan, and I intend to fully take advantage while I can.
goth_hobbit

goth_hobbit

2
Diplomatka
 

Something I Never Wanted to Hear

No one ever wants to hear a doctor say the word "larva" when making a diagnosis.   It seems I brought a little something back from my two-week trip to Africa.   The CDC describes hookworm (ONE of the MANY possible parasites I MIGHT have):     These barely visible larvae penetrate the skin (often through bare feet), are carried to the lungs, go through the respiratory tract to the mouth, are swallowed, and eventually reach the small intestine. This journey takes about a week. In the small intestine, the larvae develop into half-inch-long worms, attach themselves to the intestinal wall, and suck blood. The adult worms produce thousands of eggs. These eggs are passed in the feces (stool). If the eggs contaminate soil and conditions are right, they will hatch, molt, and develop into infective larvae again after 5 to 10 days.   Fantastic. But one must also consider that the doctor "never sees these things in Afghanistan" and might be wrong about the diagnosis.   If I spend only two weeks in the Horn and come back with worms what will happen when I live there for two years?
Confection

Confection

1
You will hardly know who I am
 

book count

Books finished (3)   Anansi Boys - I finally made it through a Neil Gaiman book. Enjoyed it, but there were definite rough patches. Loved the first 3/4, got bogged down a bit around page 200. I think I liked the idea more than the actual story. Was surprised by the humor, though, I laughed out loud many, many times.   Heat - A good, but slow, read. I think it should have kept my attention more than it did, considering it was about cooking, and all.   Am about to start The Memory Keeper's Daughter for book club. The description sounds vaugely Oprah-esque, so I can't say I'm realllly looking forward to it, but hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.   I am reading slowly this year.
clover

clover

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Jazz Funeral

Wet: Have no idea. LOL. Very strong. As it dries it gets that stale perfume smell I hate. After a few minutes i can pick up a very slight hint of the bay rum with magnolia and dirt.   I think that magnolia doesn't like me. I'm getting that weird stale, cheap perfume smell again. Oh well, off to swaps.   ETA: Hubby tried it and it smells awesome one him. He amps the bay rum and moss and it really smells wonderful. Keeping the imp for him.
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

A quick question, if you have time...

Who, or what, were you in a past life?   I'll share mine soon.   One more question that's a bit more... I dunno. Serious, maybe? But I'm not being snide about the first one either, it just seems lighter to think of-   With the assumption that there is, in fact, reincarnation, do you feel like there are certain people you will always meet? Not just a love, but also random people- extra soul-mates, if you will... I've been trying to establish my "circle" recently, of people I feel are always with me.
smallvoice

smallvoice

7
Forget Everything And Remember
 

Random thought.

(It's probably been said better elsewhere, too.)   Just because you have the /right/ to say something doesn't always mean you /should/ say it. And freedom of speech or of the press doesn't mean that if others disagree with you, they're taking away your rights. They have a right to their opinion that what you said was distasteful or rude or flabbergastingly disgusting as a human being.   This applies to more than one situation, although I'm sure everyone knows at least one situation where it applies in their lives. But saying something that could reasonably (or obviously) be considered rude and then being surprised or backtracking and saying you meant something else is not only even more rude, it's rather disingenious and makes the person saying it look like a complete idiot.
Kitrona

Kitrona

9
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Umbra

Hubby tried this (I knew right awayit would be better for him, lol).   At first it smell like the rain incense we used to have. yum! As it dried it became darker and smokier. I love the cedarwood I can smell and the patchouli is just right. The cinnamon is very faint, but it's a truer cinnamon as opposed to the sweet candy cinnamon.   It's very nice on him, I have a feeling I'll be sniffing him for the rest of the night.
femmefatale

femmefatale

0
Femme_Fatale's Blog
 

Blood Pearl

Waahhhh, where is my coconut??? At first it's just strong and slightly sharp orris. As it dries the musk comes out and softnens it, but still no coconut. I think this would work better for hubby, though if I can find some single note coconut to layer this with, then I think I would love it for myself.
femmefatale

femmefatale

1
×