Stop Asking

Hiatus

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:34:07 GMT

Hey guys.

Until further notice, this journal will be on hiatus. I'm having a lot of trouble with TLE right now, and he needs my full attention. Not that there's been a lot of posting going on, but there won't be any at all for a while.

I'll be around in the evenings after he's in bed, still, but don't look for me otherwise.

And hey, if anyone's got any advice on how to deal with a brilliant child who can't seem to grasp that he needs to sit down, be quiet, and sit still in school, or respect his teachers/sitters/mother, i'm all ears.

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:06:07 GMT

This is my day.

car window jumped off it's track this morning, wouldn't go back up

missed Brit Lit and Chaucer to go and get it pinned in place until I can fix it

got yelled at by dad for interupting his morning, to which my exceptionally bitter response is, don't fucking train me to call you when I've got mechanically based problems, then

Chiro was his usual weird self, but managed to piss me off with his continuing pontification that medication doesn't work for mental disorders because they're just a figment of your imagination.

went to work, and had to bust balls all day, trying to get this shit done, that's suddenly due tomorrow instead of at the end of the month, and oh yeah, we have to fix last month's too. and oh, by the way, our company has a double standard and you're beinbg yelld at AGAIN for IM and internet usage, and OH BY THE WAY, we're going to yell at you about your ipod too. never mind that the people that sit immediately behind you ARE CURRENTLY WEARING THEIR HEADPHONES WITH THEIR IPODS BLATANTLY VISIBLE ON THEIR DESKS, and no, it doesn't matter that people in your own department also use the internet and instant messenger, YOU are not allowed

don't leave work until nearly 6:30 in an effort to get July's presentation done so that tomorrow, we only have to worry about August

remember that I hadn't yet told my family that, oh, by the way, my ex has decided to join the army, by the way, he left Yesterday for fort Jackson, and oh yeah, he decided that it was my job to take care of the child support situation and let them know that he would be paying me directly for a while, and yes, he didn't tell me that part until oh, monday night

get home, and my child has filled every soap bottle with water, gotten water all over the counters, gone through my desk drawer, spread change all over the floor, dug through the clean laundry, and oh yeah, they're not home because the sitter took him home with her because i was so late. oh yeah, and he didn't eat any of his lunch (or very little) again.

and in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen, i get a fucking phone call from the cable company, telling me that i'm scheduled for a hard disconnect on Friday, even though, when I spoke with someone just a few days ago, I was told that the fact that I DON'T GET PAID UNTIL THE FUCKING 15TH AND CAN'T PAY THEM UNTIL THEN WAS JUST FINE, NOT A PROBLEM, WE'LL MAKE A NOTE OF IT, and no, it doesn't matter what I was told, if i get the hard disconnect, i'm going to owe them a deposit on everything, go ip to the really expensive rates, and yes, all of this is because a hard disconnect basically means that I'm restarting my service all. over. again.

akire_yta

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:39:19 GMT

Dear Internets:

WHERE IS LEVERAGE FIC? SHOW ME LEVERAGE FIC. LEAVE ME LINKS. I HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW TO LOOK FOR FIC ON MY OWN. DAMN YOU BANDOM.

LEVERAGE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC

Love,
ink_on_the_page

The state of the me

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:29:45 GMT

Well, doesn't that sound pretentious? :P Still, I know a lot of you have been wanting to know what's been going on with me,a nd I didn't post the update I promised to when shit started happening, sooooooo.

Here we go.

Some of you noticed the tweets (though i realize most of you don't follow my twitter) at the beginning of June that I was having trouble with my heart. I went to the ER that day (June 8), and we discovered that i was "throwing PVCs" (Pre Ventricular Contractions--in layman's terms, my heart was partially beating before the actual beat, so it wasn't filling with blood properly)* and going into V-Tach (ventricular tachycardia--when your hearts has lots of PVCs and goes into an arhythmia)*. These are Bad Things, especially with as young as I am (26, if you didn't know). They hooked me up to a Holter Monitor (yes it's a wikilink, but it's pretty accurate), and sent me home with stern orders to see a cardiologist ASAP.

So I did. They did a stress test and discerned that there is no damage or blockage to my heart, and with the information from the hospital that my bloodwork was clean, the only logical explanination for things was something electrical. I was instructed to work on weight loss (not a surprise), keep track of my blood pressure (standard admonition from a cardiologist; i didn't; it's fine), and to come back in a month, and they should have all of my results by then.

That follow up appointment was today. They did, in fact, have my information from the monitor, so A+ to them. I have apparently manged to thoroughly confound the doctor because I'm so freaking young. The heart monitor told them that i was having non-sustained (less than 30 seconds) and irregular (no set space between "bouts") v-tach. Which. well, is bad, and doesn't happen in young people. That's one of those things that happens to elderly people when their bodies start to break down, or in babies because they've had something not form correctly. To have it show up in a very healthy (if overweight) young woman in her mid-twenties is pretty much unheard of, and obviously cause for concern.

But! All is not lost. They've obviously discovered the problem and recognized the situation. They're going to hook me up to an event monitor for a few weeks (this is the kind that i can take on and off to do things like shower), and I'm scheduled for an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of my heart) in a few weeks. Then, depending on the results, to be discussed at my next follow-up, we decide on the next step.

This is where it gets. well, scary for me. Because the solution for this kind of situation is a pacemaker. I'm 26, i really would rather not have a pacemaker already, ya know? However, if this is the solution, and then that's it, i will absolutely do it with a cheerful smile and good will, because frankly I would rather a pacemaker than, ya know, death. And no, i'm not exaggerating; v-tach *can* be fatal, depending.

What does this mean for you? Absolutely nothing, other than an occasional bout of OMG THIS MONITOR IS DRIVING ME NUTS over the next few weeks, and the potential for a freak out later on if the pacemaker is necessary. What does this mean for me? That I need to pay close attention to myself and make sure i know how of the various steps to dealing with things when the time comes.

In short, I'm all right. I'm not fine, nor will this just. Go away. I am absolutely going to have to deal with this; i can't just ignore it. But I'll be okay. :)

What else has been going on? Not much. Work is in flux; it's finally come down to I'm either going to be hired full time or i'm going to be released from my contract. Sexetary can't put it off any longer. That's fine, because she's going to do her best to get me hired full time. If she succeeds, that means benefits, sick time, etc. if she doesn't...well, bright side is that I won't have to pay the gas or the daycare?

Fic: Open the Door

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:56:02 GMT

Title: Open the Door
Author: ink_on_the_page
Rating: hmm. PG-13 for possible emotional triggering?
Fandom: Original
Disclaimer: for once, I get to say that I *DO* own them. This is my original fiction, please do not reproduce in whole or in part without contacting me first.
Summary: She can’t do it anymore, and it’s time to go home.
Warning: dissolution of marriages, possible emotional triggering
Author's note: Written for the sticksnstrings challenge. My prompt was See Jane Run by Trace Adkins. Also mentioned is Janis Joplin’s Me and Bobby McGee, and because I like to give out music, I’ve included it, too.
Word count: 1202

It's three in the morning

Happy 233rd Birthday, America!

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:55:50 GMT

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Puppy Chow

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:53:42 GMT

Just made this for our class party tonight. This is a fun, delicious little recipe for the whole family. I apologize to everyone who's not in america, because this recipe is, by default, american. Peanut butter and crispix are, as far as I know, not available in other countries. D: I'm working on trying to figure out a good alternative, but so far, no dice. :P I'll let you know if and when i figure it out.

Puppy Chow

Happy Birthday!

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:13:46 GMT

Five years ago today (at 9:08 pm, but who wants precision), my little boy surprised the hell outta me by...well, being a boy. See, we were expecting a girl. Doctor confirmed, "mother instinct", the whole nine yards. Then this conversation occured:

"You. Uh, you said you had a boy's name ready, too, right?"

"Er, yeah, we figured it was a good idea."

"You were right. It's a boy."

That was just the first of years worth of surprises he's given me (crawling at 5 1/2 months, walking at 8 months, speaking Danish before English [ah. that would be my fault.]) but as much as he drives me up the wall (the way *any* child drives their parent nuts), I love him. I love my astute, emotional, brilliant little ball of energy.

Five years ago, we looked like this:

Now, we look like this:

It's amazing how time flies.

Here's some more for you guys. I'll be over in the corner, sniffling over how big he is.

That's my mama, and that's TLE less than 24 hours after he was born. Yes, holding his head up. Mom was feeding him, and put him on her shoulder to burp him, and he lifted his head and stared right at her for a good ten seconds.

his life. so hard.

Happy birthday, baby boy. Here's to many, many more.

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 03:35:56 GMT

and apparently, it was me this evening.

According to my oh-so-official twitter poll, Y'all want to hear about my quick, easy, quasi-veg, and most importantly INEXPENSIVE meals that I come up with. I'm cooking for myself (intolerant of any meat other than fish, waaah) and a growing 5 year old boy on an exceptionally limited budget, both financially and chronologically. If i get home before 6:30, it's a freakin' miracle. TLE's bedtime is 8. so yes. meals have to be quick.

So!

I'm gonna start posting what I come up with because 1) i've always loved messing in the kitchen, 2) i was asked to share when I asked if anyone was interested and 3) i'm a verbose motherfucker and don't you forget it. ~grins~

all I ask is that you help me name these things. I *never* know what to call the recipes what i come up with.

Tonight's meal!

Yes, it's a link. For now, i'm not crossposting, as I *know* i'll forget to crosspost somewhere, do soemthing wonky, or whatever. Feel free to comment there or come back here and comment; i don't mind either way. letme know how they work out for you, what you think, if you have name ideas, and so on! :D

Bon apetit!

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:09:28 GMT

No, i'm not back. Not really. But any of you following my twitter know that I've been writing again. It's a good feeling, recovering what was lost lo these many months ago. Having my words back is like being able to breathe again.

There's been some interesting things going down in my life. Thin has been let go. I was offered a TA position for math (something i'm good at, for the most part, but *loathe*). I'm now a few signed forms away from graduating in May.

Things have been...phenomenally odd lately. I"m not sure I can really articulate it, but...it's there. They're odd. I think a good odd, but...odd.

Things of note:
♥ fic with greenet. And when I say fic, i mean *verse*. It's kind of awesome. So far produced: 15,000 words.
♥ bbb with brandixcyanide. About a quarter of the way to m in. word count. We're having a blast. Let's just say that guacamole stains are mentioned, Homer Simpson keeps tapping against the floor, and Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith are about to shenanigate with Bob Bryar and Mikey Way.
♥ fic with stardustonsable IS NOT DEAD. I'm very glad to realize this, because Bob Bryar shaving Spencer Smith? ~purrs~
♥ Move the Mountain, the steampunk novel from this year's NaNo, has become my project for creative writing. Yes, this means there is Bitsey shenanigans happening. You're welcome. ;)

Things that are making me sad:
♠ I think I have to drop out of writing group for a while. I can't keep up, and it's not fair. i haven't made any final decisions yet, but that's the way it's looking.
♠ I panicked and didn't write anything for the literary review for school. Teacher gave our class extensions. I didn't do anything for it. Teacher and classmate both called me princess (well, classmate called me prima donna, but same diff) when it comes to my writing. They're not wrong considering what they see, but it makes me sad because I just wish I could like my writing. :(
♠ My financial situation. Unless I get a *lot* of financial aid and some stellar luck, I'm starting to wonder if a fall move is feasible. My car accident and the attendant bills have really fucked me up. :(

As I head off to class, know that I love you all. I miss you guys, and i look forward to the day when I can come back for real and snuggle in with everyone again. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

TRIVIA NIGHT

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:26:27 GMT

HI GUYS! My professor gave us 20 questions for extra credit during spring break. Y'all know me and google; i couldn't resist its siren's call, so i've already fighred out all the answers. :D I thought, however, that you guys might wanna take a stab at it. Dunno as the winner gets anything bnut bragging rights, but I may drabble. idk. :D

DISCLAIMER: ALL QUESTIONS ARE LEFT HERE EXACTLY AS SHE LEFT THEM FOR US. YES, I KNOW THAT THEY ARE GRAMMATICALLY FUBARED. DEAL WITH IT.

RULES: yes, you can google. you're supposed to. that's how we're to come up with the answers. :D Guess as many times as you'd like. If you can prove your answer after I declare it wrong, gimme your source, and I'll include it for my prof. :D Comments screened. I'm going to bed shortly, so don't expect responses quickly. I'll reveal the answers tomorrow night. :D

1. What Detroit rap group was Emenim a part of?

2. Who is Hamlet's girlfriend?

3. Where did the lumber from the President's desk come from?

4. What computer celebrates its 25th anniversary this year?

5. What type of airplane takes off every 5 seconds somewhere in the world?

6. What is Jimmy Hoffa's middle name?

7. What President's love letters to his wife became best sellers?

8. Despite its small size, what country has had the longest ruling royal family in Europe?

9. How tall is Michelangelo's statue of David?

10. John Thomas Scopes, a teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was charges on May 25, 1925 with violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of what?

11. What mammal lives in Australian waterways and lays eggs?

12. What is New York City's only main land borough?

13. What product did Elvis do a commercial for in 1954?

14. In what plane did Charles Lindbergh fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?

15. What are the rival gang names in West Side Story?

16. What well loved patriotic American anthem was originally a poem written by Julia Ward Howe?

17. On the Great Seal of the United States of America, which way does the eagle face?

18. What is the worlds highest waterfall?

19. What American artist is known for his work "The Birds of America?"

20. How many time zones are spanned by Russia?

It's Just Death, DOn't Worry

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:33:50 GMT

The Assignment: a claim of value essay for comp class.

The Result: an essay on vampires and zombies.

Note: the last statement on the paper is a injoke in class. there's this guy that will. not. shut. up. about football, to the point that the professor (jokingly) said that if anyone wrote about "____ is better than football" they would get an A. I'm just working it in to amuse the professor. :D

It’s Just Death, Don’t Worry

Humans have a fascination with death. We plan our funerals, arrange our gravesites, and tell people whether we want to be cremated or buried. We also have an obsession with avoiding death. Searches for the Fountain of Youth, the Holy Grail, and methods of staying young forever are littered throughout history. And then, there’s the undead. Movies, video games, television shows, books, comics, the list of places the undead show up goes on forever. There is vicious debate as to whether zombies or vampires are better, but vampires come out on top every time.

Zombies have no preservation skills, rotting carcasses aside. They are visible, easy to tell apart from a living human being, and fairly easy to dodge. To defeat a zombie, all one needs is a bat, a torch, or a chainsaw. Removing the head will stop a zombie long enough to completely destroy them (necessary, as it is the only way to stop a zombie). Vampires, on the other hand, are much more difficult to spot in the first place. They look just like everyone else, and can blend in with us. They can function in the living world as though they were alive themselves. Killing them is relatively easy—a stake to the heart, beheading, incineration—but they first need to be discovered. Their superior blending skills give them the advantage over zombies.

Where vampires tend to lose to zombies is the amount of terror they inspire. Vampires don’t look any different than living humans, so we have no reason to be afraid of them. They are also the embodiment of what most people secretly long for, eternal youth and beauty. Yes, when sharp teeth are coming at one’s neck, fear may be the predominant emotion. There are, however, many people that find vampires to be sexy and alluring. Zombies, on the other hand, are visually terrifying. Rotting carcasses, droning groans, and lumbering, shuffling walks all remind us of what we want to avoid. They truly look as though they are dead, and that is terrifying to most people.

Supernatural abilities of both of these undead creatures are seemingly disparate. Zombies don’t have any; vampires have tons. One could argue that zombies don’t need any abilities. Their goal is to eat human flesh. They chase and tackle their living human prey and eat whatever they can reach. There aren’t a lot of abilities necessary for that sort of biological imperative. Vampires, on the other hand, only drink the blood of living prey. They need to make sure that their food source stays alive, or at least that the dead bodies stay undiscovered or unconnected to them. In order to accomplish this, they have all sorts of abilities, from super speed to mind control. These abilities give them the edge that they need in order to stay hidden.

It doesn’t hurt that vampires have more of a cult following than zombies. People would much rather be a vampire or belong to a vampire as a claimed human pet than become an undead zombie with no brain, intent only on eating the nearest living thing. Zombies are usually cast as the “bad guy”, left to take on the roll of the thing everyone wants to kill or get rid of. Vampires get to be the “good guy” and portrayed as misunderstood beings that just want to survive like everyone else. This sort of good press/bad press situation gives vampires a huge edge over zombies, and removes survival abilities even further.

Vampires win out over zombies in their survival skills, are able to earn sympathy from living beings once they are discovered, and in supernatural abilities. A vampire would win every time. One thing is certain, however. Both vampires and zombies are better than football.

5 things (twice)

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:54:53 GMT

Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.

From atomichatred82

1. The Littlest Emo - Oh man, what can I say about this kid? He's an adventure and a half, a delight and a headache, my heart walking around outside my body and my biggest frustration in the world. The nickname the littlest emo came from akire_yta when I was describing his behavior and his love of our bandboys and girls one day, and it just stuck as a completely wonderful apropos name. Some others call him minispencewentz ~grin~ but TLE seems to be the prevailing nickname for him. He's...good grief, how do I talk about him? Most of you know how much I love him and how much he drives me up the wall. He's almost 5 (April 28. ~wibble~) and he's just...so smart. So smart. It's kinda terrifying how smart he is, in all honesty. I lvoe him, though. So much.

2. May 27th 2008 FLAIL. THE DAY THAT HOWL WAS RELEASED FOR OUR ADOREMENT. i don't care if that's not a word. :D I stayed up so late that night, creating the chat in which first there was excited flailing with a group of fangirls that rapidly became some of my best friends in fandom about OMG IT'S FINALLY COMING OUT! :D :D :D and then struggling to get the album to download and then...oh then the discussions about the albums. There was a hilarious amount of fail, from some songs loading incorrectly so that a few of us were listening out of order to some ridiculously slow download speeds, to it being 2 am and half of us being SO TIRED OMG but no one wanting to give up. God, that was the best night. :D And yes. Those of you that heard we invited Tomradical and the res tof the band to our listening party heard correctly. I was the one that left the message on his blog.

3. "Five of the Clock" - One of the few empires fics i ever have written (or ever will write, for that matter), it was done for the e5chat ficathon. What is e5chat. ~Points up~ see that listening party? It stems from that. All of us that were in on that listening party, plus a couple more that we added along the way, formed a tight knit group. They really are some of my best friends in fandom, and to celebrate our friendship, we wrote fics for each other, and then shared them with the world. I have to admit, i struggled with this fic a little bit, wanting it to include all five members, but not sure how to go about it, until someone suggested gsf, and then it just...clicked. :D

4. The Panic! Listening Party - ahahaha, god, this one was almost an accident. We were in chat that night, and i made the comment that, "Hey, y'all can you imagine what it's like for Jon and the rest of panic? That's his bestest friend, releasing his first album with his band...you know he's coaxing everyone on that tour to download Howl." Well, everyone loved it, and begged for the fic, and....well, if you ask, I generally can't resist obliging. >_>

5. The Failbots on Tour Fund - We had a little band of failbots that was broke but determined to go on tour. They were intending on camping to save money. They used RyanJ's iPhone for GPS in order to find their way around. How could we not attempt to raise a couple hundred bucks to send with them on tour? Except that it wasn't just a couple hundred bucks. We wound up raising $1500 to send with them. GO TEAM FANGIRLS

from complications_g

1. Twitter - omfg. Okay, so I actually signed up for a twitter *ages* ago, when the silly thing first came out. And then pretty much immediately forgot about its existence. Fastforward a yard and some months, and all of the sudden, the whole damned world is using twitter. I. Love. Twitter. It's a teeny little microblog, where I can send quick thoughts, fic ideas, have conversations with people, babble, and it's so. easy. I don't always remember to update my livejournal ~cough~ but I *DO* remember to hit up my twitter, thanks to the texting availability. Is probably the best way to keep track of me right now. :)

2. Video Loving - I blame wordsalone for this one. She posted a vid, talking about how much she loved her flist, and I couldn't help but want to do the same. And then my child realized that i was recording my face omg mom LEMME DO IT TOOOO. So. You guys are resultantly treated? subjected? to the antics of a single mom and her completely ridiculous 5 year old. :D I'm just glad that y'all seem to enjoy them. I wouldn't *stop*, but i'm glad you're enjoying it.

3. Writing - writing. oh, how I love thee, let me count the ways. Writing, oh how i loathe thee, let me count the ways. ~Headdesk~ I have written ever since I was little, long before I realized that whatever i was writing could be shared with people that weren't myself or my family. I honestly didn't get into fanfic until i was an exchange student and jessikast and our friend Crystal told me about it. I was 18. I'd written...so many stories before that. So many stories. Now, my goal this year is to have something finished and polished enough for publication. I'm not going to count the literary review for school this year, beacuse I'm not going to get paid for that, and my goal is for paid publication. We'll see, though. I don't know what i'm going to manage. I hope...i can only hope.

4. Being a good mother! (her words!!) - First, can i just say how wonderful it is that y'all think I'm a good mom? I have to tell you, from where I'm sitting, He frustrates mke so quickly and easily, and I see all of the mistakes that I make and....augh. and yet, y'all seem to think that I'm a good mom, doing well with him, and so on. That just...warms me all the way through. :D That said...being a mom is...~sighs~ I wouldn't trade it for anything. If i could go back in time, retaining the knowledge that I'd be a single mom, struggling, but with this delightful little child to love, I would do it again. I would do it again in a heartbeat. (Though once I was pregnant, I'd kick his father to the curb. >_>) If i wasn't allowed to keep the knowledge of what i've got, just told that If you do this, you're going to get pregnant (it was a specific situation, shush), then no. i wouldn't. I love my child. He's screwed with SO much, though. I dropped ot of school for him, jobs hav ebeen interfered with, plans have to be designed around babysitter availibity. I didn' get to have a "youth" in the sense that when mos tof my classmates were "carefree college students", I was pregnant and then caring for an infant. It's been brutal. But no. I wouldn't change him for anything. (not even the girl we were told to expect. ;) )

5. Empires - empiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiire somg. I don't think i've ever loved a band from their first formation, nor do I think i've ever loved a band so much. Someone recently posted a poll asking if all of the bands in bandom were holding concerts in your town on one night, who would you go see? I said MCR, and hit enter, and then realized...no. It would be Empires. I *adore* MCR. empires aside, MCR is my favorite band. Empires, though...somehow, they've worrmed their way up to the top, made themselves the most endearing, ridiculous, faily darlings ever and I can't help but flail every time they do something new. The fact that they're actually going to be in florid anext month, just in time for my birthday is more exciting than I can tell you. I *love* the fact that they're there. I love the fact that they exist. And I love every one of their stupid faces. So. Effing. Much.

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:53:32 GMT

psssst. we ficced. We wrote fic for sirritwist's birthday.

:D

Four Things Spencer Did That His Band Never Found Out About (one thing they did)
by akire_yta, stardustonsable and ink_on_the_page in honour of the anniversary of the day of sirritwist birth.

(PatD Bandom fic with guest stars Jepha, nearly every drummer in bandom, and Doctor Who)

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:33:37 GMT

I have no idea why this video's still is of me with my eyes closed. Does Vimeo go through and try to find the weirdest expression you're making or something?

a very flisty valentine from Stephanie Johnson on Vimeo.

Guess what I did on Valentine's Day? And no, I'm not cutting this. Deal with it.

and my ears have been f ixed, so i no longer have a wonky number of piercings.

and my parents have replaced my car. I"ll pick up my 2000 VW Passat on Monday or Tuesday. \o/

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:04:47 GMT

HI GUYS I FINISHED A FIC AND IT NEEDS A BETA. GABE-CENTRIC, Gabe/Mikey/Alicia, Gabe/Travie, Gabe/William, and Gabe/Spencer. Anyone up for it? I'm looking for grammar and spelling (because while I'm an english major and a grammarwhore, i still miss shit), but also for flow, content, etc. :D Fic isn't due until Feb 10, but I'd like to have it finished as soon as possible. Thanks!!!

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:29:26 GMT

~breaks lj radio silence for a good cause~

Hey guys! I know lots of you are writing for bandomficathon but I also know that plenty of you aren't. This is ficcing for a good cause! Along the lines of Sweet Charity, you get to sponsor a write to acheive a specific goal, only this time you get to donate to a charity off the author's, "I'm writing for these causes!" list! There's no bad here! Y'all should really come on over and see if you can't donate a little bit! It doesn't have to be a lot, maybe just a buck per 1000 words completed, but as we know, every little bit helps!

Here's the list of those authors that need a little extra impetus in the form of donations!

Here's the ways you can donate!

Here's the whole participant list!

And here's my particular author thread, though I highly recommend taking a look through the whole list. There's some very, very good authors offering up their time!!

and for those of you wondering where the heck i went and wtf is up, i'll be posting soon, just to clear up some confusion.

Gentle encouragement works so much better

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:24:34 GMT

So...as part of my personal goals in 2009 (the ones NOT shared with you guys...sorry. >_> ) I am making an effort to not only think of people outside of my self and my nuclear family, but to finish what I start. To that end, I have set myself several short term fic goals, some of them with beautiful consequences.

bandomficathon is asking us to write for sponsors, and for those sponsors to donate to a charity that they have chosen off of our sign up profile. I am completely in support of the philanthropy of this gesture, and have signed up to write . I encourage you all to read through the pledging instructions and to look over the authors (here is my personal thread), and pick someone or something that interests you. This is a win/win situations; lots of fic and charities benefit. And hey, if you donate to a charity, you can claim it on your taxes, so rock on! :D

i point because i care

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:50:23 GMT

MORNING DARLINGS! :D

Just a quick post before I head in to algebra class. I posted to the school filter last night, the prompts we did in creative writing class. One of them may move over here, beceause for the first time in a long time, I'm proud of something I wrote. the other three, though, will stay there. I wanted to remind you that I'll happily put anyone on the filts they ask for, but i need you to fill out the poll in order to do that. XD

http://t-usual-suspect.livejournal.com/87398.html

poll is near the bottom.

Today's a hell-bent-for-leather day, so I probably won't be seen or heard from until after I get home, which will be anywhere from 4:30 to 6:30. IDK when.

love to all of you!

FIC: Cookie Monster Blue and Oscar the Grouch Green

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:22:58 GMT

Title: Cookie Monster Blue and Oscar the Grouch Green
Author: ink_on_the_page
Rating: eh. Pg13 for langue, i guess
Fandom: Bandom: Panic at the Disco
Characters/pairings:
Disclaimer: I don't own them. This is just for fun. Suing me for money is about as productive an exercise as squeezing blood from a stone. I do not condone any illegal activities that may be written about in my fiction, nor do I partake in any of these activities personally. This is a work of fiction, and should be treated as such. If you got here by googling yourself or someone you know, for the love of my sanity, hit the back button or DON'T TELL ME WHO YOU ARE.
Summary: Jon and Spencer get their first house together.
Warning: excessive sweetness?
Author's note: The first off my request thread. Okay, so this is. uhm. a little later than "As soon as I can", but then again, life intervened before now, so... Hi! Have the fic you requested, finny91! I know you've actually moved, and even gained felines, but... Uhm. well, you love me, you know it. :D Also, there's a scene in here that some of you may find hard to believe. I can vouch from personal experience that when you hold greenboard (a type of treated drywall) up with your head, it gets heavy. >.<
Prompt: Jon/Spencer if possible (because they are married okay!) with their pets and their little house, and possible shenanigans
Word count: 2253

Jon rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand and looked sheepish."

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:53:24 GMT

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:04:24 GMT

~kidnaps you and installs you in a lounge chair with a beer and some sunscreen~ pool's at 82, air temp is already 75 and rising, not a cloud in the sky, and i'm in shorts and a swimsuit while my swuirt runs around in just his trunks. I am finally relaxing after months of back-killing tension, and my weekend has only started. I get all kinds of friends invading today and staying the night and just... \o/

i love you all. if i don't catch you before then, merry christmas, happy kwanzaa, happy hanaukka, or whatever other religion/celebration you've got going down right now. i miss you. this job's insane, next semester will be ridic, but i'm getting there.

~Blows kisses all around~ i love you, my darlings.

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:56:16 GMT

Since we are poor, poor little creatures, incapable of sending christmas cards...

Merry Christmas! from Stephanie Johnson on Vimeo.

i thought i left sobbing at commercials behind when i gave birth.

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:26:41 GMT

oh. my. god, what a miserable fucking day. It started okay (certainly better than yesterday's nightmare awakening), and i got to use my new travel mug, won lasat night at our local nano tgio. but once i got to work...it really did go downhill, oh my god.

Thin's been on vacation. it was nice. she wasn't there at all last week or yesterday, and it made it really nice and quiet, and i was less tense than I have been. she's a wonderful person, but there really is a reason her office nickname is Queen or Her Majesty.

she came back today. her frist words are, "I came back to a zoo. Nice." I didn't even get a hello. none of us did. Nice.

okay, so she hid in her ofice for the most part, once she gave me a document to make changes to and edit. I worked on that this morning, and in between tried to finish that play I've been working on for creative writing.

let me insert a side note here, and state that my professor really made me a happy camper this morning. Instead of the 2 6pg plays or 1 12pg play that was the original assignment, she reduced it to 1 6pg or more play. cue a huge sigh of relief, as i had barely 3 pages this morning.

Anyway, i finish the document i'm doing, right around 12:30. I needed to meet with my prof at 1 (in accordance with the agreement we made so that i could keep the class and not have to drop even though my babysitter for tuesdays moved), but I also had to pick up a book at B&N, so I gestured to Sexetary that I was done and I was leaving. She was on the phone, so I couldn't actually *say* anything, but she watched me go.

I go. I spend a little more time than an ticipated with prof. I return, unfortunately closer to an hour and a half than an hour, but that's never been a problem before. Well, apparently that was today.

see, apparently? there was to be a meeting with the auditors this evening, and all documents needed to be complete and current as possible. by 3. i got back to work at 2.

NO ONE TOLD ME

so. I get ripped up one side and down the other for taking too long and not telling anyone where i was going or whether i was done with my document or not, and how they had had to go on to my computer and shut down everything I was doing and how the fuck was anything going to get done if I wasn't going to buckle down and get work done when it was necessary.

After i recovered my voice, I attempted to apologize for taking longer than technically alloted (though the petulant three year old in me wants to point out that i never take breaks, so two fifteen minute breaks means half an hour, so you could put my half hour there) and point out that I *was* done, and I had said something, but tracey was on the phone so i guess she missed it... but she didn't want to hear any of it. She ripped me a bit more, and set me some bullshit task.

So. i finished my task. went straight to Sexetary for what she needed. Spent the next two hours working with them, doing useful stuff with The Used blasting to keep me from chucking my stapler at Thin. room to breathe.

in the end, i also managed to finish my play. it's not really editted much, but i turned it in, and it should be enough, with the rest of my grades, to get me through with at least a b. When i left at 4:30, i made sure that Sexetary knew i was leaving (she's the one that advised me to leave quietly after apologizing for missing the part where I said I was done) and slipped out while Thin was busy.

I. Okay, i admit. I screwed up. no, i shouldn't have been gone for an hour and a half. But Dammit, I didn' tknow. No one told me there was a deadline. I would have rescheduled my appt with my professor if I had known. The *only* time I leave for lunch is when I need to meet my prof. Otherwise, I don't go anywhere. I eat my lunch at my desk and work the whole time. All she managed to do was piss me off and upset me badly enough that I've been offkilter all afternoon and evening.

I have been so upset that I just sobbed at a St. Jude's commercial. I haven't actually sobbed at a commercial since I was pregnant. ~sighs~ need to hit the end of the semester, please. need some

World AIDS Day

armadillosoufle@gmail.com — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:42:05 GMT

In a fandom where most of the fic is slash, we maybe have a little bit more of an awareness of HIV and AIDS than your average human being. That's not nearly enough.

Please be aware that this may not yet have a cure (though there are some promising developments), it's easily preventable. I direct you to ginnytonick's tag for this day, in the hopes that you'll all remember this stuff both in your fic writing and in your daily life.

Every day, thousands of people around the world are infected by and die from AIDS. Don't become a statistic. don't let your friends and families become statistics either. Raise awareness where you need to.

I'm wearing red today. Are you?