Swimming in a sea of mirth and madness.

SPARKLE!PARASITES!

2009-12-23T17:44:59Z

And...not a parasite, but something special!

TS3 dorkery.

2009-12-23T07:31:31Z

I am going to be a total lameass.

So I started playing with just one Sim, named Elena St. Clair.

Elena wanted to be a five-star chef when we first began, and she had a random mix of traits--lucky, heavy sleeper, neurotic, natural cook, and couch potato.

She moved into a cute little house on the beach.

She had nice neighbors, the DiOrlios and the Ilsakanens. She briefly flirted with Cory DiOrlio, because he was really cute, but then she met the neighbors to her right, Carly and Rogan Ilsakanen. Carly was pretty cool, but Rogan...oh, man, Rogan was awesome. Elena liked him instantly, and our neurotic little homebody set out to get lucky.

She succeeded.

After some time of dating and being cute, Elena invited Rogan to move in.

It was like he'd always lived there.

Rogan was a good guy, and a great boyfriend. He was a little absentminded, and sometimes he was more emotional than SHE was, but he was very romantic, he kissed like a dream, and the man CLEANED everything. And it wasn't long before Elena started to get some ideas about the future.

Rogan had the same sort of ideas.

They began to plan their wedding.

Elena made a gorgeous bride.

Then they called all their neighbors and friends and told them to be at the old pier at 7 on a Saturday night.

It was a terribly romantic place to have a wedding.

Everyone saw them get married under the stars, and then Elena and Rogan ran back home hand-in-hand to enjoy their honeymoon.

Well, how did YOU spend your honeymoon?

Shortly after their honeymoon, Elena began to feel funny.

And by feeling funny I mean, she felt like shit.

"Wait, you mean we...?"
"Yep."

Rogan's pretty cool with that.

Their first kid is a boy! They named him Joni. He was born insane and excitable. A fun combination, no?

You can see signs that he's a little strange even at an early age. Bears aren't for eating, but Joni feels otherwise.

After Joni's grown up some and Rogan and Elena have been promoted a few times, Elena starts thinking that Joni was pretty cute and all, but he needs a sibling. Just one. She doesn't need a huge family.

Rogan's pretty cool with that. He likes babies.

It didn't take long before Elena started to feel funny again.

Elena is really hoping for a girl this time.

Little does she know...she's got three in there. She had planned to name the baby Aina, meaning "the only one", but when the other two appeared as well, she was forced to change her plans a bit. So Linnea, Laura and Lilja joined big brother Joni.

[I have no screenshots. Triplets was a bit much for me to handle.]

Life is pretty stressful for a while there. But then there comes a time when birthday cakes are made, and her three wild-haired toddlers become children. And as far as Elena's concerned...damn, she and Rogan made some pretty children.

(Rogan, closeup)
+

(Elena, closeup)
=

(Joni, closeup as a teenager--he has the insane, excitable, vegetarian and flirty traits)

(Linnea, closeup as a child--she has the easily impressed, loves the outdoors and brave traits)

(Lilja, closeup as a child--she has the overemotional, good and loner traits)

(Laura, closeup as a child--she has the genius, clumsy and absentminded traits)

Look at my little family, y'all. Isn't it cool the way the genetics work? Which kid got which parent's coloring is easy to work out, but I'm still having so much fun analyzing their little faces to see which feature has appeared on which face. They're a lot of fun to play--the triplets were crazy when they were infants and toddlers, even using cheats, but now that they're kids and can do more for themselves, I'm really enjoying them. I plan to make this a legacy game--I'm going to pick one of the kids to follow, while checking in on the other three. But which one? I love the girls, but it'd be so hard to pick one of the three. And sure, I could follow Joni, but...I really kinda prefer the girls. Girls have better clothes. So, flist, vote! Which of my beautiful Sim children will be my heir or heiress?

LJ shenanigans.

2009-12-17T01:46:23Z

So, apparently the LJ holiday promotion involves paid/permanent members being given ten coupons to give to our friends who do not have paid accounts. The coupons are for $10 off, so a recipient of the coupon can get a paid account for $9.95 instead of $19.95. I am a bit bemused by this holiday promotion--the people who already had a paid account get nothing. But I guess LJ figures they've already got us hooked and off the line and in the cooler, which...they pretty much do. I like having a paid account, and will probably keep said paid account and extra icons unless LJ blows up or something.

So, I have nine coupons left. Who wants one?

cielamara @ 2009-12-16T16:34:00

2009-12-16T21:34:31Z

Is it REALLY necessary for my mother to call me four times in one day? REALLY?

And she wonders why I'm irritable when I answer that fourth time.

OMG HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

2009-12-13T19:05:41Z

This is one of the funniest goddamn things I have ever seen. I love you, Mike Rowe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs61lfhqeNg&#t=7m28s

I seriously, seriously love you.

Tea?

2009-12-12T01:44:54Z

Post your email address if you'd like a gift certificate to Adagio Tea.
Comments are screened.

If you aren't 100% sure I know your name, you might want to put that as well. Otherwise, since Adagio requires me to put first and last name, the certificate will be addressed in a really odd way.

Also, if you already have an Adagio account, this won't work. You'll have to cheat and use another email address.

Tessy went to the vet today.

2009-12-09T03:59:53Z

Today was a rather adventurous day for Tess. First of all, Tessy is an inside kitty. A very spoiled inside kitty who thinks she's hot shit...until she ends up outside. Which she did last night. Daddy and I finished closing in the back porch this weekend, which meant he was in and out last night, sitting in front of the heater he'd put out there. And, because he had the lights off, and Tess is black, she somehow slithered past at some point and as a result, was howling frantically at the door this morning when my mom woke up.

So, my mom came in to tell me about Tessy's mini-adventure this morning, and of course, my response was, "Awww, what an idiot. Where is she?" and right as I said that, FWUMP. 11 pounds of omg-hello-happy-to-see-you black panther landed on my stomach and started nuzzling me in her adorably aggressive fashion.

So, I got dressed, had breakfast, and we loaded Tess into her carrier. She was not at all impressed with this. She started protesting before we were even out the door, and when she was actually in the car, oh man. Every other word of our conversation was punctuated by first indignant and then piteous howls from the back seat. Mom had to go to the chiropractor before we went to the vet, so while she was in there, I let Tess out of the carrier. She was much happier then. She romped all over the car, snuggled in my lap, purred at me rather happily. Amusingly, when she saw Mom emerge from the chiropractor's office, she growled.

So, we left her out of the carrier when we drove to the vet proper--she really, really hates the carrier, and my parents used to take her on road trips with them ~~till she got too round and plump to sit on their shoulders~~. She was okay at first, then she started freaking out. She was doing this weird thing where she was breathing with her mouth open and showing her teeth...not normal Tessy behavior. So, I picked her up, and once I was holding her, she calmed down.

...

Only to show her ass--literally--at the vet's office. She didn't try to shred anyone or anything, but she made her displeasure known. So, $60 later, she's got some antihistamines and antibiotics to take. The vet thinks she's basically got a kitty cold. She was exhausted by the end of the visit, and rode on the back of the seat with as much dignity as she could summon on the way home, periodically punctuating the conversation with quiet, sullen commentary. I carried her inside, where she comforted herself with food and water, and then took up residence on my our bed.

All in all, she doesn't seem to be holding a grudge, surprisingly. Of all our cats, Tessy is the most, well, catlike. She's got the strongest sense of dignity, and has a temper--if you tease or rumple her in some way, she's likely to cut a bitch. She likes affection and attention, but on HER terms only. I figured she'd be mad for at least a couple hours when we brought her home, but if she IS mad, she's not mad at me. Typically, when she sleeps with me, she sleeps at the foot of the bed, close enough to be near her human but certainly not so close it implies that she really wants attention. But when I took a nap this afternoon, I woke up with her curled right up against my ribs, purring loudly. And now she is asleep at the foot of the bed, with Roo (who hates me, WTF) asleep against my legs.

Cats are weird.

Syfy's "Alice"

2009-12-08T04:06:05Z

GodDAMN.

Yes, that's a Batty Koda icon.

2009-12-07T17:35:44Z

I am completely baffled. My Spanish professor just emailed me to give me my class and lab average, and apparently I missed the labs for chapter nine. I've never missed a lab in there. She always says, "Oh, bee tee dubs, you've got a lab due at midnight on such-and-such." I then go and do said labs, usually with some grumbling and swearing, because doing online assignments is ridiculously hard for me. When it comes to doing work ON the webbernets, my attention span is decidedly lacking, plus there's always like a minus three margin for error. So, baffled, I went and checked, and sure enough, I'd missed the chapter nine lab. I don't know how I managed that. I mean, I never miss a lab in Spanish.

So, because of that, I'll likely have a C in Spanish. Certainly a C in the lab. And a C in chemistry unless the gods are feeling especially generous--I did make a 51.5/53 on that final report, which is pretty badass, and we made As on both of the oral reports. I'm hoping for an A in micro, because, well, it'd be embarrassing to have anything less, but either way, no dean's list this semester. And I don't caaare.

Depression sucks, man.

Speaking of grades, finals start this week. My Spanish final (the one I am most dreading, because that sonofabitch is CUMULATIVE) kicks things off on Thursday at fuck-o'clock in the morning. Then my microbiology exam is on Friday morning, and my chemistry exam is on Monday. I need to ace all of these finals. Microbiology for the satisfaction...Spanish and chemistry so I can GTFO.

And then next semester.

Have I discussed the MADNESS that is my schedule next semester?

I'm taking 18 hours, which is a first for me. Botany, Anatomy & Physiology II, Gen Chem II, whatever math class comes after Algebra, whatever-music-class-translates-to-CHOIR, aaand...canoeing. As my gym class. It's for one weekend sometime in March.

That's insane enough.

But my actual weekly schedule?

AHAHAHAHAHAHA*sob*

I will have class from 9AM until 5PM, with ten minutes between each class, Mondays and Wednesdays. Fridays's a bit kinder--I'll be done at 1:50, so I'll have time to eat lunch. Sort of. Tuesday and Thursday I have just the math class at 9, and on Tuesday I'll also have chemistry lab. Thursday, though...the day will be largely free. When she put together my schedule, Tracey came and sat next to me in lab and said, "you'll hate me next semester."

But I think I'll be happy with it. I prefer semesters where I'm quite busy. Less time for me to get into trouble. I can't fool myself into thinking I have more time than I do. If I go too long without having something due, or something to work on, I get mopey and floppy and depressed. Then I get scattered.

Anyway.

I have a phone interview today for a camp in Virginia. It's a Girl Scout camp. The director is interested in me for the Arts and Crafts Manager position. Finally, a supervisor position! The photos of the camp look beautiful; there's a river that runs through it, and the arts and crafts building is a big stone lodge that is called, appropriately, "Stone Lodge." The director herself is very friendly; I feel as though she is quite interested in me, based on her enthusiasm and excitement when I went ahead and submitted the application the day after she emailed me. Of course, thisamricanlife just said that a camp in her area is looking for both a nature specialist AND a camp director. Either of which would be totally, totally sick and awesome.

So.

Whaaat.

2009-12-04T17:44:24Z

alexandraerin had this in her journal, with a request to boost the signal. Ergo, I will boost it.

Story here.

MU reader/supporter lunakitten has requested a signal boost for a friend who's in a bad place due to a life-changing accident and life-threatening insurance dickery...There is a Paypal button, but I think at this point his best hope of a resolution may be attention. They're trying to get some support from the media. Passing the YouTube videos around will probably help.

Unless you're really absolutely truly obscenely wealthy, you could be Kevin. No matter how good a job you may have or how much money you have saved up, you could contract an illness or suffer an injury that costs you your job and depletes your money. Therefore, you owe it to yourself to help make sure that society takes care of those who find themselves in that sort of situation. Be selfish this holiday season. When you hear a story like Kevin's... pass it along, loud and often."

TSO

2009-12-03T18:09:53Z

Last night was...it was staggeringly, breathtakingly, heartpoundingly, eyes-wateringly (now I'm really stretching the adverbs) amazing. The whole night, from start to finish. My sister came and picked me up and we had a lovely chat on the drive back to Raleigh. We went out to eat with a large crowd of people--mostly RPD officers, people she and Dave know. It was a pleasant dinner; I had some pleasant TWO (talk with Officer) time with Dave. I'm so happy he and Jess are so happy together. Seeing the radiant-but-peaceful look of love and happiness in my sister's big brown eyes when she looks at her giant blonde Viking of a boyfriend makes me smile every time, without fail.

If you don't know the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and specifically their first CD...basically, the first CD is a collection of music, some of it arrangements of classic Christmas music, some of it original. The whole thing is basically a story. There's a magnificent narrator with this deep booming voice who punctuates the songs with pieces of the story--basically, the story is that, on a Christmas Eve, a man goes into a bar, and a stranger comes and sits next to him to tell him a story. The story is that, one Christmas Eve, an angel was sent down to find something special, by God. The something special is basically...love, something really amazing. And all of the songs are an expression about the angel's journey over the Earth, following this strangely beautiful music he keeps hearing. Some of their pieces are instrumental; some of them have vocals.

There are three songs on this first album that have always just KILLED me. One is the song most people know of TSO's, even if they don't know it's TSO. If you listen to the radio at all during the holiday season, you've probably heard that one really SICK arrangement of Carol of the Bells, called "Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24". (Yes, go listen to it.) It's incredibly powerful, and, hell, Carol of the Bells is an amazing piece even WITHOUT TSO's godlike qualities. The other two are the opening/closing pieces--"An Angel Came Down" and "The Angel Returned". When the opening notes for "An Angel Came Down" began, I gasped and then sighed, and my sister glanced at me, and just smiled. The light show was amazing, and the vocals were stunning--the singer had this deep, rich baritone that filled the arena with little effort. He sang with such passion, such feeling, and I suddenly started to GET the story, to understand what was being said.

The next several songs were amazing. The light shows and pyrotechnics were breathtaking--I sat there and just grinned like a little kid. When it began to snow during "The First Snow", and when the screens had flashes of marching nutcrackers during "A Mad Russian's Christmas", I was absolutely thrilled.

But I was waiting.

I didn't know why "Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24" was called that. I just knew it was a really sick arrangement of "Carol of the Bells", which is one of my favorite pieces of holiday music ever. But last night--last night, I got it. And it took my breath away. In the progression of the story, the angel flew over a place where the land was scarred, and the people were scarred, and where children had once played, soldiers marched. Where people were punished for celebrating, where their God had told them to kill, and the angel was stunned and saddened by this, for he had spoken to God many times, and God never said to kill anyone. But "from the dark, the sound of a lone cello"--and that is how "Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24" starts off, with a deep, low, cello. And then it exploded. There were all these screens, like a gazillion TV sets that they used as part of the light show and general awesomeness. And when the song kicked into high gear, all of those screens were flashing pieces of footage of different political figures, war zones, etc, over and over again. It was stunning, sobering. Then, they began showing the flags of the world. Also incredibly powerful. I forgot to breathe a few times during that number. And nearly cried.

I also nearly cried when the opening chords to "The Angel Returned" were played. It's such a beautiful song. I can't even fully explain why. It just makes me really, really happy. I mean, ALL of it did...it's brilliant music, the performance skills were phenomenal, the light show and the pyrotechnics and the displays and everything was just stunning. They're brilliant artists. I understand why my sister agreed so readily to go again, and why she smiled so contentedly and said, "Absolutely" when I said "CAN WE COME AGAIN NEXT YEAR?!"

The second half of the show pulled from their other albums, with some stuff from their newest album. I will be buying that new album as soon as I can. The music was amazing. They introduced one piece, and said, "the lyrics are in Latin...enjoy...Carmina Burana!" and I couldn't help it, I gasped. Jess glanced at me and grinned this little crooked grin at me. But...BUT...CARMINA BURANA oh my God. Y'all know how I feel about that. And I still knew the words, and I sang it as they did. Oh, it was amazing, it was wonderful, it stole my breath away. It was so exquisitely wonderful and happy and--gah!

They ended with honest-to-God fireworks in the RBC Center. FIREWORKS. And a reprise of "Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24" that was fed into by a killer Beethoven piece. It was...it was stunning.

And my sister won't let me pay her back for the ticket. She said, simply, "Nnneh. It's an early Christmas present."

It was amazing. I keep saying that, but...it was really, really was.

I am so goddamn awesome sometimes.

2009-11-30T05:10:33Z

On explaining vaccination versus actually contracting a disease:

"...[your body] reacts the same to something dead as it does to something living--if it's foreign, bitch is gonna die. But because it's dead, your immune system can respond, and get your body's defense against it set up, rather than responding and trying to get a defense mobilized while the pathogens are setting up camp and fucking things up. See the difference? It's like the difference between having your windows and doors barred before the zombies get there versus trying to do hand-to-hand combat with them."

I AM AWESOME.

Also, meet the newest members of the batbatbat family.

I AM AWESOME WITH AWESOMESAUCE ON A TOASTED AWESOME SEED BUN.

cielamara @ 2009-11-25T22:55:00

2009-11-26T03:55:01Z

One of those who-the-hell-are-you-anyway posts.

2009-11-24T21:18:46Z

You know how sometimes people on your flist post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when were they working THERE? Since when were they dating HIM/HER? Since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you should already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.

*if you want to know anything else, or want me to elaborate further, please ask.

01. FIRST NAME
Nikki. Sometimes called Goose. Sometimes called Cielly, Ciel, Cielakitty, Cielamonster.

02. AGE
23.

03. LOCATION
Currently: the Sandhills region of North Carolina. Before that, I was in Asheville, North Carolina. I am currently living at home, with the cats and the parental units.

04. OCCUPATION
Penniless academic. (Undergraduate, majoring in biology.)

05. PARTNER?
None. I fired the last one several months ago. He couldn't seem to understand that you have to talk to someone once in a while for it to be a relationship.

06. KIDS?
None of my own. I get paid to hang with a bunch of them during the summers, though. I have not decided if I want any of my own yet. I'll figure that out later.

07. BROTHERS/SISTERS
One gorgeous, insane older sister, Jessica. She has a boyfriend that she's making noises about marrying. His name is Dave. Dave is as gorgeous as she is, but is not insane.

08. PETS
Inside kitties:Tess (4, tuxedo), Aysel (3, odd-eyed albino), Roo (2, gray tabby), Maggie (unknown, gray tabby-with-no-tail). Tessy usually sleeps with me at night, and is very aggressively affectionate toward me.
Outside kitties: Penny (13, ginger tabby), Fat Baby (8, tortie).

09. LIST THE 3/5 BIGGEST THINGS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE
1. I am STILL IN COLLEGE. But I have a very good idea of what I want to do with my life.
2. I make jewelry and occasionally manage to sell it.
3. I'm living at home and haven't killed anyone yet.

10. PARENTS
Alive and well. Still married.
...I ain't saying anything else.

11. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS?
zaianya will always be very special to me, even if we don't get to see each other as often as I'd like. loototherah and I have gotten pretty tight. wandereringray and nomadicdragon are as much sisters as they are my friends. Though I'm far from most of the people I love, the bonds are still pretty tight.

Batbatbat.

2009-11-11T06:48:38Z

I am a bat!

Discuss.

I've been busy.

2009-10-31T03:18:57Z

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33470879
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33451604
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33568442

I worked ridiculously hard on this trio.

I need to not look at them anymore.

If I lose the ability to laugh at myself, kill me.

2009-10-28T03:07:43Z

I had a lab report due today.

(As established in my previous entry.)

My first sign that the Universe Was Out To Get Me was when I opened the document and all my tables were gone. It wasn't a huge deal, I just had to transfer from the spreadsheets again.

I saved it, as a .docx, as an .rtf, and as an .odt. To make damn sure ONE of those would load properly.

After Spanish I got to work again to finish up the last bits and pieces. I opened it, yay, there were my tables! I finished it, and then emailed it to myself so I could print it.

I opened it on a computer in the computer lab.

Formatting borkage ahoy! Things were left-aligned and centered in the WEIRDEST places. Considering I justify everything except for the title page. And as I scrolled down...it was all I could do to keep from headdesking for realsies.

There were the places where my tables were supposed to be. Except instead of wee blank boxes, they were GIANT. RED. PIXELATED. Xs.

I shit you not. PIXELATED.

I attempted multiple document formats. NOTHING would load my tables properly. So I packed up my stuff and went to my instructor's office. I attempted to open it on her computer as well. The look of utter bemusement on her face when she saw that I was not lying about the giant red pixelated X-marks-the-spots was comical to say the least. So, I printed the document. Even more mystifying, the giant red Xs printed as well. It was like the text version of "SURVEY SAYS: NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!" from Family Feud.

I turned it in, and said, "I need a damn soda." So, I went to the vending machines. First, the machine tried to eat my dollar, but I bullied it into cooperation. Then, it finally spit out my Sprite. I leaned down to collect said soda. And somehow, as I was removing it from the little dispensing window, it cracked against the edge of the window and the can was PUNCTURED.

Which meant I got HOSED DOWN with Sprite.

I had soda DRIPPING OFF MY FACE. And down my shirt.

...

Yes, there were witnesses.
They laughed their asses off.

I was too busy trying to mop my face off to laugh at that particular moment.

Traceyisms

2009-10-19T16:06:26Z

Or: "Why I Love Microbiology So Much."

In the middle of a lecture on drug-resistant microbes: "Oh. Yeah. Um, I hurt my finger. So, uh, if you're seeing me bleeding here, I know I'm bleeding. The sink doesn't work and there aren't any paper towels, so, um, I'm just going to bleed for a while." She wanders over to the sink and pulls open a drawer. There are paper towels in there. She looks at us: "Well, the SINK doesn't work. It had a problem with linking and they cut it off sometime last year." She turns on the tap. Water comes out. "...Well, it didn't work LAST semester."

While discussing contamination of food: "I'm the weird annoying person in Wal-Mart who checks cans for dents. And to see if they're swollen. Swollen is bad. I had a friend who kept a swollen can of tuna in her cabinet for years while she was married to one of her husbands because she said she never knew when she might need it...I know, it's horrible."

While discussing upcoming labs: "When I taught part-time I sat in on the lab and did all of the experiments myself. Including sticking a swab up my nose. I cried a little."

While discussing...something we hadn't talked about before: "Are y'all wondering why I haven't mentioned this? No? I love it, y'all are like "Naaaah." I go home at night and think I've done such a good job teaching, and then I see the tests and know that y'all heard NOTHING I said."

While discussing bacterial structures: "The can attach by these long conjugation pili and when they do, you get one that's a recipient (closed fist held up) and one (holds up other hand, finger pointing, brings them together with a snerk)...remind you of anything? (Pause) Wow. Y'all have really clean minds."

During the same discussion of bacterial reproduction: "Well. I was going to ask a question but then thought better of it. (Pause) I was going to ask, "What's the good thing about sexual reproduction?" That's...that's not a very biological question, is it."

At the beginning of class, referring to our presentations on diseases: "If you haven't signed up for a disease yet, and would like one...(pause, giggle)"

Randomly: "Oh! I have to tell you a story! Can I tell you a story? This is like a commercial break, but in class."

In lab, preparing for the aforementioned swabbing of the noses: "When I sat in on the lab when Mr. B taught it, he said to stick it two inches up into the nose. And my reaction was (voice goes squeaky) "HOLY SHIT! MY NOSE ISN'T EVEN TWO INCHES LONG! I'LL BE SWABBING BRAIN MATTER!"
"I will help you swab your throats. But you're on your own for your nose. There are some things I just won't do."

Discussing people interviewing for a job: "Lemme ask y'all something. (Huff) If you're interviewing at a SOUTHERN SCHOOL, would you say anything to insinuate that southern schools are inferior to northern schools? I mean, if you're interviewing with me, surely it'd only take you a few minutes to figure out from LISTENING TO ME TALK where I come from." (Strong but lovely Tennessee accent on this woman.)

While I was in her office, asking her questions about how immunity works: (Sigh) "All right, let me get out one of the complicated textbooks."

A post about my cats, because I can.

2009-10-18T04:40:19Z

What's the best thing about living with cats?

Having warm purring furry lumps stationed somewhere in your bed at night. I swear, I sleep better with cats around.

When I first moved home again, I could not get a single wretched beast in this house to sleep with me. Aysel and Roo predominantly slept with my parents, Maggie is deeply attached to her couch and her little pink bed (we bought this RIDICULOUS pink cat bed for Aysel because he likes pink things, but he got bored with it after like, two weeks), and Tessy...well, Tess is Tess. She lurks in various and sundry places all over the house, usually glowering at anyone who walks by. This applies to humans as well as other cats...Tessy is often rather moody.

But the last several nights, for perhaps a week and a half now, she has nudged open my door and crept in, tail twitching, green eyes bright in the dense blackness that is her fur. She'll spring up lightly onto the bed, and depending on her mood, she'll either look at me casually as if to say, "Oh, fancy seeing you here" before curling up somewhere on the bed--the first few nights, she chose the far corner of the foot of the bed, furthest from me. Or else she'll jump up and say, "Oh, hai", and look at me, the end of her tail flicking slightly, till I make kissy noises at her, at which point she'll creep up the bed toward me as if it were her idea all along that I should pet her. She will, after she has had her fill of affection, curl up somewhere, where I can watch her settling into sleep. Black cats are particularly adorable when they sleep; with her eyes closed and chin tucked, all you see is dense soft darkness.

Aysel, on the other hand...he has also joined us at night on occasion, though in different ways. He creeps in just as casually as Tessy does, though he's not always looking to nest. Sometimes he has to explore. He'll jump up onto the dresser and carefully pick his way through the heaps of things there, sending things crashing in that inexplicable manner of his. I inevitably have to shout at him, which gets me a blank, somewhat perplexed look. Why would I want to yell at him? his look asks. When at last he sleeps, it is inevitably on the heap of discarded mattress pad in the corner--camouflage for him, because it is white and so is he. When he sleeps, if you can't see the pinks of his ears, he is very well hidden.

In other news, I have a story for NaNoWriMo and it is not any of the options I presented to you fine folk. It hit me this past week. A girl who is battling insomnia is taken away each night by undefined entities because the lack of sleep--combined with some sort of sleeping draught that is clearly not working to make her sleep--is opening her mind to such things. Might as well capitalize on the insomnia I've been battling, ja?

Life, the universe, Photoshop, and NaNoWriMo-09.

2009-10-07T19:24:42Z

I have been busy in Photoshop.
(Speaking of which, does anyone, uh, happen to have a key for it? My googlefu and torrentfu have both failed me thus far. And...and...I just want to be able to keep it and love it forever. I will make you whatever pretty thing you want if you give me the hookup. For serious.

BEHOLD!

This one was inspired by Kate Miller-Heidke's song "The Last Day On Earth". (Yes, THANK YOU, kitten_wrangler, I have enjoyed her stuff SO much!) It's a beautiful song and it makes me think of all things really bittersweet and romantic.

This one is fairly self-explanatory. Being smart IS being sexy.

Well, it IS. And I loved this picture.

straysparrow's collection of science userpics made me want some of my own. I still really want to steal that "science is like witchcraft for geeks" one, though. This is just the beginning of the science userpics, y'all. And now I have test tube brushes to use basically everywhere.

Anyone ever read the poem for this one? "Dream Within A Dream" by Poe?

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Yes, I made this one because of the Lab Douchebag. I am inappropriately pleased with myself because of it.

I really just wanted a hot-chick-in-a-lab-coat userpic, NGL. Lab coats are awesome. And I sincerely hope I have many, many excuses to wear them in the future. Though the micro coat is a bit awkward. It's very big on me, except through the chest, which is why I had to go to that size to begin with. And the snaps are really flimsy, so you move or twist and they open, even if there wasn't much strain on the fabric. The fabric at least is pretty neat, it's Teflon, so if one happens to splatter oneself with crystal violet, one's clothing isn't ruined. (Hands, though? They'll be purple three days later, not even joking.) So the sleeves are all billowy and stuff...luckily, they're cuffed, so I don't catch myself on fire on our ~~Olympic torches~~ burners. With any luck, I'll have better lab coats in the future.

So, it's October. Which means it's the month before NaNoWriMo begins. I've done NaNoWriMo in varying levels since 2005; some years I've done very well, and other years, nothing's really happened. So, therefore, I poll you:

View Poll: NaNoWriMo

Also, WTF AT ALL THIS HTML FAIL

On the subject of environmental bio.

2009-10-07T02:03:59Z

So, I've been thinking about my environmental biology class. In concept it's pretty cool. You know, sustainable living, environment, stuff like that. The problem is, I'm not learning anything I didn't already know. And the class is annoying, to be perfectly honest. I'm just not feeling it. It's not giving me what I wanted. So!

View Poll: #1467536

Edited to add: I love my flist. There are as many people who are mad about not getting tickies as there are people answering yes or no.

cielamara @ 2009-10-05T23:46:00

2009-10-06T04:19:29Z

So. Once upon a time you could do all kinds of whacky custom shit to your LJ. Like, I don't know, change your background and header and stuff. Where is the link for those options? http://www.livejournal.com/customize/options.bml is failing to give me what I want. And I just reacquired Photoshop, y'all, plus about a thousand brushes. That...may not actually be much of an exaggeration. I randomly googled PS brushes and there was a website with a list of 100 totally badass brushes, and ohmigod, I died. I am so frequently a PS snob; I like making my own brushes, but there are just some things I can't do, like those really cute little swirls you see everywhere. (If I could just figure OUT how they do it...and if I had a working camera and a Wacom, I'd be SO HAPPY, you guys. Seriously.)

Oh, fall break. I spent most of my day in bed. I'm trying to get rid of a pinched nerve in my lower back, so I used that as an excuse to do fuck-all today. Literally. I got up for food and to shower mostly. As a result, yay, my back isn't hurting like a little bitch anymore. It was a good day for it. The air was cool and a little damp, and everything outside was dripping and cold with periodic rain. Never a heavy rain, just the quiet whispery kind that renders everything a little softer, a little gentler. I adore weather like this. It has this quieting effect on my mind, making me snuggle into whatever's available and enabling me to mentally roost somewhere and be still. It was just so unbelievably nice to have the house to myself, to be alone, to be able to play my music and to not worry about anyone or anything except for the cats. And I have another day of pure solitude tomorrow. I've needed this.

D'awwww.

2009-10-02T02:49:55Z

So, for those of you who don't know this, my sleeping arrangements are a bit...odd. See, I have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies that surface in some odd ways, and my bed is the subject of a few of them. I have this thing about the bed being made. It has to be made at all times. And by made I mean, sheets and stuff pulled up, comforter pulled up...presentable. As a result, I really hate to sleep, you know, between the sheets, as that means my bed is Not Tidy and must be fixed as soon as possible. And because I apparently do Russian folk dances in my sleep, my bed is always a tangle in the morning.

...Ergo, I sleep on top of the comforters, usually with just a single blanket in the summer, or a squirrel's nest of old comforters in the summer. I like to be able to either drape my blanket just so in the summer, or completely entomb myself in the winter.

Yes, I know, I'm a freak. So are you, or else we wouldn't be friends. WHADDYA GOT TO SAY TO THAT, HUH, PUNK?

Anyway.

Aysel, that sweet odd-eyed babyboycat of mine, came in here and pranced up onto the bed while I was working on the dead people chart for BIO-140. And he prowled around, looking for mischief as usual, and I made kissy noises at him as usual. He was being silly, so I pulled back the edge of the comforter and threw it over him. I expected him to squirm out from under it.

Nope. There's the cutest little catloaf under there, white fur poking out, and periodically he'll do one of those stretches that look like they feel SO good, and a pink nose will poke out with sleepy eyes and twitching whiskers, and then he'll disappear again, till the next time I rub his belly. Then he'll purr like nobody's business, and I will coo and be utterly, gently content.

Hmmm.

2009-09-22T14:43:26Z

I have bottles of BPAL to sell, but I've never sold anything on the forum before. I have no idea what the prices should be.

10ml Scherezade, 50%, gorgeously aged
5ml Luna, tested like 3 times maybe
5ml November, tested twice
5ml Rage, 50%
5ml Sophia, 50%
5ml Red Moon, 80% I think

So...anyone want one? Or have suggestions for prices? I read over the sticky in the Sale forum, but I was like "wat" after about five lines.

Musicapalooza!"

2009-09-22T02:33:29Z

So, along the lines of the "feed me music" post, I decided to upload some of my favorite artists+songs for your ~~piracy~~ amusement. Because I'm nice like that.

Azam Ali
Endless Reverie
The Tryst
I discovered Azam Ali at Barnes and Noble back in the spring. I like to wander through various sections and pick up CDs at random to listen to them. She's an Iranian artist and Wikipedia classifies her as "world", but also "rock" and "New Age". I'd say all of the above are appropriate, plus "pure sex", if that can be called a genre. She's got a stunning voice, very clear and sweet, and she can DO things with her voice that show that beautiful Middle Eastern background. Her music manages to be both very sexy and sultry, and very beautiful in a romantically medieval sort of way. (One of the albums I have has a distinctly medieval feel to it; she sings in Latin and it's gorgeous.)

Balligomingo
Privilege
Sweet Allure
Wild Butterfly

Balligomingo is fun to say, isn't it? Balligomingo was on a musical accompaniment to Brian Froud's artwork that I found several years ago, along with Paul Schwartz, who you will meet later. The music is...well, it's hard to classify. It's got electronica lurking beneath the surface, with some really great classical instruments, and some sincerely sexy beats. The vocals tend to be very dreamy and pretty--they get compared to Delerium because they like to use some of the same vocalists. It's music you can relax and dream to, but also music for sexing someone up. I kind of like multipurpose music like that.

Bel Canto
Capio
Mornixuur
Unicorn
Without You

I don't remember how I came across Bel Canto, but I am damn glad I did. This is music that stirs up the fairytales of the soul. The genre is called "dreampop", and it's kinda similar to, say, Dead Can Dance, but Bel Canto's just...a class unto themselves. Maybe because they're Norwegian? I don't know. The lead singer has this gorgeous voice, almost operatic at times, and their albums are almost like little worlds. The four songs I've posted are from two different albums; you'll notice that they sound quite different. "Without You" and "Capio" are from an album called "White-Out Conditions", which is basically...winter in an album. Cold, mournful, utterly romantic. "Unicorn" and "Mornixuur" are from "Shimmering, Warm and Bright", and it's like a rollicking summerland fairytale in an album. They're both stunning.

Bliss
Breathe
Kissing

I heard Bliss for the first time when I was listening to the chillout station on DI.fm, "Kissing". I went nuts. It was so utterly dreamy and sweet and mellow, and I had to be content with just that one song till I found the album in Barnes & Noble, which I totally paid full-price for. The other song isn't actually on the US release of the album. I had to commit piracy for some of the really awesome songs. The group is Dutch, but they've got some gentle African influences in there. Not all of the songs have vocals, but the ones that do feature this dreamy, husky female vocalist...it's music to drift and dream to. (But not without personality. I like my ambient/chillout to have some spine.)

Chicane
Locking Down
Love On The Run
Stoned In Love

I was being very good by not totally flooding this post with everything Nick Bracegirdle ever even thought about producing. Chicane was my first trance love, and remains one of the great musical loves of my life to date. Chicane's music, to me, has a distinct sound...maybe it's a particular machine or program he uses when he's mixing music, but I can tell a Chicane mix from others. The songs he produces himself are all amazing and wonderful, basically...good beats, great songs. Trance with some depth. And he tends to pick good vocalists--he put Justine Suissa on the map as far as trance vocalists go.

Darren Hayes
A Conversation With God
Darkness
Dublin Sky
I Just Want You To Love Me
Time Machine
Unlovable

I had such a hard time both limiting myself and deciding which songs to pick for this guy. Most of you probably don't recognize the name, but if I say "HEY REMEMBER SAVAGE GARDEN, THEY SANG THAT TRULY MADLY DEEPLY SONG THAT WAS ON THE RADIO FORFUCKINGEVER", most people go "OHHH YEAH I REMEMBER THAT SHIT!". Yeah, well, this is the lead singer of Savage Garden, as a solo artist. And while I adored Savage Garden's stuff, Darren Hayes, as a solo artist, has gone miles and miles and miles beyond what Savage Garden stuff. He buries incredibly poignant and moving lyrics behind sexy dancy beats and pophappy melodies and that AMAZING falsetto of his. His first solo album was GREAT. His second album was FUCKING AMAZING. His third album blew me away. You've got songs from the second and third available to you here, because if I'd gotten into the first album, we'd've been here all night with this guy.

Edwina Hayes
Feels Like Home
Irish Waltz
Waltzing's For Dreamers

Her song "Feels Like Home" was in the "My Sister's Keeper" soundtrack, and that was where I first heard her. I turned to Rachna and said "I WANT THIS SONG!" Amazon gave me the hook-up. She's pretty much straight folk, with very simple accompaniment--she doesn't need much fuss, her voice is clear and sweet as a bell--and she's the newest love of my musical life. Very lovely voice, great songs. Catchy tunes.

George Winston
Colors-Dance
Too Much Between Us

Someone in the NaNoWriMo chat recommended him to me when I was looking for some plain piano music. I heard "Too Much Between Us" and musicgasmed and died. Plain piano music isn't exactly the right word. I mean, it's piano, straight piano, but it's not simple, it's beautiful and intricate without being pretentious and it's got so much emotion wrapped in between each and every note. I love him and you should too.

Hooverphonic
Inhaler
Someone

Hooverphonic was introduced to me years and years ago by Alex the Cellist. I didn't pay enough attention then. Then Laurel-Badger sent me their cover of "Shake the Disease", which is one of the sexiest songs ever, and I was hooked. I promptly went out and acquired every album ever, which made selecting just two songs kind of difficult. They're a funky group. Electronica, but...dreampoppy, synthpoppy, with quirky lyrics and a lovely dreamy, breathy female vocalist. It's happy music, and sexy at times.

Paul Schwartz
Earthbound
Nevermore

Paul Schwartz is kind of a brilliant musician. He's got a couple of albums out. His Aria series deals with..."tweaking"...classic pieces (usually of the choral or operatic variety) so that they're just a tad more accessible. The music's clearer, the vocals are clearer, the beat's a little peppier...but the original genius of the music is still intact. The songs I've posted, however, are from his album "Earthbound", which is original compositions to the best of my knowledge. It falls under "New Age", but...it's just...it's just gorgeous. Beautiful vocals; this is another example of music that brings the fairytales in the soul to life. Unlike anything else I know.

Soul Whirling Somewhere
In On
Nani
The Wedding

Soul Whirling Somewhere is another damn artist that's hard to properly explain. On one hand, it's the saddest goddamn music I've ever heard. On the other hand, it's so utterly, profoundly soothing, but moving, and he's got this sexy husky voice, with beautiful instrumentals, and the lyrics are like something out of someone's journal, real and bleeding with emotion, and...it's hard to explain. It's gorgeous. Go listen to it.

Ulrich Schnauss
Nobody's Home
Gone Forever
Never Be The Same
Shine
Stars

Ulrich Schnauss was given to me by He Who Is Not To Be Named. First "Nobody's Home", then "Gone Forever". Then I acquired the rest on my own. Definitely trance; usually more on the side of ambient trance than hard trance or breakbeat, though sometimes he bursts out with something rather intense ("Medusa" from his "Goodbye" album being a good example of this). He's got a certain tendency toward really dreamy, ethereal, rather indistinct vocals that hint at words that might be beautiful, but which you can never fully catch.

Way Out West
Killa
Northern Lights

Way Out West was also given to me by He Who Is Not To Be Named. It was absolute musiclust at first listening. Even now, three years later, I'm STILL NOT TIRED of this stuff. It's AMAZING trance, very lush and vivid, great vocals, great beats. The entire album is amazing, and the two artists who make up Way Out West also have some hellaciously awesome solo work as well.

Goddamn, that took me like three hours to upload everything and to type it all up. Y'all best be downloading this here music and telling me how you feel about it. I want DETAILED OPINIONS, PEOPLE.

Also, I only had three instances of HTMLfail in this post. I am impressed with myself. I am also tired.