Floating Leaf

OK, so I know I didn't post anything here last weekend. Despite having every intention to do so. I'm not even sure how that happened, considering I actually had Monday off, so it was a long weekend. Said Monday was spent running some errands, which included applying for a passport. I still don't know for sure that I will actually get to use it - but there is a good chance that I might, and I want to be prepared just in case.:) Cryptic, I know. But I really don't like to talk about things that aren't certain - call me superstitious if you like... *shrug*

This weekend was shorter, but more productive, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that I am plagued by PMS (sometimes it makes you useless, other times it gives you tons of nervous energy that must find an outlet). I shopped, I cooked (twice!... well, cooked and then made a salad), I did laundry... I even watched a movie. David Cronenberg's Cosmopolis. Which is absurdly brilliant - or brilliantly absurd, however you want to look at it. I mean, for the first 5 minutes I was all, "OK, WHY did I decide to watch this?"... but then at some point I started clapping and squealing with laughter. Which possibly proves that my own sense of humor is nearly as twisted as Cronenberg's (or his favorite actor Viggo Mortensen's... LOL). Anyway... I loved it, as disturbing as it was, and I watched the entire lengthy "making of" featurette too, for good measure.:)

Also, summer seems to have finally arrived. As of yesterday. We barely had any spring to speak of, but apparently it's summer now. Who needs spring anyway - it's so last century... *sigh* Don't get me wrong - yesterday the weather was beautiful, and it felt sooo good to go outside in a summer outfit, for the first time in God knows how many months... but today was just grey, muggy and suffocating, much like it often happens here in July/August. No transition period whatsoever. It's like May has been cancelled, and we are stepping from early April right into late June, or something. But then, what do I know - it could be cold again tomorrow...

I just want nice weather two weeks from now - not necessarily here, even, only in New York City.:D Yes, I will be there in less than two weeks. O_O I try not to drive myself crazy angsting about various travel-related things (like going through airport security, for example - which I haven't done since 2009, and which is possibly much less pleasant now than it was at the time).

Oh, and I am also permanently distracted by Skype (honestly, I can only think of ONE day in the past week or two where I didn't send or receive any Skype messages at all). And the VC community on Dreamwidth (yes, I did help a certain someone prepare ANOTHER discussion post about The Vampire Lestat recently, why do you ask?...;P). And AO3, where I have put up a few of my Aragorn/Legolas ficlets. Which are getting lots of kudos, I might add. I also wrote another drabble in the VC fandom. So yeah, I definitely have enough stuff on my plate to justify letting my LJ participation lapse a bit. But I still feel bad about it... *sigh*

Another week hurtled by like a blazing comet.;) The highlights? OK, let's see...

1) The strange and mysterious ways of a menstrual cycle past the age of 40. If you can call that a "highlight". *snort* ( possible bit of TMI under the cut )

2) I will be going on a little weekend trip towards the end of May, to visit New York City and a certain lovely person who lives there (do I need to be any more specific?... yes, I mean the only person I keep mentioning here with alarming regularity since last summer, LOL). ( Read more... )

3) Met a friend for dinner on Friday. We hadn't seen each other in many months, so we had plenty of catching up to do. After bringing each other up to date on what's going on in our lives at present, we moved on to other mutual acquaintances - and let's just say I got a little more information than I bargained for, LOL. ( Read more... )

Okay... where do I start???... *takes a deep breath*

For the benefit of anyone who might care, or could possibly have been wondering about my atypical silence, here's the explanation: MY INTERNET CONNECTION DIED FOR TWO WEEKS. Yes, that's right. Two weeks. For no apparent reason. ( Read more... )

But, as fate would have it, those past two weeks have been quite eventful, and I probably would have been posting like crazy if I could... so now trying to squeeze it all into a single entry (because I don't know when I'm gonna have time for another one) seems like quite the challenge. I guess I'll just briefly point out the highlights, so to speak.

1) I spent last weekend at the texas_retreat. It was lots of fun, and I am amazed at how much effort the organizers of this event put into making it a great, memorable experience for us all. ( Read more... )

2) Watching Appaloosa was a delightful experience in itself, as well - except for Renee Zellweger's character, who simply didn't sit well with me, from start to finish. I wouldn't go as far as to say that she ruined the movie for me... but I found her intensely annoying. I'm glad she wasn't Viggo's love interest. *shudder* I wasn't too thrilled by the ending, either... but that's all I'm gonna say for now. No spoilers.:P

3) On October 29th Viggo will be in Chicago for the Good premiere at Chicago Film Festival!!!!! I was lucky enough to grab a ticket for the event soon after they came on sale, and I fully intend to take the day off, team up with akashaelfwitch and do some stalking.;P

4) Two days before that, on the 27th, I am scheduled for my citizenship exam (!!!). ( Read more... )

5) There were so many LJ posts I meant to respond to, and so many emails I meant to write, before I lost my internet connection that I seriously don't know where to begin. I will certainly try to catch up as best I can, but there is no telling now long it might take (my vacation is almost over, it's back to work on Monday, and for all I know, I'll probably be trying hard to keep sane until sometime in November... lol). So if you don't see a comment from me where you would normally expect to see it - or if you see one a week or two after you posted something - please don't think I've been ignoring you on purpose. I'll get there, hopefully, at some point. It's just that this is probably the craziest fall season of my (so far) relatively uneventful existence... *wipes brow*

Just a little update tonight. My trip to San Francisco is drawing near - I'm leaving on Thursday afternoon. I'll be meeting up with akashaelfwitch, namarie120, helynhighwater, elvishlady09 and ana_lib_elf; and possibly a few other people who live around the area. I can't wait to see everyone - especially Ana, whom I had never met in person, but whose writing style (and feedback to other writers, including my humble self!...;) I absolutely adore. I will be sharing her hotel room for two of the four nights, since Namarie's room was already pretty crowded before I decided to join in.:)

I hope to buy some yaoi books and do at least a little sight-seeing - but the main purpose of this trip, for me at least, is socializing with all the lovely ladies. I bet we will have plenty to talk about...:D

In other news, I can't believe how little I've been eating lately - very small portions and mostly just chicken/fish + veggies, without rice or pasta or any other 'stuffer' to fill myself up. And I don't really feel the lack. And I'm pretty sure my weight is dropping, even though I haven't exercised since I got my period last Wednesday. My coworker, who hadn't seen me since Thursday, told me this morning that my face looks smaller.(!) And so does my stomach, imho. I have no idea whether the scale would confirm it, but clothes don't lie, and some definitely feel less tight on me than they used to. Well... we'll see if they stay that way after the trip, I guess.:P But, as namarie120 wisely said, food consumed on vacation has no calories; so I will stop counting on Wednesday.:) Hopefully, my newly shrunken stomach is not going to suddenly start demanding more than it can take all over again...

Back from Toronto. Still alive.:D Though maybe a bit off balance. Emotionally, I mean. Like when you've been looking forward to something for a very long time... and then, all of a sudden, it's over. And you don't even know how that happened. *sigh*

For the record, I did see Viggo. Up close. On the red carpet. For about 30 seconds or so.;) I even scored an autograph.:P But there was no eye contact or anything personal to this encounter, really - thanks to the tall, lanky German woman right behind me, who monopolized his attention by showering him with gifts and generally doing everything short of pushing me out of the way (even though we'd been there - me and namarie120 and willowwing - minding our spots for several hours before she showed up). It was typical, really, and I am not surprised in the slightest - just a tiny bit chagrined, perhaps (I'm really good at the subtle art of understatement, aren't I?...). Though, from a more practical standpoint, it might have been for the best - because if he had actually looked at me or said something, I might not have been able to display any semblance of normal brain activity.;) I was pretty much half-paralyzed, holding on to the railing for dear life and clutching my copy of Coincidence of Memory with shaking fingers.:P

Anyway... he looked absolutely gorgeous, too good to be true somehow - and that could be why it didn't quite register with me that I'd really seen him. I'm still not sure I believe that he is an actual human being.;P

As for the movie, it was every bit as intense as I expected, and managed to surprise me a few times despite the fact that I had read all the spoilers.:P The violence in it is pretty graphic, true; but if HoV wasn't too much for you, EP won't be either. In both films every graphic, disturbing scene serves a purpose in character/plot development; and that is enough for me. There is no lack of psychological depth and interesting nuances. The entire cast is impressive, and the Russian accents sound very real too. All in all, a gripping, believable story that makes you feel for the 'bad' guys just as much as for the 'good' ones; even if they're not played by Viggo.;) I'm really looking forward to seeing it again... and again. Watching Viggo on the big screen is one of my favorite and all too rare pleasures, after all.:P

Another unforgettable aspect of the trip was getting to know willowwing, whom I had never met in person before and who is certainly one of the sweetest, kindest, most warm-hearted people I ever encountered. I don't think I've ever felt that relaxed and comfortable in the company of someone I barely know. It's a gift... and I think people like that were put on this earth specifically for the benefit of the shy and reserved.;) To gently and effortlessly pull them out of their protective shell and let them bask in the warmth of genuine, unconditional approval. The amounts of positive energy I could feel radiating from Willow during those few days have charged my battery for many weeks to come.:)

And that is really all for now. I could say more, but it's getting late and my brain is shutting down.;)

But before I nod off... ( here's the evidence I didn't actually dream up the whole thing )

Just booked my plane tickets for Toronto. Looks like I am REALLY going there. OMG. *blinks*

I am NOT going to think about the possibility of actually seeing Viggo in person, because that just might be a little bit more excitement than I can handle. *wibbles*

Shit, it's late. *shuts up and logs off*

So, it seems that the big LJ suspension scare is over. I was nervous there for a moment, even though my most questionable interest is probably "elladan/elrohir" - provided, of course, that the anti-freak police knows who they are and realizes they are actually brothers.:P Very fictional brothers, and certainly very mature (hundreds of years old... LOL), but still. I'm sure some people might possibly be offended at the idea of them having a sexual relationship. But then, some people seem offended by the very existence of gays, lesbians or transgendered individuals - which, of course, does not mean that said individuals should pretend not to exist. It is not possible to please everyone, and LJ is definitely not the place to start trying, IMHO.

That said, I sincerely hope I don't get suspended because I posted a few little ficlets implying twincest between Tolkien's characters. In fact, will probably post another one in the near future (if the muses continue to cooperate).:P

I have contemplated going "friends only" - but there are reasons I don't want to do that, so I'd rather wait until it becomes absolutely necessary. It's kind of sad that some people have to do that, IMO. Even if I totally understand why. I just used to think that LJ was this wonderfully open community, where you met new friends just because you were "out there" on the web... and well. Uhm. Yeah. It sort of isn't anymore. *sigh*

( In other totally irrelevant news: )

Here I go again...

( more Nola pics )

I've been mulling this over for a few days, but finally I decided that I will post some pictures from our trip. Not to emphasize the contrast between BEFORE and AFTER, but to remind everyone how breathtakingly beautiful this city used to be... and reinforce the hope that some day it might look like this again...

( New Orleans, two weeks ago )

Well... hello everyone (especially romi and gairid). I am back from my lovely vacation in New Orleans, Louisiana. And I totally mean it when I say it was lovely - up until last Saturday, when it suddenly turned into a nightmare. I guess I should consider myself lucky to be alive. And even luckier to be back in Chicago, instead of on top of some hotel roof or inside the Superdome. Because that's where I would be if we hadn't turned on the news on Saturday night. We had NO IDEA what was coming, and the locals (hotel reception, waiters, people on the streets) seemed to know no better. They said: oh, don't worry, just stay inside the hotel until the hurricane passes through, and you're gonna be just fine (should I add that our hotel room was on ground floor?). We almost believed them - up to the point of stocking up on dry snacks, water and alcohol to help us endure the obligatory confinement (we were originally supposed to leave on Monday afternoon, but our flight was rescheduled for Tuesday... and I really don't think there are any flights leaving NOLA on Tuesday, which happens to be right now - with the airport and 80% of the city under water!). Then we turned on the TV and saw a totally different picture. We went from vague excitement to cold nauseating fear within a half hour. We started calling around, and found out that not only are there no flights leaving the local airport any more, but also no buses, trains or rental cars available anywhere within our reach. We panicked. We made desperate calls to most of our family and friends in Chicago, begging for someone to come and get us - which probably wasn't the best idea in the first place, since it's a 15-hour drive and they might not have been able to enter the city at all by the time they arrived. Anyway... by some miracle, we finally found a taxi driver who agreed to take us to the nearest still active airport, which happened to be in Baton Rouge (80 miles away from New Orleans). He waited for us while we packed (I never knew I could pack that fast, lol). We paid him $200, which was nothing compared to what some other tourists from our hotel paid to get out of the city. Then we had to book our return flight, which cost us $650 per person (they only had first class, going through Memphis, Tennessee). And that is exactly what we had paid for the WHOLE trip (flights, hotel reservations and sightseeing tours) while ordering online. Not to mention the fact that I had to call my dad in the wee hours of Sunday morning, asking him to pay for my ticket, since I don't own a credit card. But FINALLY, after a full night of horrible tension and most of the next day spent in airport waiting areas or on planes, among other scared and exhausted people, we found ourselves back home - mesmerized in front of the TV, watching the news. Realizing only then what a narrow escape it really was (the airport in Baton Rouge closed down only a few hours after we left). Scared and grieving for the people who didn't make it on time. And for the city itself - that magical place that we fell so much in love with. I will write more about the positive aspects of our trip... and there were many (after all, we only left one day earlier than we had planned - and that was sheer luck as well). But right now I'm sort of not in the mood - which I'm sure anyone can understand. Besides, I still have a LOT of catching up to do as far as my Yahoo mailbox and flist are concerned... so I will write more when I'm ready. For now, thank you for caring about my safety, and I hope that other people you care about are safe as well. And gairid - I did send you a postcard, but I have no idea whether it actually left the city (I dropped it into the mailbox on Saturday). Who knows - maybe you'll get it in a couple weeks...;)