So I’m back in Seattle, and I’ve been taking today to regroup. It was sort of a tactic of last resort; I was so wiped out from the cross-country travel and I came home to … to … so much stuff, that I hardly knew where to begin. So I didn’t begin anything. I just took a day to take down all the Christmas paraphernalia, unpack all my stuff, catch up on all my mail, do some grocery shopping, clean the apartment, charge all my electronics, pay some bills, water some plants, and the like. And now, from this afternoon vantage point, tomorrow is looking a whole lot more manageable.

The holidays were great, by the way. I went to my dad/stepmom’s place in Kentucky (Leitchfield, about 30 miles from Elizabethtown) - where my little brother likewise joined us, fresh from his Copenhagen adventures (read all about ‘em on his webpage). Several sets of friends came and went, including (but not limited to) such fine folks as the Wygants and the Banks, as well as Meggo and Camron - the auxiliary son, to be deployed in case of emergency.

We played Catch Phrase for several hours. We ate lots of food, all of which was superlative. I went on a tour of Kentucky housepets - visiting such exemplary critters as this kitty in a tee shirt, the intractable Blaze, this 4-week-old puppy, as well as its siblings, and my brother’s cat, Mr. Peanut. Strangely enough, I seem to have no photos of me with any actual, yanno. People. But if you know me, you probably don’t find that terribly surprising.

And now I’m back in Seattle, with my lap currently occupied by Spain the Cat - who seems pretty happy with my return.

Speaking of the wee black monster, as I was going through the Christmas cards that had accumulated in my absence, I found one from the Pet Placement Center - which had apparently gotten my address from the paypal donation I sent them before Christmas. It was a sweet card, written by someone who seems to (possibly?) remember Spainy from her time there, back in 2001-2002.* It also mentions that in addition to all their usual full-house issues, the facilities are in rather dire need of repair - so all donations are more exceptionally welcome than usual.

Therefore, just in case any of you have leftover holiday cheer burning a hole in your digital pockets, I’m going to post a link to the donation page again. It’s right here. And remember that every little bit helps.

Anyway. Christmas was grand, but now it’s back to the grind for me. I hope everyone had a most excellent holiday season, and that the New Year holds many marvelous things in store for the lot of you.

---

* Spainy had been at this shelter for over a year when we adopted her in February of 2002.

[Crossposted to/from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]

Tags: misc

BookCrossing journal entry here.

( Thoughts behind the cut. Contains spoilers. )

Tags: 50 book challenge

I'd heard in the past, in much the same way one hears urban legends regarding missing kidneys and ice baths, that Ticketmaster charges completely unreasonable fees for their services in helping you procure a ticket to the live event of your choice.  The tales, while good for the occasional sleepover scare, never left me with more than a vague chill at the base of my spine - after all, large-scale live events were a rarity in Juneau, and those requiring Ticketmaster's services completely unknown. 

Suddenly, however, I find myself in a situation where I might actually wish to purchase tickets to a live event!  Hesitantly, I type in Ticketmaster's address, and navigate through the surprisingly easy-to-use interface, and select the seats I wish to purchase.

Then we get to the checkout page.

$41.50 x 2 tickets, base price.  (This was expected, obviously.)
$2.00 x 2 tickets, "facility charge".  (All right, the venue wants a cut, fine.)
$8.40 x 2 tickets, "convenience fee".  (WTF?!)

$103.80 for two tickets that were *supposed* to be $83.  Note the more-than-20%-markup.

But they're not done.  Oh, no.

Scrolling down to the "shipping" options, I see (placed first and highlighted) their "Most convenient delivery option:  Print your tickets whenever you want!".  For an additional $2.50.  Following that are various physical shipment options, all involving UPS and none less than $10 (for a couple of slips of paper?!), and then finally, at the very bottom, "Will call" (which requires the original purchaser holding the credit card used for the purchase and a government-issued ID) for no extra charge.

It gets better.

Scroll down further, and they offer the "opportunity" to make a donation to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, conveniently packaged with your Ticketmaster purchase.  Because Ticketmaster is such a generous institution, that they even offer a "Yes! Please send the more-than-one-fifth-of-my-ticket-price-that's-not-paying-for-the-actual-ticket to help those poor bald children in the cancer ward!"  No, wait, they don't, because that would actually require some sacrifice on their part.  As it is, they can claim altruistic intentions (prominently advertised is the claim that "100% of your donation goes directly to their program!"  That's, like, your whole donation!  And it all goes to the place you're supposedly donating to!) without putting forward one whit of effort.

Thank you, Ticketmaster.  You've made a believer of me.  I'll be doubly thankful the next time I'm traveling on business and someone offers to buy me a drink.

Tags: linkage, stupidity
Current Mood: slightly amazed

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Tags: philosophy
Current Mood: geeky

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Current Mood: recouperating

A gentleman I don't even know just dug away the three foot snow drift behind my car with a backhoe. When he was finished, he pulled in to the driveway where my mom usually parks (she had gone to the store) and told me that he was a friend of Miss Loretta (the next door neighbor) and he said since we help her out, he wanted to help us out. I thanked him profusely, and he went on his way.

I am so incredibly blessed.

Just a follow-up to my previous notice, with some photos from outside, taken this morning as I left for the office. I am astounded that I managed to get out of my miniature garage; getting back into it might prove quite the challenge.





The roads are nice and dry...but it's kinda like driving through a maze, with high walls all around you.

Tags: wonders of north dakota
Current Location: Grand Forks, North Dakota
Current Mood: flabbergasted
Current Music: The Doors - "Alabama Song"

I have been pretty much away from LJ for a week or so now (again). In party maybe because I use Twitter so much now for little updates, I then feel no need for big long ones. In part because I'm feeling a little antisocial as I deal with my downcycle of brain, and in part because I've become re-obsessed with Sims 3, and therefore spend and inordinate amount of time alternately playing it or swearing at it and storming away from the computer due to the latest crash or bug. (I just woke up to a lovely bug this morning, the game I'd hit "save and quit" before sleeping error'd the save. I lost over an hour of gameplay. Huzzah.)

I canceled my WoW account for now because of the anti-social and obsession with other things. I'm sure I'll be back.

I am getting a Mr. Printy of my own, however, and soon will be able to fix up all my old digital print files and offer real, artist quality prints. Not giclee but archival ink and high-res and such.

Of course further cranky ensues this morning as there was a glitch with Newegg over the weekend, and a first incarnation of the big EQUIPMENT JOY order that I CANCELED ON THEIR FREAKING WEBSITE NOT 10 MINUTES AFTER MAKING with the website even saying I was successful in canceling was still billed to us, and even SHIPPED this morning before I got my ass out of bed because I thought I had until the 9am PST that they listed as their time for customer service online chat to talk to them.

...for future reference for self: They only do online chat at 9am but they accept phone calls as of 5:30am and SHIP way before 9am too.


So yeah, this has possible nightmare written all over it. They're trying to get UPS to recall that first incarnation, but it's likely I'll have to get it, then return it. I'm worried there will be more errors though and that BOTH shipments, the bad and the good, will be recalled and I'll have a delay in getting Mr. Printy.

Bleh. Dumb morning is dumb. But being able to print on demand ALL my digital photographs and any digital art I do? YAY! Then all I'll need is actual paying customers visiting my site!

Tags: art, games, geekery, sims 3, studio, technical difficulties, technology

Check it out, the feature interview with Offbeat Bride is up!

Tags: omg getting married

Sometimes, W, when there's absolutely no other evidence, you can still know whether someone's telling the truth or not, from all else they've said.

That's what I say,
    The Universe

Tags: phi-lotus-phy, quotes
Current Mood: amused

Specifically, baaaaaaaby Moorhens!

( Momma included, free of charge )

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Tweets from a feathered dragon

• 10:56 @pdxfoodcarts if more carts follow the bigasssandwiches model on twitter I'm going to be fairly annoyed. #
• 15:45 I think the #undiebomber was a clever ploy to inconvenience us and create more inefficiency. And maybe hate our government more. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

Dear Mom,

Thanks for the well meaning dating advice, however horribly backward and wrong and insensitive it was. If someone had told me at 14 that at 31 my mother would still be telling me that "guys won't buy the cow when they can get the milk for free", I'd have redoubled my suicide efforts back then.

*rolls eyes*

Has it ever occurred to you, considering that I'm the one who ends most of my relationships, that I'm the one choosing not to buy the bull when I can just rent the stud service? To my credit, I managed to bite my tongue and say nothing.

Consider my restraint a belated Christmas present.

Feministically,

Bob

****************************************

Dear Aphrodite,

Thank you. Thank you for long chats and phone conversations that make me feel like a giddy teen again.

Can we do something about the weather, please? If I have to wait 'til Spring, I'm going to go crazy!

Pleadingly,

Amber

***************************************

Dear Smog,

I never would have thought that the most loved Christmas present you'd receive from me when you were eleven years old would be dinosaur covered footie pajamas. Thank you for being my little boy for at least a bit longer.

You'll always be my baby.

Mom

*************************************

Dear Weather,

Everyone thinks a White Christmas now and then is kind of cool. No one likes a White New Years Eve. Please to be going away, because the roads are already scary enough that night without your assistance. I know I'm likely staying home that night, but I want all my friends to be safe.

Thanks,

Bob

*************************************

Dear Libido,

Hush, you. Not much to be done about things, so you can really back off a bit. There's only so much a girl can handle.

Threateningly,

Bob

Tags: random letters

Holy shit, almost a month without posting on the journal? Bad Kyra.

I have either nothing to say, or far too much to say, so, bullets:

* I have two A's, one B, and one B- for fall semester. I am very happy with this. Apparently my research papers were especially good, which is, well, awesome, considering how much work I put into the lacustrine-environments one.

* Ceramics was the B, and in the final critique we discussed strategy in terms of what I needed in terms of structure in the class next semester; result is, I now have deadlines every two weeks or so for how much stuff I'm supposed to get done. This will hopefully be an improvement on the tendency I had to let work pile up at the last minute for the two due dates I had this semester.

* Next semester I have Renaissance art history, painting, ceramics, and sculpture. And portfolio review, which sort of scares me.

* Was dragged to my aunt's place for the family Christmas party yesterday. Was surprisingly tolerable, although she only talked to me three times and all three were to brusquely snap at me over something; on the plus side, I was in a social mood, not too sleepy (Mom does not like me sleeping at family gatherings and tends to wake me up at random points and otherwise make me physically uncomfortable), and my cousin who's a truck driver was there. We had a nice talk; unfortunately his truck was not there as it apparently has a tendency to get stuck on the road out there in winter, but I'll get to see it one of these days.

* I have an MP3 player now, which is cool (albeit the default screensaver is annoying as fuck and I have no idea how to turn it off), and an iTunes gift card, which hopefully I can find some file-conversion software---I would have to burn the songs to CD and rip them off in MP3 format for them to play on a non-iPod, and my computer has not consented to burn anything in about three years. Still looking into that.

* It appears that it is Norton Antivirus that is preventing various of my programs from accessing the internet. I don't recall doing anything with Norton Antivirus since the subscription ran out four years ago and I replaced it with AVG. It is, apparently, quite hard to remove. I am less than happy. One of the programs it blocks is SketchUp, so I can't add furniture models into the houses I make.

* Scanner is apparently dead. Or at least having an almighty sulk. Not sure yet.

Tags: computer woes, life

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Pictures from The Longest Night Ball are up here:

http://www.russmattphoto.com/store/longest/index.html

My pictures are specifically here:

http://www.russmattphoto.com/store/longest/slides/DSC_0026.html

http://www.russmattphoto.com/store/longest/slides/DSC_0028.html

You can see the new Corset of Doom, my satin skirt project, and my bizarre headdress & ribbon mask combo in these. I had a great deal more fun than I look like I'm having... I honestly just look vaguely uncomfortable in these. Hmmm.

And the awesome group shots of alrescate, apocalypticbob, berkie, rowangolightly, and bountifulpots are here:

http://www.russmattphoto.com/store/longest/slides/DSC_0032.html

http://www.russmattphoto.com/store/longest/slides/DSC_0035.html

That last shot is beyond stunning, by the way. It's chock full of stunning hotness, and it's the one I'll be ordering a bigger copy of, when fundage allows. Easily my favorite.

In case you couldn't figure it out, alrescate was Moon, I was Sun, and bountifulpots was Stars. rowangolightly was Queen Mab, and berkie...I think she was Lust? That's what I've decided, anyway.

Enjoy, go order pictures if you want copies, and use Russ Matthews Photography for all of your photography needs!!

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First Christmas as a married lady! Jason and I were awoken by kitties for their usual 7:30 breakfast. Yes, they can tell time, and yes, they knock. Jason got up to feed them (a Christmas miracle!) then told me to come out to the living room because Santa came. Cheeseball! But sure enough, there were deer tracks in the snow right up to our back door. We exchanged presents, and as a bonus "Santa" hung up surprise stockings for us, filled with chocolate and booze. Woot! Jason loved his Alan Lee illustrated edition of The Hobbit, various manly luxury things, and the new Call of Duty. My haul was thigh-high mohair socks (warm!), two Pagan books, a zombie story anthology, and the Kat Von D 'True Love' palette. Though I joked 'great! Now I, too, can look like I've had a paralyzing stroke!' it's actually a pretty great palette. I love that the gold is a creme shadow.

The kitties loved their new kitty bed add-on to their fort, and they've been playing happily with their new catnip toys and blinky ball thing.

After that, I napped and J nerded out with his video games until we went up to his dad's place for Christmas dinner. Then Jason fell asleep while I watched endless episodes of American Ninja Warrior, pinned by his weight and unable to change the channel.

Saturday was sleeping in, then going into the city to spend time with my dad, brother Daniel, and to pick up my sister, Melissa, who spent the night with us. We watched The Dark Crystal and had some yummy hot cocoa I got as a gift, paired with the chocolate chip cookies I baked on Christmas eve.

Today was a bunch of errands, then heading to Glen Burnie for Christmas with my mom's side of the family, as well as a cousin's 30th birthday. We were adored by a whole bunch of anklebiters. I swear, my baby cousin Gracie thinks I'm the best thing ever. She's four years old and was all "Christina! Christina! Remember when you came down the ocean and we played Candyland? That was awesome." Awesome, and over a year and a half ago. The kid has a good memory.

After swearing we weren't exchanging presents this year, my mom gave us a bunch of stonewear oven dishes and two awesome crochet blankets she made. We are now supa warm.

It was a nice little Christmas. Tonight, I aim to drink a lot of water and spend the night cuddled up. We've ordered cookbooks (Jacques Pepin FTW) and all is well with the world.

Oh! And we got an email from Megan at Offbeat Bride. She's running our feature this week! After they picked up the flickr pics right after the wedding, they asked us to submit a questionnaire. I just figured that they forgot and being featured once was pretty cool. But now we're being featured again. I'll link to it when it's live!

Tags: family, j