20 posts tagged “fun”

(really? I've only finished two books in the last month? i lose. must redouble my efforts. must do AlabamaPink proud.)

I like most of my reading to be at least a little bit fantastic. What can I say; I am a creature of habit. This has become even more prevalent over the past year and a half or so. I don’t really want to do much heavy reading—I read to escape even more so now than I ever did before. I seem to have a difficult time with something required of more in depth fiction. Maybe my attention span is gone, or something. Anyway, it seems like there’s a much greater wealth of books with that touch of fantasy to them than there used to be. So I have happily been indulging this whim of mine when it comes to book purchases.

I found one a few weeks ago that I ended up really loving. The book is Defending Angels, by Mary Stanton. It is the first in a new series. The protagonist is Bree Beaufort, who has just inherited her uncle’s law practice in Savannah. She’s moved into her family’s townhouse and starts the novel out searching for temporary digs while her uncle’s office is renovated.

Her uncle died in a very odd fire in his office.  I am not sure this is something I really need to be pointing out here, because it isn’t all that important to the story itself, but when a bit more is revealed about the circumstances of the fire, it is pretty interesting. At least, I thought so.

Bree finds an office with a fabulously affordable rent in a great neighborhood pretty quickly. The only catch? It’s in the  middle of Savannah’s only all murderers cemetery. Spooky setting. Bree’s new landlady is rather… eccentric. As are the other new people that come into Bree’s life as she starts this new venture. Now, Savannah has a reputation for being incredibly haunted and home to fabulously eccentric folks, but these characters are perhaps a bit far out even for that town.

However, there’s good reason for that.

Bree gets an office-warming present from a former law professor whom she always liked (not like that, silly). He was one of those awesome professors that scares slackers silly, but the good students absolutely adore. You may have had one of those teachers at some point, I know I have. Included in the package is a brand new phone, which is ringing as she opens the package.
 
The phone call is from a dead man. This is where things get interesting. I won’t go into too much detail here, as I don’t want to give away too much. Figuring out what’s going on along with Bree (although the reader does see things clearly far before she does) is part of the fun of the book.

Bree has to work to solve the murder of the man who called her phone, and clear him of what he’s been charged with. Charged with by whom? Well, that’s another part of the fun of this little book.

Now that I’m thinking about it, there actually is quite a bit that goes on in this book. There would be an awful lot for me to explain were I to try to go into it. So I won’t, I’ll just say: I loved it, and I can’t wait for the second book to be released. It’s a fluffy murder mystery, which is exactly what I’m after of late, and a good light read.

I've been thinking the past few weeks about going on a road trip this summer. i think i'd like to see New England. it seems to me that i could see a number of interesting places up there in about a week.

the driving would probably be kinda a pain, but if i have a friend with me it would be far more bearable. except they have to drive a manual transmission....

anyway, i started looking at Google Maps this evening, thinking about where I'd like to go. I want to start in Rhode Island. my grandfather's mother was raised up there, so i would like to see it. Newport is supposed to be nice. i would like to see Boston, cuz I've only been there the once, and I only saw the river that time. Plus, i have a built-in tour guide up there. After that, Salem, because it's so damn close why wouldn't i stop there?

(and of course, hello? liz? not go to the Witch Hunt city? yeah, right.)

I want to go further north than that, though. So I was thinking about Portland in Maine. Not for any particular reason other than I want to make sure I get that far north. I also want to go to Vermont, so I was thinking Burlington.

This is all TOTALLY preliminary. I still have to do a lot of research into all of these different places, and really into New England in general, before I go any further with this idea.

i'm a big scenery and nature girl. i love taking pictures of foliage and mountains and cities and pretty much everything under the sun, so i want to make plans to stop places where i can take tons of photos. maybe i'll borrow mom's DSLR for the trip, so i can get tons of pictures with that as well. (Of course, i'm also hoping to get a new camera of my own soon, so i'll take that as well. honestly, if i can, i'll take all three cameras. just, yanno, so i have the options.)

but i also wants to see the cities and towns, and eat in fabulous restaurants, and maybe stay in a decent hotel or two. maybe some old ones? haunted ones?

i just want to see new things and go new places, and have some fun doing it. that's all.

so those are my thoughts on that. thus far, anyway. anybody wanna go with?

"Chucky?"
"Yeah?"
"It's hunting season."

We may or may not have been listening to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back here at work this week.  And I really do mean listening, for the most part anyway.  It's far easier to do when it's a movie you've seen numerous times and can quote your favorite bits of.  "what the fuck is the internet?"

Anyway, I've got a list of things to be done this week.  So i'll share, shall i?  with handy-dandy bullet points as well.  or perhaps numbers.  nah, bullets.

• need to continue to practice the knitting.  i swear i'll write about that first class at some point, too.  in case you were interested in hearing.
• have to write up a couple of BB articles for today and Friday.  and start thinking about Gadget Lust for Monday.  if anyone has any suggestions of nifty lustable gadgets, i'll gladly hear them.  especially if you have a website i can check out, too.
• need to pack for next week.  have to do this between tonight and tomorrow as well, as i probably won't be home at all until next saturday after leaving for work on Friday.  there's the trip to Philly friday night, and i'll likely crash at Lith's that evening so I don't have to drive all the way home and then back up and on to Delta saturday morning to Jessie's.  i'm watching her doggies next week while they're on vacay.  that's gonna be nice.  it'll be just me and Goldie and Smokey all week.  i'm looking forward to long hot bubble baths in her garden tub.
• should probably make a list of what i need to remember to take up there with me.  so i don't forget something i need like my insulin pump supplies.  not that it's so far i can't go home, but that would be sucky, to have to drive home and back one evening.  although i will miss the cat.
• write more. i actually have several ideas for posts i want to write, and i want to try to start outlining this book i've got an idea for.  i know the beginning, because i've already written it, and i have a general idea about the end.  the problem is the middle.  i'm bad at the middle part.  yanno, the plot part.  *sigh*
• clean. my bathroom is pretty nasty.  i need to vacuum my room as well as the rest of the house.  none of this is likely to happen this week though.
• do laundry, change my sheets, etc.  so i have clean clothes next week and am not coming home to musty not-clean sheets.  ew.

OK, i think that's all i've got.  at least for now.  subject to change at any ol' time.

how's things going with y'all?

took a shitload of pictures at the festival this weekend.  enjoy.

great big horse's ass

Sir Barchon of Dingleberry

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he's not blurry, you're drunk

this gave me a giggle, a chuckle, a well-needed laugh:

Friday was a pretty busy day for me. At least, it felt that way at the time. I spent the morning running errands--getting my oil changed, stopping by the post office to mail out the dollie i just sold and pick up 2cent stamps, and hitting up target for some mailing supplies and god only knows what other sundries. i know i bought a bulletin board, some push pins, and face soap. oh, and body wash and razor heads. i think that's about it. i always spend too too too much money in that place. target is evil like that. i also managed to do my laundry and get packed up for the trip to Philly.

So, on Saturday we had family fun day. a trip to Philadelphia with my brother and parents (is it weird that I still do stuff with my parents? a little? oh well.). we left the house a few minutes early--which is practically unheard of for this family.

good thing, though. we kept hitting traffic at the ridiculously expensive tolls. stupid frigging tolls. and we'd forgotten to grab the easy pass out of my car, so we had to wait in the lines, too. boo to that.

I took a bunch of pictures on the way up to Philly. Yes, I really am that much of a dork.

we made it up there just about right in time. found parking fairly easily as well. well, fairly easily in that we didnt' try to find cheap parking, we just parked at the Franklin Institute itself.

The exhibit was awesome. i would've taken pictures of it, but i think it might be a felony to do so. they were uber strict about the no photos and no cell phones thing. i saw a security guard stopping a guy behind me who'd flashed something covertly. made the guy back through all the pictures on his camera, to make sure he'd deleted everything to do with the Tut stuff. i think it has something to do with copyright, and egypt, and the antiquities department, and whatnot. whatever. i was bummed there was no photos, but not surprised.

I don't know what it is about meandering through an exhibit like that, but i was fairly exhausted afterwards. it was hot in there, and there were waaaay too many people, so that likely has somethign to do with it. i think they probably could've done a better job at crowd control, but oh well. i of course finished way before my parents and brother, so i wandered around the (ridiculously crowded) King Tut gift shop for a while, waiting for them. i am not sure what it is, but i always seem to go through these things fast. maybe i don't spend enough time admiring the artifacts. maybe i don't read every word of ever description, like i think i do. i don't know, but i always finish first.

i bought the exhibit catalog, which i'd planned on, and the guide book. and one other book, also on King Tut. Oh, and a bookmark. i heart bookmarks. i have too many of them. I did, however, talk myself out of a few magnets, a second bookmark, the official magazine of egyptology, etc.... so for me, i did pretty well. it's the books--i can't turn down books. they had some really neat statues of different Egyptian deities, but they were all at least forty bucks, and therefore out of the question. i wouldn't mind having a wee statue of the god of creativity and whotnot, though. but... i digress. and i be broke.

i didn't use my credit card though. so :P. i used my debit card, so it was all actual money. and i'd worked things out beforehand anyway.

moving on. nothing more to see here folks.

we ended up basically skipping lunch. by the time we got to the hotel, and got checked in, it was after four. how my father and i both survived this without bottoming out, i don't know. not that we're bad diabetics, but it's still surprising. the hotel was a pretty swank joint. there was a phillips in the lobby, as well as a bar. so we made a reservation at Phillips for five, and just hung out til then.

can i just say? Phillips Maryland Cream of Crab soup? to.fucking.die.for.

really, i probably should've just had a bowl of that and a salad. but my eyes were far bigger than my tummy. i had that and a crabcake sammich. i think their food has gotten better since the last time i was there. i also had two glasses of riesling. i've found a wine i actually like! i haven't ventured to try any red again (because it gives me an instant headache), but i like this kind of white. i might have to be venturesome and try some more, eventually. for now, i'm sticking with Riesling. when i actually have wine, that is. which isn't often.

anyway. after we all stuffed ourselves at dinner, mom and matt and myself went for a walk. we walked across Logan

Square. Our hotel was right behind the Cathedral of Pete and Paulie (sorry, sorry, The Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul. complete with a convent as well as a rectory. Don't see that too often these days.), if you're familiar with that area of Philly.

So we walked down the parkway to the Museum of Art. I wanna know what's up with all the flags down that big ass street. Is that Ben Franklin Parkway? i think it is, but i won't swear to it. We walked past the Free Library, and the Rodin Museum, and a shitload of monuments (I didn't realize that there were so many damned statues and art pieces and whatnot in Philly. It's not like that in my hometown. Or is this just around the museums?). Also, a large number of homeless folk. I only got hit up for change once, so I must've been doing good with my menacing "back the fuck off" face. (not really.)

I also took a picture of this plaque for RPM.

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On the walk back, i gave myself a blister! yay Chucks that aren't broken in quite enough for that yet. what the hell, i've had those things for a while now! i guess i just don't wear them enough for that. although i've certainly worn them enough to wear through the canvas on the hells. whatever. Oh well.

Matt and I went to the bar in the lobby for a drink. I was feeling extra tired at this point, so I was just gonna have one drink and call it a night.

*snort* yeah, right.

a shot of my friend jose and three apple martinis later...

they were really good, too. yanno, most places do an apple martini with a lot of crap in it, or else waaay too much pucker and not enough vodka. not this guy. he was good to us. he probably knew when we walked up that we'd be there for a bit. the bar was empty when we came up, and he says to us "just sit down anywhere guys." so we took two stools front and center at the bar.

we were *those* people, when we were finished. i know you've seen them. drunk practically off their feet, giggling like madmen, incapable of walking a straight line even if life depended on it.

yeah, that was us. it was fun. ;~)

not surprisingly, we all slept like crap. even mom and dad. see, we're all as bad as me about being in our own beds! of course, part of it for me was the drink, too.

we had a really expensive breakfast at the little lobby restaurant downstairs, and headed out after that. traffic kinda sucked on the way home, too.

and when i got home, i proceeded to do not much of anything except go through my one bookshelf and re-org it a bit. i need to do the other one, too. they tend to get crowded, and then i have to prune some of the older books, so i can fit the newer ones in.

the end.

p.s. more on the flickr, as per usual.

A history of techno icons: abb3y

Rising from the cesspool known as baltimore, abb3y roared onto the techno scene in 2007 with their debut album, cathedral of doom. The band's latest album, prognosis:death, joins pri3st's punishing lyrics with crashing drums to forge a record boiling over with pulse-pounding scorchers. With standout tracks like "i hate," dominating radio airwaves far and wide, abb3y is an essential addition to any music lover's library.

Band Bio Generator

happy Friday everyone!

i'm in a pretty awesome mood today, despite the fact that i am exhausted!  actually, it seems like sometimes i'm most upbeat when i'm also most tired.  weird how that seems to work.

Hands massaging

i finally got to give a massage last night, as well as receive one.  and it was fabulous!  i have to admit that i was a touch nervous at the very beginning... often i feel a bit embarrassed when i have a script to follow, in speaking to someone.  and i seem to not use a person's name when addressing them quite as often as i should.  odd, huh? 

but yanno what?  i got over it.  we start out each of our massages with a quick health check.  basically, you sit down with your client (them on the table, either sitting or laying.  you always want to be no more than eye level with the client, and preferrably below them.  it's a submissive thing, meant not to stir any dominance or instints to flee), and ask them how they're doing, feeling, etc.  you ask if they've got any conditions and if they're on any meds, if they've had any surgeries.  and you ask them if there's any problem areas they want to work on. 

after this, you help the client get disrobed.  in our case, since we're all in the same room, we learned how to tent a sheet, so the other person can take their clothes off underneath.  no flashing, very private even though you're in an open room.  it's a little awkward at first, taking off a bra and shirt under a sheet, but i have a feeling we're all going to get really good at it really quickly!

i think it was somewhere around this point that the rest of the room seemed to fade out for me.  it did come back in a few times, but for the most part, i was entirely in the moment, and with my partner/client.  it was awesome.

we start with an opening hold.  you place your hands on their shoulders or sometimes on their head (always make sure a client is OK with being touched on the head and/or face, because it's a very sensitive area and the last thing we want to do EVER is make someone uncomfortable).  ask the client to take a few deep breaths while you do the same, welcoming them to your space, focusing yourself on the moment and the client, and hopefully making a mental note to not absorb the client's energy, or let them absorb yours.  it's all woooowooooo, but it needs to be done.  it sets the tone.

after that, you go into the massage.  i will leave the detailed protocol out, but we just did a nice back rub.  this

Orchid (isolated on white)

 was my very first time, so i asked for a lot of feedback (mostly the ocassional "how's the pressure" "this ok" sort of thing).  also, i definitely need to work on my body mechanics.  you have to be relaxed when doing this, and you have to hold your body right, or else you'll need a massage after every massage you give!

after the massage, we did some compression.  which is exactly what it sounds like.  not a whole lot of pressure behind it, but you press down on the person's body, over the whole body.  and we finish with a closing hold.  the same as the opening hold.  and of course, you always thank your client.  because it's courteous, because they're paying you, and because... well i'm not sure why else, but it just feels right to thank them at the end of the massage.

can you see why i'm in a good mood today?  it was a great experience.  i was pretty much entirely focused on the person in front of me.  and i didn't feel weird touching another person, like i had fleeting thoughts i would be.  it was all about them, and making them feel better.

ok, so ocassional thoughts of "oh god my back!" did flit through my mind.  but i endeavored to banish them and simply adjust myself so that i wasn't bending at the back, but leaning into the strokes.  yeah, i definitely ached at the end, but it was the good kind of ache.  it was feedback from my own body, telling me there are things i need to work on.

the instructor also gave me some good feedback.  a few adjustments here and there, mostly in how i was standing.  that also helped. 

Heaven

i don't remember thinking much of anything during the massage, beyond the person in front of me and my own occasional pain.  i love that i can focus like that.  i think it bodes well for me, that i am able to focus so well.  it was a very soothing experience, very affirming.  it made me feel good, even though i ached.  i'm not sure if i'm explaining this very well, but it was a very positive thing.  and it reassures me quite well that i am in this because i'm supposed to be, because it's right for me.  and that i'm going to love doing it, as well!

i'm really excited about this.  i can't wait to go again on Tuesday.  i have to practise this weekend, as we're supposed to have our first protocol (the set of steps in the massage) mostly memorized by bodywork time on Tuesday.  yeah, my mom and J are definitely complaining about that one.  not.

ok, i meant to write more about class yesterday... but i spent most of the day shopping instead. i really need to step away from the credit card. and i will... after i upgrade my flickr account (yes, i WILL get those vacay pics posted this weekend.  i swear!  no, really, i do!), get an EasyPass, and subscribe to Massage Magazine. at least one of those is truly necessary. another one is, i feel, nearly necessary, and the subscription? well... yeah, that's pretty frivolous.

but anyway. enough about my finances. i'm so sick of them anyway. i have to learn how to be broke, and i don't want to. *pout*

i hesitate to proclaim that i truly love the massage classes, because i've only been through one lecture and two bodywork classes. but i'm really close to doing so.  extremely close, actually. 

i truly enjoyed lecture the other night.  i found it all quite fascinating.  yes, i'm a nerd, i love learning.  we started out with an exercise. we hugged each other. the teacher, who was a sub for our normal teacher, got us all up and stood us across from each other, and we hugged each other. and we discussed it: how different people hug, how you return a hug, stuff like that. we talked some about how different families hug at different times, some hug all the time, and some rarely hug at all. some people are more comfortable hugging their friends than they are hugging their family.

my family is one that doesn't hug very often.  we do hug, but it's not an every day thing for us. and i can be really funny about my personal space--i don't have a big comfort zone, and hugging strangers isn't something i do very often (or, ok, pretty much ever). mostly i don't like to be touched casually either. i don't necessarily shy away once i am around someone who touches more than i do, but it takes me a little bit to get used to it, because in general i am not that way. it doesn't really bug me, because everyone needs to be touched, we all need human contact. i just... i'm not good at asking for it, or admitting that i do need it. so i think that this whole experience is going to be good for me. i think i'm going to be drawn out of my comfort zone. but not in a bad way. make sense?

i'm actually looking forward especially to this aspect of the learning experience.  i'm going to be growing and changing in ways that i can't even fathom right now.  and i think i really need this in my life right now.  i feel as though i'm standing at the beginning of a long path, just taking my first tentative steps forward. i'm nervous, and i'm excited, and i really can't wait to see where this leads me--physically, spiritually, and mentally.

it's been interesting. i've gotten varied reactions to my decision. my family has been supportive. i think that at first my mom was a little taken aback by it, but she stands with me, and if something makes me happy, then she's happy. she wants me to find a job that i enjoy, and she knows what the current one has been doing to me. i've gotten reactions of "oh, well, that's nice" to "uh, why?" to "that really doesn't seem like the sort of thing you would go for". i guess i wonder why people wouldn't be more supportive at times. but i have the support of my close friends and my family, and of myself, and that's all that really matters. i guess if you didn't know me very well, you might not think this would be somethign i'd go for. and lord knows i'm not an overly vocal person in person, about things that excite me or engage me or that i'm passionate about. i don't verbalize my passions... i write about them! so it's ok that this is an unexpected development in me, for some people. i am a multitude of surprises.

we talked about different kinds of touch the other night in lecture, what touch is, and some of the history of massage.  we took lots of notes.  i'm not used to writing longhand that much anymore.  and i never was very good at taking notes.  then again, i've rarely ever truly needed to take notes.  if i read it and hear it, it's usually there for me when i need to recall it. i found the lecture very interesting. but then, i'm a history major. :~)

i keep saying this, but it's going to be an intense class. most of it is the anatomy and physiology. i don't think it's going to be *hard* for me, but i do think it's going to be hard work. There's going to be a lot of memorization going on when we get to the muscular and skeletal systems. hell, prolly through the whole course. i totally have a leg up though... i took three semesters of Latin in college. i rawk. i need to keep myself ahead of things, and i need to actually spend time studying. i'm going to spend some time every day studying. during lunch, right after work before leaving for class. when i start walking before class (which i am going to start Monday, actually), i'll study some when i eat before class.

i'm planning on doing the majority of reading on the weekends. (bye bye, social life!) this weekend, i have to read... um... seven chapters? i think. i want to make sure i do the reading on the weekends for the week's lectures, so that during the week i can just review and revise, take notes, make flashcards... that sort of thing. that sounds like a decent enough plan, right?

so last night was bodywork again. i got my first massage as a student. it was quite nice. we picked our partners and got started. i didn't get to reciprocate and give a massage though, we ran too late into class to get to our partners. it was very nice. i find myself both nervous and excited about doing my first massage on Tuesday. nervous because i've never done one before, but excited because it makes sense in my head, what to do. it's not... a difficult thing to start out with. you're rubbing another person's back. we're being shown the beginnings of some of the strokes we'll be doing. i don't feel pressure to perform. there's no real *wrong* at this point. we'll learn what not to do later one, right now it's just an easy rub.

i really hope that this part comes naturally to me. i hope it does. i'm excited to find out. i'm excited about the whole thing. i know that i'm doing this because i am meant to be doing this right now. and i know it certainly feels right, inside me.

i'm curious... how would you define touch? this was part of our discussion in lecture the other night, and i'm interested to hear how others define it.