Month: October 2001

I had every intention of giving this blog a monochromatic look for November, but I just realised that if I did that I’d be mimicing Meghan again. D’oh!! But it’s OK, I just came up with something else. It’s all going to be about the novel, luvvies, dahlinks, so I need a certain theme….. *g*

Put up the new sub-version of Spiked & Skewered. Hooray. Oh, and I reviewed the first three eps of Buffy season 6 at Soulfreak. Comments welcome. Other eps coming soon.

I did start the profile for my female protagonist, which was actually really difficult to do since her situation changes very dramatically. Only I’ve just had something pointed out to me…. crap, I’m going to have to come up with another idea completely. I’m. So. Stupid. Argh!!

I may be homesick. I am certainly got-no-fucking-money-and-a-mountain-of-debt sick. Now may be the time to get my arse into gear with learning ASP and find myself a blindingly well paid job. That could be a plan. Right then.

So, now all I need are character names for NaNoWriMo. The minor characters aren’t a problem, I can pretty much think up ones for them as I go along. But I need something for the main (female) protagonist, and something for the secondary (male) one. Actually, he needs several names, but the FP needs a name to call him for most of the time. Hrrrm.

Started a listy thing for the Buffy lot doing NaNoWriMo – as suggested by Ames cos the ‘official’ club is way too heavy on the old mailbox. GB and Sandy bring the known total of Buffy peeps doing it to eight. Does that mean one of us has to be a bandit?

God, it’s cold in here.

I’m really quite …… fed up. I really don’t want to think about it, but I’m having probs with that. Must distract self. Bloody hell.

Was going to put up the new menu for S&S yesterday, but then I decided I’d stick some more content in before I did, so now it’s going to be probably tomorrow night. Or something. Whatever. Oh, and the SPIKED Awards have gained a little copycat in the Silver Fangs awards (I would link to it if (a) I could remember the right url, and (b) it wasn’t a Homesite built page and takes half an hour to load). I wondered whether to be pissed off, but it’s not worth me wasting my time on and anyway if they want to be sad and unoriginal, that’s their business. But then someone actually nominates that site for the SPIKED Awards!! Hello! Are these people on crack?! I ask you….

Rowan‘s post reminds me that I need names for my characters. Crap. But I have plot. That’s something at least. Whether it’s suffiencient plot to keep me going, I’m not sure. We shall have to see.

What’s all this about me being evil?! First Ragna seems to think it’s strange that she comes out more psychotic than me ;-) and now the ‘bunny makes a declaration. Feh. I’m not evil… but apparently I am
71% GOTH.

Image and attitude are my paths to Goth-dom.
Graceful and scary. I am the Master, with many slaves.

Er. Apparently.

I’ve had quite a productive weekend, which is quite surprising since I’ve also had to deal with a badly fitting, and then pumped-full-of-valium cat (poor baby). But even so, I’ve managed to update We Want Him Dark, the Evil Ones Button Exch, Tomb With a View, Kaplooey, The Airlock, Conwoman, and freedom.freaky. Phew! That takes care of all my ‘small’ updates. Plus, I’ve made a new menu graphic for S&S (I still love the idea of the current one, but it’s just so damn ugly!) which I should have up in a few days – I’m also planning to add some of the rest of the content as well, so that’s a ‘big’ update. Hmm…. might make a couple of ICQ skins too, actually. Will be done by the end of the week. I need to clear all this up before NaNoWriMo, see. Which me and Megs are going to make such a good start to on the 1st after going to The Room the night before. *snicker* Hellooo to the neck pain.

I wish my nose would STOP with the bleeding. It’s been gushing on and off since yesterday, and it’s getting really annoying now. Could be stress, since things aren’t all happy-happy-joy-joy at the mo. Am attempting to take my mind off this by rambling about the new seasons of Buffy, Angel, and Andromeda at Soulfreak (I’m going to be doing an actual review-thing of the first 4 Buffy S6 eps a bit later, so if you get that, there’s an entry before it as well).

Anyway, I think I’m going to take a few days off from this thing while I get stuff sorted out, thus neatly avoiding the danger of boring public whinging. Gotta get in a nice creative mood for NaNoWriMo, too. Hmm.

Steve H is winding up our (Australian) boss by insisting that Neighbours is a completely accurate representation of the Australian way of life. Heheh.

Here’s a survey that everyone else is doing:
[are you left handed or right handed?] – Right
[are you smart?] – About some things
[what’s your middle name?] – Anne
[how many personalities do you have?] – Just the one, but it’s many-sided
[how many piercing do you have?] – Just ears (once each) at the mo. Planning more.
[tattoos?] – None yet
[do you like v-8?] – Is that some kind of car oil?
[what was your first word?] – “Cat”
[are you superstitious?] – Kind of, yes
[do you read your horoscope?] – Sometimes… I don’t go out of my way to look it up.
[do you believe in that stuff?] – Not when it’s some specific statement about a large group of people (eg. all Librans will see a giraffe today), but some of the more general characteristics of a star sign seem to apply to people.
[can you do a cartwheel?] – Probably not. Haven’t tried.
[do you have bangs?] – It’s called “a fringe”. But no.
[do you have contact lenses] – Nope
[do you have a retainer or braces?] – Not since I was 18.
[what do you drive?] – Nothing at the mo *sob*
[do you snore?] – Only if I’ve got a cold.
[do you drool in your sleep?] – No!
[do you lick your envelopes or use a sponge?] – Lick.
[do you keep a journal?] – Well, there’s this. And a paper diary I write in very occasionally that I’ve had since 1990.
[what languages do you know?] – English, French, German, smattering of sung Italian and Latin, few words of Gaelic.
[what’s the best awards show?] – *shrugs*
[do you like onions?] – Yes. Preferably fried.
[do you like cotton candy?] – That’s candy floss, right? Oh yeah!
[do you like pina coladas?] – Never tried one.
[what instruments can you play?] – Hahahahaha. See #2 of this entry. I think that has all of them.
[what do you sleep in?] – A bed.
[how many pillows do you have?] – Two.
[do you like to dance?] – Yes, very much.
[do you like to sing?] – Love it. Choral work is my fave.
[are you any good at it?] – I used to be. Got all the grades, won stuff, was working for diplomas.
[how many CDs do you have?] – Over 300
[do you like to talk on the phone?] – Yep
[how many times have you moved houses?] – Counting Halls, five times.
[do you like where you live?] – Yes, except for the problem with the boiler.
[is your room messy?] – Yes, but not with my mess. Grrr.
[how many people go to your school?] – I don’t go to school. I’m Oooooold.
[do you like your writing?] – Handwriting? Ummm…. it’s OK. Stuff I write – mostly.
[what do you smell like?] – *sniffs* Citrus-y shower gel / body spray.
[are you organized?] – Not even remotely.
[do you sleep with a stuffed animal?] – Only when B’s elsewhere.
[do you sleep with socks on?] – If it’s cold enough.
[are you ticklish?] – Very very.
[are you shy?] – Apparantly so. But it depends on the situation.
[do you talk to yourself?] – All the time. And to inanimate objects. And animals, of course.
[got any lucky charms?] – No, but I have to have a small stone or a penny / small foreign coinage in the left pocket of my coat. I just do.
[do you have a basement or an attic?] – There’s a small loft.
[did you go to preschool?] – I went to playschool. Is that the same thing?
[are you a morning person?] – Nooooo.
[what’s your favorite outfit?] – Black and leather are always good. I love love love my coat (which is both of those and full length). Er. I like Omen clothing.
[whats your IQ?] – 147 last time I got tested.
[do you believe in God?] – Yep
[do you believe in ghosts?] – Yep
[do you believe in bigfoot?] – Hmmm.
[do you believe in the Loch Ness monster?] – Kind of… not convinced she’s still there.
[whats your favorite feature (on yourself)?] – Eyes.
[what do you do when you’re nervous?] – Babble…. tap fingers…. feel ill.
[how old do you wish you were?] – Don’t know. I quite like my age now, but I wish I was less horribly broke.
[have you ever gone skinny dipping?] – No. Brrr.
[have you ever thought you were gonna die?] – Well, my parents thought I was… I was too ill to be aware. They called the doctor in the middle of the night, he told them not to worry, and didn’t come til the next day. At which point he went “Whoops, sorry, you should have called an ambulance.” Very helpful.
[where’s the farthest place you ever traveled?] – Errr… probably Australia. Or maybe Indonesia – not sure which is further.
[where do you wanna go?] – Everywhere I can. All round the world.

Before I forget, thanks and hugs to Anji and Ragna for the cards – I meant to email you last night, but then I got distrated. D’oh! Oh, and Anji, according to Amazon UK, Blood and Gold comes out here on the 25th in hardback, and October next year for the paperback. I might see if I can find it in the library or something. Oh yes, and a package came through the letter box this morning… didn’t have time to open it, but I think it may have something to do with the ‘bunny. So much thanks for that, too. :-)

Hmmm… scored a 10 on the Serial Killer Profile Quiz. I’m not a threat to society. Just about. *g* Isn’t that nice to know?
[as per usual, via Gilly]

Discovered through Megs that The Adventures of Buffy and Evil Vampire Willow is back with new ‘toons. Yay! Hadn’t checked the site for a while, so I’d missed that. Have added that and BMB to the sidebar.

Got to start back on the site updating tonight. Most of them need *something* doing. And I haven’t finished going through my email backlog yet, either… I’m beginning to think that I should just go no mail for a while, read through all those thousands (yes, really) of messages – mainly fic – I have waiting, and work out some kind of website updating schedule. S&S is still incomplete, which bugs me, but I can’t seem to find the time to sort it out. And with NaNoWriMo coming up…. urk! I need to get organised. No mail for November seems like an increasingly good plan.

It’s my birthday, and I’ve seen the first few Buffy eps and the first Angel ep of the new season. Yaaaay!! Ooo, and I have presents waiting when I get home, too. Heheh. So yes, still at work but leaving in five mins. Oh, and I’m busy stealing Meghan’s idea and doing a Halloween layout. Cos I felt like it. Anyway, she said I could. *g* Right then. Going home now.

Oh, and I forgot to mention…. the combination of Megs’ enthusiasm, Rowan’s taunting, and the persistance of the mad Irishwoman in my head bouncing up and down going “Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go *on*” have caused me to sign up for NaNoWriMo. Cos, you know, 20-odd websites to maintain after I’ve finished doing 10 hour shifts at work aren’t enough for me to do. Doi! But I was lured by the possibility of a party at the end of it. This is gonna be fun.

I’ve taken over the Evil Ones Button Exchange, so if you have a site on an evil (or even slightly wicked *g*) BtVS or Angel character(s), do the join-y thing. It gets you more traffic! *plug plug promote promote*

The girl who played Wesley’s girlfriend Virginia on Angel is on some kind of courtroom drama type thing on BBC1 at the moment. No idea what it’s about because I don’t have the sound on that screen. But I assume she’s the case-of-the-week character.

While waiting (and waiting, and waiting, and waiting) for the train this morning, one of the railway staff appeared and started to sweep up the rubbish on the other platform. And while he did so, he whistled a merry tune – a very tuneful and accurate rendition of “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. The station is one of those red-brick, covered tube-y ones, like you see on Thomas the Tank Engine (or you did when I was young) and it has accoustics which distort the “Haha, we cancelled your train again” announcements beyond all recognition, but apparantly are perfectly suited to a single whistler. Twas very nice, and the sunny autumn weather kinda added to the atmos. I managed not to join in at the time, but now I have that song on my brain, and I can feel it gearing up to continue on to the rest of the opera some time soon. Will – not – burst – into – song…..

OK, here are the answers to the 10 Things thing:

#1 I did indeed have hair long enough to sit on. And it was a royal nuisance… I couldn’t do anything with it, it just hung there. So in the end I had 18 inches chopped off, bringing it to just below shoulder length, and it’s gone up and up from there.

#2 Piano, electric keyboard, clarinet, balaleika, 3 recorders (treble, descant, soprano), 2 penny whistles (tin and wooden), horn (of the small hunting variety), small ceramic ‘street whistle’ in the shape of a house (from Prague), and an odd hybrid reeded instrument that I picked up in Australia and now can’t remember the name of. Yes, some of those double up a bit which I guess is cheating. But I can also knock out a tune on the saxophone, guitar, violin and digeridoo (well, decent sounding noise on that last one). Oh yeah, and my primary instrument is voice. Or it was when I was actually studying it. Laaa.

#3 ‘fraid so. Went out with him from aged 15 to 18, he was nasty, jealous, vicious. Maybe not quite so nasty that he deserved a massive heart attack at 24, but I still couldn’t bring myself to be upset.

#5 I was playing down the road (back when it was relatively safe to let your five year old do such things) and this guy came up and asked me for directions to a nearby road. I knew where is was in a vague ‘somewhere over there’ sense, so I told him he could come to my house where my Mum had a map. But he insisted I could show him…. long and short of it was, my Dad came looking, the guy tried hiding us in a ditch, I called out to Dad. Police presumably dealt with guy (they knew of him), all’s well that ends well.

#6 My Dad is 15 years older than my Mum, and he’s the baby of his family – his older brother being 13 years his senior. So my cousin Malcolm and his older sister (I can’t remember which she is – oops) are older than my Mum. Malcolm calls her his little auntie. He’s evil (in the very best way, and in the tradition of our family).

#7 I was 18, he was 25, and I’m pretty sure that I was the mentally more mature. *g* Six months of extreme UST, but nothing actually kicked off until two days after my final exam (so I wasn’t in school, but was techinically still a pupil), and it was all very…. interesting. Heh.

#8 My second earliest TV memory is a Star Trek:TOS episode, and Captain Kirk and crew were my heros from that moment on. Yay Trekkiness.

#9 Despite eye tests turning out fine, there’s something going on there. My first set of stitches was after I misjudged running round the house when I was about 3 or 4 years old, and ran into the corner of it instead, splitting my head open, and the second set was when I misjudged walking past an open caravan door and hit the sharp metal edge. Both on the left side. And I walk into things a lot.

#10 About 10 years ago when we were 15-ish, we (me and Alison) were at Brands Hatch for truck racing (whee!) and while wondering around in the break we saw this guy that we were sure was off the telly, signing autographs. We couldn’t figure out who he was, so we weren’t sure if we wanted an autograph…. so we went and asked him. He got in a bit of a huff, and wouldn’t give us the autograph. Later, we discovered it was Chris Tarrent. LOL.

So three cheers to Megs, Celia and Carolyn. I’m allergic to cats, dust and pollen, but not dogs, nuts, or washing powder.

My hair has this odd vaguely Japenese vibe going on, you know. The red has faded a fair bit now, so it’s more reddish light brown on top of the black. That, plus half an inch of blonde-ish roots. Maybe I’ll spend some of my birthday money on getting my hair done again, but a more dramatic red this time. Except I need a new monitor, and I want Homesite. Gahh.

Re. the cons, by the way, I got my ticket for Eclipse the other day. Cocktail party, baby! And they’ve announced Danny Strong now, too. Hee! On the other hand, there was an almighty cock-up with our Inferno tickets (I knew I should have bloody phoned). My form never arrived, and neither did Lucy & Angelsbitch’s or Daisy and The Cheeseman’s. We all posted the first morning. Red posted her form last thing in the afternoon, and hers arrived fine and got her into the cocktail party. It seems that the first batch of post to the PO Box just vanished into thin air. Lovely. So we had to rebook by phone, and we’ve missed out on the cocktail party. *sigh*

Oh, and in case I forget to mention it, I’m off to Hastings at 4pm tomorrow, back late Monday night. Should be meeting up with some friends from school I haven’t seen for years, as well as the above mentioned Red, Daisy, and The Cheeseman (plus Demon Child). Yay!