Month: September 2008

  • I’m just a shadow to my mother

    Well, the “open house” in kids on Saturday was horrific. We were way understaffed for the number of freeloaders, I mean families, that showed up. Of course, the plus side to this is that my manager has sworn that we will have sufficient staff for the Halloween party. This is especially important since I haven’t had one volunteer, not to help me with setting up or making the games or running the event. Nothing. So many people say they love Halloween, but what they mean is… “you do all the work, I’ll be happy to enjoy it after the fact.”

    In other news, twelve days until my vacation starts; eight days till my business class starts. I don’t remember if I’ve brought this up since I’m generally exhausted enough to forget when and what I’ve eaten, let alone what I’ve blogged about. lol But when I decided, once and for all, that I would take these business classes and try to open my own store, my mother was all for it. She said she and her boyfriend (now husband) were getting older, and they didn’t want to continue in the same jobs they have (my mother cleans for people and he is now a trucker, formerly a roofer). They’d be overjoyed to give me a hand in the store, blah blah blah. Then the other day we were discussing the store, and she basically took it all back and said I was wrong, she never said that, blah blah blah. When I stopped talking to her since she insisted I was wrong and she said she never promised to help me out, she got upset with me because I “always do that.” “That” being clam up when she has one of her little memory lapses. She said I don’t “communicate.” Then a few days ago she’s talking to me about working in the store again like the other conversation never happened, and she got upset when I didn’t want to talk to her about it and told her we had this discussion and I was NOT going to talk to her about it again. My mother is 51 and I honestly don’t know if she’s schizophrenic or getting senile, but I am so tired of her changing her mind every time we’re discussing something important to me. I told her that I would just do it all on my own like I always do. I told her I might even decide to move out of state, maybe Maine. Then she wanted to know how she could help if I did that since she won’t move out of the area until her mother (my grandma) dies. And , “Did I wish her mother dead?!?”

    And you know what, I’m just sick of it. I’m not going to ask her for help any more. I’m not even going to assume she’s going to help. I’m not going to discuss my plans. She can’t even decide if she wants to help me, and I’m not going to deal with it any more. No I don’t want my grandmother dead, but I think on some level my mom does or she wouldn’t have brought it up. I’m frustrated with my job, but that’s small potatoes compared to how frustrating my mother is sometimes. Last time she couldn’t get her stories straight was my birthday when she promised we could go somewhere and then turned around and tried to make plans with my sister and I’m just kind of sick of playing second fiddle to everyone else in her life. I just feel like she thinks I’m always going to bow out gracefully and make way for everyone else and I don’t want to any more. I think I’ve been more than patient in terms of what I put up with from my family. I don’t ask them for a darn thing. I wasn’t asking her for money or time. She frikkin offered! And then she changed her mind or forgot she offered and I just don’t feel like I can depend upon her for anything. She will always turn around and make other plans because I am just not that important to her unless I am right in front of her and then we will make plans until someone else is in front of her and then the plans go out the window.

    I may just be overreacting because of everything else going on in my life, but I honestly feel like I am all alone and the only person who’s going to make it happen is me. I can’t even depend upon her for moral support, but you know if I do manage to make money with my own business, or even if I don’t, you know my family’s going to be right there with their hands out. Moving to a different state would almost be a relief, even if being alone is “outside of the my comfort zone” in terms of having people to fall back on if I run into trouble (ie FAIL). I just can’t trust them. You know? I’m tired of waiting for them to treat me like I have some importance in their lives. I’m important too.




    Tattoo
    the webnovel so far…


    Chapter 1: Blood is Thicker

    Chapter 1.1 in which Glory is not mindful of the store
    Chapter 1.2 in which Glory is made to do something she would really rather not
    Chapter 1.3 in which Glory thinks she might be sick
    Chapter 1.4 in which Aaron makes a mistake
    Chapter 1.5 in which Glory is made to see the error of her ways
    Chapter 1.6 in which the circle remains unbroken

    Chapter 2: A Farewell to Arms

    Chapter 2.1 in which Aaron makes another mistake
    Chapter 2.2 in which Glory reflects on her path
    Chapter 2.3 in which we learn Aaron is not really a nice boy
    Chapter 2.4 in which Glory speculates on the holiness of salt
    Chapter 2.5 in which Glory learns of the necessity for upper body strength, but makes do with  what she has
    Chapter 2.6 in which Aaron tries to make amends, but is still pretty much an ass

    Chapter 3: Small Sacrifices

    Chapter 3.1 in which Glory is spat on, twice
    Chapter 3.2 in which a cop is threatened
    Chapter 3.3 in which someone is crying
    Chapter 3.4  in which there’s more to the moon than meets the eye
    Chapter 3.5  in which Glory comes face to face with an loony environmentalist
    Chapter 3.6 in which Glory gets turned around
    Chapter 3.7 in which Glory is threatened

    Chapter 4: The Shape of Things to Come

    Chapter 4.1 in which a doctor makes his rounds
    Chapter 4.2 in which Glory is asked some awkward questions
    Chapter 4.3 in which Glory adopts a pet



  • wcfq 21a: Villains

    Writers Choice Featured Questions Week 21
    Powered by ShareThis

    Who are your top five favorite villains?
    Avenger41


    In no particular order
    -the Frankenstein monster (book, not movie version)
    -Eric, the Phantom of the Opera (again, book, not movie version)
    -the Borg Queen
    -the Alien-human hybrid from Alien Resurrection
    -Sylar from Heroes


    Those who have never read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley have really missed the boat. If you think you know the monster from movies, you really don’t know him at all. The monster, far from being a shambling, groaning zombie homage to the power and sacrilege of science, is a horrifically scarred, but far more humane being than the doctor who created him. The monster is scarred physically and spiritually, but soaks up its surroundings like a sponge. It learns language in a matter of months, both speech and writing. In many ways, it is philosophically more advanced than the “good” doctor. Though it goes on to commit atrocities, it is in essence seeking the attention of its creator like any neglected child. Denied love, it still seeks it’s parent’s devotion, if not love, then hate. In my mind, I identify with the monster more than any other creature of horror. The monster is my misanthropic self denied… If I had chosen hate instead of love when I was at my lowest point….

    Eric, the Phantom of the Opera… here is another monster woefully under represented in the movie rip offs of this classic novel. It’s hard to believe that when this book first came out, it almost faded into obscurity. Of all literary monsters, Eric is the most well-developed. He is possibly the most developed character in the entire book. Funny that very few movies have used his name. In all of them, he has been The Phantom, universally scorned and feared for his hideous countenance. Though like the Frankenstein monster, capable of incredible acts of cruelty and savagery, all Eric craves is love. Though others may read the Phantom of the Opera and sympathize with Christine Daye, I think she was selfish and spoiled. I think she led poor Eric on so that he would continue teaching her, and when the  viscount fell in love with her, she saw no reason to continue her singing career or her relationship with Eric. Though his reaction might be seen as a bit extreme, when taken in context with his experiences, one can’t help but feel sorry for him… perpetually alone and excluded, betrayed by all of society despite his genius. Eric is in many ways like the Frankenstein monster, and yet while the monster is a child seeking his father’s approval, Eric is an outcast seeking some tether to keep him in love with life, to literally make life worth living.

    The Borg Queen… how insidious she was. She was the very essence of the lure of scientific advancement. Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated. She is at once the dream of advancement and the horror of blind consumerism. The true horror of the Borg is not that they will assimilate, but that they see individuality as unnecessary and even counter productive. In place of individual thought, there is the will of the Borg Queen, suppressing any thought but the continuation of the colony, in fact, taking over the role of instinct. The Borg Queen is a corruption of all the laws which currently govern society and the individual. She is the final incarnation and triumph of “Big Brother.” As those who have been “rescued” from the Borg have reported, there is an allure to the total acceptance to be found among the Borg. Once the very concept of resistance has been purged through the process of assimilation, there is comfort and completion in the million voices of the Borg all murmuring in one’s brain at once. And the Queen is at once their master and their voice.

    The Alien-human hybrid from Alien Resurrection had a strange charm for all of its grotesque humanity. Though it had a head like a skull, there was a sweetness, an innocence in its eyes, even as it was whacking the face off its alien mother or gnawing on the head of one crazed scientist. (If you ask me, she was sick of being called a “beautiful, beautiful butterfly.”) The thing is, like the Frankenstein monster, she was looking for her mother, and she saw that mother in Ripley. It’s hard to say what her thought processes might have been since she never spoke, but it’s well known that the aliens had a “racial” memory based on their host. Who knows how human that hybrid was really or whether it was entirely sane. In any event, the hybrid was pitiable if only because it never asked for its existence. And though it seemed to be a cold-hearted killer, we can see that in some ways, it still craved a mother’s love. It’s almost worth exploring an alternate reality where Ripley embraced her “daughter” instead of killer her. Hey, that’s what fanfics are for!

    Finally, last but not least, is Sylar, the newest addition to the pantheon of memorable villains. All my favorite villains have some patina of humanity… some scarred portion of their psyche… some warped vision of what humanity could be. Sylar may be a cold blooded killer, but like many, it stems from a need to be… special. He wants so desperately to be more than he is that he uses his “special” ability to mimic the abilities of others (once he manages to crack open their noggins). And while some might consider him mad, and maybe he is, he maintains a certain humorous and dark chivalry about him. He’s like the black knight. You see what he does, you see what his goals are, but you never really see what he is thinking or feeling except in rare glimpses. When he killed his “mother,” you can almost see a child who only wants the approval of his mother, who hoped to delight her with his display. It’s quite obvious she’s already a little off balanced mentally even before he puts on his show, so who’s to say what psychological trauma he may have suffered at her hands in the past. Speaking as someone who knows that the smallest, most insignificant slight can have far reaching psychological consequences, it may be that his mother never intentionally harmed him, but living in a household where attention and approval are constantly withheld is as damaging as any physical or outright psychological abuses. Sylar is a wounded hero, I think. He has made some poor choices, and I believe (without revealing spoilers) that he is about to be played and royally $crewed by the b1tch queen of the show. Whether or not she is telling the truth, the evil she represents makes Sylar a pale shadow by comparison. I think there is potential for his redemption, but he’s not willing to see it. He wants to place himself on a pedestal with humanity, and even other gifted people, far below himself, but with random acts of kindness, he shows that he’s not quite as monstrous as he and others believe him to be.

    There are other monsters on my list of favorites, but these are my top five villains. If it were a top ten, I’d have to add:

     JTHM (there really should be more comics….)
    Dracula (movie, not literary or historical)
    Maximillian the silent, killer robot from Black Hole
    Captain Nemo (in all his permutations, but especially as portrayed by Vincent Price)
    Cthulhu (just because there has to be a Great Old One on this list)

  • Writers Choice Featured Questions Week 21

    five questions for this week
    unfeatured questions stolen from the featured question chatboard, dated from October of 2007
    Please use the new Share button
    to answer these. That makes it almost like the regular featured
    questions.

    Who are your top five favorite villains?
    Avenger41

    Do you think being too optimistic can also be a bad thing?
    EpicRain

    What do you think is the stupidest – or most pointless – stereotype or label that people use to judge other people today?
    writing_a_song_for_you

    Do you think you’re desensitized? If so, to what?
    LoveAtFirstLove

    Would you really want to drink from the Fountain of Youth?
    Sesslerite

    Answer any one or all of these questions in the coming
    week. I try to mix the whimsical with the serious here, so hopefully
    there is at least one question here for everyone. Again, since Xanga has been so thoughtful as to add the new SHARE button, please use that when answering any of these questions. Using the Share button allows you to answer the question almost in the same way that you would a normal Xanga-sponsored featured question.





    September 22nd


    Mabon was to the ancient Celts a festival in honor of the Welsh god Mabon son of the goddess Modron though it has also been attributed to Queen Mab of the fairy people. It is called Alban Elfred by the Druids and Winter Finding by the Asatru who consider it sacred to Frey. The autumnal equinox is the date of the second harvest, this time of fruit. Blackberries, sacred to Brigit, must be harvested between now and Samhain or left for the pookas, fairies who receive all unharvested fruits after November 1.




    In Japan, the autumn equinox is Higan, meaning “the other shore” or heaven. To honor the dead, on this day Buddhists visit cemeteries and pray for the souls of their departed ancestors.




    The Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred to Demeter and Persephone, begin tonight.




    Karpo, goddess of autumn, and Carman, goddess of poetry, were honored tonight and tomorrow.




    September 23rd


    This is the first day of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries. They continued for nine days in honor of Ceres and Proserpine (Roman) or Demeter and Persephone (Greek). The first day of the celebration was called agormos, “assembly,” as the worshipers first met together. A gathering was held of candidates for initiation. The guides gave precise instructions, knowledge of which was necessary in the course of the initiation. In the evening, matrons journeyed to the rites in oxen drawn carriages. A select company of Athenian matrons, referred to as the Camphorae, carried a small coffer or basket called the kalathion of Ceres. Within the basket were the comb of Ceres, her mirror, a serpentine figure, and some wheat and barley. The procession ended at the temple, where this sacred charge was left with the greatest solemnity. 

    Mielikki may be considered a Finnish Artemis. She is a protector of animals. She may also be called Mimerkki, Mieulutar, and Mielus. Mielus means “friendly” and Mieli means “mind” or even “intelligence.”

    On the 7th day of Hethara, Atum was honored.




    September 24th


    Day of Going Forth of Isis is commemorated on the 8th day of Hethera. Ancient Egyptians marked the approach of the planting season by commemorating the death and rebirth of Osiris. There was music, dancing, and ceremonial planting.




    In Santeria, this is the feast of Obatala. In the Yoruba language, Obatala means King of the white cloth. Mythology says that it was a male Obatala that was sent by Oludumare from heaven to Earth to create the human being and to rule as king, but he is blamed for creating defective humans after getting drunk. Humans were meant to be made according to a pattern given by Olodumare. Since that day, Obatala has been forbidden drink, and his children are also forbidden alcohol.
     



    The second day of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries was called the halade mystai from hals “to or into the sea.” The initiates were commanded to purify themselves by bathing in the sea. After their self-baptism in this holy water, they put on new clothes of linen and were called hydrani.




    September 25th


    For about two weeks, Durga Puja is celebrated in India in honor of the ten armed goddess Durga, Divine Mother of the Universe. She conquered the many headed king of demons, Mahisasura. During the festival, children express their respect for their parents, and adults settle quarrels with friends and neighbors. Many family reunions are held during this festival.




    In 1985, the Senate passed an amendment denying tax-exempt status to Wiccan groups.




    On the third day of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries offerings were made including barley from a field of Eleusis.




    September 26th


    A solemn procession transpired on the fourth day of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries. The holy basket of Ceres was moved about in a consecrated cart. On every side, the people cheered Ceres. Following the cart came women called the kisophoroi, who carried baskets in which were sesame, carded wool, grains of salt, a serpent, pomegranates, reeds, ivy, and ceremonial cakes.

    A libation was offered to Dionysus and to the other gods, but it was a feast of wine from which Demeter abstained during her period of mourning. Therefore those already within the cult imitated her and did not leave their homes. It was probably on this day that the contents of the kykeon (Barley, water and mint-pennyroyal) were made ready. (see September 28th).





    September 27th


    In Mesopotamia, this is the Day of Willows.




    The fifth day of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries commemorated the Evening of the Holy Night. It was called the ton lampadon hemera, the torch day, because on the following night the people ran about with torches in their hands. The torches were typically dedicated to Ceres, and assertions were made over who should offer the biggest in remembrance of the travels of the goddess and of her lighting a torch in the flames of Mount Aetna. It was also called agyrmos (Hesychios), “gathering.” In the morning the procession of mystai assembled, leaving the city by way of the potters’ quarter and the Sacred Gate to march along the Sacred Road to Eleusius where it would arrive in the evening.




    September 28th


    Confucius is believed to have been born on this day in 551 BC.




    Uroica, Breton goddess of heather and heather wine, is honored with the making of alcohol for festivals and sacred purposes with the Feast of Brewing.




    The sixth day of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries was called Iacchos, from Iacchus who accompanied his mother in search of Proserpine with a torch in his hand. From that circumstance his statue had a torch in its hand, and was carried in solemn procession to Eleusis. They danced and sang as they passed through Hiera Hodos, the sacred way, the resting place hiera syke, named for the fig tree that grew in the area. It is not known what sacred objects were brought from Eleusis to Athens five days before but only that, after crossing the Athenian border, those in charge of them stopped by the hiera syke. The objects were kept for a time in the Eleusinion of Athens and then brought back to Eleusis in the procession. The priestesses carried them on their heads in baskets. There were myrtle boughs in the hair and in the hands of the mystai. The white garments of the mystai were held in high esteem. Dedicated to the goddesses or kept as swaddling clothes for a new generation, they were the simplest sort of dress such as might be worn by beggars or travelers.

    They stopped on a bridge over the Cephisus, where a hetaira engaged in gephyrismoi, or “bridge jests” with those that passed. She was playing the role of Baubo, who with jokes and lewd gestures eased Demeter mourning with laughter. This was the moment for the women to drink of the kykeon that they had brought along on their heads.

    The salty Rheitoi watercourse was also crossed by bridge. Here the mystai probably identified themselves with the words that have come down to us as their password and sign of recognition. They are a summary of everything the initiated had to do before being admitted to the epopteia. “I have fasted, drunk the kykeon, taken sacred things from the kiste (chest) and, after the rites, put them in the kalathos (small basket), whence I put them back in the kiste (cista mystica).” These sacred things include sesame cakes, “pyramid and spherical cakes, cakes with many navels,” pomegranates, poppies, fig branches, fennel stalks, ivy leaves, salt, and a serpent figurine. There are other holy items as well. Ineffable symbols of the goddess, marjoram, a lamp, a sword, and Ceres Comb, a euphemism used in the mysteries for a woman’s secret parts. After this they entered Eleusis by a place called mystike eisodos, the mystical entrance to the Telesterion, “the temple of initiation.” The roof of the temple was peaked and could be opened to serve as a kind of chimney to the fires which were part of the Mysteries.

    The entire procession did not enter the Telesterion. It consisted of the mystai of the Lesser Mysteries and possibly of epoptai, who had already ‘seen’ Eleusis. Until they reached the Anaktoron, “palace,” they were not initiated. This was a small edifice with in the main campus of the temple.




    On the 12th Hethara, Osiris went forth to Abydos. This was also a Festival of Hapi commemorating the Creation of the Nile.




    September 29th


    Gwynn ap Nudd, lord of the underworld and the faerie kingdom is equivalent to St. Michael. Glastonbury Tor is his sacred mountain.




    Heimdall, orderer of society and watcher for the Norse gods, is captain of 432,000 Einheriar, the chosen warriors who defend Valhalla.




    On the seventh day of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries, there were sports in which the victors were rewarded with a measure of barley, the first grain sown at Eleusis.



  • Borders Annual Spooktacular

    So I planned out the store’s annual Halloween party yesterday at work. I’ll be darned if I work on it when I’m not getting paid. There was a time I might have done so, but not any more. There’ll be scary stories read and a craft that’s yet to be determined, five different stations where the kids can trick or treat, an activity corner, and me as a Wandering Pooka giving out a trick, a treat, or a dire warning upon request. And because I’m a sneaky brat, there will be a somewhat educational trivia contest on the origins of Halloween aka Samhain.

    I made up two activities… one is monster hopscotch. I’ll make a hopscotch grid on the floor with tape and make cards for each number. The kids will throw a stone and when they hop to the number the stone lands on, they’ll either get a treat right away or they’ll have to do whatever trick the card demands. I also came up with a “pin the eye/horn on the one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater.” I’ll have to draw and color him. Though head office wants the party actually on Halloween, we’ll have it on the last Wednesday (Oct. 29th) instead since we had it on the weekend last time and it was close to a disaster in terms of coverage.

    I’m sure at some point, probably a week before the event (like with the “event kit” for the new Paolini book… which we really needed since no one could stomach the derivative drivel enough to put together an event that was a positive reflection of the series), they’ll send down some official packet as to what they want done at the party, but I’ll ignore it like I did last year. It’s not like it’s at all useful if I don’t get it in time. At least they let me know a little over a month before the fact that we’ll be having a Halloween party again this year. Last year, they gave me two weeks I think.

    In the meantime, I am still trying to prepare the kids section for our “open house” on September 29th. They want me to “refresh” various sections in the kids section and considering I’m the only one available to work on it, I have a feeling it’s not going to be done to specification on time. I mean, they want me to take all the books out of the spinner racks, organize them, and wash the racks before putting them back. Obviously someone with a lot more free time than me came up with this. Considering I can only work on it in my “spare time” on the weekends before doing my regular work during the week (when I used to start my regular work pretty much as soon as I finished the previous week’s load), I’m surprised I’ve managed to get as far along as I have. Honestly though, I doubt that the people in charge have ever had to work a real job a day in their lives. They just tell people what to do without ever doing anything themselves. And while I don’t mind hard work at all, I absolutely hate lazy a$$e$ who get paid to do nothing but delegate… badly.




    Tattoo
    the webnovel so far…


    Chapter 1: Blood is Thicker

    Chapter 1.1 in which Glory is not mindful of the store
    Chapter 1.2 in which Glory is made to do something she would really rather not
    Chapter 1.3 in which Glory thinks she might be sick
    Chapter 1.4 in which Aaron makes a mistake
    Chapter 1.5 in which Glory is made to see the error of her ways
    Chapter 1.6 in which the circle remains unbroken

    Chapter 2: A Farewell to Arms

    Chapter 2.1 in which Aaron makes another mistake
    Chapter 2.2 in which Glory reflects on her path
    Chapter 2.3 in which we learn Aaron is not really a nice boy
    Chapter 2.4 in which Glory speculates on the holiness of salt
    Chapter 2.5 in which Glory learns of the necessity for upper body strength, but makes do with  what she has
    Chapter 2.6 in which Aaron tries to make amends, but is still pretty much an ass

    Chapter 3: Small Sacrifices

    Chapter 3.1 in which Glory is spat on, twice
    Chapter 3.2 in which a cop is threatened
    Chapter 3.3 in which someone is crying
    Chapter 3.4  in which there’s more to the moon than meets the eye
    Chapter 3.5  in which Glory comes face to face with an loony environmentalist
    Chapter 3.6 in which Glory gets turned around
    Chapter 3.7 in which Glory is threatened

    Chapter 4: The Shape of Things to Come

    Chapter 4.1 in which a doctor makes his rounds
    Chapter 4.2 in which Glory is asked some awkward questions



  • 15 things

    I’ve been tagged….

     15 things you may or may not know (or want to know) about me…

    1. I’m the oldest of four children. I have one sister, one half brother (same mother, different father), and one half-sister (same father, different mother). My sister has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I have a nephew through my sister. His father is a crazy druggy alcoholic cultist. Seriously. I’m relieved that he and my sister are no longer together, but I wish she didn’t let him visit my nephew unsupervised. My brother has been diagnosed with Asberger’s and depression. He can’t hold down a job and is on SSI. I think he is just lazy and playing the system, but if he’s content to live that way, there’s not much I can do. Hey, I get depressed too and from tests I’ve taken, I’m borderline autistic myself. You don’t see me sponging off the system. I never see my half sister though she lives fairly close. She only seems to look me up when she wants something.

    2. My family on my mother’s side was one of the first families in Virginia. Which means they were probably slave holders (though I have no verification on this). My mother is convinced that there is a curse on our family dating from this time, and this alleged curse explains why we’ve never been able to get ahead. (That’s my mom’s theory any way.)

    3. My grandfather put the electricity in the Lincoln tunnel and worked on the Panama Canal. He owned his own construction business up until his partner embezzled the funds from the business and ran off with some floozy. If his partner had not done this, things may have turned out very different for our family.

    4. Every house we’ve ever lived in has been haunted. I’ve never seen a ghost, but I hear things and sense things, and sometimes smell things. One of my coworkers has named my attic ghost the “stinky ghost” because I told her about how it made a smell like feces once.

    5. I had an “Uncle” Freddie who was actually my great grandmother’s live in boyfriend. She was Irish Catholic so I guess they couldn’t get married? Not sure how that works, but he was also apparently in hiding from organized crime because though he went by the name Fred Clark, Clark was my Nana’s maiden name and my father’s middle name. I really don’t know who he was or what he did that made him take an alias and live out his days in hiding.

    6. I am easily frustrated and often disappointed in people and circumstances. I am a hard worker and consistent (rarely late or calling off), but if I feel like I am being taken advantage of, I do my best to get out of the situation ASAP. This applies itself to work and friendships. I’ve dropped people and employers who leaned on me too heavily, especially if I’ve been there for them but they’ve made themselves scarce when I’ve needed them. I don’t like to be treated like a resource. I prefer to be treated like a person.

    7. I collect books, comic books, and certain genres of movie. I collect certain authors (Charles de Lint, HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Scott Cunningham, various weird authors…) and certain subjects (magic, Paganism, mysticism, divination, ancient history…). I collect super hero comics and movies. When I was a kid I collected unicorns. Since I’ve gotten older, I collect dragons. (Most of the unicorns have been sold off in yard sales.) I collect aquatic beanie babies (because I’m a Pisces).

    8. I have various spirit animals, but ravens, snakes, and spiders seem to dominate. I collect figures and images of all three, though they are actually pretty difficult to find, especially ravens.

    9. I’m a bit of a packrat. I get it from my mother, but I’m not as bad as she is.

    10. I’m a very powerful empath. I can even “talk” to plants and animals. It’s useful but also makes me very shy of people and crowds. I get physically sick if I have to spend too much time in a crowd (out of my “comfort zone”). For this reason, I am not overly fond of working in retail, especially during the holidays. Some days I’d just like to find a dark room and crawl under a desk.

    11. I believe in aliens, but I don’t think they target good old boys named Bubba for the purposes of performing unnecessary anal probes. Sorry. I think if there are aliens out there, they have more important things to do than troll our little backwater planet of xenophobes. Since we’re on the galactic rim, we’re probably less likely to get extra terrestrial visitors in space ships and more likely to get extra terrestrial visitors in the form of microbe laden meteors.

    12. I don’t like to ask for help. I don’t like to impose on people. I’m overjoyed and surprised when people offer their assistance, but I don’t seek it.

    13. I like to cook, but my family doesn’t really like to eat (unless it’s red meat). When I have time, I enjoy cooking for the people I work with, except for one guy who is ALWAYS bugging me about cooking. First of all it’s expensive to cook for so many and secondly, if I’m getting constant demands to cook without any recompense (he never offers me a dime), it’s not fun any more. It’s a chore.

    14. My great grandmother on my mother’s side babysat us as children. She adored my sister and put up with a lot of crap from my brother, but she hated me and used to tell my mother stories about me so that I would get in trouble. No one could understand why I didn’t like her and would hide from her and say bad things about her as a child. My mother only started to accept that my grammy was cruel to me now that I’m an adult and continue to stick by my story. I wish she would have listened to me when it would have made a difference. Mostly when the subject comes up now, I get the impression she’d just like me to drop it since my grammy is now dead and it’s all in the past. Mostly I’d just like her to say she’s sorry, just once.

    15. Every electoral year I start out hopeful and end up disgusted. I never intended to vote for McCain and even less so with the addition of Palin. The Republicans must think women are stupid if they think a gimmick female VP sidekick is going to get my vote. I’m not going to vote for a female VP because I’m a woman any more than I’d vote for McCainn because I’m Irish. I’m getting sick of Obama though… just little things like wise cracks (about Palin and a pig…) and that time he “accidentally” gave the finger to Hilary when they were debating. Frankly I don’t know if I want to vote for either one of these guys any more. I’ll probably vote for Obama, but I don’t know that I like him much as a person. The more I see/hear about him, the less I really like him aside from the fact that he’s not a Republican. The Republican party I find insulting to my intelligence, my sense of justice, my rights as a woman, and my ability to make up my own mind without being told what to think, but that doesn’t automatically make me think the Democrats are much better. We really need the other parties to be put on equal footing with the traditional parties. I’m a socialist, dammit. The democratic party may be the closest thing to my political leanings, but if I thought a socialist or green party candidate had a shot, they’d have my vote instead.

    (Wow, that was hard. I thought I was going to run out of things before I got to 15.)

  • My busy life…

    Really at this point, do I really need to say that I’m tired?? lol In addition to my regular workload, they’ve had us “refreshing” sections… that is, going through and making sure everything is alphabetical and properly labeled and shifted if need be. Not really hard work, but time consuming, especially considering they’ve cut hours for the store so there’s no one to help the customers if we’re all off doing the things they want us to get done. Let’s just say they gave me a week to get the History refresh done… back at the beginning of August, and I just finished it a few days ago. Yesterday I started the refresh for the kids section. Now that is a lot more arduous than the History refresh was. The kids section is often lovingly referred to as “the pit” by employees sent to clean it up. I swear, it’s not even that kids make a big mess (often)… it’s more that parents in an attempt to clean up after their little walking disasters just shove whatever their tykes have pulled off the shelves into any hole they can find. Now this may be a tactic that works at home… but not so good for us when we’re trying to find stuff. Refreshing the kids section is the stuff of nightmares. And I absolutely have to have it done by the 30th of September because we’re having some kind of open house nonsense. Oh, and BTW, did I mention I’m in charge of putting together the trick-or-treat/Halloween party again this year? I have grave doubts that I will be given sufficient hours for my coworkers to staff the party. Obviously, if I have no one around to share in the “refreshing,” I doubt I’ll have anyone around to share in the “party.” It’s no party for me! (Though Halloween IS my favorite holiday, hands down.)

    Anyway…. I woke up this morning at 8:30 with the intent of doing laundry, only to find I’d taken a key from work that needed to be returned before they opened. So I got dressed and jumped in the car and made the needless and gas-consuming trip to and from work. It would have been a different matter if I’d had any other errands to run, but running back to work just to return a key…. grrrr! Stupid me. I did at least find out where the Halloween Spirit store is located this year. Of course, it wasn’t open though, nor was the mall open so early. I couldn’t even go over to the Hot Topic and gawk at all the pretty-pretty Goth-wear that I’ll never spend money on. lol

    I think the most I’ve ever bought at a Hot Topic are Darth Vader shoelaces that say “Join the Darkside” and “Wicked” shoelaces with a picture of the evil queen from Sleeping Beauty on them. I really love my Darth Vader shoelaces. I’ve worn them so much that the plastic has come off the ends. I’ve even transferred them from a worn out pair of sneakers to the new pair when I bought them. I bought them at a Hot Topic when I was on vacation last year and I even went so far as to look in the local Hot Topic for a secondary pair. No such luck…. I am not a shoe person. Typically I have one pair of sneakers, a pair of sandals, and a pair of dress shoes. My Wicked shoelaces have put evil urges in my head to buy a new pair of sneakers for the express purpose of having an alternate pair to display my “Wicked” laces in. Maybe I should just put eyelets in a t-shirt or a pair of jeans and use the “Wicked” laces that way. I really want to use my “Wicked” laces, but I really love my “Join the Darkside” laces too. (sigh)

    So after running up to work and back, I threw the laundry in and started in to cleaning. As tired and over worked as I’ve been, I haven’t really had the chance to clean as thoroughly as I might like. It’d been months since I took down all my books and rearranged my bookshelves. I have them piled one on top of each other against one wall since I definitely don’t have the room for them in my little space. The dust on the books was at least a centimeter thick up top. Moving my shelves and books is really an all day project, and I am wiped out from it. Or it could be the allergy medication… I’m allergic to dustmites, so it’s best to nip an allergic reaction in the bud and take the meds before the cleaning… of course, then I never can tell if I’m tired from the physical labor or the meds. Still, that’s one quarter of my room cleaned. I’ll have to clean more tomorrow before work and maybe Saturday and Sunday as well. I want to move my plants and repot some before winter. I have to move furniture so my plants can be closer to the windows and the light as it diminishes the closer we get to winter.

    ….just another month and I can stop taking my allergy meds until next year…

    ………….Less than a month till I go on “vacation.” Vacation means working myself ragged at home instead of at work. lol We have an annual yard sale to prepare for. We hold it every year over the Canal Festival/Haunted Woods weekend which practically starts at our door. Who needs yard sale signs when you have a couple hundred people walking by your yard? lol I take off for a whole week and do a little Autumn cleaning. Attic to basement…. and I have to organize my comic book collection. I haven’t had the opportunity to box anything since last year….

    Anyway…. that’s what I’ve been up to. I hope I get a chance to rest before the holiday rush begins, or I may have a psychotic break and murder some innocent idiot. And my face has been breaking out like mad. No wonder people have been mistaking me for a teenager lately. I can’t figure it out. I’m not eating anything different. I blame stress.

  • Sorry for the missed posts….

    Sorry for my extended absence again. The Writer’s Choice questions will have to wait till next week, but here is the update on my webnovel and the holy days. I was going to post on Sunday, but then I read these reviews of my webnovel and I was kind of upset. The first review just kind of annoyed me (especially the comparison to Twilight!), but I thought the second was just kind of mean. I couldn’t get into writing much of anything after that. And I didn’t have any time yesterday, nor do I really have any today. I’ll try to post something more substantial tomorrow or Thursday.



    Tattoo
    the webnovel so far…


    Chapter 1: Blood is Thicker

    Chapter 1.1 in which Glory is not mindful of the store
    Chapter 1.2 in which Glory is made to do something she would really rather not
    Chapter 1.3 in which Glory thinks she might be sick
    Chapter 1.4 in which Aaron makes a mistake
    Chapter 1.5 in which Glory is made to see the error of her ways
    Chapter 1.6 in which the circle remains unbroken

    Chapter 2: A Farewell to Arms

    Chapter 2.1 in which Aaron makes another mistake
    Chapter 2.2 in which Glory reflects on her path
    Chapter 2.3 in which we learn Aaron is not really a nice boy
    Chapter 2.4 in which Glory speculates on the holiness of salt
    Chapter 2.5 in which Glory learns of the necessity for upper body strength, but makes do with  what she has
    Chapter 2.6 in which Aaron tries to make amends, but is still pretty much an ass

    Chapter 3: Small Sacrifices

    Chapter 3.1 in which Glory is spat on, twice
    Chapter 3.2 in which a cop is threatened
    Chapter 3.3 in which someone is crying
    Chapter 3.4  in which there’s more to the moon than meets the eye
    Chapter 3.5  in which Glory comes face to face with an loony environmentalist
    Chapter 3.6 in which Glory gets turned around
    Chapter 3.7 in which Glory is threatened

    Chapter 4: The Shape of Things to Come

    Chapter 4.1 in which a doctor makes his rounds




    September 15th


    According to the Chinese, this is the day the Moon was created.

    This is the birthday of Henry Cornelius Agrippa in 1486.




    September 16th


    A festival for Ra, Osiris and Horus occurs on the last day of Paopi.




    September 17th


    The 1st day of Hethara is a Feast of Hathor.




    September 19th


    A day long fast in honor of Thoth occurred today according to the Alexandrian calendar.




    Congressman Robert S Walker introduced bill HR-3389 to amend IRS rules to deny tax-exempt status to witchcraft organizations.




    September 20th


    This is the birthday of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. Incas marked the Spring equinox with a ceremony held at dawn in their mountain-top temple. They would wait in the dark for the first rays of the sun, and then after rejoicing, they would feast, sacrifice animals, and perform divinations.




    Alexander the Great, deified after his death, was born in 356 BC.




    September 21st


    The Egyptian feast of Divine Life was an Autumnal celebration dedicated to the three-fold goddess – mother (creatrix, daughter (renewer), and dark mother (absolute). Hathor was honored.




    The Kappa-Aquarids meteor shower peaks at this time. It is active from the September eighth to the thirtieth.




    In Norway, Raud the Strong was hideously tortured and martyred by the Christian king Olaf Tryggvason.




    September 22nd


    Mabon was to the ancient Celts a festival in honor of the Welsh god Mabon son of the goddess Modron though it has also been attributed to Queen Mab of the fairy people. It is called Alban Elfred by the Druids and Winter Finding by the Asatru who consider it sacred to Frey. The autumnal equinox is the date of the second harvest, this time of fruit. Blackberries, sacred to Brigit, must be harvested between now and Samhain or left for the pookas, fairies who receive all unharvested fruits after November 1.




    In Japan, the autumn equinox is Higan, meaning “the other shore” or heaven. To honor the dead, on this day Buddhists visit cemeteries and pray for the souls of their departed ancestors.




    The Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred to Demeter and Persephone, begin tonight.




    Karpo, goddess of autumn, and Carman, goddess of poetry, were honored tonight and tomorrow.



  • wcfq 20a/d: In a perfect world, I’d have 5 billion dollars



    If you could create the perfect world,
    what would it be like?

    Skystears


    Haha! But seriously, we already live in a perfect world, perfect in every way, but we sit here and insist on screwing it up with selfishness and acts of jealousy.  I honestly couldn’t think of a more perfect world than the one we live on. We have clean water (when we’re not dumping our waste into it). We have clean air (when we’re not spoiling it with car exhaust and factory spew). We have clean soil (when we’re not burying toxic and irradiated waste in leaky concrete bunkers). Why…. We live in the most perfect world imaginable; we’re just too stupid to appreciate it.

    What would you rather have,
    world peace or 5 billion dollars?

    oddcreature


    In all honesty, and I’m not being selfish here… I’d rather have the 5 billion dollars. Has anyone seen the episode of the X-Files where Mulder meets a djinna and asks for world peace? Yeah, and everyone DISAPPEARED! So, world peace…. could never happen unless every single human being but one disappeared. Why just leave just one? Because if you put two human beings together, eventually they fight about something and POOF! no more world peace. I’m only halfway joking here. There’s seriously no way there can ever be world peace unless humanity grows up a little. Stop getting worked up over every little thing. Yeesh! It’s just life. It’s not like it’s permanent.

    The other day I had a woman come into the store. Her eyes were wide and staring. In one big rush, she said, “DoyouhavethebookaboutSarahPalin?” I honestly couldn’t tell if she was one of the Rs or one of the Ds, but both of them come in demanding to see the books that support their views front and center, never mind about anything that presents a different opinion. Politics has become cultlike. It’s more than disturbing. It’s scary. Depending upon how this election goes, it might not be safe for people like me to continue to reside in the country of my birth. I know I’ve said it before when Bush was elected and “re-elected,” but as time passes, it becomes more evident that America is not a safe place to live. Not because of outsiders coming here to kill in the name of their religion, but because of the closemindedness of the people who already live here. People scare me!

    But back to the SarahPalin cultist, I told her I didn’t know (because I refuse to pay attention to the book titles in the politics section) and that I would look it up. “ItsaboutSarahPalin.It’scalledSarah!” she blurted as if her forcefulness would make me find it faster. After a moment of searching, I told her that it was not yet in but we should have it soon. Did she want to reserve one? No, she was content with the fact that we would be carrying it and walked forcefully out. Is the book pro or con Palin? I have no idea. But her cultists are scary wide eyed women who make me cringe.

    Ugh… I don’t care if Sarah Palin is a woman. That doesn’t mean she gives a fig for me and my beliefs. She’s a scary Christian, and I don’t mean that as a slur against Christians in general (My grandma’s Christian, so it’s not like I hate all Christians or something). Palin’s just one of the scary ones. They come in all varieties.   From the description though, I’d say she’s about as close to a Christian version of the Al Qaeda as you can possibly get. If she and the Bush clone are elected, I foresee dark times for Pagans and other free thinkers. I mean, look at what’s been going on in St Paul.  How is it democratic to attack a peaceful protest?

    So, give me 5 billion dollars so I can buy an island… and you’re all welcome to come with me. It’ll be the biggest exodus since… the Exodus. heh All free thinking, unbiased, unselfish, and curious people welcome. I don’t care who you are, what you believe, or who you sleep with so long as you’re willing to let everyone else be who they are, believe what they want, and have a loving relationship with whoever loves them back.




  • Writers Choice Featured Questions Week 20

    five questions for this week
    unfeatured questions stolen from the featured question chatboard, dated from October of 2007
    Please use the new Share button
    to answer these. That makes it almost like the regular featured
    questions (and will hopefully show the powers that be that their
    carefully chosen questions are LAME! lol)

    If you could create the perfect world, what would it be like?
    Skystears

    Why do people like to interfere in other peoples lives?
    truly_bis_4eva

    Should Bush and his fellow idiots be held
    accountable for their actions. The deficit they created, the lives
    they put in jeopardy, and the hundreds of other violations they committed against the US?

    aboveuall

    what would u rather want to have, world peace or 5 billion dollars?
    oddcreature

    Is it better to live in the moment or plan ahead?
    TouchtheFlame


    Answer any one or all of these questions in the coming
    week. I try to mix the whimsical with the serious here, so hopefully
    there is at least one question here for everyone. Again, since Xanga has been so thoughtful as to add the new SHARE button, please use that when answering any of these questions. Using the Share button allows you to answer the question almost in the same way that you would a normal Xanga-sponsored featured question.





    September 8th


    Weather today or tomorrow would determine the type of weather for the next forty days.




    This is the Native American Pinnhut festival.




    September 9th


    Asclepigenia, priestess of the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, was honored today.




    September 11th


    The three day celebration of Nichiren is held by the Japanese Buddhist sect in honor of its founder of the same name. He was an outspoken 13th century priest who angered the government. Arrested, he was sentenced to death by decapitation, but lightning struck the execution site. His sentence was reduced to exile on a nearby island. Freed from exile September 12, 1271, he spent the rest of his life teaching his form of Buddhism. During his celebration, his followers shout prayers while beating fan-shaped drums.




    The Enkutatash is held in Ethiopia. Enkutatash means the “gift of jewels.” When the Queen of Sheba returned from visiting King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her by replenishing her treasury with inku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since this early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. Today’s Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal new year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated – in lieu or the traditional bouquet of flowers.



    Birthday of Silver RavenWolf.




    September 12th


    This day is dedicated to Astraea by the Greeks.




    September 13th


    The Egyptian All-Soul’s Day occurred on the 26th day of Paopi. This Festival of lighting the fires of Neith honored the goddess Nephthys or Nebthet, protectress of the dead, with fires. Fires were lit before the statues of the dead and the gods. The ceremony was accompanied by a general illumination which lasted all the night.




    The Lectisternium was held in honor of the three Capitoline Deities. A festival of Greek origin, it was first ordered by the Sibylline books. From it’s beginning, a banquet was regularly offered to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, at which the Senate officiated, in conjunction with the plebeian games. The images of the three deities were dressed with curls, anointed, and garbed in colors. Jupiter was placed reclining on a cushion with a goddess seated on a chair on each side. Mars and Venus were always placed together.




    September 14th


    The Feast of Lights was an ancient Egyptian festival in which light were left burning all night before images of the gods and the tombs of the dead.




    September 15th


    According to the Chinese, this is the day the Moon was created.




    This is the birthday of Henry Cornelius Agrippa in 1486.



  • A Plan

    Well….here I am. Back from my five day hiatus. What was I doing? Mainly working, sneezing, and sleeping. I’m really sorry about not even popping in to post the holy days. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m just not going to be able to post every day until my allergies let up. Not if I want to keep writing my webnovel. As it stands, I let it slide for three weeks while I tried to keep up with posting here and I completely ran out of buffer. I spent the last three hours writing and editing the first three and a half pages of the next chapter (it actually works out to about eight pages if they were on paper).

    So… from here on out, I’ll post the newest page of my webnovel on Sundays. On Mondays, I’ll post the Writers Choice Featured Questions and the full week of holy days. Then if I get a chance I’ll make other posts during the week, but at least I won’t feel bad about things I was supposed to do and didn’t. I know no one requires me to post the wcfq or the Pagan holy days, but it’s something that I’ve undertaken, and I feel like a slacker when I don’t do things, especially things I’m determined to do on a regular basis.



    Tattoo
    the webnovel so far…


    Chapter 1: Blood is Thicker

    Chapter 1.1 in which Glory is not mindful of the store
    Chapter 1.2 in which Glory is made to do something she would really rather not
    Chapter 1.3 in which Glory thinks she might be sick
    Chapter 1.4 in which Aaron makes a mistake
    Chapter 1.5 in which Glory is made to see the error of her ways
    Chapter 1.6 in which the circle remains unbroken

    Chapter 2: A Farewell to Arms

    Chapter 2.1 in which Aaron makes another mistake
    Chapter 2.2 in which Glory reflects on her path
    Chapter 2.3 in which we learn Aaron is not really a nice boy
    Chapter 2.4 in which Glory speculates on the holiness of salt
    Chapter 2.5 in which Glory learns of the necessity for upper body strength, but makes do with  what she has
    Chapter 2.6 in which Aaron tries to make amends, but is still pretty much an ass

    Chapter 3: Small Sacrifices

    Chapter 3.1 in which Glory is spat on, twice
    Chapter 3.2 in which a cop is threatened
    Chapter 3.3 in which someone is crying
    Chapter 3.4  in which there’s more to the moon than meets the eye
    Chapter 3.5  in which Glory comes face to face with an loony environmentalist
    Chapter 3.6 in which Glory gets turned around
    Chapter 3.7 in which Glory is threatened

    Chapter 4: The Shape of Things to Come
    (September 14th)