> Recent Entries
> Archive
> Friends
> User Info
> Dragon Nexus
> previous 20 entries

November 30th, 2009

07:55 pm - A Request Regarding Mail December is looking to be a pretty rough month for me, so I have a little request to make. If anyone is sending me anything, be it cards or packages, please do so through the US Postal Service. This is partially because FedEx is a dud out here and my front desk is kind of finicky with their hours (and the Post Office is predictable and won't leave my packages on my doorstep where they can get swiped--it's happened to me before), but also because it looks like I'm going to be doing some (unwanted) business travel :/ Possibly for 3 months on and off, which makes my life just that much less predictable. On top of this, I'm farther behind on my Christmas shopping than I've ever been (and was not able to do the handmade things I wanted to... and with the travel I definitely won't be able to cobble 'em together on the quick either), so if things are late or seem somewhat generic, I really apologize D: I'll do better next year :( I'm a little miffed that I might not get to use those snowboard bindings I bought this year thanks to the new and improved unexpected craziness of my schedule >:( Argh. On the upside, I guess I might be saving some money by not buying lift tickets? :/ But I also had a free lift ticket coupon, dammit... But hey, outside of all that, I hope you all had a nice holiday! I introduced my parents to Tofurky (and they like it quite a bit) and I got to hit up my favorite beach twice, so it's not completely doom and gloom on my end, just... a lot of warnings and apologies ^^;; (Sorry!) Current Mood: hungry Tags: work

(6 comments | Leave a comment)

November 20th, 2009

01:33 pm - This Is Why I Am Just A Mild Trekkie, And Not An Astro-Physicist Really, I should know more about orbits. I don't have any explanation or excuse for why I don't, but I do not know very much about them at all. Technically, it shouldn't be all that mentally exhausting for me to figure out how to calculate points in an orbit from several variables given (like the right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN), which I had to look up just now to figure out what the acronym even meant). Here's the thing... it is. Math is not fun--functional, yes, but not fun. It's kind of shameful that this sort of calculation should be so annoying and that I should have to look up so many of these things, but what can you do? :/ Clearly, there was never a future at NASA for the likes of me, and neither Google Earth nor Google Maps provide any handy functions that I can find to do this sort of thing for me :( I was totally going to plot my missing yarn ball orbiting the Earth, too, dammit. [EDIT: Also, making "periapsis" the same as "perihelion" around the sun or "perigee" around the Earth just sounds like someone in the world of orbit specification is out to get me :/] Current Mood: annoyed Tags: code, work

(6 comments | Leave a comment)

November 19th, 2009

08:52 pm - The Shirt Debacle Well, I don't really know what to say. Usually ThinkGeek is really good about getting back to me on things and they've always been top-notch service... but they haven't gotten back to me on the question of the shirt (whether it is returnable). I have, however, managed to rub out the deodorant mark to the point where you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it (hopefully... I'm only ever home at night, so daylight may say otherwise). I think I'm just going to return it with a note and hope for the best... because I've already re-ordered the shirt :/ And if this doesn't work, I'm going to have two. And if a medium is too damn big still... well, then I'm just going to be wearing a really damn big shirt, because I'm really never a small. Never. Also, the mysterious issues of Vogue in my mail? Yup. Also Mom. Sadly, flipping through these has rubbed off on me enough that I actually recognized featured heeled shoes in both Zombieland and Boondocks Saints II: All Saints' Day D: I have absolutely no control over the information I end up retaining, and it was kind of horrifying. The red soles apparently means Louboutins, and both movies may have used the same shoe model--a reasonably plain, but ultra high heeled (stiletto?) pair of black shoes. I'm ashamed of the fact that I not only noticed, but knew the name (even if I can't pronounce it) :( The indignity! I can feel my geek cred slipping away T_T Current Mood: horrified

(6 comments | Leave a comment)

11:37 am - Happy (Belated) 5th Birthday, Firefox I'm mildly tempted to try and make/do something for Firefox's 5th Birthday (technically Nov. 9th, I think?), but I don't know what I would have time and people for :P Current Mood: amused

(6 comments | Leave a comment)

November 16th, 2009

05:42 pm - I Tell You, Cruciferous Vegetables Get No Love So apparently, there are Leonids coming down tonight (thanks, Kerry, for the link). And I guess a few days afterwards. I just don't think I want to be awake at 5:28am in the morning for the peak of the shower. While it would be cool to drive out to some less populated and light polluted area to view them in the middle of the night at crazy-o-clock in the morning, I don't think I'll be able to 1) convince other people to come and 2) convince myself to brave the cold and lie out in the middle of a dark field which may or may not become populated with Leonid-infused/-irradiated zombies to see a couple of sparks in the sky that have a very, very low probability of granting my wishes. But y'know, it's a cute idea. Night of the Leonids. Plan 9 From The Bay Area. Fun stuff, yes? As long as it doesn't turn into an episode on cryogenics, where my corpsicle needs to be thawed out after the star-gazing... The title is from discovering that there is apparently a Broccoli Festival in Monterey (usually all you ever hear about is the Garlic Festival at Gilroy). There is, curiously, also an Artichoke Festival. Seriously, people only ever talk about the Garlic. Herbs get all the love, I tell you! Also, I finally got to see Boondocks Saints II: All Saints' Day on Saturday night (in spite of my anger over the limited early release). As Jayne would say, "I'll be in my bunk." <3 Current Mood: thoughtful Tags: movie

(11 comments | Leave a comment)

November 13th, 2009

04:39 pm - Extra, Extra Stupid So I spent all of yesterday and half of today trying to solve a problem that--get this--wasn't there. The problem was not that I wasn't getting an extrude on my GoogleEarth plug-in. Apparently I was. My problem was that my data so very closely matched the simulated ground at that location that I couldn't see the extrude until I zoomed in so close that my whole window was essentially occupied by four pixels of the GoogleEarth surface. I am the biggest moron that ever walked the face of this planet. -_- My motivation for continuing to work for the rest of the day is now officially shot. Furthermore, the shirt I really, really wanted for quite some time and finally broke down and bought is TOO DAMN BIG. Unfortunately, I got a deodorant streak on the inside, which means I apparently can't return it anymore. This is, unfortunately, another instance of things being entirely my fault. I missed the note at the bottom of the product page claiming that they ran a little big. I should have stopped when I pulled the shirt out of the bag and said to myself, "Hey, that looks awfully big for an L sized babydoll." But no. I had to try it on, because I thought hey, I've ordered L and M sized babydolls from ThinkGeek before (and I like the L's because they're usually longer, which helps disguise my enormous hips) and they've fit, so maybe I'm just big and fat and the shirt will fit just fine. It doesn't. My men's M-sized shirts fit better than this, it's like it's an XXL. And now, because I was stupid enough to try it on, I think I may be saddled with this huge shirt forever. It is an amazing shirt, it's just... too big for me :( I am sad and frustrated beyond words -_- I want my freaking missing ball of yarn back, universe. It's the very, very least you could do, honestly. Current Mood: frustrated Tags: work

(7 comments | Leave a comment)

November 12th, 2009

08:46 pm - This Week Isn't Working Apparently, I can do nothing right this week. Not only have I just wrestled for a whole day with a code change that shouldn't have taken more than maybe 2 hours (it's still not working, because apparently there's more to getting a line in the GoogleEarth PlugIn to extrude than just setting extrude to true and it's a heavily guarded secret of some kind), but the brownies I tried to make yesterday to cheer myself up a little did not go well. If you're ever tempted to buy that "canola oil for baking" oil spray, save yourself the money and hassle--whatever is in there is actually superglue. The brownies are slightly overdone, so they're tough already, but they are glued down to the non-stick pan like nothing I've ever seen before. I am in the process of ruining that pan getting it all out in chunks and bits and hoping to eat whatever doesn't get flung against a wall or the ceiling :( It makes me worry that the ants will likely be back, because they have less problems with eating fudge-covered brownie off of walls and ceilings (and floors). My sole solace today has been scrounging up enough dairy creamer (two Mini Moos' worth, minimum) to make myself some hot chocolate this morning. It's not even good hot chocolate, it's just adequate. I've given up on ever finding that yarn and will probably just lose the needles to the project which will never be finished because those triple yarn-overs were so damned annoying. The number of times I have been reduced to tears or nearly so this week has been unacceptable, and I wish I had something or someone to blame other than myself, because it sucks. And I tried really hard for it not to, but clearly failed pretty damn miserably. Current Mood: miserable Tags: baking, work

(4 comments | Leave a comment)

November 11th, 2009

11:16 am - Deadlines The ball of yarn is nowhere to be found still :( I'm still cranky. I think the thing the ball of yarn is really bringing to reality for me is that since my schedule went crazy thanks to this project, I don't think I am going to be able to knit/crochet/sew any of the things I was planning to try and knit/crochet/sew for Christmas gifts :( I still need to sew the other oven mitt for Mom, and I can't see myself squeezing in enough time to bang out a pair of socks for Dad without some serious knitting time T_T And that's just parental gifting, although they are often very difficult to buy for. Mom is never happy, and Dad is generally happy about everything/anything, I just want to get him something that will really be used. Perhaps I will get him a copy of Portal, since he does like puzzle-y games, and that one certainly looks like a mind-bender. Anyhow, I guess what I'm trying to say is, where are all your wish lists, people? :/ I need some ideas, because my original plans for hand-crafting stuff for most of my list are definitely not going to happen at this rate :( And there's a few people for whom I simply do not know what to get them. I will likely barely have time to properly shop, much less craft -_- And I feel kind of awful about it, because... I really wanted to do the handcrafted holiday thing. My best bets now are to find things on Etsy or Artfire (or some environmentally or socially beneficial site), so things were at least hand-crafted by somebody (or somehow responsible), but it's not the same, y'know? :( It's not the same. And I apologize in advance for my lameness :( I just feel so many deadlines creeping up on me... So many deadlines. Current Mood: out of time Current Music: Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

(2 comments | Leave a comment)

November 10th, 2009

06:25 pm - Cranky Week The week has barely started and it's already getting awful :/ Sadly, I am starting to lose track of what day it is because weekends... aren't all that weekend-like anymore. Monday I found out that my Wednesday demo got moved to Tuesday (today), which ended up meaning I only got to finish off the one feature and polish it a little rather than squeeze in two. /sigh. I was already feeling bad about being too tired on Sunday to go in and work on stuff after going to the Snow Bomb ski & snowboard festival (bought new bindings, but still kinda pricey), so that kind of sucked. When I got home late and tried to relax, I discovered that my second ball of yarn for the scarf I am making is missing. It's seriously gone--I have even searched the fridge and linen closet :( I'd just go buy another, but it's a discontinued yarn from like two years ago. I'm convinced it is hiding somewhere and that purchasing another will cause it to show up, but then I won't know what to do with it. It's really disconcerting to lose a ball of yarn that I know I handled either one or two days before I noticed it missing :/ Today they shut off the water to my building (but at least I am a night shower type, so I was not smelly for the demo). And then the people I am demoing for showed up an hour early in the middle of my lunch. And I ended up with cramps in the middle of the demo, so I kind of hope I wasn't making stupid faces :( Urgh. My yarn is still missing. But the yarn I bought arrived today, which is some small comfort. It's red, with real strands of silver in it, and I will make it into a lace scarf someday. If I ever get done with my current scarf :/ Randomly, I am thinking about outputting my Twitter to LJ. But mostly, I am tired and sore :( Current Mood: cranky Tags: snowboard, yarn

(4 comments | Leave a comment)

November 7th, 2009

03:38 pm - I Don't Think Your Cat is a Hussy I'm starting to get kind of bummed about about having to come into work on the weekends. My high school friend is getting married today, possibly as I write this, and I couldn't go because of these stupid deadlines (and also airfare, but I might have braved airfare if it weren't for work and fear of layoff). Just getting grumpier and grumpier, and it is getting ridiculous. ( And I get weird dreams from stress. ) So there you have it, stress-induced weirdness :/ I'm still grumpy about being at work even if I am goofing off at this particular moment in time, though, because I don't know how or when this is going to actually be presentable :( Stupid deadlines. Current Mood: grumpy Tags: dreams

(9 comments | Leave a comment)

November 6th, 2009

09:18 am - Limited Releases are Stupid This is the list of theaters that Boondocks II is playing in. Why they concentrate on the coasts is beyond me, but the fact that they only cover HALF of California (and particularly NOT the half that I'm in) really pisses me off >:E So much for plans to see it this weekend. Time to splurge on yarn to make me feel better. So apparently, there is a petition for nationwide release (something that should NOT be necessary) and you can also demand it for your area, but really... Why put the fans through all these hoops? It's infuriating, and I'm starting to consider not seeing it at all. Or maybe waiting for the DVD and just renting it, if the reviews are positive at those LIMITED locations where it is actually available. Stupid, stupid release limitations. It's not like a limited run of a flavor, where you don't know if everyone is going to like the new flavor and you don't want to dedicate a chunk of your factory to an untried product, it's a movie. You make 'em once, spread 'em around, and then wait months to put it on DVD in the hopes of re-sparking interest in something people saw a long time ago and haven't had access to for a while. ARGH. (But, speaking of limited flavors, I just saw a bag of craisin (cranberry) Raisinets in the grocery store a few days ago--doesn't that sound fantastic?! I may have to get some, even if it is kind of expensive...) Current Mood: infuriated Tags: movie

(6 comments | Leave a comment)

November 5th, 2009

08:04 pm - Case of the Exploding Pasta Wow. So, you know how microwaved water in a mug can get superheated if it doesn't have something to seed bubbles on (which is why you are not supposed to microwave water for long without something like a wooden spoon in it, btw)? That just happened with my dinky old pot on my stovetop o_0 I'm really not sure how that happened, because this is a dinky old pot. It is scratched and has burn/scorch marks all over the bottom, giving it an abundance of anomalous surface to form bubbles on. The only thing I can think of is that I had literally just washed it, but... I am not that awesome of a washer. It was kind of frightening because I was pretty close by when it blew. I was washing the rest of my dishes while waiting for the water to boil for pasta and I thought it was odd that it wasn't boiling yet and took a close look and shook the pot a little wondering if it wasn't getting good contact with the coils on the electric stove. Mere seconds after I pull my face away from this pot (I was maybe a half-foot away from it, pondering it's refusal to boil), and kabloosh!!!--pre-pasta stove geyser. Thankfully, most of the water went pretty much straight up and straight down (splooshing my microwave door in the process), so I didn't lose much of the water and could still boil my pasta after it exploded, but... wow o_0 That was a little frightening. Current Mood: shocked Tags: cookery

(10 comments | Leave a comment)

November 3rd, 2009

09:19 pm - Had to Post It This is courtesy of Bobert-chan, and absolutely needed posting because it makes me giggle and I've never even played the game XD Current Mood: amused

(7 comments | Leave a comment)

October 29th, 2009

04:04 pm - Tackiness Question ( The prelude; can be skipped for the lazy. ) Here's the question: Do you think it is tacky to send free charity cards for holidays and such? (I would totally make this a poll if I could, but I don't feel like upgrading to the Plus account, so I think you guys will just have to leave comments :/ Sorry!) ( Further explanation; may also be skipped by the time-crunched. ) Finally, while we're on the subject of cards and things, if I don't already have your current address and you'd like me to send you a holiday card, do let me know (via email, comment, telegram, flying pig, etc.). Current Mood: curious

(3 comments | Leave a comment)

October 27th, 2009

01:51 pm - Freakin' URGENT! ( Open letter to Mr. Manager ) PS. My personal emails folder at work just got corrupted. Joy of all joys -_- Current Mood: frustrated Tags: open letter, work

(6 comments | Leave a comment)

October 23rd, 2009

03:19 pm - Happy Mole Day It's Mole Day! Moles have some creepy looking claws, btw. Not much to say. Been working late, and instead of coming to see me for Thanksgiving, it now looks like I'll be going to see my parents this year. This is actually going to be the first time I'm spending Thanksgiving with my parents since I left for college o_0 We were never that big on the holiday, so it generally wasn't worth the jet-lag and ticket price tags. Now, however, I am close enough to warrant a visit (and vice versa--I keep telling them they should come out here during ski season at Tahoe, but it probably won't happen this year) and with all the termite damage they are repairing, they can't really afford to leave the house right now. I regret that the timing couldn't have been such that I could make it to Kari's wedding, but such is the nature of my stupid, stupid work deadline. I just hope I still have a job come Thanksgiving... Last night I got home around 9:15pm. There was a black cat in the parking garage, and initially I wasn't sure of it because it was kind of traveling parallel to my driving path and I was paying more attention to not hitting cars and parking. It came over to look at my car after I got out and I went back to make sure it wasn't going to sleep under my car (I worry about animals getting startled and/or run over). It wasn't, and it peered around the corner and watched me get my mail before walking off. It was a nice-looking cat--solid black, with a panther-y gait, although kind of big (not chubby, but tall with a thick tail). If it had approached and been friendly, I might have had to take it home ^^;; But, see, it was black, and there's this thing with me and black cats; they are kind of like a personal aumakua. Usually if they show any interest in me, something big is about to happen :/ This one showed partial interest, but was overall pretty aloof... so I'm not sure if that means I'm getting laid off or what. Or it could be nothing. They don't usually step into the light. Argh :( Current Mood: anxious

(4 comments | Leave a comment)

October 20th, 2009

09:14 am - Stomach Question So my stomach has been bothering me since Saturday. I get nauseated or it will hurt randomly, so I think I shouldn't be eating much (especially if I'm worried it's going to come back to haunt me, so to speak), but I get hungry. Granted, I'm starting to feel better, but really... what are you supposed to do when you get this way? Was it a good idea to keep eating stuff? Or should I have been fasting? Or eating something specific? Current Mood: queasy

(14 comments | Leave a comment)

October 19th, 2009

(5 comments | Leave a comment)

October 14th, 2009

12:22 pm - Best Acronym EVAR Courtesy of Kerry, I bring you the best military acronym ever: MANPADS. Yes, exactly. Man. Pads. They're shoulder-launched missiles that can be used against certain aircraft, in summary, but they're the GREATEST acronym :D Try using it in a sentence <3 Kerry's Examples: "Neighboring countries cower in fear of the new advanced MANPADS." "Real men have MANPADS." My Examples: "Let's gear those soldiers up with some MANPADS!" "MANPADS: not for civilian use." "The new advanced MANPADS gave our troops the confidence to take command of the situation." "MANPADS protect soldiers from unpleasant surprises!" Current Mood: amused Tags: work

(11 comments | Leave a comment)

October 12th, 2009

03:14 pm - Yogurt-Related Injury Somehow, one of my coworkers has injured himself with yogurt... I overheard it over the cubicle wall, and he seems unwilling to speak of the incident :P I really want to take a nap right now :/ My lip, for some reason, keeps cracking and bleeding in spite of me slathering the lip moisturizers available to me at the moment (this one, actually, which I've had in my purse forever from a random impulse buy... usually decent). Whatever neighbor it is who likes either talking a LOT or having the TV on in the middle of the night (latter is more likely) has had said TV on past midnight and 1am every night this weekend, so I'm pretty tired and extra grumpy. Since it's traveling up through the wall, I'm not sure who it is, and I'm not sure I'd have the guts to go knocking on their door at 1am to tell them to turn down/off their TV... The weird thing is, I have a strange urge to gather up all my yarn and make a cozy nest and just... sleep in it o_0 I am reasonably sure I don't physically own enough yarn to accomplish this unless I'm tossing it all in my circle chair and basically nestle under all of it. I feel like I must have done this in a dream or something, because it kind of feels like I have a memory of doing this, but I'd really need to be child-sized to have fit into the nest I have pictured in my head. My apartment is a project nightmare D: I have pieces of half-finished/ongoing projects or piles of materials gathered for unstarted projects sitting all over my apartment :( Like the fabric pieces (of which I forgot to cut out two more squares) for the other oven mitt for Mom's Christmas present (goes with the apron for Mother's Day/birthday), or the pile of fabric for my version of the same apron pattern, for which I also intend to make matching oven mitts (because my oven mitts are sub-par, and I am apparently pretty picky about them). I really need to do something about this and either finish up the projects and/or store the ones I have yet to start somewhere because it is ridiculously untidy. Unfortunately, ideas for new projects keep popping into my head, as if I didn't need any more reasons to avoid work or wish to be home doing other things >_< D'oh. A friend from high school, Kari, is getting married on Nov. 7th, and I really want to go... but between the impending pink slip o' DOOM and my manager's anxiety about getting this project finished as soon as possible, my parents make a very good point that it's probably better for me if I didn't :( Not to mention that tickets aren't all that cheap and the impending layoff has me financially freaked out a bit. I haven't seen her in a while, and I don't know if that should make me feel better or worse about missing her wedding, because we've drifted apart... so she's kind of distant, but then this would have been a good opportunity to catch up D: Man, I am a terrible friend ^^;; I still need to email her back that I can't make it :/ On top of that, I'm still trying to sell off my extra Renaissance Faire ticket. Gaining some growing resentment, not specifically against Craigslist so much as against the people who I seem to have a knack for finding on Craigslist, because it always seems to end in a lot of humbug for me >:( Person I spent a whole week negotiating with just up and stopped emailing and never called me to arrange the swap after all that, so I've got one week left to regain part of the cost of my mistakenly placed faith in adult responsibility. I'm pretty bitter about it >:E How did I get stuck with multiple flaky people for this ticket? Current Mood: annoyed Tags: crafts, dreams, work

(9 comments | Leave a comment)