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January 30th, 2006

11:24 pm A very brief update, because I can't type for shit, and if I insist on summarizing the last six months here, I will never finish a post. In brief, the last half of 2005 sucked incessantly, with a few exceptions and a flurry of lovely romantic developments at the end. (On that note, congratulations to ceara and cerebrate!) I'm still fighting arthritis, and so far we've had no real success in bringing it under control. Back in August, I had radiographic studies of my hands and feet done, which showed some significant joint erosions. Nothing crippling yet, but the fact that there were any erosions at all after only six months means the arthritis is more aggressive and much more severe than anyone expected. (The good news, for sufficiently loose values of good, is that this confirms the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, because there's not much else out there that destroys joints like this. So we haven't been wasting our time with all the arthritis drugs, at least.) My hands have been getting progressively worse, and I can only type for a few minutes before things stiffen up and just stop working for a few hours, which has put a hell of a crimp in my computer time. I've got some voice recognition software that I'm using for work, but it's a bit of a pain in the ass, and exhausting to deal with after a while. So the radio silence over here is likely to continue, until I find my miracle drug. On a brighter note, my beloved has succumbed to peer pressure and started a journal as shavedkiwi and will be posting way the hell more often than I do, so feel free to talk to him and shit. He's cool. Current Mood: sore Current Music: Joni Mitchell - "Lesson in survival"

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May 2nd, 2005

02:11 am - It worked! We got married Saturday! It went wonderfully, the garden was absolutely gorgeous, there were no disasters, and while the arthritis continues to suck intensely, I made it through all the necessary standing and walking. The reception was a smashing success - the food was wonderful, the staff was wonderful, people liked the playlist I put together, and everyone had a great time. We threw a good party, which was exactly what we wanted to do. And we got a hundred of our favorite people together and hung out them for an evening. It was awesome. It was worth it. Photos are going to be coming in over the next few weeks, but I provide a few early ones: ( slightly huge... ) I like marriage. It feels different, more so than I expected, but awesome. Current Mood: happy Current Music: James Taylor - "How sweet it is (to be loved by you)"

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August 8th, 2004

06:36 pm - House! So, we bought a house! More accurately, the sellers accepted our offer and we now start the metric assload of paperwork that will culminate in buying a house, which won't actually happen until September 30. But, house! It's at Broadway and Camino Seco (this will only be meaningful to chaensaw), so it's much closer to work for me, a tiny bit closer to work for Jef, and a little bit farther from campus. It's big, and pretty, and it was immediately comfortable. (I'll post pictures as soon as we get some; there aren't any in the listing.) I'm terribly excited and terribly nervous, but the excitement is winning out. Current Mood: exhilarated Current Music: R.E.M. - "Saturn return"

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July 27th, 2004

03:28 pm - Squee! Back from Comic-con. We got the mandatory disaster out of the way early - we stopped at the ATM at the end of our street so I could get some cash, and I got my cash, but the machine ate my card. So I spent the trip mooching off Jef. We got into San Diego around noon Thursday, and basically spent all day every day at con with my 17-year-old cousin. I'd never gone before, and Jef hadn't gone since 1996, so it was pretty impressive for both of us. We went to a bunch of panels, including the RotK Extended Edition (the interesting bits were already mentioned by turnberryknkn, except for the story about beating Viggo Mortensen with Jello Oscar statuettes), the Firefly movie, Mirrormask (which looks truly bizarre), and lots of other stuff. I met Charles Vess, got my copy of Stardust signed, and spent rather a lot of money on books and prints. We also met Aerie, of Queen of Wands, who was constantly amazed that there was a line of people waiting to see her. My almost 17-year-old cousin from Florida showed up late Saturday night with her family (and an ARC of the sequel to Sorcery and Cecelia for me!), so Jef and I went to con with both cousins on Sunday. It was enormously fun, and we're making plans to go back next year. Jef and I are planning to buy a house in the next month or so. We've found a realtor who seems to be okay with the fact that we're weird, we're highly opinionated, and we have absolutely no interest in granite countertops. So, lots of house looking-at going on. Currently, we have one house that would be acceptable, but I'm not bouncing with enthusiasm about it. We've got over a month to find something better, so I'm not too worried. Current Mood: restful

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July 5th, 2004

12:42 am - Cereus pictures Tonight was the night blooming cereus bloom night at Tohono Chul botanical gardens. (Night blooming cereus is an ass-ugly cactus, but once a year it blooms gorgeous, fragrant white flowers the size of my fist. Tohono Chul has a couple hundred plants spread across the grounds, and on the best bloom night, they let people in to the park for free and stay open until midnight. It's a big event.) ( I got a couple good pictures... ) Current Mood: satisfied Current Music: PJ Harvey - "We float"

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June 18th, 2004

08:26 pm - Cocktail meme I wasn't going to do this, but I liked the answer, so. How to make a erythrina Ingredients: 3 parts intelligence 3 parts humour 5 parts empathy Method: Add to a cocktail shaker and mix vigorously. Top it off with a sprinkle of wisdom and enjoy! Username: Personality cocktail From Go-Quiz.com I'm going to San Jose next week for a conference, which should be fun, and hopefully not too stressful. Current Mood: tired Current Music: Wilco - Jesus, etc.

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May 24th, 2004

10:12 pm - Announcement Jef and I are engaged! This probably isn't a surprise to anyone, but it's official now. We're planning on getting married in the spring, at Tohono Chul botanical gardens, possibly in March. I'm feeling a bit better. Physically, I think I'm feeling a tiny bit better, but emotionally, I'm bouncing, and it's definitely taking the edge off the pain. So that's an improvement, at least. In other news, Jane Hill, one of my favorite anthropology professors won a big award. Jane is a great teacher, and hilariously funny. And brilliant, of course, but not at all intimidating. Also, I have read stuff. And we got together with some friends and played a three and a half hour game of Munchkin Saturday night. Crazy. Current Mood: excited Current Music: Cake - Shadow stabbing

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February 20th, 2004

11:54 pm - In lieu of content, playlists. Have not been updating, because things have somehow managed to be simultaneously hectic and boring. I've been working a lot. (But not this weekend, unless I get a call tomorrow. Yay for not working.) Jef's birthday is tomorrow. I bought him the Firefly DVDs. I'm happy to support his Joss Whedon crack habit, especially if it means I can watch that show on something larger than a computer monitor. I've only seen bits and pieces of it, but it looks fun. Interesting article linked from Electrolite. Also from Electrolite, photos of people coming out of San Francisco City Hall with their marriage certificates. Anyone who gets married holding a stuffed monkey is alright with me. ( playlist meme ) I took the book quiz, and I am The Handmaid's Tale. I don't think I'm a frothing radical feminist, but I like that better than The Mists of Avalon. Finished up the Mageworlds books, Guards!, Guards!, Men at Arms, and The Game of Kings. I'm halfway through Feet of Clay, and The Lord of Castle Black showed up yesterday, so I'll read that as soon as I'm feeling up to Paarfi. Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: on shuffle

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January 20th, 2004

11:47 pm - Things get done, and a quick question for the masses Today was a reasonably productive day: I signed up for health insurance, set up my 401(k), figured out how to make partially transparent images in Java, and discovered that Tom Waits actually wrote "Looks like I'm up shit creek again", which always struck me as a bit too pedestrian to be a Tom Waits song. And the mailman brought my paycheck (yay!) and both my diplomas. We hit the used bookstore on the way home from dinner, so now I have a new CD (the current one, which I'm digging so far), Strata, and a couple Dorothy Dunnett books. (Because I need more books, obviously. My to-read pile is taking defensive action, now that I'm chipping away at it a bit more quickly.) I'm currently reading the Amber books - I have the first five, and I'm on book four. I read Nine Princes in Amber a couple years ago and never quite got into it, but I'm really enjoying the series now. I've heard the last five books are disappointing; are they worth reading? Current Mood: pleased Current Music: The Coral - "Dreaming of you"

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January 14th, 2004

08:08 pm - Amy's first meme 1) Alabama 2) Alaska 3) Arizona - oh, only the past 22 years 4) Arkansas 5) California - nothing farther north than LA, but lots of trips to San Diego 6) Colorado - this summer, for Jef's family reunion 7) Connecticut 8) Delaware 9) Florida 10) Georgia 11) Hawaii - whoo! Jef's "business" trip two summers ago - we're so going back 12) Idaho 13) Illinois - twice, Memorial Day and New Year's - Chicago is sweet 14) Indiana - Loy2K 15) Iowa 16) Kansas - our friends moved to Wichita in May <pout> 17) Kentucky 18) Louisiana 19) Maine 20) Maryland 21) Massachusetts 22) Michigan 23) Minnesota 24) Mississippi 25) Missouri - I had a layover in St. Louis once... 26) Montana 27) Nebraska 28) Nevada - Vegas, for the NDFS and my 21st birthday 29) New Hampshire 30) New Jersey 31) New Mexico - Alburquerque DFS, years ago now 32) New York 33) North Carolina 34) North Dakota 35) Ohio 36) Oklahoma 37) Oregon 38) Pennsylvania 39) Rhode Island 40) South Carolina 41) South Dakota 42) Tennessee 43) Texas 44) Utah - well, I had a layover in SLC, but I have no intention of going back 45) Vermont 46) Virginia - Mount Vernon, etc. (and Washington D.C.) 47) Washington 48) West Virginia 49) Wisconsin 50) Wyoming So that's a grand total of...12. (At least I've got more than cerebrate. The fact that he lives across the Atlantic is immaterial.) I blame my mother, who likes to vacation in northern Arizona, period. Current Mood: amused Current Music: The Sadies - "It's nothing to me"

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January 10th, 2004

07:48 pm - More books I've spent all day reading, with a short break when Jef brought me crab puffs. I could get used to this. I reread Maskerade this week. It's better than I remembered, but still not one of my favorites. Flaky theatre people just aren't that funny to me. Maybe it's because I lived with one for a year. Flakiness is less funny when there's a three-week-old pot of mashed potatoes fermenting in the sink. Finished City of Bones by Martha Wells this morning. It's nothing spectacular - not as good as her other books - but it's set in an interesting world. I thought the world deserved a bit more explanation, and I'm usually pretty tolerant of half-explained technologies. Also, this book has the most misleading cover synopsis of all time. Makes it sound like a cheesy D&D campaign, which it is most definitely not. It has its flaws, but stereotypical characters and settings are not among them. Also reread The Lions of Al-Rassan today. I don't like it as much as The Sarantine Mosaic, but it's still good. The epilogue is totally unnecessary, though. "Everybody lived happily ever after, more or less," is not an appropriate ending for that story. Kay writes strong characters and strong stories, which is kind of unusual. I consider Pratchett almost entirely character-driven, and Jordan almost entirely plot-driven (which is why the last book was so painful - without plot movement, there's not much left to capture your attention). Brust also does good characters and good stories; so does John M. Ford. So do a bunch of other people, who just aren't coming to mind at the moment. I think I like this booklog thing. Current Mood: mellow Current Music: Sally Timms - "Cry cry cry"

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January 8th, 2004

09:22 pm - Strangely apropos Boobies: http://sinfest.net/d/20040102.html I do love this comic. My parents gave me a little money for Christmas, which all went to Bloodshot Records. I now have a stack of six new CDs, saving me from musical apathy. Current Mood: content Current Music: Ani DiFranco - "The million you never made"

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January 4th, 2004

10:05 pm - Lazy day Finished Lord of Emperors today - something about the ending bothers me, and I'm not sure why. Other than that, great book, better than Sailing to Sarantium. (The favorite book thread on rasfwrj has inspired a bunch of rereading, in case you couldn't tell.) Tomorrow is my first day of honest-to-god work, which should be exciting, but so far I'm just annoyed that I have to get up before noon. Current Mood: apathetic

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01:30 am - Finally So I broke down and started a LiveJournal, since all the cool kids were doing it. I don't know how much actual journaling will be going on, but I've been meaning to start a booklog for a while now, so hopefully I'll do some of that in here. Spent New Year's in Chicago at publius1's place, had a fabulous time, and flew home without incident - our plane was 30 minutes late, but that was minor compared to what some people went through. And today was Jef's little sister's wedding, which went just fine. My parents came, and met Jef's grandparents and assorted other family members, and everything went very well. Proto booklog entry: Finally picked up The Paths of the Dead, and finished it on the plane ride home. Great fun, as always. Must get The Lord of Castle Black, and soon, but currently rereading The Sarantine Mosaic - finished Sailing to Sarantium last night, and got a good start on Lord of Emperors. Sailing to Sarantium is great, but more jerky than I remembered. The structure doesn't seem to hang quite right. That's more than enough for tonight - sleepy time for Amy. Current Mood: tired

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