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The Potluck Post of Catching Up!
Let's start off with the answers to Wednesday's meme:
- I once cried over eating a single Sugar Daddy a fellow performer offered to me in a dressing room area where no snacks were allowed. As a littl'un, I had an extremely overactive conscience. I'm not sure what possessed me to accept theSugar Daddy Edit: Sugar Baby, actually - even smaller! in the first place, but I did, and then in the car on the way home after the show, I burst into tears and sobbed a confession to my mom. She was completely baffled as to why I was so upset. I broke the rules, Mom! How could I?! I even had issues sleeping that night. I... was a weird child.
- In elementary school, I ran for treasurer and ended my big campaign speech to the entire school with an endorsement from a rubber spider. His name was Spunky. He was a Halloween decoration that I hid when my parents were packing stuff up because I was really fond of him. Always had an odd affection for spiders. My eventual real tarantula was named Spunky after that rubber guy. Anyway, I wanted to stand out from the rest of the candidates, I guess, so I figured a talking spider was the way to go. Didn't work. Suppose people just don't share my views on the toy tarantula platform. I have no regrets.
- I used to thread mechanical pencil lead through my ear piercings because I liked the way it made them look like dark little tunnels. Yeah, I did stick pencil leads through my earlobes. "Hold!" you cry. "There's supposed to be a lie in here, you cunt!" Easy. Let's not resort to profanity just yet. The lie's in the second half - I hated the dark marks it left behind. They were telltale signs I'd been doing something I shouldn't have, and like I said, I had an overactive conscience. I never wanted to be scolded. So yeah, I didn't do it for the darkness; I did it because I was bored, most often. There's a bit of a lie in the first part too - no "used to". I still do sometimes when I'm thinking and a mechanical pencil's handy. Kinda even like the dark marks now, too.
Moving on. Went down (and it feels so weird to type down instead of up) to Tampa day before yesterday for another set of scans for Jaime. He got to drink delicious orange flavored contrast and sit in a waiting room with me for two hours before the actual scan. I have to say, a cancer center is simultaneously one of the weirdest and most natural places to meet people. It feels odd to have a laugh with an old woman who's waiting to hear news on whether she'll live or die or a young one waiting to hear the same thing about her father, but at the same time, it's like you automatically have something deep, something huge in common. The bonds form fast and fall away just as quickly when you step out the door. Most people never even exchange names. I like it better that way, I think. Then, I can never catch an obit out of the corner of my eye and know a fight was lost. In my mind, the bell never has to ring.
So we don't know the results yet, but we're assuming it's clear, just like the others. Another three months down. Here's to dozens more, yeah?
We popped by the mall while we were down there too, as they have a Lush and Gainesville sadly doesn't. I got Goth Juice. Oh yes, that's right. Goff Juice. Got a sample just for the name, got the full size because it works really well, smells nice, and is bright purple. Hard to beat that. Picked up some Veganese conditioner as well, which I love because it's super lightweight and smells like lemon and lavender. After many years of wanting nothing more than to put a torch to my hair, I think my curls and I have finally reached an understanding. It's nice to have peace.
And now, things observed between Tampa and Gainesville:
- On a billboard:
Life is sacred,
from conception to natural death.
Two agendas pushed in one obnoxious ad. Exquisite.
- On the side of a truck:
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD
not a swear word
It's nice to know that "Jesus Christ is Lord" is not a swear word. Now I know what to yell when I stub my toe and don't feel like offending anyone.
- In the sky:
A round cloud smear atop a billowy pillar of white. Full-on mushroom silhouette. Seemed appropriate. Made me smile, though whether rueful at the perceived message or with childish delight at finding such a clear picture in the clouds I'm not sure.
So now we're in Gainesville, chillin' and slowly settling into our apartment. What's that? You want pictures, you say?!
You got 'em, you slags!
Whoo, kitchen! Off to the left of this picture, there's a nice sized pantry closet and a door that leads to the little laundry room and past that the garage. I love having a place to easily store the bikes.
Turning back around, that's the front wall. The little alcove there has a closet on the right and the front door on the left.
And turning back once more! The doorway on the left leads to the bathroom and bedroom, which I'll get to shortly. The back wall has sliding glass doors that lead out to a screened in patio with a storage closet. Beyond the patio, there's lovely, foresty goodness.
See? Foresty!
I went to take pictures of the bathroom, and instead got Jaime doing what he does best - being fucking awesome. What a total badass. Oh, and that's the shower behind him on the right, and the wall-length mirror on the left.
Best shot of the wall-length mirror I could get. It's big. Bonus - two sinks! There's another one set in the counter out of the frame on the left. Not sure why we'd need two sinks, but there they are!
And now, exiting the bathroom, we approach...
DUN DUN DUN! THE BEDROOM. Exciting, no? No? Yeah, you're right. No.
B-but behind the door there's this nifty little desk alcove! It's currently housing my manga, yarn, and collection of knick knacks.
Set in the wall opposite the window is a fucking ginormous closet. I'm not kidding. Once you peek in there, you see that it's much wider than the doorframe.
Y'see? It's like that on the other side too, which led to an amusing discussion as to who gets the space that's behind the door when you enter. I said I didn't want it because I'd rather not be in the void. Jaime replied that if he takes the void, at least he'll get more space every day.
There will never be a better segue into my brief House of Leaves review, so let's just go.
There seem to be two big camps of thought when it comes to this book - those who consider it incredibly brilliant, and those who consider it incredibly pretentious. I definitely fall in the former group. For the most part, I adored House of Leaves. To avoid spoiling the story (which really should be entered into blindly for maximum effectiveness), I will sum it up as thus: it might be a book about a paper about a movie about a labyrinth, or it might just be a labyrinth. The form is every bit as important as the words. If you're an opponent of unusual formatting, you'll hate this book. Otherwise, you just might love it. I did. That's not to say it's without faults - I can definitely see where the "pretentious" criticism comes from, as it can get a bit overwrought, slowing the pace at points to plodding. In particular, a few of Johnny's early footnotes could be truncated without losing any meaning, and the Echoes chapter's sluggish crawl of info is nearly unforgivable. If you can push past those bits, I think you'll find the book gets better as it goes, to the extent that past page 250 or so you won't want to put it down. Do take a break now and again, if for no other reason than to read the Appendices as the footnotes mention them. You'll glean far more meaning in ensuing parts if you've got those pieces of backstory already absorbed. House of Leaves is the sort of book that reads best when you put effort into it - skim, and you'll probably just find it verbose. Dig in, though, and you'll find not just a compelling plot, but also hidden messages around every corner and more mythology to chew on than your teeth can take. After you turn the last page, the book will probably stick with you, whether you want it to or not. Once you're in, you're in. I, for one, love it all the more for that.
Oh, so now that I've finished that, what am I reading? Theoretically, I'm finishing House of God, but in actuality, it's more fanfic and.. erm... "Non-invasive imaging of epileptic seizures in vivo using photoacoustic tomography". Well, I like it! The combo makes sense to me! What's better than gearing up for my research and dashing in some fluff for respite?
- I once cried over eating a single Sugar Daddy a fellow performer offered to me in a dressing room area where no snacks were allowed. As a littl'un, I had an extremely overactive conscience. I'm not sure what possessed me to accept the
- In elementary school, I ran for treasurer and ended my big campaign speech to the entire school with an endorsement from a rubber spider. His name was Spunky. He was a Halloween decoration that I hid when my parents were packing stuff up because I was really fond of him. Always had an odd affection for spiders. My eventual real tarantula was named Spunky after that rubber guy. Anyway, I wanted to stand out from the rest of the candidates, I guess, so I figured a talking spider was the way to go. Didn't work. Suppose people just don't share my views on the toy tarantula platform. I have no regrets.
- I used to thread mechanical pencil lead through my ear piercings because I liked the way it made them look like dark little tunnels. Yeah, I did stick pencil leads through my earlobes. "Hold!" you cry. "There's supposed to be a lie in here, you cunt!" Easy. Let's not resort to profanity just yet. The lie's in the second half - I hated the dark marks it left behind. They were telltale signs I'd been doing something I shouldn't have, and like I said, I had an overactive conscience. I never wanted to be scolded. So yeah, I didn't do it for the darkness; I did it because I was bored, most often. There's a bit of a lie in the first part too - no "used to". I still do sometimes when I'm thinking and a mechanical pencil's handy. Kinda even like the dark marks now, too.
Moving on. Went down (and it feels so weird to type down instead of up) to Tampa day before yesterday for another set of scans for Jaime. He got to drink delicious orange flavored contrast and sit in a waiting room with me for two hours before the actual scan. I have to say, a cancer center is simultaneously one of the weirdest and most natural places to meet people. It feels odd to have a laugh with an old woman who's waiting to hear news on whether she'll live or die or a young one waiting to hear the same thing about her father, but at the same time, it's like you automatically have something deep, something huge in common. The bonds form fast and fall away just as quickly when you step out the door. Most people never even exchange names. I like it better that way, I think. Then, I can never catch an obit out of the corner of my eye and know a fight was lost. In my mind, the bell never has to ring.
So we don't know the results yet, but we're assuming it's clear, just like the others. Another three months down. Here's to dozens more, yeah?
We popped by the mall while we were down there too, as they have a Lush and Gainesville sadly doesn't. I got Goth Juice. Oh yes, that's right. Goff Juice. Got a sample just for the name, got the full size because it works really well, smells nice, and is bright purple. Hard to beat that. Picked up some Veganese conditioner as well, which I love because it's super lightweight and smells like lemon and lavender. After many years of wanting nothing more than to put a torch to my hair, I think my curls and I have finally reached an understanding. It's nice to have peace.
And now, things observed between Tampa and Gainesville:
- On a billboard:
from conception to natural death.
Two agendas pushed in one obnoxious ad. Exquisite.
- On the side of a truck:
not a swear word
It's nice to know that "Jesus Christ is Lord" is not a swear word. Now I know what to yell when I stub my toe and don't feel like offending anyone.
- In the sky:
A round cloud smear atop a billowy pillar of white. Full-on mushroom silhouette. Seemed appropriate. Made me smile, though whether rueful at the perceived message or with childish delight at finding such a clear picture in the clouds I'm not sure.
So now we're in Gainesville, chillin' and slowly settling into our apartment. What's that? You want pictures, you say?!
You got 'em, you slags!
Whoo, kitchen! Off to the left of this picture, there's a nice sized pantry closet and a door that leads to the little laundry room and past that the garage. I love having a place to easily store the bikes.
Turning back around, that's the front wall. The little alcove there has a closet on the right and the front door on the left.
And turning back once more! The doorway on the left leads to the bathroom and bedroom, which I'll get to shortly. The back wall has sliding glass doors that lead out to a screened in patio with a storage closet. Beyond the patio, there's lovely, foresty goodness.
See? Foresty!
I went to take pictures of the bathroom, and instead got Jaime doing what he does best - being fucking awesome. What a total badass. Oh, and that's the shower behind him on the right, and the wall-length mirror on the left.
Best shot of the wall-length mirror I could get. It's big. Bonus - two sinks! There's another one set in the counter out of the frame on the left. Not sure why we'd need two sinks, but there they are!
And now, exiting the bathroom, we approach...
DUN DUN DUN! THE BEDROOM. Exciting, no? No? Yeah, you're right. No.
B-but behind the door there's this nifty little desk alcove! It's currently housing my manga, yarn, and collection of knick knacks.
Set in the wall opposite the window is a fucking ginormous closet. I'm not kidding. Once you peek in there, you see that it's much wider than the doorframe.
Y'see? It's like that on the other side too, which led to an amusing discussion as to who gets the space that's behind the door when you enter. I said I didn't want it because I'd rather not be in the void. Jaime replied that if he takes the void, at least he'll get more space every day.
There will never be a better segue into my brief House of Leaves review, so let's just go.
There seem to be two big camps of thought when it comes to this book - those who consider it incredibly brilliant, and those who consider it incredibly pretentious. I definitely fall in the former group. For the most part, I adored House of Leaves. To avoid spoiling the story (which really should be entered into blindly for maximum effectiveness), I will sum it up as thus: it might be a book about a paper about a movie about a labyrinth, or it might just be a labyrinth. The form is every bit as important as the words. If you're an opponent of unusual formatting, you'll hate this book. Otherwise, you just might love it. I did. That's not to say it's without faults - I can definitely see where the "pretentious" criticism comes from, as it can get a bit overwrought, slowing the pace at points to plodding. In particular, a few of Johnny's early footnotes could be truncated without losing any meaning, and the Echoes chapter's sluggish crawl of info is nearly unforgivable. If you can push past those bits, I think you'll find the book gets better as it goes, to the extent that past page 250 or so you won't want to put it down. Do take a break now and again, if for no other reason than to read the Appendices as the footnotes mention them. You'll glean far more meaning in ensuing parts if you've got those pieces of backstory already absorbed. House of Leaves is the sort of book that reads best when you put effort into it - skim, and you'll probably just find it verbose. Dig in, though, and you'll find not just a compelling plot, but also hidden messages around every corner and more mythology to chew on than your teeth can take. After you turn the last page, the book will probably stick with you, whether you want it to or not. Once you're in, you're in. I, for one, love it all the more for that.
Oh, so now that I've finished that, what am I reading? Theoretically, I'm finishing House of God, but in actuality, it's more fanfic and.. erm... "Non-invasive imaging of epileptic seizures in vivo using photoacoustic tomography". Well, I like it! The combo makes sense to me! What's better than gearing up for my research and dashing in some fluff for respite?