Unconscious Mutterings, Week 254:

1. Interview :: job (yikes!)
2. Army :: marching
3. Unwrap :: gifts from a special person 
4. Evolve :: super powers! Mine are clairvoyance and telekinesis. What’s yours?
5. Bus :: money (grr, I hate buses.)
6. The real thing :: 
7. Streak :: meteor. Blast these blinkety-blankety clouds! I want to see the Geminids!
8. Gorge :: Oo, I need to name the one nearby…
9. Spicy :: Where? I love spicy foods! Love, love, love!!! Hot Tamales candy, too!
10. Course :: Stay the… (not good advice if you’re on the highway to hell, LOL!)

randomness…feed your mind and your blog

week of December 16 2007:

Happy Holidays random word association I say, you think:

1. santa: hat (they’re cute)

2. holiday carols: Nothing beats "I have a little Dreidel"

3. snow: Makes me think of the song "Snow" on the movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby. (That movie is hilarious!)

4. mistletoe: ick–don’t make me whack you with a bough of your Christmas tree!

5. season: holidays

6. candy cane: peppermint–good for upset stomach

7. eggnog: *gag*

8. presents: 8–one for each day of Chanukkah!

You know what’s funny…when Chanukkah was ended, I was surprised to still see decorations all around town. It wasn’t until I declared to my Girlz that I would dedicate a certain tree decked in all blue lights to the Prince of Arrakis as a Chanukkah tree that I realized my folly. Duh! They may be called Holiday decorations, but they’re still just for Christmas. Nothing like your friends laughing at you to set you straight. LOL!

Anyway…*sigh* I’m afraid I haven’t been able to blog much lately. Life sometimes, augh. First, I was sick, then things started piling up on me. Eek! It didn’t help my mental state when Yochanan was unable to email me for a while. Fortunately, the Prince of Arrakis has found a new internet cafe from which he can continue to share the wealth of his knowledge and creativity with me.  

Meanwhile, I’ve been deluging myself with music by Sarah Brightman, Bond, and Moby, reading Dune, and watching DVDs based on the books by James Herriot (loving it!). I just picked up Angel, Season 1 from the library–on impulse. I hope it doesn’t scare me too much.  

I’m also in the process of getting Israeli dancing started at my synogogue. Feedback has been very positive and enthusiastic. We may even take occasional "field trips" to the dance in Tacoma. Yay! Can’t wait to get started! I just need my CD back that Her Majesty was fixing for me.

There’s a big, all-store review coming up at work on Tuesday. It has the bosses in a tizzy, and their nervousness has infected me. I hope that’s not why my tummy was upset today. I thought I was passed that. I haven’t made myself physically sick by anxiety since junior high. (No, I still don’t take pressure well. I recall hide-and-seek with horror. "Blast it! Just find me already! I can’t take this anymore!") 

It seems whatever the Prince suggests I must do. Though I’ve been considering trying yoga for some time, it wasn’t until Yochi suggested it that I actually took the action off placing holds at the library on anything yoga.

As for other social matters, Imah and I have upgraded our phone plan to include unlimited texting and internet! Yay! We have also gotten myspace IM.

Just for fun, here’s what ringtones I’ve downloaded since getting my Katana:

Allegretto by Bond, Bad Day by Daniel Powter, Deliver Me by Sarah Brightman, Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone, Explosive by Bond, Fuego by Bond, Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira, Imperial March from Star Wars, Israel National Anthem, Pink Panther Theme, Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna, Suerte by Shakira, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Phantom of the Opera, The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani. Nice, diverse set, eh?

I really need to keep myself well rested for that store review. Laila tov! 

I’ve been brooding for a while over my Duchess of Darkhaven title. While Darkhaven sounds cool, there is a definite darkness to it. Darkness is something I’m trying to get away from. I don’t like what it does to me. How it makes me look and act.

I’ll never get away from it entirely. Of course not. No one does. But to just sit there and let it in. No…to openly invite it in. Uh-uh. No way.

The chalkboard in my room (which will eventually get replaced by a whiteboard) is covered with my brainstormed ideas. I’ll leave those ideas to your imagination because my brainstorms aren’t very glamorous.

It wasn’t until last night that something amazing popped into my head. I felt so stupid for not thinking of it sooner. (That how it happens. It just pops in my head!) Duh! I dance all the time (at least, I used to). Imah calls me the Dancing Malka (dancing queen).

DANCE HAVEN!!

Oh yeah. It fits. It rocks. It’s so me. My room is a haven. When I am finished with it (still need to put the mirrors up and find some pink carpet), one can enter and discover themselves transported into another world. That’s the goal, the intent, of my room. Plus, I also want it to have a royal and dance studio effect. Imah thinks I should get one of those bars they use in ballet classes. I think that’s going too far.

Though my friends tend to scoff when I mention it, I was one of the worst ones in my ballet classes. I didn’t like it until after I left. Then (continuing the exercises and stretches at home), I noticed I was one of the most physically fit at my junior high. Sad…but funny. 

Anyway, back to the main topic: Duchess of Dance Haven fits. It works. It is so me. Muahahaha! 

I’m supposed to be celebrating my birthday tomorrow (proud Scorpio, right here!), but it looks like only one person is coming (my awesome friend, C4). She’s important enough that I’m not going to cancel (I mean, hey, she might blow up! LOL!).

So, I’ll blog about a more cheerful topic. I have an Israeli pen pal (or should I say "email pal, typing pal, keyboard pal"?). We’ve mostly been talking about books, movies, sci-fi in general and dancing. He’s been given an Italian mobster nickname "Triple Toe Tony" because he occasionally dances like a madman. (I’m jealous. My dancing nickname is Dizzy Devie. How boring. )

It got me thinking about nicknames. That and one I’ve recently earned myself. They’re calling me Spider Woman at work. I think I had that nickname at school, too, but junior high was so long ago.

Yay. Another nickname. I wonder if I can count the ones Yochi made up (he’s my pen pal). Eh, like I can remember them all.  

Anyway, eventually, I’ll be buying myself a website. I just don’t know what to call it. I’m leaning toward Duchess of Darkhaven, but Princess Yaffa is more Jewish. I like that. Then, I was thinking Princess of Zion. Jewish with a hint of Matrix. How cool is that? LOL!

Ah, well…I won’t have the money to spare before next year. Plenty of time to think about it. 

Oh! I almost forgot! I’m still working on the final draft of my novel. I’m re-separating chapters. While I was writing it, that wasn’t a big deal. So now, I’m actually making chapters out of a huge blob of fascinating story. Nice, huh? But slow. It’s all on the computer and I have limited access. Phooey.

*perks up* I’m going to email my pen/keyboard pal now!

Shalom! 

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 166:

Appetizer
Name a great website you would recommend to others. Besides mine? I really love going to Behind the Name to find good/symbolic names for the characters in my stories.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how often do you dream at night? I’d give it a 2.

Salad
Did you have a pet as a child?  If so, what kind and what was its name? I had three dogs: Lady (a black German Shepard), Satin (a black and white mutt), and we rescued Bruiser (a Doberman pincher) who was "too dumb" to be turned into a "guard dog." (Yeah, it’s called brain damage. It happens sometimes when you beat the animal.)

Main Course
If you had the chance to star in a commercial, what would you choose to advertise? A coffee commercial!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dessert
What is your favorite kind of hard candy? Hmm, I’m not really a hard candy person. I do enjoy those caramel apple lollipops, though.

Five on Friday: Trick or Treat:

Would you rather…

1: eat nothing but chocolate or go without chocolate for the rest of your life? Since I don’t like chocolate…the latter.

2: stub your toe or get a paper cut? I stub my toe all the time. It doesn’t hurt for very long. I chose that one.

3: write the news or make the news? Well, bad events make the news so I’d rather NOT make it.

4: lose 10 pounds or gain 10 IQ points? The latter definitely.

5: wear a costume to work or wear normal clothes to a Halloween party? I’m not really a Halloween person. In fact, I was talking to Imah about it yesterday, and she told me I had a very bad experience around age 5.

Friday Fill-ins #43: 

1. The last good thing that came in the mail was bad news. *edit: Yeah, um…I really wasn’t awake, I guess. Still, I don’t anything good in the mail–just bills.*

2. This week I’m grateful for training in my new position–my trainers have been great.

3. Vanilla ice cream with toffee and caramel is the most delicious thing ever.

4. Music inspires me.

5. I’m most happy when I am laughing (or writing).

6. And all the roads we have to walk along are tough but character-building.

7. As for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to shul, tomorrow my plans include watching more 24 (Season 2) and Sunday, I want to goof off! (Hmm, I should call my good friend C4).

Three times this week (including today), I have to go into work over an hour early because of the stupid bus system. So, what did I do? I bought myself a little CD player. Now, I can listen to music and play games on my cell phone.

Then, I realized (as I was randomly moping about how I don’t dance much anymore) that I can listen to my dance music at work! And I can go down into the basement (where there’s hardly anyone there and plenty of room) and dance to it!

Yay! Now, I can start work flushed but happy and energetic! Dance on! 

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 240:

1. Dork :: not to be confused with geek or nerd
2. Refurbished :: me once I get over my nausea!
3. Basket :: case
4. Mousse :: hair or chocolate?
5. Studio :: *sigh* one day…one day…
6. 8 ball :: Tell me the future… (Actually, I don’t want to know.)
7. Masking tape :: works as well as any other when someone needs to shut up!
8. Love :: heart-breaker
9. Wilder :: than you…since 1901
10. Lindsey :: Lohan (What the dickens happened to her?!)

I stayed up late night (so much for catching up on sleep) watching Die Hard (#1) and uploading the photos I got from My Evil Twin from the road trip–and the dance party. Not many of the latter turned out though. They’re in my myspace photo album now–viewable by friends only. I won’t have time today, but I’ll try to post some here on my blog later this week.

I may do it after work today. It depends…I was planning to go to dance in Seattle with C4 directly after work, but my…er, monthly sickness is nearing. It isn’t much fun dancing while nauseated. Hopefully, the diet Sprite Imah bought me last night will keep working.

I want my feet to dance…NOT my stomach! 

That and I’m wondering if I can really afford it. It’s funny how something as foolishly simple as using the wrong card can screw up your finances. Ugh. (Don’t worry; it’s all under control now. I just won’t be going on any shopping binges for a while!)

Oh, about Die Hard. I’ve never seen a whole Die Hard movie before, so our neighbor, the Motorcycle Chick, lent me the first three! I’m so excited! Bruce Willis rules! 

Wow.

That about sums it up. However, I will continue for reasons of clarification.

As I sit here, preparing to re-adjust myself to the regular schedule of life after the last of my guests have left and eagerly creating my blog post, I realize…whoa, I almost forgot about the dance party! The road trip was such a blast!

Don’t get me wrong. Monday was awesome, too. The happy newly weds, Tigger (aka, Kenjo) and Her Majesty, arrived first with lots of games and two speakers–each larger than I. Then, The Hacker came contributing the CD player and his own set of speakers. (We could really have blasted the neighborhood but we didn’t want to get any complaints.)

Having not yet done the shopping for the road trip, we were just leaving my place to do so when C4 arrived. We snatched her up and took her along–she being the only one familiar with the area.

We returned home to be greeted by Trin and My Evil Twin–and two boxes of donuts and two gallons of ice cream! Oh, Trin got me an adorable pair of sandals, too. Todah! I love them!!

The rest of the evening I remember as fun and frenzied chaos as we set up the sound system, gabbed, danced, gabbed, danced, gabbed, took down the sound system, gabbed, played games, and gabbed. For a change of pace, there was a little skirmish involving The Hacker’s marshmallows engaging in flight–but I have no idea who initiated that. I just know I finished it. 

We stayed up much too late trying to catch The Hacker who played a bad guy in one of our games. Once he was caught, he went home and everyone else went to bed. We got up around 6-6:30 to load Jasper (the blood red van) and meet up with C4’s boyfriend (we need a nickname for him!). Unfortunately, we didn’t make it out until about 7:30 (details, details ).

We stopped in beloved Sequim at the Oak Table restaurant for breakfast. As I gazed around exclaiming at features I remembered and soaking up what I didn’t, we seemed to perk up at the table. Maybe it was our dashing and witty waiter, who, despite the frantic pleas of my friends, gave me unlimited refills on my coffee. Mmm…gooooood coffee.

Before leaving (and after giving our awesome waiter generous tips), we snagged our waiter and another of the staff to take pictures with them in front of the restaurant.

The rest of the trip was uneventful until we reached the Olympic Nat’l Park. Jasper belched noxious fumes in protest of the uneven terrain, but the Park Ranger assured us we were ok when we mentioned the recent oil change.

We entertained ourselves in various ways at the hot springs. Relaxing, sunning, soaking,  drowning the insects that dared to bite us, splashing, touching the bottom of the swimming pool (not the hot pools), grabbing and pulling each other underwater, and various acrobatics.

We also enjoyed the deli’s curly fries, onion rings, and smoothies. Before leaving, I made sure we checked out the tourist shop. Trin bought us all that rock candy on a stick. Mm.

The only souvenirs we have from the trip (besides a few bug bites, dirty laundry, and a few bruises here and there), are pictures. On the way back home, we stopped at some scenic spots for pics. I’ll be putting those up on my myspace.

I’m going to skip over the stop at the restaurant–it was boring except for a game we played with our fortune cookies. Oh, and someone started a mild spitball fight…but I can’t imagine who that could be.

We got home and watched The Frisco Kid as the crowning point of our trip.  Then, The Girlz and C4’s boyfriend left. Tigger and Her Majesty stayed overnight and left this morning.

Rats! I really should have gotten a picture of that marshmallow mush on Her Majesty’s back. That was priceless. 

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 238:

1. Uneven :: bars (those bars in gymnastics–can’t remember what they’re called)
2. Wonder :: …Woman
3. Spider :: …man (one of my favorite–good–superdudes)
4. Emma :: by Jane Austen
5. Swing :: dancing (maybe I’ll try it one day)
6. Orbit :: satellite
7. Flirt :: fun–lol!
8. Donation :: charity
9. Veil :: wedding…
10. Atmosphere :: Do you feel a chill…? (LOL! I’m listening to too many thrillers on audiobook.)

randomness…feed your mind and your blog

week of August 26: Farewell Summer

Well, this is it. Summer is nearly finished. That was fast.

What have you done this summer? A little of everything, I imagine.

Did you go for a vacation? No–that’s happening this Tuesday!!

Did you work? All the time.

Did you have a fling? …Yeah. 

How was your summer and are you happy or sad to see it end? It was…fast! Wow! However, weather-wise, I’m glad to see it end. Bring on the rain! (…er, after my outdoor dance party.)

My dance party is tomorrow evening!! My road trip to Sol Duc is the following day. Yeah, baby! This is the biggest thing ever!! (Sorry, 21st birthday. There’s no way you can beat this!)

Friday’s Feast 155:

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of pie? Apple–with lots of ice cream!!

Soup
Name something that made you smile this week. My awesome (some might say crazy) co-workers.

Salad
What do you do to cool off when the weather is hot and humid? Settle down with an orange cream-sicle or a bowl of honey nut cheerios–and read, get on the net, or work on my novel.

Main Course
You receive $1,000 in the mail with a letter that says you can only use the money to redecorate one room in your home.  Which room do you pick, and what do you buy to spruce it up? My bedroom, of course–anything pink and/or sparkly: some cute curtains, pink carpet, all new dark wood furniture. Oo.

Dessert
Fill in the blank:  My wayward heart says yes, but I know better. 

Five on Friday: Time Management:

1. Do you wear a watch? I used to, but it isn’t compatible with my germophobic tendencies of frequently washing my hands. I just use my cellphone now. However, because I’m a freak about clocks and time, there are clocks everywhere at my home. In my room alone, there are five clocks (not counting the cellphone I use to wake me up.) LOL!

2. How often do you look at the time, either on a watch or some other timepiece? Oh…every few minutes.

3. Would you say you have a good sense of time? In other words, how good are you at estimating how much time has passed? Not at all–that’s why I’m obsessed about having clocks around me!

4. Are you early, punctual, or perpetually late? I like to be early.

5. Do you ever wish your time management skills were different? How? It’s nothing that’s impossible to change now. I do need to work on my time management (yeah, working on a novel series for 7 years is way too long!).

Friday Fill-in #32:

1. My commute is short and serene.
2. Colorful best describes my neighborhood. LOL!
3. My neighbors are very, very interesting!
4. My Girlz’ place is my favorite place to eat that’s close to home.
5. If there’s one thing I’d change about my community, it would be modernizing the place.
6. The thing I miss most about the town (city/area/swamp) I grew up in is the forest and creek I could run away to and hide and play in. Man, I miss that life.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include work and Sunday, I want to see Stardust!! (Yeah…ri-ight.)

I want to see Stardust so badly. It’s totally a go-to-the-theater movie. However, I’m trying to save up my money for the road trip. 

Imah’s giving me a horrible time about my dance party, so I haven’t bothered to tell her about the road trip. She’s going to flip about that, but oh well. I’m never going to get anything positive from her. She’s definitely not coming (though I do feel slightly bad about that–I can’t subject my friends to her negativity). I’m beginning to wish I could keep her out of the dance party. 

Well, I’ve almost gotten it all worked out. I just need to make a call to get some info. Get your swimming gear, girls (and guys)! 

Well, Her Majesty and Tigger were officially married this previous weekend. It went very well–except for a bee going up the bride’s gown during the vows, but, hey, the frantic maid of honor took care of that.

My favorite part was after the kiss of the bride and groom, we bridesmaids held up score cards (mine said "4") and the groomsmen held up various rude signs: "awkward," "needs practice," and one big "Eewwwww!"

After the outdoor wedding, we went inside for the reception. I kept pestering Her Majesty to get the DJ’s to play Koparoche so we could dance to it, and finally we did. We also did Electric Slide which was a pleasant surprise. What was also a surprise (albeit not a pleasant one) was when the bridesmaids and groomsmen had to dance together. I am miffed about that (no offense to the guy I "danced" with). I suddenly felt like Isabella Swan–in regard to "regular"/couples dancing.

So, yeah, I was a little moody, perhaps, but I think it was mostly based on exhaustion. I’m not as young as I used to be. I can’t keep working seven days a week, taking snatches of sleep, and doing the move (including the heavy stuff–pretty much all by myself) on my "spare time" and not be exhausted and moody.

Oh, I nearly forgot the best part: the bridesmaids’ fiasco. Yeah, I think the bride’s mother wants to sue the dressmaker. All of our dresses, including the bride’s, weren’t fitted properly. We were all pinned up like over-used voodoo dolls. Yeah, fun. Her Majesty nearly got stabbed to death by some pin that was sewn into her gown.

So, it was fun. I’m glad I went.

Unconscious Mutterings, Week 228:

1. Riding :: …bareback
2. Actress :: Audrey Hepburn!
3. Flowers :: Stargazer lily (so pretty!)
4. Making :: …music
5. Robot :: cooler in real life than in fiction (I find A.I. stories so boring.)
6. Enjoy :: …life!
7. Identify :: …theft
8. 22 :: legally able to drink for a year 
9. Busy :: …as a bee
10. Forward :: this email is great! My friends have to see this!

randomness…feed your mind and your blog

week of June17: random word association

I say…you think

1. red:: Scarlet Scythe (my vampire identity!)

2. summer:: swimming!

3. car:: workin’ at the car wash!

4. book:: mm, I’ve got a lot to read now!

5. kiss:: white chocolate, please

6. work:: …hard for the money (I got music on my mind.)

7. bird:: a favorite driving gesture of Imah’s

8. yogurt:: black cherry…mmm

9. sand:: …stone

10. eyes:: cat’s…

I went to C4’s last night. I had just popped some popcorn and decided I didn’t want it, so I gave it to Gabe to give to the kiddles. I never saw the bag again. LOL!

C4 and I did a bit of dancing, but we were both rather tired and had limited space. After listening to some music, I watched Raph play an RPG computer game (which he died on several times) and then Micky and I helped her aunt with some fashion decisions. Hehe. Shortly after dinner, I had to leave. Still, it was nice to hang out there for a while.

I got myself a Meebo chatroom and got a little video-happy uploading my favorite clips on it. Anyway, here’s the link. I also have it embedded in my forum and myspace page. Enjoy!