brosedshield | Entries tagged with real life

Well, huh.

Beneath the cut is a stream of consciousness snapshot of everything going on in my head right now. And footnotes.

( My Life (This Moment) In 30 Lines: OR, Popcorn is contagious )

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( Footnotes )

Meal of strange tonight. I have to go shopping tomorrow, which mean I am simultaneously running low on fresh food, and trying to use up what I have.

So, there was cabbage and butter (which traditionally goes with spaghetti noodles, cooked in chicken broth, though I decided to skip the chicken broth…), so I threw that together, with some garlic and little bitty cayenne peppers. I waffled about adding a can of tuna, but decided I didn’t want to, but ended up throwing in my leftover shredded cheese, about two tablespoons of this sesame seed dressing I got in Japan, and an egg. I mixed the egg in really well (and cooked it really well, because Japan has taught me I really don’t like undercooked eggs) and the whole thing tastes like a weird cabbage alfredo.

Funny note, I added the egg because I have a Japanese packaged soup that says “to make more delicious” I should add an egg. I still haven’t made the soup, but this noodle thing is certainly more delicious with an egg.

Shopped today, and was saddened because everyone in Spain seems to be at least two sized smaller than me. And I really need pants. I’m surviving off two pairs at the moment and that really cuts down on my options when I don’t have a clothes dryer and I end up washing something.

In other news, feeling kind of lonely today. I’d say homesick, but I that only works if you define “home” strictly as the people. I think this particular bout of melancholy was brought on because I was thinking a lot today about Real Life and Internet life and how both of mine are currently being supported by the Internet. I’ve become a lot more aware of time zones since coming to Spain. Wisconsin, Texas, Tokyo, Alaska, Hawaii, Minnesota, Ukraine. If I get up at six a.m., I get an hour to chat with at least Lavinia and Oseike, sometimes even MORE people, before I go to work (that spans about 15 hours of the globe right there).

I should go and edit Freak Camp Ch. 7, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won’t actually cheer me up.

But, speaking of, Chapter 5 goes live tomorrow! And Chapter Five makes me happy, so I think we’re good again.

I am not always a careful, timely, detail-oriented or on-the-ball human being.

lavinialavender can tell you that I get distracted, and the best way to actually get me to do something (say, read excellent fanfic) is to gently remind OVER AND OVER again. Yes, nagging. Works really well.

To that end, I write myself lists. Hopefully I can get through everything in this post that I had written down. Life-and-Fandom Update!

--HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! Yes, this is hideously late, but I have the excellent excuse that I was in Japan. Yes, there were Internets in Japan, but also excellent Real Life folk to interact with and NOODLES so many noodles. I’m not a huge fan of seaweed or red bean paste, but friends (and speaking English, OMG, yay!) are always wonderful.

--FREAK CAMP ROCKS! And the first three Chapters are available here and getting a REALY awesome response. Lavinia and I knew that this story rocked (no false modesty here, man, especially as it’s currently my favorite romancy novel of all time, and I’m WRITING it, which seems wrong on some level) but it has ROCKED OUR WORLD to have other people agree and squee and generally be happy about our SPN AU monster.

--Because it’s so awesome, Freak Camp gets TWO notes, but it has also been NOMINATED for best AU and best darkfic at

wicked_awards . NOMINATED FOR AMAZING. I may die in delight. The only thing keeping me from death here is that if I go, Lavinia will probably die from the shock and sadness, and then Monster By Any Other Name will probably not get finished, and that would be hideously sad. Yay!

--Aaaaand, wrote another SPN fic in the Dee universe here at

deewinchester . Though to say that I “wrote” it seems to imply that I cranked it out last night, when really it was hanging around in my “You’re almost done with this fic” pile, I added two paragraphs, sent it to Lavinia and am DONE. It’s good (though rather disturbingly hard) to write something that is not about Freak Camp.

--Though I have been writing original stuff! Like, today, Kev started getting more back story. Poor kid, I have a feeling that something horrible is going to happen by the end of this story I started scribbling today. Something more specifically horrible than the anticipated death of his mother and the realization that his father is a complete sociopath. Hmmm. Not sure what yet.

I’m currently in love with

copperbadge ’s Trace story. I love his writing, loved the original story that this story is evolving out of (maybe kinda stole it and put it in Word documents on my computer. Maybe.). Love it.

Hmmm, this post got longer than expected, and spawned itself, and generally did crazy things. But that’s okay. I do tend to ramble. And that list is done! Off to another…

Fact: I do not speak Spanish well enough to notice, generally, if someone is talking about me behind my back, because, you know, I have trouble keeping up with direct face-to-face coversation about foods that I'm eating. Just don't use my name, and you could probably talk about my laundry hanging, floor washing skills (or lack thereof) all you wanted.

Fact: I am, however, observant enough to notice when someone is hushing the the other people in the room every time I walk through the door.

Thanks for the paranoia burst, Roommate!

Just so you know, I talk about you, too.

I feel that it has been ages since i posted. And it probably has been.

I have been doing a good deal of nothing. I went to Madrid (not as impressive as it sounds, currently living in Spain) trying to fly to Japan, and failed spectacularly (air traffic controller strike; rather a disaster). I then went to fairly boring place (though it was nice to actually go somewhere) and got sick and stayed home for the weekend. I have been watching Torchwood, season one (someday, there will be a post about that) and reading rather unhealthy amounts of fanfic by

copperbadge . I mean, the fic is EXCELLENT, it's just the amounts that are unhealthy. Though, without fanfic I wouldn't be able to read almost anything in English, so maybe it's satisfying a double hunger.

In WONDERFUL news,

lavinialavender and I have begun to actually post things on our

freac_camp community. Just the Prologue and the Introduction polished up for our Supernatural AU so far, but this is ridiculously exciting because it feels that we have been working on this for a long time and it has been kind of eating my soul. In October I wrote about at least 25,000 words for Freak Camp. In November I know I wrote 50,000 words because I kept track for Nanowrimo. And now some of that work is finally coming to life. It's so intense but satisfying as well.

I feel like jumping up and down and shouting "Look! See! I have actually been writing things these last two months!"

Though I guess that is what this post is. YAY! WORDS!

I went to the Nanowrimo website this evening dutifully entered my word count (which I pushed for these last few days and achieved) but it felt...like a horrible cop out. i just went in there and entered the number of words I had written over the months (for Freak Camp) and it was just there, like I'm some crazy person that can crank out 50,000+ words in a day.

And I didn't even offer them concrete proof or anything (I would have uploaded something to the word counter but...the various things I've written are currently scattered across our MASSIVE GOOGLE DOC CONGLOMERATE (seriously folks, we have 8 documents for Freak Camp. Eight! Granted, no one has ventured into "notes" for quite a while...).

So, I feel silly, and like the whole Nano thing really didn't work this year, even though I MADE it, at least.

In GOOD news: THERE IS STUFF IN OUR FREAK CAMP COMMUNITY! Or will be really soon. It may be hidden at the moment.

Because I've been writing. Bloody heck, yes, I've been writing. Just haven't been able to show anyone....

Maybe tomorrow (in between packing; I'm going to Japan for a week!) I will finish and edit an Apo-verse story, just to have SOMETHING here.

Bloody.

In other news, addicted to fanfiction and can't stop watching Torchwood. Even though the first season is...inspiring for its potential and not at all for its completion.

So, a while ago I bought a cardboard liter of the cheapest sangria I could find (I would have bought cheap wine, or more expensive sangria, but I hate wasting money on things that don't actually make me happy, and my taste in wines/alcohols is rather hit or miss) in anticipation of celebrating the 100,000 word mark for Freak Camp with

lavinialavender .

Well, that milestone came and went on a weekend that I went offline to hang out with some wonderful Spanish coworker/friends and I drank, and she drank, but we did not do it together, or in a spirit of togetherness, nor in honor of Freak Camp (which is currently hanging around 115,300).

So I have sangria hanging around my shelves. And now I have been drinking and do not really want to write.

Oh, in a side note, we currently have an AU of our AU. One that is even more evil, because we put Sam in a concentration camp, and then don't actually try to make his life better when he leaves. Because we are evil. It's very distracting.

So, I'm in Spain (and, paperwork willing, will be here for several months) and I think that I bought the worst powdered coffee possible.

I really just wanted something that would painlessly transfer caffeine to my nervous system and what I ended up with is something that is half-burnt and half-bitter and completely unappetizing.

Unless I'm mixing something wrong.

Anyway, I have now dissolved a spoonful of Nutella (I am also out of bread, so it's not like the Nutella would get any better use anyway) into the large cup of horrible coffee and it is getting more appetizing, and soon there will be "leche semisenatada" which I BELIEVE is 2%ish milk added (and it has extra calcium, too!) and maybe it will actually be enjoyable.

Next time I buy horrible powdered coffee I'm going for the espresso cappuccino types. The ones that come with their own sugar.

So, Nano is going well, except I feel like an unfaithful witch.

I promised Shield City that I would do it. Swore up and down on various graves that may or may not have been related to me.

And I HAVE been writing Shield City. Daevis have 1000 new words about his personal pain about his relationship with his mother. That is my Nano, and still slightly behind, but let's be honest, I can make up 600+ words another day easily if the inspiration strikes.

But the thing is, I also wrote 4000 words for Freak Camp.

It's clear who Mom likes best. And it just makes me ashamed.

I STILL DON'T HAVE ANY LUGGAGE, DAMNIT. I really want the rest of my clothes. Really dearly want my blankets and things as well. And soap. And wash clothes and things. I want them. But they have not yet arrived. Drattit.

Watched Sherlock last night on PBS and now I want it. I want it BADLY.

( More reasons I love it )

MUST WATCH MORE. I drove to Chicago and back (8 hours round trip) to get my visa and thought about it off and on for the entire trip, probably for a couple attenuated hours. In contrast, White Collar got probably half an hour, and SPN only got thinking time if you count Freak Camp.

Speaking of: SO MANY WORDS.

Now, excuse me, I need to give Sam a laptop.

Three more episodes and I'm done with season 1 of "White Collar" (i got it yesterday). About 1,500 more words and we are up to 60,000 for Freak Camp.

There are also dishes to do, laundry to fold, crap to pack (I'm going to Spain!), a visa to pick up, short stories to edit so that I can try to get published somewhere they will give me money, and a house to make marginally presentable for when my parents come home.

And I must sleep, because if I'm driving eight hours tomorrow (visas, at least mine, may not be mailed), i need to get more than the four that I had last night.

And I want to watch Sherlock tonight. And maybe the Packer game. I really don't have enough time (don't worry, I know that this is my fault, and I'm moderately okay with that).

"Weekend at Bobby's"

Pre-commentary chatter: Today at work the children were obedient and NOT eating each other's arms off, except for one small boy that is not actually old enough to play the games he wants to on the computer. And, honestly, I do not WANT to help him figure out how to jump and move around, because I don't know how, and have only minimal interest in learning.

Tonight's dinner was salmon, with a strong wine that went straight to my head (wheee, the world was spinning) and a bean salad. I offered to do dishes, but Mom was impatient and so I did NOT have to. Always nice. Then we watched "No Ordinary Family", about a family that develops super powers (FINALLY playing at a time when it doesn't conflict with everything I like to watch) and it was okay, but slow.

( Actual, SPOILER FILLED, commentary )
Final reaction: that was nice. *shrug*

Now I am going to go and see if I can actually think about/write/edit anyone that is not SPN.

Current Mood: contemplative

Like most dinners Mom, Dad and I get to share together, tonight's (tacos! crunch crunch, yum) was characterized by cheerful bickering ("I'm not nagging. If you WANT me to nag, I can.") and a mild buzz from bottled margarita mix (note: it's not always margarita mix. Most memorable was the time we had a huge bottle of wine that neither of my parents enjoyed because it was too sweet. So, not to be wasteful, I shouldered the burden of finishing it myself...This theory of waste not, want not also applies to boxes of cookies and the last of the pudding. Less cheerfully to the last bag of carrots).

We are currently watching Robin Hood (the one that appears on PBS). We usually spend evenings we have together watching some form of show (a big reason that I don't watch SPN unless they are gone. When we are together I don't want to burn our alone time watching a show that they are indifferent too.

Robin Hood is nice because it actually comes in. We get a total of some 12 channels when the wind blows correctly (we get digital TV through the air. Digital TV which travel about 15 miles and we live about 15.5 miles away from the closest transmitter. And just in case you don't know, digital TV that is not quite coming in is fairly useless, with the skipping and the digitalization and the image pausing dramatically and never quite starting again. Whereas analog, even when it was failing tended to give you something you could watch and still catch the plot. We watched The Mentalist the other day, got through the whole thing, and still couldn't tell you exactly what happened. Very irritating times) but thankfully PBS is one of the channels that comes in fairly reliably (CW has also been very good. A nice thing for my nerves).

( Quotes from "Robin Hood" )

Good night. And now I am reading a romance novel. And can't seem to stop, even though my wake-up time is in...just under 7 hours? Alas.

I went to a funeral and a wedding reception today and feel that I have completed some kind of cycle of life.

The funeral was for a highly respected member of our church, and it was wonderful, the kind of funny, sad, renewing funeral that everyone should live their life to have. I sang in the choir (last minute alto, woo hoo! Thank goodness for How Great Thou Art), ate funeral lunch (always delicious, and fattening) and helped take down the hall after the family had left again.

Then exercised, showered, etc, and drove to my best friend's brother's wedding where I ate (very rare steak and lots of coffee), danced, chatted up perfect strangers (and mostly-perfect strangers), and then eventually picked up my friend's 4-yr-old nephew and drove him home and put him to bed (this is the reason I was at the wedding in the first place; because my friend is not actually in the country at the moment. Miss her).

It was a productive day, full of happiness, and helping people and actual human interaction (thank God!). When the only people I see on a daily basis are the kids I watch and my parents, it feels sometimes like I've forgotten how to actually talk to people.

On a side note, I think I have to put more thought into what I want read at my funeral (I'm not sure that this is morbid. More detail oriented?). Because for the Old Testament reading I was going to go for my favorite Bible verse: Jer 20: 7-14, but today I realized that funerals are about comfort and remembrance and maybe "You have duped me Lord!" is not the best way to start out (even though the passage eventually gets into the call of God in the heart).

Last night I wrote, and one of my main characters is apparently the mysterious, handsome hero of his own romance novel. I mean, I knew Haylan had it in him, but didn't expect to find it so soon after finding his baseline of misery.

Childcare today included mpreg and balls to the face. I was amused.

Explanation:

"balls to the face"--in a game that I pretended not to notice because everyone was having fun, a larger child permitted smaller children to throw bouncy balls (BIG bouncy balls, like, headsized) at his head and face, repeatedly. My theory: if I tell them to stop, they're going to start tackling each other, jumping off the equipment, or other things that seem much more likely to kill them.

"mpreg"--children love sticking balls into their shirts. I'm not completely sure that I'm supposed to permit this, but I do. One small boy kept coming up to me telling me that he was pregnant, that he was going to have a baby. One time I asked him if he wasn't maybe just fat (am I maybe not a good teacher? Eh, they haven't eaten each other yet) but, no, he was pregnant.

I almost asked him if there was going to be a wedding first, but decided that if I'm too cowardly to tackle explaining the basics of reproduction to a four-year-old, I should keep the jokes to myself.

This evening I drank a couple glasses of wine with my parents and watched the movie The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp. ( What I have learned from "The Libertine" )

After The Libertine, we watched an episode of Supernatural, "Changing Channels" and episode that I think of every time the old (and, in my opinion, crappy) TV show Night Rider comes up on Retro TV (my family gets about seven channels. Of them, Retro TV is one of my favorites. It also has the A-Team [at 8 p.m] which is one of my favorite things currently, and yes, I know it's not a quality show, but it fills a desire in my heart that cannot be met in any other way; rather like the Black Jewels Trilogy and chocolate). "Changing Channels" mocks several show I don't think very highly of, and, thus, is hilarious and I got my parents to watch it with me.

( Spoilery S5 and beyond commentary on "Changing Channels" )

In more real life commentary, my dad has been reading a joke book to us

A joke: What is round and really violent? (answer later)

We are getting a new refrigerator and stove and plug in thingy tomorrow! Which means, joy of all joys, that soon there will be a full sized fridge in my house (as opposed to the STUPID tiny one that my aunt really nicely gave me [but it's so small!]) and a stove where the thingers under the heating element isn't crumbling from rust. Mom cleaned where the old fridge (dead and full of mildew) and the old stove (can you say disgusting?) used to be. It was like a thin carpet of dust. Eeeew. But it will all be better tomorrow.

Answer: A vicious circle.

And with that, good night!