In the last 24 hours:

• 20:21 @amyshy woohoo! Enjoy your stimulation! #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

I had a very pleasant weekend. Friday cassiopia drove in to see me. She was hungry and didn’t fancy the dreaded IHOP again, so we went to Speedway to find a place where we could sit down and catch up while we ate. After a rather yummy dinner we went back to my place to snuggle in bed and catch up on two more episodes of BSG. B^)

Saturday cassiopia and I went to Le Peep for breakfast, and then went roller-skating before meeting icespark at the theatre to watch Iron Man. Iron Man definitely lived up to expectations for me, and cassiopia and icespark seemed to enjoy the movie as well. I drove cassiopia back to her car, then had dinner with icespark before we went down to Bloomington to the BHRG Season Kick-Off Party. It was cool to see icespark’s roller derby peeps in their team outfits.

Sunday I drove icespark back down to Bloomington to practice. I’d planned to see my mom for Mother’s Day while I was there, but she was sick, so I wound up hanging out with just my sister instead, although I did get to see A13 and Jalyru briefly as well. When I got back to Indy I went over to lildomino’s, and we cuddled and watched Penn & Teller: Bullshit! until lildomino fell asleep.

Today I’m a little tired since I stayed up too late playing on the Intarwebs after lildomino fell asleep, but work is quiet so my mood is good. Tonight after work I’m going back over to icespark’s to MUX. I have admin stuff to do, and with luck will get some RPing in as well. We’ve lost a lot of admin lately, so I need to be more on the ball to keep things moving. Thank Primus I have sydneygb and icespark to help!

"I like him. I'm going to give him a pass. I take care of my friends."
-- Comedian Dennis Miller, commenting on President Bush (San Francisco Chronicle)

In the last 24 hours:

• 18:28 @amyshy No kidding! Can't wait to see you! #
• 18:29 Rrg. When working with numbers all day, it's bad to develop acute dyscalculia... #
• 22:21 Oy! Sega got married again! #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

This week started off well, and stayed good so far. Monday I dragged myself out of bed at nine AM to bring lildomino and hotarugirl breakfast in bed. I got to hang out with lildomino until she had to leave, and then snuggle hotarugirl until I had to go to work. After I escaped work I went to icespark’s to MUX, and actually got quite a bit done. It was rather hectic when I first logged in, but it calmed down enough for me to get in some admin-work as well as fun RP.

Tuesday I left icespark’s early to go vote in the primary. icespark and I had been so focused in the Clinton/Obama split that we were still making decisions about the Indiana state candidates while in the shower before I left. I voted in the primary and then stayed late at work to wait for the results. When I headed home I took a night to myself and did laundry and some journaling.

Wednesday night I went over to lildomino’s after work. She was sleepy, so I played on my laptop (updating my RPG list for my kinzokutaka account) while she watched TV. lildomino eventually came over to snuggle behind me on the couch while I typed, and she was so cute and cuddly she quickly convinced me it was time for bed. B^)

Thursday I went early to work so I could leave at six to see Tegan and Sara with icespark and mishiell. The show was great, and the opening band, An Horse, was a very cool surprise. I bought a copy of An Horse's CD for each of three of us, since An Horse were hanging around signing them for new fans (like me). Tegan and Sara were awesome as well. Afterward, mishiell and I went back to my apartment for hot tubbing and Clue.

Tonight cassiopia is visiting me again. Alas, this will be the only weekend in May that the two of us have free, so we’ll have to squeeze in a month’s worth of snuggles in one late night. Tomorrow night is the BHRG Season Kick-Off Party, which I’ll be going to with icespark. Sunday my sister and I are going to take my mom out for Mother’s Day, followed by a night of cuddles with lildomino.

"They are having a panel to look into the intelligence failures in Iraq ... but the findings will not be issued until after the election. President Bush says the commission can go off and report back in a year. You know, the same way it works in the Texas National Guard."
-- Bill Maher, "Real Time with Bill Maher"

This one’s going to be a little more ambitious than my list of comic trade paperbacks. So far this is just the list of music I have at work – laptop next.

Have:

3 Doors Down: The Better Life

Aerosmith: A Little South Of Sanity

Alice Deejay: Who Needs Guitars Anyway?

Added: An Horse: Not Really Scared (autographed)

Barenaked Ladies: Gordon
Barenaked Ladies: Stunt
Barenaked Ladies: Disc One All Their Greatest Hits

Björk: Debut

Cake: Fashion Nugget

The Chieftains: Boil the Breakfast Early
The Chieftains: The Best of The Chieftains
The Chieftains: Tears of Stone

Cibo Matto: Stereo Type A

Coldplay: X&Y

Countdown J-Pop 2000

Daft Punk: Homework

Sally Dworsky: habit trail

The Elect: SnakeOil Sampler

Danny Elfman: Music for a Darkened Theater, Vol. 2: Film & Television Music

Depeche Mode: Ultra
Depeche Mode: Violator
Depeche Mode: The Singles 81>85

DJ Enrie: Welcome to the Mix Show: DJ Enrie

Electric Six: Fire

Fatboy Slim: You've Come a Long Way, Baby

Added: Gaelic Storm: Special Reserve (autographed)

Hayashibara Megumi: Bertemu
Hayashibara Megumi: Enfluerage
Hayashibara Megumi: Fuwari
Hayashibara Megumi: Perfume
Hayashibara Megumi: Pulse
Hayashibara Megumi: Shamrock
Hayashibara Megumi: Sphere
Hayashibara Megumi: Whatever

Machine Records 2005 Sampler

Magnetic Fields: 69 Love Songs

Dennis McCarthy: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Added: The Mission UK: Masque

NMG Special Products: Celtic Twilight

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Midnight Run

Richard Cheese: Aperitif for Destruction

Sigur Rós: ( )

Simon Thoumire Three: March, Strathspey, & Surreal

Slydoc: Sly Doc

STS9: Artifact

Supreme Beings of Leisure: Supreme Beings of Leisure (borrowed from Chhu)

Symphonic Suite Yamato

t.A.T.u.: 200 Km/H in the Wrong Lane
t.A.T.u.: 200 Po Vstrechnoj

Added: Tegan and Sara: Under Feet Like Ours
Added: Tegan and Sara: So Jealous
Added: Tegan and Sara: The Con [SPECIAL EDITION]

Suzanne Vega: Solitude Standing

Want:

Boredoms: Vision Creation Newsun

The Chieftains: The Essential Chieftains

Added: Dead Alewives: Take Down The Grand Master

Flight of the Conchords: Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords: The Distant Future

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts: Fit to Be Tied: Great Hits by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Pulp: Different Class

mishiell, icespark, and I went to see Tegan and Sara last night. The show was great, and the opening band, An Horse, was a very cool surprise. I wound up buying a copy of An Horse's CD for all three of us, since they were hanging around signing them for new fans like me. Tegan and Sara were awesome as well, as always. Thanks, mishiell, for getting the tickets for the three of us!

I also ran into Jalyru there after the show, which was another happy surprise, although I was so keyed up, sleep-deprived, and deaf from sitting so close to the stage, that I'm sure I just bounced around like a spaz. I definitely have to see T&S again next time they're in town. I bought two more of their CDs at the show, so now I have three CDs worth of new music to enjoy.

Alas, off to work!

In the last 24 hours:

• 10:09 Got my work schedule for next week: another until-ten PM shift. B-/ #
• 19:00 At the Tegan and Sara show, and mishiell got us great seats. :-) #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

In the last 24 hours:

• 12:47 Voted in the Indiana primary. Off to work! #
• 17:32 @icespark Drugs drugs drugs! #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

In the last 24 hours:

• 17:37 Oy! Busy busy day at work! #
• 21:17 @amyshy I really need to find time to start using the gym in my building... #
• 22:16 Escape from work! Off to icespark's to MUX! #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

My weekend was very nice. It was a lot lower-key than I had expected it to be, but that was just fine for me. I had a really good night with cassiopia Friday evening. She drove in from Illinois and I met her after I got off work. We ate Wendy’s drive-thru and then snuggled and talked. We got up to watch YouTube videos on my desktop computer (my laptop is having Vista issues), and then moved back to my bedroom to watch the movie Closer on DVD before bed.

Saturday cassiopia and I met icespark for lunch and Free Comic Book Day. The three of us went to two different comic book stores before cassiopia and I went back to my place to hang out before she had to drive back to Illinois. After she left, I read Buffy comics. When Elbe showed up, I took her to dinner and then we snuggled up to watch Transformers. When Elbe had to go home, I went over to icespark’s to sleep.

Sunday I drove icespark down to Bloomington for her roller derby practice. While she was skating I went over to my mom’s to help her move furniture and set up her new bed. I brought Mom tulips from icespark’s flowerbed and petunias that I had picked out and icespark planted. When I picked up icespark from practice she and I had dinner at Outback before heading back to Indy. I got some MUXing in at my mom’s house and at icespark’s before we lay down to finish the first season of Supernatural.

This morning I dragged myself out of bed at nine to bring lildomino and hotarugirl breakfast in bed. I got to hang out with lildomino until she had to go to work, and then snuggle hotarugirl until I had to leave as well. Work was pleasantly non-stressful, and soon I get to escape back to icespark’s to MUX. D3@ quit the MUX recently, so I have to focus more on keeping things at tfumux moving.

See a few of you on the MUX soon!

"I'm not surprised with the fact that there are many comfortable cowards in my profession."
-- Sean Penn, on fellow actors who did not stand up for him when he was attacked for going to Iraq in 2003 (San Jose Mercury News)

In the last 24 hours:

• 11:34 Free Comic Book Day! #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

My week started out rough, but got better as it went on. I found out Monday that a friend of mine on LJ killed herself a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t anyone I was particularly close to or knew well, but it was someone whose journal I’ve been reading on and off for over a year. Her sudden death brought up a lot of old crap with me, and I was depressed for the rest of the night. Luckily, icespark and my friends on tfumux did a very good job distracting me and cheering me up.

Tuesday night Gwde drove down from Muncie to visit. She thought she was going to be late, but wound up arriving soon after I got home from work. We were hungry so we went to IHOP to eat and catch up. She talked about her job and what’s been going on in her life recently, and asked how icespark and other people in my world are doing. We wound up talking politics and agreeing to disagree since she supports Clinton in the upcoming primary.

Wednesday night I had wonderful evening with mishiell. She cooked me dinner, and I teased her about it being real spaghetti with actual meat (chicken) instead of Californian tofu vegetable surprise. The dinner was really yummy, and after I finished eating we snuggled to catch up and talk. I helped set her up on Twitter, so now she can be subjected to my nattering thoughts 24/7! Bo)

Last night I got to see lildomino. She picked up food on the way over to my place, so we ate dinner while we caught up and chatted. lildomino has been having trouble sleeping, but she caught up some Wednesday night. However, she was still sleepy, so after we finished eating she immediately moved to my bed. She said I was welcome to join her, unless I’d rather just play on my laptop. I chose snuggles with the hot girl. We passed out early, so for a change I got some sleep as well.

Tonight cassiopia is visiting me! She’s already on her way (woot!). I haven’t seen her in a month, so I’m looking forward to snuggles and geekery. We might rent Razor, or more likely just catch up on the episodes of BSG I’ve missed since the beginning of this season. I’ve been bad and not watched any BSG since the premier of this season, so no one’s been able to talk to me about the latest episodes. I can’t wait until the entire series comes out on DVD so I can watch it all again.

Tomorrow cassiopia and I going to Le Peep with icespark and taking part in Free Comic Book Day. I get to hang out with cassiopia until 5:30 PM when I have a date with the elusive Elbe. Elbe can’t stay too late, however, so I’ll probably get back together with icespark afterward for some belated Beltane celebration. We discussed going to a club (since we didn’t last week) or setting up her fire pit (since we aren’t camping), but it will probably depend on how late I get to hang out with Elbe.

Sunday I’m driving down to Bloomington with icespark, and visiting my mother while icespark is at roller derby practice. icespark and I got my mom an early Mother’s Day present: petunias, which my mother associates with me since I used to pick them for her from her garden back when I was very little and we still lived in New York. It’s just the thing that will make my mom all blubbery happy, so it’s a good thing icespark will be at practice and won’t have to bear witness. LOL

Have a good week, $LJFriend!

"I love my son. If anyone tells me I can't help my son, they can drop dead."
-- Mayor Oscar Goodman, on arranging a special party during the National Council of Mayors' convention where fellow mayors were asked to consider buying his son's computer software (Newsweek)

In the last 24 hours:

• 09:33 Happy Beltane! #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

From And Another Thing --

Preachers and Politics
posted by Katha Pollitt

For years, Democrats have been trying to shed their secular image in order to appeal to voters who think Jesus is a Republican. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for, because now, thanks to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the Democrats have got religion and everything that comes with it -- weirdness, wrath, insult, blowhardiness, vanity, paranoia, divisiveness and trouble. When Barack Obama told the 2004 Democratic convention, "We worship an awesome god in the blue states," this probably wasn't the result he had in mind.

By repudiating Wright Tuesday, Obama missed a chance to call on McCain to turn away from his own problematic clerical helpers. McCain still welcomes the endorsement of the televangelist John Hagee, who has famously attributed Hurricane Katrina to God's wrath at homosexuals, calls the Catholic church "the great whore," claims the Koran commands Muslims to kill Jews and Christians, condemns the Harry Potter books as witchcraft, and wants a world war over Israel, whose most aggressive settlement policies he vigorously supports, because it will precipitate the Second Coming of Christ.

( More... )

In the last 24 hours:

• 20:04 Oh, joy. Another night when I'm the only one working. *headdesk* #

(Automatically shipped at midnight by LoudTwitter)

Last week was a good week. The new work schedule sucks for making social plans, but the workday itself is a lot less stressful for me. It’s busy when I get there, but calls calm down the later it gets, and I (usually) have time to catch up on my work by the end of the day. I was cranky and tired Monday from driving back from my excellent weekend in St. Louis, but after I got some sleep the rest of the week went pretty smoothly.

Tuesday night after I got off work I drove to mishiell’s and picked her up for a late-night dinner at Denny’s. She’d promised me a massage, so when we arrived back at her apartment she lay out a blanket and worked out the kinks in my back, neck, and shoulders. She took a half-day Wednesday, so we got to sleep in and have breakfast as well. It was a first-rate morning.

Wednesday I had plans with lildomino. I went over to her house after work and let myself in. We hung out while she determined whether or not she wanted to go get food, but eventually she just curled up behind me on the couch while I played on my laptop. I asked if she’d be more comfortable if we moved to the bedroom, and she agreed the bed would be more comfy than the couch. We wound up going to sleep early since lildomino had unexpected morning plans.

Thursday night A1@ came over to hang out before work. She arrived half past midnight, and unfortunately could only stay until one-thirty since she had to work at two AM. Still, it was good to see her. With luck we’ll get together sometime when we have more than two hours. We gave up on L Word, so she took it back for now unless I decide to borrow it again when I can actually have a chance to watch it.

Friday evening I had a phone date with hotarugirl. I’d hoped to speak with her earlier in the week, but Friday was the only night I could guarantee I’d be free to talk. I caught up and talked with her for a while, and then went over to lildomino’s to keep lildomino company while she studied for her test Saturday. Unfortunately, by the time I got to lildomino’s she was much too drowsy for any more studying, so we just went to bed to cuddle and sleep.

Saturday I’d thought about getting up with lildomino went she went to class, but fell back asleep for a few more hours. When I did get up, I drove over to icespark’s. We napped before going out to take care of some of icespark’s errands. We picked up flowers for her yard and something for my mom. We had plans to go to a club Saturday night, but decided we didn’t want to be around other people and just saw a movie instead (88 Minutes).

Sunday we’d planned to role-play with elbanditorojo, so after a late lunch/early dinner we went over to his house to hang out. A@ and Jobe were there, and we hung out with them and elbanditorojo’s cute kid Asmy until Asmy had to go to bed. elbanditorojo built an extensive 3D board for us to play on, which we thought was pretty cool until icespark pointed out was essentially a dollhouse for boys. That did suck some of the coolness out of it. *chuckle* We role-played late into the night and then headed home.

Today icespark wound up calling into work since we’d stayed out too late, so I fought for a while with a new printer lildomino gave me (which isn’t immediately compatible with Windows Vista, alas), and then icespark and I went out for breakfast at IHOP. After work tonight I’m going back to icespark’s to use her computer to belatedly print my tax signature form, and to get onto the MUX to wrap up post-Mindswap TP stuff.

"I think that people don't know how to do anything anymore. My father was a janitor. He could take a car apart and put it back together. He could build a house in the back yard. Today, if you ask people what they know, they say, `I know how to hire someone.' "
-- Novelist Walter Mosley (New York Times Magazine)