Well hello there, everyone. I've been away since before the holidays, and finally, finally I'm back. The holidays were stressful, as they tend to be for most people, and then the new year and my return home were met with, er, difficulties. It's okay, though; I'm doing well enough now.

I am so very behind with everyone and everything. I've been behind with fic for months, but now I'm completely out of the loop with everyone's lives and thoughts. I don't think it will be possible to catch up; when I first tried upon my return from Ontario, in between my internet kerfuffles, I had to go ten f-pages back, and that was on a filter! That was almost a month ago, and now, I can't even imagine.

I'm sorry if I missed an important event in your lives, or failed to send positive thoughts, warm wishes, or congratulations. Please, please, if I missed something that you think I should know, please let me know!

To bring you up to date with me, briefly:

- I had major issues with my telecom company that involved tears and yelling and multiple visits and multiple phone calls from my friend's house. So... Any Canadians on my flist have any recommendations? My contract's up in a couple of months...

- My grandfather died. It's okay: It happened, it hurt, it passed. I didn't get to go down for the funeral, but I was able to make a slide show for it, which my family seems to have liked, so I got to participate in my own way. I went to the cathedral on the day of the service and had my own mini-ceremony for him. And I got to say goodbye to him during the holidays; on Christmas day, we visited him at the hospital, and I knew it would be the last time I saw him, so I had my moment with him.

- I fell for "White Collar". Team Neal represent!

- Marthapants got fluffier.

- Teevee came back and I am so happy. New boys for the win! And I love me some Crazy Cakes Dean, I just have to say.

- I started drawing again. Nothing major, but still: YAYS!

- I signed up for Big Bang. Eep! Yays! Eep! This year, I'm gonna finish the motherfucker. I've already got 21,000 words, so booyah!

And then it was now: I love you guys. I'm happy to be back.

Sunday was hard for me. Really hard. And I know that it's a total coincidence that it was also Cookie Snowfall Day, but still, y'all should know how much I appreciated receiving all the lovin' that day, and that it still warms my heart.

Thank you, jasmasson, catdancerz, cormallen, maichan808, rejeneration, kerrikins, annabeth_fics, particlesofgale, shea, halfshellvenus, ostaras_journey, krisd81, runedgirl, foxriverinmate, crack_impala, and one dear anonymous lovely.

All my love to you.

There are several things I want to post about, but for the moment, I just want to share this video interview of a child and his father. It made my day.



Found via Tiger Beatdown, a blog I recommend highly. Also, Sady's post about is worth reading; she expresses exactly what I think and delightfully so, particularly her 'advice' to the boy's father. Hee!

Dear lovelies, I've been very avoidy lately, but am trying to catch up with y'all. In the meantime, please accept my heartfelt wishes for a delightful and spooky Hallowe'en.



Image copyright Ariel Matzuk

Now you can ward away the evil and scary forces of conservatism! Mwahahaha!

I love you guys. Have lots of chocolate and candy for me. I'll be doing the same for you, while dressed as myself if I were a zombie. Hee!

I have been away, trying to keep up with LJ and wanting to post about various things. I hope to do that soon, but I just wanted to pop in and say that:

a) I am still alive, and;

b) halfshellvenus has a Silver Ticket for the Vancouver Con on sale now at eBay. ( Here is the info )

In other news, I am way behind with my writing - things have been busy and crazy - but I am really jazzed to get back into it when things settle down in a couple of weeks. I doubt highly that I'll make even a single line bingo for Kink Bingo by the date, but I'm not going to get upset because of it. I've been having other ideas for fics along the way, including a plan for a sequel to my epic Faux Big Bang, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself.

Quickly:

So You Think You Can Dance: Jeanine won! Yays! They were all great, but there was just something about her that compelled me the first time I saw her dance. And for the record, I adored the Russian folk dance.

The Hour: Last night, which may have been a repeat since I haven't been watching regularly, this happened:

George: Did Willie Nelson ever smoke weed in the White House?
Jimmy Carter: *shifty eyes*

What Not To Wear remains a delight, and the new Cake Boss has seduced me. Dam you, TLC; we're supposed to be enemies. (And shouldn't it now be called John or Kate Plus Eight?)

I caught a couple of episodes of Dating in the Dark and More To Love. Strangely enough, I find the former to be more offensive than the latter. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise?

What else? I'm trying out Royal Pains; I'm not sure about it, but I adore the lead. As for Weeds, I've basically given up on it. I'd lost interest in Leverage at some point last season, but I've started watching the new season. Although I'm quite behind on Nurse Jackie, I definitely intend to continue. I just found out that True Blood is back, so I have to catch up with that. And I'm crazy excited because Sons of Anarchy, Friday Night Lights, and SPN are all coming back and soon!

Man, I can barely remember what those many years without cable were like. I think I probably did more. Although, I do find that I enjoy drawing while watching TV, so that's something.

And one last thing: Marthapants!

So, I'm back to work on my Big Bang. It continues to move slowly, but I'm hoping to dig in deeply now that a few stressful things are out of the way. (Of course, there are always more stressful things on the horizon, but whatever.)

Anyway, in the midst of existing in writerly mode, I had another fic idea. Well, I have them often, but I actually made notes about this one. I hope to write it once the behemoth is complete. It's a crossover of sorts: After the boys save the world yada yada, they decide to settle down, but instead of simply buying a place like a normal couple would, Dean signs them up for HGTV's "Property Virgins". I want to write it from the perspective of the host, Sandra Rinomato, whom I really like. And yes, it will be Wincesty and porntacular. I figured it could make a for a fun one-shot for fluffandfold. Mmm... Domestic Winchesters + porn...

I don't know. What do y'all think?

I also already have ideas for a sequel to - or at least another fic in - my Big Bang 'verse. It's kind of based on an idea that I had a very long time ago for a Michael/Lincoln fic that just never really worked out. There isn't much in terms of plot but a tone and theme.

Man, I really have to finish this fic first! Too many ideas, too little time. Sigh.

I'm hoping to finish this fic - okay, I'll give, it has a title, has had one forever, but for some reason I was keeping it back, and that title is "Bury Me In Fire" - and post it before Season Five begins. This will require some serious diligence on my part. Pray to the work gods for me, please?

I haven't seen this pop up on my f-page, so I thought I'd pop in to post it.

Openly gay teen voted prom queen at L.A. high school

An openly gay teen has been voted prom queen at his Los Angeles high school in a campaign that began as a stunt but ended up spurring discussion on the campus about gender roles and popularity.

Sergio Garcia said he felt "invincible" when he was crowned queen of the Fairfax High School dance at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday.

Days before the dance, Garcia told fellow students that he was "not your typical prom queen candidate. There's more to me than meets the eye."

He also promised that he would be wearing a suit on prom night, but "don't be fooled: Deep down, I am a queen."

And he made good of that promise Saturday, wearing a gray tuxedo topped off with the prized tiara.

Garcia, 18, said he saw fliers advertising the prom and the election but they didn't specify that the queen must be female. He thought the role would suit him better than prom king.

"I don't wish to be a girl," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I just wish to be myself."

[continues at link]

I can't go three days without writing. Even if I'm made of aches and there's an abattoir in my panties, I still have to do it. Three days. I haven't written in three days, and already it seems insurmountable to start up again.

Sometimes, I feel like forcing myself to write leads to things I don't like. The last little bit that I wrote is all wrong. And it's really only the last few lines that need to be changed, but I'm still struggling to face it.

The point is, writing that bit was like pulling teeth. I don't know how to handle that scenario. Normally, even when I don't feel up to writing, or simply afraid to do it because I might do it badly, and I force myself to begin, it eases into a flow I can keep up for a while. But when it doesn't, what then? I don't know how to tackle that. Force myself to keep going even when I know I hate what I'm writing, or that it just isn't right in terms of what I want from a scene or where I want it to lead? Or stop, step back from it, ponder, make notes, etc., and then come back to it right away? I think that's the problem, maybe: Regardless of whether I pull back or keep writing what's wrong, I don't come back right away. Then it becomes even more difficult to face the next time.

Anyway, it will work out. I just need to get back to it. In five, four, three, two...

I never do this, mostly because I'm not well known and figure that few people will have anything to say, if any at all. However, I'm curious.

Below is a link to my thread for the Anonymous Writing Feedback meme. I'm pimping it, but I'm not looking for fluffing. I really am just curious what people will say when they are encouraged to be honest and can post anonymously. Probably, no one will even comment, but I figured I'd give it a whirl.

THE ANONYMOUS WRITING FEEDBACK MEME