I just saw Avatar...It was really, REALLY good. Like, absurd levels of wow. Go see it, it'll surprise you.

My life for the past month: wake up at 7 or 8am, leave at 8 or 9, start work at 9 or 10. Work until 6 or 10pm, drive an hour home, go to bed. This is why I have been dead to the world, because I am away from my house/the internet/a phone signal for up to 14 hours every day. I only have a week more of this, so it's all cool!

( NOW THAT THAT IS OUT OF THE WAY. )

So, Jeremiah and i will be enjoying downtown Boston for our honeymoon.  We really wanted to experience the east coast, and we  got a fantastic hotel room (see: suite) on what i understand is the Michigan Avenue of Boston... plus, we can see Old Ironsides (which i've learned is not a sailboat), we can check out the china/tibet comparison exhibit at the art museum, and there's a sports museum.   I will admit, though, i was very tempted by Rookie's vivid description of San Fransisco: "san francisco has many enticing features, designed much like the little lantern bobbing in front of the Angler Fish, which sways attractively, waiting for you to approach the razored jaws of death. which is to say, it can be very expensive. sorry...the metaphor got away from me."

shmushed into one. First, we're playing honeymoon lottery. 

Today's top choices:  Boston, San Diego, San Fransisco, New Orleans, New York, Colorado, or St. Maarten. Each has it's pros and cons, but i'm opening the forum to you-- tell me your thoughts on some places.  The more information, the better the decision.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  (Note: We're staying state-side because of airfare... we'll go to europe again when it's not right after an expensive party) .   Second, i'm gearing up to run a Requiem game next semester.  This is a big deal because, in the past, running games has been a terrifying experience for me.  However, i've recently learned that doing anything i might fail at is a terrifying experience for me.  So, to combat this fear and get over it entirely, i'm running game next semester, and one over break... well, a quasi-game, as my only player is my fiancee.  Still, i am excited at the prospect of both my own game and at not being terrified of new stuff.  Also on the list is Tai Chi, drawing, and (possibly) working out.  Who says resolutions have to come at new years.  

Living situatuon: BATS. We have bats. Arabian Flatbread says he saw two of them when he went down to the basement for some laundry. I love living in Mirkwood.

Personhood progress report: I have finally learned to tell left from right without touching my earlobe. Granted, I still have to look at the tattoo on my left wrist, but a quick glance is way less disruptive to most activities than a full-on ear fondle.

This... this is huge. It means maybe I'll learn to drive one day.
I've needed manual confirmation of my left/right suspicions for years. I wish I'd only needed visual confirmation back when I took the Stupidest Driver's Ed Class Ever. It might not've helped much, though. Because. Um. Here is a brief summary of the lecture portion of driver's ed:
Don't drink and drive, kids! Also don't do LSD and drive or snort cleaning solution and drive. Hallucinogenic mushrooms + driving = unfortunate combination! Lets watch an episode of Oprah where drunk drivers apologize to the people they accidentally dismembered. Then we'll all sit in the corner and weep. P.S. Don't steal stop signs it is bad.

Then on the last day of class we got into some cars. Everyone else magically knew how to drive even though it was never covered in the class and I was all “you want me to WHAT? But all I know about driving is how to not do drugs. You mean the act of being sober will not magically teleport me to... oh. Damn. Okay, does this thing have an on button?”
The look of sheer terror on my instructor's face was kinda priceless.
It only got worse when we encountered an intersection.

INSTRUCTOR: Okay, now turn left.
LEX: What.
INSTRUCTOR: Left. Turn left now.
LEX: Um, which way is...
INSTRUCTOR: Left!
LEX: Is that toward the tree or...?
INSTRUCTOR: Oh my god.
LEX: *reaches up to grab earlobe*
INSTRUCTOR: HANDS ON THE WHEEL HANDS ON THE WHEEL PAY ATTENTION WHAT ARE YOU DOING.

Needless to say, I didn't come out of that class with a license. But maybe one day I'll have one. I don't want to own a car and the idea of driving still terrifies me, but this whole right/left thing brings me a definite step closer to functional personhood.

Groanworthy thing that happened just now: I needed a fuzzy hat that would cover my ears, so I bought the cheapest black one I could find. It had a ridiculous giant pom-pom on top. I cut the pom-pom off and threw it at Arabian Flatbread's head and ran back to my room.
Arabian Flatbread tracked me down and stood in my doorway, glaring at the offending orb of fuzz.

LEX: It's okay, you're not a klingon. I just had to check.
ARABIAN FLATBREAD: You, my friend, are in deep tribble.

Then he threw the pom-pom at my face the end.

You never realize just how much space the dead chipmunks take up in your freezer until they go away. Seriously guys, the freezer looks so huge now. We could make a snowman and preserve him in there all winter if we wanted.
We'll most likely do something boring with the space instead though, like fill it with food. It's probably a good thing. I mean, it's not like there's any room in the fridge, what with it being full of half-thawed dead chipmunks and all.

In other news, SNOW DAY SNOW DAY SNOW DAY. Oh man yesterday was full of win. All the Mirkwood residents had off from work and school so we made a huge pancake breakfast when we got up and then we went out for a snowball fight. Oh, except I took the most ill-advised shower in the world between these two things. Here is a picture of my hair demonstrating why it's probably a good idea to not spend a lot of time outside in freezing weather when you're soaking wet. Well, at least not unless you're all out of reasonable weapons and you need to stab people with icicles attached to your head.



( Here are some more pictures, mostly of stuff covered in white stuff. )

The wind is blowing so hard outside I have trouble seeing the bushes in the yard. Unlike most of you, I have almost no snow; when the wind stops, grass peaks through white and the pavement is clean. All the trees are waving their bare, twisty arms as if saying "JESUSFUCK I AM COLD CUT IT OUT PLEASE. RESPECTFULLY, WENDALL OAK JR."

I am feeling artistic to the tips of my fingers, but I haven't drawn anything. I think I'm being terribly irrational. I have this thing where I look at my old art, and it comes in cycles. First, I look at something very old and think "I was so good then. I was only 16/19/21. Am I still that good? I feel like I'm worse". Eventually, I'll make something anyway and then it will become the old thing that looks really good, and the original becomes a fond memory. I just need to get to the moving on and making more part. I want to do something in sepia and brown, but I don't have the technology or the materials required.

My life is banal right now.

Oh hey, you know those RenFaire people sleeping on my couch? One of them (the ever-fabulous oarlock_queen) made me AWESOME.



It's a watchmaker's magnifying glass. Man, if only I had two fully functioning eyes I'd wear this thing all the time.

P.S. She also gave me a dead fish to stick in my ear. <3
Laura, please feel free to crash at Mirkwood anytime. I promise it wasn't some kind of passive-aggressive stunt when I drove you out of the house with the fire alarm that made a horrible noise for half an hour or when I allowed my drunk neighbor to almost puke on your coat. I am just somewhat incompetent when it comes to being a host. But that should improve with practice, right? And I had someone else sleeping over last night and I didn't maim or poison him or anything. Coooome baaaack!