Cranky. Old. Man?

- A plumbing system that is broken and won't get fixed until tomorrow
- Dirty dishes piled up and making bad smells that I can't really wash easily
- A rec letter that my boss is supposed to send in TODAY (electronically thank god) which he had originally basically told me to write for him. Thankfully my supervisor came in and sent her draft for the other grad school. But I don't even.

What am I doing in the face of this? Reading the Y: The Last Man volumes I just picked up from the library.

Coping, I has it?

I should have told him it was due Friday. D:

Edit: My wok has come in handy for the washing of dishes, so now I have the smell gone at least.

So I'm not going to focus on it. Let's just say I surprise had to work an extra ten hours and my workload isn't going to let up anytime soon due to family emergency on the part of one of my coworkers and the general not replacing people who have left the company BS that is going on.

I will instead look ahead.

- Hey Chicago people! So, Friday February 24th I will be in your fair city for a while as I have an Amtrak layover. I'll pretty much be there all day (my train gets there in the morning and leaves at like 6pm). Of you that work downtown, who wants to have lunch (or hell early dinner)? I have navigated your trains before, so you don't have to come to Union Station to meet me, I can meet you wherever. If you are busy, no worries, figured I'd ask. ^^

- Looks like I won't get Snake (999, not MGS) done in time for Ohayocon. Which is ok because I have several other costumes anyway, including Quatre from Gundam Wing in this cracky uniform. I have all the pieces except the kneesocks for that costume, and just need to alter the pieces I have to my size. I have no idea why I'm so excited to look like a Killer Boy Scout.

- I am seriously going through a lot of my things and cleaning and culling. Because it needs to happen. Expect another freecycle post soon, and the stuff I have already freecycled should be getting mailed out this week. I just. Shit happened.

- I am the world's slowest person to tag in RPs. Sorry.

- Trying to get a passport is a silly difficult process. I'm not going to MOVE there, geez.

- This year is going to be a lot of traveling... I am very excited about this. And if things go well there will also be MOVING. :D

And made a mix. NSFW unless you have headphones (the 212 song is the particularly NSFW one).



Tracklist

01. 30H!3 - Love 2012
02. Maaya Sakamoto - Buddy
03. RuPaul - Champion
04. Jimmy Eat World - Futures
05. Azealia Banks - 212 (feat. Lazy Jay)
06. 브라운아이드걸스 (Brown Eyed Girls) - Sixth Sense
07. Scissor Sisters - Night Life
08. Lelia Broussard - Hipster Bitch
09. She Wants Revenge - It's Just Begun
10. The Lawrence Arms - 100 Resolutions
11. Drew Neumann - Beautiful Animation
12. David Bowie - Fill Your Heart (1999 Digital Remaster)
13. Flight of the Conchords - Robots
14. Dânnâgôischd - Ôichâbleddr Onnd Ôichâsâmâ
15. Genesis - It's Gonna Get Better
16. Daft Punk - Solar Sailer (Ki:Theory's Lay Our Bodies Down Remix)
17. Cat Stevens - Wild World

In case anyone was bored.

( these are all Vorkosigan recs )

Sadly, there weren't nearly as many videogame fandoms written as there were requested, but that's to be expected. If only there was a videogame only type Yuletide thing (and not just FF, but like ALL the games). Oh well. But here's what I've read and liked so far. FFIV fans: every single fic written this year features Kain, so if you're into (unlike me) that go check it out. I'll probably wander into the FFVI at some point, too.

( um I should cut this for those that do not care )

I'm gonna stagger these as I actually read them. Since you know, I'm back at work (though it's dreadfully slow and I don't even want to start on this one thing yet...). Kind of in a daze with the things I should be working on at the fact that everyone else in the educational community is off on break (which includes my bosses... and I'm out of PT else I would also just say fuck it).

One Teacher's Approach to Preventing Gender Bullying.

It reminds me of discussions I've had with my interns, as sometimes we don't talk about science and games. I really like working with teens, though I always have a worry in the back of my mind that some parent/guardian will find out I'm gay and think that I like working with teens because of something perverse. :/ But so far my cubicle in the office has been a safe space, and some hard discussions have gone down. It's really encouraging that I am considered a Trusted Adult, so hopefully I'm doing something right.

Mentoring is different than teaching, of course. Considering how many rec letters I've written for the kids lately it sounds like I'm a decent enough authority figure. XD

I decided that I was gonna finish at least one game this weekend. I did! And I'm getting really close (well in RPG terms... it could be another 8 hours) in the other one.

Spoilers all over this.

( METAL GEAR SOLID IS FINISHED )

( Breath of Fire III )

Since my previous ones apparently didn't convince anyone to look past my grades, despite the fact I'd obviously made it to at least the third round of cuts (hi university politics, and fuck you).

Instead I have:

- Eaten delicious cookies from the bakery next door. Did you know Springerie is a type of German cookie embossed with intricate designs of special events or characters? Mine look like idyllic scenes from Christmas woodcuts and taste like almonds.

- Read through far too many Chick Tract Dissections. I guess since it's Sunday I like reading about crazy Fundies? I dunno.

- Watched another fandom have a meltdown over a subpar addition to their series. Where have I seen this before.

- Put on every heating thing I own in this apartment because it is below freezing outside. Fuck off, winter.

Since I applied last year, I just have to rewrite the essays, I don't even have to start from scratch. Why is this so difficult.

But if you have a computer and nothing to do at noon (EST, which is basically an hour from now wherever you are), there's a free webcast....

Exciting Interactive Series Features Astronaut Captain Jim Lovell

Live astronaut webcast on Wednesday, December 7, at 12:00pm EST

ALEXANDRIA, VA - Join Challenger Center for Space Science Education on Wednesday December 7, 2011, 12:00pm (Eastern Time) for an interactive webcast with former NASA Astronaut, Captain James Lovell. The interview is part of an exciting series of interactive webcasts celebrating the 25th anniversary of Challenger Center's educational programs. Each month during the 25th anniversary year, Challenger Center will feature an astronaut, as the guest of a live webcast, with an opportunity for the public to ask questions. Captain Lovell will discuss his experiences as an astronaut and answer questions during the live webcast. No registration is required and the webcast is free. To join the webcast, visit http://webcast.challenger.org.



You may submit questions ahead of time via email to web_cast@challenger.org, or use the instant message feature during the live webcast. Adobe Flash Player is required to participate and view the webcast. A new web environment will open on your computer with a chat interface to ask questions.



December Featured Guest Background:

Captain James Lovell, Jr. (US Navy, Ret.) was chosen as an astronaut in 1962, following extensive experience as a naval aviator and test pilot. He went on to build a distinguished NASA career, serving as pilot on the history-making Gemini 7 flight in 1965 with Command Pilot Frank Borman. This flight set an endurance record of fourteen days in space, and also was the target vehicle for the first space rendezvous with Gemini 6A. He was also the Commander of the Gemini 12 spacecraft in November 1966 with Pilot Buzz Aldrin.

Lovell was the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 8 with Commander Frank Borman and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders. They launched on December 21, 1968, becoming the first men to travel to the Moon. Lovell served as the navigator, using a sextant to determine position by measuring star positions. The craft entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve and made ten orbits over twenty hours. They broadcast television pictures of the lunar surface back to Earth, and Lovell took his turn reading a passage from the Book of Genesis. They began their return to Earth on Christmas Day with a rocket burn made on the Moon's far side, out of radio contact with Earth. When contact was re-established, Lovell was the first to announce the good news, "Please be informed, there is a Santa Claus." The crew splashed down safely on December 27.

Lovell is best known as the Commander of the now legendary Apollo 13 mission with pilots Jack Swigert and Fred Haise. The Apollo 13 mission suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission control. Apollo 13 returned safely to Earth on April Lovell is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, the first of only three people to fly to the Moon twice. Lovell was also the first person to fly in space four times.

About Challenger Center for Space Science Education

Using space exploration as a theme and simulations as a vehicle, Challenger Center for Space Science Education and its international network of 48 Challenger Learning Centers create positive educational experiences that raise students' expectations of success, fosters a long-term interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and inspires students to pursue studies and careers in these areas. Challenger Center's network of Challenger Learning Centers across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and South Korea reach more than 400,000 students each year through simulated space missions and educational programs, and engage over 40,000 educators through missions, teacher workshops and other programs. To learn more about Challenger Center for Space Science Education, visit www.challenger.org.

Note: The entire webcast series is also archived, so if you miss it live you can listen later. We do a lot of work with our local Challenger Center, and I like them, so yeah.

So, one of the things I am doing this season is finding ways to not get completely bummed forever that it is winter and things are dark. I am lucky that it's daylight usually by the time I walk to work, and that I walk instead of drive, which allows me some minimal sunlight. But it is always dark by the time I go home.

Of course, this little town counters that with the canopy of lights around the square. And it's only a slightly different path to go through there on the way home. It has helped me calm down after stressful days so much. I especially like it because it doesn't scream Christmas to me, not like a lot of decorations I see around which either remind me of the Lost Year or make me feel like an outsider because I really do not like Christmas. It just feels like lights leading me home in the dark of winter. It's nice.

I was there for the lighting ceremony this year, with my family, so I took a few pictures. Not sure if I have gotten the hang of night photography yet, and I should have brought a bigger lens. Oh well.

( pictars )