All the RomCom of Qi Xi

I like to do the Fandom Stocking thing so here's mine:

1.) Comment on everything you read/view and like during the holiday fests season, especially. It's a busy time right now and lots of people (me included) are frantically trying to finish shit up. A comment is golden, even if it's on an old piece of fanwork(s). Give a gift and pass it on.
2.) Did you know that $5 will feed 50 dogs at your local shelter? Leave a Donation somewhere for me. Look through your pantry and clean it out to give to the local food bank. Donate to your local animal shelter. Clean out your closets and give to your local homeless shelter. Buy a coat for someone and donate it. Buy blankets and donate them.
3.) Make me a cool icon or fanmix or upload your favorite holiday song and share with me why it's your favorite song. (Darcy the Dragon by Roger Whittaker and Emmanuel by Janis Ian are my favorites)
4.) I won't turn down Amazon.com gift cards. Or Bestbuy.com or Thinkgeek.com
5.) Hold the door for someone. Take an extra moment to say 'thank you' and 'you're welcome' and 'please'. This is one of my biggest pet peeves so you'll be giving me a gift by not being a dick.
6.) Write me a random fic. Or draw me art.
7.) Paid time for my LJ would be lovely.
8.) Give to your local library. They're all hurting for dollars. Even better than giving, check to see what their LGBT section looks like and donate some LGBT books that they can use.
9.) I wouldn't turn down any of the more recent The Editors albums. I need "Papillon", "You Don't Know Love", and "In This Light and On This Evening".
10.) I wouldn't mind some LGBT books either. Say, "Hero", "The Obsidian Man", "Masks Rise of Heroes", "David Inside Out", or "Boy Meets Boy".


Because I'm too lazy to do a new poll - here is my poll for Christmas/Holiday cards from last year. Feel free to sign up for one this year. I love sending them though they'll be cutting it close to get there for Christmas. I have about 60 boxes of cards so help me clean out my stash. I promise I won't show up at your house unless you invite me. EDITED TO ADD: If you don't plan on sending, that's cool! I love sending them so please don't worry about reciprocating! Also, if you're international, I don't much care, I'll send international.

I love getting cards, too, so if you have my address already, please send me one. I missed all the polls due to work. If you wanted to send me one, could you link me to your poll? Danke!

My holiday wishlist. (Yes, I'm late)

Every year, I try to put up a wishlist that's fairly reasonable. I try to never ask for the moon (or a Kindle :P).

Here are my 10 requests:

1.) Leave comments on everything you enjoy. Do it immediately, don't just think "I'll go back to it" because, for the most part, you won't. So leave a spot of happiness in someone's LJ.
2.) Make a donation in my name to: your local animal shelter, Heifer International, Habitat for Humanity or Tucson Community Foodbank. Five dollars can feed 50 dogs (not exaggerating. A 40 lb bag of dog food is $5 and feeds approximately 50 dogs), provide a sustainable living, help build a house or feed a community.
3.) Write a random comment fic for someone on your flist and link me to it.
4.) Make a cool icon. Or music mix. Or art.
5.) Upload your favorite holiday song and share it with me.
6.) Upload a favorite song and share it with me.
7.) Volunteer for a local charity. with donations down, volunteers are even more necessary.
8.) Go through your things and purge what you don't need. With the economy the way it is, charities are feeling the pinch. There are less dollars and more demands for services. It's getting harder and harder to clothe people and feed people. Go through your pantry and get rid of those raviolis that you bought a year ago and you still haven't eaten. That blouse still looks horrendous on you. You lost the weight, don't go back to the fat jeans, get rid of them. That bedding shrank and doesn't fit your queen mattress anymore. That blanket is still tatty but someone else won't care like you do.
9.) Hold the door for someone. Say 'thank you' when someone holds the door for you. Let that lady with just one thing in front of you and your stack of a hundred items. Take a moment to pass on a random act of kindness. We're all harried at this time of the year and that holding the door will go a long way. (And if they don't say 'thank you', nothing says you can't say a polite 'you're welcome' at their backs...)
10.) Take an angel off one of those angel/giving trees at the mall. Buy that kid the pair of jeans that they're asking for and then toss in a toy, too. I'd hate to think of some kid opening up only necessary items on Christmas morning. Christmas is about spreading joy and happiness. Give a kid that joy and happiness.


And if you have a holiday wishlist, please link me to it. My flist time has been nil lately so I've probably missed yours. I'd really like to see if I can fulfill any of your wishes.

Someone on the flist asked for favorite holiday memories and I started to type this up as a comment there when I realized it was getting long. Thus, I'm making it into a post, instead. My favorite holiday memories all blur into one giant lump of memories as my birthday is in October, quickly followed by Thanksgiving in November, Christmas in December and Orthodox Christmas in January. They all revolve around my grandfather.

When I was a little girl, I worshiped my grandfather. We called him Bubby or Bubbup, a German form of endearment that his parents had used when they lived in Germany/Austro-Hungary. My grandfather was first-generation American and a very sedate man. He had a thousand and one odd mannerisms, at least to my way of little girl mind.

What're you doing, Bubby? We'd ask as he napped on the recliner. He'd respond I'm checking my eyelids for pinholes. and we'd all giggle. He had a witty comeback for all of us.

By the time I was old enough to start remembering, he was already slipping into Alzheimer's and dementia. His mind started regressing when we lost my Nana (I was about 3). One of the things he would never forget were birthdays. Every year, on my birthday, he would send me a card and twenty bucks. Considering that he'd been a mechanic for Greyhound, that was a huge amount of money. He always drove a Ford and is probably spinning circles in his grave that I drive a Japanese sports car. He'd sometimes come up and tinker on my mum's 67 Mercury Cougar. I remember sitting on the dirt next to the car as he'd poke his head under the hood. Sometimes, he'd ask me to hand him something and boy howdy was that hammer heavy when you're a teeny girl of four.

The four of us siblings always got him a Hickory Farms assortment, a bag of salted peanuts, a set of pjs and a pair of slippers for Christmas.

When I was four, we developed a tradition that continued until I was 12. You see, I'd discovered my love of pumpkin pie by then. In the middle of the night, I snuck out of my bedroom and carefully pulled the pie down onto the kitchen floor with me. I used my fingers and scooped all the pie filling that my little tumbly could hold. In the middle of my midnight foray, Bubby caught me. Thinking I'd be in an enormous amount of trouble, I waited for him to go get my mum and I'd get sent to my room. Heck, I might even miss out on sitting next to Bubby at Thanksgiving dinner the next day (this was the ultimate reward and treat. You had to be good for MONTHS to get to sit next to Bubby).

Instead, my Bubby walked to the silverware drawer, pulled out two spoons and handed me one without saying a word. We made our way through that entire pie that night and then he carried me to my bed and tucked me in. I know that he had to have talked to my mum about where the pie went because I was never punished and my mum never reacted. The pie crust was filled with whipped cream.

When Christmas rolled around, I snuck out once more to get the pumpkin pie. There were two pies, after all. When I got to the kitchen, Bubby sat at the table with one of them, two spoons at the ready. We sat there and ate all that pie filling (and left the crust) once more. We never really talked during these moments throughout the years that the tradition continued. I remember mock spoon wars, fighting over one certain piece. Sometimes, Bubby would make the spoons dance. Sometimes, he'd fall asleep. Without fail, we'd always leave the pie crust. Eventually, I got too big for him to carry. Eventually, he slipped into dementia and the midnight pie forays stopped.

Eventually, he called me by my mother's name and called my mum "Snacky", his nickname for my Nana.

My Bubby died January 2nd, 1993. He was 86 years old.

I still don't eat the pie crust.

Have reported the iPod as stolen with the police and my job. Found the serial number in the packaging. I doubt my mother will mock me for being a packrat after this. I've also listed the theft at a few stolen goods sites.

I went in to work to register a complaint of theft and, after speaking with the assistant store manager, I got a text from one of my coworkers. She says she knows who has my iPod and that I'll get it back on Tuesday. So we'll see if I get it back. I'll find out who it is and then I shall fuck them over. Revenge shall be mine.

daily_snitch is looking for Seamus recs so get yours in :D. Surely we can outdo Blaise Zabini :P also - be sure to code it properly. don't be a twat like me

Because of the theft of my iPod, I finally sucked it up and bought the iPhone. Am now trying to figure it out. Suggestions for names for the new phone? I already have the following electronics: HK-47, The Ebon Hawk, T3-M4, and Leviathan. What do you think of "Holocron" for its name? It is sort of like a Jedi Holocron. The name isn't completely wowing me so suggestions would be awesome.

Also - this whole episode sort of told me how spoiled I really am. I work my ass off, don't get me wrong (76 hours this week!) to be able to afford these things and I go out and spend the money. It's not like I'm struggling to feed myself or whatever. In today's economy, I'm quite thankful to have one job let alone two. I never worry about food or fuel. I can afford lunch out a couple times a week.

Thus - instead of doing a more memememememememe wishlist like I've done every year, my holiday requests/gifts are the following:

1.) that you comment on a piece of fanwork if you enjoy it. Spread a bit of cheer. It only takes a moment to type out "I really enjoyed this, thanks for sharing!".
2.) Donate to your local foodbank. With five bucks, most foodbanks can feed a family of 4 for a day including fresh produce and some sort of meat. Five bucks. Man, that's awesome.
3.) Donate to Heifer International. Buy me a part of a cow or some trees or ducklings or something.
4.) Create a piece of fanwork for someone else. It can be anything - an icon, a drabble, a novel length fic, a piece of artwork. Do it randomly and surprise someone.
5.) Donate to your local animal shelter. Donations are down across the board for all non-profits and boy howdy are they suffering. Even five bucks is five bucks more than they had before. It really does matter.
6.) Buy a toy for toys for tots. Buy a toy for the Salvation Army. Every kid should have something for Christmas.
7.) Go through your stuff and pick out what you really don't need and donate it to your local women's/family/children's shelter. This one's a double gift. 1.) They get stuff and 2.) You get space!
8.) Raid your books and dvds and see what ones you can send to a local library or hospital. Another double gift!
9.) Give to your local library. I dropped off twenty five bucks last week and the librarians there told me no one ever donates except during huge drives. I use the library all the time and it saves me thousands a year in books that I would've bought otherwise (and, let's face it, would've hated).
10.) Practise your manners. It's really nice to say "thank you" when someone holds the door. Or, hell, hold the door for someone. Too often during the holidays, we rush so much that we forget about other people. It only takes a second to hold a door. And hell, if they other person doesn't say thanks, then say 'you're welcome' anyway. :D Let someone out of a parking lot when you're driving. And if they don't wave a thanks, than wave a you're welcome anyway (and not with just one finger).

That's my wishlist and my ramble. <3 you all.

Got dropped from a newsletter with no notice whatsoever. No discussion, just looked and there they were advertising for someone to cover my day. I haven't received a response to my email yet. I guess I wasn't active enough in the fandom or something :/.

Submitted my rs_small_gifts and emailed my yuletide to beta take 2. I'm pwning the deadlines. Started working with kethlenda on our project which is, also, pwning. I had this idea brewing just after reading DH, shelved it and then both of us came up with the same idea when chatting. We rule.

I've started working on my January daily_deviant story and though the pairing is sort of cracky and so is the premise, the story, so far, is made of win and not of crack.

Just passed the 38k mark of the monster Deamus-ish story from Hades. You guys will read it, right? Even though it's a rarepair and stuff?

Also just realized that I forgot to post the update on my vacation. That shall get written up tomorrow. Unless I have fic to beta. You know who I'm looking at Icee. And just now realized that I forgot the final resolution reviews. Crap, I really am failing at this whole updating thing, aren't I?

Spent the day shifting boxes of financial records around. There were over 130 boxes and the stacks go up about 10 or so feet. So, lots of time on ladders with heavy boxes. Gee, I have an exciting job, don't I? But, at least, things are now organized so that when purging 1999's records, I can find them all together and then slide 2008 right in there. So, a little work now saves a lot of work later. But, gah, my back and neck ache. And I'm sleepy. And dirty. God, that storage unit is absolutely filthy. There were dead bugs, 7 years worth of dust in places and mouse poop. (and in case you're wondering, yes, I really am the only one in the office capable of moving these boxes. Everyone else I work with in the office has health issues that keeps them from doing it.)

I'm getting the most horrendous cold. My throat is really really sore and I'm sniffly. *whinges*

SLL is getting sacked. This means that right before Christmas, I will have assloads of work to do. It's a good thing I didn't plan on taking a vacation between the holidays. However, I will now be supervising the two other people in the office (obviously I won't be supervising my boss *winks*). So, management experience here I come.

The girl I tutor is amazingly smart. She's just a smart cookie (I make her say that when she uses the word 'stupid' as I HATE that word). Tonight, I walked into her house and without even saying hello, she spelled out the hardest spelling word she had from memory. She is 2 for 2 weeks at getting 100% on her spelling tests. Plus, she got all of her subtraction right. I'm so proud of her! AND - her mum baked me cookies cause her mum thinks I'm a smart cookie *beams*.

I bought stamps for the christmas cards today, so, if you want one - fill out the poll. Go on, I won't stalk you unless you want me to. I will be emailing my address to those that asked for it tomorrow, hopefully. Cards will go out in December so you have some time yet. Don't be shy, please!

How the heck is everyone?

As promised, here is the photo I was going to use for my Christmas cards before my printer died and some of the outtakes as well...

( my dogs )

Dear Arizona:

I moved here not only for the sunshine but for the warm weather. There's a reason that transplants to Arizona are called Snow Birds. We're FLEEING the snow. We left our winter coats in remote far-off possibly snow covered places like Pennsylvania to be able to crow on about how warm we are while the rest of the country freezes under a mantle of white powder (and I'm not talking cocaine).

The fact that I got stuck driving in it yesterday pisses me off and makes me want to sue for false advertising. I don't give a shit that it was rain when it hit the ground. On my windshield, it was still snowflake-shaped.

In conclusion, fuck you, Arizona. Fuck you and your promises of sunny weather and no snow.

No love,
wook

That's right... there were wet drippy and disgusting SNOWFLAKES hitting my windshield yesterday afternoon! GAH!!!!!!!!!!!! *kicks Arizona*

So, since today was supposed to be super cold too, I pulled out a pair of cordoroys I haven't been able to fit into for almost 2 years. I looked at them longingly, almost put them back in the drawer of doom but then decided I should try them on. Not only did I get them closed, they fit comfortably! They're also SIZE 10s!!!!! I haven't fully fit inside of 10s in 2 years!!!! They're also the smallest 10s I own! BWEEEEE!!!!!!!!! Though this makes me kindasorta disappointed in myself for not going to the gym in 2 weeks.

As I haven't squeed over nothing_goldrpg in like 2 days, let me take this opportunity to *squee*. The play has really picked up and it's sooooooo good. If you're looking for a post-war semi-dark RPG to watch, we've loads of plot twists and turns to watch.

( examples and more squeeing and semi-ranting about my favourite rpg evah and then more squeeing )

Thank you to hill_ for the absolutely amazingly beautiful card! I also got awesome cards from coffeejunkii, original_lie and wendy and a CD and card from yodels. The awesomeness of that cd can be summed up in one set of initials - NKOTB.

Also - I fail at being a friend because I totally forgot to squee over the Bushisms and Countdown Calendars from best_of_five and coffeejunkii. Let me now *SQUEE* over how amazingly awesome and funny and wonderful these things are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (you all get the exclamation points of too much caffeine and excitement)

Advent fics? Um, yeah *shifty look* I'm writing but every idea is well over 1k now and not finished so they're delayed.

I'm sitting here at my desk freezing, by the way.

How are all of you?