The Daily Adventures of Mercat

I'm actually cleaning up my computer. So a lot of these are old posts I'm copying and pasting. At the moment I'm sort of out of touch mentally, I can tell I'm not functioning at full capacity, but I think it's because I stayed up until 5 last night and I don't think I slept very well, even though I don't remember dreaming or much. I don't feel particularly traumatized or anything though, I think at this point everyone is sad but relieved, because Gramps had been going downhill for so long and it was really putting a lot of stress on Grandma as well. Anyway. Old posts:



This video is totally unreal.




And in case anyone was doubting the awesomeness of the new My Little Ponies (although I can't say I like the music):




Do you know one thing I have wanted all my life? A way to record dreams. And we are on our way, OMG. SCIENCE. IT'S SO COOL.

A new development in solar power, which hopefully will lead to cheaper and stronger solar panels. (And maybe even clear glass solar panels?! That would be wicked.) Also, I didn't know ceramics could be transparent. Science is crazy! I love it so. <3

Essentially
my reaction to a few seasons of Doctor Who.

DeLorean is building electric cars, I hope they are building new bodies and not just retrofitting old DeLoreans? It seems like the guy reopened the company in 1995 and is custom building a few a year? So there are newer DeLoreans and they're going to keep building them? How awesome would it be if they sliiiiiightly updated the design? Okay, too many question marks in this paragraph. AND YET.

Interesting historical trivia, "who was the historical model for human evil before Hitler?" For anyone out there writing historical fiction/nonfiction.

A Portuguese article about Indiana Jones, I like this part:

"I think Harrison Ford Indiana Jones can live up to 90 years, although for this can only eat pureed." "Take the example of Clint Eastwood. Is 81 and makes fascinating films, "praised Spielberg, who believes that the success formula of Indiana Jones, created by him and George Lucas, is their affinity with the public. "People like this kind of fantasy that takes places and scenarios ever seen. It's a bit crabber a hero, a survivor who is hurt and suffering ... It looks more like a real person than a superhero, "said the filmmaker said to justify the public's identification with the archaeologist.

I actually read something somewhere that Indiana Jones isn't supposed to be just a guy out adventuring, Spielberg and Lucas and Ford tried to make it about taking the character somewhere new as well. I.E. developed the character more. Which I think is why I don't like the books or anything... they're, strangely, this sort of James Bond thing where it's sex-girls-get-treasure-fight-badguys. Not that I dislike James Bond, it's just... its own thing.

Also, I think sort of knowing this subconsciously (it's so nice when someone else articulates what I am thinking/feeling) is the reason I was able to accurately guess that Indy and Marion would get married in IV. Also, Marion is the best anyway.

Actual evidence that Indy 5 is hopefully in the works! Hurrahhhh <3

Again I say: Hawaii. Australia. More Polynesia/Micronesia/Melanesia (Pacifica!). Northern Europe. Spain. Southern Africa? LET'S GET SOME VARIETY UP IN THIS BITCH. And more travel, PREFERRABLY.

Heeeeyyyy, more comments from Spielberg on Indy IV and V. I have to say, as someone who's always playing Devil's Advocate even though I dislike (but have come to terms with) certain aspects of Crystal Skull, I kinda feel bad for Lucas here. Pretty much everyone has hung him out to dry, and now, Spielberg included. Although, I guess he is owning up to the gopher and the fridge, WHICH, I can't say I thought the gopher was great but it wasn't awful. The fridge? I loved. And, sorry Spielberg, I don't think anyone actually says "nuke the fridge". One would sound like a tool if they did. It wasn't quite so over the top as... jumping the shark. As for five, I'll say what I said when I collected my thoughts after first seeing Crystal Skull... at least they can't do that again.

That being said, FUCKING HIRE ME TO DO SET DESIGN PLEASE? <3

Diana Wynne Jones, one of my top three favorite authors and my favorite female author. Your words have helped inspire my hopes in imagineering, and your stories will be missed.

Mom called me yesterday in the middle of the day to tell me that Spats was "not doing well" and she had taken him to the vet. Well not only was he not doing well, they thought he was in the advanced stages of renal failure, was suffering greatly and we should put him down as he would only last days to weeks, but most of it pain-filled. He apparently had lost 3 pounds (about a quarter of his body weight) since his last annual checkup, was dehydrated, lethargic, and had been puking all over the house for the better part of a week. The vet gave him subcutaneous fluids and took a blood sample, and mom took him home to see how he did and wait for the blood test to come back. The vet said if it wasn't renal failure it may be a tumor, but other than that she had no idea. Regardless, Spats was not doing well. (Not to mention, I started worrying about Jack, how he was handling having a sick buddy and how he would deal with being an only cat if we had to put spats down...)

So I was sniffling all through trying to finish up some of my work and sat antsily through my class, decided to skip my evening class, and went home to spend the evening with Spats in the event we would have to put him down Saturday. Anyway I pretty much teared up constantly all evening yesterday and I'm just completely exhausted today, but that's beside the point.

When I went home Spats was still rather lethargic and I let him out on the porch. He wasn't moving very quickly and was only barely nudging his face up on a box he usually would have jumped up on. So I put him up on it and he sat there for a bit, then moved over onto the bench where it was sunnier, and eventually as the sun kept moving he moved back to the box. Finally once the sun was completely gone from the porch he came and sat on my lap, and I couldn't help but notice how light he was and how surprisingly bony he felt. I don't know how long he's been sick or how rapid any of his weight loss or dehydration was, but this seems rather sudden. And we can't really tell how long he has been under-eating because there's a really good chance that Jack has been making up for that.

At any rate. I cuddled with him as much as he would allow but it was very sad. When he would go to clean himself or shake his head or anything, he would get about a half second into it and then stop. It is very odd to see a cat that hasn't cleaned themselves well, you can tell something is wrong. Finally when I was struggling to keep my eyes open but was sitting on the stairs petting him, he walked upstairs all the way to my room and hopped up on my bed. I should mention that it's not uncommon when I go home for him to sleep on my feet. So I followed him upstairs and went to bed and made sure to snuggle up with him, although he wanted to sleep on my feet and eventually made his way down there.

So. Yesterday was a rough day. Although by the end of it he seemed mildly perkier than he was when I first came home, which I think was a result of getting some fluids in him. He wasn't eating much at all though.

But! This morning I woke up to a call from mom that the vet had called and it wasn't renal failure. So. We don't know what it is or if it will be treatable, but I am hopeful and I think if we can clear out whatever the system problem is and get food and fluids back in him... Whew. I drove him to the vet this morning and when we were close he crawled out of his carrier to sit on my lap and look out the window. It was rather adorable (and unexpected--when I first moved the cats to the house they would not stop crying) and I told him if he gets himself well at the vet I will start taking him for drives, if he would like that. Like he can talk, right? Anyway.

He is at the vet and I am still rather worried, while I'm not breaking into tears like I was yesterday, I'm still finding it hard to focus. I hope he's not too lonely in there :C And I hope whatever it is, it's treatable. He's only 6, so... yeah. Anyway.

Yeah so I go from no posting to overload! Woo. I'm gonna pass out now.

(On the other side of things, have you ever seen the Idiot Box episode of Spongebob? It is the episode where Squidward gets a new tv and gives Spongebob and Patrick the box... I realized that the look they give him when he opens the box on them is the same look you get from Jack most of the time when you find him crunched up into a box. I got new tap shoes and that is of course immediately what he did.)

On the just-plain-odd side of things, I found out that when things get depressing I apparently switch straight to Robert Frost quoting.

I don't know when to say to expect a "real" post from me. I have a lot to post and... not lots of time. This is a crazy semester =/

[EDIT] Update as of (later) this morning: Mom called, the vet's got Spats on lots of fluids, and he's up and purring and seemingly back to normal. So she thinks it's nothing fatal. C=

(The title has nothing to do with anything except that I just took a practice GRE and "gremlins" was the first word to pop into my head starting with "gre-".)

Forgive me for just nearly missing the daily-post--deadline by a few minutes, because I just finished a GRE practice test. How sad is it that engineering has made me excited to take a standardized test?! I work well within boundaries and certain expectations, or no boundaries at all, apparently. I don't know how well I am cut out for slightly-open-ended design work. Which is not good, because that is pretty much anything engineering is. I mean, there are the laws of physics, and the laws of the land, but the problem is that the former is very mathematically complicated and the latter is just very convoluted and you only come to know it really through exposure and experience. Neither of which I really have. And not to mention, mayhaps my brain just doesn't work that way, because I never seem to know where to find the equations/set-up I need for engineering projects. Which makes working in groups good for me because then the other people are good at starting the project, and I'm good at checking things and thinking (maybe a little too far) outside the box.

So... menial desk job or very creative in-charge job for me, I guess. Strange. ANYWAY. Onto the prompt.

My favorite meme of the moment... I don't think I currently have one. Being gone all summer I kind of missed Double Rainbow and Hide Ya Kids and I don't really... "get".... either. Although I think I saw Antoine Dodson a while back but never saw the Bed Intruder Song? I don't know.

Does Rally to Restore Sanity/Fear count as a meme? Because it was probably more that than real political activism (or anything) and I kind of liked that (despite people being bitchy for it). However, it's not quite as wild as Anonymous' protests, so idk.

I guess I don't have a favorite meme right now, so I hope something comes along soon. In the meantime, I'm always a sucker for EFG and since the 5th of November was just a few days ago, let's say that. Even though it was nothing to do with anything, legitimately.

MOVING ON. I was thinking about password access, which led me to think about where you keep that kind of information so that it's safe with you but easily found by others in the case that you were to die. Which led me to think about wills, and the fact that while my mom has every once in a while talked about what she wants (donated organs iirc) and my dad has mentioned his wants (a big party), they don't really know my beliefs in terms of my... lack of faiths... (BUT NOT LACK OF MORALS... byuh) ANYWAY. I don't need any kind of fancy burial, I'll be dead. I've kind of always been about pragmatism, and even when I was really young (early gradeschool) I remember considering the pros and cons of cremation. So this is my current set of considerations: (And let's not call me morbid here, because I honestly approach a lot of what most people would consider "morbid" as just purely interesting. Death is the natural extension of life. Morbid for me is a whole other level. Perhaps I disdain that word... I'm more of a naturalist than a goth? And science is nature, so. )

1. If there's any hint of foul play just preserve as much as possible. Not that I expect this to happen but being slightly paranoid from reading too many detective novels and watching too many crime shows, if there was any hint of foul play I hope there's a really good twist! Which probably means exhuming the body at least once. (...Maaaaaaybe that's morbid. BUT SO ARE CRIME SHOWS)

2. If not, donate any usable body parts to organ donor programs and/or to science. Basically get as much practical use out of it as possible.

3. Bury any remains in a manner as natural as possible because it seems pretty pointless to be dumping lockboxes filled with chemicals into the ground just to sit there and be preserved for... ever.

3b. Plus this ensures that I will never be Undead. (Zombie, vampire, etc.)

4. Possibly do something awesome with the remains such as:
a) use the bones for something awesome such as art, Yorrick's skull in a production of Hamlet, a modern reliquary, et cetera,
b) include them in a treasure hunt/puzzle or as a geocache (WITH ONLY AWESOME TREASURE INSIDE. If I am to be a buried treasure, I fully expect it to be a goddamn bitchin' one.)
c)...et cetera. Basically I think skeletons and eyes are pretty cool things from a design aspect and have many interesting and beautiful (if slightly morbid) options. (BUT I'M OKAY WITH THE SLIGHT MORBIDITY HERE. AT THIS POINT THE MORBIDITY BECOMES MORE WUNDERKAMMER-CURIOUS THAN NATURALIST-CURIOUS BUT IT'S STILL AWESOME.)

5. A really cool headstone. Some classic-and-slightly-creepy design, with a totally clever and awesome epitaph. Like the headstones at the Haunted Mansion, with their Victorian-Gothic-slightly-disquieting style and the totally awesome epitaphs (at least out front--I've never studied the epitaphs inside the ride).

OKAY TOTALLY DONE WITH MY MORBID MOMENT NOW, for those of you who may not like that sort of thing... er... sorry for the lack of warning... =/

At any rate. I have a rant but I don't really want to rant about it right now. Let's just say, between people going back on my Halloween party invite, and being whiny about the party, and my friend failing to do the one thing I asked him to do for the senior show (i.e. leave an appropriate mid-movement moment for the dead-bug), which I told him a month ahead of time when we were planning it as a group, but do people just blow me off when I make comments a few months in advance? BECAUSE I HAVE ACTUALLY THOUGHT THESE THINGS THROUGH, and I mean them. If I change my thoughts, I WILL ALSO BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION.

Do I just... scream "IGNORE ME" or something? (Heh.)

Yeah. Anyway.




...Also I went to trivia tonight for the first time in a good while and I wore by awesome retro-rainbow Star Wars shirt that I bought from Target's boy section last year. The usual awesome trivia guy wasn't there, and the girl taking his place was not as fun. Plus, a lot of the questions were wrong tonight. "A one-note instrument made popular at the world soccer games this summer"? Vuvuzela, except that like all other objects with a natural frequency, if you halve, double, or otherwise multiply that frequency you will get other notes. Octaves, for simplicity, or perhaps... partials... if the instrument is more complicated. Say, like a trumpet. Speaking of trumpets, "a cornet most resembles this musical instrument". Maybe a cornet? It's actually a legit instrument.

And then Pat, being his normal uppity Classics-major self, called out the trivia girl on the question "what famous temple site on the Acropolis?" by screaming "Which temple do you want?! There are at least nine different ones!"

However I also learned that the F22 Raptor can go supersonic without having to use its afterburners which is called "supercruising". Also, the evil wizard on Smurfs is Gargamel and the cat is Azrale. (NO IDEA if I spelled those right, also don't care much.) And the compact disk was invented in 1965 (we guessed floppy disk).

Also-also I cleaned my room today. Go me!

[Error: unknown template qotd] I like questions like these... I dunno why. =)

I want my body to go to as much use and as little waste as possible. Depending on all the circumstances (accidental, weird deaths, diseases, whatever) I want my body to either go to people who need it (i.e. organ donor) or to science if it can't be donated.

Then whatever remains I would want buried in one of the natural-death grounds, unless saying I was murdered and they would think they might need to exhume the body. But really I think a lot of those preservatives and the casket plastics and everything are just going to waste otherwise, because, really, who needs all that to be buried and forgotten? I would like some kind of memorial stone that wasn't blank, though, and preferrably some awesomely amazing epitaph, because epitaphs make any headstone instantly 100% cooler.

Then taking a note from my dad, I would want everyone to have a big party. Preferrably a massive Jimmy-Buffet-fied luau, something like that. You know, one of those parties where the songs are all sing-along-crowd-pleasers--you know, Margaritaville and Don't Stop Believin' and Bohemian Rhapsody, haha.

You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever heard any sort of thoughts like this from my mom. I remember my dad telling me when I was younger that when he is in a nursing home or whatever, he just wants us to blast drum corps and I swear he said he wants a model train running around for him to watch. And he said that when he died he wanted a big party.

The only thing I've heard is that I think my mom said she would want to be taken off life support if that's the only way she was staying alive, but I don't know if I would want to go off. I'm too afraid of dying.

This made me cry, and I didn't even have the sound on.



I miss Nana so much.

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I really don't have time this week to update or anything. Um, I kind of have to make an exception. In comparison to everyone else's problems this week (of which I've heard many, and I'm talking friends around campus because haha like I've had time to read blogs) today qualifies as the worst day ever. And somehow I'm chugging through because I know if I don't, it will only get worse, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Um, but. It kind of gets worse. See, I am doing Hopewalk. That has consumed my life because yes Sarah is awesome and everything but she hasn't been real on top of stuff on her end so far, but at the same time she's getting stuck with all the work this weekend so I don't really feel like there's much room for me to complain.

So anyway. I had three tests last week and I have one on Thursday still and plus my regular homework load, plus an extra lab (I have to redo the first for some points I lost a lot of doing things wrong), plus the lab took me an impossibly long time to do the calculations which were wrong but hold on this is part of the story.

So I didn't even get to the lab until 11 last night. I worked on it until 12:30 when my brain stops comprehending numbers and I decide I'll get up at 5; that gives me an hour to finish that lab and an hour for the second and 15 minutes to do today's prelab. Well I spent the whole time working on the first lab which was still incomplete, and definitely spent a good chunk of time stressed and crying, but luckily Dr. Crosson understood about the run and I got an extension until tomorrow (my deadline, not hers).

Meanwhile I have a list of Hopewalk things 50 miles long. Switch cars with mom, copy forms, tables, pick up supplies from Kay (in Troy), make banners, email everyone about everything. I switched cars, then I had to meet with Dr. Crosson about what I was doing wrong, and then I had to come back and make a banner and do my art homework. So six o'clock rolls around, I have to go visit Kay to get the tables and water jugs, mom calls. My cousins' (I have only two first cousins, my dad's brothers twins) grandpa fell out of a tree and injured his head and is in urgent care.

Wow, yeah? Not good. He's so healthy and walks every day and head injuries are not good. But we can't tell Max in Colorado because he has a final tomorrow (his school does like month-long super-intense classes and rotates), and can't tell Kyle because he's in Argentina.

So I am stressing about getting the stuff back to campus in time to change into dressy clothes and make it to KU in time for Greek 101, which actually turnedout to be an awesome speaker but still sucked up two of my hours I could have been making the banners I didn't get to or the lab/homework I'm behind on.

Uh, so, I get back home afterwards and I'm trying to figure out all the Hopewalk stuff everyone has to do. Go through emails, my checklist, what do I need what are we doing where is everything. Check my phone to call Sarah. Three messages.

Mr. McGarvey died.

Um... yeah, wow. He was just so... full of energy all the time. And I think part of it is not that I knew him particularly well (I mean, I didn't) or that his accident is rather tragic or that I've spent so much time this past year trying to determine what I believe, and reconfirming at the very least I still have a lot of issue with the reality of "heaven" (as an idea I like it, though). That's not my problem. I don't know what the problem is, I just cannot accept death well, of anything. Maybe because I never had anyone close to me die until I was eleven or so and Fuzzy died. I mean Nana and Tippy didn't die until four years ago; that's a long time to go without someone close to you dying. (I mean, people in my family did, but locally the family is very small.) And I just... I dunno. Maybe because I'm so emotional. But it's just all a feeling of denial or something for me. They can't be dead, why don't I remember more about them, what about this and that everything, and so often I will have a dream or a thought or a memory of them where they are so alive and I am just so haunted by it, I can't get over it. I still bawl about Nana, and Fuzzy and Tippy and forgodssakes even Papa sometimes though I never met him. And Jacob, damn. He died too young.

I dunno, it's an area where I feel completely lost, and all I can do is miss them, a lot.

Hopefully, Max can come back and Kyle can too, and the funeral will be next week. I definitely need this PoD weekend now (yet another thing on my stress-source-until-Friday list; I need to pack and do laundry and go shopping), definitely definitely definitely.

Yet somehow I just push it all aside because I don't want to use that excuse; I need to stay on top of things and clear things out of my to-do list. I don't know. I can't guess if I'll be upset tomorrow, I'm probably too busy with my to-do's rught now. I'm just waiting until someone makes a comment during band... I think that's the time I'll really just sort of collapse.


This day has been ridiculous. I can't say worst day ever because somehow I am coping with it all. But it feels ludicrous. I already got an extension because of how busy I am, and if I absolutely needed to I could actually go in tomorrow and say "I had a death in the family, I need a further extension" and it's the truth. And somehow... that ridiculousness... feels the weirdest to me.


I was really hoping this entry was going to be about the speaker from tonight, which, by the way, it's still tonight of the 23rd for me because I haven't gone to bed yet. Dear lord, I nearly nodded off in art today, who knows how awful it will be tomorrow. I haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a month and a half, and I doubt a good one is forthcoming.

Sometimes, I get some really bizarre thoughts. You know, the kind that would turn your life into a really good fiction? Basically, plot bunnies, but they're usually just something based on my life, so they don't really work well with the "plot" part. More like "Diane is crazy" bunnies. Possibly they are Plot Jackalopes.

Long story short: A lot of personal realizations this week that I haven't got down on paper on LJ yet. (Because I'm lazy, lol.) But I was thinking about all the things that change, and this year, how weird it's been just this summer to 1) realize some of my best friends might be engaged, 2) realize some of my best friends probably will be engaged soon, and that I really need to get over some personal issues there that have nothing to do with them as a couple, and 3) that mom and dad want to move. A lot. Meaning, they are both pretty damn ready to get the hell out of Dodge. But anyway, I was thinking about those things, how your life changes, and how it affects your friends, and where am I going to end up living (what if I get a job with Disney? JPI? COST? None of those are in Ohio as far as I know) eventually, and where will Laura be, and Max, and Kyle? And my friends? And then I started thinking about grade school friends who I haven't seen in a really fucking long time. Like, I haven't seen Zack since graduation, I'm sure, becuse he didn't come to Jacob's funeral, I don't think. Which it then kind of hit me again, wow, someone my age, someone I grew up with, is dead. And, guilty as this may be, I don't remember much about him. I remember him making me laugh in first grade and I snorted chocolate milk out my nose and onto his shirt. (I didn't drink chocolate milk for a long time after that, but I always said I didn't like it. I think it comes in phases, because I liked it for a little while at Carroll but I'm not so big on it again.) And getting in trouble for laughing in like fourth AND fifth and probably all the other grades. Oh, and him spelling "sex" instead of "six" in second grade, and everyone laughed, and I honestly don't know how many of us knew what we were really laughing at. But other than him just being kind of a dumb goofball... I don't remember much. =/ He wasn't one of the guys that I hung out with, and even so, the stuff I remember from gradeschool is really random and generally... scholastic.

BUT ANYWAY, so that was all thoughts I had while mowing today, and then the bike ride comes around, and I do a lot of good thinking on bike rides. And this isn't a thought, really, it's a plot jackalope, which I like to encourage because they're pretty rare, but I just realized, what if he's really not dead? What if he's some super spy and it's all an FBI coverup? Cruel but cool.

Yeah, see? That's the way my brain works. I know I'm crazy.

also, I totally blame it all on the Hardy Boys novels, and I've been jiving to be read them all again.

So I was just scrolling through my last posts on the main page and noted that the big bad thing that might have been headed my way is currently on delay, hopefully until a time when it is no longer such a big bad thing. =)

You know what I find to be one of the weirdest things? I want to say "when younger people die" but that's not the weird part. When a person dies, and they leave behind their facebook or their livejournal or whathaveyou. I mean it doesn't really matter what age they are, it's just weird. Because that part of them is frozen in time, and it's like another face, but one that isn't dead, just permanently stopped. For example this kid who went to my gradeschool hanged himself last year, and it's just weird to see posts on a facebook go from "hey X! how've you been [insert inside joke] lol you're crazy" to "you were a good guy, I'm going to miss you" or the even weirder (to me) third person "X was a great guy and I wish we'd had more time with him." Because then you are adressing him, his digital online self, but you are talking about him and not to him.

Yeah... I don't know if that made any sense to you. It just reminded me of a journal someone posted a long long time ago about a LJ user they knew who they thought committed suicide. Someone they did not know at all in real life, and never heard from again. And it's weird because the journal just sits there, not updating. (Although it might be weirder if it did update, you never know, haha.) But I mean, what happens? In 200 years if humanity's still around and our life length is about the same, what are companies like facebook and livejournal going to do with all these old pages? Probably delete them, but that's weird to me because it's practically living history. It's basically history unaltered. And honestly I think it'd be pretty cool to go digging through abandoned LJs for facts from the past, you know? On a related but tangential note: friending your parents/children on facebook? Kind of weird. It's just kind of one of those "they are creepy or trying too hard to be cool" type situations. I mean rarely there are parents who actually fit in with that scene, but generally not. In this case I told my mom to set up a facebook so she could see pictures when I post them, but I would block a lot of stuff. Not because it's bad, but... I dunno. It's weird to me? Maybe I'm just too paranoid about Big Brother type situations.

But back to the subject: This is the whole thing that started it (sort of). And apparently the girl who died wants everyone to wear their favorite shoes to her funeral. I can't quite explain why this sort of thing makes me feel relaxed, because death is really a big thing for me. (Look here, I almost cried in Indy IV and they only even MENTIONED that someone had died.) (By the way I plan on digging out my favorite pair of shoes to wear as well, just because. Guess sort of a Memorial Day thing. I have no idea which ones are my favorites though, maybe my LLAMA SHOOOOES) But it just reminds me of what my dad said about getting old, that he doesn't want to just sit around in a retirement home with the TV on. I remember him saying he wanted drum corps music blasted as loud as possible (because he'll be pretty deaf anyway), and I can't remember if he said it or if I made it up but that he wanted a model train running around the room. I also remember him saying he wants a HUGE crazy party when he dies, with all the family and friends, I think maybe just because it's an excuse for a party, and he doesn't want us to be sad. (When I think about things like that, it makes me wonder how religious my parents are. I mean my mom is away at a retreat but I've always got the impression from my dad that he doesn't really care as long as you're being nice to someone, except that he goes to mass every week and encourages Laura too as well. I dunno. I want to know but at the same time I can see it getting very awkward in any type family situation if they knew I was semi-agnostic. Seriously, you have no idea how big of a pressure point religion is in my family. Pretty much automatic HUGE FIGHT if it's us and my cousins and my grandparents.) ANYWAY, and then the other day we went to visit Nana and Papa's graves (and George's, and Grandma/Grandpa's parents, I forget which, the Cwioks) and we were talking about how we wanted to be buried. Laura started it like she always does, being cynical, but I can't remember exactly what she was critiquing. But I mentioned that I'd like my organs to be donated and the rest of it put to science and if I didn't die in any unusual way then to be buried in a natural way, just the pine-coffin-in-the-dirt thing. Put what you can to good use and the rest of it let it go back into the system. I really see no benefits to locking my body up with a bunch of preservatives so I can look good as a DB (lol) hundreds of years from now, whoopdefreakingdoo. I'd rather be remembered for what I did (crazy architecture? something awesome and Disney/COSI-like? something House On the Rock-ish?) and maybe have a wacked-out grave marker. Maybe.

Also, this topic always reminds me of my bequests from my senior year of Carroll when I was getting "killed" by the bass drums and all my stuff was going to band kids. ;) All I remember is like crazy socks to Alicia and my visor to Domer. Lol. Good times. (It also makes me usually think about exercising more so I can still maybe even run when I'm ooooold.)


And now for something completely different. Does anyone know how Burger King runs their toy promotions? I got the ant-box about two weeks ago (that thing actually surprised the shit out of me because I wasn't paying attention when I opened it) and then the boulder on Tuesday, and then the whip yesterday and today. After going from boulder to whip so fast I was kind of excited it was random because then there was less chance I missed the ones I wanted, but I don't know. Hopefully they will just show up at garage sales and stuff for super-cheap. ;D (The blacklight journal is my #1, and then the two temple-things. The others aren't particularly interesting.)

[EDIT]Woah, the monarchy of Nepal is now gone, it's Communist. Totally random but we had the princess of Nepal visit my first grade class. ( the article because yahoo deletes them )

Interesting natural phenomenon yesterday! Vog. Which is, quite possibly, the most uninteresting word ever. However, vog is rather neat. Basically, the sky was cloudy and the city looked foggy all day, but apparently it was just stuff in the air floating over from the Big Island because of all the eruptions from the volcano. Very neat. =D


Today has been... frustrating. I won't say it was bad, because overall, it hasn't been. Just had a few things that kind of ruin the day a little. 1) Feeling tired and 2) dealing with hypocrites. Hypocrisy is like kryptonite for me. It can ruin anything very quickly, and make me very very frustrated. Grr.

Ah! Interstingly enough, I have starting switching up icons more and more. I think it helps that I have more than three, but I never thought I would pay attention enough. I suppose being excited with my Indy icons and my new Pooh icon is good enough reason as any. =^n.n^=

DAMMIT. I leave the Midwest for one semester and I miss the only earthquake in forever?! Dangit. I have kind of wanted to be in an earthquake ever since I saw that Bill Nye episode about them. I remember getting training in school, too, about how to hide under a table or stand in a door frame and to have a kit ready with water and batteries and such. (But of course, no one ever worried about it, because in Dayton the last big thing was a flood in 1913 and in Xenia, well, tornados.[tornadoes?])

Well, I finished up all my wetwork for ceramics. For my last graded piece I made a quetzalcoatl. Pretty freaking cool. It would have been really cool if I was in the mood to spend 2+ hours doing detail work, but after figuring out the eyes and the feathers (headdress-style), I really wasn't in the mood to carve a feather pattern over the whole piece and then figure out how to do a feathered tail. Sooo I went for simplification and I will add some detail with paint, most likely. And then hope the feathers don't break off when I try to ship it home. Augh.

So today is April 18th. Regal starts selling tickets three weeks before. I have NO IDEA who I'm going to see Indy IV with, and I am in a bit of a panic. I don't know if I should be, I mean I think Pat got Pirates 2/3 tickets about a week before with no problemos. AUUUUUUGH STRESS... Why do I have the ability to stress about the most mundane things? I mean, it's important to me, obviously, but I'm sure I will get there one way or the other. The real question is, who's going to be in line two hours early with me? I am not showing up slightly early this time, I demand seating perfection! I mean there's been a distinct lack of friends talking about Indy IV and I guess COW folks don't know because Regal hasn't released showtimes yet? I can't expect they wouldn't do a midnight showing, though. Not no way, not no how. STRESS STRESS STRESS

This is so cute. And very clever.

This xkcd showed up a few days ago. I love it. It's pretty close to a simulation of any meal with my family. A few hours in, either my dad or his brother will set up a pun with this much effort, and I'm pretty sure you might need to be in the family or at least around long enough to know where the train of thought came from so you have ANY idea whatsoever of the punchline. I loves me some puns.

Hmm, I know I was talking about doing an "LJ audit" sometime this year, and currently I've just been thinking about Spring Cleaning in general. Carly and Leigh and I had a whole discussion on it (sort of) yesterday, and I am just not the sort of person who gets rid of tons of stuff or is overtly organized. It's strange, though; IRL I am "messy" but organized mentally (and CLEAN, even if it doesn't look organized), but with email and computers and LJ tags and everything I like things to be a lot more organized. I REALLY need to go back through old emails. I really need to find a better way to arrange my folders (though I'm doing pretty good and keeping things filed for the moment). I need to clean up my LJ tags and go back and tag old entries and clean up my old entries. Hm! Maybe when I go back to work this summer they will still have me sitting around at the desk doing nothing all day, so I can just get all that done. Would be nice.

I was thinking about Nana last night, because I'd read a really sad poem about death, and then I saw this posted by ursulav: "Generally when we mourn people, I think we mourn for the chunk of our own lives that's gone." And I really do think that's true. Death has always been my real big one-and-only fear, and not in the "I'm afraid!" sense but the I-really-want-to-do-everything-there-is-to-do sense. =/ It just makes me sad is all. (Quick, I'm getting existential again)

So, I've been a member of this comm for a while, but it does appear that for the last few years I have forgotten International Fort Day again. I would say I have the desire to build a fort now because we have these PERFECT pieces of furniture for it, but they're REALLY gross and I saw some bugs hiding down there in the dark and it needs to be cleaned badly. No way am I fort-hiding under there until it's clean.

The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals. Hilarious.

Speaking of meals, there was nothing particularly good down at the caf tonight. I got pizza (which turned out to be terrible), and then got some stuffing because I wanted a side. So I had pizza, oranges, stuffing, and chocolate chip cookies. Let me tell you, don't ever eat those things in one meal. They do not go together at all.

There was going to be another Hitchhiker's game! Now, I haven't ever seen the first one, but just from that snippet it sounds like it would have been awesome. =( I miss Douglas Adams.

Dangit. I am definitely getting addicted to icons too quickly now. I am looking up Marx Brothers icons, and I do have a good stored pile of ones I would use. This is dangerous!

Finally, some cool pirate pants! (See the two at the bottom.) Why do pirate costumers always insist on black, white, or red as your only color options, though? How lame is that? This is why I thrifted my pirate outfit. And it came out rather well minus me losing that purple scarf. =( (It's really difficult to find scarves that work for pirate outfits. In general they're too modern or flowery.)

ADORABLE BABY POLAR BEAR

Aw, the last of Disney's Nine Old Men has died. The end of an era, for sure. =(

HEY, so there's a new volume for the Chronicles of Chrestomanci! While this makes me incredibly happy, I have only one thing to say; why is there a unicorn on the cover? Or rather, not so much why is there a unicorn, but why is it so prominent? The cat theme was good, and yes, there are cats, but they don't really fit with the theme of the other two. I'm also glad to see that it doesn't appear to have the Pinhoe Egg and the other Chrestomanci story in there. YAY DIANA WYNNE JONES

Okay! It looks like I'm finally to the Indy part of "cleaning up my tabs". 33 days! YAAAAAY

Entertainment mag preview! With some new pics. Cate looks like a badass. Okay, so that's the first time I've seen "aliens" mentioned in a print source. PLEASE BE RUMORS...

Ugha warriors? That's new to me. RESEARCH TIEM

(Man, I really hope you guys aren't going for spoiler-free. I'm trying to keep myself away from any MAJOR plot spoilers, but with the way Spielberg's been keeping it, I doubt there will be any until maybe a few days before. And in that case I don't think I'm going to be looking at Indy stuff much. I have no desire to have IJ4 ruined for me like HP6 was.)

...I think this is the first article I've seen that talks to Karen Allen. (Was she in the Vanity Fair article? I know the Marion/Mutt pic was.) Weird.

AUGH MORE GOOD/BAD ALIENS REFERENCES The wait just might kill me. Really

Okay, okay, aliens "got bumped aside" for the crystal skulls? Hopefully, yes. I'm just HOPING that Area 51 is like the Chachapoyan Temple for Raiders. Gets the plot started, but that's it. (I don't know, though, both Raiders and Crusade brought Indy back to the school before the main story, and there's obviously a big scene with Spalko at this Area 51, does he go back to the school before or after?!) I get myself worked up too easily. Breathe in, breathe out. (I mean I can always deny them like Ep1/2/3, right? Right?!)

Haha, a good part about Spielberg not wanting people to get any of the script out. I do not blame him, and in fact I thank him. But why is the alien angle bothering me so much right now?!

OH HAY PHOTO IS THAT SUM QUICKSAND? (Oh god the internet is ruining my ability to talk without resorting to memespeak. KILL ME)

More Spielberg and Lucas talk, cue me more panicking.

Another new photo. RESOLUTION IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO TELL IF IT'S AN ALIEN





Man you can tell where my thoughts are on this issue, no?! I am too good at worrying.