Reading

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: The Mighty Nein

Entry tags:

Can someone actually DO their jobs?

Here's my day

1. Call vascular surgeon because no signs of my blood thinners. His nurse says Oh, your script was rejected. How did that happen? she asks herself

Me- Why did no one CALL me and tell me this?

Oh, I'm not sure. I'll make sure the doctor signs this today. If he did I don't think it was sent.

2. CVS after specifically being told not to fill my insulin filled my insulin. Now they'll have to put it back.

3. Been tracking my adagio tea order. It left NJ made it to Pittsburgh which sent it back to where it started in NJ. Made it to Pitt again. Wed they put up a can't deliver to that location. Meanwhile I have 2 boxes from Adagio in my bedroom proving they can. Go to the post office and the package it there and the substitute postmaster didn't put the delivery notice in the box. At least it was there

wrote a story that I think is really good but will probably get little notice. Ah well. I'm proud of it regardless

Title: Red Rain Is Coming Down All Over Me

Summary: Angel has gone back to Valentino because what choice does he have? That’s what he tells himself. That’s the only thing that will keep his friends safe. Being constantly high is his only solace but even drugs can only do so much. How long before he breaks?

Rating: Mature

Notes:Written for spikesgirl58s six word challenge. The words were Fireman Draw Pay Undo Exciting Frog
Also written for the allbingo prompt of (What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue and the lyrical titles bingo prompt of Lyric with "red" "green" or "blue". I chose Red Rain by Peter Gabriel.

( Story at the above link or below the cut )

Courting Disaster Torchwood

Style Icon FAKE

Not Fun The Fantastic Journey

Five Times the Knights Lie to Protect Merlin

Got My Eye On You Hazbin Hotel

Always And Forever Torchwood

Mistakes The Murderbot Diaries

Oh, That WAS Niffty! Hazbin Hotel

A Loser Gave to Me Hazbin Hotel

Cowley's the Boss The Professionals

First Aid. due South

My Best Friend Hazbin Hotel

Blue Christmas Hazbin Hotel

Snap, Crackle, Pop Hazbin Hotel

Professional Courtesy Torchwood

Pragmatic The Murderbot Diaries

Etched in Charcoal Hazbin Hotel

Floating on Sunshine Hazbin Hotel

Meliorism The Amazing Digital Circus

brothers in arms 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

It Broke His Heart to Hurt Her So, and Yet He Had to Do Hazbin Hotel

The Aftershow The Amazing Digital Circus

Touchin' Me, Touchin' You Hazbin Hotel

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: The Mighty Nein

Driving by Instinct

Because seriously how damn bright do we need to make headlights these days? Coming into Steubenville on 7's tight and narrow lanes (in the rain) with my stretched retinas and astigmatism, my god, I was literally blinded to the point I wasn't sure where on the road I was.

But after a late start, I made it here. The neighbors are watching Rocket. The little shit bit me last night after grooming my arm, broke skin, left bruises. I'm going to really have to keep that clean.

I wish that I could have concentrated on one story as I drove. It was more like 12 hamsters going in different directions. Ah well

At least the rain held off for most of the trip.

Tired now and I want to write a little before bed. Finally getting time to sit down with the Mighty Nein and the season of Vox Machina I haven't seen yet.

Current Mood: bitchy
Current Music: NCIS

Entry tags:

Things I did not need

1. To find out my insurance changed coverage and I owed money on a script (not much, just enough to be annoying AF)

2. That CVS doesn't have my insulin. Again. I know why. They have a fucking dorm fridge to store all insulins, GPL1s and vaccine (plus other meds surely that I don't know but need refrigerated)

3. taking a half hour to get thru the CVS line and the line to the car wash was even longer so I had to skip it (I had a thing I had to get to) which sucks because I was on the ground floor of the parking garage yesterday and the level above me is outside and they salted it and it dripped everywhere.

4. There was an 18 wheeler on its side and I was thinking that is going to take me forever to get home but they did something I've never seen before. About 5 miles north of the accident they put up 'accident head' signs and moved everyone over there and there was no back up.

5. My olive oil brined garlic leaked in the pantry bin. I was digging through to find the food part of my parents' holiday gift and it didn't just leak, it coated everything in at least an inch of oil. It took over an hour to clean off every can and bottle and toss out things in boxes. Ugh. Ruined my clothes in the process.

6. My vascular surgeon never called in my meds.

At least I got the car partially packed. I still have to clean the kitchen in the morning since the damn pantry issue took up too much time.

Still half ready to cry. But I had my writers zoom thingie and I'm 4K into a story.

What I Just Finished Reading:

Death at the Door - paranormal mystery wanted to bitch slap the protagonist

What I am Currently Reading:

To Die Once - a Maisie Dobbs mystery which I haven't read one of these in a while and this is...slow. It's way more about the effect of war on the English people (who were still recovering from WWI) than it's a mystery

Tell Tale Treat - another paranormal mystery with another protagonist ripe for being bitch slapped

What I Plan to Read Next: Poorly Made and Other Things

Current Music: NCIS Origins

Entry tags:

Warp nine

That's how my day is moving. Even working with timers I got so very little done and it was suddenly it was time to go to the endocrinologist. I could use another day down here but I'm afraid to go home friday. Thursday is meant to be nearly 60 and raining but then down to freezing again. I'd rather be home to avoid that.

I'm getting to that overwhelmed, gonna cry state. But at least I finally got the damn holiday lights out there (boy that little solar panel battery is something. They turned on immediately after being in a closet for a year. I put the garland on the other side of my porch, the one that's collapsing. I think at this point the garland is gonna be what's holding up the side rail if it get another heavy snow.

It looks like maybe, just maybe I can keep most of my meds and/or qualify for coupons. I make like 200$ too much a month to qualify for medical assistance. Let that sink in for a little while. We're doctors. We're college professors. Our pay is SO low we almost qualify for medicaid. And If I had kids I WOULD qualify. And oh, I signed up for the new insurance with the 9K deductible. It's costing 1100$ a month. Let that one soak in too. FFS. No wonder they won't hire help for my department.

My blood work is not great. My kidneys are working great but with my HGA1C sneaking ever higher. That's not great. I'm unhappy which is only going to make my sugar higher thanks to the stress. At least my hemoglobin is coming up. I still have too many tiny pale red blood cells but they're functioning better than last time. She did agree I'll probably have to start B12 shots. Cries. But at least the evolutionary bullshit adaptation for malaria is behaving itself for now.

From there I went to Gallipolis for dinner and the Christmas lights. I knew the Mexican place (since it's owned by the same brothers as the one in Jackson) would be giving out those envelopes for free stuff in January. I was laughing at the new offerings. One of them is punny. Juan Huge Burrito.

the lights were beautiful. They always are. I didn't upload the pictures yet. I will. but I haven't even showed you anything for months.

I forgot my tea advent again

Day 12 - Rocky Mountains - National Park Tea Black teas, raspberry leaf, raspberry flavor, sage leaf, and raspberry pieces. How did I miss this one? I had a sample box of these ones. either I had gotten a bad sample then because this was phenomenal very raspberry

Day 13 - Rooibos Sweet Sizzlin Cinnamon Herbal Tisane Rooibos, organic cinnamon pieces, sweet sizzlin cinnamon flavor and safflower petals. At least the cinnamon overpowers the rooibos funk.

Day 14 Apple Sage Black Tea black teas, apple pieces, natural apple sage flavoring and blackberry leaf. oddly weak sauce and boring. At least it didn't taste like sage

Day 15 Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Black Tea Blend Black teas from India, Sri Lanka, China and Taiwan and bergamot oil. They have a whole collection of literature inspired teas (Poe is my favorite) What says Dostoyevsky about this? Nothing but it is a nice complex earl grey

day 16 Snickerdoodle Rooibos Herbal Tisane Organic Green Rooibos, organic cinnamon pieces, sweet blackberry leaf and snickerdoodle flavoring. Needs more snickerdoodle/cinnamon

Fannish 50 ( Spoilers for The Amazing Digital Circus episode 7 )

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: Holiday Baking Championship

Entry tags:

music,
picspam

Could have done without that

I mean I had a decent day and I'm sitting down to my dinner of crunchy roll sushi and I dropped my plate. It hits my pint glass of water. The water hits and destroys 100$ worth of coupons I would have used, destroys a pile of research articles. Sushi sails everywhere. It gets cat hair on it and I have to pick it out because that's all I have for dinner. Gah.

I got my blood drawn. It was easy and she left no marks. I had time to go to the coffee shop for breakfast and coffee.

Look how cute that is

Went to the school, got the stuff printed that I needed and got my plants into the greenhouse and signed up for my shit new insurance before I forgot.

And then somehow it was dinner.

And then I saw this latest insult from the monster in charge ( cut because not everyone wants to see what Trump tweeted about Rob Reiner )

Music Monday - the prompt this week is A song you like from a movie soundtrack

One of the few things I liked from this movie

Watch on YouTube

Ditto this movie

Watch on YouTube

Entry tags:

holiday: hanukkah

To all my Friends who celebrate...

Happy Hanukkah!

I have a new achievement! Blog's Birthday

So. Livejournal tells me it's fifteen years since I opened my journal, and I can't begin to tell you what a glorious wild ride it's been to go on this journey and meet all you fantastic peeps. My life is a better place for having you all in it!

Fifteen years since I started bugging you all with my particular brand of insanity, sick humour and unhealthy Jensen obsession.

Blimey!

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: NCIS

Entry tags:

Writerly Ways

I'm still rather tired out and lacking motivation but as I was wrapping gifts today I was half watching Hudson & Rex which is about all I ever do (Not a mystery show I'm very invested in but it has a cute dog (who is the least realistic police dog ever)) and this episode brings me back to a point I made a while back with prequels.

When you want to do a flashback (or prequel) you need to be sure of what you want to convey and how effective it'll be. In the above mentioned show it tried hard to add tension with Hudson and Rex's first case together with the well the dog's handler is dead so we're most likely going to euthanize the K9 (something the united States stopped doing in the Clinton era, not sure about Canada where this takes place) But here's the thing it's going back and forth between 3 years in the past and the present where Rex IS Hudson's partner so we know for a fact that Rex isn't euthanized.

So there is NO tension and that is something we have to worry about when we're doing a flashback. You can't build tension when the reader/viewer already knows the answer. We need to be given new information or else the flashback feels pointless or at least a partial waste of time. Learning how Hudson and Rex first met = good use of flashback, trying to make me worry that Rex will be put to sleep = waste of my time. I know he isn't. I'm not going to invest in something I already know (Prequels have even bigger issues with this).

For me, a flash back needs to advance the present plot or fill in backstory we need (or at least want to have). Hazbin Hotel did a pretty good job of this with both Alastor (though his backstory was in the old notes but you can't b e sure they'd be considered canon any more) and Vox's (making so many fan theorists happy) Both flashbacks showed us how they ended up where they were and how they are. Yes we know they both end up overlords in hell but seeing how it happened was character building.

So I guess what I'm saying is know what you wnat from a flashback and be careful as to how you attempt it.

OPEN CALL

Space and Time January 2026 Window Science fiction, fantasy, horror, steampunk, magical realism

23rd Annual Triangulation Anthology: Bad RomanceBad Romance

SNAFU: Level Up LitRPG: tales of champions and heroes, villains and monsters, all fighting to beat the other into paste

The Deadlands December 2025 Window. Speculative fiction that concerns itself with death–but also everything death may involve

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in December 2025

Lamp Lit: Now Seeking Submissions

42 Terrific International Literary Journals.

From Around the Web

The Psychology of Faustian Bargains

THE MORAL GHOST STORY: Reviving a Lost Christmas Tradition I keep saying I'm going to write these kind of stories but so far....

How to Edit (or Revise) a Novel Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Best Book Marketing Campaigns: 12 Proven Examples That Still Work Today

How to Write Horror - With Cynthia Pelayo

How To Build Story Tension by Sharing More (Not Less) with Daniel David Wallace

Do You Suck at Celebrating Your Success? Here's How We Change That, and Why It Matters

Six Sneaky Fails That Can Sink A Manuscript

How to Write a Bestselling Thriller: 7 Expert Tips from Lisa Gardner

How to Apply (and Get In) to Writing Mentorship Programs.

The Art of Not Knowing What You’re Writing Yet.

From Betty

Creating Rites of Passage

The Seven Worldbuilding Sins of Storytellers

How to Pace Your Story

Stakes: Everything Storytellers Need to Know

Tech Tips - How to Organize Your Novel Drafts

4 Ways to Protect Your Energy While Writing About Trauma

Freshen Up Tired Tropes Without Losing What Readers Love

What’s More Important: Storytelling or Writing Craft?

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Codependence (Caretaking Aspect)

Understanding the Editing Process: What Every Writer Should Know About Working With Editors

How Writers Can Set Achievable Goals for 2026: A Practical Guide to Planning, Deadlines, and Finishing Your Book Boy do I need this one.

ETA - Holy hell just as I posted I saw Rob & Michele Reiner were found dead today, a suspected homicide.

Entry tags:

Jensen time:

It's been a while, so just take this little yummy morsel with my love!
(credit as per watermark)

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: Jonas Hex

Entry tags:

science

Not As Expected

Stormaggedon was less than the snow that canceled class last week and no one made a stink about that one. I'm not complaining mind you. I have enough snow to look pretty without being obnoxious. No power loss and no one is complaining about that.

I finished the last of the grading and the gradebook is done. Me being questioned by the students is not. eye roll.

Most of the day was spent editing

fandomtrees which took longer than it should have but two of the stories are posted. I have more editing to do and then back to writing more.

I started wrapping gifts. Didn't get far. I am...not too happy with myself. I need in all seriousness to make that file I was talking about. On the other hand 2 people I have enough for their birthdays next year too. Now I have to decide how to distribute things.

Tomorrow is supposed to be brutally cold here. So far Rocket seems content to be inside.

Let's have a nice big science saturday

One Critical Factor Predicts Longevity Better Than Diet or Exercise, Study Says It's sleep

New discoveries at Hadrian's Wall are changing the picture of what life was like on the border of the Roman Empire

Laughing Gas Can Offer Immediate Relief From Depression, Study Finds It's a small student but interesting. This is the second psychoactive chemical they're finding works for depression.

Widespread cold virus you've never heard of may play key role in bladder cancer oncogenic viruses are fascinating and scary AF

A 180-Year Assumption About Light Was Just Proven Wrong

'They had not been seen ever before': Romans made liquid gypsum paste and smeared it over the dead before burial, leaving fingerprints behind, new research finds

Insomnia and anxiety come with a weaker immune system — a new study starts to unravel why

Einstein was right: Time ticks faster on Mars, posing new challenges for future missions

'It is the most exciting discovery in my 40-year career': Archaeologists uncover evidence that Neanderthals made fire 400,000 years ago in England

Current Mood: depressed
Current Music: Tournament of Champions

Entry tags:

Too much to do

I had such high expectations of getting the cards out, the gifts, grading all the things etc. etc. I should have realized it was no attainable.

I need to keep better records over the year as I tend to buy gifts at cons and festivals and now there is way too much and I got so flustered I left my house to reset at the coffee shop. The post office was fucking nuts because they have ONE person worker (and he's explaining how he is the only one because of the stupid) There is another woman but all she did was ask are you picking up or dropping off. No idea why she couldn't work the other register.

Also a monster storm is coming so like everyone else I go to the store. I get a rotissiere chicken because if I DO lose power I have a whole chicken to pick at in the cold. (bread and peanut butter too) CVS and the dollar store was just as bad and then the bank tells me they no longer have a coin counter. What am I going to do with all these coins? Sigh.

It took until 7 pm to get all the grades done except my two research students (tomorrow's worry) I am fielding are you going to round that up? Yes I am but your 70.2 isn't rounding to a fucking 73%. Sorry, you didn't do nearly well enough to pass.

I also managed to aspirate my lunch and have been coughing up crap off and on for hours since my lungs are pissed at me.

I did however managed to avoid spoilers for The Amazing Digital Circus's episode 7 drop and got to see the episode. More about that maybe on Tuesday.

And I did some writing.

Title: Forget Our Memories, Forget Our Possibilities

Summary: Angel knows he had no choice but to return to Valentino. It was the only way to keep his friends safe from him. He wants them to forget him but he can’t forget them. He writes letters as often as he can. Will he one day be brave enough to send them?

Rating: teen

Notes: written for the allbingo prompt of love letters and the lyrical titles bingo prompt of Lyric with "remember" or "forget". I chose Don’t Stay by Linkin Park.

( story at the above link and under here )

Have the fannish 50 friday recs

Drawn To The Sea Torchwood

Branded FAKE

It Broke His Heart to Hurt Her So, and Yet He Had to Do Hazbin Hotel

Wilful Blindness Torchwood

Out Of Their World The Fantastic Journey

Friends The Murderbot Diaries

Let the Sorrow Go, Its Half the Battle Hazbin Hotel

Outrageous! Torchwood

Young Chainsaw Man

The Dreamcaster Is In Stargate Atlantis

Learning About Magic Teen Wolf

Fool's Rosegold The Owl House

Entry tags:

rabbits

Festive fun for the ratbags

We bought the bunnies an early Christmas gift a couple of weeks ago.

Over the years that we've had them, we've come to realise that Nutmeg is our little explorer. He's a jumper and he loves to be up on things. He's been on the couch, the windowsill, on the various boxes and hidey holes we have for the bunbuns, he's been on us, and on one memorable occasion he even made it up onto the dining table.

Juniper isn't so active - she's a lady of leisure. She values her food and her comfort, but she has been known to have the occasional adventurous moment.

With this in mind, we've thought on and off of getting them a small cat tower to play on. Because apparently we haven't got enough things for them cluttering up our living room. Who am I kidding? It's not our living room any more!

( Read more... )

Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: NCIS Origins

Entry tags:

books

How I almost died on my day off

I had to go to Chillicothe to get my oil changed and on the way back, in the dark and in a construction zone an 18 wheeler realized he was going off the wrong ramp (it's an easy mistake to make in this area, if you're in the right lane you're on your way to Portsmouth like it or not) and he rolls right down the embankment back onto 35 right in front of me without slowing down. I can't move because there's a wall of construction traffic to my left. Thankfully my brakes are fine but Jesus dude... (of course you can't exactly stop an 18 wheeler on a dime.

Speaking of which on the way up there was a massive accident as well on the other side, took out much of the guard rail, was probably down in the creek. I couldn't see it through the lines of traffic and half dozen cop cars but it was no doubt a bad one.

Got another

fandomtrees story done at the garage waiting on the oil change and then went to my coffee shop to work on another one but...my coffee shop is gone WTF? I don't go to Chillicothe for 2 months and this happens? It's a new store with a big menu (lots to look at. Sweetie, I want fucking coffee not overpriced sandwiches) They only had two lattes. I went with the candy lane...and it was tasteless. If you can't make chocolate peppermint right, I won't trust you again (I'm looking at you too Tim Horton's. Yours tasted like burnt coffee and cleaning chemicals). Sigh. Now the new place wants you to do conferences there and murder mystery dinners....You can't make coffee. I'm not trusting you with food.

TJ Maxx was so packed there weren't even carts 0_0 (did find some Pistachio cream)

The shoe store about damn near made me cry. I can't find shoes. why is everything WIDE? And then I put on a pair of new balances that should have worked but were wide and they were...NOT wide. How the fuck cheap are we making them these days? I usually take a narrow and this so called wide wasn't too wide (the arch was wrong for me though)

I finally got to sit down to write cards. If you want a holiday card from me and you haven't asked for one yet head here.

And since I forgot the books yesterday here we go
What I Just Finished Reading:

Wytches - a graphic novel horror I got from the library

Ripped Tide - short mystery I got at the WV book festival. It is...bad.

What I am Currently Reading:

Death at the Door - a meh paranormal mystery

To Die Once - a Maisie Dobbs mystery which I haven't read one of these in a while and this is...slow

What I Plan to Read Next: Poorly Made and Other Things

I forgot my tea advent again

Day 9 - Blueberry limeade green tea - Green tea, organic lemon peel, butterfly pea flowers, and natural blueberry limeade flavor. It was good

Day 10 Winter Wonderland Rooibos Herbal Tisane - Organic green rooibos, organic cacao nibs, organic cinnamon pieces, winter wonderland flavoring, and blue cornflower petals. not as good as the peppermint one...what is wonderland flavoring anyhow

Day 11 Organic Turmeric Ginger Citrus Herbal Tisane - Organic turmeric, organic ginger, organic hibiscus, organic lemon peel, organic orange peel and organic lemon myrtle. this balance the dirt flavor of turmeric well so not bad but why the hell are so many of these freaking herbals?!?

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Mother May I Murder

Entry tags:

work

It's all over but the crying

And there's a bunch of that. Some happy tears by those eeking past, some because they realized they can't pass. Actually the afternoon allied health/nursing crew did much better than their morning counterparts. Only 3-4 aren't going to make it. I still have to add in some of the online homework, drop two low labs/homework and add in extra credit (that's a problem for friday)

I wrote a ton during the test PLUS the writers' zoom today. I got 4530 words. WHOO HOO. One

fandomtrees is done, one is nearly done and a third is started. Look at me go. Now if only original fiction was this easy.

Now I have given up on my fridge. I realized I have like 3 days left before I go home so even if I get the kitchen pristine when could the landlord come? The freezer is fine and I always empty the fridge when I leave. I'll clean it all up and then call them when I'm back in January. Please call them. This has gone on too long.

But it's not one of my days without some kind of annoyance. So I've been waiting on the drop for the Hazbin Hotel S2 trading cards. There was a preorder option that I couldn't do for some reason. I tried to get a ticket, didn't see it (probably sold out) so they had 2 days of preordering. It opened today for the rest of us at noon. I had the cart loaded. 1200 pm I hit buy. Gone. Sold Out. In the hour after that I needed to dress and get to the test, they put out the second run and it was sold out too by the time I sat back down at 120. OMFG. I know that there'll be other runs. I don't actually care that it's not first run. I love trading cards. I just wanted them to look at them. Hell I'm so old by the time they're really worth anything I'll be dead. Of course knowing this fandom as I now do, the preorders were bought out by scalpers and those cards will be sold in the thousands of dollars (oh hell no). End of the world, no? Annoying, yes.

Entry tags:

mr dizzo

I'm so proud of Mr Dizzo

I am so freaking proud of Mr Dizzo right now.

He had a day off today and so he decided to go into our neighbouring village, Bagshot, to get new tyres for his car. The tyre centre had a bit of a backlog and said it would be about an hour for them to finish the work so Mr D decided to go for a quick walk around the village to kill time.

As an ex-railwayman and a secret train nerd, he walked up to Bagshot’s railway station just for old times sake. Bagshot station is small and secluded right on the edge of the village. It’s also unmanned except for a couple of hours on weekday mornings, so it tends to be very isolated and lonely. I hate it.

When he got up onto the platform, there was only one other guy there. A youngish chap who was talking very angrily into his phone, and who was obviously very drunk (he still had a beer on the go when Mr D arrived). Mr D reckoned, from the side of the conversation that he heard, that this guy’s anger seemed to be woman trouble.

Mr D wandered up and down the platform for a couple of minutes, then decided to head back to the tyre place. However, as he turned around to leave, he saw a young woman walk onto the platform, and decided there was no way he could leave her alone with the angry drunk who seemed to have a woman problem.

So he sat down and pretended to wait for the train. When it arrived and the woman got on it, and Mr D was satisfied she had plenty of other people around her, he just turned around and walked back down to the village.

How’s that for a green flag???

Entry tags:

Blackout Bingo 2x2 Amnesty - British Library Crime Classics

Title: Marylebone Monthly Illustrated Christmas Anthology
Fandoms: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Ratings: G
Pairings: Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Mrs Hudson, Ferret, Mouselet, Aemelia Vole, Poley the Moley, Ocelot, Sloth
I used a two by two card to provide gaps in the 'Marylebone Monthly Illustrated Christmas Anthology' as follows:

Quick Curtain - A Poem by Aemelia Vole

Bats in the Belfry - A Competition by Ferret

Someone from the Past - Mrs Hudson's Christmas Problem Page

Tea on Sunday - Mouselet's Review of the Year

Yes, typical festive frivolity!

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: American Monster

Merry Scary Christmas

I had no tests today but I did wander down to the university for the dean's holiday party i.e. free cookies and candy I don't need but I want (and being nice to your dean is a good idea) I did laundry in the morning so I got there late and was given extra cookies to get rid of them.

From there I went to Jackson to putz about in the coffee shop while waiting to mee TH for dinner and the Merry Scary Christmas talk with James Willis at the library. Now I expected it to be paranormal hauntings since he is a paranormal investigator. More on that in a minute.

We went to the newer Mexican place. It was the worst meal I've ever gotten there. (usually it's good) They gave me an envelope. I've seen this at another place in Portsmouth, come back in January and get whatever gift is inside. I didn't do that one because that's 40 miles away but I will do this (and hope it's a one off that it was bad. If not, I like the other Mexican place better anyhow)

The talk was fun. It wasn't paranormal. It was more about the spooky ghost stories, folklore and songs with pagan leanings. Most of it I knew but some I didn't like the Woman in White story from Cornwall or all the names of the various Yule Lads. It was fun like I said but I usually enjoy James' talk. I asked a few questions and offered up another folklore tidbit for him: Befana.

However, before the talk began, he had music playing and it included a parody of Santa Baby, Krampus Baby. I went looking for it but didn't find it. What I did find was equally fun but NOT safe for work.

Takes about 50 seconds before getting into the song

Watch on YouTube

No fannish 50 today. It's somehow late and I have put no thought into anything.

Entry tags:

Bingo (Valentine's Fest 2023)

Finally got a bingo on this card, which I've been chipping away at for ages, but got stuck on a couple of last squares.

Fandoms: Doctor Who, Dangerous Corner, Sapphire & Steel, Original Work
Prompts; Borage - Bluntness, Lady of the Storm, Bouquet of Withered Flowers - Rejected Love, Daisy - I'll Never Tell, Any Duchess Will Do

( Links to fills under here )

( 9 stray fills in Time Master, Towers in the Mist, No Wind of Blame, Miss Scarlet, Craddock & Co, Glorious 39, Doctor Who, Pilgrim, Wish Me Luck, Discworld, Enigma )

Current Mood: bitchy
Current Music: Holiday Baking Championship

Entry tags:

Things I can't say but really want to

1. Why are you asking me for extra credit when you didn't do the REAL credit?
2. Why are you emailing me after the final and asking me what you can do to save your grade?
3. No, you can't have extra extra credit (okay I DO say this one all the time but no one listens)
4. How do you NOT KNOW what chapters are on the test?
5. Why do you think THOSE chapters are on the test? When the hell did we ever touch that chapter?
6. Why do you think you can ask for a pity D (that's 60% btw) when you have a 30% in class
7. Why do you think I'll give you extra anything when you haven't even shown up for exams
8. No I don't care that you're a senior and you won't graduate if you fail. The time to worry about that was weeks ago when I COULD have helped you.
9. How the fuck do you think leg muscles are LUNGS?

At any rate two are done and one to go. Some people are not going to have happy holidays.

At least I busted out a replacement

fandomtrees story that I really like as well.

I have forgotten that I got an advent calendar from Simpson and Vail tea and haven't done my yearly tea tasting so buckle up, here comes 8 days at once
1. glacier national park - Black teas, organic juniper berries, birch bark, huckleberry flavor, uva ursi leaf (bearberry), and white cornflowers petals. One of my favorites (I get this one all the time)

2. Cinnamon Chocolate Brownie - Organic Chinese black tea, organic cacao nibs, organic cinnamon pieces and natural chocolate flavoring. - Not as a cinnamon as I would have liked

3. Snowberry Frost - Black teas, organic cacao nibs, cranberries (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), cranberry cream flavoring, and white cornflower petals. = I'm not a fan of cranberries but this one is good

4. Herbal Chai Masala- Organic cinnamon pieces, cardamom seeds, organic black peppercorns, organic whole cloves, orange peel, organic ginger pieces, organic anise seed and Indian sarsaparilla. - THANK YOU for no rooibos in this or chamomile

5. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Black Tea Blend - Black teas, lapsang souchong tea, hibiscus flowers, wild cherry flavor, orange blossoms, and bourbon whiskey flavor. - This is one of my go tos and I love it

6. Candy Cane Organic Rooibos Herbal Tisane - Organic green Rooibos, natural candy cane flavor and organic stevia. - As much as I don't like red rooibos I do like green and the peppermint is really nice in this and the stevia doesn't give me a headache like it often does nor tastes bitter

7. Victorian Earl Grey Tea - Rose Congou black tea, lavender petals, rose petals, rosemary and natural bergamot oil. - Another of my favorites from them. I'm not sure what really makes it Victorian, probably the flowers. Rosemary is a strong flavor but here it works

8. Rooibos Pear Herbal Tisane - Rooibos, pear flavor, alfalfa leaf and marigold petals.- Literally the worst of the bunch. Of course I don't like red rooibos and that's all you can taste. Some one should know pear is too delicate to stand up to rooibos

And for Music Monday the prompt today is A Song by someone Who has Passed away. I have two

The sound of my college days

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And since I'll be heading back to his hometown soon

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