Okay may be last post for a bit because I'm posting from kijikun's computer.
See mine kinda . . . is a paperweight now.
Probably forever.

So "laptop" will be going on the X-Mas list >.>

Which is why I won't put the meme here because god knows if I'll get to it, but here are answers to question people asked me.


( shiney_glor_chan'squestions )

( Isileth's questions )

I wanted to put a photograph of my father's parents up yesterday in honor of memorial. That'd be the grandparents I refer to as B and Big Dad.

However due to yesterday being crazy busy and my inability to find the photo I was looking for during my window of opportunity, it didn't happen. :(


What I wanted to post was this gorgeous double exposure of my grandfather, in uniform, walking down the sidewalk, away from his house to go report in, and my grandmother above him looking out the window as he's leaving.

It's just an amazing photo.

And it makes me think about both of them, because it's not just Big Dad who gave up a lot for the war. B had to stay home, works as a single mom and never know if her husband was going to come back. That's got to take a huge amount of strength and courage too.

So I thought I'd remember her and Big Dad on memorial day, since the families of enlisted men and woman are sacrificing too.



Happily for me, Pepere and Memere (mom's parents) don't need a memorial yet.
I hope they are around for many more years.

So I dreamed that I watched an emergency helicopter fall out of the sky, which turned out to be loaded with dirty bombs and irradiated Dallas
This woke me up with a start.

I tried to go back to sleep and then dreamed that I was on the phone with my mother and they were evacuating Presby Dallas and I was realizing she was going to die of radiation poisoning. I woke up again and actually hit myself to make sure it was a dream.

Then I went to the couch. Fell asleep there and dreamed I was running to a bomb shelter but realized my husband and my best friend were not there and I looked out a window in time to see them both die.

SO MY SLEEP SUCKED TODAY!!!
WTF -_- So what's the dream symbolism for nuclear annihilation?


To make myself feel better while I'm at work I'm posting cute, nostalgic, eye candy -_-



Yes, Anton Yelchin is adorable.
But I'm always gonna prefer Walter Koenig ^__^

This is pretty much what I'm thinking of when people are writing Chekov!Fics. Even if they are blatantly new!Movie based and mention something like curly hair. ^^;;

I don't know if anyone else looses their mind when they see the USA Flag flown half mast but don't know why, but I hate it. I'm always going WAIT! Who died? What happened? BUH WHA!

So in case anyone on my F'list is like that, here's why flags are half mast today, 5/15/2009



May 15th, 2009 • Peace Officers Memorial Day

Please fly your American flag at half staff on this day from
sun up, to sun down to honor Law Enforcement Officers throughout the U.S.A.

And in case anyone wants to know how to half mast a flag:

How to fly your flag at half-Staff:
When raising the flag to half staff on a vertical pole, always raise it briskly to the top of the flagpole for a moment before lowering it. When taking it down for the night, raise it to the top of the flagpole again & lower it to the bottom. With a telescoping pole it is acceptable to put the USA flag on the second set of rings instead of the top set. In this case the top set would be left empty. When the United States flag is flown at half-staff, State & other flags should be removed or flown at half-staff too. For flags that can't be lowered, such as those on many homes, the American Legion says that attaching a black ribbon or streamer to the top of the flag is an acceptable alternative. The ribbon should be the same width as a stripe on the flag and the same length as the flag.

I'm relaly glad I had a good V-Day with Brandon, and a fun early Saturday time with Chrissy, because the rest of the weekend sure sucked.

Let me list the suckage:
1. I left the wedding invitations at work.
2. Computer got virus of doom because I'm an idiot.
3. Buy AVG software for 65.00, virus won't let it install. Virus won't let Fix-It work. Nothing.
4. Opt to reformat
5. Computer freezes in middle of transfering wedding files. Must start over.
6. Computer DESK broke in the middle of reformating
7. Room must be cleaned so desk can be fixed and I have somewhere to reformat
8. Blue screen of death AFTER harddrive wiped
9. Keyboard ceases to function
10. Try brand new keyboard, still won't work, problem is computer.
11. Chrissy finally gets the keyboard to function so we can reformat
12. Reformatting feezes at 39%
13. Reformatting freezes at 33%
14. Reformatting freezes at 27%
15. Reformatting freezes at the point where it askas if we'd like to reformat
16. Computer ceases to function.
17. I over sleep this morning
18. My shoe breaks on the way out the door this morning
19. I am late to work.
20. Also, no Sunday date with Brandon


No really this was not fun.

The upside is, I get a laptop now.
YAY

I always wanted on.
No it is not new, but it you know . . works.

Yay.

The also downside to this is, y'all I don't download stuff from the net. At all. Not mustic, videos, not ANYTHING.

EXCEPT art I'm sent for the Hp_Art_Project. So that bites. I am gonna have to scan bajillions of files for a virus, however, my computer flipped the freak out over one peice of art and opened a "OMG Quarantine failed" window the only part of the virus checker that wanted to work)192 times when I moved this artwork from my HD to my flashdrive so I at least know which one to be suspicious of ^^;;;;



*sigh*


In other news
I'm working on a Toro/Bucky fic.
So that's fun.

Good Luck For All of you in 2009!


Is everyone eating their black eyed peas for good luck?

Eating Black Eyed Peas on New Years Day is a good luck tradition especially prevalent in the American South. I've grown up with it and still observe it ^__^


However, not living with mom anymore, means I make my own (or eat them from a can which is not the same!)

I took water, some vegetable soup stock, random spices (bay leaves thank god for bay laves), a whole turkey leg, and some Black Eyed peas and without the use of a cookbook made something edible.

YAY ME.

^__^
My black eyed peas are no where near as good as my moms, but they should work in a pinch.

Now to see if I can make cornbread before I need to leave for Brandon's.

Did everyone have a wonderful Christmas?
Mine went very well.

I got paintings down for my sister, brother, mother, father, and grandparents. I've never achieved that before, so I'm very proud.
Plus I got one done for my secret Santa at work.

I wish though, I could remember to scan these. They're usually a bit outside what I usually do, especially my grandparents who usually get symbolic flowers.

I got a nice assortment of things from the practical to the fun. Brandon and I had done or wedding registry early and so we got stuff from that, especially board games. We now own Mouse Trap, Life, and Sorry. ^___^

I also got some nice graphic novels.
Brandon gave me "The Chosen" (a Captain America AU), And I got two volumes of Bone in my Stocking from Brandon's parents, my own parent's gave me a volume of Usagi Yojimbo, and Chrissy gave me a *gorgeous* Spiderman Graphic novel written and Illustrated by Charles Vess.

The two best 'Surprise' gifts (as in nothing I had asked for listed or hinted at, but they are exactly what I wanted anyway) were a book/history on/and radio drama of The War of the Worlds from my mother and 100% hand crafted paper from my sister, who would also be the person who made said paper.
So those two gifts were awesome in the unexpectedness of it (I love surprises).

I also got *lovely* cards!
Thank you so so much pennswoods, kijikun, frizzy_hermione, betta329, pinkfinity, and phoenixstorm.

A special thanks to
for the awesome Tom Riddle sketch, and not nasubionna for the amazing hand made goat card. The office *loved* it.

All of these cards really brightened my holiday and my office desk! Thanks guys ^__^

Also, If anyone missed my holiday Card Here it is. I will actually have fannish art coming soon. I have sketches for all three major fandoms I'm in.
They're late I know, but what can you do. I had to get the family art done.


Also, I *finally* caught up with the Hp-Art-project just in time to fall behind again as the LAST major art deadline hits ^^;;;
Now to set up that payment account . . .

I know I posted about this last night, but it just seems odd to post "happy thanksgiving" and leave it at that. Right now it strikes me as how very lucky I am to be able to say that so carefree.

I'm about to go celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.
I can not be more thankful that my family is together and safe because some people are not as lucky, not just in Mumbai, but all over the world even in the USA.

And if you don't know what's going on"
Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station, and a Jewish group’s headquarters in India’s financial capital, killing at least 104 people, taking Westerners hostage, and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday.

Last two thoughts before I go get ready:
Silent Night/7:00 news by Simon and Garfunkel hopefully the link works, I don't upload music often
I don't see war, I see hate. I see men, and women, and children dying because hate is blind. - John Ney Reiber


So happy Thanksgiving Guys, and seriously, be thankful, yeah, even if maybe you don't celebrate this Holiday, the sentiment is a good one.

So it's been a good weeks so far for me and my friends(SARCASM)
Let me list jsut the things I know peopel are ok with going on my LJ

Sunday:
- Flat tire on highway (Brandon is awesome and drove up to help me change it *loves*)
- All tire shops closed

- Computer destroyed all the work Brandon had done for school. Needs to be retyped hurridly

- I Find out the donut went flat, car will need to be towed tomorrow.

Monday:
- ellyr_in_inkgets in an accident (I leave it to her to post the fun details, she is ok minus whiplash)on the way home from dropping me off at work.

- Find out apartment doesn't like diabled vehicle, may have it towed hopefully have been talke dout of it.


*sigh*
I just hope things improve.


On a funnier note.
See the icon, Bucky avaing that line in some random one shot marginally redeemed the character for me because it made me laugh.

You see I used to say that when I was annoyed with people ESPECIALLY my younger siblings, right up until I told my sister to Go Die in front of my father.

Then I stopped saying that at his firm insistance ^^;;

So the icon amuses me, but I should never ever use it on my sister's LJ, right *LOL*

Saturday night, while driving home from a party, Chrissy and I saw a burning cross along the highway. I could not beleive it, but there it was in the cross, a bruning cross.

I was gobsmacked to say the least. It stayed there for at least an hour too, because Brandon saw it when he left the party later.


Honestly, I love a lot of southern culture and I'm very proud to be from Texas and all that, but things like that cross remind me why you can't say "southern pride" and expect it to go over well. Because that term invokes the image I had to see driving home.

And you know that really pisses me off. Total racist fuckwits can make it so I can't express pride in my region without being though of as racist.
We have cool cultures in the south. Cool culture not composed of intolerant and racist fuckwits.

But thanks to said fuckwits, it's totally overshadowed but the hate mongering.

So, dear southern fuckwits, I wish you'd lit yourselves on fire -_-


And I guess I'll end with this thought.
Obama may not be my choice for political reasons, but I'm so happy he is running. In your face racist asshats!

So Brandon,in a last ditch effort to get me to dress as Penny to go with his Captain Hammer costume showed my 'Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog' (I won't dress as a character I don't know).

Dear F'list
Thank you for not spoiling the ending for me. I don't know how it is that y'all did not, but y'all did not and WHOA.

Anyway, so Brandon feels "Penny" is the solution to me "I can't afford a costume" woes in that I just need crap red hair dye and can dress in clothes I already own.

Ok but see I don't want to dress in clothes I already own. The defeats, for me, the point of Halloween. If I do Penny, I'd like to get as close to something she wore as possible.

So I ask, which outfit shoul I choose?
I'm thinking the yellow skirt and red belt as that kinda popped out, but I don't know.

I'm still not 100% sold though as no one at work will get it, which kills half the fun at work, BUT then with Branodn, doing a themes costume with him *is* fun and probably will more than make up for it so I'm 90% sure I'm gonna try and pull a Penny outfit together.

( Dr horrible Spoilers )

Sad news for me
JMS has announced he will not be making anymore Lost Tales for the Babylon 5 series. Simply said, he was told he could only do it with an insultingly small budget and felt that any further Tales on such a msall budget would detract from B5 rather than add to it, so he said big budget movie or nothing.
*sigh*

Granted I'm one of the few BSG fans to like Lost Tales and not think it subtracted from the series, so I'm more dissapointed than most B5 fans :(

JMS!!! MAKE B5 GRPAHIC NOVELS!



Happy News for me:
I have a GAIN (see GAIN) of 963 dollars form what was first invested in my stocks ^__^

Did you know I have stock (unrelated to a 401K)? I do, but I usually forget that I do until I realize I can't find the stok information I need for my tax form ^^;;

Anyway, my stock still has a net gain, in fact, my stock is not as low as it has been. People are telling me it's like the next Black Friday and I should dump my stocks but DUDE NO. My stock was picked as the strongest stock of 2008. *huggles it* It is doing well, yes it's dropping, of course, everything is, but it dropped to under a friggen dollar in 1999 and you know what it was in 2005? 66 dollars a share! Do you know how dumb I feel for not buing more in 1999 (it's currently at 14.00 a share, so I'd still be doing well if I'd bought in 1999).

So I'm gonna set back and let it do it's thing again. It's not like I'm retiring anytime soon -_-

California bans homeschooling unless parents have state teaching credentials

I'm of two minds because I can see the argument of wanting credentialed teachers HOWEVER I think the decision is in the wrong. Majorly.

My mom homeschooled me for a few years with no credentials and I placed ahead of my grade, so she was teaching better than the state. I think California is letting a few bad apple case set a very unfair and controlling mandate for the rest.

Some other articals
Got this link for the LA newspapaer page

World net Daily

USA Today


This btw is my favorite *head desk* quote
“A primary purpose of the educational system is to train school children in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation,” Croskey wrote.

My school is suppossed to teach me patriotism and Loyality to the state an nation? And what, you think homeschool parents won't? ir you want to make sure you know what the kids are being taught? I think I want to go beat this Croskey with a copy of Farhenheit 451.

*ROFL*
On related news:
High Schools not Preparing Students for College: California schools used as examples of failures

The fact that USAToday reproted these two things just too funny!

You know what friends are for?

To remind you that you can actually use sick days because you feel kinda shitty and your intestines don't want to work right all the time and because of this you got no sleep and likely won't for a bit.

I don't actually have to be so utterly and awfully sick that I can't even get out of bed and/or in need of a hospital.

Sometimes my work ethic is greater than my common sense.

So sick day today.
Because I'll probably be in the bathroom most of the damn day anyway, may as well be there at home, were I can lay on the floor without attracting attention.

I blame Sonic.
I'm never eating from Sonic again. Oh my holy fracking god *whimper*


ostarella, you should get some amusement from my icon on the current food related predicament *L*

Welp, the Storm is on its way up right now.

We've got some bottled water and we've got non perishables and things that can be eaten even if we don't have power.

It's looking pretty ok, and reports I'm getting from people already hit by the outskirts of the storm are not too horrid, I mean unless I'm dumb enough to go romping near the lake or a big empty field.

My main worry now is tornadoes, and the fact that non of our downstairs neighbors seem to be home. But hopefully the will get home and I can talk to them about our need to move to a downstairs apartment should a twister (or death hurricane winds) actually come.

All in all I feel pretty prepared, as much as you can be.

Now we are going to sit back and watch movies, power permitting =P

We will start with Chaplin, Zodiac, Some 80's movie with Robert Downy Jr, and then Village of the Damned Chritopher Reeves version (I wanted the original but no go at Movie Trading Co.)

And yes we are technically have a Robert downy jr fest here.
It's Chrissy's doing, except I bought Zodiac.

But because I have a quasi-serial killer book/movie fetish.
. . .

Have I ever mentioned that?

I bought Zodiac, Village of the Damned, Invasion of the Body Snatcher (Nimoy version) and, Intermission (because OMG! Colm Meany AND Cillian Murphy, how can this be bad!)

Ka found out that I'm reading Stephen King books again. It usually does, and throws me something weird.

So today in the world of "I bet they wouldn't have said that if I were not reading an SK book"

Weatherman: Ike is epxected to reach from Dallas Texas to Bangor Main.
Ani: WTF

Not only was that totlaly random on the weatherman's part (it was the local weather, why LOCAL weather needs to say Bangor Main as oppossed to Main, I don't now) I'm not even sure if it's true!

Mr. Speaker:

For the last two years I've struggled with the issue of whether the House should impeach a sitting President. Next to declaring war, impeachment is the gravest matter the House of Representatives must consider. I fully understand the gut-wrenching consequences such a national debate could precipitate. Yet, there is one fact we cannot overlook or escape: American cannot regain its moral leadership in the world if America cannot hold its leaders accountable for their actions at home.

The allegations that would warrant impeachment keep growing. They have been illuminated in recent books including The Way of the World by Ron Suskind, the book by Vincent Bugliosi, and the new book by Bob Woodward, The War Within.

Over five years ago, I tried to place asterisks in the Congressional Record next to the statements about Iraq the President made to Congress. I was attacked for saying the President would mislead us into the war, but the American people ultimately learned the truth.

There seems to be no end to the allegations and we have a responsibility to investigate their authenticity. That's why I'm signing onto a resolution to consider impeachment of the President. Without accountability, a democracy will fail. I yield back.


- Jim McDermott, D, Representing the 7th District of Washington in the House of Represenitives.


I like the way he says it.
I'm not exactly calling for Bush's impeachment here btw, I'm just agreeing with the McDermott that there is enough to warrent an invistigation.

Bad News
I get to go home and re-format my computer AGAIN.

The frustrating part is I DON'T DOWNLOAD STUFF!
I really don't. I mean, ok I do sorta, but certainly way less than other peole seeing as I don't DL music or videos, I don't bitorrent anything (except ONE BOB episode Anita sent me) and I run two virus checkers, Norton (I know it has much hate against it ) AND Trend Micro.
I check the HP-art-Project art. And I use firefox now.
*head desk*

*meh*
At least I never put anything back onto my computer so removing files was way quick. I also now own an 8G flashdrive ^__^

At least the Hp-Art-project stuff was already backed up.

Good News
It's been a lowkey day at work, which is nice on the enrves, adn I went walking with Chrissy, which was nice.
And Brandon and I watched Mythbusters, whihc was also really fun.
Ok no earth shattering good neas other than may Sunday was pleasant and today, so far has been pleasant.

OH! I finally gotr off my butt and registered for the new A-Team forum.
have I mentioned The A-Team is the nicest fandom *ever.*
It seriously is.

Art News
I went through all my piles of art and realized I ahve more art than I need.
So I will be selling some over the next few months.

I think it is gonna be nearly all fanart, I can't actually think of anythign original in the "can sell" pile, though I've still got stuff I'm going through.

The Fanart is gonna be mostly harry Potter (big surprise yeah?) but there is at least one A-Team image I'll eventually put up, don't recall if there is anything BSG that is going up.

Anyway should be interesting, and some stuff will be cheap since some of the stuff is well not anything I'd charge too much for!



And now . . . ramen noodles.
BLERGH

I *really* need to reemeber to make my lunch in the evening otherwise I ahve whatever I can grab in 1 minutes as I rush out the door OR I spend 6 dollars on a sandwhich or salad I could have made at home in 5 minutes -_-
Neither choice is pleasant.

ETa

On the positive side, Brandon has now seen my utterly and totally furious and over racting in my anger, and
handled it REALLY well.
I feel even stronger that I'm making the right choice in marrying him if he can handle full on Ani meltdown with such awesomeness.

So that's good. Again, I'd wish I'd not been so blatant in my temper losing, but it did create a tense situation and reinforced that Brandon is in fact a wonderful man ^__^


Also let me add, I when you read the below, it's not about Palin. -_-

_____________

So, I just got back from a Toby Keith concert with my finance, which was way fun.

Up until the last two minutes, when I completely lost my temper in the silent but fuming kind of way. Also the silent but high kicking concrete walls kinda of way . . . and not silent but telling Brandon I'm "fucking fine" kinda way. *sigh*

Yeah ok see Toby Keith did his 9/11/support the troops song. Which in and of itself is fine. I'm very supportive of the troops, and it's not a bad song at all. Also, he started out saying it wasn't about politics but about the troops. Which again is fine. I've known a lot of people who have fought in a lot of wars so leaving politics of specific wars out, I do think joining the army is pretty brave and worthy of respect. So I figured I'd maybe tear up or something because I'm not in a great mindset to deal with death.

HOWEVER
I'm not sure what "not political" means to Toby Keith, but supporting Sarah Palin and calling the liberals "sick" is political to me. So about mid way through the song I got absolutely furious. It wasn't even what he said but the fact that he said anything at all. He DID bring politics into it and absolutely DID make it political, and I so was not.in. the. mood.
So I belligerently sat down--

during part of the song that becomes the National Anthem.^^;;;

An action that cause Brandon much understandable concern. He was praying not to have to pull out his mad boxing skills and defend his idiot wife-to-be who has gotten so mad that she is sitting down during part of the NATIONAL ANTHEM at a country western concert.
Not my smartest moment *sigh*


And then I felt bad because Brandon was worried I'd be mad at him for taking me to the concert or for liking the song or just a lot of things and I didn't want him to have to worry about those things :(

I feel sorta like I ruined the concert, when really, for 99% of the whole thing I was having a great time. It was the happiest I had been all week (I don't think I've publicly posted one what happened, but a close mentor died unexpectedly. I keep meaning to post publicly, but I haven't . . ok except that now I have).
So I know I've told you this a bajillion times already Brandon, but the concert was fun, I did enjoy myself, and thank you so so much for taking me. And thank Mr young for me too, for the engagement gift!


Like I said, the concert was fun. *shakes head*
I was even inspired to dance a little with Brandon in my own geeky white-girl-couldn't-find-the-beat-if-you-painted-it-neaon-yellow kinda way *LOL*

Unfortunately, I just got utterly infuriated during literally the last two minutes of the concert and scared Brandon *sigh* And I wish I hadn't. Or I wish at least I'd not been as visibly angry because it was childish and ill timed.

OMFG!!!
DALLAS ISD why don't you jsut be done with it and say 'hey in kids in school passes automatically whether you do jack shit or not'.
What's next/ Teachers requited to take the TAKS tests for the kids?

New Dallas Grading Rules

The highlights for me are any flunked test gets to be re-taken and late-work is now ok.

WTF.
DISD and education, I'm begining, to think are a mutually exclusive concept.
This ins't jsut lacking in normal education, but in social education as well.

Hugs to my father who has to go back and teach in this mess -_-


IN OTHER NEWS (that relates to my Dad,
I posted yesterday about my dad's shop and got asked a question by an anon, and then told the anon was "me"

Sadly, the work computer still did not let this person log in, so I figured I'd just answer the question here:

Was his store located in Dallas? How long has he been in business? Do you have a photo of his store?

Was his store located in Dallas?
My Dad's comic store was around the Casalenda section of Dallas Texas. I don't actually recall the exact address.

How long has he been in business?
Dad was in business from sometime in the 70's through the rpesent sorta.
He does not; however, still have that store.

As I was explaining to yazzydream, the landlord made dad move to the next door location, and sold the old location to peopel who painted all the windows black, installed a slidey peephole on the door and admitted really unsavory looking people at all hours.

Dad wouldn't re-open his store next to whatever the hell that was, though he did try for a short while. Last I heard the new store location was storage, but the rent may ahve been too much and possibly he's sold it.
He sold out of an antique mall for a while, until that closed, and you can now find him from time to time on Ebay.

I think the user name is Neto27, but I'll have to double check on that.
it was always more of a hobby for him, his primary job is teacing math in the DISD (Dallas) school district.

Do you have a photo of his store?
0.o You know, I do not think so. I'd have to ask my parents, but off I don't think so. I wish we did!