The month arrived in typical Seattle fashion: we got snow on the first day (which by itself would be unusual), but then the temperature jumped 20 degrees over the next two days and now we're hit with heavy rain that has already flooded one building on campus. Oh, Washington. ♥

My luck being what it is, I was outside Christmas shopping when the snow started on Saturday. Since that was the last day I could dedicate to shopping before the party this Saturday, though, I soldiered on. But I got everything I needed, woo! And it wasn't so bad, really; the snow was really pretty and I was adequately bundled against the cold. ratzeo also pointed out that we were experiencing the commercially ideal scenario: spending lots of money on Christmas shopping at Pike Place Market on the first day of December in the snow. XD

The idea of going home and enjoying the snow from inside was tempting, but ratzeo and I had tickets to see The Vinyl Cafe at the Moore Theatre that night. And it takes a hell of a lot to make me miss a show. ;) The Vinyl Cafe is a traveling Canadian radio show that alternates between hilarious short stories and awesome musical guests, and we got to see Danny Michel (who was lots of fun), and Allison Russell of Po'Girl (who was just wow). A perfect introduction to Canadian culture for a heathen American like me. ;)

Sunday we had a Warmakers session, which was just awesome. And we also earned a promise of fic from irishninja, our illustrious GM. XD

Today ... Well, today is a Monday, and it feels very slow. I'm feeling paranoid that I've been infected with whatever sickness has been travelling around my office, so I'm guzzling tea and vitamin C in the hopes of fighting if off. *sigh* And my weekend was so nice ...

I just tried something different for the first time last night. It was a lot of fun, if kind of confusing, and kept me up for most of the night. Also, now my ass hurts.

As you've surely guessed, I played Rock Band for the first time last night. ... whut. music_enforcer and lunapome recently got it and let me come over to their apartment last night, where I joined them and ratzeo, zinjadu, miss_arel, and nekokoban (who did not play an instrument, but instead provided peanut gallery commentary :Db).

Having never played Guitar Hero or any other games of that ilk, I didn't think I could do anything besides vocals, and then I couldn't do vocals because I don't know rock music. But miss_arel took a break from drums and convinced me to try ...

... and ZOMG it's SO MUCH FUN. XD;;

Now, miss_arel did point out, quite accurately, that sometimes, on the drums, you're reduced to an angry monkey banging on things with sticks. (This is especially the case when you trigger your "Overdrive" mode, at least for me - you improvise for a specified amount of time, which means that no-improv-skills me just whacks things at random.) But! XD;; It was a lot of fun, and everyone was very patient with me as I learned. And also? I got to make a Gwen'maethor'roval avatar, how cool is that.

Since I essentially played for something like six hours straight, I managed to work my way up from Easy to Hard mode. However, this advancement came with two costs: one, I didn't have time to learn the more complicated combinations, so I still go into "angry monkey" mode at times. XD;; Also, the kick pedal is kind of a pain to use, and now I have soreness up my right leg (hence the ass pain). Not that this is going to stop me from playing at every moment that someone who owns the game will let me at their drum set.

Oh yeah, happy belated Thanksgiving to the United Statesians out there. 8D

It's a wonderful day today, and here's why:

1. It's Friday, duh.

2. Tonight I'm going over to watch Doctor Who with nekokoban - the last episode of season 1, and probably some of season 2.

3. Cathartic cooking! I don't know what it is, but cooking my own meal makes me feel good. Something about following the steps to get a desired result, which makes me feel both productive and fulfilled.

4. I've spent the past two days geeking with shadawyn about Warmakers stuff (irishninja's game) both over email and in-person. Fleshing out the backstory for our characters (who are twin sisters), RPing some conversations between them, and drawing fanart.

5. I've also been RPing with ratzeo over email. Since this is something like our fourth or fifth game together, we've decided to try RPing a romance between our characters. Unfortunately ... both of them have negative Charisma. XD;; ratzeo's character has both negative Charisma AND Wisdom, which is even better. And finally, both characters are teenaged. The result? Hilarity.

6. shadawyn, evil temptress that she is, just shared SilverJewelryClub.com with me, a site which offers designer jewelry essentially for free (for real). I haven't gotten anything yet, but I have stared at a lot of shiny things.

7. Tomorrow I'm going to dinner at The Melting Pot!

Edit for myself: Okay, self, you are not allowed to order any more jewelry until you actually receive one of your orders.

Revised: Which date works better, Friday, November 16, or Saturday, November 17? Either day, we would probably meet between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.

Please let me know if either date does not work for you.

Who wants to go here with me? 8D

ETA: How does Saturday, November 17 work for people? The Melting Pot opens at 4:00 p.m., so it would need to be a dinner thing. Also, getting back to the U District on Sunday evenings by bus is a pain, so Saturdays are a better bet.

... and ratzeo was nowhere in sight. XD

shadawyn, kyonkun and I went out to dinner last night at The Ram, and stuffed ourselves full of burgers and salad.

Afterward, shadawyn came home with us and then she and I had our drawing date. <3 I actually did more coloring than drawing, as I experimented with the Prismacolor pencils that coramegan lent me. shadawyn also graciously provided her Copic markers for me to try (as well as instruction and encouragement as I poked around with them). I actually found that I really like markers. They're a little intimidating, because of how permanent they are - especially since I've been using magically reversible digital coloring lately - but I like the look, and they felt easier to use than the colored pencils. (I think using pencils, and using them well, requires more skill than I have.)

So now I know what my next art purchase will be. 8D Though I think I'm going to hold off on Copics for now, and go with the much more affordable Prismacolor markers that miss_arel recommended to me.

... And speaking of hot dates, ratzeo and I are actually going to try to do that date thing again, for the first time in ... what, six months? ^^;; But our anniversary is next week, so now we have a reason/excuse. (It'll be three years. Part of me feels like that's a long time, part of me feels like it's no time at all. o_o)

The good: I finished my fic for ratzeo's game on Thursday night.

The bad: I stayed up until close to 1 a.m. writing the fic, thereby giving me 6 hours of sleep before work on Friday (I generally need 8-8.5 hours a night).

The good: I got to sit in on the adventure ratzeo ran on Friday, even though he split the party into two groups and I was supposed to play on Sunday. Watching Friday's game meant that my character could interact with niwatorimegami's character before he left the game - and, more importantly, I got to see niwatorimegami one last time before she left for Japan.

The bad: I stayed up super-late again, and I couldn't sleep in the next morning because it was the library book sale.

The good: I got to the library book sale early enough to be near the front of the line of people waiting to get in. A lot more people seemed to target the comic book section this year, so I didn't have quite as good of a haul as I'm used to, but I still picked up a few interesting graphic novels. I also snagged a few Octavia Butler novels from the sci-fi section, books by Ronald Takaki and bell hooks from the ethnic studies area, and a collection of essays by contemporary feminists about relationships between straight women and lesbians (I forget the title). I'm trying to educate myself more about homophobia (and transphobia too), and while this book isn't theory-heavy, it's a start. I also figure it's better to start from a source that is explicitly feminist, since I'm particularly interested in the homophobia that infiltrates feminist movements.

The bad: I had to get up at 7:30 to do that. Erg. After the book sale, I ran home to make lunch, then had to go to the grocery store, then had to leave again to meet up with nekokoban and miss_arel for a birthday party.

The good: The party was fun! Also full of nerdery, as we played Apples to Apples and Betrayal at House on the Hill. After that someone broke out The Great Dalmuti, but I was too sleepy and full of boozcohol to participate. I didn't drink enough to get drunk, but it was enough that I promptly fell asleep once I got into bed.

The bad: I got up early again to play in ratzeo's adventure. My poor sleepy self. Sad cries.

The good: The adventure. (Duh.)

The bad: I was supposed to leave in the early afternoon in order to meet my old classmates and talk (feminism) shop. However, I started feeling ill with whatever bug has been traveling around my office in the last week or so. I didn't feel like getting up and going anywhere, so I called in sick and missed the get-together, which was incredibly disappointing. I really don't get to see those women enough.

The good: I did feel well enough to sit at a table and roll dice, so I played the rest of the adventure, albeit fuzzy-headed.

The bad: I'm now sitting at work hit with both sleep-deprivation and desperately fending off sickness. Argh. D:

I was planning to implement a Monday-Wednesday-Friday gym schedule, but I'm too wiped to go, and I'd much rather rest now than get sick later in the week. I want to keep myself healthy and happy, and keep up the good routine I've been having lately.

Three more hours, and I can go home and collapse. I'm going to make this a good month, darnit.

The bad:

-I'm so tired. -_- Two days this week, I've been so exhausted I just laid down, and ended up waking up two or three hours later, when it was my bedtime - which is unusual for me, because usually my body just wakes up naturally after half an hour or an hour. I wonder if it's hormonal. :/ In either case, I'm hoping to catch up on rest this weekend.

-Also, I can't help maho_kiwi and laylah in their move this weekend (though the reason is good; see below). Now, it's not like I would be that much help, since my spindly arms have the load-bearing capacity of cooked bacon. But I could at least be another set of hands.

The good:

-My parents are coming up to visit on Saturday, which is why I'm busy that day. I haven't seen them since ... graduation? Long enough, at least, that I still have their London souvenirs sitting on my desk.

-Tonight, my schedule looks like this: 1) go home and grab dinner, 2) bake brownies and take them to zinjadu's apartment for a sculpey party to make figures of our characters for ratzeo's game. 8D I'm still not sure what exactly I'll make, since I don't have a final character design for Nexus. However, kyonkun gave me the helpful suggestion of painting a flower on it. XD

-Things are moving forward at work to put me in a more visible recruiting/advising role for prospective students. Eeee. Which, hell, is something I've been learning to do for four years now, since I started out as a student employee.

Now, I know it seems weird for me to be excited about this, considering how much I complain about my phone calls - but what I hate is stupid people, not advising. If I were in an advising role, I would have the authority to *tell* people that they're being stupid, and that it *won't* help them get into the school. XD And I'll also be able to encourage people who are being smart. Plus more marketable skills for my resume zomg.

Even though I had decided not to register, even though I didn't take advantage of Paizo's call for volunteers. I actually didn't think I would go at all, because even though it sounded fun and other people were going (like ratzeo, irishninja, and zinjadu) I decided not to spend the money on registering.

Cue Friday night, when ratzeo comes home from the con and gives me a three-day pass. XD Apparently someone who had purchased one suddenly couldn't attend, and he gave it away to the first person who wanted it.

Saturday morning, I went into the con with ratzeo, and the first time we went into the exhibitors' hall, we were handed a flyer advertising an appearance by Greg Rucka. He was there to sign demos of a PSP game called Logan's Shadow ... but the reason we squeed like squeeing things is that he's *also* a writer of many comics that are good liek whoa, including the very run of Wonder Woman that I just purchased and fangirled over the other day. Oh, and also? I happened to have two of them on my person so I could read them during any free time.

So! We hustled to the location of the signing and hovered in wait for about twenty minutes (we were early, and Greg himself was caught up in an interview that ran into the signing time). I actually didn't have the guts to ask if Greg would be willing to sign my trades instead of the product he was actually promoting, but ratzeo was my courage and spoke up for me.

Greg was very personable, learning our names and chatting us up about the comic. He also joined in our general flabbergasting about the string of coincidences that set up this meeting - because seriously, that was almost too convenient to believe. He graciously signed my trades, and also gave us a copy of the demo (even though we don't have PSPs ^^;).

I, of course, did not have enough control over my faculties at the time to say anything coherent, or even express how much I love his story for Diana. I think he understood, though, based on my speechless glee. XD Besides, it was probably better that I couldn't speak, because we held up the line long enough as it was.

The rest of the day consisted of hanging out at the Paizo booth, a group of us acting as free advertising for the board games that were being demoed. I stayed in the exhibitors' hall mostly, because there were plenty of shiny things there to occupy my attention. Also, the only panel I was really interested in attending (about women in the gaming industry) was on Friday. That evening, I played in one of the open-call D&D adventures, using a character run by ratzeo on the previous day. It was pretty fun, though I've been spoiled by having campaigns from irishninja, ratzeo, shadawyn, and chasdini, so I was somewhat unimpressed. ;)

So that was my surprise con Saturday, which was far more awesome than should have been allowed, as last-minute as it was. Some would call this lucky. I'm sure no one's surprised, though, considering who was involved with most of it. :P

On Friday I went out with some coworkers to say goodbye to a coworker who's leaving for a new job. They took me to Feierabend, a German tavern just north of downtown. There was good beer that I actually liked (usually beer and I don't get along well), and mouthwateringly delicious German food. It struck me as the kind of place rivendellrose might like, but I think it would be fun for anyone to try.

After dinner, we went to see The Bourne Ultimatum - even though I haven't seen the first two movies in the trilogy, because my coworkers assured me that Matt Damon was The Sex in it. That wasn't the *only* reason I went to the movie - I was also told that they're pretty self-contained and easy to follow, and that the action is good - but it helped. :P

( But before the movie, there were previews )

As for the movie itself, I had fun. It took place in several different countries, including predominantly non-white countries, but I didn't feel that it was excessive or exploitative. The action was clever and sometimes ridiculous - but the movie felt self-aware enough that I laughed with it, not at.

Although the scene in which both the assassin and Matt Damon locate Julia Stiles through her hairstyle was a little much. In the next scene, we see Stiles dying her hair, and I can just imagine her thinking to herself, "Perhaps my distinctive bright blonde highlights in dark brown hair are not conducive to my life as a secret agent!"

There was also the pre-climactic final scene in which Matt Damon mutters, "This is where it began for me. This is where I'll end it," and the dramatic BOW-WHAKA-SHAKA-BOW music kicks up before he even finishes talking. XD

This weekend I got to hang out with kyonkun, which was nice because our schedules have clashed and we haven't really hung out much since I got back from London. ( Harry Potter and shopping )

And now for some game blather. XD ( Hunter and Warmakers )

Today I finished Jose Saramago's Blindness, a book that lilisin sent to me months ago for my birthday. ( Book review )

Oh, and tonight I might actually get started on that London recap I keep promising. :P

I'm working off my jet lag a little bit every day - though this morning I caved and drank coffee because I kept staring blankly into the computer screen. Not exactly a good look for the face of the front desk. :P

My tiredness might also have to do with being up a little late last night - zinjadu and Kindra threw together an impromptu 4th of July picnic at Magnuson, and ratzeo and I got to tag along to spend the day nerding it up (i.e. playing Betrayal at House on the Hill) at the park. This meant abandoning our plans for an all-day date, but you know what's awesome? We shifted those plans to Saturday morning with no trouble, because neither of us has classes or homework to worry about. ♥! I kind of like this being graduated thing.

In work news, I still don't officially have a job. :P But I have it in all but name - my supervisors are already making plans with me while they await final approval of their hiring decision. AND one of my supervisors tells me they're gunning for the maximum possible pay, which is all kinds of shiny.

Speaking of shininess related to my job, someone in a neighboring department told me I had a beautiful voice, "very deep and resonant." Besides being a lovely compliment to randomly bestow upon someone, I feel especially fuzzy because I was always self-conscious about my voice while growing up - being "deep and resonant" made me feel out of place when I was surrounded by tiny blonde girls with cute and high voices. ^^;

Also, if anyone's interested, I'm planning to write up a summary of everything we did in London/Edinburgh, for my own reference at least. I'm just very lazy and haven't started it yet.

( I AM VERY EXCITED RIGHT NOW )

Also, rivendellrose, I replied to your comment on the postcard entry with a question - did you get it?

*makes grabby hands at it*

This afternoon, I've got another job interview to get through. I mean, of course I'm glad to be called in, because that's a good sign! But it's kind of exhausting. (If ever I labored under the illusion that I was free from the pressures of performing normative femininity, preparing for a job interview sets me straight, let me tell you.)

I don't officially get to start my weekend for a while, because I need to get a lot of work done tonight and tomorrow (so I can go to irishninja's game on Sunday, yay!). So my Friday night will be spent writing papers, like the cool and trendy person I am.

BUT! I am definitely taking a break tomorrow morning to go to the University District Street Fair, because it is fantasmagous. And because if I don't take a break I'm more liable to use words like "fantasmagous." Is anyone else going, and would you like to meet up, preferably close to the opening time of 10:00? The Street Fair is always more fun with other people. *hopeful*

Still decompressing. The Daily has an article on it in today's issue. Here's a rundown of how it went for me:

( The rally and aftermath )

Thus ends SARVA Week 2007. It was pretty crazy for me since I was much more involved this year, but it was totally worth it. The other events of the week were all fantastic (though more humorous than heavy, and so not really worth attempting to translate into a blog post).

I hope you're all wearing jeans today for our Denim Day remembrance/protest. I've been wearing my SARVA Week t-shirt all week, so my co-workers all know about it and a bunch of them are wearing jeans today. :D

Oh, and ha ha.

I've sort of disappeared from socializing this quarter. I've been working on it, though, and trying to improve my social habits so I do things with more substance than just spend my Saturdays gaming. (It's fun, but not exactly the height of interpersonal relations. :P) Or just being at ratzeo's apartment to do homework, and occasionally leaving his room to procrastinate with zinjadu.

I think I'm succeeding, as much as is possible at the moment. I don't go out during the week, but I give myself plenty of time to goof off on weekends. On Saturday I got to see laylah and maho_kiwi! ... for, uh ... gaming. But still! And last weekend I watched ratzeo, uh ... ran his game for the First Time Gamers Club. Um. But at least I get to, you know, see and talk to people. It's good for keeping my brains healthy.

ratzeo and I have been trying to go on actual dates, too, rather than just bumming around at each other's places all weekend. (It's best not to let ourselves get into a rut after only two years. XD) It's been surprising to have so much fun just going out to a nice restaurant. I don't think we're cool enough to keep up with mainstream dating on a regular basis, though. 8D

I wish I had more time for online socializing, though - blogging and commenting and the like. I keep letting comments sit in my inbox without replying to them, and I feel like I haven't gotten to write a substantial entry in months. I've got a ton of things I'd like to write about, because so many things are making me thoughtful and/or angry - and writing helps me focus that anger into something useful - but I'm such a slow writer that I always end up spending a couple of hours on an article, and I can't really justify that. One of the things I look forward to in my post-graduation transition to regular employment is that I should have time to blog more, either at work if I get an office job, or in the evenings when I have no homework to keep me busy. It's just three months away. XO

At the moment, the workload of my classes is tapering off in order to give us time to work on term papers. It's kind of overwhelming at the moment because I'm writing a research paper for the first time in god-only-knows. And I probably should have been working on it throughout the quarter. But I started my research a whole three weeks before the due date! XD;; And I'm really interested in my topic - the ways in which Native women and other women of color have been excluded from their ethnic identities, particularly due to marriage, sexuality, and sexual violence - but the process of fishing out information and organizing it is making me go O_o.

I'm at the point, though, where my head won't stop whirling with plans and worries. I just end up taking naps - even when I'm not particularly tired - in order to make my brain go silent. :P I think I'll go do that now - things always seem more manageable after a break.

After finals!omg, christmasshopping!omg, and parties!omg, I'm done with everything. No major plans until I go home on Thursday, and then I'll be at my parents, which - well, is not generally a site of boisterous socializing. :P

It's weird, not having some obligation or appointment to attend to. I was so disoriented this morning before work that I just sat around for a while being bored.

But! Now I have time to do things. Like reading for fun. I got a bunch of shiny books for Christmas and my birthday, and ratzeo both lent me, and gifted me with, a bunch of comics. I can read and pack for my trip and maybe even get some blogging done, since I've been rather delinquent on that front. And I can wait for my grades to come in. >_>

Speaking of class - I got my schedule worked out for next quarter. I'll be taking a course on Asian-American women, one on First Nations women (taught by a professor who comes highly recommended), one on white privilege in health services (taught by the department chair), and a colloquium that's a departmental requirement. Exciting stuff.

One thing I won't be doing is my thesis. I spent a lot of time talking to my departmental advisor (and an even longer time talking to ratzeo) about what requirements I have left, how much time I would need for a thesis, and basically what I want to do with the rest of my time at the university. There are a lot of things I can still learn, both practical and theoretical, from courses that I just wouldn't be able to take if I was working on a thesis at the same time. What it comes down to is that I think my time would be more valuably spent taking classes where professors teach me, rather than pursuing an independent project. My thesis is based on personal interests, and while I would have liked to pursue it in an academic setting - with faculty advising and an externally mandated structure - I don't want that more than I want to keep learning through my department's courses. If there's one thing I realized from the amazing Women Studies course from this past quarter, it's that I'm far, far away from being done learning - about feminism in general, but also from the department at this school.

So that's that. Part of me worries that I'm being fickle by constantly changing my academic plans. The rest of me, though, realizes that I've spent far too much of my college career sticking to plans, even if those plans are outdated and no longer useful. I think this is healthier for me right now.

And now! The most important task awaiting me is ... making a snack. XD;;

Okay all, the final plan for my birthday dinner is:

Saturday, 10/9
7:00 p.m. until whenever
Rusty Pelican (1924 N 45th St.)

If you haven't already RSVPed (i.e., commented to my previous post saying "Yes, I'll be there"), please do so here. I'd like to make a reservation since we'll be such a large group, so I'll need to know how many are coming. Those who were maybes, please confirm yay or nay.

Thanks!

My birthday is coming up in less than a month, and I'd like to do a group dinner to celebrate. Nothing big, since I know finals are coming up. This could just be a brief study break. :D

I was thinking of dinner on Saturday, December 9th, or Sunday, December 10th, at the Rusty Pelican. Start time probably 6:00. How does that sound to people? Which day would work better? Please let me know ASAP, so I can get some idea of how big of a group we'll be.

Okay, it's been several hours since the show, so I can come up with something more coherent than, "WICKED AHHHH WICKED AHHHH!!" :P

( The review! )

Speaking of Wicked - rivendellrose or nekokoban, does one of you have my copy of the book? I lent it to your household last summer for one or both of you to read, but I keep forgetting to get it back.

Also, this is kind of random, but worth noting: after the show, we wandered around Barnes & Noble to kill time while the line for parking validation went down. I had worn a red qipao for the show, and a man commented to me that it was pretty. And it was ... nice. A polite compliment that wasn't at all invasive or creepy. He just said, "That's a very pretty dress," and then I looked at him and he met my eyes and smiled. That's all. No leering, no smirking, no sense of entitlement to anything just because he said something nice to me.

It was just a great example of how easy it is to give a nice compliment in a non-sexist, non-privileged way. So if anyone tries to say that it's hard to compliment a woman without it being mistaken for harassment: it's not. Even this crazy man-hating feminazi didn't misread it. XD;;