pentapus

I did manage to pick up in life that the "stomach flu" was not really the flu at all, but I thought that meant that real flu was just a nasty version of the stomach flu. Based on that understanding, I never got a flu shot because I knew with great certainty that I never got the flu.

Jokes on me it turns out because the flu is a respiratory virus and is more two week head cold from hell than serious puke fest. Which means that I get the flu all the time. Flu shots for life, guys. I will be good from now on, I promise. That is my future.


Anyway. Shit I have managed to get done in the last month, despite a combination of flu + an unexpected business trip:

SGA reversebang
ST: Reboot reversebang (5 times!)
Dean/Cas Dystopia reversebang
KakaSaku reversebang (twice! sort of)
"Treehouse Reversebang" for Miss P

Re: treehouse reverse bang (call that mainly because I cannot call it “me reversebang” without feeling like a douche) -- I managed to finish Miss P’s picture and 80% of lar_laughs ’s picture before the flu hit. Still working, just slowly...

Nice Young Man D has informed us that we've spent 200+ USD on stamps over the last six weeks. I've chosen to think of this as an accomplishment.


The kittens at the Guilin hostel really liked my postcard kit (There are many zippers and a variety of supplies).

If you asked for a postcard, it is in the mail! Pangolins were the new camel, but then terracotta horses became the new pangolin. 3 more weeks to go! I am really looking forward to Christmas dinner and the American tradition of large pieces of meat next to potatoes.

If anyone else would like a postcard, COMMENT TO THE PREVIOUS POST (or LJ) (this post you are at now does NOT have screened comments, FYI).

Please include your country and what name you want me to put at the top of the address. I don't keep your info. You could also include a fandom or a general interest, but that is most likely to be successful if it falls into (or is) the category of creatures, costumes, or women. (Also if we share any yuletide fandoms. :P)

7 more days here, and I have so much to do I actually consulted my calender for which day would be the least inconvenient for a nervous breakdown. Deep breaths.

The last print sale will close today. I put the date as tomorrow, but I haven't heard from anybody new for a while, so I'm going to send the order to the printer tonight or tomorrow morning. I really appreciate the response to the pictures, whether people bought a print or just enjoyed them. I've nearly managed to pay for my round trip ticket with the proceeds, so I am hugely grateful to everyone for contributing to this terrifying, awesome trip I'm going to attempt in a little over a week. Thank you. :)

Yeah, so I had a pretty awesome dream about an Xmen First Class AU. Great drama with a lot of politics and tension as it became more and more clear that Erik Lensherr, the darling of the high command, would be playing favorites for Charles Xavier, new recruit.

In one "scene", another recruit watches Erik's body language change as he passes Charles in the crowd. Somehow this had BIG negative implications for Erik's political standing with the Big Boss, which had so far been on the rise. That's not even counting the other looming threat -- that Erik wasn't quite human; he was something sinister and dangerous, and some of the people in the program knew.

Then I woke up and realized that the revelation was that Erik was a vampire hamster.

Yeah.

Characters were reading reference books and encyclopedias with pictures and diagrams -- of vampire hamsters. All while Erik, in his true form, lurked outside the building trying to reach Charles, but he couldn't enter because the program was housed in the building of a Catholic school, which somehow made it holy ground. (Yes, the two things I've done in the past week were watch True Blood and read Methos fic. How could you tell?)

So, epic drama, except. Vampire Hamster.


T: HE WILL GNAW YOUR ANKLES!
Pen: IT ONLY TAKES ONE BITE.
T: HE LURKS BENEATH THE KITCHEN TABLE! WAITING! BREAKFAST WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!
Pen: But Charles thinks he fits nicely in the curve between your neck and shoulder.
Pen: He's quite nice really.

....it got even better when I realized that despite all the language about vampire hamsters, the photos in the encyclopedias were clearly of guinea pigs. I'm going to blame that on that Power Rangers fic I read four years ago (it had ninjas!). So.

I need your help!

OK, so it's for my sister's annual 4th of July pub crawl and the associated Family Feud style games. But the pub crawl is happening in like 6 hours, so priority is HIGH even is severity is LOW [unless I have those backwards]. And it is fun.

Please answer only those questions that you find interesting:

1. After area 51, which US city or landmark is most likely to be a top secret military repository of alien artifacts?

2. After the White House, which US city or landmark is most likely to destroyed by alien invaders in a show of force?

3. Which US city or landmark is most likely to be the secret headquarters of the human resistance forces?

4. Which group is most likely to be a member of the human resistance forces? [e.g., IT professionals, Tenured professors, Card carrying ACLU members, Tea Party presidential candidates, Star Trek fans in full Klingon regalia, etc]

5. Which group is most likely to betray humanity by joining with the alien invaders? [e.g., IT professionals, Tenured professors, Card carrying ACLU members, Tea Party presidential candidates, Star Trek fans in full Klingon regalia, etc]

6. Which US tradition, food item, or movie cliche is most likely to lead to total and utter annihilation of the alien invaders?



I'm screening comments so you won't be biased by other answers (I think that is how Family Feud works), but I'll unscreen all of them after the pub crawl for your enjoyment. As a bonus preview, best answer so far for #6: pop rocks. :)

Thank you!!

Today, I grated my knuckle in a microplane. I got it into a band-aid so fast I don't think I even saw the damage.

Anyway, two things --

1. Short term: could you give me a prompt of character(s) and a line of dialogue? Any fandom, bonus for fewer slash OTPs and tropes, more character quirks, bff, girls, gen -- even het! etc.

2. Longer term: could anyone prompt me with some Star Trek (2009) prompts? Bonus for less Kirk, more Uhura, Winona, Sulu, Chekov, McCoy, etc...

Tonight marks the second time my cat has been faced with the choice between two pieces of bacon and a bowl of greens side by side -- and chosen to steal lettuce.

note: after watching all of SG-1 and much of SGA, my sister's favorite line remains the throwaway bacon line uttered by the canon fodder marines at the beginning of SGA's The Storm. It speaks to her deepest beliefs, basically.

Places my cat wants to be on a multi-hour highway drive:
1) The dashboard.
2) The driver's side footwell.
3) My lap and arms.
4) EVERY WINDOW AT ONCE.

Luckily I'd wrapped her in a collar, a harness, and a leash, which provided many hand holds to keep her from her heart's desire. (Eventually she settled down.) Pulling off the highway for McDonald's was, as far as I could tell, the greatest thing that had ever happened to her, excepting the strange, big house into which she was set loose at the end of the trip.

Exhibit 457 on Why My Pet is a Dog Trapped in a Cat's Body: COMPLETE.

I went to see Due Date on Friday. Don't do that. Not even Robert Downey Jr could make it worth it, though he was pretty.

I went to see RED last week -- definitely go see that. Not only was it entertaining, hilarious, and a pretty fucking awesome action move, but - GUYS, GUYS - when Helen Mirren has to switch from "Elegant, Formal Outfit" to "Asskicking Assassin Time", she takes off her heels and puts on hiking boots. Do you know how long I have been shouting this at TV and movie screens with no real hope? It's right up there with "Tie your god damn hair back, Black Widow*." I may have made some really undignified noises of joy in the theater.

Also the love interest was really adorable. So was Bruce Willis' character, actually. N'awwww.

Bonus: my cat keeps trying to attract my attention by stretching adorably, at which point she stretches too far and falls off the bed. But that has nothing to do with movies.

*Iron Man II. One of the most egregious examples of hair as an obstacle to vision. Iron Man one features Pepper Potts running on steel mesh in 4 inch heels. Double trouble, Iron Man Franchise.

I went to a small high school production of Mulan, which was about what you'd expect from a young drama class in a small town and therefore great entertainment, even without everyone wearing long black halloween wigs tied up with scrunchies on top to look Chinese. Also? Shang looked like Spock.

In the final fight scene, Shang shouted at Shan Yu, "You killed my father!"

In the audience, I instantly hissed at my friend, "PREPARE TO DIE." At the same moment, the girl on his other side comes out with, "I AM your father!"

So, I think we covered all the bases.

BONUS: Shan Yu - most effortlessly bad-ass Disney villain ever, Y/N?