And she's okay!

[minxy]

So I've been MIA here for a week-ish, and in that time, several things have happened:

1. Somebody (possibly several somebodies, as multiple notifications were sent to different email addresses) has nominated me in the Stargate Fan Awards, which is very exciting and I'm very flattered. Thank you, guys. I guess I'll figure out which story has been tapped in a week or so.

2. LJ decided to change my layout to something dark blue. It's going to be over 90 degrees F here today, and dark blue didn't seem appropriate (sympathy vibes to the MA and VT people dealing with flooding. Be safe, guys.) Thus, I have chosen a new layout, since I couldn't remember what the last one was called. I like the light grey with occasional light yellow. It makes me happy.

I shall direct your attention to the sidebar now on the LEFT side of the layout that has lists of links to my fanfic as well as the organized posts with thematic fanfic recs, though I haven't updated all that recently. Scroll down, poke around, feel free to leave me comments if you read or reread something, for lo, it has been a hard week and I could use the love.

3. I have refreshed my linguistic skills with C++ and the ability to bash my head against a desk. I hate programming. This is why I did not become a computer programmer. This is why I'm a scientist instead. Are you paying attention program? You're supposed to have all this sorted out before I try to compile you so I DON'T HAVE TO CODE.

4. Round of beta love led to the following paraphrased conversation:

Fanfic: *light flirty fluffy moment with ice cream*... *short meaningful discussion.*
Beta: My, that was sudden.
Me: Longer, deeper, harder?
Beta: Always.

5. Realized am still allergic to cats. Best Friend From High School Turned Vet has a menagerie of wonderful pets, but I must resist petting the cuddly, attention seeking, short-haired, blue-eyed Lego, as well as the incredibly fat, tortoise-shell, half-meow/half-earthrumblingpurr Sprocket, especially during shedding season. Owen the dark grey haired beauty is too good for me, so that's not such a temptation. *sneezes, causing all the dogs to jump to their feet in concern*

6. I rediscovered a love for potstickers.

Fanfic recs post to follow if I can find links, and some time to read stuff.

Comments

[eve11]

3. I have refreshed my linguistic skills with C++ and the ability to bash my head against a desk. I hate programming. This is why I did not become a computer programmer. This is why I'm a scientist instead. Are you paying attention program? You're supposed to have all this sorted out before I try to compile you so I DON'T HAVE TO CODE.

heh. They never listen. Silly old programs, doing what we tell them to do instead of what we want them to do.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

*squinty* I blame the programmers. They should be writing me detailed-yet-simple How To Use This Extremely User Friendly Program instructions (and if you act now! FREE mind reading programs that understand what you MEANT!)

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

Hellllooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I have nothing substantial to say. Just was wondering where you'd gotten yourself to and am glad to "see" you, so hellloooooooooooooooooooo!

*waves*

*keeps waving*

*walks backward, waving*

*gets smaller and smaller*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

No stay! Stay and talk to me in grown-up words that are not acronyms! With capitol letters! Don't blink away into existential nothingness! Saaaaaaaaallllll.......

*blinks*

*sits and hopes you will come back*

*with Toby-dog, I bet he's good at this*

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

Hallo.

I'm back.

*settles down* *gives you tea*

So. Tell me. Tell me aaaaall about it.

I would say something adult and so on, but I've been writing up bibliography information for all the books I should read RIGHT NOW!OMG!!!!ELEVEN!!!! or, to be more precise, 5 YEARS AGO OMG!!!ELEVEN!!! and I have very little of the brane left. There is only TEH FEAR!!

But I was practicing my frog kick today (is that what the kids call it now?) at the pool (as in swimming and not kicking frogs, which would be SO WRONG!!!!) and I think I'm getting the hang of it. I can do it really nicely on my back, but the front breast stroke is kicking my ass. I've got a nice glide in there and all, but I keep getting this monster killer crick in my back, and I have this tendency to twist my hips so I end up sort of scissoring my legs instead of doing that froggy thing. Do you keep your thighs together and just mostly kick from the knees down, or do you keep your knees together on the bending part and then use the whole leg on the swooooooop part? As for the flip turn, I've sort of decided to give that a rest because of how I almost died the last time I tried it. Ooh, and I'm starting to do what you said with trying sprints. Between the sprints and the breast stroke, I think I'm getting stronger.

See? That'll learn ya to ask me to come back and talk to you. Now I talked your freaking ear off (or your eyes out, I guess. Also: ew).

'Kay, going now.

bye!

*waves*

*gets smaller and smaller*

I am rather like a Sesame Street skit, aren't I?

NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAR!!!
....
faaaaaaaaaaaaar!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Meh. Let's not talk about frustrating things. I'm sure they'll be the same frustrating things that will be going on next week and the week after that and so on until my boss gets his head out his arse and helps me graduate. Plenty of time to beat that subject into the ground.

Let us instead talk about water. That is much more fun, expecially as it is a genuinely hot summertime type day here today. I tried, once again, to teach my genetic mutant of a golden retriever to swim. She rather missed the point, but did have fun licking water droplets off of whatever skin was showing of mine.

Frog kicking, ah, frog kicking. Breast stroke is my least favorite stroke too, must say. Fun thing about it is that it is inherently unladylike, though. When your legs are all drawn up, you should look like you're squatting on the ground: stance just inside of shoulder width, knees bent and forward, ankles flexed and right at your bum if you can manage it, the balls of your feet under your center of gravity. Now, your center of gravity is gonna be different if you're horizontal, obviously, but it serves to remind you that your feet should stay in the line of your body; you might be causing the crick in your back if you're letting your hips drop or feet go back without dropping your upper legs for balance and bouyancy.

There is a natural arch in the back during breast stroke, though. Used to be, waaaaay back when when I was learning the rules, you had to keep your head above water (at least the top of it) at all times, but now you can actually let it drop below the waterline if you want. It might help relieve a little of the strain on your back if, when you give your mighty frog kick and thrust your arms forward under the water to glide, you let your head down and sort of dive under the water (shallowly, really shallowly) as your arms move. Little mini-dive.

*pictures Grover and Sal kicking in the pool whilst Kermit and I jump and wave and cheer 'yaaaaaaaaaay!' from the side*

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tips, ma'am! I think I'm not bringing my legs in far enough or keeping me knees low enough, which explains why my heels come out of the water...

You are a very useful person to know, you know? :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

It might be much easier to just go swimming together one day, don't you think? Though, it is an interesting exercise to describe something physical.

Death and exercise, I'm your girl. :) I fully expect to be on your phone-a-friend list when you go on game shows.

Did I mention how very marvelous I find that icon? Marvelous. I just imagine that foot coming down on my hand and what it would feel like (cool, a little sticky, followed by a stellar soft-shoe routine once he got situated.)

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

Also, congrats on the nom, eh?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

*giggles helplessly*

You know I've only been wratin' since, oh, last Fall? Feels like longer sometimes, but it means that I get that marvelous noobie glee about stuff like this.

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

Oh you have not! Just since last fall?!?

I'm sure you'll find more than one fic in the nom list...and very likely more. You've done good work, kid. ;-)

Gives Snoopy dance of joy for you.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

*displays noobie badge with sheepish pride*

You're just lucky that no one had to be subjected to the first fics. Well, except delph down there *waves lower in the comments* who will vouch for my very first writing attempts. She taught me well, eh?

*basks in happy things*

*joins in the Snoopy dance*

[troyswann.livejournal.com]

Well, go you, man!

*waves pom poms*

[rydra_wong]

Me: Longer, deeper, harder?
Beta: Always.

*plays porno music*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Is that porno music of the 'bowm-chicka-wow-wow' variety or the Barry White variety?

It's really too bad this is a G-rated fic, innit?

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

congratulations! *big hugs*

and yup, i had the same thing happen to me with my journal layout. very odd. the tech guys are researching it. meep.

and the flooding here in nh....ack, awful. i'm glad i live on the 3rd floor. also meep.

sorry the c++ is causing head banging. and about the cat allergies.

ps. now i want potstickers too. ;)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

*hugs back*

Although, after talking to Sal, I really want to go swimming, so maybe there's an upside to flooding?

Erm, or maybe not. Come visit here, it's toasty warm.

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

heh, although i'm not sure i'd want to swim in this stuff. although i'd definitely swim in a lake or a pond as long as the bottom wasn't too squishy. and the ocean..if i could pass over the barnacles. ;)

if i could teleport i'd be there already. *hugs*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Heh, our ocean is cold on the left coast, though, not so much with the barnacles, we just have sand and rocks. Really impressive rocks, actually. Sometime I'll have to tell you about my surfing adventure with rocks, but it really deserves a phone to get all the sound effects communicated properly.

We'd have fun if you came over, though, we have Koi (protagonists), herons (antagonists), bullfrogs, salamanders, tree frogs, a neighborhood cat we named after our street and hawks making regular appearences. My mom also loves birds and cultivates a number of meaningful relationships with birdies centered around regular dinner parties at the bird feeder. I can't name them, but she can. *g*

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

we have lots of rocks...but i'm a bit concerned about the story you've mentioned....because the idea of there having to be sound effects makes me think i was not a happy story. meep.

and hee! it's important to have protagonists and antagonists. i love how hawks and other birds of prey have really "come back". *hugs*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

but exciting! And, obviously, I'm still here in one piece.

*makes helicopter sound effects*

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

that's good...you know me and my happy ending kink. ;)

and oooh, a helicopter?

:::waits not so patiently for story. *bg*

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

I'd say it's pretty definite that more than one of your fics got nommed. ;o) Just based on getting multiple emails of course.

Potsticker...very yummy!

And with all the screwing around with LJ layouts, now I'm afeared of trying to change mine and show off me shiney new paid acct! Oh look, a new userpic!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Sooooo... in my email notification, I saw Zelenka!icon (which, yes, very nice) but now I see Harry the Dirty Old Man again. Hmmmmmm.... If you want to mess around with layouts, it's really very easy (just trial and error) and since I just did it, I'd be happy to help if you need a place to start. Also, if you see an icon of mine that you like, I've noted all the icon makers in the keywords, so you can backtrack through those marvelously talented people's LJs and find treasures.

You know, with those noms, though, it only means three PEOPLE nom'd me (which rocks), technically, they could have all picked exactly the same story, you know. It's not probable, but not all stories are created equal. *tries not to be too excited about it*

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

There does seem to be something weird going on with the userpics...I've been using a bunch of my newly loaded ones and my default keeps showing up! LJ is frelled. Ggggrrrrrrr!

I will mess with layouts some other time...fic is calling! As in writing, not reading. Must bow to the muse.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Awww, I can see that one. I love, really love, when we get to see Jack or Sam or John or Ford being a competant soldier. 'Tis a serious kink.

Bow to the muse! All hail!

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

there's no such thing as being too excited about this~

Badges? There's noobie badges?!? I want one too!

And yes, I know...er, I mean, statistically speaking, it's more than one fic.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

::scratches head:: What are potstickers? Serious question, I'm ignorant :-(

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Oh, they're good stuff: small half-moon dumplings (from a circular bit of pastry, folded over and crimped shut), usually filled with some savory meats or sometimes vegetables too. You steam them or pan-fry them and eat them with dipping sauce. I prefer the Thai version, but there are variations in most Asian food cultures, I think, and you can find some pretty incredible ones at my favorite dim sum joint.

I don't think being unfamiliar with exotic foods means you're ignorant, but I do feel like you've perhaps been deprived of some culinary fabulousness. Also? Various stores like Trader Joes have frozen bags of potstickers, and it became my favorite fast food in gradschool. 5 minutes in steam and instant goodness.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the definition :-) They sound yummy! If they're available over here, they've obviously flown under my radar, although I guess samosas come close by the sound of it. I'll definitely be trying them though, if/when I finally encounter them!

[kellifer-fic.livejournal.com]

Yay for the nom. *huggle*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_minxy_/]

Sometimes, not all the time, mind you, but sometimes... I am really easy to please. *giggles about noms, again*

*hugs back*