In the spirit of holiday greed, I began my online wishlist today. I’m not posting the address here, ’cause I don’t want it to look like I’m trolling – if you actually do want it, ask me or raininva and we’ll hook you up.
Also, I didn’t put in any of the kinky stuff. You’ll have to convince me you really wanna buy it for me first. 🙂
Very Personal Stuff
Well, we all have a face, that we hide away forever
And we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone
Some are satin, some are steel, some are silk, and some are leather
They’re the faces of the stranger, but we love to try them on
— Billy Joel, “The Stranger”
So often, I want to bring my stranger out into the open, and just openly be that facet of myself. I repress him and keep him locked away, but he won’t stay there, and I can always feel him rattling the bars of his cage. Sometimes, he gets loose for a bit and expresses himself – in fact most of my self-expression comes from my stranger.
I dream of just breaking the lock, showing everyone I care about my bare naked self, and being free of the pressure. In my fantasy, this makes everything in my life okay, and we all live happily ever after. I rather doubt that reality would work that way.
Over the years, thanks to my friends and the semi-anonymous means of expression that is the Web, I’ve been able to let the stranger roam farther and for longer periods of time before he’s locked away again, and I’m thankful for that. Half a loaf really is better than none, and I can accept him a little easier than I once could. Rain, of course, has had a great deal to do with this.
My stranger is, of course, mainly responsible for this post. It make my heart race and my body tense simply to write these words, but I hope he’ll be satisfied for a while.
Pre-dawn Wednesday, our office blew its hot water heater. Efforts to fix matters have only made it worse, we can’t shut off the sink, and now the ladies’ bathroom is rapidly taking on water.
We have rechristened the office “Her Majesty’s Ship The Titanic“. Sentries have been posted with orders to shoot Celine Dion on sight.
Found a streaming server for Japanese anime music and j-pop… http://japanaradio.com/. Listened to it this morning while getting dressed – it was nice background music. I would listen to it here at work to annoy everyone, but our ISDN connection isn’t fast enough. Besides, the only other person who will be here today is my coworker Adam, who wouldn’t be annoyed by it at all – and how much fun is that?
As near as I can tell, the only game shop in Roanoke that has available stock of Mechwarrior: Dark Age is a little place called “Ground Zero” that doesn’t even have a phone. We got our figures, though… but then Rain had to stay at work until 10pm ’cause of a stupid virus outbreak on their machines. We’re not even sure what time she’ll be home tonight. So no playtesting. 🙁 The figures are nice looking, and we got a Unique Hatchetman and an Elite Centurion in our first boxes. (For those not familiar with the game, those are two of the most playable mechs in the original Battletech.)
Gonna be hot and sticky again today 🙁
Tuesday is, of course, production day here at the paper. The last weeks have been rough, as the salespeople have seriously overloaded the production staff with full-page full-color spec ads for accounts they probably won’t be able to land; incorrect runsheets giving us faulty information about the existence, size, and placement of ads; and major changes made at the last minute, after the last minute, the day after the last minute, and “you understand that the printer is printing these pages now” after the last minute.
None of this is unusual in the printing industry, of course, but the last weeks have been unusually ridiculous. My stress levels were so bad last week, that I had stomach pain for the next three days. So, last Wednesday I went to my boss and explained to him that: a) I was no longer working more than 13.5 hours straight on Tuesdays, and that b) I was no longer going to kill myself compensating for the careless work of others. I had more of a leg to stand on with “b” than one might expect; I’m the only one here who knows what’s really going on and how to fix it when it breaks, so if my work burns me out completely, my boss has a real situation he’ll have to deal with.
I think it was worth it. I’m tired this morning, but I’m not wild-eyed, wired, and shaky, and my stomach hurts only a little. Lunch ought to handle that.
raininva is going to try to score some MechWarrior: Dark Age starter sets today for us to try out tonight. Anyone want to come over and help us try out a new miniatures game?
Secrets of the lost Keeble masters
Only after 13 straight hours of staring into these monitors will the phrase “Ahhh, Elfhopper, I see your cookie-fu is strong” make an entire room of people giggle hysterically.
We are now building an advanced school of self-defense based on the products of the cookie aisle at the supermarket.
Telling no real story
Well, we watched our first NetFlix last night – we both sat through Storytelling, and Rain watched Ghost World. I actually was a big fan of Daniel Clowes’ “Lloyd Llewellyn” comic, but i just couldn’t deal with the “quirky teenager” movie after watching the “I couldn’t think of anything, but I had to spend this money before they pulled my grant” movie.
Sometimes, I read a book or watch a movie, and I finish it with the horrible feeling that, somewhere, the author or filmmaker is laughing hysterically at having tricked me into wasting part of my life. That’s different from, say, the Battlefield: Earth feeling where I end up feeling very sorry for the filmmaker, actors, crew, and backers of the film. Not this time! The creator of Storytelling should be smacked around.
Oh, well. I picked out a couple movies I wanted to see, Amelie and the new anime Metropolis. Haven’t found many more yet, but there’s time.
Sometimes, there’s no doubt about to which section of society a person belongs.
When one of the greatest thrills that person’s had lately (outside the bedroom) is the detection and crushing of a month-long bug in old database code, there is absolutely no doubt.
(but, I found it, and I fixed it, and now everyone in my office has to bow down before my superior intellect. so there.)
Ensign Crusher, report to the Torpedo Bay for testing…
In the “Has it been that long since Stand By Me?” department, the Joy of Tech web comic released this movie poster celebrating our favorite Bridge ensign’s 30th birthday. Pay no attention to that glowing crystal in your palm, Wil.
