So, I finally made it back home from DC and the Inauguration.  I will have pictures and a day-by-day account later this week...I'm still exhausted from the drama that occurred coming home (long story involving my car and then the subsequent winter storm).  But suffice it to say that DC was awesome and so was the Inauguration!

Anyway, because I am a lemming, I'm posting this.  And if there are 5 people still reading this lj (which I would be shocked at), please respond...you don't want me to be depressed, yeah?

The first 5 people that respond to this post will get something made by me. It will be about, or tailored to, those first five people who respond.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year.
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a mix tape. It may be fic, or a poem. I may draw or paint something. I might bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange (you really should be worried at this point).

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well... pay it forward and all that.

Okay, I'm heading to bed.  But definitely an Inauguration post to come...I want to make sure *I* remember it!

I can't believe it!  Obama won!!  And by a landslide!  I have never in my life been prouder of America than I was today.  We did it.  Yes we can.  Thank God.

So I just finished watching the VP debate.  It was not as exciting as I expected, but I still found it fascinating.  I'm so nervous/excited about this election, I can barely contain myself.  My mom and I spent the hour after the debate deconstructing it...I was amused that the points that Mom and I made ended up being points that the pundits made.  I think my mom and I should try to get a newschannel pundit show.  It could the Milady Mannix show or something!  It'd be cool!  Besides which, we actually *are* regular, middle-class Americans, so people can relate.  I think it'll work...how 'bout you?

In other, less happy news, my life suddenly got a lot more scary (like the current political and economic situation isn't enough!).  As some of you know, my dad was diagnosed with kidney and bladder cancer my sophomore year of college (6 years ago).  They removed his kidney and did an experimental treatment for the bladder cancer, and it was in remission.  Last Sunday, though, my dad informed me that the bladder cancer was back, and this time, they couldn't use the experimental treatment.  So he's undergoing chemotherapy treatments for the next 7 weeks (today was his second treatment of nine).  And I...am utterly terrified.  He's taking it v. calmly, but then again, he's always been rather sanguine about his eventual death (me? Not so much).  I just...I know lots of people survive cancer, and this isn't one of the truly dangerous cancers, but my dad is 64, and chemo sucks, and I'm just so effing scared.  I haven't quite been functioning right for the last two weeks.  So if any of you are reading this journal, still, please send happy thoughts to my dad.  I'd really appreciate it.

And now that I've utterly depressed everyone (and myself), I'll end with something at least a little funny. On another political note, Maureen Dowd of the New York Times wrote an op ed column last Sunday that I just have to share.  She talked to Aaron Sorkin, and he wrote a conversation between Barack Obama and Jed Bartlet.  It's probably only really cool to people who loved The West Wing, but I squeed so loudly when I saw it, and it's so interesting I just had to share.


( Obama Meets Bartlet )

This is my first post after moving back into my parents' house.  What an adjustment.  I've lived on my own for 4 years now, and it's remarkably uncomfortable to interact with my parents again.  Plus, my mom isn't horribly fond of my kitty, and so the poor Phoebers is bored out of her skull stuck in the back room by herself when I'm not there.  My bf wants me to move in with him, and I've been a little nervous about taking that step, but if living at home continues to go as well as it is so far, I definitely think it's the best of my options.  Plus, there are other...benefits...to that option :).

In happier news, new <i>Bones</i> tomorrow!  I'm really excited.  I marathoned Season 3 and it was amazing, so I'm all psyched for this season.

Also in happier news, I've been reading J. Maarten Troost's new book, <i>Lost in Planet China,</i> and it is really good.  It's both hilarious and thought-provoking.  I highly recommend it.

And now I should go to bed, so that I can get started earlier tomorrow (I now have an hour-long commute to work, rather than the 10 mins I had before).  Blah, work sucks.

Just because I felt like it, and it seems like fun.

a. Post a list of 15 fandoms.
b. Have your friends list guess your favourite character from each one.
c. When guessed, bold the line, include the character name, and write a sentence about why you like that character.

( Fandoms follow )

Anyone who is interested in playing is more than welcome!

In other news, I've suddenly become addicted to video games. This is why I don't play them. Poor laprincesasara has been stuck listening to the soundtrack of Kingdom Hearts the last couple weeks. At least the soundtrack is worlds above most videogame soundtracks. And now I really want a Nintendo DS so I can play the other Kingdom Hearts game out there. I'm obsessed,I tell you, obsessed! But it's so fun!

And yeah, that's pretty much it for me lately. Boring, I know, but what can you do??

I SAW EDDIE IZZARD!!!  IN PERSON!!!!  SEVEN ROWS AWAY!!!  WE COULD SEE HIM ROLL HIS EYES!!!  AND HE'S HILARIOUS, AND HIS NEW SHOW IS AWESOME, AND DAMN IS HE HOT.  And I will post something not so capslock intensive tomorrow.  But EEE!  We saw Eddie!!

Also, randomly, Panic at the Disco.  Apparently they were in our fair city today as well.  We're driving by the Pageant and I'm like, hey...that boy looks vaguely familiar.  And that bus says Panic at the Disco...Wait a minute!

So all in all, an eventful day.

And I have a shirt that says Cake or Death.

EEE!

Shocking, I know!  Life has been really busy, but I won't bore you with the remarkably uninteresting details.  Instead, I come bearing recs and music!  It's a bonus post!

As for the recs, if people are looking for something to read, I cannot more highly recommend Jhumpa Lahiri's new book, <i>Unaccustomed Earth</i>.  It's a collection of short stories, much like her Pulitzer Prize-winning first book, <i>Interpreter of Maladies</i> (which I also love), but the stories are so rich and vivid...I just love it.  So go forth and read!

And now for the music.  laprincesasara has this v. detailed post about the concert we went to see on Monday (which I am still recovering from...I'm getting old!  Further proof, from that same concert...a college girl standing near us in line to meet Kate says "and I was like, O-M-G, whatev!" and my first thought was, "What the *hell* have you done to my language!"  Old, I tell you!), so you should check that out.  But that is not the point of this post.  The point is, Kate was opened by this group called The Whitest Light.  I was prepared not to like them, although I did buy their CD (jointly).  However, since I've been listening to them, I've completely fallen in love with them.  I *really* like their sound.  And, since their lead singer encouraged me to spread the love, I'm posting four of my favorite songs for you all, if you want them.  And if you want the whole CD, I'm willing to provide that, too :).

Miracle
Swing Sets and Slides
Long Way Home
One More For the Radio

Enjoy!

So, life has generally been sucking like a giant sucking thing lately...for the last month or so I haven't been home before 10 from work (and I've been going in between 5 and 8 am), and things have been generally stressful and unfun.  But there has been some funness lately, and I thought I would share that with you in the form of a picspam.  Don't you all feel special??



Also, as you all probably know, the 7th Harry Potter book came out last night.  laprincesasara and I went to a release party at Borders, and we dressed up.  I was a Ravenclaw (Random Ravenclaw #5, to be precise), and laprincesasara was a Slytherin.  It was lots of fun (and I got hit on by a relatively cute guy.  I gave him my phone number, but he hasn't called yet.  Sadness :(.)  And at the end, we got the book, which I won't say much about, cuz I don't want to spoil anyone, but man, it was WONDERFUL.  Everyone should go and read it now *nods*.  But here are our pictures of the launch party.



And finally, I got my hair cut today.  I had been growing it out, but I got sick of it, so I chopped it off again.  It's not exactly the hairstyle I was intending (and dude, I brought in a freaking picture, so I don't understand how he screwed it up), but I think it's still pretty cute.  So if you wanna see it, clicky below.



So, yeah.  That's all, really.  I think we're going to go see <i>Transformers</i> tonight; that is, if we haven't fallen asleep by the time the movie starts.  And then we're going to see <i>The Lion King</i> (the play) tomorrow at the Fox, which should be fabulous.  I saw it when I was in London, but I'm really looking forward to seeing it again.  Good times, noodle salad :).

Because floridapeaches is an amazing enabler, and I am weak...here is the Three Things Meme :).

( Meme-age )

So, RL is completely sucking liek woah for me right now, but I got to go home early today (yay!), and so I figured I'd go do something fun. And the first bit of fun is the seven songs meme, snagged from both floridapeaches  and dahliablue .

And now, more fun stuff. Because I am an idiot, I have signed up for two challenges: SPN Harlequin and reel_spn.  I have a good handle on my Harlequin fic (more on that later, but I'm having some trouble with my reel_spn fic.  So if you're interested in my plot babbling, click on :).

So, I went down to Ft. Worth to see Jensen in A Few Good Men on Saturday, and all I can say is it was incredible. Honestly, the whole day was. We flew in at 9:30 on Saturday to Dallas-Love Field, drove to Ft. Worth and checked into our hotel, and then I talked some with other fangirls. Then laprincesasara and I went to the Kimbell Art Museum, which was neat but v. small. I got a cool art print, though, so it wasn't all a bust. Then we hung out at the pool for an hour, where I got horribly sunburned (fair skin is a bitch), and got ready to see Jensen. But first, there was the meet-up at the Ol' South Pancake House (conveniently located within walking distance of our hotel), which was v. cool, and then...to Casa Manana (and the substantive part of this post.)

( A Few Good Men Review )

( After the show )

And now that I've rambled on and on...( pictures! )

So, yeah...that was it. It was wonderful! I really am so glad I got to meet all you amazing people! You made this trip one of the best ever, really. Well...you and the oregano, of course :).

So, I haven't posted in ages and ages, but I just *had* to squee about this! As of today, I am officially going to go see Jensen in A Few Good Men!!!! (OMG SQUEE ELEVENTYONE!!!) Flight was booked on Saturday, as soon as I realized this wasn't a joke--that Jensen was actually going to be doing live theater--and I called Casa Manana first thing this morning and got tickets. They're not exceptionally close, but they're dead center. And, of course, I completely plan to lurk (lurk cutely, and not in a stalker-y way! You know, in a way that doesn't suggest that I flew 3 hours down to Ft. Worth just to see this man doing this play :)) at the stage door after the show, because eek, I might actually get to meet him, and EEEE! Have I mentioned I'm excited?? It's JENSEN ACKLES. Doing AARON SORKIN. JENSEN AND SORKIN!! The two loves of my life!! Together!! EEE!!! Ok, ok (pauses to breathe), I'm done now. But...SQUEE!!!

laprincesasara had the night off, so she and I were sitting in my bedroom, watching Supernatural, when she says to me, "Do you want tea?" And I said of course! So Sara trots off to our kitchen, turns on the burner, and wanders back. A few minutes later, there's this hissing, crackling sound, and this smell of burning. I look at Sara and say, "What's that?" Sara goes over to the stove and looks at the burners. I say, "Smells like something's burning," and Sara says, "That's cuz I turned on the wrong burner." As she says this, I glance over in time to see the pan that Sara had made her grilled cheese sandwiches on this evening catch fire. Or more precisely, the plastic spatula that was sitting on the pan. Oh, I love the smell of burning plastic in the evening. And this was not a small fire, either; the pan was ablaze! Sara very calmly moves the pan off the stove, causing the burner itself to catch alight. At this, I hop off the bed and rush over, just in time for the smoke alarm to go off. Sara is moving very calmly around in the kitchen, so I rush over to our patio door and open it, then flick on the fan. Sara dumps a cup of water on the burner, neatly dousing the 4-inch high flames, and I grab a box and start waving it under the smoke alarm, hoping to hell the smoke detector is not actually connected to the fire department, cuz it's been going off for a good minute by now, and I *really* don't want to explain to the firemen that my roommate caught the stove on fires while making tea. The smoke alarm finally stops chirping, and Sara and I look at each other across the smoldering stove, then burst into hysterical laughter, before we both started choking on the plastic-y smoke. Sara told me later that her first thought on realizing the kitchen was, you know, ON FIRE was not, Oh no! The kitchen's on fire! but Kate is so going to laugh at me for this! Which I did. Just so you know. As for the aftermath, well, the pan's a bust, as is my spatula, and possibly that burner, but we're all still alive, and apparently unharmed from the plastic fumes. Fun times!

Just wanted to show off my new lj style, with my new moodtheme and stuff. I got the style from moveablehistory and the theme from staranis, and I think they are both quite wonderful. And very fitting for my new obsession. Speaking of, I'm working on a story... the first story I've written in God knows how long (actually, it was like 2 years ago, and for NCIS). It's a SPN/NCIS crossover, which will probably end up being gen, but I'm toying with Tony/Gibbs or Tony/Dean (cuz dude, can you ever have too much smartass in a pairing? I think not!). While I ship the wincest, I'm not sure I could write it, and esp not adding the other cast of characters in. At any rate, I have a couple hundred words written already, and I'm probably going to post it here as I write it for feedback. I want it actually finished before I post it anywhere else, because it's looking to be big, and I don't want to leave the story hanging (I'm very bad at that). But hey, laprincesasara and I have pretty much plotted the whole thing out, so maybe it'll go smooth. I hope so! I haven't written anything big since junior year and my SG fic.

Otherwise, things are very blah. Work is sucking (so horribly busy), I'm not ready for it to be Thanksgiving (and then almost Christmas, and by extension, my 25 birthday [a quarter century! w00t!]), and I'm fighting off a cold. But the good part about Thanksgiving is days off work, so maybe I can recoup then. And I bought new flannel sheets for my bed and they are so cute. And I'm getting a good start on my quilt, which i will post pics of later. But for now, I must go watch Eric Brady clips of Days, b/c hey, it's Jensen Ackles!

And I feel like sharing! So this morning, I got up way early (for me, at any rate) (6:00! It was still mostly dark!!), and I did some work from home, and then I got ready to go in to the office. Being the messy person that I am, my favorite shoes are all in a pile by the door. So I walked over, saw the ones I wanted, and shoved my feet into them, then headed out. Or so I thought. I'm wandering around the office, saying hello to my coworkers, and one of them (a guy, no less), says, "Kate, honey, did you get dressed in the dark?" And I'm like... "uh?" And so, suddenly freaking out that I had some huge stain on the back of my shirt, or a pair of pantyhose (or worse, panties!) stuck to the back of my skirt, I start looking around my body like a fiend, and I notice... I'm wearing two completely different shoes. Like, not even the slightest bit similar, except they had the same heel height, and they were sandals, which is why I didn't notice. Of course, Bruce says this loud enough that all the other coworkers notice, and they come by to stare at my mismatched feet. Utterly embarrassed, I escape to my cube and take my shoes off, hiding them deep enough in the bowels of my desk that no one can see. And when lunchtime came around, I escaped back to my apartment and, you know, got shoes that matched. And then I felt free to walk around my office. So go me! I mean, seriously, who doesn't notice they're wearing completely different shoes (besides me, obviously... and probably willowshimmer, since she once walked all the way from the top floor at Kennedy-Newman *without* shoes and didn't notice. But yeah... I'm embarrassed :).

So, laprincesasara and I are (mostly) moved in to our apartment. It's quite beautiful and I love it muchly. My room is simply the most gorgeous shade of blue, and I can't wait to start stenciling and painting the bathroom and such. However, that must wait until I unpack, which is less than fun. Honestly, I'm not sure which is worse: packing stuff in the first place or then having to unpack it. And of course, to top it off, work's been kicking my ass. 5 books in the copyedit stage = unhappy Kate. But hey, it's Thursday! Once I get through today, only one more day of work, and then yay! Weekend! I'm working catching up with emails and such, so anyone who's emailed me who hasn't heard from me will by Saturday (don't you all feel lucky?). And... yeah. So I'll end with a quiz gacked from nuinzillen, cuz hey, I like my results. Who *doesn't* want to be the Dread Pirate Roberts? Much better than silly old Buttercup. *sigh* Wesley was wasted on her...

You scored as Dread Pirate Roberts. Letting people thing you are a billy bad ass keeps you in business but when it comes down to it, you'll do the right thing every time. You are a good person at heart and just can't help being the hero. </td> Dread Pirate Roberts 75% Mary Read 67% Captain Jack Sparrow 58% Captain James T. Hook 58% Morgan Adams 50% Will Turner 33% Black Beard 25% Sinbad 25% Long John Silvers 25% Captain Barbosa 17% What kind of Pirate are you? created with QuizFarm.com

I am in Kentucky, visiting the wonderful, charming, gorgeous rurouniangel. We went to Woodford Reserve, which was absolutely beautiful, but I have decided I do not like bourbon. However, I do like bourbon balls, so... not all was lost! Then, we headed back home and bummed around, and finally we went to see the Lexington Legends play baseball. So much fun! And #8 of the opposing team (the Greenboro Grasshoppers) was v. cute. I approved. Then they had fireworks afterward. Lots of real fireworks. It was cool. And then we were going to have margaritas and watch tv, but Oscar (who seems to be v. aptly named "Oscar the Destroyer," managed to knock over one of the margarita glasses we'd bought specifically for that purpose. Oh, you gotta love cats, no? But I think we're going to drink margaritas anyway. The pursuit of drunkeness should not be avoided simply because your utensils are missing! Carry on, and I shall hopefully update again from the lovely Lexington!

Hi, flist! So, I need help. Rather desperately, actually. I don't know how many of you read Supernatural fanfiction, but if you do, and you read Wincest, you might be able to help me. I was reading a whole bunch of fics the other night, and I forgot to bookmark the page I was on, and there's this story I really want to read again, and I can't find it now.

The plot is basically this. Sam and Dean are together (from a previous story, or a previous chapter, I can't remember), and Dean gets a call from Cassie. She needs help, so Dean makes them pick up and go. It turns out Cassie really doesn't need help, she just wants to get back together with Dean, but Dean is oblivious to this. Sam, however, is not, so he stays in the motel, and then he gets angry and walks out, leaving a note for Dean, who goes to find him, and then they have semi-public, seriously hot sex. After, of course, angsting and jealousy on Sam's part, and an admission that Sam's the only one Dean wants on Dean's.

Please, please, please... if you've read this fic and know its name or where it's hosted, please let me know. I've been obsessing over this fic and I cannot find it for the life of me. Even if all you know is a community that I can ask to help me find the fic, please let me know. And if you help me, I'll...bake you cookies! And write fic for you! And many other things!

Thanks in advance!

So, I know it's been like, years, since I've updated, and lots of stuff's been happening, but I'm not going to talk about that. I just had to let this out. I JUST MET DAVE BARRY!!! He came to St. Louis for a book signing, and EEEEEE, he was awesome! He's written a set of children's books with Ridley Pearson, so almost everyone there had a kid with him or her, but I didn't care. He's my favorite author. So they did a reading, and it was great. They dressed up, and took turns reading, and were so funny. He's just as hilarious in person as he is in his columns. And he signed my books!!! And he took a picture with me!! I don't have the picture yet, but... can I get a squee?!?!?! I was such a dork, though. I suck at talking to people I really admire. So I shook his hand, and said something really dumb, like, "It's a pleasure to meet you! I'm a huge fan." But eeeeeeeee! I touched his hand!!! And yeah!!! WOW!

For anyone who's interested, here's my autograph.

This is from the grown-up book I bought, so that I'd have something from him that I wouldn't give to my kids when they get old enough to read.
( Cut to spare the uninterested )

I was tagged by nuinzillen and so here it is:

20. I'm trying to grow out my hair.

19. I have my very own book now (Engineering Ethics). W00t!

18. I love living on my own.

17. I'm addicted to the Food Network Channel.

16. I think the Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina is indicative of what's wrong with this administration.

15. People who don't vote or pay attention to politics (at least on the local level, people!) annoy me.

14. I think I might have found "The One."

13. I like to tango with my cat.

12. I'm my Dad's favorite.

11. I'm going to get another kitten to keep Phoebe company.

10. I hate my body.

09. If I don't get married, I think I could enjoy being an eccentric cat lady.

08. I make a mean tortellini and chicken in red pepper cream sauce.

07. I recently discovered that the newly re-released Berry Blue KoolAid is not as good as I remembered it.

06. I am a closet nerd.

05. I love Aaron Sorkin.

04. And Joss Whedon.

03. I miss school.

02. I recently got poison ivy, and am apparently extremely allergic to said plant.

01. I'm going to Hawaii this summer!!


And I tag... willowshimmer, [Bad username: aradia_dawn0814>, <lj user=], and brynna82.