Days of my Life

Owies

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:43:53 GMT

I've been doing some badly needed cleaning and fixing up because people will be staying here over Christmas, and Saturday morning while I was replacing the 20-year-old shelf liner on my bathroom window with genuine privacy film, I stumbled while getting off the ladder and fell over the side of the bathtub. Luckily I got off with only a very mild bump on the head and a badly sprained wrist. Typing was out of the question Saturday and uncomfortable Sunday but is okay today. The whole back of my hand and wrist is still swollen and bruised. It could have been a lot worse. :)

Who else is going to Power Morphicon 2010? I'll be there!

Thoughts on atheism

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:43:26 GMT

Last night my neighbor knocked on my door to give me a letter that had been put in her mailbox by mistake. I remarked that it was my first Christmas card of the season, and that I really have to get moving on sending mine. She looked confused and said: "You send Christmas cards? But you told me you don't believe in God."

So, okay. I said I send out holiday cards rather than Christmas cards, strictly speaking. She gave me a knowing look and informed me that "You really believe in God, but you're just angry about something."

Whoa. That one set me back, not that I really should be surprised. One of the common stereotypes about atheists is that we've simply lost our faith; that we're mad at God for something bad that's happened to us. As with most stereotypes there's a grain of truth to the idea. Some people do 'lose' their faith due to misfortune, and in a particularly bad time of loss I certainly had angry thoughts that no self-respecting deity would allow such a cruel thing to happen. (Long after I had identified as an atheist, so nothing to do with why I'm one.) Some atheists are mad at the world and are probably motivated by defiance of their family or society or whatever. However, all atheists are no more alike than all Methodists are alike. Personally I don't believe simply because I haven't seen any credible evidence of a god, and I expect there are plenty of others with basically the same feelings.

Maybe the neighbor incident bothered me more because of other things - like my old high school friend who thinks I'm headed for hell because I don't believe in Christ. My first reaction on hearing this was both mild amusement and mild irritation, but I've realized it goes a bit deeper than that. I don't fault her for her beliefs, even though I disagree with them, but I'm not happy that this person who I was very close to in high school and have kept in touch with on and off, who likes and cares about me, is totally okay with a religion that would toss me into eternal damnation not because of my morals or my good or bad deeds in life, but simply because I don't believe in what they teach.

Oh well, these are little things from people who undoubtedly have no idea that they're hurtful and disrespectful of the beliefs of others.

Recently I've been pleased that there are now two lead characters in mainstream, very popular shows who are openly atheists. I'm talking about the title characters of House and Bones: Gregory House and Temperance Brennan. Both are not only atheists, but neither is reluctant to talk and even argue about it. Out of the closet! Both are contributing members of society who do good in the world. (I know, I know, House is not exactly a great guy, but while he's a jerk he's certainly not a villain.)

On the down side - in both cases atheism is used as a way to show a distance between the characters and the rest of the cast. House is an angry, unhappy man who often bashes the religious beliefs of others, using his intelligence as a weapon to attack their faith. (He attacks them verbally in plenty of other ways as well.) It's unfortunate that inevitably some people will see this individual behavior as typical of atheists - perhaps the same people who already think they're being persecuted because they're not allowed to hold prayer sessions in public places or keep that nasty theory of evolution out of the classroom. Bones, while a much more endearing character, is an exaggerated version of an intellectual genius who believes in logic above all, and her atheism vs Booth's faith contrasts them as Head vs Heart, logic vs instinct, etc. It's a stereotype of the atheist as intellectual lacking the imagination or social connections to believe in anything without physical proof, but as stereotypes go it's relatively harmless and not without truth in some cases.

I like both shows and both characters, although I feel like slapping House upside the head at least once per episode. While I'd like to see television atheists who aren't angry, antisocial, emotionally stunted, or over-intellectualized, I'll take House and Brennan over nothing any old day. And as for my personal life - I have way too many friends and loved ones to whom my atheism is a complete non-issue to really mind the few who care.

Happy Halloween

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:27:28 GMT

I love this delightfully cheesy poster outside a Halloween costume shop near where I work. The only one I can't identify is the second from the right. Wasp? Not - surely not Wolverine??

General updates. Yawn.

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:20:23 GMT

My foster kitty is doing pretty well. I got his teeth cleaned last week and he seems to have settled down afterwards. Since last weekend he's been getting along with the other cats, until this morning when he had a fight with Dusty. So he's spending the day shut up in the bedroom again, and I hope when I get home they're going to bury the hatchet. (Hopefully not in each other.)

Work is boring. And tedious. But I'm getting that paycheck so can't complain too hard.

I've become obsessed with modding The Sims 3. For weeks I've been trying to figure out how to modify the morphs used to make the sims fat, fit, thin, and pregnant. (Specifically to add pregnant morphs where they don't exist in the base game.) Finally, success! Took me all three days off last weekend, but I figured out the format of the morph files and wrote a program to create new ones. Now more work to package up stuff for other people to download.

The niece of one of my co-workers was murdered a couple of weeks ago, by her mother's stalker ex-boyfriend. (Anyone in the NY/NJ area may have seen this in the news.) He strangled her and then set fire to her room to cover it up, and THEN had the colossal balls to show up later and comfort the distraught mother. I kind of hope hell really exists so people like him can rot there for eternity.

Still a fangirl

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:45:36 GMT

Just when life seems dull and discouraging... shirley_chong pointed me at this. Thanks so much, Shirley, you made my day! All Dan Southworth fans should enjoy this, especially the - er - end.

http://blog.reubenlangdon.com/2009/08/time-warner-lag-commercial/

Atlantic City; new kitty

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:39:02 GMT

Atlantic City was very nice, very enjoyable. Well, except for the part where we stood on line for over an hour. Seems the Trump Taj Mahal makes you get a membership card now in order to cash in the gambling money voucher they give you, obviously with the sole purpose of getting your contact information. (The bus we took costs $37, and we get a $30 coupon for gambling money and a $5 coupon for lunch.) Except for that we had a good time, lost a little money, and C and I went to the new carnival pier and rode the Ferris wheel.

Riding through downtown Atlantic City was amazing - when I first went, probably 20 years ago, the city was a horrible slum surrounding the glittery casinos. A disturbing contrast. Now the downtown is mostly new and very nice, with a bunch of factory outlet stores and some parks and stuff. There's still some blocks here and there with burned-out buildings and XXX NUDE LIVE GIRLS, but not a whole lot.

The new diabetic cat I'm fostering arrived yesterday. His name is Salem, and he's quite friendly and very laid back considering he's been pitched into a new home and around other cats for the first time. Blood-testing and injecting him is going reasonably well - where Cyclone purred through the whole process, Salem complains but puts up with it. It'll probably get easier for both of us as we get to know each other.

Birthday Greetings

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:48:59 GMT

Happiest of birthdays to hagar_972!!!!!

I'm still here

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:47:38 GMT

Looks like I'm getting another diabetic cat - I've agreed to foster a cat whose owner can't keep him where they are now. The agreement is that she'll take him back when she has a job (she just got out of college) and gets her own place.

So on my last day of freedom from additional kitty responsibility I'm going to Atlantic City with friends. Wish me a jackpot.

Writer's Block: Don't You Forget about Me

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 11:43:38 GMT

RIP John Hughes. In honor of the master of the teen movie, what is your favorite teen flick?

View 506 Answers

I have a perverse liking for "Where the Boys Are", a classic of the fifies moral-lesson genre. And I love all the Frankie and Annette beach movies for sheer mindless fun.

Torchwood

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:51 GMT

After seeing some of the buzz around fandom and having a great fear of being spoiled, I caved and downloaded Torchwood Children of Earth. Having stayed up until after freaking 2:00 am Saturday night watching and then finishing the last two eps on Sunday morning, and after adequate time to think rationally, I can state with authority: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I thought it was masterful, most of it. Oh, there were the usual plot holes and WTF moments, and it's a little hard to believe the British Home Office would have such astoundingly bad security, and it got (IMO) a little too heavily into the angst-and-tears department, but overall I loved it. Except for...... stuff I won't spoil for. AAAGGGGGG!!!!!

Holy moley

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:17:35 GMT

Headline on CNN: "Jackson dies, almost takes Internet with him". Apparently there was so much searching for news and contacting friends and posting of tributes yesterday that Google, Twitter, Wikipedia, and AIM went down for a while, and I know LJ was down also when I first tried to post yesterday.

And I see there were online rumors that Jeff Goldblum had been killed, and Harrison Ford, both untrue, but spread like wildfire.

I guess I shouldn't even be surprised, really, but I'm a little awestruck that the death of a celebrity can impact the Internet like this.

Writer's Block: RIP Michael Jackson

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:47:31 GMT

In honor of the King of Pop: What is your favorite Michael Jackson song?

Submitted By deathbylies

View 509 Answers

There are many I really like, but I'd have to say the full version of Thriller.

Sad

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:12:03 GMT

I heard about Farrah Fawcett at lunchtime today. While I was never a fan, she was a big icon of my youth and showed considerable talent in her roles after Charlie's Angels. Sad as her death is, everyone was expecting it.

When I heard about Michael Jackson over the radio in the grocery store, it was a complete shock. I'm surprised at how upset I am. It'll make no sense to people for whom he's always been that creepy pedophile guy, but he was an amazing and charismatic talent. Whatever bad he's done, that's what I'm remembering now.

Catchup post of doom

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:20:46 GMT

Just spent the last two+ hours catching up on LJ after neglecting it for something like four days. First of all:

Happy Birthday to Estirose!
Happy Birthday to Arrow!

Better late than never, I hope.

Last weekend I went to my 40th high school reunion in Gainesville, Florida. (Yes, I'm THAT old.) It was fun... well, mostly. People were friendly. I even remembered a few of them beyond "Your name is vaguely familiar." (Graduating class of over 700 plus my shyness = I didn't know most of these people.) Spent most of my time with my two best friends from high school, and it was really nice to be with them again. Hadn't seen one of them for 30 years.

I know I'm not the only one who feels it - an odd mix of curiousity, obligation, hope, competitiveness, and utter horror at the idea of seeing those people you last knew at the age of 17. Maybe it brings back all the trauma of being a teenager (a trauma in itself) in the midst of a subculture that values physical appearances, athletic ability, and popularity over anything else, and consists of a complex of cliques and social pecking order that puts the caste system to shame.

But honestly, my high school experience wasn't exactly Armageddon. I had two best friends and several others, and many classmates I liked and who I hope liked me. By senior year I even liked most of my classes and was making good grades. I definitely wasn't one of the Cool Kids, but they left us alone. So what's the problem?

I went to the 10th reunion, and it was a LOT of fun. My BFFs K and C were there, and so were several others of my class friends, and it was nice to see them again. The 25th was another matter. K and her husband were there, but no one else I really knew. I stood around thinking about how I had nothing in common with these people anymore. This one was much better than that, even though I had stressed about having put on weight, but I was far from the only one. In fact that really wasn't on my mind at all.

I guess after 10 years or so, and certainly by 40 years, you're deep into the "What have I done with my life compared to everyone else" thing. Now, I think I've done fine, most of the time, but... It's kind of hard to look at the list of the class of '69 and see virtually everyone has married and most have kids, and here I am having done neither. (I was also a bit surprised at how many people bluntly asked me if I'd married and/or had kids, and at even C asking why I hadn't married my college boyfriend.)

There was also an uncomfortable moment or two after religion came up in the conversation and I mentioned that I'm an atheist. C is very religious, and now is sure I'm never going to heaven. While this shouldn't bother me, it does. I guess I don't understand why my friend should be fine with the idea that I'm supposedly destined for hell because I don't accept Jesus as my personal savior, never mind whether I'm a good, moral person or not.

Oh well. Not worth getting into an argument about, and to her credit she didn't say anything to me directly.

So. I arrived home last Sunday, and on Monday the shit started to really hit the fan at work regarding massive changes coming up. I haven't said much here, but I've been spending a lot of time on our impending move to another floor in our building, along with a move from our own locally run IT network to a centralized and much more regulated network. Let me just say, WE WILL BE ASSIMILATED. The people in charge of this project appear to be astonished by my whining about whether we'll actually be able to do our work under the new system.

Wednesday was my day off, and I spent two hours on a conference call from home. Argg.

Then, to make things perfect, Wednesday evening I came down with another cold/flu/whatever with fever, runny nose, sneezing, etc. Took Friday off and refuse to even look at my work email until tomorrow.

And I think I'm addicted to Sims 3.

All of which is kind of a long-winded explanation for why I haven't been around much.

Happy Birthday

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:59:36 GMT

To my first friend in fandom,
to one of the first writers in Power Rangers fandom,
and still one of the best writers in Power Rangers fandom,
to a wonderful author,
a force in the fandom,
a great friend,
and a terrific person:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, germankitty!!!!!

Question for my FL

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:13:57 GMT

I'm toying (rather seriously) with the idea of getting a personal domain and using it for a permanent email address that won't be affected by my ISP or a hosting site going out of business or not providing POP3 service. Since I suffered total brain-freeze trying to decide whether to go with .org or .net or .me or .name (which seems hard to register for some reason), or .us or WHATEVER, I thought I'd ask if anyone out there has done this (I seem to remember someone mentioning it) and if you have any advice or suggestions.

Thanks!

Birthday Greetings!

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:01:10 GMT

New Hampshire is yay!

California is fail! (Well, for now.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, starandrea!

Title: A Walk in the Park (You’ll never know how much I wanted to call this “Dog Day Afternoon”.)
Fandom: Power Rangers Time Force
Descriptors: Fluff, slash, Wes/Eric, puppy!
Summary: Eric had decided months ago he would never have another pet. Sometimes life has other ideas.
Rating: PG-ish

A/N: This is a request fic done for StarAndrea. Happy Birthday, Star! Assume my ‘Red Fire’ series as background, with this taking place several years after Wes has moved into Eric’s house.

A Walk in the Park

“What the hell is that?” Eric exclaimed, astonishment struggling with outrage at the spectacle of a small, furry object in the middle of his formerly clean living room carpeting. It seemed to be mostly white and tan - under a few layers of dirt - all floppy ears, bright eyes, and a pink tongue. The situation was only made worse by the fact that Wes was teasing it by holding a pen over its head while the creature tried to jump high enough to grab it, emitting a series of shrill yips.

“Haven’t you ever seen a puppy before?” Wes countered.

“Not in my house. Not on my rug. Where did it come from?”

“She was wandering out by the highway; I saw her on my way home.” Wes glanced up, looking a little defensive. “I couldn’t just leave her there; she might have gotten hit by a car or something. And I couldn’t take her to the pound; she’d be miserable locked up in a little cage.” Wes tickled the puppy under the chin, resulting in it flopping on its back wriggling in delight. “Wouldn’t you be? Yes you would!”

“Well, it can’t stay here.”

“Just for a few days? I’ll call the papers and run a lost dog ad, and I’ll put up signs around where I found her.”

“What if the owner doesn’t show up?”

“Then I’ll find her a home.” Wes got to his feet and came to Eric, sliding his arms around his waist and nuzzling his neck in the way he knew Eric couldn’t resist. “Pleeeaaase? For me?”

“Well...” Eric already knew he was defeated, even as he glanced down to find the puppy at his feet looking up eagerly. It was kind of cute, not that he’d ever say that. “As long as the little drooler doesn’t pee on anything.”

“Don’t worry!” Wes stepped back with a brilliant grin and headed for the door. “I’m going to go buy a leash and a bowl and food and training pads and a brush and whatever right now!”

“And some dog soap! First thing you’re going to do is give it a bath!”

“Yes, sir! Watch her for a few minutes, okay?” The words trailed behind Wes as he disappeared out the front door.

“Geez.” Eric sat down on the couch and eyed the puppy warily. He pointed a finger at it. “If you need to go, don’t,” he warned. “No shedding, no barking, no jumping on the bed, and no more getting my carpet dirty. Are we clear?” The puppy took a few steps closer, sat up, and licked his finger. Eric took it as a yes.

- - -

“Cut it out, Wes,” Eric mumbled sleepily, “Can’tcha see I’m trying to sleep...” But when he pushed a hand in the direction of the tongue swiping his jaw it encountered soft fur instead of skin. He opened his eyes to see a small doggie face looming over his with an expression that seemed almost like laughter. Eric propped himself up on one elbow and glared. “Thought I said no jumping on the bed,” he growled.

“Let her stay; she’s lonely,” Wes mumbled drowsily, curling one arm around the dog. With a smug look it settled down in the space between them.

“Great.” Didn’t seem worth the effort to get up, carry it out of the bedroom, and close the door. Besides, it was already closing its eyes and going to sleep. No point in risking listening to barking all night. “No peeing,” he muttered, just in case, and lay back down. As he was starting to drift off, the puppy squirmed a little closer and laid her head on his arm.

- - -

“What kind of dog do you think she is?” Wes asked the next morning over breakfast.

Eric paused for a sip of coffee as he glanced over to where the puppy was gobbling her own meal, as much dog food landing on the floor as in her stomach. “A sloppy one?”

“If I’m going to put this lost dog ad in the paper, I need to describe her. Got a book on dog breeds last night too, but I haven’t had much time to look. What color would you say she is?”

Eric considered that. “Hmm. I guess white and tan with a little black.”

“Maybe she’s golden retriever mixed with something. Maybe collie. What do you think?”

“I don’t know.” Eric stared at the puppy again. “Probably hard to tell with a puppy, anyway. How do you even know it’s a she?”

“Just look under her tail.”

Eric made a face. “No thanks, I’m really not into dog butts. I’ll take your word for it.”

All he got was the hint of a smile before Wes looked at his watch. “Getting late, gotta go.” Wes got up and bent to pat the dog on the head. “Be good, now,” he said cheerfully. On the way to the kitchen door he paused to kiss Eric’s cheek and then ruffled his hair. “You too!”

“Watch the hair,” Eric grumbled. As he got up he aimed his best intimidating look at the puppy, who unfortunately had her head buried in the food bowl. “If you think I’m going to be a pushover like Wes, forget it. Remember our rules. There better not be any stains on the carpet when I get home.”

- - -

Eric inspected the spotless carpeting suspiciously when he returned that evening. If there had been any accidents, Wes had managed to clean them up. Or had he? “Hmmm...” he muttered, running a finger over the surface of a bookcase shelf and then taking a closer look at the top of the television. “The furniture’s been dusted. The carpet’s been vacuumed. Your pile of stuff on the coffee table’s been straightened up.” He shot an accusing look at Wes. “Philips was here, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah.” Wes was unrepentant. “Someone had to feed her and walk her while we were at work, and Philips loves dogs, so...”

“Huh. But he can’t do it every day.”

“I can rearrange my schedule and come home for lunch, and let her out in the yard for half an hour. Days I can’t make it, I’ll call Alice next door and she can come over between classes. I already talked to her, and she still has our keys from before. She’s an animal lover too, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” Eric realized he was frowning at the reminder of his now-deceased birds which Alice had sometimes fed, and looked away. “Seems like a lot of trouble to go to.”

“It’s only for a few days, remember?” As Eric found himself frowning again, Wes stopped rubbing the puppy’s stomach and picked up one of the small army of toys he had bought the day before. “C’mon, doggie! Fetch!” he said, shaking it in midair. When he threw it the puppy took off, tearing madly across the room, almost knocking over an end table, yelping with excitement as the toy bounced off the far wall, and sliding across the tiles of the small entrance hallway in pursuit. Wes was almost doubled over laughing when she reappeared with the toy in her mouth and a look of triumph on her face.

It was almost enough to make Eric smile. Almost. “That’s just great. Take it outside, willya?” he muttered, sat on the couch, and hid behind the newspaper.

- - -

Eric spent the next five days reminding himself that he didn’t want a pet. They had no room, no time, no energy, no space in their lives for a pet. Whether it was a dog or a cat or a fish - or a bird - all they did was eat and break things and lie around and make noise, anyway. Useless, no matter how cute and friendly and affectionate they were, no matter how much he was starting to get used to a warm body that wasn’t Wes’s on their bed, no matter how much she had starting worming her way into the routine of their daily lives.

And that was what seemed to be the main problem: the disruption of his routine, the day the crisis came.

Eric looked up at the quick rap on his office door at Bio-Lab, already expecting to see Wes’s face as it opened. His partner was in the uniform that suited him so well, red beret a little off-center, his expression serious.

“I’m heading out to the shopping mall,” he said without preamble. “A store robbery, and the owner wants us to investigate along with the police.”

“Need help?” Eric started to get to his feet.

“No. I’ll call for backup if I need it. This may take a while, though.” Wes hesitated for a moment. “Look - I won’t be able to make it home at lunchtime. Philips is busy with some party Dad’s having and Alice is spending the day with a friend. Could you run home and walk the dog?”

“What? Wes, I’ve got more important things to do than watch a dog take a dump.”

“I know; I’m sorry. It’s just one time. Can you do it?”

“Okay. I guess I can grab lunch while I’m there,” Eric agreed reluctantly.

“Great!” Wes’s face lit up with a smile that eased at least some of Eric’s annoyance. “Can you walk her around the block or something if you have time? I’m worried she’s not getting enough exercise in the yard.”

“All right, all right. Go.” Eric sighed as his door closed again. Pets. More trouble than they’re worth.

She was waiting when he walked in, tail wagging eagerly. Eric frowned down at her and spoke a sharp “Down!” when she started to jump up on his legs. To his pleased surprise she stopped and sat, tail swishing back and forth over the floor. “Good dog. With a little training, maybe you wouldn’t be such a pest.” But that training would be up to her owner, or whoever adopted her, he reminded himself, ignoring the little twinge of regret that came along with the thought.

Eric put down the puppy’s food and fresh water before making a sandwich for himself. Her table manners were better; she managed to drop only a few bits of food on the floor. Another improvement. “You’re making progress. Don’t blow it by begging for human food,” he advised her when she sat next to his chair, looking up with a plaintive expression worthy of a dog that hadn’t eaten in days. After finishing his sandwich (except for the slice of chicken he ended up giving to the puppy) Eric sighed and continued, “I guess you have to go for a walk now, huh?”

The puppy wagged her tail, ears lifting at the word ‘walk’.

Again inwardly impressed by her intelligence, Eric let a smile slip before finding the leash and snapping it on the collar Wes had gotten for her. With the puppy frisking around his feet he left the house and paused when they reached the sidewalk. “So, where to?” he asked his companion. Wes had said something about exercise. A run in the park would be a lot better than just a walk. It was only a few blocks away, and he still had half an hour before he had to get back to work.

“Fetch! C’mon, what kind of dog doesn’t know how to fetch?” Eric grumbled ten minutes later, for the fifth time picking up the fallen branch he had tossed a few yards, only to see the puppy run madly after it, grab it, and then just drop it. “It’s a very simple principle. Just bring the damn branch back. Let’s try it again.”

This time she picked it up and turned to face him, tail wagging furiously. After a little coaxing she started back to him before dropping the branch.

“Better,” Eric said. “But you’re going to have to try harder.” He walked over to her and picked it up, shaking it enticingly over her head. “Now focus. You can do it. Fetch!”

He threw it farther this time, and his aim was off - the branch sailed into the bushes at the edge of the clearing they were in. The puppy yipped and charged after it, disappearing from sight. He could hear her, rustling around - then a bark - then nothing.

More nothing, as Eric became acutely aware that she was off the leash and not yet trained to come when he called. They were reasonably far from the street, but she could move pretty fast. What if she got lost and ran into traffic? What if she wandered off and he couldn’t find her? She didn’t even have a tag on her damn collar... A vision of Wes walking into a puppyless house flashed before him - worse visions of the puppy lost and frightened, of hours and days searching... This was all Wes’s fault for bringing the dog home in the first place... No, it was the puppy’s fault for being stupid... But it was his own fault for letting her off the leash, and throwing the damn stick where he couldn’t see her going after it...

“Dog!” he called, hurrying into the bushes. “Here, dog! Puppy! Get your furry butt over here right now!” Why hadn’t they given her a name so he wouldn’t sound like an idiot calling her? He even resorted to “Here, doggie!” before spotting something moving in the underbrush. Eric started in that direction, stopping with a sigh of relief as the puppy trotted into view and ran to his feet with the branch firmly in her mouth and a triumphant sparkle in her eyes.

- - -

It was late when Wes finally made it home. He opened the front door, all his thoughts of dinner, relaxation, and bed dissolving at the sound of Eric’s voice coming from the living room. Quietly he moved to where he could see inside, grinning at the sight of Eric standing at one side of the room pointing a finger at the puppy, who sat on the other side brightly listening to him like a student with a teacher.

“Okay, you’ve almost got it,” Eric informed her. “Let’s try again. Dora, come!”

The puppy jumped up eagerly and ran to him, quickly gulping down the treat he held out to her.

“Good dog!” Eric stepped back from her. “Now, stay!”

She took a step after him, nosing at his hand.

“Sorry, kid, no. Stay! Sit, stay!” Eric bent and pushed her rear end down.

This time the puppy stayed put, shifting her weight from one front paw to the other impatiently, as Eric backed away from her.

“Good dog! Your sitting needs work, though. Now come, Dora!”

Another joyful jump up and a dash across the room. This time Wes almost chuckled aloud as she got her treat - and promptly sat down as if trying to anticipate the next command. Eric knelt and patted her head, his expression softening into an affectionate smile.

Wes leaned against the doorframe, content to just watch for a moment. It wasn’t often he saw the warmer, softer side of his partner. It happened, of course - he had no doubts or complaints about the strength of Eric’s feelings for him, even if he rarely showed them in any obvious way. Still, it was nice to see that part of Eric that loved animals and children (even if he would never admit it) and felt compassion for the weak and helpless.

Wes wasn’t sure when he’d started hoping something like this would happen - it hadn’t been the moment he brought the puppy home, but very soon afterwards, or maybe the hope had grown as he’d become fond of her. It wasn’t just for the puppy’s sake, either. The loss of his birds from old age within days of each other, only a few months ago, had hit Eric hard. He hadn’t shown it, of course, beyond becoming unusually quiet for a few weeks and throwing himself into work more than ever, and a curt “No more pets” when Wes had suggested getting a cat or another bird.

But now - maybe things had changed. Maybe fate had given them a gift that evening when Wes had spotted a little white, tan, and black form sitting forlorn by the roadside. Speaking of gifts...

“Dora?” he asked.

Eric glanced up with a look that clearly said both that he was well aware of Wes’s presence and that he dared him to make anything of what he had seen. “Yeah. About time she had a name. We can change it if you don’t like it.”

“No, I like it a lot. So you’re training her?”

“Yeah. About time for that, too. And she probably needs shots. And a tag for her collar.” Eric paused, a hint of tension in the lines of his shoulders. “Have you heard anything from the lost dog ad?” he asked, too casually.

“No, nothing.”

“Been almost a week.”

“Yeah.”

“If anyone’s looking for her, they would have called by now.”

“Yeah, they should have.”

“So I guess there’s no point in running it again.”

“No point at all.”

“Pretty hard to find a home for a dog too. A good home, anyway.”

“Yeah, it is.”

“I’m not handing her over to someone who won’t take care of her.”

“Of course not.”

“So...”

“So...?”

Eric shot him a look. “So, what do you suggest we do?”

“I dunno.” Wes hid a grin and shrugged. “I guess we have to keep her.”

Only the hint of a smirk broke the cool of Eric’s face as he replied, “Well, if you insist.”

Writer's Block: Call Me

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:22:05 GMT

Do you still use a landline at home, or do you rely completely on your cell phone?

View 502 Answers

I rely on my cellphone, but am thinking of switching to either cable phone or a cheaper plan. I have to carry a Blackberry for work now and don't want or need to have TWO cellphones on me, and leaving it at home to use like a regular phone is a waste of money.

DW invites

Mon, 25 May 2009 17:00:22 GMT

I have ~~two~~ ~~one~~ no Dreamwidth invite codes if anyone wants them - just ask.

Both taken!

lilyleia78 tells me she has two unused codes as well. Contact her either directly or through me if you're interested.

More random thoughtage

Sun, 24 May 2009 13:17:29 GMT

My cat Dusty is doing excellently, and had his stitches out yesterday. All is well for now on the kitty front, despite the fact that during his recovery I managed to accidentally drug the wrong cat with painkiller. She was so funny - sat on the fridge staring into space until I lifted her down, and then looked around wildly like "Where am I? Who am I?"

Dick Cheney. Sorry, dude - while you make excellent points about terrorist imprisonment and interrogation and I agree with at least some of what you say, all that self-righteous indignation over the word 'torture' just makes you a colossal hypocrite. Call it 'enhanced interrogation' all you want; we know what it really is.

RPM: I like this season more and more. It's got a subtly more adult perspective and a lot of self-awareness, like Ninja Storm did. LOVED the "Why do we have to scream 'RPM GET IN GEAR' every time we morph?" and "What's with the fiery explosions?" Similarly, in Brother's Keeper I loved Ziggy's speech to a mind-controlled Dillon: "Your deep and true feelings of friendship for me are keeping you from hurting me, even under evil mind-control! I knew - ARGG!" as Dillon threw him across the room. Awesome. Plus Dr. K's bunny slippers made the ep perfect.

And I'm writing a Wes/Eric/puppy OTP for starandrea. Life is good.

Dreamwidth account

Sun, 17 May 2009 13:53:54 GMT

I've ~~become a sheep~~ branched out to Dreamwidth. Anything I post here will be crossposted on LJ for the foreseeable future. Account name is cmar - nice to get exactly the name I wanted!

some bad stuff, but very good news for Dusty

Sat, 09 May 2009 15:27:28 GMT

This morning has gone from a low to a big high! First, Dusty is the WORST patient ever when it comes to medication. Well, I shouldn't say that - before the operation he would gulp down his treats with a pill hidden inside, no problem. Now his appetite is off and he's probably not feeling so good, so he'll eat only a couple of treats and spit out the pill half the time. I tried pilling him and we had a horrible session Friday morning ending with the pills half disintegrated and sticking to my fingers and Dusty in misery. So I got the same meds in liquid form - he HATES them, foams and drools all over, and fights like I'm trying to kill him: not the best thing after major surgery. After this morning's struggle he hardly ate any breakfast, threw up, and is still growling at me.

After speaking to both regular vet and surgeon, only three meds are really essential and two of them are very tiny pills, so I'm going to do my best. No more major struggles, though, it's too stressful for both of us.

And now the good part - the biopsies are back and THEY ARE ALL BENIGN. No cancer, no chemo, after he heals up he should be fine. What a relief!

THANK YOU so much to everyone who sent good wishes to both of us - I guess they worked!

Kitty troubles again

Fri, 08 May 2009 12:37:23 GMT

It's been a stressful few weeks for us - my cat Dusty came home from the hospital yesterday after major surgery.

The last time I posted about Dusty, he had just had dental cleaning cancelled because his blood wasn't clotting normally and x-rays showed some abnormalities. On my vet's advice I took him to a vet specialist clinic for an ultrasound. All the things from the x-rays turned out to be okay, but they found a mass in one of his adrenal glands, two masses in his duodenum (between the stomach and intestines) and a node in his liver. They did another blood test for adrenal function and advised surgery. Monday his adrenal gland was removed, the intestinal masses were biopsied (they're in a location where removal is very difficult and risky) and the liver node was removed. He recovered well despite some heart problems and came home last night.

So this morning he's eating well, not a normal amount but getting there. I have to give him SIX different medications now, and he won't gulp his treats with a pill in them anymore, so ARGG. At least the pain meds can stop soon, and the others after one to two weeks.

The next thing to worry about is the biopsy results, which might come as early as today. It's obviously likely he has cancer, which may or may not be treatable. My regular vet called a couple of days ago just to talk about how I was feeling, which was so nice it almost made me cry.

"Get well" and "Get hungry" vibes for Dusty would be appreciated!

Flu; it's not just for swine

Fri, 01 May 2009 12:44:07 GMT

VP Joe Biden's remarks on the Matt Lauer show:

"I would tell members of my family - and I have - I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now. It's not going to Mexico, it's you're in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation, suggesting they ride the subway. So from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation."

A stupid thing for a politician to say, certainly, and totally over the top by basically advocating not traveling because of about 100 cases of flu nationwide (about half of them right here in NYC) and sadly one death. Overall swine flu seems no worse than any other kind except that it's hitting in the spring instead of waiting for winter like any other self-respecting virus.

(I was amused by the after-foot-in-mouth backtracking, which was particularly stupid - he meant don't travel if you're sick. He meant don't ride the subway in Mexico.)

But - beyond the ~~drama queen~~ overreaction, he's absolutely right. Airplanes with their recirculated air and subways with thousands of people packed into a small space and holding onto the same poles are both excellent ways to catch a disease. Modern travel in general is spreading disease in ways it never could a couple of hundred years ago. I'm not crazy about riding the subway either, more because of colds than flu, but it's just one of the risks we take in daily life - and a lot less of a risk than getting in a car every day.

Amazon, you're doing it wrong

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:42:24 GMT

Amazon has pulled sales rankings from an assortment of books because of their adult content. Which would be okay with me except that a disproportionate number of those books happen to be GLBT themed - many obviously dropped for that reason only since they don't have any adult content. Meanwhile, Laurell K. Hamilton's ~~porn~~ literary efforts go unmolested. Hmm.

More here, and thanks to itsbuttery for passing the link along.