Whoever Dances is One with the Universe

Got my Yuletide assignment yesterday. It's pretty cool and I think there is a lot of potential in it, and I think I also can do a good job with it -- certain elements of it weird me out, but the prompter gave me a lot to work with so I think I leave some things out while still giving them what they want. So I am excited!

I go home to-day for Thanksgiving, so I'll be scarce for the next week.

Linkspam!:

A presenter in my cog psych class used this page about art by autistic people in his presentation, and I thought that was pretty neat, so here is the link. It is pretty cool from both an art and a mental shenanigans standpoint. (I also ended up talking about the gender issues surrounding autism with the professor after class, which was pretty neat -- she agreed with mhari and said that autism is generally viewed as a "boy's disorder" and not something girls are supposed to get.)

Octopodes can go on land and that is totally awesome. Plus also super cute.

Although we already knew that, Ann Coulter is a maniac and I don't understaaaand, Jesus. I don't want to live on this planet any more? Liz said I should move to Canada, but I feel it is my duty to model sane Christianity for people in America.

I am currently using this programme to try and manage my issues with computer light = migraines; I've only had it downloaded for a day, so I haven't got a real clear idea of how well it works yet, but it's an interesting idea.

This tumblr exists and it is pretty pro -- Ugly Renaissance Babies.

A really interesting essay/article on why "born this way" is a bad argument for queerness.

This guy is my hero -- a devout Muslim whose faith led him to try to save the man who shot him. I heard an interview with him on NPR on Sunday -- he was really incredible. Warning: Article contains pictures of headshot.

For your webcomic organising needs, piperka is a great site for tracking updates and keeping stuff neat.

Finally, when you have just delivered a good Caruso zinger, the instant CSI. Yeahhhhh!

Tuesday's New York Times science section had an article this week on old people getting plastic surgery. That, coupled with my post from Tuesday, has led me to a rather icky discovery of something I did admittedly kind of already know. Which is that we kind of have this ideal, in America -- I don't know how it is in other cultures, having dog-paddled but never really been immersed in any other than American -- that old people are supposed to be adorable grandparents.

Old ladies are supposed to be tiny and do knitting, or fat and do baking, and old men are supposed to whittle things and dispense pithy pieces of wisdom and fix neighbourhood bikes. They're allowed to be lonely, but only so they can adopt small children as honourary grandchildren or be used to shame us generally into spending more time with our own old people. If they're bad-tempered or put their makeup on all over their faces or have to wear Attends or sag in random places, we turn them into the subjects of honestly very mean-spirited comedy.

And I'm not trying to say that everybody needs to go out and adopt some isolated nursing-home inmate, but really I think it's wrong both to idealise old age or to make fun of it. Idealising it removes us from all the problems that come with getting old and also makes it look like people who don't fit the ideal are defective -- hence, I think, things like old-person plastic surgery. I mean, Jesus Christ, this one woman in the article spent seventy-seven thou on facelifts to get rid of wrinkles and implants to cope with sagging breasts. She's eighty. At eighty, people should not have to focusing on this kind of thing. I cannot even count all the better ways to spend that money to enrich one's own life or someone else's. And at the same time this whole "lol let's as a culture shame old people and send them the message that once you are old your usefulness has ended and you should keep out of sight" thing is absolutely heinous.

The thing is, old people are just like everybody else, in that they deserve to be treated with respect. Whether they bake you apple pies and tell stories of their children, or have Alzheimer's and scream at you and refuse to bathe or -- like one old lady I visited while I was working -- have to be talked out of suicide. I've really kind of run the spectrum of old person personality types; I've had an adorable old man who wanted me to meet his cat and showed me around his house and called his wife "Mom", I've had a hilarious old lady with MS who was wheelchair-bound and showed me how to lift her from her chair to her toilet, I had an old man who was totally bedridden and with whom I communicated through really patchy hand signals, and an old lady who threatened to punch me while I was giving her her bath. And every single one of them deserved my respect and the best care I could give them, by virtue of being human beings. And I really hope that's how I've carried myself throughout this summer, and how I do for the rest of my life, because that's not just true of old people, it's true of everyone.

Which is not to say it wasn't hilarious when my one old gentleman had me burn a bonfire made of used Depends, or when Audrey (my Wednesday client) stole the dated brick from a condemned schoolhouse down the street from her apartment (actually, Audrey always does something funny when I visit. ♥ She makes me squee).

In other, non-soapboxy news, I stopped by Michael's to-day to enjoy my new and undoubtedly brief period of solvency. It's been about a whole week since I was over, so they already have about eleven-thousand new products in the scrapbooking section, and I was amazed and ... hilarified? amused is too gentle a word, I think. Hilarified to find that you can now buy adhesive metal gears and keys for your scrapbooking or cardmaking projects. At this point, I'm starting to think that 'steampunkery' should be a word in much the same way 'fuckery' is. I may start using it. "What kind of steampunkery is this?" I will say, staring in disbelief at the fact that you can now buy tiny watch faces as embellishments. They discontinued my goddamn copper pearlised dots that I use for eyes, but they've started producing tiny glitter-covered top hats and monocles that are already adhesive-backed.

Naturally I eschewed this silliness and instead managed to spend seventy-five dollars (!!!!) on scrapbook paper and cake glitter, and that embellished tape I've had my eye on for about six months now. >_>

I also went to Target and discovered that it is nearly impossible to find a black, wire-free bra in 38B. Did you know that there are a lot of black, wire-free bras in the nursing section? There are. There are a lot fewer in regular. But I got to embarrass a teenage male cashier by buying bras and underpants, and I found The Most Beautiful Scarf in the World, which I purchased because of its aesthetic qualities and also I love scarves and also it helps me pretend winter is NOW DAMMIT.

To-morrow I work at the library, and Saturday we are going to our vacation in the mountains. I look forward to sitting in the sun by the lake doing crossword puzzles and reading all day, as well as the greased-watermelon water polo that has become something of a family tradition. Also Maria's birthday! I finished her calender and everything. :D

I would say that to-day was a success.

I:

got to start watching the Illbleed Let's Play; finally got my paycheque; am not working until Wednesday; had ice cream and black raspberries; got my toenails painted rainbow by a lady at church; had a nap to-day; had a bicycle ride to-day; am planning to make cupcakes to-morrow with the fresh cherries we didn't can; got to ride in Maria's Miata; have the cutest fishies in the world; DON'T WORK UNTIL WEDNESDAY; found out strawberries can prevent/cure cancer; got a Tom Waits album from Maria's boyfriend; will sleep in to-morrow.

And it wasn't a million degrees outside, either.

Mmm, summer.

So, a little update on what's going on in Soujin-land!

1. I should be asleep right now, but I'm not; for some reason I am not sleeping very well lately, which has led to me sleeping in too late in an effort to get some sleep at all. Last night I had only had four hours, and I still was awake for an hour after turning off the lights and lying down. That's stupid. Anyway.

2. Still at mhari's! Having a good time! We are mostly just being colossal dorks with each other, although yesterday we went to the New England Aquarium and it was good times. There were lovely lovely comb jellies and a petting tank with starfish and urchins and horseshoe crabs and a skate, and ANOTHER petting tank with some really gorgeous rays -- both the round Atlantic type and these adorable cownoses, which are so sweet omg. They come right up and bonk your hands. We weren't supposed to touch their bellies, but they kept swimming over and flapping at our hands! Anyway, they have the most amazing texture -- like slightly slimy velvet. So cool. Unfortunately we had to go home before we could visit the octopus, but they had LION'S MANE JELLIES. OMG. Little tiny ones! I am used to conceiving of Lion's Manes in terms of, you know, these VAST MONSTERS with tentacles that get up to thirty feet long. It somehow never occurred to me that they might start out as wee little babbies. So that was pretty sweet.

We also saw some adorbs frogs, although the surinam toad was hiding. :(

Also, mhari bought me a blue whale plushie for my birthday. He is enormous and so soft; his name is Captain Shakespeare.

3. I got a job! I start on the twenty-third. It's caregiver work, which is great -- I basically was going to die if I had to take another horrible depressing retail job, so the fact that I get to work with people but in a useful, helpful capacity is fantastic. I'm really looking forward to starting. I don't even know what my wage is and I DON'T CARE.

4. Still haven't figured out this birthday party stuff. Mama said I could have one, but everybody's weird places at weird times and I'm really not sure if it will actually happen. :/ Not a super big deal, I guess.

5. My awesome Summer Project is coming along surprisingly nicely. I bought more stuff for it here, and I can't wait to get back to work on it.

6. Maria and I are going to rock this world this summer. We're both full-time, forty-hours-a-week employed, but we are going to make a list of all the summer films we HAVE TO SEE (like Thor, and First Class) and then DO IT. Cos we can. In between, of course, we will work our asses off and keep bees, because we're rad like that.

7. I am going to make the time to start bicycling again, gdi. I really miss getting to go on long bike rides, and Maria said she wants to start biking too, so it's going to happen. My hope is also that once I start doing something that at least looks like exercise, Mama will get off my case about being fat. THIS HAD BETTER WORK. I do not have the time to squash real exercise in on top of everything else.

8. Chiiiicks! Keeeeets! They're coming June first. I am so super excite.

9. Mama has a new bunny, I don't think I mentioned. It is dopey and very pretty and scares the hell out of the cats.

10. We might actually get internet at home this summer. This one guy up on Gamby Hill is thinking of building a reception tower because he is crazy as pants and apparently wants to be able to get internet, even though we live out in the sticks and most people are Mennonite. If this happens, the whole valley would have internet potentially, so that might actually happen. It would be pretty sweet, I have to say.

11. I am watching a playthrough on YouTube of Deadly Premonition, which is a really neat video game. Also, the guy doing the playthrough is great -- so deadpan and sarcastic and unfazed by everything that happens in the game. LOVE him.

12. That's really all atm. Basically I am busy and scattered and kind of crazy, so if there is something I should be doing with you/in general, please let me know. I'M WORKING ON IT. There are a lot of caps in my life, is what I'm saying, but I still am trying to beat the dialup into submission every night from 10 to 1, so hit me up, I will probably be around.

Although this may all be irrelevant come Saturday and the rapture. :P

Anyway, in the words of the Pope, ciao.

Oh, kittens. I swear I am going to respond to the comments left on my two previous posts, I am just terribly distractable and tired right now. So have a collection of diverting things that I have made from the internets:

1. A meme.

Pick one of my current rp characters and I will:

(a) Three facts about them from my personal fanon.
(b) A reason they're amazing.
(c) Five things that I'd like to see happen to them.
(d) Three people that I might ship that character with and why.

I'll probably do old characters, too, if you ask; I am pliable that way.

2. A tumblr.

Fuck Yeah, Benedict Cumberbatch. Oooh yeah.

3. A game.

I had sex with Oprah.

4. Photography.

Hummingbirds, it turns out, are as derpy as the rest of us.

5. A Polyvore.

This always makes me happy.

6. A fanfiction.

Raj/Howard, Big Bang Theory. Yesssss.

7. A request.

I'm almost done with a Holmes/Watson Sherlock fanfic, would anyone mind beta-reading it for me?

WARNING there is some gross stuff in this post.

The doctor at school is magic. MAGIC. She has accurately diagnosed me with half a dozen things since I came here that baffled the hospital (which is not, admittedly, a very good hospital, but still).

So I came in yesterday and went HERE ARE MY SX:

--no sense of balance
--fever
--congestion (BLOOD IN MY MUCUS WHAT EVEN)
--hot and cold flashes
--severe headache
--pain in my ears
--unbelievable spinal and neck pain
--full-body spasms

and the nurse (who is really great!) went ";___; i have no idea, here is gatorade and mucinex and come back to-morrow when the doctor is in". So I came back to-day, she listened to my list, stuck a light in my ear and went, "Yup. Thought so. Worst ear infection I've ever seen." Seriously, she's magic!

Like last semester, when I came in and was like "my whole mouth has been numb for two weeks and my tongue is coated in white stuff and nobody knows what it is" and she was like "pfff, I know a vitamin B deficiency when I see one, take B12 until it clears up" and it DID. In like TWO DAYS. because she is AMAZING.

She also found a magical yeast infection medication that I can take without having an allergic reaction, and prescribed the first thing that has ever worked for my migraines, and also always tries to make sure stuff is affordable.

I am making this post to remind myself and others that not all doctors are evil. >_>

AND NOW TO CATCH UP ON ALL THE WORK I HAVE MISSED OVER THE LAST FOUR DAYS.

So the Expo was amazing, I got SO. MUCH. X-MEN. STUFF. for reals. I also got to meet the people who do Girls with Slingshots, Doctor McNinja, Wondermark, Hark! A Vagrant, and more, and also discovered this comic, which may be the most amazing thing in the whole world.

And I got tonnes of leetle drawings from people, because I am cheap and couldn't afford actual sketches, but that's okay, because Kate Beaton drew me a squid and the Beartato man drew me a piggy. And I got all the buttons in the whole world. For srs.

Also a possible job/table-sharing offer, which is probably the coolest thing ever. :D

And my gorgeous freshman with whom I am in love just showed up and gave me an extremely plausible reason for why she stood me up Friday, so now I am not sad any more. Plus I have another freshman kidnappee who supposedly is meeting me for lunch to-day. And isjusterin drew me a picture of Stephane Lambiel as a magical zebra with wings, which I will have to upload for perculious, who has been linking me to all the Stephane fic that is awesome, which means she is awesome too.

So despite the 1.00 a.m. fire alarm last night set specifically so the R.D. could yell at the whole two buildings for vandalism done by the third floor of one, and the fact that I have had about no sleep whatsoever in the past few days, I am feelin' pretty good.

Just making this post has jinxed me, though, so expect a crisis situation by 9.00.

the_chloroplast, I am coming over to-night for accounting. BEWARE.