( LoM One Shots )

( 5 Things/Times Fics )

( LoM/Meat Crossover AU series )

( The Kept Man AU series )


( Steady As She Goes AU series )

"Something is wrong," Snoopy said to Woodstock as he sat at his typewriter one day. "I've been writing for such a long time, and I'm not famous yet. I think it's time to write something really important. I just wish I could think of something really important."

So, I didn't leave me house all weekend because of the snow, but I did manage to get some stuff done...

1) Watched District 9 and Misery. And can I just say Misery is awesome? Yes, I know it came out 20 years ago, but it spoke to both my rational writer side and my completely schizo writer side. Now I see why Kathy Bates won the Oscar. I didn't find it as suspenseful as I should have, probably because I already knew a lot about what happened in the film through classes and pop culture. Still, that didn't make the hobbling scene any less freaky.

2) Finished my help_haiti  fic. I did let it distract me from any other writing I should have been doing, but I'm glad it's done. I didn't get to Starbucks at all because of the snow, so the fact that I was able to write at home is a win for me. This next weekend looks to be snow free, so I should be able to get out and get some more writing done. The week after I'll be on the cruise and, while I'll take some writing stuff with me, I don't foresee getting much done.

3) Cleaned out my closet and dresser. I needed to do a good fleecing of the wardrobe, as both my closet and dresser drawers was stuffed full of clothes I haven't worn in ages. Example - I picked out a skirt that I knew I hadn't worn in awhile, and decided to donate it. In the back pocket, I found the memorial pamplet for my grandmother's funeral. My grandma died in 2004. That's only, oh, six years ago now? In the end, I got three bags filled with clothes, including 39 t-shirts. Yeah, 39. And I still have 3 drawers full of t-shirts, not to mention ones hanging in my closet. I wear a lot of t-shirts.

Now I have to go back to work tomorrow. Ah well. There's supposed to be another snow storm this Tuesday night into Wednesday. Just what we need - more snow.

Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet is the greatest show in the whole world. It's 2 hours of puppies running around a mini-field. There are long-haired hamsters running the blimp and bunny cheerleaders.

Let me just reiterate - two hours of puppies playing. That's it.

Greatest. Show. Ever.

-I did the #1 song on your birthday meme, and ended up with a Phil Collins song. So, I thought I'd see what the #1 song was on the UK charts, hoping I'd have better luck, and...it was a different Phil Collins song. Curse you Phil Collins!

-Also on a random, semi-related birthday note, I'm the same age as the Dairy Queen Blizzard. I went to DQ today because I was a craving a Nerds Blizzard - the best Blizzard that has ever existed in the history of Blizzards - only to discover that it's been discontinued. It was a serious "WTF? You've destroyed my childhood!" moment. I found an official DQ blog and posted a comment regarding my disappointment. I don't plan on going back to DQ anytime soon. Not, that my decision will have any impact of DQ and it's not like they care, but still, at least I've said my piece.

-I only need to see 3 more movies and I'll have seen all 10 of the Best Picture nominees - The Hurt Locker and A Serious Man (both of which are available on DVD and are next up on my Netflix Queue), and An Education, or as I keep calling it, that movie with the girl from the "Blink" ep of DW. That's now playing at a load of theaters around me, so I should finally be able to see it. Mom and I might try to make it out Sunday, if we're dug out from all the snow we're getting right now.

-I am snowed in. Tonight, I finally watched District 9. Tomorrow, I'll try and catch up on the million other things I've been meaning to watch.

-Thinking of all the paperwork I need to do for grad school has been giving me headaches, and I haven't even received any of the paperwork yet. I keep forgetting about all the fun things I'll get to do once I'm back, like the Spaced-theme party I'll be hosting with culf . I need to keep remembering the fun stuff.

-New trailer for the last film I worked on is out. If I purposely stop focusing on the details of each of the locations that are shown in the clip, it looks pretty awesome. When you see stuff in person, it's sometimes hard to imagine how it will possibly look "real" when it's shown on screen. I don't have that type of artistic vision to be a director. I'll leave that to the other torture twin.

-It's 1:21am. I should go to bed.

In an effort not to be overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork, both financial and visa-related, that I'll need to trawl through the next few months thanks to getting into grad school, (wait, I thought that was supposed to be the hard, time consuming part?) I decided to start stuff right away. I finished my tax return (yay for getting money back!) and also, very important, reapplied for FAFSA federal student loans. It was actually a lot easier to do that application this time around as opposed to undergrad when I was still a dependent and had to register all of my parents' financial information. This time, I'm an "independent" student. Yay!

I also looked into some scholarships, and, like with high school, there are very few that I qualify for. Come on, scholarship people, can't young, female writers from PA get any financial love? I will apply for Kingston's postgraduate scholarship which would get me about $6000 towards tuition, but I need to do more research to see if there are any others I can apply for. And I did look through about 30+ today. And one was most certainly a cult and not a legitimate institution.

I'm still awaiting my packet from Kingston, so until I have all those papers, other than applying for FAFSA, there's not much else I can do right now. I have figured out I'll need to apply for a visa as a Tier 4 adult student, but I can't do that until I have my Kingston paperwork either.

There's a lot of paperwork.

I've started a binder. It has dividers with pockets!

Also, almost finished with my help_haiti  fic for space_oddity_75 . I need to write 1-2 scenes yet. It's your standard Sam!trauma, blood loss, h/c, Sam-Gene buddy cop with possible dying!Sam and unhealthy obsessions with paperwork fic. Needless to say, I'm enjoying writing it.

Thanks for coming back. I love how you make my brain hurt. I can't believe this is the end, though. I don't know how I'll say goodbye. We've had so many good times together. Like my family calling me in college to make sure I was alright after you had Charlie hanged and nearly killed. Or the time when I was studying abroad and watching you on my computer, and then yelled at my roommates who were trying to speak to me while I was in the middle of watching you. Or the time when I was in Cannes during the fourth season finale and I managed to resist reading any spoilers, then went into shock after seeing "Not Penny's Boat" scribbled on his palm in Sharpie. Please, if this is the end, let's make a good one.

And now for something completely different, I heard back from one grad school. I guess it won't matter what the other three say because the school I heard back from was Kingston. Accepted to their Creative Writing & Publishing MA program. That sob you heard was the universe crying, because culf  and I will be flatmates by September of this year. That's 7 months from now. It should give you plenty of time to prepare your fall out shelters.

For instance, like what pair of shoes to wear to an interview. Ugh. I'm currently sporting heart-shaped blisters on the balls of my feet, and my back is not happy about how I had to walk in those shoes, either. Now Mom keeps telling me I should just throw the shoes out, but I won't be throwing away a pair of good-shape leather boots, and I don't even care about fashion! They're just not the sort of shoes I should have worn for, well, walking. They're the kind of shoes you put on once you get someplace when you'll just be standing around drinking cocktails and gorging yourself on appetizers. Not that do that ever, either.

I'm going to try to sleep it off, and hopefully they'll have decreased in size by the morning. At least sneakers are comfortable to wear, or I'd be screwed for work tomorrow.

Oh, and I finally upgraded to a paid account thanks to a holiday coupon from ducky_one ! I haven't found time to add any new icons, though. I should get around to doing that.

Finally got a copy of DWM Issue 416. I didn't know it was going to include a giant poster of the Wilf/Doctor/Master image on the cover. Score.

Also, I know I'm in full-on-keep-me-away-from-people writer mode when, upon entering a grocery store, I tell myself, "If I make it out of here without killing anyone, I'll consider that a win," and see nothing unusual about that statement.

Now, back to reading. Halfway through.

I have two days (more like 1.5 now) to read a 342 page book. We'll see how that goes.

Not that I have to read the book at all. I just think it will look good if I do.

I'm so happy! I lost my mitten on Monday which was very upsetting as it was half of my favorite pair of mittens that I got in NYC in college, the kind that are part glove that turn into mittens, but I found it today at work! The mitten was very cold from being outside for nearly four days, but was otherwise unharmed. This just proves how good 2010 is going to be. If this had been 2009, the mitten would have been lost forever.

Got an extra hour of sleep this morning, which was nice, as I didn't have to be into work until 10am. The fax machine is still broken mainly because (I believe) the doc is too stubborn/cheap to have professionals come out and fix it. All the faxes we send/receive are electronic, so they go through the computer system. He believes he's a computer genius and that he can solve any problem himself. But, that seems like a typical man thing, doesn't it? I know my dad was the same away.

Anyway, got out of work around 12:30pm, and then Mom and I went to see The Blind Side. It was decent. Your typical feel good inspirational movie. Sandra Bullock was awesome, however, and I can see why she's being nominated for so many awards. I also got District 9 from Netflix today, so I'll hopefully have a chance to watch it this weekend, along with (500) Days of Summer which is still sitting on top of our TV.

After the movie, we took Mom's computer to Best Buy because it hasn't been able to do any Windows Updates. Turns out something in Windows is corrupted and we'll have to reinstall Windows in order to fix it. It's not an urgent problem, though, as the computer runs perfectly fine. So, we're going to wait until after tax season is over (since she has all the TurboTax stuff loaded on her laptop), and then we'll go about fixing it. (As for my taxes, all I need is my W-2 from Best Buy and I'll be all set. I should be getting a nice return, most of which will be going directly into savings. A small portion is going to be used to get Microsoft Home & Office as I really do need to get real Word and Excel, instead of dealing with these crap Microsoft Works programs.)

Our technological errands weren't done at Best Buy, though, because we needed to go to the Verizon store so my mom could get a new phone. Her old one kept shutting off sporadically, which was probably a battery issue but she was overdue for an upgrade anyway. She ended up getting a Blackberry herself, the new Tour, and so far she's enjoying it. She wanted something with a real QWERTY keyboard that could also be used abroad if needed. Thankfully, the store wasn't busy so it didn't take us too long to sort out the activation and all.

Two more days until the weekend. I'm very tempted to make time for Starbucks on Friday as I couldn't get there today. I'm itching to do some writing.

And I have an interview Monday. Can't say anything else, but keep your fingers crossed that "urine in a bag" incidents won't be an issue much longer.

Oh, and I bought Snakes on a Plane. I couldn't help it! It was only $4.99! I justified it by using some of my weekly Starbucks money and paying cash for it. As long as I didn't have to put it on a credit card, it wasn't a waste of money, right?

Or maybe I just don't like people staring at me. I mean, this old woman this morning, she just kept staring at me. Then she ignored everything the doc was saying and said how I had a "very pleasant face" and how I was lovely person, when all I had done was ask her if she was here for fasting blood work. Really, all I could think of while she was talking was "looks can be deceiving" and also how much I torture fictional characters. She also then said how nice it was that I had dreams, and I'm not sure if that was meant to be a compliment or an insult.

Meh. It was probably just me. I was in a very writerly "I don't feel like talking to anyone or being noticed just leave me to myself" sort of mood today, which is fine when I'm not at work, but not so good when I am. Tomorrow should be better. I only work a little bit in the morning. Then, Mom and I are going to see The Blind Side so we can cross another film off the list, and we'll also take her computer to Best Buy and get her a new phone at the Verizon store. Don't know if I'll have time to make it Starbucks. Probably not, but it would be nice.

No word on any grad schools, yet. I hate this limbo period. At least with undergrad I knew the envelopes would be arriving on April 1st, as none of the schools I applied to did rolling admissions. I know it won't be at least until next month until I maybe hear anything, but I still keep opening the mailbox hoping something will be there. I'd like to know all these plans I'm making won't be for nought.

Can anyone point me to a good non-fiction book that chronicles post-WWII life in the UK? Preferably with a focus on the years between 1945 and Queen Elizabeth II's coronation? It's actually not for a fic, but for a psychological horror screenplay I want to write.

Thanks in advance!

So I went to Borders today to look for a new notebook. Unfortunately they had no plain page notebooks. I mean, come on, does every single notebook have to have ruled pages?? Is it so much to ask for a standard size notebook without pink fuzzy flowers on the cover and has plain pages on the inside? Apparently it is.

Anyway, as I was having a minor, internal writer's hissy fit over this development, I accidentally walked past some DVDs. This is the conversation that went on in my head between the "For" side of my brain that wanted to buy said DVD and the "Against" side that did not.

...

( I should be committed... )
...

And I'll be going to Barnes & Noble tomorrow to check out their selection of notebooks. They keep the DVDs in a totally separate, walled-off area. I should be okay.

12:15 - Harry's obedience class

2pm - Call a man about a job

2:30ish - Starbucks! To work on screenplay #5 and a Puck/Kurt fic for culf.

Post-Starbucks - Borders to look for a new Notes for Screenplays notebook (my last, purchased 6.5 years ago for my very first screenplay class is now filled *sniff* I love that notebook)

Post-Borders - Possibly go shoe shopping (blurgh) with my mom because she has coupons

Post-possible shoe shopping - Watch Inglourious Basterds with mom and dad, because no one brings the family together like Tarantino

Today, I was handed a Ziplock bag filled with urine. Not urine in a plastic container which was then placed into a plastic baggy. Oh no.

Just a bag. Of urine.

We didn't even ask the patient for a specimen. She brought it with her in case we would need it because she "can't perform on demand." Also, as she handed it over, she kindly told us that the bag had started to leak.

Did I mention I'm applying to graduate school?

So since I only work until about noon on Wednesdays and my mom was laid off (aside: Don't worry! This is a great thing. The company's been failing and she's wanted to leave for ages, but was going to stay there until her employers finally couldn't afford her and then she could sign up for unemployment. She's having so much fun being away from work, she's happier, and she's even cooking! She made a roast! My mom does not cook nor does she make a roast)...

Anyway, we decided to have a double feature movie day since there are still a bunch of movies we need to see before Oscar night. A theater about 35 minutes away was playing the Tom Ford directorial debut A Single Man and also Up in the Air, so we decided to go see those. We saw Up in the Air first and I adored it. It really is a fantastic movie. Then we took a break and got some lunch/dinner at IHOP (yay all you can eat pancakes!) and then went back to see A Single Man. Very impressive for a directorial debut and Colin Firth was brilliant. Though half the time I kept thinking, "it's Ozymandias!" because Matthew Goode is in it and the other half of the time I was going, "Kid from 'Skins!' Wearing a really fuzzy sweater to indicate that he's gay!" Still a good movie, if more than a tad depressing.

I've now seen 7 movies on the list of 25. We have (500) Days of Summer and Inglourious Basterds from Netflix and next week we're thinking of doing another double movie day since Crazy Heart is going into wide release. We have to wait and see what the times are when the new schedules are released on Friday.

Yay for filmmaking! This is my favorite time of year. Sigh.

Yay for Glee! But Avatar for Best Picture Drama? Really? Didn't they see the other movies that were nominated? And I love Ricky Gervais. I wanted more Ricky Gervais. Why did I not get more Ricky Gervais? And now I may just YouTube "Martin Scorsese, 35mm film, sex." Thanks for that image, Robert DeNiro.

Oh well. I'm never 100% happy with awards shows. But Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are hosting the Oscars. That has to be good, right? Right??

I've signed up for help_haiti  so if anyone is interested in bidding on me (that sounds so wrong) for a fic, you can do so here. I'm offering a 2000 word minimum fic of any rating, pairing, or genre in LoM.

Granted, I never liked teenagers when I was one, but certain 17-year-olds should not work in doctor's office. Like ones who talk to patients and insurance companies on the phone as if they're talking to their boyfriend. Or ones who whine that they're bored yet when given work complain they don't want to work on that, can't they be given something else to do? Or who also when given work hand it off to the overworked/swamped secretary because they don't feel like doing it and they know said overworked secretary is just so good at it.

Seriously, the girl has been there for just over a week and I want to take my fist and place it at a high rate of speed into her face. And she's only part-time. 

Now I usually don't have problems with co-workers, no matter how annoying their personality is, granted that they actually, you know, work. My biggest workplace pet peeve, and thing that will get you on my Ninja Hunting List (oh, there's a Ninja Hunting List, and you don't want to be on it; just asked the 400 extras I whipped/beat into submission), the biggest thing that will get you on that list is not doing the job you're meant to be doing, especially when the excuse is "well, I don't feel like doing this."

I know, she's 17, but still. There are mature 17-year-olds out there, aren't there? Oh, wait. It's her birthday tomorrow. She'll be 18. I only know this because she only told us approximately 7 times today after being in the office for a span of 10 minutes. After the seventh time she made that announcement I may have looked at her and said, "What? Are you afraid no one will remember?" To which she shut her mouth.

/work rant

On a more prosperous note, my Kingston application has been switched to the correct course - the Creative Writing and Publishing MA. Eep. That's the only school I'm nervous about getting into, it being my #1 choice, and (most likely) the best course for me to get a permanent job in the UK.

Pretty much everything is done now as far as applying. All I have to do is sit back and wait for the rejections decision letters to roll in.