Wow, I've had this LJ for twelve and a half years.

Current Mood: amused

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Raise a Glass to Freedom (Something They Can Never Take Away)
Welp. The Russian government is now legally able to monitor our LJs, due to the server move to Russia, so. *waves at Russian government dudes/ladies* 'Sup, y'all? Not that I actually think Russia cares about a nobody like me, but you never know.

I believe that I have up to date contact info on all my friends here, but drop me an email if you need to update, on the off chance that my liberalness gets my account deleted or something. *waves giant flag of liberalness around cheerfully*

Current Mood: sick

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Happy Birthday to Me
Twenty-six. Insert joke about getting old [here].

I took the day off from work, hung out with my cats, and started a solo Mice and Mystics campaign. And now I have more books and music, and cat- and book-themed clothing, and I ate pie. So a good day in all.

Current Mood: tired

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2016 In Review

Fandom 2016

1. Your main fandom of the year?
Hamilton, probably. (Saw it in October. Had chills through the whole show.)

2. Your favorite film watched this year?
Probably Moana, though the new Ghostbusters was also pretty rad.

3. Your favorite book read this year?
After much hemmingand hawing, I think I've narrowed it down to three favorites, espcially if I'm not counting rereads. The Fifth Seasonby N.K. Jemisin, Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan Mcguire,and A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman.

4. Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
Hamilton soundtrack, I guess. I've been pretty big into musical soundtracks lately.

5. Your favorite TV show of the year?
Jessica Jones! Really messed up, but really really good!~

6. Your favorite online fandom community of the year?
Idk. I'm not really involved in a lot of fandoms right now. The American Revolution folks over on Tumblr are always churning out some interesting analyses, and I did Yuletide again this year.

7. Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
Spider Gwen! Young Wizards! The Vorkosigan books!

8. Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
Marvel has apparently decided to take Ganke and make him Peter Parker's best friend instead of Miles Morales'? Wtf Marvel? We see your half-assed attempts at diversity and we are NOT IMPRESSED. The world doesn't need another Peter Parker Spiderman movie, Marvel. You should've given us Miles, not taken his sidekick and smooshed him into the wrong spot.

9. Your TV boyfriend of the year?
This is a very odd question.

10. Your TV girlfriend of the year?
This is also a very odd question.

11. Your biggest squee moment of the year?
Seeing Hamilton!

12. The most missed of your old fandoms?
I miss when Peacewish posted Card Captor Sakura AUs. Those were the best.

13. The fandom you haven’t tried yet, but want to?
I have a massive stack of books to read, does that count?

14. Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year?
Reading that stack of books.

***

General 2016

What did you do in 2016 that you’d never done before?
Voted for a woman for President. Saw a Broadway show actually on Broadway.

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions,and will you make more for next year?
Nah, I always thought resolutions were dumb. New Years is pretty arbitrary, you know.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
aldecoary did! As did my cousin. Neither of these people are physically close, though, so I have no tiny humans to cuddle. :(

Did anyone close to you die?
No. Though I was pretty devastated when we lost Carrie Fisher.

What countries did you visit?
I didn't do any traveling this year, except for the annual trip to Belmar.

What would you like to have in 2017 that you lacked in 2016?
Free time.

What dates from 2016 will remain etched upon your memory,and why?
October 15th (Hamilton). November 9th (election).

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Meh. Nothing special.

What was your biggest failure?
No, my personal life was pretty average, no major failures or accomplishments that I recall. My country fucked up big time, though.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Well yeah, but so what else is new?

What was the best thing you bought?
Hamilton tickets. RENT tickets. BOOKS!

Whose behavior merited celebration?
A lot of excellent activists.

Whose behavior made you appalledand depressed?
The American people as a wholeand everything associated with our clusterfuck election outcome.

Where did most of your money go?
School.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Hamilton.

What song will always remind you of 2016?
This isn't a thing for me. Do people really have songs that they associate with certain years?

Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? Sadder.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner, actually. I guess that's an accomplishment.
c) richer or poorer? 'Bout the same.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Reading. Writing. Sleeping. Hanging out with people.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastinating on stuff that is important. Like I'm doing right now. (I should be going to sleep, I have work in the morning,and a 10 hour shift at that.)
(At this point, I actually logged offand finished this thing later.)

Did you fall in love in 2016?
Nope.

What was your favorite TV program?
You already asked me this one lol.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Anyone I hate now was also worth hating this time last year, so if I didn't, it's simply because I didn't know about them.

What was the best book you read?
These must originally have been three different things, since there's overlap in the questions.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Nothing really new, tbh.

What did you want and get?
Hamilton and RENT tickets. Lotsa books.

What did you want and not get?
A female president. More sleep. Independent wealth.

What was your favorite film of this year?
Repeat question! I'll add Rogue Onein to what I said above, though as much as I liked it, I have a few issues. Not gonna bother getting into that now, but feel free to ask if you care.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I worked a half day at work (didn't have enough vacation time to take it fully off)and ate pie and opened presents. Mostly books. :D

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A different election outcome. Carrie Fisher, Leonard Cohen,and Ron Glass not dying.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2016?
Whatever-I-pulled-out-of-the-drawer-chic.

What kept you sane?
My psychiatrist.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I do not fancy people.

What political issue stirred you the most?
Gee, I wonder.

Who did you miss?
Old friends.

Who was the best new person you met?
Nah, man, I'm a recluse, I don't meet new people.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2016:
Nazis suck. I mean I already knew that, but now they're trying to take over my country.  So the lesson is, "Nazis suck and also stil exist, wtf."

Quote a song that sums up your year:
Should the quotation sum up my year, or the whole song? Uhh... "How do you stay on your feet when on every street it's trick-or-treat, and tonight it's trick!" It's just been a sucky year.

***

Writing 2016

Fanfiction:
Natsume's Book of Friends: " Bodyguard (carry me, carry you)" (1932 words)
Hamilton:"Another Round Again" (3864 words, wip)

Original Fiction:
"Fray" (3967 words)

School Essays etc
"Depictions of Mental Illness in Edgar Allan Poe’s Short Stories" (~5700 words)
"The Fly's Blue Buzzing: Sensesand Synesthesia in Emily Dickinson’s Lifeand Poetry" (~2700 words)
and a number of short responses that I'm not going to bother figuring out the word count for

Total:~18163 words
Could be worse.

***

And for a bonus, Books 2016, since Goodreads is kind of enough to assemble that for me: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2016/48754347

Current Mood: tired

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Scrivener
Scrivener's a blessing. I don't need to write 15+ pages about Edgar Allan Poe, I just need to write, like, three pages about "The Fall of the House of Usher." And then do that again x many times until I have the completed paper. Bite sized pieces om nom nom.

I got my Yuletide rough draft done, too.

Current Mood: productive

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#NotMyPresident
They're putting Nazis in the White House.

Look, I'm not going to claim the White House is some sort of sacred ground. It's had evil men in it before. It's had evil things done in it before.

But it's a symbol, and more importantly, it's not just the White House, it's my government. For the People, by the People.

And there will be Nazis there.

And I am so scared.

Current Mood: angry

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powerless

I can't seem to stop crying.

One part heartbreak. I really thought we were going to elect our first woman president. I really honestly thought that was going to happen.

One part fear. Not for me so much. I'm white and middle class. I'll be okay. But I'm terrified for every minority group in this country.

One part shame. My state went blue, we did all we could, but. But. I am so ashamed of my countrymen. Oh god, I'm so sorry.

And one part, to be honest, disgust. That man's voice hurts my ears. He's vulgar and crude. He's a criminal. He looks like a moldy dorito. And we have to spend the next four years pretending that he deserves to be in the same position as Washington and Roosevelt and Obama (all flawed men to be sure, but I'd take any one of them a thousand times over instead of this).

Today for grief. Tomorrow for strength. We've survived bad presidents before. Sometimes with devastating consequences. But we go on. And we never give up, never give in. And we'll get through it in the end.

Current Mood: nauseated

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One Year of Book Data


Books I've read in a year, publication date vs when I read it. Handy Goodreads feature.

That's Sei Shōnagon at the bottom there mucking up my curve.

Current Mood: sick

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I still can't keep track of the difference between an em-dash and an en-dash.

Current Mood: tired

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So, ah. Life, it's a thing that keeps on going. I need a break.

Currently most excited about booksand things. I:

Finally finished reading Fullmetal Alchemist! Yeah, late to the party as usual. I stopped buying them when they were still being released because cliffhangers upset me,and then I never got around to catching up until I was browsing the dealer's room at Connecticon. It's so good! I'd forgotten how much I loved Mustangand Hawkeye.

Am reading Rebeccaby Daphne du Maurier! Absolutely gorgeous imagery. I want to slap both the leads upside the head.

Am watching Serial Experiment Lain! It's an anime I've never heard of before today, made all the way back in 1998. It's weeeeeeeeird.

Am reading Last Song Before Nightby Ilana C. Myer! It's... good? I guess? Interesting plot, but I feel disconnected from it. The characters don't feel alive to me, y'know? But I'm almost done with it.

Am watching Daredevil! Matt Murdock is a dork.

Am reading A Wizard Abroadby Diane Duane! Holy shit, guys, how did I not read this series as a kid? Actually, I think most of its awesomeness might have gone over my head as a kid. But rest assured, it's awesome.

Am technically playing Dishonoredand The TALOS Principle, in that I haven't beaten either but intend to finish both. Only I have no time for video games right now. I'm never taking a summer class again.

Am reading Across the Wallby Garth Nix! Are you reading for the Goldenhandrelease? Because I am SO ready for Goldenhand.

Am petting Jackie the cat! She just jumped into my lap.

Am reading Alexander Hamiltonby Ron Chernow! *om noms delicious Revolutionary American history*

Also an Edgar Allen Poe anthologyand the Franklin collection of Emily Dickinson's poems.

Phew! *wipes forehead* I'm not usually juggling this much media at once. It's a huge list for me. But I cheered myself up just by writing it all downand saying some things about it.

Also hello, this is Jackie the cat, she loves me.

Current Mood: tired

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WHY DON'T THEY TEACH ABOUT DWARF PLANETS IN SCHOOL WTF??? WE LEARNED ALL ABOUT THE PLANETS AND THEIR MOONS BUT NOT THE ALMOST-PLANETS THAT ARE EVEN CLOSER THAN SOME PLANETS???? But I've never even heard of Ceres, Eris, or Makemake. I mean, I guess there's like, hundreds of them, so you can't expect fourth graders to memorize them all, but going over the important ones and mentioning how many there are right in our solar system is a thing that should happen.

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an abbreviated list of things
An abbreviated list of things:

• got an A in my first grad school class
• bills suck
• getting up at six in the morning to go to work sucks
• books are awesome
• been catching up on some of the new Marvel shows, can't wait to get to Jessica Jones (saving the best for last!)
• I rate the new Star Wars movie as vastly better than the prequels, but not quite as good as the originals. I like the new characters (but I miss Mara Jade)
• cats are awesome
• surgery is not awesome
• I like sleep

Current Mood: tired

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Newflash
This just in: abdominal surgery sucks.

(I'm fine, just uncomfortable.)

Current Mood: uncomfortable

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Hamilton!
*slaps hands on table* Guess who has tickets to Broadway? I DO! Well, ticket. It's just me going. And it's not 'til next October, because Hamilton was sold out like whoa. But yes, I'm going. Very excited.

Current Mood: excited

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Goodreads
Hey y'all, I got a Goodreads account. I'm Shycat there! Add me if you have one. Check it out to see what I'm reading and stuff. Idk, it just seemed like high time I got one.

Current Mood: busy

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TO THE LIBRARY!!
*bounces up and down excitedly* Yuletide, Yuletide, Yuletide! *om noms over assignment*

Speaking of assignments! I have three more essays to write this semester! One is due this week; I get to rant about the patriarchy write a scholarly discourse on one of our readings from last week. Should be better than the last one (which I got an A on, but it still wasn't my best paper).

Oh, hey, on that note, I figured something out recently: Allegories go over my head. It's not that I can't understand them, I just need someone to take me by the hand and be like, "No, really, Aslan is Jesus," and then I go "Ohhhhhhhh, I see!" (Or in this case, "The narrator is actually a character in the story and "Wakefield" is way less dull if you keep that in mind.) I read texts very literally. Aslan is a magical kitty; "Wakefield" is really boring. And then I learn more, and that's cool, but I don't see it by myself.

...And "Wakefield" is still boring, just so we're clear. It's just not quite as bad as I thought. "Rappaccini's Daughter" 4ever.

Anyway! This weekend, I'm heading TO THE LIBRARY!



Where I will be researching peer reviewed critical analyses of ~some book I haven't decided on yet~. Probably by Ursula K. Le Guin, since her books have been around long enough to have peer reviewed articles written about them and also are a genre I actually like, as opposed to most of the things my classmates are writing about. (I say this not to demean my classmates, who know way more about stuff like Chaucer than I do. Rather, I'm just clarifying that if a wizard didn't do it or a spaceship wasn't involved or they weren't being chased by zombies, then I'm probably not interested. This is obviously an exaggeration, because I love a lot of books that don't have wizards or spaceships or zombies, but you get what I mean.)

(Oh man, book about a wizard on a spaceship who's being chased by zombies would be the best.)

Anyway, I had an epic duel (okay no, it was a pleasant conversation) with my prof. We talked about things like, "Okay, but there's nothing in JSTOR on N.K. Jemisin" (him) and, "Okay, but you don't want me to be bored, right?" (me). And the end result is I'm going to be up to my elbows in research this weekend, but that's cool, I like research. And we will both be happy in the end! After I write two essays on my findings, anyway.

Current Mood: chipper

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The Symbolic Order of IDGAF
Tryin' to write this essay. Wishing I'd signed up for a different week because "Wakefield" is just about the most boring short story ever. I could've done a structuralist analysis of "Rappaccini's Daughter," but nooooo, I had pick the psychoanalytic week, because psychology is interesting, so therefore it must be interesting to apply it to literary theory, right? WRONG.

Current Mood: bored

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spooky!

OCTOBER IS HERE. LET THE MONTH OF HALLOWEEN BEGIN.

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booksbooksbooks? no books, sad :(
Two of my very favorite authors are going to be in the same bookstore signing books in a few weeks! Unfortunately, this bookstore is >2500 miles away from me. Woe and misery.

Current Mood: envious

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Belmar!

I once again come before you to complain that I don't feel well.  It seems like half the posts I make these days are along those lines.  Ah, well, it's something to talk about, at least.

A couple of weeks ago, we took our annual trip to the Jersey Shore.  Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

((nts tired casdandra ribr work))

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