Salmonier Nature Park

Posted on June 5, 2014 by tag0

Yes, I’m posting! Yay! 😉

I don’t know whether I mentioned this or not – I might have only mentioned it on the tagAught blog – but I’m currently in a program run by Eastern Health (the section of the Newfoundland health system that covers the eastern part of the island) where I live in a house with housemates for about a year or so, learning the life skills that I lack (for which we have a life skills instructor), and then move on to an apartment. It’s a carefully regulated program, and it’s already started making a difference for me. (The only thing is that I go back to my parents’ on the weekend, because otherwise Imber and I would miss each other two much – no pets are allowed in the house, because of potential allergies and potential issues with cleanup.)

Anyway, our current life skills instructor made the suggestion that we might want to take the occasional outing as a house (AKA her and our housemates), just to have some interesting things happen and bond as housemates. So a rec budget is being set up, but in the meantime, since our current life skills instructor is leaving at the end of this week, she suggested we go somewhere free. So yesterday, we took off to Salmonier Nature Park, which is an educational centre and a wildlife rehabilitation park. They take in wild animals who are injured, most of whom are native to Newfoundland and Labrador (I say “most” because moose are not actually native here; they were imported by a British governor in 1912 who was looking for a hunting challenge), and help them. If they’re able to be fully healed, they are then released back into the wild where they are found; if they’re too damaged to survive in the wild, but still able to live they’re placed in the park; and if they’re way too damaged, they’re put down.

Salmonier Nature Park is about an hour’s drive from St. John’s, with no gravel roads (except the short driveway/entrance to the park), and the walk around the rehabilitation area (which is actually only a small part of the park itself) takes about an hour as well. It was a pleasant drive out, and despite the threat of light rain, we only got sprinkled on a tiny bit as we were walking through (despite having to drive through a short downpour on our way there!). While we were going through, I took pictures of every animal we managed to see with my cell phone. *grins*

To read the details of our visit, continue on!

New Year: 2014

Posted on January 5, 2014 by tag0

So, it’s the new year. Happy 2014, everyone!

And yes, I know – I haven’t updated since the end of November. There are a few reasons for this.

See reasons, and blog stats!

General Update; and AO3

Posted on August 26, 2013 by tag0

Been a while, huh? Well, couple of things to update.

First of all, unfortunately, didn’t complete Camp NNWM in July, either; ended up getting sick (again) and couldn’t focus. The fact that it was hot out (see my rant about heat and thermoregulation on my Other Blog) didn’t help in the least. I did get a bit more written, but not much. Oh well, it’s still an improvement over what I had at the beginning of the month.

Have spent the last two months mostly suffering from the heat, unfortunately, but things are getting a bit better (it’s been cooling down a bit). I’m kind of hoping it will stay at the mild temperatures for the next couple of months; that would be good!

Have started getting a bit of exercise; using Mom’s treadmill for 20 minutes three times a week (I’m up to covering a mile). That should help somewhat with the depression.

And I now have my fanfics available on Archive of Our Own (as well as fanfiction.net)! So if anyone doesn’t care to use FFNet, then I now have them available for you to look at on AO3! The link (aside from being in the first sentence of this paragraph) is also on my link page.

‘Later, all!

😉 tag0

Autism Positivity Day 2013

Posted on April 28, 2013 by tag0

Tuesday April 30, 2013 is Autism Positivity Day 2013 (read about it from the link). I will be posting my own flash blog entry on My Other Blog, but I wanted to notify as many people as possible about it, and I think I’ll either re-blog my entry here, or I’ll at least post a link to it.

Check out the plans!

😉 tag0

Welcome: New Blog Site

Posted on April 21, 2013 by tag0

First of all, welcome, everyone, to the new site for tag’s Haven. I’d like to thank you all for following me here. Please, feel free to subscribe to my posts – the link is in the sidebar, just under my recent posts.

For those who are new and have followed a link here, Be Welcome! This is the blog where I talk about my life in general, moan and vent about the weather, and pre-publish my fanfic to get comments on it in order to improve it further before it goes to FFNet and tag’s Library for the wide world to see. 😉 (If you want to see the fanfic I’ve put up, links to all of it are available through the Fanfic page, as well as a bit of a summary.)

Over the next little while I’m going to be wandering around the ‘Net, changing the URLs of my blog everywhere I’ve put it up. But there is news, for anyone interested… see below. (Also, question re fic. Sorry, RK fans, not quite ready for updates yet, but have been reviewing and doing a bit more writing….)

Continue for more about me, my family, and fic….

Back to Work!

Posted on October 6, 2009 by tag0

My legs are better, and I’m back to work!

Just a quick post to celebrate that I’m back to work!

Doing the afternoon/evening shift this week, and I’m off on Monday, so I’m probably doing this shift again next week. Not giving up hope for going back to my overnight shift, though!

😉 tag0

Dragon Cave

Posted on June 26, 2009 by tag0

Well, I’ve given in to the temptation and joined DragCave.

Check out My Scroll and click on my eggs to keep them alive and encourage hatching, please!

😉 tag0

Art, 3D Graphics and Digital Art Community

Posted on June 1, 2009 by tag0

It’s been a busy few months, but none have been as busy as the last couple of weeks. I’m not only going through a “Workplace Essential Skills Program”, to help me find and land a job (I’m looking for an admin job, having worked as such in education and telecommunication), but I’ve also started putting a vague interest in 3D graphic design and digital art into practice.

I started with a program called Dundjinni, to develop maps for myself for my writing (and help friends by creating maps for their writing!). That led me to a 3D graphics program called DAZ Studio, which in turn led me to a huge digital art community.

And they’re great! I’ve got a free account at a site called Renderosity Art Community (see also the link in the sidebar), and I’ve got a gallery on there to which I can upload images I’ve created and photographs I’ve taken. One a day for the free account – but that’s fine.

In fact, my new default Userpic (see above/to the side) is taken from a self-portrait I did of myself and my cats (Aspen and Imber); the entire image – and one like it, as of this afternoon – is available on my Renderosity gallery (search “tag0”, or email me for the direct link).

I’m in love! *grin*

May end up posting more frequently now that I’m going to be having art as well as stories to get up. Which reminds me that I really need to get some more writing done…. *rueful grin*

Chat to you all later!

😉 tag0

Health Situation: Sigh of Relief (& Gen. Update)

Posted on January 26, 2009 by tag0

Well, things are finally at a partially settled state regarding my health (ref: Major Update from August). We’ve got a diagnosis (accuracy somewhat uncertain), and I’ve found out today that I am receiving Long-Term Disability (something which has kept me on financial tenterhooks since my short-term ran out in the end of December). Thus the aforementioned sigh of relief. *g* (And I’ll also be seeing my Mom’s doctor in three weeks – the one who helped so much last year – so we’ll see what happens with that re the diagnosis….)

Partially because of this, December and January have been fairly hectic. I’m finally receiving physiotherapy (for the legs as well as the hand and a few other issues), and am taking advantage of the fact that the physio office I go to also has massage therapy available. (Boy, has it done wonders already, and I’ve only just had my third massage….) So things are starting to look up.

Going to Costa Rica in 2 weeks, 2 days (counting down? Who, me? *innocent halo*), for four weeks, so looking forward to that.

Other than that… well, in terms of fic, Saiyuki and my origfic NaNo novel are currently fighting over my brain, and a friend and I are going to be doing a NaNo of two during February (Feb. 1 to Mar. 2), during which I’ll be working on the sequel to Search and Rescue. Luckily during NaNowriMo in November, I reached the point where I could write about 500 words in 20 minutes to half an hour, so I’ll just be writing for a couple of hours each day. (And several during my flight down to Costa Rica! *g*)

Later, all!
😉 tag0

Major Update

Posted on August 29, 2008 by tag0

Lots of changes since my last post.

– We now know what’s wrong with my hand (ref: Ugh. Hand Is A Problem. from April). I’ve got a frayed ligament in the wrist. So splint, zinc tablets, and rest.

– Secondly – remember my absence from LJ last summer, when I had trouble walking and the final diagnosis was nerve damage? Well, guess what happened to me the early morning of June 24th. Same symptoms (except for no physical shakiness) – but it’s not the same diagnosis. I’ve had a brain & spine MRI, an electromyograph (AKA nerve conduction test), a chest x-ray, some blood tests, spent 5 days in hospital getting this done… and no one knows what’s wrong. And it’s not got any better. So as of today I’m back on short-term disability, since there’s no way I could respond with any speed in an emergency (I can’t even attempt running), which is a major part of a security officer’s mandate. *heavy sigh*

– Mitzy, my elderly but still active Burmese inherited from my youngest siblings, was put to sleep due to a major chest and stomach lymphoma (cancer) on July 21. Still miss her. She lived a good life, though; she was 15-1/2.

– And introducing Imber, a now 7-month old kitten adopted from Toronto Animal Services on Aug. 1. She’s a grey and cream tabby who is missing half her right hind leg (pretty sure she was born without it). The userpic attached to this post is of her the morning after I brought her home. (“Imber”, FYI, is Latin for “rain storm”. Her coat looks like a storm cloud….)

As for upcoming news:

– One of my best friends, Loui, is going to be visiting for a week at the end of September, four days of which will be spent in Montreal. I’m really looking forward to it.

– Given I’m likely to have some time on my hands for a while, I’m not only looking at possibly doing a university course or two, but have gone and done the inevitable – I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo 2008. I’m planning on doing an original SF novel (tentatively entitled Search & Rescue).

Anyway, that’s basically everything from the last few months. *sigh*

😉 tag0
(working on keeping my mood up)

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2007 by tag0

Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas, or whatever mid-winter holiday you celebrate. Hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season, and a very happy New Year.

😉 tag0

(Long Overdue) Update

Posted on November 15, 2007 by tag0

First of all, I apologize for the long (very long) delay in updating this LJ, not to mention the dearth of updates for several months before the last post. RL took over, in a rather unpleasant fashion, and this was one of the results.

So, a few different updates (long ones!)….

First of all, the major reason behind things:

Health Update: Depression and Nerve Damage (Unable to Walk = No Fun!)

Apologies, General Update & Fic Update to Come

Posted on May 10, 2007 by tag0

First of all, my apologies to all who are interested in my LJ for the lack of posts over the last five-plus months; I’m afraid I’ve been dealing (not very well) with the aftermath of my end-of-October depression/apathy state, and it’s taken quite a while. I’ve managed to get some stuff done, but not nearly as much as I wanted to have by this point in time….

General Update:
– Had a very nice Christmas in St. John’s with my family plus my Mom’s extended family, but it was unfortunately a bit rushed (I was there for a total of four days). Got home to work and Toronto’s nasty winter setting in with a vengeance.
– Had my annual end-of-February/beginning-of-March trip to Costa Rica, and that was very enjoyable – will post more about that later, including a couple of pictures of Volcan Arenal. By that time, I desperately needed a break and the weather down there was pleasant (even if I was woken up at 6 every morning by the guys working on my parents’ house).
– While I was down in Costa Rica, my brother got engaged to his girlfriend; the wedding is at the beginning of August in St. John’s, in my aunt’s (previously my grandmother’s) garden. I’ve got the time off, and my sisters and I are the bridesmaids. Really looking forward to it, and very happy for Tony and Anna.
– Had a pleasant birthday last Saturday, but am still working with that stupid depression-aftermath. Starting to think that it may be time to either take some time off work and do the day thing for a while, or start looking for another job (I’d prefer not to do the latter, because I like my job and its benefits – but something has to change…).

Fic Update:
– First the really good news: I have a story in Chinook Vol. 7, an upcoming all-Supernatural zine from Blackfly Presses. Debut will be at MediaWest.
– Second, the equally good news (well, long-term, that is): I’ve got two original stories started, one a short story and the other a novel. I’m hoping to get some more work done on them soon.
– Third, posting news: Suddenly realized tonight that I’d never posted Chp. 4.4 of RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade – will be getting that done before leaving work in the morning. (Yes, it’s a fic post!)
– Fourth: Have been seduced by the fandom that is Detective Conan/Magic Kaito. As a result, have got… three stories that I’m working on in that fandom, one gen and two shounen-ai. Favourite characters: Edogawa Conan/Kudou Shinichi and Kuroba Kaito/Kaitou Kid.

Later, all!
😉 tag0

New Family Member (& General Update)

Posted on November 28, 2006 by tag0

Whoa! Been a while….

First I got distracted, then I got sick, then I got busy (and distracted), and then I ended up with the November blahs. Yeah, it’s been a long few months. (Though the “busy” part was fun – I had one of my best friends over from Scotland for a week, and we had a blast!)

Getting over the blahs now, and I have a wonderful announcement!

I now have a brand new first cousin-once-removed; my cousin Alain and his wife Claudia had Kaleb James one week ago today! The second of the new generation of O’Dea-Judds (actually, that was my place for our generation…) – my niece Zoe – whose first birthday was on the 9th – being the oldest. (Though we Ontario family members only found out about him on Sunday….) I have even more reasons to look forward to my short XMas visit to St. John’s now!

So, welcome to the family, Kaleb!

Back to general update…. While Loui (the aforementioned Scottish friend) was here, she got me hooked on Supernatural. *sigh* So, now I have another new fandom – and another one I’m writing stories for!

Yes, I have two Supernatural stories underway. One will (most likely) be published in Blackfly Presses Chinook Vol. 7 (debuting at MediaWest*Con 2007), and the other will be ‘net published. More details to follow….

Now, I’ve got to catch up on everything from… what? August?! Yeesh! I know what I’m doing this weekend (aside from the CPR/AED refresher course on Saturday…).

Later, all!

😉 tag0

Apologies & General Update

Posted on August 15, 2006 by tag0

Jeez, it’s been over a month since I’ve posted anything! (*checks date of last post*) Yep – a month and a week, in fact. *sighs*

First of all, my apologies – other things have kept me distracted.

First there was finishing my Airwolf story (yes, the one mentioned in the previous two posts) and submitting it to my fellow Blackflies. It’s been accepted, so will definitely be appearing in our zine Horizontal Mosaic: Vol. 12, debuting Sept. 29th. Just waiting for the edits to come back so it gets finalized (while doing my own edits for all the other submissions – we’re popular!).

Then Toronto decided to have a week of tropical – or, at the very least, near-tropical – summer. The humidex that Tuesday reached 47°C (116.6°F)! ARGH! Have I mentioned how much I hate Toronto summers? I’m sure I have…. (The good news is that for the past week, the evenings/overnights have been reasonably mild to cool, and since that’s when I work, I’m happy.)

Then, I spent the next week trying to recover from that week – and the week after that recovering from the weekend between them, when I couldn’t get more than 4-5 hours of sleep at a stretch – at most. Fairly unpleasant one, that. At least last weekend was better.

In other words, I haven’t written anything since I finished the Airwolf story (Something to Live For, Stringfellow Hawke/Michael Archangel, by Bardd).

But there was some good news in there.

One of my best friends (Loui, with whom I form the TwinTorment team of Mischief and Mayhem) is coming for a visit in October! Her flights are all booked (let’s just hope some of this mess regarding carry-on baggage gets dealt with before then, given she’s coming from the UK), and we’re starting to make our plans… I am so looking forward to it!

And just before I sign off – I will be posting (finally) Part 4.3 of RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade by tomorrow morning at the latest.

Later, all!

😉 tag0

Update From TT20

Posted on July 8, 2006 by tag0

Wow! Haven’t been posting all that much lately, but I have an excellent excuse – not only have I had to deal with the Rabid Plot Bunny (see previous post!), but I’ve been doing all the last minute preparation stuff that I needed to for TT20 (previously “Toronto Trek”). This year, I moved from the Con Suite (colloquially known as “Ten-Forward”) to Con Sales (the department that handles convention “swag” – things such as t-shirts and the like made specially for the convention), and was effectively promoted to department head, since both of the people who were doing it last year changed departments as well.

So, having occasionally wandered by the Con Sales table in previous years (usually on the way to the Dealers’ Room, which was pretty much the only time I got out of my room or Ten-Forward), my main concern was whether or not I would manage to sell all the t-shirts that I ordered, over and above the ones that the attendees pre-ordered when registering.

Turns out I needn’t have worried. The Dealers’ Room was open for 3 hours yesterday (the con officially opens at 6pm, and the Dealers’ Room is generally open from 6-9pm Fridays); by 8:30, we were mostly sold out. We currently, as of end of business today, have 4 small light t-shirts left. And as for the special anniversary lanyards that were done for our 20th anniversary… well, they were sold out by 8pm last night.

So, now we’re doing another print run of both t-shirts and lanyards. *rueful grin* My assistant and I have been accepting pre-orders all day. We’re having a great time!

Anyway, got to try to get the last of the Airwolf story out of that Rabid Plot Bunny, so I’ll post later….

😉 tag0

The Three “H”s

Posted on May 31, 2006 by tag0

Well, had a wonderful time at MediaWest*Con (will write more about that later – tonight or tomorrow morning), and then arrived home Monday evening.

And boy, what a Monday it was!

We got a call from the husband of one of the Blackflies (the friends I went with) Monday morning (around 8:15 am or so) to say that the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission – the subways & buses) was on a wildcat strike. This was very definitely bad news. Not only do I need the TTC to get to work, but so do a lot of other people; and with them on strike, the traffic around Toronto would be crazy all day. (We were aiming to leave Lansing at noon, and get back to Toronto probably about 8 or 9 Monday night, depending on how long we stopped for lunch.)

Luckily, we found out shortly after we passed the border at Sarnia (which was nice and quick) that the TTC had gone back to work in the afternoon. But people here are not happy.

And then we come to the other part of the problem.

Toronto’s summer has hit. Which means the three “H”s are in effect: Heat, Humidity, and Haze. Yesterday we had a high of about 33°C (91.5°F), with a bumidex of close to 39°C (102.2°F). Today, the high is due to be 30°C (86°F) with a humidex of 40°C (104°F). Never, ever let anyone suggest to you that Canadian (particularly southern Canadian) summers are cool.

*sigh* I hate the heat. I get headaches, and a nasty rash on my palms and the inside of my arms (and, if it’s really bad, the inside of my legs) that makes them swell and itch. I hate Toronto summers…. [/rant]

Well, going to see about getting some work done (at last!) on Eye of the Storm and ravenstormfire‘s EFC vignette….

Later!
😉 tag0

General & Fic Updates

Posted on May 20, 2006 by tag0

Well, went and volunteered for the 12-hour Saturday shift this week (partly since I’ll be going to MediaWest*Con 26 next weekend, so off work for three shifts; and partly because we’re still two people short, though we have a new S/O starting next week). So I’m here at work, on the one Canadian long weekend of the school year that the boarders aren’t sent home…. *rolls eyes*

In general, I’ve been having a fairly good month. Starting with my birthday weekend (*g*), and then the fact that I’m managing to get some writing done.

And speaking of that….

I have finally, finally managed to get started on Chp. 5 of RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade – which I’ve been trying to do since… gah! October! In fact, got Part 1 of Chp. 5 written and finished yesterday morning.

Still working on those vignettes for ravenstormfire, merula31, and Anon. (So don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten….)

Getting some more work done on that odd SF RuroKen AU….

And in other news:

My youngest sister’s Commencement (graduation from the Bachelor’s program at Memorial University, St. John’s, NFLD) is on Wednesday. Parents are there, and she flew down (from here) on Friday. One of my cousins has her Commencement the same day, so it works out well.

Only 12 more days until the parents, middle sister and niece Zoë come up to T.O. for the week. And that Saturday (two weeks from today) is for Mom & me to spend all on our own… I’m looking forward to that.

*smile*

Later, all!

😉 tag0

More Rambles…

Posted on April 28, 2006 by tag0

Well, there’s another week gone. We now have one more person working with us, so we’re only short one person at work now…

My birthday is in… actually, one week! (Plus 5 hrs. and 40 mins. from the time noted of posting…) My parents will be in town (and my sister is currently in town), so the four of us plus my aunts will be going out to dinner at the Summit Grill (nice, reasonably good/well-priced restaurant that’s close enough to everyone). Then, on Sunday (the 7th) I’ll be getting together with hethos and our group of friends, something that I’m really looking forward to – I haven’t seen most of them since last October, and that’s way too long a time!

The cats are doing well, the family’s doing well (as far as I’m aware) – my brother’s even picked out his house – and I’m feeling reasonably good. (Except I’m ready to shoot my knee – it might make it feel better – but we won’t talk about that.)

Now, I just need to get to work on writing – the beginning of the week wasn’t the best (I got 4 hours of sleep – at most – both Sunday and Monday, so Tuesday I spent pretty much the entire day, between finishing my breakfast at 0815 hrs. and getting dinner around 2140 hrs. sound asleep…), and I haven’t been doing that much since then, either. *sigh* I’m working on it…

And once FFNet lets me log in, I’m going to post the Rurouni Kenshin haiku Wolf and Dragon that I wrote about 8 months ago…

Later, all!

😉 tag0

Rambles of Week…

Posted on April 21, 2006 by tag0

Boy, it’s been a long week…

We’re exceedingly short-handed at work at the moment (4 people covering 6 shifts’-worth), because two of my colleagues quit (one to go back to university, the other to move back to Hamilton to be with his grandkids). So I worked last Saturday (12-hr shift); the only reason I’m not working this Saturday as well is that I have a prior commitment. I’m probably working next Saturday, though… (yes, I volunteered – yes, I’m a masochist… but hey, the pay is good!). Then this morning at 12:40 (0040 hrs.), I got a call from my supervisor saying that his wife was in labour, so he wouldn’t be in today (and apparently the baby wasn’t due until May!). So ended up working an extra hour this morning; luckily, the students were elsewhere for the morning so all I had to deal with were phone calls, working out the new PA system, letting students in who forgot they were supposed to wear their formal uniform today and didn’t have their swipe cards, an irritated piano tuner…

*shrug*

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Work

I Have DSL!

Posted on April 4, 2006 by tag0

*bounce* *bounce* *bounce*

I now have DSL service!

I’m so happy… *G*

Not only does it mean I have high-speed internet, but it’s going to save me money, too… *G*

So yeah, my mood is very right…

😉 tag0

Quickie Post

Posted on March 9, 2006 by tag0

Yes, RuroSen Chapter 3 is coming up within the hour (or hour and a half, depending on how long it takes me to HTML-format it).

Had a reasonably good day – got a surprising amount accomplished (including managing to unpack everything this morning!). And temperature-wise… well, it’s nothing like Escazu or San José usually are, but we were up to about 9°C (48°F). Despite the rain, I’m reasonably pleased with the weather (remember, when I left, the temperature was averaging about -15°C/5°F with wind-chills of around -24°C/-11°F).

More Soon!
😉 tag0

Greetings From Costa Rica!

Posted on March 5, 2006 by tag0

Haven’t posted much lately, but I’ve been in Costa Rica visiting my parents since Feb. 20th, and their ‘net connection isn’t the fastest or best here…

Anyway, I’ve been fairly busy, actually.

Places I’ve Gone

Cats & Rambles

Posted on February 2, 2006 by tag0

This is what is called posting for the sake of posting. Well, mostly, anyway…

Regarding Cats: Mitzy (see entry pic) is an adorable little Burmese cat. And I do mean “adorable”, despite the fact that some of her habits (like trying to lie on my face when I’m attempting to sleep, and sucking on stuffed animals, electric blankets, etc., and licking the sides of the plastic laundry hampers, for example) drive me crazy.

Unfortunately, over the past two or three weeks she has developed yet another habit that drives me nuts.

I’m used to Burmese lying across my shoulders – that was one of Brightspot’s favourite perches, as it happens. And Mitzy generally liked to be lifted up to hang over one shoulder facing behind me. But lately, she’s been climbing onto my shoulders while I’m sitting in my chair, and draping her forepaws and the front part of her torso over my chest, for all the world as if she’s reading what’s on my computer screen. And it’s driving me bonkers! *sigh*

Of course, Mitzy’s bonkers anyway… Sweet-tempered, but definitely “not all there” at times…

As for other things:

First of all, a belated Happy 23rd to my sister Daphne…

Secondly, a belated Happy B-Day to stormheller!

Thirdly… hoping to have another chapter/part of either RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade or RuroSen: A Strange Partnership to post soon…

Fourth – anyone know any good ways to deal with headaches without taking drugs? (Currently having the occasional dose of Tylenol Migraine, since it seems to help, and I can’t have anything with aspirin due to the medication I take for my TMJ/osteoarthritis.) Other than sleep, that is. I’ve had a fairly good winter so far with respect to headaches, but lately… *sigh*

Fifth: I’m leaving for Costa Rica for just over two weeks on Monday the 20th. Will probably upload the occasional update (or maybe more frequent – I like Costa Rica, and I generally tend to relax there)… I’m really looking forward to it. And I may even get slightly warmer weather than last year, given that this year, I’m going down about 2 weeks later… (And will hopefully not come back to a nasty snowstorm here in T.O., given it will be into the second week of March by that time…)

Okay, that’s about it for now…

Talk to you soon!
😉 tag0

Zoe Pics! & General Ramble

Posted on December 23, 2005 by tag0

Well, I finally got some pics of my niece uploaded from my trip to Halifax. A nice selection, I think… I’m having trouble putting titles and descriptions on, but there are three of Zoë and I, one of the proud mommy (being silly! *G*) and Zoë, and the rest are simply of Zoë alone. ~~Zoë Gallery #1.~~

As for the rest of things…

Went to the doctor Tuesday morning about my near-constant dizzy spells. My blood pressure was 100/60 (which is low-ish – last time it was checked it was 110/70), and I had about 5 vials of blood taken for various tests, including glucose and iron levels. I should hopefully get some idea of the results soon…

Had my Annual Performance Evaluation Wednesday morning, and it was quite pleasant, actually. My supervisor generally approves of what I do, so I’m quite happy about that.

And as of last night at work, the kids are gone for the next two and a half weeks… Ah, blessed quiet! *g* No having to open outside doors at 5am until January! Yay! *g*

Will see about getting RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade Chp. 3.3 out later today…

😉 tag0

Update: Life, the Universe, and Everything

Posted on December 14, 2005 by tag0

Well, it’s been a while since my last post here; been rather busy with various things, including visiting my sister and new niece in Halifax (went from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4). I’ll be putting up some pictures in a new gallery – probably this weekend, I expect.

Work is going well, though I must admit I can’t wait until next Thursday (last day of school until the second week of January – Yay!). Having a bit of a problem with strange dizzy spells, but they aren’t really interfering with work and I’m going to see the doctor about them next week.

In terms of writing… well, I haven’t done much. It seems the November blahs waited until after I came back from visiting Sonja and Zoë to pop up, and I’ve been pretty apathetic about it since. (It doesn’t help that I’ve been devouring a new fandom’s worth of fics, either…) However, I do plan to get back in the groove either today or tonight at work. And good news for those waiting for new parts to Edge of the Blade/RuroBatt and RuroSen: A Strange Partnership; I plan to post Chp. 2 of the latter by this weekend, and Chp. 3.3 of the former at some point next week.

Plus, I’ve got another new RK fic on the go – this one based (with permission – in fact, she’s beta-reading it for me, as usual) on an idea of Vathara’s. Major AU; it’s an science fiction scenario that has some… interesting elements to it. Including the fact that Saitô and Kenshin were on the same side in the war they fought… So far, I have the prologue, Chp. 1, and the beginnings of Chp. 2 written. Do people want me to start posting it now, or would you prefer to wait until I’ve got more done?

Other than that, I’ve seen Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and must say that it’s definitely a better quality movie than Prisoner of Azkaban was; while they did cut out scenes from the book, of course (the movie being over 2-1/2 hrs. long as it is), they managed to hit all the important parts. (Unlike PoA, which didn’t even establish the identities of the Marauders or what Sirius did to Snape with respect to Remus! Those are some of the most important parts of the book! Sorry, that just ticks me off, that they left that out…)

And on Thursday, going to see Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with my adopted aunt. Looking forward to it; that was one of my favourites as a child.

Later, all!
😉 tag0

Rambles and RuroSen/Sentinel Query…

Posted on September 22, 2005 by tag0

Well, it was my aunt’s birthday yesterday. Went home from work, got some writing done, then went over to her apartment to give her the gift from myself and two of my sibs. Had a nice chat with her and got to relax for a bit before returning home to sleep.

Going to an Irish Tenors concert with her and one of my adopted aunts tonight – I’m rather looking forward to it. Hoping that I won’t have to leave for work until after the concert is over and done with… Will probably write an entry on the concert either tonight or tomorrow.

Now, I know someone wanted me to get cracking on posting RuroSen, which I certainly don’t mind doing – but I need to have an issue resolved first. Any Sentinel fans, I welcome responses to the following:

Opening Statement: All right, we know that (in fanon definitely, and there’s more than a hint of it even in canon) Guides serve as anchors for their Sentinels’ senses – a baseline, as it were. Or at least, that’s the variation of fanon that I’m using.
Problem: In what way can a Sentinel anchor a Guide? Please note that I do not want to use the “Guide as empath with no barriers” variation – I’m trying to do something else. What Guide traits (and/or traits that Blair and Kenshin have in common, for those fans of both) would require a Sentinel’s help to control?
Notes: Any and all help is appreciated, and credit will be given for any suggestions/help I use.

Thanks!

😉 tag0

Rambles From Work…

Posted on September 13, 2005 by tag0

Well, it’s been almost two weeks since my last entry… and a very busy two weeks they have been!

First of all, we got our new supervisor on the 1st. So far, he seems to be quite nice, though he’s currently trying to desperately catch up on training. (And, of course, our IT guys don’t yet have some of the necessary accounts set up for him… *sigh*)

Went to see “The Brothers Grimm” with my Auntie Glo last Friday. It was okay, but no great shakes – not going to be buying it when it comes out of video/DVD, that’s for sure. And I definitely don’t recommend it for anyone who has a phobia about bugs!

Speaking of wildlife (though bigger than bugs!), I had a rather close encounter with a skunk yesterday morning while on my last patrol. I walked out the door to head over to the construction site to make sure the gate was still locked (the school’s building a new athletic centre, and the workers aren’t allowed on until after 6am). I got about fifteen steps away from the door when I heard a rustling sound up ahead, looked up, and saw a skunk (facing me, but with its tail raised) about six feet in front of me, at most.

Luckily, I do know how to deal with wild animals. I carefully (and slowly) backed away from it, until it felt I had gone far enough that it was safe to cross the path I was on to get to the grassy area – via the wooden path through the flowerbeds, as opposed to straight through! – and then waited until it was a certain distance away before I started walking forward again. Boy, was that rather nerve-wracking! It’s certainly the closest I’ve ever come to a skunk while we were both outside. But all’s well that ends well, as they say…

Today hasn’t been too bad so far. Well, generally speaking. My knee’s buggered up again (*heavy sigh*), and I seem to have developed a headache in the last hour or two… but I’ve been writing most of the morning (when I haven’t been on patrols) and I’m rather happy about what I’ve managed to accomplish.

Oh, yeah… guess what Saitô and Kenshin have done to me now!

Shoved another story idea down my throat, that’s what. And to make things worse, this isn’t just a story – this is a story that has two variations, and they’re making me write both…

Oh well, I’m enjoying it, and that’s the important part.

And one last thing before I say “Goodbye for now”… Expect RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade Chapter 2, Part 4 to be up sometime this afternoon/this evening…

Later!
😉 tag0

Fire Alarm Bad… Rain Pretty

Posted on August 31, 2005 by tag0

Well, we seem to be getting the tag end of what was once Hurricane Katrina (and boy am I glad it’s only the tag end) as it’s been raining fairly steadily since I left for work just over 5 hours ago, and it’s hellishly humid.

Wondering why I was semi-quoting Buffy?

See above about the current humidity, and take my word for it (backed by a number of fire captains) that high humidity can activate heat detectors that are meant to detect fires. In other words, they set off the fire alarms.

So, there I was, sitting at the desk and updating my report with the details of my first patrol, getting ready to think about going on my second one… when the fire alarms go off. I race down to the secondary fire panel to find out where the alarm is located, then wait for the fire trucks to get there. I take them down, they find that there’s no fire and a detector has just gone off, and we reset the main panel. Then I come back up to the desk, and they leave.

So, I’m working on finishing that part of my report, and starting the part about the fire alarm… When, 8 minutes after I returned to the desk, don’t the bloody alarms start going again!

So, repeat the previous activities (pretty much exactly). This time, however, I had the monitoring company put our system on “Test”, and arrange a Fire Watch (someone driving by to check out the building every hour or so).

So, no more alarms tonight… but boy, did I ever get my exercise! (The main panel is down four flights of stairs from my desk, and all the way across the building…) And then, I still had to do my delayed second patrol… *sigh*

Oh well… it’s over and done with, the incident report is done, and I’m settled. But I just hope my relief gets here on time, as opposed to the ten minutes late that has become usual… (he usually does the afternoon shift).

Okay, rant/ramble over…

😉 tag0

Work… Late… Again…

Posted on August 18, 2005 by tag0

Well, ended up not being an extra 2-1/2 hours, but an extra 4…

Good news for my paycheck, though.

Got home just over half an hour ago. Checked my email, downloaded the corrections and additions I made RuroBatt/Edge of the Blade Chp. 3 Pt. 1 at work, and am now checking LJ Friends.

Then will be giving puddy tats a petting, and going to bed.

Oh well, apparently tonight/tomorrow is supposed to be just a regular shift for me… And it’s my last shift of the week… So looking forward to the weekend…

Later!
😉 tag0

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