The Three “H”s

by tag Posted on May 31, 2006

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

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General & Fic Updates

by tag Posted on May 20, 2006

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

Posted in Family, Fic, Life in General, Rambling | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

RK Fic: Merula’s Vignette (1 of 2)

by tag Posted on May 10, 2006

Here is the first of merula31‘s vignettes from the Fandom Meme. Unlike the other vignettes, this is actually part of a story I already have in progress, called Human Touch. I would be interested in opinions….

Please note that despite how it may appear, this is not slash/shōnen-ai; it is, at most, pre-shōnen-ai. And there are reasons behind the apparently OOC behaviour, some of which are in this bit….

[edit] Gah! Bad tag0!

As with all tag0’s RK stories, this was beta-ed by the inestimable Vathara.[/edit]

Merula’s RK Vignette….

Posted in Fic, Rurouni Kenshin, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Wonderful Weekend!

by tag Posted on May 8, 2006

Well, I had an absolutely wonderful weekend! Not just Friday, but the rest of it as well….

Saturday, I spent most of the day with my parents; we went and got my countertop dishwasher (gods, I’m so glad I’ve got that now!), and then that evening I went and got my present from my brother – an Obus-Forme body pillow! I slept quite well Saturday night….

Sunday, we had our family brunch, and then I went off to hethos‘s for the get-together with my friends; we had a great time. hethos told us about her trip to Japan, and we chatted about a bunch of different stuff, and I got even more pressies! Including (ready?) the Stargate SG-1: Season 4 DVD Box Set!

So all in all, I had a really great weekend; it seemed almost as though my birthday lasted the entire three days!

Well, given that I’m heading off to dinner with the rest of Blackfly Presses tonight, I’ve got to head to bed (and my nice, comfy body pillow).

TTYL!
😉 tag0

Posted in Birthdays!, Family, Friends, Fun and Games, Life in General | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s My Birthday And I’ll Laugh If I Want To…

by tag Posted on May 5, 2006

Laugh (with delight) if I want to,
Laugh (with delight) if I want to…
It’s my birthday and I’ll laugh (with delight) if I want to;
You would laugh (with delight) too if it happened to you….

I had an absolutely marvelous day today! A gorgeous e-card plus LJ entry mention from mickeyk started off the day (around midnight at work – or it might have been just before going to work, actually…) very pleasantly. Then two of the teachers who come in by me every morning before I go off shift brought me presents – a gorgeous miniature rose (Parade Rose) bush from one, and a delightful wooden pinwheel with a bead that makes a neat noise when it spins, that I’m sure will provide myself and the cats with hours of entertainment from the other…

Then I went to breakfast with most of the family here in T.O. (my youngest sister, my parents, my aunt, and one of my adopted aunts), and found out that my parents are getting me a countertop dishwasher for my apartment! I mean, I put an apartment-size dishwasher on my wish list, but it was more one of those “I’m hoping I’ll get it someday” things…. But I’m going with Mom to pick it up tomorrow morning! (Which does mean that I’ve got to do a bit of cleaning up of my apartment tonight/tomorrow morning, admittedly….)

Then I came home and slept for a while, and then went out to dinner with all of the above plus the other adopted aunt (who’s a teacher, so she couldn’t be at breakfast). And I got roses, sheets for my bed that actually fit (being so tall, I have an extra-long bed, which is a nuisance when you only have regular twin sheets), and a gorgeous sweater/cloak with a lovely cat pin. (As well as much needed funds and gift certificates!)

I’ll be posting pictures of the miniature rosebush, the sweater/cloak, and me in my birthday finery when I get them (I’ll edit and add a link to the gallery in this post).

All in all, I had a wonderful birthday, so I’m (as it says under “Mood”) ecstatic! And I’ve still got the get-together with hethos and our other friends on Sunday to look forward to!

😉 tag0

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More Rambles…

by tag Posted on April 28, 2006

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

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Rambles of Week…

by tag Posted on April 21, 2006

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

Posted in Family, Life in General, Rambling, Work | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments