Tails from the Fluff Factory

12:12PM - Quandary

Someone I know, and to whom I will never again speak is going through a family crisis. I want to do something, help, apologize, be a shoulder, and a family friend. I want to bring non-hospital food, do laundry, scrub bathtubs and draw baths. I want to insist on sleep, on self-care even in the face of this emergency. I hope someone is doing all those things. I hope the family remembers that this is out of their hands, and that no bullying anyone will make it go away. I hope they realize that the person in limbo at this very moment will be dreaming of them, at their best, and be forgetting them at their worst.

I want to be the anonymous voice of mercy that says "I hope he recovers quickly and fully or is given a peaceful respite."

Because I can't or won't expose myself to this person and their toxicity, I won't - and, yes, this makes me feel terribly selfish. I hope the rest of the family is sheltered from the worst outbursts and hurtfulness, and are given the dignity of worrying, grieving, and holding their breath in quiet and peace.I hope the food, book, and flower bringers, launderers, bath attendants, and shoulders to cry on understand how very precious their help is, and how very real their comfort is, even if the recipients are too numb to express this fact. And I hope they won't feel badly when they cannot call up the words to express it if it does come to mind, or feel obligated to do so.

I'm praying in my own little way for wholeness and tenderness, for doctors that are caring, cells that are healing, and hearts that are not too heavy to bear.

<3 Denise

11:09AM - Shelf Stable Tofu

So shelf stable tofu has a use by date(Like december or november, I think - I don't have it handy...).. but it's hermetically sealed, and all.. does this actually go bad?? I'd like to use it but I have no idea what it would look like or smell like if it were bad. O.o

12:04PM - *eyeroll* Sea Kittens....

C'mon PETA ... Sea Kittens? Really?

For those that don't know - PETA thinks that calling fist - well, what they're called - fish. is giving those critters a bad rap.
yep. Fish aren't fish. They're "Sea Kittens" now. don't be eating the Sea Kittens!

This sort of insanity is .generally ignorable. And yes, I've ignored sea kittens (the name, not the fishies) for a while.. Because it's just that dumb. That is until my gmail account started spamming me sea kittens as my sponsored link of the day.

BLEH.Really.

(I'm tempted to go out and have some sea kitten for lunch. And share it with my land kittens. :P

2:11PM

-.- Firefox has exploded and died.

And when I attempt to "contact them" Safari explodes.

Damnit.

10:55AM - My one christmas wish.

This year I found a little friend that was saving himself just for me, and I know it's dorky to write that about a cat, but i can't imagine how I would have gotten through one of he roughest (if rewarding) years of my life without him.
My little guy is such a ham, and he makes me laugh every day. And I wouldn't have Mustard without Hobbes House.

So, if you're inclined to give me a gift - a tchochki or a gift certificate, I'd much rather you take that money and invest it in a locally run pet rescue (like Hobbes House) so they can save an animal that is waiting for the purrfect family.

If you are inclined to get my kitties a present, I assure you they are well taken care of with presents under the tree, and stockings hung with care. They will not miss the (appreciated but uneaten) cat treats you will inevitably purchase for them, or the catnip that I will not sprinkle on the carpet because I don't want to vacuum it.

Donate money in my name to a rescue of your choice (or in the name of Colonel Mustard, Pig, and Molly) and write me about it in a card. It will mean more to me than the CD that I will forget I own in a month.

So- if you like, please send checks to

Hobbes House Feline Rescue
4057 Ridley Field Road
Wake Forest, NC 27587

9:17AM - I have no words.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1081355/The-100-000-white-wedding-16-year-old-girl-lives-caravan.html

11:11AM - Ignore this little spate right here. Or Critique.

This has been careening about in my head for a day or so - I had to let it out to play and ensure that I have nothing to write for nanowrimo.But here's the start. I hope it's not some pastiche, if it is it's entirely unconscious. (i'm aware that the end of the scene is a copout. I just don't have the energy to get into what's on the other side while I'm at work.)

***************************************

I couldn't stand the stench anymore-

That sour smell of too many unwashed bodies, coupling with stale air and the sickly sweet scent of putrefaction. We were stuck, crammed together like so many casks of aging wine or caskets of the dead in the northern winter - the ground frozen line the stone beneath us, too hard to shovel through.

We weren't dead yet, but as food stores ran slim we all worried, some hysterically, some meticulous in their rationing - what would we do then? There was fresh air somewhere, for though the air was thin and noxious, we could breathe - raw lungs heaving laboriously with panic. Everyone was petrified like the cave around them, squatting in their own filth, despairing. Everyone but me. My muscles popped with the need to run, to move, to do something other than sit in that place. My lungs heaved from the exertion of doing nothing, my heart pounded, and my fingers twitched.

The shale slid and skidded under my feet as I catapulted through the chamber, jumping, scrabbling for an opening in our stone prison. Stone raked against ribs with a sickening scrape and crunch - I'd underestimated the jump in the dark. Sweat poured down my body as I struggled to heave myself up on the ledge, slickening my hands and stinging my scrapes. I heaved myself up on the cool ledge, gasping from the thin air, strain, and sharp stabbing pain and meaty smell from my side.

How inconvenient, I thought distantly as the earth spun around me, crashing to a halt as I blacked out.

2:57PM - Goodbye, little guy.

The prettiest kitty in the lan by ~ladno on deviantART

Rest in Peace, Banno


I'm sad to say that Molly's biological brother, and possibly one of the sweetest cats from that family, has passed away from PKD.

I'll miss him very much but not as much as Ducttapeavenger and Techempage.

It reminds me very much of how my little Gibby went and it all makes me very sad.

3:59PM - Feh. Politics. RANT AHEAD.

I've just finished reading an article regarding the opening of the Democratic Convention, wherein fully half of the article relates how democrats feel that Obama slighted Hillary Clinton in not offering her the Vice Presidency. It also included delegates that proclaim that they will vote Hillary in the primary's, but vote for Obama because "they are good Democrats." This is to me a very strange line of thought. You are not a good dog, who is sitting because you are a good dog, or a child being still for their shots, because they are a good child.

This is about choosing a candidate that best represents YOU.
Your thoughts, your needs, and your aspirations.

Y'know, I'm planning on voting for Obama, and yes, I hope he wins, so I know I should be thankful of the sheep that do what they're told and don't question how it's going to impact their life. But really, what I want is for people not to be voting for someone because they like their personality, or because they like their hair, the way they dress, their age, race, or gender. THE WAY SOMEONE LOOKS DOES NOT REFLECT UPON THEIR BELIEFS. Neither does the title they wear. Actually reading up on that candidates position on the things that you hold dear - that is what makes you a good Democrat, Republican, Independent, or wait - just a good American.

I feel sorry for all the no-collar trailer trash that votes for republicans because they like guns. Sure, they do. But if those people ever aspire to have more, or be more, the republican party is not their friend. There again - Ron Paul - former republican, flash in the pan candidate - HE would have been a great representative of those people because he really did want what was best for the Americans that couldn't get better work because they couldn't afford more education. He stood for higher wages, more American jobs, and cheaper education. But he didn't have the name-tag calling himself republican anymore. Aw damn.

Also - the forefathers of his country weren't baptists. They weren't even, for the most part, what you could call Christian in this day and age.  They were most of them Deists. In particular, Franklin (who was not a president - omg, people don't realize this.) believed that if God created the earth, that was well and good, but God also just left it to do it's own thing and didn't give a damn what happened to it. So, voting Republican because they're the Grand Ole Party, wanting to get back to the roots of this country - I'm looking at you, Religious Right - isn't really voting for God back in your life, schools, or whatever. that's why our forefathers wrote for separation of church and state.  And did you know that the Republican party of today used to be the extremists in the times of our forefathers?

Being a Republican has changed in meaning so much that not even the Republicans know what it means anymore, and the same goes for the Democrats. So voting for whichever candidate because they're your affiliation and that's what a "good" your affiliation here would do is not only ignorant, it's irresponsible.

Please, do vote. But at least know what the hell you're voting for.
/rant

11:05AM - 1982 was a bad year for wine and children....

...we both ended up bitter.

I've decided that I'm not going to celebrate my birthday, this year or ever again. There's no point. With most people, it seems like they love their birthday, and while I foolishly look forward to it every year, every year, I end up crying on or because of my birthday. I'm simply not going to do it anymore. Even the simplest of plans seem to be too much of a damn bother. My mother evidently doesn't know when my birthday is - having called yesterday (and today, thankfully) and I seem to think she called a day late last year. My dad doesn't call at all.

My brother-in-law is mad at me because I didn't care to stay for dinner for the 4th week in a row at my Mother in Laws, despite staying with her several hours already that day. I'm very sorry that I have things I need to get done at my house such as trying to get my husband to fix the bed, which forcibly ejected me the middle of last week, and has caused us to sleep in the guest room for the interim. also I'd like a shower, a nap, and to have a kitchen that isn't an embarrassment to walk into. He, conversely, didn't even visit.

So since the world is uninterested in giving me a break, that's fine. I refuse to continue being excited that my birthday is coming up. i refuse to acknowledge it at all next year, and this year, I just give up now.

2:36PM

The Big Read Book Meme (Stolen from cemurphy)

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed. Well let’s see.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you love.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible (And the Qur’an)

7 Wuthering Heights

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George

9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma - Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel

52 Dune - Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses - James Joyce

76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (hated it though

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (mighta read this)

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

38 books off this list. Take that. Whew, Im actually kinda proud.

4:28PM - *sobs* So...Effink...Tierd.

After a busy and low on sleep weekend, I found myself blissfully dreaming by midnight, which is in general just the perfect amount of sleep for a Monday Morning. Not so however, when you find yourself being awoken in a series of events that makes you wonder how warm and cozy cat fur booties are.

Now, I've gotten used to the idea that despite many conversations with Col. Mustard that there is nothing to find in my nostrils, food, toys, or otherwise, and would he please stop trying to wedge his nose up mine, I will still end up awakening at around 6:45 AM with a cat lovingly petting my cheek or trying to lodge his nose up my nostril.

And thus begins the saga.

3:45 am
Col. Mustard: Pardon me, but you have a fascinating nostril... is there a prize in it? I'll look.
Me: Cat, stop. Please. It's not yet 4 and I was *resting*
Col. Mustard: But no, look - you've got something really interesting up here. I'm telling you.
Me: Perhaps you don't understand....*throw cat off bed*

4:00 am
Col. Mustard: *taptap* you awake? Because really. I'm telling you  - I really want ....
Me: Go. Away.
Col. Mustard: .....*pause* ...Hey *taptap* how about now?
Me: No. Go Away.
Col. Mustard casually starts knocking around percussive things on my end table. I shove him off.

4:05 am
I hear a distinctive noise like that of someone rudely chewing gum with their mouth open. I dive out of bed towards the television, because this is the noise of Paige chewing on the TV power cord. It gets knotted up and tucked beck behind the TV.
Paige: I'm hungry!!!!!
Me: No. No, you are not. you are more than 1 stone, and you're a CAT. You cannot possibly be hungry.
Paige: Oh, you think so, do you?
Me: Go. To Bed. What is WRONG with all of you?
Paige: I'll go to bed after you feed me.
Me: No. You had food in your bowls not 4 hours ago. You do not need feed at all hours. You, Missy, are irresponsible with it and have become beachball shaped because I let you have food at all hours.

Molly begins licking a plastic bag at this point.

4:10 am
I hear rattling like a prisoner rapping their cup against the bars of their cell
Paige: Oh HEEEEELP!! ABUSE!!! Someone Help! She never FEEDS us!
Me: Quit that!
Paige: There's no food! I'm starving! I haven't eaten in days!!!!
Me: Your backside tells a different story. Now Hush
Paige: And she verbally abuses us!
me: FINE. Here. Have some!

The rattling of Ceramic bowls against each other ceases, in favor of the much quieter noise of crunches.

4:15 am
Molly screams at Mustard, probably because he's attempting to eat his own food.
Me, Shouting: That is IT. Everyone. GO. TO. BED. NOW.

Which of course woke my husband, who whinged about the noise and me waking him up.
I could throttle him.

4:30 am
Paige: Pet me, now!
Me: Okay. I can do that.
Paige: You stopped.
Me. Yes, I'm attempting to sleep here.
Paige: but, but, I love you!
Me: Okay, Okay!
Paige: You stopped again.
Me: I KEEL JOO!
Paige: Well no need to be rude!

6:45 am
Col. Mustard: *taptaptap* Hey.. did you know.. that your nose... it is fascinating!
me: AUUUUUGH!!!!!!!

7:00 am
*alarm*
Me:*cry*

11:35PM - Note to self: What not to say...

When discussing Ferenghi Social and Sexual behaviors, and therefore ear-rubbing/ "Umaks", eventually one asks about ear piercing - and then, once that's straightened out, do not , that is DO NOT then ask about extreme piercings, such as ear stretching.

This is a dangerous path, which ends in comments like "Ohhhhh oooh baby, rub them from the inside! Stretch them out, oh yes!!!" while making wild o shaped gestures by ones ears.

This scares the husband, and might cause accidents on tight roads as he wildly flails to stop hearing it.

that is all.

9:16AM - hmmm

O harps, inter-tubes!
I've joined a couple communities, and while I looooove them, and they're fantastic, is there a way that I can select to go to the community to read it, rather than have the community litter my friends page?

In ohter news, I'm taking advantage of this week to become accustomed to what it means to get to work at oh-god-thirty, and while today I failed utterly in my attempts to =get to work by 8.30 AM, I did get here before 9! Also, I'm accustoming myself to business casual.. I got some really nice clothes, and I think I look rather fashion forward in them, and that my birks may be getting retired in favor of a nice pair of black flats from BCBG. they're just as comfy, and loads more appropriate. plus, I can wear cute socks and they'll be more noticeable (I realize this is not approved as bus. cas. but hey- I work in the art department.. some allowances will have to be made for my peacock stripe, argyle, star, stripe and skull socks. I think the majority of the rest are reasonably mundane looking. Consider this the denise type analog to wearing sexy underwear. It just makes you feel better.)  I don't think I need to further expound on my purchases.. except jesus christ, it's expensive!!! (waaaah!)

uhm. That is all.

oh wait. Also, I should let it be noted that anyone who cares for Jason should know he's on a fast road to an early grave if he keeps up alls the coughing and sneezing and does not make with the expectorant, because I'm losing sleep over his noises and his kicking. I think I'm gonna have a big squashy green bruise from being solidly kicked in the ankle at 3 am.

1:03PM - New Job!! YAY

Hey guys-

I feel extremely lucky to be offered a wonderful job - but the attire is business casual! Crappies! I don't have Business casual clothes! What's a big busted gal to do when the standard fare of button downs simply don't work? One thing I'm thinking I may do is sew up the part of the button down tops that uhm.. feels the pressure.. the other thing, I may wear lots of camisoles in the coming days.. uhm.. any suggestions, anyone?

11:02AM - Web Portfolio

I make no bones about telling anyone that I'm the worst webdesigner ever. However, in the event that I need a new job, I'm required to suffer the digital scourge of a web porfolio.(DO NOT WANT!) bleh.

At any rate, I know there are a few bugs (and I'm procrastinating on the form), and admittedly the majority of the code isn't mine, (hey! I've customized it!!) but here you go. Have at ye.

http://www.choppercharles.com/cs/denise

It should be noted by the way, that I have previously avoided all such devices, under the pretense of having no hosting, and starving artists have no money for any...

well.. the perversity of man intercedes. Thank you Charlie, you helpful little bastard.

(this is said, mind you in the same tone as "dear damn baby" from the movie "waitress" which is awesome, by the way.)

and...much to my utter fury, the phone will.not.stop.ringing.

9:48AM - Oh-Em-Gee... this is.. fucked up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_zMU2tX5n8

wow.



....Just wow.

1:29PM

Rules:
1. Go to Career Cruising, www.careercruising.com
2. Put in Username: nycareers and Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top thirty or so results
5. Italicize the careers you have seriously considered.
6. Put any careers you've had in bold.

1.	Costume Designer
2.	Special Effects Technician
3.	Website Designer
4.	Sign Maker
5.	Tailor / Dressmaker
6.	Automotive Painter
7.	Fashion Designer
8.	Security Systems Technician
9.	Actor
10.	Pet Groomer
11.	Desktop Publisher
12.	Gunsmith
13.	Autobody Repairer
14.	Animator
15.	Dental Lab Tech
16.	Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator
17.	Film and TV Crew
18.	Baker
19.	Butcher
20.	Printing Press Operator
21.	Multimedia Developer
22.	Locksmith
23.	Cook
24.	Lighting Technician
25.	Miner (Underground)
26.	Makeup Artist
27.	Set Designer
28.	Magician
29.	Massage Therapist
30.	Graphic Designer
31.	Artist
32.	Optical / Ophthalmic Lab Technician
33.	Comedian
34.	Computer Animator
35.	Casting Director
36.	Bicycle Mechanic
37.	Furniture Finisher
38.	Upholsterer
39.	Picture Framer
40.	Musician

4:08PM - I can seeee!!

Oh man, got contacts today after a long time.

Imissed them so... well, y'know, the seeing part. and, good news is that the new contacts are a lot more .. moist than old ones
In addition, people can actually see my eyes. *grins*

3:59AM - Meme

So apparently the American Film Institute has put out their top 100. Review the list, bold the ones you've seen, strike through the ones you started but couldn't sit through (or just thought were miserable), and italicize your top 10.

1. Citizen Kane

2. The Godfather

3. Casablanca

4. Raging Bull

5. Singin' in the Rain

6. Gone with the Wind

7. Lawrence of Arabia

8. Schindler's List

9. Vertigo

10. The Wizard of Oz

11. City Lights

12. The Searchers

13. Star Wars

14. Psycho

15. 2001: A Space Odyssey

16. Sunset Boulevard

17. The Graduate

18. The General

19. On the Waterfront

20. It's a Wonderful Life

21. Chinatown

22. Some Like It Hot

23. The Grapes of Wrath

24. E.T.

25. To Kill a Mockingbird

26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

27. High Noon

28. All About Eve

29. Double Indemnity

30. Apocalypse Now

31. The Maltese Falcon

32. The Godfather Part II

33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

35. Annie Hall

36. The Bridge on the River Kwai

37. The Best Years of Our Lives

38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

39. Dr. Strangelove

40. The Sound of Music

41. King Kong

42. Bonnie and Clyde

43. Midnight Cowboy

44. The Philadelphia Story

45. Shane

46. It Happened One Night

47. A Streetcar Named Desire

48. Rear Window

49. Intolerance

50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

51. West Side Story

52. Taxi Driver

53. The Deer Hunter

54. M*A*S*H

55. North by Northwest

56. Jaws

57. Rocky

58. The Gold Rush

59. Nashville

60. Duck Soup

61. Sullivan's Travels

62. American Graffiti

63. Cabaret

64. Network

65. The African Queen

66. Raiders of the Lost Ark

67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

68. Unforgiven

69. Tootsie

70. A Clockwork Orange

71. Saving Private Ryan

72. The Shawshank Redemption

73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

74. The Silence of the Lambs

75. In the Heat of the Night

76. Forrest Gump

77. All the President's Men

78. Modern Times

79. The Wild Bunch

80. The Apartment

81. Spartacus

82. Sunrise

83. Titanic

84. Easy Rider

85. A Night at the Opera

86. Platoon

87. 12 Angry Men

88. Bringing Up Baby

89. The Sixth Sense

90. Swing Time

91. Sophie's Choice

92. Goodfellas

93. The French Connection

94. Pulp Fiction

95. The Last Picture Show

96. Do the Right Thing

97. Blade Runner

98. Yankee Doodle Dandy

99. Toy Story

100. Ben-Hur