lizzzie_lou

Mom, this is probably for you. Six years of school yearbooks and a mess of senior photos.

A complete 106 piece set of Cornerstone Doctor Who cards?
Two cricket balls, never used?
More FLtD ephemera than anybody should ever have?
Maps of all sorts of things?

Further installments to come. Usual caveats--if it's much more work than me taking it to the trash, it probably won't happen.

Hey if you've got a minute the Courage Campaign is trying to get 100,000 signatures on a petition to request that Judge Walker televise the Proposition 8 trial. What better way could there be to show just how petty, backward and assinine the arguments against gay marriage actually are than to televise them for everyone to see.

You can sign the petition here!

Parking at De Anza--hell, just getting off the freeway anywhere near De Anza--is like... Imagine the Oakland Raiders are playing the San Francisco Giants. While the Rolling Stones give a concert. On the day before Christmas, at the Great Mall. And there's a gigantic ray gun from space shooting brain-destroying beams down into it all.

That's sort of what it's like.

Speaking of cars, I would love to get to know the family with this car: The license frame says USMC SEMPER FI and the bumper sticker says "War is not the answer".

Zoe Saldana, blue cat person on a moon full of sacred seeds, says I have a hard time accepting roles that typecast a culture.

Parking is ludicrous. By nine, people are reduced to sharking.
The Chicano/a in the Arts looks interesting. And Los Lobos are on the syllabus. I didn't ask about Jhonen Vasquez or Robert Rodriguez yet.
Women in US History is in a lovely museum-like building, and I was going to take a photo. I'll try to remember tomorrow. The teacher is energetic and very personable.
Western Civilisation is being taught like we're first year students in the Paper Chase. It has shifted The Chicano/a in the Arts from the 'first to bump' bubble. However, she went out of her way to see that we didn't have to buy books the first week. (She has a collection of primary sources in PDF.)

So I took today off because I wanted to confirm that the dripping sound I've been hearing after I run the sinks in the bathrooms was nothing to worry about. I checked out plumbers on Yelp and found one that was highly rated so set up an appointment for today. The guy showed up late but at least I got a call to tell me when he would be arriving.

At any rate it turns out the sound is perfectly normal and doesn't indicate a leak, so yay. Just to be thorough, though, the guy turned off the water and then opened up the faucets to just check that everything was ok. It seemed to be until we noticed the water was coming out brown. He thought it might be possible I might need a new hot water heater. I know that sounds terrible, but as everything in the house is covered by a warranty for the first year it wouldn't have actually been that bad so I didn't panic or anything.

After checking the age of the water heater, though, he quickly realized what the problem was. I've got very hard water, which is no big shock as pretty much everyone out here does, but in addition to that the former owner hadn't been doing simple yearly maintenance which includes attaching a hose to the water heater and emptying it out. He showed me the process then quizzed me on it to make sure I understood it and it's dead easy. Seriously, a well trained monkey would have no problem doing this but the last owner apparently couldn't be bothered.

And, you know, I didn't think my opinion of the guy could lower any further.

Anyway the plumber suggested not cooking with the water directly from the tap, which I don't do anyway but I'm going to make sure I don't use it for the cats' water bowls either. It does explain the reddish/brown stains I'd noticed on the showerhead and washer *sigh*.

On the plus side, no major problems and I now know how to properly maintain the water heater and the plumber pointed out the emergency water shut off to me and showed me how to turn it off in case of an emergency.

Still, gah!

Hey, it's 2010. When in the heck did that happen? I feel like I've fallen off the LJ radar for a lot of people, and I realize it's due in part because I hardly posted last month. That, and everyone seems to be into shiny new fandoms. Or rediscovering shiny old fandoms. Both of which are worthwhile pursuits! It just makes me a little sad when I see squee and don't know what it's about.

Anyway. My holidays were lovely, but I am glad they're over. Jon and I are in the middle of a pretty major overhaul on the house - we got a new-to-us TV, and in the process rearranged the living room and bedroom. We spent the last two days shuffling stuff around, and it looks like we'll be done today, which makes me very happy. There's several bags to take to donation, too, which makes me even happier.

I received a couple of awesome mixes from kelbebop, and she was nice enough to put them up in her journal to share. Be sure to say thank you if you download them!

I also have up my 2009 Mix and the fanmix I made for Kel. Download and enjoy!

Alright. Work. I remember how to do that.

Red Leader, this is Red Five. I'm going in.

This is for Aelf on the off chance she's still reading LJ. From one Criminal Minds nut to another, an actual good fanvid for the series:



Also find the CM drinking game here! And you should really check out all of the episodes recapped here because they are awesome!

( The obligatory Dr. Who End of Time post... )

( How You Know It's Love - track listing under the cut. )



( We're All Light - track listing under the cut. )

( Cut for mild spoilers in the entry and larger spoilers in the comments for the Doctor Who season close. )

As promised a kitty update. There has been a strange calm in the house tonight. A bit of hissing, sure but no outright fights...it's almost peaceful. I could get used to this.


Lola ups her cuteness quota
I woke up at about 2 a.m. feeling stiff and really wanting to move only to find myself pinned on my back by Lola. She was curled up on top of my left shoulder with her head tucked just beneath my chin. It was perishingly adorable.


Kage remains above it all
As I type this Kage is curled up right beside me reveling in the warmth and comfort. She's been awfully cuddly tonight and let me give her a good brushing. She seems to be totally cool with all the nonsense going on around the house. So long as she's got her heater, warm blanket and food everything's fine.


Pye is losing his mind...well, what's left of it.
On the plus side Pye's acne seems to have cleared up. On the down side he seems to be losing his rather loose grip on sanity. When he's not causing fights with other cats he's picking them with my floor lamp or, at the moment, with the sofa.


Hachi plants her little furry flag on my bed, just the latest of her conquests
Hachi decided that me making my bed was the coolest new toy ever. She actually attacked the sheets and blankets then climbed right on top to flop over and relax for a bit. Then she wandered into the kitchen and was followed by Pye and Lola. I waited tensely for World War IV to break out, when it didn't I cautiously ventured over to glance inside. Lola was on the floor, Pye on the second level of his kitty condo and Hachi at the very top. I get the feeling that this is about as eloquent a summary of the new power dynamic in my household as I could ever hope to see.

We went to see the new RDJr movie this morning. Bob and Jude Law are definitely a cute couple, and I had a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun (thanks in part to good company) and I am intrigued by the score. (Hans Zimmer, Gladiator and PotC.) There were a lot of things that made me think of my Deadlands game tomorrow, and the writing was clever. This might be one that I buy so it can put it next to my copy of "Young Sherlock Holmes" and keep it company. Four wags.

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

I broke free on a Saturday morning
I put the pedal to the floor
headed north on mills avenue
and listened to the engine roar

my broken house behind me
and good things ahead
a girl named Cathy
wants a little of my time
six cylinders underneath the hood
crashing and kicking
aha!
listen to the engine whine

i am going to make it through this year
if it kills me
i am going to make it though this year
if it kills me

--This Year by the Mountain Goats

My 2009 in Review

My 2009 Mix

My 2009 Fic List

Happy New Year everyone! See you on the other side. ♥