http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2703

Just got back from the vet. He said Lucifer seems fine based on the exam, but I should watch him closely to see if anything changes. I’m going to work from home the rest of today and probably tomorrow so I can keep an eye on him.

I miss sleeping. Every single noise wakes me up now because I’m afraid it’s Lucifer having a seizure or Lucifer throwing up. :(

Anyway. Distracting myself with Doctor Who stuff before I go do more work:

* Excerpts from Russell T. Davies’ new book about writing Doctor Who. Have I mentioned how much I love this guy? I adore his enthusiasm and positive attitude and, yes, his crazy cracked out ideas. I can’t wait to read the whole book.

( Discussion of rumors that could possibly be spoilers )

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
(Anyone can comment on public entries.)

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2693

Here’s Lucifer’s first blood glucose curve. I think it means I need to increase the insulin dose? I’ll call the vet tomorrow.

Sorry for all the talk about my cat, but, well, it’s my journal and this is what’s going on in my life right now. I promise to write something controversial about Doctor Who soon.

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
(Anyone can comment on public entries.)

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2691

My blood glucose level is 99. Lucifer’s is 282.

Also, cats really do not appreciate it when you stab them in the ear with a lancet.

I just hope I gave him enough cooing and treats that he’ll let me do it again.

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
(Anyone can comment on public entries.)

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2688

It sucks being at work. I just want to be at home hovering over Lucifer and watching him like a hawk. Yes, I’m an overprotective cat mommy. (I decided not to bring him here with me because traveling stresses him out and makes him eat less, and it’s important for him to eat.)

His morning shot went fine. He didn’t even react to it, actually, but it definitely went in. He’s such a sweet, gentle little guy. And his behavior has been normal–he’s alert and playful and fine.

I think I’m going to have to install a door in the middle of my apartment (there’s an empty doorway) so that I can separate the cats. I want Lucifer eating a set amount of wet food twice a day, but Angel throws fits if she doesn’t have dry food to graze on all the time.

In other news, I’m thinking about Gallifrey One. I really enjoyed talking to the New Who fans I managed to find at DragonCon. And it’s relatively cheap and easy to get to, and the guest line-up is great. I haven’t found much info on the programming, though, and on how interesting the topics are and how friendly they are to New Who fans. (I’m far more interested in fan-run programming than in celebrity guests, to be honest. I’d rather participate in a discussion than just be spoken down to from on high.)

Anyway. I’m thinking about it. Anyone ever been there?

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
(Anyone can comment on public entries.)

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2686

( I gave Lucifer his first shot. )

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
(Anyone can comment on public entries.)

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2653

I’m trying a new cookbook, Vegan Cooking for One. It’s got a bunch of weekly meal plans, for spring/summer and fall/winter, for quickly-prepared single-serving meals. It even provides a shopping list at the start of every week. This solves a bunch of my cooking issues: I hate making shopping lists, I get sick of eating leftovers, I don’t want to go to the grocery store more than once per week, I don’t want to spend hours preparing a single meal.

So I’m trying the first week’s meal plan. Everything’s been good so far. But I feel sad not having anyone to share with, so here, friendslist, have some photos.

( Italian Pasta Salad )

( Potato and Lentil Bake )

( Apricot Brown Betty )

( Plus: Rum Raisin Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World )

( And Bonus: Angel the evil lunatic monster cat )

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2576

I’ve been organizing my collection of digital photos, so while I was at it, I pulled out the cutest cat pictures from over the years.

Here’s highlights encompassing thirteen years of the cutest things my cats have ever done (that I’ve managed to capture on film).

( Click for adorable cat photos )

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.

So I get home today to find that my roommate has broken my lamp. It's in the kitchen, and he tripped on its wire while doing laundry. Okay, but the glass part around the top shattered, and left shards of glass everywhere, and he did a crappy job of picking it up. There were bite-sized shards of glass next to my cats' food bowl. And he offered to pay for another glass rim part "if I could find one." Why do I have to find it? He's the one who broke my lamp!

Oh, and the reason the lamp was in the kitchen? Both of the kitchen lights stopped working. I replaced the bulbs; they still don't work. Something with the wiring. And I can't call maintenance because of my cats. Apparently I'll be cooking in the dark now.

And then I got my lease renewal notice. Rent is increasing by $200/month for one year, and $400/month for two years. $2800/month for a one-bedroom with a leaky roof and lights that don't work? I know Manhattan's nicely located and all, but I don't mind moving anyway because the culture is really going to suck when only insanely rich people can afford to live here.

Fuck it. Brooklyn, here I come.

Oh my god, LiveJournal's pink hearts theme makes me want to break something. Die, LiveJournal, DIE!!!!

Um, that aside, today is good because I'm about to leave work early to wait in line for The Colbert Report. Even freezing rain can't keep me away from Stephen Colbert. :)

Today is also good because it's Lucifer's birthday. Nine years ago today, Shadow (a stray cat I'd rescued) gave birth to four kittens in my laundry room. Lucifer was the second, and the sweetest.

( Lucifer photos )


Oh, and Veronica Mars last night. Still a silly show, but I had to watch it because ( vague spoilers )


Anyway, even though this "holiday" sucks, I hope you all find something to enjoy about it. Have a good day! :)

I'm very grateful for the new remake of The Hitcher. Yeah, it looks like a dumb movie, but it's resulted in Sean Bean being on my TV every five minutes due to the incessant commercials. He's even in the subway in gigantic scary-looking ads! (Not that I find him scary; you know I'm totally going to be rooting for his character. How could the guy who played Sharpe really be bad?)

Also, OMG CUTE!!! (Photos of young Sean Bean.)

10zlaine visited this weekend. It was very last minute, so I wasn't terribly prepared, but we had a good time anyway. Mostly we hung out at my place and talked, while watching The Adventures of Brisco County Jr DVDs. (Damn, that show is classic.)

The point of the visit was for 10zlaine to collect one of Livi's kittens and bring him home with her. So we went to Livi's house last night, and 10zlaine fell in love with Otto (who greeted her by giving her hand a cat-bath with his tongue). Livi and Jessica made vegan taco-things, and then we hung out with the cats for hours. They are insanely playful at this age (about three months); my hands and arms are covered in little cat-scratches (which are totally worth it). 10zlaine brought this bouncy toy that got Marty to do insane flying leaps, like three feet in the air; you wouldn't imagine that such a little cat could jump so high. And then she gave them catnip, which drove them all even more insane. It was very fun.

10zlaine slept over at Livi's place and left early this morning; she's on the train right now going back to Maine, and has been sending me cell phone photos of Otto in his carrier and on her lap. It's really sad to think about him being separated from his brothers, but he's going to have an awesome life with 10zlaine and her cat and dog. (And I'm so jealous! She's got a fresh new kitten to take home with her!)

We also went to see Children of Men on Saturday night with drujan (and then we had horrible drinks at this chain Mexican restaurant, because we were in the culinary wasteland that is Times Square). I thought Children of Men was a good movie, but I didn't actually enjoy watching it.

( Children of Men )

Remember how I was telling you how awesome Lucifer is when he balances on top of my computer chair?

I just found these...

( Lucifer cuteness )

I love my digital camera. :)

( Angel's true nature revealed )

( Lucifer is so cool )

I had another one of those nightmares last night. About Spanish class. They're always very similar: I'm rushing to get to class, but I'm late, and I can't find the schedule that tells me where to go, and then when I finally get there I slink in, embarrassed and ashamed, glared at by the teacher for being late. And then I don't understand the work, and I know I should've come to class before but for some reason I didn't, and I haven't done my homework and am terrified of being found out. I'll bet Mrs. Secoda would be highly amused to learn that she is the only teacher who still gives me nightmares, six years after I graduated high school. On the plus side, the only old friend in this dream was Mike, and that's okay because we're still friends.

Also, I have this persistent feeling, which extends into my daily life, that I haven't done my homework for Mrs. Botta's math class in about three months, and that she's going to find me out any day now. (I don't think I've actually dreamed about her, though; Secoda is the only teacher whose personality continues to traumatize me.)

I tried to watch Veronica Mars last night, but there's just no compelling reason to watch. The noir elements are gone, and it's basically a perky blond teen detective show. Meh. No. Sorry. :( I turned it off and watched the end of GoldenEye.

Some thoughts on the BPAL imps I ordered:

( Read more... )

Oh yeah, I forgot to post about this: KITTENS! My friend Livi was out walking the other day with her girlfriend Jessica, and this stray cat started following them. They already have two cats so they weren't going to pick her up, but she was so sweet and affectionate that they brought her home. (She was totally docile and let them carry her.) They put her in their bathroom (the only room without cats and/or birds) and she immediately began having kittens. They've now got a mom cat and three kittens, plus their two other cats and their parakeet.

I went to visit on Monday after work, and got to see the kittens when they were a day old. (It brings back memories of baby Lucifer!) They're tiny and look like little hamsters; their eyes are closed but they're already crawling. One is a tuxedo cat, black with white belly and paws; one is a mix of black and white, and one is mostly white except for a gray tail and two black spots on her head. SO CUTE. And the mom is very sweet and affectionate. She's kind of dirty and scratched up and has fleas, though; they're taking her to the vet.

Anyway, but I told them that I'm going to be visiting their house at least once a week so that I can watch the babies grow up. :)

I'm posting this on behalf of our office window-washer. If you know anyone who can help, please get in touch with him:

A sweet all black female kitten, about six weeks old, is in need of a good home.

If you can help, please call Gregory at 862-588-5916. You can call at any hour.

The kitten is in New Jersey, near the NYC area.

Please call the number above; do not contact me as I'm just posting this on behalf of Gregory.

Apparently my current roommate missed the part about the SIX MONTH MINIMUM.

*breaks things*

Apparently Lucifer "eats too loud" and keeps her awake at night. The fuck?

Hey, who wants to live with me?
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/roo/175370515.html

Today is a wonderful day...

It's Lucifer's birthday!!!!

Eight years ago today, in the laundry room of my parents' house in New Jersey, Lucifer's mother Shadow (a beautiful, sweet black stray cat who I'd made friends with) gave birth to Lucifer and his three siblings. Lucifer was the second born (I have it on videotape) and his head got stuck coming out. We all thought he was going to die, but Shadow eventually pushed him out and started licking him, and finally he started making teeny little squeaking baby kitty noises that meant he was breathing.

And ever since then, he's been the greatest cat ever. Sweet, fun, adventurous, but most of all--cool. Being in Lucie's presence could calm anyone; he's just totally accepting and trusting and relaxed.

I gave him a pile of treats for breakfast. I'll have to find something fun at Petco to bring home to him tonight.

I took some photos of him the other day in the bathtub (trying to drink out of the faucet). I'll post those here later so you can all see how adorable he is. >:)

( Movie Meme )

Last night I was working until 8pm and talking to my former coworker Sarah about "relationships." Interesting conversation. Sarah's awesome.

Forgot to mention this: I watched two movies over the weekend, Velvet Goldmine and American Psycho.

( weird rant about Velvet Goldmine, American Psycho, Fight Club, and the emptiness of consumer culture )

PS: Excellent thread over at the Hydrogen Board imagining a Chemlab/Pig tour. *sigh* If only.

And I must say, I love it when the bands write their own slash fiction:

petegala (here): If you go into the men's room between sets, you might just find Raymond and Jared making out in a stall.

jared: and, in reference to Pete from the Cracknation board, Raymond and i would only be having sex in the bathroom if we could sandwich you. we've discussed it, and i call the south side of your street, honey.

And it goes from there.... ("The Brokeback Techrat tour anyone?" "BROKE-DICK METRONOME" "Rivetback Mountain" "Tesseract Fountain"....)

PPS: Did you guys watch the Daily Show last night? The Cheney thing actually didn't strike me as that funny when I first heard it, but when Jon got ahold of it, I thought I was going to die laughing.

PPPS: Celebrate International Quirkyalone Day. (Great link; check it out.)

I didn't actually bring my camera to the Bella Morte show, but here's some post-show photos.

( BEASTIES!!! )

Oh yeah, and the show was fun. Hot guys, homoeroticism, and songs about zombies; what's not to love?

Hey 10zlaine, how about this? I think the Monday is a holiday.

Bella Morte
Sunday, February 19th, 2006
New York, NY
The Slipper Room (The Court of Lazarus)
167 Orchard St
This will be an unplugged performance
21+, 8pm

Last night was my final night of stalking Neil Gaiman. I'm actually sad that it's over, which is strange, because I still don't really like his writing. But it was so nice to be (very peripherally) part of a fandom, to share an interest (sort of) with other people, and to have fun fannish activities to do.

I know. Strange.

He did a brief Q&A at Barnes & Noble and read the first part of his new book, Anansi Boys. Unfortunately I couldn't get there until right before it started, because I had work, so I was standing in the back and couldn't see him at all. Plus these twits next to me talked loudly through the whole thing, so I missed a lot. Ugh.

And I finally actually met the guy, after almost SIX HOURS of waiting. (During that time, I read half the new book, which I disliked, and half of one of his children's books about wolves, which I liked. And I listened to a True Fan in line near me as she summarized nearly everything Neil Gaiman has written.)

When I got up there, he complimented my hair (Chuck Palahniuk did the same; it's like an instant conversation starter) and I told him that I'd really enjoyed the story he read at CBGB's. (Which is true, I did enjoy it.) He seemed quite interested in that topic and stopped signing for a bit to talk about it, emphasizing that he was very uncertain how the story would be received, and that it turned out unbelievably well--that despite the loud music coming from next door, you could've heard a pin drop in the room where he was reading. I agreed and also complimented his reading voice (which did set the mood well) and we did the whole "it was great to meet you"-smile-eye contact-thing. (Cynical sidenote: I wonder how much of his success can be attributed to the fact that he's personable and charming? [That's rhetorical, Neil Gaiman fans, don't attack me.])

So anyway, that was interesting.

I had a corn flavored beer at the Heartland Brewery afterward (meh) and then went with Chen to a Mexican place closer to my apartment. As we passed the Barnes & Noble at midnight, we could still see the slooooowly moving line for autographs. I'd gotten mine at around 11pm, and there was still an entire roomful of people behind me. I wonder what time they actually finished--the man is an incredibly slow signer. But very cool, to stay for everyone.

Anyway, so Chen and I hung out, and I got to bed around 2am. My cats are angry with me for going out the last few nights and not spending the evenings with them. I keep assuring them that I will make up for it by spending the weekend with them; of course, being cats, they're not impressed by this rationale. Lucifer woke me up in the middle of the night by rubbing his head against mine and then attempting to eat my hair, while Angel climbed all over me all night long, so that I barely slept. Evil, but I understand why.

And then today was the second day in a row with no hot water in the morning. I took a cold shower, because I couldn't stand not taking a shower, but it sucked. I'm betting the owners turned down the water heater to save on energy bills. >:(

I was thinking of going to Gothstock this weekend; they've got good bands, like the Cruxshadows, Bella Morte, Genitorturers, etc. But their organization seems incredibly unprofessional, and it would be a pain to get up there, and I'd have nowhere to stay, and the public transportation options aren't great, so I'm going to skip it.

And then I was thinking of going to see KMFDM with Bella Morte opening, but the closest they come to me is Rochester, NY, which is like a $150 Amtrak ride. So... no. *sigh*

But I AM going to Dracula's Ball in Philadelphia on Halloween, dammit. (Alone, on a Monday night, in a city I don't know.... *sigh*. I don't care, I'm going.)

Today is my very favorite holiday: Lucifer's birthday! He's seven.

I'm going to run home during my lunch hour and play with him a bit. And give him some treats or something.

He's been so good lately... sleeping next to me, following me everywhere, greeting me when I come home. I love watching him fall asleep... he gets this dreamy look in his eyes. My lovely little cat.

I finished reading that M*A*S*H fic. Actually I was surprised; it was less kinky porn, more story, than what I expected from what annakovsky posted. And overall, it was pretty well written, and it did indeed raise some interesting questions about how our social experiences shape who we become.

I really need to update All About Spike. Really, really, really, really....

GAH.

*guilt*

So yeah. I had a weird weekend. Stuff happened that I'm still processing. And not going to talk about for fear of jinxing. It wouldn't be interesting to anyone else, anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

jaydk has convinced me to go see Harry Potter 3 again tonight. For the third time in IMAX. Eighth time total. That doesn't include the numerous times I've watched the Remus/Sirius scenes on my own copy. I'm such a dork. (But it is really cool to see in IMAX....)

(Is OoTP still considered spoilery? Well, it's been out over a year; I'm not going to hide every spoiler from it, so be warned.)

Here is a great essay about why Remus/Sirius might be canon. Not that I really care if they're officially canon or not, because I don't give a damn about authorial intent, but it's nice to see their relationship being examined so closely.

jaydk has tried to convince me that Sirius isn't really dead. I mean, there's no body, and who dies from falling through a veil anyway? Why would Rowling set up such a weird death unless something more was going to come of it?

I still think he's dead, personally. But now I have this idea in my head, which gives me hope, which is very bad because it makes me want to read more fic....

I'm going to be so devastated when the next book comes out and my poor darling Sirius is still dead!

Speaking of fic, I quite loved The Host and His Guest by Diane Coffin. (That's a rec; go read it if you haven't.) Not to mention the amazing stuff that anniesj has been writing.

So, btw, is anyone in R/S fandom for Sirius? Everyone seems to prefer Remus. I don't get it at all.... I totally identify with Sirius, and find him fascinating, and like him best. (Though I was more like Snape than Sirius in school ... but that whole flashback didn't bother me. Just made me love Sirius even more, and made me more heartbroken that he didn't really get a chance to grow up properly.)

God, I'm babbling. This is horrible. This is why jaydk and I are going to hang out tonight--so we can babble to each other about this.

We were also happy to learn that DragonCon has added a "Young Adult Literature" track. Which is going to have Harry Potter stuff! Woohoo!! (Given that there was only one HP panel last year, this is a major improvement.)

Anyone else going to DragonCon this year? jaydk and I decided to go because we had so much fun last year--so much to do, great music, amazing costumes, etc. Something for everyone.

Anyway, in boring RL news, over the weekend my dad came to the city and helped me install a new air conditioner. I should save on the electric bill, in the end, and at least the fuse won't blow, and I'll probably have better luck keeping roommates in a room that isn't sweltering.

My dad also brought the cats back, and the new roommate moved in. The cats seem fine; Lucifer is being very clingy, which he does whenever he's away from me for long. He needs lots of attention. The new roommate seems cool--vegan and likes cats. I've got my fingers crossed that it'll work out.

I went into work two hours early today, so that I can take off two hours early tomorrow. (Working ten hours = really boring). But tomorrow I'm going to see Common Rotation at psubrat's! With tons of cool people like chenanceou, elizard100, rockgoddes, redeem147, and so on. Should be fun. :)

And then I want to see Common Ro again the next night in Long Island, and then maybe Saturday night in Woodstock ....

I'm such a fangirl.