CHOWDER SUCCESS.

Why do I never remember how long it takes me to chop stuff up?

Anyway I made chowder, and I'm almost out of turkey, for grate yayes. Tomorrow I'm going to watch Wheel with R and eat shit-tons of turkey chowder and fried stuffing. OH YES.

51stcenturyfox found this recipe for me, because I was moaning about the one I had that I didn't want to use because it had tomatoes in it.

( TURKEY CHOWDAH )

I just totally met my evil twin on the El. 

We were wearing the same cargo pants but his were black and mine are khaki. Same style of leather jacket, same messenger bag but mine is green and his was orange. Same haircut but he had black hair (and some piercings, which I don't).

I almost cracked up laughing because he came in and stood across from me and we gave each other this really loooong stare. I wish I'd had the sense to take a stealth photo.

I didn't even know I WAS the good twin.

I totally should have given him my business card. We could have done lunch, like Aziraphale and Crowley! 

I was going to spend the last few hours of today sitting down and writing an LJ post -- okay, well, maybe not hours, but you know how it is -- when BossBoss called me. He comes back in to work tomorrow, and he had a project he wanted to give me to work on while he was gone. In other words, two weeks ago, he forgot to give me a project he thought would take, oh, about two weeks.

Can I get it done by the time he's settled in tomorrow morning? NO PROBLEM, BOSS.

The nice thing about working this job is that people have no clue how long it takes me to do things. A two-week Space Allocation survey would probably actually take an unprepared person, oh, maybe a day. I'm eternally prepared, so it took me forty minutes to do half of it, during which Coworker Fail swore left right and sideways about having to print the documents for me to use. So I just used the digital copies, and now Coworker Fail is swearing about having to do his half of it. Which I would happily do, now that it's down to a SYSTEM!, except that he insists on doing it himself.

ANYWAY. I HAVE RECCS FOR YOU. And now I get to share them, while he whines.

First, kath_ballantyne and non_sequential have opened tw_canvas, a place to post fanart and other artsy things that are Torchwood- and Doctor Who-related. It looks great!

Second, velvet_mace posted a really fantastic analysis of why "bad" fanfic can be popular and gratifying. It is one of the most awesome graphs I've ever seen. She posted it in May and I'm just now finding out about it, so maybe everyone's already seen it or something, but it's definitely deserving of a look if you haven't. There's some cool meta in comments, too.

ETA: The image isn't showing up for some reason. She's aware of the problem, so please don't comment that you can't see it, she's got a few of those already. It's LJ Gremlins of some sort. Patience will no doubt be rewarded.

As always, if you visit these places, play nicely; I'm responsible for you and you have the Cafe's reputation to uphold. :D

Hey LJers,

I just wanted to let you all know that we are going to be performing some mogilefs maintenance over the next few days. We will be upgrading our current version to latest stable as well as changing some db config information to better handle the amount of files we are currently hosting. This shouldn't cause a big impact on site stability, but you may see some minor delays with userpic / scrapbook images appearing or other requests associated with our mogilefs. We would love to not have that happen, but unfortunately with some of the steps we need to take we have to cause a delay with images. I figured this was a better solution than taking down all of LiveJournal because well lets face it, we all need our daily LJ fix ;)

Thanks,

I really hate the post office near my work. The people there are mean, and they don't respond well to my not-inconsiderable charm. :D

But then I came home and made a toasted turkey-and-stuffing sandwich with brie and fig jam, which was delicious, and went through my Student Loans Paperwork file. I think things are finally starting to slot into place. With any luck, I'll be able to competently fill out my IBR application and in the new year I'll be in the program. The cost of my loan payments will not go down at all on a month-to-month basis, but in ten years if I stay with my current job (or another job in the same company) the balance will be forgiven. So, fingers crossed.

I feel like such a grownup.

I am neglecting my creative projects a bit, but I've felt under the weather the past few days and given that I'm working on stuff I've been meaning to do for ages, I'm okay with that. I'd really like to have Valet of Anize done by the new year, though that's not looking especially likely. I'm working on a series of scenes now that I hope will grow me as a writer -- when I read The Three Musketeers for the first time, three years ago, I was awestruck by Milady's spiritual seduction of John Felton, and I'm writing in a similar vein now, so it's careful going.

Also I need to buy an onion. This shouldn't be as herculean a task as it is turning out!

( Cut for spoilers... )

But I still have an unhealthy fondness for this game right now. ;)

Posted my pictures from the Torchwood talk at my journal is anyone is interested

To make an omelette, you gotta break a few legs.

I meant eggs! Eggs!

I got a lot of stuff done today but I also broke a lot of stuff (fortunately no limbs...yet). I managed to get my paperwork off to my healthcare provider so it doesn't try to steal $150 from me, but I broke my provider's website in the process. I brought candy for my candy dish, but I broke the scheduling program for our conference rooms. And I dropped a six-pack of Coke on the floor, though I didn't do anything directly to balance that out. Other than restocking the fridge, I suppose.

But! I did get myself set up with Google Adwords for Nameless. The ad is waiting on approval now, but I've done the math and if it earns me three sales a month it's paying for itself. If I can't even get three out of the thing, well, I've only lost eight bucks. I have to admit Google makes it pretty damn painless, even for a fumbling artist like me. I was expecting to spend much more time being much more confused.

Also, I dove back into the whole Income-Based student loan payments thing that the US has set up, and I did not cry, which given how similar it is to doing one's taxes is quite the feat, I think.

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're high on adventurous spirit, but low on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about inexpensive hotels and youth hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

So I was all, "aunty_marion, I would like a hat!"

And aunty_marion was like, "Dude, I can make you a hat!"

So I was like, "Can you make me...a Dalek-head hat?"

And she was all, "TCH, YEAH!"

And thus I acquired a hat.



Teddy bear not included. He's mine and his name is Picnic.

Prices vary by yarn type and shipping and such, but mine was $20 and it is undoubtedly the finest fannish $20 I have spent since I bought Travelin' Jack Harkness. It is going to INSULATE. INSULATE. INSULATE. my head all winter long!

It has bobbles for speaker lights!

MY FLAT SMELLS AMAZING.

After I got of my poor bruised ass, I gathered up a ton of leftovers from Thanksgiving and made some brand of turkey curry in my dutch oven. I love my dutch oven, which after frying two batches of stuffing and a game hen is pretty much non-stick these days.

Curry veterans reading this will no doubt lol, but I have never made curry before and I feel like a CULINARY GOD.

( Turkey Curry )

I still have about 4lbs of turkey left. Tomorrow night, after I have bought an onion: TURKEY CHOWDER.

I have this weird thing, ok, I don't like to be away from home after dark.

It's not that I'm afraid of the dark or I think the Creepy People only come out at night, because Creepy People often accost me in the middle of the goddamn afternoon. I think, though I can't be certain, that it comes from never having strayed very far from home as a kid. Even as a teenager I never had a curfew because I never needed one -- the times I was out after dinnertime were so rare that we negotiated them on a case-by-case basis. I had to be home; Mum was in classes most nights, and there was Bernard to look after, dinner to make, homework to do.

I get this terrible sense that if I'm away from home or out of touch for too long, something terrible will happen. Granted, I have my cellphone, which is rarely more than ten feet from my body, but what if something at home catches on fire, or my flat is robbed, or some Awful Thing happens?

I've been trying to push off from this a bit, because there's no reason I shouldn't be out at night; I live alone, I make sure my home is safe, and I have my phone. But I still get this scary sense of urgency, even tonight when all I was doing was going a couple of blocks out of my way to pick up some food for dinner. I had to force myself to slow down, for one, and also to go past my normal turning and onwards to the shop, rather than chickening out and bolting for the El.

It might not be terribly helpful that while I was cost-comparing some mushrooms in the grocery store someone rammed me with a shopping cart and, because I have no sense of balance, I went over sideways in front of the tomatoes.

Some days a monastery looks awfully appealing.

Please visit: http://pirate-moose.livejournal.com/5807.html

Photos to follow!

bookfails
Planning to do your part to help boost the declining publishing industry this holiday? Better check here first. Sure, there are plenty of folks who post glowing reviews of their favorite books. But what about the epic fails? Compose and/or discuss snarky, incisive critiques on the books you despise most.

foundphotos
Ever stumble across a frayed photo in your grandmother's attic? How about a faded picture tucked in the sleeve of an old novel at a used book sale? This is the place to post them. An amazing, eclectic collection of photographs sure to delight anyone with a penchant for history or nostalgic memorabilia.