apocalypsos | Recent Entries

So I started watching this a while ago and stopped halfway through because it's kind of "Leaving Las Vegas" with a different cast and a strangely happier ending, if that even makes sense. There's certain genres of movies that generally do nothing for me -- mob movies, James Bond, etc. -- and substance-abusing leads in a downward spiral is one of them. It usually doesn't do much for me unless everyone hits all the right notes.

I'm completely unsurprised by Denzel getting nominated, and I know he's kind of the guy who can get nominated for reading the phone book, but this performance is one of the best ones I've ever seen him pull out. He's completely fucked up, he's a complete asshole, and yet you *still* somehow manage to find sympathy for him. I'm always impressed by the lengths that he'll go to, and while I'm always a little "eh" when it comes to drunks in film confronting their demons, I really got the character thanks to Denzel's work.

I kinda wish John Goodman had been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor for this. He's only in a few scenes but he steals every scene he's in. He's one of those actors I really wish would get recognition from the Academy for his film work. (I hear he also did great in "Argo", which doesn't surprise me, but ... well, I still have to see that one, too.)

I think my only problem with the movie is that the religious references do feel a bit heavy-handed at times to the point where I was afraid the end would be him having a literal come-to-Jesus moment. In the end, I was okay with it even though I sort of cringe away from a lot of the bang-you-on-the-head religious stuff in the movie, but I think they presented the religious characters in the right ways. You were supposed to feel a certain way in response to the characters -- as in, you were supposed to respond to them the way he does -- and you do. I felt for the people who were at the crash scene even though I don't agree with them, I thought the stewardess was very nice but I think if I knew her in real life she and I would both know I'm never going to her church, I sat there while he was visiting the co-pilot and his wife thinking, "Oh, man, these people make me want to drink."

I liked it, though. I did kind of laugh at myself, though, if only because as soon as the plane screwed up and started going down, I knew why. I think I may have watched too many episodes of "Air Crash Investigation", you guys. ;)

*

Okay, seriously, I can already see the screeners on the torrent sites. That was quick. :)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2639876.html

Only nine Best Film nominations? Huh. Says a lot about the movies eligible, that is. That said, “Amour” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild” made it in, which makes me so happy, because those were two I thought probably not going to make it.
I was hoping Suraj Sharma would get a nom for “Life of Pi” because he carries the movie for, like, an hour an a half straight, but alas. *sigh*
OMG QUVENZHANE WALLIS!!! I’m so happy, because she was phenomenal in that movie. I was going to type “for a six-year-old”, but no, screw that, she was phenomenal for an actress of any age.
It’s times like this that I’m glad for torrented screeners, because if I had to pay money to watch “Django Unchained” and “The Impossible”, I would be so very pissed off.
Oh, look, hardly any people of color. Other than Quvenzhane Wallis and Denzel, it’s all white people. Urgh.
I’m so glad for Emmanuelle Riva! I still have to watch “Amour”, but I thought Marion Cotilliard was going to take the “foreign film actress sneaking into the acting nominations” slot, so good for Riva.
Yay, Hugh Jackman got his first Oscar nomination! I’m incredibly happy he got it for a musical, because he’s been so good when it comes to the theater community.
I just realized Ben Affleck and Quentin Tarantino didn’t get nominated for directing. I’m upset about Affleck (who really needs to be recognized for his directing prowess, honestly), but not about Tarantino.
Aw, it just hit me that “Moonrise Kingdom” didn’t get nominated for Best Picture. Damn it, I loved that movie.
Oh, and “Rise of the Guardians” didn’t get a nom for Best Animated Picture. I guess “Pirates!” took its spot.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2639856.html

( That is literally the laziest title they could come up with for what it turns out is a really good movie. )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2639419.html

( Either Wes Anderson's art director is the happiest person alive or he gets drunk a LOT. )

*

I started watching "Lincoln" but I don't think I was in the right frame of mind for three hours of debating about politics -- yeah, I know, I must be sick or something -- because I switched over to "Frankenweenie" about an hour into it. Still, though, from what I've seen so far Daniel Day-Lewis is doing his usual phenomenal job in it, and Sally Field was actually making me like Mary Todd, which is impressive, because reading historical accounts of her always make me feel a bit iffy on her. (I'm inevitably torn between saying "Okay, that's kind of awesome" and "Oh, my God, are you serious, woman?" every time I read something about her.)

Aaaaaand I still have "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" to go for today, which has to be the most incredibly Oscar-baity movie title I've ever seen.

(Ugh, I just remembered looking over the Golden Globe nominations that Naomi Watts got nominated for "The Impossible", or as I've been calling it, "Wait, weren't there any Asian people affected by the Asian tsunami?")

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2639306.html

( What, no Helen Mirren? Spoilery, obvs. )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2639079.html

1. Merry Christmas! Or happy Tuesday. Whatever floats your boat.

2. I'm still working on "Monsters of Moosic", but it's just taking a bit mostly because of the holidays and because I'm an awful perfectionist. I'm going to work my ass off the next few days to get my work hours done ASAP, however, because my plan is to get it posted before the end of the year. Which, as you might have noticed, is on Monday.

3. I just got done watching the Doctor Who Christmas special!

( Spoilery commentary )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2638790.html

How to end up saying, "Wait, what?" over and over again for, like, five minutes:

1. Watch today's "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" ep.
2. Make a Tumblr post which only says, "Oh, my God, Lizzie, say 'I'm sorry' already before I reach through the computer screen and throttle you."
3. Check later on.
4. Notice the post got liked by one person -- the actress who plays Lizzie.

Well, at least SHE agrees with me. *snerk*

(Seriously, you should have heard me yelling GODDAMN IT LIZZIE at my computer screen this morning. I'm siding with Lydia Bennet, webseries. Look what you did, LBD. You BROKE me.)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2638444.html

So I knew I wasn't going to get an A in Math Throughout History. I just had too many problems this semester to get an A. That said, the worst I figured I'd get would be a B, and if that was the worst grade I got so far at Keystone and the grade that made me lose my 4.0, I was okay with that.

I just checked my final grades. My other grades were both A's, but I didn't get a B in Math Throughout History. I got an A-.

A-?! Aw, COME ON. You couldn't nudge it up just a smidge?

Heh. :)

(I'm pretty impressed, since that means I aced my final. Like, literally got not a single thing wrong. Granted, all of her tests were open book, but there's also plenty of math to do, soooooo.)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2638166.html

( My mom came home and immediately started calling all of the cats Richard Parker. (Cut for spoilers) )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2637880.html

... which, seriously, I barely even noticed until right after the Golden Globe nominations came out. I am asleep at the wheel this year, I swear to God.

That said, I'm going to try and start my yearly Oscarwatch early this year, because quite frankly it's a pain to try and cram in as many of the nominated movies as possible right before the ceremony, and also I don't like going into the Golden Globes blind if I can help it.

I'm currently in the middle of screener hunting, but until I can dig up some, I did hit Netflix to watch one of the nominated performances, Jack Black in "Bernie".

Okay, in all honesty, I am not a huge Jack Black fan. My grandfather, who is the other big movie fan in my family, absolutely loathes him, but I've been trying to get him to at least watch "High Fidelity" and "School of Rock" because, while I don't like him in nearly everything else he's been in, I like him in those two. Granted, "High Fidelity" only uses him as a supporting actor and it works, but still.

"Bernie" is the best thing he's ever done, full stop. The movie itself is not perfect -- the gossiping-townies conceit did get a bit tiresome for me after an hour and a half of movie time -- but Jack Black is, and is supposed to be, incredibly likable in the movie. He's sweet, he's generous, he gives you a taste of possibly-closeted-gay-guy without being offensive about it (God knows he could have been in some of his other movies), and even after he does something thoroughly horrific, you sympathize with him and almost don't want him to get caught. The scariest thing about the movie is that I think if he didn't have the filmography he has of acting in all these awful comedies, he might have a shot at an Oscar nom. Hell, he might even still have a chance, because God knows some recent winners have had some terrible movies to their credit.

I'd recommend watching it even if it doesn't get Jack Black nominated for an Oscar, because I feel like it may be a turning point in his career. It's streaming on Netflix, so it's worth a look if you have an account.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2637803.html

I convinced my Math Throughout History professor to let my class watch an episode of “School of Hard Sums” — i.e., “The Dara-O’Briain-Does-Math-Problems-Against-Students-And-Other-Comedians-For-Funsies Show” — before we took our final tonight.

I feel as though I should get an A for that alone.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2637329.html

Here's the link, for anyone who's interested.

There are two of my poems and a short story I never did post on here. It's post-apocalyptic. (Surprise!)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2637071.html

So yesterday I cleaned my apartment from top to bottom, and this morning I got the very nice check I've been waiting for since last week. (I got a letter last week from my DHL job from six years ago saying, "Hey, you've got a retirement plan with us that you haven't touched! What do you want to do with it?" and I could not call them up to say, "OMG I NEED TO CASH IT OUT!" fast enough.)

So I deposited the check this morning and since then:

-- I haven't been able to get in touch with the doctor or the dentist, both of whom I need to schedule appointments with
-- The cat spent the entire morning puking in every room
-- My deposit isn't registering as deposited into my account just yet according to every bill website I've tried to pay towards
-- Oh, and after stopping at the local grocery store, I hit one of the many, MANY potholes the guys currently doing roadwork and replacing our sewer system have left around town and broke my transmission pan.
-- Because of that, I now have no car either today or tomorrow, both of which I have finals during.

I'm really lucky I'm going to be able to afford to get it fixed and my brother's going to let me borrow his car for school, or else I'd probably be in tears right now.

(By the way, the car problem made telling my mother an "I told you so" moment, because she's on the town council and I complained to her not long ago that the roads were awful, since they're fixing the sewer system and then going back and paving the entire town at the end. You may have noticed that it's December, and that by the time they get finished with the sewers, it'll be January at least. You know, when it tends to SNOW. At which point, my mother informed me, they will put off paving the roads until spring. Because that's SMART.)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2636796.html

Earlier this week I had one of THOSE calls with my supervisor, where I got issued write-ups for not getting anywhere near quota. Whatever I may feel about my job right now, my supervisor is sort of awesome, so it wasn't so bad. I basically got asked to a.) get 200 more claims than I've been getting for the next two weeks, at least, and b.) get my hours in earlier in the week than I've been getting them in (i.e., not spending, like twenty hours working every Saturday, and no, I wish I were joking).

So, I've been trying. I still have about thirteen hours of work to go, but at least I won't be working a million hours tomorrow, which is really great. I'm also already about 150 claims over where I've been hitting the past few weeks on average, so with those thirteen more hours I should hit where I'm supposed to hit. So, yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. :)

That said, to make sure I get my hours in, I put "Monsters of Moosic" on the side until the weekend. At which point I get to work on it at the same time I study for finals. So, yaaaaaaaaaaay (except slightly more sarcastic).

I think I should do okay on my finals, even though I definitely won't be keeping my 4.0 after the end of the semester. I've got an A in History of Jazz without a problem (even if I do terribly on my final, every other test and paper I've done has gotten an A, so ...), and I should get an A in Law unless I get whacked over the head before I take my final. Math Throughout History is the problem, although when I say it's a problem, it's not like I'm going to flunk. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a B, which -- as the worst grade I've gotten since I came back to school -- is far from being tragic.

On the other hand, I made it into the school's literary magazine this semester! \o/ I submitted two poems ("First Visit To The Gay Bar" and "Half-Life") and two pieces of fiction I wrote in my creative writing class in the spring. They decided to take both poems, but the fiction decisions aren't until next week. Still, woohoo! \o/

Also, I am now hooked on "Elementary", I'm really happy with the eliminations this season on "Top Chef" even if I'm not completely thrilled with the contestants, and "Project Runway" needs to stop annoying me.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2636323.html

The book's still coming -- I swear!

Before I get into it, I just wanted to thank anybody who was able to help with my rent. I was lucky enough to get the money into my checking account before my landlord could cash the check, so I'm cool on that front. And tomorrow, thanks to my dad (who nearly popped a gasket when he saw just how bald my front tire is), I'm getting my stupid tire replaced.

In any event, I planned to hunker down and get "Monsters of Moosic" editing completed today, but considering I spent the last two whole days on the computer trying to get my hours in, I desperately needed a breather. I spent most of the morning working on it, but I took a break at lunchtime to go help my mom pick out a Christmas tree, and then went with my parents to my cousin's house to let her new puppy -- half shepherd, half Burmese mountain dog -- fall asleep on me (you know, now, while she's still small enough to do it without smothering me).

And now I am going to bake for a while, because baking is relaxing, and also because it'll give me something to eat this week while I'm finishing up finalizing the book. I don't have finals until next week, so it's literally all I have to do other than get my work hours in.

Er, let's not think about that last part. *makes face*

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2636115.html

I’ve been trying to scrape together extra cash by prepping my book to self-publish, due to the fact that my current job is not working out the way it should. For one thing, my current position hasn’t paid more than minimum wage in a few months. I’m trying to get a new job but it’s tough.

I wrote my last rent check with the understanding that my biweekly paycheck would be in my account by the time my landlord (who luckily is cool) would cash it. However, work changed up the pay schedule, and when he went to cash it, it bounced.

No problem - my landlord is cool, and he took a new check to be cashed tomorrow as my paycheck goes in tonight. Between my paycheck and what’s already in there, it should have been enough to pay my rent. Not much more, but as I’m self-pubbing on Sunday come hell or high water, I shouldn’t have to worry.

I just checked my account and I’m $130 short. I’m not sure how my paycheck is so small, but it is.

If anyone can help, I’d be grateful. I’ve been only able to pay for my car and rent for the past few months, and now apparently I can’t even pay that. If you have a few bucks to spare, my Paypal is jennifer DOT matarese AT Gmail. I’m desperately trying to get a new job but aside from a call from an insurance company that turned out to be a scam, I’ve had nothing. I haven’t been able to refill my antidepressants in weeks. I’ve been sharing what’s left of my people food with my rodents and am close to taking cat food from my mom.

I just … I really need help. A lot.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2636020.html

I'm still on track to finish the editing within the next few days, but I do have to get my work hours in for this week and, as per usual, I'm WAY behind. (Ugh.) So I'm setting the date when I will be finished and sending the book out (and posting it to Amazon, Kobo, and hopefully iPad, if Apple gets back to me sometime this century) as Sunday. I have my last major assignment for school tonight (my Japanese mathematics presentation -- cross your fingers and hope that not being able to stop yammering in front of an audience will make up for me being all, "Holy crap, HOW do I explain this problem again?!" last night when I looked at my Powerpoint), so as of 6:50 pm tonight, the only thing I have left to worry about school-wise are my finals.

Anyway.

Thanks to those of you who pre-ordered, because I'm broke as hell and that really, really helped with putting gas in my car and picking up a few groceries. If anyone else wants to pre-order:

I'm asking three bucks a copy, but if anyone would like to chip in for more, I'd appreciate it.

Here's the blurb I'm putting on Amazon:

My name is Sean Patrick Boggs, and people try to kill me all of the time. So do dragons, wizards, necromancers, werewolves, vampires, and every other conceivable creature in existence. See, I'm a latent. I'm just waiting for some traumatic event to trigger my repressed magic and give me control over the abilities I've been waiting my entire life to fully access. Until then, I'm a walking bag of very expensive spell ingredients and a future threat wrapped up in one poor tortured body. Now, one huge secret is about to make my life a whole lot more dangerous.

It's very snarky. Also, there is Scarlett. You will like Scarlett. Scarlett is adorable. And pointy. But mostly adorable, so it evens out.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2635727.html

It should be done on Friday, so it won't be too long a wait. If I do have an issue where it may take me a little longer, I'll definitely announce it, but I'm broke right now, sooooo.

I'm asking for three bucks a copy, although if anyone wants to chip in more, I'd be grateful. Also, if anyone still wants "Heroine Addiction" and hasn't picked up a copy yet, I can send those out, too.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2635384.html

1. I should be done with it on Friday, barring any unforeseen problems. I still have to do my stupid job and I've got a presentation in math class on Thursday, but I should be okay to publish by then.

2. I'm getting a cover! Which is good because I downloaded Photoshop, looked at it for about two minutes, maybe whimpered a little bit, then finally said, "FUCK IT," and almost flipped my laptop.

3. If you want to buy it and would like to pay for it early, that would be very nice and I would be eternally grateful, because I have quite literally no gas in my car and very little food in my house. Um. (One good thing about living in Pennsylvania is that I somehow made it to class last night because I pretty much coasted half of the way there and half of the way back. Yay for big hills, I guess.)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2635249.html

Hey, who wants to buy a book?

I'm currently halfway through a harsh-and-dirty final edit of "Monsters of Moosic" with the intent of sending it out this week because I really, really need money. I'm still working from home but I've sent out resumes to pretty much everyone who sits still long enough, so hopefully I won't be doing this at-home stuff much longer (which is good, because I'm only making minimum wage right now and everything is ridiculous and nothing hurts, mostly because I can't afford for anything to hurt).

ANYWAY.

If anyone wants a copy of "The Monsters of Moosic", it will be finished by the end of the week, at the worst. I'm crossing my fingers that I can get it done by Wednesday, but at worst (between school and getting my work hours in) I may not be able to get it ready until Friday or Saturday. However, I'm broke now, SO.

I'm asking for three bucks a copy (and I'm selling copies of "Heroine Addiction", too, if you didn't get a copy the first time around), but if you wanted to chip in more for a copy I'd be really grateful. And tell other people! It's Feed-A-Starving-Artist Day! Books for everybody, wheeeeeee!

(FYI, my Paypal address is apocalypsos AT livejournal DOT com or jennifer DOT matarese AT gmail DOT com. Either one works fine.)

*smishes everybody*

*bounces off*

I think it's safe to say at this point I'm failing at NaNoWriMo this year, although I am unsurprised since I didn't do NaNo last year because precisely for the same reason I'm having troubles this year -- school + work + writing = AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So basically, I'm holding onto "Heroine Withdrawal" until after finals. I can work on getting a good base started, and then when spring rolls around, two of my classes are weekender (and therefore every other weekend), one of online, and another is a Monday night class that doesn't start until the end of February anyway. Also, I've got my advanced creative writing class next semester anyway, and that perked my muse up this last spring, so that's probably a better idea anyway.

THAT SAID.

I'm currently trying to get "The Monsters of Moosic" edited ASAP to get it ready to self-pub by the end of the month. Firstly, I told myself I was going to self-pub again this year if I couldn't find a publisher or an agent (not that I've had the time to breathe, much less look for either) and I've got a perfectly acceptable manuscript to publish, so I'm publishing it. And also, I'm having a difficult time finding a new job and this one isn't getting any better, so ... you know, sell a book.

So I've got to get it edited and get it ready to post and dig up a cover and generally work my ass off for the next week or so. And I get to do it while finishing my paper on Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's new album for my jazz class which is due Tuesday and tidying up my Math Throughout History presentation for next week's class.

... kill me now?

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2634823.html

So I went and read the spoiler for that twist in "Breaking Dawn", and then I spent a few minutes being pissed because that twist made ME pissed on behalf of people who actually LIKE "Twilight", and then I thought about how am I going to explain this to my brother, who hates the "Twilight" movies but loves being snarky about them:

( This is how I picture the conversation going. BRING TISSUES. )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2634701.html

( He looks like a thumb, you guys. A THUMB. )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2634352.html

If they could make it just a little more difficult to find a new episode of a TV show on that website that's not a "Real Housewives" episode, that would be really fucking great.

So I ended up watching the first episode of this season of "Top Chef" on Amazon. Sheesh.

( Spoilery comments )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2634170.html

( Spoilers )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2633920.html

So you know how Victoria Jackson was on Twitter saying, "I can't stop crying. America died." after Obama was reelected?

Well, I retweeted and added a sarcastic, "OMG, @AmericaFerrera died?! Where the hell was I when that happened?", and then America fucking Ferrera retweeted it and now her and her followers are all, "... what?"

Is it wrong that I can't stop laughing?

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2633512.html

This is my small hometown’s local newspaper office. Last week, the editor/owner posted this ginormous Romney/Ryan sign over all of his other signs, which has led to mockery in my own family.

In the next edition of the local paper, this same newspaper guy has to report that in the fairly red county in which we live, we were one of the few towns to go pretty decisively for Obama.

I may have giggled hysterically when I realized that last night.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2633358.html

Admittedly late, since I'm just watching it online instead, but still.

( Spoilers! )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2633182.html

I pass the time while working watching TV shows on Netflix. I just finished off CSI Miami the other day (god, I love how hilariously awful that show is), so I started in on a Buffy rewatch, to be followed by an Angel rewatch, to be followed by a Supernatural rewatch/catch-up.

OMG, it's hysterical rewatching Buffy when I haven't watched an episode in years.

-- OH THEIR LITTLE FACES. I want to pinch all of their cheeks. David Boreanaz looks SO YOUNG.

-- That said, the one thing that hasn't changed since when I used to watch it was that I would have been perfectly happy if Buffy had died in the first episode and everybody else spent the next seven years of the show learning to kick ass and fight vampires without her. Out of everybody on the show, she's the only one I rarely liked.

-- I love watching shows that started in the '90s where people are juuuuust on the verge on getting halfway decent technology but they're not quite there. I mean, seriously, in season one, Buffy has a beeper. There's some kid in one episode working off an enormous portable word processor.

-- I just reached "School Hard". Yay, Spike! :D

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2632931.html

So as of the halfway point of the semester I have As in Constitutional and Criminal Law (which is turning out to be a really fun class with lots of talking about government and politics and whatnot) and History of Jazz (which I'm loving to pieces, and which has led me to load up the far-too-small micro SD card in my tablet with tons of jazz, big band, and swing), and a B in Math Throughout History.

I'm not worried about if I hold onto that B until the end of the semester, since God knows I have to lose my 4.0 eventually. I think I'm more bothered by the fact that math is already difficult enough without factoring in that my teacher is Chinese and English is her second language. I'm not sure if that's the reason why it's impossible to understand her when she's explaining how to work out specific problems, or if she's just bad at it in general. I get the impression it's the latter. I'm probably the only one in that class who's not a math education major, and from conversations I've heard as we're leaving class, they're all used to the way she loses her place in the middle of a problem or gets her math wrong all the time. Which all sucks, because she's a very nice teacher, but still.

I think I may be able to pick my grade up a notch or two, but as long as it doesn't drop down, I'll be fine.

Meanwhile, I got to sign up for my spring classes this week: the advanced creative writing class my teacher from last spring put me on his short list of definitely-have-to-take-whether-I-like-it-or-not, and of course I do, heeeeee; communication theory, which is the last required class for my major before I do my capstone assignment next fall and spring semesters; my health and wellness requirement; and since that class is only two credits, I signed up for a one credit yoga class on Monday nights just for the hell of it. It's a bit out of the way for me to drive for an exercise class, but it's financial aid's dime and the college credit means I won't be able to talk myself out of it because I just don't feel like it.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2632562.html

I got my Yuletide assignment, and I'm VERY happy about it. It's a fandom I've asked for before and never gotten, so that's awesome, and it's also asking for characters I'd never thought about writing for, which is great, because God knows I love the "challenge" part of "fanfic challenge".

And now, before I forget, my Dear Santa letter:

( Dear Yuletide Santa )

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2632238.html

Heroine Withdrawal:

2003 / 50000

I'm hoping to just keep up with the daily quota at this point. What I did today was have my tablet and keyboard set up on one side of the room, and when I felt too fried from work stuff, I logged off and came over here and added a couple hundred words or so. I have to work a ton of hours tomorrow and Saturday to catch up for work, but I think I can squeeze in my quota during my break times.

Yay, writing! \o/

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2632023.html

Heroine Withdrawal:

1137 / 50000

If anything has anything to toss in -- suggestions, requests, etc. -- I'm more than willing to hear them. I didn't get quite as much time as I'd like to plot prior to midnight, so I'm basically just diving in without any idea where the hell I'm going.

Oh, man, I'm so happy NaNo is here this year. I totally needed the poke to my creative bits. :D

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2631910.html

Well, it's mostly ridiculously windy where I am - flooding's not much of a factor in my hometown just because we're higher up on a hillside - but I'm bored waiting for the power to go out (it keeps dimming and not quite going out) and I figured I'd share the recipe for the coffee cake I made yesterday. It's sort of the family recipe, and it's simple and yummy. When I asked my mom for the recipe, she asked if I planned to eat the whole thing and ... well, not in one sitting. ;)

*

Coffee Cake:

For cake-
Yellow cake mix

For topping-
2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 to 3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 lb margarine (to melt and drizzle into dry ingredients leaving large crumbs)

Mix cake mix according to package directions and pour into buttered and floured cookie sheet. Bake in 350° for 20 minutes. While cake is in oven, combine topping ingredients in a large bowl with a pastry blender leaving large crumbs. (Note: I didn't need a pastry blender, which is good since I don't own one.) Place on hot cake and return to oven for ten minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2631473.html

I signed up for Yuletide. My thing with Yuletide is that while I am always grateful and happy to receive my present from my Yuletide Santa, I have to admit that I like writing Yuletide stories more. This year, I'm crossing my fingers that I get one of the odder fandoms I picked -- I picked two which I tripped over while looking for another fandom and snatched them up while making squeals of glee -- but any way you look at it, I can't wait. :)

I'm also all signed up for NaNo, but I did have to sign up under a different username because I couldn't recall my password for my previous account and apparently the NaNo site doesn't want to bother sending me a new one no matter how many times I try. So whatever, now my username on the site is jmatarese, if anyone wants to follow my progress over there. You know, if I make any.

I've been on a bit of a lag for a while now -- probably a combination of school and work and money stress, annoyingly -- and I didn't even bother to try NaNo last year. I'm crossing my fingers that I can get somewhere this year, especially considering that my plan is to start the sequel to "Heroine Addiction", currently titled "Heroine Withdrawal". (Yeah, why stop with one tacky pun when you can just keep going? ;))

I have a week and a half to plan something, so we'll see.

(I also told one of the other creative writing majors at school about NaNo. She's got two sets of twins and goes to school full-time, and I warned her exactly what she was getting into, and she STILL took the website address. And I thought I was a glutton for punishment. Heh.)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2630992.html

I got my USB Nintendo controller configured to my emulator. Which is great, really, because I never, ever planned on doing anything else ever again.

(OMG, playing an exorbitant amount of the first "Legend of Zelda" on Sunday. :D :D :D)

*

Meanwhile, before my History of Jazz class on Tuesday night, I introduced one of the other communication/creative writing majors to NaNoWriMo. The fact that I managed not to cackle maniacally while doing so was a major accomplishment.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2630904.html

Okay, so I really wanted to sit down and get this down before I start another week from hell -- last week I was drowning in exhaustion while trying to get my hours in for work, this week is midterms, so every time I've tried to sit down for more than five minutes in the past week I've either had to get back up again or fell asleep -- BUT.

I just wanted to thank all of you who were able to help me out last week. Thanks to you guys, I was able to pay a large portion of my electric bill as well as my water bill, internet bill, and the part of last month's rent that I was going to be short. I still owe my landlord for taking care of my sewer bill when it switched from my water bill to the property payments this month (hence, why my rent went up), but he doesn't mind if I just pay twenty bucks now and then until it's paid off, and my cell phone's still shut off, but since I don't really need a phone other than for work (when I borrow my brother's phone) or emergencies (an let's cross our fingers that none of those happen anytime soon), that doesn't matter. And I bought some groceries, so yaaaaaaay for food in my house that not's ramen.

I just ... I kinda want to give you all a great big hugs. Seriously. Finding a new job is going to be a bit of a bitch, but .... well, we'll see. I'm hoping to dive headfirst into editing "Monsters of Moosic" right after midterms so I can finally post it to Amazon, but we'll see how long that takes. And hey, maybe I'll luck out and Harper Voyager will snap up "Heroine Addiction."

*hugshugshugshugshugs*

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2630410.html

I still haven't heard back from the assistance program I got in touch with about helping me keep my electricity on, and I have to pay the amount due by tomorrow to keep it on. I'm planning on looking for a new job so this ridiculousness can stop and I can go back to actually being able to pay my damn bills, but for right now:

(I do want to put out a preemptive thanks to anyone willing to help, or anyone who just wants to send good thoughts or whatever, just in case I do my usual absent-minded routine and forget to say thanks until, like six weeks from now. At which point I feel guilty about waiting so long and have a hard time doing it. *hugs all around*)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2630171.html

Sooooo I think I'm looking for another job.

I like the at-home position, but the pay situation is just not working out at all. I am behind on every single one of my bills, my cell phone's been shut off for two months, my rent went up, my electricity is scheduled to be shut off in two days unless I can come up with $92 I don't have and I don't have faith that the assistance program I contacted is going to help, and getting a roommate is the last resort to end all last resorts. (Considering my history with roommates, I get panic attacks just thinking about someone else living here.)

So, whether I like it or not, I need to find a different job. Which sucks, but I'm backed into a broke-ass corner.

*sigh*

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2630048.html

Me: Wait, it's Columbus Day. There's no classes today. I have the rest of the day to work. Yay!
(I go to leave my apartment to go get some food and find a note on my front door.)
Me: A three-day shutoff notice for my electricity? Oh, FFS. *headdesk*

Oh, good, I get to spend part of the day trying to keep PPL from shutting off my electricity with the two bucks in my bank account. Yaaaaaaaaaaay.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2629829.html

I hadn't gotten one yet -- which, let's be honest, I wasn't crying in my beer over -- but today one showed up in my mail. So I decided to send it back, with a little extra.

( Cutting because the pic is a little large. )

For anyone having trouble reading it, the note I added says:

Dear Republican Party of Pennsylvania,

Please don’t waste any more paper sending Romney/Ryan flyers to my house. If this election were between your smug, greedy, self-obsessed, ignorant, woman-hating, job-killing, animal-abusing, tax-evading, starvation-supporting, billionaire-blowing, hypocritical, sociopathic excuse for a candidate and a rotting slab of roadkill, I would be on the phone trying to garner support for Senator Flattened-Maggot-Caked-Possum for the next month.

Thanks,

Jennifer Matarese

P.S. Also, please pass on my thanks to the graphic designer who made the “R” in the Romney logo looked like the toned buttocks of a hot young gay man leaning against a wall as he waits to be topped, as the laughter that ensues when I see it is the only good feeling your candidate gives me.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2629587.html

Pumpkin ice cream, crumbled ginger snaps, caramel sauce, and Cool Whip.

Why, yes, it does taste like autumn in a bowl.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2629357.html

Why, yes, I may have some sort of reaction to that.

One day I will get tired of Project Runway and stop watching. This is not that day.

(Ignore the fact that I haven't watched the new episode.)

I'm so sure that I'm not getting anything for my birthday that I'm seriously contemplating spending part of my paycheck tomorrow on this even though I'm pretty sure I won't be able to afford it. Which is both stupid and depressing. *sigh*

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2628963.html

I wonder how wrong it would be to nominate your own work for Yuletide.

(I'm not going to, both because I'm not going to be THAT person and because I've got my nominations all picked out, thank you very much. Still, I'm not going to pretend that fic where Everett has to double-check all their Christmas/Hanukkah decorations to make sure that Morris hasn't turned the menorah into a flamethrower or put aphrodisiac spray in the mistletoe wouldn't kill me dead.)

*

Also, I have two days to finish my paper on Japanese temple geometry, and can I just say how annoyed I was to get an email back from my professor when I sent her the initial outline like we were supposed to and she suggested some mathematicians to add to my paper, and it turns out they're all from this century and have nothing to do with sangaku? I mean, for real? Sangaku was in its prime from, like 1650 to 1850. There's plenty of mathematicians who worked during that time period for me to use. Sheesh.

Let's not even get into the girl who's taking the same History of Jazz class that I am who keeps posting to the group listening journal with the same negative comments about everything? She doesn't like horns, she doesn't like piano, she doesn't like Louis Armstrong ... why would you take a class in a genre of music you clearly hate? You don't see me taking the History of Polka, for Pete's sake.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2628760.html

Oh, good, my landlord just raised my rent by thirty bucks.

*headdesk*

(Granted, I did sort of see this coming, as the town is putting in a new $10 million sewer system which we really need since the current one is crap -- no pun intended -- and the sewer bills are switching from our water bills to our rents as a result, but it's one thing for your mom, the councilwoman, to remind you it's going to happen, and another thing entirely for your landlord to stop by and confirm it. *sigh*)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2628516.html

Dear charity which offers short-term grants for people having financial difficulties,

You perform a great service, but if my last month's worth of deposits are less than my expenses, that is not a sign of a long-term problem. Especially considering my boss just allowed me to stop sending a certain percentage of my claims to QC and therefore work as much as I'd like, and it turns out that I can very nearly keep up with the expected quota. You know, when I'm not so stressed about my financial situation that I'm too fucked up to work.

Sincerely,

Me

*

Dear other charities,

You are not half as much help as I need you to be.

Sincerely,

Me

*

Dear electricity, water, and internet connection,

Please don't shut off, pleeeeeeeeeease don't shut off ...

Sincerely,

Me

*

Dear girl who emails me every damn time I list my treadmill on Craigslist and asks if you can buy it only to never bother to respond after I ask you if this time you really, really mean it because I'm too needy for extra cash to ignore you,

STOP THAT.

Sincerely,

Me

*

Dear people who think I'm pathetic, lazy, and/or greedy for the number of times I've put up a Paypal button,

I apologize. Possibly in advance.

Sincerely,

Me

*

Dear cat, chinchillas, rat, hamster, and tarantula,

GET A JOB, YOU BUMS.

Sincerely,

Me

*

Dear Harper Voyager,

I am sending three manuscripts into your unagented-submissions thingy next week. Please to be accepting at least one of them. Pretty please?

Sincerely,

Me

*

Dear self,

No, you can't sell a kidney.

Sincerely,

Me

P.S. You can't give one away, either, you idiot.

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2628233.html

I am 95% certain that I will not be able to pay my rent for this month because this week's paycheck should be juuuuuuuuuuust enough to cover the amount I need to make last month's rent.

So ... er, happy birthday to me, I guess.

(Seriously, the turning-35 thing isn't bad, it's the turning-35-when-I-can't-pay-my-rent-can't-buy-groceries-am-probably-getting-my-utilities-shut-off-any-minute-now-and-just-lost-a-pet that's starting to get to me in that way in which I would keep the suicide hotline on standby if my cell phone hadn't been shut off.)

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2627904.html

Please tell me that I won't be lying when I tell my boss later on that the reason I stopped working five hours before I would have reached my forty hours for this week is because I'm sick. I've been randomly bursting into heaving sobs and fighting off panic attacks all goddamn day, and my fucked-up brain refuses to accept that as "sick."

Crossposts: http://apocalypsos.livejournal.com/2627753.html

You know you need to go buy groceries when you're wasting time on Amazon adding snack food to your wish list.

(Pringles sweet potato chips? Do they even make those anymore? And if not, WHY OMG WAAAAAAAANT. AND OMG THEY HAVE INDIAN PUMPKIN SEEDS. GET IN MY BELLEH DAMN IT.)

EDIT: HOLY SHITBALLS. THERE ARE PUMPKIN SPICE HERSHEY KISSES. OMG I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU BEFORE BUT I LOVE YOU SO. I NEED FORTY-SEVEN BAGS OF YOU TO LAST THE PUMPKIN-SPICE-LESS MONTHS. GRAAAAAABBYHANDS.

(I literally shrieked "OHMYGOD" at top volume when I saw those.)