Wide Awake in America

[itsallovernow]

Okay, that's a lie. I'm not at all wide awake, but 4 hours and some creative accounting later and my taxes are done. My mom will be so very relieved. I think it's causing her more stress than it was causing me, but then I was patently ignoring them, so the stress got saved up. I will say that TurboTax was a pricey godsend and that my consulting work netted little income but a buttload of deductions. Dude, I so should have counted my LJ expenses as a deduction, but well, that might have been pushing it just a little.

My dad googled my name and found my SMRT-TV article and sent me this e-mail (edited for readability because typing with one hand leads to creative spelling):

"Hi from the telephone junkie  daddy. Imagine my pleasure and pride whe I googled you and got a hit @smart tv .com. Clever bio but no mention of the mean man who chained you as a child to the idiot box  and drug you to see 2001 a space oddity when you were still in pampers. Srange how that came full circle in farscape. HAL 20005? EVEN THOUGH IAM UNWALKING I COULd PROBABLY OPERATE ELLEN RIPLEYS LOADER. I AM COSIDERING SELLING MY  ELECTRICAL WHEEL CHAIR, THE NOSTROMO, or At least EQUIPING IT WITH BUTANE FLAME THROWERS. THE GEEKY TWINS THAT  WORKED FOR ME AT THE PIPE STORE HAD NOSTROMO HATS AND TEES [XXXL FOR THE PAPPA]  WHEN DERBY AND I GO OUT WITH THE CHAIR I'LL HAVE TO TELL HIM THaT IT'S FOR A STAND UP FIGHT AND NOT JUST ABOTHER BUG HUNT.HE WANTS TO KNOW THAT HIS SYN THETIC HUMAN IS NOT TWITCHY."

I'd yelled at him for calling me 12 times today, and then I think, well, what other outlet does he have? And I feel bad, and then I read this, and miss him so desperately, so wish that he was whole again, that he did have use of his hands, wasn't trapped in his body, in his glorious and quirky mind. He really is the root of my geekitude, teaching me to be proud of what I loved, no matter what it was.



rubberneck, driving down the hill from teaching, I was humming to myself, then up identifying the song, burst out laughing. John Lennon, huh? Because yeah, I'd had the same thought earlier, an off hand comment, Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards man. Then the look, the not a chance are we gonna do that to her:) Hee. Dude, I just so love you and am constantly astonished over the brain wave transmissions going on. More importnatly, I'm just so awed by that fabulous mind of yours, the connections and subtleties, the ease of your layering. I'll try to get the next part done before Friday.

Ms. crankygrrl, babe, where's your show and tell?

Working, working, working and it's okay, it's good in fact, but I'm out of time, I don't have breathing room, don't have a chance for creativity to foment, only time to push, to keep going, work in and out and through.

Waves to all of you and promises to learn how to better manage the time and the stress and rejoin the land of the people in my computer!

Oh, and jonquil was looking for Revenging Angel icons with cartoon Aeryn as cartoon Aeryn. Anyone have any offerings?

cretkid is making "I'm contemplating running a ficathon" noises. Go forth and encourage/harass her because her idea sounds like a lot of fun:)

Comments

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

what a wonderful letter he wrote you. and what you said reminds me of my father who spent the last 30 years of his life in a wheelchair as a result of polio.

the endurance of human spirit, and ability to make meaning out of life no matter what, is a remarkable thing. which my father had in spades. and he gave me scifi to read when i was 10, something i'll always be grateful for.

thank you for what you wrote about your father. *hugs*

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Hugs you back. Dads are a very good thing, even when they try and make you crazy:)

[jenlev.livejournal.com]

and sometimes they're entertaining when they do that too. ;)

[rubberneck.livejournal.com]

* TurboTax rocks; between TT and our accountant (who consults during the year so we have a chance to correct before the ax falls) we actually net in the black for the first time in YEARS.

* Your dad is very cool and clearly loves you (which makes the frustration harder to deal with; I have some inkling of this from when my mom could barely walk and was a petulant terror).

* I've not seen any wolves, either. *sharpens pointy poking stick for Cranky*

* Give yourself time to adjust, time to ease into this new workplace. We'll be here when you get back 8 )

driving down the hill from teaching, I was humming to myself, then up identifying the song, burst out laughing.

*giggles helplessly*

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Turbo Tax did indeed rock. But next year, assuming I have any disposable income, I'm gettin' an accountant who's not related to me. I'm also purchasing Quick Books ASAP so that I've got better records. But yeah for being in the black!!

And yeah, that's the problem exactly with my dad.

And hee - I so wanted to call you when the realization hit, but it was too late on your end:)

[rubberneck.livejournal.com]

I'd say anytime until 8pm your time is good; if I'm sleeping I'm not on the same floor as the phone anyway, so it won't bug me but I *do* check my voicemail pretty consistently nowadays 8 )

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Hee - excellent:) I'm very much the same way:) Kath is having an illicit affair with my voice mail:)

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

WHEN DERBY AND I GO OUT WITH THE CHAIR I'LL HAVE TO TELL HIM THaT IT'S FOR A STAND UP FIGHT AND NOT JUST ABOTHER BUG HUNT.HE WANTS TO KNOW THAT HIS SYN THETIC HUMAN IS NOT TWITCHY

Dude, I wish either of my parents appreciated Aliens like that. We have our own stuff but I don't think either of them 'gets' my interest in sf, y'know.

Ms. crankygrrl, babe, where's your show and tell?

So Feldman get's compliments and I get harassment? Oh, fine then. *sniff* Of course, Feldman turns in her things on time and writes more than I do. After harassing everyone else I feel very guilty at being late. I have to admit, I'm addicted to my iPod and then, last night, I signed up at the iTunes music store and began searching around for songs (I stopped my downloads at 10--0.99 a song is a great deal until you start to realize how they add up). Anyway, there are now 161 songs on the iPod and I'm starting to get the hang of dl'ing stuff so my time at the computer writing while the music downloads may actually involve some writing shortly.

[rubberneck.livejournal.com]

So Feldman get's compliments and I get harassment? Oh, fine then. *sniff* Of course, Feldman turns in her things on time and writes more than I do.

We were all late, actually, and Thea posted first. I just didn't let being late stop me.

As far as writing more, I really did take your advice of 2 years ago to heart. I whine and struggle and wrestle with it, but in the end it's just forcing myself to put words down onto the page until I eventually hit on it.

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

I know. I'm trying to take my own advice but it's an upscale battle these days. I need a new job so I can't use my job as an excuse for not writing anymore.

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

It's true:) Hugs you. But then, I'm for anything that'll get more writing from you. But that job is actively making you crazy, and you deserve better for yourself.

[rubberneck.livejournal.com]

Hear-hear!

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

an upscale battle

"The Prada-clad army faces its opponents, dressed in Gucci. The Manolo Blahnik combat books are shined to a fault, and the silver engraved weapons, courtesy of Tiffany's, come out of their sheaths (purchaseable exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue after the war). Personally, I find the substitution of Chanel No. 5 with Stella McCartney's new scent a bit... down-market, shall we say, but time marches on, and battles simply can't be as upscale as they once were."

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Hee:)

[rubberneck.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you for realizing this little dream of mine *g*

[life-on-queen.livejournal.com]

You're demented.

Extremely amusing but demented. ;]

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

True. And I promise feedbac on Neon today!! I'm makin' us all t-shirts, the "Just write dammit" t-shirts because I think we all get stuck in that, some more so than others.

[rubberneck.livejournal.com]

Better make it "Just write, damn it." so that the grammar won't make some of us twitch.

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Hee - Very good point:)

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

I will sing your praises as soon as you post something (and trust me - the particular bit of cleverness I was referring to was so worth the praise). But I called you one of my favorite writers just the other day:)

YEAH for the iPod addiction. You thought we were all nuts didn't you:) The great thing about iTunes is the 9.99 albums:)

[cofax7]

Oh your dad! So cute!

I haven't yet decided what to do about my Smrt-TV name, if I should go with the real name or the pseud. I suspect it'll be the pseud, again. I just don't want potential clients finding out what I do in my spare time. (Although if you google my real name you find a bunch of other people before me: I'm apparently not all that important. yay?)

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

My dad - annoying as hell, but the epitome of cute:) It's what's kept him in everyone's good graces for so long. It's impossible to stay mad at him.

I'd go with your pseud:) I wanted to put my real name on it, but I don't have the same work situation that you do. Actually, part of it is that I wanted to show the work to my dad and he would have either given me shit about the pseud or not been able to navigate to get to me, so it was worth the trade off of having my real name connected with some of my other pursuits:)

However, the site (and the articles) really are meta/academic enough so that your clients might be suitable impressed by your very fine brain:)

[cretkid.livejournal.com]

I'm taking yours and stars' suggestion of an ep per season, but not to decide the theme... and how many people would actually participate if I chose the following eps:

for a theme of 'not many people write about these eps'

Throne for a Loss/PK Tech Girl
The Ugly Truth/Taking the Stone
Different Destinations/Incubator
Lava is a ... / Twice Shy (BUT with the caveat that the story can NOT be about the tag scene)

I have some time to think about it, as I won't spring the hatch on it until sprog-a-thon is over.

[cretkid.livejournal.com]

ooh, and kerne has popped little bunnies in my brain by adding to the flotila of eps to write about:

Til the Blood Runs Clear
A Clockwork Nebari
I Shrink Therefore I am

oh goodie, this is gonna be fun

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

EEEK!! YEah! I want those stories now, though!

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

You can sign me up:) I'd be thrilled to write follow ups for any of those:)

[cretkid.livejournal.com]

oh you are so in this... bwuaaaaaaaaaaa.

I'll make it happen by the end of the month; deadline to be after Hussy Weekend. bwuaaaaaaaaa

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Excellent!!

[raithen.livejournal.com]

{{hugs}}

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Hugs you back:) I'm starting to get less crazed, should be back in normal - if slightly less wordy form by next week:)

[danceswithwords.livejournal.com]

That's a lovely email from your father.

I too was introduced to sci fi at an early age by my father. I think I saw Alien when I was nine or so on cable because my father was like, "This is a great movie! Let's watch it!" (My mother, mid-movie: "You're letting her watch WHAT!?") He had no sense of age-appropriateness; it was great.

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Hee - my dad shared the same age-appropriate filter:) He really did take me to see 2001 when I was five. And he'd give me whatever he was reading, which was great until I read The Shining at 12 and couldn't sleep for a week:)

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

I was just looking at Revenging Angel screencaps recently. Maybe I will throw something together, if someone wants icons...

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

That'd be lovely:)

[haphazardmethod.livejournal.com]

Your dad is adorable. I see where you get it.

I hope things calm down soon.

[thassalia.livejournal.com]

Hee - thanks honey:) I'm so much like him in certain ways that it's scary, and the ways that we're different are deliberate:)