bella

Journal move.

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:05:09 GMT

Those of you who've known me for a few years will probably grump and frown about having to do this a second time.

However, bella_felis will no longer be updated.

The party's over at loonyemi again.

Got a bit tired of having a crappy second-rate name, and missed the old one. I'm going to try to see if I can get the entries in this journal imported over to the original (anyone know if there's a program that does that, while we're on the topic? moony?). I will probably unlock some of the previously-privated entries from the last five years over on loonyemi, but definitely not all. There's just too much inane adolescent crud to want to revisit it all.

Thanks for your attention. Go friend me!

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:45:25 GMT

haeru: you should know though that you can tell me anything.
haeru: literally.
bella_felis: okay
bella_felis: i'm an alien from a neighboring galaxy
bella_felis: i've been running a scientific experiment on you and your planet for the last ten years
haeru: oh you have?
haeru: kinky. :x
haeru: which galaxy?
bella_felis: can't tell you till we get there, too risky
haeru: why too risky?
bella_felis: you might tell someone.
bella_felis: your puny telescopes haven't found us yet.
haeru: well that's because we always point them in the wrong direction, or the lenses are dirty
bella_felis: actually it's because right now, a massive black hole is between us and you
bella_felis: well not right now, millennia ago
bella_felis: but the light is getting here now
bella_felis: that's why we came now.
haeru: so you're going to take me away then?
bella_felis: not just you :3
bella_felis: we plan to take your internet
bella_felis: all of it
haeru: oh good
haeru: as long as i go with it.
haeru: or vice versa
bella_felis: yeah, your internet and everyone who's on it
bella_felis: well
bella_felis: hopefully not everyone
bella_felis: i have a petition in right now to leave everyone from chinese and brazilian ISPs behind
haeru: oh good
bella_felis: i'm so glad i can tell you anything, this is a big load off

request

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:08:16 GMT

Can someone please come up here and take my Failout 3 disc away at midnight? This has to stop.

this just in

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:39:22 GMT

I've just been informed that you can buy prostitutes in Fallout 3.

My opinions have changed.

GAME OF THE YEAR IMO

oblivion with guns

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:28:02 GMT

Got Fallout 3 yesterday.

Verdict after the first night: Not as good as Oblivion. Still, I'll be playing through it for at least some time to come.

I'm hoping that my initial impressions are stemming more from the leveling-up system inordinately punishing low-level players than from a deeper problem with game design, but we'll see. Additionally, V.A.T.S. is not as cool as I was promised it would be.

/r/

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:24:08 GMT

I need someone expert with Photoshop and artistic judgment to turn this:

or some artistically awesome-looking fraction thereof into an LJ icon.

Anyone interested? Can repay with favors.

oh my god.

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:44:33 GMT

DO NEED.

you guys. :3

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:56:25 GMT

I have the coolest friends.

Whether text, facebook, IM, email, or otherwise, you guys are awesome. Thank you for the birthday wishes.

ALTHOUGH I REFUSE TO BE A YEAR OLDER

xkcdb

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:33:49 GMT

this is amazing.

it's like bash.org, except half the entries involve Randall Munroe being awesome.

it's like... porn for nerd girls.

Help re: hair.

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 06:58:04 GMT

So you might recall I dyed my hair a very dark brown about three weeks ago. It's sort of a sandy ash blonde naturally, and when I used a permanent dye, I sort of expected to be near-black brown for a long time.

The color it turned out wasn't even remotely as dark as the color on the box, and in the three weeks that have elapsed since I did it, the dark brown has almost entirely washed out. (For a frame of reference, this is the color we used. It's almost totally blonde again, and this dye is supposed to be permanent

Help. ;_; This is the first time I've ever colored my hair myself or used a permanent dye (the three times I went red, I had a professional do it, and use a semi-permanent dye) and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I'm 99% sure it's not human error in the dyeing process, as the person who actually did the dyeing was my sister, who goes through about 30 hair colors a year - she knows what she's doing.

Any ideas, from those of you who have done a lot of hair alterations, on what I might need to do to make a dark color stick?

Back

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:04:36 GMT

I'm back in the USA as of today.

And by today, I mean yesterday.

And by "the USA", I mean "the contiguous 48".

God, I missed California.

And my shower.

And my husband.

And my cat.

And speed limits over 50.

And fast internet.

That didn't disconnect every 20 minutes.

And WoW.

And Steam.

And HDTV.

And....

Jesus, I know what I'll be thinking about this Thanksgiving.

Happy [Roasted Quail] Day, everyone!

Heroes

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:06:32 GMT

Well, finally finished.

Thoroughly disappointed by the ending, because as soon as Nathan took off flying like Iron Man in like, the third or fourth episode, I jokingly laughed to my grandmother that he should just save New York that way.

And laughed it off because it seemed way too cheap and easy.

Oh well. :P

ANNOUNCEMENT

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:58:00 GMT

I AM WATCHING HEROES

SEASON ONE

FOR THE FIRST TIME

AND IT IS AWESOME

never again will a despised coworker's obsession with something drive me away from it. WOW.

ASOIAF on HBO

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:37:54 GMT

So they're finally doing A Game of Thrones for TV.

You ever gonna finish the series, George? >:l

/afk

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 23:38:33 GMT

As of tomorrow in the early, early morning, I'll be in Hawaii for two weeks.

My grandmother just had emergency knee replacement surgery and needs someone with her constantly until she can walk on her own again.

I'll still have internet, but it's likely to be a lot more sporadic than usual. I have a multitude of things to write, read, play, and listen to during the two six-hour flights and the nights on a cot in the hospital or couch at her house, but I'm fairly certain I won't be able to do or enjoy much of any of it due to how worried I'll be about her.

Your thoughts and/or prayers would be hugely appreciated.

No more hate, overturn Prop 8

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:20:36 GMT

I am going to the Prop 8 protest rally in Hollywood tomorrow night.

Anyone else want to come?

Message for Obama

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:59:42 GMT

Courtesy moony.

Add your message here.

Herrera and friends suing for invalidation of Prop 8

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:21:40 GMT

"The issue before the court today is of far greater consequence than marriage equality alone," Herrera said. "Equal protection of the laws is not merely the cornerstone of the California Constitution, it is what separates constitutional democracy from mob rule tyranny. If allowed to stand, Prop 8 so devastates the principle of equal protection that it endangers the fundamental rights of any potential electoral minority -- even for protected classes based on race, religion, national origin and gender. The proponents of Prop 8 waged a ruthless campaign of falsehood and fear, funded by millions of dollars from out-of-state interest groups. Make no mistake that their success in California has dramatically raised the stakes. What began as a struggle for marriage equality is today a fight for equality itself.

So... tell me, liberal friends of mine. How does one go about trying to help in this endeavor? Or is it totally out of the private citizen's hands at this point? Donating, volunteering, protesting... you name it, I'm up for it. I made the mistake of thinking Prop 8 was so ridiculous it could never pass, but apparently I failed to take into account the shamefully hypocritical willingness of certain previously-discriminated-against groups to discriminate against other groups, and now I want to make up for all the campaigning I didn't do before the election.

Because seriously, fuck this shit. This is the most ludicrous thing I've ever seen Californians do, and that's including the Berkeley tree people, the fuckers who held up San Francisco's economy for a week for five ducks, and the entire city of Irvine.

No.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:28:58 GMT

No.

In tears.

Wretched.

The exhilaration of last night completely gone, replaced with a deep and profound sense of loss.

The messiah of change has stepped up to his throne, but he cannot change this.

I thought it was a joke at first, and then I desperately wanted it to be one. A cruel and incredibly twisted joke, maybe even a tasteless publicity stunt.

One of my holy trinity of literary influences, a man I thought of as a mentor after only having met once, and the inspiration that brought me down the scary path of "what do you want to be when you grow up", died last night.

I don't know what to do anymore.

In pace requiescat.

Post-Election Letdown.

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:52:35 GMT

Those of you who have parents who voted for Obama, or even those of you whose parents don't mind that you did so, thank your stars.

Those of you who have to deal with family members who don't want to talk to you because of it (or, notably, because you voted No on 8)... let's commiserate.

Bob Dole part II

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:31:14 GMT

That might have been the classiest concession speech ever given.

Godspeed, McCain. If only you had written your speeches like that during the campaign.

HOW ANTICLIMACTIC

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:53:06 GMT

Polls close in 8 minutes.

Am ultra bored, because Obama is one California away from winning the election.

Every California election is a repost repost.

Anyone want to play cards?

Contradiction 2008: Or, How I Went From Being a Palin Fangirl to Voting for Obama In Two Months

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:52:25 GMT

I've always been old for my age.

When I was three years old, my mother pulled some strings to stuff me into kindergarten early due to the fact that she had come home to find me reading a book to my grandmother. In elementary school and junior high, I was always a head taller than my mostly-asian/islander classmates, but frequently over a year younger. I was the record youngest member of the theatrical group I joined at age nine, and frequently saw preteens and teenagers older than me dismissed for immaturity.

High school was more normalizing, given that freshmen are obvious no matter how tall they are and I was finally in a school with persons of average height, but people still laughed in disbelief when they discovered my age. I joined a adult missionary group at fifteen, and the leaders were compelled to make an exception to their charter when they found out I wasn't the minimum age for participation, eighteen. My first year in college, I was on three separate occasions approached by lonely businessmen at airports offering to buy me a drink - offers they hastily retracted when they realized I couldn't even vote, much less drink.

As college melted into adult life, I was able to secure a job as a cocktail waitress before the bar's owner realized I was eighteen (not 21), and when he did, he didn't want to let me go over it. I am, to this day, getting utter disbelief from the people from the company I worked at for three years; people who thought I was in my "late twenties, 25 at least" when I started, instead of nineteen. My father-in-law, a stern stickler of a lawyer, repeats a cycle of surprise about my age every couple of months, and when my absentminded mother happens to remember that the married daughter she's talking to is 22, not 30, she has a similar experience.

As I'm sure many of my friends can relate (for people tend to associate with people like them), being "old for your age" bears with it a certain early induction into acting "like a grown-up". When your friends are people who are, on average, 5-10 years your senior, for most of your life, you become aware that maturity is expected of you.

What I've realized in the last few years, though, is this: Younger people are actually held to a higher standard of maturity, wisdom, and good judgment than their older peers are. They not only have to act the age of the people they're associating with, they also have to compensate for their actual age. And age isn't the only thing, I'm realizing. Age, race, gender, religious affiliations... those of us who are the targets of discrimination in some bracket or another generally have to learn to be the bigger, more mature, person.

What all does this have to do with the election? I promise it's not irrelevant.

When Senator McCain announced his running mate, I made a series of hypotheses about the way the next two months might play out. I was really, really excited. A strong female force, a charismatic lady in the White House, a pair of people who recognize the futility of certain "energy solutions" and aren't total vaginas about small, modern, technologically advanced drill sites in the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SQUARE MILES OF ALASKA that a) nobody ever sees, and b) the caribou really won't mind moving away from okay, eco-realist mode off.

I was looking forward to seeing McCain start talking about uniting the country, offering political olive branches to the moderates and conservative Democrats, driving us away from this utter travesty that is bipartisanshit, while the ultra-conservative hockey mom stayed in the background, energizing the party base.

I didn't see that at all.

Instead, I saw a 44-year-old governor repeatedly eclipse her running mate, repeatedly diverge from planned scripts, repeatedly talk about topics her campaign organizers had asked her to stay away from, and generally play right into the hands of the pundits who were doing their hardest to convince people she lacked experience and good judgment.

Governor Palin was young for a mayor, and a woman besides. She's even pretty young for a governor. I had hoped I'd see a lot of myself in her as these weeks played out. I'd hoped I'd see some of that trademark maturity and grace that comes with people who are "old for their age", especially from a woman in a man's arena.

I was thoroughly, utterly disappointed.

It hasn't escaped my notice, though, that Senator Obama is only three years Palin's senior. And he doesn't act it. He acts much, much older than that, the way you'd expect someone who's been conditioned to compensate for his age (or race, or both) to act. I still disagree with a good many of his politics, and I'm hardly claiming I think he's run a clean campaign.

But I've prided myself on voting for the person I think will be best for the country, not the politics.

OMG.

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:21:08 GMT

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:55:38 GMT

Anyone else ever notice how the world seems so much brighter the morning after a hard rain?