I LOVE NEIL GAIMAN

HOLY CRAPPIN SHITTDAMN ('scuse my Klingon)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
NEIL FLIPPIN GAIMAN WROTE A SHERLOCK-CTHULHU CROSSOVER FANFIC.
FRIKK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

.....I think that I'm in love. o.o

A Chain of Bad News, then a Bucket of Awesome

Right. So. Bad news.
Links have been adding to the chain of insanity these past weeks. Mom is a waitress and she hurt her knee in July. Weeks later, right before work, she broke (or fractured) her thumb. Then the restaurant she worked at closed. She's bored and out of a job. She's still looking, but she isn't finding much.
We had some plumbing problems last week. The seal around the toilet's base gave out, so Mom called a plumber. He was super creepy and called her 'mariposa' and 'carnitas', claiming to have forgotten her name. Before he left, he gave her his 'personal number' that she could 'call anytime.'
Aaaand he didn't fix the problem. The plumbing also backed up into the bathtub whenever we ran the washing machine.

So Mom called them again and had them send a different guy. He suggested that they blast out the pipes with a high-pressure hose (which would end up flooding our neighbor's house). Mom thought that he was crazy and checked his licence before he did anything. It had expired. She told him about this and asked if he had changed it or something. He replied that they did have a new licence number, but he was eating so he'd have to text her later... A while later, he gave her one that turned out to belong to someone else's company.
Mom reported him for not having a licence.

Just today, a water line (or maybe a fire hydrant? Not quite sure) broke in the street. The neighborhood probably lost thousands of gallons of water and they'll probably raise the price on our water to cover it.

Luckily, they just turned the water back on.



Bucket of awesome??
I met a person and traded contact info today. =)

Our neighbor was epic enough to give us a free pass to a week at the racket club, so we went over and swam in their pool. Actually, Alena swam and I read in the shade (I hate bathing suits so I swim fully clothed. That's fine for the creek or the reservoir, but not for a public swimming pool). Halfway through, a friend of mine (the Yugioh kid) came over, so I talked to him about Yugioh and tried to not let him splash me. Suddenly, a girl that I had noticed called out and asked "Hey! Girl in the skull shirt! Do I know you from somewhere?" I responded that I didn't think so. I went back to talking to my friend and got on the subject of The Hobbit (TRILOGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!). She swam over just when I was fangirling (which meant squeeing and jumping on one foot while flailing my arms) and asked if I was performing some kind of 'Japanese pop dance move.' I said that I wasn't, but that I did like Japanesy things. Then she asked if I liked anime.
By the end of the day we found that we both liked Neil Gaiman, Monty Python, Hayo Miazake, Nyan Cat, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, fangirling, DeviantArt, and glasses. She's 15, lives near my Dad's house (For now. She's moving soon, but she's going to stay in town) and doesn't often make friends. We swapped DeviantArt usernames.

I think I'm taking huge steps toward being a bit more social. =)
Which reminds me!! I have decided that 'friend' is an appropriate term for people I know and get along with.
So the people that I previously called 'people I know' are now called 'my friends' and the people I previously called 'my friends' are now.... Actually, I haven't gone that far yet. I'm thinkin that I should apply each of these terms to Vulcan, because they have very distinct social hierarchies. Here are some words for friends (found 'em here):
t'hy'la- friend/brother/lover*
katravahsu- associate/friend
telansu- someone with whom you share a close platonic relationship
fainusu- someone that you know well
ne ki'ne- trusted friend/warrior

I think that my newly promoted friends will be called 'katravahsu' and my close friends will be called 'telansu.'  Cool? Cool. Cool cool cool.

*This happens to be Spock's very special name for Kirk. Oh, Gene. You are a sneaky bastard.

Discworld, Epic Step-Moms, and the Art of Retracing One's Steps

I was woken up and taken to the park, where a group was playing Wagner. I sat and read Witches Abroad by Terry Prachett on the grass, letting the music work its way into the story. Just as I was getting into the plot, we got up to go. I put the book in my pocket, gathered most of our stuff, and headed out. After we had walked halfway through the downtown area, I realized that my book had fallen out of my pocket. Holly was really nice about it and helped me retrace my steps several times. When we didn't find it, she even took me to Bart's in the hopes that we could find it. We didn't (Prachett books are kind of hard to come by) but I am extremely grateful that Holly cared so much. I really wasn't expecting that I would be allowed to look.

I Finished Good Omens!

I finished Good Omens.
I finished Good Omens.
I FINISHED GOOD OMENS.

.....Dear Goddess, what have I done?


I am about to loose it.

I FINISHED IT!!!!!!!!!
THE ONLY BOOK THAT MY TWO FAVORITE AUTHORS WROTE TOGETHER!!

...And it's over. It's all over.
I know what happens.
I know what takes place.
I know what transpires.
It's no longer a mystery.
I love it so much, but I can't re-read it for at least a few months.....

*sigh.*

The good news is that... <spoilers><!-- This kind of gives away the whole book. Highlight the blank spot to see them anyway-BUT ONLY IF YOU'VE READ THE BOOK FIRST. (Cooper! I see you. Don't you dare...) -->...no one died!! Sure, there was that office full of telemarketers. And that mailman. And those whalers. Heh, that kraken totally PWNED them. But other then that? All my beloved characters!! THEY LIVED!! Huzzah!!! I LOVE YOU NEIL AND TERRY!!!!</spoilers>

...Phew. Anyhoo, although I am terribly sad that it's over (and that it was slightly anti-climactic), I am so glad that I read it. I feel so much better. =^^=

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T READ IT:
GO BUY IT. RIGHT NOW. EVEN IF YOU CAN BARELY AFFORD IT. IT IS INEFFABLY AMAZING. It puts a whole new spin on religion, life, the universe, and everything. It's basically up there with 42.


...Go on! SHOO!!!

STAR testing, Asterisks, Technology, HTML5, Kids These Days, and Teleportation

I took the California's English Language Arts STAR test for 10nth grade today.
It was so easy.
I must ask. Do people actually not pass this? I don't think that it's based on a bell-curve...

Besides feeling quite secure about acing the test, I had quite a laugh. One of the short essays we had to read then use to answer questions was a speech by Bill Gates. (or maybe it was a written announcement. I'm not actually sure.) As much as I'm unsure of Bill Gates*, it was a very funny and motivational speech. I don't remember the exact words, but it was something about the food chain and how glad he was to be in this day and age (where he wouldn't be eaten by beasts). This speech was then followed up by this dude griping about kids these days, technology, and people's dependence upon gadgets. Although I do think that technology should be handled carefully**, I giggled while reading the whole thing. It was just too funny! I could just picture an old man furiously writing the thing, frowning and shaking his head.
Anyhoo, it made me remember the dream I had last night. In my dream, I was standing outside of the Ojai Library with some people I know around me. I'm pretty sure that some of my close friends were there too, but I wasn't paying attention. I was working on a website using HTML5. On a chalk board.
That's right. I was standing there and working out a website by hand. I remember stepping back, a blissfully maniac grin on my face, and telling everyone who would listen "It's done! What a great site. Look at that! I figured out how to work divs. Isn't it beautiful? What an amazing site. And it's finally finished... Now I need to get to a computer. The world needs to see this!" I don't quite remember what the website was for, but I remember the pride I felt when making it. It was mine. My child. My creation.
And I did it in 'real life.'
I just thought that was cool.

You know, something very similar happened to me in a dream months back.
I had just read a ton of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. (From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.) I was at the part where Ford had just found a teleporter on a ship (that they were stuck in. And that was about to blow up.) and they were trying to make it work. Just as I drifted off, I tried to picture the teleporter. It looked like this:

Except that it was 3D, the font was beautiful and curving, and that it glowed. (And yes, the dotted and dashed purple lines are supposed to be glowing. Sue me.)
Anyway, all you had to do was jump into the string of words and you could take off....

I thought that this was pretty awesome. =)

PS!! Okay. Why the asterisks, I'm sure you want to ask? I just finished Good Omens. IT WAS AMAZING. So amazing in fact, that I'm going to write another post about it RIGHT NOW. =D

_____________________________
*Okay, Windows lovers. Sorry to crush your dreams, but I'm not a Gates fan. Windows just isn't my operating system. If you like it, then that's fine... I'll just stick to Linux though. =^^=


**Seen the Matrix? I have. Lemme tell you: I am waiting for the machines to strike. Or us. Whoever lands the first blow.