MsGeek.Org v2.0

The ongoing saga of a woman in the process of reinvention.
Visit me at my new blog, MsGeek.Org v3.0
http://msgeekdotorg.blogspot.com/



Heard the Word of Blog?

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

OK, so where have I been?

Anime Los Angeles, for starters. I had tons of fun there and the con is growing like topsy. The next A-LA might have to be held at a location other than the AirTel, at the rate it's growing.

Also: I'm still fighting something. Is it allergies? Is it a cold? I wasn't doing great before A-LA and now I'm fuxored. Tomorrow's my big night on campus and I'm not sure I'll be able to make it through. I'd better go there and talk to the nurse. I might not be at school for the whole time.

And yes, I'm pissed about how Alito made it through, and pissed that none of Bush's whoppers during the State of the Union speech have been challenged by the Mainstream Media. Year of the Dog? Year of the lapdog, more like it.

I'll write more when I'm feeling more up to it. [sigh]

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

I'm not doing too well this evening. I'm tired because I sat up late finishing an assignment. As I mentioned earlier, I was knocked on my ass by my allergies this Monday and Tuesday. Tomorrow's the setup for Anime Los Angeles, and also it's when Donald Burr is going to be arriving for the con. I have other obligations which I would rather shirk as well, and I also have obligations I was let out of for the Con.

I feel trapped. I want to go home and be dead a year for tax reasons like Hotblack Desiato in "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy."

ScAlito is another source of distress for me. Both my Senators are going to vote against him, but that's not enough. We are going to be stuck with another klunker of a Justice thanks to the fucking Repugs. Another Scalia, another Thomas.

This is an irrational world run by people who are only respected for their money and their power. Since I have neither, I am not respected. Might as well take down Old Glory and haul a Benjamin up the flagpole. The new flag of the Feudal Fiefdoms of America. In God We Trust indeed.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Stuff I'm thinking about today:

1.) I have been laid low by my sinuses. This horrible cold Santa Ana has brought all kinds of nasty allergens up off the Desert and into my nostrils. I have not been fit to do a goddamn thing both yesterday and now.

2.) The Conservatives did win in Canada. But somehow I don't think that Canada will become a clone of Dubya's USian Evil Empire. The CPC is going to have to make a coalition with one of the minor parties, either the Bloc Quebecois (leftist separatist Francophones) or the New Democratic Party (leftist Green-like party). That means their ambitions of being Dubya-come-lately will be nipped in the bud by the need to find common ground. This is like, to give an example, the Republicans having to put together a coalition with the Greens or the Peace and Freedom Party to have a majority in the House and the Senate.

Sometimes I think the Westminster Parliamentary system is a lot better than the American bicameral system and its "winner take all" underpinnings. Maybe we should think along these lines when the US finally collapses.

3.) Yay yay happydance...Anime Los Angeles is coming this weekend, and after that, SCALE! Friends are coming down from Central California to attend A-LA, and everything starts this Thursday. Because I have an excused absence on Sunday I will be able to attend all three days at Anime Los Angeles. However, because SCALE also falls on a weekend when I have a class on Sunday Afternoon I can only attend that Saturday.

4.) Alito is one step closer to coronation. In a party-line vote, ScAlito squeaked by committee. Dammit!

Monday, January 23, 2006

Two good things today:

1.) It's the anniversary of Richie and I becoming involved. We married 7 months later.
2.) Allstate paid us off. The car crisis is over.

Sorry I have been so lame on posting but I've had a lot of stuff to deal with recently. Things should get better after February.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Resistance is futile. Steve Jobs will have 0wn4g3 of Disney. Which means Jobs is going to turn Disney Animation over to the one man who actually *can* save it: John Lasseter.

It's going to be totally weird to have Disney as the Good Guys rather than the Evil Empire.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Mission Accomplished. And I don't mean that in the Bush sense of the word.

We now have possession of Moby-kun. We are mobile again in our own vehicle.

Yes, it's bigger than Midori-chan was. We actually have to fold up the side view mirrors to protect them when Richie parks it in our teensy little apartment-building garage.

It feels good. The vehicle feels good to ride in. It might not be new but it looks well-cared-for and we can't let that change. We've got an idea to put curtains in the windows to allow for some privacy for camping in the thing. Since everything is blue in the car, we're thinking Denim. Nice and opaque.

We probably also have a place to stash the middle seat. Thanks Jack. The back seat folds down and out of the way, so that can stay, but the middle seat is fixed in an upright position and only seats two more people. Not very practical. On those rare times when we might have to transport 7 people in the van it would come in handy. But I really can't see more than 5 people riding in the van at a time.

We need to really, really take care of this car with the same obsessive care as the original owners did. Maybe we don't have much else in common with them. But they kept this car well, and we owe it to them to do the same.

Monday, January 16, 2006

The light at the end of the tunnel is visible, and it's not an oncoming train.

This afternoon, we signed the title to Midori-chan over to Allstate. Tomorrow morning we're picking up Moby-kun, our Dodge Caravan. Yes we are fully funded on this. And whatever funds we do put down on it will be reimbursed.

Our thanks to all who have helped us, or even those who have just given us moral support.

BTW: the HHR is visually snazzy, but when it comes to meaty matters like hauling Richie's equipment it doesn't do so well. The load of the vibes, the speaker cabinet and the amp brain made the poor thing audibly and palpably strain. Midori-chan had no trouble with such cargo, and that was with a four-banger engine. The HHR is best left to transporting groceries, and transporting kids to soccer practice. Disappointing car.

Saturday, January 14, 2006


I'm down (I'm really down)
I'm down (Down on the ground)
I'm down (I'm really down)
How can you laugh when you know I'm down
(How can you laugh) When you know I'm down
-- Sir Paul McCartney


My DSL modem sang its death song at roughly 9:45 pm last night. And now I'm back up again, with a new Broadmax DSL modem and some broadband TLC from both Verizon and DSL Extreme.

Being offline is like being a junkie cut off from their heroin. Now that I'm back on, I feel normal again. Yes, it's an addiction. Yes, I'm an addict. (Hi Michelle.)

PS: we WILL get the van on Tuesday. Rock on.

Friday, January 13, 2006



OK, we have put $500 down on a car. It's a 1994 Dodge Caravan minivan, light blue color. Yeah, the picture is that of a red one. That's all I could find.

The trick now is to get the rest of the money together... $1,000. We don't quite have the sum yet, and now family members who pulled our fat out of the fire before are balking about fronting us the money now. However, there is a difference to our situation this time: we are due money from the perp's insurance. And we will gladly, happily, repay this money when we get the money we're due from the insurance company.

This isn't charity this time. It's a business proposition.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

OK, that was fun.

One class that I'm glad I didn't have to get rid of due to having to retake Algebra is Writing Scene & Story. I have been puttering around with screenplays and fanfics now for a while, and finally I'm going to learn how to do it right. The guy who teaches it cut his teeth working with Stephen Bochko, man. He's funny and he's very knowledgeable. Methinks he's teaching because he's got a bit of snow on the roof and can't get as many writing gigs as he should.

So far nothing on the car front, nor on the remaining book front. I am not enjoying the waiting game.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Lay on, MacBook...

The Macs with Intel Inside have arrived, and they look sweet. The PowerBook is now MacBook Pro, and has a Core Duo dual core chip (the chip formerly known as Pentium M) inside. Vroom. And the G5 iMacs are now Core Duo iMacs. Sweet.

However: where the HELL is the Core Solo Mac mini? All signs pointed to a single core Yonah making it into a revved-up Mac mini. I guess that has to wait until the MacBook Home (or will it be iBook still?) arrives, perhaps in a few months.

Still and all, this is a good move on Apple's part. I approve.

I got one more book today from my purchase on Half.Com. It still is upsetting how slow it got to me but at least it's here. Next time for sure I'm going to spend a little extra and upgrade the postage.

Update 1:43pm: the Core Solo Mac mini isn't out yet because the Core Solo chip isn't ready yet. That's logical.

Monday, January 09, 2006

OK, now I'm back at school and this damn thing with the car hasn't resolved yet. Also some of the books I ordered for school from Half.Com (eBay) aren't here yet, and I need one of them TOMORROW, dammit.

So many things I'm stressed about that I can't do a goddamn thing about. Except scream. Oh wait, it's 10:40pm, and the neighbors might not like it. Grrrrrrr.....

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Elegy for a dead Midori-chan, courtesy Adrian Belew of King Crimson:

"Dig Me"

it's here I sit and rust amid this ruin and rancor like tire irons
toothy grills and car parts before me...the acid rain floods my
floorboard, burns my pores, and rots my upholstry.. once I was
worshipped, polished magnificently, now I lay in decay by the dirty
angry bay...

I'm ready to leave
I wanna get out of here
I'm ready to ride away
I don't want to die in here
I'm ready to ride

mmy skin is metallic now, no longer an elegant powder blue... my body
unhinged and sleeping in the jungle of motor block manifolds and metal
relics... what was deluxe becomes debris, I never questioned loyalty,
but this dead end demolishes the dream of an open highway...

dig me...but don't...bury me

Friday, January 06, 2006

It's official: the perp's insurance is going to pay for the fatal damage to our Ford Escort station wagon. They have also agreed to pay for all but $25 per week for car rental.

Now the big question that remains is this: how much are they going to pay for a totalled Midori-chan?

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Yes, this is from the Weekly World News. But would that it was true...

The West Wing becomes the Arrest Wing.

ā€œIā€™m sure our Founding Fathers never envisioned the day when the White House would become the Big House.ā€
-- Attributed by the WWN to a Wyoming Senator.
(However, I checked, and neither current US Senator from Wyoming is named Burt Stroud. The current Senators are Craig Thomas and Michael Enzi, both Repugnicans.)

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Well, for at least a week, we are leet.

THIS is what we're driving for a week. Chevy HHR. We broke down and rented a car from Budget. We were expecting to be driving a Malibu hatchback, but they had the HHR up for grabs for the same amount of money to rent it as the Malibu. Well, fun conquers all, and it was more practical for hauling Richie's stuff, so we went for it.

Anyway, if you want to be a hero, if you know of any Clinton-era Ford Escort Station Wagons for sale for $1,500 or less, please contact me at msgeek703 at gmail dot com. Actually the link works on the right hand column. Please. We want to get done with this and back on the road with our own car ASAP.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Otakushogatsu 2006 went surprisingly well in spite of lack of car.

However, the interesting thing about it seems to be that the events at the New Otani are shrinking and the events at Weller Court have almost outgrown the place. Also, the trend among businesses in Little Tokyo seems to be keeping everything open for New Year, not shutting down as is the Old Country tradition. This allowed me to make sure my dear hubby, who was bummed that we missed the sake barrel breaking ceremony, got some.

I also got rid of my old Omamori (talismans) and picked up fresh ones, leaving the old ones off in the collection boxes at this Buddhist temple. They apparently do a bonfire with them in the traditional way. Cool. I have to credit my passing Intermediate Algebra to my "Scholarship" Omamori because because my performance in the class couldn't count for a B-grade. It must be magick...

One thing: we couldn't enjoy the street food because we had to eat in the restaurant that was kind enough to let us use their restroom. We got some good eats at this place at a fairly reasonable cost, but it didn't have the same charm or benefit the same good cause as the food that was being sold out of stalls at Weller Court. Minus. Then again, we avoided huge lines. Plus.

It was cool that our friend Kara came with because she was able to give us a ride home from the Red Line station in North Hollywood. By the time we got there the rain had started to pour.

Actually I hope it pours on the Rose Parade. Then maybe all the folks who see the picture postcard weather every year in Podunk and Padukah and decide "maybe I'll move to California" might just decide Podunk or Padukah is not so bad and stay another year.

Happy new year, all.