The Internet officially hates me. It's been moving....SO....SLOW....recently that I can't get anything to load properly. I keep having to refresh pages before they're loaded and then getting timed-out anyway. I can't watch clips, I can't get pictures to load, and in some cases, I can't even get articles to load.

I couldn't even get the Rich Text option to load when I went to type up this post!

It's only been like this for about a week, but it's making it almost impossible for me to check my school e-mail, because freaking Blackboard sucks dead frogs.

GRRAAAAAH! Everything was working fine! WTF happened?!

I keep trying to reset the modem and the router, but that only seems to work, because it goes right back to being slow after a while.

The last time this happened, I spent two freaking days on the phone with Brighthouse trying to get them to fix the freaking thing. They kept telling me there was nothing they could do since the signal was fine. Until the repair guy came out, replaced the cables and the modem, and then everything worked again. --___--

Yeah, right.

...I don't wanna do that again.

*kills something*

On the school front, I'm really enjoying Sylvia Plath. So far, it's been a funny, engaging read. I will never look at turkey neck and gizzards the same way again. O_O

Our Grad student teacher promised those of us it's about to get incredibly dark and depressing, though. She also promised more of the above when we get to Toni Morrison. Fan-freakin'-tastic. Ah, well. I promise not to try to commit suicide.

No promises on not becoming a bitter, cynical, mass-murdering fiend, however.

Oh! And I started a new workout that incorporates cross-training in a short amount of time. It's high-energy and not so regular that it's boring me, and I've managed to keep it up for two-and-a-half weeks now. It's turning out to be a real positive addition to my yoga. I'm quite pleased.

....I still want to kill my Internet, though. *gripesnarlsnap*

*crosses her fingers that the stupid thing will load*

Fall semester '09, week 2:

Almost done with Catcher in the Rye. Have every intention of starting right in on The Bell Jar. So far, class discussion is better than average, but not really anything I haven't heard before. I am beginning to realize why I'm not a Literature major: there's only so much criticizing you can do before you start repeating yourself and ruin any enjoyment you might have gotten out of literature in the first place.

Also, I found this really great article in the WSJ that pretty much highlights how I feel about literature and fiction in general:

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574377163804387216.html

On the positive, I'm beginning to really understand (as opposed to only vaguely knowing) the difference between modern and postmodern in Literature.

In other news, my shoulder is completely healed on the left, and almost completely healed on the right. The muscle relaxant and anti-inflammatory seem to be having some weird effects on my dreams, though. They've become even more vivid and weird than usual. I'll be glad when all the pain in gone so that I can go back to my normal cool/weird dream experience.

Side note: Since I'm currently engaged in all this depressing/boring reading, I'm trying to find a way to offset it. Anyone remember where the "Swing Back the Pendulum" arc started in the Bleach anime? I found out from someone some time ago, then got distracted before I could find it. I love that particular arc in the manga, so I'd like to see it in animation form. Remind me, please?

And it's back to J.D. Salinger we go. Today's the long day at work, and I want to get at least a couple more chapters out of the way before then.

( Interesting article from Writer's World )


I'm totally trying one or two of these rituals, seeing as I don't seem to have any of my own other than exhaustion and clutter (both of which I tend to hate).

Though I may have to substitute gummy worms for gummy bears. So much more of a punch.

School starts tomorrow. Contemporary Literature in Cooper Hall. *sigh* I hate Cooper. It's obscenely uncomfortable, either too hot or too cold, and was originally built to be converted into a prison once USF failed as an educational institution, so it has almost no windows.

Also: hurt my shoulder again. Other side this time. Back on the drugs, and still feeling like a zombie. Hope I don't look like one, too. O_o

First week of school is looking to be interesting.

I had a customer tonight who had a bald head so bright and shiny and smooth that I could almost see myself in it. And it was surrounded by the most adorable tufts of white hair around the ears and back of the neck.

I want to rub it.

So.
Bad.

He was such a jolly old guy, too. And they tipped good.


.....So. Anyone seen Ponyo yet?

So, I had company last week. My sisters came up and stayed with me (for the second time this summer) while my parents went to go pick up my brother in Texas. What a blast. We watched Miyazaki movies, R.O.D. (the OVA), and then we marathoned the first three seasons of InuYasha and a couple of the movies. My middle sister and I now have a nice, on-going discussion about the merits and/or draw-backs of the Kikyou/InuYasha/Kagome triangle. And, because she's a lot like me, man can we go at it. XD


But, sadly, I haven't had any time to any writing at all yet this month. The whole summer's been like this. Who'd a thunk? For the past three summers, I didn't do much of anything, and this summer I feel like I've barely stopped moving. How exhausting. Exhausting is fun, though. ^_^


In other news, I hurt my shoulder somehow. Dunno what I did, since the pain had been gradual until Sunday, when I woke up and couldn't move my left arm or turn my neck. It was bad. The pain was sharp along the left side of my spine from the base of my neck all the way to the center of my back, and then it radiated outward along my shoulder-blade and left arm.  I think it might be/have been either a pulled muscle or apinched nerve, but I  could barely move. I tried doing laundry, and I sounded like a scratc hed cd with my steadily reapeated "ow's" when I moved the wet laundry to the drier.

I was considering going to the doctor, but my brother had a simliar problem not too long ago, and all they did was put his arm in a sling and tell him not to use it. If that's the case, no use wasting my money, right?

Oh, they also gave him prescriptions for some muscle relaxant and inflamation. So I called off my last day of work, and my mom brought me  drugs and I've been taking those...

My neck feels much better after a few days of rest, but those darn little pills put me into a zombie coma state for a while. I was supposed to help some friends move yesterday, and I didn't even wake up until the middle of the afternoon. O_O That's some powerful stuff. And I have to work tonight, too.

Still groggy? Yep. Can I call off again? Nope. Why? Because I can use my arm now.

Oh well. Should be an interesting night, right? I think I have to close with the dreaded Denise-monster, too.  *sigh*

(Disclaimer: Quill is not in the mood to care about what was spelled or misspelled in the making of this post. All grammar and/or spelling errors are to be ignored.)

So I don't get anything -- well, hardly anything -- in my inbox for, like a week. This morning? A freaking flood, from all the groups and all the individual mails I've gotten over the past week or so. WTF is up with Yahoo? First it won't let me in my inbox at all, and now it's witholding stuff? I think they're all screwed up with switching up their front page or some such nonsense.

*snort*

Like I don't have anything better to do than check thirty-seven e-mails.

I do have another e-mail account, but I only know how to get to it through the school website, and Blackboard hates me. I'm starting to understand why some people have a million different mail accounts.

In other news, I've lost my phone. My brand new, first-ever-for-me flippy phone. I don't understand how. I just had it yesterday, because my youngest bro texted me to ask if I could find my oldest bro's Game Boy SP. Found the SP; still have the SP; can't find the phone.

I have a feeling it's going to be a weird week. *shifty eyes*

At least I have my tea. *shiftyeyesip*

One of my favorite customers has died.

They'd said one of our regulars had died, but I'd thought it was someone else. I just had it confirmed by a friend.

His name was Mike. He was a short, round, white-haired, energetic little guy who was in his seventies but didn't look a day older than 65. I used to see him at least once a week with his wife, and sometime he would come in all by himself just to chat with and tease the staff. He made fun of everything, laughed all the time, and called his wife a witch even through the obvious affection of fifty years of marriage. He gave all the waitresses nicknames, like "Swivel-hips" and "Jiggles". He was always laughing, and making us laugh. He was one of those customers you fight to have in your section, and stop by and visit even if he's not. And he was such a nice guy -- the kind of person you hope to be when you reach that age.

 I remember one time, I was serving him and his wife, and he pulled me aside as they were leaving, handed me the money to pay for the bill of the young woman in the Air Force bdu's who'd been sitting behind them, and asked me to thank her for her service to our country. She was so touched she cried.

Apparently, he just went to bed early one night, and when his wife woke up the next day, he was dead. A massive heart attack.

I'll never see his jolly, mischievous grin again.

I can't believe it.

Oh my God, Mike. We'll miss you. We'll really, really miss you.

Things to keep in mind when you're out for an evening of not-cooking-cleaning-or-otherwise-doing-anything-for-yourself:

( Mild annoyances to hair-ripping angst )

*sigh*

It's not that I mind doing all the work, you see. It's that I mind doing it for almost nothing.

Summer time tourists. That's what's going on. We're getting huge tour groups from Georgia.
No, seriously. My boss is talking to them, and all the big groups like this (Yes, you read right. Groups. As in, plural.) that we've been getting are from Georgia. Cheap, demanding, selfish summer-time tourists.

Sometimes my job sucks. And sometimes it's just downright funny. Tonight it was both.

Oh, well. G'night.

So what if that makes me a sap? Do I care? No, I say! For the pride of saps everywhere, no!

Two major, major thumbs up for UP. While all Pixar movies are cute, they've always been a bit hit-and-miss for me. Some of them are wonderful and adorable, and some of them are ...meh. UP is definitely on the wonderful and adorable side of things. Also? 

I SAW THE MOVIE POSTER FOR PONYO!

(For any of the sadly uninformed who do not hang, cling, and slobber on every sliver of news about what the Master does, and therefore has no idea what I'm talking about, go here:  www.imdb.com/title/tt0876563/ and/or here: www.youtube.com/watch )

So, yeah. My sisters told everyone I was an escaped mental patient as I stood squealing over the poster in the middle of the movie theater. XD

So I went home this past weekend and had an absolute blast hanging out with my family. My sisters totally gobbled up my butter-icing chocolate cupcakes, but my mom got the last laugh by eating the last one when they weren't looking. ^^ Youngest brother taught me the card game Slaps--which, may I just say, can get extremely violent in our house of half-hispanics. I brought the rules back with me and taught my BFF Sylvia how to play. She's Cuban, so... Fun stuff. ^_^ 

Ah! And I finally bought Book Fire of ATLA. And then promptly allowed my sisters and my brother to puppy-face me into leaving it with them for a few weeks. *facepalm* I want my Avatar! *sniffcry*

I even had a really long, serious conversation with previously mentioned BFF about some things. That was a really interesting, revealing conversation. I'm stunned, and quite oddly kicked in the pants about school, so now I'm trying to figure out if I really can graduate this fall or not. Classes are the actual big problem. There aren't that many being offered. But, well, we'll try.

And, on a totally random note (and really, what fun would life be without random notes?), I had a really curious idea yesterday: how difficult would it be if I could only use one foot at a time? So I tried it. For about twenty minutes.

Two things:
1. Hopping with hot tea is very ill advised.
2. Surprisingly good workout. My butt and thigh muscles are killing me. *wobblewince*

So overall and in summary, I've been having a great couple of days. *sips tea*

Everyone must go see Ponyo!

It is two-thirty a.m. and I am still awake. Why?

Probably because I don't want my day off to be over. ^_^

Oh well. I've been having a weirdly busy summer. Lots of traffic. My best friend has been staying with me on and off (And when we get together, we do nothing but talk. And occasionally go out for food.), my sisters were here for a week, I'm taking off to go home this weekend. Seriously, more traffic than I think I've had in a year. All in the space of a month or two. It's been really weird.

But anyway, I'm quite happy with my summer so far. My writing's going well, too. Now, if only I could find a way to make work and school a little better, life would be...pretty good. Shocking, considering how my year turned out.

Or maybe I'm in denial. I think I'm going to have to run this weekend. Run hard.

Hey, anyone know for sure if the "new InuYasha anime" rumor is true or not? That would be....OMG. I refuse to believe it without official confirmation. Refuse!

I think I shall sleep now. Well, soon, anyway.

Got 'nother chapter of Waiting pretty much done and posted. I'm considering if I can get the next one posted over the weekend or not. We shall see.

Wow. I think I might be tired.

G'night

Summer is on and I have no classes, so until something really interesting happens, all I really do these days is read, write, work at a job that alternately infuriates, bores, and (sometimes) amuses me,  and occasionally stress about school. And sleep; can't forget sleep.

Does that count as two sentences?

I am mildly bored and mostly content these days. Since I don't have classes, I have time and energy to work on my writing, which makes me happy, and for the past month or so, one of my very best friends in the world has been staying with me, so I've been doing a lot of late-night girl talk. And I'm very excited about my sisters coming up to stay with me this coming weekend. Overall, it's a nice change of pace from the supreme stress the first part of the year put on me for various reasons, and I've found I'm very happy for the break, even if it means not being able to graduate in Fall like I was planning.

Oh well. Spring works, too.

My car is still running, in case anyone is curious. It's a freakin' miracle, the only evidence of supernatural intervention I'll ever need to believe. While my sisters are here, we'll go see the second Transformers movie. I'm very excited.

(I've only been keeping a peripheral eye on pop culture, but I thought I'd go on record that, of the three most recent Hollywood deaths, the one that I feel most sad about is Ed McMahon. I have fond memories of Star Search that Thriller and Charlie's Angels will never touch.)

Pardon me, my tea grows cold, and my muse warms.

That is all. *patters off*

Home again, home again....

Two days later than I was supposed to be. Why? Because as he was finishing his check of my car on Monday morning, Dad found a major problem with my car. That major problem then turned into several problems in varying stages of major and minor, all of which are now fixed.

*sigh*

Well, what can I expect, really? The gosh-darn thing has been shot up, and is clocking somewhere around 400,000 miles. I'm totally and completely blessed that it even runs.

Things replaced:

One broken door handle,
one freezer plug,
one cracked manifold thingy (welded),
several gaskets (whatever those are),
a couple round ring thingys,
an oil filter,
water,
oil,
wiper fluid,
several bulbs (That absolutely had to be stolen to be gone at all, according to my dad. Which means that some very inconsiderate person vandalized my car in the middle of the night in the middle of my apartment complex, and I am now on orders to check my lights every so often to make sure they haven't come back. wtf?! O_o),
and one very important fuse for my all-important beleaguered radio.

Time taken: Two days.

Work missed: One usually big money day.

Money spent: Approximately one hundred dollars
Money probably saved by having my father and my uncle do it instead of a garage: Approximately four hundred dollars (fatherly estimate; others may vary)

Having family who know their way around cars, duct-tape, and junk-yards?
Priceless. XD

I love my Daddy (and my Tio Cheo).

Oh, and get this:

When I called off of work on Tuesday, my boss said I had to have a note from the mechanic for the files. I told him it was just my dad and my uncle working on the car, but he said he still needed one. (Yeah, I was like...really? O.o High school much?). So I asked my dad to write me a note. He did. It was an entire page explaining exactly what was wrong with my car, why it had to be fixed right away, who did the fixing, and how long it took. ^__^

I should have had him write it in Spanish. Just to mess with 'em. XD

It's so wonderful to visit family!!! (Even if your little brother does end up infecting you with his cold.)

*Squishles her family*

My horoscope for the day says:

"Just because you've been close to someone for years doesn't mean you know them inside and out."

And that may be the first time the horoscope has ever had anything relevant to say about me. Hm.

And God bless a quiet morning with a good cup of hot tea (even if it doesn't really have enough honey).

Made it home all right, thank God. Car only went clicky once, and that was only this morning, so the trip home actually went very well.  Yes! That's another one down with no incident. *happy dance* And then my sisters and I hate a good, hispanic-volume round of Blink, so it was a really good night.

It's nine in the morning, and I've already been up for hours, because Josh had to get up to get to the school early for breakfast and rehearsal, and then, of course, the lovely little thing forgets his cap and gown and has to call big sis to come save the day. I know, I'm good that way. ^_^

In about an hour, everyone will be up and getting ready, because littlest sis Bekah is in her school's version of 'Annie' this afternoon, and Grammy and Pop-pop are coming down to catch that. Then we'll be catching a late lunch together before we all head over to the Barbara B. Mann for Josh's graduation tonight at seven. I'm so excited! I already got to see him in his cap and gown yesterday, but I'm really looking forward to watching him walk. I just realized I don't have enough film, though, so I'm fretting over going to get film, and maybe pick up a disposable digital, since Mom's digital seems to be broken.

OMG, ya' all! My baby brother's graduating! *skips*

Now, then. Off to make sure Hannah takes the shower I told her she must take. I swear that child is just like I was when I was her age. *sigh* Oh well. At least Mom got one girly girl, even if she had to go through five children to get to her. XD

Wish me good thoughts and prayers that the day goes smoothly!

*skips some more*

I have been a meme-ing, thanks to inusaga .

( Stupid LJ cut... )

...I didn't like this one. It didn't give me enough options. What if I like both the sun and the moon equally or never had a first love, huh? Wouldn't that make me weirder?

And for the record, I like to mash bakery items with icing up into a really delicious paste. Yes, that's right. I play with my food.</div></div></div></div></div>

I want to live in a world where "I'm having a good writing day" is a legitimate excuse to call off of work.

Anyone knowing where the cross-dimensional portal to that world is, could you please to be pointing me out the way?

*cries*

Maybe this isn't as funny as I think it is. Maybe it's just too late and I've been going for too long without some good, serious sleep.

Maybe not. Either way, I had to share.

Behold, the next wave in domestic terrorism:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090512/ap_on_fe_st/odd_rotten_office_food

Flagrant fumes? Hazmat team? Allergies!?!

*dies laughing*


Stitches, I tell you. My friend and I are in stitches.

I've been told my last post was quite scary, and then I disappeared, which was even worse. My sincerest apologies.

So....

Yes, I'm still alive.
Yes, I survived the semester, though my GPA took an unhealthy dip.
Yes, I'm still dealing with some stuff, but it's getting better. And I'm really sorry if I worried anyone. I didn't really mean to. I just needed to vent, something I've managed to do a couple of times since, and which seems to help just a little every time.

But!

That's not why I'm reappearing. I know I have a ton of mothers on my F-list, and I can't let such a special day go by without wishing every last one of them an incredibly happy-tears-filled special day. I volunteered to work today, so I won't have time when I wake up in a few hours, but:


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

everyone! I hope your children treat you with the special love and appreciation the day reserves for you. (Not that you don't deserve it every other day of the year, but still.... Much to all the Moms. You totally rock!)


Quill

I'm so tired. For so many reasons, the very least of which is that I'm sleep deprived. (I am sleep deprived, though.)

I got confronted with a truth tonight. It's a truth that's been nipping at my heels for a while now, and it's so close and piercingly painful that I can't say anything other than it hurt me. And I'm crying. And I can't even talk about it with any of the few who would understand, because that means exposing them to this thing on my back. I don't want them to worry. I sure as heck don't want them to cry with me. Because one of the people who would understand is my mom. You know how horrible it is to see your mom cry, or to know you caused it.

And I may be developing an ulcer or something. Weird pains, you know?

Yeah, it sucks.

I think I arranged my schedule poorly this semester, too, because I feel really tired for very little good reason. All the time. And I never really have time after class to really dig in and study. I'm always prepping to go to work after class, or just burned out from a day of homework. I'm going to have to think long and hard about my fall semester. I don't want to tank my GPA in my last few classes.

For the record? Spring Break? Sucked. I got whammied by a migraine that not only didn't let me relax, but actually put me behind on my schoolwork.

Also for the record, thanks you guys for the responses to my in-revision poem. I believe I've done all I can with it for the moment, and have sent it in...so shall I tell you why I was so stressed over it? Because it is in consideration for the school literary magazine. I submitted it last semester, and one of the student editors has been consulting on it with me. I'm at a point in my semester/life where I don't even care if it's included in the magazine or not, so I don't care if I jinx it anymore.

Still, if it's included, this will go on my personal record as being the first time anything I've written was accepted for any kind of publication. Which would be cool.

Still, you were right akarii. Narrowing the focus of the poem changed its point quite a bit. I'm not sure how I feel about that, even though I think the new version has its own value. And, Feni, I tried, but they didn't want me to keep the boxers stanza.

I have so much to do and only a few weeks to do it in. Final project in one class, a term paper in another. Finals to study for--none of which would be so bad if I didn't have work so liberally sprinkled throughout my week. I'm thinking about an educational leave of absence for a week or so. Think they'd let me do that?

Ah, and as a final ray of positive music: a huge blessing on everyone who has ever given a waitress an excessively good tip. May every good thing in the world follow you around like an adoring and affectionate puppy. You may never realize how much it can mean to a person.

'Kay. I'm going to sleep now and see if a good twelve hours will help with this horrible perspective a bit.

*flops*

Just took a gander at one of the reviews I got for the latest update of Waiting, and my first thoughts are rather....

Well, here:

its gud 2 know dat u've finally updated.like da other i've re-read da story many a times n am extremely happy 2 know dat even after such a long time u were able 2 reconnect 2 da characters n story n plot.it is a wonderful story, well re-creAted from da anime with a better plot and maturity in da character as well. da emotios r well depicted,without deivating much from the original characters.u may have understood by now dat this is my 1st review 2 u,as a matter of fact it is also my 1st review 2 any author.i would like 2 tell dat i will not wait another 2 yrs for da next update,i have waited long enough as it is.i am not asking u to update every single day,but as a author make it ur point 2 update within a limited period of time ,like once in a week or once in 2 weeks or once in a month .it would b greatly appreciated by us readers



.....this is completely unedited in any way. Exactly so.

So...

Thoughts? Comments? laughter?


(am I a terrible person for posting this?)

Tea, tea, tea.

It has grown to the point where I almost need tea in the morning to function. I am scared. And also, I am drinking some very strong stuff right now. Two tea bags =very strong. When did this happen, and should I be concerned about it? (On the other hand, I now love my brother for buying me a teapot for Christmas.)

I've been having the weirdest phenomenon for the past couple of weekends where I'll sleep, only to wake up feeling as if I haven't slept at all. I think this is related to Tuesdays and work. Ever since the beginning of the semester and the change in everyone's schedules (you know, except mine), I've somehow not only lost my only non-closing night--but now I'm closing with Denise, who is adamant about not closing anything up before the doors are shut. Which would be fine, if I was getting more than four bucks an hour to scrub a restaurant with no customers in it. But I'm not, and I'm not allowed to mitigate the closer's duties like I am with the regular night shift manager, Ed, by assigning some of the more annoying closing duties to other people, which puts the burden almost entirely on me and whoever is closing with me. This, in turn, has caused me to dread working on Tuesdays, which may be what's causing my weird sleep-but-not-really phenomenon over the weekends.

I am seriously beginning to hate Tuesdays. And as a result, today I am drinking very strong hot tea and sitting here updating instead of sitting in class taking notes. Why? Because I overslept the through alarm that  I forgot to set for class. *sob*

To make myself feel better, I shall do a meme. Or at least, try to do akapiratequeen 's meme:
Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.

( Long-winded responses here )</div>Ta,
Her Quillness

PS: Poke to play for the meme.

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