randvisit

Rand and me (last year). Photo by Allison.


Woohoo, Lord of the Rings won in all 11 Oscar-nominated categories! A perfect capper for an equally wonderful weekend. My friend Rand came to visit from Buffalo, arrived on Friday and stayed through the weekend. I used to only see Rand a couple of times a year at filk conventions, with very little contact between. Now I consider him a dear friend. Not sure about the rest of you, but it always takes me a long time to build up the trust level necessary for what I consider a close friendship. For me, I need to know that other person is going to stick around for the longterm, even if things sometimes get rough. Rand has seen me at my worst and not run screaming, so I figure he's around for good. :-)

One of the things I enjoyed most about this past weekend was the overlap between people I deeply care about from different areas of my life. Going out for a walk with Parki and Jeff and Rand on Saturday afternoon (visit to Silver Snail comics shop, checking out Jeff's new office space), for example. Parki and Jodi meeting for the first time. Dim sum with Jeff and Rand. Rand and my sister going out for coffee on Sunday morning; Ruth put Rand in an illustration for one of her new books, by the way: a busker playing guitar and singing!

Allison and Jodi came over for dinner on Saturday. Much fun and great conversation lasting late into the evening. With Rand, we also called Beckett and Paul to see how they were doing; Beckett had sprained her knee last week.

Anyway, 'twas a good weekend with good friends. Been feeling somewhat down lately because of recent armstuff/pain, so the timing was much appreciated. :-)

And one last note: many thanks to Amanda Snyder for the most entertaining phone message I've had in a very long time!

March 2004 comments: Read | Post | Livejournal

For Deb, who told me I came from Mars

Yesterday, my niece Annie turned seven years old. She is very keen on the Lord of the Rings movies, so I created the card above for her in honor of the occasion, with the aid of Photoshop and Google Image Search. It was the first time I messed with Photoshop since my fall on the ice, but my arm seemed to be OK; I've set my Wacom artpad pen to require very little pressure. Annie's reaction definitely made it worth the effort. :-)

I'm still going to hold off resuming cartooning/drawing until my arm recovers a bit more; it's looking as if my ice skating accident has aggravated my tendinitis somewhat. I'm really hoping this doesn't turn into a major setback, so am trying to be extra careful. Starting physiotherapy again next week, just to be safe. I have my follow-up appointment with the fracture clinic on Monday.

When I was at my sister's place last night, she showed me the proofs for her new book, No Monsters Here (Author: Sharon Jennings, illustrator: Ruth Ohi, Fitzhenry & Whiteside, June/2004). Not only does it look fantastic, but she dedicated it to me: "For Deb, who told me I came from Mars --Ruth"

Explanation: When we were children, I told my little sister that she hadn't been born in hospital, that Mom and Dad found her in the backyard in a spaceship.

I almost started bawling when I saw that dedication, I was so touched. I am deeply grateful that Ruth and I are so close despite all the horrible things I did to her when we were younger (hanging her teddy bears, purposely leaving out books with scary covers after she asked me not to, telling her that department store mannequins were actually human beings frozen by aliens with laserguns, etc.). Thankfully, it looks as if Sara is a far better older sister than I ever was.

Speaking of my cool sister, be sure to check out her revamped Web site. I haven't been able to properly maintain it because of my tendinitis, so she came over recently. I sat beside her and explained how to scan and upload pictures, update the HTML, while she did all the typing and manual work. We make a good team. :-)

Have a great weekend, everyone.

--

Answer to yesterday's poll: Alan Thiesen.

February 2004 comments: Read | Post | LJ

passion in particular

Name this filker. :-)


Today's Blathering is about passion.

I've already written about desires, but I'd like to elaborate about passion in particular. Hm... "Passion In Particular" would make an interesting album or group name, don't you think? I've always been drawn to people with passions, more so over the years.

When I use the word "passion", I'm not necessarily referring to romance (which ViaVoice just interpreted as "road maps") or sexual desire. I'm talking more about people who pursue their interests wholeheartedly and purposefully. I like people who aren't embarrassed about being excited.

Conversely, I'm less interested in those who merely coast, who passively wait for interesting or good things to happen to them rather than try to make them happen, for fear of failure or just plain laziness.

I love talking to people with passions. Even if I may not have personal experience (or even interest) in their particular passion, I can't help but be drawn into their enthusiasm. I usually learn something I didn't know before. There are limits, of course; if your passion is sacrificing young virgins in your basement every full moon, I'm probably not going to invite you over for tea and Ding-Dongs.

For me, passion is also about embracing life with both arms. I would rather jump into the icy lake screaming than stick in a big toe to test the temperature first. Not always the wisest choice, of course, but sometimes we all need to be reminded that it's good to be alive. :-)

--

Answers to the most recent filker picture poll: Judith Hayman, Mike Whitaker, Mary Bertke, Mary Bertke. I was highly amused at the number of "Rand Bellavia" guesses. :-) Good try.

Are you a filker willing to submit your childhood photo to a future poll? Please feel free to send it! (spam-filtered address; the first time you use it, you may need to manually enter a code in a follow-up e-mail)

February 2004 comments: Read | Post | LJ

writingstuff and more filker pics

Name this filker. :-)


Arm still feels a bit weird, so I've decided not to rebook for California. Since I stopped using a sling, my right arm has been in some varying amounts of pain; overall, it seems to be gradually improving, but I think I'd rather not take a chance.

I had been considering just going for Consonance weekend, but it took me so long to accumulate the frequent-flier points that I would rather save them for a longer trip in the future where I also wouldn't have to worry about arm pain (and maybe even enjoy playing my flute!) and do some visiting.

Thanks to Ny & Rachel, Margaret & Clark for the postcards! And to Joey Shoji for the chocolate tasting kit! (*drool*)



Name this filker. :-)


This week I've been back to my novel writing. It has been massively satisfying. I've started to do some editing in Microsoft Word, which is certainly going to be a challenge using ViaVoice. My right arm has recovered enough that I can start doing a tiny bit of typing again, however, so I'm hoping to gradually ramp that up.



Name this filker. :-)


One of the main challenges for me will be to stick to my normal writing style. Since I started using ViaVoice, I have found that I've been slipping into the habit of opting for words and phrases and sentence constructions that I know are easier for ViaVoice to interpret, rather then facing possible frustration and the extra effort required for writing the way I normally do if I could type easily. After a year of this "sloppy writing", I need to get back to stricter standards, even if it makes me want to throw my ViaVoice headset out the window sometimes. Wish me luck.



Name this filker. :-)


Really looking forward to tomorrow, when Allison and Jodi are coming over for an Urban Tapestry practice, our first in a long while. Scheduling has been a challenge, as is the distance, so I'm glad we were able to find a time to get together (unfortunately it means we have to miss a filk in Hamilton). Allison's going to be bringing the DVD that her husband has been working on, highlights of our performances at The Gathering in December; we're going to be donating a copy to the Interfilk auction at FilKONtario.

Have any of you seen the pilot for the new Battlestar Galactica? Thanks to Vartan and Hrach for loan of the taped show. Holy cow, am I ever hooked. I was a fan of the original series, but I confess I love the new one even more, or at least the pilot. Much edgier, much more interesting characters and subtler relationships between them. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping they can keep up this standard in the series.

I still have a soft spot for Richard Hatch, though, especially after jamming with him (photo by Gary Ehrlich, RH is on the left) at Marcon a few years ago.

Have a great weekend, everyone!



David, Mich, Marilisa and Cora.


Are you a filker willing to submit your childhood photo to a future poll? Please feel free to send it! (spam-filtered address; the first time you use it, you may need to manually enter a code in a follow-up e-mail)

February 2004 comments: Read | Post | LJ

a good day at the fracture clinic

Yesterday was a good day.

For one thing, my friend Rand came to visit. The visit was planned before I finally got my fracture clinic appointment. When the clinic called, Rand volunteered to come to the appointment with me as part of the visit despite me warning him that there could be a long wait, that I might need more X-rays, that his afternoon in Toronto could turn into a dull and interminably long visit in a hospital waiting room. Luisa and Reid had to wait two hours for their son Michael's appointment at fracture clinic last Friday.

Rand said he would bring something to read, just in case, and for me not to worry about it. Yay for good friends. :-)

Happily, there was no waiting time, and the doctor in the fracture clinic was available to see us right away even though we were early. I was pretty nervous; ever since spending a lot of time in them when my mom was dying from cancer, I've never been crazy about hospitals. I appreciate what they do and the staff who work in them, but just being inside one is still a bit of an unsettling experience for me.

The doctor asked me questions, looked at my X-rays. I'm glad Rand was there to help supply the part of my brain that went missing. As most of you know, for example, I have had tendinitis in both arms for nearly a year (mainly my right arm), to the point where I had to use voice-activated software instead of the keyboard.

So of course when the doctor asked me if I have ever had problems with my right arm, I brightly said, "No!"

Duh.

Anyway, it turns out that the initial diagnosis from the doctor I saw in the emergency ward in Huntsville was incorrect. The fracture clinic doctor said he didn't think there was a break, that I should not use a sling anymore, can gradually start doing exercises. I'm supposed to see him in two weeks, just in case, but it certainly sounds as if I suffered a strain or sprain instead of a bone break.

I was so happy about this new diagnosis that I had to restrain myself from leaping off the examining table and giving the doctor a huge hug. :-)

So now I'm trying to decide whether I should rebook my California trip; I'm going to wait a few days to see how my arm feels. The original booking was on frequent-flier points, so I don't have to worry about increased fare. I'm leaning slightly toward not rebooking since my right arm, even if not broken, is still not in great shape, and I really want to avoid another setback in my tendinitis. Woke up at 3:00 a.m. this morning and had to take a painkiller; I think I was a tad overenthusiastic in trying to get my right arm back to normal activities after the appointment.

Nonetheless, I am much happier than I was a week ago because unless I do something stupid, my recovery time from my ice skating fall should theoretically be much shorter, which means my tendinitis recovery time should be that much shorter, which means I should be able to get back to my normal typing that much sooner.

:-)

February 2004 comments: Read | Post | LJ