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  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 6,465 views
Diplomatka
 

Afghanistan Hangover

Whenever I read a story like this, I feel like I have been kicked in the chest.   I have been out of Afghanistan now for over four months. Still, I can't tear myself away from the stories--stories so fucking bewildering they make me want to cry. Why would anyone gun down schoolgirls?   I think about the time I went to a school opening in the same province where these two little girls were killed. My organization had built a primary school for boys and one for girls and a few colleagues and I were invited for the ceremony. Dozens of little girls lined the walk as we approached the school--handing us flowers, singing and shaking our hands. They were all wearing the traditional green headscarves and maroon dresses with gold trim. After we toured the new school, one of the girls read a poem she had written and the teachers provided us with sugar coated almonds, raisins and green tea even though it was Ramadan and all of the Muslims were fasting--not eating or drinking until sundown.   Two months later, a rocket hit the school at night. No one was hurt and there was minimal damage, but it was a warning.   I guess things are getting worse.   Stories like this also remind me of the Afghans who really meant a lot to me--the civil engineer I worked with who broke down crying when he heard I was leaving for Ethiopia and told me, "I have three daughters. The youngest, she is like you. I always encourage her to be like you." The Afghans who called when the riots happened to make sure I was OK, the friends who offered to take us into hiding. I also think about Sharif, a driver at my work. Sharif did not speak English, but taking me and my husband home one day my husband noticed a Zemfira tape in his car.   "Ti gavareesh pa-ruskii?" ("you speak Russian?"), my husband asked, using the informal "you" which always pisses me off. "Da", he replied--a friendship was born.   Sharif went to university in Leningrad and finished his degree in history in 1987--two years before the Soviets were run out of Afghanistan by the Mujahadeen. He had five daughters, a real misfortune for an Afghan father. Since I was the only expatriate Sharif could communicate with (the only one who spoke Russian), he often asked me what was going on within the organization--the hirings, firings and other gossip and he told me what was going on in Afghanistan--the corrupt police, the bombings, the rumors.   Before my husband and I left Afghanistan for good Sharif invited us over to his house for dinner. He lived in the "unplanned" area of the city where people squatted on public land in mud houses. He lived on the side of TV hill, on the third floor of a lopsided building with no running water and no sewer (wastewater ran down a trench in the center of the dirt road). We met all of his beautiful daughters, including the smallest, Arazu, who was five. Sitting there drinking tea with Sharif and his family, I could tell how much he loved his daughters.   They brought out dozens of dishes from their small kitchen in a genuine display of hospitality. After dinner, Sharif's daughters presented me with some jewlery they had made for me and Sharif brought out his photos.   The pictures broke my heart. Here was Sharif--twenty years ago with more hair--in Sochi, with his college friends (big Soviet women lounging in bikinis in the background, obviously scandalous for an Afghan). Here was Sharif in Red Square, in front of Lenin's tomb, in his obshezhetye (dorm) with his friends from Pakistan, China and Kenya. Here was Sharif, so full of hope, thinking that the world was ahead of him with no idea what was going to happen a few years down the road.   Now he is a driver earning $125 a month and supporting his wife and five girls.   When I hear terrible things about Afghanistan, I think about people like Sharif. I think about people who just want to raise their children and celebrate their weddings, to play with their grandchildren and sit around with friends and drink tea. I think about how the bombings have killed the family members of friends. I think about the little girls who sang songs for the foreigners when they got their new school. I think about Sharif sitting in the window of his small, two-room house, holding his little Arazu.
Confection

Confection

0
Korshka's BPAL Ramblings
 

Squeeful Post!

First off - New season of Eureka started tonight! Yay! I've so missed that show. Unfortunately we won't be able to watch the new episode until tomorrow night b/c we did get home until halfway through it.   We got home late b/c...   <b>We have bought a dishwasher! =) =)</b> We bought it tonight. Mr Man, as he put it, will be earning his "Mr Man" title by installing it Thursday with the help of one of our friends. *bounces* We're going to have a dishwasher *bounces* and it won't be me!
korshka

korshka

0
elbow's scentblog
 

Smellies for C.

I sent C. a package of imps to thank her for her hospitality during the Folklife festival. She just e-mailed me about them, and I really enjoyed her scent descriptions:   thank you thank you for the black phoenix scents!! i LOVE them!! except laudanum i have to admit that it reminds me of foul bandages (taken off a bloody cut after a week of being blood and water soaked)! and it has a moldy eucalyptus tinge. bleuck...! but here's my critique of the others (did you get a chance to test them out before you mailed them?) : florence: smells like honey and dark wine mixed with eastern spices. it's gorgeous! bewitched: swirls around me like heavy wild flowers after rain with splashes of dried herbs and dark, cavelike musk. LOVE it. i think this one likes me best. desire: it is very woodsy but not pine...like ferns and bark and sunshine. yummy. rose cross: the scent is like dried roses left on stone (a grave?)...not an overbearing rose smell but light and mossy. lovely!
elbow

elbow

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Scents of the Moment

Obsessing over trying: TKO, Leo '07, Victoria, Lysander, Schlafende Baigneuse and Crowley. Bottles I particularly yearn for: 51, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, Queen of Sheba, TKO, Bengal, Snowflakes Imps I particularly yearn for: Croquet, TKO, Crowley, Tristran, Hermia. LE's I'd almost rent out my soul for: Storyville, SN Lime, SN Pomegranate, Fee, Tears, Circe, Noir LE's I'd almost always accept another bottle of: Et Lux Fuit, Snowflakes, Boomslang, Punkie Night LE's I'd always accept another imp of: Storyville, Beaver Moon, Pink Moon '05, Chaste Moon and the bottle bunch, of course! Catalog bottles I absolutely can't be without: Katharina, Whitechapel and Alice. BPTP stuff I would sell my soul for: (other than a scent locket, obviously) Bitter Moon tee. Mum Moon tee, too.   Previously in my wishlist, I decided to take it out but to leave it available here. It'll be updated with some frequency as my mood dictates.   I'm also putting some of my wishlist on here that doesn't need to be up there anymore; namely Tarot and such.   Tarot The World Temperance *The Hanged Man Justice Strength *The Hierophant *The Sun The High Priestess The Chariot   The Chakras   Vishuddha Manipura Sahasrara   TAL   Charisma Glamour   *Anthelion *Bastet's Laughter *Block Buster *Euphony *Hand of Hermes *Hymn to Pan *Radiance of Ra **Road Opener   Brass Balls Foundation of Fortune King Solomon's Millk and Honey *Perpetuum Bonum   White Light   Catalyst Clarity **Concentration **Crucible of Courage *Determination **Healing *Mnemosyne Ouroboros Wolf's Heart   I don't want any TAL that I could mistakenly cause negative effects. I'm not a magical practitioner, but I do have faith that focusing energy really does make a difference. (That's just my little disclaimer about TAL oils.)
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
Diplomatka
 

I'm not your "sister"

Why is it no matter where I go I get cat-called? I can be wearing anything, any time of the day in any part of the city and men cannot help but yell something at me! Walking back to my office from lunch with my husband a man pulled up next to me in his car and yelled, “sexy!” And last week, wearing sweats with greasy hair going to play Frisbee a man in a minibus taxi pulled in between me and my husband just to holler at me (I was walking with him and three Ethiopian men, but the driver was undeterred): “Hey baby, how are you?”   What are these guys thinking? Seriously, is there some myth about white women that I have not heard? Do they think that I am going to talk to them? What gives them the fucking right to walk past me and whisper, “sweet, sweet sister”? What gives them the right to even talk to me at all? I just want to yell “LOOK, I AM WALKING WITH MY HUSBAND, THE ONLY WHITE GUY WITHIN A TEN MILE RADIUS AND I AM WEARING BUSINESS CLOTHES. I AM NOT A PROSTITUTE AND I HAVE NO REASON TO TALK TO YOU. FUCK OFF.”   I really need to invest in a tazer.
Confection

Confection

0
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Unsent

So here are things I've recently figured out about myself:   I don't trust people. Moreso than I originally believed. I have issues with my father, but I think those issues are easier for me to resolve, because I've written him off. What's going to be hardest for me is that most of my issues stem from my mother, and I can't bear to think about that. I love my mother, and I know she loves me and did the best she could, but... there's a lot of anger and I don't know how to deal with that. I am a freak who cannot find closure in any way over some STUPID boy I met online AGES ago. This is disturbing. I just want to heal, but he hurt me on such a base level that I sort of sealed it off and now I can't get to it. I don't want him; I don't want to be with him, and if he ever showed back up in my life, I'd probably tell him to trust his instincts and get the hell away from me. But first I would tell him all the things that hurt me. Maybe I just want some acknowledgement of what he did. And there's a part of me that hopes he never realized how much it hurt me, because I don't want him to be capable of doing that to anyone. I need to take care of myself.   Why is this called unsent? Because I'm going to start writing physical letters to people I can't let go of, and pretend that they've been read and heard, and hopefully that will help.
smallvoice

smallvoice

0
readiness' Blog
 

Holding Pattern

It feels like I'm in a holding pattern continually circling The. Big. Move.   I feel like have so much left to do and people to see and no time anymore. Yet I do. I have time to go to work and do chores. Like today. I have this afternoon. But I still have stuff to do. But it's all the boring empty and refilling boxes.   I need to find out if greeting cards count media mail. I am so fucked if not.   I need a job in New York for what feels like yesterday. But it's hard - esp in my back up retail, to be like yes I'll move out in three weeks. hozaboutthat? But not having a job definitely makes me nervous.   My mom, dad and Tom have all said they will not let me starve for that first non-job (maybe) month. So no real worries right? Well should not be. But I worry.   But then on days like today I'm like ho hum. I need to make money. how can I do that. hate telefund.   And I was just told that the will call for next month is going to be the day after I leave. *severe and SAD pout*
readiness

readiness

0
Nia's Blog
 

Let's make this harder

I spend way too much time online. I'm going to give myself 1/5 of a TAL bottle for every day in which I limit web browsing to (quick) email/forum/blog checks. Say, 30 minutes a day.   My first bottle is going to be Lionheart.   Wednesday: Bad day. I spent a lot of time in a lot of different forums Thursday: I can't concentrate in anything after a tiring morning with several appointments and I again wasted too much time.   Friday 13th and Saturday 14th: This is beginning to work. So far I've deserved 2/5 of a bottle
Nia

Nia

0
Korshka's BPAL Ramblings
 

Rest In Peace, Grandma

I'm back home. The past week has been very up and down, and very emotional. Below is my release of that.   I flew in Wednesday around noontime. Daddy picked me up at the airport, and we went back to the hospital where my mom was waiting with Grandma. Just seeing Grandma like that...so very sad. I had forgotten just how bad people looked so close to death. Grandma wasn't conscious or aware of much of anything. She had just gotten her morphine for the pain and ativan for agitation. We went to lunch and then came back for a little longer before heading to the house. We talked, and I did little things here and there, but for the most part I felt like we were just waiting for the phone to ring and holding our breath every time it did.   On Thursday, we headed back to the hospital, and Grandma was moved from the heart hospital to the general hospital and placed under "hospice" care. This pretty much just meant that she was terminal and there to be kept comfortable until she died. Thursday was horribly hard for me. Grandma was restless and moaning. She still wasn't very aware of what was going on, but she was notably unhappy. It really tore into me to see her this way. This was when I started wishing for her let go. I felt really horrible to feel that way because I felt that I should be wishing for her stay with us, but there was no hope for her to get better, and she seemed like she was in so much suffering. I wanted that to end and for her to move on to peace.   But she kept holding on...   Friday, I decided I could not handle another hospital visit and that I needed to get some work done. I did put forth a good effort to work, but I feel short only getting about 3 hours done. Instead, I called up a friend from high school and was able to go over to her house to visit with her. It was really good seeing her and her 3 little girls. After a while, I started feeling that need to go home, so I said good bye and headed back to my parents house. When I got there, my parents told me that they had gotten the call.   Grandma had died.   They had all (my Mom's brothers and sisters) and met up at the hospital after a few of them had had an appointment at the funeral home to make sure everything would be ready. Most of them had been there at one time or another over the past few days except one sister. It was shortly after she had left, that Grandma died. We think she was just waiting for her last daughter to come to her, tell her it was alright, and say goodbye.   I didn't start crying. I felt sad, but at the same time, I felt peace for her.   The week of July 4th is always the week that my mom's family goes to the beach for a week, and this year they needed it even more. So that night my parents hurried themselves packing and headed down to Myrtle Beach Saturday morning. I thought the time by myself at the house would help me start grieving, but I still couldn't. I held myself up so tight for the past couple days, that I still couldn't let myself go. I was just numb. I did, however, fell the need to binge out on B&J's ice cream. Saturday night, Sister and Brother-In-Law got in. It was BIL's birthday - poor guy.   Sunday, just existed, I don't really remember doing much. Today though was the visitation and funeral.   Grandma was all dressed up and looked quiet and sleeping. Under the nice outfit that she had worn at Sister's wedding was a red t-shirt. My little cousins had bought that shirt for her a few weeks back at Disney world. Grandma was in the hospital then, so they just showed it to her, and she was never able to wear it. At the visitation, I was still very numb. It came in little waves, but the big stuff was still being held back somewhere deep inside. We stood around and talked. I was able to see a few relatives that I hadn't seen in a long time. It was at the end of the visitation that it hit me.   I was standing outside waiting for Grandma to be moved to the awaiting hearse for the precession to the grave site. I was looking in the door and saw two men from the funeral home rolling the casket down the hall. All of the sudden it hit me. It was my Grandma, and she was being taken away. I wanted to jump out of my skin. I wanted to run to the casket and tell them to get away from my Grandma. She was mine, and they couldn't take her away from me. I want to scream out to her that I loved her and that I didn't want to lose her. Daddy must have seen whatever it was snap inside of me. He had gone to put something in the car, and I was just standing by myself. All I know is that all of the sudden he was by my side holding me as I just sobbed. My Grandma was gone. They were taking her away from me.   I watched as they put her in the hearse, and then we got into the car. I started crying again as we drove down the streets of Camden. At the first intersection, a cop car sat to block traffic, and the officer was standing next to it with his hat over his heart in tribute to our loss. It was very touching to see each of the cops doing this as we made our way through town.   The grave site funeral was short and very catholic. Afterwards, we talked so me more. Grandma is now resting next to Granddad, who died a little over 20 years ago.   I am still breaking out into tears every now and then. I'm really going to miss her. I imagine it'll be really hard this Christmas when she isn't there, and we aren't at her house. It is good that my family have this week at the beach together. I think it will help them grieve together and heel together.
korshka

korshka

0
Do you have a flag?
 

On hiatus from the forums for a while. (I hope it's just a while.)

I know a lot of people think that cat-macro-speak is really cute and funny, and I'm glad that people are enjoying themselves.   Personally, though, I really dislike it. A lot. It was sort of cute the first time I saw a cat macro about a year ago, but it got old fast, and now it's pretty much into clenched teeth territory.   It wasn't so bad when the macro thread first came out and it was contained just to that thread, but that way of writing and arranging words/letters has now leaked into posts in other threads and it's been showing up on the LJ BPAL communities too. It's gone beyond just being annoying for me. I can ignore it if it happens once in a while, but all of a sudden it's everywhere.   I guess that means I have to avoid the forums and the LJ communities for a while. It's kind of weird because I feel like I've put up with lots of things -- being swaplifted, being snarked at, trying to avoid the drama -- and in the end it was cat-macro-speak that ended up being more than I could deal with.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

6
Nia's Blog
 

Still beginning

Mission 2: Fusing units 1 to 5, which deal all with very general concepts on language learning & acquisition, and communication theory.   Reward: Five Neil Gaiman imps from a decant circle: Crowley, War, Fairy Market, Tristan, Yvaine.   I want to do one unit a day.   Monday, unit 1: Completed! I have a lovely unit on the history and current tendencies of foreign language teaching. I have earned my Crowley. Tuesday, unit 2: On the relationship between the first and the second language. I have earned War! Friday: I've had a marathon and finished units 3 (left half-finished yesterday), 4 and 5. However, I have not concentrated as much as I should so I'm just adding the Fairy Market imp.   Monday: Unit 6. Tristan is mine! Tuesday: Unit 7: Yvaine is on the lot! Mission accomplished!
Nia

Nia

0
Whiskers and Whispers
 

Now that's an update!

This update was much more my thing than the last one...lots of amber, musk, witches and fairies and Good Omens too? I like that! My prediction for this update bringing hot, sunny scents was correct, as was my prediction for Leo containing amber. I'm now regretting buying second bottles of both Red Moon and Leo...Fairy Market looks so amazing, as does the Witch Queen, and Aziraphale and Crowley are coming home with me when I order on the 13th.   My Saturday evenings will be boring again now that Dr Who is over...   And I wish the weather could warm up a bit, it's almost July and it feels like October, but without the prettiness of autumn leaves. And the rain won't stop. I think the pizza and pasta cravings will return by next week, but the question is, will UK versions satiate them now I've tasted the real Italian stuff?   Oh, and I need a job. Now. Not just for the money but for something to keep me busy during the holidays. It's nice being lazy but it gets boring just lying about doing nothing after some time. I need routine and something constructive to do. And some money would be nice.
PurringPulsar

PurringPulsar

0
Sourball Ho!
 

Big update!

First off: I got a raise today! Yeehaw! Here’s a quick run-through of the HUGE update:   Red Moon. Our blend for this Moon mixes traditional lunar oils with the warmth of amber, red musk, and heliotrope, the russet haze of dragon's blood resin, sunflower, and crushed orange peel, with a dusting of summertime herbs: chamomile, rue, elder flower and marigold. I sniffed the previous incarnation at a Meet-n-Sniff which was beautiful, and this looks to have red musk and sunflower added which sounds even better. I’m so glad this is back! I had no inkling this would return.   Allison Gross. Witch-herbs, crushed golden flowers, and a man-made-dragon’s surly musk lightened by the scent of the blossoms and unearthly incense that clings to the Faerie Queen’s hair. Dragon’s blood musk, ambergris, sunflower, chrysanthemum, muguet, and rue, with gingered lily, moonflower, bluebell, peony, nightwort, and white rose. I’m not sure about what may end up being “bubblegum musk.” The unusual flowers (sunflower, gingered lily, bluebell) may make it interesting.   Leo. Egyptian amber, walnut bark, chamomile, frankincense, and saffron. this sounds like a sneezing fit between the amber, bark and chamomile.   Sportive Sun. Heliotrope, amber, almond flower, frangipani, cedar, and calamus. Sounds nice except for the cedar.   Gibbous Moon. Moonflower, Madonna lily, orris, white ginger, cucumber, hyacinth, and Irish moss. Too much floral in this one.   Agnes Nutter. Gunpowder, charred wood, smoke, and rusty nails. When we go to estate sales, many times in the “old man garage” there are saved coffee cans of old nails and nuts and bolts, along with hunting rifles and ammo. So all I’m imagining is this smelling like old man garage.   Azriphale. Ethereal musk, blonde woods, and dusty Bible accord. I want to try this to see what “dusty Bible accord” smells like.   Crowley. Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk. This sounds a bit too masculine with the lilac cologne, mahogany and leather.   Shadwell. Roll-ups, mildewed raincoat, sweet tea, and condensed milk. What are roll-ups, other than the pressed-fruit snack I ate as a kid? Old pants? Ew.   War. Red ginger, black spices, patchouli, honeysuckle, and three blood-soaked red musks. This sounds like a winner, like my beloved Glasya.   Fairy Market. Otherworldy golden incense, blooming wind-flowers, everlasting lavender, bluebell, a faint whiff of exotic sugared candies, and fae mist upon wet green grass. I don’t do lavender, so “everlasting lavender” sounds even worse. Everything else sounds cool.   Tristran. Dust on your trousers, mud on your boots, and stars in your eyes: redwood, tonka bean, white sandalwood, lemon peel, patchouli, rosewood, coriander, and crushed mint. Redwood would probably be too strong on me; another masculine one.   Victoria. Graceful vanilla musk, tea rose, and stargazer lily. Vanilla musk and tea rose sounds lovely.   Witch Queen. Wild plum, red musk, tuberose, calla lily, heliotrope, pimento, ylang ylang and beeswax beneath a dark haze of sinister purple-hued incense smoke. Dang, wild plum and red musk right off the bat, like a one-two punch of favorites.   Yvaine. The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia. Lavender again, nah.   Also, more soaps! I recently tried Snake Oil and Shub soaps (Shub is finishing up in the shower). I knew that quite a bit of oil goes into the batches, but I was disappointed personally that the fragrance didn’t last on my skin without the backup boost of oil applied later. I was really hoping for a nice overpowering blast of scent; bowl me over! I don’t care! Alas, I get dressed and can smell the detergent from my clothes more than my nice soap. However, Bordello and Perversion are two of my absolute favorites and I will probably order those eventually.   In conclusion: since I already ordered the 2 Sephiroth bottles, I’m going for Red Moon only.
dawndie

dawndie

4
Nia's Blog
 

The beginning

This is the plan: I need to prepare for a Government exam that is the entry to a teaching position in the State high schools. There are 70 theory units and 15 practical ones. 70-ish is the approximate size of my BPAL wishlist, so I will give myself an imp for every unit I finish, with a few tweaks.   First mission: getting two different sets of units from other people to fuse them and create my own "textbook". Reward: Antique Lace. I'm going to work up a wishlist /shopping list in alphabetical order, although for particularly big hurdles I will promise myself 1/5 or a 1/4 of a TAL bottle.   Sunday the 1st: DONE!
Nia

Nia

0
captain diana's log
 

crap for crap

I am freaking out that I only have about a day left to order the Sephiroth & Tarots I still want/need.   I have 14 of the 26 tarot oils, but I don't know if it would be wise to order 12 bottles, especially since I'm trying to clear out all my debt right now. I've kind of narrowed it down to 6 bottles (Chariot, Hermit, Justice, Devil, Tower, Ace of Swords) but that's still a lot. Maybe I can get it down to about 3 and just get an imp pack so that I can at least have a wee bit of the missing ones.   As for the Sephiroth, there are about 3 I still want (Hod, Golachab, Gamaliel), and about 3 I could live without, but I'm eh about them (Geburah, A'Arab Zaraq, Nahemoth). I also want to get a backup Chokmah. Anything remotely Snake Oil-ish is something that I need in mass quantities.     eieieieeeee decisions.
Diana

Diana

0
Whiskers and Whispers
 

I'm back from sunny Sicily....

...in rainy London. I suppose it's nice to have a break from +100 degree heat but I do miss the nice weather. I had a wonderful time. One of my favourite holidays for a long time, it's been memorable and eventful in many ways. Oh, and the food has been stunning. I should have put on weight with all the pizza and pasta and ice cream I wolfed down but all the walking I did (climbing Etna!) must have burnt it all off. Here's a little summary of how it went:   Highs and Lows:   -as I said, the food! I am very pizza and pasta-ed out now but the pizzas here, and my mum's tomato sauce, are nothing compared to the pizza and pasta I had in Sicily. Don't get me started on the ice creams. -Cefalu, the town I stayed in, is possibly the most charming little Mediterranean town I've stayed in so far. Lots of lovely little alleys and wonderful restaurants, and it seems pretty untouched by the full tourist thing (ie, no McD's or Starbucks yet), and with a great beach. -the mozzies treated me like a pizza and I ended up looking like one thanks to their feasting. I've never had bites so big and itchy! -the heat was unreal. I mean, 47C? (not sure what it is in fahrenheit but I know it's over 100) Even on the beach? It was truly Saharan out there. There were wildfires aplenty, followed by blackouts and even water shortages. (As my 'doomsday dad' would say, that's a taster of what's to come for the UK in 20 years time!) I also got a sunburnt arse, which is pretty hurty. -climbing Etna was amazing! It was sweltering at the coast and yet there was snow at the top of the volcano, right alongside hot steaming vents. It looked like another planet. And it was so gusty and dusty. But so worth it. -there was one tour guide we had who was a total bitch and treated the English speakers like shit whilst she was all favouritist with the people who spoke German (and when we asked for translation into English she said 'I already told you this already' really rudely), and her English was crap anyway. At one point the tour guide's 'friends' ganged up against us English speakers and it got really aggressive. I've never had a guide so bad before. -there are some fascinating historical sites all over the place-from ancient Greek temples and theatres, and wonderful Roman and Byzantine mosaics...my favourite though had to be the Palermo mummy catacombs. That place has an amazing collection of dried out dead guys that outrivals the British Museum, I think...   So overall this was a wonderful holiday (despite the mozzies, the fires and that guide) and I really do miss being there-I definitely want to return though.   Now I'm back from hols, I can't wait for the UPDATE!!!
PurringPulsar

PurringPulsar

0
Sourball Ho!
 

Last Minute Panic order

I caved today and ordered bottles of Chokmah and Nahemoth, unsniffed and completely swayed by reviews and recommendations of other forumites. Especially filigree_shadow, darn her encouragement! With the collective references to Snake Charmer, Hellion, Snake Oil, Smut and Bordello, I had to give these a whirl.   My only worry is that the update on Friday will be glorious with lots of LEs I will want to purchase. We'll see!
dawndie

dawndie

0
Korshka's BPAL Ramblings
 

Very Sad News

My Grandmother is dieing. Her health has been up and down for awhile now, but she was getting better. She was even released from the hospital in time for Sister's wedding. But when she went back into the hospital this second time, it has been one problem after another.   I some how knew all day that I need to talk to my parents. I actually called and left a message on the home answering machine about 5 mins before my dad called with the news. They don't expect her to make it through the night.   I love my Grandmother. We didn't get along very well when I was younger. She wasn't the "milk and cookies" type grandmother that my Dad's Mother was. She may have missed the boat with my sister and I, but by the time my little cousins came around, she had learned how to be more of a grandmother. Over the past 10 years or so, we had actually grown closer. She had become a wonderful grandmother.   I will be going out of town for a couple of days...Take care everyone...
korshka

korshka

0
Odd Thoughts from an Odd Duck
 

Tea-Time Adventures

I made myself a cup of the blackberry tea yesterday. Mmmm. I even boiled water on the stove instead of sticking cup, water, and teabag all in the nuker together.   I tasted it plain at first. Potential. After adding a touch of honey -- just right.
odd_duck71

odd_duck71

0
readiness' Blog
 

Freak out

My first entry here and it's going to be a freak out :rollseyes: I thought I could pretend to be normal for a bit   This current freak out is brought about by several things:   1) Effexor withdrawal. I know this saga has now reached epic proportions but I've only just (as in the last day) stop taking ANY Effexor. This has sent my anxiety through the roof. Yah for panic attacks (or not - well thank god for brad paisley and klonopin). I think this is contributing to my freak out   2) I just really realized I have a month and a week before I LEAVE. I've kinda been avoiding mom's house cause I'll miss the kids so much. It seems stupid withdraw BEFORE I leave (I should be spending all this extra time right?) but now I'm freaking that I won't see everyone I want to/need to see before I leave. I'm always home during summer so this didn't feel too weird. but now I'm like FREAK   3) What if I Go Crazy Completely? while in nyc? I have done the really nutso thing before and it's not fun. (I had an eating disorder throughout high school and part of college which required hospitalization. I've been in remission for three years.) I'm totally freaking about not having a job yet (I know I have a month and I've been submitting for 2-3 weeks). What if I can't get hired at all and am generally totally fucked? Huge knot about that.   Anytime now I really think about anything I flip out completely. No medium. This has happened for the last two days and needs to fucking stop.   And I want Amy SO BAD right now. She would calm me down and we are back to think about amy then cry or at least tear up. I was <i>so</i> over that stage. It means you can't wear any eye makeup.    
readiness

readiness

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Korshka's BPAL Ramblings
 

Wedding Ramblings

Mr Man and I had a small argument Thursday about wedding planning. Basically, he is only interested in wedding plans b/c he feels that his mother and I have told him he has to be, and he feels like I am pushing to plan too much too soon. Everyone keeps telling him that we are on the ball and ahead of things. In my opinion we are and we aren't. I think a lot of people don't realize how early you have to thing to make sure you get your first choice. Yes, you can wait longer to book things, but it just means that you may not get *exactly* what you want. This is especially true when you are trying to do all this on a budget. Deals go quick.   On the plus side, I think we've decided on the photographer - <a href="http://marciasimmons.com/intro.html">Marcia Simmons</a>. She is giving us a fairly good price for 4 hours of photography. I would rather <a href="http://bludomain10.com/daynaschroeder/">Dayna</a>, but the price she is giving us for only 3.5 hrs is $300 more. And while practically all of her pictures are at the quality shown on her website, Marcia can still hit about 85%, which for $300 I'm willing to do. I can use that money somewhere else.   I feel there are many things about the wedding that are beyond over priced; however, I gotta say, I didn't think i would be looking at spending $150-$250 on chairs for the ceremony. Just plain ol' chairs. *thud* When you look at it being only 2.00-3.00 a chair, you don't think much about it until you multiply it by 75. *sigh* So much money...I'm starting to see how people spend $10,000-15,000 on a wedding, and that is sad.
korshka

korshka

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Eoywin's Blog
 

A Bpal Fanfic (kinda)

I'm a bit of a writer and here is a new story I've been working on the last couple of days. It's based on a very vivid dream I had last week, and it does involve Bpal, so it's kinda like a fan fic, but not really since the story and world are mine (pretty much). I thought some of you might be interested in reading it. If you are, let me know and I'll post more once I have it written:   Ashley Frogert was a fairly normal young woman. She was a blonde, blue-eyed college graduate who worked at a good, but boring job as an admin. assistant at a big auto manufactor. Her life was a steady routine of work, home time, weekends with friends and then more work.   It was a beautiful day, as Ashley sat at a little outdoor cafe, soaking up sunshine and drinking sweet tea. She looked around, watching the bustle of people who were shopping in the small downtown area.   Her eyes were drawn to an oddity in the crowd. A man with black hair and piercing grey eyes started to move in the direction of the cafe. He looked so out of place because he wore a long black trenchcoat despite the heat out.   Ashley continued to watch him, as she sipped her tea and was quite startled when he stopped and sat at her table.   "Can I help you?" she asked, as a frown came to her lips.   He wasn't looking at her when he sat, but when she spoke his eyes turned on her. A shiver went up her spine when their eyes met.   "I'd just like to sit here for a moment, if you don't mind," he said softly.   She just gave a nod, finding his gaze made it hard for her to breath, let alone speak.   He looked away, surveying the crowded. After a moment, he nearly jumped to his feet, saying "Thank you for the use of your table, ma'am."   Without giving her a chance to reply, he darted away, melting into the crowd. Left alone, Ashley was surprised to realize her heart was racing.   "Who was he," she mumured to herself. She took a few moments to collect herself before she finished her tea, paid her bill and made her way back to work.   She sild into her chair, back at the office, and resumed the project she had been working on before lunch. After a few moment, she noticed her boss, Anne, walk up with a scowl on her face.   "Why did you take such a long lunch?" Anne asked, her voice sounding very angry.   Ashley looked perplexed. "It was the same length as always. An hour on the dot."   "It was longer than that. You need to pay more attention or your job could be in jeopardy!" Anne nearly shouted, then stormed off.   Ashley just blinked with a rather shocked look on her face. Anne never raised her voice to anyone and was usually very cheerful. And lunch breaks were never something that was exact, even on Ashley's first day she was told that she could take as long a lunch as she wanted, just to make it about an hour.   She just tried to shake it off and concentrate on her work. But as the afternoon went on, she became increasely more uncomfortable as all her co-workers seemed to be angry, like Anne was. And oddly enough they all seemed to be watching her every move.   At five, she slipped out of work and was more than a little freaked out to see a pair of large men following her. She hurried her pace, darting into a side street trying to lose them.   She stumbled a bit when she saw that she hadn't lost them, but they were gaining on her. She sped up to a full run, moving out of the alley and into the busy downtown street.   Ashley was running as fast as she could, but the men were now also running and still gaining on her. She was paying more attention to her pursuers than what was in front of her.   She was only a few blocks from the police station when she crashed into someone and tumbled to the ground.   "I'm so sorry," she said, scrambling to her feet, then she got a look at who she ran into. Her eyes widened as she saw it was the man from lunch.   He grabbed her by the arm and began to run. They ducked in and out of alleyways and busy streets until Ashley felt completely lost. After a while, they managed to lose the men who were after her.   "What is going on?" Ashley demanded, after she had caught her breath.   "I'm sorry, it isn't safe to talk here. There is a safehouse nearby," he replied, "I know you have no reason to trust me and I'm really sorry you've become involved."   "Involved in what?!" Ashley exlaimed, "And yes, I don't trust you! I'm not going anywhere with you!"   She turned to walk away but he grabbed her arm and pushed a few small vials into her hand. "I understand, but you won't be safe. If you throw one of those at them, it will slow them down," he said, then told her the address of the safehouse.   She pulled her arm from him and watched as he strode away. Once he was out of sight, she looked down at the vials he had given her. Each had a little paper lable with different names. The names were Vice, Bliss, Dorien and Grog. They also all had the name "Black Phoenix Alchemy Laboratory" on the back of the label.   She put them in her pocket, glanced around and started towards the direction they had come from. She was all turned around, but her plan was to find the police station.   It took her a while but she finally found a street she was familar with. She hurried in the direction of the police, feeling relived when the station was in sight.   As she walked into the station, she felt a shiver go up her back. She turned and saw the two men who were after her earlier.   All the police had angry looks on their faces. Chief Adams walked out of his office. "You gave my boys quite the chase, Miss Froegert. Now if you'll follow me we have much to discuss," he said, giving her a smile that made him look very sadistic.   "What do we need to talk about?" she replied, as she moved one hand very slowly into the pocket with the vials in it "I've never broken the law."   Adam's smile widened "You have something we want and we will have it."   Ashley pulled out the first vial she could put her fingers around. She threw it at the Police Chief's head who laughed until the vial fell to the floor, breaking.   Everyone in the room except Ashley began to act like they couldn't breath. Ashley felt confused since all she smelled was the lovely scent of freshly baked brownies. She didn't linger and ran out of the station feeling utterly bewildered and scared.   Since she had very few options, she turned the direction of the safehouse. The walk was a long one, nearly ten blocks, and a nervous one as well. She kept looking behind her and tried to keep her head down at the same time.   When she reached the address that she was given, she found herself in front of a small store she had never seen before.
Eoywin

Eoywin

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