dawndie

As a by-product of the LJ drama, I wanted to post about people's avatars. I really like seeing everyone's avatars, especially ones who change them all the time (wink at valentina!). I should change mine more often too. Avatars are so cool because they're teeny little pictures that represent whole people, and the more avatars seen the better. I don't care if you're changing them every day, or posting extras in your signature -- I love seeing them. Is it someone you're in love with, someone you want to be, or a cool picture of a flower that you think is rad? Mine came from downtown Las Vegas (different from the Strip, where all the huge hotels are). Downtown is a lot of fun, because there are a bunch of older, smaller casinos within 3-4 blocks and you can walk from one to the next with ease. Someone had the idea of installing neon signs randomly from old bars & restaurants, so as you're walking down Fremont Street you'll look down a side street and there will be 3-4 signs with plaques in front so you can read about them. DH took a crapload of photos, both during the day and at night, and they're way cool -- unfortunately some are so large that they'd look like glowing blobs inside a teeny square. The "Restaurant-Bar-Jackpots" came out so clean and bright, I really like it.

I totally saved minilux's Velveeta avatar in My Pics! That one cracked my ass up.

I often wondered what cats are thinking in their walnut-size brains. Thanks for the transcript! Poor babies. I had to laugh at the several "hiding places" Xena created. My cat Shadow is the King of "Oh Sure, I Can Fit in There!" It usually becomes a place his head/shoulders can fit, but his butt & tail are out for all to see. He's been clingy tonight and has shoved his way next to me in the big squishy chair as we speak.

I know, creative title after all that went on this weekend, right? But it's not just the LJ stuff, it's this latest episode of Intervention I watched. Y'all watch Intervention, right? It's on A&E -- every week is 2 new people addicted to heroin, meth, alcohol, etc. and they're followed around in their pathetic lives until the exciting intervention (sometimes with Jeff! Hi Jeff! He's like Dr. Phil with a spine ) where they're given a choice to either get their lives back or continue their patheticness. The show's addictive, har! It got me thinking about the LJ drama this weekend. There are some people who can't exist without drama -- either as a willing victim or an active participant. The show seems to feature many people who individually can't seem to handle "life" and all it implies, including "earning a living" and "dealing pleasantly with others." So if the drama exists, they don't have to deal with their own issues. Part of becoming an adult, though, is dealing with these issues. So someone posting anonymously and flaming people they don't even know except by an avatar are in need of drama, and if they have to create it they will. So if everyone's represented by an avatar, what does that make me? Either I'm a gambling-addicted lush who eats food, or an actual restaurant. OOH! Can I be the Brown Derby? Cool!

"Dramallama" is a good term. It conjures a picture of something nosy and long-necked (the better to get all up ins you bidness).

I'll say "Cheese on Rice!" or "Son of a Biscuit!" or "Dagnabbit!" I'm an old person in training. "Phooey!" is "fudge"-like too, I say that one a lot. I should mix in "rassafracka" because it's hilarious. My boss says "son of a sea cook" which is so out of left field.

This title was stolen from Anchorman, which like many other movies the first 10-15 minutes are the best -- "I love scotch! Scotchy scotch scotch!" I put on some Smut before DH and I went out to grab some food and beer. Smut starts out almost agressively strong, but ends up a really nice sweet musky YUM. valentina sounds more sophisticated in that she mixes with O to make Smut-O-Rama, which is very creative and I should try. Bottle orgy! Woo! I have several bottles that may be "in demand" on the resale market, but I would never sell them just because I like them so much. Smut is one of them -- it ends up so nice, I'm sitting like a dope with a smile on my face, that I would never want to sell them even if it was double what I paid. If anything, I'll swap something I like but am not in love with. I don't care if it's LE for GC either, if it's something I really want. It's all about spreading the love.

I don't get B.O. from Smut -- it starts out as slightly oily peanut butter, then calms down. Weird! B.O. smell would certainly put me off. I do run around the house after putting it on, pumping my fists like Rocky, and amusing the neighbors.

Yeah, like Mr. Spock! It sounds like one cat of yours is cooperative -- both of our cats act like they're being condemned, but me doing "the thing with the thing" (DH's term, he won't try to pick them up like that) seems to cut down on their "torture." Hey cats, how about getting a job and working for a living? Yeah, I thought so

What a good metaphor for the mess this weekend: a scummy pond. I commented in Macha's blog previously -- I bet the spate of postings (that's another good word: spate!) there were probably 4 people posting over and over and agreeing wholeheartedly with each other. The INXS song was "Need You Tonight" -- Try not to hate! Love your mate! I knew who Ron Jeremy was, but I haven't seen him in a porn either. My sister and her husband met him, funny enough -- Fayard Nicholas was a tap dancer from the 1920s on, really famous and they went to see him at a signing somewhere. So my sister and her husband are talking to him for a minute, and who should come up to shake his hand was Ron Jeremy! He was a big fan too and went to meet him. My sis said he was polite and very nice to talk to.

It's probably naive on my part, but I imagine all the multiple posts scatter-shooting everywhere were made by a total of 4 people, posting over and over. Cowards. That's all.

Hooray New Appliances! You do know about the Picking Up the Cat trick, don't you? You have to grab them right at the shoulderblades, at the nape of the neck where it's really fleshy. Like when the mama cat carries the kittens around. I was told there's a nerve there that when clomped like that calms them so they hang limp and you can get them in the carrier. I don't tote the cats around the house like that on a daily basis, but once we get them cornered you just do a reach-and-grab, and carry them to the carrier, lower them in and you're done. No bloodshed!

I'm sending good-luck vibes! I hope you get good news. We've done the cross-country move a couple of times, once from Southern California to Ohio (where DH is from) and then to Texas for DH's job. The first move I was excited about because I already liked the area when we visited. The second move I wasn't happy about at first, because I really liked my job, but I ended up finding something better here. I haven't regretted either big move. I think you have the right attitude already, in that a different area like Seattle appeals to you. If this becomes more of a possibility, read about the different neighborhoods online or buy a travel guide. I liked the Marmac guide we bought for Dallas, because it had lots of info for new residents as well as touristy stuff.

--I placed an order today; I got bottles of Litha and Obatala. I ordered only 2 because of the extra April Fool's bottle I ordered -- it's complicated. Basically I limit myself to 3 bottles or about $50/month, and if I go over in one month I try to make it up the next month. Oh, never mind, it's stupid --Happy Mother's Day to pet moms too! The blog of valentina, she posted her puppy pics and I know DH has our cat pics posted somewhere but I'm an intarweb doofus and don't know how to access them. We have 2 cats, Cookie and Shadow, who are very sweet and very shy. We've had them over 11 years, since they were 8 weeks old. --One funny Mother's Day story: we were living in Cincinnati and were in some shopping area north of the city on one Mother's Day, maybe 1997. Of course every restaurant was packed and we espied a Kenny Rogers Roasters. We had never eaten there, but had always made jokes, like "Is the piped-in music all Kenny?" and "Do all the workers have to wear fake white beards?" Yes, we crack ourselves up. Anyway, we ended up eating our words as everything was seriously good -- the chicken, the sides, it was like the Seinfeld episode where everyone was addicted like crack. We were moaning at the table, it was some good eatin'.

I understand the order temptation -- after I received Monster Panties I had zero outstanding orders! I felt naked without a pending order. Now I'm waiting, and all is right with the world.

--We were testing our DSL on a streaming radio station and I wanted some '80s music. I picked a random station and it came up "ew Wave and Alternative" on iTunes radio -- HAHAHAHA! I listen to ew wave! --sophia_helix had a general rant/complaint/statement a couple of days ago regarding people begging for LEs, like "OMG I NEED THIS LOL!!!" I can see where she's coming from. Everyone right now wants Monster Panties or the C12 blends, like those are the best things Beth has ever created. The fact is that Beth has many many blends that are great and are GC and wholly available. I completely understand the lure of the LE: there has been many a blend that I bought simply because it was only available for a limited time and what if I love it and I'll never sniff anything like it again and and and *falls over dead* But then when you get them, they're not better than a GC blend just because they're LE. I can name a bunch of GC blends that I love and a bunch of LE blends that were meh. In conclusion: don't fret over not getting a 5ml of Storyville. There are many other blends that are great.

Puppies! *mwah* While we have 2 grumpy cats, I resent being called a "cat person." There may very well be people who just like cats and not dogs, and the other way around, but I like all pets. Dogs are cool -- and I was bitten by a friend's dog in 5th grade, needed a few stitches in my arm, and still like dogs. Happy Mother's Day counts for pet owners too!

I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl with this update. This was the first one in almost 2 years where I was actually online and then noticed Beth's announcement. It was exciting! Like a rollercoaster, woo! *bounces in chair* The Salon scents that sound great are And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt and Death of Sarandapal. Both have honey, which due to my love of O are tempting. Plus Litha sounds nice, but it sounds like something with the specific goal of annoying my allergies with all those plants So I'm on the fence, but I have a couple weeks to decide. I knew Lotus Moon wouldn't work because lotus is bubblegummy on me, and paired with pine it became a no-no This was a great end to a craptastic week.

A Groupie scent? I'm thinking Boone's Farm and Love's Baby Soft, which I would totally buy.

I'm reading! Go ahead and post about BPAL or the great/sucky day you just had. That's what I do, and we'll irritate the internets together.

*deep breath* *deep breath* Moving is very stressful. We moved several times, cross-country for a few (California to Ohio, then Ohio to Texas). I still have "moving dreams." Please don't view this as The State Of Our Marriage or Our Happiness Is On The Line. It sounds like both you and Mister have a bunch of extenuating circumstances, which are all conspiring to make you miserable. I'm babbling, but feel free to vent as much as you want here.

OK, so we got a new DSL modem. It's working great, except it poops out every half-hour or so. It'll just die, then come back I'm seriously tempted by darkity's reminder about cable, but other than the burps things are working fine. Back to BPAL: I've been so impressed with the last couple of orders I've received. The Maelstrom scents I tried were great -- I have bottles of Berenice, Masque and Montresor, and Montresor is an all-time favorite on the level of Perversion, Morocco and Hellion, my favorite dark blends. I was tempted with Tell-Tale Heart too, and will maybe sniff eventually. Monster Bait: Closet is great too, really nice sweet & fruity. On Monday I got my teeny April Fool's order of Underpants, which is wonderful While it sounded extremely foody, it's a beautiful sweet vanilla scent. As if to reiterate the vanilla, the Lab sent a frimp of Antique Lace with it, which I previously tried and liked so much I already have a bottle, purchased when it came back in stock.

Ugh, don't get me started on men's feet. Here in Texas you'll see guys in flip-flops 90% of the year, or those ugly hiking sandals -- here's a tip: unless you're actually hiking, don't wear those! But most guys are oblivious as to how their feet actually look. How many guys think, "I need a pedicure!" before putting on their flip-flops? Lots of women think this, because they're more conscientious of what people will see. I see these ugly feet schlupping around a store or a restaurant, and I just think, "Yuck! I don't want to see your skanky feet! And now I'm supposed to eat?"

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but almost: we lost our DSL modem in one of the thunderstorms last week. Dial-up is working but obviously slow. Boo. I'm trying to lurk when I can!

In bottle: butterscotch schnapps. I know that smell all too well On skin: blast of sweet vanilla. Other reviews have mentioned Antique Lace, which is a favorite and it does remind me of a less-floral version. Half-hour later: I barely get the sandalwood, but it's not too dark or woody. It's like a "fresh" wood, which may be the additional saffron? Whatever it is, it's gorgeous. In conclusion: this is quite long-lasting and not as "foody" as the description implies. It's dreamy and an instant favorite