December 31st, 2005 at 12:20 am
(News)
Just wanted to mention that I’ve upgraded the ole blog to WP 2.0. I dunno how I like it yet but I would like to mention that it took me an hour with a cable modem. *boo-hiss*
Also, I’d like to mention that I saw Memoirs of a Geisha today and even though it was butchered in places (especially places where they could have carried off Golden’s original content), and even though Hatsumomo was a much less cunning and less venomous version of herself, that the movie was still quite good. I, however, prefer the book.
December 28th, 2005 at 2:22 pm
(Metaphysical, Nature, Thoughts, Witches Weekly)
Pick a spiritual practice (be it public ritual, meditation, solitary ritual, attunement, cleansing, etc), and display an outline of the typical steps you go through from start to finish.
I think I’ll put up the formula/meditation I use to interact with nature spirits. I’d like to contribute something I consider of value 
We’ll just assume I’m doing it in the house.
1) I turn off the telly.
2) I light some incense, preferrably any form of Tibetan but if I have them, I like dried maple leaves on charcoal.
3) I find a comfortable place and settle in. It’s important to be as comfortable as possible because a nagging body takes away from the experience.
4) I take a few deep breaths and center myself.
5) I draw the “seed” around myself. The “seed” is a combination of Elder Futhark runes:
a) First I envision a ring of alternating Thurisaz (Thorn to some people) and Algiz around myself in a 3 dimensional space. The Thurisaz should be quite like a wall of thorns and the Algiz should be pointy and “outchy”. The three prongs of this rune should face outward.
b) Then I draw another ring of Algiz facing myself. This ring should have a soft, silky quality to it like milkweed down or cattail fluff.
c) Then I draw Inguz around myself inside this double ring, taking care to envision it as a diamond-shaped container or seed, leaving off the angles on both ends.
d) After this I draw Eiwaz (the bow rune) from heaven to earth, connecting the superconscious and the subconscious.
6) I then think on the nature spirit I wish to contact- Which is usually a tree (suprise, suprise 
). I concentrate on asking the spirit, respectfully, if I can share or learn about its particular energy.
7) I bask in the energy. I ask my questions.
8) I thank the spirit for its help and express graditude to it for allowing me to share in its energy.
9) I center myself again.
10) I dismantle the “seed” doing the steps of #5 in reverse order.
11) I light some incense, a candle, or make some sort of offering in thanksgiving to the spirit who helped me.
12) If I learned any new information, I write it in my journal.
December 28th, 2005 at 11:39 am
(Thoughts)
Had a few adjustments to make right before Xmas of the sort I don’t care to discuss except to say that they had to be made. Some business is far too personal to slap on the internet for others to have Schadenfreude over. This occurrence was one of those situations. All I will say is that it needed addressed and it was.
I’m back on the Elmiron- have been for two days. I had my first nosebleed today. How pleasant. I really hope the doctor takes me off of it in January. It has been a total waste- especially of blood. I like my blood where it belongs, not leaking out of various orifices, especially orifices that were not originally designed to pass blood- like the mouth and nose.
I’ve been thinking about my New Year’s Resolutions lately. One of them is to ask for a reference to a pain management specialist and not to back down until I get one. I’d really like to become a hermit but that’s not feasible, so being a recluse will still have to do. I’ve come to the conclusion that my best __whatever__ is not good enough for most people, so it’s best to keep from wasting it on them, thereby causing myself stress. While I am also resolved to do away with PC explanations- no this is not pointed at any one person or particular group of people. I just wish I could take a survivalist course and live in a forest somewhere- with Eloric, naturally. I think it would prevent a lot of problems. Also, I’m resolved to start Tai Chi again- because I need some exercise. Any other resolutions are still pending as I’ve not thought of them.
This past year has been a crappy, crappy situation. I hope I don’t have to endure another one such as this one for some time to come. I’ve experienced a lot of things I’d just rather have gone without- some of which I can cut out of my life and some I cannot. I’ve never asked for life to be perfect, contrary to some people’s opinions, but I would like my Schaden, the Weh die zu mir getan werden, spread out just a little farther in the time continuum. And personally, I don’t think that is too much to ask.
December 23rd, 2005 at 4:26 pm
(Rants)
Yesterday I was laying in bed around 9am still trying to sleep. I first went to bed at midnight but sleep evaded me. I tried again at 5am and insomnia pwned my butt clear until say 10am. I’m getting a little sick of this but I have 2 more months to go on Levora to see if this evens out or not. It sucks because there’s no good telly on at 5am and I’m getting a wee bit tired of watching Are You Being Served? over and over and over. But enough about me. Let’s get to the scam reprise.
The phone rings and I sit up in bed and holler to Eloric: “Remember, if it’s that silly bint pretending to work for the congressman, it’s a scam. Tell her off!” Eloric, however, found himself struggling to suppress gales of hideous laughter for indeed, it was the bint from the fake congressman’s office. Since he answered the phone, true to the form of the other folks who’ve been hit with this money-grubbing farce, the lady began to play him a “recording of Congressman Reynolds” saying what a pillar of leadership my husband is in American Society. About two minutes into the recording, Eloric was laughing so hard that he hung up on the right honourable congressman’s taped accolades and came into the bedroom to tell me about it.
I could not believe that we’d been selected to participate in the Republican Party’s idiotic production formed not only to farm money off of small business owners (which we aren’t) but to get around the National No Call List. I had made up my mind today that if the silly bint called back, I was going to inform her that we are on the No Call List and that I had her number on my caller ID and I was going to report her to the appropriate authorities. Sadly, I only got a call at 9:15 this morning (as I was again trying to struggle off into dreamland) from some girl again wanting Pfaltzgraff Construction. We got an advert from a credit card company in the mail today also for the same. Curse Menards for selling our information to third parties! Curse them!
December 20th, 2005 at 4:19 pm
(Rants)
So, I’m minding my own business today, trying to get a little more sleep on top of the excellent 2 hours and 23 minutes I managed to luxuriate in last night when the phone rings. It’s yet another person asking for a contractor. Yet another. This makes 4 calls in the last 4 business days, if anyone’s counting. I had laid my head down next to Nonnie for all of about half an hour when the phone rang again. Now- I was groggy and on Benadryl but I shall try to recall the conversation I had with the lady on the other end of the phone.
Lady: Is Eloric Eldath in?
Me: No. I’m sorry but he is busy at the moment, may I ask who is calling?
Lady: This is Connie Snodgrass from Republican congressman Mike Reynold’s office. Can you tell me when Mister Eldath will be to home?
Me: No, I’m sorry but I can take a message if you’d like to leave one.
Lady: Could you please tell Eloric that he has been chosen as a recipient of the National Leadership Award that congressman Reynolds is presenting? Could you please have him call congressman Reynolds’ office back at 1-800-555-5555 so that he can discuss signing the press release?
Me Mmmm, sure I’ll do that
End Phone call.
I looked at the phone, boggling. I did not believe what I had heard, not a word of it. After all of the “is this Pfaltzgraff Construction?” calls of the past 4 days and the drugs and the lack of sleep, I didn’t write down the phone number. What I did do was manage to remember enough names to Google the deal and have found precious little about this whole situation. I looked for the honourable Congressman Mike Reynolds in the House, the Senate, my state assembly. No one by that name. There is a Thomas Reynolds who is a Republican from New York in the House of Representatives… no Mike.
Then I thought what if they were calling for the Eloric Eldath who people are convinced lives here but is totally fictional- one who was born in 1923, the one we keep getting AARP information and fliers from The Scooter Store for…? What would just be too precious. I would laugh a ring around the moon, if that were the case, I thought. But still, in my mind I was niggled by the thought that this was probably some elaborate scam or at the very least, some sort of fund-raising venture and decided to keep Googling. I mean, yes, Eloric is as fine and upstanding a citizen as you could want- Male, white, Christian, bright, hard-working (insert core American value here) but an award- for what? Not turning his place of employment in to OSHA for its safety violations?
After a bit of searching, I came across two articles where the authors had owned their own businesses and had been called by a different congressman’s “office” about having won a “National Leadership Award”. I’ve also come across several pages asking if it were a scam. Very curious. Especially in light of all of the calls we’ve been getting thanks to Menard’s and the whole “why yes, you don’t need an actual contracting business to sign up for our Contractor’s Card” bull-kaka. So, apparently, Menards has listed our phone number somewhere where we did not give the permission for them to list it and we’re getting all of these annoying phone calls. Which is either vengeful or stupid, depending how you look at it. I knew it would get us into trouble, despite how they talked Eloric into it. Now it’s nothing but an endless annoyance of people calling when I’m either sleeping, hunched over the toilet, or laying on a heating pad waiting for my next dose of whatever.
Eloric has said that he is going to call Menards and bitch them out for plastering our number all over, especially when we cancelled our accounts with them because of Mister Suck-Suck-Suck and the asshatted way both he and his store treated us. I hope this gets rectified soon because I’m getting tired of people calling. Business go to far too much trouble advertising- if they only knew that all they had to do was get a contractor account with Menards.
I hate Menards.
December 19th, 2005 at 5:40 pm
(Interstitial Cystitis, News)
I have been so entirely ill this past week, I haven’t been able to do hardly anything with myself. First, I had the flu… or what we think was/is the flu, since I’m not completely over it yet. I felt so weak I couldn’t even lift my laptop to move it to a more comfortable location. So I just laid on the floor, tried to catch up on everything that needed doing (especially making things for my sweet Secret Santa) and pretty much failed. I’d fall asleep at the keyboard and wake up, drooling, carpet imprints on my face. Then I’d stagger to the sofa, meaning to watch the telly, and fall asleep there. I couldn’t eat and, as a result, have lost about 10lbs, which will pack right back on when I begin eating normal once more. Stomach’s still tender and I’m still too tired to cook more than the 3 minute Thai noodles I have a fresh crate of.
I was supposed to make it to my in-laws’ Christmas on Saturday but, owing to the fact that Satan makes Halls Mentholated Cough Drops, I was busy laying on my heating pad, cursing my life, watching the clock so I could take the next instalment of pain medicine (term used loosely, since it didn’t do anything but take part of the edge off). That is, when I wasn’t sleeping because of the flu. I tried twice to make a nice blend for my Santa but my eyes kept crossing, so I just sort of laid there and half-re-read The Crimson Petal and the White, when I could make the print stop dancing. I wish I could have made it- only one of the usual trouble-makers was there and it was the one I could have most easily handled. Now I have to try to write thank you notes and feel guilty that I couldn’t make it.
Now I’m up and about but still feeling like I’ve been put through the meat grinder. I managed laundry but haven’t put it away yet. I need to get cracking with the pixel-gifts but right now I’m on The Other Machine and it hasn’t the resources my laptop has. I’m on this one because I can prop myself up with pillows in the chair and pretend I’m well. That and I don’t want to restart the other one because I was in the middle of something and it likes to lose information even if I save stuff in Open Office. Dunno why that is.
So that’s me. Alive, rather.
December 15th, 2005 at 12:50 am
(Better Living Through Chemistry)
In the tradition of Celebs in Santa Hats that swamped the tfl.org boards last year, I’ve made myself a little pressie.
And he’s going to be close in March. *w00t!*
I finished my tasks but I feel like crap. Perhaps it’s this Levora shezzy AND the stupid flu 
December 14th, 2005 at 5:11 pm
(News)
I have flu *barf!*
But I have to be up and getting things done or it will all devolve into a puddle of muck and ragged pixels if I don’t. I have to finish the haiku listing; I have to make something shiny for my Secret Santa. I have to feed the cats and keep fleeing to the toilet like one posessed. I have to make some more haiku codes too. But my eyes are beginning to cross, so I’m going back to bed until Eloric gets home and then I’ll give everything another go.
*hurl*
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