Floating Leaf

Wow... that was quite a busy weekend - for me, anyway (which is an obligatory disclaimer, I suppose, since I have noticed most people have a different definition of "busy", and might possibly interpret it as "relaxing"... LOL). Saturday included chiropractic appointment, grocery shopping AND an unplanned trip downtown to see a movie (more about that later). Sunday was spent mostly at my parents' house, doing the classic Easter binge.:) And today was supposed to be just chilling, sleeping in, taking a long, hot shower, cooking etc. - but somehow I decided I needed to add another shopping trip to the mix (possibly because my parents handed me some cash as a belated birthday present, LOL). So I only just had dinner now, and there isn't as much time left for LJ as I thought there would be... *sigh*

By the way, I had today off because I asked for it - it's not a holiday here, in case any of my European friends are wondering. Neither was Friday. We don't get any extra time off for Easter in this country. Or perhaps some workplaces with plenty of European and/or South American employees do, but mine doesn't. I just usually take Monday off if I am planning to visit my parents on the Sunday before it; otherwise I have to rush madly to get everything done, and that just defeats the purpose of a weekend for me, LOL.

But speaking of rushing madly - that's pretty much what I did on Saturday, having discovered Friday evening that they are showing Viggo's recent Argentinian movie at a theater downtown. This weekend only. It was a limited release, only in selected cities in the US, and when I first heard about it a while back, it was supposed to happen the week before (on the 22nd). So I simply assumed that if they weren't showing the film anywhere in Chicago on the 22nd, that meant Chicago wasn't included. But guess what? I checked the Chicago Reader website Friday at work, and there it was. Which almost gave me an anxiety attack, since at first I wasn't sure how I was going to fit in such a lengthy cinema trip into an already busy weekend (it's about an hour and a half, one way, to that downtown theater from where I live). But I HAD to fit it in, of course, and so I did.:D Hence the rushing, and quite a fair bit of angst, which resulted in poor sleep the night before, followed by a ridiculous degree of exhaustion throughout the day. But I did manage to see the movie, so it's all good.:P

In case anybody cares (other than meathiel, perhaps ;), the film is called Everyone Has a Plan, and Viggo plays a double role of two brothers with very different lives and personalities. ( Read more... )

Anyway... back to work tomorrow, so I should be getting ready for bed. I'll post more later... maybe.;) For now, I hope everyone had a nice celebration - whatever you celebrated this weekend - and I wish you all WARM, SUNNY, welcoming SPRING weather (which, from what I'm hearing, hasn't been much in evidence so far). Well, it was sunny here today, but very cold. Way, way too cold for April. I still had to wear my winter jacket... *grumbles*

Well... time to shut up now. Good night.;)

I've been an absolutely lousy LJ-friend of late. I haven't left a single comment on anyone's post in the past week or two. There were a bunch of posts I wanted to reply to, but somehow I always thought I'd do it "later". Apparently, "later" is a mystical, unspecified term that leaves me in a state of confusion, because it magically turns from hours to days, then to weeks... without my conscious approval, I might add. I'm not one for spontaneity, in general - I like to have a set time for everything. But time is unreliable. It flies by ridiculously fast, on most days (except at work sometimes, when it drags like limp noodles... but that's another story).

What I'm trying to say is that I would really have no basis for complaining if some of my new friends decided to remove me from their journals due to lack of interaction. There would be no hard feelings on my part - some regret, perhaps... but I can't really, in all honesty, promise to be a better commenter in the future, since I'm not sure it's a promise I can keep. The way it looks now, I'm probably going to just comment on weekends, and only on posts by the very few people I feel a deeper connection with (those very few people most likely know who they are). Anyway... "quality over quantity" has always been my motto.:) So if it bothers you that I read, but never comment, don't feel obligated to keep me as a friend just to be polite.:P I generally don't mind people's lack of comments, by the way - I'm used to it, LOL - but I do realize everyone has different requirements when it comes to blogging/journalling and such. So I'm only saying this for the sake of clarification here, if needed.

I am addicted to this journal, there's no doubt about it. But I would most likely still write in it if no-one ever read it. I've always kept a journal, ever since my mid-teens, and for many years, it was a private little notebook hidden in a drawer. In other words, it's not a desire for an "audience" or "popularity" which makes me write. It never was. That said, it's nice to know if people relate to something I've written. But then again, there were far too many times I did relate to something other people had written, and never let them know either... so yeah. Interaction is my week point, a lot of the time. My brain is like a sponge: it soaks stuff up, retains it, but hardly ever gives anything back (maybe it needs a squeeze... LOL).

Also, I have apparently managed to get my body used to the new rhythm of always going to bed before midnight, because it is currently screaming "BEDTIME!" at me in a most demanding manner - despite having slept in this morning, and not having done anything particularly exhausting during the day. So whatever else I thought I wanted to say will have to wait till "later" - whatever that means... *sigh*

I wanted to post tonight, but I got swallowed up by Tumblr and DeviantArt. Again. So, instead of a coherent, verbose, informative entry (that would have bored you to tears, more likely than not), I offer you a brief, succinct graphic explanation of the basic difference between extroverts and introverts (which is, of course, extremely relevant to the general themes pursued in his journal). Found on DeviantArt. ( The artist's name is Ambelle1120. )

Well, a few more things before the weekend's over. The next week will be more of the same at work, so I may not feel particularly chatty in the evenings. Just saying.

Also, I do recall wishing someone had written a story that would include "missing scenes" from Interview with the Vampire. Well... someone did. I am reading it right now. ( Read more... )

And before I sign off for the night, here's my latest music addiction. Linkin Park. Yes, I know. A bit of a departure for yours truly. I never quite expected to like something that even vaguely resembles rap... LOL. But here it is, and it seems perfectly attuned to my emotions of late. You know, acting all calm and collected at the office all day, while there is a veritable storm of insecurity and frustration raging inside... it feels more or less like what this song is about:



At any rate, it feels good to be expanding one's musical horizons.:) Not that there aren't a few absolutely gorgeous ballads on their latest album, Living Things. My favorite one is probably Roads Untraveled... but I couldn't find a video for it. Anyway... I'll shut up now, and go to bed at a reasonable hour for once. *yawns*

Ugh. This is probably going to sound weird, but sometimes I am just so fed up with the human body and all its disgusting "natural functions". Why does everything have to be so icky? The older I get, the more sickened I am by certain unavoidable "facts of life". Sometimes I wish I didn't have a body at all. Or, you know, had a clean and easily maintained supernatural one that doesn't emit any waste, and bleeds only when it chooses.

Yes, in case you're still wondering what prompted this, I got my period last night. ( Read more... )

A weekend without a proper post is a wasted weekend, non?... So now that I've had some decent sleep, and taken care of some basic household tasks, let's attempt another installment of the 30 day meme.

( Day 23 – Something that makes you feel better, in great detail )

Since I seem to be on a roll, posting-wise, let's do another installment of the never-ending 30 day meme...

( Day 22 – Something that upsets you, in great detail )

Snagged from versailles_rose:

Your Brain is a Pisces

Your style of thinking is very intuitive and subconscious. In fact, you tend to be unaware of your own processes. You see the interconnectedness of the world more than most people. Your conclusions come from a lot of depth and synthesis. You don't think you have all the answers or that you can control what happens. You are the furthest thing possible from a know-it-all. You simply do your best to try to understand the world and people around you, without fear or judgment.

Big surprise, that. ;)

Also, it took me two hours today to get to work. That's right. I kid you not. TWO HOURS. Because, for the first time this winter, we actually got some snow (not THAT much, mind you), and it seemed to paralyze Chicago's entire public transportation system. Now, if this happened in Texas or Florida, I wouldn't be surprised; but here? Seriously? The weather's been SOOO much worse in recent years, and yet, my commute has never lasted this long before. What gives? By the time I arrived at the office, I was chilled to the bone, numb all over and ready to just curl up in a blanket and take a long nap. And I pretty much stayed in this frame of mind for the rest of the day...

And I thought I had other things to say, but my brain isn't cooperating. Ah well... bedtime, then. *sighs in defeat*

There's a massive winter storm warning in effect for Northern Illinois this weekend. The temperatures are expected to drop well below the freezing point as an Arctic front moves over the area. And let me tell you, I can hear said front moving in right now, rattling my rickety old windows in mighty gusts of frigid air. No snow so far, but that's supposed to start tomorrow. Good thing I got my groceries before the whole mess started - now I can just stay in and wait for it to blow over. AND we have Monday off, since it's Martin Luther King's day; again, good thing, because it's supposed to be ridiculously cold. I don't think I'll be going anywhere...

Besides, Teh Internetz have eaten my brains. I have been lured into joining Tumblr. I blame gairid, who casually mentioned her VC-related Tumblr account... which I am, of course, following now.:D (Apparently, traipsing in search of Vampire Chronicles stuff all over LJ AND Dreamwidth wasn't enough anymore.:P) So, if you happen to be on Tumblr and actually post to it (I haven't really started yet - mostly lurking for the moment), let me know.:) Btw, my username is Somnambulistic Decay. Don't laugh; it's a quote from one of my favorite songs by Marc Almond. I must have tried about fifty different usernames before I finally managed to stumble upon one that wasn't taken already (yes, before you ask, pretty much everything with "night", "dark", "goth" or "solitude" in it ;P).

In other exciting news, I've been doing a little bit of yoga/Pilates almost every day this week. I dragged my balance ball out of the closet, where it had languished, forgotten, for the past few months (or was it years?...), and reacquainted myself with the simple and relaxing routines taught by Suzanne Deason (a woman in her fifties with the sleek and toned body of a teenager; it must be truly beneficial to do yoga for a living... *sigh*). There's a "daily stretch" routine on the DVD which lasts about 15 minutes; there's also a full body workout divided into three segments: lower body, upper body and abs (each about 10 minutes or so). So I've been alternating between those, instead of doing the whole thing at once. I still feel a bit achy all over, especially around the midsection; but it's not bad enough to make me want to skip more than a day at a time. I don't suppose I will actually lose any weight from it - but it's beneficial regardless, so I'm hoping to stick to it. *crosses fingers*

Darn... the wind is REALLY picking up. It's actually getting chilly in here. Which isn't something I say very often. Normally, I have to keep a window open an inch or so when the radiators are going full blast, or I would suffocate. Now, everything's closed and I can feel the freezing air blowing right at me through the cracks. I think it's time to burrow under my warm duvet... *yawn*

Hmmm... looks like I'm getting used to my Dreamwidth account. I've been fiddling with it for the past few days, since I can't seem to decide upon a layout. All the available styles are so plain... I mean, I do like simple, but simple can be elegant, non?...;) For example, this layout I have right now here on LJ is very simple, but so aesthetically pleasing. Of course, I'm sure DW has more exciting options for paid accounts as well - but I am not ready to dish out on one yet, so I can't see them. I did, however, upload a few icons. You can have up to 15 on a free account - but choosing 15 out of 200 is too much of a dilemma for me at the moment, so I just picked some obvious Louis/Lestat ones that I can use for comments on vc_media (btw, the community isn't even crossposting to LJ anymore - they are exclusively on DW now, which is the main reason why I keep checking the site almost every day... LOL).

Speaking of VC's... there is this little "library" at my workplace. Basically, employees are encouraged to bring in used books or magazines that they don't want anymore, so that others could borrow or "steal" them if they like. And this week, someone brought Interview with the Vampire. A very old, worn copy, dog-eared and obviously well-read. Someone must have LOVED that book.:D Of course, I will never find out who, since there are well over a hundred people working at our office, and I am not about to start going around asking whose book it used to be.;P At any rate, they got rid of it, so probably not a crazy Anne Rice fan anymore.;) Btw, my own copy is much newer and in better shape, but has an ugly "modern" cover - while this old one is very stylish and lovely (just plain black with some guttering red candles). So... should I steal it?... Or exchange for my own?...:)

In other exciting news, my period is due this weekend - which of course doesn't mean that it will actually arrive. ( Read more... )