Floating Leaf

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, surreysmum!!! (a little early, since it will be late by the time I manage a post tomorrow)

Here's something to make you smile - or, perhaps, swoon a little...;)

Apparently, I am not getting comment notifications right now.:/ So if you are reading this, and you replied to a comment of mine in the past few days, I have not seen it.:(

In other news, here's a link to an amazing read - Prophecy: Destiny and Design by Pecos (who is, as many of you surely know, one of the best authors in LOTR slash fandom):

http://www.blueskydancers.com/pecos/hollowman.html

Twenty long chapters of gripping suspense, gut-wrenching drama, mystery, psychological depth, quirky humor and hot sex, all rolled into one.:) It includes secret organizations, dubious genetic experiments (Orlando is a clone OMG!!!), paranormal abilities, "messages from the future" etc. - you get the drift.;) Oh, and all of this is happening during LOTR filming, I should add - with most of the principal cast somehow involved in the proceedings. On the slash side, the chief pairings are Domlijah and Orlibean - later replaced by Viggorli, which then seamlessly morphs into Viggorlibean (with a side of Vigbean, or however you want to define it - the main point is, you get the three abovementioned guys in all possible configurations ;P). And it's all done in a skillful, psychologically convincing way. Honestly... a rare treat. I have been living inside this story for the past few weeks, and I feel a little bereft now that I've finished reading it.:( I want more of the same. Seriously - any recs of a wild, sophisticated sci-fi/fantasy AU involving the above threesome (or twosome, minus Bean) are extremely welcome.:) Other pairings and permutations are fine - all I really care about is that V & O end up together at some point, and stay that way.:) Yeah... some things never change.:P

Had jury duty today. Didn't mention it here ahead of time, because I had a feeling that if I do, I will somehow jinx it and end up having to serve on a three-week trial or something. *shudder* But I was lucky, and my panel wasn't assigned to a case. I just spent most of the day lounging about in the waiting room, reading a book. ( Read more... )

Also, I am a little concerned about frequent LJ downtime and supposed attempts to destroy the site by those who'd like to silence some Russian political blogs. I mean, I've been here since 2003 and I really don't want to go anywhere else (I just bought extra icon space, for heaven's sake!...) - but I am beginning to think that maybe I should create a backup journal somewhere, just in case LJ goes to hell with no warning or something. If I were to do that, which sites would you recommend, dear flist? I know everyone seems to be on DreamWidth these days, but I'm not really familiar with it. How does it work? Is it much different from LJ, or more or less the same?... I don't handle big changes easily, so I'd prefer a site that functions in a similar way. Like, for example, I want to still be able to use my icons!... (yeah, I'm NOT leaving the sandbox without my toys... LOL) Or change layouts without having to become an html wizard.:P Or... you know. Just give me your thoughts/recommendations/whatever. And now... OMG bedtime. *face hits keyboard*

This was inevitable, I guess. I am an official hardcore Gogol Bordello fan.:) I've got ICONS of Eugene Hutz, for heaven's sake. *points to the left* And now I am going to make a post of my favorite quotes. Just because. In more or less chronological order. Oh, and some pics I found online. Starting with this one, from the set of Everything Is Illuminated (2005):



Elijah seems quite the fan as well, doesn't he? ;) ( Anyway... here goes: )

So, I have this big music post coming up, but I am not quite sure where to start. 'Cause that's what I've been busy doing for the past week or so - downloading music, creating playlists etc. It all started quite accidentally, with a random post by a randomly friended stranger, who was talking about how she randomly walked into a bookstore and ended up with an album she wasn't planning on buying, as well as a link to a free music download given her by the checkout clerk, who happened to be in a band. How awesomely coincidental is that? Well, here's the link in question:

http://theluckyjukeboxbrigade.bandcamp.com/

Only four tracks, but you can listen to them right there on the website, as well as download them for free. I think my favorite is Moroccan Fire Drill, but they're all pretty awesome - especially for a debuting band. Apparently, that was enough to awaken in me a wild hunger for new music - because I've been on a roll ever since.:)

Anyway... what my randomly friended flister described as "this Russian-French blues Piafian swing thing floating through the air" was the music of DeVotchKa. I got very intrigued (I'd heard of the band before, just never listened to their music), and promptly found several albums for free on Pirate Bay. And... yeah. French-Russian-Spanish-Italian-alternative-rock-folk-blues-film-noir-whatever-kinda-thing.;) Absolutely delicious.

But that was only the beginning. The abovementioned post also randomly referenced Goran Bregovic, whose music I have always loved. So I went on a random search for albums/tracks I might not be familiar with. Btw, I heartily recommend the website http://www.soundike.com/. They have nearly everything you can think of, music-wise, for the ridiculously low price of 15 cents per track. I ended up finding/rediscovering an obscure Polish band I never thought I'd hear again after my sister borrowed and lost their only album I had, years ago. But I digress.

All of the above sort of reminded me of Gogol Bordello, whom I had discovered back in 2007 or thereabouts (after watching the amazing film Everything Is Illuminated, starring Elijah Wood and the band's frontman, Eugene Hutz). I had bought the first two albums on CD, and then somehow stopped following the band's further progress for a few years. Until now. So imagine my delight when I found four other albums on Soundike. Now, here's where I am at a loss for words, because I feel like gushing profusely for about three hours, while in fact at this point in time I should already be in bed.:/ So I think I'm going to come back to this later. Let me just toss in the link to the band's official website:

http://www.gogolbordello.com/us/home

You can listen to some of their music on the website, and there are plenty of videos available on YouTube. I had meant to post some here, but I only managed to watch 3 or 4 before my prehistoric laptop "lost display functionality" again.:/ So no YouTube for me.:( Anyway... I'll leave it at that. For now. I can't possibly squeeze the awesomeness of this band into one sentence, and it's too late to keep trying anyway.:P

Snagged from gairid:





Again, surprisingly accurate. Maybe except for those big ideas that other people are impressed with... LOL.

( highly insignificant news under the cut )

Any recommendations for herbal remedies/relaxation techniques to fight a vicious PMS? I think I am reaching a new level of Pissed Off Hormonal Bitch, or something to that effect. I've been incredibly irritable today, for no good reason (other than PMS, obviously). I snapped at a coworker who was trying to help me with something (I apologized later, and she's not mad at me, but still); then I got terribly upset about another coworker's messy/haphazard approach to a certain task (that's how he is, and I know it, and usually I find it either amusing or only mildly irritating; but today I felt like strangling the guy with my bare hands); then I had an obsessive-compulsive fit of frantically trying to fix his mess at the last minute (after he had already left for the day), which resulted in leaving the building a minute too late and narrowly missing the bus - and then having to wait 40 minutes for the next one.:/ (And no, I couldn't go back to the office and do some more work during those 40 minutes, because, due to some stupid rules, we are not allowed to work after 6 p.m.)

As for why I was taking the bus in the first place... Well, my driver's license just expired. Here in the US it normally expires on your birthday. Also, you normally get a renewal notice/reminder in the mail. I didn't get anything (no idea why, btw) - so I almost forgot about it. Besides, I thought I would be able to renew it online this time - but no such luck. Since I haven't received the reminder with a code to enter into the online form, I have to physically go to the nearest drivers' facility - which closes at 5 p.m. I work till 5:30. And we are insanely busy this week - still, or again, or however you look at it. This time the busy doesn't involve any phone calls, at least for me - so it's more manageable. But still. This is the stuff I normally work on, the stuff I feel responsible for. I don't actually WANT to take any time off until after the nearest deadline - so I decided to use public transportation for the time being, just in case. After today, though, I am pretty much discouraged from that idea. Since I can't seem to vacate the premises early enough to catch the last bus, due to being unable to leave someone else's mess unsorted on the desk. *massive sigh*

The funny thing is, I am not being paid nearly enough to justify this sort of attitude. I should just say "screw it" and blithely shirk any and all responsibility for someone else's shortcomings. But if we are all working on the same project, and I feel somehow accountable for the quality of said project, then I can't just sit back and watch someone be totally non-anal-retentive about it. *headdesk* When did I become such a control freak?... Is this ridiculously insignificant (in the grand scheme of things, anyway) job beginning to take over my life? Should I seek therapy?...

Another week passed in a blur. Yes, I did receive another list of people to contact, and I did make more calls; some from home in the morning, and some from the office late in the day, after most of my coworkers had left (this time my list included a few papers from Western US, in the Pacific time zone, which is two hours behind Chicago - so calling them early in the morning really wasn't an option). One guy left me a voicemail asking to call him back regarding the email I'd sent him - and I did. This was early afternoon, but luckily the three people sitting closest to me had left their desks at almost the same time; I took that as a sign that I should call now, lol. I was nervous, of course, but not nearly as much as I would have been a few weeks earlier, I think. It is always a little easier for me to talk to someone who has left me a message first - especially if their voice sounds pleasant/friendly and I can understand every word they're saying - than to call a complete stranger. But regardless - I think I am making progress here. Slow and painful, but progress nonetheless. The main thing is, I am no longer afraid of this project. I still find it draining, bothersome and annoying - but I am not likely to have nightmares about it anymore. So maybe I should thank my boss for forcing me to face my limitations. Btw, I have very good results (over 90%, which was the goal), and it looks like we are done for now. I am so relieved I feel almost dizzy, lol. I just don't have the energy to worry about anything else at this point. All I want to do this weekend is sleep in, read fiction, watch a good film etc.

I haven't had much energy for commenting either - it was as if my brain kept shutting down every evening around 8-9 p.m. or so. I could read, but had no capacity for formulating thoughts etc. And writing emails was way too much work.:/ Btw, two good old friends emailed me this week, worried by my prolonged silence.:( I mean, I am usually the one pestering people about not writing to me often enough. I must have been really mentally preoccupied to let this happen. *sigh*

Anyway... I think I'll turn in now. Let me just wrap it up with some massive, heartfelt ***HUGS*** for stormatdusk. She will know why. <3333333

Should I attempt an update? I get twitchy if I don't post anything here for an entire week or more.:) On the other hand, I don't really have the time for a lengthy rant - and after a week of not posting, a lengthy rant is precisely what I'm in the mood for. *sigh*

This week has been extremely exhausting. ( Read more... )

THANK YOU, stormatdusk, for the adorable little puppy! It was really sweet of you. *hugs*

I feel sooo tired. It is freezing outside, and the commute wore me out. I almost didn't make it to the bus stop in the morning, because the sidewalk along the main road was all covered with a waist-high mound of snow. I had to walk around through a maze of back streets/parking lots/private driveways, searching for a passable path. Also, did I mention that it was FREEZING? *shudder* Well, at least work was very quiet - most people didn't make it, there were just a few of us in the office. The management rewarded our dedication with a free pizza lunch.:) And I stuffed myself silly, because being outside in this weather takes all the energy out of me and I feel hungry all the time. I just want to eat and sleep, and then sleep some more. In fact, I think that's what I'm about to do. Go to bed before I get hungry again. *massive yawn*