Floating Leaf

So, we've been doing this web research project at work for the past few weeks. To cut a long story short, we're collecting various consumer websites that accept advertising, to enhance our digital media database. And I've stumbled across some pretty interesting links in the process. More tasteless het porn than I ever wanted to see too, lol (we're using a list of 5000 most popular websites according to a market analytics company called Compete, so you bet there's plenty of porn on it :D) - but aside from that, some cool and thought-provoking stuff as well. Like this article on healthy eating (the eternal 'carbs versus fats' dilemma):

http://www.lifestyle24h.com/solutions/are-our-healthy-eating-guidelines-wrong.php

Most of it won't come as a surprise to some people on my flist (especially mellacita, who could easily have written it herself, lol) - but it nicely sums up the problem and confirms my own recent shift in attitude towards it, so to speak. Interestingly, it was WeightWatchers who almost made me believe that All Fats Are Evil.;) So I'm glad I have a more balanced, fact-based view of the whole diet/health issue these days. *nods* (which is not to say I'm going to go back to stuffing my face with cheese each night around bedtime, lol)

More food for thought on other relevant topics can be found here:

http://www.alternet.org/

It's a news website with a refreshingly honest, progressive approach to today's issues. Lots of controversial topics from all over the world. Might actually get me more involved in the so-called 'reality' I tend to avoid on a daily basis.;)

And, last but not least, something for the senses - another gorgeous site for photography enthusiasts:

http://photo.net/

Check out the 'daily sampling' of members' work at the top of the page. Really amazing stuff (some experimental photography & digital art as well). So many creative people from all over the planet...

Btw, LiveJournal ranks 321 on the list of most popular websites. That's pretty high, isn't it? Nowhere near Facebook, which is number 3 or 4, I think, but still... I somehow didn't expect it to be that high. I imagined we were a tiny hidden corner of the web... *blinks*

Another week flew by. Thursday was spent in bed with a bad case of food poisoning. All because I decided it would be nice not to have to cook from scratch every once in a while, and bought some coconut-crusted tilapia fillets. They seemed innocent enough, but I can't think of anything else I ate that might have caused such major stomach disturbance. I never get sick from my own home-cooked food, and the oven-baked potato chips or brussel sprouts in butter sauce I had on the side with the fish are certainly NOT guilty either, because I'd had them before with no unpleasant consequences whatsoever. Anyway... lesson learned - yet again. Healthy eating = cooking from scratch = the only way that works for me, no matter how much time and planning it takes and how tempting it is to let go sometimes, if only for once. Frozen entrees - even the supposedly 'healthy' ones - don't like me, and they're out to get me, LOL. And as for saving time, I'd much rather have spent that Thursday afternoon cooking than lying down in a fetal position with a bag of frozen peas pressed to my forehead.:/

Yesterday I finally visited my sister and her husband's new apartment (they moved a few months ago, but they're always so busy, there just wasn't a good time to drop by). It's a cool old-fashioned place in a quiet suburb by the lake. Looks almost like a summer house in a tiny European town, with a wooden deck facing away from the street, plenty of trees, and the quaint German-style buildings all around. Perfect surroundings for artists to live in.:) I also met the resident cat, Precious, who gave me the official seal of approval by jumping onto my lap and making herself comfortable there for at least an hour (and nearly crushing my stomach in the process - it's a very substantial cat, to put it mildly ;). And my sister showed me their art school's new website, which she's been working on (still under construction, but looking great), as well as their profile on Facebook. For those who do hang around Facebook, it's called the Ravenswood Atelier. You can see most of my sister's paintings under "faculty art". There are also cool pics of the school itself - namely the giant art studio, located just a few blocks away from where I live. I've been there several times, admiring some of the paintings as 'works in progress'. It's a supercool, amazing thing that my baby sister is a 'co-founder and principal instructor' in an art school, isn't it? I still can't believe it sometimes. At least some people in this world are able to make their dreams come true...

Other than that, I don't have any news. Just a little bit of gushing over Dany&Dany's latest comic, Anima. ( Read more... )

Just a bunch of seemingly unrelated news this weekend. First, a little incident that perfectly illustrates the current economic situation. As I was loading my groceries into the car yesterday afternoon, a guy came up to me and said he did body work and could fix my cracked bumper (which was, as you might remember, held together by several stripes of duct tape, attached neatly and singlehandedly by yours truly). Not only that, but he could also take care of the few rusty spots and the broken lock on the trunk. He could follow me home and do everything right there on the spot, and he would charge me only $150 total. When I hesitated (because it sort of sounded too good to be true), he quickly added: "I have four kids, and they like to eat". He then proceeded to tell me how he now works 20 hours a week instead of 40, and how his boss at the body shop would charge me $400 for the same stuff (which I totally believe, btw). Convinced (and also because I felt bad for him), I agreed. And he did exactly as he said. Luckily, I had just visited an ATM and could pay him in cash when he was done. So my car now looks much better - and you should have seen that guy's happy face as he pocketed the money to go right back to the store and get groceries for his kids. It was a humbling experience, in a way. I shall now complain no more. I may be getting a ridiculously low salary, but at least I have no kids to feed and don't need to go around advertising my cheap services to random people in the street. I can't imagine it's the most entertaining way to spend your weekend...

Incidentally, yesterday I also met up with a friend whom I hadn't seen in months, and she told me her teacher's salary had been reduced by $2000 (it was the only way to keep her job - either accept the lower pay or go). She felt duly wronged by this - but when she heard how much I get paid, she just grimaced in sympathy and said: "Okay, now it feels wrong and selfish of me to complain". So here's my advice to you people: if you think you have it bad, just find someone who's doing even worse. I bet it will make you feel better.:P

Oh, and another friend of mine - the one who was a receptionist for a workers' union - recently got fired for criticizing the local canditate for Congress supported by her employer. She was volunteering for another candidate's campaign, and supposedly sent an email to some of her coworkers, voicing her doubts as to the suitability of their chosen candidate (I don't know exactly what that email said, but she had told me once that the guy was quite corrupted and she didn't have a high opinion of him at all). The next day, she was summoned to the CEO's office and fired. She was even on the local news. So yeah, another piece of advice: it might be safer to keep your political opinions to yourself. At least in the workplace. I had no idea one could be fired just like that for stating an opinion... but I guess you learn something new every day. Free country?... I think not.:/

And that is all for tonight. Bedtime. *yawns*

An interesting book meme I have snagged from lady_elina:

Name fifteen books you've read that will always stay with you, and don't take too much time to think about it (the first fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes). Copy this into your own post.

More or less in the order of importance - though that is, of course, subject to certain fluctuations:

1) Mary Renault, The Persian Boy (or the entire so-called 'Alexander trilogy', of which this book is the central part)

2) Mary Renault, The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea (I am treating those as one book, because they comprise one story - a magnificently epic retelling of the myth of Theseus)

3) Mary Renault, The Charioteer

4) Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

5) Jeanette Winterson, The Stone Gods

6) Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat

7) Christopher Rice, A Density of Souls (Christopher is Anne's son, and this was his first novel and so far the best, imo - though I haven't read the latest one yet)

8) Sara Maitland, Angel Maker (this is actually a collection of short stories, but most of them had a PROFOUND effect on me, so I think it totally qualifies)

9) Cherry Potts, Mosaic of Air (again, a short story collection, significant because of the author's unique perspective)

10) Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights

11) Monique Truong, The Book of Salt (another first novel by a young author that left me open-mouthed with awe)

12) Patrick Suskind, Perfume

13) Kathryn Harrison, Poison

14) Margaret Atwood, A Handmaid's Tale

15) Alice Borchardt, 'the Wolf Trilogy' - comprised of The Silver Wolf, Night of the Wolf and The Wolf King (Alice was Anne Rice's sister, and she also wrote novels with supernatural themes - but instead of vampires, she favored werewolves ;)


Most of these are historical fiction and/or fantasy. Many have supernatural elements. Most are written with great epic skill and in unique, beautiful language. Some (notably the antologies by Maitland and Potts) retell famous mythical or biblical stories from a decidedly feminist (and/or lesbian) perspective. Most have prominent gay characters - or characters who are 'different' and/or feel excluded from society for some other reason. This is probably the essence of why these books took up a permanent residence inside my brain. Which tells you a lot about my brain, I suppose - perhaps all you need to know.;)

I am SO tired. I worked 9 hours today, starting only 30 minutes earlier than usual - and yet, I feel totally depleted of all energy. I don't know how people can do 10 hours a day or more. Unless there is considerable variety to their work. I was doing more or less the same thing all day, and at some point my brain pretty much turned itself off. The funny thing is, I often do 8,5 hours - and it's usually fine, unless I'm not feeling well for whatever reason. So maybe it was the earlier start that did it. I know most people would scoff at the immense 'hardship' of having to get up 30 minutes earlier - but to me, it does make a difference. And my crazy early bird coworkers keep telling me how much longer evenings I would have to myself if I only chose to start work earlier in the morning. What they don't get is that I wouldn't really enjoy those longer evenings very much, because I would feel like I'm going to fall flat on my face any minute. If even a half-hour difference has this effect, how could I possibly start work at 6 or 7 a.m.?... That is just plain INHUMAN, no matter what they tell me, LOL. And I am NOT going to start hitting the pillows at 9 p.m. either, thank you very much. End of discussion. Keep your silly farm animal habits to yourselves.:P

In other news, the company managing our medical benefits is giving out $100 prepaid American Express gift cards as a reward for filling out an online health questionnaire. I just got mine in the mail last Saturday, and then promptly grabbed my car keys and went shopping.:) ( Read more... )

Okay, this is just plain WEIRD. I've been complaining about my annoyingly regular periods of late - but I certainly didn't wish for them to start happening MORE often than they already did, thank you very much. ( menstrual grumbling under the cut )

In other news, work is crazy, and will probably remain so for the forseeable future. As I just found out, starting next week I am going to be involved in some brand new 'exciting' project that will take up most of my time, while the regular work piling up on my desk will still somehow mysteriously have to get done. Joy joy joy. *scratches head in consternation* Plus, next week is going to suck anyway, because they are taking down the system again on Friday afternoon, and therefore everyone has to complete their 40 hours by 3 p.m. Which means, for me, having to start earlier than usual at least once, as well as stay till 6 p.m. each day of the week. And before you say, 'oh, but you're getting out early on Friday, to enjoy a slightly longer weekend', just keep in mind that on Saturday the system is supposed to be back on, and we'll all be there doing overtime (except for those who somehow manage to do it during the week, by virtue of getting up at the crack of dawn AND staying late - NOT a viable option for me, thank you very much). So yeah... fun times ahead.:/

I will stop now, before I find something else to complain about.;)

I don't really have any news. At least, not any RL news worth sharing. BUT... I feel compelled to make another shameful confession. I have been living under a rock. Maybe even under a deep layer of mud. It just totally mystifies me how on earth I could have lived the past 15 years or so without ever hearing about the band CRUXSHADOWS. I mean, they seem to be the hot stuff on the goth scene both in Europe and here in the States. They are actually American (which sort of amazes me, because I hardly know of any Americans even remotely interested in THAT kind of music, LOL), but they have performed with The Cure and the Sisters of Mercy, for God's sake (among other well-known, but less worshipped-by-me European bands). They have toured the freaking world, released, from what I can see, about 20 albums, made scores of videos etc.etc.etc. And yet, somehow, they have managed to completely slip past my attention. Until today. Where was I??? What else am I missing???... How fast can I download their entire mp3 collection?... *LOL*

I guess that's what happens if you don't watch TV or listen to the radio. And I don't, because I am clinically, paranoidally allergic to commercials. That is why I don't even own a TV, and as for the radio, on the rare occasions when I do try to find a station I might like, hearing the first few words of a commercial immediately makes me turn it off. I just don't have the patience - on the list of things I find annoying, commercials rank extremely high, right next to obnoxious salespeople (they are one and the same thing, really) and fanfic authors who write about 'taught skin' or 'throws of passion'.;P Anyway... it would seem that I am completely out of the loop when it comes to the current music scene - even the kind of music I sometimes go to great lengths to search for, not realizing it is rather more mainstream than I thought. Is this a sign of approaching middle age, perhaps?...:P

But I digress. Without further ado, and instead of trying to lamely describe what I'm raving about, I link you to the official website:

http://www.cruxshadows.com/frame.html

As you will surely notice if you follow, the music is a rather catchy blend of goth rock and electronica. And the frontman Rogue (what a perfect name, btw) is also quite tasty.;) Not to mention the fact that the band seems to also include several attractive female backing vocalists/dancers/violinists etc. Strong, hypnotic beat + violins = serious aural bliss for me. I think I'm on overload right now. *feels dizzy*

Oh, how sweet to feel like a teenage fangirl again...;)

I thought I had things to say, but my brain refuses to formulate a coherent post. Or even to make a decision what it should be about. Mental impotence, as it were. Happens way too often.:/

Anyway, under the circumstances I'm just going to share a link to an interesting article on gay marriage (which I accidentally found while looking for something else). I like this guy's perspective - even though, personally, I'm sort of alienated from the concept of marriage as such, regardless of sexual orientation of people involved. I just, in a way, don't get why it's so important to anyone at all to be 'married', as opposed to just being together (apart from certain social privileges, which are taken care of by the concept of civil unions, without the need of dragging any religious institutions into it whatsoever). But that's the antisocial in me talking. The humanist in me believes that anyone who feels the need to validate their relationship through a public - be it secular or religious - ceremony should be allowed to do so.:)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-thomas/the-big-gay-chip-on-my-sh_b_208183.html

So... the trailer for The Road is out. I am excited, scared, anxious, impatient and basically in a state of emotional upheaval. This movie is going to wreck me - I just know it. *bites nails*

Also, work has been crazy this week. I've been swamped with piles upon piles of stuff to do, and on top of it all we had a massive system meltdown yesterday - as in everybody log off, they're rebooting all servers, and now nothing works the way it's supposed to; for example, we're unable to copy/paste HTML text from our online database into emails, it all comes out wonky - so if we need to send a copy of something to a client, we have to convert it to PDF first, and then send it as an attachment. Which takes twice as much time and frustrates the hell out of everyone.:D Needless to say, there is overtime available - but I've just been hit by the good old monthly inconvenience, so bummer. Luckily I didn't have to take a sick day this time - but I'm pretty sure I'll be staying horizontal for most of tomorrow, so no extra bucks for me.:/

On a funny note, the head of our department ran into me in the ladies' room the other day and started gushing about my 'interesting' friend whom she had interviewed for the part-time job (akashaelfwitch) and what a lovely woman she was. How unusual with the anime background, romance writing and all (and all I could think was: OMG I hope she hasn't told them about the SLASH!!!...:O). And, ummm, was I into all this as well?... Because she tried to picture me dressing up as my favorite anime character, and just couldn't do it.:D LOLOLOL So I gladly reassured her I wouldn't go that far.:P I basically said I was still trying to resist Akasha's bad influence.;] (After all, I only write gay incest between Tolkien's Elves, while she actually makes them get PREGNANT - now isn't THAT so much worse???... *evil smirk*)

That's pretty much it in the current edition of my Weekly Newsflash (TM). I think I'm going to crash now and try to sleep through the worst of Monthly Misery.:|

We had our annual reviews at work yesterday. The boss said she was pleased with me and wished she could give me a raise. I know wishing is all she can do for the time being - but it was nice to hear anyway.

Btw, my workplace is hiring for part-time work-at-home positions, and our HR manager was asking for employee recommendations. Which immediately made me think of akashaelfwitch. She already had a successful phone interview and is supposed to come in for another one on-site next week. I am almost certain she will get hired at this point, but keeping your fingers crossed can't hurt, of course.:)

In other news, I seem to be gaining weight again. ( Read more... )