Floating Leaf

Snagged from taelyn_sass:

Comment on this entry, and I will:

1. Tell you why I friended you.
2. Associate you with something - fandom, a song, a color, a photo, a word etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I've always wanted to know about you.
6. Tell you my favorite user pic of yours.
7. In return, you must post this in your LJ.

I have a feeling I've done this meme before, but what the heck.:P

Also, rain. Lots and lots of rain. Warm & wet & foggy in the morning, cold & wet & foggy in the afternoon. I went out for groceries with the A/C on in the car on the way to the store, and had to switch to heating on the way back. Yep. That's Chicago spring for you. *sigh*

Happy Birthday, surreysmum!!!

I hope you had a good one. The guys below look a little lost without your loving attention, though - don't you agree?... I can almost hear Aragorn asking: "Will she ever write about us again?..." :P




No pressure, though (I just realized I might be setting myself up for a 'pot & kettle' remark with this one, LOL). I just couldn't resist, you know?... *massive hugs*

I can't believe myself lately. I get those weird bouts of nostalgia over the most unexpected things. Like a random pop hit from the seventies that I can vaguely recall hearing as a child. So I go on YouTube and look for it, and somehow end up developing an intense fascination with a woman older than my mother. LOL. Yes, I have established a new record. This is officially the oldest celebrity I ever had a crush on.:D I'm talking about Marie Laforet. Does the name ring a bell to anyone? She's an actress as well as a singer - though I never saw her in a movie that I can recall - and Wikipedia says she was born in 1939. Wow. And here's one of her 'greatest hits' that somehow never left my brain for the 30 years or so since I first heard it. I am really curious if anyone on my flist remembers that song (some Europeans might, I suppose).





( more under the cut )

It's snowing outside. Seriously. Light, wet snow that melts as soon as it touches the ground, but still... It's April, for heaven's sake. Cut it out already, Winter, and kindly get lost. We've had more than enough, thank you very much. *feels indignant*

I've been sooooo lazy today. I somehow never got dressed, because by the time I made it out of my 'morning' bath, it was already late afternoon, so I figured by then there was no point. I had thought I might invite a friend over for a movie or something... but then I would have to get dressed, wouldn't I?... So I didn't. It just seemed like too much effort. Pathetic, isn't it?... But there are days (increasingly frequent, I'm afraid) when making any sort of human contact - even picking up the phone - seems to require more energy than I can muster. It's not that I don't want to see anyone - it's just that I don't feel up to it somehow. It's hard to explain... it's one of those little things about me that most extrovert or socially active people could never understand. There are days when my brain just settles into the silence of my empty apartment, and written word seems the only way I can possibly communicate with the outside world. Someone else's call might shake me out of it - but I will not be the one to break the silence. And because I hardly ever call people, I suppose at some point they might entirely stop calling me as well. Which has almost happened already, btw.

In other exciting news, I just don't see a way out of my current financial predicament. I mean, I am sort of making ends meet, but barely, and I don't see how that will ever change. Even if I do get the standard 2% salary raise next year (the one that was cancelled for this year, due to the shitty economic situation), it will barely cover the unavoidable increases in rent or utility bills. Or NOT cover them, more likely. I mean, 2% of my salary is less than $20 per paycheck. Not even worth mentioning, is it? So it would be extremely naive to expect that things will get better once this unlucky year is over. They might, in fact, get worse. I might still lose the meager remnants of my savings, without ever spending a penny on anything outside the basic grocery list. *sigh*

( Read more... )

So, as of last night, the car mysteriously recovered. At least for now. I swear it has good and bad days - just like its owner. I can only hope that those bad days aren't going to start happening exactly once a month.:P

In other news, I would like to thank dissonant_dream for the lovely postcard from Stratford. Yes, I can read your handwriting.:) And I totally share your random love of willow trees. <333

But speaking of handwriting... here's the silly little meme you tagged me to do.:) The instructions are as follows:

1) Write your lj username
2) Write your two favorite bands/artists at the moment (not overall, just currently)
3) Draw a heart
4) Write the name of your favorite person of all time
5) Write down your recently favored person
6) Tag 5 people to do this meme

( Below is a picture of my handwriting, taken with a cellphone. Please excuse the crappy quality. )

I am tagging romi, stormatdusk, slesia, surreysmum and mellacita (I won't be terribly offended if you don't do it, you know - but if you do, you'll make me happy ;P).

Also, to complete the randomness of this post - here are some gorgeous pics for your enjoyment:

http://www.focusgallery.nl/

I found the link at work, while updating our info about the publishing company. It's all in Dutch, but you don't need the language to appreciate the photography, which is absolutely stunning. And I mean, STUNNING. There are plenty of albums by all those different people, most of whom seem extremely talented. I haven't had a chance to explore them properly yet, but I certainly will. That link's a keeper.

And since I seem to be following some weird stream-of-consciousness trail tonight, let me just say that Viggo's current bohemian look slays me six ways to Sunday. I mean, the man just looks younger and younger as he gets older. Does he keep a portrait of Dorian Gray in his closet or something?...:O (or maybe he just keeps Orlando there - who knows ;)

Mmmmm... Viggo. The stream of consciousness can stop right there for the time being, I think.;) Good night.:D

Back after watching Zeitgeist: Addendum. I was very afraid to see this because of the effect the first part had on me... and yet, nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of my emotional response this time. Let me just say I haven't cried so hard in years (not since my last breakup, probably). Because of all the hurt and anger and disbelief and the blinding realization that all my instinctive mistrust of financial institutions and organized religion and the supposed 'natural' aggressiveness/competitive tendencies of the human race was in fact very well founded, and that a better world, which I imagined to be but a wishful fantasy, is in fact possible, but deliberately RESISTED by a relatively small group of those who profit from the status quo. Call me a conspiracy theory convert, if you please, but about 95% of what that movie says is what I have always instinctively known to be true, even if I didn't have 5% of the eloquence or facts needed to prove it. Society without money? Technology without pollution or destruction of natural resources? Spirituality without sin, fear or guilt? There are so many people who believe it can happen, and no one told me until now?... Or maybe I never noticed, because I was too busy trying to escape the 'fake' reality that keeps us - the mindless masses - in check. Well... I know now. Even though I won't live long enough to see any significant positive change - if it ever happens. The Age of Aquarius doesn't officially start until around 2150, anyway...;)

(If you want to know what I'm rambling about, watch the movie - it's available online for free; otherwise just ignore me and go about your daily business, kthxbai. I'm not an activist by nature and I won't ever preach or try to 'convert' anyone - I'm just sharing my thoughts. Take it or leave it. No offense meant to anyone of any particular religious or political persuasion.;) Good night.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, flist.

I'm not feeling particularly bright or green right now, actually, but I have promised myself to at least try to post tonight, so here goes.

( Life lately is just so... blah, I guess. )

In other unrelated news, I watched Zeitgeist last weekend. Or the first part of it, anyway. It was recommended to me by a coworker, who sent me the link to the website:

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com

It didn't surprise me all that much (I had seen Loose Change before, on the recommendation of the same coworker), but it certainly depressed me - more than I'd like to admit, I suppose. Because it makes way too much perfect sense to be dismissed as leftist propaganda. I feel like I finally connected the dots that were there in front of me all along - and in this case, it's not a good feeling. Because the picture that emerges is way too much to handle. And I feel duped and powerless and so outraged and yet so pointless, insignificant and weak. This is what reality does to me. I can't handle it. Please give me back my pink, pretty bubble. It's not like I can change anything. I can only lose my sleep over it, or have nightmares. Or feel ashamed to be a human being, because human beings are the most heartless, evil creatures on earth. Which is why they have to invent mythical dark forces - to cover up their own bottomless darkness. And it's not like I didn't know this already - it's just that I've tried very hard to avoid dwelling too much on it. And this film forced me to open my eyes right into the harsh sunlight, so to speak.

I could ramble on, but I do want my 6+ hours of sleep, so it's time to go. Sorry for being such a downer tonight. So inappropriate for the occasion. Blame it on my coworkers, though. Some of them think too much, instead of just mindlessly dragging their feet under the yoke like everyone else.:P

Snagged from gairid:

The Blogalyser reveals...

Your blog/web page text has an overall readability index of 14.

This suggests that your writing style is conventional
(to communicate well you should aim for a figure between 10 and 20).Your blog has 24 sentences per entry, which suggests your general message is distinguished by verbosity
(writing for the web should be concise).

CHARACTER MATRIX

male		female
self		world
past		future

Your text shows characteristics which are 53% male and 47% female
(for more information see the Gender Genie).
Looking at pronoun indicators, you write mainly about yourself, then the world in general and finally your social circle. Also, your writing focuses primarily on the present, next the past and lastly the future.

Find out what your blogging style is like!

Verbosity, hmmm?... Now, if I could spend as much time posting as I want to and never can, you'd see verbosity.:D
As for the predominantly male characteristics of my text, I really don't know what to think about that.;) Must be the slash fic with all the male pronouns, I suppose.:P

( mundane blabber under the cut )

Snagged from gairid:

---

Top Commenters on floatingleaf's LiveJournal
(Self comments excluded from rankings)

1	romi	170
2	oceansecrets2	127
3	stormatdusk	114
4	taelyn_sass	61
5	Anonymous	49
6	mellacita	38
7	niennas_dreams	38
8	akashaelfwitch	35
9	slesia	34
10	gairid	33

( 11-77 )
Total Commenters: 78 (1 not shown)
Total Comments: 1929
Report generated 3/1/2009 8:25:48 PM by scrapdog's LJ Comment Stats Wizard 1.7

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I couldn't resist. Even though I knew seeing the top of this list would make me a little sad, for reasons obvious to those who know what I'm talking about.;) Here it is, in plain view - how few people have been a constant presence in this journal, and how vital it seems that they all stay in my life, regardless of how far apart they may be standing from each other. When you look at how few comments I get, in comparison to most other LJ-ers, you may be able to understand why I don't defriend people on a whim. Because those who actually care to be here are way too precious to not at least make an effort to step into their shoes and put their glasses on before I try to judge their actions. Which is an effort I have never ever regretted making, by the way. *nods*

*steps off soapbox*

Just a few remarks regarding the accuracy of this tally: niennas_dreams and dissonant_dream are actually one and the same person, so she should be higher on the list.:) ptychu and "Anonymous" are also the same person (the anonymous comments date from before I talked her into opening an LJ account ;). And the same goes for akashaelfwitch and aelfwitchfic, obviously. So the number of people who left comments here is actually lower than 77 - even though I'm rather pleased that it came up with such a perfect lucky score.;) *is superstitious*

Will definitely shut up now and go back to the regularly scheduled porn.:P

Snagged from taelyn_sass:

Your result for The New Greek Goddess Archetype Test...

You are Hestia!

The Goddess of Home and Hearth

Take The New Greek Goddess Archetype Test at HelloQuizzy

Well... yeah. With an annotation that I seem to have my own brand of spirituality, mostly unrelated to any popular religious ideologies, and that I am warm and welcoming only when I feel like it (unexpected visitors are not received with open arms, that's for sure).:P