Blogetary (Weblog + Commentary = Blogetary)

Here are the questions:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Pretty wrap, mostly, though bags are not out of the question. I like to challenge myself to see how creative I can get with what I can find on hand and what I have found on sale. And I reuse a lot of stuff. If I get pretty ribbons from people or really nice wrap, if possible, they are saved to reuse the next year.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
Depends on my life. I used to always say real. But I live in SoCal and after a couple of years of real trees at WAY too expensive prices getting dry after a day, I opted for a fake tree that I paid for once and can reuse every year without fear of fire. Note: Even fake trees lose needles.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually Thanksgiving weekend, though I’ve been known to do it around December 15. Depends on my life – am I working a lot, do I have the energy and hope to clean the apartment and pull out the stuff.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Never before Epiphany – January 6, which is the 12th day of Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes, I do. So there.

6. Favorite gift received as a child:
As a young kid – a barbie apartment. Though just a few years later, at around 12, I got my favoritest gift ever – a desk and stool. The desk was really simple and my grampa made it using our old crib as some of the materials. The stool was just a wicker stool. They lasted for years. Still had the desk when I was in college, but I was moving and didn’t have room to move it and gave it to a roommate. Shouldna done that. Kept the stool and it finally fell apart about 10 years ago.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Men. Most men in my life – gay or straight – I just can’t seem to hit their gift vibe. I try. But typically, what they want, I can’t afford. And they aren’t interested in the cute little decorated nailfiles I found on sale at the general store down the street that make my girlfriends squeal. Got my dad a trainset, small, mind you, one year, only to get a, “yeah, it’s okay.”
Men.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Most of the women I know, but especially my sister. I always see things that I think she’ll like. THe trick is to not just buy for her.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
At one time I had a home made one that I made while in grade school out of homemade dough clay that I painted and shellacked. It lasted for years until I think one year it got left in my trunk and the trunk had a leak in it. Now I have some tiny wood ornament I hang on my tree. I haven’t seen a nativity scene I’m willing to spend money on. Most look too too to me. I prefer a nativity scene that might be a little more modern – pared down. Simple shapes, not too much detail. The kind of scene where someone could look at it and easily think that it could be anyone in there – any young girl looking at her baby and scared man who doesn’t know what to do with a family.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, if possible. I like real mail. Positive, real mail – not just bills. And I’m sure other people do too. And in case you think it’s a waste. I don’t think so. All the card I get, I reuse. I save the ones with real notes in them, but the others, I cut up and reuse the next year for gift tags.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A plastic lobster accompanied by a plastic seagull on a plastic post. I have no idea why my friend thought it was funny. But he did. So I laughed when he gave it to me as if I understood, cuz I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and then donated them soon after.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Christmas Carol with Alistair Sim
Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire
Miracle on 34th Street – both 1946 and 1994

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
All year round, but especially after CHristmas when all the sales are on. I keep a gift cupboard and whenever I’m on a trip or at a sale and see something that I know would make a good gift later, I get it then. Put it in my cupboard, and then bdays and Christmas are not so much of a hardship.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I usually end up donating presents I don’t care for. Typically, if I don’t care for them, I don’t think anyone else will either.

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My cranberry relish on toast. I also like to have a little smorgasborg I share with the cat – whatever I can afford that’s cold cut like and cheesy.

16. Lights on the tree?
I like white lights, mostly, but I also really like bubble lights. A lot of them have burned out. I need to replace a string or two, but haven’t been able to afford to. Maybe I’ll find some on sale after Christmas this year.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Christmas Carol or Christmas Song? I have quite a few. Love the Wexford Carol and the Boar’s Head Carol. Good Christian Men Rejoice and COventry Carol and many others. ALso like songs like White Christmas, Old-Time CHristmas, and many others…

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Depends. This year staying home. But sometimes I travel up north for Cmas.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet! On Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen!
And sometimes Rudolph. And don’t forget Olive. And Rudolph’s younger brother.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel. But not the angels you think. Again – ultra modern where it is shape and form that suggests angelic-ness. I grew up with this angel mom got at a drugstore that I’ve never been able to replace. It was simple. Cone, head at top. Wings, and a halo. In bright tin painted blue and gold. Angels have no gender and are not children. They are separate beings with their own classifications. We shouldn’t impose what we think we are on them. So, I like just the simple suggestion of angelic-ness.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning. It ruins it to do it all on the Eve. Though it’s okay to open one on the Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Having to apologize to all my cynical friends that yes, in fact, I REALLY DO LIKE CHRISTMAS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Orange kitties is one. Pretty shoes is another. Angels. Instruments. Motion ornaments that you hang over the lights so they’ll move (heat propelled). Whatever is pretty.

24. Favorite item of holiday wear?
I have wreath earrings I like a lot. And at this time of year (Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years) I can freely wear a lot of the blingy, sparkly stuff I have without having to make an excuse for it.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I would like the world to come a little closer to love, peace, and understanding. I would love for my sister and dad to declare a truce. I would love for Prop 8 to be repealed and people’s eyes be opened to the harm that prop does. But if you’re really interested, check my Amazon wishlist. It’s long and there’s lots to choose from.

26. On a scale of 1 to 10, how many lights (like the Griswalds) do you have outside?
None. I live in an apartment. I have a couple of strings of lights I keep up around the windows year round. I don’t turn them on often, except at Christmas. I like pretty sparkly lights.

29. Favorite Christmas tradition?
Doing stockings for my mom and sister.

30. Non-stop Christmas music radio station?
THere’s a clear channel radio station I only listen to around after Thanksgiving that has tunes that I listen to when I’m tired of my own, and there’s Live365 online that has Christmas year round. The clear channel station tends to be a bit smarmy and play the same stuff over and over again – usually that shitty song about the red shoes.

31. Stockings or not?
YES!

32. Pie or Cake?
Pie if it’s good and cake if it’s good. But I prefer cookies and candy and scandinavian/germanic breads. Pralines, pfefferneuse, liebkuchen, tortone, and stuff like that.

33. Do gift cards make good gifts?
Not this christmas. You don’t know which company is going to go belly up next. Get them a Visa or American Express gift card that they can spend anywhere.

34. What is your preferred spelling for the Jewish Festival of Lights?
I grew up with the H beginning, but respect the C beginning.

Be sure to visit my Winter Solstice Store at Cafe Press. Or try out my Christmas Shop at Cafe Press as well.

I usually gross people out with this song for some reason, so beware. Today, so far, I’ve sung it to my sister, and my BFF and I did a duet on the phone to each other.

*I* like it. (hee!) It’s sung to the same tune as “Have you ever seen a lassie go this way and that way…”

Gobble, gobble! Fat Turkey!
Fat Turkey!
Fat Turkey!
Gobble, gobble! Fat Turkey!
Thanksgiving is here!

He’s not here for living…..(dramatic pause…)
He’s here for Thanksgiving……(another pause)

Gobble, gobble! Fat Turkey!
Thanksgiving is here!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Saw this on a friend’s profile. Have no idea where they got it, so I can’t give credit to the source, but I love it:

I’m feeling very juvenile right now. Criminal Minds came to our office today to shoot a scene. We had to get there an hour early so we could still get work done for the paper before grips and electricians and such came tramping through. Actually not a hardship for me since I live a two minute walk away.

Anyway, they were all very polite at first, until they achieved maximum mass in our office. Then they were still polite, but in charge. There was a definite shift in the axis of control as a troop load of movie extraverts took over an office of introvert writers.

The two actors I saw were Joe Mantegna and A.J. Cook. She had short hair (she’s had long hair in past eps). I was kind of hoping to see the others. My sister and I are fans (I don’t think anyone else in the office besides me watches it) and call each other during commercials when CM is on. I was kind of hoping to be able to bring her something out of it. Oh well. I’ll tell her about the short hair.

Nonsequitur note: I still think one of my favorite crossover shows would be one with Garcia from Criminal Minds and Abby from NCIS working together. Another good one would be Dr. Reid (CM) working with Dr. Eppes (Numb3rs). I love the geek factor. Geeks and nerds and punk chicks and eclectic eccentric people who discuss physics and existentialism – those are my people.

So – back to our regularly scheduled juvenile blog – now they (CM) have taken over the ENTIRE STREET (okay, maybe not all of it – but the part of it where I live). The vacant lot next door is full of trucks and craft services and klieg lights and people talking and security guards. Feel sorry for the critters who normally hide out there at night – the stray and feral cats, the crows, etc.

Friends of mine who came by to pick me up this afternoon were bawled out by a security cop just for pulling over to pick me up. That was kind of ridiculous. I mean, I don’t have to worry about parking a car, so I was better off than my neighbors who had to find other parking spots today because of all the hoopla (and I don’t think they were offered any compensation for it). So, having a friend just pull over to pick me up doesn’t seem to warrant a lecture from a cranky middle-aged cop. If anything, they should have apologized to my friend for having to dodge all the cones. We are doing THEM a favor. Maybe I should write a letter. They film quite a bit on this street. They should respect the inhabitants.

AnyHOW – part of me just wants to start trouble. The kleig lights are shining into my window and the people are talking and I feel like shining mirrors or lights back down on them or asking if I can have some of the food from their potluck on the tables in the vacant lot next door or if they’ll pay us for putting up with them.  Cuz I would like the cash, thank you very much.

I’m just going to make do with making sure my tv is on really loud when my shows come on.

Well, things are a little up and down here at La Maison d’Olivier. Let’s look at the bad stuff first:

1. Guy who says I don’t have a right to my logo is back though we already settled that I was moving on to something else. So, I reiterated that to him a few times so he’ll get it. Hopefully, he’s moved on.  I don’t know. We’ll see.
2. I recently changed banks and this new account they’re holding paychecks 9 days. I know it’s SOP and will be over when it’s over, but in the mean time, it’s a pain.
3. I think my thyroid is off again. Little things are kind of pointing me in that direction. So, I’ll need to talk to my provider about that next visit.
4. It’s going to be a tight holiday season.
5. Besides the businesses folding in this economic desert, other ventures are folding as well. Flytrap sent out a notice to subscribers that they’re suspending operations for a while. It’s not just the economy with them, I know. It’s life and stuff. But they’re a force in the small press world. I hope they’re back again soon and that other small presses in the speculative fiction world don’t follow suit. I hope they all hang in there, hang tough.
6. My schedule is off. I haven’t done much, if any, creative writing. I’ve done revisions. I’ve done article and review and paper writing. I haven’t really done creative writing. I know it’s just a matter of time, but right now I’m just off and “meh” about it all.
7. Prop. 8 is still on the books and there are still people out there who just don’t get it. They’re probably the same people who don’t understand how important the ERA was and the significance that it never really passed. They’re probably the same people who don’t get that Affirmative Action is an important program still.

That’s the bad. And it’s really not all that bad. Now for the good. Soon you’ll see why I saved the best for last:

1. I gotta yes on one of my stories tonight!  The Crow King. YAY! It will be in the September 2009 Aoife’s Kiss.
2. I’ll be getting hard copies of the issue of EV that has my poetry in it soon.
3. My Christmas story, Santa is My Homeboy, will be coming out online at Mindflights.com in December and I’m really excited about it.
4. Another Christmas story is currently on the positive side of maybe, maybe, and I’m hoping to hear back from them soon. Hopefully you’ll see that one in December as well.
5. Had the best dream the other night full of my orange tabbies and floating and cool stuff.
6. Despite held checks at new banks, I’m paying bills and paying rent. It’s still tight, but I love that I am once more able to kinda sorta take care of myself. I still have a long way to go to paying people back, and I still have little or no expendable income, but it feels a whole lot better.
7. After coffee with friends after my last writers meeting I came away with two cool gems of wisdom.
1. If my writing schedule is off, then all I need to do is figure out a new schedule that works for me. It will take time, but I will get there and I will find it (I do wonder when that will happen as I lie awake at 11 pm thinking I should be up writing cuz that’s when I wrote the last year but knowing I need to be in bed so I can get up in the morning to go to work).
2. If I’m feeling frustrated because I’m not connecting to someone, part of it is because I feel as if they should try to relate to me and I’m tired of being the one trying to relate to them (thanks, Leigh!). Looking at it that way makes me realize I don’t even have to try to relate. If it doesn’t happen, and they aren’t trying on their end, then it’s time for me to just walk away. Save the energy for other pursuits. I have friends already who relate to me just fine, thank you very much.
8. I really like my job. I really like my coworkers and boss. The other day, Friday, one of the women called me in to let me know that they like me, too. I want to try really hard to do a good job there. I don’t want to let them down. I don’t want to let myself down.
9. Even with my thyroid being weird again – at least my commute is only a minute or two away and not an hour and a half. So even though I’m having a hard time getting up in the mornings again, it’s still all good.
10. I’m learning a lot where I work about how a monthly print newspaper works. Writing for Chocolate Zoom has helped me understand a monthly online publication, but now I’m learning about print. It’s all fascinating and I love it all.
11. Criminal Minds is going to be filming in our office on Friday!  Yay!  We’re working early and out early and probably won’t see much, but I think it’s cool, as I am a fan.
12. After cataloging my gift cupboard and stuff I bought last year during the after Christmas sales, I’m further ahead than I thought I would be for Christmas and that makes me very happy.
13. I have friends coming to town in December and we’re going to go to Disneyland!  That will be fun. And I might even be able to afford it.
14. I’m enjoying being creative with my life and my Christmas.
15. Right now, at this point, it’s easier to see the dross and cut it from my life. The fog hasn’t filtered in to cloud issues. Yet. But right now, it’s good.

I haven’t gone through and hyperlinked everything cuz I figure if you’re really interested, then you’ll Google it and I need to get to bed so I can get up in the morning. You know how the internet works. If there’s not a link to click on, you know how to research it.

Good night. Angels on your pillows.

This was an incredible event. I really can’t write too much about it right now. There’s too much to say and I need to process it.

This was to be a nationwide, and even global wide, protest of Prop. 8 and other laws like it. I am proud of the Angelenos who showed their support no matter what the orientation. One woman spoke about how the proposition basically nullified her entire family – her two gay dads and lesbian mother, as well as her sister, are not considered a family. Yet, they raised her. Her mother was more worried about whether or not she’d be hurt at the protest than what the protest was about – just like any mother. Her fathers, like any parents, took she and her sister to school, gave them snacks, went to parent-teacher conferences and have raised two beautiful girls.  But there are people in the world who don’t think that counts. For some reason some people fear that perfectly non-threatening family.

Ignorance leads to fear and fear to hate and discrimination. If you don’t understand why two people of the same sex fall in love and want to get married, then ask them! They will give you the same answers people of the opposite sex would give. If you don’t understand why people are so angry about not being able to marry, then ask them and they will explain it to you. And you will hear the same explanation you’d get from people who were banned from marrying from one another because they were different races or different religions.

One of the signs I liked the most (besides the one my friends had showing how they’d been together for 19 years – more than most marriages) was the socialist looking “Defend Equality Love Unites.” I think that was the best message because it’s true.  All you need is love.

** Note: For more information on the other protests go to Towleroad.

11/16/08 ADDENDUM:

One my friends, Tony Sweet, is pictured here. He’s the one on the right, blond, holding a phone. He is a singer, as well as a personal trainer. He’s been in the Advocate, interviewed about being both gay and a Christian.

It’s a Matter of Love.

Electric Velocipede is a scifi/steampunk type journal and it is publishing two of my poems, The Story and Homemade Rosewater. EV is a print journal, but it has some of the poetry and fiction online, if you want to check it out.

So, take a look. Hope you enjoy it!