...is a huge pain in my ass. x_x That is all.

XDDD This is just too funny.

http://blip.tv/file/2261825/

Hey sailorscully, please let us all know if you're okay, won't you? X_X Saw you were in DC today, and your last twitter post was minutes before the metro crash, with nothing since. We're worried.

Edit Update: Heard from Ina. She's in Baltimore. She's ok.

Where are you staying?
The Westin

What day are you getting there?
Sometime in the evening, July 1.

Who will you be rooming with?
nius and others

Do you do free art?
Provided I'm not busy, yes.

Do you do trades?
Hell yes. My sketchbooks are sad and empty.

Do you do commissions?
Yes. Talk to me after the con.

Do you have prints / CDs ?
Prints yes, CDs no. Talk to me after the con.

Do you do badges?
Yes. Talk to me after the con.

Will you have Art in the Art Show?
YES.

What is your gender?
Female.

How old are you?
Old enough to know better.

Are you taken?
Yes, married five years to nius.

Can I talk to you?
Yes, but please understand I'm a staff member. If I'm running around doing con-work, or on camera for an event, I am probably going to ignore you.

Can I touch you?
Please ask first, unless you're someone I already know. I tend to bite when startled.

Can I hang out with you?
If I'm not busy with con-work or, um, sleeping, sure I guess.

How can I find you?
My badge name is Zannah. I am, to my knowledge, the only girl on the video crew. This means I will be wearing a garish purple vest with reflective striping on it during portions of the con. =D It's hard to miss. Otherwise I'm of average height, slender build, brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses... like any number of other artist-fems out there. =D

Other cons I may go to:
Midwest FurFest

So, between Ed having to go into work early early this morning, and horror movie style nightmares about ants infesting my attic, I've been up since 5:30 or so, and didn't sleep worth shit. Just to make my panicked mind stop running in circles, I dragged the stepladder over, got out the big battery powered work light, and poked my head up in the attic to make sure the dream was just a dream. Didn't crawl around in the insulation, but no ants (and thank god, no wasps or bats, I looked for those too, honey =P) that I could see.

So now I am AWAKE in that horrible, grinding exhaustion sort of sense. Blurgh. Today's going to suck. Maybe I'll feel better after a shower. x_x

And the wuffs still eat me. They want me to draw pr0nz of them. I am resisting, but we'll see how long it lasts.

I be 26 today! c.c Mom called and woke me up this morning. I freaked out because I thought something was wrong... and then they sang at me over the phone. I'm so pathetic. x.x

So, Pez and I have been writing for just short of six months now. It had gotten so profuse I actually stopped keeping track of just how much we've been writing. Pez did a word count yesterday. It does include our research and backstory files, though not the AIM conversations, txt messages, and things hand-written in notebooks at odd moments (I'm on my third of these now, personally). The current tally frightens me... but I also note I will never, ever think of NaNoWriMo as intimidating again. u_u

Since December, 2008, tichan and I have written 840,495+ words of research and book material. This is roughly 990 pgs at 12 pt TNR font... or about 3,362 pages in paperback novel format, averaging about 75,000 words apiece each month.

At least the check valve on the sump pump waited until it was daylight, and we were both awake (sort of) before it exploded this morning. Cue hastily rigged hose system and a run to Lowes for new check valves. x_x Too bad it couldn't have waited until after breakfast. Both of us ended up snappish from low blood sugar. Also, the good of my shower this morning was completely negated by all the scrambling and adrenaline of "oh crap, it broke again". Bah. All fixed now, water mopped up, and the thing is working fine. Disaster averted, for the moment.

x_x siiiiick. Blah. Sore throat & no energy. Called in today. Hate calling in.

So, weekly update, I guess. c.c;;; Have been writing with tichan since mid December. Tallies are only for actual pieces of story. This excludes the bazillions of notes and reference files we've also been compiling. These are the numbers from the files I've slapped together on my comp, since most of the actual writing has been done via Googledocs. Googledocs is awesome, but it gets cranky if you go much past 50 pgs in a file, and there IS a filesize limit. We've smacked into it.

1915 - Chance Encounter: 11 pgs, 7865 words
Werefolk 1: 175 pgs, 108,525 words
Werefolk 2: 102 pgs, 79,222 words
Werefolk 3: 115 pgs 79,688 words
Werefolk 4: 46 pgs, 35,383 words
Werefolk 5: 61 pgs, 44,404 words

Total as of 3/08/09: 510 pgs @ 8.5x11 print size in Arial 10 pt font, 355,087 words


...This means we're averaging slightly better than 100K words a month. That scares me. x_x

It's 7:00 AM EST... and I'm fairly certain I'm snowed in. u.u I can see tire marks on the road, but that means nothing. There's at least six inches of snow covering the driveway, and we don't own a snow shovel, plus the truck is rear wheel drive. I'm afraid I'm going to get stuck even just trying to turn around. I'm going to wait a little longer and see, because I hate to call into work over this... but if it's a choice over staying home or ending up in a ditch? I'd rather not be in a ditch. u_u;;;

Update: Definitely snowed in. My road has not been touched and the snow is at least 8" deep. I managed to make a path to the truck and clear it off... but I ain't going anywhere.

Got word from kittenchan today that one of my professors/advisors passed away. u_u This follows on the heels of Furp's death and Ed's nephew dying last thursday. Right now it looks like we're splitting up to go to different funerals this coming weekend. God this sucks.

NOBODY ELSE I KNOW IS ALLOWED TO DIE, DO YOU HEAR ME???? X_X AUGH.

From Friday when we were on campus after work:

"Ah, WUVT. Sometimes you get really good, interesting music. Sometimes you get something that sounds like someone sodomizing a goat... with a goose."

The first time I really met Furp was on a ride to the emergency room.

To clarify, it wasn't me who needed treatment, but my husband. Both of us are part of the Anthrocon video crew. He had started to experience chest pains during one of the events we were filming at the convention, and had called for a quiet escort back to Ops just to make sure he was okay. I was actually working with one of the cameras, so the first I heard of it was when I got a very fast Dorsai (you guys rock, btw) escort back to the hotel myself. Furp was one of the people who checked my husband over and helped determine that he should indeed go to the hospital for further care just to be certain. Furp rode with us on the way there, and helped keep the conversation light. When we got there, he made sure we were okay to check in, and had money for cab fare so we could get back to the hotel later.

I wish I'd had a chance to get to know him better. My husband's known him for years. My impression was of a kind, caring man who made a very scary experience so much more bearable simply by his presence and assurance. He did not have to go with us to the hospital. He could have just put us in a cab in front of the hotel and let us sort out the rest, but he didn't, and I'm grateful for it. He will be sorely missed. ;_;

Survived the wind and rain and such that came our way last night. Thank god for mountains. x_x None of our trees fell down, which is a definite plus. Had some trouble getting to sleep what with the rushing and roaring of the wind in the trees, but we're tucked into a sheltered little hollow, so most of it went over us.

Werefolk Storyarc 1: 175 pgs (arial 10 pt font) 108,525 words at final count

Werefolk Storyarc 2: 134 pgs (arial 10 pt font) 77,119 words at CURRENT count. Still lots to do.

OMG, they've eaten my brain x_x

They ate tichan's brain too. And they want lannakitty.

Also? Potential working title for a crossover in the misty mists of the future would be "Werewolves Don't Wear Warpaint". XDDDD

x_x Fatal stabbing on campus tonight. This shit isn't supposed to happen here! WTF is going on? It's like we can't get through a year now without something like this happening.

So that new brew pub that opened up in the First & Main plaza strip in Blacksburg? The one called "Bull & Bones"? Yeah, don't bother. It's lousy. The running catalog from tonight's attempt:

Too hot, crowded, poor use of space, awful service, no utensils, no water, wait staff not paying attention, beer tastes like tank cleaner, slow service, lukewarm food, still no water, had to resort to lousy beer, still no utensils or napkins, orders confused, clueless wait staff, got water at END of meal, took two tries to get to-go box.

Sooo, we might try it again in 6 months and see if they've hired competent staff and actually allowed the beer to mature, but yeah, not holding my breath.

From the DJ on the radio (WROV) around noon:

"...And the windchill out there is Stupid below Zero today..."