They call me the Detangler

[azurite]

So, I haven't updated in what seems like ages (that HSM post doesn't count, because I'd written that more than a week ago and just saved it, hoping for a time when I COULD post it) because The Powers That Be were conspiring against me or something, and Murphy's law was in full effect-- all that jazz. So I decided to start doing something about it.

* Went to the Apple Store ONE MORE TIME to get them to look at my malfunctioning keyboard. I was sick of using the Windows USB keyboard Mom lent me, and I wanted to know how much a repair would run me-- if I could only know what the damn problem was in the first place. Turns out it was an issue with the chip underneath the battery, where the silver and copper-colored cables connect directly from the trackpad and keyboard. To replace the chip would run me $338, but it would mean: no more need for a USB keyboard, no need to (hopefully EVER) buy a $50 Apple keyboard, no need to pay $1300 for a new logic board or $1799 for a new laptop. So I did it. I don't actually have the money, so I put it on my credit card (which, as have all the other purchases I've made over the past month or so, will undoubtedly come back to bite me in the ass), and now I'm typing on MY keyboard. Feels great. :D

* That same day (this was a few days ago), I went to the Western Addition branch of the library, because apparently it was the only one in the San Francisco Public Library system that had a copy of Fahrenheit 9/11. I get there and I check the DVD shelf under "F" and there's nothing-- except Fahrenheit 451. Color me worried. I look it up again-- nope, "Check Shelf" under "FAHR." I thought maybe it got misfiled, so I start looking throughout the whole shelf, in the children's DVD section, in the imported DVD section. Nothing. I ask the librarian for help- it's not in the returns cart, not lost, not in the back office. It's just not there. -_- So I give up and meet Eva and Steph (whom called me earlier at the Apple Store and I asked to meet me at the library), and we figure out what to do about our next problem...

* Steph lost her memory card at an event in Alameda. Said event was at a very nice restaurant on the ass-end of the island, meaning there's no real way to get there by bus... maybe. So I call my "Alameda connection," aka Dad. He actually agrees to pick Steph and I up at the Fruitvale BART and drive us out to the place so we can have a look around! So Eva (who has to go to church with her bf) drives us to the Apple Store (because they'd called me and told me my repair was already finished-- I thought it would take at least 24 hours, but it took less than TWO!), I get my laptop, and then Steph and I take BART on a super-croweded train to Alameda. We meet Dad pretty quickly and head out to the Pier 29 Restaurant, but we have no luck. It seems as if the whole waitstaff is dead-set on ignoring us, so I start peering around tables and ferns anyway. Steph seems to have given up all hope of finding it in the restaurant, so we head out to the grassy area just beyond the parking lot (meanwhile, Dad's taking a nap in his car). We look for about 15 minutes and a guy in an SUV pulls up and asks us if we've lost something, if we need a flashlight, etc. It's starting to get dark, and we're not turning anything up. I was all optimistic for some bizarre reason, and that was starting to fade. Not two seconds after the guy drives away, Steph finds the memory card! Thank you, SUV-man!

After that, Steph treated Dad and I to delicious Mexican at Viva Mexicano-- yum yum yum! Thanks, Steph! Dad had a "meeting" to get to, so he made sure we knew how to get back to the BART (take the 50 at the bus stop in front of the Bank of America) and then split. Steph and I contemplated going to a movie at the newly-restored Alameda theatre, but since we weren't 100% sure of when the last bus left for the BART, we opted to just head to my place-- pick up Fahrenheit 9/11 from Blockbuster, and go from there. We got to the bus stop and were a bit confused for a bit-- until we asked a guy who pointed us in the same direction as Dad-- to the BofA. So we waited for a bit, hopped on the bus when it came, and went home on a nicely-empty BART train. Mom had called the Blockbuster before we got there, so it was on hold for us, and we also grabbed "In Bruges," with Colin Farrell. The girl at the desk was very helpful and also helped me get a new Blockbuster card (something the dipshits at the Northridge Blockbuster seemed too inept to do the last two times I went there post-mugging), and off we went!

I ended up asking Steph to pause the movie every few minutes so I could type something inspiring for my "response paper" (only 1 page) for my Gender and Women's Studies class, and in the end, I had more than enough material to work with. Not sure if it'll count for much, but I think it was decent-- for a one-page response paper. The short movie ended up taking us near 4 hours to watch, so we had to save "In Bruges" for another day... yesterday, to be precise.

I didn't like it. Maybe it's just me and these European films (I wasn't a big fan of "Rock'N'Rolla," either, though it did have more satisfying action and twists and turns than "In Bruges" did), but I absolutely hated Colin Farrell's character. Or maybe that's the way it was meant to be. I don't think anyone was particularly likable in that film....

So in the midst of all this (and perhaps going even further back), the Internet at Mom's house (where I am now, of course) is going down the shitter. Once upon a time, I was proud that Mom finally got DSL --yay, 21st century and all that!-- but Earthlink? Every time I told someone that Earthlink was the service my mom had, they'd be like "Oh, they're still around? I thought they died out with Prodigy" or something like that. Now, some antiques are quite cool --gramophones that still work, ancient telephones with horn-shaped speakers that you can still call on, etc.-- but not antique DSL services. Earthlink had been connecting and then dropping --usually at critical times-- and then not reconnecting in any decent time frame. The people we talked to on the Tech Support line had us doing the same thing(s) over and over-- restarting the modem, restarting the router, changing the wireless security and password, etc. None of it ever helped, so we started to think it was a hardware issue (that seems to be the theme for the month, anyway). They were going to have someone from Customer Service call about the router, but they never did, so Mom called them-- and was on hold for THREE HOURS.

Needless to say, the next time she contacted them, she BITCHED. LOUDLY. So, we've decided to switch. Gary did some research and, given our location and the services we require, we're switching to Comcast. So we're getting cable-- huzzah! Maybe I'll even get Spike TV and be able to watch re-runs of CSI that I don't have on DVD already (I bought Seasons 1 and 4; Season 3 is available used at my local Blockbuster for cheap too, but not in a "boxed set," just in single DVDs that have been plastic-wrapped together). But anyway, that's not until Saturday. In the meantime, Mom and I looked into getting a new router, and she was going nuts on ConsumerReports.org looking up the best-rated products, etc. Of course, nothing from Apple is rated on there... but me, having used the Airport Extreme Base Station, recommended that. It's more expensive than your average router, but it can do a a hell of a lot more, too. For the price of a new 802.11n router and a matching n-wireless adapter (or card), you can get a router that is also 802.11n (and therefore also supports a/b/g), allows you to plug in a printer or hard drive for wireless printing/saving, supports up to 3 hard-wired devices, and is incredibly easy to set-up. Plus, it's not hideous and clunky-- it's just a nice, flat, white box with a single light on it. Very easy. It should be here by Friday. Mom hasn't cancelled Earthlink's DSL YET, so we can at least have one day of seeing if the new router helps with the Earthlink. I think Mom might keep Earthlink for the phone service (we all hate AT&T), because she's paranoid that if we had a major earthquake and cell service and Internet service would be down, we wouldn't have a phone. What I don't get is, Earthlink is a DIGITAL phone service, same as what it would be if we had phone service from Comcast (which we're not planning on getting, but still). So if the Internet/cable was down, wouldn't the phone be down too? *shrug*

But at least we're making progress.

So I really, really, really, really, really wanted the new T-Mobile G1. Primarily because I'm a techie and I should have gotten a smartphone ages ago, but I hate AT&T and won't get an iPhone because of that, and I'm not that much of a fan of the Blackberry. Plus, the Sidekick always looked too clunky to me. Enter the G1 (aka HTC's "Dream"). It sounded pretty good-- $179 with a 2-year contract. I was under the impression that my T-Mobile contract was almost up, given that I'd got it back in 2006 before I went to Japan. But noooo, apparently because my old RAZR V3x broke last November, when I bought THAT phone (aka my current cell phone), I renewed my contract, which is not going to be terminated for another 10 months! So I could get a "partial discount" on the phone now-- for $349. I'm thinking, "This is a discount?" so I look online to see if I can buy the phone anywhere by itself, no contracts or locked-in SIM cards or whatnot. Turns out the phone's retail price is $600! WTF!? Not even the iPhone is that much, and the iPhone is the principal rival to the G1 (along with the upcoming Blackberry Storm... and possibly a few other smartphones, but not many, because the touchscreen seems to be the defining feature of these ones).

So... I really, really, really, really want it. But I can't afford it. And technically, I don't NEED it, because my RAZR V3r or whatever it is is still working okay. *sigh* But I won't complain if someone gets it for me for Christmas, okay!? Hehehe.

So about four days ago or something, I went to Ocean Beach with azhp for one of my class projects. Actually, we didn't go on the beach, because I had a sandwich and wanted to find a nice place to eat it that didn't involve sand. We ended up hiking to the old Sutro Baths and sitting at the top of a hill there, overlooking a surprisingly lovely, warm day. The beach was crowded with people you wouldn't usually see --beach volleyball players, families with their dogs, sunbathers-- and it was really very pretty out.

So I had my sandwich, and as I'm getting through the second slice, a bit of tomato comes out and thwaps me on the cheek. I'm not even kidding. I've been worried about maybe being allergic to tomatoes, or a certain kind of tomato, for a while now, because after I ate them or ketchup or salsa or something, it'd feel like the bottom part of my tongue was swelling up. But it wasn't as if it was enough to cause me to choke or stop breathing, so I didn't think much of it. Besides, allergy appointments at Kaiser here in S.F. are self-referral, and I just haven't had the time lately to make an appointment.

Well, as the days go by, I notice the area where I got tomato-thwapped was getting a bit red, a bit itchy. Then about two days ago, I wake up and look at my face, and a triangle going from the left corner of my nose (my left) down to my cheek and the bottom of my chin is completely dry. So dry it looks like it's almost going to flake off. I'm shocked. I've NEVER EVER EVER had dry facial skin, and then all of a sudden I have a triangle of super-dryness right on the bottom half of my face!? I thought I had an eye infection a while ago, and the skin where that was got pretty dry, too. I used some of my Clinique All About Eyes Rich on it, and it seemed to go away, but today, I noticed that it was still there, albeit a bit less pronounced.

I know this can't be because of my skin care products, because I've been using most of them for years, some for weeks or months, without any problem whatsoever. So what could it be? Well, I have an appointment at Kaiser tomorrow afternoon to find out. And also to find out what's up with my cold feet.

Yes, really, COLD FEET. I don't mean the things you get when you have to do something really important, possibly life-changing, and you quit. No, I mean FREEZING COLD FEET. All the time. I can wear two pairs of socks, industrial-grade covered shoes, and my feet will still feel like ice cubes. I've taken to sitting at my desk with a space heater below it on max, because it's the only way I can be comfortable.

Now, Scott used to complain that my feet were always cold, so this isn't a NEW thing, but it's only been recently that I'VE noticed it to the point where I'm uncomfortable. If I take my feet away from the space heater, for example, they get cold again almost immediately, and it feels like my feet are getting pricked by needles. I don't know what's behind it, but mom thinks poor circulation. Maybe I'm anemic again. -_-; Anyway, it's another matter of discussion for tomorrow....

In-between all the mayhem relating to school (various major projects being due, exams and quizzes, the fact that I couldn't get online for a huge chunk of them because of the Noconnectlink), I tried to look at my fics. Not WDKY26 in particular, but a lot of my fics.

I decided to revisit "Only 16" on a whim (or something; I think there was a legitimate piece of inspiration behind me looking at that fic again, but I can't remember what it was), and it didn't take me long to be appalled by it.

On the one hand, I'm proud of how far I've come. Not to sound egotistical or anything, but I'm DAMN GOOD when it comes to fic writing, if you compare "now" to "then," which I suppose was the late 90s. Sure, I still have my weaknesses, but I didn't fall into the trap of quite so many clichés as I did when I was writing Only 16. A sampler:

* Use of the dub names for no apparent reason (I'm still guilty of this one.)
* Use of fangirl Japanese (if it can be translated into English, WHY NOT USE IT!?)
* Bending and/or breaking of reality, even in the magical-girl universe sense:

(1) Serena is 16 in the story (obviously), but she's not yet in high school. I tried to account for this by explaining that, instead of the Silver Crystal rewinding time after the battle with Beryl (which is the only way to explain how all of R went by without her turning 16; she didn't have her birthday until several episodes into the beginning of S), time kept going on, but if it did, she and the other girls would have had their high school entrance exams, which, in canon, don't take place until SuperS!

Now, school in Japan is only mandatory through middle school, which means that Serena would have already had her high school entrance exams (and seen no evidence of the stress they cause at that point in canon OR in the fic), gotten accepted at Juuban, and then decided to drop out --even though her tuition was already paid for the year. I can't say that the exams or the beginning of the high school year didn't start yet, because even in Japan, where high school starts with Grade 10, anyone of the eligible age would have at least a few months of being 15 in high school's first year!

(2) Unexplained circumstances in which Serena tells her parents about her being pregnant (or something else that allows them to be okay with Serena moving out of the house), as well as getting a place of her own with really nice furnishings, appliances, etc.... on a salary from working at the arcade!?

(3) Paternity tests that occur without the father's knowledge or permission, as if there's some sort of database of men's semen in Japan, so that a girl claiming she's pregnant can know who the father is and the hospitals/clinics would be willing to release that information without any prior consent of the guy in question. Also: Endymion's sperm magically being the same as Darien's, even though having a reborn soul =/= genetically being the same person (though we don't know FOR SURE; we do see the BODIES of Princess Serenity and her court being transported to Earth, but given that they're already dead, what good would sending them to Earth and/or the future do? We know it's not possible that every single one of the Soldiers plus Serenity and Endymion were adopted at age 14-16. It's more likely that it's simply their souls, but how does that explain the uncanny similarity between the appearances of their past and 20th century selves?)

(4) A gynecologist not being the least bit suspicious of a girl who is mysteriously pregnant and yet has an intact hymen. See, Serena never bothers to explain (or exclaim, for that matter) that she's never HAD sex, never been raped, etc. in order to be pregnant. She'd likely be tossed into an asylum if she claimed she was pregnant via "immaculate conception," even if there was so-called biological evidence. More likely that not, people would think she'd gotten in-vitro and was either lying about it or genuinely didn't know (and that would be a whole other conspiracy in and of itself).

* Use of or homages to people I know from real life in the form of OCs: namely Dr. Laura Cunningham. To be honest, this story was started long before I was in high school and met the Cunningham in question (who most certainly wasn't a "Laura"), but still, I can't read the fic now and NOT think of him. It's quite disturbing.

* OCs becoming Mary-Sues: Not just Laura Cunningham, but the three Fates who appear at the end. While it's entirely plausible to have countless OC Senshi (Otaku Senshi, Fan Senshi, what-have-you), making them powerful enough that they overshadow the existing soldiers -even the ones that haven't shown up/awakened yet- is never a good thing. Rule of thumb with anything Sailor Moon: there will never be a more powerful Senshi than Sailor Moon, even if that's Sailor Moon circa season 1, season 2, whatever.

All that said, "Only 16" is in need of a MAJOR overhaul, and not just in the formatting (HTML; screw that 72 characters per line stuff!), but in everything else, too! For one, I'm changing all the names from the dub to the original, stripping out all the fangirl Japanese, adding some plot points where necessary, and possibly stripping out some major other things-- the Fates might very well be on the chopping block, but that'll mean revising the story in some sort of satisfying fashion. That means changing the whole story in a manner of speaking. And it means a lot of work that:
a) I don't have time for because of school
and
b) I don't really WANT to work on b/c WDKY IS MY PRIORITY DAMMIT!

On the bright side, I have been thinking more of WDKY vs. other fics, or other fics in that series, and WDKY26 in particular vs. all the other chapters I have yet to do. This is good news. I also stumbled across a file I must have made a while ago and forgot about, about characterization in the WDKY universe, to better figure out what everyone's "problems" are with one another and how they move the characters to act or to change, and how they move the story along, too.

Needless to say, 26 is looking to be more of a psychological mindfuck than I originally intended, but it's mainly because I'm exploring a very dark side of Téa.

And that, as they say, is that. For now, anyway.