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Gwen’s Little Spot
The mental scribblings and daily doings of one transgender woman, writer, and activist, with content somehow deemed good enough to win a 2004 “Queery“ award.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Posted: 9:30:00 AM
Nurse Rachet's meaner brother?Hi, um, I can’t provide any details right at the moment, but on the rare off-chance I figured I’d ask this unusual non-sequiter of a query here. Is anyone familiar with Michigan law, specifically on petitioning people into a mental hospital, and also who can do this, outside of a family member? Likewise, what sort of action can be taken against such, and if there is any right for those who cannot legally be married to protect their loved ones from arrogant pricks with the letters “M.D.” after their name?
Thanks for anything.Cheers,
Gwen
Monday, May 21, 2007
Posted: 8:31:00 AM
Big dipper, it’s the weekend rageHey, it was a weekend. You know the drill. Provision run. The excitement of laundry. Dishes ahoy. I know you can’t possibly be here to read that, no?
We had to make our second-to-last check in on our friend’s felines, whichate a lot of timemade for an extended Caturday drive. We also dealt with some delays in the shopping itself, with one store going into quasi-lockdown due to a Code Adam scare.
The trip included some new post and soil, for some Sunday morning planting:five fresh batches of seeds have been potted, and sprouts are now being hoped for. The new additions include another crack at deadly nightshade (Atropos belladonna), Some wormwood (Artremesia absinthum), liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), cinquefoil (Potentilla reptans), and sculpit (Silene inflata). Yes, it is an unusual garden, why do you ask?
Also, lunch was sushi goodness. Rainbow roll is my friend.
Sunday included writing of my Transmissions column and a sizable amount of Second Life building. One week until the island opens to the public, so this was the last largely undisturbed moment for us to get that done. So far, those who have seen it have loved it, so I suspect we’re in good shape.
Finally, there was one more incident to note. On Sunday morning, we opted to make eggs benedict for breakfast. It’s a fave of mine but not at all a common meal around the house. While it doesn’t take that much more work than eggs and bacon or a stack of pancakes, thanks to using mostly prepared materials, it is still something special.
So it was likely not a surprise when I suggested to Bon that while the meal looked great, we really should have some nickle-plated Fiestaware to serve it on. She seemed puzzled, but her emotions changed when I explained why I’d want such. I simply said that there was no plates like chrome for the hollandaise.
Yes, I’d been saving that one for weeks.Cheers,
Gwen
Friday, May 18, 2007
Posted: 7:32:00 AM
Friday time againHere’s this week’s asshat: this fine citizen who tried to sell blank paper as real currency. Somehow I don’t think he thought his money making scheme all the way through.
And now the fun stuff: this week with a bit of an unintended theme. Seems much of this focuses on Japan. Most are also ones folks passed my way.
• I so want one of these.
• I wonder if our ideas will seem as quaint?
• Sticky Bear is really, really glad to see you (Possibly NSFW)
• The weirdest toilet training video you’ll see, ever (Flash required)
Have a good weekend, all.Cheers,
Gwen
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Posted: 2:28:00 PM
It seems so aptIs it wrong to delight in the irony of Fred Phelps’ clan picketing Jerry Falwell’s funeral?
I know Falwell’s family is mourning, and I don’t wish them ill — but I also feel that it is the Falwells that have largely allowed Phelps to be as known as he is. Likewise, I do not recall ever seeing anyone of Falwell’s ilk speaking out against Phelps.
So really, it just seems apropos, no?Cheers,
Gwen
Posted: 8:18:00 AM
Not much of a puzzle, this.I just feel physically exhausted today. This doesn’t have anything to do with averaging four hours of sleep on a daily basis, does it?
Cheers,
Gwen
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Posted: 12:42:00 PM
Goodnight, FundymanJerry Falwell is dead.
Now who’s going to blame me for the collapse of civilization?Cheers,
Gwen
Posted: 9:37:00 AM
Danger! Danger!For no good reason, here’s Bon and I... and Robbie.
Any Robot that has a career spanning from Forbidden Planet to Phantom Menace is okay in my book
Cheers,
Gwen
Posted: 7:42:00 AM
Hmn, Tuesday already?I was off Thursday and Friday from The Summer Temp Job That Laid Me Off. They did not have enough for me to do, apparently, even though the same department thinks they have enough for me to do all Summer, and seems to be preventing another department (the one I started here with) from taking me back.
On the plus side to the above, I’ve got a stack of “To Dos” for content creation in Second Life. I got much of them out of the way over the extended weekend. As I’ve said before, the creative outlet is a big part of that world for me. I’m glad I’ve enough prims to really go to town.
I’m also in the midst of pet sitting for my Brother-Of-Choice, Jerry. Good to see his cats again, as it’s been well over a year — possibly two — since I have seen ’em. Cousin, his eldest cat, is really beginning to show some age, but is still quite spry for 23 years old.
The Saturday provision run was fairly standard, though a trip to the local Mervyn’s gleaned a nice, new Hello Kitty sleep set (did I thank you, Star, for the bag? I’m sorry if I did not yet) and a new swim outfit for Bon, while Idgie scored a new toy or two from the pet store. Bon and I spent part of Sunday over with the felines, as well as house cleaning. We also managed to squeeze in some lazing on our Sunday afternoon. It was nice not to be totally exhausted from TSTJTLMO.
Now it’s time for more work, though: I’ve got a newsletter to finish working up for this place.Cheers,
Gwen
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Posted: 10:14:00 AM
Yay?Two departments here are now, apparently, vying for me. It’s nice to feel wanted, I suppose.
On the plus side, I’m going to be off the next two days. Because one of the departments that wants me, because they have so much for me to work on, doesn’t have enough for me to work on for the next couple. Um, ya.
For me, however, this means I get to catch up on a whole lot of other things I’m doing right now. The timing is perfect.Cheers,
Gwen
Friday, May 04, 2007
Posted: 7:52:00 AM
Linky linksHey look, Friday.
No asshat this week. Honestly, I’m just being lazy and don’t feel like hunting for one with all these fun links staring me in the face. So let’s get on with them, shall we?
• Yes, but what does it really look like?
• Not practical, but very cool. (Flash required)
• I really would fly on this airline.
• Eraserhead, you da homie! (Flash required)
• Well, that’s rather awkward.
• Take your bread to a whole 'nuther level?
• O... kay, those are a bit on the creepy side.
• Ya gotta love the classics
Have a great weekend, ya’ll!Cheers,
Gwen
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Posted: 10:36:00 AM
Work and WooI feel like this is becoming a “job blog” or something, as this has been just about all I’m doing lately. Frankly, I doubt anyone reading this really wants to read about how screwy life is at The Summer Temp Job I Was Laid Off From. Unfortunately for both you the reader and myself, that’s where things lie.
In my lower moments, I feel like this is where I am supposed to be. A penance of sorts for daring to improve beyond being some kid from South El Monte who should have stuck to the fine jobs (low-end commercial/industrial) then available to me. Or maybe it’s a bit of a gag from some hairy thunderer or cosmic muffin for getting myself so crispy with activism work.
In my better moments, I feel a different truth: this isn’t where I should be, and isn’t what I should be doing. My skills aren’t in processing Excel spreadsheets and endless Word files. I don’t have a background in writing and design in order to manage a filing cabinet
Mind you, it is not that I mind working hard. It isn’t a question of quantity, nor even one of quality. It’s a question of being a square hole, and being bombarded with round pegs.
Anyway, last night was Beltane. I got to participate in a private ritual to mark the turning of the wheel. This was remarkable for me for three reasons.
First, I’m a solitary, so working with a group, even a small, somewhat intimate one, was quite different for me. I was a little self conscious about saying and doing the “right” things. All was fine, however: words do not typically fail me, and they were not about to start last evening.
Secondly, the officiant: she has become a close friend over the last few months, after an acquaintanceship — forged through a mutual friend — over a handful of years. Before that, all the way into the mid-1980s, I was a fan of her works. I’m largely past the “star struck” part of the equation — the relationship is not forged on some odd combination of somewhat small-pond celebrity and fawning fangirl. Nevertheless, it is nice to work with those I admire.
Third, the ritual in question was held within Second Life, on virtual land and using virtual tools. This wasn’t under the real full moon, but a virtual one fashioned of pixels on a computer screen, and with our spoken words being text on a screen. Interestingly enough, it carried with it the strength of a non-virtual (I can’t really say “real” to describe this) rite. The sense was much the same, wether the land was made of dirt or code.
Note to self: re-read Spirits In The Wires by Charles DeLint.
You’ll note this is a somewhat lengthy entry today. The server into the main database here at TSTJIWLOF is down, and the whole network is backed up. Hence when I go to access the network, I have to wait — and while I wait, a few extra words got added. Handy, that.Cheers,
Gwen
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Posted: 11:23:00 AM
Hang the bunting!May 1st, for me, is already a different holiday — but how could I not note that today is Loyalty Day? My questions: how do you decorate for it, does Hallmark make appropriate cards, and why did I not find any M&M’s in bright Loyalty Day colors?
Edit: Please note, this is not a new “holiday” — it’s a Cold War relic. If anything, I’m surprised more hasn’t been done with it over the last couple years.Cheers,
Gwen
Posted: 9:15:00 AM
Now here's a fun game we can play...Yesterday I was given a benefits packet from HR: Medical, dental, vision, insurance. Even the 401k information came my way.
I have not been offered a job. No discussion of such has ever taken place. The closet we came was yesterday, when the HR directer commented that, because I’ve been called in regularly they need to give me “something.” So now I can now sign up for benefits.
At the place I was laid off from.
Does this make sense to anyone, or is it just me?Cheers,
Gwen
All text copyright © Gwen Smith, not for republication without permission.
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