Off the prompt "cuddles."

All links deliberately withheld

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:45:56 GMT

Okay this is kind of horrifying. Apparently a bigger time suck for me than tvtropes--which, who even knew that was possible--

is The Customer is Not Always Right.

Sleep? What is that?

(I blame my frustrating retail surprise-career.)

comments

I am the Rimmer of our lives

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:22:05 GMT

I just got an award for being at my company five years.

I feel like Rimmer with the medals on his uniform for Three Years Long Service, Six Years Long Service, and Nine Years Long Service.

comments

i feel like there should be some catching up in the fannish doings of me

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:32:14 GMT

My festivid is a hit. I am refraining heroically from answering comments, which are awesome. (I also keep seeing my gift, the awesome Marion from Indiana Jones vid, on recs lists, which brings me glee.) niqaeli is collecting an entry of quotes from the vid mines that I wouldn't let her post at the time because they're spoilery, but the schedule on festivids is so stretched out that we're reaching the point of losing context. "Why was [char] a vampire?" I found myself asking regarding one of the quotes that was hilarious at the time. I remembered eventually. It's spoilery.

Today I discovered a new portmanteau for niqaeli's favorite SPN pairing: Casquatch. We died and died of laughter.

Last week we went to see Red at the dollar theater--that being the flick where aging ex-spies (Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren) are on somebody's hit list and being pursued by up-and-coming spy (Karl Urban). We found it hilarious and adorable. It almost but not quite passed Bechdel. I'm not sure I would find it as charming on second viewing because I figured out exactly what scene was omitted from the narrative to make Frank's (admittedly well-intentioned) kidnapping of Sarah palatable: the part where he tied her up and duct-taped her mouth. Or at gun-point made her duct-tape her own mouth. Really no scenario I can think of makes that potential scene watchable, because if she didn't resist, why did he tie her up and shut her up? And if she did resist, the whole scenario is ugly to contemplate. Made uglier by the line later about how it wasn't her worst first date, which as niqaeli pointed out in the theater, implies she survived date-rape in the past.

Watched the last two episodes of White Collar. My memory for the one last week is full of holes. Oh wait, it's coming back to me. Burke's Seven. Right. Did you know niqaeli and I have a pet theory that El totally was a con and Peter figured her out in a way he couldn't arrest her for (among other things I like this theory for decreepifying the surveillance photo courtship: it was legitimate case surveillance!) and either she knew Neal and lets Neal think Peter doesn't know this for hilarity or Neal has only recently discovered her shadowy past and recognizes her reputation and is all OMG HOW WHAT YOU WERE SO AWESOME I DON'T EVEN. Anyway, with that theory, most El scenes get an extra twenty points of sweeeeeet.

So the most recent episode had the potential to joss the vid I'm working on, and I've been expecting to be jossed since--okay, no, I was expecting to be jossed last November but I've since given up on it (my attitude at this point is SHOW, PROVE ME WRONG! JOSS ME!)--but far from jossing me, this episode provided more fodder for the vid. Hahahaahah Jeff Eastin finally figured out what Neal's backstory was and had to share RIIIIIGHT NOW. This from a man who originally swore NO FLASHBACKS. Oh my god. I'm so glad the frame was there because so much of that was bullshit and it's good that Eastin left himself the hole of "ah but how honest was Neal?" if he needs to change anything later, and left fanwriters the loophole too so we can make some of that shit make a little more sense.

I should clarify--I enjoyed the episode. I laughed my ass off. I also think you could drive a Mack truck through the plotholes if we're meant to take that straight. If Kate wasn't a grifter before she met Neal, how did she adapt to the life so easily and maintain it even after she broke up with him (and arguably with greater skill than he did, since they never caught *her* and she was able to hide from him so well?). And let's discuss the fact that she'd pulled a disappearing act before the stunt with the prison visit. That, that, it, now I want an explanation for why the fuck she was visiting him in prison every week if they were for all intents and purposes broken up with prejudice before he got caught and he only found her because Peter laid a breadcrumb trail and not because she decided to see him again or even made an honest mistake in her hiding?

Also: were the origami flowers on Kate's dad's grave a message from Alex or is the only-Alex-does-origami thing a giant retcon? (For that matter Neal does origami, and while I'd buy Alex turned him onto it, it does mean that Peter going "origami with a current receipt means Alex had to be here, no one else would do it!" is a little wtf, because um, Neal.)

But yeah. The intersection of "everyone in the show first got together DUE TO THIS FLASHBACK" is ridiculous and hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. I do not think that was what Eastin was going for. I take my joy where I can. Speaking of joy from hilarity, the wine bottle was from MOZZIE? That makes the superromanticization of it more hilarious than ever. Also, dear Eastin, you are hilarious for answering the nit about the shape of the wine bottle. Pat pat.

In other news, Ivan quietly went under and waited out Yuletide and Festivids and this week resurfaced. Bits of three of my four active Vorkosigan novellas of last year are once again taking over my brain (and the fourth is waiting for Bel to come out of hibernation). And I haven't even reread the books again or read any fic lately (except for dira's this evening, which made me cry at the sweet, and I would link but I'm on bit and I can't be bothered to deal with the annoying screenness to hunt down the URL ETA http://dira.dreamwidth.org/561801.html /ETA). So I decided to try for 300 words a day all year on one of those four plot bunnies, which at this point in the year would give me 100K by December 31, and hopefully enough pieces to string together a whole postable story or two and a lot of hilarious outtakes. Those of you on my WIP filter will get to watch me muddle through out of order!

Work: my hours are getting cut stupid low sigh.
School: I have another nominee for the "film class from hell" tag.
Cope: Hahaha what is that. At least I am still to some extent getting shit done?

comments

My weekend so far:

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:49:09 GMT

I. Dear boss, fuck yoooooooou.
II. Sushi is nice. Booze is delicious.
III. Naps are unexpected.
IV. White Collar is so much better when they're not doing arc.
V. Red is adorable!
VI. I can haz festivid?
VII. Zonk.

I have just managed to get up from zonk. My brain is trying to convince me to write a Danger Days story about FTM!Party Poison, for which I blame niqaeli. By the way: I want to read fic about the Killjoys, but I don't want to read fic about the band, and I've spent particular effort not learning the names of all the band members precisely because I don't want to lose my brain down the timesink that is RPFandom. Can anyone rec me Killjoys fic that is JUST about the CHARACTERS of Danger Days and doesn't name them as band people?

comments

In the land of the customer is not always right

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 00:44:32 GMT

I work for a company that rents textbooks to students. The due date for fall semester books was last week, because finals were over last week. We are now reaching the stage of customers who with varying levels of resignation or anger come in with the book that they were auto-charged non-return fees on and either ask what they can do with it or demand a refund.

The official policy is: you signed a legal contract with the due date printed on it in bold and circled by your cashier. It was your responsibility to get the book in on time, and you failed, and there is nothing I can do for you.

Is there a managerial override? Here is how you don't find out: cuss me out. My managers care about customers spewing profanities a lot more than I do, to be honest, but I tend to see them as expressions of frustration rather than threats, usually. However, when you submit your demand to see someone higher up than me and I go to get them, I will tell them that you find the situation bleeping unfair if you said so to me, and their response is, "You don't deserve that, Juls," and they go upfront and politely repeat the same thing I said, that there is nothing we can do for you.

That's right: using obscenities with the first line of customer service does not endear you to anyone higher up and is a good way to get stonewalled.

Raise your hand if you are shocked.

comments

Sigh

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:07:53 GMT

My day was long. I did much, but not as much as I feel I should have, and I spent significant amounts of time wanting to stab people.

Tomorrow shall be much of the same, but at least with different people to want to stab.

--shower
--find a biscotti recipe to alter
--collect ingredients
--collect presents, even the one on the shelf
--bottle some tea
--get lunch out of the freezer
--don't forget embroidery stuff, and scissors
--go to mom's
--make biscotti
--wrap presents
--flail about dad's gift
--start on embroidery and/or vid another episode while stuff is baking
--get tea for coworker
--go to work
--refrain from stabbing people
--cry at after-close extra work
--pick up present for coworker
--either flip out and go to conspiracy or go home and
--consume at least one segment of yuletide source, possibly whilst embroidering
--clip another episode of vid
--sleep
--rinse and repeat

comments

in the interim

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:09:19 GMT

My real life sucks so hard right now that even though I was really really looking forward to White Collar, it took me until today to find the time and energy to watch it. I am so stressed out by summer school and the stupidest thief on earth at work that I'm having crying fits over things as idiotic as my sister asking me if I want to watch television.

So the amazing thing is not that I haven't finished drafting what I want to say about Vid Review, the amazing thing is that I still care enough to want to say anything. I have a lot of emotion and intellectual interest invested in vidding, in Vividcon, and in Vid Review, and I want to talk about it--at some point. Right now I am officially taking a break from writing that essay to give myself the space to stop freaking out about it. It will probably be a better essay for my trying to have some sanity about it.

But since I won't be posting that essay in a timely fashion, I want to make one small statement on the discussion so far:

I am sorry that our having had an interest in playing Vid Review Bingo hurt you. We did not mean to be hurtful, nor to be disrespectful, nor to break Vividcon's rules. If I had realized how hurtful other people found the idea of anyone playing Vid Review Bingo, I would not have wanted to play in the first place, because it was never our intention to hurt or to disrespect people. Please accept this sincere apology.

comments

Yeah so

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:48:42 GMT

Today at work we fended off a repeat attempted robbery. (That would have netted the guy about $25. Oh my god, fucking idiot thief.)

You know what I wish I had right now? A nice escapist hobby. I wonder where I could find one of those.

comments

I think my misanthropy is totally legitimate

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:41:51 GMT

Class starts tomorrow. Tomorrow's a long work day that starts four hours early. I need to call tech support back.

Vividcon rollover date's not until July 1, which means I probably won't know if I'm off waitlist until after premieres deadline.

ETA: note to self, want to go into town this weekend for more books, including 364.163. echan? jetpack_monkey? You mind if I come by?

comments

Tired

Thu, 27 May 2010 21:02:04 GMT

I definitely do not need to be writing a story entitled "Tony Stark, Baby Daddy."

Today will be extra long (carpet-cleaning is tonight at work) so I welcome any txts people would like to amuse me with. Include your number if you would like a reply (and be aware the txt form seems to eat about 10-15 characters).

comments

Wow, this is the closest I have to a drunk icon

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:22:18 GMT

Ugh, my mouth tastes hungover. I am not that surprised to be dehydrated, I was up blowing my nose every five minutes last night, and what the fuck, I dropped a Zyrtec at one in the morning because I couldn't take it and it did not have any noticeable effect.

Also, isn't it exciting to wake up to txts from work?

eta: exciting news, apparently my lack of cope doesn't extend to other people's vids. I can obsessively vid other people's vids just fine.

comments

Shaming people who call out harassers, even in jest, is not okay

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:12:33 GMT

One of the temps at my work this season, back from last busy season, is an old, retired guy who works seasonal jobs because he's bored, as far as I can tell. Within the first two hours he was back, he called me Girl, Honey, and Babe. I am not a manager, but I close the store, and I have been a permanent employee for four years, which makes me like five echelons higher than him. Our relationship is not close. He has no reason to think he should be able to--or should be able to get away with--calling me these things.

I couldn't make myself tell him to his face not to do it. I don't know why. I feel like I should have been able to just tell him to shove it. Five seconds after, every time, I wanted to. I did not. What I did do was bitch to my coworkers and bosses, none of whom particularly wanted to confront him either, but the store's 2IC (and highest-ranking male employee) did call the old guy into the office and tell him that in our company's work environment, Honey, Sweetie, Babe, etc were not appropriate and he needed to use his Misters and Ma'ams. I was there for this reprimand, although my boss didn't point me out as the person who had complained against him, and the office is fairly open and full of people in and out.

All in all, I am happy with that outcome. From everything I have discussed with my coworkers, I was not the only person this man was making extremely uncomfortable, I was just the only one who was willing to complain to management about it. I'm not sure everyone understood my problem, though, because I have had to listen to a couple of rationales for this guy and because the treatment I received after from regular coworkers I consider friends pissed me off.

First:
"Oh, he's old, of course he'd call you Girl." Uh, no. I recognize age/experience as a valid social disparity but in this environment I am professionally his superior. You can argue that these equal out, and I am fine with that: he could treat me as an equal and call me by, oh, my name, maybe? I do not believe that his age is worth more than my job title. I definitely do not feel that his age and his sex are worth more than my job title because I do not believe that men should be privileged above women and I think this is goddamn relevant, because the names he was calling me made the issue very much that he was a man and I was a woman. He's made male coworkers of mine uncomfortable as well, but not using the same terms. Girl. Honey. Babe. These are belittlements to be applied to women, in assertion of male privilege.

"But I call you Honey all the time!" That's nice. However, you and I have known each other for a couple of years now, so you have earned some familiarity with me. Also, you are a woman, so I do not feel you are asserting male privilege when you call me Honey. Also, you are both older than me and in a higher position at our workplace than me, both of which are disparities I recognize the validity of. If you were (female,) younger than me, and, say, a mere cashier, I would probably think you were a sassy little punk if you called me Honey all the time; since you are not, it passes by me as unremarkable. Because you are female and not male, I do not feel as if you are perpetuating male privilege by calling me Honey.

Second:
So I do have informal relationships with most of the regular employees at my job. We call each other a lot of things. There's one cashier who calls me Bitch. Today she called me Honey, and when I jumped a mile, she told me I had to be expecting that today, given I had called out our sleazeball temp to management. What? No. Then my boss (female one, not male one) called me Sweetcheeks, continuing in the vein of mocking the situation. I said no, no that's not how it works, no: you should not be shaming me for calling out a harasser. If I was the only one who felt secure enough to complain formally and get the guy reprimanded, I, who couldn't make myself tell him off to his face, what kind of message do you think it sends to everyone who wasn't brave enough to say anything to anyone, for you to behave like this? If you shame people who speak up about harassment, even in jest, you make it so no on wants to speak up. You contribute to an environment of harassment, genuine, non-jesting harassment, because your actions serve to silence victims of harassment. I wasn't pissed off for myself, I was pissed off for the context and the people around me. I don't care if you're my friend, it is inappropriate to shame someone for stopping harassment, so you will not say these things to me.

I was not this eloquent at work. I wish I had been. I think I managed to get the message across, though.

Sigh.

comments