Pull the cord, raise the dead

[evilhippo]

It seems like lately I have to get things out of my head in a certain order before I can get to the things that I actually want to think about. (Thusly, there is a giant long rambly private entry I decided not to subject you all to, in regards to the 11 hours I spent at work today. Blargh. Also I managed to forget to pay my electric bill last month. Today: not so good.)

I'm fairly annoyed that there are some good literary/meta conversations I want to have with people but can't, because I know I can't devote more than a few minutes to them. By the time I have time to sit down lately, everyone has moved on. This is not good, because my ideas are all piling up into a socratic dialog instead. No one wants this to happen, trust me! Untended ideas aren't supposed to turn into dialectics! I should probably seek help. Actually, I really want to try writing fanworks/meta in the format because I think it's fun, but it feels so much like intellectual posturing.)

The one little bright spot was finding that my friendly farmer's market apiary had let their bees loose in Daley Plaza today. I'd been meaning to restock on honey anyway, and while people are usually gathered around tasting the honey, everyone else was keeping a good 4+ foot buffer between themselves and the table because it was, you know, covered in bees. Because I have to get my adventure somehow (and because honey bees have become kind of an adorable cuddly insect underdog in my mind), I marched myself up to the table, had a couple of samples, had a couple of bees land on me and try to share the samples, and bought myself some delicious wildflower honey which, supposedly, is mostly raspberry and chestnut this time of year. I can't verify that, but it's kind of tangy and woody and is wonderful. I'm also wondering what kind of impression I left on them, because from my point of view I was trying to prove to myself that I wasn't afraid of adorable little honey bees, but from theirs I was probably the most airheaded and weird girl they saw all day. I was grinning the entire time and told them, when they joked that I could've taken one of the bees home when it landed on my sample, that it would get lonely if I took it.

Comments

[love-barracuda.livejournal.com]

I was grinning the entire time and told them, when they joked that I could've taken one of the bees home when it landed on my sample, that it would get lonely if I took it.
aw, what? so adorable! haha, you're braver than i. even if they are cute little bumbles, i'd stay clear.

and :c about your power bill. i small part of me dies every time a get a bill in the mail. which is often. lol

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Their reaction to me was kind of priceless. They kind of just stopped for a moment after I said it, stared at me, and then said "Yes, actually bees are known to die in isolation."

I'm a naive little thing when it comes to people who set up shop with dangerous things. I figure, "Oh, the bees wouldn't be out if they were likely to sting without severe provocation, because I'm sure they wouldn't want to deal with the liability!" Which isn't really the best assumption, but I'm also not terrible allergic to bees and could've left work early if I got stung, maybe. (-:

I switched almost all of my bills over to e-bills, since I figure I pay more attention to my e-mail. Apparently it doesn't quite work that way (though I did have a vague feeling all month that I'd forgotten to pay something, I just checked all the wrong bills, apparently). I might have to switch to just having everything automatically come out of my account whenever it's due. Last bill I forgot was last year, and it was one of my student loan payments, which was even worse because they immediately reported me to the credit bureau.

[love-barracuda.livejournal.com]

"Yes, actually bees are known to die in isolation."
D: poor bumbles!!

and could've left work early if I got stung, maybe.
LOL! there's always an ulterior motive XP

I switched almost all of my bills over to e-bills
oh lord. that's even worse for me! cuz i can conveniently ignore them. at least with paper bills i stick them on my desk in the way of everything. yeah, auto pay may be best if you have know you'll have enough in the bank.
and ugh. i've missed a school loan payment. those people are VICIOUS!

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I love bees! This is the first summer I can remember seeing honeybees in the garden for the longest time; hopefully they're making a comeback.

Your honey sounds yummy, and makes me want to go out to my local farmer's market this weekend and see if my honey hookup is back. Last summer, there was a honey vender there I bought from all the time, but he hasn't been around this year the couple times I've gone out there. I bought some honey at the Detroit farmer's market, but I didn't like it as much, and it's not as convenient for me to go out there just for honey.

I always seem to come into discussions late, too; I think that's because the fandoms I'm in are largely Europe/UK-based, and everybody is chatting while I'm either asleep or at work/class.

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

I've actually seen a few around the city, this year, too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll come back. I remember when I was little and I had to steer clear of clover as a rule because it was never not covered in honey bees.

I hope your honey vendor is still around. I always worry that mine are going to disappear, but they seem to be at the center of a pretty large network of bee keepers around here. (I just found out that one of the weekend markets on the north side farmers markets actually has eggs, and I've never had eggs that weren't from a grocery store, so I think I'm going to have to go up there tomorrow and see what I can find. ...Because biking around with eggs is a great idea.)

Maybe the time difference is what's really throwing me off. Up to this point the fandoms I've actually been involved in have either been US-based shows or anime, so I'm used to most of the people I'm talking to being in the US. (Doctor Who fandom doesn't quite count, because I've just lurked around the edges.)

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Either beekeepers are becoming more ubiquitous, or I'm just becoming more aware of them, but I feel like I run into a lot of people who are involved with bees! I have a friend whose boyfriend keeps bees, and a couple years ago a friend of mine got involved with a soup kitchen in Detroit run by a Buddhist monastery, and they kept bees. I went down there with her to volunteer once and we spent the afternoon nailing together bee frames.

Biking with eggs should be interesting! And probably worth it; I have an aunt who raises chickens, and we get eggs from her occasionally. They're good, but I wouldn't wax poetic about them. I'm amused by the different colors.

I'm still new to the whole idea of "fandom"--I've been crazy into tv shows and books before, but never really joined a "fandom" until a few months ago. (I'm still not sure what constitutes being "in" a fandom; I've posted about other shows on messageboards, but I'm not sure that's enough.) My old Livejournal was all about my real life, and only people who actually knew me read it, and almost never commented.

I find so far that I quite like it--it's been a lot of fun, and a good distraction.

What was your first fandom? How did you get into it?

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

I'm not too sure what it means to be "in" a fandom, either. I've been a fan of a lot of things, but there are only a few things I've actively, obviously been a fan of (for example, at the moment I currently have a pretty decent obsession with The Wire, but no one would know because I'm just quietly enjoying it as I go and it hasn't bitten me in a way that makes me want to write anything or pontificate about it at others. Man the writing for that show is fantastic. But anyway, I digress...)

By the "obvious fan" definition I've probably only had about three fandoms: Animorphs, FullMetal Alchemist, and now Sherlock. For the life of me, I cannot figure out what it was about these three things that grabbed me and made me willing to run out and hug other people who liked them, when I've loved other things just as much (sometimes more). I think I ended up in the Animorphs fandom mostly because it was the beginnings of the internet and anyone with a bit of spare time could throw together what passed as a decent website (er... (http://jahar9.tripod.com/) it's a good thing tastes evolved. Also watch out, it's a little overrun with ads and popups these days). FMA was my first LJ fandom, and I was kind of dragged into it by a combination of several real-life friends (well, actually it was entirely sketchyheart's fault, because the people at college who were into it weren't people I necessarily trusted to have good taste in things). I wrote fic, I did a lot of random speculation, and then settled into an rp, which is probably about as in a fandom I've ever been. (FMA fandom is where most of my friendslist hails from at the moment. We're mostly lost to the wind now as far as fandoms go, since the series ended ages ago and the manga just ended a few months ago. Also a lot of the friends I made in that fandom have transitioned over into being more real-life friends.) And now Sherlock... which I think latched on to the hitherto-languishing literary part of my brain and is feeding off of all the stray unused idea space. (-;

Fandom is a fantastic distraction. It got me through college (it also kind of deprived me of a lot of sleep in college, but whatever). (-; It's also proven to be one of the only things that gets me to write consistently, since I can't seem to make myself write without some kind of sense that someone out there might be reading it.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I can't seem to make myself write without some kind of sense that someone out there might be reading it.

THIS is one of the chief things I get out of fandom. I love being able to obsess over things I like with other people who like them (my RL friends have never been into the same stuff I am), but having an audience for my writing is major. I've read fanfic for years before getting up the courage to write it myself, and now that I have, I'm hooked for sure.

I had never heard of Animorphs or Full Metal Alchemist. This is not unusual, as there's a lot of stuff people like I've never stumbled across.

OK, I just googled Animorphs and saw lots of pictures of kids morphing into animals and nearly had a heart attack. (Yes, the title should have clued me in to what was up!) I'm kind of creeped out by anthropomorphic animals. (I am extremely weird. Other things I find creepy include puppets and sock monkeys. I have no problem with spiders, snakes, death, or public speaking. Go figure.)

Ok, I've taken a deep breath, and my heart has stopped pounding. On to Full Metal Alchemist! (Let me guess...sock monkey puppets?)

Ooh, a manga about alchemy! Bad news: I don't really get into manga or anime. Good news: I love anything to do with alchemy!

I keep hearing good things about The Wire, but that's another show I know nothing about.

I just googled it, and it doesn't seem to be about what I thought it was about, but it does sound interesting! I will have to check it out.

It's getting late and I keep typing in long, rambly anecdotes that I then have to go back and delete, so I think I should call it a night. TBC!

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Hehe, sorry, next time I'll know to warn for anthropomorphic animals! (But sock monkeys? They're so cute! I guess I can see where they might cross the line into kinda creepy, though. My odd creep-out thing is mannequins. I used to have an outright fear of them when I was little, and still maintain that they're just... wrong. It's probably an uncanny valley thing.)

My ten-years-ago self also wants to assure you that it wasn't the TV show I was into, but the books, which only suffered from creepy anthropomorphicness on the covers. (I can't believe it's been more than ten years...)

FMA's definition of alchemy has almost nothing to do with alchemy (other than transmutation), though there are fun little references to alchemical texts if you know what to look for. Mostly it's a Two Brothers Have an Adventure (Ostensibly to Restore What They Lost Because of Childhood Innocence) While the Awesome Supporting Cast Engages in War and Political Intrigue story. (It also avoids most of the tropes that make most popular anime extremely annoying: Endless oneupmanship in battle sequences, high-pitched one-dimensional girls, and high school-level romance.) The manga is a really good read, but I know what you mean about not really getting into anime and manga. When people point me in the direction of other good manga I tend to download it and then it sits on my harddrive forever and I never manage to look at more than the first chapter. And I've been that way about anime lately, too. I think the problem is that it really takes an effort to find the good stuff (and what's 'good stuff' is highly subjective). If you're not into the genre in the first place it's generally not worth it because, much like regular television, there's a lot of crap to sift through to find the good stuff, and when you have to rely on potentially bad translators as well... there's plenty of entertaining stuff that's easier to get access to. (I used to be part of a fan-subbing group as an editor, and I got into endless arguments with how their translations dead-ended lots of potential interpretations. And also how their translations made no sense. I got translations sometimes with characters shouting things like "A bunch of pester people!" to express their frustration. It was... an interesting experience.)

Long rambly anecdotes, eh? ... >.>

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I was just going to respond to your childhood at the racetrack story on my journal, but perhaps I'll do so here to keep everything together!

I love how inappropriate anecdotes shape and evolve as you get older. I get the feeling a lot of shenanigans took place when I was a kid (as evidenced by photos of me as an infant holding a beer can, and the fact my dad was a pot smoker), but I still only get bits and pieces of the story.

It's too bad they wouldn't let you dance with the topless lady; that would have made a priceless photo for the family album!

How much younger is your sister? It's sweet that you took care of her, but probably a pain as well, I'm sure. I was always put "in charge" of my brother, despite the fact that he was only a year younger and wouldn't listen to me.

I think my main problem with manga and anime is that I'm creeped out by things that other people find innocent and adorable, like sock monkeys. (It's the red lips, that's all I know!) Every Japanese cartoon I've seen has managed to include something that completely unnerves me, and the way the characters in some of them (like Pokemon and Sailor Moon) are always shouting at each other makes me really uncomfortable.

I has issues that only seem to be brought out by children's television and Japanese animation.

And yet my icon is of a little girl with my name falling down the stairs. *shrug*

Mannequins are definitely creepy, and I don't think it's weird at all to find them unnatural and wrong. I hate it when you catch one out of the corner of your eye and think it's a real person for a second. All kinds of wrong.

There are so many things that people recommend to me that I really want to check out and get into, but it takes me forever. I tend to be kind of a "one track mind" sort of person who can only really be into one or two things at a time. One of these days I'll give manga another try, but then I don't like graphic novels either. I LOVE Neil Gaiman, but just cannot get into The Sandman series. Have you read it?