Sena's DW :: Watermelon Life

So, Family Christmas was yesterday. That's kind of a misnomer I guess because I have three Christmases this year and all of them are with family. Anyway, I went through a lot of internal debate on whether or not I was even going to go, and eventually I decided too even though my anxiety was going to be screaming at me the entire time.

But it turned out not to be so bad in the end. Grandma came, but she was having a relatively good day (she only said she wanted to be dead three times) and I was able to curb my anger toward Aunt Brenda and Uncle Alec. The only real problem was that Uncle Len brought his dogs along, and while Huxley is a DOLL (he's 12, he's SO lazy and calm), Asher is still a puppy and is ALL OVER THE PLACE. He's a sweet pup, but I just wanted him to go away. Or at least find somewhere to lay down for a bit once in a while, honestly.

In the gift exchange I got a sparkly Mickey Mouse lantern (the gift that Mom brought) and then when it was all over I traded with Mom for a set of remote-control LED candles that I really loved (and kept having stolen from me) and she gave the lantern to Uncle Len for Clare/Alex. Then she asked me to buy HER a set of the LED candles off Amazon for her birthday, so I did, for 50 freaking dollars, even though I can't afford it, really. I think Lee is going to pay me back for them and give them to her himself instead haha.

By the time we left for home I was utterly emotionally exhausted and we got home JUST in time for me to feed the cats and retreat to my room, where I watched a couple episodes of TWD and then went to bed... for like 45 minutes. And then I woke up again, and couldn't get back to sleep all night.

So, I've spent all last night binging TWD episodes and working on Wiggly Foxes. I for a lot of headway on the ones for my brother for Christmas, now I have to do the white parts and the sparkly bits, and then the last-minute touch-ups. Also, I ordered some clips to add to their key rings so they're more versatile, I think 50 of them? I'm going to start adding them to all my Foxies from now on.

Also, I photographed my Christmas candles on our Christmas tablecloth with some Christmas baubles behind them and posted the listing for them on FB, so hopefully I'll get some bites in the next few days. I would be nice to make up a little bit of money after spending so much for Christmas, you know?

Which reminds me, I need to go to the Dollarama in the next day or two and but bags and boxes for all my gifts because I am LITERALLY incapable of wrapping presents anymore because of my back. As soon as I start leaning over for ANYTHING it starts seizing up and turns into an utter SHITSHOW. It's something I need to talk to Dr. K about when I'm in to see her in the new year. But it's really too bad because I used to fucking LOVE wrapping presents. Now I do ONE and I'm FUCKED.

In finger news, the scabs are entirely gone now and all the skin around the cut area has peeled off to new skin underneath, but it's still sore in places so I know it's still healing underneath. Progress, though.

Depending on how things go with the sleeping later today, I think I'm going to try two write a couple of scenes for TKA, since I just finished another SS one-shot. Either that or I guess I can try to focus on Temper Tantrums because I REALLY need to get back to writing the earlier SS one-shots instead of all the last ones lol. But yes, TKA first if my brain is up for it on zero sleep, that's the plan!

Right now, as it stands (and will stand, this is firmly IT for the post-SS one-shots) we have the following:

1) When Lightning Strikes (complete, edited)
2) Ghost In The Machine (complete, unedited)
3) Pinfeathers (complete, unedited)
4) Teeth (complete unedited)
5) Nightingale (complete, edited, could probably use more editing though)
6) Temper Tantrums (incomplete)
7) Hunting Souls (incomplete)
8) Shrike (incomplete)
9) Echoes (incomplete)
10) Day Drinking (not started)
11) Mockingbird (not started)
12) Crawlspace (not started)
13) Kindling (incomplete)
14) The Wolf (not started)
15) What Angels Dream (incomplete)
16) Grace (incomplete)
17) Run Hide Die (not started)
18) Hollow Things (not started)
19) The Desert Tide (incomplete)
20) Sudden Cardiac Arrest (not started)
21) Stalactites (not started)
22) Dreamcatcher (not started)
23) Magpies (not started)
24) Supply And Demand (not started)
25) Coyote Country (not started)
26) Creepy Crawlies (not started)
27) Mirrors (not started)
28) Wayward Daughters (complete, unedited)
29) Halcyon Days (incomplete)
30) Serendipity (incomplete)

SO. THIRTY OF THE BLOODY THINGS BUT I HAVE FINALLY WRAPPED THE STORY UP. ...OR HAVE I?? Because there is a very high chance that after all of these and he entire shenanigans with the entire Horror High and Storm Season et al series I miiiiight be writing spin-off series of one-shots following Sam's son (Dean) and someone else who hasn't be introduced yet but will be near the end of the post-SS one-shots. :D The first one is going to be called Controlled Descent, and is followed closely by Lore and then Midnight Spirits.

I know I keep saying no one is reading HH and SS etc. but for REAL no one is going to reach these spin-offs because they involve an original character so like. Yeah. But I might write at least those three just to (hopefully) get the monkey off my back about the entire idea. I'm not going to try to keep a steady Every Thursday update schedule with them, though, I'm just going to write them as I write them and see what happens. I might write the first one and then drop the whole thing entirely. *shrug*

ANYWAY. That aside, the other day I found Run. Hide. Die. (yes I totally ripped that title off), Polaroid and The Mean One on Amazon on DVD and nicked them STRAIGHT AWAY because I loved ALL those movies, but especially The Mean One. If you try to buy The Mean One on ebay it cost straight-up $150, and I got it off Amazon for $35 SO THAT WAS AN EASY DECISION. I'm currently waiting on a bunch of Amazon stuff to come in, but it's to the point now that about half of it isn't going to arrive until after Christmas. That's fine for most of it, but if Amy/Brit, Brad/Kristianna and Sarah's gifts don't arrive in time I'm going to be annoyed. They're supposed to get here the 16th-->23rd? So that should be okay. Just. PLEASE GET HERE IN TIME. Otherwise it's placeholder boxes of chocolates and I.O.U.s I guess.

Today I need to go to the Dollarama and buy some more gift bags, as well as cookie tins and a shit ton of candy for my little brother's last gift. I also need to finish up the Wiggly Foxes for his SECOND-LAST gift, so I need to get back on that tonight. I've just been so tired lately all I've been wanting to do is veg and watch movies. I have made a couple of pieces of jewelry, though, so. I dunno. I started three new necklaces with some chain that I literally can't do anything else with because it's too thick for any of my tools to cut, but they're going to take a WHILE because there's EXTENSIVE beading. I had to order more jump rings to hopefully get the job done. They should be arriving some time today, along with chain that I actually CAN work with.

We were also supposed to be doing Christmas baking this year but?? No one?? Bothered to do a grocery list for the stuff?? MOM AND LEE?? So I'm sitting here like, well I can make shortbread. :| It's frustrating. Like Mom basically wants to dispense of Christmas baking entirely but it's CHRISTMAS BAKING. It's PART OF THE HOLIDAYS. But the may get her way this year just because they're both too lazy to buy the stuff we need for it. We ARE making a sweet potato pie, though, because Amy specifically requested one after the one I made back for Thanksgiving in October. Which means I'm going to be making it, basically, except I can't peel the sweet potatoes because of how jacked my hands are nowadays, so SOMEONE is going to have to help me...

Yesterday my Official Witcher Cookbook and my Unofficial Witcher Cookbook came in, and Mom and my brother immediately confiscated them to look through them before even I'd had a chance too. But they both basically read them out loud so I got the general idea anyway (there are some really good recipes in them, too!); now I'm just waiting for (A BILLION OTHER BOOKS) The Supernatural Cookbook and Cooking With A Serial Killer and I can start snickering to myself. I think I'm going to start collecting pop culture cookbooks. They amuse me. I WONDER IF THERE'S A STAR WARS ONE I COULD BUY FOR DAD! :O

Speaking of Dad, he was supposed to call me last night and never did. I guess I'll message him later and ask what happened. He probably fell asleep or something silly like that.

P.S. The bandages are off my finger and I am typing with minimal discomfort and no bleeding so THUMBS UP.

EDIT: omg the spin-off series is going to be called "Wayward Cousins et al" :D

I woke up at like 2am again and couldn't get back to sleep because INSOMNIA so I was puttering around my room doing odds-and-ends and I decided to cut to the tab off the new bead box I bought the other day. So, I got my zip knife out and prepared to do the thing, which I have done dozens of times before, and... I slipped and cut myself. BADLY. Like I PROBABLY should have gone to get stitches but it was 3am so OH WELL. But I bled everywhere, like all over my blankets and the carpet and then I just stuck my finger in my mouth so I could run to the bathroom, where I proceeded to bleed all over the floor/counter/sink but at least in there it's easy to clean up??

Anyway long story short I somehow miraculously managed to get bandages on it (it took four) and then cleaned up the bathroom (I THINK I got all the blood??) and then half an hour later... I had bled through the bandages so I had to go through the whole thing again. It's been a couple hours since I re-bandaged myself and I haven't bled through them again so I think I'm good?? Except it makes typing really hard and I want to work on a bracelet but THAT'S not happening in the next couple days, at least until I can take the bandaids off. :|

Yeah idk, I'm a walking accident, what can I say?

Ugh, I feel like such a zombie lately. My brain just isn't working right. It rather sucks actually. But anyway, I've procrastinated over updating my journal for long enough, I figure I should maybe actually, yanno, do it. Numbers to help me keep my thoughts organized, though everything's not really in any particular order. ♥

1) The cats have fleas. UGH. I have literally never had a flea outbreak in my house (despite the number of critters) and I'm seriously not pleased with it. In fact, it fucking sucks. The only saving grace is that they haven't gotten to the rabbits. Yet. I've tried practically everything to get rid of them, too; I flea bathed them all, gave them over-the-counter flea drops, gave them Vet prescription flea drops (which cost a fortune, btw), and then tried a flea spray (I treated the entire apartment as well.) Finally, in a last-ditch effort it was recommended that I shave them all down and do the flea spray again when they were nekkid, as there was a possibility that the spray wasn't getting all the way through their fur.

So! I went out and purchased an electric shaver (technically marketed for dogs, but whatever) for freaking $50 +tax. I figure at least I can use it on them every year in the spring to lessen the shedding epidemic when it starts getting warm. I can also use it on Pagan, since he's my only long-haired bun and tends to get mats on his underside at random intervals for no apparent reason and no matter how often I brush/groom him. Anyway.

I know my cats, and I knew that Loki was going to be the hardest one to do since he's such a nervous kitty. I decided to do him first to get him out of the way, and also because I figured that if I did him later he would find somewhere to hide as soon as he knew what was happening. What I didn't figure on was my lovely, cuddly, affectionate Loki-boy going ABSOLUTELY FUCKING POSTAL. .__.;

Mom and my brother were helping to hold him, and as soon as I turned the clippers on he WENT INTO A TERROR-INDUCED HOMICIDAL FREAK OUT. I knew he was going to be nervous and a little scared just like he is with anything new, but WHAT. THE. FUCK. It was like trying to hold down a MOUNTAIN LION, right down to the insane amount of personal injury; Mom got bitten a half dozen times on her hands, my brother got seriously MAULED from the elbow down on BOTH arms, and my left leg was mauled and he bit right through the nail on my right hand, completely severing it. Then this past Monday I went to the doctor's and Dr. K had a look and is pretty sure not only did he fuck my nail up but the crushing injury was so severe that he managed to actually break the tip of my finger bone off. So of course, my hand is taking IONS to heal and still hurts like a fucking bitch nearly two weeks later. ~__~;; Sooo...

All three of us trouped to the hospital when it happened and got antibiotics and Mom and my bro got tetanus shots since theirs weren't up to date. Fun times with the family, huh? So that was the adventure with trying to shave Loki, who is still not shaved and who will never be, short of drugging him into a coma beforehand. Haha. Neko, Juna and Tri are all 3/4 naked now, though, and with them the worst that happened was that Tri puffed his tail at me while I was doing it. Now I just need Mom to help me treat them with the spray again. Cross your fingers for me that it, you know, works this time. Because if it doesn't I'm out of options short of building little cabins and inviting the fleas to move in for life.

IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THINGS I HAVEN'T TRIED YET, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Haha, and then the hospital reported the "attack" (by law they have to) so the Health Unit called to talk with me and put Loki on quarantine for ten days just in case. This of course made me lol because whatever, he's a house cat anyway. XD He's officially off quarantine now though.

Loki and I have since made up, of course. :)

Moving on!

2) Today I got some catnip for the pride and sprinkled it down on the carpet in the living room. This is something I do on a regular basis, but it was particularly amusing this time because it's the first time Tia has been exposed to it. OMFG she was hilarious! I giggled at her for like half an hour while she zoomed around and rolled in it and licked the carpet and was generally all =OwO= It was really adorable. ♥

3) Aya finally shed! I'd had him for two months and nothing, even though the pet store peeps said all the rest of the ball pythons from his clutch did the week I got him. When I got home from the US he still hadn't shed and I was starting to get a little concerned. But then last week his pattern started to fade and his eyes clouded over. YAY. A few days later I peeked in the terrarium and the old skin was balled up in the corner by his hidey rock. ^^ I was hoping it would be straight so I could take a pic, but oh well. And he had been really lethargic since two weeks before I left for my vacation, but now he's all energetic again. Or at least as energetic as a snake can be. ^_~

4) Due to massive injuries and seriously excessive pain, I've spent the last two weeks unable to do pretty much any cleaning around here aside from sweeping a bit. I normally sweep/vacuum/mop/dust every couple of days, and not being able to do it was driving me nuts; the floor and carpets were a disaster, dishes (which I also do every couple of days) were piling up... last week I couldn't even clean out the rabbit/rat cages, which I HATED because it meant my poor babies had icky living conditions for a whole week.

Luckily, the last couple of days the pain has subsided a bit; not much, but enough that I could vacuum the place and do a few dishes (not all of them because my finger started throbbing again halfway through) and tonight I managed to finagal my way through cleaning all the cages out. YAYZ! Now I don't feel guilty and like a terrible Mom anymore. Whew.

Also got my bathroom tidied and reorganized, which it's needed for ages.

5) Today I took a wander downtown. It was nice out, just a little cool so I got to wear my (faux) leather jacket, which fits me again whoo! I went to the dollar store for a gift bag for a Christmas gift that I've already got 90% finished and a new shower curtain (I have to replace it every couple months because the cats like to play with them and trash them in the process), then went to Salon Salon and got my eyebrows waxed because they really really needed it. I also picked up the bulk order of eyepins I ordered from Magpie Beads like two months ago.

Speaking of which... MAGPIE BEADS IS CLOSING!! DDD8 They're moving to Barrie! They're the only bead store in town and they're leaving meeeeee! *WEEPS*

Right. So after that I had to go across town to pick up some prescriptions, and while I was around there I went into the Dollarama; got some odds and ends, mostly for other people lol. Then I went to Blockbuster to look at previously viewed movies... and they were having a huge sale on them. I got eleven movies for just over forty bucks! ASDGH! I may have had a little mental flail. XD

I picked up Terminator: Salvation, Battle for Terra, Drag Me to Hell, Zombieland, The Rundown (my Rock movie collection is ever expanding! X3), The Patriot, The Alphabet Killer, Swarmed, The Black Hole, Dragonball Evolution (out of morbid curiosity; and it only cost me $3) and Ghost Machine, which I'm watching right now. ♥

And the sale is on until Oct 3rd, so Imma go back for a few more when I get my money at the end of the month. I'm gonna try to sell some stuff in the meantime to make up for it. Hehehehe new movies make me happy. :3

6) Other than picking up some DVDs, I've seem some newer movies lately too. I'm partway through Predators, which is turning out to be fun. I won't have a concrete opinion on it until I've watched it all though. Wish I could find a better copy online... maybe I'll just wait until it comes out on DVD and pick it up to finish watching it.

Piranha 3D; I didn't watch it in 3D, obviously, but... OMFG. It was AWESOME. >3!! Prehistoric piranha + spring break = fucking fun times! I was a little surprised how gory it was, actually. Not that it bothered me since I'm already so desensitized to cinema violence, but about halfway through it just suddenly struck me that there was A LOT of gore. Go figure.

Resident Evil: Afterlife; EEEEE NEW RESIDENT EVIL MOVIE!!

The Last Exorcism; This one started out really slowly, and I almost gave up on it. It did get really interesting about halfway through, though, and was quite good from then on. The only thing I disliked was that it was filmed like a documentary (like The Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield), and I'm not overly fond of that way of filming. But it was good for what it was.

I just saw a preview for this movie, too, and it looks amazing and creepy and I really want to see it:

7) I have packages for the following peeps, which I swear I'll be mailing out soon. No really. Steph & Reppy, Lome, Kiin-bb, Maddie & Chloe and Mari. ♥

kierseth, etcetera_cat and cat_mcdougall. HEY YOU GUYS. We haven't done a proper P.O.S. exchange in forever! Want to organize one again? ^_^

8) Dad is coming up later this week to stop in for a visit. He's picking up his and Lois' souvenirs and the movies I borrowed from him last time I was down back in May. He's also bringing me a bunch more b-grade movies to replace them, which makes me happy because, I mean, B-GRADE MOVIES WUT. xD

I'm thinking about asking if I can go back with him to visit for a couple of days. I told him I'd help him go through the rest of Aunt Cheryl's stuff in the barn, and I want to get that done before it gets too cold out. Plus I'd just like to visit with him and Lois and the dogs a bit. I don't get to do that often enough. =/

9) I had an appointment in Toronto with the dietitian a couple weeks back. I have to go every 3-4 months for a checkup and bloodwork. I'm told my weight loss is going very well and I'm perfectly on track for where I should be (I've lost 80lbs since Feb 26th), so probably by February I'll be down to about my target weight of 130-140lbs. The only thing is that they're concerned I'm not getting enough protein in my diet, so I'm supposed to try having more in the way of cheese/eggs/etc. *shrug*

Anyhoo, the dietitian called today and left a message regarding the results of my bloodwork; my iron is low, so she wants me to go on iron supplements daily (I normally only take them when I'm on my period) and my vitamin C was really low which makes no sense considering the amount of vitamin C rich fruits and drinks I eat but she wants me to take vitamin C pills too. She also noted that my white blood cell count was high, but at the time they took the blood I was just getting over a bad cold so that doesn't surprise me.

10) Yesterday I took my camera and did a video tour of my apartment to post on FB for people, since I apparently fail at posting pics despite peeps on my f-list there and here asking for them. >>; But then I got carried away and it ended up way too long, so when I tried to upload it it didn't work. *facepalm* Guess I'm doing another one tomorrow. A shorter one. lol.

11) Been rewatching House on DVD; the first five seasons. I just finished yesterday. The season 4 finale made me bawl like a baby. AGAIN. ~_~;

12) Back when I was down in Dayton I was supposed to paint with Chloe, but somehow we just never got around to it. But when I got back home I still kind of had the itch to do it, so I picked up a couple of medium-sized canvasses. My first painting is maybe a third done now. Haha, I haven't painted in forever, and this is my very first painting actually on canvas! I'm really enjoying it (even though my injured hand is making things difficult) and I plan to do a few more.

Funnily enough, the first painting started off as kind of an abstract idea but has given birth to a new character/species. He doesn't have a name yet, but I think he might fit into the same world as Terra/Ilo/Celine/Aysel. I really like his design, so I plan to do more sketches of him, and maybe another larger and more detailed painting.

I'm considering doing painting for people for Christmas this year, too. Would anyone like a Sena!painting? 83

13) Mom and Lee are on vacation right now. They're coming back tomorrow; they just spent a few days off in an out of the way cabin-type place where they could both relax and everything. They really needed it, they've both been totally fried out between one thing and another. Hopefully a few days away will have helped.

In any case, I called yesterday to invite my brother over here for dinner but he had friends over. So instead we decided that I'm going over there tomorrow to visit and make supper for him and Mom and Lee when they get home. ♥

14) I NEED MONIES. $__$ Does anyone out there want a pony or jewelry commission or something? :3

Posting from Momo at Maddie and Chloe's house. I miss my own PC, but I'm glad they'll let me borrow the laptop to check my email and everything. I'm writing this now because they've gone to bed so I don't feel so bad about stealing their computer lol. ^^;

Anyway, everything is pretty much going fine, and I'm having tons of fun. My one leg is royally fucked up though, and I really need to see a doctor when I get back to Canada; it feels like I've got something tearing in my calf, a muscle or tendon, and it hurts like hell. But it's holding up well enough that I don't have to go to the hospital here, which is a good thing considering I don't have travel insurance. >>; Chloe says is it comes down to it I could go to an urgent care clinic though, so I'm keeping that in mind just in case.

Short post because it's 5am and I need to get to bed, but I'll have a huge long Otakon post when I get back to Canada in a week (complete with tons of misc pics, including from the massive yakuza!Kadaj and Asch photo shoot that me, Pronnie and Maddie did on Saturday night.) Until then, this is it.

Oh, and sorry to anyone I was supposed to be texting while I've been here. Turns out that when Virgin told me my plan "covered everything", they actually meant "covered everything in Canada", and here it's completely useless. My fucking cell is a PAPERWEIGHT here. I can't even call 911 on it. When I get back home I'm going to call Virgin to bitch about it and get my plan changed so that next time I won't be stuck without a phone. -.-;

Tomorrow we're going to a Celtic festival! 8D

Apparently, I suck at keeping my journal updated lately. I used to be so good about it too. But I don't know... I've been really down lately, and not feeling up to doing anything. I haven't been on aim much either and I've just been rping a little with one or two people. I'm considering going on partial hiatus at TV until I get myself straightened out again.

Not much had been going on lately. I've been working on stuff to sell at AN, and fretting over whether I'll have enough money to go to Otakon this year or not. I'm really hoping I will, but with not being able to sell my ponies at the table it might not happen... but, I'm currently finnegling with my finances to see just how much I need to sell to be able to go to Baltimore (and then to VA and then to Dayton) so fingers crossed.

I am currently watching Eden Log, which is going so far over my head it might as well be a jumbo jet. XD; I'm going to have to watch it again and try to figure it out lol.

A few days ago I dislocated one of my toes. I slammed it into the stairs by accident. At least it popped back in on its own. Still hurt like a bitch though. BEHOLD I AM THE MASTER OF PERSONAL INJURY. Also, of not going to the hospital for dislocated joints because they happen all the fucking time wtf body.

RP talk, so if you don't care don't bother reading past here. More actual life-updates later on once I've thought about what I want to say.

We have a new Axel at TV, and I've gotten sucked into the AkuRoku trap. XD; I promised myself I wouldn't, not because I don't ship them together, but because it's pretty overdone at this point. Ah well. They're cute together, and Roxas is totally the man of the relationship which makes me laugh constantly. Also, tonight he got into an argument with Kanda, and the two of them spammed Axel's journal with it. lmao.

House is being his antisocial self, though he does get along rather well with Ziva (I totally ship them now, w2g TV you've ruined my in-series ships), and he's agreed to tutor Lenalee in math so long as he can call on a favor from her at some point in the future. He may get her to do something cruel to Remus, as he's still holding a grudge against him from way back when puppy!Remus chewed his cane up.

Dean is currently being crabby over the new event (school, yay?), and refuses to go, so he and Faith are going to hide out in the room with booze and porn and probably trade Hunter/Slayer stories. Faith demanded he share his porn and Dean was like "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?" I still wish I had a Sam at TV though, Dean secretly worries about him.

Aaaaand Michi and I are doing a RikuRoku rp right now that takes place in the zombie!verse from the apocalypse!KH fic I'm in the process of tinkering with. XD; I get to play snarky/bitchy!Roxas, and that makes me utterly happy because he's too nice most of the time in TV (and he was the same way at RY, except with Axel lol.) RPing in it is really helping me flesh out the zombie!verse, so to speak, so I'm happy with it. :3

Holy hell, I fucked up my shoulder. If I had fallen or something I would think I'd cracked my collar bone, but all I did was sit down and pull the chair in. So unless I have some severe osteoperosis, I don't know wtf is going on. DX

IT HURTS SO DAMN MUCH. I can't move my shoulder joint without turning white from the pain. And in half an hour, I'm supposed to be moving a shitload of boxes up and down the stairs with Lee. 8D THAT WILL BE EPIC FUN, I CAN JUST TELL. =__=;;

I'm sure I just pinched a nerve or something, because there's really no other explanation, but still. Ugh. Right now I'm watching Unrest and hoping by the time Lee gets here my shoulder won't be blindingly painful anymore.

I cracked my head last night, on the headboard of the bed. So hard that I don't know if I fell back asleep after that, or blacked out. .__.;

Today has thusfar been spent out running around; Mom and I went to the petstore to look at rabbit cages, since the NIC cage isn't going to fit at Mom's. I thought I would have to split the girls up again, but I actually found a extra large My First Home cage that should be alright, so long as I make sure to  let them out to play every day. It's much smaller than their old cage, but for now it will have to go. I feel bad about it, but I'm not getting rid of the NIC supplies, so that when I have my own place I can just put it back together.

( Pauper, Phoenix and Pantom are currently WTFing, but they'll get over it. )

Then we went to Walmart, where I got a ton of packing tape and tissue paper for wrapping things that I don't want to wrap in newspaper. After that, we went back to Mom's place so that she could talk to Lee about some things, and then we went to look at storage units. We found one that was great, so we put a downpayment on it; the woman was even nice enough to give us the rest of October for free so that we can start moving all my things in there gradually over the next month. I need to pack in a way that anything I don't need will be put into storage. So most of my books and half my movies are going to be there, along with my encyclopedias, some of my anime, and a ton of furniture.

...then Zellers, for a lock for the storage unit, then back home. I put the new cage together and transferred the girls over to it so that I can take the NIC cage down and pack it away tonight (or possibly tomorrow). SO BUSY.

Also, if my brother calls to gloat at me about having Tales of Symphonia one more time, I may have to maim him. :D

The only thing in this that's going to be behind a cut is photos (if I have the gumption to post them tonight), so to avoid endless rambling about Otakon if you're not interested, please feel free to scroll down. And down. And down some more. :D

Okay, so!

Monday, the 4th: I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make sure I had everything packed and organized. Eventually, I got frustrated with trying to fit everything in my suitcases, and ended up having Mom come over and do it for me, as she is the QUEEN of packing. ♥ Also, Monday I baked hermit cookies and coconut-oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies to bring with me. Sticking Tetsuya in my hiking backpack was kind of hilarious, as he kept giving me dirty looks the entire time. XD; That night I also hauled my two suitcases down to the main landing, so I wouldn't have to carry them both (they weighed like 50lbs each xD;;) all the way down the next day.

Tuesday, the 5th: I got up early to finish the last minute cleaning and whatnot I needed to do before my bus at 11:40am. Then I said goodbye to my baby kitties and bunnies (and Axel, of course) and told them to behave while I was gone. I was somewhat dubious that would work, but hey, it was worth a try. XD;; Then Mom picked me up around 10:30am and we went to the bus station, where I paid for my extra bag; my backpack went onto the bus with me (since it had Tetsuya, and all my electronics in it, as well as some clothes just in case), but I had two suitcases to go underneath the bus. Aparently, you used to be able to take two for underneath no problem, but at the beginning of August they changed it to be just one. :P So I paid an extra $30 to get my second suitcase from here to Baltimore.

Now, the trip to Baltimore was... eventful, and at the same time not. There was a lot of boring sitting around doing nothing (especially after my mp3 player ran out of charge, and after dark when I couldn't read) usually. BUT. When we got to the US border and I went though Customs, they asked "what my business in the United States was" and I told the guy I was going to a convention. He got this super suspicious look and went "what kind of convention?" Seriously, a voice in the back of my head was going "A TERRORIST CONVENTION! >D" but I figured if I said that they'd send me to prison or something, so instead I told him an anime convention. And he got really pissed off about it. XD; It was actually rather hilarious. Then they searched my bag. You know, just in case all us otaku were planning to bomb something. xDD;;

Anyway! Once we got through Customs, we continued on to Buffalo, where our current driver was supposed to get off, and a new one get on. So we got there, and the driver left... and no one else showed up. FOR TWO HOURS. They didn't even come out and tell us what was going on. FINALLY, two hours later someone came out and said they were getting another driver because the one that was supposed to be there just didn't show up. So we waited ANOTHER hour until a new driver got there. Only she wasn't a driver. Like, she had NEVER DRIVEN A GREYHOUND BUS BEFORE. UGH. She was super nice though, and didn't get us killed, so it all worked out.

Now, after Buffalo I was supposed to have a three hour layover in New York, but since we were running three hours LATE, I arrived there just in time to grab my stuff and run across the terminal to hop onto my next bus. I'm so glad I had that layover! If I hadn't, I'd have been stuck there for another three hours until the next bus to Baltimore. D:

Wednesday the 6th: Boring as the rest of the trip had been though, the bus from Buffalo to NY was actually awesome; I got on and sat down, and about two seconds later this girl across the aisle from me leaned over and went "hey... are you on your way to Otakon?" So which I said ".__. Yes?" XD; She had seen my KH and Furuba keychains lawl. SO I scooted over so I was sitting on the aisle and she did the same, and we fangirled and chatted for the next like... four and a half hours. XD;

There were jokes about Marlyland. Especially when we crossed into it, and the Welcome sign had big flamboyant flowers on it. ♥♥♥

Z~ I SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN YOUR EMAIL! I TRIED TO LOOK FOR YOU AT ARTIST ALLEY BUT COULDN'T FIND YOU! DDDD: IF BY SOME MIRACLE YOU SEE THIS, COMMENT OR MESSAGE ME OR SOMETHING!

Right, so we got to the first bus terminal in Baltimore around noon, and Z and I both hopped off and got KFC for lunch because we were starving. But we took it back to the bus to eat because we were paranoid about them leaving without us. lol. Then it was around 12:45pm when we finally arrived at the downtown terminal, where Z and I were both getting off. I waited with her for ten minutes or so until her friends came to pick her up, then went outside and found a cab to take to the Sheraton.

CABS IN BALTIMORE ARE DIRT CHEAP HOMG. O___O;; Why can't cabs here cost that much? ;w;

Wow, I'm easily distracted lol. Moving on! I got to the Sheraton and checked to see if Maddie and Chloe had arrived/checked in yet, and they hadn't. So I checked my bags and sat down in the comfy comfy chair by the computer in the lobby to wait for them. About half an hour later they arrived, and there was much hugging and bitching about various modes of transportation. Then we checked in and went up to the room to crash and wait for Mel and Michelle. ♥

The rest of the day was pretty much organizing things and chatting, and deciding sleeping arrangements (Maddie/Chloe/Reno/Link/Rufus/etc. in one bed, Mel/Michelle/Kanda/Eiji/Naoji/Irvine/etc. in the other, me under the desk (NO I'm not kidding XD;;) with Kadaj/Kurai/Luke, Hikaru and Kaoru in the closet, Shuichi/Chrono/Mahiru in the bathtub, and a lot of others that I'm sure I'm forgetting. Sephiroth slept standing up when he wasn't busy with prostitutes. xDD;;) We also went out to a mall and got dinner, then a t-shirt for Michelle. I had to resist the urge to play in the fountains there, Demyx muse thought that would be FUN. :D

Thursday, the 7th: We all slept until noon out of sheer travel exhaustion. Then we had donuts for breakfast, and got into Cosplay to go and pick up our con badges. Michelle and I were RY-highschool!Kadaj and Luke, Maddie was casual!Rufus, Chloe was Reno, and Mel was turk!Kanda. The story was that Rufus was babysitting Luke and Kadaj and Reno and Kanda were along as his bodyguards. Kadaj was NOT AMUSED to have a babysitter. >.>;

After we got our badges we all split up (I believe Maddie wasn't feeling well, so she and Chloe went back to the hotel ahead of us, and Michelle went to dinner with Alicia), and on the way back to the hotel, Mel and I got caught in a random torrential downpour. XD;; So we were soaked and pathetic looking by the time we got back. I'm glad I was wearing a tank top underneath my school uniform shirt. .__.;

Later on after we were changed and dry, we went out for dinner, and on the way was when we stopped to play at the fountain by the harbor and I did my EPIC FACEPLANT. YAY my first injury of the vacation! =D;;

No big deal though. ♥ After I got myself picked up, we headed off to the harbor front center and got dinner. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the service SUCKED. Good thing the food was AWESOME or I'd've been pretty pissed. Seriously though, I got the BEST FREAKING SAMMICH IN THE WORLD there. *drool*

Michelle met us at the restaurant, and after that it was back to the hotel for sleep, but not before making our first voice post to the RY OOC comm and coloring our RY shirts. ♥♥ That was awesome fun, especially after a while since the markers were permanent and we didn't have a window open.

THERE WILL BE SEPHIROTH COOKIE JOKES FOREVER. XDD

Friday the 8th: First day of the con! ...we all slept in and missed our morning panels. XD;; D'OH. But we were all exhausted, so it wasn't really a surprise. >>;

When we finally did get up, we all got into our cosplay for the day and headed off; Mel and I were running late trying to get my skirt done, and finally I just pinned it and wore it like that. We went and wandered around the convention center a bit; took some pics. I found an awesome Zelos, and should have taken a pic with her, instead of just of her, since I was in my Kyo outfit. Boo, boo, I faaaaail.

Eventually we found the dealer's room, and wandered around there for about half an hour. I got my brother a cute stuffed dragon for his dragon collection (I almost kept it. >.>;;) Then it was off again to the D.Gray photoshoot, where there was INSANITY. It was fun though, I'd never actually gone to a photoshoot at a con before. It was utter CRACK, but so awesome. :3

Then after the photoshoot ended, we all sat down together to read porn. XD;;

After the porn, Mel went off with some of the D.Gray people, and Michelle, Maddie and I went to look for Chloe. We were supposed to go see the Lolita fashion show, but we couldn't get in, so instead we went back to the dealer's room. I got some manga (Loveless, Furuba, Tsubasa), and there was a booth selling bondage gear, so I got a leather collar with a bell on it for my Kyo costume. xD; Kekeke.

That night I went with Maddie and Michelle (and Chloe? You were there, weren't you?) to the yaoi panel in Kadaj-in-a-dress cosplay just for the hell of it. ^.^; My muses haet me so much now.

Saturday the 9th: I was supposed to go to a D.Gray photoshoot with Mel that morning, but... I slept through it. Bah. So when I got up I waited until everyone was gone (since there weren't really any panels I wanted to go to) and then tidied a bit. Seriously, our freaking hotel room looked like a tornado had gone through it, and I was starting to have OCD twitches at the mess. >.<;

Then after a while, Maddie and Chloe came back (with foodz!) and we ate there. While we were eating, Mel showed up with Lavi (whose name I don't remember); they weren't there long, but they were there long enough for us to get Lavi/Reno photos. lmao. ♥

When we were done eating I got into my Haruhi outfit (contacts and all), and we went to this comedy thing at the con... Japanese comedic storytelling, which has an actual name but I can't think of it right now. -.-; But it was very funny and I enjoyed it immensely. Haha. After that, Maddie, Chloe and I went to the Mason building to take EPIC Turk photos. Seriously. When I say epic, I mean EPIC. >w<~ We also took a few pics of Haruhi!me as well, but I like the Turk ones better. :3

After the photos we actually found an open pharmacy for me to get bandages for my knees. HUZZAH. We also got more donuts for breakfast the next day. Later I dressed up as casual!Allen using my Kadaj wig and was supposed to go to the D.Gray shoot that night (there were like ten of them lol), but we were running late so Michelle and I had to skip it and go straight to the old school yaoi panel we wanted to attend.

Sunday the 10th: ...was mostly packing, organizing, and then going to the dealer's room, where I bought even more stuff. >>; I got a bunch of buttons, an adorable plush bunny-thing, and Sephiroth, Kadaj and Roxas figures. It was a tossup between Roxas and Axel, really. Axel next time I have some cash! ♥

EDIT: Oh yes, before the dealer's room we went to the D.Gray panel, and then took photos outside that room. Then was also when we got out the leftover cookies to give out. Chloe was adorable handing them out. Eventually we just started yelling "FREE COOKIES!" and we went through TWO AND A HALF CONTAINERS of them in like two minutes after that. XD; But that's good because I really didn't want to have to haul them home. ♥ Haha.

After the dealer's room, the con was pretty much closed, so we went for lunch, then back to the hotel to get our things. Mel, Maddie and I took everything in a cab with us to the new hotel (CHEAP CAB WAS CHEAP) while Chloe accompanied Michelle to her place to drop some stuff off and get her car.

We got to the new hotel and I promptly fell asleep. .__.;; On their way to there, Michelle and Chloe picked up snacks and cup noodles for us, and that night we pretty much just chilled and watched movies; first, Sensitive Pornograph (which the DVD player there didn't like D:), then Brokeback Mountain (WHICH I NEED A COPY OF DAMMIT) and finally Black Sheep. Hehehe zombie sheep ftw. ♥♥

Monday the 11th: WAS AQUARIUM DAY. \o/\o/\o/ Demyx-muse APPROVES OF AQUARIUMS.

We all slept in again (I was under the table in the new room, whereas I was under the desk at the old one lol), then got into cosplay to go to the aquarium at 2pm even though the con was over. Aquarium cosplay is fun. :D

My legs tried to die on the way there, but once we were inside and moving more slowly they decided they didn't hate me too much anymore. That was the best aquarium ever though. ♥ I could have watched the manta ray pool all day, or the sharks, or the dolphins. ^__^ We pretty much stayed until closing, then did a bunch of photos by the fountain (where I fell before), and headed back to the hotel. Mel and I went swimming for a while, then I re-packed everything, bashed my arm in the bathroom, and went to sleep since I had to get up at an ungodly hour the next morning. D:

Tuesday the 12th: Got up at like 5am. UGH. Got showered and dressed, then hauled all my stuff outside so that I wouldn't disturb everyone else. Sat around and waited for my cab. And waited. And waited. It never showed up. Luckily, another cab happened by and I flagged him down to take me to the greyhound station. Whoot.

Cue 13-hour ride to Dayton. When I got to the station the woman at the counter was an utter BITCH to me, to the point I was about to cry because I didn't have enough cash to get my second suitcase on the bus and she wouldn't take my Mom's credit card number WHICH I HAD ON ME FOR JUST SUCH AN EMERGENCY. >__O;; Then after watching me freak out for ten minutes she just looks at me with an annoyed expression and goes "just ask the bus driver, he'll probably let you take it on anyway."

WHAT. FUCK YOU LADY, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT TO BEGIN WITH?!

Whatever. So I spent all of the drive to Dayton with my backpack and a suitcase on the bus with me. It was a pain, but at least I didn't have to leave anything behind. Then when I got to Dayton, Maddie and Chloe weren't there to pick me up. ;~; It wasn't their fault, their plane had been delayed, but I panicked a little until I finally got Michelle's text about it at TEN. wtf phone? Delayed text messaging much?

At least while I was waiting, I taught myself how to use the phone more. Even how to text. Whoo, go me!

They got there to pick me up around 11:20pm, and we went back to their place and chatted/organized/gave pets to kitties before dying some more.

Wednesday the 13th: Chloe had to work. T__T So after sleeping half the day, Maddie and I took Dayton's busses out to Walmart to pick up her last paycheck, and while we were out there we found a bank that would exchange Canadian monies, since I was out of American ones. Yay.

After that we went back to their place and did not much, though I did do some laundry in their haunted basement and was stared at from the corner the whole time. o__o;; I hope I didn't make anything angry.

That night we ordered pizza and these chocolate dipper things that were SO GOOD. =w= We don't have them at the Pizza Hut here, I already checked. >>; We also watched Dog Soldiers, but we only half paid attention to it. *shrug*

...finally at midnight-ish we decided to go to bed, which was awful because I had to get up at 3:30am the next morning to have a bath and get all my stuff together for the bus to Ashtabula. It was even worse because SOMETHING was playing with the zippers on my suitcases while I was trying to sleep, making them jingle. Could have been worse, I suppose.

Thursday the 14th: Got up at 3:30am for a bath, and when I came back down from that, I thought I saw a cat in the corner of the dining room. But I knew Saiga and Kakei were locked away upstairs. I kind of shrugged it off. Then later at the bus stop, I mentioned that something had been jingling the zippers all night and they were like "maybe it was the ghost cat" and I was like "... o__o;; Srsly?"

XDDD;;

Then, bus to Ashtabula! ...I fell off it. >___>;;

When we got to Ashtabula, I was stepping down and tripped, and fell on my face on the pavement. I scraped my knees up again, and this time my right one bled like It'd been cut down to the bone or something. Everyone that had been on the bus rushed to help me up, which was very nice, but I really was alright. ^^;;

That was when Cat McD and her kittens came to get me, and we went back to her place. Jasmine and AJ are so cute! And while I'm generally not fond of children, they were pretty much non-offensive. I got a lot of hugs and stuff. Hehe.

That night after they were in bed, Cat and I watched Black Sheep, and then a really terrible viking movie that I can't remember the title of. XD;; It was SO awesome. I think I need a copy of it. We also started to watch Dog Soldiers, but then we both fell asleep in the middle of it. FAIL~ lawl.

Friday the 15th: Got up early because that's what one does when there are childlings in the house. ♥ Watched Numbers and generally were tired and lazy until it was time for me to catch the bus. Cat and her kids saw me off, and I promised to come back and visit again some time. Possibly next year after Otakon again, depending on finances...

BUS AGAIN. This time to Toronto. lmao, the best thing was when we went through Canadian Customs! When I went through the US Customs they were all "RAWR!" over the anime con thing, but when I went through Canada Customs and said "I was at an anime con" the girl went "AWESOME! :D" XDDD; YAY CANADA CUSTOMS OMG HEHE!

When I got to TO, I took an {expensive} cab to the hotel -cat was staying at, and met up with her. =3 We went for FOOD, which was awesome because I was getting seriously tired/sick of the crap I'd been living off of the previous week and a half. I mean seriously. I got a burger, but it had VEGETABLE MATTER on it, and came with a salad. SO YUMMY AFTER VENDING MACHINE/CONVENIENCE STORE FOOD. \o/

Saturday the 16th: I slept in while -cat went to some con stuff, then around lunch time I finally got up and ready and we went to the World's Biggest Bookstore via the subway. Subways... make me nervous. I mean, I know it's no big deal, but for some reason I'm not super comfy on them. Probably because I've only been on one twice in my life. ^^; Oh well.

The bookstore was awesome as usual. I spent like $130, which was fine since I'd set aside about $150 for the bookstore alone. xD;; I finally got some D.Gray manga. Then I got lots of books, hehe. So happy~ and when we got back to the hotel -cat helped me streak my hair pink, which I LOVE. Then she had a pizza party thing, so I hung around and watched TV, and used her computer a little.

Sunday the 17th: The next morning I slept in again, and said goodbye to -cat since she was off to do more con stuff. I tried to get ahold of Kerry, but my phone didn't like her number. ;~~~; So I missed her! No fair! ...at least she was having fun at her con and everything though. ♥ Sorry Kerry! Next time I promise!

EDIT: This was the day I fell in the shower, too. >>;;

And finally, a bus home to Orillia! SO EXHAUSTED, but it was SO MUCH FUN. ^__^

...and yeeeah. Photos later. >>;; Just typing this took like two hours. Now is time for sleeps.

*FACEPALM* I just slipped and fell in the bathroom after my shower. I'll be so glad to get home where I can go back to injuring myself in familiar ways. -.-;;;

Maddie I lost your challenge already. ;o;