an overview of a whole lot of stuff

[rm]

Formatting lifted from sunyata__

Work:
Still behind on pay, but things are getting better. My office is now on military time. We're told this is normal in Europe. I don't believe them.

Halloween Costume:
There will be no hat. It is, among other things unnecessary. Also, I have to draw a line about ugly hats somewhere, and if there were ever a place, this is it. That said, costume is coming along brilliantly. Of course I realized today I need a white vest, which I don't have, and can't really make without a pattern by tomorrow (the first of the costume parties), so we'll just sort of fudge around that somehow. But I am the queen of faking random weird crap in the costume department. Also, I bought the ugliest little loafers today. They're perfect. I jsut need to get a fake ponytail tomorrow and I'm good to go. Muahaha.

Why aren't I writing more about politics:
Because I'm bloody exhausted, and my gut and my intellect are at war.

Kerry stands a much better chance of winning this election than most people think. Mainly because the polls are more useless than usual this year, because of a huge number of reasons that include the high numbers of new registrants (who aren't included in likely voter samples), the court challenges that have already started, and the fact that this election strikes at a lot of core American image/shame issues which I think leads to more people in more swing states lying when polled. There's a much lengthier explanation I can give of all this, but last time I tried, LJ ate it, and it took me horus to write, so if I'll get motivated remains to be seen.

On the emotional front, I don't want to get into it in too much detail, but the short version is that I am extremely informed as to why one of the awful things my gut is telling me is going to happen if George Bush wins probably won't actually happen. But the feeling is really strong, and it's quite different from when I have a fear about something, and I don't want to talk about it because too many people will pat me on the head and condescendingly tell me facts I already know.

Finally, this election has really changed a lot of things about how I see myself and the people around me, and that's been... useful.

I would urge anyone who still has a flicker of waivering sentiment in them to vote with courage, to vote with their gut, to vote with optimism, whoever that leads you towards. Because the notion that people are cowering in their homes waiting for the world to end on the outcome of this election (and I hear it from both sides), makes me really sad. The world will change, maybe and maybe not. The world will be difficult, because that's how the world is. Not to minimize these shocking times, full of things I never thought I'd see, but we're an adaptable species, and I think people should maybe start considering how they'll adapt to the world as it is, and the world as it could be -- without being a goddamn "Security Mom" (there isn't a concept I'm more offended by right now, as an aside) -- the whole siege mentality thing makes me nuts, because I think it's bad for people's emotional health and crappy strategy in most cases besides.

Current reading:
Wow, I haven't wanted to smack the shit out of a fictional character this much in a really long time, but dude. I'm glad the Russian Countess gave him fleas. That is all.

Netflix:
I've so not been doing speedy viewing lately, mainly because of sewing and the World Series.

People in my life:
I noticed today that I have a number of male friends by way of past liasons (for want of a better word, as there are rather lengthy stories and qualifiers involved in all cases) that I hardly ever see, don't even really speak to that often, who do tend to send me the email story of their lives here and there. It's strange, and the placidity I imagine they view me with, to accept their updates both casual and wrenching, is one of the few things that has stayed consistent in my self image over the last decade and then some. This oddly ties into things going on in several other parts of this update, but is in the "not ready to be articulate about this yet" department. P.S. - random dudes who think this is about you -- maybe, maybe not, but it's all good, so no weird frantic emails.

French:
I'm thinking of trying to get my French skills back. Weirdly, I still know all my grammar, and can understand weird idiomatic things that are nearly impossible to translate, but my vocabulary has really deteriorated, and my willingness to speak it was always poor (because I hated my voice and was shy). But I've such a solid foundation, that it seems nearly absurd not to fix this skill while I'm still way ahead. This is only partially linked to the fact that I have a first person character voice brewing in my head that speaks in French, and French is different enough from English that I instinctively started trying to write it in French -- what a cool experiment, but the circumlocutions necessary to me at present are annoying. I can get there, but it disrupts the voice I want for the story, and therefore really kills the point of it.

NIDA:
Post the goddamn application already. I am starting to feel paranoid. And my mom is nagging me.

Acting:
Plugging away. Am in an odd state of zen, can't decide if it's good or bad. But not losing sleep over plans for world domination certainly makes me a nicer person to be around. That doesn't mean the plans have gone. Not in the fucking least.

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

Ah, that makes sense, just thinking about how Brits I know say it, and the constructions in French and Spanish, it's so weird to me though, having never run across it before.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

Ive run into it even in Canada. Image trying to get to a movie that starts at 21:30.

Of course if you really want to throw a spanner into the works, try using GMT 24 Hour time. Gah!