big-ass update thingy
Aug. 13th, 2005 02:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seldearThis post is all squished because I didn't really have a chance to write all this up, let alone post it in the last couple of weeks. No time, no energy, no idea of what to say, and I wasn't sure if people wanted to hear about all the stuff that's been going on.
--
Arkansas with Lyta and family
Blanchard Springs, AR.
Went and saw the limestone caves in Blanchard Springs - apparently they're not advertised or really well-known because they don't belong to the National Parks group - they're under the State Agriculture, so they're not allowed to put any money into them, although they gaet a lot of visitors - and no wonder the caves arae lovely, with two options - three, really.
In increasing difficulty, there's the Dripstone Trail, the Discovery Trail, and the Wild Cave Trail - we took the easiest one: the Dripstone Trail which was only about 40 minutes long and featured some lovely displays, including huge columns, detailed stalactites and stalagmites, flowstone (long sheet-like deposits like translucent curtain draperies with coloured banding), and reed-like stalactites - known as 'soda straw' formations here. I forgot to take my camera in, but![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lytarules' son S took many photos. He went kinda camera-crazy in there. :)
It's a 'living' cave which is to say that it's still developing, with water dripping through the formations and forming stalactites and stalagmites over even thirty years of opening. They created a shaft through to one section of the cave and the shaft shows signs of stalactite formation - even though it was only created thirty years ago.
Then we went out to the point where the current water/river flows come out in the Springs park and I got my feet very cold putting Daniel-the-lemming in 'dangerous' positions in the water flow - cold enough that my foot got temporary cramps. But we put him in various shots and he didn't get wet or anything!
Have to say, the twisty moutain roads in Arkansas? Skeery. Really skeery. They twist and turn and writh and there are no barrier railings. And I missed seeing a deer that was standing right on the edge of the road. By nothing more than a couple of seconds. D'oh!
The Mountain View music thingamabobsie was an experience, though. Lots of musicians who just form groups and have 'jam sessions' - or whatever the country/western/jazz/honky-tonk/whatever equivalent of a 'jam session' is. I got a few photos, but due to the encroaching dark, they're rather blurry.
It was heaps of fun staying withlytarules and her family; thanks so much, Lyta!
--
DC with Bec
Things were quiet in DC, although I got to see both Becc and Jen, and vege out for a couple of days. I really didn't mind it when the air-conditioner blew. The humidity was pretty bad, but I'm used to no air-con, so it's not as difficult for me as it is for Becc and her hubby. I hope for Becc's sake that it's now fixed! I didn't get much sleep, but I had a relaxing time, which was lovely. I also got to seeazheva and laughinghatter while at the Air and Space, and American History museums at the Smithsonian. Plus I got to see 'Batman Begins' and the 'Serenity' trailer. Lovely. Can't wait for the movie to come out in Australia.
--
Vegas with Lola
This morning, while Lola slept in, I went for a walk through our hotel lobby and across the road (Tropicana Ave) to the MGM Grand. The MGM Grand is...well...much nicer than our hotel - at least the lobby and gaming areas are.
And there is a lot of gaming area. Judging from the layout of the Tropicana and the MGM Grand, it's structured so there is absolutely no getting from point A to point B without passing at least one stand of pokies. And don't think it's not tempting!
So far, have managed to resist, mostly in the knowledge that the house really does always win. But I'll do a little bit of controlled gambling later tonight. (Controlled gambling = setting an amount to play with and then leaving once that amount is gone.)
However, the mentality of Las Vegas is...fascinating. In a twisted-nature-of-humankind way. The whole point of all the marketing and advertising - whatever its purpose might be - is to make the visitor believe that they, too, could be a part of the image of slim, sexy, wealthy, and mysterious - and to spend money on that belief. From the floor shows to the casino floors, the sequins, glitter, neon and flashing lights are all set up to seduce you into the thinking that you can be someone other than you really are: that you can be something you're not.
On one hand, it's attractive to buy into that idea. Tempting. On the other, something in me is revolted at the knowledge that everything around me is focused on me denying who I am, what I do, what I could be; encouraging me to spend the coin of my time and effort on pasteboard jewels instead of the real thing.
--
Grand Canyon with the HW
Last night of the Grand Canyon. Sue certainly has us walking all over the shop. Or the canyon, as the case goes. She's probably already posted about the wheel that blew out on our way out here, so I won't reiterate. It was a drama, though.
Thursday morning, we went walking down the Kaibab Trail: a 1.5 mile trail going down 1,000+ feet. And then you have to climb back up again. We all got down to the bottom in an hour or so. Getting back up was more tricky. A and I took about an hour-twenty, but I took lots of rests, and so did A. Sue, D, and Sio followed after, and there was much soreness and a weird tingling in my feet because my socks were a little too tight.
Thursday night, we drove along the souther side of the Grand Canyon, travelling east until we hit the Watchtower. Lots of little stops and a great deal of photo taking by those of us who possessed lemmings.
This morning, we went for another walk, this time travelling by bus to the west, and then walking back east. A longer walk - at least 3 miles, possibly more - but all on flat ground. Again, a lot of photography.
This afternoon and evening was mostly spent relaxing, but we watched Firefly, SG-1, SGA, and BSG in turn before packing up our stuff and heading off to bed. Well, mostly heading off to bed.
--
11:30pm and all is not well
It's 11:30pm, and I'm still awake because something has been disturbing me for a while.
It's the character bashing that's been going on about one of my favourite characters. Ironically, the character isn't Sam Carter. Even more ironically, this bashing is coming from some of Sam Carter's biggest fans.
You would think that the people who've been on the receiving end of character-bashing would hesitate to do the same? Well, it seems that psychology holds the same whether we're talking about abused children becoming abusive parents, or fans of a bashed character going on to bash other characters.
It's not a nice thing to discover in yourself, even less nice to discover in your friends.
The offence in question is the constant noting of a single attribute in a character; one of the more prominent aspects, but not the only one. However it is being treated as the only one and constantly referred to. Every single time a mention of the character comes up, it needs to be commented upon.
I have asked. I thought I did so nicely. I thought that I might be listened to, because these people are, were, or claim to be friends.
And their behaviour is disturbing me enough that I'm up in the middle of the night venting about it. It's making me consider leaving this circle of friends because I dislike having to constantly defend my character preferences anytime a mention of this character comes up. And since this is one of the key characters for which I write, even if the character isn't key in the show, it's becoming tiring.
I've had people accuse me of character-bashing long after the offence was committed. Recently, I discovered that someone I thought was okay with me wasn't okay with me - specifically with a story I wrote two years ago. It took her two years to bring this up: two years.
I'm not going to wait two years before I voice this!
open letter to the SGA fandom
Dear People Who Don't Like Teyla Emmagen,
So you don't like the way Teyla dresses and you think she's just window-dressing for the show? Fine.
So you're disappointed with her lack of kickass-ness and need to comment on how she's 'just window dressing' for the show? Fine.
So you have a perfectly good reason for disliking the character? Fine.
So you think that my opinion is shit and that I'm an idiot for preferring Teyla as a character? Fine.
Just don't expect me to play anywhere near you when you can't STFU when the character is on screen and continually have to pay her out even when I've asked you not to. I prefer hanging around with people who respect my choices, not ones who continually diss them.
Fine? Fine.
no love,
A Pissed-Off Teyla-Fan.
--
the displaced person
I'm now going to try to get some sleep in order to marginally avoid being Noxed tomorrow on the trip to Vegas. I might have to appropriate the Nox box to prevent it. Stick it under my feet and make it hard to get to.
Basically, I need sleep. Late nights and early mornings don't do much for my sleep patterns, and we're supposed to be out of here by 8am tomorrow morning. But apparently needing sleep because you're seriously deprived is funny.
I suppose it's possible to imagine that I'm not enjoying my trip. I am. I really am. I'm just also missing a lot of things right now. I'm missing my home and my cat and my mum and the food I'm accustomed to. I'm missing the way things used to be in my fandoms, and I'm missing the security of being around people that I know won't kick me for my opinions and preferences. Although, as far as that last one goes, I'm not so sure I ever had it in the first place.
I feel displaced: not just in my geographical location, but as far as fandom and writing and friendship goes. A lot of things went in limbo in the last couple of years, and I don't know if I ever got any of them back. They were important to me then, but the years that have passed make me question if they're important now.
And in a year, less a week, I'll be thirty, which is one of those age milestones where you question what you've been doing with your life and where you want to go from here. I have a mortgage, but no other responsibilities as yet; and the way things are looking, I'm not likely to ever have the responsibilities of husband and family, so what should I be putting my energy into? And is it worthwhile, or just a pipe dream?
--
Lola's been tossing restlessly in the other bed for a while now (she's sharing with Sio) and I hope that my typing isn't keeping her up. At least neither of them are drivers, so I don't have to worry about one of them falling asleep at the wheel.
Tomorrow, we're headed back to Vegas, and Alli, Yam, and Yam's mum will join us. Mamma Mia in the evening. Should be interesting.
I should sleep. Maybe. Having done my venting, it's possible that I might be able to get some rest. We can hope.
ps. Thanks to the well-wishers who got in on time last Saturday. It was a reasonably low-key day in RL and LJ, but the few messages I got were lovely, sweet, and much appreciated. Andcailetr? azheva? Those cards? Adorable. *g*
pps. I haven't checked LJ for nearly a week. If you have anything important you want me to read that I might have missed in since last Saturday, let me know in the comments. Tah.
--
Arkansas with Lyta and family
Blanchard Springs, AR.
Went and saw the limestone caves in Blanchard Springs - apparently they're not advertised or really well-known because they don't belong to the National Parks group - they're under the State Agriculture, so they're not allowed to put any money into them, although they gaet a lot of visitors - and no wonder the caves arae lovely, with two options - three, really.
In increasing difficulty, there's the Dripstone Trail, the Discovery Trail, and the Wild Cave Trail - we took the easiest one: the Dripstone Trail which was only about 40 minutes long and featured some lovely displays, including huge columns, detailed stalactites and stalagmites, flowstone (long sheet-like deposits like translucent curtain draperies with coloured banding), and reed-like stalactites - known as 'soda straw' formations here. I forgot to take my camera in, but
lytarules' son S took many photos. He went kinda camera-crazy in there. :)It's a 'living' cave which is to say that it's still developing, with water dripping through the formations and forming stalactites and stalagmites over even thirty years of opening. They created a shaft through to one section of the cave and the shaft shows signs of stalactite formation - even though it was only created thirty years ago.
Then we went out to the point where the current water/river flows come out in the Springs park and I got my feet very cold putting Daniel-the-lemming in 'dangerous' positions in the water flow - cold enough that my foot got temporary cramps. But we put him in various shots and he didn't get wet or anything!
Have to say, the twisty moutain roads in Arkansas? Skeery. Really skeery. They twist and turn and writh and there are no barrier railings. And I missed seeing a deer that was standing right on the edge of the road. By nothing more than a couple of seconds. D'oh!
The Mountain View music thingamabobsie was an experience, though. Lots of musicians who just form groups and have 'jam sessions' - or whatever the country/western/jazz/honky-tonk/whatever equivalent of a 'jam session' is. I got a few photos, but due to the encroaching dark, they're rather blurry.
It was heaps of fun staying with
lytarules and her family; thanks so much, Lyta!--
DC with Bec
Things were quiet in DC, although I got to see both Becc and Jen, and vege out for a couple of days. I really didn't mind it when the air-conditioner blew. The humidity was pretty bad, but I'm used to no air-con, so it's not as difficult for me as it is for Becc and her hubby. I hope for Becc's sake that it's now fixed! I didn't get much sleep, but I had a relaxing time, which was lovely. I also got to see
azheva and laughinghatter while at the Air and Space, and American History museums at the Smithsonian. Plus I got to see 'Batman Begins' and the 'Serenity' trailer. Lovely. Can't wait for the movie to come out in Australia.--
Vegas with Lola
This morning, while Lola slept in, I went for a walk through our hotel lobby and across the road (Tropicana Ave) to the MGM Grand. The MGM Grand is...well...much nicer than our hotel - at least the lobby and gaming areas are.
And there is a lot of gaming area. Judging from the layout of the Tropicana and the MGM Grand, it's structured so there is absolutely no getting from point A to point B without passing at least one stand of pokies. And don't think it's not tempting!
So far, have managed to resist, mostly in the knowledge that the house really does always win. But I'll do a little bit of controlled gambling later tonight. (Controlled gambling = setting an amount to play with and then leaving once that amount is gone.)
However, the mentality of Las Vegas is...fascinating. In a twisted-nature-of-humankind way. The whole point of all the marketing and advertising - whatever its purpose might be - is to make the visitor believe that they, too, could be a part of the image of slim, sexy, wealthy, and mysterious - and to spend money on that belief. From the floor shows to the casino floors, the sequins, glitter, neon and flashing lights are all set up to seduce you into the thinking that you can be someone other than you really are: that you can be something you're not.
On one hand, it's attractive to buy into that idea. Tempting. On the other, something in me is revolted at the knowledge that everything around me is focused on me denying who I am, what I do, what I could be; encouraging me to spend the coin of my time and effort on pasteboard jewels instead of the real thing.
--
Grand Canyon with the HW
Last night of the Grand Canyon. Sue certainly has us walking all over the shop. Or the canyon, as the case goes. She's probably already posted about the wheel that blew out on our way out here, so I won't reiterate. It was a drama, though.
Thursday morning, we went walking down the Kaibab Trail: a 1.5 mile trail going down 1,000+ feet. And then you have to climb back up again. We all got down to the bottom in an hour or so. Getting back up was more tricky. A and I took about an hour-twenty, but I took lots of rests, and so did A. Sue, D, and Sio followed after, and there was much soreness and a weird tingling in my feet because my socks were a little too tight.
Thursday night, we drove along the souther side of the Grand Canyon, travelling east until we hit the Watchtower. Lots of little stops and a great deal of photo taking by those of us who possessed lemmings.
This morning, we went for another walk, this time travelling by bus to the west, and then walking back east. A longer walk - at least 3 miles, possibly more - but all on flat ground. Again, a lot of photography.
This afternoon and evening was mostly spent relaxing, but we watched Firefly, SG-1, SGA, and BSG in turn before packing up our stuff and heading off to bed. Well, mostly heading off to bed.
--
11:30pm and all is not well
It's 11:30pm, and I'm still awake because something has been disturbing me for a while.
It's the character bashing that's been going on about one of my favourite characters. Ironically, the character isn't Sam Carter. Even more ironically, this bashing is coming from some of Sam Carter's biggest fans.
You would think that the people who've been on the receiving end of character-bashing would hesitate to do the same? Well, it seems that psychology holds the same whether we're talking about abused children becoming abusive parents, or fans of a bashed character going on to bash other characters.
It's not a nice thing to discover in yourself, even less nice to discover in your friends.
The offence in question is the constant noting of a single attribute in a character; one of the more prominent aspects, but not the only one. However it is being treated as the only one and constantly referred to. Every single time a mention of the character comes up, it needs to be commented upon.
I have asked. I thought I did so nicely. I thought that I might be listened to, because these people are, were, or claim to be friends.
And their behaviour is disturbing me enough that I'm up in the middle of the night venting about it. It's making me consider leaving this circle of friends because I dislike having to constantly defend my character preferences anytime a mention of this character comes up. And since this is one of the key characters for which I write, even if the character isn't key in the show, it's becoming tiring.
I've had people accuse me of character-bashing long after the offence was committed. Recently, I discovered that someone I thought was okay with me wasn't okay with me - specifically with a story I wrote two years ago. It took her two years to bring this up: two years.
I'm not going to wait two years before I voice this!
open letter to the SGA fandom
Dear People Who Don't Like Teyla Emmagen,
So you don't like the way Teyla dresses and you think she's just window-dressing for the show? Fine.
So you're disappointed with her lack of kickass-ness and need to comment on how she's 'just window dressing' for the show? Fine.
So you have a perfectly good reason for disliking the character? Fine.
So you think that my opinion is shit and that I'm an idiot for preferring Teyla as a character? Fine.
Just don't expect me to play anywhere near you when you can't STFU when the character is on screen and continually have to pay her out even when I've asked you not to. I prefer hanging around with people who respect my choices, not ones who continually diss them.
Fine? Fine.
no love,
A Pissed-Off Teyla-Fan.
--
the displaced person
I'm now going to try to get some sleep in order to marginally avoid being Noxed tomorrow on the trip to Vegas. I might have to appropriate the Nox box to prevent it. Stick it under my feet and make it hard to get to.
Basically, I need sleep. Late nights and early mornings don't do much for my sleep patterns, and we're supposed to be out of here by 8am tomorrow morning. But apparently needing sleep because you're seriously deprived is funny.
I suppose it's possible to imagine that I'm not enjoying my trip. I am. I really am. I'm just also missing a lot of things right now. I'm missing my home and my cat and my mum and the food I'm accustomed to. I'm missing the way things used to be in my fandoms, and I'm missing the security of being around people that I know won't kick me for my opinions and preferences. Although, as far as that last one goes, I'm not so sure I ever had it in the first place.
I feel displaced: not just in my geographical location, but as far as fandom and writing and friendship goes. A lot of things went in limbo in the last couple of years, and I don't know if I ever got any of them back. They were important to me then, but the years that have passed make me question if they're important now.
And in a year, less a week, I'll be thirty, which is one of those age milestones where you question what you've been doing with your life and where you want to go from here. I have a mortgage, but no other responsibilities as yet; and the way things are looking, I'm not likely to ever have the responsibilities of husband and family, so what should I be putting my energy into? And is it worthwhile, or just a pipe dream?
--
Lola's been tossing restlessly in the other bed for a while now (she's sharing with Sio) and I hope that my typing isn't keeping her up. At least neither of them are drivers, so I don't have to worry about one of them falling asleep at the wheel.
Tomorrow, we're headed back to Vegas, and Alli, Yam, and Yam's mum will join us. Mamma Mia in the evening. Should be interesting.
I should sleep. Maybe. Having done my venting, it's possible that I might be able to get some rest. We can hope.
ps. Thanks to the well-wishers who got in on time last Saturday. It was a reasonably low-key day in RL and LJ, but the few messages I got were lovely, sweet, and much appreciated. And
cailetr? azheva? Those cards? Adorable. *g*pps. I haven't checked LJ for nearly a week. If you have anything important you want me to read that I might have missed in since last Saturday, let me know in the comments. Tah.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-08-13 11:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-13 11:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-14 01:27 am (UTC)*huggles* Happy traveling.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-15 08:05 pm (UTC)It's like the Sam-bashers who won't admit to anything good about Sam at all. Sure, the character doesn't do anything for them, but I have characters and pairings that don't do anything for me, and I leave them and their fans alone. I don't slam them if my friends like them and I don't mock them every time they come on screen.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-14 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-14 08:51 am (UTC)Hope you're having fun in Vegas I always miss all the good stuff.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-15 08:02 pm (UTC)Your not liking Teyla is not an issue if you don't harp on about it continually.
People may dislike who and what they please. However, I don't razz my friends for their religious or political beliefs, even if I disagree or dislike the beliefs; I don't razz my friends for their character or pairing preferences in fandom (exceptions made for Toes and Denialites); I expect the same degree of understanding and respect towards me from one of my friends.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-15 08:03 pm (UTC)Do any of your friends happen to have a matter transporter somewhere in their garage? I could really use one of them right now...\
*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2005-08-14 11:33 pm (UTC)Places to go... the Luxor - just for all the Egyptian stuff. The Bellagio for the indoor garden, Caesar's for the shopping mall that seems to go back miles, the M&M store, and the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton. There is plenty to do without gambling a single cent. Oh and Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, while expensive, has plenty of frozen concoctions that I never got to sample!
Wish I could be joining you.
Sorry I missed your birthday. You're the same age as me albeit a month or so younger! Today, we saw a high school buddy of Heath's and he has two children, a house and a dog. Another buddy has two children of his own and two steps. And here we are, one car between two of us, a rental trailer, no children and still dealing with school. And sometimes it's tough, and sometimes its even tougher trying to remember that it's His plan and His timing and not ours. In the meantime, you have done some fantastic stuff. You've been around the world and seen so many things. Things that you might not have been able to do if you'd had responsibilities. I know there's no way we could have moved out to Arizona and back if we'd had children. And since I have always vowed to be a stay at home mother... there's no way we could put Heath back into full-time education to advance his career and me financially support him if we had children.
As for fandoms and the people in them, I've found the best friends are the ones you keep even when you move on through a fandom. I met one of my best friends online in 2000 through a fandom that both of us are long since gone from. Another friend is now the girl I call my sister. She and I met in one fandom and have since moved on from that fandom. We're complete opposites as I'm conservative and she's liberal, but we can rock with each other so well. I'm seeing her in about 10 days time and I can't wait.
Wow. This was long. I'm sorry. I think I chatter needlessly at times so I'll shut up now :)
no subject
Date: 2005-08-15 08:42 pm (UTC)