The new segment is nearly finished and will be written rather than comic (with a couple of illustrations, of course.) This is a *very* important segment, mind you. Why? Because within it you'll find the first flush of proper romance between the two. Yes, finally!

I'm going to ramble a little here.

There's a fair amount of material in this story that is only meant to be understood by adult readers. The previous segment presented a decent example when Reg grabbed and pulled her against him. His intent was purely honorable in that he only did this to get her out under the falling billard table. (Yes, furniture and sports equippment grows on trees in our Wonderland. Don't question the logic, lol!) He did much more than save her from injury that afternoon.

Up until that moment Alice was all but frigid and (sadly) unaware of the finer points of being a woman. She'd never before experienced excitement, sensuality or the simple, natural pleasantries of being female. I assume that you're all familiar with that awakening that we go through as teenagers? Yes, of course you are. It's a crucial emotional transition we all go through at some point. Most of us hit that milestone between the ages of 13 and 15. Some, like Alice, never quite made it to that stage within the standard time frame. It only takes right moment, the right trigger to make that happen. She simply never found it.

A sad state of affairs, yes. But Reg changed all of that in one fell swoop when he snatched her out of harm's way on the path.

'The force of his pull jerked her cleanly off her feet. She collided with his torso and heard him grunt from the impact, her nose planted squarely in the center of his collarbones. Her senses were instantly flooded by two warring elements that threatened to short-circuit her brain into some sort of contradictory fit.

The first and foremost of these cataclysmic elements was olfactory. The obnoxious little voice in her head was happily pointing out the indisputable fact that he had something of a pleasant scent to him. He smelled like brushed leather and spicy-sweet tea leaves curing in the sun - two simple, persuasive notes tied neatly together by a trace of nuanced musk that was distinctly and undeniably male. Her mind sputtered and stalled out in a way it hadn’t done since the very first time she stepped into the warm, fragrant air of a chocolate shop.'

This proved to be the trigger she needed. A veritable system reboot, and with it came a rush of new awareness and feeling. A little scary, a little exciting and wholly unexpected. Basically, she had a 'oh my f**king God, so THAT's what it's all about!' revelation that was sorely overdue.

She spends the following hours in a state of mild agitation while analyzing this turn of events. It doesn't take her too long to understand it for what it is...and with that acceptance comes the realization that she finds him inexplicably appealing now. Probably has for weeks now. She accepts this, too. That doesn't mean she's going to suddenly give in to his advances, oh hell no. Her defenses have weakened, yes, but for the most part it simply means that the game has changed. Evolved, rather.

Ah, but Reg has a vast advantage now. One cannot play the courting game for 120 years without gaining some formidable knowledge about the opposite gender, no? Simply put, he knows what he triggered. He knows why she was so flustered after the billard table incident. This has gifted him with a better understanding of what she needs and what he must do (and not do) to win her. For this reason everything he does from here on out will be very deliberate, very sensitive and very purposeful. When he approaches her again (and he does so the very same evening, only hours after their walk) his courtship tactics will have changed.

This is partly because his own interest in her has evolved. When this game began she was just a challenge, just something interesting to poke with a stick. He wants her for real now and, more importantly, he wants her for the right reasons. She's going to see another side of him and it's going to turn her concept of him upside down.

In other words: things are about to get interesting.

With this segment's turnpoint importance I want to post some parts of it here under a friends-only lock. I want some serious critiques and opinions on the scene overall before I finish and post it up on the main community. It'll be spoiler heavy, so don't read it if you're the wait-and-see type. ;) Oh, and please keep it here under the lock. Don't let the spoilers escape, mkay?

*resumes working on scene* Later, my pretties.

I had to drag myself out of bed this morning at 7:30 for an 8 am dentist appointment (cleaning, checkup). It wouldn't have been too bad except I had random insomnia last night and didn't fall asleep until about 4 am. Good thing I'm on vacation and don't need brain power! After the cleaning I grabbed Jason (who lives next door to my dentist's office) and we went to Elias Brothers for breakfast. The roads were really bad. Lots of fine snow made them slippery. My car needs new tires so it was a little worse for my car but it is still nasty out there. I was going to run a couple small errands and maybe hit the mall for post Christmas sales but instead I'm going to stay home. I really should motor over to the laundromat (I'm out of change but have cash) and do some wash but I'm going to wait until later on that. (Ironically the laundromat is walking distance but for lugging wash purposes I basically need to drive next door.)

Tomorrow night I have a date. I'm excited. I mean, it's not a casual meet for coffee or see a movie thing. It's a friggin date. At a nice restaurant. So far, the guy seems to be not-flaky. I'm doing my best to not overthink this, it is after all just a first date. But I suppose I should put some thought in to what I'm going to say. Unf.

I am not dead.

Yes, shocking, I know.

Christmas went well, if a little... intense. THis is the first moment I'm able to sit down and write in lj! There is a reason for that.

See, my dad bought a Wii for Christmas.

I'm currently trying to avoid being bludgeoned to death by my brother playing golf. (Yes, golf).

That said, YULETIDE HAS OPENED! (But you probably knew that) AND THERE ARE A LOT OF AWESOME STORIES!

And my cap_ironman exchange gift was posted last night! It was awesome, but I need to leave feedback.

So tomorrow I'm off to Venice. Hopefully to spend a very nice New Year's Eve (high water aside).

What's with you guys?

With the last cheapy mouse I bought a year ago already dying on me, I bought a new one today at Future Shop's boxing day sale. I didn't expect the cheapy one I had to last long anyway, and sure enough it didn't disappoint my (lack of) expectations.

The new mouse is a Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000. It's more intended for laptops and the like I'm sure, but it's working just fine for the desktop here. It's nice to have an optical mouse again given the last one was a trackball. Having it wireless is also a plus given the large number of cords the silly computer already has.

It's time to resume my cleaning EXTRAVAGANZA. Once again I alone will stand before the darkness and the dust, my +1 mop in hand and Scooter the Roomba as my faithful mascot creature. The only question is...

What is the best videogame (or other) soundtrack to clean to? (Remember it's important to have appropriate overworld music as well as battle music. Since I finished one closet last time, I only need enough dungeon music for one more walk in closet.)

Soundtrack: Xenogears "Creid" arranged album.
11:45 making a list of everything I have to do to get the Good Ending. 26 steps.
Beginning area: Closet
12:18 time to enter the optional side dungeon
12:45 stopping briefly to play the cooking minigame. Lunch will be a pita sammich.
Soundtrack: Xenogears Original Sound Version
12:50 resuming the Closet Dungeon.
1:25 I'm switching that 1 point item into an "area" and giving it 4 sub-points: empty closet, vacuum & dust closet, sort/organize contents, and throw out trash. On the up side, after lots of "trash drops" I obtained Bag of Extension Cords, and 2 boxes of material components for furniture refinishing and car painting.
2:20 time for a break! Will resume at Xenogears track 16.

Watched fantastic gamer parody movie, The Gamers: Dorkness Rising. Will review it later. Then made gravy out of drippings from yesterday's mango-brown sugar pork loin roast and had dinner of that, mashed potatoes, and leftover roast. Yum!

5:00 the sorting resumes
5:56 everything is sorted and reorganized, the holiday items are repacked and stored, and the closet has about 1 1/2 cubic yards more openness. I sort of feel like I should have taken before/after pictures but then again ... better you guys didn't see. @_@
7:05 The Xenogears soundtrack is over and my desk is mostly done, other than an actual blow off & dusting. I think this is about where I'm going to stop today. I am just dying to take a shower and rinse all this dust off me. Seriously it's been like a toxic dust cloud in here today. However, I think this has been the worst of it.

Spent all night talking with a friend. Haven't done that in a long time. I didn't even realize how late it was. One minute it was midnight, the next it was 5AM. Then I glance at the clock and it's 9. I called it, then. I need to get a little nap so I can be productive today and back on a normal schedule for work, tomorrow. She needed a little sleep before family Christmas shenanigans, herself.

When you meet new people, there's like a learning curve, and if you want them to be in-depth lasting friends, there are certain things they'll have to figure out about you, totally dependent on your history. There are the family stories, the names you were called in high school, First Times that are shared, all to fill out the story of you that makes up what we consider our "I."

It's not something that happens all in one night, getting hoarse as the sun rises, but that's part of it. It's not like we shared some heart-to-heart. We just told each other our stories, bouncing from one narrative to the next as the natural thread of conversation steered us, and that was nice.

I updated my art page. I'm still neglecting to update my conservation portion. I know.

New images:
Sea elf.
The boys.

See my icon? Three weeks ago the swimmer was me and the shark was the H1N1 flu virus. Oh yes, it got me. Now I can be a pretty cough cookie when it comes to being sick but that sonofabitch didn't just infect me, it PWND me. I haven't been that sick since I was a child with both the hand/foot/mouth disease and mono at the same time. Do. Not. Catch. This. It took me over like a microscopic horde of Mongolians and scaled the Great Wall of my immune system within 12 hours of exposure. Run away, run away!
103 temperatures, painful wet coughing fits so violent that they brought me to my knees, waves of nausea, severe head congestion that no decongestant medication could ease, headaches, complete loss of appetite (not that I couldn't stand to lose a few pounds, ha) teeth-chattering chills, aching chest, wheezy/grunting breathing, the works! I went days at a time without sleep thanks to that horrible cough. At 2 AM I would be curled up in a fetal position on the floor of the shower - in the dark - under the hottest spray I could stand just so the steam would ease my breathing. I almost lived in that shower since it was the only effective relief I could find.
Anyway the doctor did get a positive throat/nose swab test and put me on Tamiflu (what a joke...90 bucks for ten pills that seemed to do nothing!) plus two different antibiotics because, according to him, it was 'trying' to turn into pneumonia. JOY. I didn't feel a whit better until fourteen days in and even after the symptoms were gone I still had to contend with total exhaustion. It took me three weeks to fully recover and I STILL have a lingering cough from time to time. But I'm going to be fine and dandy now so all's well that ends well. At least I can't catch it again, yes? I've just been innoculated the hard way.

So yes, don't catch this bastard of a virus. Get your shot if it's available to you....and if you happen to see a live pig do me a favor and flip it the finger for me.

The End

Brandon and I spent Christmas Eve partying with friends. Which really wasn't so much "partying" than eating delicious food, having a couple drinks, and just talking for hours. It was good fun, and it was just what I needed to make this holiday feel a little less isolated.

We were up till 5 AM, so I just got up a little while ago. I think I'll have leftover pie for my breakfast. Maybe we'll get some Chinese for dinner. I think I'd like that.

We aren't exchanging gifts, this year. We're kinda spending all our disposable income on furniture for the new place, which is way better. Plus Brandon doesn't really "celebrate" Christmas, which isn't to say that he keeps me from celebrating it. He would be fine with having some decorations or a tree, but honestly I didn't want to put one up. Maybe next year. But then, maybe next year we can travel and visit family for Christmas.

We and my family are going to try to meet halfway somewhere in Boone or Asheville or something to have a weekend together in January. I really look forward to that.

Not a bad Christmas, because for the last few years I'd stopped making Christmas such a built-up holiday, in my mind. It's really a great time for kids, and I get to enjoy the gift-giving to my nephews. I enjoyed making candies for folks. But it's just a day. It's just a number on a calendar that we've decided to use for ritual purposes.

And today I am enjoying a day off with Brandon.

My caramel surprise apple pie is in the oven baking. I call it that because it's an apple pie with a few pieces of caramel dotted within. (Surprise!) I've also made the crudité or "veggie tray" to those not down with the culinary lingo. Dinner is at 5, though, so first I have to wrangle up some lunch... er, well actually now that I think about it, a windmill cookie and a cup of coffee doesn't exactly count as breakfast, does it?

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. ^_^

Hey kiddos!

spastasmagoria and I would like to wish everyone out there in Internet World a very Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas. I managed to squeeze in a quick doodle.


(click to make bigger!)

It's been an interesting year, and hopefully, 2010 (!) will be better.

May you be blessed by the Holiday Dalek with celebration and jubilation and not extermination, may you stuff your faces with a delicious feast, and may you not be disappointed by this year's Holiday Special!

I'm going to go eat a cheeseburger.

♥,

spastasmagoria and jigglykat

At almost the last minute I took today off. Work has been fairly busy the last few days as it's just been myself, the temp who is our office clerk, and my boss. My boss was going to take today off too but a coworker who has repeatedly been out for extended periods was summoned back to work by the higher ups in personnel. That is drama I don't wish to experience. Drama of a good kind has recently happened, though. My department had its status changed and now we have a dean over us, one who is there to get the job done and not to play academic politics. We finally have someone "tanking" for us at the higher level. It basically means that our jobs just became a lot more secure as some recent occurences had left us all wondering about that. So I think that is my big present this year.

After I left work last night I decided to leap into the breach and I did my Christmas shopping. All of it, basically. My feet hurt so much I had to soak them last night. Hand-made presents still need to be created. As I mentioned a few days ago, I've started a massive cleaning and reorganizing blitz. The wave hasn't hit the kitchen yet, and that's where the magic happens. But, I'm off until the 4th so I have time.

Today I have a pretty short list of things to do. I need to get gas for my car, and pick up some ranch dressing for the crudité that I'm taking with me for dinner tommorrow. (I'm also baking my famous caramel surprise apple pie.) That's really all I can think of at present. I made a low sodium low fat cheesy hash brown scramble for brunch and later today I'm making chicken soup and cleaning some more. Oh and wrapping presents. For my dinner hosts tomorrow I got 2 "family" presents, two games that hopefully the parents can play with their kids and all have fun. A couple years ago when I went for dinner with them I was floored when they had a present for me, a concise cookbook of the essentials of cooking by Julia Child. Talk about getting it right without being in close touch with friends!

Well I can't tarry here too long. I'm sure everything will be shutting down early this afternoon. Happy holidays everyone!

3 of my kids saw it (separately) and raved about it and said how I would LOOOOOOVE it and how it was just my sort of movie....

I was more than content to wait for the DVD.  Am getting to the 'grumpy old lady' stage - cinema going is more of a pain than it is enjoyable; specially the part with having to SHARE my space with the Public.  Public who slurp and sniff and cough and TALK all through the film.  And then there's the cinema fuckups which happen far too often to be funny or anecdotal - not turning off the lights, getting the ratio wrong, killing the pic halfway through the film while the sound is still working -Oooops!   AND I have to pay for the priviledge! Bugger that! 

But ...

I happened *cough* across a copy of the soundtrack... James Horner = worth having despite never having heard it.  Willow, Braveheart, Titanic, Mighty Joe Young!  And then I listened to it... 

OMG♥♥♥

And had to go see the movie yesterday! (cheap Tuesday)  No NOT the 3D. (HEADACHES!)  Cos if it was half as pretty as the music...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...( SPOILERS )

Not my best day in DDR ~ I did about 13 songs and then wiped out, very tired. Also, my right ankle was quite sore. I decided not to push it further, I worked up a sweat and got somewhere between 20 and 35 minutes of exercise.

From what I understand 'latte' means 'cafè au lait'.

One thing you should know about Italian: 'latte' = 'milk'.

English language, why so confusing?




Also, I spent all Sunday shoveling snow, and of course on Monday it snowed again. And today we finally got running water again after two whole days without! YAY! (Although there was a moment of panic when I was washing my hair, when the shower sputtered and went dead for a second, and there I was: naked and dripping, and with shampoo in my hair. Easily the scariest moment of my life).

'cause it's totally romantic when a guy breaks into your house and stares at you while you sleep.
































..last but not least!

For anybody trying to reach jetwolf.com, you might notice that you can't. Long story short, I'm in the process of moving providers. The site will hopefully be back up within a few days.

Also, if you try to email me there, you'll soon realize you can't do that either. For now, anybody trying to reach me will need to do so through gmail (jetwolfv1). Alternately, there's always Twitter (@JetWolf).

I introduced Conrad to Ring Around the Rosie, and it made him very very happy.