Dragon's Journal

In pretty much the order added… (To be shuffled later)

1. The Mob Rules - Black Sabbath
2. The Crow - Brother
3. Cantus - Faith and the Muse
4. Scars Flown Proud - Faith and the Muse
5. Black Friday Rule - Flogging Molly
6. Wounded - Inkubus Sukkubus
7. Evolution - Korn
8. Move Away - The Killers
9. Heaven's a Lie - Lacuna Coil
10. This is the New Shit - Marilyn Manson
11. Fuel (The S&M version) - Metallica
12. Bye Bye Beautiful - Nightwish
13. Head Like a Hole - Nine Inch Nails
14. Insanity - Boingo
15. Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme) - Queen
16. Du Hast - Rammstein
17. One-Winged Angel - from Final Fantasy VII Advent Children
18. Die Alive (Alternative Version) - Tarja Turunen
19. Evolution - Wendy Rule
20. O Fortuna (Excalibur Remix) - Apotheosis
21. The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails

An hour and a half of relentless sparring music… To tested out at this Sunday's weapons class, me thinks…

Current Mood:  content

( I will avoid the drama. I will avoid the drama. I will avoid the drama. I will..... )

Current Mood:  thoughtful

Does cross-posting actually still WORK?!?!

Hey! Hello there!

( Yes, I know it's been a while... )

Current Mood:  irritated

( Wandering Political Musings Within )

Over the past few months, I've gotten into… this really deep place. Oddly enough, I think this started at about the time of my knee injury. Or possibly shortly after. I know the discipline of showing up to the dojo every day, even though I couldn't practice was part of it.

Or, rather, as Sensei has said, it was part of my practice. A very important part of my practice, where I got to see things from a different perspective. And it's helped me tremendously, since getting back on the mat.

I think that somewhere, in the last few months, something must have shifted. And I'm really not sure how or what. I just know that it has. I feel more connected to things, as I am, right now, than it was before. And that it's made me better.

It's entirely possible that I've touched on this before. It feels familiar. There is a… deep connection to something much bigger than me. Like I'm connecting to the Universe, itself… only on a much deeper level than I've ever managed to, before.

Sensei would probably say that I'm polishing myself… In fact, she has, referred to our practice as just that. When you polish a sword, you don't add things to the sword. Rather, polishing strips away the dullness… the old layers. The same thing happens when one hones or sharpens a knife, or sword. These processes take away, rather than add.

I can't speak to other martial arts but, in Aikido, we do the same thing. Only the thing we hone is ourselves. We strip away parts of ourselves, in an effort to hone our practice and that of fellow students. Because one of the many things Sensei always says is that your practice is not just about you. There is a give and take, in Aikido, a connection to others and to the space that is just one of the most amazing experiences. And, in that connection, there can be no ego and no anticipation, because things can change just like that, from partner to partner and throw to throw…

And I'll have to continue this, at another time, because I started writing this, while I was at my parents' house and now I've lost my train of thought… Ah well…

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! YES!!!

Your results:
You are The Joker

The Joker 42% Mr. Freeze 40% Dark Phoenix 40% Poison Ivy 38% Venom 35% Mystique 34% Apocalypse 30% Green Goblin 30% Kingpin 28% Catwoman 26% Dr. Doom 24% Riddler 23% Juggernaut 22% Magneto 20% Two-Face 18% Lex Luthor 16%

The Clown Prince of Crime. You are a brilliant mastermind but are criminally insane. You love to joke around while accomplishing the task at hand.

Current Mood:  crazy

I dreamed, last night that I had to stay the night at the home of one of kirasha's ex's (Spook, if you have to ask which one and no, he wasn't there. A woman claiming to be his mother let me in… But since I've never met his mom, who knows who it really was…). Here's the weird thing… The only bed in the place wasn't even big enough to accomodate mischa… Which left me to wonder if it was even Spook's place, since there's no WAY he could have slept on that thing!

What? Did you expect my dreams to make sense? I gave up on that ages ago…

Current Mood:  weird

Maybe I am going to finish Blood and Irises sooner than I think. I'm stuck on my other project and I had this nagging need to post at least the next chapter…

We'll see what happens, in the next week or so, I guess…

Current Mood:  sleepy

Title: Blood and Irises
Characters/Pairings: George Weasley and Eve Blackmore (with possible appearances by other HP characters)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 985
Warnings: violence, torture, angst and partial nudity
Disclaimer: George Weasley and any other HP characters are the property of JK Rowling. I don’t own them. I only wish to play with them, for a little while (okay, so I’d like to play with Fred and George a lot, but can you blame me?). Eve Blackmore, her family, etc are the product of my brain. Some may remember her from Haunted Chambers. In fact, I’ve kept much of her background from HC, with only minor tweaks here and there (though she would probably argue the term “minor”, in some instances, but she’ll go along with them, like the good little warrior she is…)
Summary: In the five years after the war… One struggles to find his place in a world that’s no longer funny. The other struggles with her own actions, during the battles. Two who were once close must find their way back to each other…

( Chapter 13 )

Current Mood:  pleased

Well, I have been writing… Just not here… And not, therefore, Blood and Irises, but seeing as the game that is semi-based off of *COUGH* Haunted Chambers *COUGH* still hasn't been resurrected, I'm being lazy, on that front.

What I have been doing is revisiting a story I started working on about 10 years ago. And who knows! Maybe I'll actually get somewhere with it, now! Of course now that I've said that, everything I write will be complete CRAP and I'll end up giving up again….

I've also been attempting to resurrect my Pampered Chef business (I'd post a link to my page, but, as a consultant, I'm "not allowed to have a web presence", which sucks because most of my friends are in cyberspace. So I've been nudging a couple of non-net friends, who've said that they'd host a show. However, if any of you know someone who might be interested, please send them my way!! My goal is to maintain a steady schedule of 1 - 2 shows a month (because that's all I really have time for) and I haven't been managing too well, so far. ::sigh::

I should grab breakfast…

Current Mood:  hungry

Mom and I went to see Mamma Mia!, on Sunday (Mom and I have decided that we're going to the movies every weekend, now… Especially, since AMC has that SWEET $6.00 movie, before noon deal).

But I digress…

Mamma Mia!

Go. See. It!!!

Even if you're not a huge Abba fan (for the record, I'm NOT a huge Abba fan. They're my one concession to disco and… Oh hell… Their stuff has, on occasion, been known to make me smile), go see it! It's SO much fun!!!

If nothing else, go for the purple spandex…

Yeah… you heard me…

Go! See it now!!

Current Mood:  silly

Mom: Oh, did I tell you that D passed away?
Me: What? No! When did this happen?
Mom: I didn't? Oh, well, it happened a couple weeks ago.
Me: Geez! I only live five minutes away and I'm this uninformed! What's going to happen, when you move to Spokane?!
Mom: You'll just have to move up there with us.
Me: No way! It's too bloody cold up there.
Mom: No colder than in Germany and you have no problem with that.
Me: That's different. That's Germany.
Mom: By the way, did I tell you that three of your cousins got married?
Me: Yes, you've told me that, the last three times I've been here…

I worry about the future of family communication… Because, of course, she can't think to tell me about this via email. Thank gods it was only the wife of a distant cousin who died… ::sigh::

Current Mood:  cynical

Well… 5 hours after, really…

But yes, Day of Blogs is over. We had a couple of minor set backs, but things worked out. If you'd like to read our endless ravings, please go check it out here. There's still a few trivia questions that need answerin'

Amazingly, over the course of the 24 hours, I managed to make about a dozen icons, to go with my various subjects. And I never managed to get them posted over here, last night… this morning… whatever.

So here they are, in all their glory!

Current Mood:  blah

Sorry I'm late on this! I've been dragging my feet a bit…

What: Day of Blogs
When: Saturday, July 26, 2008 6am - Sunday, July 27, 2008 6am
Where: Imagine This… http://esoteric-renaissance.com/?/thon/
Charity: The Association for International Cancer Research (AICR)
Contact: JL - jayellefsw@yahoo.com

What is this all about?
Each year hundreds of bloggers band together and spend the day blogging on behalf of their favorite charities. For 24 hours, they post once every 30 minutes on a variety of topics to raise money for the cause. It works much like the old 'jog-a-thons' and 'bowl-a-thons' you may have participated in as a kid. Sponsors agree to donate a certain amount of money to the charity of the blogger's choice provided the blogger makes it the entire 24 hours.

This event is known as the annual Blogathon (http://blogathon.org). In 2008, the official organizers of the event fell on difficult times and have taken the year off. To keep the tradition alive, several of us have organized and alternate event - The Day of Blogs (http://dayofblogs.org).

Why AICR?

In 1987, my blogging partner lost her grandmother to breast cancer. In 2006, there was a possibility her mother might have it. She didn't. But, it made her think about how much cancer has touched her - well, both of us - personally and those around her. She chose to begin blogging for cancer research that year in honor of her mother (my "other" mom) and grandmother. And, considering that we've both lost loved ones to cancer (my grandfather died of cancer, in 1985) it stuck with us. We chose AICR because it is an organization that funds research into the causes and cures for cancer all over the world, not just locally.

How can you help?

Sponsor myself, and my blogging partner, JL, in the Day of Blogs. Sponsoring us is easy. Send an email to jayellefsw@yahoo.com with your name, email address, and the amount you're willing to pledge. On the day of the event, feel free to follow along at the site given above as we post throughout the day. Then, if we make it through the full 24 hours, all 47 posts, you'll receive an email with a link to the donation page at AICR to make your donation. That's it. Simple, really. But the benefits could mean so much to so many.

Hel-LO!! Me Public! I return!!

( Warning! Long winded post ahead!! )

Current Mood:  contemplative

So Mom texted me randomly, while I was in class. The convo, while interesting, really didn't surprise me…

( The Convo (word for word) )

Very brief, I know. It was mostly sent (on my end) between the dojo parking lot and the Carl's Jr drive thru (BTW: can I just say that having the drive thru window on the opposite side of the car, when one doesn't have power windows is seriously annoying?!?!).

I tried to call her, but she's, apparently, still at the school board meeting.

But seriously. She's talking about a public high school… In Burbank… What does she expect.

My guess (speaking from experience)… The drama teacher either didn't have enough boys auditioning or the boys who did audition all sucked.

Current Mood:  cynical

Title: Blood and Irises
Characters/Pairings: George Weasley and Eve Blackmore (with possible appearances by other HP characters)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,666
Warnings: violence, torture, angst and partial nudity
Disclaimer: George Weasley and any other HP characters are the property of JK Rowling. I don’t own them. I only wish to play with them, for a little while (okay, so I’d like to play with Fred and George a lot, but can you blame me?). Eve Blackmore, her family, etc are the product of my brain. Some may remember her from Haunted Chambers. In fact, I’ve kept much of her background from HC, with only minor tweaks here and there (though she would probably argue the term “minor”, in some instances, but she’ll go along with them, like the good little warrior she is…)
Summary: In the five years after the war… One struggles to find his place in a world that’s no longer funny. The other struggles with her own actions, during the battles. Two who were once close must find their way back to each other…

( Chapter 12 )

Title: Blood and Irises
Characters/Pairings: George Weasley and Eve Blackmore (with possible appearances by other HP characters)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 740
Warnings: violence, torture, angst and partial nudity
Disclaimer: George Weasley and any other HP characters are the property of JK Rowling. I don’t own them. I only wish to play with them, for a little while (okay, so I’d like to play with Fred and George a lot, but can you blame me?). Eve Blackmore, her family, etc are the product of my brain. Some may remember her from Haunted Chambers. In fact, I’ve kept much of her background from HC, with only minor tweaks here and there (though she would probably argue the term “minor”, in some instances, but she’ll go along with them, like the good little warrior she is…)
Summary: In the five years after the war… One struggles to find his place in a world that’s no longer funny. The other struggles with her own actions, during the battles. Two who were once close must find their way back to each other…

( Chapter 11 )

Title: Blood and Irises
Characters/Pairings: George Weasley and Eve Blackmore (with possible appearances by other HP characters)
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 483
Warnings: violence, torture, angst and partial nudity
Disclaimer: George Weasley and any other HP characters are the property of JK Rowling. I don’t own them. I only wish to play with them, for a little while (okay, so I’d like to play with Fred and George a lot, but can you blame me?). Eve Blackmore, her family, etc are the product of my brain. Some may remember her from Haunted Chambers. In fact, I’ve kept much of her background from HC, with only minor tweaks here and there (though she would probably argue the term “minor”, in some instances, but she’ll go along with them, like the good little warrior she is…)
Summary: In the five years after the war… One struggles to find his place in a world that’s no longer funny. The other struggles with her own actions, during the battles. Two who were once close must find their way back to each other…

( Chapter 10 )