Animals and Fandom Stuff

A pretty sunset in April

The Civil War re-enactment is raging this weekend, and I can hear the cannons from the battle as I type. They're making poor Peeks, our Peacock, very upset! But thank goodness the war is pretend...

I have some good news! My script Andromache has won another national screenwriting competition. What's nice is this time I get a bit of $ as a prize. Very welcomed! Also, the class reading of my new script went extremely well and while some people had complaints, they prefaced those complaints with "I love it." One girl held her pee as long as she could so that she wouldn't miss any of it -- I take that as a huge compliment!

And for anyone holding their breath... the article in Script Magazine has been pushed back. It won't come out in June as planned, but should still come out this summer. I'll keep you posted!

Here's some random stuff.

This is Junior, who is "my cat" (when we were kids and our cat Froggy had kittens, we each got to keep one). She's a bit wild and sometimes slaps people when they pet her, but she's always been nice to me and I think her eyes are so beautiful. She's about fifteen and is still a lean, mean, fighting machine! Her muscles are still in top condition. And she answers me when I talk to her. We have a special bond because she was the runt, and I always made sure that she got a teat, that she got affection, etc. As you can tell, she's quite the hunter and is always alert, rarely ever holding still!

Junior

And here is Houdini making great progress. Nic has been training him for years. Look at how genius this horse is. I'm very proud of him!

Houdini's skillz

Other random fandom stuff:

I've finally started to finish my fanfic Branded Heart. I looked at the story in whole the other day and realized it's over 70,000 words and not yet complete. And I wrote most of it in my free time last summer. 40,000 words is a short novel. So yeah, I'm not so worried about finishing my novel for my thesis anymore!

My new Teyla/Ronon music video from Teyla's POV.

Taking Over Me

I also randomly made a pretty background with lyrics from a Goo Goo Dolls song, "Without You Here."

Hope you're all having a great Memorial Day weekend! I'm spending mine battling my first virus of the year (when you get your first cold in May, I think that's a good thing!).

Last night/this morning I dreamed that I was Batman battling The Joker, but then The Joker started to win and took over nearly all of Gotham, killing hundreds of innocent civilians. I was so upset... then I stopped caring about the strangers when I realized that my own life was in danger! I hid in an old parking garage and saw Susan Meyer and Karen McClusky from Desperate Housewives sneaking past. I knew that if Susan saw me in my batsuit, she'd scream and give away my position. I secretly hoped they'd both die. Casualties of war and all that. I should go take my temperature...

Alfred Day

Alfred is underappreciated

Today was Alfred Day! Yes, that's right, a day to celebrate Michael Caine's portrayal of Alfred. The best ever. Michael Caine is an amazing actor.

It started with Katie and I meeting downtown for chai teas on the redwood porch of a tea house downtown. We chatted for a few hours then met up with my mom and sister to go see the Michael Caine film Is Anybody There? at a local art house theater.

The film was very entertaining and, of course, Michael Caine was amazing. There were a few scenes between his character and a little boy that made me think, "If I were really into this, I could use the footage from this film and from Batman Begins to make a little Bruce Wayne and Alfred video of some kind." I then snickered at the thought. Until I realized that to have thought it in the first place, I was that into it.

Alfred and young Bruce Wayne and his dad

Beautiful Alfred

After the film we headed to Coldstone Creamery for some ice cream. How is that a part of Alfredian celebrations? Well, Alex and I have this fantasy of hanging out with Alfred and going to eat ice cream with him. Whenever "Shout" would play at Coldstone, we'd imagine him dancing. Yes, I've been told on countless occassions, by exceedingly colorful people, that Alex and I are beyond weird.

Yay for Alfred and ice cream!

Well, Tracie, unfortunately, I didn't see the Pink Umbrella Man today. His absence made me wonder if the rumors are true -- if he really does have a day job. Blasphemous!

The farmer's market was today, though, and while there I looked for some vampires for you. I think I found a vampire drumming circle. At least... lots of them had dreads... like Wraith... who suck people so they're kinda like vampires... by extension...

Vampire Drumming Circle

Also, I think we passed by a female Ronon while walking through the Farmer's Market. She had long brown dreads, a dark tank top, a thick leather belt with holsters, pouches and fringes, brown pants, and some heavy-duty boots. I was impressed!

My professor e-mailed me today, letting me know that tomorrow, at our final, our class will be reading my new script in its entirety. Um, whoa there. I didn't know this was coming, and I don't want to hear anyone's full-length script, least of all my own. And I already feel enough like the teacher's pet in that class given that everyone knows I've won several screenwriting awards and I was asked to share my stories about Diablo Cody and Vegas. I'd rather someone else got a chance to have their voice heard, but I'm sure there's a good reason behind my professor's choice. More than likely, he's using my script as a cautionary tale. ;)

Mother's Day and Randomness

I've spent the better part of the last two weeks writing like a mad woman. I had a full length screenplay to whip out, a 30-page short story to rewrite, a 17-page research paper to finish, and all the rest of my regular coursework, feedback on friends' writing, and the usual stresses of drunken friends, creepy guys in class, creepy guys online, party planning... I'll stop before I bore you!

Mother's Day, however, was lovely. I don't think I could have asked for a more perfect day with my mom. We went to the beach and relaxed in the sun before getting ice cream and strolling on the wharf. Here are some of the highlights!

We all look pretty retarded, but at least we all managed to fit into one shot. My younger brother was missing, but the rest of us still had a great time with our momma

The crowded beach -- lots of other families had the same idea, it seems!

And I will just say it now without any statistical proof, but California must be having a baby boom. We saw more little kids and babies on the beach than I can ever remember. They were literally everywhere! But no, I don't have pictures of strangers' children to support this. You creeper.

When I was small, walking on this wharf was always a great feat. The tips of my sandals used to get caught in the between spaces of the boards and I vividly remember falling, glimpsing the water far below, just waiting to suck me up! I'm sure I threw many tantrums until either I got bigger or the cracks literally did get smaller. At any rate, I had every right to be frightened -- check out this hole!

Beautiful seawater

Our famed kelp forests

Wonder what he or she's looking at?

Apparently this is all the rage!

Juvenile California gull

I thought this pigeon had such pretty orange eyes!

We came home and had dinner, then a delicious dessert that my mom had lots of fun making and decorating.

Yum!

Teyla is my mom's fifth kid, and she also enjoyed Mother's Day!

The next weekend we celebrated my older brother's birthday. As in the picture above, it's not a party unless the Toot is there!

Teyla watches my brother open presents

And now for something completely random. I love Ghost Hunters, and Dave Tango always keeps things entertaining. Not only do I love his ever-fluctuating eyebrows, but moments like this make the show so very beautiful:

Was He French?

And... a clip of Chee Chee watching my brother train our horse Houdini.

Comanche

And finally, the grand finale. This is one of those pictures that I probably shouldn't put on the internet. No, I have no memory of what I was doing (aside from imitating a certain someone who shall remain unnamed and no, it's not Christian Bale) and the whole scene is so confusing that I think it's art. It also showcases my sexiness.

It kinda looks like John Connor is giving me a "WTF?!" look

To all the mom's out there: Happy late Mother's Day!

Mackenzie's Momma -- The Titanic Artifact Exhibit is definitely awesome, and congrats on your new job! Woo hoo! How do you find the time to be a mom, a student, a fan, and work?!

Tracie -- Trader Joe's! One of my favorite stores! :) That really sucks that they don't have any in Utah. :( I'll probably see the Pink Umbrella Man when I'm downtown tomorrow... If I do, I'll snap a picture for you... and I'll see if I can find where the vampires have been hiding, too. ;)