Happy Carnival, everybody!!!
.

...And then Jehovah said, " "I dunno, Job; something about you just gets right up my dick."
No reason for that at all. It's just been in my head for about three days. Now it'll be in yours. Ha.

Okay, so I should now state for the absolute record that
ALOBAR IS OKAY.

His laptop crashed shortly before Mardi Gras weekend is all. I've hooked him up with my dear friend Will, who is the cheapest OS service geek I know. Our flists shall be once again inundated with vitamin posts and acid anecdotes in short order.
Just don't tell him I put it quite that way. He beats me when you guys aren't looking.

Mardi Gras is, very thankfully, over. OVER!!! The return to my twisted semblance of sanity is oddly refreshing. I made no money. Well, I made about as much as one would during a good weekend. Definitely not Mardi Gras money. I paid some bills. I still owe. But I think I'll be able to eat this week, and also feed my dog. Actually the dog always gets fed first. He gnaws on me otherwise.
I was in a couple of unnecessary scuffles, wound up in handcuffs once... Larger post on that to follow; I kinda don't feel like getting into it right now... But NOPD actually came to my rescue, if you believe that one. Saved me from the Evil LSP stormtroopers. No, scratch that. Calling them stormtroopers is an insult to Jango Fett.
Don't you DARE call me a geek.
Oh and I've got some xtian bashing to tell as well. azaz_al 'll get a huge kick out of it... Or she'll just roll her eyes at me and say "I told you so" (it's about Troy and the RAVENs).

I've begun planting, herbs and veggies. My housemate Stevie and I are working the diy gardening drag for all it's worth this Spring. I've got multi-colored sweet bell peppers, jalapenos, habaneros, Jamaican hawt peppers, and cayenne going, as well as salad greens (which are sprouting like aliens), basil, spinach, and broccoli, I think I'm forgetting one... And Stevie's got three kinds of tomato, chamomile, morning glories (trippy pretty *snerk* ), and onion. I've told the house I plan to get chickens.
We are going to be a very veggie omelette people.

February 05, 2008

• Libra (9/23-10/22)

  Everyone, in their own special way, is weird -- and that certainly includes you! It's high time for you to admit to it. Trying to fit in with whatever you think is 'normal' will only be a pointless waste of time. What you really need to do is embrace your idiosyncrasies. Don't shy away from feeling odd or out of place. Because not being like everyone else is what makes you unique. No one else has the irresistible combination of sense and nonsense that you have. Celebrate it!
  

Why do they assume a person would "shy away" from being weird? Or feel "out of place" at all, huh???
Why do they assume a person would not admit to being a big, huge, freaky weirdo? Proudly?!?
Why are they being redundant? "Because not being like everyone else is what makes you unique"... Well Du'uhhh..! I could've gotten that out of freakin' Thesaurus.com.
Vanilla people with no creativity should not be encouraged to "celebrate" their differences. That sort of shit is where the "Smurf"* comes from. *shudder* These fucking astrologists really should be a bit more discerning when dispensing with the blanket advice that some idiot might actually follow. "Embrace your idiosyncrasies". That's how we get shit like Xeroxed prints of office workers' asses. That's how we get toneless, drunken karaoke renditions of stupid Guns and Roses tunes. Fuck that.

I want the old Yahoo Astrology back!

In completely unrelated annoyance, I am officially over this hideous profitless spewage that has been Mardi Gras '08. Will everybody please put down their fucking beer bongs, take off those stupid hula skirts, and go the fuck home now.
And take your yammering Xian protester friends with you.



*BTW, while researching this rant, I came across this fucking hilarious article from The Fed. I'm sure everybody reading this has been effected by this sadness at one point or another; hopefully as a viewer, though, and not as a participant. :P
..

So the dust settles. Mardi Gras was... um, lovely? I didn't indulge in nearly as much crazy as usual; but I am SO glad I got to spend time with my family, kali_ma, sophiaserpentia, and aaron_star! Last year with my full work schedule I barely got a chance to see them!
Next year I am certainly going to plan better... but then again, next year I --ahem, *knocks-wood*-- shouldn't have as much chaos and stupidity to deal with in the weeks leading up to Carnival. ;}
Next year, no insane fucktard houseguests who fail to move the hayl out on time. Next year, no cramped and cluttered household riddled with teetering unpacked boxes. Next year, no dwindling finances to stunt my revelry and glee. And next year, no relying on "Mardi Gras money" to cover my ass...!
Not that I am bitching. No, really, I'm not. I've just come to the conclusion (as I have in years past) that the extra couple hundred one can count on, is just not worth the annoyance of the drunks anymore. I'm old now. They make me "edgy". Hee.  So next year, I Will endeavor to take Mardi Gras weekend off. Shouldn't be impossible. *knocks wood again*

All said, we had a fabulous time. My gawdson is all grow'd up! He is using three syllable words in everyday conversation, reads for fun, and curses sparingly and in appropriate context... I am SO proud of him and his mom! Kid's gonna be the next Hemingway... Or Clive Barker. Long as he doesn't have to do math.
We had fun at Orpheus and Zulu, the only two pa-rades I went to this year. Fine by me; like I need more beads in this fucking house. We had record low attendance at both Faerie Court and Babalon ceremony, but they went well and we looked really pretty. Ash Wednesday found us all tired, hung over, and achy (nono, no hangover for the boy, ya freaks). We stayed home and watched Firefly all day, which I'd never seen before and completely fell in love with. It is now the top priority item on my Amazon.com wish list. ; } } } Thursday, after kali_ma got her NOLA tattoo we went out to Grandfather Tree and the boy and I climbed like crazy people. Then that evening kali_ma and I had our bar-hoppin' and bonding night. We did a lot of both.
They left back for the frozen tundra of Boston on Fri morn despite my teary protests.

About three hours after my family's departure, the houseguests came by and actually began moving large things out of my front room. Only five days later than was useful to us. Assholes. They scoffed at the witchie-poo artwork I had begun putting up in there since their first load of crap had shuffled out the door. Double assholes. Good luck getting on with people in this town if you're as disrespectful as that; we ain't all Baptists here, morons. And to piss on the practices of those who offer you a helping hand... Ugh, don't even get me started... I believe they have every intention of sticking me with their share of the huge electric bill too. And in days like these, $200 worth of running electric space heaters 24/7 and never turning off a light or electronic appliance earns those fuckwits a place in that special hayl as far as I'm concerned. Good riddance to loathsome rubbish. I'll think of them every time I have an urge to offer help to someone I think is cool.
Least that choking reek of bad blunts is almost aired out. But oh yeah, I wasn't getting started.

So yay, family; yay, Mardi Gras; yay, it being over for another year. Yay, peaceful household. Yay, being offered a job out of the blue Thursday night whilst stumbling drunkenly down Decatur St (yay and that's all I'm about to say about that right now so don't press... Ain't gonna jinx myself 'till it's in the bag ;}~). Yay rainy day to putz around and straighten up the house.
Yay, shutt'n up...

...

So we survived; big long post ~ perhaps with photographic evidence~ to come.

Bought a wi fi card for my pc ~ bottom of the line so it loses its signal like every five minutes despite the box's promise to pick up siggies up to 400 feet away ( the sig I use is from sissy_viper's house, which is right behind my apt, on the same lot). But it'll do me till I get xp reinstalled on the laptop... Or Cox. Yeah. Because the notebook wi fi was the temporary solution for the lack of Lee Harvey Oswald's isp. So I'm working with a temporary solution for a temporary solution. All Hail Slack.
But anyway, least I'm online again. And now that the insanity is over with, I can work on getting in touch with those lovely people who responded to my global plea. Thanks, guys! I'll be hitting y'all up soon as we all decompress a couple of days... And I clean my apartment. Talk about Things Places... Shudder.

Okay, apparently we're going out for pizza... Will blather incoherently later.

I had to tell off my very first Xtian last night at work! Yay! It's Carnival!
Note to self: Hey; you really need that printer you've been promising to get for months. Those Mardi Gras anti-tracts are not going to make themselves...
But here's a sneak peek of one:



Oh yeah; so they seem like a rather thick-headed, oblivious, untrained, highly conditioned bunch this year... In other words, Mardi Gras virgins that will more than likely get themselves into a whole lot of trouble in the next two weeks. Even without our "help", hee. The kind that were taught key questions to ask potential converts targets, who short circuit into repetition when they do not get the answer they were taught to expect. You know, the fun ones... ;}~

The following came to me by way of Kruz.
If you guys do me just one favor, ever, please, pass this on...
WE know "They" can never kill us; help show 'em y'all know it too!
-L, Kell
GREEN!!!
PURPLE!!!
GOLD!!!
Kerry Anzalone had such a great idea. And I'm hoping you will forward this to your friends too.... It's a simple way to help our friends and relatives around the country/world understand what we're up against and enlist their help in spreading theword. "People don't really have a good idea of what's going on here from watching TV," Kerry said. "They think everything's back to normal." His plan will help spread the spirit of Mardi Gras, too. Here's what he did: He sent an e-mail to everyone he knows who has ever lived in the New Orleans area or has visited and fallen in love with this special place. "All I ask of you is a simple gesture," he wrote. "On Mardi Gras Day, Feb. 28, 2006, show your true colors wherever you are. Wear or display, something purple, green and gold -- our city's Carnival colors."
GREEN!!!
PURPLE!!!
GOLD!!!
'Raise a ruckus' for us. In his note, he asked his friends to keep us in their thoughts. "The night before Katrina hit, a message came from London that said, 'The whole world is praying,' " he wrote. "While certainly we still need all the prayers we can get, we need a great many other things as well. Most of all, we need to not be forgotten. Ironic for a city whose motto had always been 'The City That Care Forgot.' Ironic that this American Mecca of art, food, music and frivolity -- this soul of America -- could well have its senses dulled permanently if the world forgets about us. "As you well know, while New Orleans has a reputation for playing hard, this center for aquatic, natural and energy resources, and shipping works hard as well. We are used to pulling our own weight, if given the chance." Then, he asked everyone to become an "Honorary Citizen of New Orleans." "We already know your hearts are with us; lend us your minds and muscle. Please pass this on and raise a ruckus that puts traditional Mardi Gras to shame." Show your true colors
GREEN!!!
PURPLE!!!
GOLD!!!
Kerry, who lives in Old Metairie and is a lawyer with the U.S. Labor Department, has been hearing back from friends who say they'll be proud to show their true colors, thanks to his e-mail. "It's been traveling all over," he said. "They've been sending it along, and now I'm hearing from friends I'd lost contact with." So here's what I'm thinking. There's still plenty of time for all of us to e-mail or write letters to our faraway friends and ask them to show their true colors on Mardi Gras.
GREEN!!!
PURPLE!!!
GOLD!!!
Time to talk to our grownup children about raising a ruckus. Time to send boxes of beads to our grandchildren scattered across the country, enough for them to share with their classmates. Let everyone know we are most definitely not back to normal. We'll never be back to normal. But we will survive. We will eat king cake. And we will wear purple, green and gold on Mardi Gras.
GREEN!!!
PURPLE!!!
GOLD!!!