Going on a mental-break/birthday/visit/HP-celebration vacation

[bironic]

From Thursday through next Wednesday I'll be down in Asheville, North Carolina, visiting synn, who's now living there instead of 20 minutes from my house. It's her birthday Saturday, so the trip is partly a gift for her and partly a celebration of Deathly Hallows coming out and partly a gift for me too (five days off work! preceded by a three-day week and followed up by a two-day week!), since my birthday is the day after I get back.

In addition to seeing synn and reading the last new HP book and exploring a new town, my biggest hope for the trip is that I'll be able to calm down from the stress of the past few weeks (months, years, but let's not get too ambitious) and write, whether that turns out to be stories or long-overdue letters. (To give you some idea of life lately, my current to-do list includes: pack, see a friend who'll be moving away while I'm gone, make two doctor's appointments, move all the furniture out of my room, install and test a wireless card, re-read Half-Blood Prince, write up Order of the Phoenix review, write to grad programs, possibly enroll in classes, continue to look for jobs, have my third-anniversary review at work without hinting that I want to get the hell out, research medical copy providers, write the two stories that are due in August, and prepare for two lovely visitors next month.) Gah, stress stress stress. And when I'm stressed, I can't think or write, and when I can't write, I don't post (I'm embarrassed to say how long it's taken just to write this crappy entry) or even comment, really, and when I don't post or comment, I don't get emails, and then my inbox gets lonely. And by my inbox I mean me. But who wants to hear about that? Nobody, that's who. Another reason I haven't posted. Yet here we are.

Um. Still reading? Have a treat. This is an MRI of my abdomen.





Well, I think it's cool.

So. How are all of you?

Comments

[zulu.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty cool abdomen you've got there.

My life is going pretty well. Right now I'm writing House/Foreman. It makes me happy.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*g* I spent a happy hour flicking through the MRI slices on CD, like the fly-throughs of the Visible Human project.

Yay House/Foreman. I hope you're able to finish it up so it's not too late for the 'fest -- although there's no rushing genius. :)

[zulu.livejournal.com]

Well, it probably will be too late for the fest, but you know, it's a bit...challenging, I guess; I wrote most of it in one big surge of inspiration, but I wrote it all as just dialogue in tiny scenelets. Now I'm trying to turn that into a whole coherent fic, but there's not the impetus to write to find out how it happens, 'cause I already know. And the writing muse hasn't been with me recently--I'm having to push a bit.

Ah well. If I get frustrated I can always post the unfinished story as a "look what my brain disgorged!" kind of a thing. I don't want to do that; the thought of it is what's keeping me writing!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Mm, I know what you mean. Sometimes just plotting a story out in my head is enough to take the interest out of writing it. I guess your story didn't want to be a collection of dialogue-only scenelets?

[zulu.livejournal.com]

Well...but I want so much more than that!

I think what makes a good dialogue-only fic work is when it's easy to visualize the action, and not describing it makes it funnier/more touching because the reader fills in the blanks. But to me, a dialogue-only fic isn't meaty enough. There're subtleties that get missed. Plus then the porn (if there's porn) gets short shrift.

I hope your inbox is less lonely with me talking at you!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh and yes, my inbox was nice and cozy last night with your emails and Cookie Monster icon. Alas for I had to go to bed in the middle of it. :)

*cheerleads for your House/Foreman progress*

[zulu.livejournal.com]

Hee! I aim to please. So does Cookie.

Did you know that Wednesday is my one-year anniversary of posting Housefic? I think I'd better have this House/Foreman thing ready by then for celebratory purposes!

[roga.livejournal.com]

Now I finally have a face to place your name with! Or, you know, a picture.

Hope your big list of things gets shorter soon, and all that's left will be the good stuff.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I almost made a joke about how that photo would really help people recognize me on the street. :) Thanks for the happy thoughts. I hope the same is true. By September, I plan to be a healthier, happier, more productive me.

[thedeadparrot.livejournal.com]

roga made me start an SGA AU. :(

Which is annoying since I have like ten-bazillion other things on my plate as well.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

roga made me start an SGA AU. :(

Yes, how terribly terrible. (You made me give you a separate listing in the gate_house House/SGA crossovers list, you know.) Until it gets written, because then you'll probably have a blast, and we'll surely enjoy reading it. Is it for the new SGA AU challenge community whose name I've forgotten or was it just a random request?

[thedeadparrot.livejournal.com]

It mostly came out of watching too much Friday Night Lights and my brain going, "John would totally coach high school football if he could." Everything kind of went from there. Um, never mind that I know almost nothing about football. Rodney is, of course, the physics teacher.

Also, the additional Mathletes fics from the timestamp meme are totally not my fault.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Sure, sure. You know you were just asking for it.

John would totally coach high school football if he could." ... Rodney is, of course, the physics teacher.

Oh, that sounds neat (and did you say anything about that in your LJ? It sounds vaguely familiar). I've never seen FNL but (a) it already sounds like it'll work wonderfully and (b) I have some friends who love it and SGA and would probably adore a crossover/fusion/thing.

[perspi.livejournal.com]

Oooo, nifty!

I'm posting one-handed, holding a finally-sleeping Z. And headed for bed myself. Hope you have a great vacation!

*hugs*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Aw, sleeping baby and sleepy Perspi. Hope you're both well-rested this morning. Thanks for the well-wishing -- I hope to be somewhat restored by this time next week for the benefit of all.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

That's ... quite the lovely abdomen ya got there, bironic. Hee.

How are all of you?

Drowning in the Roman Empire. Frikkity-frakkity James and Gregorius are being so damn talkative I can't shut them the hell up. Which is a good thing but sheesh.

Have a safe and happy trip!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, poor you, a slave to James and Gregorius alike. :D I've been poking my head in now that you're getting close to my favorite scene in the chapter, and shall comment one of these days when I have something to say that isn't just "Yay!"

[leiascully.livejournal.com]

What fantastically squooshy insides you have!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hee! I still think it's cool. I mean, you *know* intellectually that your organs are in there, and you see MRIs and CTs and things of other people so you know what they look like, but still, when I got the scans, I was thrilled. That's *my* spleen! Those are *my* arteries!

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Have fun! Write that movie review! Show us your... internal organs! Yes, I'm a bit distracted and random :)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I will! I did!

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

Nice kidneys; House would approve. Personally, I'm partial to your liver. It's lovely. :: sage nod ::

Is it weird that I saved that picture? XD When I was in sixth grade, I had screenshots from my boyfriend's gall bladder removal surgery... I think I might be strange.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*g* I don't think it's weird. No weirder than the fact that I went through all the images on the CDs for kicks and then picked a pretty one out to share.

Personally, I'm partial to your liver.

Hee, me too. It was a liver scan, after all, so all the passes make it bloom and articulate and fade in glorious detail.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Have a great trip! I've actually been to Asheville once, and it's beautiful—or at least it was twenty-some years ago. There was a really good used book store in town. With luck, it'll still be there.

I'm sorry to hear you're so stressed out. I totally empathize. Hope the holiday helps!

The MRI is definitely cool. Did it reveal anything useful diagnostically? (You don't have to answer if you don't want to.)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

A bunch of liver lesions, actually. It's probably nothing, but I'm being shuffled around among specialists to be sure. It's more stuff to do, which doesn't help right now, but I'm not really worried about it.

I've actually been to Asheville once, and it's beautiful—or at least it was twenty-some years ago. There was a really good used book store in town.

Neat. I've never been to NC, but I hear Asheville is beautiful, all nestled in the mountains and filled with pedestrian-friendly, bohemian streets. Was the bookstore called Malaprop's? Or Accent on Books? Those are the two stores I know of in town. Synn's researching which ones have the best HP midnight release parties.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the bookstore. I do remember finding some very nice 19th-century editions of obscure Dumas novels to add to my collection. (I love Dumas!)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nifty. Have you ever read La Reine Margot? Having seen the movie, I'm curious if it's worth a try.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

I think I've read the book on which the movie was based, but in my edition of Dumas' works it's called Marguerite de Valois. If La Reine Margot dealt with the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, then it's the same book, and yes, it's definitely worth reading. (I saw the movie a long time ago. I remember that I enjoyed it, but I don't remember much else about it, such as plot or who was in it. Bad fan!)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Daniel Auteuil, Isabelle Adjani, Vincent Perez, Jean-Hugues Anglade and Pascal Greggory, among others. Quite the cast, and quite the lush production. Yep, it was the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, and now that you mention it, M de V sounds more like the title -- although I saw the book/play listed as RM when I looked it up before. Strange. But yes, must put on the reading list, then.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

My, what a lovely spleen and gallbladder you have, my dear! And, er, other organs. :-) I'll totally recognize you on the street now!

Writing? What's that again? *sighs* Sorry, I shouldn't be venting in your LJ. But I hear you, oh yes I do. However, I am cross stitching the Powerpuff Girls, so I am very happy that I am accomplishing something fandom-y. (I have a cross stitch program on my laptop, and have been playing with it recently, to see what it can do.)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Vent vent vent. I don't really want to vent in my LJ, either, so we're even. :) Writing has not been happening lately, at all, and that makes me sad as well as anxious (since deadlines approach). But that computer program sounds cool. You input a picture and it converts it to a pattern you can print out, I assume?

My, what a lovely spleen and gallbladder you have, my dear!

The better to... digest you with? Hm. Yeah, no, if you can recognize me on the street from that image, we definitely have a problem... :D

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

But that computer program sounds cool. You input a picture and it converts it to a pattern you can print out, I assume?

Theoretically, yes. In reality, there's a lot of cleanup that has to be done before you get a decent pattern. I have to master color manipulations in the GIMP first, if I want to make patterns from photos. The PowerPuff Girls are great to work with because of their simple colors and strong outlines.

[crazypalefreak.livejournal.com]

That MRI is seriously cool. I really want a scan of my head to keep. Just because I think it would be an interesting conversation piece.

I'm well. You're probably reading Deathly Hallows right now. I hope you get the mental-break you need.

Have a lovely birthday!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

A head scan would be awesome, truly. Except for whatever circumstance would necessitate it.

Hee - I read DH all day Saturday and quite liked it - haven't read anyone's reactions yet - and yes, am feeling very relaxed now (got home a few hours ago). Back to work tomorrow...