Post-DragonCon update

I had a blast at DragonCon again this year. This time, Ben and I made armor for the first time so we could cosplay as Sasha and Aleksis Kaidanovsky from Pacific Rim. We didn't quite finish everything in time, and we discovered a few things that will need to be adjusted/fixed for future conventions, but for a first armor done in about a month (less, actually), I think we did pretty well.

Us and Comrade Jellyfish (Comrade Squid was unavailable)

Sadly, shortly before DragonCon, one of our cats died. She had (probably) a rare and untreatable cancer, so we had to let her go. Mylene was a sweet, friendly orange bundle of love, and the 11 years we had her weren't enough.

Mylene, 2003-August 2014

Right before DragonCon, I interviewed for an opening to teach German at a local language school, and I have my first class this afternoon. It's a private lesson. I have a regular class starting in early October. And suddenly I have to prep a lot of lessons...

The next convention I'm going to will be World Fantasy Con, where I'll see some of my VP17 peeps and maybe some instructors, as well as friends Carrie, Don, and JoSelle. And probably a lot of other people. Maybe some of you!

Next year's convention schedule will be IllogiCon (January), Shatterdome ATL (June), ReaderCon (July, hopefully), and DragonCon (Labor Day).

We have got to stop meeting like this.

I'm back with another "sorry it's been so long" post. I don't really have a good excuse.

I read more of the Hugo nominees, but it's been long enough since I read them that I don't feel like I can give them a fair review/summary, and voting is closed anyway.

I'm working on an exam in my teaching-German distance learning course, which is due Tuesday (actually 6 pm tonight thanks to the time difference). It's basically taken up all my time in the last 2 weeks that hasn't been taken up by Shatterdome ATL-related stuff. Though I've spent the weekends working on costumes for Dragon Con, which is in less than 3 weeks oh god, and we don't even have half the things we need.

I haven't done much in the way of writing in a while. I'm focusing on this course I'm taking that I need to finish by April 1. I only have 2 modules left after this one, and each one takes about 6 weeks if I focus on that. I'm taking off between the time I turn this exam in and Dragon Con. Even so, hopefully I'll be done by the new year, and I'll have a shiny certificate in teaching German ... that pretty much no one in the US gives a damn about. Oh well.

After that, I can get back to focusing on writing. And finding a job, I guess.

Onward and upward, to great ... whatever.

So. The romance version of Blue Danube Waltz was roundly rejected. Happens. So after that, I had to decide what to do with it: resubmit or rewrite. I opted to rewrite as a novel-length piece.

However, upon further reflection (and badgering of my friends), I came to realize that the plot as I envisioned it was unworkable. So I was back to square one! After a couple rounds of emails with Liz, the kernel of a plot had started to grow, but all was vague! Liz suggested writing a one-sentence version of the plot, then one paragraph, three paragraphs, and seven. I managed to get that, but I skipped three and went to five, followed by two pages.

Now I'm staring at the opening chapter, with two scenes begun and about 950 words. Hmm, if I get 50 words into this third scene, I'll have an even thousand. I know I have a lot of going back and filling in in the first 2 scenes. That's fine. I had to get the seeds planted so they can germinate while I do other things.

Apparently this time I'm trying the outline thing, but not working in a strictly linear fashion. I'll probably have more luck going linear once I get the opening muddled through.

Also, holy crap, Dragon*Con is in less than a week. We're leaving Thursday morning. I've got my costume pretty close, though I have to redraft the sleeves. That sounds like no fun.

In other news entirely, I'm still enjoying the taiji weapons class I'm taking. I learned a stick form, which is also usable as a broadsword form, and a Chen broadsword form (which is really short, but awesomely violent when you look at the applications). Right now I'm learning fan form. I'm, like, 10 postures in, and I just got to open the fan. It's also fairly short, but it's pretty and different.

Beaches

So, this weekend was the annual nerds go to the beach weekend. We went to the beach, with a bunch of nerds from the anime club. Bringing food to cook in the hotel rooms was a good idea, and it saved money, though heading to the Mexican restaurant in Carolina Beach to eat dinner and drink pitchers of margarita was a necessity. Going for beer afterwards may not have been required, but we did it anyway. It was actually kinda cool -- for non-draft beer, you walked into the cooler and picked up a bottle you wanted. I tried Sam Adams' Blackberry Wit. It was pretty good, actually.

The ocean tried to kill me. The waves were rougher than I can remember on any beach trips over the last 8 years or so, and it seemed like the tide was always coming in. (It was a full moon.) I didn't get to spend much time in the ocean, because I don't like waves going over my head, and when I was standing in shallow enough water (waist deep or so), I got caught in an outgoing wave while an incoming one was breaking. So I sat in my chair on the sand and watched.

The weekend before last I was in Oregon for a family reunion-y thing on the husband's side. They're all outdoorsy, hiking types, so I spent most of the weekend alone and bored. Though the call of free wifi at Timberline Lodge was hard to resist, so I went up there for a few hours one day to attempt to catch up on my intarwebs.

That also involved a lot of cooking at home, and I was roped into making vegetarian food the night steak was the main course. Here is a recipe for the improvised grilled tofu I made. It turned out well. Since tofu is a sponge for other flavors, it mostly tasted like balsamic vinegar, which I won't complain about.

Thankfully, I have nothing on tap for the coming weekend. The following weekend I'm working, then I have one off, then it's Dragon*Con. I need to get sewing on my costume. I cut the pattern out of the giant sheet of paper, but I need to trace it and alter it a hair (I'm short, so I always have to shorten the back length) then mark, cut, and sew. Should be ... fun. At least it doesn't require extreme fitting like the Victorian ones.

Also, it's revoltingly hot here. The Triangle area is the hottest spot in the southeast right now. Tomorrow it's only supposed to be 88! A break from the 100 degree stretch we've had! Hey, my bell peppers are looking to ripen nicely, at least.

I was also reminded that I didn't write anything about my Asheville trip last month. I got the pictures off the camera, finally. Maybe I'll write something later this week.

Dragon*Con 2008

I had loads of fun.

I met an online friend for the first time, and she's nifty.

I didn't win the costume contest, but that's OK. I had fun. And I made a pretty swank hat.

I participated in a writing workshop, where I learned a lot, and I've got an idea percolating in my head. I should probably do something like revise the huge story I have finished, but I've been bored with it lately, unfortunately. I didn't plan it out; I just started writing. Which means I'll have to go back and edit the shit out of it, which is pretty damn daunting, I have to say. It means I have to sit down and plot the stupid thing.

I went to see George Takei (Mr Sulu on original Star Trek) talk. He's really cool, and I got some good photos. Because his talk was so good, I decided I had to get his autograph -- and I've never got anyone's autograph before. (Well, except when I went to a reading by Neil Gaiman and I got him to sign his new book for Ben's birthday. He's also an exceptionally awesome person.)

Mostly I hung out with friends, perused the con, and drank some. Oh, I was on a panel about Lois McMaster Bujold's books. It was fun - we got to talk about our favorite characters in our favorite books :D Then I was talking with the track director afterwards, and I asked if they'd done a panel on CJ Cherryh, another of my favorite authors, and she said, "No, would you like to moderate one next year?" *sigh* I sure could, since I've got 2 full shelves of her books, and there are certainly themes worth exploring (feminism, aliens, human psychology.) I dropped the track director an email letting her know I'm still interested, but I understand if she doesn't get back to me for a while, since the con just ended and she doesn't want to think about next year yet.

So now I'm NOT SEWING for at least 6 months (except putting the finishing touches on my costume for the con in 3 weeks, which won't take long.) I plan to build my model kits, practice spinning, WRITE, and get some exercise in. Also crochet, since I have a partially-finished shrug. Not sewing is going to be great.

I've already picked out the next costume I'm going to make, though, so I can be researching and finding materials. It'll be a military uniform.

What do pharmacists do?

In case you were wondering what exactly pharmacists do, and why on earth it takes 4 additional years of school to "stand behind a counter and count out pills," the Angry Pharmacist has the answer for you. Hint: it's not just about counting out pills.

In other news, no news on the new job front. My friend who works there says she'll ask HR how things look, so I'm waiting to hear back from her.

I have, however, almost completely finished my first costume for Dragon*Con. I just need to sew a bunch of hooks and eyes and make a ribbon choker. And get the faux vest in the right place and attach it. Oh, and a hat and a wig. Bleh.

Costuming and stuff. Mostly costuming.

I have a jacket and pants. I've mostly got the vest done. Sort of. I need to cut the lining out, but I've got the outside part together. I have to get rid of the chalk lines, though. The interfacing is impossible to mark on, so I had to mark the front. Bleh.

I only have about an hour tonight plus tomorrow evening to get this finished before the con. I should be able to at least get the lining cut out, and possibly get the darts stitched, tonight, then put the lining in and buttons on tomorrow. There's still a bit of handstitching I need to do (the sleeve buttons on the jacket, the bar and hook on the pants waistband, basting down the jacket collar), but it's fairly trivial, and I can finish it Friday morning if I have to. I'm glad I saw that I can machine stitch flat buttons. It's so much easier.

Stuff: OMG, we're going to Japan in 3.5 weeks! I'm not working on planning at the moment - too busy - but after this weekend, it's back to poring over travel books and finding vegetarian restaurants. My friend Phil told me how he got tickets for Takarazuka. I need to figure out how to go to Cafe Swallowtail. The Zeon Bar has an address in Akiba, but my Japanese is too crap to decipher the page and locate the characters that denote an address. There's reportedly a Feddies bar, and the pictures at the bottom look like they're in the same building on different floors. But screw the Feddies, anyway. Zeon has cooler uniforms.

I should print out the map of nerd things to do in Aki(ha)ba(ra). And get David to mark my guide book. 6 days to nerd around in Tokyo, with 1 spent going to the Ghibli Museum. We've already got our ticket vouchers - you have to buy 3 months in advance! - and we're going on our 8th anniversary.

I definitely want to see if Japanese McDonalds have melon-flavored milkshakes. Ben reports that they did when he was there 10 years ago. I must try one.

Costume update

I spent the whole weekend, Friday - Sunday, working on the jacket of the 3-piece suit I'm making. I didn't get it finished. It's mostly done, but I still need to sew down the lining and do button holes. And buttons. Then tomorrow, Friday evening, and this weekend, I work on pants, then the vest. I like a challenge, really, and I seem to prefer working under pressure. I'm just more productive that way.

Note to future self, however: when deciding to do a last-minute sewing project, try to avoid buying the pattern marked "advanced."

So that's what I've been up to. Hard at work. Yay.

Babble

Yesterday I went to the annual HIV care conference at UNC. I was reminded how bored I am in my current job, and that I miss science. But I don't know how to translate my skills and my interests into a job, without going back to school. Bleah.

My costume hasn't progressed any. This is not a very good thing. I have buttons, now, though, and a zipper.

Isis needs a dental cleaning. I need a nap.

Edgeworth, part 1

I found a decent suit pattern at Burda, so I went to Joann's to buy it. Of course they didn't have it, and the Vogue pattern number I'd written down a) didn't have a vest and b) only comes 3 sizes to an envelope. Poo.

So I perused the fabric a bit and happened upon this cotton bottomweight almost-twill that's in an appropriately garish shade of red (that won't look too horrible on me.) It was 6.99 a yard I think. 100% cotton! They had a 65/35 cotton/poly in an appropriate shade, but it had the nastiest texture. Then I got lining for the vest and coat, and a card of buttons for the vest.

I still need buttons for the coat and sleeves (though there are none in any of the art... I'm perplexed), and a wig (I saw one on the internet that might work). Possibly shoes, but I have a pair of women's black shoes that would do. I have a few yards of black cotton that I was going to use for the lining of my 1895 bodice, but I've decided only to to hem facings for that, except for the lapel part, so I should have sufficient extra. (Hm, I seem to have forgotten about the sleeves... well, I'll figure something out.) I also need a white button-down shirt and a jabot. I have fabric for a jabot, from when I never managed to finish my Balthier costume.

I've got the pattern on order, so I can start when it gets here.

Works in progress

Costumes, costumes, costumes.

1. 1895 suit - finish for D*C (Labor Day weekend). reference
- Get documentation ready for contest; scan reference material.
- Find hat pattern
- Wig!
- 1895 corset? Laughing Moon?

2. can-can outfit - finish for D*C
- no to-do list, except making the whole thing.

3. Edgeworth suit? reference
- regular court suit vs White Day pic outfit?
- find patterns vs buy off rack?