Rob's Halfway House #11

[lulu]

Oh my goodness. Every time I think I've made it back to posting at the Lex and will be regular again, something comes up. When I look at my life i don't think I'm THAT busy, but I don't know, I just have to make it happen.

Latest drama is a hard drive crash, which created some havoc. Not as bad as it could have been but still upsetting.

On a good note (haha, pun intended...you'll see), I had a wonderfully musical Saturday! Hubs and I were gifted some last minute tickets to a christmas concert. 700 choral and orchestral performers. Wow, it was gorgeous. I cried about 6 times because the music was so beautiful, intricate, and so well performed. What a treat! I think I'm going to try to audition for it. Either soon or some years down the road, we'll see.

I also went caroling with some women from my neighborhood. We have a Facebook group for women from just our community where we sell, trade, chat, inform, and ask questions. Someone said they wanted to go caroling, and a handful replied. It was quite successful! We went door to door only of the houses with Christmas lights up and had smiles, laughs, camera phones recording us, dogs yoweling along, naked toddlers, and a few tears. We're going to go 4 more times before Christmas. It was so rewarding!

Anyway, I'm writing from my phone again so this is slow going and my thumbs are getting sore, lol!

I did want to add that still look forward to becoming a regular again. It'll be the right time eventually!

I have been reading Susie's memoir and it's so lovely. We are so lucky to have her, aren't we? She has perfectly chronicled what makes this place so special.

Ok, I'll stop by again! Wishing you all a great week!

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Tornado]

I had a busy day at work today. I had to send out review letters and emails for a couple of new books we have available, then I had to put new titles (including mine!) in a number of online cataloging sites. These sites help bookshops and libraries to find books on particular subjects. One is the government system and all books have to go through there.

I also put in all the corrections for The Heir. The reason this had to be done at Rochelle's place was because the program it's on for typesetting is InDesign, which we don't have at our place. I did get it all finished so that's a good thing. I've emailed myself another pdf of it so I can proof it again.

Tracy - it was good to read your review of Skyfall. Hubby and I may be going to see that in a week or two. It sounds good!

lulu - I hate it when hard drives die. It's such a pain in the neck. I used to go Christmas carolling years ago when I went to another church. It was such fun! That concert would have been lovely.

[Chernaudi]

Tracy: You can supplement my WWII aircraft stuff with stuff from a Japanese shonen sci fi action/adventure manga called Bio-Booster Armor Guyver:

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Guyver

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bio_Booster_Armor_Guyver

Or maybe some of my OC's from my new fan fic that I'm working on (Spoilers: Lia's electrical, electro-magnetic and gravity manipulation powers, Jess' magic abilities, Mel's gravity manipulation powers, and Camel's ability to use powers from various vampires, as well as a battle form that's a bit of a tribute to Slenderman, and, even more so, some of the Zoanoids and the Guyver units from Bio-Booster Armor Guyver, on top of them being vampire hybrids).

This is especially true of the Volturi--what WWII or even modern aircraft and weapons can't do, alien designed bionic weapons encrusted battle armor might--maybe. You'll have to read that chapter when I write it LOL

I have a bit of a head ache now, so I might take some medication and see if that helps me before I decide to work on any fan fic before I retire to bed.

I'll be back later

[marielle]

Good morning everybody…

In 2 weeks time I’m getting the keys to my new house!!! Even with all the troubles we have I’m still really excited about it…

Plan for Christmas are slowly coming together. Right now it’s all about parties before Christmas… What is everybody doing for Christmas?

I’d like to point out all the celebrations Robsessed is organizing. I’d advise you to go over there and check it out… it will be epic…

Now posts,

Mel, I missed the part about Bella’s dress and heals after she woke up as well… I love that chapter in the book and the sort of skipped over it without paying really attention to it.
I think the Romanians were off because we sort of expected twiddle-de and twiddle-dum… their script just didn’t show that, they were too normal…at least that’s how I felt about.
With a bit of luck the dvd release will be around my bday…so I’m knowing what to ask from my BF…

Sarah, because we don’t celebrate Christmas all that big this year I don’t have to worry about presents and having the house decorated… It gives me some relieve from the stress…. Though my family managed to plan parties all around Christmas to which we can not attend to…

Lynne, no it isn’t all sorted out but we will manage… my parents offer to lend us the remaining money. Which is really nice of them. Right now we are working hard to get access to all our savings… I’ll tell you one thing, I’m very happy we decided a few years back that we would save 10% of our income… I’m so glad I listened to Oprah…

Suzanne, that sucks!!! Being told you can’t do something by an outsider… Though I’m sure she has experience in the field and yes if you want to work in the science business you have to be anything but shy… I know with my BF’s work the shy people are mostly ignored. They are just walked over…however I’m sure that having been told you can’t do something will only be a motivator to do it anyway. I’m sure that with time and proper education you’ll do great…
Hihi,… I think every HH dream is fun and special… but seriously I can’t imagine Caryn running a bookstore… she is kind of the opposite from you. She is anything but shy.

Sean, I honestly can’t stand that Mariah Carey song… I’m so happy they haven’t started Christmas song on the dutch radio stations yet…
Lately I have been listening to a lot of older music. 60s and 70s… I just love that Woodstock era…

Hey Ginnie!!! I’m happy you are back into writing again…

Tracy, I haven’t seen the new James Bond movie yet… I’m not a big fan and in general I wait till they are on tv. I love Ralph Fiennes though… he is a great actor…
Thanks for the support.. I had 2 days of emotional break down… now it’s getting better… still I’m quite angry with it all…

Lulu, hihi you made me laugh with the howling dogs… my grandparents dog would do that when ever there was one special song on the radio…

Alright I’m off… tons of work to finish…
See you all later…

[Tornado]

marielle - I'm glad your parents are able to help. We are going away for a few days just before Christmas, but we will be back for Christmas Day. We will spend it at my in-laws' place for lunch, where my parents and brother will also be going, then we will stay at my in-laws' for dinner, when my mother-in-law's family will be coming.

[Naterpie]

Wow, lots to read in here! Everyone sounds like they're having a busy time!
I'm just trying not to lose myself in all this christmas paper wrapping just strewn about my bedroom....

Anyone else wish they could get the BD2 DVD for christmas already? DVDs take so long to come out!

[TwilightFan87]

Hello all! I'm hoping after a good nights rest I will be able to tackle my to do list..that and hoping my boss decides not to suddenly change the schedule! We've been busier than anticipated which is great but she wasn't anticipating that people are shopping earlier this year!

Marielle- glad to hear your parents are able to help! I think parties with close friends this time of year is nice everyone is so busy with work and school it's hard to plan things. We have to figure out how to fit in allnofbour fdmiky get togethers with my wirk scheduke, especially because i work Christmas Eve until 4 which isnt bad. Jasons parents are divorced so we have to find them for both of them, his grandma, my parents, and each other! And just two weeks- how exciting!!

Lynne- how exciting that you got the corrections turned in

Tracy-yes you're right I work at Hallmark it's not so much the gifts, I'm doing well on that front, it's just all the extra hours and chaos makes me tired! I made a list last night and if I can just stay focused I should be okay. I'm thinking one day this week I will stick around the house and have a quiet day to myself though as well, just for my sanity!

Lulu- sorry to hear about your hard drive, that is sooo frustrating! My laptop crashed about 2 months ago so I feel your pain!

Suzan- people can be so mean I'm sorry!


Okay, I'm off to sleep a bit more before tackling that list!

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[openfire]

Happy Monday all!

IT SNOWED HERE LAST NIGHT!!! Yay! Tho it's kinda melting now... But it was still really great to see the snow, and be out in it as it was falling!

Today I went shopping & think I have all of hubs' gifts for Christmas. His birthday is on Sunday, so need to decide what I'm giving him for what day.

Yesterday was also my works Christmas lunch thingy. We ended up staying out later than everyone thought at a bar. Was really great fun though. And I don't even feel ill today - woohoo! LOL. A couple of my workmates are nursing pretty bad hangovers.. LOL.

Hello to everyone & I hope you all had a lovely weekend too! Hopefully catch you all soon!

[corona]

Hello everyone, I have to post now so I can't respond to all. Just acquired a Nexus 7 tablet and I'm loving it. I think I'll get my wife the Kindle HD for Christmas.

About Benjamin's power and fire. I think this is one of those things that work better conceptually. I've tried myself and can't put everything together. I think Caryn's explanation works best, but there are still some problems. Venom works like kindling, or maybe even like newspaper, if it's flowing the fire catches quickly. There is definitely more emphasis in the books on tearing the vamp to pieces to get things flowing, but the movies kind of show them reacting to fire the way the wicked witch in Oz reacts to water, it's just catastrophic with practically any contact. Doesn't Jane just throw that child into the fire and that's that? Trying to remember.

Lynne, I'm with you, I always thought Benjamin's power was a little problematic. I'm not too sure how much power it actually gave him. Opening up the chasm ended up being a two-edged sword, though it did save Bella.

Brenda, Marielle gave some good advice. Research the breed first. Many toy dogs have problems with holding their bladder in. Not all, but a lot do. We have two maltipoos that are adorable, but one does well going outside and the other still goes on potty pads. They are lap dogs for sure, though. The prices for purebreeds or boutique crossbreeds are high. You might also try rescue shelters for breeds, but they can sometimes be real finicky about the home conditions.

Marielle, so sorry selling your house was such a problem, sounds like they had you over a barrel and there was nothing you could do about it. That would be extremely stressful; I know I'd be pretty angry.

I hope the holidays go well for you. Cut way back on presents and just have good food and family and friends for Christmas.

Mel, my reaction to BD2 was almost exactly the same as yours at some points.

Bella was "adjusted" to remove as much potential vampire creepiness as possible. Things like wanting to lunge for her father might not come off well on the screen. Still, things didn't quite add up on that particular aspect. Not much emphasis on the thirst, even though this was one of Edward's grave misgivings for changing Bella. The Charlie scene went pretty well, but I thought there would be a bigger emotional impact with just Kristen and Billy in the scene.

That was probably a consequence of doing half-measures, showing Bella's ease in stepping into the new life while not wanting to completely throw away the difficult adjustments to the thirst. It worked...OK. I think the canon text often worked better in this particular aspect of the adaptation. Edward gives his "white hot" poker rebuke to Jacob, and then Bella shows her agony by...slightly turning her head away from Charlie. I know canon Bella wouldn't let it show either, but visually the adaptation wasn't very strong there.

There was some analysis of Bella on the Gutter thread regarding sex (of course), and I think one side aspect of Bella that popped up was that she was absolutely fearless once she had changed. Jumping off the mountain was a little strange, but I think it was perfectly consistent with book Bella, who never gives the slightest hint she is having any issue adjusting to the new indestructible nature of her body.

I have to confess, I laughed when Carlisle got it at the start of the battle. Everything was so over the top, starting with Aro and his laugh, that the staging of the scene was like an homage to "B" movie martial arts films. It was so deliciously fiendish. If I have any problem with that it's probably the same as Peter's, in that I missed out seeing Carlisle fight. He is my favorite next to B&E, he's what made it all possible. I actually had more of a problem watching Jasper get killed.

BTW, all-time favorite is still the first one. I think it was best as far as capturing mood, the initial obsession, and packaged with the best music of all. A lot of TW haters begrudgingly give the soundtrack very high marks.

Sean, I loved the plane video. I acquired a little fascination with WW2 planes when I used to play WW2 simulations. My favorite is still the P51. I played the video a couple of times just enjoying the sound of the engine and props.

Have you ever gone to an air show? I live close to MacDill AFB and seen some incredible shows. They had an F14 (or F15) there that did that vertical hang in the sky, engines on just enough thrust to keep it suspended in air (it looked impossible), and then hit the boosters and shot up in a straight vertical. One of the most awesome displays of power I've ever seen.

[Edwards Ragazza]

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Sorry for lack of post at night, which is when it is easier for me. I have been falling asleep after I read stories with my kids.


Marielle~ That is wonderful news. I don’t think any time you are buying a house it goes smoothly. There is always some hiccup during that time that can cause a delay.


Jacyln~ What did you get your hubs for his birthday and Christmas? Oh I remember the days going out and nursing hangovers. Now I know better 1 or 2 drinks with a full glass of water in between. Glad you weren’t ill.


Susan~ I haven't forgotten about your email. I will send it out today.

Hello to everyone I missed.