I had a match, but she had a lighter
May. 5th, 2010 09:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thorne_scratchI am not dead. Still buried under work, though.
So, about an hour ago I was hauling ass down Route 123, on my way to work, balefully cursing the potholes under my breath and wondering why it is there is never a single road in Virginia that is not under construction at any given time. It was your usual middle of the week work commute, with the added contemplation of just how drunk it is possible and/or acceptable to become on a Wednesday Cinco de Mayo. When all of a sudden, I see what looks like two largish grocery bags or crumpled boxes in the middle of the road. There are some smaller crumpled things sifting around them. Oh good, I think, something else that can possibly take out my alignment.
But as I get closer, it turns out they are not boxes or bags. They are, in fact, a family of Canadian geese, two adults and four tiny, fuzzy goslings, regally marching their way across the highway.
Any normal hostility I feel towards Canadian geese (damn things used to crap all over the pool and were a bitch to clean up after, though I do give them some reluctant respect. They're part of the "large birds who will immediately fuck shit up in a hilarious way as long as it is not you getting attacked" group that includes geese, swans, ostriches, cassowaries, emus, and![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
squeemu) was immediately swept away by fond memories of "Make Way for Ducklings!" So I slammed on my brakes and sat in the middle of the road as they waddled their way across my lane. The person in the lane next to me stopped, and threw on their hazards for good measure, and so did the driver in the next lane over, and we all just sat there with goofy smiles and watched the geese do their thing. The parents were each herding two of the goslings, who peeped and scrambled around their feet, clearly asking their parents if there was a pool and cable TV at their eventual destination, and were they there yet.
No one honked (except the geese); no one drove on until they were safely across. It was an unexpected feel-good moment, all the better for coming in the middle of the week and completely out of the blue. I feel a great encompassing fondness towards all humans and avian life forms at the moment. It will have probably faded by the time I leave work today, but for right now, the memory still makes me smile, sitting here at my desk. Happy Cinco de Mayo; may there be tequila for everyone tonight, and no hangovers tomorrow.
Oh yeah, and I also bought a house. Or possibly a small European principality, judging from the check I'm supposed to write. More on that later.
So, about an hour ago I was hauling ass down Route 123, on my way to work, balefully cursing the potholes under my breath and wondering why it is there is never a single road in Virginia that is not under construction at any given time. It was your usual middle of the week work commute, with the added contemplation of just how drunk it is possible and/or acceptable to become on a Wednesday Cinco de Mayo. When all of a sudden, I see what looks like two largish grocery bags or crumpled boxes in the middle of the road. There are some smaller crumpled things sifting around them. Oh good, I think, something else that can possibly take out my alignment.
But as I get closer, it turns out they are not boxes or bags. They are, in fact, a family of Canadian geese, two adults and four tiny, fuzzy goslings, regally marching their way across the highway.
Any normal hostility I feel towards Canadian geese (damn things used to crap all over the pool and were a bitch to clean up after, though I do give them some reluctant respect. They're part of the "large birds who will immediately fuck shit up in a hilarious way as long as it is not you getting attacked" group that includes geese, swans, ostriches, cassowaries, emus, and
squeemu) was immediately swept away by fond memories of "Make Way for Ducklings!" So I slammed on my brakes and sat in the middle of the road as they waddled their way across my lane. The person in the lane next to me stopped, and threw on their hazards for good measure, and so did the driver in the next lane over, and we all just sat there with goofy smiles and watched the geese do their thing. The parents were each herding two of the goslings, who peeped and scrambled around their feet, clearly asking their parents if there was a pool and cable TV at their eventual destination, and were they there yet.No one honked (except the geese); no one drove on until they were safely across. It was an unexpected feel-good moment, all the better for coming in the middle of the week and completely out of the blue. I feel a great encompassing fondness towards all humans and avian life forms at the moment. It will have probably faded by the time I leave work today, but for right now, the memory still makes me smile, sitting here at my desk. Happy Cinco de Mayo; may there be tequila for everyone tonight, and no hangovers tomorrow.
Oh yeah, and I also bought a house. Or possibly a small European principality, judging from the check I'm supposed to write. More on that later.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 02:17 pm (UTC)Also, man, I love these unexpected bonding moments where you just share something with total strangers. Kind of restores my faith in humanity just a little.
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Date: 2010-05-05 02:44 pm (UTC)Me too. It gives me warm fuzzies that occur rarely these days, sadly enough.
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Date: 2010-05-05 02:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 02:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 02:55 pm (UTC)Happy Cinco de Mayo! I hope it is a very good one for you, too.
Congratulations on the house!
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Date: 2010-05-05 04:33 pm (UTC)Thanks! Enjoy the night! And your incipient librarian degree! We will have to sit down and have a proper chat once I emerge from the work load.
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Date: 2010-05-05 04:42 pm (UTC)I've been trying not to bother you too much since I know you are working hard right now! But yes, would love the chance to talk once it calms down a little for you. (Hopefully, I shall have good news after this weekend, as well! But not so amazing as buying a house.)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 05:32 pm (UTC)... you know, actually, I don't miss them at all.
I look forward to your good news!
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Date: 2010-05-05 03:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 04:27 pm (UTC)Oh, I have to work in the morning also. I still intend to do some drinking, I'll just have to be sensible about it. Pity, really. Enjoy your night!
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Date: 2010-05-05 03:22 pm (UTC)I think Rissi has ducklings in common with you, but not cars. My only encounter with avian road-crossing involved getting out of the car to convince the young turkeys to move out of the middle of the road and off to safety!
Silly things didn't want to finish crossing; we saw this once a year for about 3 years, I think.
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Date: 2010-05-05 04:31 pm (UTC)Turkeys, man! That kinda amazes me. And reminds me I accidentally left them off the Large Angry Bird list. Oops.
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Date: 2010-05-05 03:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 04:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 04:26 pm (UTC)Does your principality get a castle and a moat? You've always wanted a moat. I can tell, every time you pass the pirhanas in the pet store...
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Date: 2010-05-05 04:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 04:46 pm (UTC)Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent them.
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Date: 2010-05-05 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 05:32 pm (UTC)My family was low-income, so I'd only had Shake N Bake Croc as a kid. But since then we've braised them, grilled them, and it you cut them into thin strips, they make an awesome Croc and Sweet Potato Tempura. ♥
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Date: 2010-05-05 05:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 08:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 06:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-05 04:50 pm (UTC)Also, can I move in with you? I promise I'm housetrained.
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Date: 2010-05-05 05:27 pm (UTC)Sure, but you'll have to pass the rigorous housemate test. There's pie-baking component to it, as well as a swimsuit competition.
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Date: 2010-05-05 09:45 pm (UTC)(Also, congrats on new digs and on avoiding goose-doom.)
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Date: 2010-05-06 06:03 am (UTC)Also, be prepared to hear about the house with a cemetery in the backyard, and the house where I'm pretty sure a homeless person was hiding in the basement.
Thank you!
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Date: 2010-05-05 11:18 pm (UTC)I am prepared to believe that geese might have been greater.
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Date: 2010-05-06 06:06 am (UTC)The geese were certainly cuter. And probably less likely to, you know, kill me if I had actually hit them with the car. Though you never know; a good sized Canadian goose flying into your grill is like a bomb going off.
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Date: 2010-05-06 12:04 am (UTC)Oooh house! I look forward to seeing more info :)
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Date: 2010-05-06 06:04 am (UTC)Oh, there will be info. There will be info in spades.
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Date: 2010-05-06 12:47 am (UTC)Also, congratulations on the house! I HOPE THE POST OF EXPOSITION COMES SOON <3
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Date: 2010-05-06 06:10 am (UTC)Thank you! OH IT IS COMING, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT. But probably not until the whole thing is closed and finished, just so I can give a full report.
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Date: 2010-05-06 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-06 06:08 am (UTC)Scary birds
Date: 2010-05-11 12:13 pm (UTC)I really really hate those birds. To be fair, I really just dislike birds. I blame Alfred Hitchcock for scarring me for life.
Also, did you know that they are actually called Canada Geese, and not Canadian Geese? I only know this because every time I talk about them to my dad (which is more frequently than you would imagine), he reminds me. Every. Single. Time.
And my Avis Cyrus icon scares the bejesus out of me.
why you always got to waste my flavor
Date: 2010-05-11 04:09 pm (UTC)I did not know! ...now knowing, I will probably not remember. Ah well. Canadian flows off the tongue better than Canada, anyway.
I have... no room for Miley Cyrus in my life. I'm sorry, Miley. You just don't matter to me, no matter how many avian goth outfits you put on, or Nicholas Sparks movies you do, or peace signs you flash. Despite your recent need to burgeon out of your Disney shackles, there's just... nothing there for me.
Re: why you always got to waste my flavor
Date: 2010-05-12 01:34 am (UTC)PUPPIES!!!! I thought you liked Gizmo.
Re: why you always got to waste my flavor
Date: 2010-05-19 01:02 pm (UTC)I do like Gizmo! But in general, I am not really a dog person. It has to be a special dog.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-25 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 03:11 am (UTC)(PS, if you want to talk Supernatural finale here, I am all about that! and I just didn't want to hijack Flidget's post and get all spoilery, and ruin it for someone.)
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Date: 2010-05-26 10:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 01:16 pm (UTC)Which means that in a really significant way, Sam takes after Mary and Dean takes after John.
Ah, but I should say that while I liked large quantities of the Apocalypse plot-arc, I found the whole bloodlines thing rather-- well, rather pasted on yay. (Which, to their credit, I think they recognized-- after all, they named the first Adam episode "Jumping the shark". I think they came up with a cool idea later in the game than expected, and were doing their best to shoehorn it in so it could come into play by the ending.) I actually find the bloodlines thing the least interesting factor towards comparing them towards their parents and then onwards towards their respective Michael/Lucifer hosts. But I suspect I feel that way because the show was all but smashing the audience over the head with a mallet saying "SEE, SEE, DEAN IS A GOOD SOLDIER WHO OBEYS DADDY LIKE MICHAEL AND SAM IS A REBEL WHO QUESTIONS AUTHORITY LIKE LUCIFER. SEE? SEE?!" Much of that dialogue was painfully awkward in its attempt to make the point. A cool idea-- but awkwardly executed, imo.
I think (and I say this in a fond and complimentary way) that sometimes Kripke succeeds entirely by accident, and not actually because he put the long thought process in. From my perspective, I think Sam and Dean both have traits you can associate with both their parents, and easily compare them to John and Mary, and the fact that they both have such a mix of traits is the interesting thing for me. For example, I think Dean does have the nurturing side you could associate with Mary, but also the soldier-taking-orders trait from young!John, before John turned into the commander. I think Sam definitely has a certain ruthlessness and willingness to question authority we saw in the show's portrayal of pre-show Mary, and yet he’s also in the role of John, putting revenge as top priority in response to the harming of a loved one, with both Jess and Dean.
I think they both ended up with the blindly loyal nothing-else-matters mentality. And what I liked about the show is that it mixed all that up. Neither of them stayed the same, in the end. Both boys learned and traded certain traits over the course of the show-- the valuing of a normal life, the ability and desire to question authority, the value of family, etc. And I think that's very nifty, even if the evolution of it had its hiccups and awkward moments on the way!
BUT—this is what I think, as someone who started watching really at the beginning of the third season, and then watched 1 & 2 to catch up, and then switched back to 4 & 5 in order. I’m aware my perspective may be different from someone who watched at the beginning of season 1.
And to go back to my very original point—my opinion is that overall, from what I’ve read and seen, fandom in general does tend to throw Dean on the Mary side of the equation more often than Sam. Whether or not you personally find that accurate is up to you. I think it’s rooted in physical appearances.
Gosh, my original point is actually quite short.
LATE COMMENT IS LATE
Date: 2010-06-02 10:18 am (UTC)I dunno, I thought they laid the groundwork for it pretty early on - at the end of season 2 when Sam is talking to Azazel in his dream, he gets shown the Azazel-over-his-crib scene again and Mary recognises him ("You!"). There's also the part in season three where Sam is trying to investigate Mary's family and comes up with them all being dead, and even back mid-season one in Faith, the healer is all 'you're a young man with an important job to do. and it isn't finished'. I wish we'd got a proper season three - I know they did their best to run with the storyline that they wanted but it was clear that a 16 episode season was gonna run a little short of what they had planned :( I suspect there would have been more groundwork in there that they just didn't get to.
Oh, I definitely agree that they have traits from both parents - right back in season 1 either dean or john is talking about how Sam and John are so alike and that's why they can't stand to go 5 minutes without an argument.
And again, you're right, and that was why in the end they triumphed - because they did grow and change, and the angels didn't/couldn't.
Hee, yeah I think because Dean is 'prettier' and Sam was compared to John so much in season one (and because Dean was sam's 'stay at home mum') fandom got the impression that Dean was more like Mary and Sam was more like John.
Sorry this took so long, I am tired and also life. Blah!