Real Life Update

[quidditchgrrl]

Things here have been going great, much improved in the past two weeks or so. I'm having an endoscopy on Thursday and a gastric emptying study on the 26th. I hope they figure this shit out soon. I want to eat real food and not have to worry about it either coming up or making me feel like shit for six hours. The gastric motility drug I'm on now is helping, but it should come with a Warning: Coma label. Sleep schedule has been off as well. Went to bed at midnight, woke up at 4 am, and am just beginning to wind down now ( about 6:30). Good thing I don't have to be at work until 1. I wonder if the strange sleep patterns have anything to do with my decreased caffeine consumption. Hm.

When I was 18 I had my palm read by and old Chinese lady who told me I had one of the luckiest palms she'd ever interpreted. Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I'm convinced she's right. I'm also a Rabbit, which is the luckiest of all the Chinese signs.

Honeybunch and I have been putting off marriage for...about forever five years. We were officially engaged in November 2002, and have been procrastinating ever since.

Well, the date has been set: November 6, 2004. We're getting married at the Masonic Temple my Rainbow Assembly meets at. I really wanted to get married here (used to be the downtown Temple) in this room, but the prices were a little *snort* out of range.

Honeybunch is now cut out of most of the plans, since he's argued about nearly everything I've brought up to him. Pfft.

So, I'm worrying like hell how I'm going to pay for a nice wedding. My dad isn't going to be able to put forth much of anything financially, Andy is broke (why is another post), and he won't ask his parents to help us out (although they would, and I know they'll be upset if we need the money and don't ask them for any).

Then help arrives in the form of my 401K investment payout from Battelle. *sigh* I now have enough money to have a decent wedding, what a relief.

And like a good Rainbow Girl, I have a theme, colors, poem, motto, etc, etc, etc. So far I have favors ordered (fortune cookies and bell place card holders), the unity candle holder...

damn, this shit is really boring, sorry. :-|

Anyway, work = good. I finally got a schedule going for desk rotations, everyone knows where they are supposed to be, with whom, and for how long. Things are looking up, thankfully. Performance evaluations are on schedule, shelves look decent, I'm happy. Change in schedule - I'm closing on Mondays and Thursdays - not so good, as it screws up my spinning classes. Now I have to try to maintain speed and coordination at 9 am Saturday mornings. Uh-huh. :-P

Went to Dayton Saturday to celebrate hastyent's birthday at a local Irish pub. Good food, good time. And I got to meet Friggin' Bernie (TM), who is a rather nice guy. Didn't see him frig once. [/lame joke]

Writing going okay. Have been picking at tons of unfinished stuff - a Remus/Tonks for blackdracaena, that damned Draco/Hermione bunny - but no closer to completion on anything. Blef.



I thought about doing the fandom friends thing for the month, but I didn't want to offend anyone if they were left out. I also realized that I don't know a whole lot about some of the people on my flist.

Tell me about you. Where are you all from? Some of you don't list your geographic location in your info. Why are you in fandom? Why did you decide to friend me (or not friend me, if you're randomly reading this)? I'd love to know, to have a more personal feel for you as people/fandomers.

Ah, finally tired. Drop me a line, you all!

Comments

[poconell.livejournal.com]

Congratulations on the Wedding plans!! It is possible to have a lovely wedding on a budget. I had people coming up to me at my wedding telling me it was the best wedding they had ever been to. I know a lot of tricks. E-mail me any time!

So, I'll do your meme...

I was born in Saskatchewan, grew up in Calgary, went to UofC for three years, then spent the summer in Montreal on a French immersion. I ended up staying in eastern Canada, and going to nursing school in Cornwall Ont. where I met Mike. We have been together 17 years now. He's like a fifth appendage. I'm not complete without him.

I've done a lot of travel nursing to Australia, South East Asia, New Zealand, and Mexico. Seven years ago, we moved from Toronto to Vancouver with our two boys (they were babies) and two years ago I got pregnant again (didn't plan it, just happened) with Ellen.

Right now I'm schlepping it out in a paediatric ER pining for the day I can quit work and take another crack at a masters in Nursing. I don't even want a masters in Nursing anymore. I just want to read Harry Potter fanfic instead!

There is my life. Not much more to say.

Congrats again!!

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

All that traveling ... and when are you traveling to California, Nell? :D

And Donna? When are you traveling to California?

Heheheheheheheh!

[poconell.livejournal.com]

when are you traveling to California, Nell?

I went to Disneyland with my mom when I was 15, and again with Mike on my way to Australia. I had more fun there as an adult I think. Youth is wasted on the young, eh? I'd love to see more. HP camping?

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

It seems that the camping might be pushed back, alas. A lot of people expressed interest but it seemed like timing was a problem. Then there were people who said Holiday Inn was camping. BWAH.

I was kind of trying to figure something out for Big Bear because someone (dsnyvoice I think) mentioned a friend who has a cabin up there that the people who don't want to sleep in tents could use but I haven't heard back from her. Pooh.

I still want to do it though. Maybe in August, I don't know ... wah!

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

You know what? We're having our honeymoon in Vegas - Andy's best friend lives there and can't come to the wedding, so we're coming to him - how far is that from you?

That's about as close as I'll get to Cali for a bit.

[siriologist.livejournal.com]

Wow! All that travelling sounds exotic. Cool. I know the feeling of having a third baby just kind of err... happen. I never, ever dreamed I'd have three kids. Two was just fine, thank you, but the third is such a sweetie. Having three is a terrible pain in the ass sometimes, but he says "I love you mommy" so many times, I just couldn't sell him. The gypsies offered a pretty good price too. :::sigh:::

Anyway...just thought I'd say you've had an interesting life.

[poconell.livejournal.com]

he says "I love you mommy" so many times, I just couldn't sell him.

Awww, ::melts::

The third one does seem to pull on your heart strings a lot. Must be a primal instinct for survival. You know, to keep us from feeding them to the others. :D

Yeah, nursing can be exciting and exotic when you're young and single. It can really suck at times, too! I love it though. The day I stop caring, will be the day I get out.

But there <i>is</i> more to say...

[poconell.livejournal.com]

I first met you at the Potterotica Y!Group. You wrote good smut and left everyone constructive reviews. I actually exchanged a few e-mails with you when Alexandra took a break from the fandom, but I never clued in to who you were on LJ, till you posted on Lea's journal.

You are funny, and cool, and delightfully naughty! That's why I friended you! :P

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, most of my questions revolve around how to get Andy to cooperate with the plans. Right now I'm keeping him out of it, he complains and wants his way too much!

Travel nursing? How did you get into that? That sounds really interesting, and one of my girls is going into nursing. She might be interested in doing some of that type of stuff - I really can't see her happy working at some suburban teaching hospital.

Thanks for doing this meme for me! :)

[poconell.livejournal.com]

The Australian one was an exchange, but if you look in the back of any nursing magazine or a recruiting website like this one, there are plenty of agencies that will find you a job anywhere you want.

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

Yay for setting the date! I've never known your boy's name before now :-) Am glad you'll be able to have a nice wedding. I don't think it's boring, I love to hear about weddings!

I think you know about me, but let's see. I'm from Sydney, Australia, born and bred apart from one year when I was two. I'm in fandom because I love the books to pieces, I love to write and I've made some great friends. I friended you years ago because you're someone I've known for a long time but I don't remember how we met! But you're a long-standing friend and it's good to have you around.

*hugs*

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

I honestly can't remember how we met either! Maybe through ffnet and some other things?

*wracks brain and comes up empty*

At any rate, I'm glad to have met you and known you lo these many fandom years. >:D

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

First off *hugs* I will be thinking of you this coming thursday and on the 26th. Positive thoughts are heading your way, hon!

Second, Nell's right. It is possible to have a nice wedding with low cost. You just have to put a little more thought into it and be more creative. In other words, do more things yourself rather than hire someone to do it. I speak from experience. One of the nicest weddings I ever was involved in was my friend Denise's. I was her maid of honor and we actually bought the dresses in the mall, made a lot of the food ourselves and asked a friend of hers to DJ.

They also got married in the park and it was just a lovely setting. It was actually the most relaxed wedding I've ever been to.

Third, I friended you cuz you stalked me at Nimbus! BWAH! Kidding! Cuz you are a wonderful person and I loff you!

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hey, weren't you stalking *me*?!? BWAHAHAHA!

I agree, some of the best weddings I've been to - I've been *in* 7 - have been put together on a budget.

The worst was the one I paid $200 for a fuschia dress with a buttbow and $40 dyed shoes to match, we had to pay to have our hair professionally done, nails had to be manicured, makeup by Mary Kay consultants, etc. It was very expensive, but no more fun than another wedding where we wore $40 dresses and danced the night away.

Now to keep Andy from pouting and spoiling my plans...

[angylinni.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm Angela and I'm originally from Idaho, now living in Philadelphia. I've got three demons kids under five that keep me insanely busy, or is it that they just make me insane? Anyway, I friended you because I read your post on BNF's and found it interesting.

I've been in the fandom for almost two years, started out at portkey because of the D/G stuff there. I write mostly minor ships and the like now, less pressure and lots more fun. So, nice to meet you! :)

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hi, I was pretty sure I recognized you from the D/G side of the fandom. :)

Nice to meet you too!

[siriologist.livejournal.com]

Ooooooooooo those rooms look gorgeous! We had a huge masonic lodge in downtown Philly where they'd hold a DeMolay / Rainbow Christmas Dance each year. it was such a treat to go down there. The ballroom was on the second floor and they had a balcony above that. It was really cool! I can see why you'd want to have it there, but then think of all the people that you don't like that you'd have to invite to fill that place up. ;)

And like Liss said, we luuuuurve hearing about wedding plans!

Urrr and the meme...From Philly originally, now in Florida, thought have lived in Arizona and Massachusetts as well. Was a Rainbow Girl in High School (Honybrook chapter although I don't remember any other designation and I think the chapter is now defunct). I friended you because you were Rainbow and I met you at Nimbus, and you just seem very cool.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Bwah, we're going to be reaching to invite 100, I think. The list has grown shorter and shorter as the years have gone by!

We used to have the District JoDeRa dances in this room. Totally awesome. Makes me a little sad when the same dances that used to fill that ballroom are attended by 40-50 kids now.

Thanks for doing the meme - I like to know about people on my list - it adds something to reading about other people when you have more background.

[seakays.livejournal.com]

Donna,
Gosh - congrats on the setting of the date. And trust me, weddings can be done on a budget. I know mine was!

Hmm, what to tell about me. Well, for one, I'm probably older than most in the HP fandom. Have two kids, both girls. Live just outside of Toronto. Married for 15 years. Work part-time.

Been in the fandom about 2 years and we met when I fangirled your writing. LOL Your A Whole New Light is still one of my absolute faves of all time.

Hugs,
S

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

You're working part-time? I must have missed that - what are you doing?

I remember when you began to leave these wonderful, thoughtful reviews for my stories. They always made my day, and you're still one of the very nicest people in this fandom. I'm so glad to know you and call you a friend. :)

Thanks Sue!

[leftsockarchive.livejournal.com]

Hi Donna,

Congrats on setting the date, and good luck with your medical stuff. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Anyway, as you asked, I'll tell you a little about me. My name is Rachel and I live in Boston. I'm originally from Florida but I've been in Mass. for a long time now. I am a communications writer for an insurance company, and like all nice girls, I love smut. I became obsessed with HP in the Fall of 2000, but then got really sucked into the online fandom with the release of OOTP. I discovered Checkmated, and it was all downhill from there. :o)

A couple weeks ago, being relatively new to LJ, I went on a rabid friending spree and added as many people as I could recognize from CM or other HP sites that I admire. So thanks for friending me back.

I look forward to getting to know you better.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Thanks Rachel! Feel free to ping me on Yahoo if you'd like to chat!

[lina-granger.livejournal.com]

Well,I have actually never lived anywhere else... I grew up in Athens and at 15,we moved to Thessaloniki,which is the second biggest city of Greece.

I entered the fandom about a year ago,although I've been reading fan fiction for much more than that. I discovered CM forums and I liked the whole deal so much that I decided I wanted to get to know people with the same obsessions as me.

Apart from my origin,I guess you also don't know that I work as a piano/music teacher,I also give classes of German and English and I will soon work as a translator,greek/german/english in all combinations. I'm 23,not married,and in the summer I work as a bar woman.

As for you,well,I already liked you from CM,even though you weren't a frequent poster. Then I came across your Journal and you had some very interesting posts so I decided I wanted to see more of those. And that's all really.

:)

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hi, wow, you're quite an accomplished woman! I love languages as well, although I've only learned the common ones here - French and Spanish.

Thanks! Feel free to ping me on Yahoo if you'd like to chat.

[lina-granger.livejournal.com]

Yo tambien hablo español - y entiendo un poco de frances.
:))

I rarely get the time to chat,but I will certainly bother you when opportunity arises. ;)

[authenticjoy.livejournal.com]

Oof! Real life stuff? You already know about me.

But...I gotta say this...

I don't know what I'd do in this fandom without you, Cam, and Cressida. Youse guys keep me below the wankdar. You have touched my ickle black heart.

You know I live in Upstate NY/PA, but I don't know if you know this bit:

Owl Hollow.

I do list location, but it sort of doesn't exist. You know that part of it. Sort of. Owl Hollow is the name of my house (Along with "Fucking Money Pit" and "The Victorian Mess From Hell") and a couple of other things.

My Spousal Unit and I are currently daydreaming about building a log cabin in the middle of the woods somewhere (You know - for the end of the world?) and we came across the name on a map of our area.

It's so Harry Potter, isn't it?

We went looking for it. It involved leaving the road. And going into the woods. And trespassing. We found out that it is not there anymore. If it ever was.

Someday, we are going to find out why it is on the map and find out if the farmer who owns it will sell it. And then we will live in the real Owl Hollow. :o)

I'm in the fandom because the real world makes me crazy. Crazy for real. Like 'medicate me right now' crazy. The world sucks just that hard for me. I'm better off ignoring it, and being in the fandom makes that easy. It's that simple.

Soooo...Any time you alter an 'up' or a 'down' your sleep patterns are going to change. It doesn't take long for it to right itself.

It's funny, you've always reminded me of someone I knew on Usenet who went by the moniker 'Rabbit'. Now I know why.

Congrats on the date! Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hee, thanks J! I think you, Cam, and Di have kept me sane in the teeming sea of wank that this fandom seems to be at times.

Yes, moving to the hinterlands, delving into fandoms, ignoring the real world - it all makes real life much easier to take. I rarely turn the TV on anymore, I get way too upset to handle it. So, I read fanfic. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

[(Anonymous)]

Donna, I only pop up occasionally at LJ and I had no idea that you were still feeling so poorly so hugs and get well soon love. Re my earlier post, you might find that weight loss might help you there I know that it helped my mum who had similar problems. You're lucky at least you haven't got kids in the house stuffing their skinny faces with Easter Eggs and Chocolate Mini Rolls! I am glad you are getting the wedding sorted out, it is possible to do it all at low cost I know I did even, though it was along time ago - honestly almost 22 years! Don't worry about your better half - they are never any use at that kind of thing, R went away on holiday with his mates for the fortmight before our wedding and I barely noticed he'd gone such was his contribution - you'll make a much better job of it without his help. lol.

Keep in touch through Owl Hollow.

Cress.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Oh, actually as I've lost weight the pain has gotten steadily worse, but I don't think the two are related.

But, I honestly think part of the reason the cause wasn't researched in a timely manner was 'punishment' for being overweight. It took a second doctor and me begging for intervention for the powers that be to schedule a look inside instead of the admonishment to lose more weight (the ten pounds in thirty days may have been the alarm point that something was Really Wrong).

Hm, sending Andy away for the week before doesn't sound like a bad idea - absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. It'll keep him out of my hair, anyway! :)

[soawen.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry your body isn't cooperating, so a lot of well-wishing from me.

I remember you posting a link to the wedding dress you chose (or was it one of the ones you had in mind?) - with a taste like that, you can't go wrong ;) Money helps, but IMHO all the money in the world can't help you if you don't know what you are doing. If you don't know it, www.etiquettehell.com might prove amusing.

And uh, me? I live in Copenhagen, Denmark. I study comparative religion and work at a library (another reason to friend you - I enjoy reading your stories from work because I can relate to a lot of it). I have a dog and a blue bike, and I remember you from oh, when ff.net was still a good archive ;) When the Boudoir came about, I joined, and since I am recovering from my lurking days, I got an LJ and friended you - nothing as having delicious, twisted smut delivered to my screen. Oh, and you're a woman after my heart when it comes to politics ;)

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Yay for the oldbies! :D

Thanks for the well-wishes.

[mlsqueen.livejournal.com]

abcjvc here responding to you call for info on why I stalk your LJ. I live in the south, Huntsville, Alabama to be exact. I have been reading Harry Potter fan fiction for two years. I am horrible at writing fiction, so I stick with obsessivly reading what others have written. I was lured to your journal after reading some of your stories. Since I am totally hopeless at ficiton, I find it interesting to see how those who write stories progress along. Of course most of the time the posts are anything other than fic related posting, but I have voyueristic tendencies anyway so it's all good.

Congrats on the wedding.

[catsperspective.livejournal.com]

I really planned on responding to this, but forgot. I was reminded in your last post. :o)

I was born in southern California but I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Long story on how I got here. LOL)

I got into this fandom because just reading the books was not enough for me. I wanted more, and fan fiction just seemed like the answer.

I friended you for the simple reason that you were one of my favorite writers. While I love reading what other write, I am always curious about the person behind it. I like to write myself and am always coming up with ideas for stories. I often wonder how others work too.

Anyway, back into lurk mode :o)

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for responding! Glad to know you! :)