bloodyrosemccoy: (Relaxin')
To my own bewilderment, I have never, not once, been to Disneyland. Oh, I've been to DisneyWORLD, at the age of nine, and in my conservative opinion it was the GREATEST THING EVER,* but I've never been to the California one.

So my sister has taken it upon herself to fix this sorry situation. Over her fall break next month she and her friend are dragging me to LA, where we will meet my brother for a few days of Disney shenanigans. The bad news is that we have to drive there (I wanted to take the train), but hey, the good news? I'm going to DISNEYLAND.


*Especially since my parents, who at that point had a large chunk of cash to spend, bought into something called the "Grand Plan," an ill-conceived promotional program where you'd spend an exorbitant flat rate for every goddamned thing the entire park had to offer, then spent a week trying to earn a return on it by cramming every amenity, show, character breakfast, parade, and ride in between collecting souvenirs with the fervor of a character in a 90s Rareware game. It was AWESOME.
bloodyrosemccoy: (Old Spice Onna Horse)
Okay, no more silly posts, now that I can type on a real keyboard. I like my Nook, but I have a certain distaste for touch screens. I like to have a bit of resistance. I can see my oldness from here: in the future when we all have BrainPal implants, I’ll still get a keyboard instead of just typing WITH MY MIND like a normal person.

---

Anyway. It’s also surprisingly nice not to wind up getting up-to-the-minute news. Hope all y’all East Coasters are picking up the pieces of your shattered lives, or at least the pencil cups that fell off your desks. Other than that, I hope I don’t need to catch up on anything. It’s nice not to have the weight of the world on my shoulders.

---

Good grief, American Girl, who is picking your illustrators? Cécile and Marie-Grace are adorable and will definitely fill the fancy richness void left by Samantha, but what is with the illustrations that look like cut-and-paste? It’s not even like it’s the same illustrators who did the bad cutout drawings for Rebecca or Chrissa* either. Find someone who can do texture right, dangit.

On the other hand, those outfits just make me want to play Doll Dressup Time. Especially Cécile’s Meet Outfit. IT’S SHIIIINY.

---

I managed to get away to Grand Teton National Park for a few days. I know it’s got a stupid name, but don’t knock a place that looks like this:

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We go here a lot to get away, but this time it was a weird dynamic: me, Mom, Dad, and Dad’s younger sister and her husband. It was … weird. I’ve been coming here since I was three years old, and I’m pretty sure when I get into that context everyone assumes I’m three again. The good news is that, since I’m technically not three anymore, I could wander off if I started feeling that way. At night I could look at the stars, and in the day I could hike around and look around, see if I could spot wildlife.

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And yes, I used an opera glass to observe stars and moose, because I am a classy motherfucker.

Oh, and there was a show about raptors on the deck one day. My favorite was a completely adorable great horned owl.

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The owl’s handler was standing there to give the owl some shade. She’d try to move when someone wanted a picture, but every time she did the owl would get completely confounded and watch her wildly, like “WHERE YOU GOIN? WHAT HAPPEN?”, so the sunlight pictures are all of her blurry head.

I did pretty much nothing else while I was there. Wrote and read, in the view of some awesome majesty. Except for one day when I was all comfy in the cabin and reading, and I had the door open because it was a nice day, and a little marmoty thing** just strolled in and started inspecting my luggage. I tried to get a picture, but before I could he completed his inspection and strolled back out. Probably for the best, as otherwise I’d’ve had to punt him out the door, and I am pretty sure that is against park rules.

---

Got back home and immediately got lost in the Tomato Jungle that is my garden. The pumpkins may be having issues, and somebody may have eaten my strawberries (I’m looking at you, birds), but WE WILL NOT LACK FOR TOMATOES.

---

My sister started school this week. Ye gods, she’s a senior. No word on whether she has any excellent classes, but one can always hope.


*MOM: This one doesn't look so bad!
ME: Yes, it does.
MOM: Okay, yes, it does. I was just trying to put a positive spin on things.

**I am not sure what kind; the closest I could come was what the guidebook told me was a “Uinta ground ssquirrel,” but I have no idea if that is accurate. Also, I had no idea you spelled “ssquirrel” with two s’s.
bloodyrosemccoy: (Old Spice Onna Horse)
Alas, my brother’s visit was too short all around. I wanted more time to hang out and chat with himm. I know he wants to move back out this way at some point—I am just hoping it’ll be soon, since we both suck at telephones and IM. I keep trying to convince him to get an LJ, but that’ll never happen.

---

The biggest thing we did this week was take his girlfriend down to Moab, largely because it was an excuse to go to Moab. It’s always different down there—this time it was a bit cooler and rainier, like everything in the world right now, and the Colorado was flooded. Also, tragically, the bookstore that sells books you’d actually want to read went out of business, leaving the rest of its merchandise to be assimilated by the pretentious desert bookstore it had merged with last year.

ME: Hey, dude! You should totally get The Way of Kings! Look, it’s right here, and I believe it is exactly your type of thing.

MY BROTHER: Good god, I am not buying that monstrosity here! Do you want me to have to check a whole new piece of luggage?

(I wander over to a display where a tender picture book entitled Go The Fuck To Sleep sits cheerfully mocking anyone who thinks loving one’s kids means never being exasperated by them)

ME: Hey, I heard about this book on the radio! Is it any good?

BOOK STORE LADY: If you have a sense of humor.

ME: That was the conclusion of the radio people, too.

---

ME: This condo is a bit overfurnished. How am I supposed to get anywhere with all these chairs and coffee tables everywhere? Should I just parkour my way to my teacup over there?

MY SISTER: YES, YOU SHOULD.

MY BROTHER: PARKOUR, MOTHERFUCKER!


Somehow this became the running (har) gag of the trip, since we all find parkour to be a punchline in and of itself. Need to get out of the back seat of the car? Parkour! Need to get your windstolen hat out of a canyon? Parkour on down! Condo pool locked? Parkour! Hear about another Batman ally? Parkour, motherfucker!

---

I spent a lot of time editing. The OGYAFE is coming together, and I’m in that wonderful stage where it all looks GREAT. I’ve started to think I should’ve written it first, since Doctors! is not really marketable for a first novel, but hey, after I get the OGYAFE sold it might be easier to sell the crazy one about alien medical drama.

---

Meanwhile, while we were all hiking around the desert checking out breathtaking natural rock formations, my seeds sprouted! The corn and squash and beans are looking good, and the nasturtiums always make me happy. I am especially amused that I found the spot where I dropped my packet of marigold seeds. I’ll have to buy some started tomatoes, and once that happens I am going to have an awesome garden this summer. Unless it snows.

---

The last thing we did with brother and his girlfriend was go see the Green Lantern. And we were baffled. How do you take a story about superheroing and aliens, one where the hero can construct any goddamn awesome evil-battling thing he can think of, and make it completely boring? You would think it would be a visual extravaganza. My sister and I are starting to suspect that the writers had no idea they were writing an action movie. They seemed to think it was a pilot for a low-budget sitcom with a sci-fi premise.

Also, I have to admit, I am getting just a little sick of having completely useless women in these fucking superhero films. I am at the point where I’d rather have NO female lead than have a female lead whose only purpose is to be the love interest and offer vague advice about how Mr. Hero has to feel his feelings and commit to responsibility and other such psychobabbly bullshit. C’mon, you even decided to put Amanda Freaking Waller in the movie and there was still no sign of a formidable female. I am half-suspecting that a great sequel twist would be finding out that this "Amanda Waller" is in fact a pod person.*

At least the "green" part meant they scrapped the dreaded Teal And Orange Filter. Small favors there.

---

Anyway. That’s the week in highlights. Anything interesting happen to you guys while I was off gallivanting?


*Obviously, that will be the B-plot, since the credits set up the sequel's A-plot already. Even though this movie stinks, I will still be courteous and not spoil it for those of you who are a) not aware of the Green Lantern canon already and b) absolute dumbfuck morons who can't see exactly who the sequel villain is going to be by about five minutes into the film (he has never been particularly subtly rendered). Although to be fair, if you're like me you were waiting for him to be the villain in this film, if it had ever gotten its shit together.
bloodyrosemccoy: (Calvin And Uncle Joker)
I will probably not be around much this week! My brother and his girlfriend are here to visit, and we are all going to Moab to celebrate. So let me know if I miss any epic internet shit while I’m away!
bloodyrosemccoy: (Default)
What I Learned Since The Summer Solstice
  • Flash photography really does damage exhibits.
  • I knew about the state dinosaur, but I had no idea Utah had an official state cookware. Upon learning this, however, I did correctly guess what it was: the Dutch oven.
  • The story of Marco Polo bringing noodles to Europe from China is a myth.
  • Every year in Teton National Park at least one family assumes that “bear spray” works like bug spray. So before going on a hike they line their kids up, and … well, I hear the park’s clinic is very good.
  • Never try to do a road trip after missing a day of Zoloft.
  • There are petroglyphs like EIGHT FEET off the road to Moab. Why have I never seen them before?
  • Grendel was a velociraptor!
  • Okay, maybe not.
  • In the study of prehistoric animals and so-called “transitional fossils,”* the question of whether an animal was reptile or mammal is settled by checking the jaw and inner ear apparatus.
  • Psittacosaurus was a great dinosaur—basically a badass parrot.
  • Those Wheel of Morality bumps at the ends of kids’ TV shows—Knowing Is Half The Battle, And Now A Message From The POWER RANGERS!—have a distant ancestor in medieval theater, when people would perform stupid farces in churches and conclude with a sudden random promo for Christianity. “And so the shepherds found out their friend had stolen the sheep and pretended it was his son, and they all had a good laugh, in conclusion Christ Child.”
  • Speaking of Power Rangers and tolerance, David Yost left the show one day when the homophobic taunts of the crew, who apparently never watched those bumps, got to be too much for him. AND UPON LEARNING THIS, ALL THE PIECES OF MY SHATTERED CHILDHOOD SUDDENLY FIT TOGETHER. All I had known of those dark times was that suddenly Billy was no longer on the show, and so I was no longer watching it.
  • Ear drops are more trouble than they’re worth.
  • Pets don’t always live their full life span.
  • Neither do people.
  • Even when you know it’s coming, death is a shock.
  • Losing a twin is more traumatic than losing a non-twin sibling.
  • Dad is a Led Zeppelin fan.
  • Magnetic clasps for necklaces are expensive, but totally worth it.
  • Ngila Dickson is my new hero: she designed the costumes for Lord of the Rings, and thus had to figure out what each culture would wear. Also, she had to have each costume made around forty times—and in the case of the hobbits, she had to weave the fabrics twice so they’d fit the same on both the actors and their smaller doubles.**
  • YES, CORN IS GRASS.
  • Quad-ruled notebooks are the best kind for clear thinking.
  • The Hawaiian Islands were, in fact, plagued by wild cattle after Captain Cook introduced them as an ill-advised gift to King Kamehameha I.
  • Major depressive disorder is insurable, but PCOS isn't.
  • Glass stovetops can be hazardous additions to any kitchen.
  • Mint is a thug. Never plant it in your container garden. And thanks to the Awesome Power Of The Internet, not to mention [livejournal.com profile] kitmf , I didn’t even have to learn this the hard way!
  • The Northern and Southern Air Temples were run by monks, while the Eastern and Western Temples were run by nuns. Just as I suspected!
*This phrase always bugs me.  All fossils are transitional fossils, really.  But it does make sense for the transition of our nomenclature.

**She also gets bonus points for something I noticed a while back: she does the same thing to differentiate Rosie Cotton that they do in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast to set Belle apart from the villagers. Notice how both Belle and Rosie are the only ones in their villages to wear blue.
bloodyrosemccoy: (TYRANNOSAURS IN F14S!)
Unlike the previous place, I have definitely been here before. You may have heard a few things about the strange scenery of Southern Utah—aside from its being the location for filming EVERY WESTERN EVER, it also tends to get typecast as The Distant Planet Zargon, or Mars, or that one planet with the killer Teletubbies from Galaxy Quest, or Spaceman Spiff's haunt, etc. And there’s a reason: Southern Utah is weird enough to look like another planet.

It’s something that I can’t really convey with pictures, but I’m trying here anyway. But I highly recommend that if you’re ever in the area, join me on a trip to Moab. Liz did, and she didn’t regret it at all:

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It really is red rock!

I was terribly stupid and forgot to take pictures of the actual town of Moab, which has the sort of Main Street you always find in a tourist town: restaurants, hotels, and souvenir shops. But there are a few places I want to tell you about:

-The Slick Rock Café, which over the years has had its ups and downs in food and service. Highlights include killer nachos, that one time our waitress was COMPLETELY PLOWED, and their current amazing dessert: a deep dish cookie a la mode, which really winds up being half-baked cookie dough. It is DELICIOUS.

-Miguel’s Baja Grill, which sells excellent tacos and fried ice cream. It’s actually positioned in a brightly painted alley. The proprietor knows my family, but he didn’t really recognize me outside of that context. Which is fair enough; he was still a pretty pleasant guy.

-Back of Beyond Books, a pompous shop that sells all the Edward Abbey and Terry Tempest Williams you can want. Dad likes to visit this tiny store for hours on end to ponder the mysteries of the desert. I'm just glad it has now merged with the other bookstore on Main Street, which sells commercial books and, temptingly, pulp sci-fi paperbacks from the Golden Age.

-The Shop That’s Never Open. Nobody knows what the story is with this shop. For years there have been dust-filmed prisms hanging in the window and cardboard boxes piled against the door. Rumors that the place is owned by a crazy cat lady are the only leads we have. It’s become a bit of its own tourist attraction.

-Our motel, which was one of the many hotels in the area, but it was nice because it had air conditioning and wireless internet. This was good because we could spend our downtime watching Dexter on Netflix. Liz had never seen it before, which was a travesty because Liz is a huge fan of crime dramas. “You know, everyone who watches this show tells me they think of me,” she noted. “Perhaps this is a sign,” I said.

Anyway, I didn’t get pictures of those, but I did get pictures of the national park surrounding Moab: Arches!

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The sediment here created layers of rock with many different densities, which is why they tend to weather so unevenly and create these weird mesas and plateaus.

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Balanced Rock is a good example of this weird difference in densities, where the softer stone is worn right out from under the denser stone. Someday this big old rock will fall off its perch, and you just know it'll be all over Youtube.

Delicate Arch, Petroglyphs, and Panoramas! )
bloodyrosemccoy: (TYRANNOSAURS IN F14S!)
All right! Got my pictures set up. I'm sure you're all dying to hear about the rest of my week, so let's start with the rest of the dinosaurs.

On Wednesday as we sat around trying to figure out what we could do before I went to work, Liz found a suggestion on the internet: the Museum of Ancient Life, a place I’ve always wanted to go to, but which just doesn’t register on my radar. So we got to be tourists together!

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The lobby of the Museum of Look At These Fucking Dinosaurs Ancient Life.

The first thing was a travelin’ exhibit on light that would have been pretty cool to spend some time messing with. Unfortunately, it was overrun with kids—and while I’m glad kids are learning Science, it did make it hard to really get around.

After that was a long pointless black tunnel with blue Christmas lights on that wavelength that my glasses apparently refract so that they look 3-D. It was supposed to suggest The Beginning Of The Universe, but I admit I was a little worried that at the end of the tunnel John Cleese would request my liver.

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There was a lot to see, but goddamn this is petrified lightning. (Okay, so it’s sand fused by a lightning strike. THE POINT STANDS.)

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There were tons of fossil displays and plastic replicas of what those fossils looked like pre-fossil.

This may help explain why I am suspicious of seafood. In my experience, ocean life is something you find embedded in the middle of a rock, and it hasn’t technically been life for quite a while.

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I want whoever made this exhibit to do my room.

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I really love leaf impressions in rocks.

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Boy, that ichthyosaurus sure makes an impression! WAHAHAHAHA I crack myself up.

But despite all this ancient life, we all know what the real theme of this museum is, right?

LOOK AT THESE FUCKING DINOSAURS )
bloodyrosemccoy: (Dead Brad)
Hoo.

Okay, I’m back where I once belonged, here in Salt Lake, and Liz is back in Eugene, and all is well.. I am pretty sure we’re both still alive, too, despite feelings to the contrary.* Post-visitor, post-vacation crash takes its toll on one.

So y’all will hear the stories soon enough. Give me time to have a few cups of tea, and perhaps my articulate cleverness will return. Till then, I leave you with the clearest thought I’m having right now: blarrgarblwurgl.

Time for go to bed.


*Also despite my attempt to kill her with a hike up some slick rock in Moab in July.
bloodyrosemccoy: (TYRANNOSAURS IN F14S!)
Well, I’ll be. Thanks to Liz, I am actually finding myself interested in Utah history as Pioneer Day approaches.

Of course, here I am thinking more of the kind of history that our ancestors did not record because, for one thing, they did not have opposable thumbs.

Yes. Tuesday was the Utah Museum of Natural History. Today was the follow-up, the Utah Museum of Look At These Fucking Dinosaurs. I had forgotten that we had this museum because I am a complete idiot and also because for some unfathomable reason I had never been there before.

I HAVE NOW. And I have pictures, but they will have to wait until perhaps this weekend, because tomorrow we are headed off the grid to Moab for a few days. I’m going to try for a hat trick while we’re down there—if it’s not hotter than an atom bomb, I will take her out to Klondike Bluffs and we can look around for the dinosaur footprint I crashed the front wheel of my bike into once. See y’all later!
bloodyrosemccoy: (Lobot!)
It is Liz Week!

Finally, after hanging out every day for all four years of college, and visiting her family every year I was in Oregon during Thanksgiving, I get to show her my world! She’s going to be here all week, and we’ll be checking out Moab at the end of it, but for now I’m showing her around Salt Lake. Wanna see? Of course you do!

First she, Mom, and I went to Silver Lake, up in one of the canyons. It’s a popular spot for families, old folks, and lazy people to hike. It had wildlife!

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Like baby pikas!

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At Snowbird in the next canyon over, we took the famous aerial tram up to Hidden Peak. What a view!

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Liz wanted me to take proof that she’d been next to a glacier.

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Riding the tram turned out to be better-served by memory than re-experience. The tram is kinda neat, sure, but it’s a big room full of squawking kids and surly adults. So when we got to the top of Hidden Peak, we decided to hike down a little ways to the relatively new ski lift that would take us the rest of the way down.

Liz had never ridden one before. I had never ridden one DOWN before! )

I'm Back!

Dec. 20th, 2009 09:38 pm
bloodyrosemccoy: (Licking)
Well! I’m back, after having watched my brother successfully earn his diploma as an electrical engineer. He is now ready to solve the energy crisis.

Or, at least, to explain his theory of physics in terms of Pokémon.*

Anyway, the point is, he has done a hell of a lot of work, and understands electricity—something that most people still consider as mysterious as magic. It’s impressive.

I also got to hang out with my buddy Josh, Emperor of Denver, who has been accepted to Vancouver’s film school and doesn’t even need to do the foundational year—not surprising when you hear him talk movies.

But damn, how can two days of travel leave you feeling like you’ve been eaten by a rancor? My brother and Mom are driving home tomorrow, so I’m hoping the snows hold off till then. But at least I’m back!


*“Sudowoodo? Good god, how did you fit that in there?”
bloodyrosemccoy: (How Jolly)
I may be scarce-to-nonexistent the next few days--I'm off to the Empire of Denver to watch my brother graduate! I should be back in a few days--try to hang on without me till then.
bloodyrosemccoy: (Creative Expression)
Well, well. Looks like pretentious twit Terry Tempest Williams has written a lushly illustrated picture book.

The Illuminated Desert is a desert alphabet—an A-Z of Things You Find Around The Colorado Plateau, each Thing embellished with a few random sentence fragments that sound all shiny. I would have passed it by completely, except that the illustrations, by Chloe Hedden, are amazing. I could not put the book down for staring breathlessly at the illustrations. The book could've been much improved if they'd gotten rid of Terry altogether and just given all the credit to Chloe. The creativity the American Southwest inspires seems better served in visual arts than in writing.

Granted, that’s not stopping me, but I learned long ago to suppress the near-overwhelming urge to write self-indulgent instrospective bullshit in first-person present tense about the Deep Meaningful Meaning of this place.* My plan is to sit on the porch on the banks of the Colorado river, watching the rabbits frolic in the shadow of the rusty red mesas and totally ignore the bugs (blasphemy!) while I contemplate the culture of buglike aliens and just generally frantically worldbuild. I have Plans for this trip. There will be Hitchhiker’s Guides, cross-referencing cultures, historical background, conlanging, and even goddamn spreadsheets. Then there will be writing and typing up what I’ve written. Periodically in order to stretch I will go down next to the Colorado River and practice some taegeuk poomsae or the elusive koryo form.

I’ve never managed to put a finger on just why this place inspires so much creativity, but I’m going to use it for good, by god.


*“I drain the last of my lukewarm beer and give some thought to peeling off my hiking boots, but the grit in my socks reminds me of the places I’ve been, and I find I prefer to carry these places with me a while longer. I gaze out the window at the sunset over the mesas. A solitary fly throws itself against the window in a last desperate attempt to reach the outside world.** I know how it feels.”

**There’s a whole lot of contemplation of bugs in this sort of writing.
bloodyrosemccoy: (Calvin And Uncle Joker)
I’m back! What’d I miss?

It’s been quite a weekend, my friends. We spent two nights at my brother’s college apartment, whose lease expires next month. It’s become quite obvious that he is not going to get his deposit back because his roommate is a disgusting drunken slob. This was not always the case—his roommate used to be a pleasant eccentric who just happened to be a disgusting slob—but over the last year the dude has been spiralling steadily downhill. As far as we know, he hasn’t been sober for two months.

This meant that we had another mission added to the log: warn this friend’s dad that his son is well down the road to alcoholism. Always a fun way to spend a weekend!

The actual fun part was seeing my cousin’s new baby and his older brother the GIANT BABY,* and staying with aunt and uncle in Grandma’s house for the last night. My brother and I geek like nobody’s business, and we got geek all over those two. They were a little disconcerted by our willingness to sit around reading choice Terry Pratchett bits aloud to each other while we waited for our iPods to charge before we went the rest of the way home,** but they were pretty sweet about letting us stay.

And now if I can just get the sensation that I’m still driving a car down the highway out of my system, I’m back and ready to roll.


*The kid was huge when he was born—almost as big as the “newborns” you see on TV shows. Now he looks like a pretty average-sized four-year-old. Except that he’s two. The cognitive dissonance in seeing, as far as your brain’s prototypes are concerned, a four-year-old acting like a toddler is disconcerting at best.

**When your iPod is almost out of batteries, you delay your trip to charge it. This is a rule.
bloodyrosemccoy: (Calvin And Uncle Joker)
Will be sporadic or possibly even radio silent for the next few days on account of going to the Empire Of Denver with my brother to finish vacating his apartment and attending his friend’s wedding reception. We will visit cousins and my fellow Kenya-goer Jazmin, but we will not visit my buddy Josh because he’s still at the University of Oregon with its abominably late end to the term.

I ain’t reading everything you write till then, so if anything happens, like a zombie apocalypse or the Rapture, let me know. Unless you’ve been raptured. Or zombied. Or a raptured zombie. In that case I’m sure I’ll hear about it eventually.
bloodyrosemccoy: (How Jolly)
All right, dudes, it appears I must go to California today. By most reports my grandmother is doing relatively well, but bear in mind this is said about a 91-year-old who had a heart attack last week. My aunt, who works in a nursing home, has suggested that now is the time to come see her.

I will of course try for WiFi so you can all hear sooner than later about how I’ve already been kicked out of California and I haven’t even gotten there yet, but if not, don’t send out search parties till Sunday. If I'm not back after that, the relatives got me.
bloodyrosemccoy: (Default)
Women's Friendship Day
UN International Day of Peace
Independence Day (Armenia)
Independence Day (Belize)
Independence Day (Malta)
 
We’re home.
 
Whew.
 
I need a cup of tea.
 
Well, 妹 is all set up in college.  We got in one great day—a truly fabulous time at the aquarium and driving around the coast and doing the tourist thing—and two shit days of moving my sister in and everyone bitching at each other.  We did miss getting to see my friend's son, but that's how it goes.  But dammit, we got it done.
 
I’m going to have another cup of tea. I’ll TELL you when I’ve had enough.
 
Real updates will resume when I’m coherent again.  Blargh.

bloodyrosemccoy: (Default)
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
National POW/MIA Recognition Day
Saint Gennaro Feast Day
 
Mateys, I’ll not lie to ye—this birthday has been one I’ll be glad t’ see vanish over the horizon. I spent most o’ th’ day loadin’ and unloadin’ cargo, getting’ me sister set up in her living space so she can get a top-rate education. (It’d do ye a turn t’ see her apartment, mateys, for apparently the head is in the hallway.)
 
But! While today was powerful depressing as far as birthdays go, yesterday was a far sight better. I’ll soon be tellin’ ye tales o’ me grand shore leave, with the Monterey Bay Aquarium an’ a return to the pub with such gravy that I swore nigh five years ago I’d enjoy its like again someday.
 
And today was not entirely bereft of things piratical:

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Th’ Santa Cruz Boardwalk be a strange place, and no mistake. Truth be told, me hearties, the aquarium does me heart more good.  (Do you know how SOFT bat rays are?) But hey—I can’t be turnin’ me nose up at me pirate brethren, now, can I?
Arr,
Bloody Rose McCoy

Bullets

Jul. 27th, 2008 09:26 pm
bloodyrosemccoy: (Default)
Parents' Day
Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day
Walk on Stilts Day
 
Ah, back from the old ancestral vacation grounds.  Grand Teton National Park is possibly my favorite place on Earth; I’ve been visiting there since before I can remember. The mountains are spectacular, the wildlife is right up my alley, and even the air has appeal—it’s that brittle, clear, high-altitude air.  It was good to get back.
 
  • I am apparently incapable of seeing a small rodenty woodland creature without grunting, “Nice marmot.”  This is probably annoying.
  • It’s nice to see that even though places like Moab have declined, the Ill-Tempered Stupid Tourist Industry is still alive and well in others.  I am no longer worried that the sour-faced European backpacker or the loud pasty American RVers are endangered species.
  • First rule of national park mentality: You are the only one with a real right to be there.  Nobody else appreciates it properly; they’re just there to get in the way of your pictures, let their stupid kids run wild, and stop in the middle of a narrow road in order to leap out of their car and take pictures of a moose, letting their damn car block traffic when there’s a spot to park about four yards up the road. Screw you, other people.
  • I’ve never really been to visitors’ centers east of the Rockies, but I can tell you that here on this side all of the centers have the same Wall Of Indians. There’s no real effort to focus on the Native Americans of the area; you can get stuff on the Hopi, the Cherokee, the Seminoles, and any other Natives you want at any visitor center around here.  Hey, they’re all Natives.*
  • I am psychokinetic!  I was telling my family about how it was a darn good thing I had a spare pair of glasses because my last week in Africa my Invisible Glasses snapped in half, and later that evening while I was at the pool my invisible glasses snapped in half. And I had to go to the front desk all dripping in a swimsuit and ask if anybody had any superglue. Also, clearly I must learn to harness this awesome power for good.
  • IM in the condo is probably bad. In the old days vacations meant no fangirl feedback loops,** but thanks to the condo’s wireless now [personal profile] lookingforwaterand I totally have a great idea for a short and completely insane follow-up to this.
  • 妹: Help!  I am worried this new medicine I’m on is causing a Major Side Effect! Can you check for me?
AMELIA: *looks on internet* Hmm.  Well, in rare cases it can make your brain bleed!
妹: Yeah, not the signs I’m getting.
AMELIA: Hey! It can totally exacerbate vampirism!  Are you experiencing any sparkling?
妹: I’m asking Dad.
  • Car rides are a lot less obnoxious now that I’ve discovered Batman: The Animated Series is available on iTunes I’m older.
  • I love this place.
 
*Also somewhat true with pioneers.  I found books about American Girl’s Kirsten Larsen—a Swedish girl who immigrates to Minnesota—in Wyoming.
 
**Although I may not have escaped this one as my sister is in the same boat.

Again?

Jul. 24th, 2008 03:41 am
bloodyrosemccoy: (Default)
Cousin's Day
National Drive-Thru Day
National Tell An Old Joke Day
Pioneer Day
Birthday - Amelia Earhart (aviator)
 
Good grief—once again, I’m going on vacation.  This time we’re taking the weekend to go to Jackson. I’m not sure if there’ll be internet, so if I’m not around for a few days, you’ll know why.  And when I get back, I promise you’ll all get the story of how Dad stapled Mom’s head together that one time. Till then, I’ll be enjoying another damn vacation.
 

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