blueprix18

Charlie's concert was last night. He was so excited for it, I can't even tell you.

It was a nice show - such a difference between grade school and middle school/high school. The kids can actually play now.

I have to post photos when I get home, but I was able to get some clear (if dark) shots of Charlie because he was not sitting behind a music stand. Why, you may ask? Because he memorised the score, that's why.

It's really almazing to watch him up there, getting actual music out of the thing, and just enjoying himself so much.

I also, for those of you who have friended me on FB, have a clip of him playing trumpet on there.

Who knows where my subject line came from? Anyone? Bueller? (do people still say 'Bueller'?)

I thought of the subject line becuase our 'holiday gift pens' came in today. Why pens? Well, flist, let me tell you...

Every year, my boss's boss likes to give out these 'teamwork' calendars - little pocket calendars that have pithy little sayings from people like Ben Franklin on pages as a gift to the employees. We order these things from this company called Myron Business.

All year, at random intervals, I would get a call from someone at Myron asking me if I am ready to order the calendars, and I would say 'no, Boss wants to order them in September, like he always does, and has been doing for years.' then someone else will call, because apparently they don't write anything down.

So, September rolls around, I order the stupid calendar, all is well. I even stop getting calls from Myron. The calenders were supposed to ship Dec. 1st. When they don't arrive I send an email to customer service saying 'when are they going to get here' and guess what?

I get an email back saying that calendar is 'out of stock' and I should go on line to order a different calendar.

Not once did I get a call from a 'sales rep' telling me that the calendar we order every bloody year, the calendar they would call at least once a week to get me to reorder, wasn't available. Not to mention the fact that when I called the guy couldn't give me a logical reason why they were out of stock.

So...we're getting pens. From a different company.

This is the thrill that is my life!

Had three things on tap for tonight.

Pilates, bellydance drills, and making xmas cds.

Instead of buying gifts for each other, my group of friends are making cds of music that we enjoy and is important to us.

Pilates? Check.

Bellydance drills? Nope.

xmas cds? Nope.

I'm exhausted. I finished the pilates and now I want to sleep.I can barely type. I don't know what happened.

exhausted.

sleep now.

Just called Charlie to make sure he was home and safe, and he told me that at the end of band class he started 'beat-boxing' into his trumpet, and everyone loved it, and one of the precussionists started to play along to Charlie's beat-boxing, and it was apparently very cool.

Saturday morning Charlie and I breakfasted at The Pop Shop, and got a table by the window. Across the street is a real estate agency, and they had in their window, a life-sized Santa. At one point in time the thing started to swivel, like it was dancing.

I couldn't tell if someone was moving it, or if it was one of those things that move and play horrible, tinny Christmas Carols. I pointed it out to Charlie, and remarked that it reminded me of the Santas from The Runaway Bride, and he laughed and agreed.

So, we spent the next few minutes waiting for it to break through the window and start terrorising the town.

It didn't though.

Was sort of disappointing.

These snowflake pictures reminded me, of all things, a Honey Bunch book.

In one of the books, (either 'Honey Bunch and her First Trip North' or 'Her First Trip to Snowtop', I can't remember and can't find it listed) she goes 'North' (it is unspecified which north, but I'm going to guess Canada) because her lawyer dad is representing some guy who makes jewelry based on snowflakes, and someone else is ripping the guy off by making cheap imitations.

The guy in the book would catch snowflakes and photograph them, and then design silver jewelry based on the unique design of the flake.

When I read that as a child, I thought that would be the niftiest piece of jewelry ever, and looking at those photos I've linked I must reiterate that thought, and I'm wondering now if there was/is someone who actually does that.



*Honey Bunch, for those who don't know, were a Stratemeyer Syndicate series about this precious little 6 year old, Gertude by birth but christened "Honey Bunch" by her father because she was so adorable and sweet and precious. Dad was a lawyer so Honey Bunch got to go to all sorts of places for the 'first' time - it was all 'Honey Bunch and her First Trip insert place here.' It ran from the 20s through the 50s. It's fascinating to read just to see how the world was changing in the beginning of the 20th century.

Charlie is 12 now, and this season I was a bit worried about him believing in Santa long past the age where it is appropriate. He has enough quirks in his life, I didn't want him to be teased because he believes in something kids his age don't.

Therefore, I've been trying to drop gentle hints by not saying things like 'Santa will get that for you' and so forth, and I thought that he would eventually make the connection on his own, and I thought I was making enough progress that when my BFF's 13 year old daughter started talking about Santa not being real, I figured it would be fine for Charlie to hear it from her.

But there was something that hadn't occured to me, though it probably should have.

Charlie has trouble with abstract concepts, so for him, Santa was logical, not abstract. (for a given value of 'logic', of course). He was told his whole life that it is Santa who brings the presents, and it didn't ever occur to him that would be a, as Terry Pratchett put it in Hogfather, 'wistful lie' was something that never occured to him.

For Charlie, the logic was that Santa brings the presents, and...this is important, Santa buys the presents.

So last night, in the car going home, he asked me again if I really am the one who puts the presents under the tree, and I say, yes, I'm the one who actually buys the presents, but it doesn't make Christmas mean any less, blah blah blah.

He's quiet for a long moment, then says, in this thoughtful tone of voice, 'But then that's a waste of money.'

It was a bit like the beginning of a horror movie. You know when a small but slightly disturbing thing happens to foreshadow the big horrors coming up in the next 2 hours?

I opened my coffee maker this morning and a pale coloured spider crawled out. One of those almost translucent things. Blurch.

I didn't freak out. Too much. Trying to set an example, you know. Plus as the only adult in the house, I had to take charge and get rid of the thing.

I try not to squash bugs as a general rule, but it was in my coffee machine! That spider was going down.

Between that and not being able to get my Christmas tree to not be crooked, I'm really feeling the absence of a partner to help out with some of life's smaller challenges..

Ew. Spider.

Just posting to point out another icon my Brilliant Friend made. *points to icon* Loverly, isn't it?

Two Doctor/Tennant icons My Brilliant Friend kirathaune made. Feel free to take, just give her the credit!

I had this really, really vivid dream last night, and it involved, for some reason, a Turkish family that was involved in some sort of magic, and at one point we did The Rite of AshkEnte (from Discworld) to summon Death, but the Death that showed up was Neil Gaiman's.

My brain? Is weird.

This is a Christmas wish for kippurbird

It is a short Doctor Who story. Takes place after the 4th series, so spoilers. ( Dreaming is Free )

I was perusing TV Tropes this afternoon, as you do, and for some reason looked up iCarly which, as I may have mentioned how this is one of Charlie's very favourite shows at the moment.

For the uninitiated, iCarly is a Nickelodeon show about a girl, Carly, and her two friends, Freddie (a boy) and Sam (a girl), who do a wildly popular webshow that features videos by (apparently) real kids and silly segments like Random Dancing and blowing up watermelons, and such.

It's a silly show - it has its moments, but generally falls into making all grown ups look stupid and people getting away with near criminal activity, or generally acting like complete buffoons with no consequences to their behaviour. Severely unrealistic to say the least.

But, as I said, Charlie likes it, and I make sure I discuss with him why some of the less savory bits are annoying to me, and how they don't work in real life.

Anyway...so I'm on Tropes, reading iCarly and WOW! The shipping things. And there's someone here on LJ who apparently devoted a really lot of time in proving that Sam is lesbian and she and Carly are OTP. It's just...well, I guess I forget that the interweb is populated by the very people to whom shows like iCarly are targeted, and they are apt to take that show just as seriously as older fans take, oh, let's say Doctor Who. *looks away, whistles innocently*

It's just weird to see from my point of view, because to me it is a mildly annoying show that my son likes, and the fact that people actually discuss Freddie/Sam or *shudder* Spencer/Carly. (Spencer is her idiot adult brother who is taking care of her while her father is 'overseas')

Actually, while we're on that subject, iCarly is yet another children's show that is sorely lacking in mothers. Carly's father is existing, if absent but no mention is ever made of her mother, who I presume is dead. Sam's mother is never seen and alluded to be a whoring, drinking layabout. Freddie's mom is a single, overprotective mom who had a GPS chip put into Freddie's head when he was an infant and give him tick baths.

Yeah.

And it isn't even a Disney show.

Is it sad that as I was reading the Tropes page, I pretty much knew every episode they were talking about?

Totally almost got thrown out. No joke.

Caleb got a stern warning and hand stamp for crowd surfing. He got two rows up in the pit and then got tired and hot so he backed up about 8 people and said... hoist me up, and they did. The bouncers were assholes.

Tara and I came down from the balcony and found Vince and Chris right away. We were both like... um, where's Caleb? Then Tara's eyes get huge and she says, THERE HE IS.. he just went surfing by.

Whatcha know.

It was a good night. I am in love with Dave Mustaine's hair. It was so soft and fluffy... I wanted to roll around in it.

I'd still hit it.

Firstly, huge hugs and a thank you to daisylily and [Bad username: <"robinchristine"] for the virtual gifts! Totally made my day.

I thought I should let you all know I saw New Moon this Friday. It was pretty much everything I expected. My friends and I had a really good time watching it, and can't wait for it to be on DVD because we have devised a great drinking game.

For example:

1 drink for every time Edward walks in slow motion.

1 drink for every time Bella displays a complete lack of self-confidence or expresses self loathing

(I suggested we had to chug a beer the entire time Bella was staring out the window, but that was veto'd as we'd pass out before the movie really got underway.)

1 drink for everytime a boy shows up with his shirt off.

Down the glass the first time Jacob takes off his shirt. (Everyone in the audience laughed at that bit. I rather think our audience was made up of people who were there to mock.)

1 drink every time Bella does something stupid.

1 drink everytime Phantom Edward disappears in a mist.

And so on.

That said, Michael Sheen was OMG hot, and I'd watch a movie if it were JUST about the Volturi.

Just now realized that the snowflake v-gifts are free, so I sent a bunch out. Thanks to those who gave me one, totally made my morning ♥

So I just finished reading scans of ch. 149 of Skip Beat. It was utter cuteness!!! I'm still squeeing like a little fangirl. I've spent four years wishing something like that would happen, so it's about freaking time. Unfortunately there's still more waiting to be done, but I'm sure it'll be fun ^_^

Yesterday I went on an epic music hunt and ended up with 9 new albums. I seriously need to clean up my itunes library. There are currently 9,029 items in there, and I'm certain that a good 2,000 of that is nothing but random junk. It's going to be a very, very long day... If I can get through deleting at least 100 songs today, then I'll feel very accomplished. Wish me luck, yes?

Especially Sunday.

Hanging with Laura on Saturday, meeting with the ever lovely miischelle on Sunday to talk dance stuff, heading to my good friend Lainie and Steve's Engagement Party then off to the Megadeth concert Sunday night with Tara, Vince and Caleb.

Not sure how the hanging with Caleb is going to go, but we'll see.