phyncke

I met a comic book artist - Babs Tarr - yesterday at my local comic book store - in Berkeley - (shout out to The Escapist on Claremont!). She is very cool and she is the artist for the latest Batgirl run at DC Comics. I have been really getting into comic books lately. I have been reading Dr. Strange, Black Widow, The Walking Dead and some others. A newbie really but it is fun and the art is really cool. Here is a cover from Babs Tarr on the Batgirl run. She animated this on her blog.



In other news - I got some Christmas shopping done yesterday and of course I bought myself some stuff. One for them - one for me kind of thing. I did not blow my budget and I just have one gift card left to get and then I think I am done for the season. I have presents under my tree which is cool.

While I was Christmas shopping in the Elmwood District of Berkeley - a protest rolled right in there and blocked up the area. They were really pretty cool about it and did not take up any side walk space - they were just in the street and their goal was to tie up the intersection which they did. My car got trapped by two buses but it was liberated by the time I really had to go and get to the artist thing I wanted to go to. So that was cool. I could keep shopping and enjoy the civil unrest. Works for me. It was part of the nationwide protest yesterday.

Anyhoo. Work is winding down and I am finishing up projects for the year. I am kind of done and want to be finished. I don't finish up really until Dec 23. So that will go on for a while. khylea comes in on the 25th so that is cool.

Can you guys believe The Hobbit comes out next week? Hurrah! I am going the first night, I think. I cannot wait. Yays! And then it will be over and I will be sad.

Anyhoo. That is all I have. I am trying to post more often. Doing ok with that. I love comments. So comment here and I will respond!



by laurahonest at livejournal

We, khylea and myself, went hiking in Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland Hills. Just a lovely day and we did a 2.2 mile hike and then some extra trail after that to a vista point. Reminds me that California and specifically the Bay Area is really gorgeous as far as nature is concerned and this resource is so close! What a great thing to have in my backyard. Took ten minutes to get there. We met some fun people there - other hikers and a couple of professional dog walkers with their gaggle of hounds. Nice people hang out there too.



Then we did some retail stuff - Goodwill, Sports Authority and REI. Looking around.


by fission at alchemey

Here is a pictorial share of the monarch butterflies - Ardenwood Farm, Fremont, CA

I did not want to resize the photo - it is a big picture, but needs to be that way so you can see the butterflies.

( Behind the cut as the photo is large... )

We walked to see them in the eucalyptus grove there and then looked around at the farm animals that were there - sheep, an aviary, goats and chickens. It was very fun and relaxing. The cost of admission to the park was 2.00 and a bargoon for all that fun. We got this one pic of the monarch butterflies but they were all over the grove there and there were loads of them.

After that we drove to the town center and went to Bronco Billy's Pizza - phenom pizza and for 4.75 you can get a two topping individual serving pizza that is more than enough for one person. We each could only eat half of it and took half of it to go for later. I am going to eat mine tonight for a light dinner.

There are great antiques and collectibles shops in Fremont and it is a fun town to stroll and shop in. I got some good deals. I bought some costume jewelry rings (3.00 each! a pink one and an amber one...I am really into rings right now) and I got these very pretty turquoise earrings at the Native American jewelry store there (reasonable deal on those at 24.00). I got a very pretty vase for 11.00 (darling, two handled, painted floral from Bavaria) and that was a mark down. I picture a small bunch of daisies in that and will put it in the living room.

So fun was had and that is the report today. I am loving that I have tomorrow off and don't have to set the alarm. I am enjoying my mini-vacay and decompression time. Tomorrow, I plan on revising my Slashy Valentine and getting that into shape for my brave beta, khylea. I have finished it (sort of) but the end needs rewriting.

There, that is the state of me. Hope you are having a good weekend! Cheers!


by yueshi

Night 8/8



The final night for Hanukkah 2011. Thanks for celebrating along with me this year. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have.

Today I went and picked up my Christmas cards for next year half price on sale. I love getting them for the deal. Got some pretty ones and I love the inscription on them so yays. I will store those until the appropriate time. I did that and then laundry. Not all that exciting today.

Tomorrow I go with friends to SF and we are touring the Christmas lights and hotel decor, and then doing the city lights tour bus in the evening. This was the bus tour we messed up on last week but it is all good.

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season and the last week of the year. Cheers!


by cranes

Here is another preview from the Dieux du Stade calendar for 2011! Woo! I am hoping to get some Amazon dollars so that I can purchase that this year. Wootles. Anyhoo. This is hot! So enjoy!

*Not Safe for Work!*

( Here he is! )

In other news...
Work - all my big deadlines are done so I feel like I can coast in through the rest of the month until I go off to visit my family in NH. No big things happening and I can catch up and clean up at the office. Yays! I have a couple of work luncheon's to go to and will enjoy those and that is that. Some paperwork to get in and no big stakes things. I did come off a very busy time with web casts, a large office event and all that. It will be fun to just work and not have large deadlines. My supervisor is finally getting my personnel review done which is 4 months late so that is good. Hope to have that filed by the time the Uni closes for the holidays. Yays.

Holiday news. I am doing low key holiday shopping this year. We do a swap thing in my family where we buy for one person so that is what I am doing. I do buy for my niece and then I get for one person. I am scaling back as I have less funds this year.

A big thank you to fablest for the lovely card. I will get mine out soon so look for mine pretty soon. I hope to get mine done this week. Cheers!

(Yikes, started this post early in the morning and forgot to post it! Oopsie. :P)



by laurahonest of starlitgrace

So Thanksgiving is over and I even managed to brave the shopping mania, well just a little bit. I took myself out to iHOP for lunch today and then stopped by my favorite place for ornaments, the East Bay Nursery in Berkeley and got the two ornaments I have been coveting for a while. I got the 20% discount and that was cool. One was a pretty realistic looking hummingbird and the other was a cafetera, silver coffee thing. I have a lot of coffee things on my tree. See the theme? I like coffee. :P My tree is all set up here and looking pretty. I am not even using all my ornaments so why am I buying new ones? Because I WANT THEM!!!

The holiday itself was strange. My friend J*** works herself into a mood of disgruntlement and then tends to make these nasty side comments. Normally, I would hang out over there but I'd had enough of that and realized I would rather be writing or listening to music at my own place than listening to her grumble so I took myself off home. She tends to get moody on the holiday itself so I did not think anything of it. Though today we talked and she told me about the fine time she had when her friends stopped by so I am beginning to think that her mood is reserved for me. Not sure but that is what it feels like. I got more comments today on the phone so I am definitely not needing that. A nice long break is in order and I think I have other things to do than answer the phone right now. I could chalk it up to mood but this combined with a lack of interest from her in my life...well I have definitely reached my limit. I am beyond hurt feelings into apathetic now. I don't think there is anything to do here...I am just posting about it to clarify it in my mind. I won't be ending the friendship and I will probably tell her how I feel. Just writing it down and dusting it off..etc.

Aside from that I feel pretty good. One thing which occurred to me was that I could use more money here. There are only so many ways I can save my meager salary. I am contemplating a very part time second job. It would have to be within walking distance of my home and it would have to be very part time. I have to see about this. I am not into racking up miles to get to a position so I think I will canvas some businesses in the area and see what they say. I am pretty sure I am late for holiday stuff but you never know. Just a little bit more would boost my savings and that is my goal.

Thoughts and ramblings up to the minute here. I am really enjoying time off this weekend and perhaps I will get some things done. I do have a story or two in process and could work on those. I have been reading some great Tolkien fan fic recently too and will do some reviews. These are older stories I have pulled down and printed. Some very good ones. Stay tuned on that front.

Cheers and happy weekend.


by thestarlet

I have some football players of a different sort. Those French ruggers. These were previously posted last year but I love these guys, LOVE. Enjoy!

*NOT SAFE FOR WORK*

( Dieux du stade... )

I spent today shopping. Shopping for teen clothing in the East Bay. My friend's kiddo has some school thingo on Friday and he needs a get up for it. We found just the right thing but after a few stops...well five stops, all over the place. We ended up at the mall. I tell you...teenagers are SO particular. Me, I am not so fussy anymore but I do know what I like. We did get him good things and changed his style a little bit. He will look cool. It also helped to have the salesperson picking out the clothes and not his mom. That was cool to him and he was WAY more receptive to new things like color and styling. Yah.

Back to work tomorrow. I always feel like I could use ONE more day. Just one more.


by lotrangel17