In which Seanan is superstitious and going to Australia.: seanan

In which Seanan is superstitious and going to Australia.

I am weirdly superstitious. I say "weirdly" because the things about which I am superstitious tend to be, well, weird. I think black cats and the number thirteen are lucky, but I won't walk under a ladder (at least in part because I don't want anyone dropping paint on me). Finding a penny on the street is cause for celebration and declarations that all day long, I will have good luck. (Finding a nickle, dime, or quarter is cause for a ticker-tape parade, as people tend to be more careful about their silver.)

I count crows, I count cherry pits, I hunt for prime numbers and multiples of nine. I use my slide show screensaver as a funky sort of personal oracle. Get the concept? Superstitious and weird, that's me. So...

Yesterday, I found out that Hugo voting (and hence Campbell voting) is open to Supporting Members of AussieCon, and that voting is open until July 31st (along with registration for Supporting Members). Details are here, in case you're curious. That was pretty cool, as people have been asking me about it for a while now, and I like having answers.

Yesterday, I went to Borderlands Books to pick up the three most recent Repairman Jack books (I had a craving). As I was walking down 4th Street to the BART, I saw a coin on the sidewalk. I'm always on the lookout for coins; they might be pennies. So I stopped and picked it up.

It was an Australian two-dollar piece.

I'm weirdly superstitious, and found money is always a cause for making guesses about the intent of the universe. Last night, I dreamt about Australia. Who's surprised? Not me. And not the pony-sized huntsman spider I was riding around Sydney, either.

martianmooncrab

July 1 2010, 16:29:57 UTC 6 years ago

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pony-sized huntsman spider I was riding

what sort of saddle/tack were you using?

seanan_mcguire

July 6 2010, 03:41:48 UTC 6 years ago

Bareback!

valdary

July 1 2010, 16:53:53 UTC 6 years ago

Huntsman spider good choice, much steadier gait than a jumping spider.

Awesome to find Australian money, don't mix it up with your other Aussie money when you go. Hang it on a chain.

July 6 2010, 03:42:00 UTC 6 years ago

That's the plan.

roadnotes

July 1 2010, 17:02:20 UTC 6 years ago

Yay for found money!

Are there still days available for sponsoring, by the way? I've got a couple I'd like to.

July 6 2010, 03:42:20 UTC 6 years ago

There are. Go ahead and send me an email; I can fit Vel in if I have a schedule. :)

bigherman

July 1 2010, 17:11:31 UTC 6 years ago

I agree with you on multiples of nine. Not only are they 3^3x__, but their digits add up to nine and multiples of nine. I mean, for real, spooky.

And then voting's open until 07/31? PRIME-PRIME-PRIME PRIMEY-PRIMEY-PRIMEY PRIME-PRIME.

Dude, I hope you've got your crystal sided, blue-velvet pillowed tiara case ordered.

July 6 2010, 03:42:32 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, I hope it's needed...

Deleted comment

July 6 2010, 03:42:44 UTC 6 years ago

...wow. Yeah, it would be.

azurelunatic

July 1 2010, 18:42:01 UTC 6 years ago

I am similarly superstitious about walking under ladders, and also about waving around umbrellas in the house. I got the ladder thing from my father, who can, upon request, display the dent in his skull caused by a waffle-headed hammer falling upon it when he walked under a ladder. He tells me that it was a very entertaining wound, because it was all waffly, and that he said some very entertaining things when it happened.

July 6 2010, 15:13:32 UTC 6 years ago

YOW!

saffronrose

July 1 2010, 20:08:55 UTC 6 years ago

that's at least a start on getting your money converted. I've never seen one, much less on the street!
Loonies, doubleloonies, I have them, but no Australian coinage.

July 6 2010, 15:13:51 UTC 6 years ago

I've got quite a bit, on account of I've been hoarding it for years.

6 years ago

aliciaaudrey

July 1 2010, 21:37:15 UTC 6 years ago

Pony-side huntsmen spiders sound rather like the subject of my worst nightmares.

I've never been overly superstitious as an adult (except I am convinced I am perhaps the human incarnation of a minor deity of bad luck and that the epicenter of my bad luck is centered squarely on my birthday.) Yet I believe I too would take the auspicious finding of Australian coinage as a lucky sign indeed. Good luck!

July 6 2010, 15:14:13 UTC 6 years ago

I probably wouldn't be too thrilled to encounter one in real life, but in the dream, it seemed perfectly reasonable.

sysrae

July 1 2010, 23:32:14 UTC 6 years ago

A point of potential interest: in my family, we refer to huntsmen and other big hairy spiders as triantewobagongs. I suspect this is not so much a little-known Australian slang term as it is definitive proof that I come from a crazy clan of word-maker-uperers, but even so. Also: my father is the only person I have ever met who addresses all animals - but particularly spiders - as 'sir'.

princess_kessie

July 2 2010, 02:50:48 UTC 6 years ago

Heh. I suspect that term started from the poem by CJ Dennis: The Triantiwontigongolope, and your family just reinvented it by adding another Aussie animal, the wobbegong (a type of carpet shark, for those non-Aussie readers). I personally have not heard the term before, but there is every possibility it could be well-known vernacular in your local area :)

I think it fits well :B

July 6 2010, 15:14:25 UTC 6 years ago

Hee!

stagemanager

July 2 2010, 00:19:55 UTC 6 years ago

There is no such thing as 'coincidence.' Therefore, finding the AUS$2 coin is a Good Omen.

July 2 2010, 02:51:13 UTC 6 years ago

Agreed :)

July 2 2010, 03:06:43 UTC 6 years ago

I do hate to disappoint you, Seanan, but your likelihood of seeing anything remotely deadly - except perhaps at the Aquarium or the Zoo - is almost so small as to be statistically insignificant. Most residents go their entire lives without seeing anything deadly.

Others just seem to attract the wildlife wherever they go.

Actually, perhaps hanging around with me might increase your chances. I'm that person that steps into a patch of clear sand at the beach and steps on a numbfish and ends up not being able to walk for an hour. Or wakes in the middle of the night to see a plate-sized spider on the ceiling. Or gets stung by marine stingers at an otherwise empty beach (and no-one else even sees them) - well, you get the picture :D

(I do have a two-for-one ticket to both the Melbourne Zoo and the Melbourne Aquarium if you'd care to join me for a half-price entry :B)

July 7 2010, 14:42:54 UTC 6 years ago

Mmmmmm. Yes, you are relevant to my interests. And I would love to join you for the zoo. I'm SO EXCITED.

tezmillertm

July 2 2010, 05:37:19 UTC 6 years ago

Hmm, so will you keep it, or spend it when you get to Melbourne? The Australian economy would prefer the latter, but it's really your choice ;-)

As far as coins go, $2 is worth the most, so you didn't get stooged! ;-)

July 7 2010, 14:43:19 UTC 6 years ago

I'm making it into a necklace, but I'm bringing lots of Aussie money I've hoarded over the years. I'll spend that.

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In which Seanan is superstitious and going to Australia.

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