Things and stuff (and things).: seanan

Things and stuff (and things).

1. So I have been forced, by the technical limitations inherent to LJ, to change my Friending policy. Specifically, I am now at MAXIMUM FRIENDOCITY, and adding any more Friends will cause me to be instantly sucked into a horrifying shadow dimension where demons will feast on my delicious bones. Read also, "LJ won't let me Friend any more people." So while I am still a Friend/Unfriend amnesty zone, I will no longer be automatically Friending back. Also, I have now typed the word "Friend" so many times that it has lost all meeting. I shall have to Foe some people.

2. You know it's summer when the Maine Coons felt their bellies by sleeping in their water dish, and you have to take them back to the groomer to be shaved. Again. In other news, guess who gets to take forty pounds of cranky kitty to the groomer? Good guess.

3. I've been scarce recently because a) I've been trying to catch up on some things, and b) I have 600+ comments to answer and it scares me. I will endeavor to post more, if y'all will be understanding about it taking me a while to answer you. S'good? S'good.

4. Disneyland was awesome, except for the part where I twisted my ankle and spent Sunday in a wheelchair. It turns out that I'm still surprisingly good at navigating myself when I need to, and Vixy pushed me when we weren't in spaces that required fine cornering and control. Neither of us died, but wow, was that not an experience that I am in a hurry to repeat.

5. I will, however, say this: if you see a girl pushing a manual wheelchair down a hill, maybe stepping right in front of that wheelchair is not the world's best plan. Especially if that wheelchair contains a person larger than the girl doing the pushing. Because you know what neither of us was able to do in that situation? Stop. In other news, I ran over some idiot-ankles, and I am not sorry.

6. The Hugo Voter Packet has been updated, and now contains the files for Best Related Work. That means that, for the first time ever, a full length filk CD is included in the Hugo packet. So. Cool. It's not too late to register and get your voting rights into the bag! Check out https://chicon.org/membership.php for details.

7. The new season of So You Think You Can Dance has started, and that means that my urge to write InCryptid is returning to normal. This show is totally restorative, in the best, weirdest way possible. I am a happy bunny.

8. Other things that make me happy: the San Diego Comic-Con exclusives have been announced for this year, and they include a new Monster High doll (Scarah Screams) and a new My Little Pony (Derpy Hooves/Bubblecup). I am a sucker for toys.

9. Other things I am a sucker for: Australia. My Mira Grant Q&A on Saturday was the most marsupial-centric Q&A I've ever been a part of. It was sort of impressive, in a "why are we talking about this again?" sort of a way. It may have had something to do with the fact that I had a plush Perry the Platypus on the podium...

10. Jean Gray is still dead.

slothman

June 4 2012, 21:02:31 UTC 5 years ago

New comment

It’s particularly amusing when they both pile into the same cat carrier because they want to go home now. Also heavy. Very, very heavy.

seanan_mcguire

June 6 2012, 14:34:23 UTC 5 years ago

Best picture is best.

ext_209138

June 4 2012, 21:20:58 UTC 5 years ago

I've never understood the point of the friends cap. Though, I remember when it was like 300 or something, which seems such a small number.

June 6 2012, 15:06:49 UTC 5 years ago

I don't get it either. Bah, says I.

kyrielle

5 years ago

alicetheowl

June 4 2012, 21:40:56 UTC 5 years ago

Ha! I am hipster Seanan fan. I was a fan before you hit the friend limit on LJ.

(The above comment meant to poke fun at no one but hipsters. It's too bad you've been cut off artificially.)

What do the cats think of ice cubes? When it's very hot, I've taken to putting ice cubes in the water dish. Herc waits for them to melt, but Risu is fascinated with them. She hunkers down to watch them melt, and tries experimental tastes, then recoils when water gets up her nose.

She's finally figured out the sink, but she seems just as content to watch the water go down the drain as drink it. Silly thing.

June 6 2012, 15:10:27 UTC 5 years ago

Alice lays down on them and slowly absorbs their dampness; Thomas bats them under things; Lilly ignores them.

peachtales

June 4 2012, 22:13:23 UTC 5 years ago

Reading about the cats made me giggle. I think they have you trained.

I have 1 water cat, and he is the skinniest and sleekest of the 3 (also the only male). I believe the sheer amount of fur that Matilda has might lead her to do something like that, but the water dish, alas, is not the size for it.

June 6 2012, 15:10:39 UTC 5 years ago

Aw, babycats.

yellowblackhaze

June 4 2012, 23:16:29 UTC 5 years ago

I know you love the platypi, but will the wombats ever get a guernsey?

June 6 2012, 15:10:58 UTC 5 years ago

I adore wombats. They're like sacks of concrete that move!

avahgdu

June 4 2012, 23:21:11 UTC 5 years ago

Due to my health, I have the only room in the house with a/c. I am also very popular suddenly with five of our six cats. (The other baby is OBSESSED with my boyfriend and follows him everywhere. Most often crying to be picked up. Its cute...except when its not. Lol)

June 6 2012, 15:11:16 UTC 5 years ago

A/C: the true way to a warm cat's heart.

dragonsally

June 5 2012, 00:04:11 UTC 5 years ago

What Australian-centric 'toy' would you like sent to you in appreciation of all the glee your works have brought me?

June 6 2012, 15:11:29 UTC 5 years ago

I like anything strange and plush. :)

starwatcher307

June 5 2012, 00:42:47 UTC 5 years ago

.
I'm at my BFF's house, and read #4 & #5 to her; she's post-polio, and can relate. She wants to tell you...

"I've been in and out of wheelchairs since the age of 2, and during my non-pregnant years, weighed in from 93 to 98 lbs. As my condition advanced, and I neared the age of 60, I became more and more sedentary, and now weigh more than twice what I used to. (Some of the meds were a large contributing factor with that.) I just want to inform you -- and my muscular husband and son will happily confirm -- going uphill, losing traction and strength at the same time, can be just as dangerous as going downhill! (And stopping is always a challenge.)"

She's laughing; says she just had to tell you some of her experiences.
.

June 6 2012, 15:11:48 UTC 5 years ago

Hello, BFF!

vincentursus

June 5 2012, 01:14:23 UTC 5 years ago

Welcome back.

If you feel virtuous for running over idiot ankles, that is understandable. With luck, ankle-twisting can be avoided in future though, as it is a small compensation.

June 6 2012, 15:12:02 UTC 5 years ago

I am doing my very best.

jennielf

June 5 2012, 01:29:49 UTC 5 years ago

I may have got the membership just for electronic copies of your work and specifically Wicked Girls.... Kinda sorry I hadn't gotten a copy before now, but I am enjoying the shit out of that music right now. Thank you for letting it be included. :)

June 6 2012, 15:12:13 UTC 5 years ago

I'm so glad you're enjoying it!

anne_d

June 5 2012, 02:15:12 UTC 5 years ago

1. Ouch for your poor ankle, but I'm glad Disneyland was otherwise pleasing.

2. The mental image of big fluffy cats soaking their tums in their waterbowls like big sponges is rather amusing. You have my sympathies in regards to dragging cats off to be tortured. My not-quite-as-big fluffy angora calico (with the white fur that almost glows in the dark) takes dirt baths in Santa Ana season, like a very disgusting furry chicken. The day she found the pile of ashes under the barbeque is a particularly horrid memory, for me. She was quite pleased with herself.

3. I have been saving Blackout for a treat. Today was the day; I took it to read while waiting for my mammogram. Twenty pages in, it's already exceeded my expectations, not that I'm surprised. I told the Husband that he'd have to wait his turn. I'm going to read it as slowly as I can manage, which will probably be very fast, reread the other two, then read it over again to savor it.

June 6 2012, 15:12:39 UTC 5 years ago

They can soak up SO MUCH WATER. It's awe-inspiring, in a horrifying sort of a way.

donaithnen

June 5 2012, 02:55:03 UTC 5 years ago

Yay! I got in before the gates slammed shut!

Also...

"I will, however, say this: if you see a girl pushing a manual wheelchair down a hill"

I think i've seen this movie before, er read this book i mean :) (Though hey, maybe optioning your books will turn out to be the hot new trend!)

June 6 2012, 15:12:52 UTC 5 years ago

Hee.

paksenarrion2

June 5 2012, 03:03:38 UTC 5 years ago

I'm glad Disney was great, apart from the twisted ankle part.

And I can attest to the hardness of trying to slow down/stop a wheel chair on a hill. My Mom had MS and was in a wheel chair for the last twenty years of her life. She would also use it when we went on family trips when I was growing up. As a teenager, it was my job to push Mom around and there were many times I had to drag my feet to keep from doing willy nilly down a hill. A few feet and ankles got run over through the years. Their fault for not getting out of the way.

And my fuzz monster doesn't lay in the water dish. He just likes getting in the shower with me.

June 6 2012, 15:23:38 UTC 5 years ago

Shower kitties are the best kitties.

ldwheeler

June 5 2012, 04:02:50 UTC 5 years ago

Appropos of nothing here, today was my day off. I had many a thing I intended to accomplish. I intended to do laundry. I intended to work out. I intended to clean my apartment. I intended to attend to somewhere between dozens and hundreds of incoming messages.

Instead. Instead, I've been reading Blackout all day.

You, Ms. McGuire, have disrupted my entire day.

And I've loved every minute of it.

June 6 2012, 15:06:06 UTC 5 years ago

That means FLAWLESS VICTORY!!!!

Yay. <3

tula_peiwa

June 5 2012, 04:05:57 UTC 5 years ago

Australia is the amazing, no regrets about the aussie heavy discussion. though we didn't talk about wombats enough. It can crush bones with its butt, how can you beat that? Or we could have squeezed in some tassie devils, they're small and have a big place in my heart. they're slower than chickens, and I identify with that.

I can't say how happy I am to have more So You Think You Can Dance, so comforting, pretty dresses, pretty choreography and well even when it's awkward it's something to talk about before classes

ooo more tempting things from comiccon, not fair :( Hope your ankle's feeling better!

June 6 2012, 15:23:20 UTC 5 years ago

Wombats are brilliant. I'm an echidna girl, myself.

grassrose

June 5 2012, 04:36:54 UTC 5 years ago

I once had a pretty decent part time job making supply deliveries and office moves throughout the office complex where I also held my more sedentary fulltime gig. Our boss was always careful to send enough people to get the job done right.

Nowhere was that more evident than when we were moving this tremendous piece of equipment through a major hallway. The thing had no clearance and weighed over a ton, but it had tiny wheels. So there were four of us maneuvering this thing we COULDN'T SEE AROUND through this heavily traveled hallway. The fifth person's job was to walk ahead, scout out our path, and gently point out to ambulatory obstructions that it had taken four of us to get this sucker rolling, that all four of us were now on the far side of it, and just who did they think was going to stop it if they didn't get out of the way?

Fun times. I lost ten pounds working that job, with no change in eating patterns.

June 6 2012, 15:23:52 UTC 5 years ago

Wow.

Smart boss.

rhodielady_47

June 5 2012, 08:15:04 UTC 5 years ago

I spent nearly a year in a wheelchair letting an injured knee heal.
One of the first things I learned about life in a wheelchair was the absolute necessity of hollaring "EXCUSE ME!" at the top of my lungs when going anywhere there was a crowd of people. People in herd formation are so stupid! Without the bellow to catch their attention, I ran a constant risk of collecting "hood ornaments" by the dozen. Although I wouldn't have minded collecting the occasional good looking stud-muffin, it was generally the ones no one wanted to catch who never seemed to get out of the way on their own!
Thank Heaven I'm back on my feet again.
:)

June 6 2012, 15:24:06 UTC 5 years ago

I'm glad you're walking!

falnfenix

June 5 2012, 10:12:56 UTC 5 years ago

your descriptions of your beasties really makes me wonder if my incredibly petite tortie girl isn't at least part Coon. her belly's felting... thanks for the term, by the way. i had no way of describing OMG MATS THAT APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE AND THEY'RE ALL SOAKYWET.

June 6 2012, 15:24:25 UTC 5 years ago

I wouldn't be surprised. Coons are good genetic stock.

lianneb

June 5 2012, 12:21:27 UTC 5 years ago

So You Think You Can Dance!!! Eeeee!!!

My mother and I have a tradition of watching the show (and Dancing With the Stars, and So You Think You Can Dance Canada), then calling each other to compare notes on who was good, who was bad, who should go. We can't get enough. Well, other than the year were we went from SYTYCD, to SYTYCD Canada, to SYTYCD: The ill-fated attempt at a fall season. That was a little overload.

And I *loved* the surfer tap-dancer with the handlebar mustache. He was fantastic, and I was very disappointed that he wasn't able to pick up the choreography.

June 6 2012, 15:33:31 UTC 5 years ago

I hope he'll be back next season with a little more choreography under his belt. Some of our best folks have only ever made it after three/four tries.

Deleted comment

June 6 2012, 15:33:46 UTC 5 years ago

Yay experienced groomers!

much_of_a

June 5 2012, 21:34:17 UTC 5 years ago

I'm a bit late to this, but (despite best intentions) I don't tend to post on my LJ, and we're not acquainted in real life, so please feel free to "de-friend" me if it can be better used elsewhere.

June 6 2012, 15:34:03 UTC 5 years ago

Thanks for the offer, but I'm not doing that kind of housekeeping just yet. :)

traveller_blues

June 5 2012, 22:05:25 UTC 5 years ago

In coding parlance, you have duly a need for a Mo'By Foe Bar.

You know? I think we have an untapped market for wheelchair accessories such as lances, cattleprods, and Batman-style harpoon guns with winches, plus deployable outboard skids for stairs. "Hah, stairs? No problem!" PWANG! -whirrrr- "Eat your heart out, Supreme Dalek!"

-Trav

June 6 2012, 15:37:01 UTC 5 years ago

I think those would wind up doing more harm than good, since sadly "asshole" is not limited to the temporarily able-bodied.

lauredhel

June 6 2012, 05:07:18 UTC 5 years ago

Oh, do not get me started on Dangerous And Annoying Things People Do Around Wheelies. Cutting across from the side, walking in front and then stopping suddenly, expecting the oncoming me to take a step sideways around them (my wheels don't actually move that way), charging out of shops into traffic flow while texting, ARGH. And the bags, the bags shoved in my face. I've started just shoving those back. But I think the worst are those who say "Can I help you with those shopping bags?" and I say "No, I'm fine", and then they GRAB MY STUFF OUT OF MY HANDS.

[/rant]

In good news, I'm finally starting to get the hang of a manual chair (I usually use a scooter). Push mitts help a lot. As does taking the brakes off. (and putting them back on before attempting to enter or exit the chair!)

June 6 2012, 15:45:48 UTC 5 years ago

I really wanted a pair of push mitts, but we weren't planning on my being in a wheelchair all day!

People are jerks around folks in wheelchairs half the time. Bah.

muddlewait

June 7 2012, 03:15:05 UTC 5 years ago

Curse them for making Derpy an exclusive, Bless them for making Derpy at all.

June 7 2012, 05:07:02 UTC 5 years ago

Do you need Derpy? Amy and I are already planning to stand in the line.

randombastary

June 7 2012, 03:47:42 UTC 5 years ago

I demand to be allowed to become a foe!! I would be such a fantastic thing to be able to tell people that I have a foe. Then, if/when I finally get published, and end up on a talk show, I can be asked, "What's going on with you and Seanan McGuire? I saw something about the two of you on TMZ ..." And I can respond with, "We have this thing ... don't worry about it. The lawyers are handling it." Then, everybody in the know can laugh and eat cake and whatnot, and it will be splendid.

June 8 2012, 04:04:27 UTC 5 years ago

Best plan is best.

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