I read fanfic.

I’m particular about what I read.

In the Potterverse, I don’t, for example, like Snape/Harry slash, though sometimes I like Harry/Draco slash. And sometimes I like Snape/Hermione stories. It’s not that I have a problem with slash, in general, its that I have to be willing to buy into the ‘ship, and I can’t buy into Snape/Harry.

My first attempt at publically shared fanfic, as an AUTHOR, was in the Potterverse, actually.

I like BuffyFic, generally speaking. I’ve seen a few really good Buffy/Harry Potter crossovers. No, really. And I was a regular reader of BuffyGiles.com before it went to being an eFiction site. (I like the eFiction interface, btw, it’s nifty.)

But my first ever fanfic experience was with Star Trek. If that dates me, well, tough. I’m not old enough to have seen classic Trek in first run, but I’m old enough to have had it as my first Trek experience. I liked TNG, but I’d have liked it better if they’d done arc-based storytelling instead of episodic. DS9, from a writing POV was my favorite. I didn’t even start watching Voyager until it’s last year, because of work schedules. I went to a special showing, complete with live Klingons, of the premiere episode of Enterprise, but didn’t stay with the show…

My favorite TrekFics ever are Wildcat’s Spock/Uhura series, and Zakhad’s Captain and Counsellor series. Go read them

I don’t really PARTICIPATE in fandom. Once in a while I’ll send an email if I really loved a story, but I don’t play the read and review game, because I don’t have the time or patience for it…

And I’m bringing this up, because while I was munching on cereal yesterday morning, I found some TNGFic I hadn’t read. And I liked it. And it inspired me, so I’m writing a post-Nemesis a/u fanfic thing.

When it gets to a point where I’m willing to post it, it’ll go on fanfiction.net, and Girasole. Maybe.

Until then, I’ve confessed enough for one night.

7/13 – 1:59 PM PDT: Edited to include links. Right-click to open in new window.

So on Friday, we got the realtor sign for our front lawn. Because my boss is really listing my house as a favor, and I’m not paying a full commission, we did the cheapest sign possible.

The stand comes with these instructions (paraphrased, but not much):
– Hammer at least 13 inches into ground
– Slide plastic piece over metal stand.
– To clean, use Windex and a rag.

Step 1: Take a metal stake and pound it into the earth, without hitting sprinkler lines or tree roots, but in such a position in the yard, that a sign hanging from the stake can be seen from the street. This step involved three or four false starts, as the earth refused to cooperate, and the borrowing of a sledgehammer from a neighbor.

It should be noted that there’s a knobby thing on top of the stake. It serves no apparent purpose, other than to make the use of said sledgehammer more difficut, since one must aim at the knobby thing, and not and the whole top of the stake.

2) Step 2: Slide vertical plactic signpost over metal stake. Easy enough. Except that the weight of the plastic made the post lean. Oh, and, did I mention no pre-drilled holes for hanging a feature-sheet box? Yay, Fuzzy got to use Power Tools!

3) Step 3: Attach horizontal sign-holder. Attach sign to sign-holder. Easy enough, except that the hooks snapped, so Fuzzy had to go to OSH and buy s-hooks, and such, and then come home and drill more holes in the plastic.

4) Step 4: Admire handiwork.
Well, it’s standing, and the sign can be seen, and people are grabbing the flyers, so…nifty.

Other items of note:
We lowered the sale price to $584,950, because I want the house to sell quickly.

We scheduled the open house: 1-4 PM Saturday and Sunday.

We have a Realtor in Texas.

We have a dresser, a rolling file box (letter sized) a printer stand, and two computer desks that we need to purge from our collection of stuff we don’t use. If you’re local, and want them, they’re FREE, but must be claimed by Friday at 6:00 PM.

Also, could someone please teach the ppl at Home Depot how to measure? Fuzzy had to make three or four trips there to get the new blind for the front window, cut to the correct length.

So, my mother is yelling at me over IM that she’s pissed. I asked why. She explains, “There’s a hurricane developing 600 miles south of us.” (My mother lives near La Paz, BCS, Mexico.)

I ask why she’s yelling at ME.

She has no answer.

Apparently, I’m responsible for the weather patterns in the entire northern hemisphere, today.

Also, the a/c in my office is set to subzero. My fingers are BLUE.

Yeah, such a Monday.

I spent the afternoon cleaning out my dresser, consolidating the clothing I actually wear a lot, and boxes most of the rest, so that Fuzzy could use half my dresser, and his old chest of drawers can be removed from the dressing room.

Half of staging a house for sale is getting rid of excess clutter.
Sometimes, this can include furniture. Also, less furniture makes the room seem bigger.

On a more personal note, I restored my writing blog to existence. I don’t update it very often, and right now it’s really playing host to some stuff I’ve also posted to my page on fanfiction.net, but once in a while I plan to add other stuff.

And on that note, I have some laundry to do, so I’m calling it a night.

People in my parents’ generation have “senior” moments, but I’m far too young for that sort of thing. Instead, I have “stupid” moments.

Twice yesterday, once at work, and once at home, while working with people who are far more graphics-savvy than I am, I forgot that I own a copy of Photoshop 5.5. No, it’s not the latest and greatest. Still, it would have done what we needed it to do.

Yeah, I have working braincells.
No, really.

The number in the title is the MLS ID number for my house here in San Jose, the one I listed for sale last night. This makes it official, and everything. The sign won’t go up til tomorrow – Jeremy designed a logo for the quasi-company my boss is using to list my house, and the sign won’t be READY til tomorrow – but the feature sheet is done, and the outside work is complete.

Beginning today, we work on the inside, in preparation for an open house on July 17th.

The scan of the feature sheet is at 440Halsey.Biz

The actual MLS listing is here..

Click image above for larger picture.

It’s not up on MLS yet, and my boss is waiting for signs to come in to stick in the front yard, but this is my house, which we’re selling.

You can’t tell that I spent $200 filling the front flower box, but my friend Clay is altering the images some, to make the flowers pop and clean up some of the rough edges.

It’ll be listed @ $599,000
San Jose prices are sick. Yes. We know this.

Click image above for larger picture.

Saw this in Lisa‘s blog.

Name That Candy Bar

Today, I feel so tired that it literally hurts to be awake, and so, even though I slept half the day away, and lounged around during the other half, I am going back to my bedroom, to bask in coolness and soft sheets.

* * *

Zinnias have never been my favorite flower, though I love their name, but I bought two for my garden today anyway, because they were vibrant yellow and I tend to gravitate too much toward blues and purples in my gardening. Punches of vibrant yellow and glowy orange actually make the blues and purples stand out, which is why I bought some marigolds, as well. (Also, marigolds grow fast, so I can stick them in the foot-wide section of unused yard between the end of the lawn and the fence, and they’ll grow up against the side of the shed, and look charming.)

The Zinnias have been planted already, despite the fact that I asked for help with planting. This is because once I got started mucking in the dirt, I didn’t want to stop. And also because it’s a 30-foot long planter box (about 2 feet wide) in front of my house, and that’s a LOT of flowers.

I admit that my flower purchases today might seem a bit over-zealous (that counts as a z-word, really!), but 30 feet is a LOT to plant, when you consider that we’re trying to increase curb appeal to sell the house, and further consider that 30-feet is a LOT of planting space. epecially since the only things I didn’t remove from the box before I started were some foxglove, two rosebushes, and a dwarf grapefruit tree. This last has never borne fruit, but I refuse to remove it, because the previous owners, wacky as they were, planted it in honor of their dead father, and I respect that. After all, we mixed some of my grandparents’ ashes in with our own plantings.

In any case, I’ve planted one of the zinnias, two containers of delphinium, one of cosmos (daisies), one sixpack of marigolds, and three sixpacks of petunias.

I’ll post pictures when the planting is done, and the house looks cute enough.

* * *

On another note. If anyone knows where to find a lemon zester for less than $7.00, I’d really like to know. I’ve been looking for one for AGES.

* * *
This post is my last post for the Alphabytes meme. It was supposed to be all done in June, but I figure finishing it at all is better than not, and some days the muse just doesn’t want to cooperate.