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Mari after battling the feather thingie
Jan. 20th, 2012 08:52 pm
Mari wore herself out battling what we call The Thingie. Just look at that face, she's so proud she slayed it.
Mari wore herself out battling what we call The Thingie. Just look at that face, she's so proud she slayed it.
Okay, I'll give Facebook credit for making it easier to get photos that other people took, so courtesy of one of my friends here's me as Charlie Chaplin:
It was amusing to see how many people got who I was supposed to be, and it seemed like the older people appreciated it more. Most of them got it, but one person asked if I was a Marx Brother. I was also the second person in our group who was crossdressing, the other was a male friend of Angelo's, so we were evenly represented.
I was going to bind my chest, but quickly realized this was a bad idea. Luckily the vest and coat helped disguise it (it also helps that I'm not too big in that department in the first place), but I could not have bound them and lasted the whole night without extreme discomfort. What was fortunate is that the spirit gum I used to secure the mustache itched, so I would unconsciously move my lip like Charlie Chaplin and make the mustache wiggle.
I came up with this costume essentially at the last minute after trying to deal with my glasses and the V mask proved too difficult, especially since it was going to be dark. I'll keep the mask around though since it might come in handy some day.
It was amusing to see how many people got who I was supposed to be, and it seemed like the older people appreciated it more. Most of them got it, but one person asked if I was a Marx Brother. I was also the second person in our group who was crossdressing, the other was a male friend of Angelo's, so we were evenly represented.
I was going to bind my chest, but quickly realized this was a bad idea. Luckily the vest and coat helped disguise it (it also helps that I'm not too big in that department in the first place), but I could not have bound them and lasted the whole night without extreme discomfort. What was fortunate is that the spirit gum I used to secure the mustache itched, so I would unconsciously move my lip like Charlie Chaplin and make the mustache wiggle.
I came up with this costume essentially at the last minute after trying to deal with my glasses and the V mask proved too difficult, especially since it was going to be dark. I'll keep the mask around though since it might come in handy some day.
Ryu says Zzzz...
Sep. 28th, 2010 06:15 pmRyu has found an interesting place to sleep:
She seems to be enjoying herself. The funny thing is that this is almost exactly what Jesse-cat does, only with his chin on the arm of Dad's chair. The comparisons to a leopard for Ryu are not inaccurate.
She seems to be enjoying herself. The funny thing is that this is almost exactly what Jesse-cat does, only with his chin on the arm of Dad's chair. The comparisons to a leopard for Ryu are not inaccurate.
Almost forgot
Aug. 8th, 2010 02:26 pm
The new toy, before I cleaned it up. I'm squinting a bit in that picture because it was really bright out and the sun was hurting my eyes, but overall that's a pretty good picture of me.
Adventures! With pictures!
Jul. 21st, 2010 07:47 pmWhen I stepped outside today and was crossing the bridge in the park I whipped out my camera because one of the Great Blue Herons who lives in the area was really close to the bridge, and though I've seen it a lot it's never been that close. Me being me, I got as close as I could and stepped through some bushes on the bank to try and get a good shot. At one point I slipped and got mud on my feet, but I had my Teva sandals on and didn't' really care.
And it was worth it:
This was probably the best one, and I especially like how I got double photobombed by the duck, who just swam out as I was taking the picture, and the guys on the bridge, who were doing the same thing I was! I didn't actually notice those guys until I was back here and looking at the pictures on my laptop. What was really funny was as I was headed back to the path a third guy showed up and used the path I'd used to get close so he could take a picture, and when he saw me he commented that he's lived down here for 20 years and never seen that thing that close.
Speaking of ducks, as I was standing on the bank reviewing the photos I took on the tiny little camera screen this random duck wandered up to me.
I think she thought I had food, but when I proved not to she wandered off.
Just then there was a big gust of wind, and looking towards the sky I realized that we were probably going to get a thundershower and ran back to my apartment for my umbrella. This proved to be a wise decision in the long run and probably canceled out the muddy Tevas.
After that I went up the North End again and to that big hardware store, which I'm going to start mentally referring to as the Everything Store. Though in retrospect that nickname is a bit of a misnomer since they didn't actually have what I was looking for, which are little strips that wick water to your plants via gravity since I'm going to the Cape next week and Jen and Nadia won't be here to water my plants, but they did have nylon rope, which is essentially the same thing. The funniest bit was when a little old Italian gentleman in the back asked if I needed help and pointed me towards the rope, though I had to really raise my voice since he was a bit hard of hearing. Still, it was cute, and I ended up getting a coil that might come in handy when we try to get my futon back to Western Mass.
I also wandered around for a bit to familiarize myself with the area, and got a few good shots, like this:
If nothing else Bostonians are willing to make fun of themselves, although if they wanted to be accurate the last word would have been "Stowah".
( More )
And it was worth it:
This was probably the best one, and I especially like how I got double photobombed by the duck, who just swam out as I was taking the picture, and the guys on the bridge, who were doing the same thing I was! I didn't actually notice those guys until I was back here and looking at the pictures on my laptop. What was really funny was as I was headed back to the path a third guy showed up and used the path I'd used to get close so he could take a picture, and when he saw me he commented that he's lived down here for 20 years and never seen that thing that close.
Speaking of ducks, as I was standing on the bank reviewing the photos I took on the tiny little camera screen this random duck wandered up to me.
I think she thought I had food, but when I proved not to she wandered off.
Just then there was a big gust of wind, and looking towards the sky I realized that we were probably going to get a thundershower and ran back to my apartment for my umbrella. This proved to be a wise decision in the long run and probably canceled out the muddy Tevas.
After that I went up the North End again and to that big hardware store, which I'm going to start mentally referring to as the Everything Store. Though in retrospect that nickname is a bit of a misnomer since they didn't actually have what I was looking for, which are little strips that wick water to your plants via gravity since I'm going to the Cape next week and Jen and Nadia won't be here to water my plants, but they did have nylon rope, which is essentially the same thing. The funniest bit was when a little old Italian gentleman in the back asked if I needed help and pointed me towards the rope, though I had to really raise my voice since he was a bit hard of hearing. Still, it was cute, and I ended up getting a coil that might come in handy when we try to get my futon back to Western Mass.
I also wandered around for a bit to familiarize myself with the area, and got a few good shots, like this:
If nothing else Bostonians are willing to make fun of themselves, although if they wanted to be accurate the last word would have been "Stowah".
( More )
Other sights from the MSPCA
Jul. 18th, 2010 10:14 pmI remembered that I have a Flickr earlier, so I put some photos up on there.
First, probably the most notable is a cat that made me laugh out loud when I saw her. Now, as a refresher our two cats in Western Mass are Jesse and Stella, who look like this:
So imagine my astonishment when I walk into the cat room and see this girl:
My first thought was "She looks like Jesse and Stella's freaky lovechild!" It's the "torn stocking" on the back left leg just like Stella that really sold it.
The cat, by the way, is named Scratchy and in terms of personality pretty much sounds and acts exactly like Jesse too, which is to say a complete queen bee. She paid attention to me for a bit and then wandered off to do something else. Because it's so hot and humid even with the AC most of the cats were in some state of flopdom.
( More kitties )
First, probably the most notable is a cat that made me laugh out loud when I saw her. Now, as a refresher our two cats in Western Mass are Jesse and Stella, who look like this:
So imagine my astonishment when I walk into the cat room and see this girl:
My first thought was "She looks like Jesse and Stella's freaky lovechild!" It's the "torn stocking" on the back left leg just like Stella that really sold it.
The cat, by the way, is named Scratchy and in terms of personality pretty much sounds and acts exactly like Jesse too, which is to say a complete queen bee. She paid attention to me for a bit and then wandered off to do something else. Because it's so hot and humid even with the AC most of the cats were in some state of flopdom.
( More kitties )
Guh.... what... kitty *kaboom*
Jul. 18th, 2010 04:28 pm
100_0771
Originally uploaded by bara922
This is one of the kittens who was up for adoption at the MSPCA's Kitten Adoptathon, and it was a smashing success since within an hour almost all of the 40 kittens were adopted! They didn't even need my help since so many people showed up to help, so I just wandered around and got my cute fix.
This little guy had already been adopted by the time I was cooing over him, his new owner was just doing paperwork and a volunteer was holding him until them.
I asked the volunteer whether I could take the picture, she said yes, but she didn't want her face or nametag in the photo, so not wanting to disturb this little guy I just got real close with the camera.
This is probably one of the most mellow kitties I've ever seen, he was playing with the volunteer and not using his teeth or claws to actually do any harm. And as I was in that room he started doing this.
*EEEEEEE!!!* The person who took him home is so lucky!
Tour of the mini-garden
Jul. 12th, 2010 01:09 pmI've occasionally put up updates about how my mini garden has been doing, and so it's that time again.
Here's all of them in one shot, and it took a while to angle this so I could actually get them all in the frame. I wound up lying on my back on the bed.
The coriander died because of the heat since it was so young, but I'm trying again with different seeds (and keeping it out of direct sunlight since that's probably what killed the last one).
And this one here is I just love showing the progress of because of where it came from, mainly the garbage at work. No seriously, I was at work one day in the kitchenette and saw the cuttings from someone's desk plant, and thought that it was a waste to just leave them there. So I fished them out and stuck them in a vase of water to root and eventually took one of them home to plant in the soil I had. It's now 19 inches tall. I couldn't make this up if I tried.
Here's all of them in one shot, and it took a while to angle this so I could actually get them all in the frame. I wound up lying on my back on the bed.
The coriander died because of the heat since it was so young, but I'm trying again with different seeds (and keeping it out of direct sunlight since that's probably what killed the last one).
And this one here is I just love showing the progress of because of where it came from, mainly the garbage at work. No seriously, I was at work one day in the kitchenette and saw the cuttings from someone's desk plant, and thought that it was a waste to just leave them there. So I fished them out and stuck them in a vase of water to root and eventually took one of them home to plant in the soil I had. It's now 19 inches tall. I couldn't make this up if I tried.
Have some fireworks
Jul. 4th, 2010 11:18 pm
(This was the best shot of the bunch)
Turns out that what I watched earlier was only round 1. When I realized they were going off again I grabbed my camera, ran downstairs and to the corner of Park St. and Boylston where a group of people had gathered to watch. We had a pretty good view from there.
Despite what I said earlier I have to acknowledge that watching stuff blow up is really, really cool, and that watching them on TV is nothing compared to feeling the shockwave hit you in the chest. It's also cool to see random people come out their apartments to stand on the sidewalk and watch them, and cheer at especially good ones.
That made the day worth it. :)
I detect nerds...
May. 2nd, 2010 05:30 pmFrom our school bookstore, there's no way they didn't do this on purpose:
(Besides the obvious dissonance, that Batman story actually includes a book very similar to the original Goodnight Moon, and they actually paraphrase it at the very end of the comic. There's no way that was a coincidence.)
(Besides the obvious dissonance, that Batman story actually includes a book very similar to the original Goodnight Moon, and they actually paraphrase it at the very end of the comic. There's no way that was a coincidence.)
My room is sort of a greenhouse at the moment with how many plants there are in it (9 in pots, a few cuttings rooting in water) and a few of the ones in pots are made from cuttings from other plants. I like to refer to that process as plant cloning since it essentially is, seeing as the new plants have the same genes as the original.
Well, I discovered today that one of the cuttings from my Japanese maple has not only rooted, but has produced a bud that will eventually become a flower:
I may need to cut back on the original maple again sometime soon, since it hasn't produced any buds lately, which means that it's probably being too taxed by how big it is. It has grown a lot in the past few years.
The coleus on the left side of the picture is actually rescue plant of sorts, since when I was at work I came across the result of someone trimming the coleus at their desk in the trash. Being the sort of person I am I salvaged the bits of it that looked salvageable by putting them in water at my work desk, and I took one of the three cuttings home to pot it. It's flourishing, to say the least.
When a lot of people come in to see my room they're usually astounded by how many plants I have in here and ask how I keep them alive. I water on them on Saturday and put them in the window, and put a drop of Miracle Gro in the watering can. It just makes this place a little more livable, and very likely helps with my asthma.
But really, what do people expect from someone with a name like Rosemary?
Well, I discovered today that one of the cuttings from my Japanese maple has not only rooted, but has produced a bud that will eventually become a flower:
I may need to cut back on the original maple again sometime soon, since it hasn't produced any buds lately, which means that it's probably being too taxed by how big it is. It has grown a lot in the past few years.
The coleus on the left side of the picture is actually rescue plant of sorts, since when I was at work I came across the result of someone trimming the coleus at their desk in the trash. Being the sort of person I am I salvaged the bits of it that looked salvageable by putting them in water at my work desk, and I took one of the three cuttings home to pot it. It's flourishing, to say the least.
When a lot of people come in to see my room they're usually astounded by how many plants I have in here and ask how I keep them alive. I water on them on Saturday and put them in the window, and put a drop of Miracle Gro in the watering can. It just makes this place a little more livable, and very likely helps with my asthma.
But really, what do people expect from someone with a name like Rosemary?
Specs! Now with photos!
Apr. 16th, 2010 07:56 pmI wasn't going to take these tonight, but one benefit of the crappy quality of the webcam is that it hides the big bags under my eyes from a week off too little sleep, too much stress and allergies. D:
These new ones actually aren't that different from my old ones in terms of shape, but I like the effect they have on my face (balancing out my wide forehead and jawline while emphasizing the arch of my eyebrows and shape of my eyes, yes I thought far too much about this), and it always bugged me the way the old ones ticked up slightly at the temples:
Getting photos of these without the glare of the screen interfering is harder than it looks:
Side view, to give a better sense of their shape:
And another. Also visible are my "hair antennae" in the front:
Also, these are technically men's glasses since they were in the "men's" section of the display, not that I care. Amusingly enough (or not) as I was browsing the frames in the women's section of the eye doctor's office they were called things like "Fun" "Flirty" and "Passion"... while the men's were things like "Legacy" "Boardroom" and "Confidence" among others.
... Really, eyeglass manufacturers? Really?
(Incidentally mine didn't have a name, just a model number, and are from a company called Tempo that makes them for both genders)
(And as a bonus the new curtains are visible in the background, though they're not actually that puke-green and are in fact more olive, once again it's the picture quality or lack thereof doing that)
These new ones actually aren't that different from my old ones in terms of shape, but I like the effect they have on my face (balancing out my wide forehead and jawline while emphasizing the arch of my eyebrows and shape of my eyes, yes I thought far too much about this), and it always bugged me the way the old ones ticked up slightly at the temples:
Getting photos of these without the glare of the screen interfering is harder than it looks:
Side view, to give a better sense of their shape:
And another. Also visible are my "hair antennae" in the front:
Also, these are technically men's glasses since they were in the "men's" section of the display, not that I care. Amusingly enough (or not) as I was browsing the frames in the women's section of the eye doctor's office they were called things like "Fun" "Flirty" and "Passion"... while the men's were things like "Legacy" "Boardroom" and "Confidence" among others.
... Really, eyeglass manufacturers? Really?
(Incidentally mine didn't have a name, just a model number, and are from a company called Tempo that makes them for both genders)
(And as a bonus the new curtains are visible in the background, though they're not actually that puke-green and are in fact more olive, once again it's the picture quality or lack thereof doing that)
You encounter wild Magikarp!
Apr. 4th, 2010 11:40 am
Found him! They guy next to him is a chef trying to cook and eat him. Also, there were a few people who yelled in his direction "evolve into something useful!"
(If you don't get it, don't worry, it just means that you never watched and/or played Pokemon)
Anime Boston Day 2
Apr. 3rd, 2010 09:35 pmSo I was going to still be there, but I was tired enough that at about 7 I decided that wasn't happening and came home. It really does take a lot out of you. The fact that the guy above me in the apartment is an idiot and started drumming on the floor (or something) at 5 in the freaking morning did not help at all.
But some highlights from the day when I was paying enough attention to break out the camera:
( Read more... )
When I go back tomorrow for the end of it I'll see if a guy in a giant Magikarp costume is there, since he was impressive. He also looks like he made the entire thing out of duct tape.
Also, someone asked to photograph me in my Naoto costume! I think that's a vote of confidence considering I threw the thing together at the last minute.
Later on I'll report on the swag acquired, which mostly betrays my obsession with Mokonas.
But some highlights from the day when I was paying enough attention to break out the camera:
( Read more... )
When I go back tomorrow for the end of it I'll see if a guy in a giant Magikarp costume is there, since he was impressive. He also looks like he made the entire thing out of duct tape.
Also, someone asked to photograph me in my Naoto costume! I think that's a vote of confidence considering I threw the thing together at the last minute.
Later on I'll report on the swag acquired, which mostly betrays my obsession with Mokonas.
Oh, and Ryu
Aug. 27th, 2009 11:54 pm
Ryu discovering mealworms last week. And to think I was worried she wouldn't like them, she chowed them down like a starving college student with a pizza.
I've also decided that I'm going to leave her here at least for the short term, and maybe later I'll take her out to Boston with me. I don't want to take her until I have direct, verbal, face to face confirmation that the landlord will allow her, plus I read a horror story on a leopard gecko forum where someone was transporting their leopard gecko and the poor thing was so stressed that it ate part of its enclosure, causing its gut to impact and kill it. I don't want that to happen to Ryu (one impaction scare is more than enough for one lifetime!) so I'll just play it safe for her sake.
I also realized that I more or less forgot to eat anything today. I did have dinner, but earlier in the day it completely slipped my mind between plant stuff and packing. I didn't even know you could do that, but either way I should probably stop doing that.
Oh, and pie
Aug. 8th, 2009 08:06 pmGoing off my success from last year I decided to try another blueberry pie for this get together, and I think this one turned out very well:
And I actually got a piece this time! Last time it was devoured too quickly. What I love about the wild blueberries in our backyard is the fact that they aren't too sweet, unlike the over sugared stuff they sell in stores. Once you taste natural ones they just aren't the same.
And I actually got a piece this time! Last time it was devoured too quickly. What I love about the wild blueberries in our backyard is the fact that they aren't too sweet, unlike the over sugared stuff they sell in stores. Once you taste natural ones they just aren't the same.
Snake? Snaaakke!
Jul. 24th, 2009 05:59 pmI managed to catch one of our garter snake friends with my camera today. They really like that pile of stuff by our garage.
Garter Snake 01 by ~AthenAltena on deviantART
Garter Snake 01 by ~AthenAltena on deviantART
The Gahden version 2
Jul. 16th, 2009 10:54 am(I'm again making fun of the Boston accent in the subject, people there talk about "The TD Banknohth Gahden" when referring to the place where the Bruins play)
Updated with some new stuff planted, and a few things moved to balance it better. The Buddha doesn't stick out as much now that he has stuff around him. I like it, and when it's sunny out (right now it's a bit cloudy) the dappled leaf shadows are very nice.
It is a bit weird to have to water stuff, since before it was too rainy, but now there's enough water! *sigh* New England.
Updated with some new stuff planted, and a few things moved to balance it better. The Buddha doesn't stick out as much now that he has stuff around him. I like it, and when it's sunny out (right now it's a bit cloudy) the dappled leaf shadows are very nice.
It is a bit weird to have to water stuff, since before it was too rainy, but now there's enough water! *sigh* New England.
