5 October wants

Here are five things that I really want right now.

1.
The first one is really ridiculous, because Hello! £410 is $652! I don't even know why I want it since I don't carry clutches/purses/bags any way. I just like how it sparkles. I don't know what I would do with it, it'd probably sit at home in its box all the time any way.

2.
This is a bit silly too. I used to wear heels all the time from high school until just about when I got married, so I haven't worn them in the last eight years and I can REALLY tell when I do wear them, but I love heels, especially a nice platform one ('cause they make me taller.) But I also think they look a bit nicer when wearing a suit for an interview.

3.
I know that it is a random thing to want, but all of my cute paper and cards are in the box that we shipped to Leeds, but that box hasn't arrived yet! I have people I want to write to, but I can't unless I get more paper.

4.
This one is a bit more practical. I had a very nice black canvas messenger bag, that had a cream brocade (East Asian style), that was really pretty to look at, but! It couldn't even hold a regular sized notebook, it wasn't wide enough, so, I sold it in our big sale and I need something else. The husband got me one from the Leeds Business school, but it isn't very sturdy so I don't think it will last long.

5.
You won't believe how hard this is find here. I've only seen it in one store and I bought the five rolls that they had. It doesn't look like they are going to get any more so I'll have to find it some place else or buy it online.

Currently watching:

Apparently you can't get this on the UK Amazon, isn't that weird.

Currently reading:
Korean Slang: As much as a Rat's Tail: Learn Korean Language and Culture through Slang, Invective and Euphemism (English and Korean Edition) Peter Nicholas Liptak and Si Woo Lee
This book is great. It is all about Korean slang, and it is really helpful since a lot of the slang is contraction of combined words. So 강추 (gang chu) means "it rocks," but it is an abbreviation of 강력추천 (gangryok chucheon) which means something more closely to being strongly recommended. A good read if you are learning Korean.

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I'll fly away

We leave to go to England tomorrow (aka in about 14 hours since my insomnia is keeping me up.) I am nervous and anxious, but I am also excited and and full of anticipation for the adventure.

We sold our car right before leaving California and tomorrow we are turning off our phones. We are staying in a hotel right now, but we will continue to be homeless until we find a place to rent.

Luckily most of our things have already been packed up and sent on ahead, or I would probably be running around like crazy. Instead we have been able to enjoy the last few days and tour some of New York (West Point, bits of Sleepy Hollow and Tarry Town) and New York City. We took a dinner cruise of New York City, but we also drove downtown and saw the sights.

It is almost 2:30am. I am going to try to sleep.

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Homeless

I came back from Dragon*Con sick. I am actually still sick. I didn't find any of the things that I would have wanted to buy, which I guess is just as well since we really don't have the space for extra stuff.

We left California on the 10th, and we are in New York until the 15th. We are living in hotel rooms until then, but we still have to find a place to live once we get to England on the 16th.

I don't know when we will get a permanent internet connection, so updates may be spotty until then.

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5 things I would like to find at Dragon*Con

1. A good shirt to go with my costume. I have one, but it is black and I would like something in a different color, so it would stand out against the black of the skirt and bodice. I have one picked out, http://www.fanplusfriend.com/servlet/the-946/Gothic-Lolita-Shirring-Sleeping/Detail but it wouldn't arrive in time for the convention, so if I find something better I would like to get it.

2. Bloomers or a good underskirt. I need something to go under my skirt, perhaps a white underskirt or white bloomers. I have bloomers picked out, ones that match the shirt above, http://www.fanplusfriend.com/servlet/the-933/Gothic-Lolita-Long-Pleated/Detail but again for the same reason, not enough time to arrive for the convention.

3. A parasol. I would like to get a good solid parasol, if not I have this one picked out, http://www.etsy.com/listing/117249335/lace-parasol-turquoise-and-blue?ref=shop_home_active I don't prefer a lace parasol, but I do like the way the dye is on the lace. Unfortunately they old ship within the US. I might have to get my Father to ship it to me in Leeds, if I don't find something I like more at the convention.

4. Cuffs for the wrist seem to be becoming a very popular steampunk accessory. I would like to find some blue leather and lace ones, or figure out how to make them myself, or I might consider getting archer's bracers. I haven't found anything that I like yet, so there is a lot of opportunity here.

5. I would like a belt of some kind, preferably black leather, something I could hang accessories off of. Right now I am using a belly dancing belt that I reclaim, but it is all metal and bells, and not nice to fabric, it likes to snag on things. So, I would like to find something that I could hang my fan on, or a tea cup, a parasol or whatever.

Those are my wish things right now. I'm sure I will be tempted a lot at Dragon*Con, but I have a limited budget and limited space for shipping things to England.

I need to develop my character a bit more, and figure out how to do my hair or practice putting up my hair.

Currently watching:
The Human Condition Episode 2 Season 2: Living without creating trash. This is a great Korean variety show that has 6 comedians living together for a week doing different things, like living without cellphones, electricity, or water. It shows how much modern societies waste.

Currently reading:
Little Women (AmazonClassics Edition) by Louisa May Alcott
Such a great classic. I hope Jasmine enjoys it too when she is older.

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Taking mini-vacations

We've been back several weeks now from our trip to Oklahoma. Jasmine and I had a great time. We stopped at the Grand Canyon on our way out to see my Father, we didn't do the Skywalk, because it was $187 for me and Jasmine and no cameras allowed. That was just too much money, so we went to Guano Point instead. On the way back from my Father's we stopped at the Petrified Forest we didn't get to stay long since it was getting dark and it started raining, Meteor Crater right after we got up, so it was early in the morning, but still hot, a Deer Farm the deer were a bit pushy, but Jasmine got to hold a baby wallaby and she was enchanted with him, Bearizona Jasmine loved being able to drive through the wildlife park, and Hoover Dam on the way back. We had a pretty good time. I don't know if I will get a chance to upload any pictures, but if I remember I will try to.

We have about a month left in the U.S. Saturday we leave to go to Las Vegas and see my Mother for a week, then we'll go to Carson City and spend Jasmine's birthday with her school friends and my mother-in-law. We'll drop Jasmine back off with my mother-in-law while we attend Dragon*Con, after that we will go to New York for five days and leave from New York to go to Leeds.

My new passport arrived and soon we are going to go get the husband and Jasmine's visas.

We have tickets to Leeds already, leaving from New York, but we still need to sell the cars and bed and not a lot of time left. My anxiety is high. My internet is not good and we don't have a lot of time left, not sure if I'll get to do any more updates.

Currently watching:
Who Are You (후아유): Only up to episode 6, because that is all that has been released. I think they are on a Monday/Tuesday schedule, 2 episodes a week. It is really good so far.

Good Doctor (굿 닥터): On episode 3, only 4 have been released. I like the main character, an autistic doctor, but what I don't like is how the other characters keep saying that he can be cured.

The Blade and Petal (칼과 꽃): On episode 3 of this too, 13 have been released. This is a bit slow going, I'm waiting for the action to pick up.

Currently reading:
Freak of Nature (IFICS Book 1) by Julia Crane
I thought this book would be more science-fiction, so it is a bit disappointing that it is not progressing the way that I thought it would.


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Convention goers beware

I've attended a fair number of Renaissance Faires and conventions in my life. When I was in my teens and in my twenties I went with friends or with co-workers. Now in my thirties I attend with my husband. Jasmine attended her first convention this last May at Nova Albion. I don't know if she will want to attend Faires or conventions when she gets older, but I would like to think that we, as her parents, will have taught her how to take care of herself if she chooses to attend a faire or convention alone.

I think I myself have either been very lucky or very obtuse, I don't think anyone has ever tried to harass me, but that doesn't mean that someone won't try in the future.

If you are ever harassed at a convention (this post deals specifically with being harassed at a convention, but I think the advise could be applied and used at a Ren Fair too,) Jim C. Hines has made a great post on who and how to report the harassment. Reporting Sexual Harassment in SF/F, 2013 Edition.

I know in an ideal world people wouldn't attend faires or conventions alone, but that isn't always possible, especially if someone needs to go in order to make business connections. I have no idea where I was going with this I seem to have lost my train of thought, but I guess what I mean to say is be aware of your surroundings, even if you yourself aren't being harassed you might spot someone else being harassed and then you can step-in as a witness. And, yes, men can be harassed too.

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Dragon*Con Shirts

I need some opinions. I got a steampunk costume for Dragon*Con. It has a black underskirt with white lace, a blue taffeta bustle, and a black bodice with white lace and blue inserts, but I need a shirt. I have 3 that I picked out, thinking about the heat and humidity of Atlanta at the end of August, and that I will already be wearing several layers, plus I wanted something that I could possibly wear in the future.

Here are the links to each shirt, I would be purchasing the shirt in white, but which looks nicer?

I think this one would be the coolest in the heat, but as you can see you have to have something to wear underneath or cover up with (which I would be using the bodice) not something that could be worn on it's own:
http://www.fanplusfriend.com/servlet/the-1904/Classical-Gothic-Lolita-Embroidered/Detail

I like this one, but I wonder if it looks too stuffy when not paired with steampunk items:
http://www.fanplusfriend.com/servlet/the-847/Classical-Gothic-Lolita-cln-Short-Sleeves/Detail

This one has a blue ribbon that would match the bustle and inserts on the bodice (this is actually supposed to be an undershirt):
http://www.fanplusfriend.com/servlet/the-946/Gothic-Lolita-Shirring-Sleeping/Detail

I would love to hear comments and opinions!

Thanks!

Currently reading:
A Job From Hell (Ancient Legends Book 1) by Jayde Scott
I got this as a free kindle, it is another vampire book, not sure why I keep picking only vamp books out to read recently. It is holding my attention, but I did enjoy Blood Calling much more.

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California

We have been living in California for almost a week. Most of it has been hot and miserable. Where we are has been going through a heat wave.

In about a week Jasmine and I will be driving to Oklahoma. We will be making a few stops along the way to see some family and friends. We will be driving all of the things that we want to keep, but don't want to ship to England, to my Dad's home. He will store them for us while we are gone. It will probably be a four day drive, a week-long stay and a four day drive back.

After that we have about a two week rest and have to go see my mom for a week, fly back to Carson and celebrate Jasmine's birthday. We will drive back to California and wait a couple of days to drive back to Carson to drop Jasmine off with the mother-in-law. Then the husband and I will be flying to Dragon*Con in Atlanta... in August. Phew... I can already feel the heat and humidity.

About two weeks after that we will be off to Leeds. Our time in the USA is ending quickly, yet slowly at the same time.

July 9, 2013

AHHHHH! Never mind what I wrote about Oklahoma. Jasmine and I were in a car accident today. We are completely fine, but the car is not. I'm not sure how we are going to Oklahoma, but right now I am not driving the car.

I at least got to mail off the renewal of my passport, but that was really the only thing I accomplished today.

I better publish this post before something else happens.

Currently Reading:
Blood Calling (The Blood Calling Series Book 1) by Joshua Grover-David
I got this as a free kindle and read it. It is a pretty good story, good enough that I would pay to read the next book. It is about vampires, but has a re-imagining of their purpose in the world.

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Ripple blanket using Bernat Baby Coordinates

The next-door-neighbor lady is supposed to have a baby some time next month, but she looks like she will have it any time soon. This is her fourth child, but it has been five years since her last child.

I used Bernat Baby Coordinates in Buddy Blue and White for this blanket. Buddy Blue ranges from a dark, medium and light blues to a blue-green.






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And moving on

Well, we finally closed on the house on the 3rd of May. It is completely gone and sold. We are now at a friend's house, all of our stuff squished into one room. The husband is back from California.

A few plans have changed, we may be leaving in 3 to 6 weeks to go to California until the husband retires. The husband interviews tomorrow (okay, it has been long enough since I first started typing this that the interview occurred over a week ago and the husband did get the assistanceship!) to see if he will teach (well, be a TA), if he gets the job then we will leave some time after September 19th, he will start on the 24th. That doesn't give us a lot of time to get to England and settle in. If he doesn't get the job I think we will be going with our original plan and not leave until the end of November, but I don't know if we will stay the whole time in California.

Some things are settled, but a lot of things are still up in the air. It is a stressor, or at least for me it is.

I am taking a few courses with Coursera. They are free, taught through various universities, community style (videos and forums.) Right now I am taking "Crafting an Effective Writer: Tools of the Trade," to brush up on my English grammar, and "Introduction to Art: Concepts & Techniques," just for fun. As you can see some of the English homework has made its way here since the teachers wanted it to be hosted online, I don't know why.

There's also a class called "English Common Law: Structure and Principles," starting in a couple of days, figured I needed to brush up a little bit on English law before we moved. I am also enrolled in: "Archaeology's Dirty Little Secrets," sounded like fun and I have enjoyed the few archaeology (luckily I already spell that the British way) classes I have taken for college; "Fantasy and Science Fiction: The Human Mind, Our Modern World," I normally only read Fantasy or Science Fiction, although I am currently really into steampunk, I also enjoy writing and normally write in fantasy settings; "Art and Inquiry: Museum Teaching Strategies For Your Classroom," okay, I don't teach, so I don't know how useful this information would be, but I figured that it couldn't hurt to learn it; "From the Big Bang to Dark Energy," Astronomy! If I was better at math I would want to be an astronomer... or a chemist, probably a chemist, then I could blow stuff up; "From the Repertoire: Western Music History through Performance," music, not sure what else to say about this class beyond that I like music; "Live!: A History of Art for Artists, Animators and Gamers," another art class, not sure how useful this one will be either, but it sounded interesting; "Confronting The Big Questions: Highlights of Modern Astronomy," another astronomy class, yay!

Some of the universities hosting the classes are big, famous universities, like Brown University, and the classes aren't all at the same time, for example, the "Confronting The Big Questions: Highlights of Modern Astronomy" class isn't until next year. But if you complete the class you get a certificate of some kind, I don't know what kind yet because I am only on my first class.

The lovely Gail Carriger is have a contest for an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of Curtsies & Conspiracies, which is set to come out November 5th. Curtsies & Conspiracies is the second book of the Finishing School series. I have had Etiquette & Espionage in my Currently Reading section before, but it will show up there again, since I will need to refresh my memory to write the 60 word review. The contest ends June 10th, you can find the rest of the rules here.

Currently reading:
The Iron Butterfly (The Iron Butterfly Series Book 1) by Chanda Hahn
This is the book that my FB book reading group picked. It is a free kindle, I've had it for a week, but I've only managed to get to page 10. Hopefully things will settle down soon.

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