This is getting pretty ridiculous. I just can't seem to think up anything to post these days, except for really obscure things, like "Why Clare should totally win Australia's Next Top Model season 5" and "I can't even remember the name of the winner of Make Me a Supermodel, and that's only one of the reasons I'm pissed off about the finale" and "My issues with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - let me tell you aaaaaaall about them". And since that's the case, let's get right to it, okay?

( Why Clare should totally win Australia's Next Top Model season 5 )

( I can't even remember the name of the winner of Make Me a Supermodel, and that's only one of the reasons I'm pissed off about the finale )

( My issues with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - let me tell you aaaaaaall about them )

I think my keywords for this icon express my feelings on The Unusuals being cancelled. Ugh!

01. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their livejournal.
(02. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper.)
03. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this. The point is to see what you had on.



I use WallMaster, so this is only one of many wallpapers I use (it changes every thirty minutes), but it is the only one actually made for my screen resolution (1920x1080), and as such, is pretty much the only one that actually looks good. I did grab a bunch of Star Trek wallpapers from the official site that I could put up, but that would involve some cropping (they were not 16:9), and I'm lazy, so...

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So, my vacation is over. I didn't do what I had intended to do, but that's okay, because I dabbled in some retail therapy. And I haven't loved anything as much as I love these two things in a looong time.

So, I was paying my bills the other day, and I started wondering what it's like elsewhere. I can't imagine not having e-billing, giro payments, and online banking in general. Plus, paying all your bills in one go at the end of each month makes me happy. But I get the feeling that the US is still stuck in that same old "check-is-in-the-mail" archaic bill-paying that was the norm when I lived there twenty years ago. Therefore, ( a poll! )

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Speaking of bill-paying, I'm only a few weeks away from being completely free of credit card debt, so of course I'm looking at ways to spend all that extra moolah. And I think I found it! I'm leaning towards this one, though to be honest, it's more because it comes in a pretty light blue color than for the battery life. Does anyone have any recommendations? Words of wisdom?

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I think my eReader purchase has already paid for itself, because I'm reading more books than ever. Since the beginning of May alone, I've read 15 books. 15 books! I didn't read 15 books all of last year! (Granted, it's been mostly chick lit and easy fare, but still!)

Except, reading all these actual books instead of fic has made me realize that I've probably averaged about 100 books a year, just in fic. So I'm not reading that much more than usual right now, I'm just reading other things.

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( Teevee )

Numbered lists seem to be the best way to get back into the groove of things:

1. ( I finished Chuck season 2. )


2. I got my eReader yesterday, and even though I've only used it for a day, I already love it to death. I don't think I can ever go back to reading (long) fic on my computer again.


3. This Strawberry Spinach Salad sounds really yummy. I'm going to have to try that some day.


4. I uploaded some new icons to my Scrapbook.


5. ( TAR finished another season. )


6. I've had to take a few people off my reading filter because of spoilers, and I'm thinking of doing an flist cut. I mean, sure, it's just reaction spoilers, but just because you don't care about the show anymore (or love it so much you can't wait to Tell. Everyone. About. It), that doesn't mean I want to know. Though it seems silly to cut people right when TV is going into hybernation for the summer.


7. Comedies are not making me dance with joy right now. ( The Office. ) ( The Big Bang Theory. ) ( HIMYM. )


8. Everyone squeeing about Star Trek has made me dying to go see it, even though I think I've only watched one full episode of any of the franchises (a TNG episode where they go back in time? Or something?) Good job, flist!


9. I'm taking the first week of June off and I can't wait! The best part is that it's vacation days I've saved from last year, so I still have five weeks of vacation coming to me after that. I'm going to try to find a cheap last minute trip to somewhere around the Mediterranean, and if that falls through, I'm going to redecorate my bedroom. Either way? So much win!


10. Hi, Laura! =)

I've been reading (in most cases, re-reading) Buffy fic lately. There are plenty of fic tropes when it comes to Spike/Buffy fic, but I'm always surprised that two scenarios I find very interesting are in short supply. If they exist at all. ( Read more... )

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I ordered an eReader! Turns out, the iLiad lost out after all, because it doesn't seem to be very stable, and the manufacturer seems to be on the verge of dicontinuing the device. Of the two remaining devices, the Cybook seems to be better for Mobipocket files, but hardly any improvements have been made to the firmware since its launch.

So I ended up with the Bebook, which I finally settled on because the company seems to have very active support, with frequent updates, and there's even an open source project with improved functions. Also, they're releasing a new device later this year that will do pretty much exactly what I wanted the iLiad to do, but since I want one NOW, I might as well get used to this (cheap) version first and buy a new one in about a year or so.

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I'm so glad this is only a four day week, because I think The Dreaded Allergies have hit. I've been sneezing all evening, and my eyes are itching like crazy. *sigh*

I meant to post this icon meme over a week ago. Um, oops? ( MEME! )

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( The Amazing Race )

( Project Runway Canada )

Last Friday, when I was on the way to the subway, A & B Song came on my mp3 player, and I was seized by this unstoppable wave of nostalgia, and I knew I had to start up my Farscape rewatch again (I had just finished season 2 when I took a break...um, six months ago or so). But first I had to rewatch the vid that made me have the Farscape flashback and I'd forgotten something: ( I think it's all wrong )

First order of business: I have one Dreamwidth invite if anyone's interested. Please include your email address in the comment. Taken! But if you're interested in any future invite codes I get, you can still comment and I'll put you on the list.

Second order of business: I haven't watched last night's HIMYM yet, and I think it's because I don't want to spoil my T: TSCC high (which makes no sense, because I've watched plenty of episodes today at work, but I can't help it - my brain sorts TV into two very distinct categories: Work and Non-Work). I watched the last two episodes last night ( and afterwards, I just sat there )

Third order of business: AmazonFail seems to have worked itself out, and my bet is that the "glitch" is explained here. So, not a homophobic company policy, but company who allows some dimwit (or committee of dimwits) who is homophobic (or at the very least, very, very ignorant) to influence their policy.

But yay for me, because now I can order season one of T: TSCC! =)

First of all: Amazon Rank (from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books).

Secondly, remember how I pre-ordered Pushing Daisies season 2? Well, I canceled it, and told Amazon that I would buy it from their rival Play.com, along with everything else I usually would have bought from them until they fix this. But from the way this shitstorm has snowballed since I first heard about it, I'm thinking I'll just end up reordering it from Amazon, because I can't imagine they can keep this policy in place now.

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I spent the last few days cleaning my apartment (taking stuff to the recycling center, tackling the balcony, buying new plants, etc), so today I took some time off. Which naturally led to watching more Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (I am completely smitten. Still).

But in an effort to not run out of episodes before noon (I only had four or five left this morning), I went back to Super Mario Galaxy, where I'd been stuck for a while. And because of my determination not to run out of episodes, I've now added 15 more stars, and I still have the last two episodes of T:TSCC to watch. I had meant to watch them tonight, but I got all caught up in link-hopping and now I still have episodes saved for tomorrow! Yay!

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In all the Amazon excitement, I almost forgot the reason I had intended to post today: I got myself a Dreamwidth account! And for once I managed to snag my user name without underscores! I managed to import most of it okay, but the comment import was aborted on the first try, and when I tried it again, it imported them twice. Eeek! Weirdly, the comment count in my journal is correct, but in my user info I have twice the number of comments, and there are duplicate comments on every entry. Oh well.

If you've got an account, let me know!

I'm currently halfway through The Deeper Meaning of Liff, which is like my favorite new thing. For those not in the know, it's "a dictionary of things there aren't any words for yet", by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd. All words are really geographical places. ( My favorites so far... )

And let me tell you, by the time I stopped working at almost eight last night, I was feeling hynish in the extreme. But today was the first day of my five day weekend, so today is a happy day!

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I've been watching a lot of TV since my last update. A LOT. I'm almost back to my January levels, after dropping to alarmingly low levels in March.

( The Sarah Connor Chronicles, up through 2x12 )

( Life )

( Better Off Ted )

( My Boys )

I've run out of NCIS seasons on DVD, so unless this Farscape itch gets its claws in me completely, I think the next show in the pipeline is going to be Deadwood. Finally!

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I've been really good about adding 25 bucks to my Kiva account each month, and so far this year, I've made seven new loans (the repaid loans have enabled me to loan $175, even though I've only put $100 into my account)! And I think that once this year is up, I'll probably be able to make at least a loan a month in perpetuity without adding another cent.

And since I love the idea of this site so much, here's that link again:



And if you do decide to make a loan, do join the fandom team. The number of members has doubled since my last mention, and the amount loaned has quadrupled, but I still think fandom can do much more.

And if you're into country rivalry, Team Sweden just passed Team USA, which is simply pitiful, you guys. Come on, where's your patriotism?! ;-) (If you're wondering where my patriotism is, I don't care so much about the US being ahead of us, since the US population is about 30 times the size of ours. I just want us to beat those @%!#^/$ Norwegians!)