The Question to Everyone's Answer

Bay Bridge reopens

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:18:32 GMT

Well, the Bay Bridge is reopened, but I'm just not sure how long the repair will last.

Gray kitty gets a name!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:35:35 GMT

After much debate, Tom and I finally agreed to name our little gray boy 'Nico' as a nod to Tom's Greek heritage.

Mollie is doing OK with him. She'll hiss if he gets too close (and he's started hissing back), but for the most part she ignores him. We're monitoring them.

And now ... more pics!

Tom keeps Nico warm while we wait for the light to change.

"This is the only way to travel!"

So she doesn't feel left out, here's a pic of Mollie helping me pack for a trip:

"Well, you need a foot warmer!"
(Apologies for the quality; my camera wasn't in reach, but my cell phone was.)

And finally, I had to macro the first pic:

With CAKE!

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:44:50 GMT

Happy Birthday, lokiz_mom!

Halloween pics and treats!

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:55:46 GMT

I spent Halloween in San Francisco this year!

First of all, our two RHPS shows were AMAZING. Saturday we sold out, and on Friday we sold 250+ tickets. Best Halloween shows ever!

I have to share the best Halloween costume I saw. San Francisco has a tour company called "Go Car", a GPS-guided tour of the city in little yellow go-karts. We were about to cross the street when a Go Car went by with a guy in a turtle costume at the wheel. OK, cute. Then a guy in a spotted mushroom hat drove past. That's when I got it. "Oh my god, it's Mario Kart!" This was confirmed a second later, when Luigi went by. It was brilliant! I wish I'd gotten a photo.

Meanwhile, reactions to my costume ranged from people who knew exactly who I was (including one guy who started quoting Woody's lines to me), to those who said, "Oh! Oh, I know who you are! You're from that movie! Toy Story! You're that character! Oooh, what's her name?", to those who simply tugged on the pull-string pinned to the back of my shirt. Overall, though, I got raves, which I was thrilled about. (Photo below the cut.)

I didn't have a lot of time this year, but it wouldn't be Halloween if I didn't bake something, so:

Oh what a tangled web we frost ...

Normally an entire pile of spiders would freak me out, but not when there's chocolate involved!

Yeee-HAW! Happy Halloween!

Writer's Block: Relive in the moment

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:14:50 GMT

If you could relive one hour of your life so far, what would you choose and why? Would you do or say anything different? How do you think it would change your life?

View 1001 Answers

I would have avoided an argument. I might not have lost a friend.

Writer's Block: Who will you be?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:34:20 GMT

What are you going to be for Halloween this year? Are you going to wear coordinating costumes with a friend or partner? Did you buy something pre-fab or make it yourself?

Submitted By crazyprotein

View 1026 Answers

I'm going to be Jessie the Cowgirl from "Toy Story 2". No coordinating.

I sort of made the costume. (I didn't like the look of the "officially licensed" package version.) I bought a white shirt and painted on the design, made chaps to attach to my jeans, and ordered the hat. And yes, there is a pull-string on the back of my shirt.

I don't want to spoil the party ...

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:18:50 GMT

A big thank-you to kor27 for helping me get my karaoke song into CD+G format for the party last night! It was much appreciated.

There was just one problem: the party was at a karaoke dance club. Upbeat music only! Singing a sad ballad - even in the appropriate costume - would have brought the party to a crashing halt. Oh, well. (On the plus side, my costume was very enthusiastically received!)

If I'm not too wiped out from two nights in a row of RHPS, I'll come to the Halloween karaoke party at King of Clubs Sunday night. Maybe I can sing it then.

Bawdy Caste blurb in SF Weekly!

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:42:36 GMT

http://www.sfweekly.com/events/the-rocky-horror-picture-show-1724207/

That's right, people: of all the fishnetted crazies in the Bay Area - and believe me, there are plenty - we're the highest-quality ones. (Also, I'm the Columbia in the accompanying photo.)

Gray Kitten Comes Home

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:05:49 GMT

So, I brought the gray kitten home over the weekend. He is a real cuddlebug! (He's also one hell of a climber. If I'm standing up, he will start at my foot and make it all the way to my shoulder.) He's very social, too, which is good.

He's living in the master bathroom right now, so Mollie can adjust to him. We have him out for short periods of time, though, so she has seen him. She isn't quite sure what to make of him yet. She alternately ignores, stares, or hisses at him. It's a gentle hiss, though, not a real threatening sound. I think she'll be OK once she adjusts. (One quirk I noticed: she doesn't like being picked up right after seeing him. She yowls and struggles. No idea why.)

Tom and I haven't come up with a name yet. Suggestions are welcomed!

And now, I leave you with pics of the little furball fast asleep, nestled between me and the couch arm:

Such a soft fluffy head ...

For the karaoke experts on my flist ...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:45:37 GMT

There's a song that I want to get the karaoke track for, but so far I've only found it as an mp3 download. If I download it and burn it to a CD, will the lyrics show up if I put it into a karaoke player?

I may be crazy, but I'm getting attached ...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:31:38 GMT

Anyone have suggestions for how I can get this cat ...

... to get used to the idea of sharing a home with this cat?

We're a Union and a Kitten Hostel

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:21:38 GMT

That's right, folks: we've found two more kittens at the back of our property. Seems several cats have made their home in a shed back there. One kitten, a dark-striped one, came running out towards a man when he went to check on them, and just curled right up to him. My co-worker Barbara was driving by and saw what was going on, so she called me. The other kitten - a gray one - crawled onto my shoulder, under my coat, and went to sleep.

There was no sign of any adult cats around, and these two are just about weaned. We were worried about the kittens dashing out into the parking lot and possibly getting hit, so we brought them in. I suspect they might be Caruso's littermates; the dark-striped one looks like the one I saw the day I rescued him. (He's reportedly doing very well, BTW.)

These two are massive cuddlebugs. Whenever someone goes into the room we put them in, they just climb all over us. They're not frightened at all.

Of COURSE I took photos!

"How could you possibly not love me?"

Lap Diving!

"Hey, this is MY lap!"

" 'Scuse me, pardon me, comin' through..."

It's tempting to call them Yin and Yang, the way they curl up ...

We're not sure yet whether someone will take them home today or we'll take them to a rescue or what, but we'll take good care of them!

The timing of colds ...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:59:08 GMT

This figures. I leave for vacation tomorrow, and I'm coughing and sneezing. Any suggestions for OTC remedies - especially those that will help prevent me from being miserable on the plane - are needed and welcomed! (NOTE: I can't have aspirin or ibuprofen, due to my stomach surgery. Acetaminophen is fine.)

It's last summer all over again ...

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:34:24 GMT

UPDATE: The Humane Society couldn't take Caruso. They're full up on foster parents who can take bottle babies. Luckily, I have a co-worker who not only has experience bottle feeding kittens, she has a cat who recently birthed and is still lactating. I took Caruso over there along with some formula. She'll keep me posted!

My co-worker Ben went outside the office and heard what sounded like a newborn kitten mewling. I started looking, and found a feral cat with two tiny kittens buried in the ivy under a tree at the edge of our property. One of the kittens, a little gray one, was crying with all his might. The mother cat hissed and ran off when I got close. (Oops.) We took the kittens and made sure they were OK, then put them back so the mom would return and move them. She did and all was well.

About an hour later, I took a bowl of cat food out to the mom. (We have a bag for the ferals that show up around the office sometimes.) I could hear the gray one still, so I walked down the parking lot intending to put the food near them, but not so close that I'd scare the mother. What I found was the gray kitten all by himself on the asphalt. I searched for the mom, but couldn't find her. then I thought maybe she was moving the other kitten and would come back for this one. So I left him out there by the food bowl.

30 minutes later, I checked and he was still there. He was curled up, no longer mewling, and clearly scared. Guys, I simply did not have the intestinal fortitude to leave him out there. I brought him inside, and after work I'm taking him to the Humane Society where I volunteer. Hopefully they'll be able to take him in, and then I can see him until he's adopted.

But I couldn't let him leave without taking photos, could I?

Due to his lung power, I named him 'Caruso'.

I'll keep you guys posted! Hopefully he'll get put up for adoption and find a wonderful family!

A Vine Time on a Cake ...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:46:45 GMT

Wow, 4 cakes in as many weeks! Busy me!

My mom's 60th birthday was yesterday, so of course I made her a cake. She requested one similar to one I made for her and her co-workers about a year and a half ago, so I did the same flavor - lemon cake with homemade buttercream - and a similar design. This time, though, the vines had something to say:

The raspberries added a nice flavor, as well. I should have put some in the filling.

Emmy Awards by the Numbers

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:03:22 GMT

Not the Official Statistics; just a few things I noted throughout the night:

Number of ...

... Kanye West jokes: 3

... Joe Wilson jokes: 1

... times a winner told Neil Patrick Harris what a great job he was doing as host: 2

... times Lorne Michaels was thanked: I lost track

... times I squee'd like an excited fangirl: 2 (once when Kristen Chenoweth won, and once when the Dr. Horrible bit came on)

... times I pouted like a disappointed fangirl: 1 (when Jim Parsons lost to Alec Baldwin)

... times Tom channeled psychic powers: 1 (When he said "A fist needs to come in from offscreen and punch Dr. Horrible" 2 seconds before it happened)

... awards I missed because I forgot to adjust my DVR to account for the show running long: Thankfully, just 1

Wanna help me help the animals?

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:24:21 GMT

The Humane Society is holding its annual Walk 'N' Wag fundraiser on Saturday, October 3. My office has decided to form a team, and now we're looking for sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring us, please go to the Walk 'N' Wag site and donate any amount you like. You can either sponsor me or my team (Archie's Angels, named after a co-worker's dog).

Thank you very much! Any help you can offer is appreciated!

white chocolate recipes?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:02:07 GMT

My friend gave me a massive white chocolate bar. (When I say massive, I mean it takes two hands to carry it.) Anyone have any good white chocolate recipes? :-)

You Can't Take this Cake From Me ...

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:25:59 GMT

After I posted the Stormtrooper cake yesterday, my friend William teased me about making him a 'Serenity'-themed cake for his birthday tomorrow. Well, it happened that he was coming over last night for a Beatles Rock Band session. So I picked up a small cake, and in 30 minutes I came up with this:

For those of you not familiar with it, it's the movie's logo.

Not the cleanest, and I'm sure I'll try a better one in the future - but for a quick piping job, not bad!

And now, a Tribute

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:46:43 GMT

"A Patrick Swayze Christmas"

The Dark Side of the Cake ...

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:57:24 GMT

I made a cake for my friend (and Bawdy Caste co-director) Jared's birthday over the weekend. He was teasing me about the amount of food coloring I put into my frosting, so I decided to make him a design using as little color as possible. He loves Star Wars and has a custom-made Stormtrooper costume, so here's what I made:

And I did, in fact, use the force to decorate this cake. I had to in order to get frosting out of the detail tip!

This is everywhere, but ...

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:07:13 GMT

Beyonce and Taylor Swift both absolutely defined "class" last night.

Sometimes, it's about the ego

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:42:20 GMT

Last night, for the first time, I bought a dress for no reason whatsoever. I have no clue where or when I'll wear it (It's very costumey) and it wasn't cheap, but I bought it anyway.

Why?

Because I looked hot in it. ;-)

Speaking of music ...

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:43:13 GMT

The Beatles Rock Band is coming out on September 9. I have my order in place. There will be a Rock Band party in the near future, oh yes there will.

Road Music!

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:39:30 GMT

I'm re-burning my legendary-in-my-own-mind set of Road Music CDs in preparation for the driving portion of my trip to Toronto next month. (Whosers represent!) Does anyone have suggestions for good driving music? It can be from any genre; all I ask is that it have a decent beat for driving to (or riding to, since it's fapiece who's doing the actual driving). Bonus points if the song has to do with cars or driving (i.e.: "Life is a Highway," "I'm a Road Hammer," "Holiday Road") because I'm a big ol' geek that way.

Suggest away! :-)