The wind is blowing so hard outside I have trouble seeing the bushes in the yard. Unlike most of you, I have almost no snow; when the wind stops, grass peaks through white and the pavement is clean. All the trees are waving their bare, twisty arms as if saying "JESUSFUCK I AM COLD CUT IT OUT PLEASE. RESPECTFULLY, WENDALL OAK JR."

I am feeling artistic to the tips of my fingers, but I haven't drawn anything. I think I'm being terribly irrational. I have this thing where I look at my old art, and it comes in cycles. First, I look at something very old and think "I was so good then. I was only 16/19/21. Am I still that good? I feel like I'm worse". Eventually, I'll make something anyway and then it will become the old thing that looks really good, and the original becomes a fond memory. I just need to get to the moving on and making more part. I want to do something in sepia and brown, but I don't have the technology or the materials required.

My life is banal right now.

Why hello there, internet! I am calling to you from the vast reaches of space to let you know that I am sitting in a mall and will be until maybe as late as 11 or 12 tonight. I honestly have nothing to do until 9, but I did discover I have internet access on my phone! This means that I am a lucky girl. Although things like gchat or aim are as yes out of my reach, I can check LJ with surprising clarity. So tell me, friends - tell me about anything you want to. Bring me news from the outside!

My dear friend K9 has been particularly cruel to me recently. There I was, minding my own business and thinking she was great, when she had to remind me that Sarah Palin begins her book tour this coming Wednesday in Grand Rapids. Now, that's bad enough! But no, she couldn't leave it there.

"At which Mall are you working?" she asked*, seemingly innocuous.

"The Woodland Mall, I think. We've got a booth really close to the center of the mall. Why?" I replied, ever trusting.

"Well, because Palin is starting her book tour at the Barnes and Noble." Her tone implied I should have guessed what would come next.

"So?"

"The Barnes and Noble of the Woodland Mall. I don't suppose you're working that day, are you?" she asked, with callous and ill-concealed glee.

"Really? That's only a couple of stores away, and I... oh... god."

And then I made this face: D:


*The conversation, you may have guessed, didn't go exactly like this. She would, however, have definitely used the correct grammar. Also, she's really lovely and generous and darling, and wants me to throw stones, even though a.) I would lose my job and b.) I am not without sins, so stoning is kind of out of the question.

Bad Things:
1.) Yesterday I had a 102 degree fever.
2.) We are pretty sure this is because I, like 30% of the schoolchildren in Michigan, have the N1H1 virus.
3.) I am jobless and temporarily living with my (ever-loving, and very dear) parents.
4.) When I cough, nasty stuff comes up
5.) My cat has learned how to turn the faucet on, but not off

Good Things:
1.) Today, my temperature was normal
2.) Swine flu, like I have been saying for months, is just a flu like most others, and for most people (including me), it is mild and short lived. I should be better by tomorrow or the day after.
3.) I have a job lead here that may tide me over until I get one in Beloit/area
4.) We have a good lead on a Honda CRV for me for under 4,000. Unfortunately, it has a potential of up to $1,000 in repairs I'll need to get once it's mine. We think we'll be able to talk the seller down to cover it.
5.) Pixel and my parents new dog, Juno, are getting along just fine.

I'll write more later, after a nap and some more medicine.

Today began the cleaning frenzy. My boss (and also landlord) told me casually that he would be showing the apartment this weekend, which is fine and good, except that Nick and I had totally let ourselves go, and there was a fine layer of debris on everything. Nick's biggest contribution to the mess was the kitchen and a million dishes. My worst contribution to the mess was letting Pixel's litter go for like a week (gross. It is a thing I do every month or so, because I never learn my lesson). We both added to the clogged shower drain and the general clutter in the living room (empty soda bottles, bags of chips, little papers from every walk of life). He did the dishes on his lunch break, so when I got home I decided it was business time!

I cleaned the bathroom. I picked up a lot of the mess in the living room. I wiped down all surfaces (save the floor) in the kitchen, including the fridge and the oven top. When Nick gets home, I'll ask him to do the kitchen floor and the rest of the living room debris. After that, we both need to do our rooms (disaster area!). I started sorting my room last night (I have piles of dirty laundry and laundry-to-hang, of trash and books, but it looks more like a mess now than it did when I started. Yikes!

In other, better, news, I only have 4 days to wait until Daniel gets up here. IT IS GOING TO BE SO GOOD. SO MANY PICTURES ARE GOING TO BE HAD. YESSSSS

Let's get the sad stats out of the way: "Job-seekers are finding it takes more than 26 weeks to gain a new job, the worst number since record-keeping began in 1948. Unemployment among those 16-24 now exceeds 50%. And the number of those who have lacked work for more than six months has also hit a post-Second World War high." From Andrew Sullivan/David Frum, emphasis mine.

So that's depressing.

Anyway, I finished Norse Code yesterday, and then promptly read Ender's Game to completion in the same day. I knew going in that this would be foolish, because my impressions of Norse Code in a review would be less sharp, but I did it anyway. I like reading!

So Norse Code starts out with the premise of a young woman (Kathy/Mist) who was murdered with her sister and saved from helheim by being turned into a Valkyrie. There have been three years of winter without summer, and it is clear that Ragnarok is coming. Her boss, the Valkyrie Radgrid, has created a genome project (norseCODE) that allows her to find the descendants of Odin. She then sends her other Valkyries out to collect these people and force them into battle (so that they can die a warrior's death and go to Valhalla/Asgard, to fight for Odin in the coming war). So far, it is a pretty spectacular set-up for a Scion game, and I would love (LOVE) to see it played/be in it.

This basic plot doesn't last long, however, as Kathy/Mist soon realizes that this is both total bullshit and also murder, and runs away to try to find Hermod, the only god to have made it into Helheim and back alive, so that she can retrieve her sister (and as many other dead as she can).

The writing is good, and the story is satisfying. I think a lot of the characters are really compelling (I especially love the Sybil), and I think that for an apocalyptic setting the story does a good job until the very end of not going any more over the top than it needs to go. My one complaint is that the vast majority of the plot in Midgard takes places in California, especially in the LA area. That doesn't strike me as particularly necessary, so it bothers me that everything falls into place there. Again, this is a story where the male lead (Hermod) is really the main character, though the story is (theoretically) centered around and told from Mist's perspective. It's kind of annoying - but what is a Valkyrie to do during Ragnarok? It's definitely a god's role to fix things if he can.

It's overall a very enjoyable and rather good book, and I liked it very much. I especially think that Rookie and Lisa should read it, as should anyone who enjoys Scion or mythology in general.

OK, so I am trying an experiment. I have 6 drawings of trees I did at work that I think are pretty spiffy. They are tiny (just 2" x 3"). I also recently purchased a badge-making kit thing, complete with 10 badges. What I am offering is a doodle or a badge (or both, or multiple, or pictures of my cat) for $3, shipping included. You pick them out (for badges you tell me what you'd like on them or just leave it up to me. They are about the size of a quarter), give me your address, and I will send them to you. You then use the same (or a different) envelope and send me the money back (unless you can help me figure out paypal or something I guess). Does this sound utterly stupid?

( Here are the trees )

Um. If this is a terrible idea, or really dumb, or too expensive, let me know. If this is super great, or totally unreasonable, let me know that, too! First come first serve? *nervous nervous nervous*

I'll post a full review when I finish it, but so far Norse Code is fantastic. It's well written and well paced. As far as I can tell, the story is told from the implied perspective of Hugin (or Reason or Thought), one of the Ravens of Odin, which is terribly interesting. It's set in a world three years into Ragnarok (or leading up to it - three years of ever-longer winters with no summers, and the world definitely starting to go to Hel). Rookie, if what I've seen in the first 100 pages is any indication, I think you'd really like it, and you should definitely look it up. If I can find it in the only bookstore on an island in the middle of a lake, I'm sure you can find it somewhere nearby (or, I guess, on the internet).

Om nom nom books!

( some emo bullshit )

I've got to say, I almost didn't make it past the first three chapters of this book. It tried too hard, the slang was awkward, and it was so vague on plot as to make a girl want to stop reading. But now that's I've finished it? It's was delightful. Very nearly exactly the same kind of wonderful as Neverwhere and War for the Oaks, as anticipated. It was fluffy, but unafraid to be detailed and gruesome. Though it took a while to frame the setting, the world and the mood were interesting to read. If Harry Potter is read entirely in primary and secondary colors, Street Magic is read though dirty lenses with the colors of a pulp noir movie. The colors would be primary and bright, but they're filtered through ash first, so they've turned grey and sooty. I don't know if that kind of description makes sense to anyone else.

Another thing I really enjoyed was that the main characters, Jack and Pete, weren't unbelievably young. Pete is 28, and Jack is 38. He gets made fun of for being old a lot. Another thing I liked? No one is interested in Pete. There is no inexplicable lust clogging up the book (some demons think she's pretty tasty looking, but there's nothing there that any other girl doesn't get). Jack is clearly the main character, even if the story is told from Pete's perspective. Everyone totally writes her off, usually to their detriment as she's got a pretty good right hook, and the only time someone really brings up having sex with her, they decide they could do it just as easily after they've killed her, so why bother?

The book really turned around from being something-to-read into enjoyable on page 158. Pete (whose full name is fantastic and I won't ruin it for you - read the book) is being irritable and emo about not being able to save all the kidnapped children. Jack Winter, who up until now had been a vaguely git-shaped and gritty character in the book with no real motivation or depth, decides to cheer her up:

Jack cupped her hand, palm upward, and conjured a spurt of witchfire into his fingers. He blew a breath over it and the fire flared and drifted upward, settling like milkweed into Pete's palm.It turned the shape of a daisy, then a tiny, perfect oak tree, and finally a duck.

Pete bit the insides of her cheeks and looked up into his face. Jack was grinning at her. "How can you be dour when you've got a tiny duck?" he asked.

How charming! Most of the book is jerky and sinister, but this was hopelessly whimsical and I loved it. The story rapidly picked up from there, anyway, gaining actual plot and following it (for the most part) to the end.

Oh, also? Jack Winters is the lead singer in a band called the Poor Dead Bastards, which is highly appropriate as the first sentence of the book informs you that he died 12 years ago. Pretty great! Anyway, my general opinion is that you should read it if you've got some time and are feeling down and want cheering, if you liked Neverwhere or War for the Oaks, or if you want to find out Pete's real name. It is not a good book, but it is definitely a fun book. Ta!

There is a bookstore next to our downtown store, set deep into an open lobby (aka the Cave, home for some of the islands bats). They are lovely, and the people who work there are all glorious and I love them. One of them offered to get me a kitten, another offered to watch the store while I ran some errands (tonight was a surprise 12 hour work day, oops), and another has also been to Scotland and just seems like the kind of person I want to be friends with all the time.

Anyway! There is a store-wide 40% off sale (all the island stores get discounts like this toward the end of season, it means everything is a total steal). Naturally, I loaded up! This is my list of new books:

Watchmen, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Most of you know this book, or have at least heard of it. I've never read it fully through, and only BSFFA and Jeremiah own a copy as far as I'm aware, neither of which are close to me. So I bought it for myself and plan to finish reading it (I'm very excited!)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
My brother read his copy of this out so that the cover had fallen off. I've only read it the once, and dearly wished to read it again, so when I saw it there, 40% off, I decided I needed it. Excellent!

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I have been hearing about this book for ages and ages, and decided it was time for me to read it. Might as well own it - if I don't want to keep it, I know many, many friends who love books and would probably like it. I'm excited (and nervous) about reading it.

Norse Code by Greg van Eekhout
Oh my goodness, this book looks so silly. It is about the norseCODE, a genome project designed to identify the descendants of Odin. Basically, it is just Scion in a book, I guess! The main lady character runs around with some minor gods and saves her sister. Should be a fun, light read.

Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge
Another silly book! this one reminded me a bit of war for the oaks, and so I am interested in reading it! It follows the story of a young woman who met and fell in love with a show-off mage who died, only to find him alive and well years later, while on a kidnapping case! They romp off into the land of the fey to find the missing girl. Also, it takes place in London. So a cross between War for the Oaks and Neverwhere? Undoubtedly fluffy and delicious. (EDIT: Oh man! I forgot to mention that the main character's name is Pete. She's still a lady - much like Eddi. This author clearly has a hard-on for Emma bull).

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This is the book I'm looking forward to reading the most. It's about a travelling circus during the great depression, and it looks just deliciously full of 1930's wonder. Speak-easies, tatty glamour, a mute, beautiful performer... I think it will be so much fun. It looks pretty dark, and I can't wait to start it.

These are my books! I am excited about them. Be excited with me about them! Excitement!

I am inches away from not doing this post because I have so many pictures to post and that is a lot of work! But I'm sure at least one of you would ask for them, and then I'd end up doing the whole thing anyway but feeling guilty for it.

Allow me to preface this post (well, most of it) by saying that today was wonderful and terrible all in the same moment. You see, today it rained! But it also sleeted for a bit, and was horribly windy. Riding back to the apartment after work took three minutes longer than usual because the wind was up in my grill the whole way. When I realized I'd left my phone at work I turned around - and got there in two minutes. It was the oddest sensation, to be moving so quickly and to not feel even the slightest breeze in my hair. I must have been going just the right speed! It was heavenly! Then I turned around and had to bike ten minutes into driving rain again.

ANYWAY. Here are some pictures I took at work ( today )

And here are some terrible pictures I took with my phone of my tiny daily sketchbook/journal/thing and what I have done of the Magpie series. The sketchjournalbook is really great because I can doodle in it all the time, but it's little more than that - unplanned doodles. As such, they are scratchy and small and unfinished and adorable in most ways. Just warning you, don't get your hopes up - there's nothing beautiful there. ( This way! )

Lisa Haines-Wright once held a discussion about how we know whether or not we're alive.

"I know it's real because I feel pain. I know I'm real because I feel agony. Why is it always depressing? Why can't it ever be 'I know life is real because I love the taste of strawberries?' "

I just noticed that when I left off posting earlier this year, I left off updating portraits I had done of friends at some lame number. So here are some more (maybe the rest? I will need to check on this). A word of warning, though! there are 22 pictures under there. Man! That is a lot of faces!

( Now, where were we... )

Not Pictured For Some Reason: a pretty good drawing of Fro-Matt Flynn. It was drawn at the same time as Jinx and Robyn's so it really ought to be here.

One for Sorrow
Two for Joy
Three for a Girl
Four for a Boy
Five for Silver
Six for Gold
Seven for a Secret
Never to be Told


I'm starting a series of large (ish - 11" x 14") drawings in ink and copic based on that poem. My next tattoo will also be a Magpie - maybe I should get seven of them hidden all around my body. it feels really, really good to be doing real art again, more than just doodles. This is also the first time I've given myself a a project and done it, maybe ever. It's really encouraging. Maybe I can make it as an artist, after all.

I had a truly terrible webcam photo of it up, but it was not worth it x 1397497. So I took it down again!

At the store, we sell a number of scrabble-esque games with letter tiles that you can shift around and make crosswords with. I have one game out, called Appletters, with the tiles all over a table. In the morning, I start the game out with a few words crossing over each other (like Chipotle, and Imprints). Today, I began it with Apparition and a few other words, and left a huge pile of tiles out. It is one of my many small pleasures to see new words pop up on a game I've started. And you know what words some clever, lovely person added?

LEVIATHAN

and coming off of that from the L:

LOVECRAFT.

Dear secret person: you are tremendously great!

Also! This coming Sunday, my Grandmother turns 90 years old. That is a lot of years for a person to have! The day before hers, my oldest brother Peter turns 26. I keep expecting him to be 30 or something. Joey is only 24, and that is mind boggling. They are older than me - shouldn't they be, you know, old? But I guess I am almost 22 and that is old to a 6 year old.

Well, now, it has been a while, hasn't it?

I won't waste my time with excuses - they are many and numbered, and also pointless. I am here now, and maybe you are too, and that's great! If I spend the next hour writing about what I've been doing for the past six months, I will loose the glamor of what I want to write about now.

Last week I started a sketch diary. Some of the bits are just drawings like I always do, some of them are little comics of my interactions with customers (I work in a toy store, there is so much good here and also bad. The good outweighs by like, 30,000 tonka trucks and also some bananagrams. I will tell you about kite-flying some time. It's worth the wait, I promise). Today I got out of work and the sun was at exactly the right temperature on my skin. You know - that perfect feeling somewhere between warm-towel-fresh-from-the-laundry and waking-up-under-warm-covers-on-a-cold-morning? So I got on my bike in my new rockin' leather boots and in my new slick tights and took to the road.

The sky was so bright, the water may have been alchemically transformed into a sea of rolling needles, all flashing and clamoring for attention at once. I rode up the board walk and stopped at a bench, where I lay and basked, totally alone. The water that wasn't white was so blue as to define it, and all of the trees are approaching that lovely shade somewhere between green and yellow. A good gust knocked several of them down, all afluttering, and I took out my sketch book and began to draw. Now, I'm not usually one for landscapes. The vastness of them tends to frighten me away. But my sketchbook is tiny, so I decided I would make the landscape tiny to match. I filled three pages from horizon to horizon.

Ordinarily, this is where I would show you the drawings. Ordinarily, I would have access to a scanner, or at least a camera. But I have neither, so you will get nothing but my love.

My day was lovely. How was yours? I miss you, and have not heard from you in a while. Please, tell me about your life!

I have been terrible about being on here for a week. This will continue: I'm on my way to New York City! If you are in the area and want to hang out, lemmi know!

all my love,
Maggie

No bugs today, because I didn't get to a scanner, but here's this drawing I've already scanned of ( Tanya! )

Netta called tonight from Cambridge. It was absolutely wonderful to talk with her. We talked for almost two hours (poor her! We ended at 2am her time, and it was all on her bill). It's fantastic to connect, and really interesting to see how she's changed in the year since I've seen her. She's much more sure of herself, which is lovely, because she's always been a strong person and crazy intelligent and now it seems like she knows what she's doing with that. Here's a secret: I really admire her. I wish I could make as much of my surroundings as she seems to.

Tomorrow morning I leave for a conference in Chicago, Self-Employment in the Arts. It's exciting and also more than a little unsettling. Partly because it's awkward and untimely, and partly because it means I'm really staring Life As An Artist in the face. We'll see how unfortunate it is!

I'm inelegant tonight. Hopefully sleep will cure that.

I'm getting good at this! By which I mean, flakier and flakier. I cleaned and reorganized my room yesterday, throwing out about 15 pounds of clothing and other items. I've got two beds now, and Daniel and I slept very comfortably there for the first time in several weeks!

Speaking of Daniel, here's another ( portrait )
I've discovered that it's very difficult to draw Robbie poorly. He's distinctive, but not so out of the ordinary that his face isn't built the same.

I drew some more insects, by the way. I think I'm rapidly burning out on them, but they're still fun to do and nice to look at I guess. ( Karis' favorite is in this batch )

there are still a pile of napkin insects that I haven't scanned yet (maybe seven of them). I keep forgetting them at home. They'll be up soon too though, I hope.