Day 49: No Good Options

Sometimes there are no good options.

It's a lesson that I've struggled with my whole life.  I've never wanted to accept that sometimes you have to pick the lesser of two evils.  That sometimes the only options are bad ones.  I want to deus ex machina the situation, and find a way for everyone to be happy in the end.

But sometimes that isn't possible.

We don't live in a perfect world, where situations work out and everyone gets their just rewards.  Our lives are complex things all on their own, and when we twine them with the lives of others the complexity only grows exponentially.  It's confusing to chart a path through all the possibilities and try to find the best one, and that's at the best of times.  At the worst of times, it's not only confusing, but it can be heartbreaking as well.

Sometimes you have to choose.  Sometimes you have to accept that the only way forward on the path you've chosen is to give up who you are, and become someone else entirely.  And, if you value who you are, sometimes you have to accept that you cannot travel that path anymore.  No matter how much you want to.

Sometimes there are no good options.  

 

Day 48: A Snapchat Deluge

A friend of mine recently introduced me to the fact that snapchat has filters.

It's possible things may have gotten... a little out of hand.

Day 47: The New Book

ROUND ONE EDITS ARE DONE.

Please enjoy this visual depiction of what editing is like:

Anyway, that's why I've once again been MIA for a few days.  All my words were going to a specific target.  I'll hopefully be able to English again shortly, and do a better job of updating my blog. :)

Day 46: When Joss Whedon Knows Your Life

Sometimes you're standing in your kitchen cutting up a watermelon for your children, and you realize that fifteen years ago Joss Whedon wrote your theme song.

Yup.

Day 45: Babies Getting Bigger

The children are getting bigger.

Now, I don't object to this in a theoretical sense.  I mean, there are all kinds of benefits when your proto-people become actual people.  A tiny part of me feels a pang for when they loved me more than anything, including video games, but a much larger part of me rejoices in the freedom this brings.

That being said, sometimes their sporadic rate of growth involves monumental efforts on my part.  Scouring thrift stores for shorts that will fit Elliot.  Replacing all of Charlotte's footwear when her feet grow two sizes over a period of three days.  (Seriously, how does she do that?)  There are social efforts, too.  Teaching them to think before they speak.  Teaching them to respect other people's personal space.

Recently, a giant milestone occurred in the growth of my children.  The time came when they either needed to be separated from each other by more than just air, or their constant bickering was going to lead to a justifiable homicide on my part.

And so, my fine friends, I spent a Sunday moving furniture and decorations, until my adorable spawn each had a room of their own.

This is Elliot's room.  Both spaces are tiny, but they fit a bed, a desk, and a dresser.  Elliot's even has a bookshelf.  Anyway, here's a shot from the dresser towards the hall...

And here's a shot from the hall into the room.  Behold my son in his natural habitat: at the computer.

Charlotte's space was a little more tricky, owing to the fact that there's a hanging space in the room, and her bed is a double, not a twin, but we worked it out.  This shot is taken sitting on her bed, angled out int the rest of the room...

And this is from the door looking in.  Surprise, surprise, Chaz is also on her computer.

My post move-collapse.

Callie approves of her--ahem--I mean Charlotte's new bed.

Chimbasa is not so sure he approves.  Please to scratch head until decision is reached.  K thnx.

Death.

Fin.

Day 44: The Squirrel You've Been Waiting For

Alright.

Yes.

There's a squirrel.

 

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine found a baby squirrel on the side of the road, next to his squished mother.  She couldn't find a local rehab place, so she asked if anyone felt capable of rehabbing the little guy.

I really feel like the rest of the story is pretty self explanatory, isn't it?

Anyway, since he came over Passover, I have named him Elijah.  His full name (as Elliot is fond of telling people) is Elijah bin Snuggles.  He's a pain in my ass but he's pretty cute.

Here we see Elijah in his early days.  Squirrels bond with their mothers, and if you're a human rehabbing a baby squirrel, you're gonna get bonded with.  This involves being climbed on, nibbled, and occasionally bitched at when you don't feed the little wanker fast enough.











Speaking of feeding, when he first came to me he wasn't on solid foods yet.  I fed him every five hours with this dropper.  It was hilarious.  And messy. 

He's on solid foods now, but he's still in the transition phase, so two or three times a day he still gets to be hand fed.  He gets pretty snarky about the whole business.

His preferred place for napping, for at least two weeks, was inside my clothes.  Baby squirrels can't regulate their own body heat, so they get cold pretty quickly.  In the cage I would leave him little heat packs to stay warm, but if I was awake it was mostly easier to let him ride around in my bathrobe.

 


Plus, it was totes adorbs.

All his action shots are blurry, partly because my camera sucks but also because he's a little spastic.  It's going away now that he's getting older, but for a long time he shook constantly, and instead of walking he kind of thrashed his way across the floor.

He used to like to perch in my hand and survey the world.  Now he's too cool for that, and will climb up to my shoulder.  While the weather was cool I wore my bathrobe most of the time, to give him something that was easy to cling to, but now that the weather is warming I want to wear my normal tank tops, and he's been most indignant to find that a bare shoulder is not as easy to scale as a fuzzy robe.

He's super cute, though, isn't he?

I have a lot of shots of him eating.  It's just too freaking cute.








His first solid food was a frosted mini-wheat.  They're still one of his favorite treats.

He likes to snuggle when his tummy is full.

He spent about a week demanding to ride around in my pocket, whenever I would let him.

And yes, he does actually spend some time in his cage.  He doesn't much like it, though, so I mostly only pen him up when he needs a nap.  You can tell cause he starts trying to fall asleep standing up.

He's getting bigger, though, and I think he'll be moving mostly outside before the end of the week.  Currently I'm planning on hooking him up with a sweet home in the backyard where he can hide from predators, and still get fed on occasion.  I'm worried, but I know it's time.  

Mostly-feral animals need freedom.  And I need to stop smelling like squirrel.

Day 43: The best part about closing a show...

Some people like the extra sleep.

Some like the ability to eat meals that are composed of actual foods, and not something picked up at a drive thru.

Some like the chance to catch up with family and friends.

But, say what you will, I think the best part of closing a show is that you don't have to fit the part anymore.  And--for me--that means I can dye my hair.

MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!

Behold, my hair immediately post show.  It is long, but otherwise tragically brown* and boring.

*I feel I should mention that sometimes I like brown hair and am totally in the mood for it.  
Just not always.  And not today.

NEVER FEAR!!!!  For we can change this!

First, WE BLEACH!!!

Now, as you all are probably aware, this isn't my first time at this particular rodeo.  Last go round I went pinks and purples all over, and apparently some of the tint stuck with me.  Check that out!  Post bleach pink.  Gotta love it.

Here we go, post bleaching.

Daenerys Targaryen I am not, but it'll do to let the color show.  

Honestly.  Me as a blonde.  It's kind of creepy, isn't it?  









Each step takes a while, so I spent 12 hours as a blonde, and then I went on to step three.  Sectioning.

I've done all kinds of different dye jobs, but this time I decided to take the section around my crown and do it all in purple and pink (purple at the roots and pink at the ends) and then take the strip around my hairline and do it in alternating teal and blue, except for a little pink at the center of my forehead.  Huh.  It sounds more complicated to explain than it was to actually do.  Anyway.  Tally ho.

 
After I had dyed and rinsed it, I braided the hair and pinned it up so the color wouldn't drip down my neck while it dried.  I'm really pleased with the way it looks up in the braids.

Last but not least, this is what the final product looks like once it's dry and freed from the braids.

Pink!  Blue!!  TURQUOISE!!!  Because I put it at the roots of the crown, the purple doesn't really read when my hair is down, but it's such a pretty backdrop for when I braid it.  :)
 

 So, there we have it.  I've got Rainbow Dash Hair.  I couldn't be more pleased.