Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in excessiveperky's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Monday, May 25th, 2009
2:56 pm	Game of Love At last! All the edited pages to GAME OF LOVE I: REGENCY BALL are uploaded, and ready to go. And yes, it is rather a Blatant Donation Site, but nobody has to unless they want to buy me something romantic, etc. Meet the Carstairs sisters at www.gameoflove1.com today. Don't blame me--well, actually, I would feel rather complimented if everyone did get sucked into it for hours on end...<G> (2 Comments |Comment on this)
10:49 am	late update I cannot believe I updated 60 weeks ago. Bad me! Just thought I'd drop a note here and let everyone know I was still alive. I'm almost done with the editiing and the re-uploading of the pages for www.gameoflove1.com - and I will be asking for betas Real Soon Now. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
8:56 pm	Snape,etc. Hey! Glad you're enjoying BP and liked "Midnight by the Weasley Watch". I'm stuck taking an accounting class on top of my full time job, and ok, well, I did start that big latch hook rug for Nana that I hope to have done by her birthday (or Christmas, depending on how it goes). But thanks!  (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 10th, 2008
3:56 pm	Sigh. Another day, another resolution... I keep making resolutions to update more often, but here I am again after six weeks. And they've been busy ones. To summarize: 1) in November, "Esprit de Corpse" was published in GETTING EVEN:REVENGE STORIES, edited by Mitzi Szereto, and published by Serpent Tail Productions (yay Slytherin!) in the UK. It'll be out this summer in the US. I wanted to buy some extra copies, but the author's discount was eaten and then some by the shipping costs, so I am definitely looking forward to this.  2) Got an A in the fall term accounting class the company is paying me to go to, and signed up for the winter term. Can I say now how much I hate stockholder options and what they do to earnings per share calculations? Don't they have computers for this? <G> 3) Ended up with a couple of feet of snow on the ground (and on the roof) which was at last beginning to melt, though not today). But at least we can actual asphalt on the roads again, which is a nice change.  Fortunately, Mike went up on the roof to push snow off, and not me. However, the next time we shall wave green pictures of dead presidents and/or the check book and hope passing bands of teenagers notice this.  4) My dad had to go to a nursing home to recover from another episode of congestive heart failure, and finally had to admit that he can't manage all his meds and his diet by himself. He's going home Monday, and it's really exciting to arrange for in-home care long distance. I am sending him another box of books, though, mostly Golden Oldie paperbacks I picked up on Ebay. (I kept the Charles Beaumont collection and the hardback of CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY for myself, though).  5) Got a promotion! Survived year end, or as we know it, Hell, and am now a regular accountant and not just a junior one. Just when I think I know what I'm doing, though, I discover that I really wasn't supposed to calculate intercompany interest for 2007 _that way_. Oops.  6) Started a newsletter on worldbuilding, and have been updating once a month. And yes, I know I'm late for February. It's at www.freewebs.com/excessivelyperky in case anybody wants to go look at it, though.  Back to work tomorrow, waaah! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 24th, 2007
9:09 am	Life, the universe and everything Ok. First of all, "The Birthday Present" is done (last chapter posted at the end of August). Second, I am facing my first year end as a financial statement accountant, and I'm already stressing over that. And then there's Christmas--but I have all the cards sent out except for a couple because people I didn't know were going to sent some. You know, the usual stragglers. All the presents are wrapped, and I only have to acquire the stocking stuffers and final last minute food items. On top of that, my 81 year old father, whose health is now quite sucky (he has a drug regimen as long as my arm) and who is not managing his meds very well, ended up in the hospital with an episode of aggravated congested heart failure. We went up to The Dalles (six to seven hour car trip because of the snow on the roads) to arrange for him to go to a nursing home (omit long angst with the local veterans' home because of the outstanding balance from the last time he was there). I think we finally have him persuaded that he can't stay at home by himself any more, and that he must make arrangements with Medicaid for either some kind of nursing home/VA home or inhome care. The inhome care option looks to be the best for him (especially if we can beat him over the head with a stick and make him move to the downstairs bedroom--his bed could be moved there, so he'll sleep just as well). Fortunately, someone from the office there in The Dalles is talking to him today before he starts feeling good enough to think he can still manage by himself. I'll probably call her late this afternoon and find out if she was able to get him to sign any papers. I really hope the inhome care can be arranged with the available finances (omit lengthy rant against the Evil We Call Railroad Retirement), as I think that would be the best option for him (not to mention access to his enormous SF library--the library at the VA home is mostly romances and Westerns, and that just isn't going to fly with him).  Anyway, I'm not sleeping well, am waking up earlier than I want to, etc., but I figure I'll be fine sometime in the middle of February (see, year end is supposedly done on January 24th, which gives us about a week before we start on the statement for January 08 itself. Once that is posted on Feb 10th, more or less, I can slump into a nice, mid-winter coma for at least a week before looking at any real work).  Oh, and did I mention I'm in the middle of capitalizing a golf club, which has 42 major pieces of furniture to be done separately and the kitchen which has about 30 pieces of separate equipment? No? <G> Or the second nine holes of the golf course? All of this has to be done for year end, too... Anyway, I haven't gotten any writing done, and am barely coping with email. But here I am, on Christmas Eve (Cathy is out with friends and Mike is still asleep, and the cat is guarding the hall).  Oh, yes, and four loads of laundry to fold and put away, though that won't take long.  Merry Christmas, everybody! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 4th, 2007
8:59 pm	Is Snape still alive? (DH spoilers ahoy) Why it is possible for Snape to still be alive:   ( Read more... ) (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
7:44 pm	let's try this again... Thoughts on HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS ( Read more... ) (8 Comments |Comment on this)
12:23 pm	HP: Deathly Hallows. SEVERE SPOILERS! I don't know how to use a cut yet. I do apologize for leaving it out like this, I had no idea someone random would come across it. I shall repost my essay once I find out how to do a cut. Thank you for your patience. Current Mood: frustrated Current Music: none (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, May 13th, 2007
7:46 pm	The Continuing Saga Well, the Continuing Saga to get me sucked into Final Fantasy XI er...continues. Now I find out that not only to do I have to deal with a Playstation 2 and get the modem installed, now I need a network controller or I will have to pay double the cable modem fee (not gonna happen). At least I have a character there now--his name is Danvan, he's an elven monk (with an eye towards becoming a paladin), but he's going to be a different sort of monk. He will, in fact, be the eventual abbot of the Monks of Cool doing missionary work from Discworld, and the Deity therein will be Edna (purveyor of style, color, and comfort from THE INCREDIBLES). I thought it rather delightful that she was allowed through the magic of blue-screen technology to help present the Best Costuming Oscars that year (March 2006, I believe). You can be a Seriously Good Guy and still Look Good. I wonder if FFXI will allow me to purchase a pair of really nifty shades? Gotta have that eye protection against mean monsters, you know. See, what happened was this. A _Simpsons_ episode saw Marge Simpson get hooked onto the Enchanted Realm (never to be confused with Evercrack or Warcrack), and discovered her son was the Evil Shadow Knight (like this should have been a surprise), and did Mom stuff for him, like redecorate his castle in Hello Kitty. He threw a tantrum on screen, had to revive her, and had to face a crowd of vengeful denizens (he deserved it, I mean we _are_ talking Bart here) who destroyed him. In the last scene, Bart et al were playing in the back yard--except for Marge, who was calmly using Moe's head (he was a player too) as a soccer ball (he was also part of the crowd of vengeful denizens, etc.) while Marge vowed to hunt down each member of the aforementioned denizens and do the same to them. _See_ Grendel. Apparently my son thought this was cool, and bought me a PS2 and FFXI so we could go around and whup monster ass as required. I still want to establish that Temple, though. Oh, yes, "The Birthday Present" on www.fanfiction.net is at 1669 reviews now... Current Mood: cheerful (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, May 4th, 2007
8:50 pm	Job! Yay! You are now looking at (metaphorically speaking) the newest Junior Financial Statement Accountant at Jeld-Wen! At first, when one person's promotion was listed on the intranet, I whined, I moped, I muttered Evil Things. And lo, I was called back (thank goodness I did all the whining at home) and...there were two positions open, and I got one. I was told, "You'll be starting out with simple statements" to which I said, "Thank you." Soon I, too, will be wandering the halls with a printout in my hand whining, "Where is my 32 cents? I'm not going to balance without my 32 cents..." But for now, they need to hire a replacement for me. I've already been told by several "No, you can't be promoted. We will never let you leave." but in a _nice_ way. And on a fairly happy note as well, I and my husband Mike will be in San Francisco over Memorial Day Weekend. We plan to get a party pass to Baycon and say hi to people. Will any of you be there to say hi to us? (hope so!). Saturday night is when I plan to get the pass. Mike will be wearing his Dumbledore robe and I will be wearing the Corset and possibly the Elvis Jacket on top of it. Plan to wear sunglasses. I _will_ be sparkly. (even so, the two of them together still don't cost what I paid to Weight Watchers so they fit better--but God, it was worth every penny! And the 15 bad curlups I do every morning. If being a vain slut is what keeps me eating healthy and getting some exercise, then I'll use it! Let me know if you plan to be there, eh? Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: some subliminal mind control thing (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 1st, 2007
8:40 pm	After a certain amount of wailing, gnashing of teeth, and dark chocolate consumption, I am facing work with a little more serenity (although actually seeing someone else's promotion on the company intranet was probably not good for me, sigh). I could have done without the rejection slip. However, I am about to bore you with links to all my stories on www.fanfiction.net. Please bear with me...(they're all Harry Potter stories) "Folk of the Wood" http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3057687/1/ "Grave Matters" http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2495366/1/ "Midnight by the Weasley Watch" http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1216035/1/ "My Husband's Scars" http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3240747/1/ "Persephone" (Beauty and the Beast, kinda crossover with Phantom) http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1234374/1/ "Setzer's Christmas" (Final Fantasy III in US, VI in Japan) http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1139587/1/ "The Birthday Present" (Snape angst fic, really long) http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2470334/1/ "Thunder Road" http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1149524/1/ Oh, and if you read, please do review. Thanks! Thus ends the Blatant Pimpage entry... (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
9:19 pm	I'm baaaack... So far we've had almost two feet of snow (ok, the rest of you can stop laughing now...it's new to us, ok?). Fortunately, the road is wet rather than icy beneath, and a new set of four studded tires truly makes my life complete. Job is about the same as it was, crunching away on chapter 68, which is sluggy, but I shall hit it with my ballpeen hammer till it behaves. I know what needs to happen, I just have to get there. Once I know all the logistics, then it will be easier for me to summarize in a later draft. How the heck _does_ Madam Pomfrey run an infirmary without assistants, or even a couple of house elves? Yes, it's quiet there some of the time, but one major Quidditch mass accident, and it's triage time on the lawn, folks. Or nursing someone through the night with something ugly, with a boatload of 'I hate Monday' students with stomachaches lined up for their weekly sympathy jolt, and someone has to keep fights from breaking out. There are time when I don't think Ms. Rowling has thought through a few things. Yes, yes, I know you're aghast at that coming from _me_, after all. Of course, if Madam Pomfrey was willing to use magic the way I would be, it'd be a very peaceful infirmary indeed. And I could go to the bathroom in peace. Current Mood: curious Current Music: Benny Hill in background (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
8:40 pm	I'm depressed, and so I whine I was up for a promotion at work. Everyone thought I had a wonderful chance at it. It fell through--the two positions open (why I thought I had a wonderful chance) went to two different people, one of which had been here far less time than I, and had less education. So for the past couple of days I've been pouting. Tuesday I devoured every scrap of chocolate in the house, some pizza, and some home-made party mix (ok, it was also the Night After Weigh-In, which in dieting terms is a sacred pig-out party once a week). Tonight I chewed lots of no-sugar gum and Thought Evil Thoughts. And then, though I'm sure it's sour grapes, I realized how badly one of the positions would have been for me. One of the managers is one I worked for before, and was delighted to have moved away from. We are on much better terms now, but her basic desire to micromanage and inspect everything I'm doing at any given time give me the pip. And I'm sure I have characteristics which do not precisely endear her to me either. Perhaps I dodged a bullet. Ok, and maybe Ed MacMahon will knock on my door and hand me a check in five minutes. But hey, where I work is a really big company, and I live in its corporate headquarters. I have two cards on my computer from last summer signed with a rather large number of people who think I'm pretty cool there. (eek! Just remembered! Someone's birthday there tomorrow, must find something quick! Fortunately I often buy spare birthday cards and whatnot, should be one or two still around somewhere...). Bye now, must run-- Current Mood: blah Current Music: vague background noises (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 18th, 2007
10:14 pm	Why, yes, it is me again... I have over 1400 reviews for "The Birthday Present" on www.fanfiction.net. Haven't read it yet? Why, go over there and do so. It might take a little while. It's kind of a huge telenovela, Hogwarts style, one or two seasons worth. Some of the action is repetitive, or so I've been told--but in each spiral, Snape makes a little more progress towards humanity, while Harry makes a little more towards good sense. I'm working off of a first draft, of which I still have over 200 singlespaced pages. I am currently getting a chapter not on that first draft beta'd, because there seemed to be a gap in the action that I _could_ have just briefly glossed over, but I decided to use it to make more sense of the action that's going to happen not too far down the line. Besides, Flitwick--well, you just can't shut up a Ravenclaw. It's been tried and it simply doesn't work. Quiet day today. Everything picked up and the floor vaccumed, laundry folded, and the latest episode of ROME watched. Home-made tacos were made and consumed (mmm, salsa!), and I really should be headed to bed now, but I'm not. Am reading a book about Second Life, and how it really is for a lot of people. I probably won't set up shop there myself, as I am spread thin enough already, but it sounded like a lot of fun. Current Mood: sleepy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Saturday, February 17th, 2007
10:29 pm	Shock! Two times in two days! Yes, yes, it is a sign of the end times to post this often. Woke up at 8:36 with a call from some idiot wanting to conduct a survey. I was not polite. Cat decided Mommy needed to get up and feed her. Mike did it instead, I went back to sleep, and didn't wake up till after 10. Much better. Did four loads of laundry today, took a walk for nearly two miles with Mike (slowly, and with a soda stop at Mia and Pia's at the midpoint, paid a number of mid-month bills online, went to the library to drop off some books, and then pretty much collapsed on the couch. I did finish Vikram Chandra's SACRED GAMES--I strongly recommend it. It's not quite a long as Vikram Seth's A SUITABLE BOY, but it's quite as complex and gives a detailed look at more-or-less modern day Bombay/Mumbai. It is very good, even if half the narrative is given by someone who dies in more or less the first chapter. Some ghosts are just more stubborn than others. I also finished A BRIDGE OF BIRDS by Barry Hughart, a novel of China that never was. If you have not read this yet, I _very_ strongly recommend you do. Say, does anybody know Ang Lee's address? I can't help watching the movie of it in my head whenever I re-read it, and he's the only director I know who could do it justice. I have also eaten much too much teriyaki chicken and fried rice (the Safeway supermarket deli does an excellent Shanghai Dinner for Two, especially on weekends). I shall soon retire back to the couch and drink a glass of wine and start a new, somewhat fluffier book. Current Mood: recumbent Current Music: background to Deadwood (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, February 16th, 2007
9:07 pm	Start of the new regime I am going to attempt to post more often (it really has been since December, hasn't it?). Job: Applied for a financial statement accountant position. Don't know if I will get it or not, but I did make 89% on the company test with five days of fairly intense study and/or pulling accounting stuff out of my rear from 2003. Writing: "The Birthday Present": Still...posting. And more posting. I should hit over 1400 reviews before the end of the weekend, though. Ok, I'm a review slut. Have three or four stories out, have yet to hear from them (or the rejections are buried in close to 5,000 messages in by in box. Tragically, I am not joking. I like getting free newsletters.) Health: Fighting off the Office Cold. Used many legal herbal products and lots of Vitamin C in the process, but it seems to be working (so far, I'm winning and _not_ deathly ill like a couple of people at work who got this thing were). Weight: Still hanging in the 131-132 lbs range. Salt is still the Great Satan. So of course I miss it (shoestring potatoes in the can are not my friends, and I should remember this). Anyway, am keeping it short, but am attempting to post on a _far_ more regular basis. Current Mood: cheerful (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
8:24 pm	First, a Brag! Sold a story for the first time in ten years. "Esprit de Corpse" is 900 words about an undertaker, a corpse and a freezer. The corpse wins. The buyer: Mitzi Szereto for the anthology GETTING EVEN: WOMEN'S REVENGE ON MEN, to be published in the UK by Serpent Tail Productions (see, old Salazar likes me for my support of one of his favorite Slytherins!). Other writing: Just joined an apa which believes in at least three pages of original content each issue and _firmly_ encourages mailing comments on such work. I should learn, really. Still posting "The Birthday Present" at a chapter in slightly more than a week. Children are home for Christmas, but I'm still up long before they are, so still keep on writing. More cards to send out and presents to wrap, but that shall get done. I will have five days off work, yay! Sleep is good. Plan to print up and send off "Wild Horses" to _Asimov's_. I don't expect anything more than a preprinted drop dead slip, but I sure won't win the lottery if I don't buy a ticket. Wish me luck--and Merry Christmas! (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
8:24 pm	Look! Another post! Look! I'm updating and it hasn't even been a month yet. Updated "The Birthday Present" on fanfiction.net (and thanks to all of you who have reviewed already). Hate the colder, wetter weather--muscles and joints are whining despite the turmeric I'm taking. Anybody know the grape juice and pectin cure? I don't care if it's a placebo if it works. Will keep it short tonight--just want to say hi. (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 29th, 2006
9:01 pm	New Co-Worker Rocks and/or Rules I have a new co-worker, or why I've been going home from work ON TIME! for the past couple of weeks (first couple of weeks I was training her).  She is absolutely wonderful, smart, hard working, easily bored, thinks I'm funny (as in ha ha, not Weird, though I very much suspect I qualify for both), and appears to enjoy herself immensely, even after the Expense Report From Hell she was stuck with last Thursday (fortunately our boss thought of it likewise, and went up to the Admin building with a copy of it requesting its perpetrator be executed). But I digress.  On the writing front, I took a query letter for Phoenix in Shadow to the local writing group and had it sliced and diced. Unfortunately, they were right, and I will have to redo the bugger. Goal: get the letter, synopsis, and first four chapter inflicted on somebody before the end of the year. Unless I hear from a prospective collaborator, at the end of this year I will have to gin up a decent outline for Heretic: the Many Lives of Weyoun and kick it out the door to Pocket Books. And then I will have only two more Huge Ass novels to redo the query letter on, inflict on others, etc. Meanwhile, I just set chapter 57 of The Birthday Party off to my Beloved Betas, and will post it on FFN when it comes back. I will have to put up a Soppiness Warning for bits of it, I suppose. Anyway, I shall try to post MUCH more often. Current Mood: rather happy, really Current Music: mumbling from TV in the living room (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, September 2nd, 2006
8:02 pm	STILL no replacement for my co-worker! My co-worker (a fine person) left for a different job on August 11th. She has still not been replaced. I have been doing ninetenths of her jobs (still don't know all the steps for posting wires yet, or remember them, actually). They knew about her leaving three weeks before she did. It has been three rather hellish weeks of Lots of Overtime since then, and next week looks to be worse with the Monday holiday (though I'm going in for a couple of hours on Monday, or I will never get all those voided checks in).  I've been told: two weeks ago "I'm working on it" by my current boss, and "it'll be taken care of this week" (last week and it wasn't). and am not really expecting anything next week (and since I will have to train this new person, am actually rather hoping she or he doesn't show up, because I will be at work till 7:30 pm both Tuesday and Wednesday, and probably till 6 on Thursday). I have been coping with this reasonably well, except when I run into a person 'why don't I have my check?" I have to explain about if they are a vendor that needs to be added to the computer system that it _won't_ be on time, because I don't have a lot of time to stop and add new vendors with hundreds of other invoices to get checks run on anyway, some of them with severe deadlines. And then there's the 'emergency' Must Run Right Now checks (oh, they're a new vendor? But it has to be today! Oh, what's a W-9 and why can't you call the vendor and get one for yourself instead of making me, the requester, do it?).  And the payroll by deposit upload expense reports. And the freight checks. And the UPS/FedEx upload, many items of which have to be changed because some idiot won't put in the right accounting code even if you tell them what it's supposed to be.  But of course I have to ignore all this and handfeed somebody's single check with several hundred other vouchers waiting. _They_ are more important, after all! And the research projects. Did we ever pay any of these twenty or so invoices to So and So? What check? Did that check clear? Can I have an image of front and back? But I need to have it NOW! Could you run a report on all the accounts for my department? It can't be right what it says on the general ledger here, some of these line items have to belong to someone else, not me! Or e-mail me an image out of DocLink of the following invoices, I want to see who really signed for all this.  Sigh. And they think I'm not qualified to be a financial statement accountant because I couldn't possibly handle such a complicated task (my four year degree in econ and two year degree on accounting were far too long ago, surely I forgot all that stuff...). Hint: I'm too old. After all, I should be lucky to have a job!  And the sad fact is, I'm getting good money for a woman in Klamath Falls who isn't a teacher or in real estate.  Ticked? You bet. Leaving? Can't afford to. Transfering? They probably won't let me, not being the _only_ accounts payable clerk for my section (and nobody else would take this position the way it is right now!). So I'm temporarily stuck and Really Miffed Off about it. Oh, yeah, "Wild Horses" was rejected at Analog. Bleah. And I need to send a reminder letter to someone I wrote about collaborating on a novel. Double bleah.  Fortunately, this is my husband's birthday and there's a chocolate cake sitting on the kitchen table just waiting to die under my knife. Current Mood: enraged Current Music: Ca Ira/Marsellaise/Internationale (2 Comments |Comment on this)