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NEW YOOOOOOOOOORK!!

I can't believe I forgot to post this with yesterday's recap. On Friday morning I decided to look into flights for our NYC trip in February as there was a (pitiful, really) sale on, and the total would be just over the amount I had budgeted. I was starting to feel antsy about that, and having so much $$ waiting in my account (it is dangerous to "oh I'll just borrow a bit against this"). I messaged M since whatever else our companions are doing, we have to plan our own trip too. And then spent the rest of the day thinking she was in strict "I cannot deal with this right now" mode because she didn't respond!

Turns out Messenger was a butt. She thought I was mad at her because I wasn't replying to her messages saying "yes, that's a great price" and "I have a break coming up, shall we do it?" but was still responding on other platforms. Nope, it's just no messages being delivered. And it's happened with other people too, and is also showing me either messages I sent as new ones, or delivering ones I saw anywhere between 2 days and 2 months ago as new. Wtf.

But it does work pretty reliably on desktop/web app, and I had the big internet out anyway, so we bought the tickets! Now we have one show and the flights, and literally anything else is gravy. Holy forking shirtballs. Trick couldn't commit right away since their partner was working, but they also have different plans from us; we're going just to NYC, and they're going a few days early as part of a trip to DC.

NEW YORK CITY HERE WE COME!!!!!!

Current Mood: relieved
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: Nicola Conte

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Probably not a coincidence.

( Sex-related, but not that sexy, really. )

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cross-stitching

Week 1

I ended up starting a new cross-stitch piece on the 8th since I had to hang out waiting for my son to audition for the all-region band (he placed well in it) and then had to take my daughters to Lubbock for an event at Texas Tech. I worked on it off and on all week and here's where I left off.

“Italian Renaissance Embroiderer” progress - 11/16/25

Current Mood: excited
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: John Tejada

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dating

something to look forward to

Who's got two thumbs and an officially first date next week? This girl! No, it's not Rubbermaid, it's someone else I met by being, you know, social. We have a lot in common. We shall see!

It's funny how you can get dates by asking women out. I hate to admit it, but I used an app to do the actual asking.

(no subject)

I put in a couple red peppers with my pile of tomatoes (and still have tomatoes left!) and oh gosh it was a yummmmmmy soup. I did spend the entire evening in bed, watching my shows and just vibin'.

Saturday I was awake from 2-6 am booooo. Then woke up at like 10:30. It felt so late! I tried to work on the mantle in the living room but the light was terrible for dark thread on a dark fabric (it is black warp and orange weft to give bronze) so I tried to knit for a bit while I finished up the Witcher, but Calcifer said I HELP??? Had lunch at 2-ish, and then at 3 the light had changed and required the lamp to be turned on, which gave me the reason to work on the mantle. I made nachos for dinner around 6, and then sat down to watch Trick write while I kept sewing, but then I'd run out of thread with about 24" left to hem, and I was underneath a cat and the extra spool of thread was on the wall over THERE. By the time I escaped the gravity well of sleeping cat, it was after 9pm and we don't mess with sewing that late.

Sunday I was awake from 3-7 am... and woke up again at 10:30. By the time I got out of bed and settled with coffee, it was already 11:30. I needed to leave the house at 12:50 (i told myself) to have enough time to pick up M for our musical (20 mins to her, 15-20 mins to the venue). But I sat down with the mantle and some youtube videos and... left the house at 1. Oops. We still made great time, walking in around 1:40 for a 2pm show. Win!

The musical was very good, following Michael Jackson's early life as he was preparing for the Dangerous tour (1992-3). At the end, the performers all came out to talk about Broadway Cares and the Actor's Fund of Canada, which is something we've heard about every year from Broadway (and of course with our current focus on Hadestown, they have been doing this there, too). They had signed playbills and posters, and a prop from the show signed by our lead actor (who did a phenomenal job). Crew with their "traditional red buckets" were around the lobby, and I was so thrilled to drop my $4.50 in change into one.

After, we went to a bar for burgers, completely not realizing it was the biggest night in Canadian football, the Grey Cup. We caught the second quarter and the halftime show. My team was playing, and they eventually won! At home, I stitched a bit more of the mantle but really all I wanted to do was melt into the couch, so that's what I did.

Today, my plans are to scoop the cat box and make dinner. I could probably get some good stitching in on the mantle, perhaps even come close to finishing it? I just need to check the pattern again if I'm supposed to cut two neckbands or kinda just put the body and hood together and bind it. Trimming obviously will take more time, but I cut the strips on Friday and they need to be seamed before I continue. The template has them scalloped and pinked, but we'll see how I feel.

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: Hannah Laing, "The Records"

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Nun checks out the cheap side.

TL;DR: you get what you pay for.

With last night's Hardcore German Sparkle Party and Monkey Loft offerings promising to be too taxing, late, and/or expensive, I checked out my local listings for something mellower, and I found it: a night at Bad Bar in lower Queen Anne, 1900 to midnight, $10. Perfect!

So I take the brief bus trip down there and discover a bar full of visual allusions to "Twin Peaks". So far so normal for this area. There's a small but well-designed room for grooving, with walls and a door that separate the grooving area from the drinking, socializing, and pool-shooting area. If you sit in exactly the right spot in the latter, you can hear the two PA systems fighting it out.

Choonz? Not really my thing. Dubstep from Compound V and EDM (?) from Swirly Stan. I must admit, I'd never heard a techno remix of Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock".

Crowd? Young, like, whoa. So this is where all the kids with jobs go. Also kind of... het. And cis. The Monkey Loft, which isn't an explicitly queer space by any means, seems to have more visible (and, in my experience, invisible) queers. I didn't do my usual extrovert thing and talk to strangers.

Oh yeah: bathroom nastiness that rivals the late, great Re-bar. Yeah, that bad.

I keep forgetting that going anywhere near the Seattle Center at night entails the risk of a bus packed with either basketball or hockey fans. At least it wasn't too bad this time; I've been on more crowded trains thanks to football & baseball.

Current Mood: frustrated
Current Location: Bad Bar, Seattle, WA
Current Music: the bar PA and the stage PA fighting it out

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Murphy’s Law of scheduling

So I got up the gumption to ask Rubbermaid on a date. And she said yes! And she proposed the day I’m going to San Francisco for my facial feminization surgery* consult. Even if I could be sure I could meet her on time, I’ll be absolutely wrecked from getting up early.

Does stuff like this only happen to me or what?

Oh! I ran into

sirriamnis while out & about. A blast from the past.

*I’d say FFS, but most of you reading this aren’t trans women.

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1940s dresses

Plans

I have a pattern, I have fabric, and I have a week where I can use the sewing machine as much as I want without annoying anyone. I might have a new dress by the end of the week.

https://wearinghistorypatterns.com/products/e-r161

(no subject)

I'm once again thinking of going to the permanent makeup tattooist who did my brows to get a star-shaped permanent beauty mark. I'm trying to decide between bright BRIGHT fuchsia, or the darkest brown she has (I'd prefer black, but I don't know what color black cosmetic tattooing pigment fades to. I don't want a blue star eventually on my face.

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As far as the Stroppy One and I have been able to tell, the ear goop medicine for Miss Erzabet No Biting's hyperthyroidism is indeed reducing her peeing everywhere. An interesting side effect is that Vlad is now spending more time with us in the evening, instead of staying in the Madwoman in the Attic's room. So that's nice.

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I had an insane urge to reread what I consider to be Anne Rice's crackiest books in the Vampire Chronicles: Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle. I've finished the first, and am about 1/4 through the second, and my god, I had forgotten how unhinged Lestat sounds during it. Lestat berates the people who didn't like Memnoch the Devil! (I am amongst those people.) Lestat fantasizes about becoming a saint and fixing everything wrong with the world! Everyone prays to him! Lestat imagines a conversation with the Pope about canonizing him! And that's just in the first chapter.

Also, you could tell me that Anne Rice was the person who wrote the mind-boggling fanfic classic My Immortal and I would agree. Look at how Lestat describes himself:

Current Mood: hopeful
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: Ora the Molecule, "Cyber Fever"

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Nun travels far afield for exactly the reasons you'd guess.

Good: I went to the West Seattle munch and chatted with the Blue Moon Lady. Yes, she still seems nice. Further pursuit is in order. Ahem. Unlike certain other munches which shall not be named, there was a healthy variety of ages, genders, etc. there. BML & her colleague clearly put some effort and thought into it. Oh, and brewpub Good Society has decent beer. They have two locations, I believe.

Bad: outside rush hour, getting to Admiral & California from my place takes three buses each way. That’s about ninety minutes. I don’t think I can make a habit of this regardless of the lady’s charms. As a direct result, I’m a little low on sleep today.

It's worth noting that as much as I've complained about late night bus service to Fremont or the U District, it's worse in West Seattle. A possible exception is "the Junction", i.e. Alaska & California, which sure has seen a lot of construction in the last ten years or so. West Seattle has a long history of complaining to their elected officials about various things, and my impression is that it's justified.

There's a munch closer to the Devil Girl House run by a FOAF. He's all right, but I didn't relish the thought of two buses early on a Monday evening through the U District. I think I'm out of excuses for not going, as of yesterday.

(no subject)

Dance was lovely, as expected <3 Broke my brain! Rather, the brain is willing, the flesh forgets. At least I'm not as sore today as I was last time lol.

Sitting at the front desk today, where it has so far been absolutely lovely and ought to remain so for the rest of the day. So peaceful and quiet. Ahhhhh. I have my fanfic to write, my journal to work on, and failing all that, Kindle online to read. Huzzah.

Only really have tonight and tomorrow for creativity, Sunday is a musical and somehow that takes up the entire day (I'll have a few hours in the morning, actually, but overcoming the I Must Wait (tm) can be tricksy). Perhaps I can get something sewn. Most likely though, I'll work on the mantle.

Tonight's dinner plans: Roasted tomato soup and a sandwich.

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charlotte mantle

back to the grind

And telling myself i need to leave. Boss was of course unhappy that I didn't do (task) HER way, ripping pages out of the book and making notes in red pen. Girl, I am never going to do it YOUR way, I am going to do it MY way.

Tuesday was a bit of a wash, I was so tired ALL DAY. I woke up at 1 and was awake past 5, woke up again just after 8 worried I'd slept through my alarm, and spent the rest of the day in just a tired state. Doc appointment went well, his assistant took my blood pressure (141/83) and weight (i peeped the number, I don't have a scale at home to otherwise be aware of it) and then he walked in with my prescriptions and work orders for blood and mammogram. Pressed on my belly a bit, commented that I'd seemed to have lost a lot of weight since the last time (have i? I know I have lost some, others have commented on it and my least flexibly waisted jeans no longer dig in) but as long as it wasn't overly rapid, no concerns.

M and I were going to do her hair, since the coloured mask she was using has been discontinued, but she also spent the day just exhausted, and didn't feel up to rinsing her hair out, specifically. So we ate dinner and watched dancing and I enjoyed being able to knit without my helpers.

Yesterday I woke up just before 7 and stayed in bed for three whole hours before getting up. I started taping the patterns together and cutting out the pieces that I know would be sized correctly. Calcifer helped a lot. I started by taping one row together and putting it aside. My table, specifically taken and set up for sewing, is still covered in piles of fabric and other crafts, and an assortment of vegetables and fruit. Rather than deal with any of that, I worked in the space that was clear, and it mostly worked. The patterns were then loosely folded and put in the closet to deal with at a future date.

Wanted to sew a project bag and found one that I had cut out simply AGES ago. It's also been prepped and is laying next to the machine.

Had a lovely nap after I was suddenly FREEZING and bundled up in sweats, a hoodie with the hood up, AND wool socks. My tummy was mad about all the wheat I'd eaten the day before (the burger was yummy, tyvm) and it was still upset by the time I'd dragged myself off the couch for dinner, so I just made a sandwich. Then I decided to join

robinsnest mantle sew-along, since that had been on my list and in my pattern stash for close to three years already. I found an oddly shaped remnant of gorgeous bronze poly taffeta in a box, which was just the right shape to cut out one with long front bits and a hood, with enough left to do a heckin' lot of piecing for a ruffle. Started hand sewing it last night bc why not. I could just bang it out by machine, but in keeping with practices of doing nice things while I sink into winter, and not needing the item right away, handsewing it suits me more. It's fine. Considering I cut it out at 7pm and had one front edge and lappet hemmed by 9:15, it's gonna be great.

Dance tonight, musical on Sunday. Hanging out in between.

Current Mood: curious
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: Ora the Molecule, "Becoming A Human"

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What to do this weekend?

All my dates – I can’t call them all ladies anymore – keep getting physically incapacitated. First the Tickler’s recurring digestive issues, now Dancer’s recurring back issues. It was the Tickler who got us tickets to Monday night’s show, if you’ll recall, and Dancer and I had just planned a hot Saturday night.

Shoot. Plan B? Sparkle Party is at the Merc on Saturday, but I’m not feeling up to that level of bAnAnAs. Besides, I have yet to acquire something that I consider sufficiently sparkly. There’s old-school house goodness at the Monkey Loft. And I’m sure there are other things going on that I’m not even aware of just yet.

Speaking of which, I do have a plan for tomorrow, though: the West Seattle munch, where I hope to see Blue Moon Lady. I might want to hold off on making any plans until then, because one thing has a tendency to lead to another.

It’s lonely being a vampire sometimes, but I shall not let that deter me from getting out & about.

Current Mood: grooving
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: Ora the Molecule, "Løveskatt"

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Live bleepy goodness!

The Tickler got us tickets to the Cut Copy show last night at the Showbox. Sadly, they had a bad IBS day yesterday and couldn't make it. Not at all sadly, they transferred their tickets to yours truly! And a day or two before the show, they informed me that Ora the Molecule, from whom I already have an LP, was to open. Shyeah!

TL;DR: I want to have Ora the Molecule's alien baby. OtM is just one tall blonde woman (?) from Norway, and she walked onstage in a red, quilted jumpsuit with shoulders padded to pointiness, a mirror ball helmet, and shades. Then she started playing a theremin. It was all kinds of dancy – her latest LP is titled Dance Therapy – and bouncy. By the end of her set, she won over the typically reserved Seattle crowd. Hey, she's Norwegian; she's probably used to dealing with reserved crowds.

Then, Cut Copy, whose shows I've been to twice. Sure, they're great, but I have most if not all of their LPs already and I was just listening to their latest last week. So honestly, they didn't have the impact on me that OtM did. And I can't not love the goof that she brought. Yeah, she's pretty cute. Hush. So yeah, I just got Dance Therapy and am playing it as I type and chairdance.

I'll have to find some way to repay the Tickler.

(no subject)

Weekend was rather delightful. I was very glad to get home and just spend my days in silence. Watched my weekly shows and paid a nice man to bring me dinner. Woke up in the middle of the night with an unhappy tummy, but at least it was the weekend so I could sleep as long as I wanted the next day.

Saturday was mostly lumping around. I washed a pan of dishes, scooped the cat box and swept the kitchen floor. Meals were very much "suggestions". It was chilly in my apartment so I, wearing my tank top and booty short-pajamas, put on the banyan I sewed in July and absolutely loved it. It was the perfect weight and kept me warm and swirled delightfully around my ankles. 11/10 good sewing decision! Do need to figure out the closure situation, I used a length of wide double-faced satin ribbon that had previously been worn as an Edwardian belt, which was fine but occasionally too tight around my middle.

I finished knitting my rainbow cowl. I had set up a "home theatre" with the antique laptop, projector, and gaming headphones to watch Next to Normal on the wall with Trick, so casting off said cowl took a hot minute. I needed better light. I'd won yarn chicken with a couple meters of yarn left, which ended up being the PERFECT amount to actually cast off with eyyyyy. I have about half of all the colours left, and another skein of the main colour. I wonder what else I can make hehehe. I also stitched the hem of the shirt dress and marked the buttonhole placements. Then I put that machine away, but did I pull out the machine that can do buttonholes? No, I did not. I pulled out the shiny Brother now that I have belts for the variety of belt-driven pot motor machines that I have. It needed a good dusting, and they all need oiling. I had too much assistance to do much more.

Sunday was even lazier. I had to go to the store to get coffee cream, and also picked up sandwich meat, bread, cheese, chips, and then found a turkey breast in the meat section! Yesss I can finally have my Thanksgiving dinner almost a month later! I wound up some new skeins of yarn for other projects (defending them all from Calcifer) and cast on the mystery knit-along. Had a nap. Did make the turkey and really really hope I did it right, but it was also a lazy kind of day bc I hadn't planned for it so I only made mashed potatoes and the tiniest amount of gravy. Started watching the Witcher S4, and surprised immediately by how easily Hemsworth fit into the role. It helped that they spent the first 10-15 minutes reprising the greatest hits of the first three seasons with him in those scenes.

At work today and like, there's no one here lol. Including my boss!! So it's gonna be a more relaxing day than normal. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment and plans with M (since DWTS is still happening), but lots of my own time, and then all day Wednesday :D I taped together 1 partial pattern together yesterday (again with the helpers) so obviously need to do more. Hmm maybe I can do that on M's floor tomorrow. We shall see. Need to make some decisions!

Current Mood: nostalgic
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: something ravey

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)'(,
goth spotting

Seacompression

I went to Seacompression because I can't resist a Burner party. Art was ogled. Solid groove was heard. Chats with strangers in very loud rooms were had. Goths were spotted! Happiness. I'm not completely crippled today, but once again it's a minor miracle.

Am I wrong,

leenerella, or did the whole event seem kind of subdued this year? I'm comparing it to previous years at the same venue; it seemed that the crowd was bigger, and we used more of the space. It also put me in mind of a Seacompression there when Opium AKA Miss Fancy Pants showed up with an unfairly attractive submissive in a thongkini & thigh highs. I could feel the jealousy radiating off me in hot, green waves of the sort only trans women of a certain inclination experience.

Christmas Presents

I cut out a new sewing project yesterday, but that's all there is to say right now because it's to be a Christmas gift. While I don't believe the recipient reads this, I would rather wait until after Christmas to share.

Current Mood: pensive
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: The Scheherazade suite, Rimsky-Korsakov

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I have lived longer than my father.

Now that I’ve done the most dangerous thing that I usually do in a day, riding my bike, I can confidently say that as of today, I’ve lived longer than my father did. It’s… disquieting how not-old I feel.

I know comparison is the thief of joy, but that doesn’t stop me from comparing myself to the man I got half my DNA from.

Work? Dad was a hot shot scientist, at least early on. I’ve been hacking and slacking my way through life. He did live long enough to see me be a disappointment, but he had the grace not to say so.

Relationships? He found Mrs. Right at the age of 21, and death parted them. He did, however, make her miserable on some occasions; she admitted that even before the dementia really took hold. Dad had acquired some antiquated attitudes about women from his own father, whom he idolized for reasons the rest of the family never figured out. And oh by the way, in many ways Ex is a better person than my mother was, so I get points for taste.

Raising kids? Well, if you look at the self-sufficiency score, I’m not doing so well, even if I don’t know what, if anything, I should have done differently. And as for raising kids who aren’t terrible people, I’m one for one, and my parents are two for three. But again, I don’t know what they could have done differently, and having been there myself, I’m loath to second guess either of them. I will note, though, Dad’s lack of enthusiasm for the whole parenting project; he seemed to have gotten the idea that it wasn’t really his job, possibly from his father again.

The whole sex switcheroo? Maybe he would have been OK with it; maybe not. I know he was deeply emotionally invested in having a son. I got coerced into little league baseball and reading James Fennimore Cooper. However, Dad was anti-racist and prided himself on being more enlightened than average. And I had Mom in my corner. Maybe he would have come around after a while the way Good Sister did.

If he’d been in my shoes, would he have had the guts to do what I did? I think not. He was a fifties organization man, back before that stopped working for everybody. He did once get me aside and tell me he had some cross-gender… what was the word he used, feelings? But at that point I was running away from them myself, so I didn’t want to hear anything further. I’ve regretted that, but now that I think about it, maybe he had nothing constructive to say.

One thing sticks out in my memory: a few years before Mom died and well into the course of her dementia, she said that Dad told her, “I’m a failure. You’re a failure too.” I hope Mom confabulated that. If not, it breaks my heart, because he wasn’t a failure. I know I’m not.

(no subject)

Today's work-related ughs: covid conspiracy theories courtesy of Loud.

As

koshka_the_cat said, it's almost a three day weekend! In Canada, Remembrance Day is a nationally recognized day, so I will be home from work then, and also I took Wednesday off. I fully expect Monday to be relatively quiet, so it's going to be a nice stretch of peace. I actually hadn't really thought of how Monday would be in the middle of all this, but it's good to think about now. Man, it's gonna be almost like a vacation. Ahhhhh.

SO, maybe I can actually get my poop in a group and do some sewing lol. I have more dinner things to make (of what was on the last list, I made 2 of 3). More soups for sure, and I'd like to make some bread to go with it if the room isn't too cold. Maybe some baking.

Sewing wise, I need to tape the patterns together still, and perhaps have a cutting party. It has started snowing today and while I don't expect it to stick around, it does mean I need to look at putting my summer clothes away and get winter-ready. That's also on my radar.

Current Mood: pleased
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: a mix by Onyx Ocean on Soundcloud

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new faces behind the decks, new acronym on the flier

Last night at the Blue Moon was house music as so often on Tuesday nights, but this time with a twist. Promoter Brit Jean restricted the DJs to FLINTA: female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, and agender people. Neither the Tickler nor I had ever heard that acronym before, and even Brit had to learn it from the illustrious Trinitron, who inspired that night and was there for a little bit. Trinitron, despite being FLINTA herself, didn't DJ because that night is an open decks night for people who aren't really established, and she very much is.

FLINTA: a less... confrontational way of saying ABCD, i.e. anyone but cis dudes. And as the Tickler points out, it's better not to define yourself by what you're not, which is why they prefer "genderqueer" to "non-binary". Weirdly, the latter seems to have taken over, possibly due to squeamishness about the Q-word among the very old and the very young. Mayunn, I wonder if I'll live to see the day we get our terminological act together.

Fave DJ: Onyx Ocean. Rock solid, futuristic groove. Brit tells me she's** more partial to drum 'n bass, which in my opinion is too bad. I complimented her on her set, and she remembered me from somewhere, thereby causing me to worry about advancing senility. Or maybe she just remembered my purple hair. In any case, I hope to see her around.

And yes, the cute bartender with the dyke hair was there. Happiness.

**I looked up her pronouns in Zuckerberg's data mine. Ambivalence ahoy!