I can haz internetz!

Look look look!  I have internet!!!!

Yes, I have my internet connection back!! And it's working!!  We bought new boxes (apparently the magic internet boxes are called bridges), and got them hooked up last weekend.  All last week, the connection was spazzy, only staying up for about 30 seconds at a time in the evenings.  I could barely load a single webpage, much less surf the net or blog.  But the bridges have worked out their differences, I suppose, and I'm back in action!!

It's going to be a bit strange, I think, blogging again.  I've been writing, and it's great, because I've managed to get some work done on several other projects, and I've been doing a lot more reading and crocheting (look forward to seeing stuff for sale on Etsy soon!), but I haven't been doing any of this at the computer.  Two of my three big writing projects are hand-written, which makes them a bit more difficult to do, in that I still can't write for long periods of time (see story below), but more rewarding, in a way, because it takes more effort to write longhand.  I'm also plotting for NaNo again.  I just found out that this year, I'm a Municiple Liason!  Roughly translated, I'm a cat-herder, helping to organize all the parties and write-ins, and trying to motivate everyone else in the group, while still writing a novel of my own.  Good thing I can multitask!

So why can't I write for long periods of time?  I'm glad you asked!  Back in my first year of University, I had an injury.  I tore ligaments in my wrist.  How?  I'm glad you asked!  I was tap dancing.  Yes, tap dancing led to a wrist injury.  I was doing pickups for the first time, overbalanced, and FOOSHed (Fall On OutStretched Hand, for those of you who aren't in AT (for those of you who don't get that abbreviation either)).  It hurt like crazy, and the next morning, I could barely move without crying.  I went up to the sports medicine clinic, and came home with a cast, because they couldn't tell if it was broken or not.  My parents were a little sheepish, since they had told me that I should just take some Tylenol and put some ice on it.  In any case, it was my right hand (and I'm right-handed), so I couldn't write then (obviously).  It healed very slowly - I went for several x-rays, a bone scan, an MRI... finally, they decided it was the ligaments, and I got into physio.  It was an uphill battle to get better.  For the rest of my University career, I used the special needs centre at the Uni to take my exams, because I simply couldn't hold a pen long enough to write two, three, or more essays at a time, and the special needs centre was the only place that I could use a computer to type my exams.  To this day, I have to be careful if I'm going to be doing something strenuous for long periods of time - I can't write for too long at once, and I have to take frequent breaks when I'm knitting or crocheting.  

So that's the story of why I can't write!  Stay tuned for more bloggy goodness!

I'm not dead yet!

It turns out that at least two people really do read my blog and care when I disappear! Yay for friends!

Here's the deal. My internet box died. I'm not sure what it's technically called, but it was the box that lived in my window and talked to the box in Shane's window across the parking lot, and allowed me to connect to his network, since he was already paying for internet and I don't get paid enough. I went away for the long weekend to Dragon*Con in Atlanta, and when I came back, I tried to get online, but I couldn't manage that night, so I wrote a VERY sucky post and saved it on my computer, figuring I'd just connect on Tuesday. I spent a LOOOOONG time on Tuesday screwing around with the computers and trying to connect, and finally realized that the problem was with the little box. I tried resetting it, but it didn't help. On Wednesday, I decided to try again. I looked at the box, but all the lights were out. I unplugged it, plugged it back in, and the lights came on for a few seconds, but then went out again. It was dead.

So we've been trying to come up with a solution. Apparently, the little box is rather difficult to come by, and we've been talking about other options, including using Pringles cans to amplify the wireless signal. Yes, Pringles cans. I need to buy some chips. So far, though, we haven't managed to get me online again. Right now, I'm in Joshua Cup, using the free internet.

I was pretty upset at breaking my blogging streak - I was over 125 consecutive posts! But then I reminded myself why I started this blog: to make myself write every day. I did save a couple of posts on my laptop before I realized it might take a long time to get online again, so I will post those. After I admitted that, though, I decided that I didn't have to write in my blog to write. So for the past couple of nights, I've worked on other projects. I put in some time on last year's NaNovel. I wrote a bit more of my play. I worked on Take Five. I've even started a little story about a germophobic vampire. So I'm still writing, even if I'm not blogging, and that's what matters to me.

But it still sucks that I broke my streak.

If you scroll down a bit, you can see the post-Dragon*Con posts :) Enjoy the pics!

Four days out...

I am now four days without internet access from home, and it’s killing me. I don’t have my own internet access, but Shane lives across the parking lot from me, and I’m using his. I’ve got an access point set up in my window, and it strengthens the signal that comes over from his place so my computers can connect wirelessly. Unfortunately, that magic box is dead. The blue light went red, then went out. Hence the lack of access.

I’m still writing, though, even if I can’t actually get this up online as I’m writing! The whole point of my blog was to write every day, and I’m doing that, even if other people can’t read it. My blog is not meant to be something that gets hundreds of hits and earns me tons of money because people can’t wait to see what glorious wonders spill from my fingertips each day. I’m not that good. ;)

Actually, what I miss most is comments. I love reading what other people say about my blog, especially my writing. And I miss making comments. I really enjoy flipping through the blog roll (over to your right! Go visit them! They’re all awesome!) and commenting on the craziness of my friends. *le sigh* It was supposed to get fixed today, but that is a no. Instead, we went out shopping and looking for stuff to finish the basement. Don’t get me wrong, that was a ton of fun (mmmmm… tools and stuff….), but I miss my internet.

*sniffle*

The parade

Three days without internet access from home. This sucks. I have so much to post about and with! Dragon*Con was awesome, and I took about 200 photos. Today’s episode: The parade!

The Jedis... there were a TON of Star Wars fans.
Chewbacca.
Two Leias... and the closer one was the least-appropriately-sized one I saw at the Con this year - I'm VERY happy about that!

So many Kaylies! (From Firefly)
The Browncoats - I've been invited to join them next year if I have any desire to sew a costume!
The Pez dispensers
The cardboard box Storm Troopers
Chewboxa.

It was a remote-controlled car, and a cool one at that!
Mad scientists - my kind of people!
I don't know what it was, but it was HUGE!!!
Mmm, zombies....
The Jayne hat!

Chinese dragons! They had three of them in the parade, and it was awesome!
Some sort of anime character. Anime is not my thing, so I have no idea who it is.
A man on a dragon!
I don't know what she was... but she was in the parade!
A kid on a dragon - it was cool and cute.

One of the Cruxshadows fairies
Cookie Monster! Dragon*Con embraces ALL fandom
I think these were the Monarch's henchmen... a few steps after this photo, they found a guy dressed like the Monarch in the crowd, and pulled him into the parade.
The 300... for the college jocks who are also geeks
More half-naked men. I still think the "300 pounds" costumes from last year were funnier.

The Harry Potter section! You can see Hogwarts students, and the tree...
More Potterverse.
The Nintendo folks, though again, I don't recognize most of them.
More Nintendo stuff... they're some sort of twin... Matt knew who they were and told me, but I've since forgotten.

It's Gingy!
The guy from that Disney movie! I can't remember who he is, or what the movie is, but I think he turns into a llama at some point... The Emperor's New Groove! That's the movie!
A whole pile of superheroes... I'm not enough of a geek, so I could only identify a few, like Superman. And Supergirl?
More from the superheroes, only I don't know who they are.
And more superheroes!

It's all about the Hat

It’s Jayne! I made myself a Jayne hat (although I have no pictures of me wearing it…), and I saw dozens of them at Dragon*Con. I decided to give you a montage, because it was just too cool – I started taking photos of all of them on Sunday afternoon. I should have started earlier! I will next year, though.

My favourite Jayne hat moment? I was waiting in line to get seats for the MST3K showing of “The Wasp Woman.” Matt and Penny were still in the food court, and I knew I’d be in line alone for a while, so I brought the hat (I started it in the car on the way to D*C) to work on. I got more photos taken of me knitting than I did during any other part of the con! And someone commented that he loved my costume – “Jayne’s mom.”

This guy is the first guy that I ran into on the day that I wore my Jayne hat: he was in the elevator with me as I went down to the main floor, and he commented on my "nice hat." Hey, you gotta stick together!

This is the only guy who gave me a pose when I asked if I could take his picture - but he was all-out dressed as Jayne, not just sporting the hat.

I critiqued a lot of the Jayne hats that I saw, trying to figure out what sort of changes I could make to my pattern to make it better. I learned from this specimen that pale hats just look like toques.

My friend Miller, wearing my Jayne hat!

Possibly my favourite costume of the Con - she didn't wear Jayne's hat, she WAS Jayne's hat!!

Blargh.

Blargh. Home from Dragon*Con. Must catch up on 5 days of missed sleep. Stories later.