imjinnie

My LJ is friends-only. Comment to be added.

I got banned from TWOP!

Demian, the SPN recapper, attacked a member's comment and someone posted in the mod forum asking if that was okay. I posted saying I wanted to know too, since the SPN mod (whom I previously had no issues with) had just gone after someone for being 'dismissive'. Except the member said "shrugs" in her comment. Demian? Used profanity to respond to someone's opinion.

I've posted on TWOP for years (several of those as an established spoiler source). I don't have anything on my record at all. And yet apparently, that post of mine was enough to get me banned.

This is kind of awesome, you guys. I've never been banned from anything before!

What kills me is that she says to follow up with her via email or PM and apparently if you're banned, you can't do that. Ah, well.

It seems my flist is holding a competition to see who can be the most depressing. It makes me feel like I'm the only happy person in the room.

When my newspaper, the Rocky Mountain News, died recently, I was hit with a mixture of shock, anger and sadness. It felt like I'd lost a member of the family.

But today, at a press conference (at, of all places, my college campus), 30 staff members from the Rocky announced a new venture: an online news source called INDenverTimes.com. Basically they're putting their toe in the water and if 50,000 people pledge to subscribe (the most expensive option is a mere $7 a month) I CAN HAVE MY PAPER BACK.

Okay, as on online version, which means my favorite after-class-Rocky-and-Chinese-buffet-Mondays can't happen. But still. Given the alternative, I'd subscribe 100 times to get them back.

I know there a lot of journalism/PR folks on my flist. Check it out, and see samples of what they're going to continue with at the old Rocky site and their interim portal, which has already scooped the Denver Post more than once. And then join the pledge. BECAUSE OMG, I MISS MY PAPER, YOU GUYS! AND THIS MEANS I CAN (ALMOST) GET IT BACK!

Carrie is now back home (we're skyping), but this entry was started a couple days ago, while she was still here and sitting behind me on my bed. That still counts as a trip update, right?

Stupid LJ and their buggy scrapbook. It took me 3 days to get it to upload pictures!

But now, with no further ado, the update:

Been busy!

I have seen parts of my state I've never seen before (or was too little to remember). We've toured Coors Field (and walked on the warning track!), the Molly Brown House, and the Capital. We've also dropped in Tattered Cover bookstore, the Denver Art Museum, 16th St. Mall, Quebec Square & Northfield Stapleton shopping and countless other spots. We've done 5 major cities in one day (Georgetown, Idaho Springs, Golden, including driving through Central City and Blackhawk). We hiked up to Buffalo Bill's grave.

And we've seen 11 libraries in 5 major cities (plus, I updated my Denver card).

We've eaten out more times in a week than I do in a month (or 6 months), at Cracker Barrel, Beau Jo's Pizza (a CO classic), Old Spaghetti Factory, Famous Dave's and the incomparable Chick-Fil-A. Carrie even experienced Pizza Hut pizza delivery for the very first time (it's amazing when they come right to the door, ay kikiduck?

Carrie brought her wii, which eventually led to by brothers indulging in a highly entertaining trash-fest talk and my parents bemusedly competing against each other in bowling (Mom won, barely).

But perhaps most importantly, we baked. A lot.

Exhibit A:


It's a vegetable garden! Peas = lime tootsie rolls and chocolate M&Ms, radishes = frosting leaves and red and white tootsie rolls and carrots = orange starbursts. Carrie is the best candy reshaper ever! They even had signs:



OMG SO CUTE. We dropped them off at my work (how many Kohl's did we visit, Carrie? I'm thinking 5).

Then we (mostly I) did these for my family (exhibit B):



They're PANDAS. With tiny mini cupcake heads, a giant mound of frosting topped with crushed Oreos and little white piped frosting decoration. They were also probably more edible than the garden cupcakes. SO CUTE, MAN.

So another Jinnie/Carrie trip is over. Who knows where we'll end up next!

PS: More pics here! These are mine, Carrie has much, much more on her LJ.

So. Back in my Alias days, when there was a 750 friend limit, I eventually learned an easy way to make room for people: I'd do a political rant. Ta-da, I'd suddenly have empty slots! It was fantastic.

As Howard Zinn said a couple years ago, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” That statement was often cited by my liberal friends when criticizing the past administration. (Though it was occasionally, and erroneously attributed to Thomas Jefferson, even by ACLU talking heads). Now it appears it's my turn to feel out of touch with the current government.

My arguments against President Obama will never ever reach the same level of vitriol I've seen directed against the former President. I will never refer to him as less as what he is, which is President of the United States and by extension, whether I like it or not, my President. But frankly, I'm not a fan of the man. And it appears that every time I express my opinion, some of my flisters just can't tolerate that viewpoint.

It saddens me to lose some flisters that I once regarded as first friends amongst all the (750+) others. I trusted them the most and I admired them for having lives and careers that I would love to have someday. I even met up with some in real life. But now, that esteem has been tarnished by disappointment over their lack of returning the same courtesy I once gave to them.

So. This is for you (yes, you!). You have every right to say whatever the heck you want in your journal. Please remember that I have that same right. Some of my friends have special Republican filters, but I think we're all grown up enough to read even stuff we disagree with, right?

If you dislike or can't handle a conservative's opinion on the current administration, please unfriend me and I will do the same. I have never hidden my political leanings and I have known some of you for years, we've grown up together and I will be sad to see you go. But not sad enough to censor myself in my own LJ.

(This does not include those who politely ignore me as I once did them, or those interested in respectful debate, of course, which is always fun!)

Posting to see if it shows up, because Carrie's posts/comments aren't.

THAT'S WHAT SHE GETS FOR AMUSING OVER MY PACKING/REPACKING/PACKING.

I'm the first one up, but only because I wussed out about 1:30am. Man, I haven't crashed that early in a while.

I'm leaving today in about 8 hours. First on the agenda: (after Carrie wakes up) finishing HIMYM S2. Then: packing.

I get in about midnight and then tomorrow, I'm meeting my new NDK lead for lunch. I'm thinking I'm gonna make it a late one. Then we have the huge guest dinner and Friday morning, 10am, con begins! Sigh. I'll be able to sleep in next Tuesday.

Yesterday, after a couple years or so of trying, I finally managed to waste time on the working monorail! Woo! It is seriously the most pointless thing ever, but possibly also the awesomest. We also went on a ferryboat and wandered around Bainbridge, where I found Rocky Road fudge (for Dad) and sugar free milk and walnut fudge (for grandparents). Mmmm, fudge.

Then we went to Wendy's and drove under a bridge that Elvis had filmed on (I've never seen Carrie so excited while I was so clueless. Very entertaining!)

Then we came home and the cat fell asleep on me, which is probably why I barely made it past 1.

That Ky's laptop lasted this long. Longtime flisters know that I borrow it whenever I go on vaca, and it always has a crisis of some kind wherein I think it's broken forever and ever. This is one of those times.

I accidently apilled a seriously tiny amount of water on it, and then it was blue screen error galore. Something about memory parity errors? + loud computer beeping. Then I tried restarting and it came up with a new one which told me to restart. So I did. Then it was a DOS grey screen asking for a password. Tried putting in Ky's, but it just made it beep really loudly. So I tried restarting again. It'll go through the first 3 seconds of starting; begins to spin the fan, etc, but then turns itself off immediately before anything shows on screen.

Any ideas?

Yesterday, we did IKEA. I spent $96 and bought the rest of the black-rod-kitchen line thing for my new giant kitchen. yay! Then Carrie and I made dinner for the family: breaded fried chicken, scalloped potatoes (Carrie, from scratch) and a blackberry cobbler. Mmmm. We also had to have used every single cooking/baking dish/pan they had. Seriously, the entire counter was filled. I think that's the most impressive mess I've ever seen, and I grew up with 3 brothers.

Today was a lazy day. I slept until noonish (Carrie beat me by about 15 minutes), came out and spent the day on the couch with the cat sleeping on my arm. We went to her sister's and I made dinner while they built an Ikea shelf, but otherwise, I did absolutely nothing but cuddle with the cat. Yay!

Tomorrow: Seattle. Anna is joining us. I suggested we tell her 11 so she'll come around 1. *whistles*

Amy (Carrie's sister, newspaper journalist): PR just seems like the least rewarding profession.
Jinnie: That's what I'm in school for.
Amy: (pause) Um, forget I said that.
Carrie: (in the background) *dies laughing*

JINNIE + BRIAN 4EVA! *draws hearts*


PS: 12-year-old crush is harder with wife and adorable kid, but still doable!

*draws more hearts*

Carrie on quality mixing: That looks okay. There aren't flour streaks in it.

Jinnie: Um, why aren't we using the deeper bowl?
Carrie: We can't use the mixer in it.

(later)

Ashley (Carrie's sister): Um, why aren't you using the (deeper) bowl?
Carrie: I forgot it was there.
Jinnie: *glare*

---

Jinnie: You know, if you put flour on the spoon, the dough won't stick to it.
Carrie: Thanks for telling me AFTER!

(later)

Jinnie: (tries to pre-beat the dough)
Carrie: Now the spoon's all goopy!
Jinnie: Oops, forgot the flour!

More later, if we don't burn the house down!

Farewell and fare thee well, past friends!

What Jinnie accomplished today:

1. Paid Sears bill.
2. No dog boy eye!
3. Spoiled cat.
4. Saw Trader Joe's for first time.
5. Mastered bowling on Wii.
6. ... uh, attempted golf on Wii. (attempt nothing of note)
7. Went grocery shopping for crazy BSB Saturday. On menu: bulgogi, broccoli/almond stir fry, and Mexican taco dip. We are all about multicultural.
8. Got rid of too-much-oxygen headache.
9. Didn't trip into the house.

All in all, a not-that-bad day.

PS Carrie just did a victory cry over figuring how to put water in a container. Another Jinnie accomplishment: not pointing and laughing at the very odd redhead.

(unlocked for Carrie's flist)

Congrats to Delta Goodrem, who finally hits US stores this week with her debut American release (a slightly different version of Delta.)

I went to Target to buy milk and there she was, sitting on the shelf! It totally made my day.

Never heard of her? Well, flist, she's Australia's best selling female music artist ever (apparently 1 in 4 Aussies own an album of hers). She's a cancer survivor. She's gorgeous. She plays the piano barefoot, writes her own songs sometimes and has a huge, gorgeous pure voice that rivals pretty much anyone else (even Le!). Oh, and she's a year younger than me.

Also, she's only $8 at Target. Go buy the album, you won't regret it!

I'm a member of the Brad Paisley Fan Club and it's run by the same people who handle Le's amazing FC. So, high expectations.

But dude. This club is so very awful it would be funny if it wasn't so sad. There's a group of members who have apparently been around for awhile, and go in EVERY post on the board to talk about how bad the FC is now that new people are joining. When a member and a mom posted on the board talking about how her son is dying and requested a wish from Brad (to go fishing) and was, for whatever reason, denied, these inhuman bastards basically pointed their fingers at the mom and attacked her because she was't 100% Brad gushy!

This FC has maybe 3 chances per some shows for a meet and greet. The moderator is a sarcastic, all-knowing witch with an attitude demanding fawning. I made the mistake of going above her head and now she makes it clear, in every reply, that she pretty much loathes me.

It's odd, because the person in charge of the FC is unfailingly polite. She had an assistant posting for awhile who was also very nice. You would think that would inspire the rest of these awful people to keep their egos in check and just be fun fellow Brad fans. But no.

A membership to this club is like being in the front of a train as it derails. And I have more than a year to watch it ride the brakes. Poor Brad Paisley.

This is a public post. Work your magic, Google! Let no other Brad fan waste their money!

I cannot believe I work tomorrow at 10am!

Shortest trip ever.

Now, to play with the cat.

bRTOD is winding down. :(

Carrie went to class this morning, so Anna and I slept in, watched a couple of West Wings S7, and then headed to Pirates. Which I liked, btw, but mainly because of the hidden ending because the movie itself made no sense. Also, Orlando should wear maroon 24/7.

Somehow, we survived the drive there and back, though not for lack of trying otherwise. But that's not my story to tell. ;) Came back and made bulgogi, which happily was a hit. Mmmm, bulgogi. Nothing like it in the world.

Yesterday, we did Seattle. But instead of repeating, we instead did the ferry and then toured Seattle Underground, both of which were totally awesome. Pics and babblings to come, once those upload. Also, I went to Ikea for the first time and bought some frickin' amazing stuff and got lost.

But for now, I have to pack.

We are back in Sammamish, where it is rainy. They're currently marathoning The OC, which for me is only slightly more appealing than watching paint dry solely due to Adam Brody. I'm so tempted to put on headphones and download more Jaaaaack!

So instead, here's an update of yesterday. First, the drive to Portland:

( Pictures of oddly placed roses and the world's second-coolest bridge )

After the Brad High from the night before, we needed something to unwind, so we ended up spending late morning/early afternoon at the Japanese Gardens. The largest of its kind outside Japan, they're gorgeous, peaceful... and boast nightmare parking. Seriously, we spent 45 minutes looking for a spot, and eventually settled for something which required us to hike straight up/down a mountain. (For a bonus, here's video of Carrie while driving in circles.)

( Garden pics )

I am sitting in Powell's used/new bookstore in Portland, which might not sound exciting but it is BECAUSE THE BOOKSTORE IS AN ENTIRE BLOCK. Largest of its kind in the world, people. In other words, paradise with wireless internet. Plus, it has signs saying "Graduating? Now you can read for fun!"

As shown in the brief update I did back at the hotel when Carrie and Anna were still dead to the world, last night was the BEST CONCERT IN MY LIFE. Carrie's randomly picked seats had us right in front of one of Brad's runners, where he came out and played and people apparently stood up on chairs and slapped his legs. So, awesome. But there were two people taller than Jared Padalecki in front of me, so after Jaaaaaaaaack and Taylor and Kellie performed, I went down and charmed security into standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE STAGE. (Which, of course, was also taller than me). I have been to so many concerts where I've been off in the wings (and working) or off to the side of the stage (and working)... this was honestly the only show I could recall where I was there just for fun and was close enough to see Brad's bitten fingernails flying across guitar strings.

And this is outside the cut because it's now my wallpaper and my favorite picture EVER.

HEE, he's having so much fun!

( Pictures. Dialup friendly, but the larger pics (when you click on small ones) aren't. )

... and I touched Jack Ingram's very soft hair. (But only for Anna. Took a bullet there).

Sooo. I have pictures from the first couple days, but first:


CHECK OUT THOSE EYELASHES, OMG. ALSO, YES! HE REALLY WAS THAT CLOSE. I didn't use zoom AT ALL. SERIOUSLY.


*draws hearts*

No idea who the other two people are, but that's not how my fantasy goes!




Ahem.