So. My family is kinda cursed. Not Winchester cursed, more like "sitcom" cursed. Y'know; having my hours increased, decreased, and shifted without anyone asking me about it. Having my battery die suddenly, then die again. And again. Hitting one another's cars, running into the garage, motoring out into the middle of the lake and having a motor die, power going out in the middle of a drought, speeding tickets, etc... In the midst of all these "WTF" moments, though, there is little that can astound me more than the way my grandpa handles me.

Now, I know I've never been his favorite grandchild. He's a man who wakes up at 4 in the morning, every morning, and fishes until noon, listens to the tv way too loud, lives the life of a man divorced four times. I, on the other hand, am the pretty granddaughter who turned into a bookish nerd, who listens to quiet music and spends her days reading and writing. I was always that kid whom he loved, and whom he knew returned his love, but with whom he never could really communicate. Still, I thought I understood him. Until he sat me down and gave me some advice about life.

Don't get fat, he tells me, or I'll end up with a knothead. Because the smart, worthwhile boys always go for the skinny bimbos. (Yes. Because smart boys can't possibly look beyond appearances and fall in love with a girl's brain.)

Don't talk too much. Some boys are shy. You get him talking, then you shut up. (Okay. Some sage wisdom here, until he seemed to think that there was nothing wrong with me having to wring every word out of a boy and keep quiet myself.)

Try to enjoy the boy's interests. (This was introduced in the form of a story that I thought would boil down to "A couple must try one another's experiences". But when I tried to reiterate it, it really became "The girl learns to like what the boy likes, and if he doesn't share her interests that's too bad." Yes. That IS too bad.)

I didn't see fit to remind my grandpa that he had been divorced four times and a bachelor for at least the last fifteen years. Seemed a little too obvious.

I also didn't want to bother reminding him of the fact that I am an Ordinary Sea Scout, almost an Able, have won second prize in a national writing contest, have climbed a mountain with a fifty pount pack on my back, and all without anyone ever suggesting that I was "Mannish" or "Dyke-like". It's just the age he was born in, so there was good reason for me to shut my mouth, smile, and nod.

Good thing I also neglected to mention that my ex-boyfriend was Indian, and I was currently flirting with the idea of entering into a relationship with a Chinese guy. The Korean war veteran in him would not have liked that.

Okay, so I've been pondering the weirdest thing lately. Whether or not to join a sorority. I thought for sure I would never join one, but a close friend of mine has and, well... it's kind of taken over her life. And she seems really happy. So I made a pro/con list. Just for yucks.

Pros:

Pull me out of the asocial shell I've developed this year.
Make lots of friends.
The safety, structure, and community.
Parties that should be fun.
Always having people there for me. Cause of pledges and all.
Frat boys that might not suck.
Fun experiences.
Social status of being in a sorority.
Sorority house (sounds nicer than a dorm)

Cons:

Shyness/awkwardness/cynicism on my part.
Parties that could be terrifying (drinking and dancing? Oh my!)
Paying a buttload in dues.
Responsibility for others. Cause I'd pledge, too.
Frat boys that could completely suck.
Rules and expectations.
Having to associate with girls I may dislike immensely.
Reputation as a sorority girl (the flaky, flighty, blonde thing)
I am a very anal, not so easygoing individual.

Yeah. I'm going to ponder this list for the next year. Blargh. Now I go to do research papers.

This is more of a to-do list for me to get my life in order. Somehow, this just seems to work better when I do it on devart than in my actual journal.

So the con this weekend was nice. Sold a good amount. But I think I'm going to have to drop my next con, cause I'm at my limit. I haven't really relaxed in weeks, and it's not going to get easier, even dropping the cons. I mean, I just got addicted to Supernatural and watched a few episodes today, TRYING to relax, but all I could think was "crap, where's my gov't textbook!?"

Lost and recovered my W-2 form. Now to learn how to do my taxes tonight. Yippers.

Now with the to-do list.

Items of immediate attention:

Find gov't textbook so I can reach ch 10 and write a paper on it by Wednesday.

Study for a Biology exam I have tomorrow (we seriously just had one 2 weeks ago!!!)

Get enough research for me to write a research paper on the themes of The Fellowship of the Ring, and enough research to do a scholar-level comparison of Hebrew and Anglo-Saxon poetic styles.

Stuff that can wait a few days:

Contact the dentist for my remaining fillings.

Contact someone in Houston to reserve a room in the community center in The Woodlands.

Organize a skit night such that people will actually want to attend by May 12.

Find and review a scholarly article for Humanities.

I also work 2 days this week. I'm exhausted, and I just pray I can last the remaining month. I have a Sea Scout event this weekend, too. Not real excited, as the whole weekend I'll be worried about school, as usual.

Still... I'm kind of relieved. As much as I hate passing up an opportunity to make money, it'll be nice to get back to my pre-convention projects. Blankets, mostly. Gifts. And I can also return to writing with a vengeance. I even have a new dream-inspired ghost story (part of why I think I've latched onto Supernatural and Everlost, particularly because ghost stories usually don't appeal to me.)

I have become a cosplay addict... and I can't do clothing. Neither sewing nor crocheting. I have only two cosplays I made myself. Both are kind of hobo-ish. And yet here is my list of cosplays I am planning.

Howl #1 (featuring the blonde wig and jacket of awesome)
Howl #2 (Ginger wig, flesh colored body suit, towl, and tape)
Howl #3 (Black wig, and stuff I already have)
River Tam (There are currently issues)
Kaylee Fry (Coveralls... yikes!)
Inara Serra (Actually doable. One of her easier outfits.)
Princess Kraehe (Slutty and frilly all at once)
Princess Tutu (So girly you kind of pass out)
Ty Lee (Ju-Jitsu chop character of HYPER!!! With pink.)
Winry Rockbell (Well, I have everything but the pants, anyway)


I already have

Chihiro (Too small in the chest)
Howl #3 (nix the wig and pants that actually fit)
Cardcaptor Sakura (...ish)
Inara Serra (well, most of it.)

And these are only the actual character costumes. NOT counting my sundresses, jackets, and tops to be made. In fact, I already HAVE everything but the wigs, Howl's jacket, Princess Tutu,and Ty Lee.

I blame the fabric store I work in.

So I just got an e-mail from KK, saying that they WOULD wait for my tax form and they WOULD give me the discount (me and only me, since I was already informed that I would get it). Well, I could tell they felt they were having their arms twisted.

Felt kind of bad to tell them "Sorry, but no." I mean, if they'd told me this two weeks ago, when I REALLY needed this information, I'd have jumped on it. As it is, I had to make the decision to pursue Anime Matsuri instead. So, bad as I feel, they really should have been more decisive. Not that they'll miss one dealer but... I probably won't go there next year, either.