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We got dumped on with snow - absolutely hit today. Drive to work took two hours because not a single street was plowed or sanded and not a single MNDoT truck was seen the entire drive in.
Got home to see Eldest had partially shoveled driveway while Youngest was at Robotics. He went in to get warm, and a random truck with a plow on the front just drove in and did over half the driveway, including the hard-packed stuff at the bottom where the driveway meets the road. The truck just came in, pushed the lot over to the side, and then left again without a word.
Thank you, random nice person!
Got home to see Eldest had partially shoveled driveway while Youngest was at Robotics. He went in to get warm, and a random truck with a plow on the front just drove in and did over half the driveway, including the hard-packed stuff at the bottom where the driveway meets the road. The truck just came in, pushed the lot over to the side, and then left again without a word.
Thank you, random nice person!
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We have now reached the "aftermath of a con" stage of tiredness, so this may be jumbled.
Helped set up Wednesday, got our room Thursday, left late Sunday, went back and helped with final clean up today - long week. Long week sans booze as only two parents signed up to be the emergency contacts for the Teen Room, with said parents being![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wolfie74 and myself, on call, until roughly 3 am each day. I won't drink when I'm home alone with the kids in case they need me, so put me as potentially responsible for several dozen and I'm sticking to Sprite and the free chocolate chai from the coffee shop.
The Good
Some decent panels and awesome costumes and excellent vendors. Found one on the first day that had made jewelry out of Hawkeye comic stuffs, and could not resist. People were entertaining, food was plentiful, and the "go only clockwise on this floor and counterclockwise on that one" really helped with the traffic flows that have been issues in years past. People seemed decent with each other, and generally supportive of each other for the most part - some exceptions, yes, but generally very cool.
The Bad
The sheer amount of people meant extra trash. Mix this with a lack of trash cans and the place got messy fast - several people tried to help, but others outright tried to make bigger messes, which sucked. People tossing shit tons of booze in the can propping open the door to the Teen Room was stupid and could have gotten some good kids in trouble had the roaming cops found it. There was also a guy who outright offered my kid whiskey in the elevator line - not cool to say the least. Also not cool was a drunk guy making lewd remarks and gestures and cornering a fourteen year old girl we were trying to get to her room - got her out of there and his friend dealt with him.
The Lack of Fanfic
Okay, so sore point: every single panel on fanfic was dropped pre-con. There were panels on animal penises, but not on fic despite its popularity. Several people asked about it, including guests of honor, but there were no explanations offered. There was, however, a guerrilla slash panel because they cut that too despite its popularity and, needless to say, fic was discussed there despite the fact the makeshift location made it cramped and hard to hear. Because, really, slash shall persevere.
All in all, pretty good (extended) weekend. Warm, tired, and needing to go to work tomorrow. Night all.
Edit
Forgot to mention that, possibly in response to the whole lack of fanfic and slash thing, I wrote a 5K Clint/Tony fic while taking a break in our room. As you do. Posted once edited.
Helped set up Wednesday, got our room Thursday, left late Sunday, went back and helped with final clean up today - long week. Long week sans booze as only two parents signed up to be the emergency contacts for the Teen Room, with said parents being
wolfie74 and myself, on call, until roughly 3 am each day. I won't drink when I'm home alone with the kids in case they need me, so put me as potentially responsible for several dozen and I'm sticking to Sprite and the free chocolate chai from the coffee shop.The Good
Some decent panels and awesome costumes and excellent vendors. Found one on the first day that had made jewelry out of Hawkeye comic stuffs, and could not resist. People were entertaining, food was plentiful, and the "go only clockwise on this floor and counterclockwise on that one" really helped with the traffic flows that have been issues in years past. People seemed decent with each other, and generally supportive of each other for the most part - some exceptions, yes, but generally very cool.
The Bad
The sheer amount of people meant extra trash. Mix this with a lack of trash cans and the place got messy fast - several people tried to help, but others outright tried to make bigger messes, which sucked. People tossing shit tons of booze in the can propping open the door to the Teen Room was stupid and could have gotten some good kids in trouble had the roaming cops found it. There was also a guy who outright offered my kid whiskey in the elevator line - not cool to say the least. Also not cool was a drunk guy making lewd remarks and gestures and cornering a fourteen year old girl we were trying to get to her room - got her out of there and his friend dealt with him.
The Lack of Fanfic
Okay, so sore point: every single panel on fanfic was dropped pre-con. There were panels on animal penises, but not on fic despite its popularity. Several people asked about it, including guests of honor, but there were no explanations offered. There was, however, a guerrilla slash panel because they cut that too despite its popularity and, needless to say, fic was discussed there despite the fact the makeshift location made it cramped and hard to hear. Because, really, slash shall persevere.
All in all, pretty good (extended) weekend. Warm, tired, and needing to go to work tomorrow. Night all.
Edit
Forgot to mention that, possibly in response to the whole lack of fanfic and slash thing, I wrote a 5K Clint/Tony fic while taking a break in our room. As you do. Posted once edited.
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Here in MN there is a huge geek get together each year on the weekend of the Fourth of July. It is a convention known as CONvergence and has grown over the years from a two-day con to a four-day con with geeks of all walks of life well, converging in one place.
There are costumes and parties and panels and guests of honor and shopping and all sorts of things. Our kidlings at part of the group in charge of the Teen Room and, kinda by default, we're some of the Teen Room Moms for when something inevitably goes horribly wrong. So far, in two years, the worst was kicking people out of the room come 2 am while drunks were roaming about, so that's not bad.
Anyway, thought I would actually make a post about it as it is coming up pretty quickly now. For con-related updates, there is![[twitter.com profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/e0caa790ec10/-/twitter.com/favicon.ico)
CONvergenceCon and for live feed twitter updates during the con, they are going with #cvg2013 this time as the tag.
Debating doing a costume this year, possibly of Helena from Orphan Black, but don't know if I want to try to wrap three feet of hair up into curlers. I guess we'll see the day of because, really, it's not like I actually do something as sensible as plan this in advance - that would be silly. *g*
There are costumes and parties and panels and guests of honor and shopping and all sorts of things. Our kidlings at part of the group in charge of the Teen Room and, kinda by default, we're some of the Teen Room Moms for when something inevitably goes horribly wrong. So far, in two years, the worst was kicking people out of the room come 2 am while drunks were roaming about, so that's not bad.
Anyway, thought I would actually make a post about it as it is coming up pretty quickly now. For con-related updates, there is
Debating doing a costume this year, possibly of Helena from Orphan Black, but don't know if I want to try to wrap three feet of hair up into curlers. I guess we'll see the day of because, really, it's not like I actually do something as sensible as plan this in advance - that would be silly. *g*
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Bill was signed two hours ago. wolfie74 just offered me a chocolate donut as a ring, asking if we could sign a paper, get more taxes back, and fuck the power.
Yep, she's mine.
Edit: Um, we're not actually sure if we're going to do this or not. We've only agreed to review the pros and cons as we already feel connected enough without government approval. That said, the fact that we have lost approximately $7,800.00 in property tax refunds alone over the past ten years is a damn good argument.
wolfie74 just offered me a chocolate donut as a ring, asking if we could sign a paper, get more taxes back, and fuck the power. Yep, she's mine.
Edit: Um, we're not actually sure if we're going to do this or not. We've only agreed to review the pros and cons as we already feel connected enough without government approval. That said, the fact that we have lost approximately $7,800.00 in property tax refunds alone over the past ten years is a damn good argument.
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Minnesota votes in favor of the Freedom to Marry Act.
Bill gets signed tomorrow, goes into effect August 1st.
Part of me thinks this is very cool and very past time in coming. Part of me has unpopular opinion feelings that include phrases like "separation of church and state" and "marriage should be whatever your religion allows while civil unions are a government matter" and "why the fuck was this ever an issue anyway?" Then again, I also have friends at work going through painful divorces right now, and my "work husband" has been married three times and tells me takes of woe of how fucking sucky the divorce process is and to carefully consider the tax benefits versus the tax costs.
My view? I don't know ifwolfie74 and I will ever get married, to be completely and totally honest. She's a little too punk and I'm a little too grunge to completely want to follow what the government allows. Then again, that's the beauty of the freedom to marry, you also have the freedom not to.
We have been in a committed relationship for thirteen years now and have raised two wonderful if occasionally aggravating kids together. Though some did not initially do so and fell by the wayside over the years, our friends and family support us and have for the greater part of a decade. Are there times I still get nervous in public, expecting someone to throw the non-proverbial stone? Yes. Are there times where I am shocked that doctors and nurses have simply shrugged at the word "partner" and granted us access? Yes. Are there times that I want something in writing and legal that sorts out all the medical, financial, and death issues that come with being a long term couple? Yes. Do I think this will help with this? Well, as much as anything can given the state of laws and governance.
So, congratulations to everyone who fought long and hard for a right that should have been theirs from the get go. I knowwolfie74 is excited, and part of me is as well. Part of me is also unsure and maybe a little scared as it has been reinforced all my life that this is something I would never have and I made my peace with that and moved on because I had to. That, and I totally suck at change.
Will we sign a little piece of paper to "legitimize" what we've thought was right for years? Maybe. Will I demand both "brides" get to wear white Doc Martins, or maybe those cool floral ones? Hell yeah. Will I celebrate the unions of any of my GLBT friends that want to go down that road together? Yeah, sure, you betcha!
Bill gets signed tomorrow, goes into effect August 1st.
Part of me thinks this is very cool and very past time in coming. Part of me has unpopular opinion feelings that include phrases like "separation of church and state" and "marriage should be whatever your religion allows while civil unions are a government matter" and "why the fuck was this ever an issue anyway?" Then again, I also have friends at work going through painful divorces right now, and my "work husband" has been married three times and tells me takes of woe of how fucking sucky the divorce process is and to carefully consider the tax benefits versus the tax costs.
My view? I don't know if
wolfie74 and I will ever get married, to be completely and totally honest. She's a little too punk and I'm a little too grunge to completely want to follow what the government allows. Then again, that's the beauty of the freedom to marry, you also have the freedom not to. We have been in a committed relationship for thirteen years now and have raised two wonderful if occasionally aggravating kids together. Though some did not initially do so and fell by the wayside over the years, our friends and family support us and have for the greater part of a decade. Are there times I still get nervous in public, expecting someone to throw the non-proverbial stone? Yes. Are there times where I am shocked that doctors and nurses have simply shrugged at the word "partner" and granted us access? Yes. Are there times that I want something in writing and legal that sorts out all the medical, financial, and death issues that come with being a long term couple? Yes. Do I think this will help with this? Well, as much as anything can given the state of laws and governance.
So, congratulations to everyone who fought long and hard for a right that should have been theirs from the get go. I know
wolfie74 is excited, and part of me is as well. Part of me is also unsure and maybe a little scared as it has been reinforced all my life that this is something I would never have and I made my peace with that and moved on because I had to. That, and I totally suck at change.Will we sign a little piece of paper to "legitimize" what we've thought was right for years? Maybe. Will I demand both "brides" get to wear white Doc Martins, or maybe those cool floral ones? Hell yeah. Will I celebrate the unions of any of my GLBT friends that want to go down that road together? Yeah, sure, you betcha!
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So this week has been interesting in the Irish sense of the word. MN remembered that it's Minne-fucking-sota and we have had freezing rain and snow storms and the people not used to it from years past tried to kill those of us who are with their cars.
Both boys also appeared to remember that they are teens with hormones and really and truly wished to express this. It did not end well for anyone involved. Currently, their grandmother has been kind enough to take them for the weekend so that infanticide is not in the cards, andwolfie74 has attempted to lock them out of the internet fully, thus ruining their lives.
Unfortunately, she managed to accidentally zap the access to my iPad at the same time, thus I have no internets save for logging into the server right now. That's not all bad as I have gotten a crap ton of writing done, but it is a bit of a pain when I need to look something up (say, travel times via car via the QE from Two Harbors to Manhattan and/or traffic patterns inAvengers City Manhattan) and have to try to get into a server I barely have logged into in recent history.
From a writing perspective, Purple Converse is probably about 80% complete at 25,000 words, and Breathing Exercises is about 85% or so at 3,500 words. So, you know, progress?
For now, though, I need to actually get going for the day and possibly find a supply of cheap rubber ducks in MN for work because, really, if you are going to take a joke, you take it all the way.
Both boys also appeared to remember that they are teens with hormones and really and truly wished to express this. It did not end well for anyone involved. Currently, their grandmother has been kind enough to take them for the weekend so that infanticide is not in the cards, and
wolfie74 has attempted to lock them out of the internet fully, thus ruining their lives. Unfortunately, she managed to accidentally zap the access to my iPad at the same time, thus I have no internets save for logging into the server right now. That's not all bad as I have gotten a crap ton of writing done, but it is a bit of a pain when I need to look something up (say, travel times via car via the QE from Two Harbors to Manhattan and/or traffic patterns in
From a writing perspective, Purple Converse is probably about 80% complete at 25,000 words, and Breathing Exercises is about 85% or so at 3,500 words. So, you know, progress?
For now, though, I need to actually get going for the day and possibly find a supply of cheap rubber ducks in MN for work because, really, if you are going to take a joke, you take it all the way.
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Phone rings at 5:15 am, wolfie74 answers to find an automated message about a rarity here in MN: school has been canceled. For those born and bred in MN, this is like a call to arms: you will get up and you will plan on a long and early commute involving spinouts and profanity and very loud music.
Youngest's alarm goes off at 5:30 am. I tell him, "Happy Un-Birthday! School is canceled for the day!" His response? To ask if I would like him to feed the animals before he goes back to bed, to check which final exam he will be missing, and to announce that there is, and I quote, "a fuck-ton of snow outside."
Eldest's alarm goes off ten minutes later. I tell him, "Get up, take your pill, and go back to bed - school is canceled for the day." His response? He does so, agrees with Youngest's assessment, and claims he does not care if he has to shovel because, and I quote, "it's like a Snow Day or something."
Before you bitch about letting them wake up and not letting them sleep in, know they do best with routines or semi-routines and this would actually cause the least confusion for them both. Before you mock Eldest's confusion, remember we just moved towards the country less than two years ago and last year there was a drought of snow so this is the first time they have had a full day off and not just a late start.
Off to get ready for work and wonder just how many people will call in considering others took premptive PTO already. The plows have been going since 3 am, so hopefully this won't be quite so harrowing of a drive? Plus, you know, it's pretty.
wolfie74 answers to find an automated message about a rarity here in MN: school has been canceled. For those born and bred in MN, this is like a call to arms: you will get up and you will plan on a long and early commute involving spinouts and profanity and very loud music.Youngest's alarm goes off at 5:30 am. I tell him, "Happy Un-Birthday! School is canceled for the day!" His response? To ask if I would like him to feed the animals before he goes back to bed, to check which final exam he will be missing, and to announce that there is, and I quote, "a fuck-ton of snow outside."
Eldest's alarm goes off ten minutes later. I tell him, "Get up, take your pill, and go back to bed - school is canceled for the day." His response? He does so, agrees with Youngest's assessment, and claims he does not care if he has to shovel because, and I quote, "it's like a Snow Day or something."
Before you bitch about letting them wake up and not letting them sleep in, know they do best with routines or semi-routines and this would actually cause the least confusion for them both. Before you mock Eldest's confusion, remember we just moved towards the country less than two years ago and last year there was a drought of snow so this is the first time they have had a full day off and not just a late start.
Off to get ready for work and wonder just how many people will call in considering others took premptive PTO already. The plows have been going since 3 am, so hopefully this won't be quite so harrowing of a drive? Plus, you know, it's pretty.
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