Last year was absolute disaster for me, as I neither plotted, nor planned the story out. Normally stories come to me, but without some key plotting, it falls through. This year, however, will be different, as I’ve plotted most of it, and I also have some handy-dandy articles on Grammar, in which case I knew almost everything I read. I thought I’d be learning something new, but I suppose not.

Now, once nanowrimo.org stops being the slowest site on the face of the Internet, I will update my profile and install the plugin again. :D Win!

Obama won the presidential race, and before I continue, I’m going to cut off the entry. I really don’t like talking about politics; however, I still want to voice some concerns, and I feel giving people a choice to hear me out is much better than forcing it down their throats.

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First off, I didn’t vote. I’m of age, but I didn’t really feel the need to vote. Key word: didn’t, past tense. I honestly wish I had, as I really would have liked to tick “yes” for Gay marriage, as well as vote for Obama (or possibly neither; I still have doubts). However, this was a lesson well taught, so I will be voting in the future.

Both candidates had some amazing points, but both had some not-so-amazing points, such as Obama’s 6-month abortion policy. I believe in choice, but not to the extent of killing a child at such a late stage. It’s hypocritical, yes, but it’s still gruesome, and I can honestly see women using the excuse to get out of a rut they threw themselves into.

Another issue is helping the poor. Of course, this’ll lead to the middle-class suffering more than they already are, as we’ll be paying to help the poor. In my honest-to-God opinion, if Obama wants to help the poor, there’s need to be change. I understand disabilities and retirement, I understand some families who are truly poor, but I don’t understand some families using the excuse. If rich and middle-class families have to pay their way, why can’t the poor? Are the poor really that better off living off of someone else’s tax dollars instead helping themselves? It’s not fair in my eyes, to the rich or the middle-class, it’s not fair at all.

Besides these concerns, I’m still happy. I won’t point out Palin’s “flaws” (as it were), as I really don’t believe in pointing them out in such a manner, but let’s just say having Palin in office would have been disastrous to the already-rebellious teen world of the US, and to everyone else, really.

It was 2005 (…I think), and I was sort-of, kind-of getting into romance novels. I loved them, sucked all of them up like a vampire woken from the grave after 1,000 years and thirsting for blood. I couldn’t get enough! I did thriller, romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, you name it! If it had romance (of the sex kind, and Twilight is not of that kind), I was reading it. When I ventured across Suzanne Brockmann’s Navy SEAL series, I was instantly hooked. When I bought Hot Target, with the infamous character, FBI Agent (and openly, fabulously gay) Jules, I was even more excited with the series, because I felt there wasn’t enough same-sex relationships–much less people who were gay!–in Literature today.

I’ve always been a supporter of gay rights–having open-minded parents and a gay Uncle helps, hm?–but I had never explored how I really felt about it. I didn’t hate it, I just…didn’t know how I felt about it. In Hot Target, the sexual tension that happened between Jules, and his future husband, Robin (the main character’s brother) was…so intense. I read it from beginning to end without putting it down (back in the day when I couldn’t read a book in under six hours, but that’s for another day), and was very unsatisfied when I realised their story was not through.

Another thing? I listened to Forget It by Breaking Benjamin, hitting reply on my stereo ALL NIGHT LONG. This snippet stood out to me the most:

It’s a crime you let it happen to me
Out of mind, I love it, easy to please
Nevermind, forget it, just memories
On a page inside a spiral notebook

The entire song (you can read the lyrics at azlyrics.com ») is them in that book. It’s such a tragic song in it’s own right, and yet explains away so many words that cannot be said. That, my friends and viewers, is how I ended up getting into slash (for those who don’t know: a same sex pairing). I started with Harry/Draco from Harry Potter (which, along with Arthur/Merlin from Merlin, will always be my OTP), Arthur/Merlin from Merlin, Jack/Ianto from Torchwood, Brian/Justin from Queer as Folk (that is a given, kthnx) and even L/Light from the anime, Death Note. Yes, I am so very…well, I obviously have too much free time on my hands.

Now, after I finish The Taboolistings » of course, I will endeavour to write the most angsty Arthur/Merlin piece of fic based off that song, because Christina » has me dishing out the most angsty crap ever and I need practise. Watch out, it’ll make you cry (and she will, too).

Reading… Gena Showalter’s latest book, The Darkest Lie, from her series The Lords of the Underworld, which was fabulous (and also happened to contain one of my favourite characters!). I also have be re-reading Jacquelyn Frank’s Shadowdweller series, which is just so… intense! The grammar is so great, the writing style feels so old, and… I’m just at a loss for words. It’s gorgeous. ♥

Listening… Puscifer! I’m such a Maynard fangirl, I’m surprised I just got into one of his many projects, but I love almost electronic feel to it! So far, I love the Drunk With Power (Version 2), Rev 22:20 (Dry Martini Mix) and The Undertaker (Renholder Mix) songs. :D

Coding… a little of this and that… I’ve been working on a secret project–three, actually!–which lean more towards CSS and graphic design, but since I managed to code a imagemap without the tag, I figure that’s worth my vacation from PHP.

Excited… to watch the latest season of The IT Crowd, aaah! The sister and I promised we’d wait for the season to end to watch them all – that’s how we do it! – and I can’t wait for it! *rubs hands together*

Making… icons! I’m not very good at them, but sometimes (mostly when I’m procrastinating), I open up my graphics program, and just go to town. I like to think of it as my way to relieve The Stress of Life.

Admiring… Homotography » (I promise the site is cleaner than the title hints at!) – introduced to me by Christina », unsurprisingly – and I just love this blog! As the subtitle says, it’s a site that has “photography with homosexual tendencies”, in both female and male tendencies (yes, I totally just referenced itself!). I just love the photography, really¹.

Watching… some delicious new movies, including Clash of the Titans, Remember Me (by force, and no, it wasn’t good) and The Book of Eli. I think I may be – wait for it – …picky. It just seems that the void inside me can’t be filled. When I think, “this could be a movie I can replay over and over and over and annoy the parents with!”, but alas, the last movies to fill that void have been Sherlock Holmes and The Wolfman.

Cooking… black beans! :D

I had no idea what I was doing when I was making these; the Mom called me, said “cook these, they’re kind of like 15 Bean Soup~”² and I was like, “…OK”, and there we have it. They were delicious, though, especially with the yellow rice!

Taking a Photo of… The Dad’s motorcycle! He had it in the shop for… well, over a year, and he just finished his course to get his motorcycle license (and scored the highest grade on the written exam – like the man needed anything more to go to his head).

And Nay-Nay, who was giving me a side glance so reminiscent of my own that I just had to post it. She learned from the best, after all (if you click the photo for the larger version, you can kind of see me in her eye).

Playing… Megan McCauley – Porcelain Doll ». I just recently got my hands on Megan’s 2007 album, Better Than Blood, and I just fell more in love with her, if that was at all possible in the five years I’ve been worshipping her. *hoards music player*

Remodelling… zee living room, courtesy of the sister and I!

Ignoring the crap quality of the photo, we moved around pretty much everything besides the TV (not pictured), because of the cable cord. We like it, though, because it opens it up quite a bit. :D

(The next “Just a Minute…” won’t nearly be so image-heavy, promise!)

1. « AND I SWEAR MY ICON FOR THIS ENTRY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY FEELINGS TOWARDS THAT SITE, OR THAT IT CAME FROM THAT SITE EVEN THOUGH THAT PARTICULAR EDITORIAL MAY OR MAY NOT BE THERE.
2. « “15 Bean Soup”, for those that don’t know the recipe, is ground sausage and kielbasa browned with celery and onion, and then cooked with the bean mix (fifteen different kind of beans, as the title says), stewed tomatoes and the Cajun seasoning that comes with the beans.