Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in No Woman Born's LiveJournal:

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Monday, April 18th, 2011
5:51 pm	Well, hi. I need to check in here more often. I'm clearly missing some important stuff by mostly being on Facebook. Yeesh. Blame a slow computer at home. Everything takes forever on it, and I try to not be on certain distracting sites too often at work. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, January 7th, 2011
11:14 am	Arisia Roll call: who's planning to be there next weekend? I'll be doing the Geeky Belly Dance Show again this year, Sunday 1/16 4:00-6:00 in Ballroom AB. Still kind of anxious about my own part in it, but it sounds like some fantastic routines will be performed--you should come watch and cheer the dancers on! Zaghareets Wookiee-style are always appreciated. I'm also still looking for roommates for my hotel room (a Double). I've got one pretty-definite friend, and one likely-maybe stranger and one unsure-but-possible friend. Which isn't certain enough for me. I'd like to split costs 4 ways, for all three nights of the con. Anyone know anyone looking for a room that doesn't mind if it's taken over on Sunday for show prep and storage? (Man, I haven't been on here in ages...) (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010
10:42 am	The origami dragon brought it up I just had a discussion with my boss about the significance of the unicorn motif in the Blade Runner movie vs. the book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". He couldn't remember the origami unicorn at all, or the dreams of unicorns that Deckard has. Now I can't remember if it's only in the director's cut. Anyone? Also: yay geeky boss. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
4:47 pm	I'm not getting older, but the birth certificate is Tomorrow is my birthday. I shall be 34*. Oddly enough, physically, mentally and emotionally, it's the best I've felt in years. Yay for exercise, introspection, trying new tactics and working on the Self. I'm in a better place than I was last year at this time, and last year I was in a better place than the year before that. Let's hope that trend continues. * Dar Williams' song below is specifically about turning 34, facing past mistakes and growing up vs. growing old, so I feel it's appropriate. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
11:20 pm	In which I babble *more* about allergies I got the rest of the full allergy test report today; I am confused. A lot. On the don't-much-care scale, it's apparently not all shellfish, but lobster, shrimp, and crab. Things with legs. So if there's no IgE detected for scallop, clam, and oyster...things like fish sauce and oyster sauce (used a lot in Asian dishes) should be fine, and I don't have to make substitutes. Great. And I'm not actually allergic to fish, it just nauseates me. I knew that. I avoid it anyway because of cross-contamination possibilities with shellfish. So walnuts show up as 0.46 kU/L (whatever the hell that means--spinach registered at 0.75--high--tomato at 0.43--low), which makes it a low positive. Under 0.35 makes it undetectable. It was advised that I avoid cayenne pepper and pecans, which show up as 0.37 and 0.38, respectively. Which means they're barely registering as having antibodies in my system. Which means fuck you, you can have my hot pepper when you pry it from my cold fingers. And I shall continue to (infrequently) enjoy pecans in baked goods. That's not the confusing part. No, the odd part is that one part says the allergen for milk is undetectable*. So I thought, hey, maybe they're testing for a different allergen than the proteins I react to (whey and casein). Further down...no, they tested for casein. The antibodies are undetectable. Now...now I'm wondering if all the reactions in the last few years were, in fact, related to spinach, and not milk at all. And if so...has the milk allergy actually gone away? Or is it something else I'm reacting to in the milk after all? (And yes, my first reaction involved the reckless impulse to find a bottle of milk and chug it to test. No, there's no milk in my house. Relax.) Then there's this: Doubt cast on many reports of allergies "People who receive a diagnosis after one of the two tests most often used — pricking the skin and injecting a tiny amount of the suspect food and looking in blood for IgE antibodies, the type associated with allergies — have less than a 50 percent chance of actually having a food allergy, the investigators found." So...maybe the casein negative and the pecan and tomato positives are wrong? "Food challenges"--the most reliable test of suspect foods--may need to happen. * Allergy tests have always said this, but I honestly thought they were testing something like lactose, which would be an intolerance, not an allergy. Or something. But I react to Cool Whip, which has sodium caseinate, a milk derivative, so...yeah. Maybe allergy tests aren't all that reliable. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
2:24 pm	More allergy babble I got a voicemail from the allergist elaborating a bit on the allergy test results: the nuts, in particular, are walnuts and pecans. He didn't mention the spinach, which is funny, as I'm pretty sure it's what's been the problem for years. He said tomatoes are probably fine to eat if I've never reacted, but I should avoid those nuts. Dammit. I really, really like using pecans in baking. Walnuts--whatever. But while I might find a nut to use in my favorite streusel recipe, I can't imagine substituting for pecan pie. But...I've never even reacted to nuts. What the hell? I don't want to make it worse by sensitizing myself with continued exposure, and nut allergies are really scary things, but...I've never had a reaction to them. Why? Oh, and peppers may become a problem. Motherf... Still: could be worse. Could be gluten. (Comment on this)
2:18 pm	surrounded by geeks "...and so we agree, then, that Holodeck sex is the reason Star Trek was unbelievable..." I did not catch the rest of that thought*, despite running back into the hall and shouting, "Wait. WHAT?" at them. But these are the people that work in my lab. And clearly I should get to know them better. * I asked one of them later. They were saying that the Holodeck was the fatal flaw of Star Trek, because if you had something that could generate any fantasy, why would anyone go into space? And you'd never come into the Holodeck and find it empty--there'd be a 6 month waiting list, because guys would be in there constantly, watching p0rn. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
10:46 am	God bless engineers I was having dinner with a friend last night, and part of the conversation contained this: Him: "...so there was this guy that always pranked other people, so Carl, he took a dildo..." Me: "What, he just had one lying around?" Him: "No, he and Kevin had this dildo juggling schtick they used to do all over campus. Anyway..." And of course the story had to stop there so we could discuss the logistics of balance and weight and how they factored into dildo juggling. I needed to share this. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
10:28 am	Memoria No puedo olvidar la pequeña sirena quién me canto tan dulcemente. Eres una fantasma hermosa que vive en las ruinas de mi corazón quebrado. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
10:23 am	Color meme So drwex gave me "orange" for the color meme. The meme goes: comment here and I will give you a color*. Then, in your journal, list ten things you love that are that color. And the toughest one, probably, is orange, because it's my least favorite color. At least...in design--for clothes (I really look horrible in it), or decor, etc.--I dislike it. If a less than pleasing hue is found in nature, I probably like it in that context. So. Things I like that are orange. 1. Sunsets. I love the colors the sun, sky and surrounding clouds turn as the sun sets, particularly contrasting the orange sun with the blue-purple clouds. 2. Marigolds. Just about any flower would work--I can't think of a flower I don't like--but marigolds are always some shade of orange (well, red-yellow range somewhere), and they're always cheery and abundant with sharing seeds for more. Also, useful for dissuading bugs from eating tomatoes I'm growing. 3. October. I associate months with colors, and fall (October in particular) is pumpkin-colored. I like pumpkins with their Halloween association, and I like the colors the oak leaves turn and contrast against the blue autumn sky, making them both appear more vibrant. I'm not usually a fan of the blue-orange complementary color scheme, but in that case, I am. 4. Sweet potatoes. I could make reference to the story of the dog being starving and eating the sweet potatoes because it's hilarious, but no, I've really loved these since I was a kid, and when I grew up I discovered I even liked them without the marshmallows and crumb topping, and felt vindicated when they started getting a lot of attention as being healthy, because Mom used to tell me I'd get fat for eating them. 5. Red hair. It used to bug me as a kid that hair that was clearly orange was called "red." Red was (and is) my favorite color, and I didn't like it being disparaged that way. But I grew to like the color on people quite a bit, and eventually started dyeing my own hair that color. It still singles people out visually faster than just about any other hair color, even blue. 6. Tangerines. Not oranges--tangerines. They're a welcome bit of brightness and sweetness in the winter months. 7. The moon. When the situation's right--such as during an eclipse--the moon turns lovely shades of orange, and it's beautiful and spellbinding. 8. Mangoes. They're kind of orange, on the inside, when really ripe. And mangoes remind me of tropical jungles and I adore them. 9. Tigers. Do I really need to explain why tigers are awesome? I love big cats, and those are some of the most graceful, independent, badass cats out there. They also happen to have a killer fashion sense. 10. Starburst. Strangely enough, though red seems to be more popular, I feel that many fake orange flavored candies and treats don't get the love they deserve. Much as I love real cherries and strawberries, their fake flavors are often less than pleasing. So when everyone else grabs the "better" flavors, I'm left with the tasty ones no one wants. I almost used "curacao," for similar reasons--it makes so many things taste better--but it's not actually orange. So. There you go. * Fair warning: I am a painter, I aced color theory class, and I worked in art supply retail for a few years. If you ask for this, I might be inspired to be awfully specific and go beyond the Crayola standard 8. (17 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 1st, 2010
12:29 pm	Movie: How to Train Your Dragon I saw How to Train Your Dragon last night with a friend. Wow. Now, of course I like animation, so I'm biased by things like amazing details in computer animation, as well as being big into dragons, but it was a great movie, and lots of fun. I loved the main dragon Toothless, who I kept calling "kitty!"...and wondered why he reminded me of Stitch (of Lilo & Stitch) until the credits revealed Chris Sanders (who created Stitch) had worked on him. Ah. That does explain why he appealed to me so much. The badass girl--despite her pride and arrogance--was also quite cool. I cannot quite get past the fact that the "Vikings" all had Scottish accents, though. That was just odd. Anyway. It was good. I have no idea why the theater was empty except for 6 people. I laughed and awww-ed a lot. You should go see it. Probably in 3D, which I now need to see it in. Because holy crap the flying scenes would be awesome then. There were entirely too many trailers that I now need to go see, though: The Last Airbender (M. Night Shyamalan? Really?) The Karate Kid remake with Jackie Chan Shrek Forever After (Fiona as Celtic War Queen? Yeah, I'll see that.) ...there were others, but I got distracted by dragons. (9 Comments |Comment on this)
12:16 pm	work snippet Setting: Lab meeting. I have very little understanding of what's being explained in the presentation, but apparently the rest of the researchers are having issues with it, too. Presenter: Do you need me to draw it for you? Other co-worker: Actually, I'd prefer interpretive dance. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
2:28 pm	snippet Setting: Office. I'm cleaning my new philodendron with banana peels while eating the banana. (Don't ask why this works, but it does, for most non-fuzzy houseplants--you can polish the leaves with the inside of banana peels. I don't remember what green/hippie website I picked it up from, but I'm terribly self-conscious that I look a bit...eccentric doing this in the new job. But the plant looked dingy.) A co-worker passes by. Me: I know it looks weird, but it works. Her: What? Me: The plant. I'm...um...polishing it. With banana peels. Her: Oh. I wasn't paying attention to what you were doing. Is that bad? Me: No, I just...feel conspicuous about looking crazy by doing this. Her: You haven't worked in a lab before, have you? That's nothing compared to what we do in the lab. No one here will think that's weird. Really. ...Awesome. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
11:51 pm	marshmallow shuriken I gave my cat a mini-marshmallow because it was fun to throw at her. She thought it was fun to play with. Win-win. Watching her get it stuck on her claw and flail helplessly was an added bonus. But I still can't figure out how she managed to get it stuck to the door frame at my shoulder height. That cat has hidden ninja powers. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
8:41 pm	Missives into the void Uterus started demanding tribute STOP Decided to eschew ice cream and that Oreos covered in chocolate sauce and Cool Whip were sufficient STOP Then oh god it made me lick the plate STOP War is hell STOP Please STOP Send more cookies STOP P.S. Feeling better. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
9:12 pm	5 minutes before the library closed "And now it's almost time...bring your selections to the circulation desk to check out. If you were napping, wake up! If you still have a laptop out...I'm not angry. Just disappointed. Very, very disappointed." I think I need to be there more often when that guy is closing up the library. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, February 5th, 2010
3:22 pm	Valentinr Oh, what the hell... Get your own valentinr (Comment on this)
Friday, November 13th, 2009
4:33 pm	Raks Spooki--this Sunday! Come see us dance! Raks Spooki IV: A Gothic Belly Dance Event presented by Badriya al-Badi'a Sunday, November 15, 7pm The Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street, Arlington, MA Tickets: $17, available at the Regent Theatre box office or at the door If Halloween is the time when the boundaries between worlds are opened, Raks Spooki is the time to see what has slipped through the veils and stayed in this world! Come see all aspects of the darker side of belly dance explored at the fourth annual Raks Spooki, from the elegantly enigmatic to the morbidly macabre to the archly humorous to the utterly unclassifiable. This year's roster of performers draws from a variety of belly dance backgrounds from the traditional to the tribal and include: Ameena, Aneckha, Aradia, Aria Beth Michaels, Atropos (Baseema), Badriya al-Badi'a, Di'Ahna, Ela Rogers, Eugenia, Johara's Snakedance Theatre, Katrina, Naomi, Neylan, Paloma, Qamar, Sabrina, Sabrina L., Samara, Selcouth, Tassellations, Tempest and Vadalna Tribal Dance Company. As the standing-room-only audiences of previous years can attest, this is a show you will not soon forget! Proceeds from the event will be donated to Women for Women, a non-profit organization which helps women in war-torn regions of the world get back on their feet and start rebuilding their lives. Currently, they are focused on Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Kosovo, Rwanda, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some of these are places where our dance movements, costuming and jewelry come from. Using what women of the world have given us from our relative place of peace and safety, we can make real differences in the lives of other women. In exercising our freedom to dance in this country, we can help women around the world gain their own freedom from war, poverty and injustice. Badriya is an Arlington-based performer of both gothic and traditional Arabic belly dance styles. For more information, see http://users.rcn.com/badriya/ (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
12:25 pm	Reflexes Reflexes vs. falling glass container (I caught the metal top, does that count?): Fail Glass vs. tile floor: Fail Realizing the resulting earsplitting crash at 2am wasn't enough to make the neighbors call 911: Win Calloused soles vs. shards: Win Tender skin on top of feet vs. ninja projectile shards: Fail Easy to clean, non-absorbent floors: Win Finding new, acrylic cotton ball jar at Target: Win (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, October 5th, 2009
8:58 pm	Here lie the heads of my enemies. ...They were delicious. Ninja heads! Originally uploaded by cheshirekat These are buckeye candies, with a couple eyeholes. Given that I'm not from Ohio and have no reason to glorify the buckeye theme, this recipe may become ninja heads from now on. (18 Comments |Comment on this)