Oops!

That was scary.  I accidentally attempted to log into Blogger using my other Gmail, the one that doesn't have anything attached.  For a moment I thought someone had hijacked my account and deleted everything.  We now return you to your regularly unscheduled blog, already in progress.

Yes, I Am Alive

I really didn't mean to go another month without posting, but life has a way of interfering with plans.  The cable's off at home, so I've been getting by on public terminals (That's a Mass Effect 2 reference, if anyone cares).  My job search continues, so far without any positive results, but I am still hopeful.

My therapy was on hold for a few weeks because Cassandra was traveling, but we had a good session yesterday, and we're back on schedule for the next couple of months.  Remember that "chuffed" feeling I had a while ago?  When I arrived yesterday, the receptionist let her know by saying, "Jaye is here for her appointment".  It's nice to be known as myself.

Just a Thought

"Statistically, the probability of any one of us being here is so small that the mere fact of our existence should keep us all in a state of contented dazzlement." - Lewis Thomas

I don't know about the rest of you, but statements like that give me a little endorphin rush.  Would anyone else like to share in my wondrous tizzy?

Something Light

This blog has been all doom and gloom of late.  I need to post something to improve the atmo.  "Change the scheme, alter the mood, electrify the boys and girls," to quote Michael Sheen's character Castor from Tron: Legacy.

I can't remember if I've ever talked about Cowboy Bebop here.  It's an anime series that first ran in 1998.  It's about a group of bounty hunters ("cowboys") in 2071, who travel the solar system in the spaceship Bebop.  It's equal parts drama and comedy, with bits of tragedy laid in here and there.  The animation is a hybrid of the traditional hand-drawn stuff with some CGI.  The visuals are incredible, but one of the aspects that hooked me was the music, mostly written by the very-talented Yoko Kanno.  All of the songs were performed by a sort of house band called The Seatbelts.  Most of the compositions are jazz, but the Seatbelts played rock and other styles with equal skill and artistry.  They recorded a great raft of material for the series' 26 episodes (Sessions) and one movie, but they only performed live a handful of times.  One of those performances was included on a limited edition DVD, Souvenir of Tokyo.  This is one of the lighter numbers.  It's called "Bad Dog, No Biscuits" and it originally appeared in Session Two, "Stray Dog Strut".



The kooky lady in the red coat is Ms. Kanno herself.  Enjoy!

The Wrong Shoes

My epitaph will probably read:

"She was wearing the wrong shoes."

It's the story of my life.  Wore sneakers to soccer practice because I didn't know I was supposed to buy cleats.  I've worn spike heels to the mall because they matched my outfit.  I once had to pull a twelve-hour shift at a hotel in really girly-looking heels because my regular work shoes fell apart while I was getting dressed, and I didn't have any male shoes that could substitute.

There's a branch of the local public library about two miles from where I'm living.  It's a decent walk when the weather's nice.  I was going to go this morning, but I got busy puttering around the house, and by the afternoon, it had gotten too warm.  I wouldn't have pushed for it, but I ran out of anything to read, and I get antsy when I don't have a book near to hand.

After dinner, my sister and her husband announced they were going to WalMart, and I asked if they'd drop me off at the library on the way.  They did, and said I could text them when I was ready to go home.  It only occurred to me when they left that I was wearing flip-flops.  I'd meant to change before we took off, but it slipped my mind. 

I have owned sandals that are meant to be walked in.  These are not that kind.  They're Airwalk, a brand I bought at Payless.  They've got simple hard rubber soles (patterned like Converse sneakers) with denim-like cloth thongs.  I could have waited for them to finish at the store.  It might've meant sitting outside the library for twenty minutes after closing, but I felt like walking.  Curse my feelings. 

I was halfway home when I decided I'd had enough, so I sent a text asking if I should wait where I was or press on for home.  They advised me it would be another twenty minutes or so, so I kept on walking.  They caught up to me just as I turned onto our street.

I think I walked these poor shoes into their grave.  It's time to buy new shoes.  Maybe I'll get some after my tax refund comes.

I Did It

I said I wanted to change the title of the blog, and I did so.  Jenny gave me the idea.  I wanted to keep something of the old (my name) but I dropped the "Trans" and also the redundant "Blog".  I don't know about other countries, but here in the States, "jaywalking" is anytime one crosses the street anywhere but at a designated crosswalk, and in a lot of localities, that's a crime, albeit a minor one.  So it's got a subversive edge, something that's been lacking in me lately.

Edit: Since I posted this, I've discovered there is already a blog at http://www.jaye-walking.com/.  It seems I'm not half so clever as I thought.  Maybe they'll let me slide, seeing as I haven't tried to gank their URL or anything, but the writer of the other blog seems to be a law student, and they might be litigious.  Time will tell.

Holiday Greetings from Jabba the Hutt

This is actually a couple of weeks old, and it's now the day after Christmas, but I posted the Muppet version of "Carol of the Bells" last year, and I didn't think I should go another year without something holiday-themed, so I present this little gem, courtesy of Paul and Storm:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWqthNlzoEI

On a related note, I met my niece's boyfriend's nephew yesterday. He's a little 7 month-old boy named "Jaxom", who was named for the character from Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. His mother was so impressed that I knew who she named her son after. I told her I was well-versed in the "classics".

Moved

Here's my first post from my new place. It's tiny, compared to my last two apartments, but it's still a decent size, with two rooms and a full bath. Kitchen facilities are limited to a microwave and refrigerator, so it looks like I'm back to frozen dinners and ramen noodles. Maybe I'll lose some weight this way.

I'm only a mile or so from where I was living before, so a lot of the local businesses I used to walk to are still at a walkable distance, albeit further away. This is good, as I really need to get back into the nail salon. With all the work of the move, boxing stuff and manhandling furniture, my nails look a fright. I've managed to break a few, so in order to keep them at a length I like, I may go acrylic. I've heard that the polish used in French and American manicures adheres to acrylic better, so that may be the way to go, at least for a time.

I won't give away my new address, but I get a chuckle every time I read the new street name. It's spelled "D-E-E-R-R-U-N-N" There's a Todd Snider song called "Beer Run" about two drunken losers who cut out of a concert to try to get beer, and get taken for a ride. The chorus involves repeating "B-double E-double R-U-N". So now I get "D-double E-double R-U-double N". ;-)

I guess you have to be here.

10

Here's another geeky idea. Today is the tenth of October, in the year 2010. I'm setting this to post at 1010, EDT, so it'll appear at 1010, on 10-10-10.

King of Pain

So I'm at work, and The Police's King of Pain comes on over the lobby music machine. Synchronicity is one of my all-time favorite albums, one of those rare discs I mentioned in the previous post where I love the whole thing. I first owned it on cassette, and I'm onto my second CD version. Anyway, I've been singing King of Pain since 1983, and I know it by heart. As I go into the elevator, I'm singing along softly, "There's a little black spot on the sun today..."

I continued singing as I got off on the third floor and bought a Coke Zero out of the machine there. I kept on as I went down the stairs to Two, where I stopped and got a little bag of Baked Lays out of the snack machine. Then I continued down the stairs to the lobby, and came out singing, "There's a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt" in perfect time with the music coming out of the ceiling.

Yeah, I'm a nerd. :)

Scary Monsters

The photo to the left is one I ganked off of yesterday's Go Fug Yourself. The three people in it are, left to right: Madonna's daughter Lourdes, Taylor Momsen (who is apparently an actress or something) and Madonna.

The first thing that grabbed me was Momsen's eye makeup. Holy hell! That girl's wearing more eyeliner than I have in my whole life. Then I got a look at Lourdes's outfit.

Let's see, she's wearing a leather jacket (with the sleeves pulled up) over an unbuttoned flannel shirt, over a tunic, with ripped(!) tights and either heavy socks or leg warmers(?!) tucked into ugly boots.

Madonna, on the other hand, looks almost normal. The platforms on her shoes almost look like hooves.

There's enough Nightmare Fuel in this photo to last for weeks.

Taylor Momsen's boots are pretty cool, though.

I really need to get some shopping in.

World War II: Worst TV Series Ever

I didn't write this. I don't even know the writer. A friend of a friend's friend pointed me toward it, and I feel compelled to share.

http://squid314.livejournal.com/275614.html

That's some of the finest satire I've read in a long time.

Apropos of Nothing

I saw two little news items this week that tickled my funny bone. Item one:

http://www.journalstandard.com/opinions/columnists/x1600618702/MY-VIEW-Game-ends-for-Touchdown-Jesus

A six-story high statue of Jesus in Ohio was struck by lightning Monday night and burned to the ground. Around the same time in North Carolina, the following occurred:

http://www.wcnc.com/home/Big-Foot-spotting-in-Cleveland-County-96348919.html

Check out the man's sketch of his sasquatch. Looks remarkably Jesus-like.

That's all for that. It's meaningless and possibly even offensive, but I just had to share.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I was out in the yard watching my nephews for a bit this afternoon while dinner was being prepared. They were playing with a miniature badminton/tennis set, but they weren't using as intended. They're six and seven, so I cut them some slack. Anyway, I glanced away for a moment, and I hear the youngest shout, "You hit my boob!".

I turned around to see what was wrong. His brother whacked him high up on the chest, almost at the shoulder, with a ball. I told him, "That's your chest. Little boys don't have boobs."

I can't believe I said that.

Thank you for your consideration, I think

I took a walk through Olde Towne this afternoon. I had to drop a couple of pieces into the mail (model parts for friends in England and Wales), and decided to trek through the neighborhood on the way home. I spotted this sign in front of a Baptist church/private school I attended when I was a child.

Their spelling is atrocious, but I suppose it's the thought that counts.

Self Publishing Gone Hideously Awry

I saw this posted in a hobby forum under the title "Self Publishing Gone Hideously Awry". If you click through the title, it takes you to an Amazon page for a woman selling her own self-published religious tome.

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now With Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!"

Button, Button

There's a movie coming out today entitled The Box, with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. They play a couple with money troubles. Out of the blue, a box appears on their doorstep, featuring a big red button under a glass dome. Later, a man arrives, telling them that if they press the button, a stranger will die, but they will be paid $1,000,000.

The film is based on a 1970 Richard Matheson short story, "Button, Button". I guess after the huge financial success of I Am Legend, someone in Hollywood decided Matheson was bankable again.

I'm not greedy or anything, but if said box landed on my porch, I'd press the button as many times as they'd let me. A million dollars would be enough to pay all my debts, cover all of my near-future expenses (moving, hormones, et al) and leave me a nice little nest egg. Who knows, maybe I could finance my own lobby and buy a couple Congress-critters. Get 'em to ram ENDA through both houses and onto the President's desk.

Yeah, a Senate sub-committee held the first hearing on a trans-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act since 2002. Oddly enough, no trans people were at the hearing.

Sesame Street

I used to watch Sesame Street, when I was little. This week is the fortieth anniversary of the show, and to commemorate that, the last three days Google has featured characters from the show in their header. Wednesday the "L" in Google was Big Bird's legs. The day after, Cookie Monster had his mouth all over the top, like he was "Nom, nom, nom"-ing the search box. Today it's Bert and Ernie, television's first socially acceptable gay couple. Ba-doom boom.

Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week. Please don't forget to tip your waitresses.

Sorry. It's been a long, stressful week, and I thought a little levity would lighten the atmosphere.

EDIT: Yes. Yes! I KNOW Bert and Ernie are not really gay. That's one of those horrible urban legends, dating back to the early 90s, at least. It was meant as a joke. One in poor taste, perhaps, but a joke all the same.

G Is For Gender...

I saw this on Genderfork the other day. It's silly as hell, but it looks like they had a lot of fun making it. If that is what it means to be genderqueer, count me in.

If Only It Were This Easy

You've probably seen this elsewhere on the web, but I'm at a loss for anything to post right now, and most of the blogs in my reading list are full of such heavy stuff, that I thought I'd try for a little levity.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5171112/japanese-boob-claw-machine-is-another-bad-way-to-claw-at-boobs

Only in Japan.