"Hello? Christmas? Where did you go?"

I apologize for my lack of posts recently. I've been trying to relax in the two weeks I have. But between sleepless nights and an over-active imagination any other time, things just don't bode well. (Especially when one likes to sleep in, but the rest of the family cannot)

I've sat and reflected on Christmas alot recently. I remember the feeling I used to get come the time we put the tree up, the smell of cookies and the Apple Pie scented oil that seemed to always become really strong around the season. And for some reason, that feeling is lost on me. This year just doesn't feel as Christmassy as it should, and I don't know why.

In years past, My friends would give me gifts on the fridays before winter break. Now the one friend I talk to most often (Who I'm hoping I'll see on Saturday - Christmas Eve, no less) keeps telling me that he does not want anything from me. It's not that I want those gifts, though I dearly love the sea monkeys that Krystal got for me last year. It's that I miss the friends that would give them.

And there's also this 'War on Christmas' thing, with Bill O'reily. Thanks alot, Mr. O'reily.

We really aren't very religious, but we celebrate Christmas for the fact that it is a family tradition. Though watered-down as it may have become. We do not have the smell of a real tree in our house, as it was always a hassle to get the tree and water it regularly, and deal with the nettles. No, a few years back when we moved into our most recent house, we bought one of the fiber-optic light-up trees. We have two boxes of ornaments, but this year, The Brother and I didn't put all of them on because it seemed the tree was just too small.

I'm wondering where along this line of things that we have dropped for whatever reason, where have I dropped my Christmas Spirit? All the covers of Christmas songs now just ring as annoyances when I hear them in the shops, occassionally punctuated by announcements over the loudspeakers to "Take advantage of our christmas savings now! All items 20 percent off sticker price!". No snow, this is the south. I'll be happy if it at leasts rains on Christmas Day, however.

I don't know. Maybe something happened to some random cog or spring inside of me, and my Holiday Receptor has been turned off. But at least my younger brother gets the concept of it: Christmas is when you Get Stuff. Maybe Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards Men will come later.

And for now, I guess that will do.

Puddle Jumping

My Sea of Stars

Krystal and I used to have this metaphor, back when we were in Washington for the summer. We would say that those with a vast amount of depth were the ocean, and everyone else who you knew were only pretty on the surface were like puddles in the street. It was wonderful knowing Krystal, because in a sense, she was my ocean.

I'm not normally one to have "best friends forever", because it usually never lasts. But Krystal was the first I really felt I could grow old with. Not everything needed to be laughed at, (Though we laughed a lot) and we habitually spent any nights together up all night, trying to play some obscure board game. When we went to Washington, we participated in our first rennaisance faires, both playing some nameless scottish girls. It was there we found our deeper love for celtic and gaelic music, and I taught her to sing "Under the Scotsman's Kilt" (All the Family in WA would sing it rather jauntily, and laugh afterwards.)

Krystal had a depth to her I have not found since in anyone else. Now it's all talk about sex, who's fine, who isn't, and stupid jokes like that. I miss having a connection like that to someone I knew I could trust.

So, I talked to Krystal for a bit yesterday around 10:30 at night, when I noticed she was on. We talked about how we both felt horrible for screwing up a really great friendship. I apologized, and so did she. I still don't know if we're going to have a second go at it, but at least we both admit we were wrong, and we also admit that we missed each other. Because, while Tyler calls everyday and we generally have fun on the phone, nothing equals sitting in silence with Krystal, knowing that we were thinking the exact same thing.

So, today I'm going to sit by the phone and hope it's from my angel-faced ocean, the one who traps stars in her tangled tapestry, the one I truly miss.

-Flip
(PS: Krystal is also a crazy great photographer, now that she has her fancy new camera. Check it out.)

The great A'Tuin

Some People are just BLESSED with skills

I've been toying with the idea of playing with molds and plaster and such to make a Flip maquette, but this just blew me away. Woah. :o

Underwater Camera Case

Ooooh. Shiny.

My camera's taken quite a licking this past year. (Having been flung across a room once, dropped, almost lost, and the lens being taken off by my grandfather's parrot Zeek.) But it has held up exceptionally well. I'm very pleased with it. I think all I'd want for it, is a bigger memory card, and this nifty underwater accessory. You know, for those macro images of the tiny little shrimp in the frigid northerly waters of University Place. :D

*Whistles*
-Flip

Dear Cthulhu

I'm a horrible cultist. D:

Oh Great Cthulhu!

I have been an extremely assiduous devotee this year.

In January, I made a burnt offering to the Dead Dreamer (100 points). In June, I sacrificed rachie_b13 to Cthulhu (500 points). In October, I rammed a ship into you (sorry Cthulhu!) (-1000 points). In December, I stopped sexy_ferret from defiling Lovecraft's grave (-20 points). In February, I legally changed my name to Randolph Carter (-40 points). In March, I burnt my copy of the Necronomicon (-75 points).

In short, I have been very bad (-535 points) and deserve to be sent to sleep with the Deep Ones.

Your humble and obedient servant,
flipgarrison

Submit your own plea to Cthulhu!

Based on a similar Meme, Dear Santa. >_o

I'm a bad geek.

Alchemist

I'm not really a Naruto fan, but I watch it when Tivo records it. (Don't know why it does, but it does.)

Found this site via Mac Hall, and looked at the headbands. Hawk from AG has one custom made with the power symbol, and I personally like the Alchemist one. :D I want to see if I can order one for my birthday... Or maybe make my own design. Any ideas? :D

I have to go to bed now. I'm about ready to pass out. D: I've been posting and reading on AG like crazy.
-Flip

Forums

Well, I'm now a member of the Applegeeks Forum. I really should have joined sooner, but the truth is... I try to avoid forums like the plague.

You see, I don't like to brag, but I consider myself a rather intellectual person. At least above common shortcuts such as "u" and "lol" (Well, most of the time.)
I try to spell correctly, and usually when I spell something wrong, it's because I'm either too lazy to go and click the Check Spelling button, or I really don't know how to spell it. (And the Check Spelling button is no help.)

But sentences such as:
"Hawk or any 1 else what would u use to make a movie. like a program"

Now, this sentence has a proper structure. But the "any1" and the usual U is a real turn-off for me. :( But it could be worse.

Oh well. Hopefully my 'newbie' label will wear off soon and I can work my way up to social ladder in the forum. Hawk and Anath are both very generous men, and take the time to talk to thier people. It's not like they think they're above their readers.
And that's why I love them. :D

'Scuse me now, for I will go answer questions about Photoshop and such. :D

(This post was stupid and random.)
-Flip

The Thing about Fletchers

Decorating the Tree

My brother is very intuitive. More so than I think others give him credit for. As I hinted at here, some people may not take him as seriously as they should. He's autistic, not stupid.

Granted, it does make it hard to live with him some days, but today was a good day. Dad keeps insisting that I blog it, so I will. (This is also to repay Mom for being snarky this morning.)

Fletcher came home around his usual time, and after checking the mail, came in and did his usual stuff. I asked him if he had a good day at school and what he did, and instead of replying "math" like always, he tells me "reading". So I asked him what he read. "I spy treasure hunt." Well, that's new. So, I log him into the computer so he can play and fix him some hot cocoa (Then later realizing that someone left a k-cup in there again, so again he had a Kilimanjaro mocha. u_u')

And, as usual, we sit there on our respective computers like we do most normal days. But no, today is December first, which means it has a certain significance, at least to a certain autistic brother. He comes over and does his little hovering thing where he sits just on the edge of your line of sight and shifts his weight uneasily from foot to foot until you pay attention to him. So I asked what he needs, and he replied with "Tree please"

Oh. The Christmas tree.

I don't know why I always end up putting it up, but I do. I'm not complaining, I'm just noting at the trend that unwittingly seems to fall on me each year. Oh well, I go out into the garage to get our short little fiber-optic light-up Christmas tree (Never will I get a real live Christmas tree.) And I spend a few minutes putting things together and trying to make it more shapely. But for some reason, it's not as shapely as it was in past years, but oh well.

On the top of the first box of ornaments are our five stockings. (One for each of us, Dad, Mom, Pooh, myself and my brother) and I ask him where we were going to hang them up. Of course, I was being rhetorical, but he takes the stocking from my hand and shows me an apparently ideal spot in the hallway. Hm. Okay, I guess. It's new, it's fresh... So we'll see. (Unfortunately, we were out of tacks, so dad was going to help us out later.)

And where in the world did we get so many of these Christmas ornaments? I must not remember correctly, because it seems like we have a whole three boxes of them when only half a box will fit on the tree. But, Fletcher dives right in and starts putting baubles and pinecones covered in glitter glue into the tree.

I guess I should mention that while he just LOVES fiber optics, he will for the life of him never touch them. Maybe he's afraid of getting burned or electrocuted or something, but when he dropped a little wooden ornament into the tree, he was really hesitant about fishing it out. I kept trying to urge him on, and finally he tries to grab it while using his t-shirt for protection. Aha. I took him into the kitchen where my mom keeps her sterile gloves. (Being a scrub-tech means you can take home this stuff I guess) I fixed him up with a pair of the wired smelling latex hand-guards, and for the moment, he can touch anything he darn-well pleases.

He goes and gets the ornament out of the tree, and hangs it up no problem.

So we finish putting together the fauxtannebaum thing, such as it is, and continue on our merry. I took pictures throughout, but being the idiot child that I am, I only figured out how to turn off my flash and macro mode tonight after messing with it in my room. D'oh! (And how long have I had it? Let's see... Nearly an exact 365 DAYS? x_x)

So, this is my holiday special to all you folks because my Dad said I should. :D

Wow, it's 11 PM. I should sleep. >_> (But sleepiness is weakness of character!)

-Flippy