After a major hiatus, A Small Drop of Ink is back up.

lifestudios, you said you wanted to read my fic. Well, now you can.:)

According to my LJ, I haven't updated in two weeks! My internet has been acting up these past few days. Like, today is the first day it's connected since, like...Tuesday. *pets my sick little computer* But it seems to be okay now! I'm trying to become less internet-dependent and spend more time in the "real world", but without LJ, it's like "where are my friends? I miss them!"

Nothing really exciting has been happening anyway. I did find Daybreak on DVD at Target for serious, like, $6 and some change. AN ENTIRE SERIES. It was one of those shows where I never had any idea what the hell was going on, but Taye Diggs is pretty and it has Adam Baldwin! It was a completely guilt-free purchase and I finished Weeds S4 last night, so I'm glad I have something new to watch.

Does anybody watch "Private Practice"? I AM OBSESSED WITH THAT SHOW this year. The women are so badass and the guys are so cute. Mmm, Taye Diggs. Thursday's episode was SO SAD. My little Addie! ♥ What the hell attracted her to Derek Shepherd? She seems too good for him. There are some strong, kickass women on that show, which makes me love it so much.

We got new bottle machines at the desk(the service desk, where I work,) and it's good, and bad. Bad because the plastic bags are really heavy and the cans get SHREDDED, and I'm always afraid I'm going to pull a muscle or something when I'm dumping them in the dumpster or slice my finger off. The good: They're larger and can hold more so they're not beeping ALL THE TIME. It keeps me on my toes. I'm still not a hundred percent sure how they WORK, which is frustrating, but whatever. They're still new and shiny and not disgusting to clean, which is good. Ask me again in a year if I like cleaning them. *g*

I've only signed up for one exchange this year so I'm going to focus on wishlists and fandom_stocking this year. But I haven't seen any wishlists posted yet. So I'm going to start the ball rolling.

( Guidelines )

( The Actual List )

Okay, your turn!

It was a tough day, (long, busy, and with freezing cold subtropical storm rain that seems like it will never go away) but man, what a perfect day for Glee to come back from hiatus. (And a new glee mood theme, too! Woo)

Spot reactions:

( Glee- Wheels )

When will everyone post their 2009 wishlists? I gotta start planning some fic for December.

*****

Am watching SYTYCD. I don't know who they'll send home tonight, but I hope it's not Ryan. I'm starting to get attached to him.

I have class in five minutes, but I thought I'd do a quick update. I'm hoping my teacher will go ahead and do her part of the lesson, and then switch over to the guest speaker so I can leave early. I have so much homework to do; it's not even funny.

In happier news, my new story is coming together quite nicely. I have a few icons for it to keep me in the mood - three girl drummers (all from Getty Images since I still haven't settled on a face for Anna) and several of Alex O'Loughlin (since he is the face of the love interest Paul).

I would like to have an Alex O'Loughlin mood theme. I've seen one, but the link doesn't work. Anybody know of any others?

Now if only the rain would stop so I can go do laundry (the laundry facilities are on the other side of the apartment complex), things would be awesome.

Oh, and Lacuna Coil was fantastic Monday night. I never actually realize how tiny Cristina Scabbia is until I see her live. The music was fantastic, and the spot where we were was fantastic. Excellent night. lifestudios, you should have been there.

Okay, off to class.

1) harlequin_09 helped me brainstorm the New Novel last weekend. I have a main character, a love interest, a bad guy, a magic system, and a basic plot. *Beams* That's more than I've accomplished in a while.

2) Star Trek is out on DVD tomorrow. I don't think I can wait until Christmas; I might be purchasing it tomorrow. Well, darn. leighblack informed me I have to wait for another week for Star Trek. *Sigh* But, next week - NEXT WEEK - it will be mine.

3) I get to leave at three today and see Lacuna Coil perform tonight. Lacuna Coil is always fun live, and I don't think Dragonhubby and I have missed a show since 2003. I may have a slight girl!crush on Cristina Scabbia. Just sayin'.

4) The big presentation for one of my classes is over, and I'll never have to worry about it again.

So, what good things are happening to you today? What fun did I miss this weekend?

Oh, there are an awful lot, but I think I'm going to go with one most people wouldn't think of - Shrek. Specifically, the scene at the end. Fiona has gone green, looking like Shrek himself, and she thinks she looks like a monster. Shrek, however, looks at her and simply says, "Fiona, you're beautiful." *Sigh* Gets me everytime.

I've decided not to sign up for yuletide this year. Instead, I plan to collect and focus on wishlists this year. I love it when people post their wishlists, but every year, I don't have time to fulfill any of them. Well, this year will be different. I just gotta keep an eye out for wishlist postings. But, to those of you who are signing up for yuletide, yay!!!

Week one of NaNo is almost finished, and I'm very proud of my friends' list. I've watched your word counts go up and up. Well done!

I, too, am moving on to something new on the writing front. I put WS into an envelope and stored it away. I still love it and may return to it someday, but right now, I won't be thinking about it. Instead, I'm pulling out a story I started this summer and will be plotting it.

I know the face of my male character, Paul. He looks like Alex O'Loughlin (who I need icons of). But I'm stuck on my female character, Anna. Originally, she looked like Katie McGrath, but her hair is just too dark for me. Anna, in my head, has light brown hair. So I will be searching the 'net for a new face. Any suggestions?

I have four books still unguessed so here they are again with additional hints: ETA: I'm down to one unguessed book. Anyone willing to try it? Answers will be posted next week.

1) Todd adjusted his leather power seat and smiled. Now this was the good life. (Alas, poor Todd is not the main character. This urban fantasy focuses on a witch.) - Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong, guessed by xphoenixrising

2) His footsteps were soundless, but Victoria felt him moving. (A historical fantasy featuring vampires.)

5) Ian shoved his hands in his pockets and scowled down the length of the empty subway platform. (Yet another doomed character. This urban fantasy has a PI in it.) - Blood Price by Tanya Huff, guessed by larah33

6) Not again. My gaze darted around the old school yard, searching for whoever had left the dead teenager on my front porch. (This urban fantasy focuses on a very tough female race that hadn't been featured in urban fantasy before.) - Amazon Ink by Lori Devoti, guessed by xphoenixrising

Does any of that help?

I've been playing with glitter making something for work for the last few hours, and I am absolutely covered in glitter. So much that I could be mistaken for a vampire. Or you know, a sparklepire.

I have my notes finished for a group presentation on Saturday. One of my partners has his notes finished. Now I'm just waiting on notes from the third member of our group so I can compile them into a coherent form.

While I wait, let's do a meme I snatched from not_from_stars:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite books or series.
2. Post the first sentence of each book. (If one sentence seems too short, post two or three!)
3. Let everyone try to guess the titles and authors of your books.

1) Todd adjusted his leather power seat and smiled. Now this was the good life.
2) His footsteps were soundless, but Victoria felt him moving.
3) Diana Tregarde sighed, propped her chin on her right hand, and leaned on the countertop. - Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey, guessed by reilael
4) On the day Claire became a member of the Glass House, somebody stole her laundry. - Glass Houses by Rachel Caine, guessed by not_from_stars
5) Ian shoved his hands in his pockets and scowled down the length of the empty subway platform.
6) Not again. My gaze darted around the old school yard, searching for whoever had left the dead teenager on my front porch.
7) Are you afraid of falling, baby? No, I'm afraid of landing. - Grimspace by Ann Aguirre, guessed by rhienelleth
8) The Summer King knelt before her. "Is this what you freely choose, to risk winter's chill?" - Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, guessed by tinylegacies
9) Cameron Quinn wasn't quite drunk. - Sea Swept by Nora Roberts, guessed by spacefiend
10) When Menolly, daughter of Yanus Sea Holder, arrived at the Harper Craft Hall, she came in style, aboard a bronze dragon. - Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey, guessed by zeldaophelia

You up to the challenge? :)

ETA: We're down to five that need to be guessed so I'll offer you a hint for each. 1, 5, and 6 are urban fantasy. 2 is historical fantasy. 7 is science fiction romance.

Is it just me, or was Heroes the best it's been all season tonight?

No offense to Phillies fans, but I really want(ed) the Yankees to win so that the World Series would just be over. I just want my normal TV schedule back. At least it'll end soonish, either way, right?

And the Glee soundtrack comes out tomorrow, which is good. (And I will buy, even though I have most of the songs. Obession, it is me.)

I don't want to work on White Spirit. I've been living with this story since 2004, and I think I'm ready for a break from Tristan, McKenna, and company. Of course, to be fair, I haven't looked at the story in weeks.

On the responsible hand, I really should finish this rewrite, just to prove to myself I can do it. But on the other hand, I want to work on something shiny and new.

I probably shouldn't make any hasty decisions until I can sit down and look at the story. What do you think?

After thinking about it for a while (and seeing the poll results), I decided to make my new layout the view I saw every autumn growing up. My header is a picture of Pilot Mountain in the autumn, and it brings back memories of my hometown.

The layout, though, is not mine. This was a beautiful layout created by scholarslayouts. Pretty, yes?

And now I'm ready for November. *Beams*

It's time for a new layout, mood theme, and default icon. My problem? I don't know what I want. I wouldn't mind having something to do with writing or autumn or mountains. But I can't seem to decide. So, I think it's time for a poll:

Poll #1479608
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

What should Dragonsinger's new layout be?