(no subject)

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

I am still in Texas. Weather remains hot. :D

Ways To Give:

Norah's friend's two-year-old son is struggling with cancer, and with treatments that have caused other health complications for him. They have a site up, Leif's Champions, where people can offer donations, assistance, or just good thoughts.


matt_doyle is raising $6000 to get himself to grad school, between fees and undergraduate college debts. He's exhausted his other options and still needs help. You can read about it at his Dreamwidth, or donate at his GoFundMe.

wildroveress is running their first marathon, the Chicago Marathon, on October 13th, raising money from the run for Random Acts. Random Acts is dedicated to funding and inspiring acts of kindness in local and global communities. You can read more and donate/sponsor here on CrowdRise.

daizy2k2 is participating in a 5K on October 5 to raise money for the American Heart Association. You can read more and donate here.

tealin is still raising money for her roommate's cat's medical bills and has a new batch of awesome stuff up on ebay. There are books, including a few rare/limited edition ones, and a beautiful glass barometer.

Housing:

priscellie is looking for a roommate to share a 2BR/1BA townhouse in Los Feliz, CA. $900/month, internet/cable/utilities are roughly $100 per person. Priscellie is a USC Grad Student filmmaker, responsible and respectful, LGBTQ-friendly looking for a clean, respectful, artist-friendly, financially responsible roommate, ideally (but not necessarily) with some furniture. Please email priscellie (at) gmail.com for more information or to schedule a viewing.

tealin is moving, and her roommate is looking for a new roommate. She's fannish/fan-friendly, and the apartment is walking distance to Disney and many other studios in Burbank, CA. Lucky tenant would get the big bedroom for $700/mo +utils (usually around $50) in a cozy but comfortable upper-floor apartment with some character. Her Craigsist ad is here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help (or ask for help!).

(no subject)

I have been remiss in posting, haven't I? In my defence it's hard to type long things on a teeny tiny laptop.

I've been in Texas since Wednesday, doing a belated birthday celebration. It's been fun; among my birthday gifts were a trip to The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, where we dipped bread in cheese and ate fried mushroom pasta and discovered how great rice krispy treats are when dunked in chocolate. And we didn't have to get dark chocolate because MY BIRTHDAY and I don't especially like dark chocolate, even through it's basically the only chocolate everyone else in the family eats. Because they are weirdos.

We also went luggage shopping, which was more of a trial than I expected, but I ended up with a carry-on bag that comes apart to form separate bags and has secret backpack straps and is possibly some kind of transformer. Optimus Wheelybag. You wish your wheelybag was cool like mine.

And last night I went to a cooking class at a local gourmet grocery store, where we learned how to make braised everything and I shocked my mother by eating HALF OF AN ENTIRE PEAR. My aversion to most plants acknowledged, it's a lot easier to eat them when the cooking process is as follows: "Cover each pear half in sugar. Place a large knob of butter on top of each. Pour cream over everything. Bake until delicious."

Holstein and Longhorn, the two family chihuahuas, have been reasonably well-behaved -- even Holstein, despite our mutual enmity and my blatant favouritism of his little brother. Well, Longhorn isn't an underwear-stealing asshole. I did walk Holstein this morning, though, since my parents left with Longhorn for the vet's to get him snipped and I came out of my bedroom to find Holstein sitting by the door, harness in his mouth, mournfully certain that they had taken Longhorn on a walk without him.

He's still a butt, however.

Anyway, I fly home today and am back at work tomorrow. Where I've been assigned thirty-five biographies to write by the end of next week. Whee.

(no subject)

Mum: I need to find out what's making my car creak when I turn right.
Sam: Could be a cracked axle again?
Lucky: I think it's the half-shaft.
Everyone: *silent*
Mum: That sounds dirty.
Me: It sounds like an insult.
Lucky: No, it's --
Me: GET AWN, YE FECKIN' HALF-SHAFT!

And that's how my family found a new term for assholes, idiots, and annoyances.

We used it all afternoon. I was stuck behind a half-shaft in airport security, and apparently Mum had to deal with a half-shaft getting in her way at the grocery store. I am looking forward to making half-shaft "happen".