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Butternut Squash Pie, Mark II

Some of you may recall that, last Thanksgiving, I attempted to make a butternut squash pie. It was pretty yummy, although it didn’t set up very well due to my forgetting to add the eggs.

This year, I remembered the eggs. Not only that, but I made the edges of the pie crust all pretty, and sprinkled the top with allspice.

But I’m taking the pie to Thanksgiving in Westlake, so I can’t eat it for a day and a half. o.O

Mind you, I should have been podcasting tonight instead of baking, since my next podcast has already been promised to the listenership as “The Thanksgiving Survival Guide,” and it’s going to be pretty much useless if it comes out on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving…

drumcorps 1 Comment

It’s Done.

I turned in my mellophone after last night’s Lakeshoremen Open House.

There were several reasons I decided not to march in 2006, but the membership was definitely not one of those reasons. Everyone was supportive of my decision, and they all seemed to understand, but they really didn’t want me to go. Kemo tried to convince me to attend a few early rehearsals, so we’d have an easier time recruiting mellos, and Ann and Mona kept asking if I’d changed my mind yet.

Really, though, after two years (winter, spring, and summer) of driving to Michigan every other weekend, I’m finding that I’d rather enjoy my weekends with my husband instead. Maybe we can be social sometimes, instead of cramming all our chores and laundry and shopping into one day. Maybe attend some of the weekend-long anime conventions we had to pass on last year. Yes, this is a bit of a selfish decision, I suppose — but this is the time to be selfish, before Aaron and I start a family.

I felt a little more secure about leaving the mello line after seeing the new talent, though. Amber’s returning, and there’s two or three new mellos (depending on whether Courtney ends up being drum major); so, even with me leaving and Duane opting to focus on writing and cleaning drill instead of marching, there’s still a solid core of three or four strong mellos (assuming we don’t scare any of them off). The goal for 2006 is five mellos, so we’re well on our way.

I was pleasantly surprised at not only the number of new people at the Open House, but also at the quality of the overall sound we produced. LSM just keeps getting better and better earlier and earlier every year. The hornline had 19 returning and prospective members total, and there are still a few returning members who couldn’t make the Open House. I think that, if everyone does their part with recruiting, we’ll fill out the hornline this year with no problem. Three tubas (or contras, if you prefer), five mellos, ten baris and ten trumpets (or sopranos, again, if you’re old-school). I think we can do it.

And, yes, I still say “we” because I’m still involved with LSM, despite my not marching. I’m still the webmaster, and I’m still a member at-large of the Board of Directors. (That said, anything I state on my personal site should not by any means be construed to be the official word of the Lakeshoremen. Check lakeshoremen.org for official news.)

It’s like Dan said:

Once you grow up and move on, it’s nice to actually MOVE ON. If you have something positive in your life to devote your attention to, why spend your time and energy on a chapter that is admittedly closed? The glory days of youthful summers are gone, but the heady days of mature summer can kick just as much ass, though in a different way.

I say you can give back to drum corps any way you want, but explore the next chapter of life with the same enthusiasm with which you explored your youth.

As much as I hate to let go of performing, I think I have to agree.

writing 4 Comments

NaNoWriMo Update

Well, I cranked out 3,300 words last night, and that felt pretty good. I got up over the 10,000-word mark. Never mind that I should be past 25,000 by now. Baby steps.

My only fear now is that I’m plowing through my plot a little too fast. I’m already way too far through my outline for being only one-fifth done, and there are still details of the climax and resolution that I haven’t quite worked out yet. I know how the story ends, I think, and I pretty much know how to get there, but there are a lot of flashbacks and explanations in the interim, and one main scene I won’t be able to duck gracefully past.

For fight scenes and sex scenes, I’ve been using the ploy of writing up to the event, then skipping past it and writing the aftermath of the event. It’s been working well so far — but for the denouement, a supernatural fight scene involving four to seven vampires, one human, and an incubus, I don’t see me being able to dodge it so easily.

I think I’ve done well with my flashback sequences, finding places for them to live alongside the modern-day storyline without being too confusing. I’ll probably continue along these lines, because I still need to include several Highlander-esque moments between my main character and his mentor, among other scenes.

If anyone would like a synopsis of the story so far, or maybe a snippet or two of the NaNo-in-progress (beyond the intro that’s posted on NaNoWriMo.org), just post a shout-out. Oh, and you have to answer the question I posed yesterday, too. 😉 I’ve pretty much solved my character’s motivation dilemma for now, but there are still some mighty cheesy moments that could do with some motivation assistance. And lots of editing.

writing 3 Comments

NaNoWriMo By Committee

OK, faithful blog readers. I require NaNoWriMo writing assistance.

So, without giving too much plot away… let’s say you’re a guy. You see this chick in the club, and you don’t know why you’re so attracted to her, but OMG, she just makes your stomach do a flipflop. Not in that I-want-to-sex-you-up-NOW sort of way, though; more of an I’m-totally-infatuated-with-everything-about-you sort of way. You don’t end up hooking up at the time, though, and you’re kind of unsure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. She’s quite a bit younger than you, though not jailbait by any means, and that (among other social reasons) makes you think that you two getting together would be a Bad Thing™.

Now, let’s say you run across this girl again, later on, and you find out that she has a big problem. One that you know how to solve. It’s actually your job and mission in life to solve these particular kinds of problems. You’re still totally attracted to her, more so than you ever have been before. Love at first sight, even — at least, on your side of the equation. You’re still not sure how she feels.

What do you do, and why? Do you:

  1. help her solve her problem, and use the thank-you-so-much reaction to try to get together with her, and damn the consequences?
  2. help her solve her problem from arm’s-length, because it’s your job, but reject your desire for her, even if she ends up wanting you?
  3. try to find someone else to solve her problem for her, so you don’t have to deal with the temptation of possibly hooking up?
  4. choose to banish her from your thoughts completely, and ignore her problem, even though you could help?
  5. or some other solution, or combination of solutions?

Leave a comment below with your answer, and give a little background explanation of why you picked that choice. Your motivations will help me shape my main character and his motivations (assuming that more than two or three of you answer).

Yes, yes, I know I’m supposed to be half-done with my NaNo by now. I’m only 15% done. I’m dealing with the fact that I probably won’t “win” NaNoWriMo this year. But that doesn’t mean I’m not still going to try.

photos 1 Comment

Youmacon 2005: Photos

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Youmacon 2005 photos!

For a list of other Youmacon photos, check out the Youmacon website. For other pics of our costumes, check out Fan’s View (click “next page” to see Aaron’s pic), Fiery Panda Studios (again, click “Next Image” to see Aaron), and Tastetheneedle’s gallery on Cosplay.com, among others.

Listen to Aaron’s and my con report on the Weekly Anime Review Podcast next week!