At exactly 7:26pm tonight, my allergies flicked on like a light switch and I am sneezing my head off, puffy-eyed and miserable.  I popped an allergy pill and I am desperately hoping that it will not only work, but work almost instantaneously.

Is anyone looking for a NS Feeple boy body?  I am trying to sell mine to get something different.  I’m asking $425, which is considerably less than on the Feeple website.

It’s been a busy couple of days!

Yesterday we had a doggy playdate with one of our coworkers. He’s a really nice guy with a Border Collie and a German Shepherd… and a really nice fenced in back yard. Truff got to run around without a leash for about 4 hours. She had an awesome time and seemed so normal. When we got home, she was so worn out that she actually took a nap in the living room and went to bed early!

Last night we went to Disney’s UP in 3d.

–no spoilers or information not alluded to in trailers–

I need to restate how much I love 3D movies. This one had very nicely done 3D where it wasn’t glaringly obvious, but gave everything an appreciable amount of extra depth and detail.   Some of the previews for other 3D features seemed like they really relied heavily on the fact that they were 3D and substituted special effects for plot; lots of explosions, lots of things coming off the screen to get you.  By contrast, UP had 3d that you could forget was 3D and just enjoy watching.

Critics said that it wasn’t WALL-E, and that was okay with me.  I felt that while WALL-E was visually stunning, the social commentary was extremely heavy-handed and at times, downright preachy… which diminished its value as a movie to rewatch without the bells and whistles of the big screen.  I am sort of happy to see Pixar returning to their particular brand of comedy mixed with life lessons and the occasional touching moment.

UP has a mix of simple and complex elements.  The primary plot is relatively simple – an old man is trying to get his house to the top of a waterfall in South America to fulfill his late wife’s dream of going to Venezeula.   The plot elements make no bones about being completely unbelievable…. however, the characters themselves are wonderfully believeable as they go through these events.   I wasn’t overly interested in the zany goings-on, but I really was very invested in Carl’s goals and frustrations.  Carl is probably Pixar’s most emotionally complex character to date.

The portion of the movie that stands out most to me was the opening biographical sequence.  It was so elegantly done and so incredibly human.  Though it was very sad because it needed to establish that Carl had lost his life-long love before the movie even started, it wasn’t cheap emotion.  It was really a beautiful story all by itself, and I think it was my favorite part of the movie.  It was also one of two places where I got all teary-eyed.

I don’t think I can write much more without spoilers.  Suffice to say that the voice acting was fabulous.

Anyway, today I have to go to a bridal shower… and go grocery shopping… and do more sanding on a head I have prior to painting it.

I’m disappointed by the Prop 8 ruling.  I am happy that my married friends will remain married, but I am disappointed that what is basically a civil right has been taken away by popular opinion.  While on one hand I am “happy” that the higher court upheld the majority vote of the people, I feel that in doing so they have upheld discrimination.  Had the ban been against marriage for any other minority group, it would have been readily identified as bigotry.

This morning I logged in to Facebook and saw that one of the people on my friend’s list was a Prop 8 supporter and belonged to a group that was pretty much a hate group; in the first page of comments there were repeated comparisons of gays to Nazis (quickest invocation of Godwin’s law ever!) and the general “they will burn in hell” sentiments.

One person writes:

Homosexuality is a horrible evil, and anyone who suffers from it must either be cured or put out of their misery. Homosexual activity is punishable by the death penalty under several nations that follow Islamic Sharia Law, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, and penetration is not required.

The Bible also advocates death by stoning, not cutting hair on the sides of your head, not wearing more than one type of thread at a time, selling your daughter into slavery and not eating seafood (I SHIT YOU NOT), but most Western preachers, Fred Phelps excluded, are too pussified to take the proper moral stance.

There was once a loophole for Catholic priests, provided they were only attracted to underage boys. This loophole was recently closed due to multiple instances of legal action.

I’m kind of surprised that Facebook allows a group like this.

Seeing a someone I know support a group like that is jarring.  It’s hard not to just drop her off my list as a knee-jerk reaction.

ETA:  Looks like 4chan’s gotten interested in the group and is trolling them.  The comment above seems to be a troll post.

The “legit” posts are still offensive, though, even if less blatantly so.  (i.e. “Typical homosexual behavior includes regular contact with fecal matter from oneself and from sexual partners, tragically reversing several centuries of learning about cleanliness, and thus several centuries of growing lifespan. Homosexual behavior makes no more sense than playing in the toilet.”)

Percy is uncomfortable with the naked newcomers.

I really like the look of the french resin on the Narins.

The Butterfly Narae boy  is mine.  His name is Chloraform, Chlora for short.

The Open-eyed Narae boy is Mandy’s.  His name is Buzzkill, Buzz for short.  Also sometimes answered to Bazzu.

Both are tan french resin… lovely color.  They’re so creamy, like tea with milk.  They have no clothes. -_-;;; I am having a helluva time finding anything for them.

Truff is being emo this morning.  I think it’s because Roommate is not up yet and she likes to know where both of us are at all times.  Theatrical dog.

I’ve been pretty productive this weekend… I actually feel like I accomplished something.  We bought the couch, curtain rods (no curtains yet), and I paid for my new desk (but need to borrow dad’s bigger car this morning to go pick it up).  I completed 3 faceups that were in progress and am almost finished with 3 others, have one in the early stages.  I am hoping to finish all of the in-progress heads today….

Also hoping to assemble the desk…

And then, DOLL PICTURES. :)  Been awhile since I posted much doll content… I’d like to take pics of a couple of dolls this weekend, most noteably the freshly-painted tan Narins.  I’m still not sure how I feel about painting french resin… but painting the tan is definitely better than painting the white or normal.  I have mixed feelings on french resin.  Like most, I hate that it yellows so easily… but I do like the look of it.  Though at the same time, the open mouth looks vaguely like the lips on a silicone sex doll… and the faceups don’t quite look like they’re on the surface of the resin (rather, floating slightly in front of it).  All in all though, I do like the Narins.  It’s more that I haven’t ascertained their place in the universe.

So.  Desk, painting, photos.  I can do this.

Oh, I should also schedule a long walk with Truffmuffin at some point.

This is my new couch.  It is a behemoth at just over 8 feet long and 4 feet deep.  Ironically, the style is called “Chunkster.”

We got it at the clearance center across town.  It has a tiny, 1/2″ long tear in the cloth right down next to one of the feet, and that apparently killed its resale value.  Depending on what website you look at, it looks to be either a $900 or $1300 couch… but we got it for around $420.  Super excited.  Came with the blue and brown decorative cushions!

I am also happy because I feel like a grown-up because I bought furniture rather than fun luxury purchases. (Though after having our old futon for almost 3 years, the new couch seems unbelieveably luxurious).  We also bought curtain rods today, and maybe next week we can put them up.

Next up in terms of purchases is my new work desk.  I’d been saving up the for the couch for a few weeks… and since the couch was less than what I had saved up, I may be able to get my desk this weekend.

I feel like I’m finally making some headway on furnishings.  After the desk will be new dressers.   :)

Lilac.  How do you pronounce this word?  The local pronunciation is “ly-lack.”  I persistently say “ly-lock;”  even though I have lived here almost my whole life, I don’t have quite as bad an accent as my home city is known for.  This is largely due to the fact that my father’s from the midwest.  (Which isn’t to say my accent isn’t nasal, but it’s not as bad as it could be.)

Anyway, last weekend was the lilac festival.  We checked the website the night before and found that it was “dog-free.”  However, on arrival we found that this rule was not at all enforced and the park was covered with dogs of all sizes and temperaments… and felt bad for not bringing Truffula.

We went back tonight for a walk… it wasn’t too crowded and Truff had a great time.  The park is really in bloom.  So gorgeous.

Bad news from Volks… and I’m pissed.  I wouldn’t be, normally… but we have non-refundable reservations at the hotel we booked.  In order to get the really good rate we did, we had to pre-pay with no cancellations.  So either way, I’m going to NYC.  I kind of hate NYC and wouldn’t go there if not for Dolpa… so I’m just really bummed.  It’s my only vacation for this year, and I wish I had opted to go to GoGaDoll instead.  I guess, though, I can finally make it back to the MoMA and the Met… so that’s good.  And I’ll get to see the other people who are stuck in NY, so it’ll be nice to see them.  Really, I go to Dolpa mostly to see friends anyway.

I guess I’m just upset that we trusted that when Volks posted the dates, they would stick to them… and we made reservations accordingly based on that trust.  Cancelling it for the h1n1 flu is moronic, especially since the mortality rate on it has been lower than on the normal flu and in two months it will have certainly passed… but this is also a reaction from a company from a country that wears surgical masks during allergy and cold seasons.

Oh well.  Nothing to do but get over it, I guess.  Maybe we’ll look into booking a meeting place for the people who are stranded on that Saturday and we can have a doll meetup anyway!

Happily, my split partner won Ryoya…. so in 3 months my ugly duckling will be coming home. :)  I am really happy about the lottery win and particularly the price I got on the head.  Most splits were going around $450, but I’m getting mine for $250!  NEAT!  So excited.  I need to forget that he’s coming, though, because it’s a long ways off.  I’m glad to be getting him – I needed the good news today.

There’s also some exciting stuff that I can’t write about yet… but it’s going well and I am super excited.  :)  I can’t wait till I can tell you about it.

I find myself oddly tempted by Volks Ryoya.  I think it’s because he’s rather homely.  I have a thing for ugly Volks sculpts.

The SDGr body is really jacking the price on him, though… and most people are trying to bring the price of the body down to being reasonable by trying to do a split with the head in the $450 range.  It’s too rich for my blood… I think I’d max out at $200-250ish, but at this point I doubt anyone would split for that.   I think I’ll watch the Marketplace for the head.  My guess is that people will sell it when they receive the doll, and the price will eventually go down due to lack of demand.  (That’s how I got my Eden head for very cheap.)

I don’t have a character in mind for him, though, and I am actually “done” with my intended collection after Replacement Lacey arrives.   But I do like him…

Thinking of selling my tan 43cm Narin… he’s so cute, but I guess life got really hectic and stressful right before he arrived, and maybe I’ve transferred a bit of my frustration to the poor thing.  Not to say that he isn’t frustrating all on his own, though… had a hell of a time finding a wig (on order), the EDs I ordered for him are a bit big… and he has no clothes yet.