Do I even remember how to do this?

It's been so long, it's embarrassing really.

Alright, what have I been up to? Well, a month of running around, visiting family & friends in Canada is what. That was August. Been back barely three weeks and it already feels like it was last year. ::sigh:: And to think I'm out of holidays for... I don't know, a long LONG time, okay? Grrrr. But it was good to see everyone. It had been three and half years and I'm guessing I won't be back now for another five so we tried to see everybody. Did a lot of boating, on the river passing through my hometown but also up north, on a gorgeous lake up in the sticks. Very nice and relaxing, that weekend at the cabin. Besides that, it was a lot of driving and running around. But fun all the same. Now I need another holiday just to get over this one.

Since I've been back, I've had the joy of having to catch up with life down here, both real and virtual, and also getting intimate with antibiotics the size of horse pills. Damn lungs of mine. Any excuse to play up. Anyway, done all the gardening duties the coming of Spring dictates and now we're ready for Summer. Bring it on.

Caved in and bought the Star Wars trilogy DVD set over the weekend. Yeah, I know I'll hate Lucas' stupidity squared, with all the changes he's done, but really, I've been wanting the extras and making of stuff that are said to be on there. And I've been holding back all these years, never buying the videos, because he kept promising the ultimate collector's set. If I'd known he was going to go back and re-edit and overuse CG effects like a moron, I would have gotten the first set of tapes way back when. I'm a bit of a purist for those things. There's a difference between releasing an extended version of a movie and going back, twenty-five years down the line, to rework the scenes. Anyway, that's my bone. I'll get over it. :)

Hubby got me one of those little USB2 memory sticks. It's unbelievably small. Fits on my key ring. I was still carrying a floppy, you see, to and from work, and he decided it was time I caught up with the technology. Hehehe. Sweet man that he is.

I've been introduced to yet another utterly unbelievable side of our beloved LotR fandom today. Somehow there was a big storm of nasties being thrown about some weeks (even months) past, and I managed to stay totally oblivious to it. Thank the stars (and a trip overseas) in a way, as I would most likely joined into the fray, yapping my indignation in the face of it all. (Or most likely not, as I usually don't follow these unless they're brought on my turf.) Let there be said that the mighty cliqué'd HASA and the uppity and pretentious, nonsensical Mithril Awards were in the middle of it yet again and didn't earn any brownie points. I don't know all the facts and frankly I don't care to be informed. I've kept my distances from the likes of those two entities and I want it to remain that way. But hell. It's sickening to see the lengths at which people will go in the name of a fandom, of fanfiction, all of which, at the end of the day, is just bites, binaries which could be wiped out with a little EMP. I mean, not agreeing on some comments or points raised about whatever should never make anyone cross the line between our online personas and the RL people behind them. Come on. It's a fandom. It's not open-heart surgery or saving the world of all evil. Some people really need - and should - get a life when the happenings on the internet become all there is in their little universe. And in case someone from the HASA/MA gang reads this, my opinions on that list/archive and those awards were forged a long time ago. Whatever I learned today didn't surprise me, sadly enough, nor did it alter those opinions. It is more a matter of how low can this fandom sink?

Okay, little soap box moment over. What else is there to say? My cats seem happy we're back and they've settled in their little routine once more, just as we did. Open Scrolls is ticking over though a lot less busy these last couple of weeks. I'm not complaining. Quite enjoying the little slow period as I'm sure it'll pick up again as we near the release of RotK:EE. Anyone is looking forward to it? I know I am, as I was so totally disappointed in the theatrical release... but you all know this. I've burnt many ears already with my rants and raves. Hehehe.

Alright. 4h04am and it's time to sign off.