Around the Prickly Pear

I’ve been getting quite a few comments wondering where the hell I am.  The answer?   I’m still in Texas.  A strange, flat, large state I’ve developed a probably undeserved loathing for.

I’ve been tinkering with the sequel to Better Angels, along with a couple of other projects, but I work an average of 15 hours a day and I wear 60 pounds of gear, including a very awkward rifle.  When I’m done, I’ll I want to do is sleep.  Or die.  They’re pretty much the same state at this point, except one is more temporary.  I’ll be home soon, though.

I finished Basic Training and earned the title of Soldier.  It was like being in high school 24/7 but with really mean, loud teachers who could and did through tear gas at you for fun.  I’m now just two weeks from finishing medic school.  I’ve learned a lot here — how to intubate someone, how to perform a crichothyroidotomy (cut a hole in their throat so they can breath if their face is gone), put in IV’s and a lot of other cool stuff.  But I’ve also learned how much I don’t know, and how much I’ll probably won’t know when I need to.  I’ve learned that I could die or be hurt in horrible ways, that I will probably watch people die and that if, I’m lucky, I might be able to make the difference between life and death for someone.

Also, I’m having the time of my life.  Because as miserable as the army makes you, there things you can do here — complete craziness — that you’ll never get to do in the civilian world.  The intensity of living in the field, even just in training, is amazing.  When you’re not utterly bored and frustrated, you are as alive as you’ve ever been.

And, what the hell, here’s some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/hokeycat/ArmyLife# I don’t know how many of you’ll be actually interested in them (as opposed to, say, another chapter of Better Angels) but I feel like showing off something more than what I try to pass off as literary talent..

Yep, I’m alive.  Sorry I’ve been out of touch for so long.  I’ve been sort of taking a break from pretty much everything, and that includes this blog.   I’ve been trying to catch up with a lot of friends that I had limited contact with when school got kind of intense, dealing with a few deaths in my extended family, and generally enjoying the freedom to do pretty much what I want, when I want.  Which basically means that I’ve ignored you guys, and I’m really sorry for that.

In apology, I spent a few hours today on the next segment of Better Angels, and I’ve written a couple of attempts  at the requested drabbles, though none of them satisfactory.

Also, thank you for the great messages of support.  Really.  My feelings weren’t actually something I articulated out loud to many people, and the responses you gave were the most genuine and reassuring I got.

Hopefully I’ll get you all a few small fic updates in the near future.  It won’t be much, especially considering that, as of June 13, I will be offline for about six months (road trip, and then Army training)..

Yep.  I handed in my last final of my last term of my undergraduate education.  Now I only have to wait for the grades to come through, the paperwork to be processed and I will officially have an B.A. degree in psychology.

Yeah, it’s been a bloodly long three-and-a-half years.  I’ve met some amazing people both online and off.  Read some really inspiring stories, both online and off.  Wrote one story which, if it’s not amazing or inspiring, is mine and technically finished (sequels be damned).  Oh, yeah, and I learned stuff.  Some of it even at school.

Right now I’m feeling proud and grateful and slightly nauseaus.

Because I have not only reached the end of my undergraduate carreer; I’ve reached the end of my life plan.  I knew from the time I was really little that I was going to college.  Everyone in my family said that I was smart and I believed them (because I wasn’t yet smart enough to know that you always tell your relative’s kids they are smart, if you want to get a good secret santa gift come Christmas).  And not many people in my family went to college, and those who didn’t seemed to hate their jobs and the ones who did seemed slightly more satisfied.  Or at least wealthier.

So college.  But as it turns out, graduating from college doesn’t mean you automatically make money and get a job you like.  It turns out, you still have to do stuff after college — like work, or even more college, or both.  Somehow, when I was 18 and buying my books for the first time,  that all seemed a very long way off.  Now, not so much.

Also, I’ve always been a student, in that I’ve always been enrolled at some school or another.  But I no longer am.  Technically, I’m unemployed.   Young and unemployed (AKA, recent graduate), which is slightly more acceptable, but if I consider these words — student, unemployed, recent graduate — to be part of my identity, it feels like a big shift.

There are a lot of questions.  What do I do now?  Who am I now?  Do I have to get a job?  To I have to really grow up?

I’ve got plans, of course.  Travel a bit — first around Germany, and then around the rest of the United States.  Then off to Basic Training for the Army…but then what?  Get a job?  Apply to graduate school?  Live with my parents?  Move out?   All these questions seem a lot more immediate now than they did 24 hours ago.

To anyone who’s once (or more than once) been where I am…reassurance would be welcome.

To anyone who’s still in college or regular school…eh, good luck.  You still couldn’t pay me to trade places with you right now

-lmk

P.S.  Yes, for those of you who are wondering, this does increase the liklihood that I’ll update some of these stories.  Or even follow through on my promise/Christmas present of drabbles.  Free time rocks.  Or will, when I have some again (still have lots of loose ends to tie up before I am really free)..

OK, I installed a few updates to the site (which caused a bit of downtime — hopefully none of you noticed).

Most notable is that there is now a “Subscribe to Comments” button available for commenters. Basically, if you want to be notified when someone comments on an entry, you can check that button. So far there’s no way to make it so you’re only notified when someone replies to your comment though. So, if there are thirty comments on an entry (not all that common, but it happens), you’ll get thirty email notifications. It’s pretty easy to unsubscribe, though, if you get tired of the conversation. Wordpress hasn’t caught up to lj.com on some things, although it’s ahead on other things (like not being noticably evil).

Also, I was considering <i>trying</i> to find a way to let people know automatically when I post a new entry or, better yet, when I post a new chapter. So you wouldn’t have to keep checking to see if I’ve updated yet. Anybody interested??

Series: Better Angels II
Title: A Thousand Acts
Summary: Sequel to Better Angels. I'll come up with a better summary some day. Warnings: Nothing for this chapter.

A/N: So this is the first half of the first chapter of Better Angel's sequel. It's not been beta'd or very well edited. I make no promises about ever finishing this chapter, let alone the series.

A/N2: My apologies. I forgot to repost this after I moved hosts. Thank Emily for reminding me.

A/N3: To any Americans: I chose the quote and title for this story before John McCain anounced his intention to run for president. I certainly have my biases, but I did not intend this story to have any political affiliation. (More...)?

This is a bit of brain candy that I've been toying with. I started working on it about a month ago, hoping to shape it into a decent story. So far, no luck. So I'm posting it as pure brain candy -- no beta, not much editing and no redeaming social value.

For those unfamilier, this story takes place in a slave!AU version the British television series called Torchwood, which is a spinoff of the long-running Doctor Who series. In case you haven't noticed, I have a thing for slave AUs.

Title: Cyberwoman Remix
Author: lmk
Fandom: Torchwood
Warnings: Blood, violence, mentions of abuse, non-con, spoilers up till Cyberwoman

Summery: Ianto is Torchwood's slave. He works in the background, keeping the hub running, the team fed and coffee at the ready with a single-minded efficiency. He's content with his work and his life -- until someone from his past returns and threatens everything. (More...)?

OK, I did something I've never done before. Ciel kindly sent over a copy of a story (These Stone Walls) that I had lost when my site went down. Since she kind of saved my bacon, I offered her a drabble in return. I ended up writing two. This is the first.

I really enjoyed this drabble writing thing and decided to open it up to my regular commenters as a very belated [seasonal holiday] gift. Holly, Jackline, Lapillus and Whitehound (if the last two ever visit here again), you're welcome to request a drabble in the Harry Potter, BtVS, Angel, Firefely, Sentinel, Torchwood or Doctor Who (2005-2007) fandoms.

Title: Night Out
Fandom: Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel
Summery: Spike returns from Hell for a brief visit.
Characters: Giles, Spike, Dawn
Spoilers: Pretty much all of BtVS and Angel, including After the Fall.

(More...)?

Title: Night Out -- One Hundred and Fourty Years Earlier
Fandom: BtVS (pre-series)
Characters: Angelus/Spike
Spoilers: Not really

Summery: Angelus gets ready for a hunt; Spike comments.

(More...)?

So, um, the internet ate my homework.

No, really, it did.

Jackline let me know this morning that my account had been suspended. Despite several attempts at contacting them, I have not gotten a response from the webhosting company. So I switched to a cheaper host ($11/year) with, I hope, better reliability. We’re back up and running now.

Unfortunately, my former webhosting company still has all my stuff (backups, templates, comments, etc.) and may or may not let me retrieve it. As a result, it may take me awhile to get this site back to normal, or as close to normal as possible. Sorry ’bout that.

Update: So, I wasn’t able to retrieve any of the archived stuff for this site. Which means some of my stuff is probably lost and gone forever. Better Angels is safe, but the few other stories I had on my blog may be gone. The comments, sadly, are all lost. It will also take me awhile to get this blog working properly again. Sorry for all the hold up. Working on A Thousand Acts will be temporarily halted while I sort this out.>

Title: Better Angels
Chapter: Eleven
Author: lmk

Summery: When James discovers that Snape is a slave of the Malfoy's, he rescues him the only way he can think of: he buys him. Now James must learn the meaning of responsibility and friendship, all while convincing Lily Evans that he isn't something the squid scraped off its suckers. Snape must learn to trust his new master and accept a new way of looking at the world, all while preparing to become the world's greatest potion master (in his humble opinion). (More...)>