Who the heck do I think I am?

etakyma and I are holding a Registration pre-stuffing party in advance of Ascendio!

Our location has changed since the one we held for Infinitus but it's still accessible by T:

Candlewood Suites
130 Middlesex Turnpike
Burlington, MA 01803

By T: Take the 350 Bus from Alewife Station to the Burlington Mall Road and Meadow Road stop.


June 30 and July 1 (Saturday and Sunday).

We will also let people know the room number via Facebook and Twitter once we have checked in.

Even if (or especially if!) you can't come to Ascendio, but you're in the Boston area, c'mon down and say hello! We miss you!

REGISTRATION INCREASES IN PRICE IN TWO HOURS.

Register for Ascendio!

Back at Azkatraz, bekkio made a beautiful House Unity quilt and I bought it at our auction.

Last week it tried to kill me.

J/K. I put it on my bed last weekwhen I was sick and had chills, and the next morning (after I bailed on work), I was bundled up under it and felt a stab. Then another little jab. I lifted up the corner to find that a pin had been left stuck under the top layer. But here's the thing: The head of the pin was caught inside the quilt itself! So there I was, sick, groggy, getting out a seam ripper so that I could open up the binding at the corner and then carefully easing the pin by its head down to the corner and popping it out of the new hole I'd just made.

I still need to sew it back up. But at least my quilt isn't trying to kill me anymore.

(And, um, I'm kinda even more glad that I bought it and not some unrelated fandomer who might then have had a pin sticking them in the head when they were sick and trying to sleep....)

First off, curling has to be the strangest sport ever. On the other hand, I love that there are sports for regular guys - John Schuster of the US, for example, looks like a computer jockey rather than an Olympian. I kinda like that.

Anyway, moving on.

grouchyoldcoot sent me a wicked cool birthday/Valentine's day present. And he was all apologetic that it wasn't a typically romantic present.

It's a wireless all-in-one printer, scanner, copier. YAYZ. I have been desperately needing a new printer! It's WAY better than roses or chocolates!

I had a little trouble hooking it up but I finally figured out that duh, I was using the wrong WEP for my network. Heh. Oops.

Anyway. It now wirelessly prints, but apparently one does have to connect the USB cable to scan documents. That's okay. The point is that it WORKS. Huzzah! I have placed it on the bookshelf next to the desk and now I need to decide if the other POS printer is worth keeping (probably not).

I still don't know just what happened to the HPEF all-in-one - I packaged it and labeled it to be shipped back after Portus, but it never arrived. Since that was really part of the package deal we got on the computer and the other stuff, it wasn't a huge financial loss, but it was a huge frustration. One of the downsides of having assets that have to travel all over the place.

Anyway. Others have blogged that Orlando was fun, very productive, and OMG, Hogwarts is going to be breathtaking! Lots of momentum, which I hope stays with us for some time to come.

Still unemployed. Still looking for the .1% of jobs out there that fit my criteria. But at least now I can print resumes!

HPEF is celebrating Black Friday and CyberMonday for the first time!

You can save ten dollars on your new AZKATRAZ registration (full registration, MPA or Merlin's Circle only), *or* on an upgrade from any lower-level registration (single-day or full registration) to a higher-level registration. This discount will last from a minute after midnight on Friday, November 28, 2008 (Eastern Standard Time) until 11:59 PM on Monday, December 1, 2008 (Eastern Standard Time).

To qualify for the savings, register or modify your registration this weekend and use the coupon code CYBRWKND when you check out. This offer can only be used for registrations paid by a credit card or PayPal. Payment must be recieved by 11:59 PM on Monday, December 1, 2008 (Eastern Standard Time).

Purchase a new registration for yourself or a friend, add the Masters of Potter Administration (MPA) session, or upgrade to a Merlin's Circle registration and save.

Also, anyone who registers during the CYBRWKND sale period will receive a shiny AZKATRAZ keychain, which can also be used as an inventive Christmas tree ornament.

Click here to register.

Happy shopping!

For those of you who are addicted to TV like I am, heidi8 has created a friending meme based on TV show likes and viewing plans:

Here and at her insanejournal too.

Also, don't forget that Portus 2008 registration is about to go up! Register Now!

And I'm still plugging. Since there are maybe three of you who will not have seen this elsewhere (or who care), it's behind the cut:

( HPEF Soliciting Bids for 2007 )

In other news, Wizard of Oz is taking up a lot of time and energy. Parents are stupid; kids are a pain in the ass; but other than that, it's going very well, I think.

Work sucks. On the bright side, I think the story anthology I'm helping with is moving along well. I reviewed a bunch of the submissions and I've submitted my own story Officially; now it's just the final selections and working with the authors we do select. Hurrah. My second published editing job, yay.

Dad's in Arizona, awaiting word about working for Carlsbad. Still no word after two months, but he did talk to the guy who told him nothing has happened either way. He definitely has decided that somewhere in that area is where he will eventually pick up again, once he's had his fill of life Kerouac-style.

[Sidenote: Actual conversation with my crazy-ass father:

"By the way, did you ever do anything with that Ryan story you wrote? The Harry Potter one?"

"Do anything such as....?"

"You know, send it to a magazine or something?"

"...." Then: "Well, that would be a good way to get sued, Dad. It's derivative fiction." Oy. I mean, really. For heaven's sake. If you can tell me how to pull all the Potter out of HMSS and make it still work *and* make it not obvious that it *used* to be a Potter fanfic, I'm all pointed ears. Otherwise, you Just Don't Get It. Sure, maybe eventually I'll develop an original plot featuring Ryan, but it hasn't happened yet, and I've known the elf for... going on 20 years at this point. /bitching]

I'm heading to Pittsburgh this weekend for Johan's wake. Yay for a trip to Pittsburgh; boo for the reason. But it will be very good to celebrate his life and to see friends again.

Exciting, no? Well, that's why it takes roughly a month between updates.