Phyllis Sidheuaine

We had our flu shots (the nurses were GRATEFUL that we weren't a problem in spite of the fact that there were so bloody many of us.) Several of the doctors assisted while we were there and both Wren and Mieu gave each other their shots (they're cyborgs, not androids.)

One nurse had a rough time of it with one other person (the person didn't want the shot, just the treats that were doled out to those who had them.) She just wanted free food, that's it. Well, she was given some beefcake (the more "buff" guys took off everything above the waist) and, while she was distracted, the nurse gave the injection. Let's just say that the temperature inside the room rose several degrees ( ) and people forgot about the rain outside.

Later, we began the concert (the VNA volunteers were so happy to listen to something besides grumbling.) A couple of them joined in (ones that weren't giving shots), then Jin and Yuu "serenaded" them (so cute. *biggrin*)

Anyway, the guys have been asked to return today (no shots this time) to do a repeat performance. We stocked up on fresh fruit and rice balls so they wouldn't have to feed us (we're not getting shots, so why should we get treats specifically meant for those who do?). All my guys are asking for at the venue is water (parched throats.)

Also, we encountered the apartment manager and she gave us the "green-light" to do some minor alterations to the apartment (just energy-saving things like window insulation and insulating the outlets on the outside wall, nothing much.) She was glad to have such easy tenants (unlike those above me and a few others.) I just have to borrow a hair dryer for the window insulation, but I probably won't have any difficulties on that end.

Gotta go. The gang's practice session's over and several of the guys are discussing what to do if another "I'm just here for food, nothing else" comes to pester the VNA staff. *EEK!* NO YOU'RE NOT STRIPPING ALL THE WAY, NO MATTER WHAT.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

The "for the food" person was back yesterday (several "escorts" made sure she left and didn't return.) The "buff" guys stripped to the waist again and there were too many distracted recipients of flu shots to really make a fuss.

The VNA offered more of their snacks but were politely refused. Some of the guys shared what we brought for nosh (quite a few of the nurses asked for the recipes for the fruit-stuffed onigiri [we used sour plums, umeboshi {which is pickled ume, a relative of plums that taste closer to apricots}, kiwifruit and sour cherry preserves].)

Tsukishima wore his donated winter jacket the first time yesterday. He complained at first, but he withdrew his complaints the moment he stepped outside (the cold nearly took his breath away.) He glared at the snow spirits who were laughing at him, but the :kitty:s took care of them (a quick SWIPE at ankle-level expressed their displeasure of the entire situation.) The Betadine made its rounds rather quickly (). Tskukishima's jacket is a white fake-fur trimmed red-and-gold-patterned hooded parka (Kuroda's is also white fake-fur trimmed, but his is blue-and-silver patterned while Seya's is faux grey wolf fake-fur trimmed black-and-metallic green-pattern, just to tell them apart, especially when the weather isn't that cooperative.)

Anyway, we're going to have to all get winter hats and gloves soon. We've had lows in the lower 20s F. recently, so winter gear for our newbies and the growing kids are a must! What's funny is that some of the guys want "pink ribbon" gloves. *shakes head in disbelief*

We also had a visit from the press corps from the "Stamp Out Hunger" session. They wanted to express their gratitude to Yuki for letting them use his son's photos, giving him copies of the shoot. The members of Circus passed them around before Hirato bellowed that the photos were to be handed to Yuki immediately. The only way I can describe it is, um, imagine being in the military or a military-like group. Now, imagine ticking off one's drill sergeant/CO so much that s/he cannot see straight. That bellow. Hell, even Wren stood at attention during the tirade. And the :kitty:s scrambled for hiding places.

Gotta go. There's a distraught Hirato trying to make amends to all the :kitty:s, and he looks a bit lonely with his hands just itching to give :kitty: scratches beneath chins and between ears. I'll just keep him company until a few of the :kitty: representatives approach by their own free will.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

The :kitty:s are getting reacquainted with Hirato, much to his delight/relief. It started with one of the recently weaned kittens (a bold little explorer in his own right) getting curious, his mother keeping an eye on him. Hirato "found" the lad's "sweet spot" (the particular part that the kitten just adores getting scratched) and the human was treated like he was made out of catnip. After that, more and more of the :kitty:s came over for a tete-a-tete. Hirato's also relaxed considerably.

Anyway, we're discussing "trick-or-treating" (namely, "costumes".) I suggested that many of guys from other times/places wear what they arrived in, sans weapons (or keep them concealed enough not to get picked up by police) and have the shinigami kind of keep watch from the rooftops, weapons ready in case of trouble. The students from "St. Monster High School" will be going around sans their "glamourie" which makes them appear human (they are actually "demons"/"monsters", but with abilities to hide their "alien-ness".) Emba might wear a modified outfit since he came here wearing only a loincloth and anybody who is familiar with Wisconsin weather knows it isn't enough towards the end of October. Yuuen's going to wear a copy of the "wedding dress" he wore the day he got married.

Oh, we also got a lot of attention at the store today from customers (some positive, some negative.) As many here may know, stores often have music playing in the background along with in-store commercials. Anyway, several of the guys started singing along with the in-store "radio", picking up and dropping out depending on the song. Good thing they didn't start dancing in the aisles (we want to return to the store at our discretion.) It also turned into a way to keep tabs on where everybody was at any point in time. I think we're going to have to lay low for a while, though (too much attention.)

Gotta go. Emba's trying to contact my friend America to help on a "thermal loincloth" idea, though I'm attempting to talk him out of the loincloth idea completely (he's too good looking.)

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

Just got back from the farmers market (this week's "entertainment" asked us not to sing thankyouverymuch [the audience, on the other hand. . . ].) There were more "pink cookie" purchases in the bento boxes (Tsukishima doesn't even have to specify the cookie, just show his face and one of the cookies finds its way into his lunch.) It's gotten to the point that I'm remembering [a deceased member*] and her "pizza delivery guy" every time Tsukishima steps up to place his order.

The guys are putting away our purchases right now (Seishiro's amazed at how smooth and orderly everything's going with so many people helping out.) Ah, excuse me a moment. . .

Yogi, knock it off with the apple juggling. We don't need fresh applesauce, okay? If you don't stop, the sheep'll be doing some Yogi juggling, and they're going to occasionally drop you "accidentally". Thank you.

Okay, I'm back. Sakuya told me that the kid he spoke with received the results of his biopsy: malignant. The kid seemed to have caught it early enough that it was probably still Stage 1, possibly Stage 2, but not yet Stage 3. He asked if Sakuya would mind going with him to his follow-up therapy sessions. Poor kid sounds scared, but I can understand, having gone with my late mother to her therapy sessions when she was alive. I told him that, if he decides to go with the young man, I'll listen to any and all concerns he has as a volunteer "companion". I'm going to get him a :kitty: notebook just to take notes in (and to give the young man if/when he wants it as a "treatment diary".)

Gotta go. Yogi's looking at the eggs, and I'm afraid he's going to start juggling them. *rolls up sleeves*

Phyllis Sidheuaine

* - she posted at least once that her household was on a first-name basis with the pizza joint, and sometimes he would remind his employer that they might order something different than their usual. A joke that was posted was that maybe he should be invited to the oldest daughter's wedding.

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

Ah, we just got back from an outing (the fire department had to air out the complex [again] because of another burned breakfast. ) Anyway, several of the "guys" had fun jumping rope with some girls at a neighborhood playground while still others joined a pick-up game of basketball. It was cute watching several "tough guys" (read: guys who "pack") learning to jump double dutch, laughing while forgetting that they want to kill someone "back home".

Ranmaru was cute trying out hopscotch (luckily he was wearing "Western" clothes since kimonos aren't conducive to hopscotch or most "Western" games [he also tried jumping rope and a couple of other games]) and Al joined in a basketball game (not half bad to my untrained eye.)

FeiLong and Yoh ran into a younger sister of FeiLong's assailant. She told me that she was afraid they would take out their anger on her (I wanted to pound some sense into both the parents and the older brother but sh!t splatters) but I suggested she take them aside and let them know about her fears. Yoh's tirade was priceless, let me tell you (several of the "old men" were duly impressed with the length and variety of "colorful language" he used during it.) FeiLong let her know that her actions were the only ones that she should worry about, not her parents' and not her sibling's. "Her honor is her own."

Ah, gotta go. Luchtime grumbles of "What's there to eat?" are coming from a few guys' mouths.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

Al and Hihara received an open invitation to play basketball when school's out from the guys they played with yesterday (turns out that only one of the players wasn't from the university, so they'll be using university facilities when the weather's not conducive to an outdoor game.) All they have to do is show up and bingo. It was funny when Al chatted with Hihara during dinner, saying that he thought the kid was just a musician, which earned him a dirty look.

Emba got a letter from my friend Tyler's grandparents today, too (hunting season's starting soon and he's been invited to take a few deer on their property.) America's mom will drive him up there during the weekends (if neither party has plans) and Emba can cull the herd as much as he wants. If he wants to take out a poacher or two. . . *shrug* He asked if he could bring his family with him at least once, which was given the green light. The only thing his hosts asked was to give them at least four days notice so they can get everything set up.

It's strange how I seem to be integrated into this huge community of, um, I guess one could say little to nothing in common other than the majority of them are human/oid from all these different times and places. I guess one could say that I'll be bereft whenever one or more of these guys return to their reality. Oh, well. Sorry for this little addition of depressed musings.

Gotta go. Looks like Seishiro's ready to cast and he tends to go for the kill.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

Wren and I were discussing the incident concerning the Northwest Airlines flight 188 (the one where the flight overshot the airport by about 150 miles [one of the passengers realized something was amiss when he saw the familiar skyline of Eau Claire, Wisconsin].) Anyway, Wren said it was too bad we (meaning those of us on this plane of reality) don't have "sentient" planes. He also said that a few Wrens might make things easier for everyone involved. I told him that we'll discuss Wrens later.

Keigo spent some time in the Urgent Care department while I was seeing the doctor yesterday (routine exam for me, nothing much.) The idiot was playing with a pair of rare earth magnets, forgot he had them on his hand when he had a "nature's call", and they slipped. He's physically okay, nothing ruptured. Mentally, we'll get back to you on that. He's undergoing strict bed rest with ice packs "down there" and ketoprofen.

Belinda got the H1N1 flu shot (since she suffered the stroke plus she's in a "high risk" group [none of the shinigami want that job].) Tao went with her to Children's (his school's closed due to flu, so he was grateful for the outing.) Afterwards, everybody met up at the last Wednesday farmers' market of the season and everybody else at the market demanded our group perform instead of the scheduled person (I feel sorry for any/all future performers while "my clan" remains.) We bought out the honey vendor, the buffalo vendor, the apple vendor and a few pumpkin vendors. Tsukishima got four pink cookies (one was tucked into his sandwich bento, three he purchased separately.) He tried a tuna melt "sub" for the first time and couldn't stop talking about the taste combination of tuna salad and melted cheese, even going through the line a second time just for another tuna melt.

Seishiro, Subaru and Hokuto fell victim to the kettle corn vendor, Subaru falling on his "padded area" twice. I bought them each a small bag of popcorn from the vendor then Hokuto bought herself a large bag later on. Seishiro only had the small bag since he's not as fond of sweets as Hokuto is.

Anyway, I've got an interesting request for lunch today: individual cheesy tuna casseroles along with the Korean green beans that were posted on the Mystery thread and cranberry apple rustic tarts for dessert, so I've gotta go start cooking (need to when cooking for over five hundred. )

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

A multitude of "my clan" are busy saying prayers/doing rituals for Lennon, a little boy who is in sad shape (shall we say?) due to a combination of strep and H1N1 (yep, tested positive for the virus.) His mother, Meghan, is beside herself with worry since he is five years old (I think) and usually quite healthy. :kitty: delegation is also sending :kitty: vibes, hoping to help, even just a little. It is even worse since Meg's pregnant again.

Ukitake is beside himself as is Keigo (they both want to help the little guy, but can't.) The shinigami is worried he might have a "client" and he hates doing kids with a passion (as do almost all if not all of them.)

Subaru and Seishiro had a run-in with a neighbor (he's still alive, so Subaru was able to block Seishiro this time.) I wonder if Subaru'll be willing to do that a second or third time for the blockhead.

Rune's been busy playing chess with the Chess Club (and beating the cr@p out of most of them without even breaking out in a sweat.) He doesn't want to join, though (understandable due to the poor treatment he receives each time he sits down at a board.) One jerk threw a tantrum after a legitimate loss in a three-move checkmate (the jerk's still a member, though. )

He's been practicing with my ceramic set (it's fantasy-inspired with dragons, unicorns, orcs, dwarves, wizards, etc.) He loves the weight (each piece is slightly heavier than the plastic ones a person gets at the local toy store.) He tells me that he's saving up for a wooden set (says that they are far more durable and the heft is better/more comfortable.) He knows chess better than I do, so whatever floats his boat.

Tomorrow's the last farmers market of the season, so everybody's going early (after breakfast, though.) We'll leave some stuff behind so the vendors will have something to sell later on.

Oops, gotta go. A few of the neighbors are causing a ruckus and none of my guys are in the mood. ENGAGE THE SAFETIES AND RETURN YOUR FIREARMS TO THE PROPER HOLSTERS. SHEATH ALL BLADED WEAPONS IN THEIR PROPER SHEATH, NOT IN A BODY. WREN, POWER DOWN. SEISHIRO, NEKOYASHIKI, CEASE INCANTATIONS NOW.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

Yesterday's haul has been divvied up and hidden away as well as the costumes put away for the season. Emba wore a fake cave lion skin (or was it supposed to be cave bear?) along with the authentic garb he arrived in (several young ladies watched him go house-to-house with his brood) and a few older kids who were trying to steal their candy found themselves staring at the business end of a hunting spear.

A few of St. Monster's students were harassed, pulled tails, plucked feathers and the like, but they enjoyed the trick-or-treating too.

I felt sorry for Ranmaru, Tsukishima, Kuroda, and Seya (they were wearing their "everyday" garb and several people thought that the kimonos were costumes. [Peasants].) A young male of roughly Tsukishima's age tried some "funny stuff" with them outside the complex and found himself staring down the business ends of Shuuhei's sword's secondary form. Man, some of these swords are. . . .

We held a ritual on the beach after most of the kids were asleep. The only exception was the shinto priestess, but she was put to bed early on since she is so young. She had a fruit leather snack pack before bed (cherry apple) and a :kitty: companion (I think it's Dandelion, lucky kid.)

Gotta go. A few drunks are causing trouble (that's what I get for living near several bars. ) PUT AWAY THE GUNS, SHEATH THE BLADES IN THEIR PROPER SHEATHS, NOT FLESH, AND WREN POWER DOWN AND PUT AWAY YOUR PLASMA CANNON.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

Ah, the dubious pleasures of explaining ethnic festivals (we got 3-day passes to the local multi-ethnic festival since we're volunteering our services [a lot cheaper than buying individual tickets for over 500 people].) Several of them are looking forward to seeing people they haven't seen in a year and chatting in their native tongues.

Yoh has been telling FeiLong and Tao about the Chinese "booth" ("Avoid their food since it's 'Chinese'. I'd recommend the Native American and the Korean, especially if they serve what they did last year.") FeiLong must be excited since he drew deeper on his pipe (don't ask, long story.) I wonder if they'll like the fry bread that seems to be a staple at the Folk Fair's Native American booth.

Anyway, the Tutoring Center has asked the guys if they'd like to extend their "contract" at least until the end of the Spring, 2011 semester and included our hearing-impaired member in the offer (G!d/dess help us avoid the "fangirls"/"fanboys"!) I can't wait to see what'll happen next year with a new crop of students.

Oops, gotta go. One of the neighbors just accosted Yogi and Hirato. GUYS, STAND DOWN. NOBODY'S HOME. IT'S :kitty: TIME.

Phyllis Sidheuaine

__________________
Arguing with you is like trying to hang myself in zero gravity<br /><br />This politickin' stuff is hard without detect evil.