amazon_syren

So...

I turned down a going-to-permanent-after-three-months job in Kanata, mostly because it's in Kanata -- $12/hr (even if I could negotiate for $13 or $14 once it went permanent) isn't quite enough to justify (A) the very long, very crowded commute and, more to the point, the $85/month (and rising) bus pass required to get me out there. Not for a "for ever" job that, from the sounds of it, is basically the office version of assembly-line: making sure a particular set of forms have been correctly filled out.

On the plus side, I just heard from Deb, my boss at my previous contract (who is awesome, as is her boss -- I like working with them) who has recieved my resume (again) and was just checking to see if I was working somewhere else or not.

So.

HOPEFULLY this means that I'll have another contract with them, walking to work, dealing with people I *like*, and getting a little bit of excersise every day. For the same $12/hr, but that goes a bit further (like an entire month of coffee and spoken-word event covers and brunches and stuff) when I don't have to spend a big wodge of money on a bus pass.

So I am feeling hopeful. This is good. :-)


In other news: Haven't heard from the dude who wants to shoot tomorrow. This is not entirely horrible, but it would be nice to hear back from him some time today so that I know what I'm getting into, how many outfits I should bring, how I should do my hair and makeup, etc. etc. and, y'know, what time I should show up.

Still, I figure I'll dye my hair and shave my legs (and maybe rag my hair, just to see if I can. :-)


Anyway, before I do that, though, I want to hit the grocery store, pick up milk, icecream, OJ, and a few other bits and bites (and pay the nickle for a plastic bag or two, so that I have something to cover my hair with when I dye it!)


Other things to do today:

Dishes

Laundry(?)

Write something short and erotic -- possibly to do with vampires (possibly a gal vampire and a Victim whose gender is ambiguous, so that the readers can see whatever they want to see? Don't know how well I'd do that... But it could be an interesting thing to try).

Start on the River Girl story for my sweetie-pie. Mwahahahaha. Now... to make this 'Married Sex' or 'Hot Stranger Rides Into Town Sex'... (Decisions, decisions...)

Polish a couple of already-started/written poems and maybe try to write another one.


Wish me luck! :-)


- TTFN,
- Amazon.

Queer, Kinky and/or Poly Blogs (often also writerly):

No More Potlucks -- an Ottawa/Gatineau dyke blog.

Freaksexual -- first (currently) article is (A) long, and (B) about youth (as opposed to age) and poly organizing. So far, so interesting.

Radial Symmetry - The Blog of the Amazing and Delectable Megan Butcher.

AmandaEarl[DOT]Com - her new site, which includes poly stuff and writerly stuff, among other things. :-)

Radical Vulvas -- Ottawa Chapter. Keep your eye out for their August 14th show. :-)

Smut in the Capital City -- I posted this one a couple of days ago, but I'm putting it here, too. It's the blog of Rockalily co-founder Rawknee. Go take a look. :-)

AND

Sex Geek - also local. Sweeeeeeeeeeet. :-D


In particular, take a look at:
Ten Realistic Rules for Good Non-Monogamous Relationships,
desperately seeking a hot bi babe (or, the politics of recruiting),
AND
On (not) Being Femme.


There will be posts talking about this stuff - particularly the last one - in a day or two.

For now, I need to get myself out for a walk and some writing.


- TTFN,
- Amazon.

So! Last night, my sweetheart and I went out to Umi for the YWTF launch/open-mic. :-D

She did a dramatic reading of Elizabeth Ruth's "Quantum Femme" (her favourite piece from my Brazen Femme book) and I then read two of my poems -- "Briars" and "Swallow". The first one is about breaking old habits and patterns (I think I'm going to submit it to Goblin Fruit tomorrow, actually. Must polish!) and the second is - no surprises here - erotic.
I think it's safe to say it was a hit. ;-)

Squee! :-D

NOTE: If you'd like to hear either/both of them, please come out to Umi Cafe next Tuesday, July 14th, for Voices of Venus. I'll be reading them plus one or two others (assuming I can come up with one or two others). :-D


My wonderful sweetheart (currently asleep in my bed) will, alas, be missing said show by a day - she's rather disappointed about that, as she'd REALLY like to see Jessica Ruano perform (she's our Feature, btw), but she's got clients waiting in NYC and needs to get back.

Anyway.

Last night was awesome. She and I and Jessica hung out after the show, eating peanutbutter cheesecake and yacking about theatre (I am now VERY disappointed for missing "Nevermore" at the Fringe because, holy moly! How perfectly, perfectly, whimsically, spookily, GORGEOUS! And with *musical numbers*!!!! <*squees at the youtube clips*>) and such-like.

It was fantastic! (And now I've actually *met* Jessica. So score onee for me! ;-) Only sad bits? Not seeing Hex and Deleriumfae there. (I brought Hex's sweater and everything). :-(
<*sad face*>
They would have had such a good time, too! :-(


My gal got to visit with a friend yesterday - Miz Mandy Lou of "Auntie Lou's Treats" -- you know, the fabulous vegan cupcakes you can get from the Herb and Spice? Those are hers -- and was feeling very social, which was refreshing for her.
Miz Mandy says the we will have to try out Zen Kitchen -- the new local/organic/etc place on Sommerset (SO there! I've been eyeing it for months and it's FINALLY open!), so maybe we can do that tonight. :-)


We are both looking forward to (A) Phamily Dinner tomorrow night, and (B) the weekend of Bluesfest-y goodness -- Loreena!!! Ani!!! :-D (we still need to figure out who we're going to see on Friday. Sugestions? :-)

Sso it's going to be a packed week. :-)


I'm still not working. For the moment this is fine, partly because I know that my boss is working to get me re-hired, and partly because it's nice to have some vacation time (more on that in a moment), especially when one's sweetheart is visiting, and partly because I've got 2 months of rent in the bank so I'll be fine if I'm not working for a few days. ;-)


But, yes. Vacation. I'm looking forward to my Toronto trip at the end of the month (have my bus ticke and my hostel booked and everything -- apparently the hostel does a good breakfast at their cafe. Sara says "Dammit! If I'd known you were staying at the same place, I'd have brought you my left-over breakfast vouchers! Boo!" Or, well, words to that effect. ;-)
Still. It's three days. I'm sure I'll survive. ;-)


Also: My darling and I are making some plans to spend our anniversary in Ithaca.
the idea is that I would bus down to Ithaca, NY and she would take the bike (and the spare helmet) up and meet me in town. We'd spend the day (the weekend?) there, visit my aunts (who I SO want her to meet because they'd all just be CRAZY about each other) and possibly/probably my grandmother. (I *fianlly* got that letter in the mail for her! Took me freaking long enough!) and then we would road-trip back up to Ottawa and she'd spend some time with me -- hopefully enough to enjoy Pride Week and do Ddyke March with me again. That'd be really nice.


Anyway. There are plans to make and erotica to write (and breakfast to eat, omg!) so I think I'll get on that before my darling gets up. :-)



[EDIT: Bluesfest Plan is as follows:

Friday July 10th, 2009
Devotchka – 9pm – Hard Rock Café Stage

Saturday, July 11th, 2009
Diunna Greenleafe - 5:45pm - Subway Stage (??)
Loreena McKennit – 8pm – Rogers Stage
Brian Setzer Orchestra – 9:30pm – Bank of America Stage

Sunday, July 12th, 2009
Jenn Grant – 6:15pm – Black Sheep Stage
Neko Case - 7:30pm - Rogers Stage (??)
Ani DiFranco – 9pm – Hard Rock Café Stage

Unless our Day Pass tickets will only get us into one show per day... I thought that was how they worked, but the website doesn't say anything of the sort so... Am I wrong? Help? Someone?
/EDIT]


Life is wonderful and good!


:-D


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-D

So.

I got up today.

Which, given yesterday, definitely counts as Accomplishement Number One. ;-)


Seanchaidh and I are getting together tomorrow afternoon for tarot and griping, or similar, which should be nice. :-) I think I'll be cleaning out the fridge this afternoon in preparation for said event. :-)


This morning, I have done the following:

1) Made a pair of earrings for my sweetie-pie (I shan't describe them, as said sweetie-pie can see this post and I want them to be a surprise. ;-)

2) Started typing up "In the Pink" (my latest bit of erotica).

[EDIT: "In the Pink" is coming along. It's very... breast-centric at the moment. Hm... Also: Have bought shoes online. Pointy-Toed Mary-Janes. Just 'cause I can. :-)
/EDIT]


Things I'd like to get done today (and/or tomorrow morning):

1) Laundry
2) Fridge-Cleaning
3) Dishes
4) Finish "In the Pink"
5) Start typing my next erotica story (a significantly kinkier one), which currently has no title but will probably end up being called "Scent of Cedar" or something equally sensual and evocative.
6) Postering for VoV (Whee!)
7) Get gatoraide or similar, as I think it will help me get rid of this headache.


With that in mind: Time for more writing.


- TTFN,
- Amazon.

So, my sweetie is going to the "I Love Sex" party at Goodhandy's tonight.

She's looking forward to getting a chance to be with her friend-and-coworker in a situation where they don't have to feel guilty about Not Working while fooling around with eachother.

She's not sure if she'll ever get an actual Date with this gal -- partly because she doesn't want to cause drama (which I think means: get too attached), because that'll throw things off at work, and partly because she doesn't actually know this woman outside of a work situation.

But the gal in questions seems to be quite sweet on her (no surprises there), so we'll see what happens. :-)

<*sigh*>

My sweetie-pie. <3 :-)


In other news: I have a bathtub full of dishes to do.

Yes, I said "bath-tub". When I have a LOT of dishes -- such as dishes that have been sitting around for LITTERALLY a week after a party and I just haven't had the combination of time and inclination to actually get them done -- I put them in the bath. Because, that way, I *have to* do them if I want to take a shower.
And I'd really like to take a shower!

Mmmmmmmm... With honey-scented soap and a loofah or something. :-)



WestFest was awesome. Saleema Nawaz (who I went to school with at various points in my life) read from her new novel, and Luna Allison and Shanon Beahen performed at the Spoken Word show, which was faboo.


That said: What is this style of slam-poetry wherein one speaks loudly and relentlessly and <*cough*> without much in the way of nuance <*cough*> into the mic? I suspect the point is to be overwhelming, but mostly I find it irritating. We can modulate our voices for a reason. Doing so adds significantly (I think) to the tone of a piece.
That particular style I just described... It feels too much like someone who is typing in all caps and without any punctuation.
Which is unfortunate.
Sound and fury signifying nothing is a crappy way to perform if you actually have something to say.

/snark.


Anyway.

Dishes. Or something.


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)

So, I went to Umi last night to read a few poems at their monthly Women's Spoken Word event.
Hexpiritus was the feature performer, so we got to hang out for a bit. Which was fun. :-)

Inconveniently, the event had not been particularly well-organized (or well-advertised) so, for quite some time, there was only me and Hex listed as performers. (I was rather glad that I'd brought a lot of poetry. And that I was able to remember a couple more off the top of my head).

In the end, we had a total of five performers, which is not spectacular, but given that it more than doubled our original line-up, I'd say it's pretty good.

You'll note I'm using terms like "we" and "our".

See. Sergio, one of the Umi guys (he sets up the sound-system and the lights for performances, and - I think - does the website, among other things), pointed out that this event should definitely continue as a monthly thing, but that it needs someone to do the Organizing.
Hex has buckets of experience and know what it takes to get something like this off the ground and keep it there.
I do not, but I *am* a good flunky and I'm more than a little happy for the opportunity to get a little more involved in The Scene.


To that end, by the way, I need suggestions for local (or in-town-at-the-right-time) women writers/spoken!word-artists/poets who are reliable and reliably good at what they do because we need to line up some feature performers.
I'm thinking Meghan Butcher, as one possible headliner, but other suggested are, um, needed. :-) (Luna Allison, obviously, but she may have other things to do at this point. So I don't know about approching her).
There's a women's writing collective... Kimera (or something - verification, anyone?) who've performed at Raw Sugar before and maybe they'd like to get in on this.

Anyway. Think-think-think. :-)



In other news:
After the VoV show, a bunch of us went down to the Elmdale Tavern in Hintonburg to see a short performance by the Sin Sisters burlesque troupe. They are adorable and fabulous. :-) There was houla-hooping (impressive), a fan dance (sultry), a strip-tease duet (adorable!) and a story (funny).
There was also a kissing booth. Hex's friend, Morris, got us kisses. It was fun. :-) (Turns out I get ridiculously bashful when kissed by pretty girls. Not that this is much of a surprise).


Anyway. After their show, I headed home. Walked part way with Hex, which was nice. Got in the door at ten minutes to midnight. Went to bed. Woke up when the phone rang.
My darling had a trio of clients tonight and she had a *fantastic* time with them. So she wanted to tell me about it, and I was quite happy to talk with her (despite being super-groggy) because we hadn't been able to talk much early that day, so it was nice to play catch-up, so to speak. :-) Plus, y'know, I got to tell her about being involved with Voices of Venus and about getting to kiss pretty girls. Which is always nice. :-)



Also: I had multiple people telling me that I'm pretty/beautiful/etc (this is what comes of matching your eyeliner to your dress, apparently) yesterday, so I walked home feeling pretty phenominal. :-)


In short: Yesterday was AWESOME, and I want to have more days like that! :-D


Today: Dinner chez Raynedaze et al. :-) I think I'll be picking up some berries or other fruit to share around. :-) YAY! Fruit! :-D


- TTFN,
- Amazon. :-)

First attempt at erotic prose in quite some time (or at least at erotic prose that went anywhere). Available here.
Comments and critiques are appreciated. :-)

Am designing a pair of earrings for Vimy. Reds for courage and blues for healing (among other things), lots of water-based stuff. I hope she likes them. :-)

Spent a few hours with Arndis.
There was tea. It was nice.
She very kindly listened to me whine and bitch and flail about my current employment situation (and the impending complication to my romantic situation), which was nice to be able to do.

I still feel sick to my stomach, thinking about it, though.

I applied for a retail job today.

Part of me feels like "Great. The kiss of death. I'm trapped. I'll never get out. Never make a living wage reliably. I'll never, I'll never, I'll never..." Etc. Etc. Another part of me, granted, is going "Yes, but this plus some sort of part-time day-job plus maybe another retail gig plus whatever else you can come up with might actually work out..." But I'd still rather have income that I didn't have to constantly be Working At. The kind of thing where, as long as I show up on time and do the work, I'm guaranteed enough to thrive on so that I don't have to waste my precious brain trying to figure out survival and can actually use it to figure out, say, my emotional issues. And actually get beyond a baseline, for goodness sakes...

Anyway.


I also signed up (just now) for a gmail account. Basically, just something with my real name attached to it, so that when I email out resumes they aren't looking at an address that's designed to not show my legal name. This may help me in the job department. (I got a note back from one of the places I'd applied saying that, unfortunately, the possition was filled, but that (A) the fellow was pretty sure I knew his wife from the College of the Humanities, and (B) that I might want to change up my email address a little as it might give me a better shot at, basically, being taken seriously by a potential employer.
I figure, if a stranger (more or less) is willing to make that suggestion, I may as well take him up on it.
So that got done.


I also went and checked out Circlet Press (I think it's called) - which is a site that specializes in the online publication of SF/F erotica. I looked at this and, effectively, went "That I can do".
So I spent the early afternoon (before my visit to Arndis' and Tchang's place) laying out the groundwork for a "Sex Under the Fairy Hill" kind of story. I'll see where I can go with this.
Might also be able to sort out the het piece I thought of a while back, and maybe a couple of other ideas.
I'll see what I come up with. :-)
It's nice to be writing again. :-)


With that in mind: I am very happy to hear that, in addition to Miz Ami_B, I will also get to see Raynedaze, Arndis and Tchang at the Friday get-together chez Umi Cafe. Hopefully Marna and Ian will be able to turn up as well. :-)
My secret plot: To see how many folks are either (A) willing to hang out at Umi for five full hours, or (B) willing to follow me home for an hour and a speedy dinner followed by coming back to Umi with me to listen to me spout poetry at an audience that, hopefully, will be reasonable in size (bus strike + students gone home for the holidays = low turn-out for Open Mic Night).

Anyway, now that my plot is out in the open, feel free to comment if the idea appeals to any of you. ;-)


Whooooooooooo... I feel better for having talked about that. A little more hopeful for recognizing that I can still write and be creative. (Thank all the gods...) Which reminds me, I have candles to light on New Years Eve. (That's tomorrow, isn't it?) Safety for my Girl, and hopefully some work/income/financial!relief (or all of the above, for preference) for me, too. :-)

Anyway. With that in mind, I think I'll try and get some more writing done tonight. :-)


[EDIT: Just heard from Miss Sara. Her flight was fine, she's in Brooklyn, she has a place to stay, and she's trying to sort out how to deal with the lots-and-lots of calls she's getting for escort work while she's in NYC. It's really good to hear her voice. :-) My goodness, but I miss her something fierce... Anyway. She's going to get her head together and think things through a bit, and I'll hear from her in a little bit - probably an hour or so would be my guess. Anyway. I'm glad she's safe and taking good care of herself. :-)]


- TTFN,
- Amazon.

I wrote these just before Hallowe'en. Have finally found the words that were missing. I think they - certainly the first one - still need a little work. If you have any suggestions for what's missing, I'd love to hear them.

*~*~*~*~*

Strut

I like the way you strut
Cocky
Like you own the road
Loping, lean and lanky on long
Strong legs
Jeans tight to your muscled thighs and
Black hat riding low over your eyes

You make me weak in the knees

Wanton with want

Aching to flay
that thin veneer of brazen bravado
Peel it
back like skin
Exposing
the pulse and throb of
naked need

I like to suck that smirk
Off your face
Make you moan
Whimper
All your edges gone
Yielding under the onslaught
Of my touch

I like the way you melt for me
your Gutsy turned to gasping,
all your solid walls dissolving,
Body arched in acquiescence,
begging
for the mercies
of my mouth

Yeah, I like the way you strut
So certain and so self-assured

Strut into the maw
of my desire


*~*~*~*~*

Hungry

Woman
I want
To devour you

To taste the salt
Of your sweat on my tongue
Sink my teeth into your trembling
Flesh and feel
The muscle
Shudder Underneath

I want to claim your mouth
With my own
Breathe your breath and
Swallow
Every moan

I want
So much more
Than just one taste

I want
To devour you
whole

*~*~*~*~*

Questions, comments? Suggestions (particularly for the first one, which is... in need of some sort of tweaking, but I'm not sure what)?