Ongoing Memes

I set up this handy page to collect my posts for repeating or ongoing memes. Due to Blogger's lack of tags, this just seemed like the easy shortcut!

Enjoy!

- Mel.

Last updated: November 16, 2006


101 Things in 1001 Days
Mine - posted 9/11/06
Erich's - posted 9/12/06



#1: Things I'm Thinking About - posted 8/31/06
#2: Things I Like About Myself - posted 9/7/06
#3: Why I Love New England - posted 9/14/06
#4: Feline Photos - posted 9/21/06
#5: Band Geekiness - posted 10/5/06
#6: Thank Yous - posted 10/13/06
#7: Random i-Podding - posted 10/19/06
#8: Halloween Purchases - posted 10/26/06
#9: Pets - posted 11/9/06
#10: Things to do before New Year's Eve - posted 11/16/06




September 27, 2006
August 16, 2006
August 3, 2006
July 13, 2006
June 7, 2006
May 31, 2006
May 25, 2006
May 3, 2006 - the massive 2006 to date catchup. :)
January 5, 2006
December 23, 2005
December 14, 2005
October 20, 2005
September 22, 2005
September 14, 2005
July 13, 2005


Tuesday's Tales
Reminiscing Our Childhood - posted 8/8/06


3x Thursday
June 15, 2006

Friday Feast
#1: September 15, 2006
#2: September 22, 2006
#3: October 6, 2006

A Glimpse of Time Blog Webring

The Glimpse of Time webring is a long-standing ring of online journals, blogs, and similarly themed websites from around the world. We believe that our entries capture moments of life among many individuals- allowing the reader a quick view of a moment of someone else's experience... hence, a Glimpse of Time.

New members are welcome from anywhere, of any age. We do not require any sort of content editing-- sensitive readers should view at their own discretion. All we ask is that potential members be writing their blogs for themselves. Blogs that discuss services, newsfeeds-only, etc. are not permitted here. We are about people, their passions, their experiences, and their expression.

MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

All sites must have some sort of personal blog (aka journal, diary, etc.). Corporate advertising blogs, newsfeed blogs, and other blogs not related to some aspect of the life of the writer are not permitted.

Potential members should consider this an adult-level ring. We do not moderate our members for content-- we celebrate freedom of expression, and hope you do, too.

Blogs locked down (entirely) in "friends only" or private mode are not permitted-- it wouldn't make sense to be part of a webring if the public can't view your writings!


RING PLACEMENT RULES

The ring code must be placed upon the site before being approved to the ring. It must be placed on the blog template or on a page of webrings which is linked clearly from the entries template.

You may alter the ring text to match the style of other rings on your website. The only required links are previous, next, and the ring homepage.

Livejournal (and similar platform) users should place the ring code in their personal info page description text.

If you are unfamiliar with HTML and need some help, please email measiwitch@gmail.net, and I'll be happy to assist you in getting it on your pages.

Interested in joining us? Head over to NetRing and get started!

Cast and Crew

This is an ever-changing list, of course, but these are some of the people you'll most likely find mentioned around here, other than me.


Household

Erich: My boyfriend and better half. We've been together since May 2001 (and this journal has essentially seen our entire relationship to date). It's frightening how well we get along together. He's 30, a life long resident of Massachusetts (barely an accent, I might add), and is interested in just about all of the geekiness that I am (and then some). I love him a lot. We moved in together in September 02 (many journal entries have been written about said move). He also has his journal (talonscar.dx)

Jason: a.k.a. Little Gray Man (LGM) in prior entries. Male, 29. Also is an adoptee. Ex-lover, ex-pseudo-boyfriend, ex-roommate (reverse that in the order that they happened), re-roommate, and now-coworker. This is the epitome of dysfunctional relationships at its finest, folks... sit back and watch the show. :)

Colley: a.k.a "Colorado Kat." The big fuzzy love of my life. =) Colley's a Norwegian Forest Cat, which normally is compared to a Maine Coon. He weighs around 13 pounds, and when he stretches out next to me, his head is next to my knee, and the tips of his toes neary hit my shoulder. He's a lovebug, and definitely thinks he's a human toddler. He's also a wonderful older brother and protector of Fizzy.

Fizzy: a.k.a. "Mephista." She's the little fizzy love of my life. :) Fizzy is a mixed-breed kitten born in June 2001. She's a lovebug, a strong purrbaby, and hyper as hell. She gave us quite a surprise when we took her in for neutering-- we thought Fizz was a boy for the first six months of her life, and they dropped the bombshell on us that day in January '02.

Gus: a.k.a. "Augustus." In August of 2003, Erich came running up to the apartment one morning with the tiniest little black fuzzy kitten in his hand (emphasis singular). The four week-old, one pound kitten has now turned into a holy terror who takes down Christmas Trees and anything on side tables at will. He's the king of purring... loudly. He's also adorable and sweet-- at least when he's asleep.



Family

Mom and Jim: Live in Pennsylvania. They talk about marriage, and have an on-again-off-again relationship that I never quite know the status of. Mom is a real-estate agent. Jim works his ass off for the electric company.

Dad and Anne: Live in Montana. Dad is an OB-GYN. Anne, my adult-onset stepmother, trains special-ed kids with horseback riding and does some other part-time work. They've been married since 1999. I had a fall-out with my dad just after Christmas in 2002, and we really haven't spoken much since then. We're at that terse-but-rebuilding stage.

Scott: My pain in the ass 27-year old brother (also an adoptee). He lives in Arizona, and we don't really mesh that well. Of course my mom still insists that we'll be the best of friends someday. He's starting to grow up, but he still drives me crazy due to his bipolar disorder-- I never quite know how to react to him.

Em and Jon: My step-sibs on Anne's side. John's the same age as Scott. Em's a couple years younger. I've only seen them a few times each over holidays. Jon's a ranger and currently stationed in Kentucky after spending quite a bit of time over in Afghanistan.

Brett: Jim's son. Lives in Pennsylvania, and was working on his degree last I heard. I see him a couple times a year, usually around the holidays that I happen to be in Pennsylvania to celebrate. He's engaged to a sweet girl named Andrea. He's a nice guy, but since I live up here, I've never really gotten to know him beyond the "our parents are dating-- hey, how are ya?" sort of thing.


Friends & Others

Minarae and Petrouchka: Live in San Diego and are a very happy couple with cats. I met both of them through journals on Diary-X, but have had the pleasure of meeting both in person. Minarae and I are disturbingly similar. No, really. :) Beware-- we come as a pair in the journaling world. :)

Wildcard (Frank): Male, born 1976 in Columbia, adopted and raised in New York. Lives in Boston. Wildcard is, well... probably the title he holds is You Lucky Fucking Bastard. Both in and out of our roleplaying sessions. Wildcard has tons of energy, tons of curiosity, and is completely spontaneous. If you've ever read the DragonLance novels, Wildcard is Tasslehoff incarnate. He is in a serious relationship with Teresa (below).

Teresa: Wildcard's girlfriend. I don't know her very well, but she seems to be a nice person, and a good match to keep Wildcard grounded. They share an apartment together in The Fenway section of Boston.

Avatar: Male, born 1976, raised in upper New York State. Lives in Boston. Avatar's also an ex-roomate who moved into Egremont with LGM and I for the last year that we lived there. Avatar's a guy's guy... and until the last year or so was in more of an annoying college guy mode. He's really come into his own in the last few months, and as he's grown, I've liked him more and respected him more. Avatar is infamous for extremely amusing melodrama (purposely created melodrama for the sake of joking around, I might add).

Tone: One of Erich's ex-roommates and close friends since high school. Different person than Ogre above, although they share the same name. :)Tone's in his mid-twenties and shares an apartment with his girlfriend, Robin, and one of his co-workers, Dennis, in the apartment Erich moved out of to move in with me. Tone's active in community theater, loves video games, and has one of those strong personalities that can be both fantastic and frustrating to be around at times.

Kevin: A friend of Erich's from high school that I met when we first started dating. Kevin is a good friend both in and outside of gaming, and when we're off to do something like LAN's, premier nights at movies, etc., generally Kevin is with us.

Ivanna: a.k.a. Ivy. My best friend from college, who I met through my sorority (Tau Beta Sigma). Ivy and I were inseperable in college, but lost touch for a while during some of my mid-twenties bruisings. We're still good friends, and keep in touch when we can.

Andi: My oldest friend (since age 2). We have one of those friendships where we might not talk together for a year or two, but as soon as we're on the phone, it's like yesterday. Andi lives with her husband and daughter in the suburbs of Seattle.

Sisters: If capitalized, I'm referring to two or more of the collective membership of the Eta Gamma chapter of Tau Beta Sigma (Boston University). :)

Ogre (Tony): Isn't one. :) But I don't have a better name for him at the moment, so I'll use part of his email handle. Ogre is in his 30's, born and raised in Mass. I met him through one of my college friends, Ivy. He's a hockey fan, a fun guy to be around, and happens to be into the BSDM scene. Someone I was interested in for a while, but the night I was going to ask him, he told me about his entrance into the "scene." I'm a curious outsider and knew I wouldn't be relationship material for him. I never talked to him about it, and we've developed a good strong friendship. Ogre is one of the rare people who actually provides comfort to people who are hurting at the same time as *gently* pointing out issues/signs that might have been missed.

JT and Tan: Were (I thought) good friends of mine until a fall-out in March of 2003, where everything crumbled apart with honestly no desire to return. I spent a large portion of my weekends between September 2000 and March 2003 at their home, playing Dungeons and Dragons. Since the fallout, haven't mentioned them because... well, no reason to. *shrug*

Ade: JT's eldest. I miss her, but the situation with her dad was pretty much a silencer in our friendship as well-- there's no ill-will between either of us. I'm just a bit wary about hanging out with a teenager when I'm not on good terms with her dad. She also has a online journal (that is locked)

Grace: Female, mid-twenties. Raised in New York state, lives in Boston. LGM's ex-girlfriend, and a royal pain in my ass for the better part of late 2000 and much of 2001. Major drama queen, and has a fit if her ass isn't kissed. That's about all I have to say about her, other than my hopes that the karmic backlash on her is more than threefold.

About Me...

My name is Melissa Kathryn. I'm 30 years old, born and raised in Montana, and currently reside in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts, trying to figure out how the hell I became so domestic so quickly. I share an apartment with my boyfriend, Erich, and our three cats, Colley, Fizzy and Gus (less commonly known as Colorado, Mephista, and Augustus... used when they're being brats).

I am the elder of two children. Both my brother, Scott (born 1978) and I are adopted in closed adoptions. I have knowledge of, but no contact with, my biological parents. My brother does not have any idea about his. We are not biologically related, and because of events during our childhoods, I do not feel close to him. My parents divorced on relatively good terms when I was 14. My father remarried in 1999, and he and my step-mother, Anne, live in Billings, Montana. My mother lives in Easton, Pennsylvania, with her boyfriend, Jim. They are planning to get married in the near future, but have not set a date. From my parents' remarriages, I've gained three new sibs... Jonathan (three years younger than me) and Emily (six years younger), who are Anne's children, and Brett (four years younger), who is Jim's son.

I consider myself to be an eccentric person, and relatively private. Most of my life, I've been a loner, and even today I don't consider myself as having many friends... just several acquaintences. I enjoy the time I spend with the friends that I have, but struggle with social anxiety. Mine happens to come into effect mostly when I'm in larger groups of people. So while I want to spend the time with people, I'm also struggling to keep my anxiety under control all the time. It's a frustrating condition, but I deal with it as best as I can-- and I have a boyfriend who is both understanding and helpful in preventing me from being a hermit.

During the day, I work as an administrative assistant for the design department at one of the large publishing houses in the USA. My company creates and publishes textbooks for 6th through 12th grade. My educational background is in journalism, but I've found that my strengths are more in editing than writing. Unfortunately, since I've been out of school for four years, the technology behind desktop publishing has moved past what I learned, so I had to find a back-door into the publishing industry. I'm hoping to brush up on my skills and eventually get into editing or designing of some sort. For now, though, I'm very happy where I'm at because the environment is the best I've come across since college. I'm still recovering from my old job that had more of an effect on my psyche than I ever could imagine one job could have.

When I have free time, I love to read, listen to music (U2, Billy Joel, Sting, etc.), go out for ethnic food, goof around on my computer, and watch TV. My lifelong hobby is penpalling-- I swear I support at least a couple of postal workers' salaries on my own. I write to other women all over the world, and at last count (although I generally don't keep a count since it fluxuates), I was writing to approximately 90 people. For some reason, though, I can't get into correspondance via email with anyone other than people I know in person. For letters, I still have to write them longhand!

I welcome anyone who wants to write... just drop me an email and we can exchange addresses.

(and if anyone trades fb's, slams, etc... I do those, too.)


I am a religious person, but other than a pendant around my neck, I generally keep my beliefs and opinions about faith to myself, unless specifically asked. I am a practicing eclectic Pagan, believing in both the Goddess and God and their ongoing cycle of balance and counter-balance through the cycles of Nature. I started my path as a Wiccan, but have found my beliefs drifting to a bit less defined as of late. Like Wiccans, I try to uphold the Rede, which states "An' it harm none, do as thou will." A simple eight word phrase to say, but hard to follow, lemme tell ya! As with most other Wiccans, and several other Pagans, I also believe that all faiths are simply individual interpretation of an undefined Truth that's out there. I don't agree with the statement that there is only "one true faith," nor that everyone must follow the one I follow. In fact, I'd rather than more people think for themselves and follow their hearts to find their own individual paths to happiness.