Really Long Day

March 4, 2010
really-long-day

Today was miserable.

I’ve had a sinus headache for days now; it’s screwing with my sleep. Normally I’m awake by 9- today I barely dragged myself out of bed at 10. I was groggy and lethargic, and didn’t get anything of note accomplished before my step-dad left for his doctor’s appointment at quarter after 1. Less than fifteen minutes later I get a call from Mom- she’s sick, and Mark is coming to get me so I can drive her home. I dress quickly and grab my purse, expecting to hear that she’s been vomiting again and can’t drive home.

We get to her, and she hasn’t been vomiting- she’s deathly pale, except the skin around her nose and mouth is bright red, along with her ears. She’s wheezing and her voice sounds wrong. Her hands are swollen, her palms are red. She tells me she had an apple not too long ago. Normally, she avoids apples- she’s mildly allergic to them, and they make her throat itchy- but she’d tried organic ones very recently and had no symptoms at all. The one she had earlier was supposed to be organic.

So I head for CVS, buy her some chewable Benadryl and water, and head towards home, but as we get into Derby she’s still anxious, and the redness hasn’t faded from her face, so I decide to take her to the ER instead. She’s seen immediately, and the nurse tells me she has to have an IV. Awesome. We’re both phobic, I explain, so she’s going to panic. And she does, worse than I’ve ever seen her panic before. She starts vomiting violently as they’re trying to insert the IV, and the nurse has to put it in her hand, which in turn has me running for the bathroom to puke the moment I know Mom is settled. They give her Benadryl and some steroid, and tell her to try to relax and sleep- they want to keep an eye on her breathing for a while.

But she can’t relax- she’s shivering, even though she’s under three blankets, and she just keeps chattering. Eventually she quiets down, but she’s still restless and cold; I feel her forehead and it feels hot, and I realize that I never found out her temperature when she was admitted. We run cold, so a “normal” temperature to the doctors is a little high for us. I track down the nurse and ask her what Mom’s temp was when we were admitted, and if she could check it again, and sure enough Mom has a 100-something fever. So they give her a fluid drip and Tylenol. By the time she was done with the drip she was looking a lot better, and shortly after the doctor gave her a script for an epi-pen and discharged her, since her temperature was back down and her breathing seemed fine. I think we got home about quarter after six or so. I am damn near ready to collapse.

I did get something to smile about when we got home, though- my package arrived. I collect ball-jointed dolls, and I bought a Musedoll Re-an head secondhand from the Marketplace on Den of Angels. I was super excited to see the package, she looks awesome. I’m waiting for Alys’ head to come back from Washington state, as she’s been away getting a new face-up. One of these days I’ll get pictures up.

Anyway, I’m exhausted. I hate hospitals. So I think I’m calling it a night a bit early!

// Kat

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Katsucon!

February 20, 2010
katsucon

So, Katsucon last weekend was awesome.

Dan and I left in the early morning; I think we were on the road by 5:45am or so. A pretty ghastly hour, if I do say so myself. We hit a bit of traffic in NY, which wasn’t surprising, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing, and we made good time. The hotel we stayed at was actually the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, so it was a bit removed from everywhere else, but it was awesome inside. I’m looking forward to next year already! When Dad gets his pictures up I’ll post a few and link to the rest.

I brought my kimono, of course, all except the kurotomesode because it’s heavy and I didn’t expect I’d be in the mood to wear it. (I’m generally not, because it’s black and very formal.) I ended up turning my cat-girl costume idea into a kitsune costume, wearing a haoir with an obi and my stompy boots. I’m planning a school-girl outfit for the cat-girl idea. I bought a gorgeous furisode kimono (the ones with the long, swinging sleeves) that was done entirely in a time-consuming technique called shibori- it’s really a piece of art. I also splurged and got a nagajuban (which is the under-kimono) that was made for and worn by a geisha- the collar is white with some really pretty embroidery, and it’s all done in a red dye technique that has been lost to history. It’s amazing. If she still has the meiko nagajuban at Otakon I may have to splurge again- I regret leaving it behind, but I’d bought enough for one convention! I also picked up a cute piece of Alice in Wonderland art, a Jayne hat (whoo Firefly!), the Iria series on dvd, a Domo-kun hoodie and some clothes for my bjd Alys (including a cute little kimono of her own!)

It also just occurred to me that I don’t think I’ve ever shared any pics of my kimono before, so I’ll post some for you! They’re all snapshot from the conventions- forgive my random and ever changing hair styles! Pics are all by my dad- if you want to see more, you can head over to his site. He also has pics from the various renfaires, too. If you click on them, you’ll see them full size on his site in a new window. Also, some of his shots are from weird angles- we call it “stealth photography”. He likes to catch people unawares.

These pics are from Animazement 2007 in Raleigh, NC; my very first kimono, my kurotomesode. It’s the most formal kimono besides a bride’s kimono. There are white symbols on the front of each shoulder, the back of each shoulder and the middle of the back- these are called mon, and are family crests. The more mon, the more formal a kimono. I’m wearing a fukuro obi with it, which is the most formal type of obi still worn today. The musubi, or bow/knot, is a very informal style, however. You can sort of see my first pair of wooden geta peeking out the bottom- they are bloody uncomfortable, let me tell you.

There’s surprisingly only a couple of shots of my kimono from Nekocon in 2008, in Hampton, VA. A few are me in the kurotomesode, but you’ve already seent hat! (Not to mention I’m wearing my obi improperly; I forgot to fold it in half when I wrapped it. Ah well, first time doing it myself!) The first shot is me in my peach tsukesage kimono, which is a relatively informal type, with a nagoya obi, also relatively informal. The kimono in the second two pictures is my pink komon kimono, which is the most casual kimono I own, along with another nagoya obi in an informal box musubi. (I look a little weird in the second pic, but I think I was talking? I usually am…)

And last for now is Nekocon of 2009; I wore the peach komon, and then the awesome green furisode kimono I purchased at that con. Furisode are the most formal kimono for unmarried women (traditionally under the age of 20); after your coming of age ceremony you’d transition to kurotomesode and irotomesode for formal events instead. I’m wearing a fukuro obi with it, and a fan-style musubi I am rather fond of (although it looks a little hastily tied in the first pic).

And hopefully I’ll have the pics of my new furisode to show! I’ll have to do a little fashion show one of these days and get good shots of all of my kimono collection for the site!

I think I have rambled on enough! Catch you later!

Questions:
1. Do you collect anything? What? When did you start?
2. Have you ever been to an anime convention? Which one(s)? Did you have fun?

// Kat

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Back at the Gym

February 6, 2010
back-at-the-gym

Planet Fitness is doing (or was doing- I don’t know if it’s still on) a deal where you could sign up for $5, with a $10 monthly fee for a year, and I decided to go for it. I need to get into shape- while I’m not terribly overweight, I do have a few more pounds on me than I really ought to, and furthermore my body is weak. I walk a lot, but that’s the extent of my physical activity. Even if I only go once a week, it’s better than not. I went yesterday with Sean for a little while; we only did about half an hour on a machine whose name is escaping me at the moment. I figured some light cardio was probably a good start.

Today will likely be a busy but not terribly interesting day. I have three loads of laundry that need to be put away, and some various tidying of the general mess. I meant to write yesterday and never did, so I want to get something written today. I have some reading for school to do, and a take home quiz for Humanities. I’m dyeing my hair since my roots are getting noticeable and annoying. Mom is working on the petticoat for my catgirl outfit, so I’ll be helping with that. I feel like I’m forgetting something, too.

I’m rewriting my goals page; I redid the one I have over at POM and I like it a lot better. I’m going to update over at AM too.

I read Juliet Marillier’s Heir to Sevenwaters which is a very good book. It’s supposed to be a standalone novel, but I hesitate to agree- it all makes a lot more sense if you have the background of the other three books. It was good, though.

I’m not sure what my plans are for tomorrow. I’m considering heading over to watch the Superbowl with Sean, but I think his friend Macks will be there, and I really don’t want to be around him. I was thinking about going to the gym, too, but I don’t know what the hours are so I’d have to look that up first. I guess it all depends on how much I get done today.

Sorry to be so boring! At least Katsucon is coming up, and that should be some good fun. I really hope this catgirl outfit works out the way I’m envisioning it. But I have a lot to do, so I better get to it!

Questions:
1. Do you have any fun events coming up?
2. Have you ever belonged to a gym, or wanted to?

// Kat

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