twits

( all back here. )

good morning, good morning to you

I woke up with my left hand in a random claw shape and my left shoulder (lesser extent the elbow) screaming at me for a multitude of imagined sins. The hand was comforted by some stretches, and the new heating pad (which largely rocks because it has moist and dry heat and therapy settings so it can shut itself off after a certain amount of time, but best of all it has strings to tie it to various parts of your body so you can actually keep it where it needs to be - HIGHLY recommended - it's made by Softheat, amazon has their products here.

Nifty things for the day:
joe_pike_junior (who is pretty awesome himself) posted illusions of steepness and height and how the brain handles them.

Also, someone asked me if they could translate one of my femmeslash fics (smoke: cuddy/stacy, post-infarction, angsty for me anyway, rated r-ish) into Russian. I was amazed and intrigued, so I said "hey, sure!". I know a few of you read some russian: the entry is here.

Kid has the day off. Kid is being astonishingly good *touch wood* these days. Many of my chores and writings are being interrupted with hug-and-kiss breaks. Sadly had to postpone the Children's Museum trip with the_misha, tiggrrl and their wee sproglet due to elevator outage on this end. (it's being intermittently weird, getting stuck between floors. No one knows why. They generally have a one-day turn around these days but it fell apart Saturday morning.)

Found out at IEP meeting how awesome he is at eating with a spoon; gave him some tapioca-thickened pudding (because ricemilk does not thicken) and he managed it without making a gigantic mess. Also handwashing, some progress on toilet training, putting on and taking off shoes and to a lesser amount coat. (question to the masses: i would like to buy him a couple zipper pulls (you know the things that attach to the zippers?). anyone know of a place to get kid-useable (ie: not fancy/decorative, more utilitarian) ones?

They are working on the pressing-buttons issue also, with something called IntelliKeys, which his vision teacher somewhat explained (buttons that can be programmed to make different sounds, etc.) In search of Sean-adaptable (ie: sounds more than visuals) computer games that can be adapted with a switch, so if you know of anything (maybe nihilistech? machineplay? gizmometer?) give me a shout.

Okay, shoulder is settling into at least quieter bitchiness. Gotta get a few things done. <3 I hope you're all well and as happy as you can be today.

enlightenment (3)

There was a problem in the library - Jing could feel it in the air. He could also hear it in the air, because Lau Yuan was unable to be quiet and had entangled himself in a tapestry on the way toward the kitchen, and as Rou tried to help him out of it, the entire tapestry fell to the floor with an undignified thud.

Jing sighed and hid the knives away safely before someone (undoubtedly Lau Yuan and any one or more of the elders: indeed the abbott was not immune) got seriously hurt.

Rou appeared in the doorway and waited, attempting a quiet and obedient posture that was at odds with the colorful threads all over his saffron robe. Lau Yuan bounced into the kitchen behind him, and Jing glanced at the cooking fire to make certain that the cooking fire was safely banked and covered with stones.

"Master Jing-" Rou began.

"Master Guang is missing!" Lau Yuan babbled, tripping over a loose stone in the floor. He went sprawling and tore part of his robe. Fortunately Rou had managed to leap out of the way.

"Master Guang is ... missing."

"The abbott is very unhappy." Rou moved quickly away from Lau Yuan so he was not in between Lau Yuan and the fireplace.

Jing rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Of course the abbott is unhappy. Guang lives to make the abbott unhappy." he muttered to himself. "Come along, both of you." Jing beckoned to the acolytes. "And Lau Yuan, PLEASE be careful."

They managed to get back to the library with only minor damage (a skinned knee for Lau Yuan, bruises for Rou as he tried to evade being fallen on by Lau Yuan.) Jing sent them outside where they could hopefully get into less trouble and he starte searching through the vast room filled with scrolls and parchments.

He found Guang in a small alcove behind one of the shelves, curled up on a pile of silken scrolls. Jing shook him awake.

"Why did you wake me and not even bring me any food?" Guang replied irritably.

"You were asleep. And I was reluctant to go near the kitchen fire for fear that Lau Yuan would push me into it."

Guang thought about this excuse for a moment and decided it was acceptable. "Nonetheless, you did wake me up. I was practiing meditation."

"You were practicing naps."

"I was practicing napping meditation. Similar to the process used by our brother monk who sleeps."

"The abbott is most displeased." Jing sighed. "Again."

"That is unfortunate." Guang shrugged. "My plan is not yet working."

"You have a plan?" Those words were sometimes more dangerous than Lau Yuan with a sword.

"I am assisting the abbott in achieving enlightenment. As soon as he no longer becomes annoyed by me, he will be enlightened."

Jing thought about this for a moment, decided there was truth in it, and reached into the folds of his robe to remove some plums, one of which he handed to Guang.

Guang took a bite out of the plum in Jing's hand and smiled at Jing's confused expression. "The fruit always tastes better from your hand."

"Thank you." Jing replied. "I think."