Ssthisto WalkingDeath DancingLight

Return to the Attic

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:47:04 GMT

Yes, there's content at www.dragonsintheattic.com again.

It's amazing what you can do when you don't feel well enough to go anywhere.

Yay for bronchitis!

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 19:16:31 GMT

I just hope the doc thinks that the handful of pills three times a day, plus the inhaler, plus not being at work (and thus not getting paid) is good enough. I do NOT want to go into hospital even for a little while.

And for those of you who are interested: Our house is one zoo license short of being a zoo. I wouldn't have thought this time last year that we would have:

Big Lizards
1 Argentine black and white tegu, female, 40" long (Domino)
1 Nile Monitor, male, 36" long (Diablo)

Boas
1 Redtail X Common Boa, male, 60" long (Mutt)
1 Adult female Colombian Rainbow Boa, 60" long (Callisto - technically Nienna's but lodging with us)
1 pair juvenile Colombian Rainbow Boas, 36"+ long each (Iris, female and Spectrum, male)
1 adult pair Kenyan sand boas - male is 18", female is 24" (Kibato and Mamake respectively - Mamake is Nienna's)
1 subadult male Kenyan sand boa, 16" (Jabari - who is Nienna's)
1 subadult female Kenyan sand boa, 16" (Nyoka - again, Nienna's)
7 neonate Kenyan sand boas, the offspring of Mamake and Kibato - they're numbered, not named, because none of them are staying here.
1 adult female Mueller's sand boa, 24" (Lakeisha - again, Nienna's)
1 adult male Rough-Scaled Sand Boa, 18" (Bindi-Bhaji)

Colubrids - North American and African
1 adult female Brown African House Snake, 36" long (Cinnamon)
1 juvenile male Brown African House Snake, 20" long (Pepper - little spawn of satan!)
1 adult male Mexican Black King Snake, 60" long (Orion)
1 hatchling female Blotched King Snake, 12" long (Conundrum, Connie for short)
1 subadult male Normal-morph Corn Snake, 40" long (Jasper)
1 pair subadult Anerythristic corn snakes, 27" long (Mica, female and Zircon, male - both carry the genes for amelanistic, lavender and stripe to boot)
1 yearling male Coral Snow corn snake, 20" long (Calcite - might carry diffuse)
1 yearling female Charcoal Anerythristic corn snake, 24" long (Flint - she does carry diffuse, and might carry amelanistic and hypomelanistic)
1 hatchling female Normal morph corn snake, 12" long (Sardonyx - she carries amelanistic, anerythristic, hypomelanistic and lavender)
1 hatchling female Lavender corn snake, 8" long (Kainite - she carries hypomelanistic and anerythristic, maybe amelanistic)
1 subadult female Leucistic Texas rat snake, 27" long (Siren)
1 subadult male Everglades rat snake, 27" long (Irwin)

Pythons
1 subadult male Royal python, 36" long (Theoden, Theo for short)
1 hatchling female Royal python, 12" long (Eowyn, Winnie for short)

Leopard Geckos
2 adult male patternless leopard geckos - big boys at about 10" long (Alya and Albali)
1 adult male Blizzard het albino leopard gecko, 8" long (Kurhah)
2 adult female Hypomelanistic leopard geckos, 7" long (Chara and Lesuth)
1 adult female "normal" leopard gecko, 7" long (Sadalbari)
1 adult female Albino leopard gecko, 7" long (Nashira, Nashraptor for short)
1 adult female Blizzard leopard gecko, 7" long (Shuja)
1 yearling female Albino leopard gecko, 6.5" long (Polaris the mad Hatter)
1 yearling female Normal leopard gecko, somewhat stunted 6" long (Wednesday-Mira)
1 yearling female Blazing Blizzard leopard gecko, 6" long (Maybe-Bellatrix)

Fat-tailed Geckos
1 Adult male Striped African Fattail (Jingo)
2 Adult female Banded African Fattails (Kijusi and Nikwata)

Crested Gecko
1 Adult male Buckskin Crested Gecko (Jareth "Jump, Magic, Jump")

Legless Lizards
3 Adult female slow worms, copper/gold phase (Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Thumbkin)
2 Adult presumed-male legless lizards (Chumley and Tananda)

And that doesn't count the four cages with rats (Males Husky, Malamute and "that black hooded one", females Robin, Alaska, Freya, Siberia, Badger, Nellie, Bubbly, Sugar and Spice, plus assorted babies), the six cages of mice or the two cages of Natal rats.... nor the cats, for that matter. Or the bugs. Not that the bugs have names, mind you!

The prevalence of four- (and no-) leggers in the house certainly explains why I'm not online as much as I used to be.

Long time...

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 07:47:38 GMT

... no see.

Things are ticking over.

The universe is not ending.

I seem to be adjusting, though small things still set me off - and larger things are still sparkling in the back of my mind waiting to be picked up and examined more closely. I can feel my eighth anniversary looming, and the anniversary of 'the real beginning of the end'. I'm not sure how I'm going to feel then.

Guess you can't just discard seven and a half years of your feelings toward someone.

But there are a few bright points - like geckos, snakes and something I am not ready to talk about yet... though those of you who have seen my Furaffinity account (dragonsintheattic) may have a few guesses.

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 19:24:07 GMT

Hotspur moved out this weekend.

And the peasants rejoice

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 21:38:29 GMT

Immediately after spending money to buy baby rainbow boas...

Redflame, my computer, has suffered a major hard drive failure.

Congratulations, Ssthisto, you are now the proud owner of a small metallic brick. A small metallic brick which mockingly contains the entirety of your unfinished and in progress works, the full-size versions of your digital paintings, and indeed 90% of your life for the last seven years in totally inaccessible format.

It just goes to show that it never rains unless it intends to flood in biblical proportions. Don't even ask what else has gone tits-up.

By the way, I don't have access to any of my old e-mails any more either.

Yeah, those were on the brick too.

Three little screamers

Sat, 27 May 2006 09:14:35 GMT

Now our baby gecko count is up to three - which means we now have twenty reptiles in residence, at least temporarily... though the link does not show all of them.

And in case you're wondering:

Ten subadult and adult leopard geckos (who are all staying)
Three baby leopard geckos (who are all not staying - they'll be sold on or traded)
Four slow worms (a type of legless lizard native to Britain and mainland Europe)
One Chinese mud dragon (another legless lizard, this time a far-easterner)
One normal-morph corn snake
One Argentine black and white tegu - who outweighs the other nineteen by about double.

Hello, Sunshine!

Sat, 13 May 2006 08:50:56 GMT

Well...

Our first hatchling of the year.

Because I do this sort of thing.

Mon, 29 Aug 2005 20:42:34 GMT

The Random Question Meme!

An array of completely random questions about my friends!

Can elynne raise the dead to perform common household tasks?: Who can't?
Have you ever seen hida naked?: Ummm... belly button.
What's the last thing you said to onissarle?: "I'm going upstairs. I need a pee."
What do hafoc and bluehorse01207 have in common?: The letter Q
What happened the last time you and mauvekat were hanging out together?: I ate nachos. There were definitely nachos.
When was the last time you talked to malytwotails?: -Talked- ?
iscaris: ninja, pirate, monkey, or robot?: Pirate Monkeybot.
What is earthdraco's sexiest feature?: His superfluous thirty-fifth elbow.
What is drakkor's favorite book?: That one. Right there. Behind you.
Is reiji best described as a badger, a mushroom, or a snake?: Badger. Fuzzy and capable of biting people if they deserve it.
What is sadescha's fantasy?: That one. Right there. Behind you. With the teeth.
Why did rockincj cross the road?: To bet on the other slide.
Is dracolemur evil?: Who isn't?
What would happen if you were to date draycon?: I think 'date' is the wrong word to describe a dragon's reaction to someone so qualified.
What is komm_susser_tod's favorite meal?: Not the Ragu sauce from the Ragu Incident.
Have you ever suspected jazz_festival of being a lifelike robot?: No, but I play one on TV.

This is by heptadecagram. You can find your own completely random questions here.

Do you feel enlightened now?

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:27:50 GMT

As some of you know, I started gainful employment again back in June.

I have now completed my three-month trial period - and been offered a twelve-month contract, with the idea that it should barring company collapse go permanent.

Being a Content Co-Ordinator is a lot better than being a Library Assistant.

There's more tea involved, for starters.

EEEE! EEEE! EEEEEEEEEE!

Tue, 05 Jul 2005 07:16:57 GMT

Which is, basically, the sound that a newly-hatched leopard gecko makes.

Yay for homebred babies!

I hate...

Sat, 04 Jun 2005 09:07:33 GMT

Last-minute interviews.

I didn't like being phoned at 8:00 AM for an interview at 8:30 AM - even if it GOT me the job.

I don't like being phoned at 4:20 and asked to arrive for an interview at 5:00. However, fortunately, my hair does not take hours to prepare (Comb, comb, pull back, ponytail holder!) and I keep my clothes relatively handy.

I think I did okay... certainly, they're asking me back for a second interview to meet one of the people I'd potentially be working with sometime next week... but I'm still hoping that the application I've put in for a job at the local university's library will have some results. I'm not sure if Customer Service Representative/Jack of All Trades is particularly what I want to do. Even if some sadistic part of me LIKES being the bearer of bad news *chuckle*

But in both applications' cases, I'd be going full-time again. I don't want to have to do that, but if I want to make more money than my job+incapacity benefit pays... particularly if I want to expand my gecko colony to include a couple of high-end morphs like the blazing blizzard ... *sigh* it's always a damned if you do, damned if you don't, isn't it?

Darkest before the dawn...

Sat, 21 May 2005 10:25:33 GMT

Yesterday, I wasn't sure Lesuth was going to survive.

Today, I woke up to two freshly-laid eggs and a gecko that was demanding locusts.

Damned if I do...

Thu, 19 May 2005 13:24:19 GMT

You ever have the feeling of standing on the train tracks in the middle of a tunnel, watching that headlight come toward you - and the only other choice is to jump onto the other track... into the path of a train coming the opposite direction?

It'd be easier if it was -me- standing in front of the train with the choice to make for myself, instead of on behalf of an animal who can't tell me what her choice would be. Which train she'd choose. Because there isn't a choice other than the oncoming trains.

New egg!

Tue, 03 May 2005 10:00:54 GMT

But, oddly enough, just a singleton.

And it looks like it might just be fertile, too....

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 09:35:31 GMT

I have a job.

I start tomorrow.

And I even get to keep my volunteer work.

Yes, she really is going to church.

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 09:25:58 GMT

But -not- to "Get Religion".

I've been put forward by my career advisor to a local church that runs a basic IT skills course as a potential volunteer tutor.

So, I've been waiting for a phone call to find out if they want to use me.

I -get- a phone call "Can you come down and teach this afternoon?"

Should be interesting.

Thu, 21 Apr 2005 09:20:38 GMT

The Rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your LJ.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post. (or a separate post, but not too long after. Be honest here, people!)
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. What is the one thing (besides family) that you miss most about living in the US?
Actually, I don't miss most of my family that much - I think my relationship with my mom has improved, if anything, since I've been over here. And so has my relationship with my dad, having ceased to exist entirely.
But that doesn't answer the question, does it? Though I desperately miss my mountains and being able to go hiking or cycling daily/weekly, I think if I had to put my finger on one thing that I miss the most and find the lack of the most jarring ... it's got to be the culture of customer service in the States. You go to a restaurant in the UK that has free refills on soft drinks, for example, and you practically have to chase your server into the kitchens to get that refill. But every time we go back to the States, I find that if your glass is less than half full, all of a sudden and without you noticing, you've got a full one sat next to you. Menu substitutions? No problem in the states, difficult at best in the UK. I know that -part- of that is because a great deal of the money made by servers in the States is due to tips, so they've GOT to make your experience as pleasant as possible - here in the UK, servers are covered by the same minimum wage laws as everyone else.

2. Besides Ssthisto, which of your characters do you enjoy drawing/doodling the most? (I know Ssthist isn't technically a char, but you know what I mean).
Hmmmm. At the moment, it's got to be my virtual horses even though they're not technically characters. Ummm... I've always liked drawing Leviticus Wand as well - there's just something about levitating semianthro dolphins, even if I haven't drawn him nearly as much as I've drawn Angelwing, for example.

3. You have quite the menagerie at the moment, but if you could add one more pet to your collection, what kind would it be?
Oooo, good question. If it had to be something I have the right equipment to keep -right now- it would be a Crested Gecko (Rhacodactylus ciliatus) since they are almost as cute as my leopard geckos, what with their huge eyes and heads and pointy little eyelashes - and I've actually got a vivarium -set up- right now for one - that is, if I don't get an Orchid Mantis to go in it first. I'd also love to have a pair of girlkittens, one siamese or meezie cross and one tortoiseshell/calico, but I don't wan't to upset our two cats; I don't have a large enough vivarium for an adult corn snake or a ball python right now, even if I could keep a juvie in the Crestie vivarium.

And if we went for my high-end dream critters - the ones we need serious facilities to keep - dedicated rooms of a house we don't own yet, pretty much! It'd have to be a hand-reared baby blue and gold macaw or a breeding trio of Emerald Tree Monitors (Varanus prasinus) - the latter of which I would someday like to be able to breed in captivity, as they're quite uncommon and they're beautiful animals.

4. What is your most important comfort food? (like, if the whole world fell down around you, what food would you need to help you feel better?)
I wish there -was- a food to help me feel better now that my world -is- falling down around me, slowly.
Unfortunately, when I stress to death, I lose most of my desire to eat entirely.

I would have said chocolate or ice cream, but I've tried those already, and they didn't help. If I had to pick something, I'd have to say something like the country breakfast skillet from the Denny's next to the Days Inn in Orlando, eaten at quarter-to-three in the morning, sat across from the people I love, with a bottomless glass of iced tea, a side of American pancakes with real butter and fake maple syrup and a strip of crunchy, crunchy bacon.

5. Do you have any treasured items from your childhood that you still take out and enjoy, like a blanket or an old stuffed animal? If so, why is that particular object special to you?
I still occasionally sleep with Willem, my stuffed toy Raptor I got back when JP1 had just come out - I won him at Circus Circus myself, and he's just the right size to tuck his head up under my neck and chin and be hugged, even if, through over a decade of hard use, his neck has gone a bit floppy... I don't want to restuff him, though, because I'm afraid it'll make him less what he is and more what other people think he should be like.
I was also revisiting my MLPs couple days ago - some of which are my original ones, had when I was a very small child. Somehow, though, thinking about them is more painful than comfortable - because they remind me of everything I lost, instead of everything I've won and hung onto.

Thu, 21 Apr 2005 08:50:16 GMT

What are your sins? by atreides74
Username
Favorite Flavor of Ice Cream
What time is it?
Lust	If it moves, you're humping it!
Envy	The grass is always greener...
Wrath	You are just mean. No one likes you. No one.
Gluttony	Sometimes you help yourself to 3rds at dinner.
Greed	You only need enough money to live on.
Sloth	You are active and energetic.
Pride	You are better than everyone else, and you know it.
Who is your accomplice?	onissarle
Who will try to organize an intervention for you?	drakkor

Quiz created with MemeGen!

Do they know me, or are they totally wrong?

Wed, 20 Apr 2005 14:51:31 GMT

Via oboreruhito

Comment here with your name and I'll tell you something I adore (or at least mildly like) about you. Afterwards, copy and paste this into your own journal.

You what?

Sun, 17 Apr 2005 21:00:53 GMT

So, am I?

Caramel Magnum

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 09:50:28 GMT

I would sell a (small) share of my soul to someone if they made a Caramel Magnum ice cream appear in my hand in the near future.

No, it doesn't go with my diet. It's full of sugar, it doesn't have any nutritional value, and there's no good reason for eating one.

But I still want one.

Weight loss...

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 10:01:03 GMT

isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I'm going to go collect a job application today, and I wanted to look semi-presentable instead of my usual casual jeans-and-velvet-shirt look.

And what do I find?

All my bloody skirts and blouses are too damn big.

Wed, 06 Apr 2005 22:28:38 GMT

Okay, it's another silly Meme...

1). YOUR PORN STAR NAME - (NAME OF FIRST PET + STREET YOU LIVE ON):
Gus Raynor

2). YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME - (GRANDMOTHER/FATHER'S FIRST NAME + FAVORITE SNACK FOOD):
Lois Pistachio

3). YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME - (FIRST WORD YOU SEE ON YOUR LEFT + FAVORITE RESTAURANT):
Graphite Fridays

4). YOUR FOREIGN NAME - (FAVORITE SPICE GIRL + LAST FOREIGN VACATION SPOT):
Whoarethespicegirls Orlando

5). YOUR SOCIALITE NAME - (SILLIEST CHILDHOOD NICKNAME + FIRST TOWN WHERE YOU PARTIED):
Punky Telford

6). YOUR DETECTIVE NAME - (FAVORITE ANIMAL + NAME OF HIGH SCHOOL):
Dragon Eldorado

7). YOUR BARFLY NAME - (LAST SNACK FOOD YOU ATE + YOUR FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK):
Strawberry Absinthe

8). YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME - (MIDDLE NAME + STREET WHERE YOU FIRST LIVED):
Ssthisto Quarai

9). YOUR ROCK STAR NAME - (FAVORITE CANDY + FAVORITE MUSICIAN'S LAST NAME):
Sula Adams

10). YOUR "POPULAR" NAME - (FAVORITE CELEBRITY'S FIRST NAME + BEST FRIEND'S STREET NAME):
James Raynor

11). YOUR OPPOSITE SEX NAME - (NAME OF [OPPOSITE SEX] FRIEND + CELL PHONE COMPANY YOU USE):
Jon Orange

goddam mouse

Wed, 30 Mar 2005 00:09:08 GMT

we have just spent the last hour and a half - and keep in mind that it is now ten minutes past one in the morning - chasing after a mouse that bloody goddam Jonesy brought in alive and that promptly chose the most obstructed, most difficult to clean, most awkward room to take refuge in.

Cute little bastard, though. Oni wanted to keep him - until he did a standing high jump and nearly escaped out of the bucket we finally caught him in after his hiding under the computer, under the bed, on the skirting board, in my armpit, under my boob and next to a boxed Optimus Prime.

Fri, 18 Mar 2005 18:50:06 GMT

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

" ' You would have done better - ' She did not finish, but looked away from him. One hand continued to stroke the white girl's hair."

- The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle