I know I've used that Anya quote before, but I absolutely love it so have decided it's okay to use it again. (ETA: I just discovered I used same quote *exactly* a year ago, which randomly amuses me.) Especially since this post is about how awesome and wonderful my birthday was - thanks to all of you and my RL friends and family!! But first I must pass along (slightly belated) birthday wishes to two extremely wonderful women: lillianmorgan and tkp!!! I hope you have both had fantastic days - you deserve much happiness and wonderful things. *throws confetti and hugs you both*

But now let's talk about me! Opps, clearly all the absolutely lovely birthday wishes I received have totally gone to my head and I am imagining myself to be far more important than I am! Seriously though, I am still absolutely delighted by all the kind words from all of you as well as the delightful gifts I received!!!

( How I spent my birthday )

( Fic recs - truly awesome fic which you must all read! )

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms on my flist – I hope you’re having a wonderful day! I’m looking forward to calling my mom later and chatting. I feel very fortunate to have a mom who I get along so well with, who I can talk about almost anything with and who’s so supportive of everything I do. Soon she’ll be moving to Toronto and I’m looking forward to living in the same city as her again, there’s often so many things I wish she and I could do together so it’ll be nice to have more opportunities to do that. Today is also a day I recall my grandma fondly and think about what an important person she was (and still is) in my life, and in my mom’s life. She’s very much missed by both of us, but she’s in our hearts.

So, that may give you a hint that I’ve been down recently which is why I’ve been mostly absent from LJ. It’s also been super busy at my work what with launching a bunch of new things (which I was responsible for) as well as giving performing reviews – being a manager of department is a lot of work (yeah, I know – duh!). Although I am pleased that an incentive programme I launched has been embraced by my customer service representatives (because – I believe – they all work together for a goal, instead of competing against each other) AND that the first month was a success and they exceeded their goal. Still it’s been a stressful time which has culminated in me having much trouble writing fic recently – and I have been despairing because my posting day for spring_with_xan is this Thursday and I only have two chapters of Outside Pride written (I’d wanted to already be finished all of the remaining five). But I’m reassuring myself that if I continue to be blocked, at least I have two chapters to post.

Anyway, enough of emo!cordelianne! I like my LJ to be a fun, positive space for me, so instead I thought I’d give you an update of my life, in list form. So here's ( What’s Making Me Happy Right Now )

So that’s my update! I hope you all are doing well, and I shall be endeavouring to be better about commenting. *hugs*

Look! Look! I have a gorgeous new default icon!!!! It's made by the super talented apreludetoanend, who generously made it as a holiday gift. This is my favourite Spike/Xander scene on the show, and the scene that made me think "you know, they'd be a cool pairing" so I'm very thrilled to have such a beautiful icon of it - isn't the lighting impressive?! Everyone should definitely check out the post here to see the other equally awesome S/X icon she made me and because there's a version of this one without my username that is snaggable!! Also, there's a wonderful S/X drabble with very fun Veronica Mars references! Yes, that's right - not only is apreludetoanend a fabulous graphic artist (check out slightlyiconic for her icons), she's also a very talented writer!

Wheee! This totally made my day!!! Thanks so much apreludetoanend!! *gazes at my new icons happily*

And since I'm talking Spike/Xander, it seems like the perfect time to pimp one of my favourite S/X authors, actually one of my all-time favourite authors regardless of pairing: reremouse! If you're not reading Scoffs at Gravity, rush off and read it now - it's here. It's set during AtS season five, and Xander is working as a watcher at Wolfram and Hart. To quote reremouse's summary/warning: Xander's a watcher, Spike's a ghost, Angel's a CEO. Watching, alcoholism, insults and periods of masculine communication via grunts and hand signals. Like all of reremouse's stories there's fabulous humour, excellent flow, wonderful characterization, awesome details and way more going on below the surface than it may initially seem. She's posting Scoffs at Gravity each weekday, and I highly recommend reading as she posts (and commenting too, of course *g*) because I feel that each chapter should be savoured on its own. Although I'm rec'ing this story, I recommend all of reremouse's work.

Oh! And since this is clearly a good news post, read here how the Firefly fandom rallied despite the cancelled Flanvention and how the actors turned up! It's so wonderful to see actors being nice and caring people. Truly a heart-warming story that makes me teary with happiness. Special shout-out to carmen_sandiego who I hope is having a fabulous time!!!

ETA: Oh my goodness in all this excitement, I almost forgot to wish kenyacandoit a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope your day is wonderful and filled with many delightful surprises! *hugs*

Yet again, I must pause and giggle at the quote in the subject line. This is one of the many reasons I love Anya: she says how we all feel. *g*

I had a really wonderful birthday, which has totally been an extended celebration (especially because there are packages arriving in the mail for me!!). Thank you to everyone for their lovely birthday wishes, they contributed to a joyous and awesome birthday!!! I've been feeling totally spoiled, I could get used to this! ;)

On my birthday I excitedly thanked my wonderful friends for their generosity, and today I want to do some additional thank yous!

Thank you to electricalgwen for writing me a totally hot Spike/Xander story with fun banter and a sexy dynamic between them, plus park sex: Jolly Good Show. This was a particularly awesome surprise because Electricalgwen had already delighted me with a truly wonderful poem: Reason. Here's a taste of Jolly Good Show:

“There are no teddy bears. It’s the dark of the moon. Giles? What the fuck?” Spike nibbled Xander’s earlobe. “He’s never been to this park in his life and sure as hell isn’t going to start tonight. Quit being ridiculous, and touch me.”

Thank you to savoytruffle for writing me a layered, poignant, witty, sweet and moving story: Quiet. This is part of her wonderful Wonder!Verse in which Spike is a barely legal hustler and Xander is a teenage dirtbag (baby). I love this 'verse and I highly recommend reading all the stories. Here's the first line of Quiet to tantalize you:

The beat of the bass borders on ridiculous — scratch that, crosses the border into ridiculous and commits several treaty violations there — but Xander only half notices as his steps fall into time with the thumpa-thumpa.

Besides wonderful fic and LJ flist love, I also was spoiled by family and friends. There were some delicious meals, tasty desserts, awesome gifts and fun times. I must give special thanks to my friend spookymonkey who not only got me excellent gifts and betas my fic, but who also created the Buffytinis we enjoyed at my party AND played bartender. ( The Buffytini Recipe )

Thank you to everyone!! *hugs and squishes*

You know those multi-fandom icon posts that'll have things like Buffy, Angel, Veronica Mars and Doctor Who, and then there'll also be some of Lindsey Lohan or Christina Aguilera? And you're like - or I'm like - Lindsey Lohan? Christina Aguilera?!! WTF?! Well, I blame those posts (which I do enjoy cause I like chancing upon icons I wouldn't otherwise) for my own personal Christina Aguilera?! WTF?! moment yesterday. I had a dream that I was about to - but actually didn't (because I would so not be sharing otherwise!!) - have a threesome with Christina Aguilera and Scarlett Johansson. It was very bizarre because I almost never think about either of them in any way (I do think Scarlett Johansson is very beautiful). I actually don't think about celebrities that much. So, when I was going back through icon posts looking for a "Logan/Weevil OTP" icon (which I now have OMG!!!), I realized that's how those celebrities got in my head (they were in some of the posts). Um yeah, so that's enough of my odd dream!

Speaking of icons, earth_vexer has another round of beautiful, beautiful icons here. Her icons are so stunning and always make me want to upload every single of one of them (Why do we not get unlimited icon space? Why? /dramatics). I'm using this very sexy one of Spike in "Dirty Girls" because it reminds me of the awesome - and now finished! - trufflemouse fic:

And Let the Gods Do the Rest - The summary: What happened in Oxnard stayed in Oxnard and so did Xander...until Buffy sent him a souled and crazy Spike to help out with a little case of Apocalypse.
It's Spike/Xander and is one of my favourite S/X fics ever! To quote one of my own comments on the fic: One of the many things I love about this story is how interestingly it weaves into canon, yet charts its own very believable and fascinating - and damn awesome - path. There's a re-working of that "Dirty Girls" scene in my icon (as well as other scenes from the show) which is so well done and gives added meaning to certain lines. And there's awesome S/X banter and sexiness (*flails*). As well it has a lovely flow, great energy and I'm enamoured with the utilization of language.

So, yesterday was filled with television watching. I've now watched the last 2 hours of the Grey's Anatomy finale and the last 4 episodes (including 2 hour finale) of Lost. I was all jittery and wired after that much Lost. Yeah, I know I'm almost a month late and probably no one cares anymore or remembers, so I just have some random thoughts.

( Grey's Anatomy Season Two finale )

( The last 4 episodes of Lost season two )

I'm thinking of doing a poll, once I actually figure out how to do a poll, about which tv shows I should watch or not watch next year. I need to cut down on the ridiculous amount of shows that I watch and I have such a hard time making those decisions so have decided to let other people do it for me!! And I want to do a poll.

I hope everyone's Saturday is going well!! *g*

I'm a little overwhelmed - but in the best possible way - because all my favourite writers have been posting fics and I want to read all the stories RIGHT NOW! So, of course, that means I've read hardly any so far and they're all bookmarked. And then my PVR was at its max so I had to watch tv shows to clear it off (I know, I have such a rough life!) which meant that instead of reading excellent stories, I watched the season finale of Charmed instead! Even though I know I'm being manipulated, I'm such a complete sap that I cried anyway. And I don't even really like the show! *is deeply shamed*

I will pimp a story that I've actually read (because I beta'ed it), and which I highly highly recommend. It's savoytruffle's Not Noisy or Excited (part 1 of 2). It's "wow" inspiring, beautiful, and haunts you (in a good way).


And I have another drabble!! For lillianmorgan who requested: Spike&/Xander, pizza, basement of doom.

Thanks to savoytruffle for all her support!

( BTVS Fic: Best Seat in the House (Spike/Xander, PG, drabble) )

Tonight I have thoughts about the Smallville season finale and fanfic recs!!!

( Smallville 'Vessel' 5:22 )

( Fanfic recs!! )

So crossoverman, karabair, octoberxsong and selenak all did this fun meme about Your Six Favourite TV Shows. And I just had to play!

The tricky part for me was narrowing down my favourite televisions shows to a list of just six. To make it easier I decided not to include shows that ran for only one season (eg. Firefly, My So-Called Life, Freaks & Geeks) or are in their first seasons (eg. My Name is Earl, How I Met Your Mother, the new Doctor Who). I also cheated and included BtVS and AtS as one selection even though the shows are very different and deserve to be listed on their own. I also want to give a special shout-out to Joan of Arcadia which I didn’t include because it was cancelled after 2 seasons.

List your top six favourite shows:

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel (BtVS/AtS)
2. Everwood
3. Gilmore Girls (GG)
4. Veronica Mars (VM)
5. Battlestar Galactica (BSG)
6. Arrested Development (AD)

( The answers are here )


Other random stuff:
1. My cab driver hit on me last night. He actually gave me his phone number which I was so startled by that I just accepted. (I won’t call him though.) It was an okay experience because he wasn’t creepy about it or anything.

2. entrenous88 has a new Spike/Xander AU WIP fic Box Office Smash in which Xander’s an errand boy on the set of a movie. She posted the second part today and it made me so giddy and happy for the entire day! Go read!!

3. I got to play more of the BtVS video game on Friday night. So much fun. I was particularly good at being Xander which made me very happy! I also kept giggling at the cheesy lines Xander would say: “Stake. A vampire’s last meal,” and, after staking a vampire “It’s so much better if I pretend they’re all Spike” (Of course I did not imagine any slashy connotations to that statement!)

4. I’ve discovered that I get the most fic writing done on the subway. I’m thinking I need to find a few hours and just ride the subway so I can finish the fics I’m working on for spring_with_xan and entrenous88’s! ’The Replacement’ Celebration -- A Two Xanders Are Better Than One Brouhaha.

I had such a lovely weekend and I've been in such a good mood, yet somehow that hasn't translated into any LJ posts. Weird.

Here's why I'm so happy:

1. Seeing Transamerica (an excellent movie) on Friday with one of my best friends. I really loved how it ended and the performances are marvelous. After the movie my friend and I had yummy Mexican food and Margaritas. THEN we went back to his place and played the Buffy video game!! I had way too much fun pretending that I actually WAS the slayer.

2. Celebrating the birthday of one of my oldest friends on Saturday night, who's still my friend despite being roommates with me TWICE over the years! She's not a huge Buffy fan and she endured all of my Buffy parties. Now that's a true friend.

Going to another friend's birthday party and managing to talk Jossverse stuff with multiple people. I didn't even initiate the discussions! I did get to wow people by informing them about BtVS's 9th anniversary. One of the girls I was talking to (who's a new appreciator of the show) said she didn't like "Once More, With Feeling". I was so shocked that I didn't really know how to respond to her. I'm still baffled.

3. I walked to work on Sunday! It was so warm and lovely it felt like Spring!!

4. Watching the BSG season finale. ( BSG 'Lay Down Your Burdens Part 2' 2.20 thoughts and a rambling comparison to Angel's 'Not Fade Away' 5:22 + Angel's 'Home' 4:22 )

5. Reading amazing Spike/Xander fanfiction. On Sunday I was overwhelmed - in the very best way - by a lot of really good Spander. I highly recommend:

witling's The One in the Hospital. It's schloompy goodness! She also recently wrote some angsty AU Spander which is just awesome: The Land of the Lost.

tabaqui has a compelling WIP amnesia!Xander fic with Spike being all protective As If We Should Forget We Have No Hands.

savoytruffle has a Dirty Dancing plot + Buffyverse characters = human AU crack/charity fic WIP Dirty Dancing Spander Style which is so fun!

I suspect I'm forgetting some great stuff, but I just HAD to rec those fics!

I went Curling last night and it was so much FUN!! When I tried it in high school, I found it cold and boring. But I think that was because I was afraid to fall on the ice and look foolish. Now that I’m older and have lots of experience looking stupid and foolish, I’m comfortable looking silly which is what made it so fun.

As a result of the fun, I’m all sore and bruised on my right hip because I’d fall over basically every time I’d throw the rock (I suspect “throwing the rock” isn’t the correct term). Even though I exercise regularly, a lot of my muscles are sore from all the sweeping.

I didn’t find it cold because I bought some snuggly warm sweatpants and hoodie from Roots. Buying new clothes and then getting to show them off makes me very happy!! Even though it’s blatant advertising, I like that the sweatpants have Roots written on the butt because they draw attention to my ass. I like my ass. I know that sounds all conceited, but it’s so hard to find the body love that it’s fun to have at least one part of my body that I think is cute!!!!

I actually have photographic evidence of me curling!! If you know anything about curling, you’ll be horrified by my bad form and understand why I kept falling on every shot. I'm not falling in this picture because my hand is on the ice.

( Me curling. Oh yeah, and my ass is in the picture. )

The other entertaining part of the evening was realizing how bizarre my co-workers and I seem to others. Our instructor asked a couple of us where we work because we’re such an “eclectic bunch.” See, my office is really gay! No, seriously. I’d say 99% of us are queer folks, and the content of our work is also gay. I suspect that the curling club in east Toronto had never seen a group quite like us. Super femmey and ultra masculine gay men. Sporty dykes (if you turned on Women’s Golfing and saw some of my co-workers, you’d think “total Lesbian”), and very Toronto urban dykes (I was trying to think of anyone in the media who has the same style, and the only one who comes close is Shane on “The L Word”). There’s also a prominence of piercings, tattoos, multi-coloured hair and army pants.

My co-workers really relished yelling “Hard” or “You know you like it hard” to the sweepers. We all fell down more than once and would laugh at each other (cause we're mature). Fun, fun times.

Because of the extreme amount of gayness on the rink, it reminded me of moosesal’s fun Spike/Xander curling story Your House or Mine.

In conclusion, I like curling. I may actually do it again!!