Thursday, February 18, 2010

An Open Letter to My Mother

I love my mother.

Truly...she is one of the greatest people I've ever known.

She deserves better than me.

I am not looking for affirmation or sympathy or coddling or "you're not that bad".

I *am* that bad.

Her brother, my uncle and godfather, died this week. It wasn't unexpected, but it was. He lives...lived...in Indiana and mom and dad drove out on Wednesday - my brothers will be going on Friday.

I will not be going. Let's be honest...I am not going because I am a very SELF person...selfish, self-absorbed, self-important, self-centered.

My mother is, once again, disappointed in me because I'm not doing the right thing, not being a grown up. This...is not new. I am a disappointment. No matter how much she may love me or say it's not true...she IS disappointed in me.

And she has every right to be...because I *am* an embarrassment and a disappointment...if not to her, to myself (see..there's that "self" word again).

I am completely useless at funerals...I cannot be strong for anyone else because I'm too focused on ME - my hurt, pain, loss...it's ALL ABOUT ME.

It's odd because this is not how I was raised. I was not raised to be thoughtless and uncaring and selfish and to only think about myself. And yet...I do.

I am not going because I don't want to.

There are a myriad of reasons...none of which will ever be enough. I find it interesting, however, that while I'm focused on me and feeling guilty about it...everyone else is thinking about THEMSELVES and wanting me to do "what's right" ...what's right for WHO? It's certainly not right for me...Oh...I see...it's the right thing for other people...people who are thinking about themselves...which, admittedly...they should be...they lost a husband or a brother or a father. I lost an uncle...I'm pretty sure husband/brother/father trumps uncle.

Ok...so the reasons...which are going to just be labeled "excuses"...what my mother fails to realize is that it's not just about the emotional assault that I'm trying to avoid (which is a big enough reason on its own):

1) 8 hours in a car both ways...minimum.

I am not sure I can handle that physically. I have been in constant pain for weeks now with my right hip and being in a car that long doesn't seem to be a good idea.

B) Time

I gain an hour going there, but lose an hour coming back...I have to be back at work on Sunday night (at 11:30pm EST) the service is Saturday...I will be riding with my brother and not getting home in time to really get a decent sleep in before I have to go to work. Emotional weekend + Not enough sleep = probably not the best thing for my job dealing with kids with emotional and behavioral problems.

Red) Comfort

I don't sleep well in a bed anymore...partly due to my size (which is somewhere in the neighborhood of Ginormous) and partly due to this hip/knee/groin/back problem I have going on (which, is probably also due to the Ginormous)...so I'd probably not get much sleep/rest on Friday or Saturday...leading me back to point B. Added back into the 16 hours (give or take) in the car

4) I am an embarrassment.

To myself if to no one else...my size, the fact that I can barely walk, hardly stand and sweat like...well, imagine the sweatiest thing you can and then add three more buckets of sweat to it.

Yes, I am embarrassed to be seen in public. It's my own hang-up, my own doing...and I own the mistake that I am.

I can hear my mother now "don't be ridiculous"...but there it is...the biggest reason I don't want to go other than the emotional downward spiral it will put me in is because I'm ashamed of myself. I am a HUGE disappointment...even if no one but me says so...I know it...

I was supposed to be someone. I was supposed to do great things that would make my parents proud. I was smart and funny and cute.

Instead, I am an embarrassment.

I am the only one who can change anything about me...and this is why I am a disappointment...because I don't and won't.

The why is a mystery...unless I really am that lazy...which...I am. I don't clean my apartment, I live like one of those people you see on hoarders or clean house or whatever...the place smells like cat (I think)...I need to move furniture and vacuum ...the carpets need scrubbing...so does the bathroom. Cats won't use the litter box to poop...so I'm constantly (not) cleaning up cat poop off the floor.

I am lazy and shiftless, ambitionless and really don't care about much that doesn't concern me directly. I want to play on the computer, read and write and that's it. I don't answer the phone most of the time cuz I don't like talking on it and I can't really pay attention while I'm on it.

It's not the meds - or lack there-of - it's me...it's who I've always been and I just don't care.

I don't want to change...I don't care enough to change.

I don't understand why people bother with me. I am NOT a nice person. Again...selfish and lazy and thoughtless.

I just want people to leave me alone...let me wallow in my self-loathing...leave me to my self-made prison.

I built it. All by mySELF. I deserve to live in it...all by mySELF.

Did I fail to mention Self-Indulgent and Self-Pitying. There...corrected that mistake.

Think That'll (more than) Do It,

CNQ



Thursday, February 4, 2010

new on The WIKTT Archives

Behind Every Good Man by juniperus ProvocativeThere is a story of Severus Snape you know, Mr. Potter. There is also a story you don't… until now.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Descending into Obscurity by sbrande Explicit'I await your command, for I am yours to do with as you see fit.'Winner of Action & Adventure Order of Merlin, Third Class in the Owl Awards 2009.Lucius Malfoy, on orders from the Dark Lord, captures Hermione Granger to be held as his prisoner deep within the underground dungeons of his Manor. Can Harry and Ron carry on without the brains of their trio, or will Lord Voldemort prevail and take over the wizarding world?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life after by thalassa ExplicitSeverus is saved by a vampire.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2024&ageconsent=ok&warning=5--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regrets, Remorse and Resurrection by magdalena MatureSeverus Snape has lived in seclusion for the past twenty years, separate from the rest of the Wizarding world, in self imposed isolation. Now, he's been tracked down by Hermione Granger with a message and request from and old colleague.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2042&warning=3--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iridescent Snow by labrt2004 MatureTragedy prompts Hermione to make a breakthrough discovery, and Severus Snape grudgingly agrees to assist her. Things do not progress smoothly, but sometimes, it is merely a matter of seeing things in a different light…http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2041--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another dark star shineth by Alabaster Princess ExplicitA young Auror is invited to Grimmauld place to join the Order. there she finds the father she thought was dead and the lover she left behind. How will she cope with both men in her life and the complications they bring?http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1967--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like A Good Wine by betweenthetwo ProvocativeAs the Hogwarts Express pulls out of the station with her daughter on board, Hermione Granger begins to grapple with her status as a divorced woman. DH Compliant with a twist. Eventual HGSS.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2040&warning=2--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the Time in the World by juniperus ConservativeFinally, Severus is home.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2039--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Masks by sevibaby MatureFollow up to Death. What Hermione Granger finds when she goes through Professor Snape's personal papers.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2038--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christmas' Never Realized by sevibaby ExplicitSeverus is given glimpses of one possible future.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2037--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Death by sevibaby ConservativeA lone figure stands at the grave of Severus Snape.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2036--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the Potions Master's Amusement by snape_submiss ExplicitSeverus Snape is not a kind man, but Hermione Granger is past caring. She wants his approval and will do anything to get it. How far will she go? Even she has no concept of the depths to which she will fall in her quest. Seventh year AU student/teacher.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1904--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stockholm Syndrome by Alabaster Princess ExplicitA Muggle woman is suddenly, dangerously and irrevocably thrown into a war she doesn't understand. Now Severus Snape has to somehow work to keep both her and himself alive and safe.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2026--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quicksilver by Alabaster Princess MatureIn Seventh Year, over a year after losing Lily, Severus Snape finds friendship in another green eyed girl. But can that friendship become more, and will it survive the pressures against them?http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=2034--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Dungeon Deep and Dark. by Alabaster Princess ExplicitProfessor Snape runs afoul of a band of Death Eaters after the war. A student stumbles in on the scene, changing both of their lives.http://www.themasque.net/wiktt/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1970--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

New stories on The Masque



Scamp's Lady by Bleu Mushroom 2 - Provocative
When you're a Colonial rebel, even going to the market place can be dangerous. Detained by the British, Deborah Morgan's healing skills bring her to the attention of Col. Kit Marshall. He wants those skills almost as much as he wants Deborah. She fights him almost as much as she fights her growing feelings for him. A murder that both of them feel compelled to solve complicates their private war, set against the historical events of the Revolutionary War in the South. Scamp's Lady finds that, even with peace, jealousy and greed provoke battles that could cost her her life.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1369
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Deluxe Glory Hole - Chapter 1 by Lover 4 - Wanton
Sometime popularity is a problem but Chuck may have foung a fun solution.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1368
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Men Are Like Cars by xpurrteez 4 - Wanton
A visitor gives lessons in sex to her neighbours. Beautiful Pia, an Internet sex star plans a 'sex free' holiday and ends up helping a virgin couple discover their sexual partnership and finds herself falling in love with an older man.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1367
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Strange Companion by Rajah Dodger 2 - Provocative
A couple having a lakeside tete-a-tete find their erotic endeavors observed and encouraged by an out-of-this-world observer
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1366
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Deja-Vu by patricia51 4 - Wanton
A murdered policewoman battles a demonic serial killer. Again. And again. And... Story contains serious violence and both M/F and F/F sex.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1365
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Bettyboop on webcam by Mag58 3 - Risqué
A woman gets hooked on exposing herself on webcam then an admirer from close to home enters her life.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1355
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Death of a Master by dweaver999 4 - Wanton
Death leaves a hole in all of us, a pain that never goes away. What happens, however, when a Master dies, leaving his slaves bereft of his control and guidance. Valerie Burbon and her friends come face to face with such trauma when death interupts the normal flow of their lives. How will the contend with the loss and pain that come? How will the slave herself, alone for the first time in years, deal with her unintended freedom? The death of a Master will touch all their lives.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1271
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The Burning Cross by bednhead69 1 - Conservative
Bothorn had known a fragile peace for the last thirty years under Crassious Thorn VI. But the warlord mage Aremen is building an army to reclaim his lands. It is up to Crassious three children to meet this threat and eleminate it once and for all, unless they kill each other first. But is Aremen the real threat, or just a prelude of things to come?
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1332
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Mistress of the Deep by WolfPupsSubmission 2 - Provocative
The leather burns
I gasp, twisting.
As it caresses,
Down my chest, and between my legs...
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1364
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Sweet Sin by WolfPupsSubmission 3 - Risqué
Dressed up in the clothes layed out, she is waiting, kneeling, when he walks through the door. She shivers when he circles her like a wolf and teaches her that the public isn't always a bad audience.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1363
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Sweet Agony by WolfPupsSubmission 3 - Risqué
Beyond the blindfold there is him...beyond him there is nothing, because his is my everything, as my body belongs to him.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1362&warning=3
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Angie's First Time by Saguaro 4 - Wanton
Angie does her best friend a last minute favor and ends up having a night she'll never forget.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1361
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Lunch by 1star 2 - Provocative
a girl takes lunch to her Master
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1360
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Grab Bag by Wystan Ephraim 2 - Provocative
Candy gives a special man a Valentine's treat.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1359&warning=6
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Aladdin and the Magic Lamp by Clvfan 4 - Wanton
An adult version of Disney's Aladdin. Contains the sex that Disney couldn't put in the kids movie, also extends beyond the marriage of Jasmine and Aladdin. Lets just say the Genie gets lucky.
http://www.themasque.net/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1358&warning=4

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

oh, look, a blog


I'm not dead, just quiet. I still tweet - just thought o' the moment stuff, though folks were subjected to a small meltdown last week. Dane and I had to let our gal greyhound, Stelle, go. She broke her leg walking in the back yard in the morning. We took her home that night after a day at the vet - the preliminary diagnosis wasn't good. I spent the night with her - it was just horrible. he was in so much agony. The next day, Dane took her to a specialty vet on the other side of town who gave the same diagnosis - bone cancer. Instead of prolonging her agony, Dane and I decided not to bring her out of the sleep she had to be put in for her xrays. It was a sad decision but it was the right one.


The blonde is driving me crazy with her scattered brain and forgetfulness. I am not sure what to do anymore. I know she's ADD but I just don't want to medicate her. She is, in all ways, a silly little girl that I adore - well, without the pms.


Dane is still out of work *sighs*. It's been 9 months. Yeah. And that's all I have to say about that.


I read and saw the Twilight stuff. Yanno, it has it's suck but it also has many good things. Most of them revolve around Cedric Diggory, but, yanno. It isn't Potter, but it'll do until something better wanders along. *smirk*


I do promise to pay more attention to blogging. I, too, get forgetful, then, of course, guilty for being forgetful, inspiring self-loathing and dread to come in and admit to my shame and inattentiveness.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Featured Stories on The Masque and The WIKTT Archives


This month's Featured Stories on The Masque and The WIKTT Archives were all uploaded during the October contest for April Grey's book Northern Haunts. Enjoy them!

Hunter's Moon by mjbarbag Becky has a surprise one night at a friends house.
Exhibitionism, Heterosexual, Masturbation, Voyeurism

Bettyboop on webcam by Mag58
A woman gets hooked on exposing herself on webcamExhibitionism

Pizza Please by LoverParent's restrictions some time back fire.
Romance
Veneratio Piscatoris by juniperus Rated: Restricted
From legend we know mermaids enchant men - sometimes causing shipwreck; other times taking them down to the depths, where they forget that humans cannot breathe underwater. *Most* humans, that is...

Stolen Moments by luvsev
Hermione is abducted by a dangerous man and brought to Malfoy Manor.
BDSM, D/s, DH Spoilers, Ménage à trois, Oral Sex, S&M, Spanking

Another dark star shineth by Alabaster Princess
A young Auror is invited to Grimmauld place to join the Order. there she finds the father she thought was dead and the lover she left behind. How will she cope with both men in her life and the complications they bring?
Abuse, BDSM, Bisexuality, Body Modification, D/s, DH Spoilers, Drug Abuse, Exhibitionism, Foul Language, Handjob/fingering, HBP Spoilers, Heterosexual, OFC, Pregnant, Spanking, Voyeurism, WIPEstablished Relationship, Humor, Romance

Friday, December 18, 2009

Prompted to Write Photo Challenge


It had been a month and I don't think I'd seen my mother smile since he died. I worried about asking but, I'm selfish, I wanted to know.


"Oh my stars," my mother said as she took the photo from me. She sighed softly and shook her head. "Sally. Haven't thought about her in years." I watched my mother's eye mist over and saw her take a trip back in time, a vague smile playing at her lips.


"Mom?"


"Hm? Oh...never you mind, child. Your father never had an affair with Sally, if that's what you're thinking."


She didn't say any else but she did tuck the photo into the pocket of her housedress, a soft smile on her lips.


Think That'll Do It



CNQ

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Congrats, juni!

I’m happy to announce the winner of The Masque/The WIKtT Archives’s winner of our October contest. Our winner is the new owner of copy of Northern Haunts, autographed by one of the writers of the anthology, April Grey.

Our winner is juniperus !


juni, please IM, DM, PM, or email me with your snail mail address and I’ll get this book out to you asap!