10 May 2000

Forget the various semi-erotic vignettes Braz and I wrote yesterday; about the time I finally gave in to the howling monkey on my back and started writing, Braz got bit again, and what he came up with this time wasn't steamy at all. In fact, I think the word we're looking for here is chilling.

I'd been talking to him on IM when he sent me the file to read, and the story sucked me in hard, in a creepy kind of way. (It was like watching a spider on the outside of a window: Intellectually, I know it can't get in at me, but the rest of me isn't convinced.) When I finished it and took a deep breath, and my hands steadied enough to type again, I turned back to the IM window I'd left open and typed "Holy cow" - which seemed like an appropriate response at the time.

IM popped up a little window telling me that it was attempting to reconnect. (The server I'm on at work was apparently built by tinker gnomes. It drops my connection pretty frequently, and I don't know about it until I try to say something or check someone's information.) I waited for it to reconnect, then highlighted Braz's IM name and typed it again: "Holy cow." Mostly because I couldn't think of anything better to say.

Braz logged out.

Maybe, I thought to myself, he just has to reboot. Wait a bit and see if he comes back.

I waited, watching the BuddyList. Several minutes passed. No Braz. In the meantime, my brain has been churning over the story, and I'd come up with a sortof vague guess as to what's really happening in it. So I pulled up my e-mail program. Still slightly shaking from the aftereffects of the story, I accused him of leaving just then to creep me out further (it worked) and then proceeded to babble for two or three paragraphs about my swiftly-forming theory. I sent it out, and took another few deep breaths.

I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I came back, I had mail already from Braz. Apparently, while I'd been waiting for him to come back, my server had dropped my connection again, so I didn't see him return. Irritable with myself that I hadn't thought of that, I made IM re-connect.

Braz was shaken. What he'd seen, from his vantage point, was this: I'd disappeared while I was reading the story - not so unusual, since he's used to my stupid connection. I came back and said, "Holy cow." and then he'd had to reboot. When he came back from rebooting, I was gone again, and Matt (to whom he had also sent the story) had put up an Away message. Poor Braz thought he'd creeped us out so badly we didn't want to talk to him anymore.

But now he's threatening to put the story up on the MeadeHall website. I'll try to remember to post a link when he does. I'm trying to decide if I want to post the semi-erotica I wrote - maybe create a sub-page to my Dencity account for Hall stories. I dunno. Is anyone else actually interested in reading them?

So, today promises to be interesting. Besides still swapping e-mail with Jeff, Karen, and K.T. about the Hall plot, Kurg was kind enough to loan me his collection of Spelljammer sourcebooks so I can make some notes. It's a bigger collection than I thought - this could take a while. I brought the first boxed set in to work with me today.

On top of that, right after work I have an appointment to try on shoes for my brother's wedding. I don't care what the shoes look like - no one looks at a bridesmaid's feet, and my chances of being able to wear the shoes again are more or less zilch - but I have some problem feet, and it's important to me that they at least attempt to be comfortable. I don't see it happening, but I can always hope. (And bring a pair of loafers to change into after the ceremony.)

And, most exciting of all, Braz and Kris are coming to visit tonight! That is, they're coming for a visit and to see Braz's sister graduate from William and Mary, but they're staying with us while they're in town, and they're arriving tonight. Hurray!

Apparently Kris is a little concerned that - since Braz and Matt and I are all three heavily involved in the MeadeHall plot - we'll be spending a lot of time talking about it. But we were talking about it (her concern, that is) via IM yesterday, and I confessed, "I don't think I'd be able to do it out loud." Braz agreed that he wasn't sure he could talk it instead of typing.

There's a weird sort of intimacy, in role-playing, if you let your characters get too close. You're so tightly attached to them that sometimes you lose the boundaries between yourself and the character. And sharing that intimacy - even with someone else who's experiencing it themselves - can be a little intimidating. I don't know if I can explain it any better than that.

So I think Kris can relax on that count, at least. We'll probably talk about it a little, but I don't think we could bring ourselves to get into too deep of a discussion.

Anyway, while we're waiting for them to arrive (which could be anywhere between 8 and 11) I'll be doing some cooking - I want to make homemade ice cream, and the base for that needs to be cooked and then cooled overnight. And when I'm done with that, well, I'll have three eggs left over, and do you know what recipe I have that calls for three eggs? Meringue kisses! Whoo-hoo! That's good for at least two and a half hours right there.

Word of the Day: distend - extend, expand from internal pressure, swell

Hey, do I have to write about the word of the day if it's a word I've actually used of my own accord?

Yes? Oh. Okay. How about this: "I want to eat homemade ice cream until my belly visibly distends."