Attack of the Updates
Apr. 13th, 2004 11:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akujunkanMy Mother Has No Netiquette
Mom just got online for the first time about a year ago. Since then, not a week goes by when I don't receive 1-5 forwards featuring inbox-eating animations, loud noises, advertisements, and about 217k of uncut forwarding headers.
My mother's Internet-using habits most closely resemble those of thirteen year old girls in east Asia. It's equal parts annoying and endearing.
An International Team of Experts Confirms: Tendency to Fangirl is Genetic
I saw RotK again this past weekend. Every time I watch that movie I am struck by how deep and abiding my love for Tolkien truly is. I first read LotR in third grade, and it took me about three months to get through the book. I believe that Tokien is largely responsible for my current vocabulary and reading level, as LotR was worlds apart from the Bantam ghost story potboilers I'd read previously.
Odd to think that I first watched RotK one third of a year ago.
My father is the person who first introduced me to Tolkien and is as crazy about the books as I am. After the big family viewing of RotK, we were in the car discussing all the good and bad points about the movies: what worked and what sucked.
My father was especially enamoured of the Weathertop scene in FotR. "Everything was perfect," he said. "Except, the bodies of the trolls were missing."
"Trolls?" I said. "What are you talking about?"
"You know. The trolls. The ones that were petrefied in The Hobbit?"
"Dude, that wasn't at Weathertop."
"No, they saw them in the book! I remember!"
"Yes, but that was after Weathertop, when Frodo was almost dead from the Witch King's blade."
"No it wasn't."
"Yeah it was. Remember, they were off looking for Kingsfoil, and then the elves showed up, and Frodo had to be raced into Rivendell because the Nazgul were on their trail again?"
"They weren't in that scene. We watched it on the new TV a few days ago."
"Yeah, and they changed it in the movie. It wasn't Arwen who did the racing, dude."
"When we get home we're looking this up in the book."
And which point I realised that my tendency to canonwhore and obsessively fangirl is most likely genetic, only without the benefit of the Internet, the trait remained hidden in my father. Beautiful.
Next Time, We're Taking You to Dinner
A former JTE had a birthday a few days ago. I'd been planning to go to a movie with the JTE that Wednesday, but as it was raining and I was tired, we moved the date to that Sunday.
I'd spent the previous weekend in Nagoya engaged in a frantic and often mutually unintelligble phone and text conversation with a mutual friend, with whom I'd been trying to plan a surprise party for the JTE. We set the date as that Saturday.
Well, this JTE happens to be she of the "Oops, we're going to my friend's graduation & can you pay 1000 yen while you're at it?" fame. So she emails mutual friend (MF) to say that we're seeing the movie on Saturday. Course, she neglects to tell me about this.
So I get a frantic text from MF saying, What the hell is going on? JTE has just asked me to come to a movie on Saturday, she says she's already invited you, and what the hell are we going to do about the surprise party now?
I respond that it was supposed to be Sunday. In the end, we scratch the party altogether, and decide on dinner, cake, and presents before the movie. I am relegated to buying presents. I ask what would be good, since MF has known her since school.
"Just get her something that will make her feel good."
Great. That really pares down my options, dunnit?
So I end by making her a gift. We're going to meet at 6:30 to eat dinner before the 8:30 movie.
Well, it's 1:00 and I get an email. "I'll be studying at the new library. I'm going to drive to your house, and we'll get lunch then study together."
No you aren't because 1) I want the afternoon to myself and 2) how am I going to meet mutual friend to surprise you with the present and cake.
I make up a lie about already hanging out with a friend at the mall and I'll just meet you there when it's time.
6:00 rolls around. JTE texts to say she'll be half an hour late. This rolls back my meeting time with MF another half hour. We get together and begin the drive to pick JTE up. Midway there I get an email from her saying she's already at the mall, though she's been told to wait repeatedly at her house.
MF gets an email saying JTE will be another 20 minutes late. We drive to the mall, I run into the dollar store to buy some cheap plates and dishes to eat the cake on, then we give her a call.
Lo and behold she's really still at her house. So we drive back across town, another 25 minutes down, bring the cake and presents to her foyer, and light the candles. I knock.
She comes to the door and says, "Come in!" but doesn't open it. MF is holding the cake & I've got my hands in front of it, to keep the wind from blowing the candles out. JTE is refusing to open the goddamn door. I can't say anything b/c she's not supposed to know I'm there, and MF is too shocked to do anything. So finally I open the door with my foot.
Well, it's too late to go eat dinner now, and we're late to the movie. But JTE is suitably surprised and rather contrite about all the trouble she's put us through. And I've got a nice long LJ Comedy of Errors post out of it. Surprise parties. Gotta love 'em. I know share feelings of deep camaraderie w/ MF.
Jut wait till I tell you about the crap she pulled this Sunday!
That will be all.
Mom just got online for the first time about a year ago. Since then, not a week goes by when I don't receive 1-5 forwards featuring inbox-eating animations, loud noises, advertisements, and about 217k of uncut forwarding headers.
My mother's Internet-using habits most closely resemble those of thirteen year old girls in east Asia. It's equal parts annoying and endearing.
An International Team of Experts Confirms: Tendency to Fangirl is Genetic
I saw RotK again this past weekend. Every time I watch that movie I am struck by how deep and abiding my love for Tolkien truly is. I first read LotR in third grade, and it took me about three months to get through the book. I believe that Tokien is largely responsible for my current vocabulary and reading level, as LotR was worlds apart from the Bantam ghost story potboilers I'd read previously.
Odd to think that I first watched RotK one third of a year ago.
My father is the person who first introduced me to Tolkien and is as crazy about the books as I am. After the big family viewing of RotK, we were in the car discussing all the good and bad points about the movies: what worked and what sucked.
My father was especially enamoured of the Weathertop scene in FotR. "Everything was perfect," he said. "Except, the bodies of the trolls were missing."
"Trolls?" I said. "What are you talking about?"
"You know. The trolls. The ones that were petrefied in The Hobbit?"
"Dude, that wasn't at Weathertop."
"No, they saw them in the book! I remember!"
"Yes, but that was after Weathertop, when Frodo was almost dead from the Witch King's blade."
"No it wasn't."
"Yeah it was. Remember, they were off looking for Kingsfoil, and then the elves showed up, and Frodo had to be raced into Rivendell because the Nazgul were on their trail again?"
"They weren't in that scene. We watched it on the new TV a few days ago."
"Yeah, and they changed it in the movie. It wasn't Arwen who did the racing, dude."
"When we get home we're looking this up in the book."
And which point I realised that my tendency to canonwhore and obsessively fangirl is most likely genetic, only without the benefit of the Internet, the trait remained hidden in my father. Beautiful.
Next Time, We're Taking You to Dinner
A former JTE had a birthday a few days ago. I'd been planning to go to a movie with the JTE that Wednesday, but as it was raining and I was tired, we moved the date to that Sunday.
I'd spent the previous weekend in Nagoya engaged in a frantic and often mutually unintelligble phone and text conversation with a mutual friend, with whom I'd been trying to plan a surprise party for the JTE. We set the date as that Saturday.
Well, this JTE happens to be she of the "Oops, we're going to my friend's graduation & can you pay 1000 yen while you're at it?" fame. So she emails mutual friend (MF) to say that we're seeing the movie on Saturday. Course, she neglects to tell me about this.
So I get a frantic text from MF saying, What the hell is going on? JTE has just asked me to come to a movie on Saturday, she says she's already invited you, and what the hell are we going to do about the surprise party now?
I respond that it was supposed to be Sunday. In the end, we scratch the party altogether, and decide on dinner, cake, and presents before the movie. I am relegated to buying presents. I ask what would be good, since MF has known her since school.
"Just get her something that will make her feel good."
Great. That really pares down my options, dunnit?
So I end by making her a gift. We're going to meet at 6:30 to eat dinner before the 8:30 movie.
Well, it's 1:00 and I get an email. "I'll be studying at the new library. I'm going to drive to your house, and we'll get lunch then study together."
No you aren't because 1) I want the afternoon to myself and 2) how am I going to meet mutual friend to surprise you with the present and cake.
I make up a lie about already hanging out with a friend at the mall and I'll just meet you there when it's time.
6:00 rolls around. JTE texts to say she'll be half an hour late. This rolls back my meeting time with MF another half hour. We get together and begin the drive to pick JTE up. Midway there I get an email from her saying she's already at the mall, though she's been told to wait repeatedly at her house.
MF gets an email saying JTE will be another 20 minutes late. We drive to the mall, I run into the dollar store to buy some cheap plates and dishes to eat the cake on, then we give her a call.
Lo and behold she's really still at her house. So we drive back across town, another 25 minutes down, bring the cake and presents to her foyer, and light the candles. I knock.
She comes to the door and says, "Come in!" but doesn't open it. MF is holding the cake & I've got my hands in front of it, to keep the wind from blowing the candles out. JTE is refusing to open the goddamn door. I can't say anything b/c she's not supposed to know I'm there, and MF is too shocked to do anything. So finally I open the door with my foot.
Well, it's too late to go eat dinner now, and we're late to the movie. But JTE is suitably surprised and rather contrite about all the trouble she's put us through. And I've got a nice long LJ Comedy of Errors post out of it. Surprise parties. Gotta love 'em. I know share feelings of deep camaraderie w/ MF.
Jut wait till I tell you about the crap she pulled this Sunday!
That will be all.
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no subject
I think in 3rd grade I was still into Goosebumps. Hmm... That says a lot, doesn't it?
I really hate that kind of running around BS. You have a lot more patience than I do. After "Lo and behold she's really still at her house." I probably would have told her to stuff herself. Friend or not. Yes, you can say I do get a bit anal about things. :D
no subject
on 2004-04-14 02:08 am (UTC)Well, my Mom has never been on the net before. She doesn't know brb, lol, or even what emoticons mean. There really is a whole culture & set of rules for emailing/IMing, and she just doesn't get them yet. One time she freaked my shit out by SCREAMING AT ME OVER A SMALL, JOKING COMMENT I'D MADE because she didn't realise there's a difference between *this* and THIS.
RE: Goosebumps
I tried reading Babysitter II. I just couldn't get into it. But I did read a lot of Naylor, Schwartz, Colville & other YA ghost/horror stuff. I think everyone does in 3rd grade. LotR is what made me realise there was a whole lot more to books.
RE: Party
Well, this friend just doesn't seem to grasp that people do not like dropping their activities at a drop of a hat to accomidate her impulses. I don't think she's *trying* to be mean or selfish, but it doesn't seem to occur to her that people have other things they may want to do that don't include her activities.
no subject
on 2004-04-14 03:11 am (UTC)Heh. I could probably curse my mom out in l33t speak and she would have no clue. (Not that I would but.. I could. ;D) I think she might know lol but that could be a stretch.
Re: Goosebumps
I used to read those Ramona books and some other book that had a whole set but I forget what it's called. It's something about a kid who gets left back in the third grade and all that nonsense. He hates his new classmates and calls them "babies". Not that that matters but that's pretty much I remember from them. They were my first "chapter books" though. I sure was proud of that. :P
Re: Party
I can understand that. There seem to be a neverending supply of people who don't take into account others. Not that they do it on purpose it just doesn't come into their minds that they should.
no subject
on 2004-04-18 04:59 am (UTC)