(no subject)

[katallison]

For the third week in a row I did not manage to see Angel--damn, I wish it wasn't on Wednesday night--and hence I cannot really follow the reviews that all the cool kids are posting. I'm not anti- the show or anything, and I'll doubtless catch up on the episodes at some point, if for no other reason than to be able to fully enjoy others' vidding thereof.

I also am not joining in the "What's my brand?" meme, largely because I already have a pretty good idea of how my stories come across to others. The pithiest summary thereof, and one I cherish, came in some comments that cesperanza posted a while back about "End of the Road" -- "a great novel but really shitty escapism." So, that's my brand: "Kat Allison, bringing you really shitty escapism since 1997!" Heee.

Of course, if anyone wants to tell me otherwise -- "Kat, your stories make me think of ... a basketful of puppies on Christmas morning! A coneful of sticky cotton candy clutched by a sweet-faced child on a hot summer day! The giant squid at the aquarium!" -- well, that would be cool. Weird, but cool.

I am in the middle of a two-day training on how to use Access, so that I can take over some of the databases at work. As usual, I'm led to reflect on what a mistake it is (generally) to let software experts be in charge of training. Teaching beginners how to understand and use complex systems is an entirely distinct kind of skill from *creating* such systems, and it's one that (I say immodestly) I'm pretty good at; a couple of times yesterday I cut in and decoded the expert's explanations into terms that Hapless Lady two rows back could make sense of. Sometimes I think I should be looking into this kind of training as my next career path, for the day when I finally reach my limit with the 18-year-olds and the University administration.

Ah well, duty bellows, and off into the raw damp drizzly morning I go.

Comments

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

I'd love to say all the complimentary-yet-true things your writing evokes for me, but destina has done it much more beautifully than I would. So I'll go with an apt quote.

This is the sensation your stories create in me:

"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra. Suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come."
-- Matt Groening

[katallison.livejournal.com]

OK, (a) huge smooches of gratitude to you, and (b) now I really want the story where Fraser quotes this to Ray, who then freaks out -- "Ice weasels? Ice weasels?!?!? Fraser, what the hell is your deal??" -- and only realizes a minute or two into the rant that Fraser has introduced the L-word, which causes him a brief interlude of entirely different freak-out, after which he jumps Fraser and flips over the snowmobile, figuratively speaking, and to hell with the ice weasels.

(I'm not saying I'm gonna write it, just that somebody should.)

And thanks again, sweetie.

[cesperanza.livejournal.com]

a) didn't Resonant do a story with the memorable line, "Weasels! Weasels! The U.N. stole my bus tickets!" (She did! but it's a TS story, so never mind.)

b) That sounds like a story I'd write, though. "Ice weasels? Ice weasels?!?!?"

c) Should I go into advertising? Think of the possibilities! "A great breakfast cereal, but a really shitty floor wax!" "A great motor oil but a really shitty dessert topping!" "A great hockey puck but a really shitty taco!"

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

You should *definitely* write this story. Make it a drabble, even, so you don't have to suffer. But it should exist.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

I love the idea. And Ces should write it, and I've told her so. (: