Well, damn...I always claim I'm going to post in my LiveJournal more, but it never seems to happen, does it? Most of my online activities are confined to Twitter and Facebook these days, but those sites don't lend themselves too well to long journal type postings.

So the subject I've chosen is one that's been on my mind for several years now. Since tomorrow is the 14th year anniversary since my husband and I began dating (holy shit...), I figured I'd opine about something relationship related.

We got married 7 years ago. At the time, I had planned to hyphenate my name. The idea of completely changing my name never appealed to me, since in the old days it symbolized the woman becoming the man's property. Not that I believe that implication still holds true, but I still had that sense of not wanting to completely give up my identity as an independent person. So I was going to compromise and go half-way by hyphenating. Then I starting thinking about all the different stuff I would have to change: driver's license, passport, credit cards, all sorts of accounts...did I really want to go through the hassle of all that just to add a hyphen? Plus, that nagging insistence that, because I'm a woman, I should HAVE to go through something that is not expected of a man was striking me as sexist. So, through a combination of stubbornness and laziness, I ended up keeping my name unaltered.

I didn't think it would be a big deal, but apparently it is to some people. Over the years I've fielded questions such as, "are you really married?" (no, I'm just faking it for the LOLz), and "did you not change it because you don't think it's going to last?" (uh, I wouldn't have gotten married if I didn't think the relationship would last!) Some people are just shocked when one chooses not to go with societal expectations (I also don't want to have children, which is a whole 'nother can of worms). Why can't people just mind their own business and accept that others might not make the same choices as they would? I would never walk up to someone who has a bunch of kids and say, "wow, you're really helping contribute to overpopulation!" (I would probably say it snarkily under my breath, out of ear-shot :P)

It seems that a woman keeping her name is more accepted if, say, she's a famous person who is known by her original name, but why should a woman need an "acceptable reason" to not change it? And heaven forbid if a man would choose to take his wife's name instead! (I do remember hearing something recently about a case where a man had to go to court in order to change his name to his wife's name. Why couldn't they just let him do it without a hassle? Because it's not "normal"?)

We actually did think of a name change that I would have been willing to make, though several years after the fact. We came up with the idea of combining our names into one (not hyphenating, but taking pieces of each name...like Fusion ;P), and then we would both change our last names to the new name. I find this appealing because it's more equal, using parts of both our names and a name that would be unique to us (the option we liked best, using Rice and Mashek, was "Rishek"). If we had come up with this idea at the time we got married, I absolutely would have done it, but it seems like it'd be too late now. We use the name jokingly with each other, referring to ourselves as "the Risheks". Who knows, maybe one day we'll just go ahead and do it!

Tags: anniversary, society
Current Mood: contemplative

Oops, I did it again...I abandoned my LJ (and fanfic). I always say to myself, this year I'm gonna post more stuff to my LJ! After all, I've got random topics in my head that might be interesting to write about. Alas, it hasn't happened yet. But 2012 will be different! For realz (maybe ;P)

But in the meantime, I got back to work on the Dragonball fanfic that I originally promised to finish a chapter of by the end of 2011. Well, that didn't happen, but at least I got it done in the first month of 2012.

Miscalculation: Chapter 7

Once again, I didn't cover nearly as much content as I thought I would (originally thought there might be an additional scene or two covered in this chapter, but this ending spot just made more sense). So at some point I'll have more chapters, and hopefully more non-fanfic LJ posts! Stay tuned...

Tags: dragonball, fanfic
Current Mood: creative

*Looks up from book* Oh, hi, I didn't see you come in. Well, I'm still around, even if I frequently forget about my Live Journal and posting stuff on it (I do have a Twitter account that I post to semi-frequently, if that counts for anything :P). I also, for quite awhile, basically forgot about the fanfic that I started several years ago. Sure, I always knew it was sitting there waiting to be finished, but never really made an effort to complete it....until recently. I'm not done yet (still a couple more chapters to write), but I at least finished the sixth chapter, two and a half years after completing the fifth one:

Miscalculation: Chapter 6

I also made some edits to the previous chapters, mostly because I went back and reread the entire thing before continuing work on the newest chapter to make sure I was being consistent with myself :P Mostly just minor changing of phrasings, or different word choices. Probably not even noticeable to anyone besides myself :P But anyway, enjoy (and feel free to reread the previous chapters if you don't remember what the hell was going on....it's completely understandable!)

Tags: dragonball, fanfic
Current Mood: accomplished

So, uh, wow, yeah, I haven't posted to my Live Journal in over a year. It's not that there hasn't been anything interesting happening, but I've just never gotten around to posting about anything. Maybe I'll gradually update with what fun things I've been up to, so for now, I'll start off with an overload of cuteness.

( New additionCollapse )

Tags: cats, pictures
Current Mood: giddy

It's Gravitation, bitches! That's right, Murakami-sensei is bringing us the goods once more....and this time with only a five month wait! But hey, at least she makes the tracks more substantial now than when she would post almost every month but put out less than 10 pages each time. Also of note, the web page hosting the web comic has changed its format. Now, instead of downloading the new issues each month, they have a new system where you can read it from some application. You still have to pay to view anything beyond a few sample pages, and they also added a bit of a hassle by making users register and login to purchase and view the comic. But I was able to figure it all out, so I bring you this month's issue of Gravitation EX!

( One Ryuuichi? Two Ryuuichis? Oh, my medication....Collapse )

Tags: gravitation, manga, new tracks
Current Mood: confused

The past few days have been unusually windy in Portland. For a couple of days, the winds were staying steady around 20mph, with gusts up to 40mph. Seeing as how the city is full of trees, it creates a bit of a danger for residents living near large, unstable trees....

( Tree fallingCollapse )

Tags: house, pictures
Current Mood: crushed

December 17th, 1998. It didn't seem like such a special day at the time. It was the last week of school before Winter Break my sophomore year of high school. Most days, I was busy with school choir activities, but that particular day there was nothing going on, so I'd made plans to hang out after school with a guy I had become friends with a couple months earlier. We didn't call it a date at the time (but we both knew that it was) and now, 10 years later, I'm celebrating this milestone day with that same guy, who is now my husband. I thought it might be a good time to reflect on the history of our relationship (and have another big picture dump!)
( Welcome to my romanceCollapse )

Tags: anniversary, pictures
Current Mood: loved

( Baby, it's cold outside!Collapse )

Wow, it's snowing today! (At least, it was yesterday when I started writing this entry that I'm just now finishing :P) Looks like Portland is getting its requisite one day of snow per year (though the weather's actually supposed to stay cold for a few days, with more snow possibly on the way). I was planning to do some Christmas shopping, but I'd rather not drive, since Portlanders have no idea how to drive in the snow, as this (sad but true) video demonstrates: Slip 'n' Slide!

So since I'm basically stuck in the house today, I might as well get around to something I've been planning to do for awhile, anyway. I haven't updated my Live Journal much in the year of 2008, with only three entries, and all of them were fandom related (new Gravitation tracks, fanfic updates). There have been a few changes in my life, but I never got around to making entries for any of them, so I've decided to make a "year in review" type entry where I catch up on the things that have happened in 2008. Plus, picture dump! Enjoy!

( Let's start the showCollapse )

Tags: fandom, moving, pictures, work
Current Mood: cold

OMGWTFBBQ!!!oneone After eight months, Murakami-sensei has finally started working on Gravitation EX again. And forget those little 4 or 5 page tracks she's put out in the past, this one is 33 pages long! And the art is just gorgeous! I must say, Eiri looks like a walking pile of sex all throughout this new track *_* But we've been waiting long enough for this, so I'll stop babbling and get right to the summary!

( It's been a long time coming...Collapse )

Tags: gravitation, manga, new tracks
Current Mood: surprised

I haven't posted on my Live Journal in forever, and all I'm doing it posting a fanfic update :P Oh, well, maybe I'll decide to talk about my life again sometime (because there have been some updates that I never bothered to mention).

Miscalculation: Chapter 5

In this chapter, Vegeta and Bulma deal with the aftermath of events from the previous chapter.

When I posted up this last chapter, I noticed that the little Google ads at the bottom had some amusing suggestions for related websites. Those ads typically look for repeating words on the site and put up related links. I don't remember what they were when I posted it because the ads change each time, but it had stuff like links to wedding websites, baby stuff, and depression (What? Maybe because the words like "embarrassing" kept coming up?). I tried looking to see if the previous chapters would give me any gems....I managed to get a site for underwear/pajamas on the second chapter (weird, because although Bulma's name is a pun on underwear, it isn't obvious when spelled that way). There was also an ad for ladies' church suits ('cause the wedding happening at the church), and weight loss (because weight loss goes with everything?)

Tags: dragonball, fanfic
Current Mood: amused