tiney

Obama's budget cut of the current space program affects me two ways - first, Marty is working on the Orion Project (big impact, hello!), second, space exploration is absolutely awe-inspiring to me. I like sci-fi, I like space, I like NASA. I tend to be more Libertarian when it comes to my views on the government but it's funny because I also support NASA so you can't really be Libertarian if you support a government-funded entity, right? I donno. There's debate on privatizing space exploration and honestly, I don't have faith in it right now. Maybe later in the future, but not right now.

I wrote to my congressmen today.

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Dear *****,

I'm a current resident of Slidell, Louisiana. I work for Tulane University in downtown New Orleans and my husband is an engineer for Lockheed Martin at the Michoud Facility in East New Orleans. We have only lived here for a year and a half but we bought a house and we have made Louisiana our home.

With the news of Obama's budget cutting out the NASA moon plan comes great worry. My husband is on the team for the Orion project and so are many, many of our friends.

At this point we are not sure of the future, we thought we had stability but with the announcement of the budget cuts, that stability is lost. If the Orion project is cut, so are the jobs. Clearly with the cut of the whole Constellation project are the loss of many, many jobs nationwide. I thought Obama was planning to create jobs, not destroy them?

If the Orion project is cut, what will take place at Michoud Facility? Will anything be going on at the Michoud Facility? How will that affect New Orleans?

So many questions and uncertainty. That's part of life, but as a representative I am asking you to question the budget.

Yes, I agree the budget needs to be cut, but does it have to adversely affect my family and friends and the community itself? So I'm worried. I'm worried for my family, my friends, and for everyone working on the space program in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas.

Sincerely,

Christine Van Assche

OMG, New Year. The sound of what seems like infinite fireworks is so comforting.

Tonight was simple - dinner with friends and chocolate fondue at the house. Marty and I took Oki for a walk and later on we watched the sky light up with fireworks while in my PJs.

You'd think they were professionals but it's just crazy Louisianians across the area who've bought out the fireworks tents.

Christmas in North Carolina was nice as usual with the added bonus of an abundance of snow.

Staycation has been very nice so far since we've been able to do more to the house. It's very satisfying making a house your own and we've done a lot in the past few months. New appliances, lots of paintng, changed out fixtures and details, added furniture.

Marty and I have been on our own since we've graduated (cept for the wedding, oh crap, wait, I've been on my own since graduation, three years, and Marty's been on his own since... grad school, seven years) and it's been nice making a nice little life for us. Very glad my parents don't have to worry about me - they worked way too hard for me and I owe them everything.

We've been very lucky in our jobs and moving to Louisiana was weird but we've made great friends and actually like our jobs. We're still adjusting but I can't complain. XD I just miss the proximity to our families and friends sometimes.

So I don't do resolutions but I can say what I want for the future... more traveling (around the US, Japan soon?), more projects concerning the house, more hobbies (already have the books lined up; photography, crocheting), more costumes.

I generally don't do poetry, in fact, I hate poetry... and this is totally cliche and stolen from a movie/book but the moon was so bright tonight (bluuuuue moon) and it was nice knowing that all my friends and family around the world were looking at the same moon.

I'm terrible. I haven't updated in forever.

I had actually thought about discontinuing my use of LJ, but there are still many communities I love and there are still one or two people who post that I like to read. :)

Now it's all about Twitter and Facebook it seems... both of which I frequent. And technically this journal is still connected to Facebook...

I changed up the layout - I wanted to make it Pushing Daisies themed but LJ is somewhat limited in customization when you don't pay for it and I'm not willing to allow ads on my LJ either. So I chose something pretty and green and changed up my icons to all have me in them. Makes sense considering this is MY journal.

Let's see.. update:

• I'm married.
• I'm living in Slidell, LA.
• I work for Tulane University in downtown New Orleans, LA.
• My last name is no longer Ho but it's legally part of my middle name so I still got some Ho in me.
• I will never stop giggling to myself about my former last name, Ho. I definitely embraced the Ho-ness.
• We have a house and it's small and cute. Good starter home - we're still updating it and making it nice.
• My current loves are Doctor Who (David Tennant in general), Pushing Daisies (I still love it! :P), and Glee.
• There are a bunch of other shows I love to watch; Bones, Community, Top Chef, Project Runway, Top Gear, Metalocalypse, Castle...
• I still love to sew and costume - still so much I want to do although I did throw together a Ren Faire dress and cloak in a week - needs to be tweaked for overall improvements.
• I'm starting to learn to crochet, but I also want to learn to knit and embroider.
• I kind of wish I lived back in the day when all that was expected of me was to learn the domestic arts such as crocheting, knitting, and embroidery. Course, I like all the modern conveniences of today so whatevs.
• We have some great and fun friends here. I still miss my friends in Florida.
• My dog is awesome.

So that's it for now.

• Before I can make my Dragon*Con photo post, I need to do a photo search. O_O I know my friend, Kennison, has a bunch of good ones from our Sci-Fi Pinup shoot but it's been so busy at work, I haven't had the time to sit down and look for pictures. Marty took a bunch of good ones, but I definitely need to get the ones from Kennison. :)


• Reminder for next year's Dragon*Con, I need to take more pictures! Sucks when your costumes don't have pockets. Maybe I should concentrated on more pocketed costumes. XD


• Work is very busy and it's going to stay that way for the next couple months. It's good and bad.


• Where the poop is my new Social Security card, it's taking forever! I want to make my last name official! It's been 8 weeks and there doesn't appear to be a number or anything for me to call to check up on the status.


• I want to make one costume a month. Well, make that one costume every two months because it's not gonna happen for September.


• The house is coming along. :D Slowly but surely we keep changing things out and getting furniture.


• One art please. We need more art and not shitty art. The Slidell Antique Fair is coming up in October, maybe I can find some pieces there. That'll be fun!


• Marty's birthday is coming up! BBQ planned!


• Stahly's gonna live with us for a month!


• I'm going to the Renaissance Faire this Fall, I'm doing it! I didn't go last year but I'm gonna dress up and go with some friends/Marty's co-workers!

I didn't realize I had so many things to look forward to.

I was going to post pictures saying this is a summary of the past month, but that's a lie. This all happened in one weekend - one weekend when Mike, "the RT," visited us. It was awesome. :D

( Mike! )

In other news...

Tore down the majority of the wallpaper in the house, started painting, can't wait to get some color in the rooms. Got a water-proof disposable camera chockful of pictures I need to develop from when we went tubing over Fourth of July weekend. More of our friends should visit. ::hinthintnudgenudgesaynomore:: On second thought, wait until it gets cooler before you visit. ;)

I haven't written much lately. I've been alternating between being lazy and freaking out over wedding stuff. It actually hasn't been that bad.

( To Do Wedding )

I gotta finish planning the honeymoon stuff too! Exchange money for Pounds, map out the sites, print our plane information, figure out transportation. Tube passes!

I had a small bridal shower this past weekend with the girls of New Orleans. It was cute and sweet. I still have wedding cake cupcakes in the fridge. ::drools::

Marty and I picked up a Nikon D60. My brother says we should have gotten aa D80 or D90, but I think this camera suits our needs just fine. It's a fun little camera. I'm glad we got it before our trip.

( Picture from Ryan's Birthday Party )

We might be getting a house, again! An offer we made got accepted. We'll see how the inspection goes. No idea. O_O

Man, I get this Friday off because of Good Friday. Awesome.

I get to leave work early today because it's Mardi Gras weekend. Also get Monday and Tuesday off because it'd be pretty impossible to work with all the people and traffic. Gleeee. Marty and I will try to catch some parades. :)

I wanna join a Krewe, ride a float, and go to a ball at some point! It can get expensive but overall it seems reasonable to me.

Wedding stuff is almost done. Have a few things to take care of here and there and of course, have to pay off the vendors but overall there's nothing to worry about. Maybe there'll be things to worry about after another month and the wedding gets closer. I donno. Some people haven't gotten their invitations yet which is annoying. Come on postal system! I haven't said much when it comes to the wedding because I want it all to be a surprise. :D Secrets, secrets.

Speaking of weddings, we were invited to three weddings in March. Going to two of them. Had to sacrifice one. Makes me upset. They're all good friends. It's expensive to travel so much though, especially when we have to worry about our own wedding.

Missing some conventions too. Ugh. Marty and I already decided we're going to make it to all the conventions next year. Least this year we have Wrath of Con and Dragon*Con.

Since the wedding stuff is taken care of, I found I have more free time and started playing with my serger. I have a lead foot and need to learn to control my speed, bwahahahaha. Yay, sewing!

Work has been crazy lately. I still love my job.

I also still love, love, love David Tennant.

Thanks to Vivian I'm completely in love with Lily Allen.

I wonder what I should do with my hair after I get married.

( I think I want this hair - I've had this hair before but I think I want it again. It's so simple. )

Life

• My phone works but the display died randomly - I have no choice but to replace it - procastination time is up.


• Need to work on London itinerary - get me some pounds, bwahahaha.


• Wedding planning continues - so much left to do.


• OMG I have a videographer - so excited!!!

Media

• WTF, ABC! GIVE ME BACK PUSHING DAISIES!


• I don't think I could love David Tennant more.


• Ooo - cute girl in upcoming Doctor Who Easter special - Michelle Ryan.


• Office is back and the show is funny again! :)

Hobbies

• Got a serger for Christmas - need to get back to the sewing soon! Maybe this weekend?


• So many costumes I want to do - need to prioritze.


• Tickets and hotel set for Dragon*Con.


• Growing love for the vintage is bad - bought some uber cute hats and either want to buy or make vintage clothes.

The screen to my work laptop went all wonky.  I waited several weeks before IT came and picked it up for repairs.  They thought they had figured out what was wrong with it and it'd be a quick fix.  That wasn't the case.  It turns out the motherboard was on the fritz and they had to order a new motherboard to replace it.  They're waiting on the part to arrive.

Sheesh.

The problem is is that I started using my work laptop as a personal laptop and I'd bring it home every day to do whatever I wanted.  That's a problem considering all my wedding stuff is on that laptop.  I'm not afraid that all my wedding stuff will disappear, but I definitely feel the loss of not having constant access to my wedding stuff. 

It's not too terrible though since Marty's mom has a copy of everything as well, it's just... I WANT MY LAPTOP BACK!!!

Feh.  I need to get myself a new laptop.  That's not gonna happen for a while though.  :P  Wedding, honeymoon, house, costumes, Dragon*Con.  Oh well, I have my priorities.  LOL

So many thoughts in my head...

• Playing catch up - drove back from NC today - have so much to do, unpack, clean, things to do.


• New year - I'm so glad I don't have to do the 365 picture a day thing anymore, but I still need to post all the pictures I've taken from the last month, DOH!


• Need a box for all the Christmas decorations.


• So much left to do for the wedding, aahhhh!


• 4 months till the wedding, aaahhhhh!


• Christmas was good.


• I got my parents a GPS and framed photos from when they visited this past Thanskgiving. :D


• Need a serger!


• Getting a serger soon. o_O


• So many costumes to catch up on.


• Gah! Need to book a hotel for London honeymoon!


• I don't do resolutions.


• So much to do and it is just the start of the new year.

( Pictures of the Snow )

It's snowing, it's getting worse and it's starting to stick. I'm a little bit worried about being able to get home later. o_O It's not just because I'm afraid of driving in snow and ice but also because they'll most likely close the bridges. I'm taking more pictures as the day goes on.

It's freaking snowing in New Orleans.

I keep forgetting that New Orleans is not the safest place. Tulane always gives updates and warnings when a crime happens to a student, faculty, or staff. Most of the cases happen after midnight and I think, "Well, of course you don't walk around by yourself after midnight."

This morning nothing bad happened but it amped up my paranoia. I park across the street from my building. It's real close and it's not a big deal. With New Orleans though, it's like every other street goes ghetto, nice, ghetto, nice, ghetto, nice. >_<

Anyways, so right after I got out of my car a tall guy in the distance yells to me. I ask what's up and he walks towards me asking if I had ten cents. He doesn't even look homeless or poor or whatever. I tell him I don't have change and he asks if I have a dollar. I tell him I don't have cash. He says he needs food and I tell him all I have is credit which is true! They don't even have Bank of Americas in these parts even if I wanted to get cash! I'm walking swiftly trying to get to work because not only am I trying to get away from this creepy guy but I'm almost late for work. :P Meanwhile, I'm fumbling around in my bag trying to get to my mace just in case. So he keeps following me and I notice he keeps eyeing my bag. At that point he yells at me to give him five dollars so I turn around and I tell him I don't have anything for him and I walk across the street and he moves on.

Sheesh. I'm glad he didn't try anything although the harassment sure wasn't comfortable. :P There were people around, but not close enough to make me feel safe. Next time, I'm keeping my mace in hand. You can't take chances.

I'm two weeks behind in posting my 365-a-day pictures. NOOOOO!

Dragon*Con was soooooooooooooo great. I would describe everything but I'm so lazy. So lazy. o_O Maybe when I get back to New Orleans. The hurricane hit my town. Not as bad as I thought it would which is great. It just sucked having that in the back of my mind all weekend. Marty and I are taking our forced time off to hang out. We'll go back home on Saturday. Maybe that's when I'll catch up on my pictures and write about Dragon*Con and everything.

Marty and I are flying out to Atlanta later today. We're packed for the most part. Just need to gather the toiletries and such. I'm excited and annoyed at the same. Excited because it's Dragon*Con and I'm pretty much ready. Annoyed because we also have a tropical storm/possible hurricane heading towards Louisiana. It can either veer right towards Florida, left towards Texas or just hit Louisiana because it's right in the middle.

I'm not worried about our safety. Oki is staying with our friends who own Ernie (another corgi) and they told us they'd head to Georgia if they need to evacuate. Marty and I will be Atlanta. We'll see if our flight back gets cancelled or not. Course, I'd rather not fly in any sort of stormy weather.

I'm mostly worried about possible flooding. I like my stuff, I don't want my stuff to be submerged in water.

If we were in Florida, it'd be whatever. I've gone through years and years of hurricanes without anything catastrophic happening. ::knock on wood:: Now that we're here in the New Orleans area, the risks are greater. Sheesh.

I have a pending offer from Tulane University to be the Program Coordinator for the department of Human Research Protection. Once I pass the background check, they'll make an official offer. :D Yay! They will call back at the end of the week.

Now the annoying part is there are a couple other jobs I'm interested in that haven't gotten back to me yet... so I need to call them and tell them that they should expedite the decision process if they want me to work for them instead. They may or may not care but I figure I'd like to know what options I have. I'll also have to give a courtesy call to those jobs that I don't care about to let them know I won't be available anymore.

I should probably be more excited but I'll wait until the end of the week.