The Ol' Howl & Giggle

songcoyote @ 2009-10-21T12:21:00

2009-10-21T19:23:26Z

Warning: possibly triggery.

Fragile thing I see you dance and I can't help but grin
In sweet anticipation of the ache that builds within
The price of all the work you've done
Now yours is ended, mine's begun
Your struggles make it sweeter when I win

Your lovely voice is faltering; your steps have grown too slow
You cannot trust your once-strong hands to hold against the flow
And as you quail at my caress
I sigh to drink in your duress
And stroke the line that makes the nerve-fires glow

Drip delicious agony into my waiting hands
Work yourself down to the bone as society demands
None will know how much you do to cover up the strain
They'll say that I'm just in your mind 'cause they can't see the pain

Age is not the only thing that binds you to my name
Just one misstep, a stranger’s touch, or a rough-played lover's game
Are all it takes to plant the seed
That blossoms into what I need
Once you feel my touch you'll never be the same

So dance right through the torture, and sing right past the ache
Push yourself again until your muscles burn and break
Fight to hold on tight and win
Ignore the glass beneath your skin
Find out how much your heart can really take

You fight against my warm embrace, but there's only one escape
As time erodes the mind and gravity affects your shape
But don't give up no matter how your face may show the strain
For life is worth the effort, and I'll always need your pain
Feed me, love, and in the end you'll be free of all this pain

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Writer's Block: The one that got away

2009-10-09T20:55:16Z

Do you believe in the concept of a soulmate? Do you think you've met him or her? Do you ever worry that "the one" got away?

View 1843 Answers

I thoroughly believe in soulmates.

I do not believe that we are restricted to just one.

Love is too big for that.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Edited to add: I also do not believe we are restricted to one at a time. Love is too capable for that.

More "poetry" / "music" :)

2009-09-28T22:53:35Z

Because my mind is a strange place at times....

There’s a secret I must tell ‘bout how my fortune was made
Of the mad idea I had while I was sittin’ in the shade
I thought, “Imagine all the money I would find myself makin’
If I perfect a perfume that smells like... SEX AND BACON!

Sex and bacon, the perfect combination
Of scent and sweat and flavor in a sizzlin’ conflagration
You thought she smelled nice but you found that you were taken
By the heady tang of soap that smells like... SEX AND BACON!

So get out to the store and buy yourself a bottle
You will find that your love life will soon be full throttle
You will smile every mornin’ at the one with whom you’re wakin’
‘Cause you reeled her in tight with the smell of SEX AND BACON!

Sex and bacon, the perfect combination
Of scent and sweat and flavor in a sizzlin’ conflagration
She thought you smelled nice even after she was taken
By the heady tang of soap that smells like... SEX AND BACON!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-09-19T09:58:00

2009-09-19T16:59:11Z

My Quote of the Day, from my sweetie:

"Let's go to the animal shelter! There we can gaze longingly upon what we cannot have, at least not until one of those we love dies."

Ow, yes ;)

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-09-16T13:17:00

2009-09-16T20:20:29Z

Hey, I'm posting something! How did that happen?

Scary though it may be I've decided that when I put together a poem/song I'll post it here. In no small part cadhla inspired me to do this, and though I don't think I can readily compete with her quality or output level, at least I'm keeping at it :)

Hear the distant song of Spring that seems so far away
It calls to us in the darkest times, our nightmares to allay
Like a thousand songbirds greeting dawn
Its promise lingers ever on
And even the coldest night will yield to day

Oh fallen warrior, raise your head and face the end you fear
Even though you know that any moment death could draw you near
So take up the valiant challenge and push past the pain and strife
There's so much more that you can do with this, your gift of life

Sing with distant Spring though it may seem too far away
To bring you out of darkness, all your nightmares to allay
Like a thousand sparks of your heart’s fire
Its promise strengthens your desire
To stand again and face another day

These healer's eyes have seen too much and wish to see a day
With no more crow-flecked battlefields that in eerie silence lay
And end to soldiers' struggles, and the need for healers' skills
When the cold of war recedes before the peace that love instills

So she sings her hope for Spring though it seems so far away
And a path out from the darkness, bloody nightmares to allay
Like a thousand torches lit, their fire
Illuminating her desire
To help the wounded see another day

Hear the distant song of Spring that seems so far away
It calls to us in the darkest times, our nightmares to allay
Like a thousand songbirds greeting dawn
Its promise lingers ever on
And even the coldest night will yield to day

I may add more verses later depending on how things go. Thanks for having a gander!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Impressions of San Francisco

2009-08-10T20:42:45Z

Last week I started a job based in San Francisco very near Pier 35, which is along the northeast side of the city, at the foot of the hill Coit Tower sits on, and very close to the bay. The view is spectacular from the building I'm in, but that's only a minor addition to the story I have today.

At noon I took a lunch break, took a walk a got a nice salad, then took my book and sat in a micro-park near my building. Now, keep in mind I'm a near-ideal situation: I just started a new job that I really like (a great relief on more than one level), this is just about the ideal time to be enjoying San Francisco (late Summer/early Fall is truly lovely here), there are negative ions from the surrounding bay (which I rode across on my ferry commute and work near), I've just had some pleasant (and wholesome) food and a nice walk, and I'm enjoying the book I am reading.

But even with all those caveats in mind the feeling I got when I stood up and stretched and looked around surprised me a bit: I love San Francisco.

I don't really know why, nor do I know why it only just came to me, but I understand what Herb Caen was going on about for so long and so well that the Embarcadero is subtitled with his name. I finally really see what others have been talking about when they have waxed poetic about the city's beauty, physical and otherwise.

Sure, it has its problems, its seamy underside, and its ugly scars, old and new. But so do the people I love, and I love them no less for it. If anything, accepting them - and this City - so thoroughly even with their imperfections is a more exalted realization because of them.

And so I find myself in a truly amazing place physically, emotionally, and spiritually.... And today Love has grown.

What a wonderful thing!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Software Developers Sought

2009-08-06T15:52:38Z

Hey there all you who might read/stumble over my journal:

Just in case anyone's interested, my company is desperately seeking Software Developers (check www.unitedbiosource.com/careers for details) and pays a hefty referral bonus. There are positions in San Francsico, CA and Langhorne, PA. If you or someone you know might be interested, please forward your/their resume to me at songcoyote at yahoo so I can refer them.

Oh, and have a great day :D

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-08-04T11:12:00

2009-08-04T18:13:20Z

Well, I was fortunate enough to find gainful employment before my emergency financial backup plans needed to be deployed. Not only that, but I’m quite happy with my new position.

I am now a QA Specialist for United BioSource Corp. (UBC), working in San Francisco. My primary duties (for now) will be examining, running, and improving Document Control and Training systems, two areas in and for which I have particular expertise and enthusiasm. I am on my second day and have so far enjoyed interacting with everyone I’ve met. I have chosen to commute via public transit whenever possible, and it’s relatively easy and takes only about 70-80 minutes total from door to door, including a couple of nice walks (which will likely become bus or Muni rides when the weather turns, but that’s infrequent here in the Bay Area :)

Special thanks go out to all my references, who were kind enough to assure UBC that I am worth hiring. I think this could be a good place to be for some time, so I’m doubly grateful to them and to the whims of Fortune, in whose graces I have not always found myself and whose recent smiles in my direction I particularly appreciate. I got some real pleasure out of my time in between jobs (as well as getting some important things done around the house) but it's good to be working again.

Have a wonderful day, week, month, year, and more, and may you find the contentment you need.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-06-23T00:02:00

2009-06-23T07:05:24Z

If anyone out there has ever read Goblin Quest by Jim Hines, there's a company called Garden Ninja Studios (great name!) doing miniatures of the main characters! They're also having a contest for a free set of said miniatures:

http://www.bscreview.com/2009/06/contest-garden-ninja-studios-miniatures-part-1-patina-finished-goblin-quest-miniatures/

They're pretty neat, and I hope to see more of what this company comes up with.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Two Tidbits

2009-03-06T22:01:19Z

Tidbit 1: Realization

I have come not only to realize but to accept and embrace that I am a scavenger at heart. I love getting used stuff, generally even more than new. I like food from other people's plates. I like the stuff on the bottom of the cake plate. I look in the trash for useful stuff, and I take and use it when I can.

This feels like it ties into my affiliation with Coyote, and overall it just feels right.

Tidbit 2: A story. Stolen from some website somewhere (I think it was quoted in a test on OKCupid). I liked it so much I wanted to repost it.

An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves."

"One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego."

"The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

"This same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

---
That hits pretty close to the heart. For me, very good to keep in mind.

Love to you all, and hugs when we meet.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-02-28T09:19:00

2009-02-28T17:20:43Z

I know others have posted this, and there may be better sources for it, but I get so much joy and such powerful feelings of love and happiness that I must share it again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8xn7zZqONQ

I watch this (or something like it) whenever I need a pick-me-up.

I <3 Discovery Channel!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-02-06T14:13:00

2009-02-06T22:16:36Z

This comic made me cry. I'm not sure if I can articulate why. It might be necessary to read the whole archive (which I highly recommend; it's a fun comic) to understand why it was so intense to see this happen to Florence.

http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01571.htm

Basically: Florence is smart, interesting, creative, and nice. The idea of someone having such direct control over her in that way is disturbing. I hope we treat whatever biological AIs we create well enough that they see as as she does, whether we put "safeguard" like that in place or not.

My brain is a complex place sometimes, but I prefer that to simple.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Part Time Accounting Clerk Position Available in Berkeley

2009-02-05T21:51:25Z

Hi all,

Anyone out there interested in a part time day job at my company, DSM PTG, in Berkeley? 25 hours per week (not sure what schedule) doing stuff for the Accounting department: dealing with mail, filing, compiling journal entries and month-end reports, etc. The need someone who has at least some documented Accounting clerk experience.

The Accounting Dept here is pretty nice people, and the company is stable. I have no idea what the position would pay.

Edited to Add: I believe the general posting ends tomorrow, so please respond soon if interested (it may remain open longer if they don't find someone, but better to hit the first window, neh?)

Let me know and/or send resume to my LJ ID at yahoo ASAP.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-01-19T10:30:00

2009-01-19T18:32:35Z

Sometimes I wish we were a quadrupedal race.

This whole "falling down" thing in general, and specifically the "walking = carefully controlled falling" part of it, is really annoying at times. I could frankly do with less of it, thank you kindly.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Weird Word of the Week

2009-01-16T00:17:33Z

And our winner of Weird Word of the Week is:

Sparge

It is the chunky bits left over of a bird that has gone through an aircraft engine (often sent to a lab for species identification). I noted this from an article attached to today's news about a plane going into the Hudson today (everyone survived) because it went through a flock and lost both engines.

Gross, yet fascinating!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2009-01-14T18:47:00

2009-01-15T02:48:14Z

This comic causes a terrible pain of fear in my soul, though in a good (if dark) way.

http://www.scottmccloud.com/comics/mi/mi-20/mi-20.html

Brrr....

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Posted by Request

2008-12-16T17:01:07Z

Hopefully this will amuse someone out there :)

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

"Only in California"

2008-12-12T09:40:50Z

Well, and Hawaii and quite a few other places, too, but I liked that title anyway.

Today we bought our Christmas Tree while drinking a chocolate shake instead of hot chocolate.

This is only possible in the sort of 1- or 2-season climate you find here in the San Francisco Bay Area (or in more tropical places, of course).

It amused us nonetheless :)

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Hope Always

2008-11-07T17:27:31Z

Linked here with permission is toob's response to the passing of Prop 8. Every time I read it I cry anew, and my resolve and hope are rekindled.

You Can't Stop the Beat.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2008-11-06T16:55:00

2008-11-07T00:56:12Z

More hope for the world:

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/10/26/diaz.tx.foreclosure.angel.wfaa

A woman lost her home to foreclosure... and a stranger bought it at auction, then gave it back on the first woman's word that she'd pay for it.

I'm amazed. I want the resources to do this myself.

If I hit a big one in the lottery I'm doing stuff like this for a lot of people....

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

songcoyote @ 2008-11-05T13:29:00

2008-11-05T21:30:31Z

This was posted to a forum I read two days before the election:

I must say I'm glad it turned out to be true. Plus I found it amusing :)

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Election Thoughts

2008-11-05T09:00:46Z

I wanted to record and share my election experience. If I am fortunate I can get an outsider's perspective (from the few people who read my journal and are not in the US), or perhaps I just want to share how intense this was for me with someone who isn't seeing it from the inside... or perhaps I want to increase my joy by spreading it around.

A group of friends and my family got together to watch the election results as they came through. We were hopeful in general but knew that McCain had some strong support, and had recently been gaining back a little ground. We watched John Stewart and Steven Colbert do a special Daily Show election watch, and it was funny... and then the counts started rolling in from the East Coast, showing Obama leading. We were really feeling like it could happen... and then something none of us had really thought would occur, did: McCain conceded.

The relief in the room was profound. We saw it on a news site online first, and rushed to get a news channel on TV (the Daily Show was already over). We saw McCain's concession speech, which was truly amazing, and most of us cried. We cried because he was so beautifully gracious, and we cried because it had happened: Obama is now the President-Elect.

To say that we were strongly affected by this is understatement. And then he gave his acceptance speech, and while in some ways it contained the sort of things you'd expect, it others it did not, and above all it was delivered in a way that brought true faith and belief and hope and love to the heart. He really seems genuinely to want to do the things he says, and to adore his wife and family, and to be what America so desperately needs after eight years of a truly terrible regime.

And then the golden, crowning moment came: while we were in a near-shock state absorbing the news, someone stepped outside for air... and they rushed back in to tell us that they could hear the city celebrating.

Not individuals. Not groups. Not just isolated enclaves. The whole city around us was whooping and screaming and celebrating in pure joy. We all went outside and just drank it in, then answer the whoops with some of our own, which were answered by others on the street. We then took a walk up a major nearby street, and the cars were honking joyfully at each other, people leaning out of the windows to wave and holler. I have never seen anything like it. It was beyond words... we needed this so damn much.

I am brought to tears again as I write this. It feels like I had forgotten how to hope for my country, and to give a damn about my government, and suddenly I have a President that I might well love. I liked Clinton, but not like this, and I've already said how I feel about Bush. This is so much more I would have sworn it beyond my ken - until now.

My friend wynkat1313's son cast his first vote ever in this election. He is so blessed to have that experience. But I am no less so in that I was able to see it happen, and revel in the sheer joy of possibility once again.

As Obama's slogan says: Yes We Can.

As I have said other places, if Barack Obama is even a quarter the man he appears to be - and I have strong faith that he is - the world is going to change in good ways as a result of this election.

And at last - after going through what I once called America's battered wife syndrome - at last I have what seems a good reason to look forward to being in the US for the next 4 plus years.

Thanks for listening. I hope this has at least entertained you a bit. Have a great year, and then even more so starting in late January.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Unpleasant Reading

2008-10-23T09:07:10Z

I was actually enjoying a comic a few minutes ago. The writer has some funny ideas and draws people pretty well. There was some right-leaning political commentary, but it was at least vaguely intelligent most of the time, and I can take that without flinching.

Then I came across a comic where he all but said outright that only Republicans have the true heart to remember and fully understand the depth of the tragedy of 9/11, and Democrats have no lasting memory or care for its repercussions.

I almost registered a username on the site just to explain how incorrect he was, and how affected I was by the events of September 11, 2001. But you know what? It went past the line for me. I can't countenance using such a horrible thing to further the cause of division and separation between people in the US. IT violates my sense of ethics.

So to the author of the comic: fuck you, asshole. I remember, and I always will.

I'm going to bed now so I can get some rest and forget that stupid comic.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

Disneyland Musings

2008-10-04T06:40:55Z

Those who know me know that I make no secret of my love of Disneyland. My mug at work is a Tinkerbell mug, I wear, share, and trade Disney pins, I visit regularly... what can I say but that I love it?

It's not just that I grew up near it, either - though that helps. It's just that for me, it truly is a magical place, in many senses of the word. I get a lot out of just being here, sitting in strangely sacred space, and watching people go by while I sip some water.

Disney had some rough times in the late 80s through mid 90s. Then someone took the reins and repaired the holes in what could have been a sinking ship, and through hard work and lots of money they not only fixed it but improved it. Nowadays Disneyland feels much more like what they advertise it to be: a joyous place to be. The employees really do seem glad to see people, and they take an interest in those that want it. Now granted, I'm good to people in general, so I tend to get more of the same in return, but still... they are relentlessly friendly in a way that isn't creepy or weird at all.

Honestly, I don't know how they do it. They must love it... and that's the crux, isn't it? You can't force people to pretend to be happy to the public for long; it just doesn't work in a way that is sustainably believable. I think that had a lot to do with how Disneyland felt during its rough period, and now (with the perspective I have) it seems to fit very well with how things went then and now. Disney found the love as a park, as entertainers, and they must have found it as employers. I'm sure it's not 100% top to bottom (that would be insanely miraculous) but they're certainly doing something right.

All of that, plus: I just keep having joyful experiences. For myself, for others, to others, just in general. From a quick impulse trade with an employee that turned out to net me a beautiful and rare (limited to 500) pin to watching a little girl's eyes light up when my sweetie gives her a pin just because it's her birthday... and then another employee smiles and hands my sweetie one of the "special gift" pins a few staff members have and are able to give out entirely at their discretion when they see someone furthering the magic.

The Year of a Million Dreams promotion they're running now is part and parcel with this new philosophy, and by Goofy it's working. I like coming here more and more, and want to bring more people - especially those who have not yet had the pleasure. I want to pass on my appreciation for what this place and the people in it manage to do: stage a hugely complicated ritual day after day whose purpose is to entertain profitably and that works. It has the mojo, and people can feel it, even if they wouldn't or couldn't describe it anywhere near the way I do. And what I've written here is only touching on the vast and powerful well that can be drawn from here.

So that's my magic for today: a deep and abiding adoration and participation in a group hallucination whose reason for existence is profitable joy.

I can get behind that. And I do. And I will for the next few days, and again and again as often as I reasonably can throughout my life. I love Disneyland.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyotee

Book Meme

2008-10-01T21:53:37Z

* Grab the nearest book.
* Open the book to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
* Don't dig for your favourite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

I don't have any fiction within reach, so you get an excerpt from the Code of Federal Regulations! Isn't that exciting? The closest volume was:

21 CFR Parts 1 to 99, Revised as of April 1, 2008 - Food and Drugs

(k) Mode of action is the means by which a product achieves an intended therapeutic effect or action. For purposes of this definition, "therapeutic" action or effect includes any effect or actio nof the combination product intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease, or affect the structure or any function of the body. When making assignments of combination products under this part, the agency will consider three types of mode of action: The actions provided by a biological product, a device, and a drug. Because combination products are comprised of more than one type of regulated article (biological product, device, or drug) and each constituent part contributes a biological product, device, or drug mode of action, combination products will typically have more than one identifiable mode of action.

===

Wasn't that exciting, lads and lasses?

Hmm... I must admit that while I don't actually find it exciting per se, I do find it interesting, but then I've been doing drug, biologic, and device QA work for [ahem] years, and I know exactly what the above is talking about (and not just because I understand the words used ;) Having a vested interest in the meaning of such things does tend to increase their ability to hold one's attention, after all.

Anyway, thanks for looking!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote