Treating people just like pawns in chess

So I binge read a bunch of urban fantasy (re-read a bunch, only read one new one) over the course of the weekend as a kind of super de-stresser.  This is my favorite life detox genre and I won't defend myself to you or anyone else (I won't).

Things I have noticed about urban fantasy novels (queue my urban fantasy rant in 3...2...1): 

1. There are an awfully lot of people who need killing.  Vampire and otherwise. Really, a whole lot.  Like, seriously.  So freaking many people who need killing. 

2. The main characters  always start out kinda pathetic and then get pretty overpoweringly bad-ass by the third book.  

3. Near constant power ups. (Most of them due to sexy times or blood or both).  It ends up feeling like you have to have a massive power up for each book or you didn't fulfill your urban fantasy requirements and the book has to be called something else. . 

4. Sexy times.  I'm not discrediting the sexytimes...I really like them...but seriously...so many sexytimes that sometimes these sexytimes get a little...overplayed (queue Anita Blake) to the point where you almost groan out loud that there are more sexytimes than plot progression. Like some readers of playboy (or so I've heard), I am in it for the stories and the sexytimes.  It's a combo deal for me. 

5. Did I mention so many people who need to be killed?  I'm not really sure why there are so many hard feelings in the supernatural community. And to the deah?  It's a good thing that there are so many people in these communities or our main characters wouldn't have the vampire and werewolf equivalents of ensigns to kill off on a pretty much non-stop basis. 

6. Oh the undying (that was a pun) love.  They are so in love.  Maybe not at first.  And you can guess it's always gonna be with the person the really don't like or that rubs them the wrong way in the beginning of the book.  That can be so annoying because it ends up feeling like a formula (is there a secret formula?) and it makes every book feel like every other book.   Also, there is a lot of this vibe in these books, too, the whole "I'm so fragile when I'm with  you, please come save me, but I'll kill this other vampire with my silver high heeled shoe for looking at me with the wrong gleam in his eyes"  I really don't like the wishy-washiness that happens occasionally.  I understand these women are allowed to have emotions and stuff but it all feels very cliche.  

7. Misogyny.  So much misogyny. 

8.  Sappy love and unrealistic love.  Sometimes, and I'm not saying this is true for all of these books but it happens a lot....but these people have unrealistic relationships and love lives.  Absurdly so. 

9.  So much drama.  These people, I don't know how they don't all just have mental breakdowns.  Because seriously, if any of these were my lives....I don't think I could cope with it after a while.  I mean, there's only so many vampires and weres and witches and renfields I could kill before I just couldn't go on.
10. Where does all the blood go?  These vamps drink so much blood and almost every novel makes sure to point out that vampires don't need bathrooms but where does all of this blood go? I know that that is not a critical point but I was thinking about it and...where does it all go?  

I'm sure there's more to my list.  I'll update it or something.  Hell, I haven't even re-read/proof read this post.  Cause I don't have time for that malarky!  

You can say it doesn't matter anymore

All I want today is a big old Cleveland Cassata cake.  Doesn't that sound nice?  It's a rainy, sleepy, chilly day here.  It kind of matches my mood....i'm feeling like I need to be slowly cleaning out my head space and my personal space.  Cleaned my office out really good today.  Did I show you guys the picture of my new standing desk I made for myself?  I'm pretty proud of myself.  See, so professional.  Much cheaper than the one I really wanted, though....this one.  I probably wouldn't get a ton of use out of the whiteboardiness on the desk though in all reality.

Anyway, feeling kind of emotionally fragile today, hence the cleaning of stuff.  So much cleaning today.  It's good to clean.  I wish I could clean like this at home.  The problem is that at home, well, I have so many little people constantly ruining my efforts and it just seems futile.

I need some advice, and I mean helpful and good advice, not just the regular "you need to just relax" kind of advice, on how to be less stressed and how to let go of stress and how to manage my emotional responses/outbursts.  Good luck, right?

Anyway, back to work. Gonna dream I'm eating that delicious looking cake right there.

Rewards I've lost and never known which way the money goes

So....my bad about not having a sooner blog.  I've been swamped with life but with nothing too interesting.

I started a twitter. I had originally wanted to do a podcast on all things water  related (watershed, water supply, and some waste water as far as I could do) but I really just don't have the time or support (financially or time wise) to do it.  So I opted for a twitter account. Not sure how to publicize it but I'll start here I guess.

Actually this tick is pretty inadvertently funny.

Follow me on twitter at @UCRWatershed.  You know, for all your water needed news and stuff.  Although I think it'd be interesting to do a podcast....Maybe if I can pull off this twitter thing (not seeming likely since I can't even regularly update this blog...not running a great track record so far....)

Hmm...news....

Nothing really.  I had wanted this to be a creative outlet for me but I'm about as creative as these ticks I keep getting.  We really aren't comedy or literary geniuses in any stretch of the imagination.

So....I'll try to update here with stuff about my life and make the twitter thing work for my watershed ambitions.  We will see.  But for now I'm being dog piled with impatient children who just can't seem to understand that I really want to write a blog instead of being climbed on by children. I'm not really sure how they aren't getting the obvious physical cues I'm giving them (just this side of practically ignoring them) but I'm either gonna have to start giving these physical cues harder (inviting the child services goons to deliver my children to new care drones) or actually pay attention to them before they stick lego stickers to my walls or flush the cat down the toilet or some other "it seemed like a good idea at the time" kind of project.

One other quick thing....my friends are asking the internet to name their child.  I really hope he doesn't end up named Wuku Gangham Style (actually a small part of me (*not that small*) really hopes that he does, but my son is a strong defender of Dinosaur Dragon).  Anyway, I know most of my readers already know these people and have probably already voted but if you haven't...here's your chance to name a real live human being.  Or at least be part of the consensus that names him.  Pretty swank if you ask me.