LJ Idol Presents:

The poll is ending today: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/934362.html and still anything can happen both in the poll you can see and the "Favorite entries" you are sending me! That latter one is down to *1 vote* separating four different entries with several others being really close. So you can be the deciding factor.

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Speaking of "deciding factor", I was trying to sort through some stuff this morning and realized that I had something staring me in the face the entire time.

As you know, LJ Idol's 10th anniversary is next week. We'll be kicking off our official celebration after this mini-season ends (and I get the new graphics. Hint Hint. :D)

But I was considering doing what people always tell me "You should do that!" and post a link to the paypal account. Especially with the dental stuff going on, but more because I know it's something folks like to do. (and those who can't/aren't able - or even those who just don't want to - that's cool too. But I have been told over the years that I should "look out for myself" more than I actually do.

With how awkward I usually am at it, hopefully people know that I'm not very good at that.

On the other hand - doing it for someone else I can do without any sense of shame at all. ;)

Those who have been around Idol and/or my life for any time have heard me mention my niece Katie. If you know anything about her, you know that she's the best person in the entire world and you are lucky that you are able to breathe the same air in the same universe as someone as awesome as she is.

Seriously. She's one of the most naturally kind and good hearted people I've ever met and life has given her plenty of reasons not to be.

I was going to "get into it". I actually typed most of it out, but then deleting it. Because that's her business, not mine to share. Let's just say "things haven't always been good" in her life and she's been through quite a bit.

But now - now she's GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL! There was a time when I didn't think that was possible... there was a time when *she* didn't, but it's happening. On June 2nd she's asked me to be there for her ceremony. I didn't go to my own graduation, but I'm going to hers.

Why does this all tie together with what I was saying? Because I have this root canal coming up. It's going to take away from what I was going to give her as a graduation present. It's just really shitty timing.

Would she understand if she had to wait for a gift? Yeah, she would probably tell me that she just wants me there, and mean it. She would tell me that she doesn't want a gift.

But she's my Katie. If it's possible to do, I want to try to do it.

So what I'm doing is being as straight forward with you as I can be. If you were one of those people who were considering "putting something in" at the end of the mini-season or "for the 10th anniversary", I'm telling you what it's going to: It's a donation to Katie to help her start her post-high school life. My paycheck is going to go toward bills and the root canal - with Cynthia doing more than her share of our expenses (as usual).

She's 18 and still trying to figure out what that is going to look like. I have no idea where she is going to go and what she is going to do. I just know she is going to be a great person while doing it.

So if you want to throw something into that, and are in a place in your life where you *can*: paypal.me/GDreslinski

If not, and you happen to be connected with me on other social media - add your voice to the congratulations when I post about her graduation next week! :)

***

tl;dr - I love Katie. Remember to vote.

I feel like you damn kids need to get off my lawn! http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/opinion/sunday/stop-saying-i-feel-like.html?_r=0

The flip side: http://www.npr.org/2016/05/24/479302241/irked-by-the-way-millennials-speak-i-feel-like-its-time-to-loosen-up

Although it's true that those damn kids DO need to get off my lawn!

***

I also feel like you should be reading, commenting and voting for your favorite entries: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/934362.html Not just in the poll you can see, but the one for *the* favorite of the week, which you are emailing me.

I feel like that would be a good thing for you to be doing.

A few words from clauderainsrm:

We are at the Top 6 of Friends and Rivals, and things got even more intense this week when our writers took on 3 topics each.

Which means behind each link there are 3 different path ways - it’s like a Choose Your Own Adventure for readers, where every single path you go down is going to lead you somewhere awesome!

The three entries in one poll is something that has happened before. Actually it’s happened with more than 3 entries. It’s what I’ve referred to before as “the Portfolio” approach. Can you judge by how much you love one entry? Sure. But now you have 3 of them, so you can take a bigger picture approach (if you like) and help determine who it is that you want to see even more from in this mini-season.

We will be losing *1* contestant this week.

Yep. Just 1. You will be determining who makes the Top 5. But that’s not all you will be doing - there’s a “poll within a poll” this week.

I want YOU, yes YOU - the person reading this to send me the name/link of their FAVORITE entry this week. Anyone reading this qualifies. Just send that info to clauderainsrm@gmail.com and I will be tabulating them. The writer with the entry selected as the favorite for the week will be given an advantage going into the next round. Which, considering how close we are to the end, that could very well be their own “golden ticket”.

The deadlines to vote in the poll are the same to send me the vote for your favorite entry: Friday, May 27th at 9pm EDT

So get out there - read, comment and vote for your favorites!

Good luck to everyone!

[Poll #2045545]

Last night was the middle school awards ceremony where my bonus daughter received their ribbon for Principal's Honor Roll.

Tonight is the Induction Ceremony to the National Junior Honor Society.

Next week is the last orchestra concert of the year, where I'm sure it will be announced who is in next year's exclusive "Chamber" (she made it in).

It's amazing how accomplished she is and just as funny to think back at just how "anti-accomplishment" I was. Maybe some of it was being lazy, some of it was "not wanting to be one of THEM" (whoever the "them" was at the time") and, looking back, a lot of it was that I didn't want to give my step father any more excuses to hate me. His kids didn't excel at anything, and if I could avoid putting myself out there in any way, I didn't risk pissing him off more than I did just by existing.

My biggest middle school accomplishments include failing 8th grade because I spent more time playing D&D in the back of the room with my friends than concentrating on class and convincing everyone (including teachers) to play along that I had an invisible friend, who also had an invisible dog. (Why? I have no idea. Even then, it just seemed funny, so I went with it.)

Oh, and getting into fights. I got in more fights in middle school than any other time in my life.

Even in high school - my biggest accomplishments were forming a underground zine and in my senior year the English department made up an award to give me, and gave the official one to whipchick! :D (I'd completely forgotten about that until last night when I was waiting for the awards to be called and went "Oh yeah, that was pretty funny")


Of course, that path led me here - to spend a decade torturing writers and forcing them down paths they normally might not tread. So maybe *that's* my accomplishment! :)

What have YOU accomplished? (Other than linking your entries to http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/932438.html )

Babel fish are a real thing: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3592753/Don-t-panic-250-Babelfish-like-gadget-fits-inside-ear-translate-foreign-languages-real-time.html

Or at least the technology is emerging that have made it into a real thing. Now to just implant this tech into a fish!

***

Something that's really easy to understand is "Here is the topic thread": http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/932438.html

another is "Here is the Work Room thread: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/932806.html

No Babel Fish needed!

***

But if you COULD have something that not only cut through the language barrier, but also the understanding barrier (clearing up the misunderstandings once and for all) - who would you go to talk to first?

Here we are, at the Top 6.

For the past couple of weeks, you have been writing 2 entries a week. That's NOT happening this week.

This week you have 3 topics to write!

What are your choices?

Post Relationship Grief
Chasing Rainbows
Am I too late?
Petrichor
Ignis Fatuus
Vellichor
The Golden Ticket


Pick your three and then link your entries back to this thread by Monday, May 23rd at 8pm EDT

Yes, I meant to say Monday.

Have fun!

Greetings from the bottom of the Stuttering Iceberg!

I have no idea what means, other than "people who have been involved in too much therapy" who want to call people who don't immediately hug them "mean-spirited"!

Maybe that person who told me that had a point though, because I'm here to eliminate some folks!

That's part of the job.

Knowing that the deadline for LCI has just passed though, means that it's the first time that I can't say "look for that chance". However, there is still the Home Game - and I hope you folks take advantage of it! (unless you already jumped)

The contestants leaving us today are

(from Redemption)

kajel
shadowwolf13
tatdatcm

(from the main poll)

beldarzfixon and ellakite

with two people going into the Redemption tribe for next week! (Seriously, Home Game!)

Congratulations to all of you for making it to this point!

It was a busy day for me - and a busy night for Idol.

The Idol stuff first:

We had results for Last Chance Idol: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/787170.html
and they also received their second topic/deadline to sign up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/787501.html

and of course the main competition just launched into a new poll: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/787328.html with enough great reading to keep you occupied for awhile. Go read them! Now!

***

Now that people are occupied doing something else, I know it's only the people who actually want to know what was going on and I'm not just bugging folks.

I typed up a couple paragraphs and then deleted them. Not because they weren't accurate, and funny, but more because I didn't want to get into the specific details here in Idol.

The upshoot is that I was sued by my ex-landlord in small claims court. I hired a lawyer who assured me that she didn't have a case at all, and that it was an easy win.

What wasn't factored in was that small claims court pretty much will bend over backward to amend/fix things for you, even if they wouldn't be allowed elsewhere. Because it's "the people's court" and people are (apparently) morons.

Things I learned from this process: Even if it's a year and half later, don't throw away those old pieces of paper you have in a box. Because those are receipts showing that you paid the crazy people - and if they crazy people come back at you, they can make up numbers (including for months when you weren't even living there)

If your landlord says it's OK to do something - like paint - get it in writing. Even if they see it many, many, many times in person. Even if you talk about it. Even if there are emails between the two of you talking about it - they will still try to get you for "damages" because they had to repaint.

Check to make sure your attorneys have actually gone to mediation before you hire them. Even if they are friends of friends giving you a deep discount rate for their services.

When in mediation - the person who is the most inflexible is going to win. Come in willing to work something out, even if you didn't think you did... and the inflexible one is going to make things extremely difficult and potentially expensive for you, to the point where a settlement seems like the best option.

And so the thing that I feared was going to fall on my head ended up falling. About $2,200 worth of hard. Fortunately, we did negotiate for an installment plan. But this pretty much puts the wedding off until it's done.

So, if you are someone sitting out there who has benefited from your time in Idol and has been saying "Damn it, I wish I could give back to Gary, for all he has done, in a financial way", this would be a fantastic time to do so!

If you are someone who enjoys burning effigies of people to make them suffer - I have a name or two to add to your list. Just ask. :)

Ultimately though, this means that I'm going to be in a weird mood for a bit until I figure this out. So be cool. OK? ;)

Being cool is always an appreciated donation/way of giving back!