Readers' Choice Stories

I will be launching my personal website in a few weeks. On it, I will be keeping all of my stories, even the really crappy ones, sorted by a variety of criteria. (Since there are so damned many of them.) One of the things that I would like to include is a list of stories recommended by people who have already read my work so that a new reader stumbling onto a list of thirty-plus stories would perhaps have a place to start. (And not necessarily end up with one of the really crappy ones right off the bat.)

So...I need your input!

If you have an opinion on which of my stories you like best (and you needn't have read all--or even most--of my stories to vote; that would require an award unto itself!), I'd appreciate your input in generating this list. Simply tell me your favorites, keeping it to three or fewer, please. I am keeping comments screened to keep people from being influenced by what others have chosen (because that is remarkably influential, believe it or not) and will not be replying to comments, since that unscreens them. Trust that I really, really appreciate any input folks are willing to give. If you want to know the results...well, they'll be up on the website soon enough. ;)

Anonymous comments (since I know that people read here who do not have LJ accounts) are more than welcome too.

And if you know you liked a story but can't remember what it was called, to save you from delving the depths of the "short story" tag, below the cut is a list of all of my stories in alphabetical order with links and brief summaries.

( Ye Ginormous List of Stories )

Happy Saturday: Ren Fest, Pic Spam, and Other Such Randomness

My birthday was two weeks ago, and I took some birthday pics that I am now just getting around to posting. Until recently, I had to plug into the USB hub at my desk to yoink photos off of my camera, but today, I fiddled with some wires and can now do so from the couch, meaning that pictures will be posted in a more timely fashion and I can become even more lazy than I already have!

( Birthday Pics! )

Last Saturday, we went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival, which is an annual tradition for us. I've never been to any other Ren Faires, but supposedly, this is one of the best. We always have a great time.

( Ren Fest and Pic Spam )

Meanwhile, this weekend, we decided to take it relatively easy. Yesterday, we were half-heartedly planning a dinner-and-movie date, but Bobby called me yesterday just as I was leaving my office to ask if I wanted to go to the Washington Capitals hockey game instead. Hell yeah! It's just the preseason, but I got to see my boy Alex Ovechkin. He didn't get any points (and it's the first game I've ever attended where he has not), but it's just preseason, and they mostly kept him off the ice except for power plays. Bobby had gotten me a Caps jersey, so I broke it in last night--and broke it in well, since the Caps won 1-0 over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Incidentally, Bobby got new hockey skates, the same that Ovie uses. He was eyeing them online, but the website said "Call for Prices," which is never a good sign. Alas, the Polish Baltimoron Gods were smiling upon him, for he found another site where the skates were half-priced. They're odd skates; they are not sharpened regularly but rather the blades are replaced every few months. And they are heated and molded to the skater's foot before being used. He got them in the mail yesterday, had them molded today, and will try them out tomorrow.

Today, we lounged around, went back to the pool to practice one last time breathing without our masks for scuba class tomorrow. We went to Party City to check out the Halloween stuff, since we're both a wee bit obsessed with Halloween. (Note in the picture of me with my cloak that there is a gargoyle, two tombstones, and a jack-o-lantern on top of out TV? Yeah.) Alas, they didn't have anything that we liked, but we had brought home a trunk full from Target the other day, so we weren't too upset. However...

I finally found my Elf ears!

Well, they're called  "space ears," but we all really know that they're Elf ears.

I have yet to put them on since they are attached with makeup adhesive, but they will be worn to the next Ren Fest and pictures will be taken. I'm very excited.

Tonight, I wore my cloak for the first time. We had supper at The Crab Shanty and saw Invincible at the movies (review will follow sometime), and I discovered that the cloak is perfect for snuggling into in the cold movie theater. It also attracts a lot of odd looks, but c'est la vie!