ashtara_silunar

Hmm. Well, Schulze and I have been working on potential methods of discreet rainwater collection. Unfortunately, the primary method I've found is using large plastic barrels to gather runoff from the roof, which is by no means subtle. So it seems that if we have to worry about the water being turned off, we'll have to choose between making our location obvious and lacking the necessary water.

I think we should consider storing some water in advance in another building we have access to, perhaps in my apartment or couch. According to some of the sites I've found, to get through the worst droughts, it's recommended that 5000 gallons of water be stored for each person.

Then there's the question of where on earth we can track down a couple of barrels...

Man, it's weird being around people again. We made it across campus safely. I brought my tool kit, live trap, ammo, food, and a half dozen or so knives; hopefully that will be some help.

I've been going through my computer, deciding which of the Army Field Manual .pdf's are worth printing out on the giant printer the guys nicked from the library. It may be paranoia, but I can't help but think it might be helpful to have hardcopy on NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) defense and decontamination. I've already got hardcopy versions of the first aid and survival manuals.

I am a bit concerned about our lack of medical supplies. A couple bottles of Benadryl and Advil aren't going to be enough if something serious happens. I don't think there's much we can do about medication, but I'm considering making a run to the fabric store to get some cotton cloth for bandaging. For that matter, it might be a good idea to get some heavy-duty fabric just in case; that sounds like the kind of thing that might come in handy later.

This apartment seems to be much more defensible, and it's nice to not have to worry about lack of sentries when I go to sleep. We've been working to make a door between this apartment and the next, since it's starting to get crowded in here. There's a pretty good line-of-sight defense, being between the street and the parking lot. Honestly, I think it might be a good idea to go ahead and plan on expanding further, through more apartments, but I don't know if anyone is still living in the rest of the complex. And we probably shouldn't start breaking through walls until we're certain the adjoining apartment is empty. On the other hand, this could just be my paranoia kicking into overdrive and wanting a 360 degree line of fire available if it becomes necessary.

I've been thinking about the differences between how the genders are reacting to this. I think our group is probably a bit unusual because we have more trained girls than guys when it comes to weapons. I had been rewatching JAG before I met up with everyone, and I can't stop thinking about something Mac said in an episode, that "Women rely on their instincts to survive." and "Woman’s intuition isn’t a joke. It’s a matter of survival." I wonder if that wary tendency we develop, to watch shadows when we leave the house at night, and to consider the guys on the sidewalk ahead a potential threat, is better or worse at keeping us alive when things go all to hell. Admittedly, there are more guys here than girls, so I could be completely wrong. But it's something to consider.

I've been holed up in my apartment with plenty of canned food and ammo. I went out to forage for other food sources on campus when I noticed a banner reading "Hendrix Survivors Counter". I signed my name and put my cell number on it. I don't know how much longer I'll have electricity to charge it, but it will serve as a method of contact until then.

So, according to the banner and the internet, I'm not the only one still alive. Apparently there's at least one group of people still alive across campus. I saw Nicholas' entry asking for armed help. I may stuff some food and ammo in my pack and head over there. Whether I'll stay or not is a toss-up, but I can at least serve as an armed escort.

I've been trying to teach myself morse code to pass the time. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any programs on the internet that will translate text into sound files, which would be the easiest way to learn. I guess I'll just have to keep memorizing dahs and dits.

Well, I'm going back out. I've been setting a live trap behind my apartment as an extra source of food. I don't know whether raccoons are edible, but I'm going to go find out. Thank god the freezer still works, I haven't been able to find enough salt to use as preservation yet.

It's a zombie! It's a vampire! Oh, no, it's this LJ. Which may (or may not, if I forget) be rising from the dead.

So. Yeah. Nothing else to say.

*Sigh.*
Another year, another NaNo fast approaching.
Despite being co-ML for the area, I have yet to get my shit together, make flyers or announcements, or even come up with a story idea. This is partly due to the massive amounts of schoolwork and partly due to spending too much time on webcomic archives.
Ah, well. A quiz!

Cor blimey, I taste like Tea. I am a subtle flavour, quiet and polite, gentle, almost ambient. My presence in crowds will often go unnoticed. Best not to spill me on your clothes though, I can leave a nasty stain. What Flavour Are You?

... So much for posting entries through NaNoWriMo. I did finish (woohoo!), although not all the stories tied together quite as well as I would have liked, and most of the ones I feel are complete are creepy as HELL. Once more, for emphasis. Creepy. As. HELL. That said, I'm going to post one of them.


---
Like I said, creepy. I sometimes wonder where my muse comes up with these twisted ideas. Meh. Must go study now-- the joy of exam week. (Not.)

...okay. In light of the fact that NaNoWriMo is fast approaching and I've never really posted anything here, I'll try to post tidbits of my novel throughout the month of November.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept of NaNoWriMo (who am I kidding? no one's reading this), it can be summed up in three simple words: fun, caffeine, INSANITY. The goal of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is to write 50,000 words during the 30 days of November. ~1667 words/day doesn't sound too bad, but there's school. And homework. And writer's block. And that pesky desire to have a life. (Again, who am I kidding?)

Of course, this is assuming I can think of something to write about. Last year I managed to complete the challenge with an hour to spare, but it was seriously insane. I have problems writing a story straight through; I have to jump from chapter to chapter to satisfy the ADD tendencies of my muse. So this year, I'm considering writing a series of vaguely related short stories-- somewhere between 15 and 50-- in the hopes that it will be slightly easier than trying to force myself to write a novel with the chapters in order. Although with my luck I'll want to extend some of the stories and run into the same problem all over again.

Oh well. I can't wait for November 1! See you there!

*sigh*...
It's official. Apathy has set in.
Nice second entry, no? It's just been interesting at school. And let me say that 'interesting' is a word and a half when it comes to describing my life. I've been sick, AP exams are next week, half of my teachers have scheduled tests when I'm supposed to be taking APs (meaning I have to make them up before school), and I somehow can't bring myself to give a damn.
On the other hand, I expect my mood to improve shortly. One of my friends gave me a CD with old manga and things. Much love!
And to abruptly change topics again: I was watching the Director's Cut version of Blade Runner the other day. Maybe I'm just strange, but I saw an insane number of religious references and symbolism in the film. Now I need to go track down Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick and find out if that was his idea or the director's. ...I'm too curious for my own good, and I probably don't have the time.

So... on the request of friends, I have created a livejournal. Now I get to bug them about creating their own! :P
This will most likely be a place for me to post art I'm working on. It will probably be mostly Photoshopped stuff for a while, until I convince my scanner to actually work, rather than being a large paperweight.