keitanketsueki | Recent Entries

Yep, I've got a dreamwidth account. For now I'm still going to be primarily using LJ because I kind of understand it and... well, I'm not great at learning new systems.

If LJ becomes extremely craptastic and there's a mass LJ exodus, I will follow. :3 /sheep

Crossposts: http://keitanketsueki.livejournal.com/6178.html

Raiding the fridge led to a yummy dessert that isn't super high in calories and tastes really good!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp eggnog

Pour the eggnog onto the yogurt and mix until smooth and completely combined. I suggest adding one tablespoon at a time.

According to the packages and serving sizes, one serving is 120 calories.

Current Location: United States, Nevada, Las Vegas

Yep, I'm doing it too!

Tell me a story I haven't written and I'll give you at least one sentence and as much as a whole fic from it.

Available fandoms: NCIS, Bleach (through chapter 360), Covert Affairs, Rizzoli & Isles, Harry Potter (Snarry only and not DH-ending compliant, sorry), Inspector Lynley Mysteries (Lynley/Havers), Ouran High School Host Club, W Juliet, The Mummy (Rick/Evy or Ardeth/Jon) others on request if I know the fandom. :3

I'm gearing up to address and fill out holiday cards for family and friends. If you'd like a holiday card from me, PM me your address and what holiday you celebrate.

(I promise I won't use your name or address for creepy stalkerish things, just in case you're worried.)

The survey I posted yesterday had a typo, which has now been fixed. Many thanks to

lin71 for alerting me to the typo and thanks to

kesterpan for telling me that the second link didn't work! If you took the survey before, please take it again, as the edits to the survey made gave it a different data collection group. Thanks!

Again, the survey is here: http://obsurvey.com/S2.aspx?id=4BD26759-CD64-4907-AF62-768C76F27436

Thanks, everyone!

Hi, all!

I'm taking a business and technical writing class this semester and one of the assignments is to, as a group, evaluate the usability of a website. We've chosen the NCIS Fanfiction Archive (NFA) to evaluate and make suggestions for improvement.

We don't really need data outside of people in the class, but I would like some real-world data to balance out the information we're getting from our classmates. So, if y'all could take the survey, we'd be very grateful!

(If the embedded media is not working, which is entirely possible, the survey is at http://obsurvey.com/S2.aspx?id=d66520d0-d912-48df-be14-ab1bdf662dfb)

After taking the survey, if you would be so kind as to leave a comment saying that you did, that would be wonderful. Thank you all!

EDIT: The mystery question, "HIa" Has been corrected to read "Have you ever used the website before". Thanks again!

( Today's musical program and readings. )
I feel it's important to remember the need for peace on this day of remembrance.

Ginataan is a Filipino dessert made with coconut milk. It's light, sweet, and delicious! This is Mom's winging it recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cans of coconut milk
1 cup of sugar
Approximately 1 1/3 cups of large white tapioca balls (less if including other starches below)

Optional starches: (Any or all can be omitted)
1 small to medium sweet potato, peeled and roughly cubed
1 ube (purple yam), peeled and roughly cubed
1 plantain, roughly cubed or chunked

In a saucepan, combine two cans of coconut milk with approximately one cup of sugar over medium heat. Stir well. When the mixture reaches a slow boil, add in the tapioca balls; stir occasionally. When the mixture reaches a full boil, add in the sweet potato and ube; keep stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Add the plantain a little bit later and keep stirring. Cook until the tapioca balls are cooked through and soft all the way through*. Let cool. It's good warm or cold.

*Undercooked tapioca isn't bad, it's just chewy and dry in the midle and makes for a less palatable experience. It's best when smooshy all the way through.

( This is a painful topic for many people, so the post is behind the cut. It is very long and gets preachy toward the end. )

Title: What Comes of Boredom and Curiosity
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Gibbs/DiNozzo
Spoilers: Through Season 8's Baltimore, if you squint.
Warnings: Explicit gay sex, bondage, D/s relationship, figging, spanking, flogging, toy use, sounding, pain play, orgasm control/denial, fisting, CBT, excessive sappiness (I'm erring on the side of caution.)
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS, nor do I own any of the actual toys in the fic.
( Onward to the fic! )

A twitter conversation last night led to some interest in macaroni and cheese recipes, and I wanted to share mine. The cheeses listed include the brand. I do shop at Costco, so finding certain things may be hard if you don't shop there. The Kerrygold Irish butter I get from Fresh & Easy, which I believe is only on the West Coast of the US. Items marked off with an asterisk are optional.

Also: I eyeball everything and never measure, so I'm guesstimating all of the measurements I've included.

( To the recipe! )

Title: Texts From Last Night and What Comes of Them
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Gibbs/DiNozzo
Warnings: Slash and general drunken naughty language
Author's Notes: In honor of the lovely wintermute_lj’s birthday, I’ve written a series of chronological drabbles inspired by posts on textsfromlastnight.com.

Happy birthday, Kate, and I hope you enjoy!

The full list of the original texts and their URLs is at the end of the fic’s second part. For clarity’s sake, I’ve included sender, recipient, and separated texts by hour sent.

Disclaimer: I don’t own NCIS or any of its characters, nor did I write any of the italicized text messages.

( Onward to the fic! )

So. I got in my first car accident today, which was scary, but it's made me thankful for a whole bunch of stuff, which is more than I can list in a post, so I'm putting it here.

Also, this is essentially a cross-post from Facebook, so if your read "Thanksgiving in June" there, that's this.

For the pedestrian witness who made sure everyone was OK, told me the other driver's pregnant, called 911 for us even if I was already on the line, and made sure I was ok when I started crying, even going so far as to tell me to sit down because I was having a panic attack and offering to get me a bottle of water from his apartment nearby. I don't know his name, but he left it with the police and I want to thank him as soon as I can.
For the low intensity of the crash.
For the safety of baby that the other driver is pregnant with. I'm glad that baby is ok, and that the crash didn't cause her to go into early labor.
That the other driver and her passenger didn't yell at me or say anything mean or road rage-y. Actually, they didn't say *anything* to me, but I'm ok with that. I think the crying and shaking scared them, though.
For the three Metro officers who responded really quickly and got statements from everyone else first so that I could calm down, and were kind when they asked me questions, and even dug in my messy glovebox for my registration because I forgot to pull it out with my insurace card, and then didn't comment on the fact that I never took the insurance card off the paper it was in when it was mailed to me.
For my sister, who wasn't angry that I was late to pick her up and then couldn't pick her up because I got hit, and even posted the funny thing that happened when I called. (She thought I was a crazy customer) and then RAN two blocks in the 3:00 100-degree ish heat in pants without water to the accident site to make sure I was ok, then gave me gum and hugs until we left, and handled the phone calls I kept getting from Mom and Dad and Tobie.
For Mom, who left work (where she was teaching class) like three hours early to come and get me and make sure that I was ok, then texted her parents, my brother, and her coworkers so they knew what happened, and that I was okay, then drove me home after the police told us we could go, then wasn't mad even if I didn't get to clean house like she asked me to.
For Dad, who left Costco in in a big hurry even though he and Tobie were still busy shopping and told me what I needed to do and who handled the tow for my car because I was too shaken to think straight and figure out what needed to be done.
For Tobie, who also left Costco in a big hurry though she and Dad were shopping, then let Rebecca sit in her car with the air on because she was nauseous from running and stress and adrenaline, then told me stories about her car accidents and made me laugh with some funny ones, asked the officer who finally made the report if I was free to go, then took Becca home for me because my car was being towed.
For my brother, who called me and made sure I was ok and promised to look at the damage done to my car because he knows cars and how to fix them, even though he's really busy.
For my grandparents (all four of them), who either texted and said they were thankful that I'm ok and were shaken by what happened even though they're like 6000 miles away or talked to me on the phone and made me feel better when I was still shaky.
For my wonderful friend Rochelle, who called while I was still on scene at the accident and scared and desparate to hear a friend's voice, and called completely out of the blue(!), then worried until I called her after and said I was ok and that the accident wasn't serious, and then chatted to make me feel better.
For Gemini, my Yorkshire terrier, who cuddled with me when I got home despite being surrounded by Dad, Mom, Tobie, and Becky, and is still by my side.
For whatever instinct or premonition or higher power that told me not to bring the dog to pick up Rebecca today, thereby keeping her safe, whole, and alive.
For my cat, who cuddled with me (even if she doesn't like touching people) when I got home, despite it being out of character for her.
For my Twitter/LiveJournal and Facebook friends who asked how I was when they heard what happened.
For my Volvo, which kept me safe in the accident.
For whoever designed my car and made it so that it's really safe and didn't get too damaged because it's made of metal and not fiberglass.
For whoever decided to put front AND side airbags in my car, as my car was the first produced with them, even though I didn't need them.
For whatever higher power that kept me from hitting the pedestrian near my car, coincidentally the same guy who helped me so much.
For the same higher power that kept me from hitting the green car that was going in the opposite direction of the car that hit me that I came REALLY close to hitting.
For the other witnesses who gave their infomation and told me the accident wasn't my fault and wrote their names and phone numbers down when my hands shook too badly to do it myself.
For the random nausea I felt after eating the tuna salad lunch that made me decide to brush my teeth before I left so I didn't stink of tuna.
For the new tires that probably helped me stop faster than my old, bald ones would have.
For the fact that no one was injured in the accident, not the other driver, or her passenger, or her baby, or me. Other driver had some trouble breathing but turned down an ambulance and I got a small scrape on my left wrist, as well as a slight bruise on my neck and maybe on my abdomen from the seatbelt.
For everyone who ever made me wear a seatbelt, because I probably would have flown through the window if I hadn't.
For the heels that I left in my car because I was too lazy to take them out and then was able to change into when the soles of the flip-flops I was wearing started burning my feet (they're black suede).
For the fact that I managed to find everything that fell out of my purse, and my MP3 player, which fell off my lap in the crash, and that I remembered to get almost everything I wanted out of the car. I forgot my L'Arc~en~Ciel Smile and Nine Inch Nails With Teeth and Hand That Feeds Remixes CDs, but that's okay and I can get them later.
For Amanda, the insurance adjuster from Progressive who called me at 5:18 and expected to stay on the line with me past the time her office closed and is handling the insurance stuff.
For the fact that I think that the speed limit on Bridger is 30 (The police officers guesstimated 35) and the fact that 6th's is 25, which helped keep the damage to a minimum.
For the fact that I keep paper in my car, just in case.
For the fact that I carry my pencil case with me in my purse and therefore had writing utensils to take down witness information (the other driver didn't.)
For the fact that I had my cell phone and it didn't go flying when we crashed so I could call 911, though I can't remember for sure if it was on the passenger seat or in my ashtray.
For the EMTs, who responded even if they weren't needed, despite the other driver being about six months pregnant and having breathing trouble, and made sure everyone was ok, plus told me what to expect physically after the accident and adrenaline wore off.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure that there is more. And love and safe driving to everyone!

Upon arriving in the choir loft at church today, I was greeted by our organist and our Japanese soprano saying we had a bit of a crisis.

Oh, boy, I thought. This'll be fun. Being the singer with the most musical education, I was the leader by default.

Our choir director, who is 75, has been ill the past week or so. We learned fifteen minutes before the mass started that she wasn't coming. This means that all of her cantored parts have to be sung by one of us. Of course, none of us know her parts, and there are only five singers (two basses and three sopranos) plus a floutist and organist. So we spent a few minutes trying to learn the cantor parts. We didn't completely pick them up, but we had enough of an idea to sing them. Our organist had a list of the hymns and numbers, so at least I was prepared for announcing.

The first song went okay, especially considering that it was a new piece in our repitoire (we've never performed it before) and the rehersal during which we learned it was two weeks ago. Our preist forgot that we don't do the kyrie and spoke it (he remembered not to do the gloria.)

The psalm was the first song with cantor parts to deal with. We got through the refrain and first verse alright (though it's written in a rather strange free rhythm so we weren't together singing, but I digress) but we forgot how we'd decided to do the verses and sort of goofed. We did figure out that we were going to do the refrain between each verse rather than combining verses. After the second verse.

The alleluia was fairly uneventful, though I'm pretty sure I was flat on the verse my sister and I cantored. During the homily, the organist and I realized we had no idea what cued us in to sing the parts of the mass. This led to five or ten minutes of me frantically searching for a missalette I could look through it to try to find cue phrases.

We found them literally just in time. And though we had one incident of an early start, the parts of the mass went out without incident.

During a later moment of calm, I said to my sister: "You remember that scene in How to Train Your Dragon right after Hiccup comes face-to-face with Toothless for the first time? After he frees Toothless, then goes to walk away, when he does that funny groan and falls over? That's me right now."

My sister enthusiastically agreed that the combination of adrenaline and stress left her in quite the same situation. None of us actually did fall over or have our knees go out as Hiccup did, but still, we were wobbly.

After that, the mass was uneventful, and it's good to know that if ever our director can't come, we can get through the mass without her.

Still, the sheer stressfulness of it proved to me that I don't want to be a choir director after I graduate.

*Hiccup knee-fail fall and faint*

Title: Can We Use Your Desk Then?
Rating: PG-13
Categories: Drabble, Humor
Warnings: Slash
Word Count: 242
Summary: A new sign appears in NCIS Headquarters.
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. I also don't own the picture.

( Story after the cut! )Notes: This was inspired by a sign I came across on Failblog, which appears at the end.

Gibbs and DiNozzo strongly suspected the jig was up the day the sign appeared outside every elevator in Headquarters.

Their suspicions were confirmed when, one week (and several incidents of disobeying the sign) later, the sign appeared inside all the elevators above the stop button, which had been altered to require an ID swipe to function.

There was absolutely no doubt in their minds when surveillance cameras appeared above a second copy of the sign inside the elevators two days later, after further disobedience of the sign.

Though disobeying the sign further would certainly satisfy Tony’s exhibitionist streak, Gibbs mused, that was not a kink he shared. Besides, during his bi-weekly e-mail check, Gibbs had discovered twelve messages from Director Vance concerning elevator policy. In the final e-mail, Vance had threatened to permanently ban him and Tony from all elevators in the building.

In order to get Vance off their case, Gibbs and Tony decided that an unscheduled visit to the Director was the way to go.

Their opening gambit ended up being all they needed. Vance’s response to “Can we use your desk, then?” was to have a small mockup of an elevator for their personal use constructed in an unused room on the top floor. The security guards who monitored the surveillance cameras were sent to guard other places and the cameras recorded without being viewed.

The signs requesting that people “Please refrain from copulating in the elevator”, however, stayed.