Too many words

[gwyn]

For the three people who are likely to read this: The new Fast and the Furious story is going to be frickin' long. Like, loooonnggg. I'm over 4,000 words and I only just started writing, and I haven't even got the plot rolling just yet. And the few of you who know me when I get a plot-bone between my teeth know that I will overwrite to death and keep editing and reworking. So the question is, do I work on it in parts and treat it as a WIP? or would you rather I wait and finish the whole kit and caboodle? Keep in mind that the poor people who read my Buffy WIP are in a constant state of annoyance with me because I don't update very fast, especially when stuck in the middle-part malaise.

What does <3 stand for? I keep looking at it and I can't figure it out. Related to that, what *does* w00t! actually mean, and where does it come from? Woot doesn't sound like anything I ever hear anyone say (woo-hoo, yes, woot, no), but obviously I missed something. I guess I don't do chatty rooms enough or something. Or I chat only with people who are actually able to spell. Or something.

Apparently there is plagiarism stuff going on again, in Buffy and Mag 7. I never know anything, I swear.

Sis_r update: She had her first chemo about ten days ago, and sailed through with flying colors, apparently. She had other health problems, but didn't do much puking at all. We seem to get varying reports -- the first treatment is the killer, the third is, etc. At this point, all we can do is watch and see. I'll know more when I get down there next week. We found out that the genetic test that will tell us whether I have/will get this type of cancer is $4,000. Yeah. That won't be happening and I get to guess. Nothing like the Sword of Damocles dangling over your head.

Comments

[par-avion.livejournal.com]

<3 is a heart, lying on it's side.

I don't know why people use it, especially when there are HTML codes for actual hearts.

Glad sis_r is doing okay with the chemo.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

You know, I could have looked at this for hours, and still never seen that. It just doesn't look even remotely like a heart to me, though ;-) looks like a winky face, and so on. How odd. I wonder if it's the fact that it's flipped -- instead of left to right, it's right to left? Now I have to ponder this.

[destina.livejournal.com]

Still thinkin' good thoughts for the sis. *hugs!*

[eruthros]

The <3 is supposed to be a heart (so people say "I <3 you").

And the origins of "woot" are uncertain. Some people say that it comes from RPGs as an abbreviation of "wow, loot" and then slipped into chat parlance to mean excitement. I have no idea if this is true.

The other common story about the origin of "woot" is that it's a slipped l337 sp34k spelling of "root," root access being the goal of hacking. And thus people were notifying their fellow hackers of hitting root.

And the last story (that I know, anyway) is that it's 1337 sp34k for whoo! - wh00, except the two 0s were too tempting, so people started James Bonding it to wh007. Which you would pronounce as woot.

(Oh, wait, I forgot the theory that it's an approximation of the sound that the players make in Quake when jumping.)

Also, I hope your sister's chemo goes as well as chemo can go.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Dear god, I'm not sure I wanted to know all those explanations for where "woot" came from.

Gwyn, I was going to say that I have heard it used in conversation. I dated a gamer for over a year. *Sighs, shakes head*

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Wow! You know everything! I guess it's going to be like "my hed iz pastede on yay" -- it's going to drive me crazy not having a definitive answer of origin. I like "all your base are belong to us" because the history is right there when you google it, replete with dates and timelines.

[eruthros]

Yes, "all your base are belong to us" comes with illustrations and comics and everything. I wish that were true for woot -- I looked for origins when I started hanging out more in HP fandom, and hearing it all the bloody time, and I knew what it meant but couldn't understand why it meant it. I asked around, and everyone gave me different answers, or no answers at all (just "well, it means sorta 'yay,' that's all I know") and so I googled it and found... trillions of different answers. I've probably forgotten some, too.

But I thought "his hed iz pastede on yay" had a definite origin in the famous CrystalWank, as the Fandom_Wank people call it, just a few months ago.

(I just googled to find that link, and also found this community: crystalwank2004. Which seems ... a little excessive, even if it was the Gigantic Mess That Ate Fandom for several weeks. But their info page does have a link to the specific comment thread in question.)

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

*Looks at the info provided above* See, now, I thought I'd told you that someone showed me the source of that line. Now you know.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

No, it's just that there's no definitive history -- and how it spread, etc. I hate that. I'm one of those people who loves to research and find direct causes and effects. It's hard to say for sure that that phrase didn't come from someone else previously, for instance, and was in the process of being passed on -- that's kind of what I mean. J & C and I spent an afternoon researching it, too, and had come up with that as well, a long time ago, but I never have had a sense of real history the way "all your base" does, I guess.

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear sis is doing well. Ouch about the test, though.

As was mentioned, <3 is a heart on its side. Why do people use it? ASCII dies hard in the heart of computer geeks? Woot is a variation on "Woo-hoo!" and I believe is the even geekier l33t language, which I have never been able to completely figure out.

And yay on looooong TF&TF fiction! Or, as might be said, "Woot!" *g* Personally, I prefer complete stories, but it's not like I don't read WIP. I vote for the whole kit and caboodle, but will be happy either way.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Well, keep in mind though that if you vote for whole K&C, you will also be waiting a reaaaallllyyyy loooonggggg time. Remember how many months it took to write Lucifer Match? And it took me just as long to do Somniloquy, and both of these are shorter than I think this thing is going to turn out. NOt that I'm all over WIPs, cuz they have lots of problems.

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

So torn! Something complete that I might wallow in! Something now! Don't make me choose! *g*

[varina8.livejournal.com]

i'm glad to hear your sister is doing well. I can't believe the cost of the genetic test. Any chance of getting it for less through a research/experimental program?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Someone suggested I talk to the ovarian cancer organization here connected through the U or Swedish, I can't remember, but it's challenging because we're in different states. She's going to try her insurance, but I have no hope of them covering part of it. Since it's mostly for me, an out of state person not on their insurance!

[batdina.livejournal.com]

Sword of Damocles? Hm. There's a genetic marker for the cancer my mom died from, and I have been encouraged to spend massive amounts of money to take the test and find out and my response thus far has been, "no."

The marker tells you whether you might get it, not that you will with any certainty, and the only thing we do after we know is what we're already doing as adults with the sword of damocles over our heads which is see the doc regularly, and finagle ultrasounds every year along with our mammograms.

So far, I just live my life and mostly don't think about it. I suppose it's a form of denial, but it works for me. Wanna join me in my canoe on the river?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I think for me it's a couple things: one is the identical twin thing, and the other is the adoption thing. I know nothing about my history, and this situation with evil twin came out of the blue. Neither of us have any knowledge of what could happen to us -- I mean, do we wake up on our 45th birthday with some dreaded hereditary disease, or something we could prevent? And the fact that she's my twin makes the likelihood issue bigger for me than just a random marker -- I have an illness that she doesn't have, so maybe this is something else, but I would like to know. I want to know if my bloating or abdominal pain might be more than just the usual period symptoms and I should keep a careful eye. For me, it would make a difference. It's hard to explain -- I guess that so much of my life has been spent Not Knowing anything that knowing something would be really nice.

Plus, it would mean that once and for all the question of whether we're identical or fraternal could be settled. We've grown up with identical, but the only way to know for sure is a DNA test.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

*Struggles with hatred for WIPs and love for new F&F fic*

Um...can I beta again? Or at least read over your shoulder? ;)

I'm glad to hear your sis is doing well so far. Would she appreciate getting a card or something from a complete stranger?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

That's the rub, isn't it? Most people hate WIPs, but honest to god, I will be writing for a really long time if I do it in one piece. I have mixed feelings. I like the freedom of one piece, the ability to tinker. But I hate the knowledge of how much time I'm taking and people's impatience, especially when you finally deliver and they don't care anymore, which happened with Lucifer Match. That one broke my heart. But WIPs are their own terror, and the guilt... oy, the guilt.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

Well, fuck what other people think if doing it in one go will make you happier. I'd be more willing to wait and have you satisfied with your own work than make you feel rushed and obligated to spit out chapters.

I'm sorry to hear that Lucifer Match didn't go over well. I for one loved it.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was okay with the people who read it (hey, I helped lure maygra!). But by the time I finished everyone in my little circle was moving on and didn't really seem to want to be bothered with it. I'm afraid of that happening again -- this seems like such a transitory fandom.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

I suppose it seems that way, but the first movie came out years ago and we're still finding fans interested in reading fic. They may not be organizing conventions in Paul Walker's honor, but I think that when you post, they will read. The interest hasn't completely disappeared for the people I've added to my FL, even if they've put stories on a back burner or something.

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

Going to weigh in on the "woot!" thing, here. While I don't know the exact, mists-of-time origins, I know people (myself included) who have used it for...this part is scary, so hold on...oh, about fifteen years or so. So, as far as I'm concerned, it predates the cutesy mangling of words, and Quake as well. The RPG thing? Very possible, as the people who used it enough for me to pick up were definitely gamer/mud-er/geek types. Well, ok, we were a whole high school full of geeks...Er, anyhow--it's been around a long time.

More F&F fic? Good.

Genetic test with obscene cost? Bad. Who's the bastard in charge of these things, anyway?
Sis_r doing well with chemo? Very good, as chemo can be really tough.

Ability to type coherent sentences today? Bad.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yes, but do you want more F&F fic in one piece or as a WIP? That's the burning question and no one is answering me! Dammit, I can't be expected to write AND make decisions! It's too much for my tiny brain to handle.

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

"more F&F fic in one piece or as a WIP?"

I'll take it however I can get it, frankly. Although, I am probably unusual in that I enjoy WIPs a lot--I do most of my fic reading at work and it's much easier to justify that to myself if it's "Ok, there's only this one chapter..."

They never should've given me a private office.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

I'm sure all the folks will have answered your netspeak questions already...but <3 means a heart.

Like, I <3 you. I do. And I want to hug you so hard and wish you all the best. Sending my best wishes to your sister, too, of course-- the very best.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting us know about sis_r. I've been thinking about her and about you.

Yeesh, the cost of that test is astounding. Hopefully, you'll get to forget about the dangly sword after a while....

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

*hugs* My mom just had her sixth chemo -- four of one and two out of four of the other. It does get a bit worse, but at least in mom's case, not drastically so. Keeping a good thought for you guys.

Mer

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

{{hugs}} you back! Damn, I didn't realize you were going through that as well. Is she doing okay? Do they feel they're making progress? I hope so.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

She's doing quite well, for being on chemo. Can go to work and everything. Can't say that it's fun as such, but hey, how else do you get to see your mom with the front half of her eyebrows but not the back half?

Since hers is adjuvant (just in case it's still hiding in there somewhere) chemo, it's hard to tell if it's working. We won't know until it comes back, or doesn't. But I hope so. I hope it works for your sister too.

Mer

[sweet-ali.livejournal.com]

I think you know this already, but many good thoughts for sis_r and of course, you. Is there any way to get a discount or something similar, maybe through another type of program, for the genetic test? Cause that 4 grand is...

And you know, I <3 you *smooch*

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Someone I know suggested getting in touch with a place that specializes in ovarian cancer here in Seattle, and seeing if there might be something or some way to do this. I think the big thing is that we're in different states, so it might be hard to deal with that. And apparently it's her they have to do the test on -- since I'm the twin without the cancer or at least without the known cancer.

[permetaform]

heh, ::buttprints:: makes more sense to me than <3...I never saw the heart thing either, until someone pointed it out. And YAY! more FATF fic! (love love LOVED Torque btw.)

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

That's what I thought! I was convinced it was butt prints! And I kept thinking, wow, I know I'm old, but when did asses become a way of saying I love something? ;-)