Tea and Dragons

ETA: It's up now!  And I feel stupider.  But happy!  *grin* 

Well.  I tried posting one of my stories to an LJ community for which it seemed a perfect fit.  I couldn't find any explicit rules concerning posting format, so I modeled my post as closely as I could to those already up.  According to LJ, it went into the moderation queue, all well and good. 

But it never showed up.  I PM'd the comm moderator, but they never replied, and now the post itself seems to have been deleted, though admittedly I know little about such things and it may not be visible in the editing window if it's still on hold.  Quite a few other posts have gone up in the meantime. 

I am baffled.  Did I do something wrong, does my story not fit?  And if so, why not tell me? 

I'll admit to feeling hurt, which is stupid, but there it is. 

Today was not a terribly good day at work--not bad, just full of small goings-wrong and my own sleepiness (muse. tail. still a problem). I stayed late, and was packing up to leave, barely hearing the people in the office next to me--they have no ceilings, per se, a cross between a regular office and a cubicle. The conversation sounded like someone had brought in a newborn, and they were taking pictures of it. 

Then someone I didn't know popped through my door, and a few seconds later I found out I was right...in a sense. 








It apparently pupaed in someone's office--I don't have the story behind that one--but it had just emerged this afternoon, and staggered over the divider and into my office.  I managed to capture it in an empty cookie tub, terrified of hurting it somehow, and the lady who'd had it told me quite casually that I should take it outside and release it. 

So I rushed downstairs, frightened that it would beat itself to death against the plastic, though it actually settled fairly quickly.  Fortunately there were still some blooming plants left outside the doors, so I lifted it gently out--on my fingers, not by pinching it--and introduced it to the blossom as shown. 

I stood and watched it for a few minutes; after a while it began flexing its wings and unrolling its proboscis, though I didn't see it manage to hit any of the flowers.  I wanted to see it at least eat, but I had a bus to catch despite my fears that someone would spot it and try to catch it. 

If I had written this as a story, I would have stayed long enough to see it lift into the sky, though whether I applied any metaphorical meaning to the event would depend on the plot/characters.  Real life is more rushed sometimes.  

Still, I've never seen a butterfly so vivid and undimmed, which makes sense if it was so new.  My cellphone really doesn't do it justice. 

I just saw someone put a thermos bottle in the freezer.  *blink* 

I'll admit that putting up a holder for information sheets in the bathroom at work makes a certain amount of sense, even if it does smack somewhat of elementary school. 

But posting "Chain Saw Safety Tips" just seems a bit odd, somehow... 

Last night I fell asleep on my couch before supper, dreaming odd and vivid dreams, skimming just under the edge of sleep.  I finally forced myself awake so I could go outside and feed my ferals, and as I opened my apartment door--still half-asleep, it felt like--the young man in the stairwell made me an offer (at least, I think that was what it was) concerning the object he was holding. 

Which happened to be a duck.  A white, damp, still quite alive farm duck, resignedly held against his chest. 

Suffice it to say, I wasn't quite sure I was really awake at that point. 

This job does expose me to some odd phrases. 

"The Swine Class is Purely Didactic Only." 

Don't ask me what it means.  The only classes I take are the idiot's guides to fire prevention...

A Viking longship vs. the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier.  What an image.