ratherastory: (Default)
ratherastory ([personal profile] ratherastory) wrote2012-04-12 03:16 pm

What Do You Need?

This is a non-fandom post. I stole it from a friend of mine in a different place, because I think this is where the power of fandom can be harnessed for good. I've been feeling a little out of place and useless in the world lately, and this seems like a good way to get rid of that feeling.

Feel free to link this around, too, if you'd like. The more people see this, the more likely everyone will have a chance at getting what they need.

ETA: You don't have to be my LJ friend to participate. In fact, I highly encourage you to participate no matter what! Go ahead and ask for something. You never know what people might be able to provide.





What do you need? (Copied from a DW friend, so not in American, but you can Google translate. I like how it reads.)

(We can solve our own problems and help each other. Here's a spot to do so. Leaving it open...Non friends comments screened by default but I'll release them as soon as I see them.)

What do you need? Not what do you want? A million pounds, a fairy godmother, a nicer car.

But what do you need? A friend in Spain. Or Norfolk. A car that works, to get your kids to school. An old and unloved mp3 player that has been chewed by a cat but still works. A loan of fifty quid, for a week. Someone to trade emails with. People to visit your online shop. A hand-made card to make you feel loved. More friends on your journal. A copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, not too old. Advice on doing your own taxes. A loving but firm kick up the bum to get on with that project. Someone to talk lampwork / knitting / martial arts with. Clients to photograph in return for train fare or lunch. Help with your vet or medical bills, a dollar at a time. A used wheelchair. An unwanted bookcase. Reviews on Amazon. A cat-sitter. Reassurance because you're getting married / having a baby / getting your first job / struggling in college and need a pep-talk.

Sound off. Send people here.

ALSO? GO AHEAD AND FRIEND SOME FOLKS. Might as well frenzy a little bit too. Pleased to meet you.

[identity profile] mymuseandi.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Brilliant. I can give you a hug if you need one. *BIG HUG*

Or a smile :)))

Or just a Hi. Hi

I'm doing them all in reverse order LOL

[identity profile] imaginarycircus.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
I need it to be April 24th already. *tears hair*

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 07:28 pm (UTC)(link)
*pets*

What's April 24th? Is there anything you need that could make your life easier between then and now?

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 07:30 pm (UTC)(link)
You're awesome. :D

[identity profile] imaginarycircus.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
It's the day they announce the Top 50 entries in the Amazon/Penguin books contest. I need to stop thinking about it since they will disqualify me if I make it and if I don't it doesn't make any difference.

Maybe I need an ativan. IDEK.

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 07:38 pm (UTC)(link)
*more pets*

I wish I was able to help at all with any of that. Alas that it's a little too ineffable for my talents. :(

[identity profile] jennytork.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Someone to hold me accountable for 3 things:

1) Story progress
2) Housework projects
3) Prayer and Bible study

[identity profile] fearsclave.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Healing vibes for a strained calf muscle. It is not responding to threats of Viking acupuncture.

[identity profile] chloe-amethyst.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 10:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Hugs to you for feeling out of sorts! I hope it gets better.

I'm looking for good mojo to recover from outpatient surgery today. It's painful, and being completely alone through the next 6 weeks of recovery kind of sucks.

[identity profile] disneymagics.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I need help researching homeless unaccompanied teenagers (kids who have left home due to abuse or have been kicked out of their homes for whatever reason) in suburban America for an original novel I want to write. I have statistics and some information on what happens to these kids, but what I really need are case studies about actual children living on their own and trying to stay in school. The research I've done so far indicates that CPS will not do anythig for these kids if they are at least 13 years old and there is no sexual abuse. Many suburban communities do not have any resources to help homeless unaccompanied minors, so even though the teachers and social service providers know the kids are out there, they can do nothing to help them. I'd love to talk to social workers who have experience with these kids.
ext_17092: heart shaped flames (Default)

[identity profile] gestaltrose.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I am a fairly dedicated researcher. My email is gestaltrose@gmail.com. I am not a social worker, my brother works for the social system in Oregon I can ask him if he has any knowledge of it. I would think it changes from state to state. Is there any state of states that you have in mind?

[identity profile] disneymagics.livejournal.com 2012-04-12 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I think you are right and it probably changes from community to community as well. Some communities refuse to even acknowledge the problem because it's not good for their image. They don't want to admit to even a single homeless person living in the community. Some suburbs ship thier homeless populations to the cities where there are more shelters.

I'm not picky about where I get my information. If your brother knows of specific examples of homeless kids in Oregon, I'd love to hear their stories.

Thank you!!!

[identity profile] sandycub.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 12:03 am (UTC)(link)
I am sending you lots of mono for your pain and my hopes you feel better soon!!
I'm sorry that you are going through something like a medical situation on your own! Feel free to PM me if you need to talk, vent or anything else!

HUGS!!

[identity profile] greeneyes-fan.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
Hang in there. Surgery is evil, but it gets better, and online fandom helps a lot.

[identity profile] greeneyes-fan.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 01:25 am (UTC)(link)
Hmmm. I might be able to manage that if we make it a two-way street. For most of the next 4 months, I will have lots of work and personal projects and no structure. PM me if you want to set it up.

[identity profile] blackrabbit42.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
I need someone with a little bit of legal expertise in the publishing world to tell me what to do.

I wrote three chapters for a textbook that was published in 2009 and I've never been paid. Looking through my papers, I can find something that I signed that says what I agreed to do, but I have the sinking feeling that I never signed anything that discussed how much I would be paid, that part was all verbal.

I just need to know whether it's a lost cause, or if not, what my first steps should be.

[identity profile] ratherastory.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
Gah, that's frustrating. I had a similar problem with some translation work, back in the day.

Can you specify what country you're in, so people will be better able to help you? Legal systems and intellectual property laws will vary considerably from country to country.

[identity profile] blackrabbit42.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
The United States.

:)

[identity profile] primrose-1.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 03:03 am (UTC)(link)
*vibe* *vibe* *vibe* I hope you feel better soon! I'm trying to get a shoulder muscle healed up myself!

[identity profile] primrose-1.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
You had surgery today, and you're alone recovering for six weeks?!? Oh sweetie, you hang in there, and recover fast!

[identity profile] http://users.livejournal.com/_thelostcity/ 2012-04-13 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
What state are you in? Or, if you're now in a different one, what state were you in? Also, when did you do the work (since if the textbook was published in 2009, you'd have to have done the work earlier)?

[identity profile] primrose-1.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
I work with Youth in Custody at a high school in our area. All of our students are wards of the state, and are either in foster care or group homes. These kids have case workers working with them, trackers working with them, and so forth. IF the state has found out that they are alone, they will be taken into custody and put in a foster home or group home system. Some of the kids that I work with are eighteen and about to graduate in a couple of months. They are technically aged out of the system, and it's the teacher for YIC that assigns "packets" of work for them that include getting bank accounts, finding an apartment, making menus for cooking on your own, and so forth. She's frequently the only one looking after these guys who literally have no one. I'm new on the job, and still learning the system, but if you have more questions, feel free to send me a message!

[identity profile] elliemurasaki.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
I need SnapPlayer to work on this fucking computer. SnapPlayer, if you're lucky enough not to be taking the Microsoft Word course I am failing, is the program wherein the quizzes and tests for said course are administrated. Every single time I open a quiz or test, one of two things happens: I get an error message saying an error has occurred (and it's exactly that specific, too) and this will not count as an attempt at taking the test (but it does count), or the program simply closes itself down, no error message, nothing. Tech support is mystified.

In related news, I need a new computer. (And if SnapPlayer fails to cooperate with the new computer, I'ma be pissed.) I've got three possibilities in mind. (1) manufacturer-assembled, (2) Dad-and-me-assembled from a barebones kit, (3) Dad-and-me-assembled from buying the pieces-parts individually. I need advice on which is the best course of action, given that 'minimizing expenditures' and 'not fucking up my new computer' are both top priority. I'm looking at an i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, Windows 7 possibly dual-boot with Linux Mint or whatever the latest Ubuntu is, and a Blu-ray drive; okay, the Blu-ray drive is a want, and not an urgent one (same place on the want list as 'monitor that's at least 1920x1080' and 'Supernatural S1-7 on Blu-ray', in fact), but I need DVD capability. Most I can afford to spend is seven hundred dollars, I'd rather spend only six hundred, it'd be excellent if I only spent five hundred, and if you can figure a way for me to spend only four hundred and you're willing to share your mailing address with me, I will personally bake and mail you a batch of cookies of your choice. No promises on whether they get there intact, but cookie pieces still taste fine and cookie crumbs make excellent ice cream topping. (Offer not necessarily good outside the United States, sorry; depends entirely on shipping costs.)

Other thing I need is a few voices outside my head assuring me that I do indeed have things to say about myself for the insight resume thing on the Oregon State application. Hundred words each on: Leadership/Group Contributions; Knowledge in a field/creativity; Dealing with adversity; Community service; Handling systemic challenges; Goals/task commitment. (The voices inside my head are very loud and very negative.)

[identity profile] claudiapriscus.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 07:21 am (UTC)(link)
That doesn't sound too unreasonable; what's pushing your pricing up to $700? Woot today has a deal on a similarly-spec'd laptop for (well, okay, it's only got a 320gb HD, it's not a quad core and 4 gigs of RAM, though it's expandable to 8, but it's also a laptop, so without pricing out everything on newegg, I'm guessing you could get a desktop with a bit more oomph for around the same price, if you kept your eyes peeled).

You've got my sympathy on the application thing: I'm struggling with cover letters myself right now, and those shitty mental voices just will not shut up. Sometimes I think what I really need for RL is a good beta to be that person who will poke big giant holes in the weak points, praise the good stuff, and check for typos.

[identity profile] blackrabbit42.livejournal.com 2012-04-13 10:53 am (UTC)(link)
I live in Massachusetts.

One of the editors was my former boss. She told me that the pay would be very little- 16 authors would share 1% of the royalties, but that the more chapters I wrote, the bigger my share would be.

She has since fallen off the map. I e-mailed one of the other editors late last year, and he more or less gave me the run-around, and then started sending me personal e-mails with off-color jokes (ie... "Santorum" cracks) Completely inappropriate!!

I think my next step should be to try one more editor, or try contacting one of the other authors to see if they got paid.

I wrote the chapters in the summer of 2008. If it helps, you can see the book on Amazon.. search for: Nutrition Guide for Physicians. I wrote the chapters on nutrition during pregnancy, nutrition during childhood, and co-authored the chapter on understanding the DRIs

I know that the reimbursement would be very small... it's the principle of the thing.. this would be my first publication for pay.

:)

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