My life is filled with shiny bits.

[mrissa]

This is not my con report. This is about a thing that happened, though.

I was sitting in the programming room waiting for the rest of the panelists to arrive (having finished lunch and PT*), and marykaykare came in looking mysterious and pleased and said to me, "If you go speak to elisem, you will hear something to your advantage."

Well! I told Mary Kay that I like things to my advantage -- that I am firmly in favor of them, in fact -- and so I grabbed markgritter's arm, and off we went to the dealer's room to see elisem.

She was working on a shiny, as is so often the case, and there was some initial chatter, very casual, and then she consulted me: shinies are like books, and sometimes it helps if someone else can provide a second opinion, so did I think this one was almost done? I looked. It most certainly was. Did I think the labradorite was the right face out? I did.

She handed it to me and said, "Someone wrote to me and said, 'Mris is having That Kind Of Week, and you're going to see her soon; will you make her a shiny from me?' And here it is."

So I now have a silver wandering wire and labradorite pendant, and it is so shiny, and I am so pleased. And I'm pretty sure that my mysterious benefactor is someone who reads this journal. And you know what's great about my life? I have no idea who it is, because there are too many possibilities; I can't say, "Oh, obviously it must be x," or "y is simply the only person who could and would do that."

So you have given me the present of the shiny individually; and with the present of making it a secret surprise, you have reminded me of the gift of all the other people in my life who might have been responsible for it with you. Thank you, mysterious benefactor. It is Just Right.

*I did not miss a single session of PT this weekend. I am the Virtuous Mris Of Great Virtue. Just ask me.

Comments

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

:):):)

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

That is, indeed, most lovely.

[songwind.livejournal.com]

How very cool.

[ckd]

A shiny story about a shiny object for a shiny person.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

This Great Virtue made possible in part by virtue grants from markgritter, timprov, dd_b, and alecaustin.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's exactly the bit I meant. I almost listed the Annenberg whatsit.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

No, no, "...to the man who wears the star", surely?

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Oh, how cool. Could there be Pictures?

[timprov.livejournal.com]

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/timprov/2604657855/)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Wow. That is beautiful. And mysterious.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Pretty - the photo as well as the pendant. Labradorite is hard to do justice to. You have just convinced me I'm going to need to switch to the good camera for beadwork photos, because my small camera isn't cutting it. What sort of lens did you use, and what lighting?

I love looking at elisem shinies, for so many different reasons. Pretty *and* inspiring.

[timprov.livejournal.com]

The lens here is the Canon 100mm Macro. I've done quite well with the 50mm f/1.8 as well, though, and it's a much cheaper lens.

I use one of these (http://www.amazon.com/Litebook-Elite-Hand-Held-Therapy-Device/dp/B000P0LLNU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1214319961&sr=8-1) as a modeling light for jewelry photos, largely because I had it around anyway, but it works really well, especially for opals.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Maybe I should look into some kind of handheld light or reflector. In Taipei you buy camera gear on the camera shopping street - there's also a street of bookstores, a computer gear street, a DIY (crafts) street, a tailoring steet, and so on. We have found the camera street recently, and bought a 100-400mm zoom lens Ted wanted. It got its first airing a couple of weeks ago at the Dragon Boat festival (http://www.paxber.us/avontuur/?p=505) and we were pretty happy with it.

Ohh

[suzanne.livejournal.com]

That is a wondeful story, and a beautiful shiny as well. I'm glad you're friends are so wonderful.

suzanne

[reveritas.livejournal.com]

wow! that's a great story. i'm happy for you.

[braddr.livejournal.com]

Friends are such wonderful things to have. One of the few things where more really is better. :)

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I read this at first and thought that you are lucky to be so well loved. And then I thought more and realized it's not luck. And then I thought still more and realized it is too: you don't get well-liked and well-loved unless you are likeable and loveable, but you also don't get there without a good helping of luck as well. I think one of the reasons I enjoy reading you is that you don't take either component for granted.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yes: I am lucky, and I do work at maintaining relationships. It's a good combination, I feel.