Wow, I just wrote 3000 words to the first part of a Buffy fan fic I wasn't expecting to go anywhere. It's only part one of the story, and it's not even finished yet-- nearly, but not. This is the most I've written for anything in a long time, and I'm so stoked!

I need a beta'er, if anyone's interested. I already asked one person, but in case she can't it'd be nice to know if anyone else is available. It's a post-Chosen, non-comic AU Xander/Larry fic. Larry, if you don't remember, was the gay football player who played a pretty small part on show before dying. Thanks to soclosesofar for reminding me he existed, lol.

But yeah, I'm really stoked on this story so far but I won't post it without it getting beta'ed. Any takers?

Also, I need a Xander icon if anyone knows of any good ones.

Taking a break from writing because this is on my mind.

My little sister. Her name is Robyn Grace Alva. Why am I bringing this up? Because she wants to change her name. Not just in the thirteen-year-old, I hate everyone and I don't want to be myself way anymore, but because it's been a subject broached several times since she was at least six.

She's not an Alva, not by blood nor by marriage. She's a Fuentes, but the only time she ever went by that was when she was living in Oklahoma with her dad's family.

Here's what happened. My mom, a Brosan, married my dad, an Alva, and thus became an Alva herself. She bore Carissa and myself, both Alva's, before divorcing my dad. But rather than changing her name back to Brosan, she stuck with Alva. Around the same time she divorced my dad she got remarried to my late-step-dad, a Fuentes. She legally became a Fuentes, and bore Robyn. A few years later they divorced and my mom went back to Alva, and soon after he died.

The reason she went back to Alva was because she'd been an Alva longer in her life than a Brosan, and honestly Brosan is a weird name anyway. I also found out my grandma's maiden name is Neuman. WTF? Better than Robyn's grandma's maiden name which is Frachtling. And just 'cause I'm on the subject, my dad's mom's maiden name is Quintero. Horray for confusing paragraph of doom!

Carrying on.

So when my mom had Robyn-- bear in mind, I'm backtracking, so try to keep up ^_^-- she was still technically married to my dad, so to avoid certain insurance issues she listed Robyn as an Alva. This was never legally changed while my mom and step-dad were married.

So in short, Robyn was never legally a Fuentes, though she's not an Alva by blood.

What's going on is that Robyn and my mom go back and forth over the last name issue, at least once a year. Robyn has begun taking up hyphenating her name to Alva-Fuentes, though as far as her school is concerned she's just an Alva, and will be so officially until it's legally changed.

My mom is completely okay with Robyn changing her name, if she so chooses. She understands the costs, and it's been researched to death many times over. But, understandably, Robyn can't make up her mind. Does she want to remain an Alva, and carry the same last name as her siblings and mom-- my mom, mind you, has no intention of changing her last name back to Brosan-- or does she want to go full on and be a Fuentes? She's also balancing the hyphening idea, but she's worried it's going to become too troublesome down the line.

If this wasn't confusing enough, she also wants to add another name to the equation. Jessica. If she were to have her way, she'd change her name to Jessica Robyn Grace Alva-Fuentes.

My personal opinion, and I told her I respect whatever she does, is to change her last name to the hyphen and wait on the first name until she's at least eighteen. Changing your first name is too heavy of a thing for someone still in their early teens.

But, of course, there's a reason she wants to change her name to Jessica. Robyn was the compromise name. Robyn is named after two people-- my mom's best friend, and her dad's grandma who practically raised him. Her dad originally, though, wanted to name her Jessica. Incidentally, Carissa and I both liked the name before Robyn was born, for our own reasons. But Robyn became Robyn, and I prefer that myself now.

She's thirteen now, and her dad passed when she was maybe six. Every year she feels more and more distant from her dad, and it's understandable that she'd want to hold onto anything that she could-- including names. We're all very supportive of any decision she makes, we're just hoping she doesn't go over board, haha.

O, hot Middle Eastern dad type guy who lives above the pool.

You walk around in shorts and no shirt most days, and that is enough to make me smile. But lo, today you stepped outside for a smoke upon your balcony in nothing but boxers, your fuzzy barrel chest, little round tummy, and shiny bubble butt out there for all the world to see, and another special surprise bulging forth, sometimes taking a peak.

O, hot Middle Eastern dad type guy. Thank you.

Check out my review of Bruno over a Buzznet, and apparently going to be featured on Celebuzz. Horray!

This week on 5 A Week over at Buzznet.com are 5 Videos Too Cool For School, Featuring,
Missy Elliot (ft. Ludacris), KillRadio, Die Ärzte, and two videos by Amanda Palmer!