The Omikuji Project

Hey guys,

Since it's the middle of the month, I'm just bumping up the Omikuji Soundtrack post to see if there are any songs you'd like to associate with this month's story. Enjoy!

I took mine outside... to a show.

( And of course, there was a picture )

A few days ago I was delighted to find my omikuji letter in the mail, and even more delighted to read it. Who else wants to see yuki_onna publish a YA novel?

( Cut for spoilers, just in case. )

I can't wait for the next one, though of course I must.

Hey, for those who are interested, don't forget to ponder what music might accompany the third installment for soundtrack purposes!

  


Credits:
Getty Images (image)
iconsbycurtana (texture)

I get my Omikuji at work, since I have a mail slot rather than a box at home, and much mail is destroyed that way.

Today around lunchtime, a large envelope appeared in my inbox which bulged oddly. “The hell?” I thought, and opened it. What a fantastic surprise that I won the lottery this month!

It was a particularly good day for it to arrive. I've just crossed 12 weeks pregnant and have finally been telling people, including my workmates. Now, my cousin had just finished warning me that people say horrible things to you when they know you're pregnant, but I didn't really expect it to start so soon. One coworker who shall remain nameless replied to the news with "Congratulations! I thought you might be pregnant, but didn't want to say anything in case you were just gaining weight." Now, I'm not usually very sensitive about my weight, but it irritated me, as I have actually lost weight in these first three months (because I can't eat anything).

Well, nothing makes me feel good faster than playing dress-up, and the opera-length black gloves that were this month's lottery prize happened to exactly match the black-and-white summer dress I had on.

Clearly, [coworker] is either malicious or crazy. I look hot.

Here is a picture of the gloves making friends with the rest of my glove collection.

Thanks, yuki_onna!

Hey, folk and fellows,

So, random thought: suppose we wanted to make a soundtrack for a year's worth of omikuji? I propose that we post suggestions for songs to attach to Cat's stories and/or sacred lottery giftings, and then maybe at the end of the year or month we could rain compilations on her. Here's what I'm thinking:

- On the 15th of a month, once you've all had a chance to read and reflect, I'll bump this post up to get suggestions for a song to accompany the story and update the list in the body of the post accordingly (feel free to post earlier than that, of course -- just dig this up so that they're all in the same post). Ideally you'd post why the song should accompany the story, some tidbit about where you heard it, etc.

- From the 15th to the last of the month I'll do alot of listening and compile the songs into a list.

- We'll mail out (or we could rotate this depending on who wants to volunteer) one burned CD to Cat as close to the 1st as we can, so that when she's mailing stuff out to us we're mailing stuff out to her, and she can maybe start watching her mailbox the way we do and have something to look forward to and counter the Cursed First of the Month.


So, what say you, community? Here are the stories and suggestions to date:

The Glass Gear:

- "Frozen World," Emilie Simon (tithenai)
- "Agnus Dei," Rufus Wainwright (antsswarm)

A Hole to China, part 1:

- "Singapore," Tom Waits (tithenai)
- "You and What Army," Radiohoead (antsswarm)

A Hole to China, part 2:

- "Trust in Me," Susheela Raman (tithenai)
- "Sit Down Stand Up" Radiohead (antsswarm

A Hole to China, part 3:

I have some kind of curse with the 1st of the month. Power outage and software zombies have slowed the mailing, but they will go out first thing in the morning.

This is the conclusion of Tristram's tale.

While you and I both wait for the Omikuji to be done, I want to ask: did you like the multi-part story or the one-off story best? We had a lot of cancellations this month so I'm thinking y'all preferred the one-shot.

And--any requests for the brand-new story next month? Zombies, fairies? Spin the girl around and see where she sticks her pen!

Wow, it's the end of the month. I'm always surprised to see it, and then excited to realize the next story will be on its way soon.

Anyone else taken aback by that?

So I'm at work, restless in that half-hour period before lunch, and it occurs to me to wonder: what do you use to open your Omikuji letters?

Do you rip in with your fingernails? Do you use a letter-opener? Do you have one special one you've dedicated to the purpose? Do you -- 'fess up now -- preserve the envelope for posterity?

Dish! The internet won't tell...

Warning: there's a knife in the photos.

( But there was more to see and do! )

I live in the country, far down a long winding dirt road and into a forest by the river, so my mailbox is about three kilometres from my house, one of a set of locked boxes by a "depanneur," as we call corner or convenience stores. I was coming home late last night with my sister, hoping to get a letter from the university of Exeter, when we pulled up next to the box. I pulled out a stack of mail without looking to it, handed it to my sister to prolong the expectation, when she said the above. I squeaked, pounced, grabbed the letter, turned it over and around and over again, babbled happily about the Omikuji project, and managed to last five minutes before tearing it open in the car to look at the new wax (which is lovely, but I agree with dormouse_in_tea that it isn't the most practical and loves the paper it sticks to a little too well), but given that it was dark and the car light is no light to read by, I waited until I was in my room, on my bed before reading it.

( What a beautiful, beautiful installment. )

Thanks, yuki_onna. It quite made my evening, and will continue to embellish my day.

I snatched the ivory letter from within the dark maw of the mailbox, tenderly carrying it inside, ignoring my last name-- hoping the database elves had worked their magic-- knowing it didn't matter if they hadn't-- glad that the letter had found me despite my recent move, and even more glad it had reached me before I embark to the dry Northwest of Costa Rica! Or not so dry as the Season has officially changed its name to "Rainy."  As I peeled the wax carefully away from the paper, cursing myself as it torn a bit away, I quickly investigated the individual sheets and yelped (quietly) with fanboyish glee-- She Signed IT! I immediately began reading and as with every reading of Cat's stories I found the continuation of the tale amazing and brilliant. She used "chirruped!" I mumbled something about two-"p's" cursing my own lexigraphical ignorance and plunged back in.

Truly great-- at least to this jaded yet hopeful curmudgeon.  I have been on the underside of the Sisyphean stone of late and your story is what I needed (and need). I wanted to share it but instead imagined a dragon with a great, golden hoard of stories.  I want to be that dragon.  I'll share when the pile is high enough! And Cat when I am in the forests, and on the beaches of Costa Rica I will listen and watch for the Thing That Calls for the Cat and I will send it to you upon my return. Huzzah!

Credits:
Getty Images (image)
iconsbycurtana (texture)

My envelope arrived today, a definite note of joy I really, really needed. I'm not reading it yet, because I'm rushing around frantically preparing for a vacation and I want to be able to savor it. But I did open it. . .

The new wax? Not fond of it at all.

It looks very pretty, but unlike the red -- which dried hard and crisp, and separated from the paper nicely, leaving only a kiss of red -- the silver dried tacky and gummy, and when opened the paper stayed stuck to it. I have a wax seal coated with paper fibers on one hand, and a letter with a thin, worn patch full of pin-prick holes on the other. :(

Does anyone have any advice on how I can wrestle with it more gracefully in the future? Maybe a very wide-bladed letter opener. . .

So, the mailperson knocked on my door today...

and...

( Read more... )

After EVERYTHING going wrong in the last two days, from toner to paper jams to wax to an accident blocking the road on the way to the post office, and many tears, literal and figurative, the June Omikuji is away. Good grief.

I just want to say thank you to everyone for being a part of this project. Not only is it wonderful to be that much closer to you all, but you guys keep us afloat from month to month, and without you life would be a whole lot harder. Thank you so much.

And let me know what you think of the new wax--an experiment. ;)

Tomorrow is the first.
It's time to start staring at the mailbox again!

Hey guys,

Just bumping this post to try and catch more Wiscon-bound Omikujis. I realised I'd misread my schedule, and will be on a panel Friday evening from 8:45 PM to 10:00 PM, so would like to sheepishly request that if a meet/party happens on Friday, that it either starts a bit earlier than 8:45 or that y'all promise to keep the party going 'till at least 10:00. Pretty please? I'd so love to meet whoever can make it.

Thank you yuki_onna! I was having a pretty crappy week. Let’s just say that on top of a major depressive meltdown having a doctor stab needles into you and run electrical current through your arm is not fun. As I was digging in my bag for my lunch I came across an envelope that had fallen to the bottom. So my lunch, the envelope and me went outside to enjoy some nice weather together.

I loved the story. On top of that I’ve had a response or companion to the story running through my head. I have been known to [write] a few things from time to time and this is an idea that keeps poking me. Here’s the rough start I wrote down for your pleasure.

( Don't click if you haven't read your letter yet... )

P.S. I’m terrified to hit the post button but here goes nothing.

Ok, Omikujis! Wiscon approaches.

I am free on Friday evening--who wants to have an Omikuji White Elephant Party? Where shall we have it? Hotel room or consuite or elsewhere? Who can come?

Further ideas are welcome--I have time Sunday as well but Friday is my most open day.

( Draw the curtain )

What to do with an Omikuji.



( more here )

 Is it me? Am I the only one of us that gets damn teary eyed when I read Cat's stories? I curled up on a futon with my favorite feline friend and read the story right through  (many references to paws and stripes delighting my companion). I especially loved the following given my educational background (which I would love to spread far and wide): "Any more and one begins to invite archaeologists.  They're like ants-- once you've got one, you've got a colony."  Which means I guess I am the beginning of the colony. . . .

Thanks for the wonderful beginning.  I do need to update my address info and was somewhat chagrined to see my last name misspelled (waaaaaa!)-- but the hard part, my first name, was correct!

Credits:
Getty Images (image)
DA Font (font)
iconsbycurtana (texture)

Someone said they'd like to see pictures of the flower - here they are, but I warn you that I'm a very poor photographer.
( a few small pics under the cut )
I'm tremendously excited that I won the lottery for this month.  My toddler was also thrilled, since she got to play with the packing material and the box.  Now that she's in bed, my three cats are taking turns sitting in the box.  So nearly everyone in the house got something out of our lottery winnings! 

I was expecting my envelope from the Project today - something good to read while the baby naps is always welcome.  Instead, I got a big box with a sweet letter and an orange blown-glass flower.  Hooray!  It's the first time I've ever won a lottery.

Omikuji Away!

If anyone doesn't receive theirs, notify me immediately--I'd hate to think my spreadsheet didn't import correctly.

An extra fun thing with the lottery--on the winner's story there is now a lovely image of a woman's face surrounded by stamps and passports--this is Kujiko, the Omikuji Goddess! Winners are encouraged to take pictures of where Kujiko has found herself this month.

I hope you all like the story!

So, since my day has been glum, I went back and looked over Tithenai's alter egos/silly introductions post post:
http://community.livejournal.com/omikuji_project/1083.html

What say you to a storytelling game? If it is your will, write a piece of flashfiction (0) about your imaginary self and include it in the comments here. (1)...it can amuse us until we wait for the letter to arrive.(1)I bet we can make some gorgeous things! Thanks for listening.



(0) Length-up to you.
(1) If this is not okay for the community, let me know and I'll remove it.

The brilliant idea was to get all of this done before leaving for Jamaica. Then, since we came back a day early, it was to have it done last night. Then justbeast was kept at work until 9 because of all the back work they had to do (it was a work trip) and I didn't get home till very late.

So. All the writing is done. Has been for awhile. The PDFs are being collated as we speak. Envelope stuffing, however, is taking place today. One Cat, 120 envelopes. As we try to figure out how to print envelopes and such, it will go faster than last time, but I may be stuck with mailing in the morning again. I'm deeply, deeply sorry, my head is spinning off with everything there is to do between now and my birthday on Monday. At some point, this will run smoothly, I promise.

A couple of you have canceled your subscriptions, and that's cool--I'll keep you on the comm until you decide you want to leave. You're still part of the family, yo. Also keep in mind that Paypal deals with your monthly subs automatically--you don't have to do anything, just sit back and get mail.

Finally, I will say that the lottery is SUPER cool this month, and I hope the winner is a member of the comm, so you can all see it. The story is A Hole to China...Part I.

See you on the flipside of a mountain of envelopes!

I don't want to be caught preaching to the choir here, but I've posted a short review of "The Glass Gear" and Cat's Omikuji Project in my journal.

It took me until until the middle of last week to sit down and read The Glass Gear. Much as I wanted to, I didn't leap in as soon as I realized what was in that unassuming envelope. It had been a busy weekend, to say the least. Then, of course, it got be Monday, as weeks have a way of doing. Something is always going on during the week. A friend at the house on Monday. Writing Ebay copy for old computers on Tuesday. Dinner with parents on Wednesday. My evenings are too full of late, and story time kept running out in front of the avalanche, daring me to catch it.

But In the end, it worked out. Because by the time it got to be Thursday, I had an idea. "moiracoon," I asked, "the story that I've been squeeing about all week is not only steampunk, but it's a retelling of the Cinderella story. I know how much you love fairy tales. Would you like me to read it to you?"

And though she answered with an excited affirmation, that meant a delay until a meshing of both of our schedules could occur. For that, we had to wait until Saturday evening. And despite the fact that I was bouncing, occasionally literally, with the anticipation of exploring the newest of the myriad of wonderful worlds that the words of my favorite authors have brought me to, and had even taken the pretty sheaf of papers out of their envelope and proudly (and delicately) presented them to my friends to show them just how special this 'Omikuji project' that I'd been going on about was, I left the seal unbroken. That was for later.

And to be honest, the completist that I am, there were a few moments as I looked at the comfortably folded papers in my hand and thought of another short story by Cat; something she wrote for Invisible Games: a story called Killswitch. I am one of those silly, occasionally melancholic, souls who gets a little too tied to sacredness of object rather than sacredness of thought or action. There were a few moments when I found myself in a familiar internal debate; unfold the letter and devour its contents, or leave it untouched and pristine. Fortunately, the former idea won out, and in short order too. I'm far too devoted to the experiencing and sharing of these secret stories to let them lie still and unheard on a shelf.

Finally, the workweek faded into another few days of freedom. That Saturday night, I closed the blinds in the bedroom and drew the curtains across the entryway. I lit a few candles and made the bed. The room felt soft and warm. I nestled against my love, side to side under the covers, and slipped the cream-colored bundle out of its envelope. I'd never in my life opened up anything with a real, actual wax seal on it before. Slipping a thumbnail under the edge of the pages and sliding my hand slowly across to the middle of the packet has become a unique tactile memory that will be inextricably tied to these stories for me. The sibilant whisper of the wax circle pulling free of the paper will echo in my ears each time I open the words inside up to the light. And, the story thus opened up to me, I, in turn, let it out into my little corner of the world; I read it.

And beyond that, I can only offer a thank you to the author for a marvelous experience. I look forward to many more similar, but beautifully different, ones.

-----------

A question for you others who are in on this wonderful secret. Where were you when you read the story for the first time? Were you alone? Have you shared it with family or friends? Just idle curiosity with an hour left before I can leave work today....

Credit:
Getty Images (images)
iconsbycurtana (texture)

I have many names, but the most common of them is Faith, given to me at birth. Not that this is very important. After all, what is in a name? I didn't know Cat as Cat in the beginning, but as Ghanima which now seems like so very long ago. She sheds names as a snake sheds it's skin, no? Each layer newer and brighter than the last.

I am ashamed to admit that I was not very impressed with her pretty, pretty words at first, but I found myself drawn back again and again despite myself. It did not take long for me to convert. Like a proper acolyte, I have all of Cat's published books from Music of a Proto-Suicide to The Orphans' Tales, I have pressed Labyrinth into many hands like a blessing, and I am here (always) for more.

Now, I have offerings of my own...

( Read more... )

Hi, my name is Kees, and I am one of The Seven :)

I got my letter in the mail this morning. I was in a hurry to go to work, but I at least wanted to look at it. I didn't know what exactly would be in the envelope, so I opened the envelope at the short side, instead of at the long one as usual, so I would be sure not to damage anything. I saw the nice paper, closed with the beautiful seal and I thought, I should look at it when I have more time, when I am back from work. Put it back in the envelope.

The funny thing is, once the letter was out, I couldn't get it back in the envelope. It wouldn't fit any more. Only later, when I had broken the seal and read this wonderful story, was I able to put it back in.

It just gave me the extra feeling that this will be stories that want to be read, that only want to rest when the reader has read and enjoyed them, leafed through them from beginning to end.

Thank you very much for this wonderful story, I am already looking forward to the next one.

On the half-joking subject of Omi-Con-Ji...

I will be at Penguicon in two weeks, Wiscon at the end of May, and Saloncon in September. If any of you folks live near those cons or are attending them, we could have a meet-up on or off the con premises. Maybe a White Elephant meet-up, where we all bring small trinkets to exchange?

How many of you are regular con-goers? I confess I don't get out to the West Coast much, though I know there are some coming up out there.

Most of you who live on this side of the Atlantic and this side of the border should have gotten their letters by now--I hope you liked them, and I'm delighted by the posts made so far. For those of you who didn't click on her cut, airycat won the Sacred Lottery, and the prize this month was a necklace handmade by me from black pearls, abalone, and irridescent black beads called Not the Stars, But the Moon.

I thought I'd clear up a few logistical things in this post.

• You cannot win the Sacred Lottery twice. When you win, you get a little asterisk by your name in my Spreadsheet of Doom, and are removed from the next drawing. Email subscribers are certainly included in each drawing, though if I don't have your snail mail address, it'll ruin the surprise if I have to ask you for one.

• If you signed up too late to get the April story, or from here on out, any back-issue, you can get a PDF for $2US. I have thought and thought and I just can't commit to re-doing past mailings for everyone who signs up subsequently, as it is a massive amount of work, and to give away the back PDFs for free wouldn't be fair to the other email subscribers.

• In the same vein, if you want both the letter and the email, you have to subscribe to both of them. I cannot think of any other fair way to do this, given how many people have already signed up for one or the other.

• As of today, there is a short excerpt of the April story (this will change each month to reflect the current story) up on the website, with a tip jar underneath it. I would not have thought to do this on my own, and blush in its face, but several people suggested it, and thus, it appears. If you particularly enjoyed any given story, feel free to tip.
  

• I feel deeply and unshakably that these stories are yours. You brought them into being. For that reason, my lease on them is tenuous at best. You may do anything you like with them, up to and including posting them online, though I would ask that you wait a month before doing so to any one story. You may write fanfic unfettered, create art, (post it all here!) do anything you like save claim them as having been written by someone else. There is a little CC icon at the bottom of this post, the loosest one I could find. I give them to you.

• To that end, I make this promise: I will not anthologize these stories without permission from this     community. Should any of them spark a novel, I will seek your permission before going forward with a book, and document the writing of that book in locked entries here, as well as including subscribers in the acknowledgments. The fate of these stories, as the fate of any stories I sell in the marketplace, belongs to those who bought them, in this case, you. Should this project ever end, I  will wait a full year before making those decisions myself once more, as per any industry contract. This might seem like a silly position to take, but I feel strongly about it.

• Please do feel free to post icons with text or images I have made, as well as photos of your scrapbooks/boxes/however you store the stories! I don't know about anyone else, but I want to see them! I should probably figure out an Omikuji icon for myself...if anyone wants to make me one, I'll use it as the default on this community!

• The May story is called A Hole to China. I'll be in Jamaica for the last week of the month, so I am going to try to get them all ready to send out before I leave on the 24th. Which means that the June letter will be written in the Caribbean!

• In the future, by subscribing, you may and are encouraged to suggest subjects for stories, to request things and bits and themes and retellings and such. Please do not be shy about doing so! Leave them in the comments here or email me personally.

• I do not have a color printer, so the art will be sadly monochrome. However, if you are curious, I will be posting the original colored version, if such a one exists. This month's is here.

• Do you guys want a Yahoo group or other community stuff? Leave requests as far as the meta-Omikuji world in the comments.

Q & A in the comments! (Feel free to ask about the story too if you have curiosities)

Finally, some fun statistics:

• More of you live in the Seattle area than in any other city. That's neat--I was born there. Boston is a close second. If you kids want to have a kaffeeklatsch, I will be happy to share contact information, but again, only by your command. (LOL!Cylon!)
• There are currently 119 of you, 103 mailings, and 16 emails. We oughta have a con.
  
• 9 of you live outside America, 2 in Canada and 7 in Europe.
  
• 16 of you are men, 103 are women.
• Three of you live in Apartment 103.

The Omikuji Project by Catherynne M. Valente is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Let me be perfect.

Wait, let me back up.

Going to the cons, one has a tendency to meet a lot of authors. To be entirely honest, at any given time, I would say I've read less than half of the authors I've met; probably far less. Such was the case of Catherynne Valente when I met her at this year's ConFusion. What I met was a really bright, funny, poetic chick whose work I added to my mental "must read" list. Of course, the book that I was interested in starting with wasn't to be found in the Dealer's Room, then I forgot that I wanted it and got wrapped up in reading other things, and...

...I digress...

So about a month ago, she offered up the idea of selling limited runs of original stories, art, and such on a subscription basis as a method of securing some income between novels. It was batted back and forth across the Internet between fans and artist until, a few weeks later, The Omikuji Project was birthed. A few days ago the first offering arrived in my mailbox; a small yet-deceivingly heavy bundle of cream, thick-stock paper with a crimson wax seal.

As beautiful as the presentation is, the story it contains is even more heartbreakingly so. Catherynne does with words what an expert fencer does to his or her opponent with a foil; drawing you in, dragging each bit out a bit further, leaving an irresistible trail to follow before--without warning--pouncing on you and stabbing you repeatedly with note-perfect verbiage.

Ouch! That metaphor makes me wince.