| Underslept and home from amok |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|10:10 pm] |
Spend the last several days in Boston visiting little sis for her birthday. Had a lot of fun, incluing:
- buying books and perusing furniture
- (almost) pink shirt night and the awesome fries in cougarville
- Two bars, one for hobos
- Watching the British Office, and Arrested Development on a disabled DVD player
- driving and insanely nice weather
- planning stuff for yard enhancement and making soap
However, as I am severely underslept I have to go to bed now. I hung in there and pulled a double session for NaNo, so I'm up just over 8k words. Still a coupla days behind, but if I can pull doubles the next couple days I'll get caught up. Fortunately my ancient iBook still rocks after the DIY repair, (go starFlake!) and gives me the best of both worlds; more comfortable seating that at my desk, but a better keyboard and bigger screen than the netbook. Not fully portable, but enough for me to get into my favorite chair.
Peace out |
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| And the excuses begin ... |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|09:59 pm] |
Things I did tonight INSTEAD of writing:
- made a big pot of soup
- exercised the hedge-pig
- repaired a rocking chair
- vegged out with Red
- rubbed dinner into my eyes and then complained when it hurt
- figured out how to move files onto and off the netbook
- practiced piano
Hopefully I can add "went to bed on time and got rested" to that list. But it's OK, I have time blocked out at the end of the week to take care of that. I hope. :\ |
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| Walking the long road |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|10:17 pm] |
So I started NaNoWriMo today, and managed to hit the first goal despite my best efforts to procrastinate. On the plus side, I was able to spend hours running throwing a dinner party and running around looking for bits to make a hedgie palace AND still get my words in. On the down side, this was Sunday so I probably should have done double quota to make up for an upcoming busy week. Also, I have written everything that was already in my head. Also, skipped piano. ALSO, on daylight savings mindfuck and two consecutive nights of staying up way too late, so who knows how tomorrow morning will go.
Also, WTF does Facebook always freak out with the "let's post an update" box? Does this on my phone randomly, and the netbook randomly, and my DT randomly. Wuz up wit dat? The world wants to hear the minutia of my life, they really do. When I can't spit it out in a pithy line there, I have to write a whole PARAGRPH here. T3h h0rr0rZ. |
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| Skills and the skilling skillers who skill them |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|09:37 pm] |
So, yesterday I got to express two completely different set of skills.
First, a random dude at work needed a tie but didn't know how to tie it, so I did it. While he was wearing it, which I understand is more difficult than doing it on yourself. I realized that, aside from a few random facebook people, that is all I retain from 12 years of Catholic school.
Then, I went home and disassembled the dryer. Several times, from several different angles until I found the one that let me at the burn-y bits. I then cleaned things, put it back together, and discovered that it still works. Better, it produces heat everytime, instead of only 5%. This must be the essence of manly humanity; exacting physical change on the world around you through the application of skills, tools, and brute force. |
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| Creepin up slowly |
[Oct. 26th, 2009|05:17 pm] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | ironically, "Creeping Up Slowly" | ] |
I was leaving Lowe's the other day (bastards didn't have any spray paint) and there was this woman standing in the middle of the parking lot, with her back to oncoming traffic, talking to her husband as he unloaded the car. I crept up slowly and stopped about a foot from her. Hubby straightens up and alerts her, and she turns around and doubletakes at how I magically appeared. Then laughs. Hubby waves, then facepalms. It's nice when people can have a sense of humour about being oblivious. |
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| whoosh |
[Oct. 20th, 2009|10:59 pm] |
Waaay too busy to put up everything that's going on. In short:
- still working on storming windows, the bedrooms are almost done and then on to the kitchen
- Materials have been acquired, a coldframe is in the works. Still no idea what I'll grow in it.
- Just had a birthday, for which I got a hedgehog. Supercute, cat-proof, just need to keep it warm and then build it a castle.
- rearranged the living room, now the piano needs tuned again but at least I'm practicing.
- cold much recently? |
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| Somebody is the MAYOR |
[Aug. 27th, 2009|08:47 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | house, life | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Brazillian Girls. Which are, in fact, neither. | ] |
... of Crazytown.
Ever have one of those days that was so crazy busy you just had to start laughing? And people started staring at you like you were psycho? Yeah ... I was sitting in a meeting and bouncing up and down from being so hyped up and ADD, but I hadn't even had any caffeine yet.
Work is in crazy busy mode. School starts Monday, some of the classrooms are flaming craters, and my to-do list is longer than the layover at Godot.
Finally met with the plumber today. It turns out that to fix the little leak in my basement, they're gonna need a wrench. And some pipe. And a BACKHOE, because the leak is actually in the ground somewhere and I need a whole new water service. That fun will commence probably next week.
Sis is moving to Boston this weekend. Saturday, in fact. What else is happening in Boston on Saturday? Featuring whom? Yeah, I realized that while driving to meet said plumber, and I said a Word. A bad Word. A very, very bad Word, in fact. At the top of my lungs. The freshmen moving in to the dorms looked at me funny. Oops.
To make it better, that shindig will be in the next neighborhood over. So if you see a clip on CNN of some dude getting pulled out of a UHaul by the Secret Service, that's me. I'm almost tempted to make a call and see what happens. "Hello, Secret Service? I'm trying to move my ... uh, stuff ... to Boston. Can you recommend a route that will provide the least hassle?" But no. That would be stupid. My hope is that the traffic from the morning funeral will be cleared out by the time we arrive in the evening.
THEN, after an hour of fruitlessly frantic driving around to make arrangements for Red's car, I got home, and got to re-attach my bumper. With epoxy. Here's hoping it'll be 80MPH epoxy ...
(or not, I got some on my arm. Oops ...) PS. Beer plus ayeem makes for a surprisingly good conversation with Dad ... |
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| A bit of gravity |
[Aug. 23rd, 2009|09:08 am] |
A monologue from one of the deleted scenes in Torchwood:
GWEN: You go to school. You go to work. You go to bed. You eat. You get kissed. You have sex. You fall in love or you don't. But it's work and bed and food and sleep, two weeks in Spain, and Christmas and birthdays and weekends, every single day until it stops. That's the world. That's the world I live in. That's all there is. |
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| Stimulus and relief |
[Aug. 21st, 2009|04:34 pm] |
So all kinds of people have been fussing about how the Cash for Clunkers was a bad idea, and how everybody would be using it to upgrade from one huge SUV to a slightly more efficient one. I did some searching and found the top 10 models of cars being bought under CARS:
Top 10 New Vehicles Purchased
Here is the data sent to us by the NHTSA on August 5, 2009 at 3:30 pm.
1. Toyota Corolla
2. Ford Focus FWD
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Prius
5. Toyota Camry
6. Hyundai Elantra
7. Ford Escape FWD
8. Dodge Caliber
9. Honda Fit
10. Chevrolet Cobalt
from: http://www.cashforclunkersfacts.com/20090805-top-10-cash-for-clunkers-models/
This looks like a lot of compacts and subcompacts to me; the only midsize is the Camry. The only thing SUV-like is the Escape, which is mostly a crossover, at worst a cute-ute. I will be fascinated to see what the final numbers come out to be ... |
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| Marathon week - the unhappy half |
[Aug. 10th, 2009|09:30 pm] |
So Tuesday night Auntie died. Spent the night making phone calls to get family in touch with family. Wednesday was driving Uncle around to make arrangements. Thursday family started arriving. Friday and Saturday alternated between keeping my house livable and attending the wake. (Did I mention that the one bedroom was under construction during this period, and therefore emptied into the other? Finding space was hard.) Sunday was the funeral. Lovely service, lovely lunch afterwards. The rain storm hit JUST at the burial as a kind of a crescendo, and then cleared for lunch and the drive back.
Today I had to go back to work and unbury. Also, empty out the house and try to regain sanity. It's an uphill struggle. Goal for the week ought to be to get the fiber room emptied back into the bedroom to make room for wedding guests. This weekend coming. Also, two weeks behind in piano practice. Grr.
Did I mention that between heat, and stress, and lack of sleep, that I am breaking out like a mofo? And that I'm getting all kinds of photographed this weekend coming? And that I hate cameras to start with?
Thought so. |
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| Unending marathon: the happy half |
[Aug. 6th, 2009|11:33 pm] |
The marathon starts last week. Let's say, Thursday?
Thursday was veg night. Made a spiffy dinner out of something. Worked on painting the bedroom. Freaked out a little about the coming business
Friday was Taco's bachelor party. It was lightly attended, but all who came had fun. Lots of good food, an open bar, and a bunch of cool people to play games with. When the restaurant kicked us out, we went back to my place to play Pit, the rollicking commodity trading game. (no, really). There was more open bar, and at some point I may or may not have misplaced my pants. The last person left at 5.
Saturday was "don't sleep in 'cause the cats need fed" day. Family brekky, then a wedding on Lake Ontario. (Congrats Megan!) The some exploration of the cute little park, which was just down the road from my Aunt's lake house that we used to spend summers at. Then a nerd-tastic reception, including a photo-guestbook, guitar hero, and the tastiest wedding cake ever. Topped with bride-and-groom Mudkips.
Sunday was a spiffy brunch with family, including really tasty blueberry pancakes. So tasty that no syrup was even wanted, let alone needed. Then the start of the bad half, then another spiffy group for dinner. I was gonna make Lion's Head, but instead we did hot dogs. And salad, and chickpeas aubergine. mmm.
Monday was "I'm supposed to go to work but I haven't started painting the bedroom yet so I'll stay home and paint day".
And that was the fun part of my marathon week. I'll post the unfun part once I get some sleep. |
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| Three stickers, one message |
[Jul. 27th, 2009|06:52 pm] |
"Fix Or Repair Daily"
"Friends don't let friends drive Ford"
"This vehicle is a 2002 Ford Turd" All three bumpers stickers seen on the back of the same Ford Explorer. Something tells me the owner was not happy with his purchase. Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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| Transformed. Maybe. |
[Jul. 22nd, 2009|10:16 pm] |
Just got out of the new Transformers movie. The explosions were pretty, and most of the actors weren't bad either. But the dialog was crap, the plot was terrible, there were things happening that made absolutely no sense, and characters kept spouting these awful cheesy voiceovers. Also, the very cool fight scenes moved a little too fast for me to follow everything. Soundtrack was good, and I only caught the cgi when they were stomping humans; never when the robots were involved. Oh, and jar jar was there, in chris-Tucker-annoying twins of some low end Aveo clone. Fucking JarJar. Overall, it's eye candy. Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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| grinding through |
[Jul. 21st, 2009|09:36 pm] |
The fiber room is SO. CLOSE. to almost being done. I need another pass at the trim in the closet, then I can put the hardware and shelves back in, and repack. Then I can paint the trim in the rest of the room. No luck on finding replacement floor yet, but I haven't been looking that hard either. With massive luck this weekend I can declare fiber done and empty the bedroom into it. Then start on the bedroom, which should be loads more easier. Crosses fingers.
Also grinding through, I am in the middle of Ahab's Wife or, The Stargazer. It is an enveloping book, very very dense, with hundreds of bitty chapters. I think they average about 4 pages each. It's dense, I'll say it again, in that you can read and read and only be a few pages on, but you felt like you've read for hours. In a good way. I would highly recommend it as summer reading, even before I finish it, because by the time I finish it the time for summer reading will be over.
Also, been spending way too much time playing Majora's Mask. I'm trying to get all the masks so I can unlock Fierce Deity Link. If I ever do cosplay again, that's what I'm going after. Maybe someone will come up with a Hot Adult Midna costume and join me in awesome obscurity.
Really, that's it. I lead a boring life. |
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| Wet happens |
[Jul. 18th, 2009|03:38 am] |
SOMEBODY had the brilliant idea to bike to work today. Not that the ride IN was bad, cool and easy as usual. It's just that the weather decided to rain this afternoon. It was raining, then clear for a bit, and stupid me decided to work late and finish some stuff rather than leave early. It was only misting as I left so I thought I'd be fine, but before I made it off campus the heavens opened up. Puddles grew, the curbs on the hills turned into rivers rather than pathways, and I continued to get pounded relentlessly from above. After the first mile there was not a square inch of me that wasn't soaked. I prefer to think of it more as bicycle assisted swimming than cycling. Strangely, after the first five minutes I attained a zen peace. It's amazing how happy you can be when you give up preconceptions of comfort. As I (now) say, wet happens. After that, dinner with the EEs and top gear, then feeding the lonely cat and hanging with the hench. And not hitting a skunk on a lonley back road. Important, that. Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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| Moon (and not the rhetorical one) |
[Jul. 11th, 2009|12:09 am] |
Just got home from seeing Moon. Great science fiction, manages to stay taut with only one real actor. In the age old tradition of "background technology, foreground technology that explores a social concept," this movie was set against a backdrop of helium3 mining, and examined whether clones are people too. The more I think of it, the worse the science was, but it was a great science fiction STORY. Also, you know your an adult when you invite a former teacher over and have a blast. And, homemade fudge is the bomb and not as scarey as one might think. As is Moroccan tea. Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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| Hugh crimes |
[Jul. 10th, 2009|08:15 am] |
I got to see the seamy side if Amherst yesterday; one pasty faced teenager buying cigarettes for a 12 year old. The scandal! Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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| I live in interesting times |
[Jun. 24th, 2009|09:15 pm] |
I feel surprisingly calm, considering the day I've had.
Got up with the birds at the ass crack of dawn. Some mixture of bright sunshine and insistently hungry cats makes sleeping in difficult. Did the morning thing, went to work.
While sorting through my morning email, noticed that my laptop wasn't sitting straight on the stand. Kept trying to find what had rolled under it when I noticed that the battery was swelling and ABOUT TO EXPLODE. Took that to get repaired; apparently the laptop warranty is 3 years but the battery warranty is only 1. Feh. Work has to buy me a battery.
Instead of chinese for lunch, the usual crew detoured to an unnamed restaurant for an upscale meal. Nearing the end, I stirred the remains of my lettuce and noticed a dead moth. Oops. The manager kept saying "I'm so sorry" over and over until I accepted her apology. Ended up with a free lunch, and a card for free dinner. All for NOT eating a bug.
Auntie is back in the hospital, slightly more serious this time.
Piano was a flop, largely because I didn't practice. And I can't read music. And my ring fingers are gimpy-weak. And I didn't practice.
Also, it's 80-thousand degrees in here, and with the pissy cat blocking the door I can't set up my magic air flow cooling system. AAND with the front windows getting redone later I'm not sure it's worth setting up the AC in the front of the house. Back to a hammock in the basement? I've never slept next to a table saw before ... |
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| Summer sundays |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|09:25 pm] |
I had to fetch the bees out again, but at least now the lawn is presentable and I was able to wash the worst of the leprechaun off my feet. On the plus side, I noticed that the strawberry bed was burgeoning, so now I have plenty of nummy berries to eat.
Spent yesterday at the Sonnenberg Estate, out in Canandaigua. It was like Casa Loma in Toronto, only 100 times more money. A 20 acre estate, all immaculately groomed and full of fun buildings. For example, the peacock house (for housing the peacocks, of course) is bigger than my garage. Must be nice ...
Saturday was supposed to be painting in the morning, but that got rained out. So instead I played with my table saw which, if i may say, is a terrifying piece of machinery. I can cut through wood and not tell when I'm done, because there is no discernible difference between "saw cutting nothing" and "saw cutting your wimpy ass board, try something beefer next time nancy-boy". Voof!
Other than that, putter and play. Go summer! |
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| The bees, man! |
[Jun. 12th, 2009|07:43 am] |
So, I really thought I posted this up already, it apparently not. LJ really needs to get with the program and become more iPhone friendly. All of my spare cycles are going into updating facebook
status! ( is it a bad sign when you start mentally narrating your days' activities in pithy quips?) So a while back I inherited an electric lawnmower from the friend of an aunt of a parent of a friend. I have used an electric lawnmower before, and it sounded more like a vacuum cleaner. Nothing like hoovering the lawn on a nice sunny day ... (don't laugh, there are people that actually do that.) This one, instead of using a spinning blade it uses two of those whipcord things that spin really fast. So instead of making a rushing (vaccing) noise it makes a high pitched drone. Twice. Hence, the angry bees. The solar charging roomba-mower is still on the list, but there are a few things I have to take care of before I can build that. So I have had to resign some of my hippy-aura, but the lawn gets cut (fairly) regularly and it looks better. With less cursing and sweating, and still no local burning of hydrocarbons. Posted via LiveJournal.app. |
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