weekend update
Tried the BK Veggie today. Not bad. Veggie burgers are better flame-broiled. I always get my sandwiches without mayo, so this is about as guilt-free as fast food can get.

My job is still exhausting. Less than a month into the semester and I'm already exhausted. I think about sleep a lot. I think about an MLIS a lot more.

I've begun a nice Christmas present scarf. And restarted it twice. Stuck on "knitting and purling through the back loop." I feel this shouldn't be difficult to grasp, but I'm at a loss. I shouldn't be all that surprised, as purling is still an uneasy task at best. The people I work with only crochet, and Stitchguide doesn't mention these maneuvers. Ack!

Struggling to decide if the fact that certain members of what I once considered my real-life inner circle have completely ignored my marriage should upset me or not. I'm talking about complete lack of acknowledgement - nary a one-line email. We did opt for a low key affair, in accord with our own needs and wishes. Some folks tell me not wanting to share our day with dozens or hundreds of people was selfish and upsetting and offensive. So maybe the lack is fitting. I don't know.

My hair is getting frizzier, even though I'm using the same products (with the recommended "clarifying breaks") and Sacramento is a desert right now. I may just have to break down and score some Ouidad (which fellow curly girl Ellen adores).

Thanks to a trade at Nervousness, I've now got that vintage Viewmaster. Just need to get my hands on some retro reels.

I'm missing my sister. I wish we could walk over to the party store, buy ice cream novelties, eat them in the park, and not care how ridiculously silly we were being, snorting Drumsticks over twenty-year-old inside jokes.
8/31/2002 05:33:29 PM  



we all went to see Slaughter that year, too
I have nothing interesting to say today. Here's something to amuse you in the meantime (warning: very large - because I'm too damned lazy to open up Photoshop, and finger gesture - to offend the easily offensible).
8/28/2002 06:15:28 PM  



Mulder replacement therapy
I don't know about you, but when I've worked a full, grueling week, the last thing I want to do is go out on a Friday. Put on sweats and eat vegetarian pizza, tops.

But this fall, maybe staying at home needn't be completely lackluster, thanks to two new shows on Fox. September 20th. Likey.
8/27/2002 05:18:40 PM  



finally legal
On Saturday morning, we decided to go downtown and poke around the Main Library. Impressive building, if not necessarily the collections. And I got a library card, finally. I have no idea how long I'll be on the hold list, but I've already reserved some Nigella. We'll see.

Here's the Tsakopoulos Galleria, which the library rents out for income. Very snazzy.
8/27/2002 08:39:36 AM  



literally
The little hellions upstairs just jumped on the floor with such force that both the blinds and my monitor shook.

Why, WHY would they place a family of four in an upstairs apartment, above people with no children?

Why?
8/26/2002 05:09:01 PM  



hee!
Rice Krispie Treat pizza!
8/25/2002 05:17:45 PM  



spoiled
We went to Petsmart yesterday, to buy the two backbreakers - Tidy Cat Crystal Blend and Science Diet Hairball Light. And it was puppy obedience training day! Not to mention kitty adoption day. Fun.

Picked up a new gadget for the brats - a Petmate Fresh Flow Fountain. Wonderful - hardly makes a sound, and the kitties love drinking from it, because the water is in constant motion and the filter probably makes it taste ten times better. Elmo and
Elli seem especially enamoured.
8/25/2002 09:09:33 AM  

I *could* talk about books for once...

What was your favorite book series as a kid? The Boxcar Children Little House Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Wrinkle in Time Ramona/Beezus/Henry Anne of Green Gables Black Stallion The Borrowers Little Women Something I forgot (comment & remind me)

Current Results

8/23/2002 01:16:26 PM  



day in pictures
Taken with the toy Argus, excuse the quality:

Mouse set free behind the school, after spending a night in my live-trap "jail"

Sad and lonely library
8/22/2002 08:56:50 PM  



on restrooms and minions of the devil
I'm taking my water consumption far more seriously this semester, in the form of a 1.5 liter Aquafina bottle. That's 6 8 oz servings. Rule is, I fill it up with filtered tap water every morning, and lug it around with me until it's empty.

Paired with the nearly complete removal of dairy from my diet, it seems like it's already kicking my chronic sinus problems. And I'm sure UTIs are a thing of the past.

I was dense enough to leave the plastic cap out on the counter overnight. And if there's one thing Elli loves more than shedding all over my clean kitchen counters (discipline is a lost cause), it's running off with small bits and hiding them. Evil, evil brat.
8/22/2002 08:54:57 AM  



note to self:
Don't read Metafilter before West Coast delayed broadcasts anymore.

Thanks a freakin' lot.
8/21/2002 08:51:10 PM  



only two months 'til Harry Potter, and three 'til LotR
Saw "Signs" this weekend. I'm vacillating.

No, I'm not. I... just didn't like it much. The critics seem to love it, so there's role reversal. I guess that's got me confused.

I wanted to love this movie. Looked forward to it since first glimpse. Mr. Shyamalan was to be my new Film Hero, what with my adoration of the magically Brucelicious "Sixth Sense" and (yes) "Unbreakable." And ooh. Crop circles! Melancholy Mel goes all X-Files up in it?

But... sigh. It felt more like a very special two-hour "Touched by an Angel." With a couple aliens thrown in for the kiddies.

Fatally flawed? Let me count the ways:

1. Another Culkin. Egads.
2. M. Night was far from a natural self-addition.
3. Subtlety? Sweet smoking Jimmy Swaggart! None here!
4. Haven't I seen all these cliches - oopsies, I meant characters - in other movies?
5. "Hmm. Let's go invade a planet, two-thirds of which is comprised of a chemical compound that melts our flesh. Oooh - and, just for funsies - let's do it hand-to-hand! Whaddya say?"

It did have its suspenseful moments, as promised. I jumped at least twice. Certainly no fault to be found with the on-screen talent or filmography.

Maybe I'm just getting picky in my old age.
8/21/2002 09:37:31 AM  



Q: what's icky?
A: When you get married, and then, three weeks later, you get junk mail addressed to the deadbeat ex-live-in-boyfriend you kicked out seven years ago.
8/19/2002 08:11:01 PM  



three cheers for the lowest bidder
Eight buildings, in various stages of completion, stand naked and dusty to the east. Most of the windows and doors have been boarded up, but the skylights in the library have not, and there's worry about an early autumn rain destroying the exposed interior.

The contractor went bankrupt.
8/19/2002 03:21:10 PM  



or not
Well, no MT yet. I was far too cranky and impatient (for reasons TMI) this weekend to perform delicate surgery on my firstborn.

Soon...
8/19/2002 09:21:41 AM  



yipee!
I'm absolutely giddy to announce that I'll be switching to MT over the weekend. So if I'm gone for a bit, you can guess why.

But not right now. Right now, we're going out.
8/17/2002 10:14:54 AM  



good grief!
Tomorrow is the public opening of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa.
8/16/2002 06:39:50 AM  



now, class
I tossed together a cheesy little game to get students into the library and going through a bit of easy research. They get bribes (uh, I mean prizes) for doing it correctly.

In the real-life version, I've posted the word "welcome" in thirteen different languages, all numbered, at various spots around the room. They get a sheet with numbered blanks, in which they must record the corresponding welcome. Then they match the welcomes to the right language.

See how many you can get (without the benefit of looking 'em up, cheater!). If you put any thought at all into it, you'll probably get most of them. And then won't you feel smart?
8/15/2002 04:18:29 PM  



"here in beautiful [cough, wheeze, hack] Sacramento"
Not good when you can see your air.
8/14/2002 08:50:43 PM  



sew pas
After work yesterday, I stopped at JoAnn's to get some decorative wide ribbon to sew over the aforementioned skirt rip. It's along a seam, so, don't worry - I think it may look quite snazzy in the end. And if you know that the tear is on the back of the skirt, you'll get that horrible unintentional pun.

So, after about twenty minutes of hard deliberation (I had a clear picture of what I wanted in my mind, but couldn't even come close, and decorated ribbon is pricey, so no mistakes allowed), I ended up with two worthy rolls. I hunted down a very precisely matching shade of navy thread, got my precious two yards cut, and headed to the cash register.

"Hello, there! Oooh! What are you making?"

"Actually, I'm fixing something. A skirt. Had a little accident that I need to creatively cover up. Haha."

"Oh, ha, I know what you mean!" while the strange look on her face seemed to indicate otherwise.

It wasn't until after I paid and was halfway to the car that it occurred to me that the poor woman just might not have thought I was talking about a tear.
8/14/2002 04:20:19 PM  



fun with alcohol
Cocktail monkeys! and squids!!!
8/14/2002 05:18:13 AM  



real
I've started reading Tolkien again, after nearly ten years' absence. Finding it much more engaging this time 'round.

Though I can't say I enjoy having nightmares about Dark Riders...
8/13/2002 12:58:41 PM  



...and
Penny postcards from Milwaukee County. Just to feed my own nostalgia.
8/13/2002 06:26:45 AM  



maximum recycling
I was going to post this article when it was published, but I wasn't all here.
8/13/2002 06:23:01 AM  



happiness is...
...driving down the road on a Monday morning, to find that yet another four-way stop has been removed in your favor.
8/12/2002 11:39:17 AM  



Reno-rific
The pics are up!

We were still trying to get a grip on our new camera, which isn't just a PAS (like our old POS). Lots of tricky bells and whistles. So, if there's a next time, there'll be night light shots.
8/11/2002 12:28:03 PM  



week in review
Less than a week into my class, and already I'm falling into the old habit of procrastinating on every assignment. At least I'm ahead on the reading. The student body is far too large to be effective (about 150?), but what more should you expect for free?

And work has been... work. But happily, my "Avoid Ulcers - Ignore!" campaign has been moderately successful so far. Except for the mice and ants. They're everywhere. It's gross. Forget West Nile, I'll be contracting Hanta any day now.
8/10/2002 10:39:27 AM  



re: previously
League number: 770
Password: blog
8/8/2002 03:30:13 PM  



"okay to go... okay to go..."
Comments are back. So work 'em - I miss you all. Oh, and your line breaks are converted now, thanks to Darin. Whee!

This is as far as I'm going to get until the weekend, I think. School starts tomorrow, so I'll be a bit preoccupied with that.

Here's something to chew on 'til then. Would you be interested in forming a Fantasy Film League little league with me? Read the skinny here. I'm already in a league (David Lawrence and the "Online Tonight" crew from cnet radio), but of course I don't know anyone in it. The new round doesn't start up until October, but that'll give you plenty of time to develop your cast. It's free to play, and I think it'll be an exciting year.

Here's my Fantasy Film, as an example (on which I spent every dollar of my 70 mil budget):

"Girl, Bankrupted"
Director:
Chris Columbus
Cast:
Keanu Reeves
Johnny Depp
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Jason Biggs
Jennifer Lopez
Liv Tyler

Not my favorites, necessarily (excepting the delicious Mr. Depp), but that's not how you win ;-)
8/7/2002 07:08:46 PM  



lookee!
Well, I'm back! Sort of. Still have a couple of kinks to work out here and there (comments don't work, the visiblog is in the shop and needs to be updated with Reno stuff, anyhow), a few things that are absent but shouldn't be. But I missed tossing myself out into the ether, so I guess 75% is better than naught.

The oh-so-exciting conclusion should happen today...
8/7/2002 08:58:16 AM  


feeling a bit today