| (no subject) |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|10:02 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  busy | ] |
And here we are again! Back at school, back at work, and with the in-laws gone, the house feels very, very quiet. We got a huge amount of work done on the place over break, including finally finishing painting the trim in our bedroom, as well as the wall in the stairwell. We did the powder room tiling when FIL was here to help and MIL was able to keep Jenny busy; the only thing left there is to put new quarter-round back on, get a better-matching air vent grate, and do some paint touch-ups. Whee! The pantry cupboard for the kitchen will be delivered on the 14th, and then the only thing left *there* will be to have Doug come in and do the cabinet for the dishwasher that dad installed when he was up in November.
The sewing room's coming along - we have a new fixture up in there, though the room itself is still beams and concrete. At least it's not just a bare bulb hanging there and looking grim anymore.
There are still a pile of things we want/need to do, the next big one of which will be adding serious insulation to the attic, but so far, so good. For those who have done the insulation thing - we've looked at both batts and blown; which one is *actually* easier for total newbs to deal with? The setup for blown looks excruciating, including renting the machine and a truck to drive it around, but batts you have to place and cut rather than just sticking a hose up in and letting her rip. Either way, the attic is small, claustrophobic and nasty. Bleah.
I've got two classes this semester, and then that's it for undergrad catch-up stuff before moving into the MA proper. One's a lower-level overview class on Tudor & Stuart history for which I have some upgraded papers and an extra book review to do, and the other's an upper-level seminar on political history in the early Stuart period. I anticipate a lot of fun reading for both (a lot of which I've already done), and some interesting paper topics to chew around. Onward! |
|
|
| Happy birthday to me! |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|12:26 am] |
It's my birthday!
24 HOURS OF ALL ABOUT ME!
Too bad I'm working night shift, eh?
Still, I have my computer, and a cool night shift partner who's willing to turn down the lights (fluorescent lights = ick!bad!bright!), and things are pretty quiet on the Eastern Front.
So. |
|
|
| Draconian |
[Jan. 4th, 2010|11:04 pm] |
I need a coffee icon.
Tim Horton's has imposed DRACONIAN new measures when ordering food. Now they give me a little slip of paper whenever I order anything more than a coffee, and I have to wait at the counter for my food. If I fail to provide my slip of paper, they DENY ME MY SANDWICH.
It's a BLT, PEOPLE! Not a freaking Fabergé Egg!
As I understand it, this is a new countermeasure against a rash of BLT-related larceny at the local Tim Horton's.
I haven't been to any other Timmy's lately, so I have no anecdotal data against which to compare my own experience, and thus no way of knowing if it's a city-wide sandwich-theft spree, or if it's specific to my local hole-in-the-ground Tim Horton's located at Atwater Metro.
It's a little vexing. Not terribly so, but a little.
On the plus side, one of the other shops nearby has started selling Bubble Tea. Score! |
|
|
| I, Cthulhu |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|05:14 pm] |
Free Neil Gaiman story!
"I was spawned uncounted aeons ago, in the dark mists of Khhaa’yngnaiih (no, of course I don’t know how to spell it. Write it as it sounds), of nameless nightmare parents, under a gibbous moon. It wasn’t the moon of this planet, of course, it was a real moon. On some nights it filled over half the sky and as it rose you could watch the crimson blood drip and trickle down its bloated face, staining it red, until at its height it bathed the swamps and towers in a gory dead red light.
Those were the days." |
|
|
| Thank you, TMBG |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|05:04 pm] |
Arthur: "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas, in the olden days. But now it's My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nothing. Cause Pluto lost its status. Now it's just a dog." |
|
|
| Snow! And other stuff. |
[Jan. 3rd, 2010|03:48 pm] |
It's snowing out. Again.
I have been sitting on my sofa all day with George curled up next to me. Every so often he rolls over and demands that I rub his belly.
I'm re-watching "Supernatural," because I am just that obsessed. It's still making me giggle and cringe and worry about the characters. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of shows that have been able to do that for me a second time around ("The Pretender" is one of them, for the record).
In short: snowy day, purring cats, good TV.
Yeah, life is rough.
( S.A.D. stuff behind the cut. The short version is: Phnee is taking St. John's Wort and things are better. )
So, yeah. Doing better. It's not exactly unicorns pissing rainbows and butterflies, but it's better.
Maybe later on I'll get around to posting the usual memes I do around this time of year, start making plans, which is what I always do around my birthday.
Good times.
Happy trails, all! |
|
|
| *giggles madly* |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|03:53 pm] |
This cracks me up every time I see it.
The video has embedding disabled, so CLICKY!
For the record, it's Jensen Ackles lip-synching "Eye of the Tiger," and generally hamming it up for the camera.
I know. I'm doomed. |
|
|
| I can haz music? |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|12:44 pm] |
My birthday gift this year was an IOU for a guitar, the shopping trip put off until my FIL, an awesome amateur musician, would be up to help us choose one. So we braved the *nasty* weather today in order to head out shopping. First stop was the Rogers store for Rich's gift, to upgrade him to a BB Bold (whee!), and then to the Folklore Centre to buy a guitar + accoutrements for me.
End result - a Baby Jumbo guitar, a leather strap, an electronic tuner + gig bag, and a handful of picks. I played very briefly in high school before retreating back to the trombone, and this is something I've been wanting to do for years but could never justify the expense for something that was just selfish and for me as opposed to for the household or for work.
I guess I kind of have to practice now, hunh? ;)
Post from mobile portal m.livejournal.com |
|
|
| New leaves and all that |
[Jan. 2nd, 2010|09:24 am] |
It's the New Year, and now it's time for me to valiantly try to clamber out from under this rock where I've been hiding since November. Enough is enough.
My mother needs surgery for glaucoma. Not the non-invasive procedure she had done two years ago, but the honest-to-God, cringe-inducing slice-open-the-eye-and-drain-out-fluid kind of surgery. The scary kind that can lead to complications like blindness (which defeats the purpose of the surgery anyway).
To say she is unthrilled would be an understatement.
She is dealing with it true to form. She actually negotiated with the ophthalmologist when he told her she needed surgery rightthehellnow.
"My good man, that is decidedly inconvenient! I shall certainly do no such thing."
*headdesk*
Typical. She might be going blind, but she insists on having it done in the summer *after* she and my father get back from Europe.
She has valid reasons for it, actually. My mother is not good with winter, and having to drag herself, half-blind, every single week to the Jewish General Hospital for three months of aftercare, is no one's idea of fun when the roads are covered in snow and ice.
And no one had better stand between my mother and her trip to Europe. She is not a tiny, ferocious Romanian lady for nothing. :P
It's things like this that make me want to laugh and throttle her and leave me a little in awe. They don't make 'em like her anymore. |
|
|
| I'm reasonably pleased with this! |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|01:45 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | art, larp, photo | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  artistic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Lordi - Deadite Girls Gone Wild | ] |
... Considering I only started building it this morning! :D
Although I guess I did technically start by cooking the goose on Tuesday...! |
|
|
| Hurley's Night on Wednesday! |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|12:29 pm] |
Okay, folks. It's my birthday this Tuesday, but since I have to work (boo) I am postponing my birthday by one day.
This is an open invite. Anyone who wants to show up and have a drink at Hurley's is welcome. Bring friends! |
|
|
| Happy New Year! |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|12:01 am] |
Happy New Year everyone!
*throws confetti* |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|12:58 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  peaceful | ] |
The in-laws are in town, and so far (two days down, four to go) all is going swimmingly! Spent NYE drinking sherry and playing Settlers of Catan, with a brief break for sparkling wine and the countdown. May 2010 be a much better year for all concerned, and 2009 can eat my dust.
Resolutions this year, as always: Connect more. Write more. Listen more. Be more present in my own life. Shoot down the recurring free-floating anxiety ball with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher.
Bed calls. Peace out, y'all. |
|
|
| For the Record! |
[Dec. 30th, 2009|09:07 am] |
Made it to Montreal after only an hour delay leaving Houston. Hooray! had an amazingly wonderfully delicious dinner, and opened presents last night. Good times abound :) |
|
|
| to do |
[Dec. 28th, 2009|09:21 am] |
laundry
--clothes for trip
--sheets for return
pack
-clothes (technically laundry is still finishing, then I will finish packing -_-)
--winter clothes
--boots
--regular clothes
--underwear!
-presents
--hazel
---extra bits for stuff
--ian
--stockings bits
-toiletries - bagged together, but not actually in suotcase until tomorrow
-game stuff
--costuming
---veil and ears
---robe
---ball clothes
---makeup
---accessories (mask, jewelery)
-electronics?
chal's robe
mask
article
Pepe
-call Will
tidy |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|10:45 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  relaxed | ] |
The tradition of the Christmas Bond-a-thon continues; we finally caught up on Die Another Day and Quantum of Solace. Despite how much I adored Casino Royale, DAD was infinitely superior to QoS. The jokes were hackneyed, the twists predictable, and Halle Berry was hot but as tone deaf as always, but DAD was a BOND movie, dammit.
When I watch Bond, I want the formula. I want M, Q and Moneypenny, some form of ridiculous gadget, dramatic moments lightened by innuendo and bad puns, and action sequences that I don't need to be high or over-caffinated just to follow. Oh, and the dramatic ending foreshadowing needs to be FORE-shadowing, not NOW-shadowing.
Villain: "oh, the base is built out of highly unstable fuel cells."
Bond: [BOOM]
Audience: "Fuck you."
If I want to watch the Bourne movies in all their action-sequence confuse-o-vision, I'll watch Matt Damon, not Daniel Craig.
Between that and trying to figure out the %$^ facebook interface, I think I've officially hit curmudgeon status. Damn kids; get offa my lawn. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|03:32 pm] |
Merry Christmas, etc. to all... Hope you're all having a great holiday. :)
Just as a reminder, if anyone (if you are reading this, that includes you!) is looking for something to do on New Year's Eve, you are more than welcome to come by ours - just let me know if you need the address - anytime from 6. :) |
|
|
| Christmas! |
[Dec. 25th, 2009|12:30 pm] |
Merry Christmas to all my friends to celebrate it!
And all the happiness of the seasons to all my friends who celebrate something else this time of year. :)
If you don't celebrate at all, well, umm... I got nothin'. Have a great day anyway! ;)
I had a nice, quiet, tranquil Christmas with my parents. Good times. |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
blackbuffet's Friends Page
happy
perplexed
okay
amused
content
busy
concerned
good
excited