Ghoulish Observers

Lovely afternoon/evening with goddessgoddess, T., and S. (who turned out to be a cute longhaired fellow in a fetching paisley skirt). We went to Clay Pit for lunch (dodging all the burnt orange turnout on our way downtown); it turned out they have a lunch buffet on Saturdays as well as during the week. That turned out pretty well, they had saag paneer, lamb korma, and vegetable pakora. Stuffed!

After that goddessgoddess made her desire for warbat known, so we went to Sarah's. They're always fun to browse; T. got some rose syrup, goddessgoddess got eight warbat, and I caved and got a packet of honeydew shisha and a little vanilla sugar (which was really cheap!). The lady behind the counter was once more super friendly and chatty, joking about how I got goddessgoddess addicted to warbat and how I should eat more. If I hadn't been so massively stuffed I might have snagged a falafel or two, they're so good there!

Went back to T.'s for lazy-afternooning. There was checking of emails, Facebook, and the like, and it was learned that I cannot use a nipple mouse. There was sharing of warbat. There was cozy napping and the watching of TV, some current shows I didn't recognize, and the first three episodes of Coupling; I had forgotten how deeply I love that show. And how awesome Susan was in the beginning before she got all domesticated.

Eventually dinnertime rolled around. Dinner was chosen with remarkable ease, and we went to a Thai place. I had a Thai iced coffee, which I haven't had in years. S. had one too.Tasty, tasty drinks, those. My entree was a pork and noodle dish, peppery without being actually spicy, that I ate maybe a third of. Yay leftovers! There was also a dessert of some sort that I tried a bite of. Very sweet and sticky. After, Planet K was investigated, and another pipe shop, with discussion of further explorations, but I realized that I was dead on my feet and regretfully said my goodnights.

So now I am doing my night-time catching up, getting loved on by Molly, and discussing the awesomeness that is Discworld with waywardoctagon before collapsing into sleep. With a very full belly.

Little baby A'Tuins, you guys!

I just finished Unseen Academicals. I love Pepe so very hard.

I have lunch plans with goddessgoddess, T., and their friend S. This is probably a good thing, as my food intake the past few days has consisted of a can of not at all good soup. A meal I can chew would be nice.

Am wearing The Bra That Fits. At present there is only one. I have taken steps to remedy this. It is a front-hook. It kind of has to be. There are eight rows of hooks. Also wearing The Jeans That Fit, courtesy of hcolleen, and a not bad tshirt courtesy of some thrift shop somewhere. Smelly of the day as yet to be decided. I'm thinking Hungry Ghost Moon.

Thankfully I am not tempted by BPAL's Naughty or Nice Inquisition. There are a few scents that sound nice but most don't appeal.

It's rainy and I'm stiff and kind of queasy. more sleep is called for.

Everyone needs to know how much I love The Man from UNCLE. This is one of my favorite episodes, and not just because it's got William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, pre-Trek, playing off each other and the main cast MAGICALLY.

Also, Illya, I love you. I love you so much.

(In more real-life news: I saw KISS on Sunday, and went to a car show twice last week, and dropped my laptop on the floor. ;_; But it was saved by science. NaNoWriMo has been, well, an interesting experience so far. I start work in a little under two weeks. That's more or less it.)

Thanks to doombuggie's indispensable and much appreciated aid yesterday, I was able to get the paperwork I needed. Bright and early this AM I took my quivering self to the office, where the manager made copies of everything to take to the caseworker (she said she was going in this afternoon) and put a "recieved" stamp on all of the originals.

Nothing I can do now until December 18th. My hands continue to shake.

The cats have been doing their job, though. Last night there was some contention between Anya and Molly as to who would curl up on my chest. Being Boss Cat, Molly won of course, and Anya snuggled up at my side.

...


The bad part of being depressed - for me, that is - is that when those words - 'I'm so depressed !' - are in my mind, I actually hear them in my head as they are said by Marvin - voiced by Alan Rickman --- which makes me burst out into giggles. There is something hugely wrong with this scenario ...

...

( More whining )

So apparently some people are in an uproar over President Obama bowing to Emperor Akihito of Japan. Even Miss Manners oh-so-smugly weighs in (not that she's usually relevant to today's world). I fail to see the grave offense; first of all, it is Japan. Everyone bows. Yes, the President isn't just anyone, but it's roughly equivalent to a handshake, and I for one feel that he shouldn't be below him to put forth polite gestures such as it. Second of all, he is the Emperor. Give me a break. Would such uproar take place were Obama to genuflect before the pope?

If one wants to criticise him, I suppose one could correct his form, which was rather awkward. But the simpering about how it either shows weakness or is just Not Done smacks of cultural imperialism, lingering insecurity, and stereotypical US-American arrogance.

Same friend, different (no)context.

V says: Okay, there's now NO EXCUSE for you not to buy AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!. Steam has it on a 50% off special right now! Only $7.50!
Mel says: Has what?
V says: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!
V says: 's a game.
V says: Yes, that's really its name. We throw you off a building and you get points for it.
Mel says: What's its name again?
V says: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!!
Mel says: I'm impressed. Either you c/ped that name, or you're a damn good typer
V says: Damn good typoer.
Mel says: ....
V says: ... well that's an ironic typo.

FUCKING HACA>

Fucking bureaucracy. Fucking paperwork.

( Palin Onstage, Still Moving Off Message )

On the tube today I was standing between seats, reading a book, minding my own business when the gentleman sitting in front of me looked up. The following exchange occurred:

Him: Would you like to sit?
Me: No thank you, I’m getting of at the next one so I’m fine.
Him: Sorry, I didn’t realise earlier.
Me: ….

He thought I was pregnant. I know my posture is a bit crap when I’m standing on the tube so my gut kinda gets pushed out a bit, but I’m starting to consider getting a t-shirt that says “Not pregnant – just snacks too much.”

Mirrored from This Space Blank Comment here or there.

Sorry about the radio silence, guys. Stressed all to hell. Sleeping whenever I can. Have had to be awake today. Feel like 'm going to be sick. Big, stressy meeting tomorrow. This is not good.

My brain won't cooperate and concentrate on work or writing, so in lieu of anything meaningful here's an out of context IM quote from one of my friends.

"I still had my underwear on, and by extension, my dignity."

A police trainer who was sacked for believing that officers should use psychics to solve crimes is going to court to prove he was the victim of religious discrimination.

In the USA, there is a ban that was enacted this year on the production by companies, import, or sale of flavoured cigarettes. This includes components for rolling one's own, as well: filters, rolling papers, and tobacco meant for use in roll-your-own cigarettes. However, this does not appear to apply to loose pipe tobacco which is sold as such. What else can pipe tobacco be used for? One guess.

Supposedly, the aim is to prevent teenagers from smoking. Oddly, I've never met anyone who started up on flavoured cigarettes that weren't menthol - which isn't banned. Whether or not it's particularly effective is up for debate; at least, I've yet to find an actual citation for surveys indicating that teenagers begin to smoke on flavoured cigarettes. Unless by flavour they do mean menthol, which is popular, perhaps for its numbing effect.

This doesn't effect the legality of hookah shisha, either. Hookah being wildly popular among college students and younger people in general (and carding being ridiculously lax at any hookah bar I've ever visited, in and out of Chicago, although those could be exceptions), I wonder when it will it will be the next target?

The prohibition feels somewhat toothless, given the menthol exception, and the possibility of an individual's ability to still wiggle past the law (as far as I can tell, it's not illegal to make flavoured cigarettes for one's own use; there's nothing keeping individuals from making their own mixes, nor flavouring tobacco themselves). I'll be curious to see if it has any real effect on smoking among teenagers.

While the plural of anecdote is obviously not anecdata, I suspect from my experience that it won't. I'd like to see the numbers, a few years from now.

Here at last are my husband's pictures of possible wedding locations.

We're sending brochures and stuff to daughter #2, aka the Glow-in-the-Dark kid so that she and her fiance can start making some decisions. More as it unfolds.

I really should create a wedding icon...

Google Reader picks of the past week or so (a probably non-reoccurring feature; I just have a large build-up of starred articles, right now):

- Via Sex Crimes: Is Carrie Prejean A Sex Offender?
Part of me feels this shouldn't be in the public eye quite so much. This is an interesting discussion, however.
- Via Sociological Images: The Klondike Bar: Now For Dudes Only
Obvious sexism aside, why on Earth would an advertising campaign limit its aims like this?
- Via The Die Line: Before and After: Royalty [perfume]
I do enjoy packaging and advertising, though. This is very stylish.
- Via Japan Probe: Has international media coverage of Hawker murder peddled an ugly strand of uninformed stereotyping?
Answer: I'm rather inclined towards yes, in this case; also, don't read the comments.
- Via Jezebel: Are Gay Stereotypes Keeping us From Making Progress?
Answer: Umn... Obviously.
- Via Feministe: Chris Surette: Worst Person in the World? [possible triggers]
Even our paper isn't this bad.
- Via Jezebel: Rapists Admit Repeated Crimes [possible triggers]
My skin crawls.
- Via Picture is Unrelated: Rubber Ducky Overload
I want it.
- Via Sociological Images: Facebook Needs to Know
No it doesn't.

Wall Street Makes It Hard to Earn Legal Living: Alice Schroeder