Limbo

The definite highlight today was lunch with S and the Tiger - they had been riding cable cars, and were on their way to ride the ferry.

The rest of the day, I pretty much had to close my eyes and think of beedogs.
Stupid W.


Today's earrings: flowers, other flowers

Bedtime reading: Soon I Will Be Invincible, Austin Grossman

I blame W.

If the Lame Duck had signed one particular piece of paper any time last week, I would now be on schedule.

I'm not on schedule.

grrrr. arrrgh.


Today's earrings: ants, rocks

Bedtime reading: Soon I Will Be Invincible, Austin Grossman

Full morning

Today we took a look at the line to get into the California Academy of Science and went to the Conservatory instead. Then we went to Fort Point and enjoyed the fine array of didactic panels. And the view. It was clear enough to see not just the Bay Bridge but the Claremont Hotel, too.

We had pizza for lunch and cupcakes for dessert, and then some went to see a scale model of the Bay, and some peeled off.


Today's earrings: black frogs, alligators

Bedtime reading: Soon I Will Be Invincible, Austin Grossman

This "Holiday" thing is most excellent

M, K, and Tiger came to collect me this morning. The drive to M's was gorgeous - patchy clouds up high, but sea level was so clear we could see one bridge from the other. Sparkly.

After CC & AL arrived, we opened stockings while S fried bacon, and then eggs, and the bread pudding was served. In my stocking I got some candy bars, a Tiger magnet, yummy jam, an Edward Gorey double feature, and 2 (two!) coffee cozies. Santa knows what I like. Tiger got quite a lot of presents, mainly books and trucks, and also a spiky green indoor-throwable ball. He seemed pleased.

Then we cracked open the puzzle and I stared at it for the next six hours or so. While I was doing that, we inhaled cheese, played several rounds of Scrabble and backgammon, started writing a chapter book, ate a fudge dinosaur, and other (more energetic) people also made excursions Totland and later to the Little Farm. S built a fire. As the puzzle was still not finished, we dined in the living room. The entertainment highlight was a vignette entitled "Tiger in Space" that featured a demostration of the Robot Arm.

After dinner M pinned a dress for me, and AL & CC brought me home again, because they're sweet. I got home to a message from the Wandering Albatross, saying he's in VA... too late to call back. I finally opened my gift from b2: demi-glace de veau and a nice chardonay.

:)


Today's earrings: Pigs, citrine drops

Bedtime reading: Soon I Will Be Invincible, Austin Grossman

Anxiety, not seasonal

As most of you have heard, ad nauseam, I got to the bus stop this morning and realized that I didn't have my wallet. I went home and searched, and did not find it. There was panic. I spent the morning all worried, making lists of things I'd have to replace and errands I had planned to run this afternoon and now couldn't because my wallet was gone. My boss pointed out that I could get money from my accounts by the quaint stratagem of entering a bank branch with my checkbook and writing a check to "cash." That was most comforting, and had not occurred to me.

We were freed after four hours' labor, and I sped to the burger joint where I'd gotten dinner last night. Wonder of wonders, they had my wallet, completely intact, behind the register. I <3 my local burger joint.

I went to run my errands, then popped over to M's for dinner with the family: S&D most charmingly met me at the station with umbrellas; K made yummy crepes for dinner; M won two games of rummy tiles; AL&CC obligingly ran me to my doorstep.


Today's earrings: diamonds, aquamarines

Bedtime reading: Six Geese A-Slaying, Donna Andrews

Welcome K & S & D!

United says their plane has landed, which caps a most satisfactory evening:
I succumbed to the siren call of the sale at the SF Center Borders... only to find that the main Borders store on the 4th floor isn't closing, just the newsstand in the basement next to the BART/MUNI station. But it's all right - I found the last stocking stuffer! Hooray! (Don't worry, M, I've still got you covered.) And, since I was in a bookstore and everything, I got a couple things for me. I just caught a bus going home, and then just got to my door as the drizzle started.


Today's purchases:
Soon I Will Be Invincible, Austin Grossman
Six Geese A-Slaying, Donna Andrews

Today's earrings: coffee cups, teaspoons

Bedtime reading: Six Geese A-Slaying, Donna Andrews

Best wishes for a good winter

Didn't do much for Solstice yesterday. I said, "Hey, it's Solstice. I should do something," and left it at that. Oh, wait - I did launder. So that's like, a purification ritual, right?

Yeah, that's it. A purification ritual.

Work with me, here.


Today's earrings: bees, flowers

Bedtime reading: Wild Horses, Dick Francis

Caroling

This evening we presented our annual Bottle 'O Cheer to the gang at our Friday pizza joint; they responded by presenting us with pizza and wine. Then we presented each other with Christmas presents. (They say you can't always get what you want. But if you tell your BFF, you might get exactly what you want. To mix a pop-culture reference, I love it when a plan comes together.)

After, we went by Gump's to look at the shiny objects. There was a spouting-whale ornament, and I made one of the employees laugh at me for being an obnoxious drunk. We went to the Palace to see the gingerbread sculptures and the pretty tree. We caroled Market Street on the way to our several public transits. We knew the same arrangement of "Carol of the Bells," so she sang soprano and I sang alto. The alto part is easy to remember, even when boozed up: Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong...


Today's earrings: compasses

Bedtime reading: Miracle, Connie Willis

Living in the Future

We are living in the future
I'll tell you how I know
I read it in the paper
Fifteen years ago
We're all driving rocket ships
And talking with our minds
And wearing turquoise jewelry
And standing in soup lines
We are standing in soup lines

- - John Prine


Today's earrings: spiders, webs

Bedtime reading: Hare Sitting Up, Michael Innes

Days of Horror, Despair, and World Change

M sent me the Penguincam link today... sadly, I lack streaming capacity at work. So I just now tuned in, and what with the "live" part, not much is happening. I'll have to try again in the morning.

Meanwhile, I have to get b2's gift by Friday. She did tell me what she wanted, but I followed that information with two glasses of wine, and am now a little fuzzy on the details. This is not good. And I still need two more stocking stuffers. Maybe I should give cheese. Everyone likes cheese, right?


Today's earrings: wyverns, beige beads

Bedtime reading: Hare Sitting Up, Michael Innes

Still two stockings short

One's going to be pretty easy to fill, but the other one...


Today's earrings: moose, theobromine molecules

Bedtime reading: Hare Sitting Up, Michael Innes

Snowing in the mountains

I woke up to a series of callers telling KGO that it's snowing at Summit, in Angwin, even one from Monterey saying she could see the snow on the mountain there. One called from Boulder Creek to say her husband had followed the plow along Skyline on his way over the hill.

I didn't know they had a plow.

If at first you don't succeed

Left work just before seven and, as there wasn't a whole lot of edible food in the house, decided to go to the store. I got on the cable car at Sansome. At Montgomery we were passed by a fire truck. Then we came to a halt d/t the cable car stopped on the far side of Kearney. According to the brakeman's walkie talkie, it was a bad accident at Grant, with traffic stopped in both directions. I looked uphill and saw a lot of flashing lights.
"I think I'll catch a bus," I said.
"Aw, giving up so soon?" said the brakeman.
"What can I say? I'm a quitter like that," I replied.
I walked up to Sacramento and waited. A jam-packed bus blew by. A few drops of rain fell. I sighed petulantly and hailed a cab.
"California and Hyde," I told the cabbie, "but there's an accident on California..."


Today's earrings: suns, rabbits

Bedtime reading: Hare Sitting Up, Michael Innes

Happy news

I have the Barenaked Ladies Christmas album.

:)


Today's earrings: diamonds, liberty dimes

Bedtime reading: Too Many Blondes, Lauren Hendersen

Thoughts while surfing the intertubes

A post on Pharyngula led to a NYT story about people who thought they were getting "death before dishonor" tattooed in Chinese characters and found out later they really said "bite the wax tadpole" which led to a website full of incompetently written pseudo-Chinese tattoos with the actual translations.

And I thought (as I do every time I run across this phenomenon), why didn't these folks get themselves tattooed with runes instead of Chinese? Runes are pretty, look exotic, and there's the huge bonus that almost no one else can read them, either. If you mess up Chinese characters, there's a billion-plus people who can spot the error on sight. If you mess up runes, there's maybe a few hundred people currently on the planet who'll be able to tell if you did it wrong without checking a textbook.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Too Many Blondes, Lauren Henderson

Poor Weird Beard

I don't think he was most at fault... but I'm still relieved Carla & Gene didn't have to pay for their sins.


Today's earrings: flowers, estrogen molecules

Bedtime reading: Too Many Blondes, Lauren Henderson

Office Party

It was oddly archetypal. I arrived last (pleading work), got some pretty decent food from the buffet, donned a silly hat in response to peer pressure, watched the boss's boss present stuff to senior staff, and was the first to slip back to my desk (pleading work). From my desk, I heard the music get louder, and the woman I don't like cried, "Karaoke!" Later refugees told me there was dancing. One of them stayed and talked to me for twenty minutes because his office was at Party Central and, he said, the woman I don't like kept insisting he dance with her. Around 1pm, my boss announced a half day, and people started wandering off. I left at 3pm (lots of work) and went to Green Apple.


Today's earrings: turquoise, turtles

Bedtime reading: Miracle, Connie Willis

Here lizard, lizard, lizard

Today's earrings: lizards, rocks

Bedtime reading: Miracle, Connie Willis

Survivor just gets better and better

So, there was this crowd of pretty young people who just loved each other because they were each cooler and smarter and prettier than the next. They allied with each other, and also a couple of token old guys who happened to be on their tribe at the time. They were sure they would control the game right to the end, because they were just! that! awesome!

As of tonight, the In Crowd is sitting in the jury box. All that's left of their alliance in the game is the token old guy they had been planning to ditch first after all of their non-allies were gone. The Last of the Pretty People stood around all episode whining that she is so much smarter than the people who were about to vote her out. Had she not spent the previous month being rude to them, she might have been able to find an angle to work, but she'd painted herself into a corner. Meanwhile, Token Old Guy came up with a half-decent bluff that almost worked to keep her in the game. Unfortunately for her, the other players could count...


Today's earrings: bulls, flowers

Bedtime reading: Busman's Honeymoon, Dorothy L. Sayers

Top Chef

Awful challenge. I hope they gave the chefs a little more guidance than we got to see, because I hear that live tv thing is a lot harder than it looks. Mostly I'm just glad Jamie didn't have to leave. I want Jamie to win.


Today's earrings: amethysts

Bedtime reading: Busman's Honeymoon, Dorothy L. Sayers

Helpful tip

The Cal Marching Band played at medium volume drowns out a grackle-voiced coworker more effectively than AC/DC played at high volume.


Today's earrings: pines, shells

Bedtime reading: Busman's Honeymoon, Dorothy L. Sayers

Her reply

If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy Love.
But Time drives flocks from field to fold;
When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;
And Philomel becometh dumb;
The rest complains of cares to come.
The flowers do fade, and wanton fields
To wayward Winter reckoning yields:
A honey tongue, a heart of gall,
Is fancy's spring, but sorrow's fall.
Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,
Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,
Soon break, soon wither—soon forgotten,
In folly ripe, in reason rotten.
Thy belt of straw and ivy-buds,
Thy coral clasps and amber studs,—
All these in me no means can move
To come to thee and be thy Love.
But could youth last, and love still breed,
Had joys no date, nor age no need,
Then these delights my mind might move
To live with thee and be thy Love.

- - Sir Walter Raleigh


Today's earrings: flies, fish

Bedtime reading: Busman's Honeymoon, Dorothy L. Sayers