Asked my siblings for advice about contractors

Moved the coffeemaker

It's now under the glasses & cups. The stuff I shifted to make room is now next to the refrigerator or up in a cabinet. Another area to be revisited...


Today's earrings: tulips, turtles

Bedtime reading: Breakup, Dana Stabenow

Assemblies

We had a lovely brunch, then (thanks mostly to CC's magic hands) two bookcases and a kitchen cabinet appeared in my living room. AL and M presented me with a hammer. Then we went out for chocolate.


Today's earrings: bees, turtles

Bedtime reading: Under the Dome, Steven King

Cold-blooded

http://www.keysnet.com/news/story/178919.html


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Driving Force, Dick Francis

Bookcases

I want one that's 32" wide and eight feet tall, and one that's 8 feet long and about 40" high. I'm thinking about Ikea for the tall one. Or should I wait until I find a giant bookcase that's not disposable? Decisions, decisions.


Today's earrings: sparkly turtles, plain turtles

Bedtime reading: Proof, Dick Francis

More packing

I'm almost done with the books. After those are boxed, it's just the kichen, the bedroom closet, and a living room full of tchotchkes.

Oh, hey - does anyone want my old sleeping bag?


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett

Galileo's telescope

Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Swan for the Money, Donna Andrews

Warehouse 13

The first time I remember seeing this show, it was called "Friday the 13th - the Series." This version is better.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling

Nice day

A pleasant brunch, then M went with to an open house. Those bedrooms were tiny. Also, poor bathroom placement on one of the models. Locations's still good, though.

Then I went home.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Death's Half Acre, Margaret Maron

Weekend Plans

There's a white sale at Macy's.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Longitude, Dava Sobel

89 cents

Stopped at the store on the way home, and found they had avocados for 89 cents apiece. Decent sized, too. So for dinner tonight I cubed some bread, diced an avocado, and tossed them together with a little sausage and white wine reduction. mmmmmm.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman

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

Motion towards

Spent the morning tidying the place up in preparation for the Nice Realtor Lady's arrival. I even vacuumed. Finally got around to putting the pretty rug down in my bedroom, too.

She turned up and I showed her around, and she was most impressed by the books. I was trying to convey just how much stuff I'm looking to house so she knows what she's up against. Not sure she got it.

Off we went to see a building full of studios south of Market. On the way we got held up by what looked like a circus parade coming down Market St. It all looked very festive, but my, was it in the way. Finally got to see the apartments. The prices were almost within my budget, the location was close to where I'd want to be, but damn, they were small. 300 square feet really isn't much. Plus, lots of polished concrete. She expanded on the theme of, "Location, size, price: pick two." Haven't quite decided yet... We headed back, and it took us over an hour to get to my place. Turns out the obstacle was "Lovefest." (supply your own joke here.)

Then I headed off to the east bay where I met the Confused Cricket and the Angry Lemming. We drove to Palo Alto's Gunn HS, where Neil Gaiman was to speak later. "Yep, that's a high school," we said, "but where's the food?" We found a Hobies and dined in style. Back to the high school. Mr Gaiman read a chapter and an interlude from his latest novel, then treated us to the trailer & selected clips from Coraline (his last book, due out in movie format next year) and then answered questions, finally wrapping up past 10pm. During the interval, we met some friends of CC&AL's, and the friends' highly cute child Eleanor, who waved back at me. Small children love jazz hands.

Got home to find a message from the Wandering Albatross; called back. He was having a foot massage and sounded very relaxed.


Today's earrings: elephants, turtles

Bedtime reading: Feet of Clay, Terry Pratchett

Nonverbal

Confronted my standing workplace dilemma again today: how do I tell someone who does not report to me what she's doing wrong? Especially since the degree of error she perpetrates tends to make me speechless with rage, and we work in a great big room with a dozen people listening.

Today I went with sending screen shots.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Silks, Dick and Felix Francis

That wasn't really fair

The designers & models barely knew each other, the models knew surprisingly little about dressmaking, and worst of all they didn't let the models & designers confer until after the fabric had been bought. There was a lot wrong with the losing dress, but the guy had a yard each of two fabrics that didn't really go together all that well. He was screwed from the get-go.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: The Appleby File, Michael Innes

Festina Lente

"Hasten slowly," or, "More haste, less speed." Traditionally emblematized with dolphin and anchor, thus:

Fun fact: the dolphin & anchor above were the trademark of the Aldine Press, founded in Venice in 1494. Doubleday is still using a similar image as its colophon.


Today's earrings: coffee cups, turtles

Bedtime reading: Slow Dollar, Margaret Maron

Dined out

I had a lovely Boston lettuce salad and a nice piece of fish, followed by chocolate-date bread pudding. Mmmm, salad.

The bartender and I got to talking - he asked what I was reading (Pratchett), I asked what he was reading (A Thousand Splendid Suns) and what it's about (an Afghani girl sold into marriage at 14). We agreed we'd both drawn pretty good tickets in the Privilege Lottery. Life is not exactly a glorious cycle of song, but still. It's good to stop periodically and notice our blessings, and if at all possible, rejoice in them.

Mmmm, salad.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: The Truth, Terry Pratchett

Not a Peep

Today's earrings: mice, turtles

Bedtime reading: Silence Observed, Michael Innes

What I learned today

The Malaysian government is very, very (very) interested in lumber. Very interested.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: The Atlantic, January/February 2008

Nothing much happened today.

So here's a picture of a rabbit with a waffle on its head.


Today's earrings: turtles, other turtles

Bedtime reading: Thud!, Terry Pratchett