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

Swinishness

A word sadly little-used, swinishness. Even spell check rejects it.

My morale was high. I needed a job, but that, which should have been a depressing factor when viewed in cold blood, in fact simply was not. Neither was the swinishness of my landlord, a Mr Alexander, short of stature. I was reluctant to go home lest he should waylay me. I owed him no rent but he kept insisting that I should take a larger and more expensive room in his house, seeing that I had overcrowded the small single room with my books, my papers, my boxes and bags, my food stores and the evidence of constant visitors who stayed to tea or came late.

So far I had stood up to the landlord’s claim that I was virtually living a double-room life for single-room pay. At the same time I was fascinated by his swinishness...

- - Muriel Spark, Loitering with Intent


Today's earrings: pigs, citrine teardrops

Bedtime reading: The Truth, Terry Pratchett

Full Day

Sudden staff meeting called to announce that one of the outside salesguys had a heart attack last week and died on Saturday. Poor guy. I barely knew him. Still put a pall over the rest of the day.

Showed the new hire the supply closet.

Turkey 2008 in English showed up, and I took the opportunity to hand off it all off. The recipient was a picture of ingratitude until I told him that I got the big update done two months ago, and mostly he just ought to proofread it all, which put him in a much better mood.

Soup for lunch.

Forgot to copy & mail tax return before leaving work.

Between the bus stop and my front door, I had a chat with the rug guy. He's looking to spend less time in the shop, he says, so he wants to shift to less high-end stuff that an assistant can sell. So, excellent deals on the good stuff, he says. He showed me some rugs.

In my mailbox was a note from Tiger, as dictated to his dad. I gather he likes his birthday present. And the number "3." I feel all warm and glowy. :)

S/W the Angry Lemming, partly to plot brunch, but mostly about the Bandicoot.

Watched Medium, blogged, off to bed.


Today's earrings: moose, chocolate

Bedtime reading: The Truth, Terry Pratchett

Truth

Truth, poor girl, was nobody's daughter
She took off her clothes and jumped in the water.

Why would she do that? I've never known, or even had a theory.


Today's earrings: eyes, estrogen molecules

Bedtime reading: The Truth, Terry Pratchett

It took until lunch the next day

but I finally came up with a response to the prompt, "base a dish on your favorite movie."

Representing The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Meat Loaf. Carved tableside with an electric knife.
(It's not really my favorite movie any more, but I can still quote extended passages if challenged by the judges.)


Today's earrings: flies, amber

Bedtime reading: Thief of Time, Terry Pratchett

The secret of life.

http://xkcd.com/365/


Today's earrings: frogs, fish

Bedtime reading: Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain

Welcome to the Data Base

New hire at work today. First impression: she'll be great.


Today's earrings: pineapples, typewriter keys

Bedtime reading: Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain