Archive for June, 2008
auction notice
Today’s theme is auctions. There’s a long post on my races yesterday at the expat life blog, including the rowing club’s auction where I bought some old boat parts. And I need to post a heads-up: Bidding starts tomorrow on the fandom auction at Live Long & Marry! All benefits go to the fight to […]
I wonder what my subconscious is trying to say
The other night I had a wonderful dream. I was about to start work on a PhD in Astronomy. I think it was at my undergrad alma mater, or one of the schools near it. I would be working with one of my favorite professors from my undergrad days (one who doesn’t exist) and I […]
Two bits and a book review (Me and Mr. Darcy, minor spoilers)
Two bits: My boat will be delivered! The very day after I return home! Now I just need to write down the pronunciation of its Chinese name, because I keep forgetting it. Here’s hoping nothing on it’s been broken in its arduous journey. I’ve offered up a sonnet-to-order over at Live Long & Marry, which […]
bitten
Arrgh. The mad social whirl is having consequences. Saturday we went to see a regatta outside Amsterdam -Rudder’s rowing partner coaches a girl who was racing there, so we went and hung out with them, spent a bit of time on her parents’ boat nearby, and lusted over the Olympic course (dug by hand as […]
a rare political plea
I keep hearing reports that a substantial number of Clinton supporters now plan to vote for McCain. I hope that the news is wrong, or that hurt feelings fade; I keep getting the impression that the difference between Clinton and Obama supporters stems much more from the natural high feelings engendered by opposing each other, […]
terug naar Nederlands
Back in the Netherlands. I always forget how boring lunch is here – my colleagues all talk in Dutch and don’t bother to translate. The only good point to this is that it really annoys the Taiwanese people visiting, and so when we’re back in Taiwan of course they talk in Chinese over lunch – […]
the to-do list
Stuff I hurried to finish today before leaving. (So I could take it with me!) Sock pattern is Waving Laces, from the book Favorite Socks. The yarn is hand-dyed, from Spritely Goods. It was soft and nice to knit with, not splitty at all. The yarn seems very thin – I might have used 0 […]
mostly good, except when it’s not
Lots of good news, some bad. Yesterday I went to the dentist – this time to get Stuff done, not just cleaning and checkups. Their recommendation was to replace every filling in my mouth with gold or ceramic inlays. I think they’re either being unnecessarily cautious or hoping for big fat fees. However, they showed […]
villanelle: Expatriate Life
A fine example of dancing bear poetry. This is not exactly “Do go quietly into that good night”, but I’m quite proud that the bear dances at all; villanelles are hard. Expatriate Life I stand alone, in doubt to act or rest, Adrift and plunged deep in the utter east As I persist in bridging […]
das boot
Boat continues to be major source of anxiety; thank all the gods for the coworker (an expert in global shipping and customs) who is helping me with this. She’s asking if they can possibly store it in a warehouse until I come back; if not it’s also still possible it can be delivered Friday. If […]