Archive for March, 2011
a Plan
I decided to celebrate the new office by getting a water-cooker. (I call them that because the Dutch name is ‘water koker’, though it actually means ‘water boiler’.) We have free coffee and tea at work, but it’s in tiny plastic cups and only one kind of tea. As a result, I was on my [...]
DWJ
Much as I hate that she’s gone, I have been loving reading all the tributes to Diana Wynne Jones. (The one from Neil Gaiman is particularly nice, since he can talk about her as a friend as well as a writer.) The sweetest thing about reading them is that sense of “You, too? I thought [...]
misanthropy is satisfied
1. Still coughing, though a bit less. 2. Ted comes back today (is on the train from Schiphol right now in fact). After he experiences the coughing, he may be wishing he’d stayed another week. 3. I have moved into a new office at work. I was in a big room with 12 other people [...]
the menopausal vampire
It was just brought to my attention that Arabella Keneally, an early “feminist” (in more or less the way Phyllis Schlafly and Sarah Palin are feminists) wrote a cautionary tale about “the menopausal vampire”. I can’t help but think that would have been far better as a fantasy novel: The menopausal vampire only sparkles when [...]
productive day
I feel like I’m juggling at the moment. Making plans for what to see and do and how to get from the airport to the hotel in Venice, where we’re going for a long weekend; making decisions for a replacement heat pump in our Oregon house (thank God for the in-laws, who will actually go [...]
a bit better
I finally seem to be on the mend – not well but better. I’ve coughed less today. I actually went on an outing – a ten-minute bike ride to the local outdoor sporting store / REI-analogue and back, though I did feel like I needed a rest by the time I got back. And I [...]
Found a song I was looking for
They played this on the radio yesterday – DUtch radio is slightly more freeform than US, but they wouldn’t have played something this good if it weren’t St. Patrick’s Day. The refrain is ” I Don’t Mind”, which is why I had a hard time finding it – there are lots of songs by that [...]
Hey, Philadelphia-area people!
I’ve mentioned this on Facebook, but don’t think I have here. Y’all should go visit Cake and the Beanstalk (check out this awesome article about it) on 1112 Locust. I haven’t been there myself yet, what with living on a different continent and all; I’m recommending it because I’ve known the author since he was [...]
still hacking….
I am, finally, feeling a little better today (which should not be interpreted as “well” – I’m still coughing. The only problem is that Nyquil let me down and I was coughing all night. Actually it’s not fair to blame the Nyquil; I’ve ben sleeping with three pillows to keep me propped up higher, and [...]
I went out!
This is big news because it’s the first time I’ve gone outside my apartment except to work since Saturday, when I walked Ted to the train station and then did some necessary grocery shopping on the way back. Other than that I probably haven’t been out since last Monday or Tuesday. They were having a [...]