Month: January 2018

today

Today we’re going to do a mini schlep, and at 3 I’m hoping to go to the Massey Theatre for an indigenous arts fest including dancing and drumming.

So nice to be able to walk to an event. I really like living in Burnaby.

Also, laundry, and writing. Word count’s only gone up by 19, but I have a clear head about what to write so I’m good.

Work thoughts plus a cool video

This is what triggered the following. I watched the metal dust come flying out, and then the wrote following back to the poster (I’ve met him I think once IRL, he’s associated with the Seattle filk fen) pOp check out his youtube channel he’s made some awesome videos of stuff he’s built.

 

…Made me think of a work story. Must be almost fifteen years ago now this happened. Take an RMA for a 1500W inverter. Mo Z the repair & analysis dude cracks it open, mutters to himself, and approaches my desk with a small plastic container of brass dust … Which he then proceeds to pour out onto a piece of paper on my desk. “Mo what the hell?” sez I and he sez, brown eyes snapping, “Under no circumstances is this a warranty failure. These metal shavings came from inside.” I get to talk to the customer, lucky me. Found out during my intense and unpleasant callback to the customer that he’s using the inverter to run a mobile key cutting machine out of his van, no protection, brass dust every-fuckin-where but screechin all heartbroken that it should be covered under warranty. And so it went for the next I dunno how many years, he’d run it until it breached the ass of the laws of physics for how it still worked with that much stray metal in it, and then I’d sell him a refurb for a discount. THE END

Alex

I got an invite to Planet Bachelor. I only really played with Alex for about ten minutes, the rest of the time he was either bugging his mother (exhausted from her two weeks of paid employment) or zipping around the living room like a well groomed Tasmanian Devil cartoon.

I also got to see Keith briefly – it was his first day off in seven.  I’m a lazy bum these days but my kids are both working about as much as they can.

We’ve blasted through Fringe and we’re at the last season already. Rewatch of Warehouse 13 and Burn Notice (season 4 is so good) also proceeding; we slowed down on ER and we’re thinking of a Homicide rewatch, maybe a Wire rewatch.

28113 is the word count currently.

Mall walk

Paul and I walked the Lougheed Mall yesterday since it was bucketing rain and disgusting. He very kindly allowed me to press his car into service (I drove) for various errands, including getting cat litter.

Then he took me to Iwona Pierogies and DANG that borscht on a cold wet day was like baba’s kiss, believe me. Also, their cabbage rolls are yummo.

I edited yesterday. I don’t know why but all the energy I had earlier seems to have evaporated. Maybe I’m running low on Alex.

We watched the Crown episode about young Philip. JFC, if you tried to write a movie script about a young prince and the contortions his life went through NOBODY WOULD BELIEVE IT.  And here’s the woman who saved him.

THIS IS AN EMERGENCY

We’re out of sourdough bread….

No writing yesterday of any kind, I was a complete vegeton and napped, napped I tell you, in the middle of the day, and then slept a good seven hours at night. I suspect it’s me fighting some bug.

Math sez my most popular fic in a particular fandom is in the top 15% for hits, kudos and bookmarks. (READER ENGAGEMENT)

Happily received Pirate Utopia from Dave D yesterday via post.  Look forward to reading it!

 

shoutout

Shoutout to Paul for the walk and the shared meal and the brief and lovely chat with Keith (who surprisingly came home for lunch at Planet Bachelor since he was at his gig around the corner) and the errands. You continue to be my prop and stay and I really appreciate you!

Also Keith for voluntarily calling his grandmother. It’s nice to know I raised a polite young man even if he isn’t always necessarily polite to me, and it remains possible I deserved it.

Big shoutout to Jeff, with an apology for buying those damned treats. I’ll be suffering too…. THEYARESOGOOD

but I do not care.

Shoutout to Sue, who very kindly stayed in touch with me briefly before and after her scheduled hospital maintenance trip which meant I didn’t have to worry about her.

Mike, as always, this is just me putting my hand on my heart.

BIG BIG shoutout to Katie, letting me know she hulksmashed her way through her first week at work – apparently impressing the hell out of her boss.

Fractal shoutout to Liz, who is proving quite amusing on twitter and how fun it is to reconnect with her.

 

I WANT TO KILL EVERY MISDIAGNOSING FUNGAL SPORE PACKET OF A DOCTOR. Complaining for a friend, Doc W is fine, thanks.

Daycard is seven of swords

I hate that little fucker, and of course I get the seven of swords disproportionately often; the sneaky sneaky man; the entitled man; the man who never cites his sources or gives credit where it’s due. I once got the seven of swords as a daysign three times in one week; it’s been twice in the last seven days. Hate’im, as I believe I mentioned. You know who I never get? The Emperor and the Hierophant.

At IHOP this morning, Jeff and I started riffing on the idea of the flat Earth as being a pancake; then Jeff thought about a spatula keeping the earth flat, and then I said “God’s Invisible Spatula” and there was much mirth. Both of us have a very hard time understanding how anybody could believe such nonsense.

26490 is the current word count. Theo and Varisha are strolling up and down a virtual beach in Tyre and Raven has accepted that this strange little sixer is in fact her closest friend. I also wrote about 1000 words of fanfic yesterday.

Good news and good humour only

Eleven Saudi princes have been jailed for refusing to pay their electric bills. I wish I could stick a microphone in the face of a Saudi woman in the street for her opinion on this matter.

I have actually started reading Fire and Fury and it’s like THE FANFIC BOOK OF POLITICAL FUCKERY. It’s just well written enough to be tolerable, and every page has a line or a quote that will echo through global politics as conducted in English for the next twenty years, at minimum.

Daycard is Temperance BWA HA HA That just means I have to balance my work and work on ALL THE PROJECTS today.

Spoke to Katie yesterday, she’s thrilled by her new job and apart from the DNA Donor her life is going mahvellously. Hope to see one or both of the kids today, as well as making a phone call or two to loved ones far away.

I just want everybody to know that since I stopped taking pills for Helicobacter I’ve had a normal bowel movement every day but one. I’ve had constant low grade diarrhea since I was in public school. I keep pulling out the Bristol Stool Chart and thinking OMG I’M A SOLID 4  (literally…) and holy shit, is the state of my digestion the only thing I’ll care about for the rest of my life?

No, because I no longer have to worry about it.  My farts don’t hardly smell at all any more, it’s like I’ve lost part of my personality. Even picturing Jeff’s face as he reads this is enough to make me laugh quite immoderately… the top bunk is vibrating, I’m laughing so hard.

Word count 26401, working on George and Raven right now.

Self-care requirement of the day: I SIMPLY MUST SHOWER my hair is acting like there’s gel in it, but there isn’t.

TTTO: The Colonel Bogie March

Scrotum – it is a piece of skin

Scrotum – it holds your testes in

Scrotum – don’t overload ’em

Or you’ll explode’em

and then you’ll have

none