Author: Allegra

Born when atmospheric carbon was 316 PPM. Settled on MST country since 1997. Parent, grandparent.

Mike drops by

So last night Mike asked what I was up to (the first time the phone rang with my new ring tone, Elvis Costello’s Pump it Up) and I said Nothin – so he came over and watched Shoot Em Up with me and Jeff.  I fed him mango and beer – and home made garlic bread.  I liked the movie the second time.  Keith will be annoyed that we watched it with Mike, because Keith frankly worships Mike and enjoys every opportunity to spend time with him.

Last night’s meal was salad with tuna.

Now that we’ve figured out it’s impossible to ruin garlic bread on that barbecue, we’re eating it a lot.

Walk to work

I said more later…. here it is. So I’m walking down from the bus loop. That’s the Arts and Sciences building to the right – not shown, and the TASC building is right ahead.

Okay… now that you’ve seen it, the lovely woodsy walk, you have to ask yourself… What’s this like on a foggy February morning when it’s pitch dark out still and everything is covered in two feet of snow and nobody has shoveled, plowed, sanded or salted.  Yeah – that’s when those railings really make sense!!!

We are waiting for the Phoenix!

We have been whiling away the hours until we get word of the safe – or not – landing of the Phoenix on Mars by doing laundry, drilling holes in things (I finally got the other anchor for a guitar strap drilled into the Seagull – I only bought the hardware 8 months ago and Jeff got the kitchen phone attached to the wall), getting Keith caught up on Battlestar Galactica, going for a brief walk in the gorgeous summer-style afternoon, and taking the occasional crack at finishing the homily.  I also unpacked two more boxes.  Can you spell displacement behaviour?

Gizmo has no opinion except “Sun good”.

Juno

Jeff and I watched Juno last night and I loved it.  The script, the acting – a wonderful movie, and Ellen Page and Michael Cera make my Canadian heart explode with pride.  Also, it makes fun of Unitarianism.

Yesterday I prepped my MacBook for working with Windows software by installing a virtual machine.  We’ll see how this plays out… Jeff’s going to help me with an XP install  With any luck I won’t have to turn it into a Vista machine.  The long term point of this is to allow me to work from home, as the contact management and call center software is all Windows and internet based.

My payroll problem has been straightened out.

Gizmo and the downstairs dog, Meadow, are getting to know each other.  Meadow is so anxious for someone to play with that it’s very cute.  Gizmo’s body language says it all.  Scornful, not the slightest bit scared.  Eddie made tracks like his little black tail was on fire as soon as he poked his head through the door and saw the dog.

I have now entirely s-canned my original homily, as well as the two subsequent attempts, and I’m staring at the screen with disbelieving horror… can my normal fluency have deserted me for this most important topic?  Can I restrain my usual desire to turn everything into a gag?  Will I find myself in the pulpit on Sunday next, eyes like dog’s balls, stammering, incoherent and bereft of a single cogent sentence?  Stay tuned.  On the plus side, there will be jazz at the service, most likely.

I would just like to tell the universe, briefly, that I’m tired of getting what I need and would like to get what I want for a change.  Okay, back to the homily.

Shoot ’em Up

When the trailer first hit the internet for Shoot em Up I said to Keith, “You know, I have to see this movie.”  And I watched it last night, and Jeff and I had a blast.  If you want balls to the wall hardcore action with a body count in the stratosphere, have fun. Otherwise, don’t bother.  Paul Giamatti plays one of the best villains ever, and Clive Owen does steely eyed testosterone fueled intensity like nobody else.

Safely home

Jeff and Katie are home from their trek to Victoria; the cats appeared to have survived my tender ministrations, but Gizmo was so intent on keeping Jeff in view that he accompanied him to the landpeer’s house and would have gone inside if not restrained.  Foolish feline!  There be dogs there! Not but Gizmo doesn’t like the occasional scrap with dogs.

Bob Asprin has died.  He is memorialized by Tom Smith, one of the handful of people who make a living in filk, here.

From Patricia I have wonderful news which I cannot repeat, as the explanations would be tedious and lingering; suffice it to say that for once the wheels of justice have ground the ingredients for a tasty loaf instead of hard tack.

I sure hope the weatherpersons are wrong – it’s setting up for another partly rainy weekend.

I am now double booked for June 14th.  I don’t plan anything for weeks and then it starts piling up.