Quick Update, For Those Following Along--
I am utterly thrilled by the fuzzy flurry of puppies on my profile. *mwah* Thank you, guys! You're fantastic. ♥
Called the comp guys yesterday afternoon, since I hadn't heard from them yet on my laptop woes. Turns out I was bang on: the fan and DVD drive need replacing. They've ordered the needed parts, and now it's a waiting game. They're hoping they arrive Tuesday, but the guy I was talking to didn't want to promise me that. However, once they have the parts, I'll get a call to OK the repairs, and then once those are complete, another one to let me know they're done. *sigh* I'm glad the problems are being resolved, but would like my baby back. For some reason, despite having the loaner laptop for the duration of the weekend, I find I do less online than I would if I had my own system.
In the meantime, I'm getting some other things done, trying to get past a writing hump (I think I've found the solution I'm looking for *crosses fingers*), and reading Impatient With Desire by Gabrielle Burton, which is an epistolary fictionalization of the Donner Party's months trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Tamsen Donner's POV. Oddly enough, it does not look like it's going to focus on the Forlorn Hope at all, which is usually where Donner Party memoirs/documentaries/etc. like to place their emphasis. I'm finding this an interesting narrative choice, and I'm completely caught up in the story. (I know, it's creepy and weird, and I have absolutely zero interest in the rest of American history, but I'm fascinated by the Donner Party. Not the salacious details, but in the idea that nobody knows what they'll do until they're in that particular situation, and in something historians Jack Steed and Joseph King refer to as "extravagant moralism," arising from the condemnation of the actions of members of the party.)
I have largely given up on Life of Pi. I'm not quite 100 pages in, and I'm tired of waiting for the narrative to start. It reminds me why I've never been one for much of the modern litfic available out there. (Even the classics had narratives, for fuck's sake.)
Oh, and I marinated the hell out of some tough steak this week, with the intention of doing a simple stirfry (of beef, onions, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, veggies, spices). The end result was tastier than expected, but I also managed to burn the first round of rice. WTF? It's rice. 2:1 ratio of water to rice, stick it on the stove with a lid and boil. Yeah. Dunno what I did wrong (adding the rice once the water was boiling? heat on too high? whatever), but not even ten minutes into the process, I looked up at surprisingly ominous billows of smoke and went, "Uh, wow. I don't think it's supposed to do that." Did the next round in the microwave, and it was fine. May not go back to the stove ever. *shakes fist*
And finally, it snowed Thurs. night. Great big flurry of flakes, most of which then decided to go fuck with the transformers in the city, causing flickering lights and brief losses of power. Awesome. It pretty much melted off by Friday night/Saturday, but apparently it's supposed to snow again tonight. Man, I love my city. *facepalm*
...Also, why is it that now that my laptop is in for repairs, all I want to do is download/install stuff? (Like the Sims 3, or Oregon Trail, which I've never played before, or just... stuff, dammit.) Phooey. Ah, well, what can you do, eh?
Be good, folks! I'll catch up when I can, but in the meantime, don't do anything illegal, and remember to at least pretend to miss me! ^_~
Called the comp guys yesterday afternoon, since I hadn't heard from them yet on my laptop woes. Turns out I was bang on: the fan and DVD drive need replacing. They've ordered the needed parts, and now it's a waiting game. They're hoping they arrive Tuesday, but the guy I was talking to didn't want to promise me that. However, once they have the parts, I'll get a call to OK the repairs, and then once those are complete, another one to let me know they're done. *sigh* I'm glad the problems are being resolved, but would like my baby back. For some reason, despite having the loaner laptop for the duration of the weekend, I find I do less online than I would if I had my own system.
In the meantime, I'm getting some other things done, trying to get past a writing hump (I think I've found the solution I'm looking for *crosses fingers*), and reading Impatient With Desire by Gabrielle Burton, which is an epistolary fictionalization of the Donner Party's months trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Tamsen Donner's POV. Oddly enough, it does not look like it's going to focus on the Forlorn Hope at all, which is usually where Donner Party memoirs/documentaries/etc. like to place their emphasis. I'm finding this an interesting narrative choice, and I'm completely caught up in the story. (I know, it's creepy and weird, and I have absolutely zero interest in the rest of American history, but I'm fascinated by the Donner Party. Not the salacious details, but in the idea that nobody knows what they'll do until they're in that particular situation, and in something historians Jack Steed and Joseph King refer to as "extravagant moralism," arising from the condemnation of the actions of members of the party.)
I have largely given up on Life of Pi. I'm not quite 100 pages in, and I'm tired of waiting for the narrative to start. It reminds me why I've never been one for much of the modern litfic available out there. (Even the classics had narratives, for fuck's sake.)
Oh, and I marinated the hell out of some tough steak this week, with the intention of doing a simple stirfry (of beef, onions, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, veggies, spices). The end result was tastier than expected, but I also managed to burn the first round of rice. WTF? It's rice. 2:1 ratio of water to rice, stick it on the stove with a lid and boil. Yeah. Dunno what I did wrong (adding the rice once the water was boiling? heat on too high? whatever), but not even ten minutes into the process, I looked up at surprisingly ominous billows of smoke and went, "Uh, wow. I don't think it's supposed to do that." Did the next round in the microwave, and it was fine. May not go back to the stove ever. *shakes fist*
And finally, it snowed Thurs. night. Great big flurry of flakes, most of which then decided to go fuck with the transformers in the city, causing flickering lights and brief losses of power. Awesome. It pretty much melted off by Friday night/Saturday, but apparently it's supposed to snow again tonight. Man, I love my city. *facepalm*
...Also, why is it that now that my laptop is in for repairs, all I want to do is download/install stuff? (Like the Sims 3, or Oregon Trail, which I've never played before, or just... stuff, dammit.) Phooey. Ah, well, what can you do, eh?
Be good, folks! I'll catch up when I can, but in the meantime, don't do anything illegal, and remember to at least pretend to miss me! ^_~