Slushy Update
Man, has Bloomington descended into a nasty mess of mud and melting slush. Snow is beautiful (unless it is within three feet of the street, of course) and the winter browns have a bleak attraction all their own. But this time of transition is unpleasant, as they often are.
At any rate, here is a brief summary of how things are going currently.
I have been working with my friend Rose, an amazing seamstress--well, actually, perhaps a better way to put it is that Rose has been working and teaching me how to do the work, which I have done some small bits of--to make a beautiful Regency dress for buzzermccain's upcoming LARP. It is stunning, and almost complete; just needs the pretty trim put on, and to have the black lacing cord tipped so it doesn't unravel. (The tape holding the ends currently is functional but not attractive.)
I have a second job interview, an in-person one in St. Michaels, Maryland this Friday, stemming from the phone interview last week (which went quite well, I think), and J and I will be driving up there this weekend. I am currently waiting to hear from them to set up exactly when the interview will be and where we will be staying. I am both really excited (they have given me some pretty good signs of interest, I think) and terrified about doing well--and about the very sudden changes it could mean if they offer me the position, because I get the impression that they want the successful candidate to start ASAP. But I'm trying not to get my hopes up too wildly...(with limited success, as you can probably tell).
More news to come on that after this weekend; we should be back either Saturday or Sunday, depending on things go.
Not a lot else; the combination of hormonal factors and the ready availability of valentine-related junk food has combined to crash my diet, while the blisteringly-cold-transferring-suddenly-to-nasty-slush weather has similarly derailed exercise. Desperately trying to get back on track.
Reading a lot lately as well; the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, mostly. This particular series, and most notably the final volume, have given me a lot of food for thought. I wish people would take "genre" fiction more seriously. Some of the keenest insights I've had as to the nature of the world and how I want to fit into it have been inspired for me by fantasy novels. Jeremy has just finished Dawkins' The God Delusion and has been delighted; that one's on my list too, but I'm trying to tackle stuff people have loaned to me first, on the off chance that I will have to return it sooner than I had expected. But I've got the last volume of the Farseer books to finish first, and the last one's taking me longer than I'd thought. I'm having to put it down alternately because the really upsetting things that happen in it can get to me a little much, and because I think about the overall messages it sends make me think too hard, if that makes any sense. (I've actually come to write this post in one of my lulls from reading it.)
That's about it. I'm still absolutely in love with the Carnivale TV series. Rewatched the first few episodes last night with friends so that I can send them back to Netflix and get more. Hooray for there being two seasons! And Boo for there only being two seasons! Also watched a lot of Invader Zim over the last weekend so I can finally get it back to buzzermccain and her boyfriend, who have loaned it to me for several months now. I have to say that I liked the first two volumes a lot more than the third. But I don't feel like thinking about it in depth right now.
Off to go make peanut butter; I was very sad to find that my jars of Peter Pan were among those at risk for Salmonella, particularly since I had already eaten half of one of them. All parties queried seem to feel that the waste of a few dollars in peanut butter is better than the risk of an expensive hospital stay, and I suppose that makes sense. But I am sad for the little hopeful jars that will now never get to fulfill their nourishment potential.
Is over-anthropomorphization of one's personal objects and food items a sign of stress? Probably so. I've also been sleepwalking and talking lately, so I suppose that might also reflect some of my internal situation--apparently I woke J up the other night wrapping his head in the comforter. When queried as to what I was doing, I apparently informed him that they were coming and I had to hide him. I wonder if this is akin to the ways in which I stuff all of my crap in the non-guest-closets when my parents come for a visit.
...But in any case, whoever "they" are, I hope they get here soon. It's hard enough to keep the dishes done and the furniture dusted, much less to keep the husband tidily tucked away.
At any rate, here is a brief summary of how things are going currently.
I have been working with my friend Rose, an amazing seamstress--well, actually, perhaps a better way to put it is that Rose has been working and teaching me how to do the work, which I have done some small bits of--to make a beautiful Regency dress for buzzermccain's upcoming LARP. It is stunning, and almost complete; just needs the pretty trim put on, and to have the black lacing cord tipped so it doesn't unravel. (The tape holding the ends currently is functional but not attractive.)
I have a second job interview, an in-person one in St. Michaels, Maryland this Friday, stemming from the phone interview last week (which went quite well, I think), and J and I will be driving up there this weekend. I am currently waiting to hear from them to set up exactly when the interview will be and where we will be staying. I am both really excited (they have given me some pretty good signs of interest, I think) and terrified about doing well--and about the very sudden changes it could mean if they offer me the position, because I get the impression that they want the successful candidate to start ASAP. But I'm trying not to get my hopes up too wildly...(with limited success, as you can probably tell).
More news to come on that after this weekend; we should be back either Saturday or Sunday, depending on things go.
Not a lot else; the combination of hormonal factors and the ready availability of valentine-related junk food has combined to crash my diet, while the blisteringly-cold-transferring-suddenly-to-nasty-slush weather has similarly derailed exercise. Desperately trying to get back on track.
Reading a lot lately as well; the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, mostly. This particular series, and most notably the final volume, have given me a lot of food for thought. I wish people would take "genre" fiction more seriously. Some of the keenest insights I've had as to the nature of the world and how I want to fit into it have been inspired for me by fantasy novels. Jeremy has just finished Dawkins' The God Delusion and has been delighted; that one's on my list too, but I'm trying to tackle stuff people have loaned to me first, on the off chance that I will have to return it sooner than I had expected. But I've got the last volume of the Farseer books to finish first, and the last one's taking me longer than I'd thought. I'm having to put it down alternately because the really upsetting things that happen in it can get to me a little much, and because I think about the overall messages it sends make me think too hard, if that makes any sense. (I've actually come to write this post in one of my lulls from reading it.)
That's about it. I'm still absolutely in love with the Carnivale TV series. Rewatched the first few episodes last night with friends so that I can send them back to Netflix and get more. Hooray for there being two seasons! And Boo for there only being two seasons! Also watched a lot of Invader Zim over the last weekend so I can finally get it back to buzzermccain and her boyfriend, who have loaned it to me for several months now. I have to say that I liked the first two volumes a lot more than the third. But I don't feel like thinking about it in depth right now.
Off to go make peanut butter; I was very sad to find that my jars of Peter Pan were among those at risk for Salmonella, particularly since I had already eaten half of one of them. All parties queried seem to feel that the waste of a few dollars in peanut butter is better than the risk of an expensive hospital stay, and I suppose that makes sense. But I am sad for the little hopeful jars that will now never get to fulfill their nourishment potential.
Is over-anthropomorphization of one's personal objects and food items a sign of stress? Probably so. I've also been sleepwalking and talking lately, so I suppose that might also reflect some of my internal situation--apparently I woke J up the other night wrapping his head in the comforter. When queried as to what I was doing, I apparently informed him that they were coming and I had to hide him. I wonder if this is akin to the ways in which I stuff all of my crap in the non-guest-closets when my parents come for a visit.
...But in any case, whoever "they" are, I hope they get here soon. It's hard enough to keep the dishes done and the furniture dusted, much less to keep the husband tidily tucked away.