I don't seem to have updated in a while...
Weirdly, I do still read my LJ friends page every day, but I don't seem to have as much to say as I used to...
NOTE: I added the headers after the fact (having just written things as they came to me) so if they're a bit awkward, apologies.)
Working Out
I've been working out again. (I mentioned this earlier, but I've been keeping at it.) I used the elliptical Sunday and Monday, went walking on Tuesday and used the elliptical again on Wednesday. Thursday I took a day off 'cause Wednesday night my left leg started aching from the knee down. I decided it seems to be because I walk oddly, with a twist to my ankle, so a rest was in order. (Also, I had terrible cramps on Thursday.) Today (Friday) I went hiking at the Lost Dutchman National Park with Flurry. It was only a 2.4mile hike (and we took 2hours to do it) but none of it was level, and some of it was even scrambling over rocks. There'll be pictures posted eventually-- it was pretty day.
Plans
Tomorrow probably no work out because I'm going to the Ren Faire with Flurry and a few other TAs/grad students, and that will be lots of walking, too.
I'm way behind on my grading. There are 36 Shakespeare papers waiting for my attention... but I don't think the prof wants us to hand them back 'til Friday anyway, so ... heh.
TV: MI-5/Spooks
Flurry and I have been watching the first season of Fame (yes, the early '80s tv show) on Netflix instant. It holds up remarkably well for being nigh on 30 years old. And has a more diverse cast than most shows on tv now. But the song gets stuck in your head.
I've just finished watching MI-5 (ie: Spooks) series 7. I am desperate (DESPERATE) now for series 8. It's one thing to wait for something that no one can see (like series 9, airing in the UK in October), but it's another thing to know that it's available via the UK iTunes (having been on UK tv) but not available to us poor Americans. (That said, I know that it's often the other way 'round with tv, so I shouldn't complain. But I'm going to. Complain, complain, complain.) Any UK peeps wanna hook a fan-girl up?
May's Travel
Speaking of the UK, planning for my trip continues, albeit slowly. I'm in that "how much luggage?" process. Everything, of course, says to pack as light as possible ("You can never have too much money or too little luggage.") And fair enough-- but I am going to be gone for a month. And while there will be laundry facilities, I think I'd have trouble trying to pack in just a carry-on, despite all the recommendations that I do so. My current plan is one checked piece of luggage (with room in it for souvenirs, although I'm already going into serious debt just for the trip itself, so plan on doing my best to rein in any extra spending) and my backpack as my carry-on, complete with my not-yet-purchased mini computer. Clothing will consist of lots of black for mix-and-match purposes, and layers. A pair of jeans, a pair of nice trousers, a plain skirt or two (I am, after all, going to London for the theatre.) I need to buy new Mary Jane style Sketchers since I wear them with jeans and skirts and they're comfortable for walking around in. My current pair, however, has been worn out with wearing (there are holes in the sides...) I haven't decided on sneakers yet, as I don't wear them normally (only for working out) so I always feel like I'm sticking out (even more than Americans have to) as a tourist in them, and such. We'll see... I haven't decided on a coat yet either. The information I got from the group I'm going with said not to bring one (just to wear layers) but I'm usually cold. And I'll be in the German Alps at the end of the trip....
Any advice from travelers? :)
Reading: Kate Griffin (and refs to Neil Gaiman)
I've finally begun reading A Madness of Angels (by Kate Griffin, whose real name is apparently Catherine Webb.) I had picked up an ARC at Bookman's back before comps. Maiafire mentioned the series (apparently there's at least a second one) last week, so I finally picked it up. My fiction reading of late has been total candy (and by this I mean trashy romance novels set in the regency), so it took a wee bit to get into the right mindset for the book, but I'm now loving it. I'm about a 1/3 of the way through and I really wish that I had more spring break so I could just spend the time reading this book (and not grading, or researching or whatevs.) The only downsides are that 1. As I say, it's an ARC so there are typos and grammar issues (which I really hope didn't make it into the real printing) that drop me out of the story at times and 2. it's clearly written by someone who knows London intimately. I ... don't. I'm fine with, say, 85-90% of Britishisms and references, but when you start getting into specifics about geography of the city, I know I'm missing references. (There was an acronym-- forgetting it now-- that I just had no clue about and had to let sail past me, even though it seemed at least tangentially relevant to the plot.)
Maiafire had quoted a blurb about the series calling it "Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere for the digital age" and it's quite right. (And I love Neverwhere.) But one of the things that that comparison made me realize was that for all its creativity, Neverwhere was really quite straight forward. It helped that the main character (Richard Richard Mayhew Dick) was the outsider and point of view character for the audience. While Matthew Swift (the main character for Griffin's series) has been out of the, er, loop for a few years, and while he is trying to figure things out, he's deep in the events, and himself is a mystery (unlike Richard Mayhew) and so the reader isn't led by the hand. This isn't a bad thing either way, really. It's just an observation. I do feel a bit disloyal to Neverwhere , though, for having made the comparison.
(Then again, I've bene feeling grouchy at Neil Gaiman ever since he announced his engagement to Amanda Palmer, and grouchier still when she announced Evelyn, Evelyn and complained about being attacked by disabled feminists. So, whatever.)
The Play
We are now two weeks out from the performance of The Second Shepherd's Play and it is, as expected, a complete disaster. Wheee. We had rehearsal yesterday but since we have no director and the person in charge (ish) (ie: his vanity project) can't be bothered to actually plan for rehearsal space (arg!), this necessitated wandering about campus for a while as I carried two bags full of props and my spinning wheel. I am now bruised from the latter-- it's not heavy but it is bulky and awkward. Also, I tried to make constructive comments after our customary runthrough (being the only person in the room with, oh, I dunno, directing experience) and was, as per usual, pretty much ignored by Mr Vanity Project. Rehearsal again on Sunday. Yay.
Mainly it makes me want to direct again.
Cooking, badly
In a bid to get healthier, (read: weigh less) I've been trying to cook. I have been, however, repeatedly reminded that I am, in fact, a terrible cook. :P
Project-Cat
Updated Project-Cat a few days ago with a sad post. :( Today, however, when I left to go to Flurry's house (to go hiking) I had seven healthy looking cats sitting around the food dish and that made me happy.
Aaaand that's that. :) I'll probably upload pictures of hiking and tomorrow's ren fair on Sunday or Tuesday... I'll post about it here, in case anyone's curious. :)
(Icon is Hotch from Criminal Minds because it's the closest I have to Lucas from MI-5. I should fix this.)
NOTE: I added the headers after the fact (having just written things as they came to me) so if they're a bit awkward, apologies.)
Working Out
I've been working out again. (I mentioned this earlier, but I've been keeping at it.) I used the elliptical Sunday and Monday, went walking on Tuesday and used the elliptical again on Wednesday. Thursday I took a day off 'cause Wednesday night my left leg started aching from the knee down. I decided it seems to be because I walk oddly, with a twist to my ankle, so a rest was in order. (Also, I had terrible cramps on Thursday.) Today (Friday) I went hiking at the Lost Dutchman National Park with Flurry. It was only a 2.4mile hike (and we took 2hours to do it) but none of it was level, and some of it was even scrambling over rocks. There'll be pictures posted eventually-- it was pretty day.
Plans
Tomorrow probably no work out because I'm going to the Ren Faire with Flurry and a few other TAs/grad students, and that will be lots of walking, too.
I'm way behind on my grading. There are 36 Shakespeare papers waiting for my attention... but I don't think the prof wants us to hand them back 'til Friday anyway, so ... heh.
TV: MI-5/Spooks
Flurry and I have been watching the first season of Fame (yes, the early '80s tv show) on Netflix instant. It holds up remarkably well for being nigh on 30 years old. And has a more diverse cast than most shows on tv now. But the song gets stuck in your head.
I've just finished watching MI-5 (ie: Spooks) series 7. I am desperate (DESPERATE) now for series 8. It's one thing to wait for something that no one can see (like series 9, airing in the UK in October), but it's another thing to know that it's available via the UK iTunes (having been on UK tv) but not available to us poor Americans. (That said, I know that it's often the other way 'round with tv, so I shouldn't complain. But I'm going to. Complain, complain, complain.) Any UK peeps wanna hook a fan-girl up?
May's Travel
Speaking of the UK, planning for my trip continues, albeit slowly. I'm in that "how much luggage?" process. Everything, of course, says to pack as light as possible ("You can never have too much money or too little luggage.") And fair enough-- but I am going to be gone for a month. And while there will be laundry facilities, I think I'd have trouble trying to pack in just a carry-on, despite all the recommendations that I do so. My current plan is one checked piece of luggage (with room in it for souvenirs, although I'm already going into serious debt just for the trip itself, so plan on doing my best to rein in any extra spending) and my backpack as my carry-on, complete with my not-yet-purchased mini computer. Clothing will consist of lots of black for mix-and-match purposes, and layers. A pair of jeans, a pair of nice trousers, a plain skirt or two (I am, after all, going to London for the theatre.) I need to buy new Mary Jane style Sketchers since I wear them with jeans and skirts and they're comfortable for walking around in. My current pair, however, has been worn out with wearing (there are holes in the sides...) I haven't decided on sneakers yet, as I don't wear them normally (only for working out) so I always feel like I'm sticking out (even more than Americans have to) as a tourist in them, and such. We'll see... I haven't decided on a coat yet either. The information I got from the group I'm going with said not to bring one (just to wear layers) but I'm usually cold. And I'll be in the German Alps at the end of the trip....
Any advice from travelers? :)
Reading: Kate Griffin (and refs to Neil Gaiman)
I've finally begun reading A Madness of Angels (by Kate Griffin, whose real name is apparently Catherine Webb.) I had picked up an ARC at Bookman's back before comps. Maiafire mentioned the series (apparently there's at least a second one) last week, so I finally picked it up. My fiction reading of late has been total candy (and by this I mean trashy romance novels set in the regency), so it took a wee bit to get into the right mindset for the book, but I'm now loving it. I'm about a 1/3 of the way through and I really wish that I had more spring break so I could just spend the time reading this book (and not grading, or researching or whatevs.) The only downsides are that 1. As I say, it's an ARC so there are typos and grammar issues (which I really hope didn't make it into the real printing) that drop me out of the story at times and 2. it's clearly written by someone who knows London intimately. I ... don't. I'm fine with, say, 85-90% of Britishisms and references, but when you start getting into specifics about geography of the city, I know I'm missing references. (There was an acronym-- forgetting it now-- that I just had no clue about and had to let sail past me, even though it seemed at least tangentially relevant to the plot.)
Maiafire had quoted a blurb about the series calling it "Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere for the digital age" and it's quite right. (And I love Neverwhere.) But one of the things that that comparison made me realize was that for all its creativity, Neverwhere was really quite straight forward. It helped that the main character (Richard Richard Mayhew Dick) was the outsider and point of view character for the audience. While Matthew Swift (the main character for Griffin's series) has been out of the, er, loop for a few years, and while he is trying to figure things out, he's deep in the events, and himself is a mystery (unlike Richard Mayhew) and so the reader isn't led by the hand. This isn't a bad thing either way, really. It's just an observation. I do feel a bit disloyal to Neverwhere , though, for having made the comparison.
(Then again, I've bene feeling grouchy at Neil Gaiman ever since he announced his engagement to Amanda Palmer, and grouchier still when she announced Evelyn, Evelyn and complained about being attacked by disabled feminists. So, whatever.)
The Play
We are now two weeks out from the performance of The Second Shepherd's Play and it is, as expected, a complete disaster. Wheee. We had rehearsal yesterday but since we have no director and the person in charge (ish) (ie: his vanity project) can't be bothered to actually plan for rehearsal space (arg!), this necessitated wandering about campus for a while as I carried two bags full of props and my spinning wheel. I am now bruised from the latter-- it's not heavy but it is bulky and awkward. Also, I tried to make constructive comments after our customary runthrough (being the only person in the room with, oh, I dunno, directing experience) and was, as per usual, pretty much ignored by Mr Vanity Project. Rehearsal again on Sunday. Yay.
Mainly it makes me want to direct again.
Cooking, badly
In a bid to get healthier, (read: weigh less) I've been trying to cook. I have been, however, repeatedly reminded that I am, in fact, a terrible cook. :P
Project-Cat
Updated Project-Cat a few days ago with a sad post. :( Today, however, when I left to go to Flurry's house (to go hiking) I had seven healthy looking cats sitting around the food dish and that made me happy.
Aaaand that's that. :) I'll probably upload pictures of hiking and tomorrow's ren fair on Sunday or Tuesday... I'll post about it here, in case anyone's curious. :)
(Icon is Hotch from Criminal Minds because it's the closest I have to Lucas from MI-5. I should fix this.)