So on my way home from work, I got this great idea as to what to make out of a piece of blue Italian-looking brocade in my fabric stash! With a great whosh it hit me - I'll make a tabard-like Florentine overdress, late 1400's!
Then I got home, looked at the fabric, and realized that the piece I cut out of the brocade in an aborted attempt at another dress a few years ago will make my idea quite difficult to bring to fruition.
Difficult, but not impossible - I'll figure out a way to make that dress if I have to goof off, shirk, and daydream for days!
My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought, cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
I've often wondered - why aren't they the Gryffindor Gryffins?
Hey kids! New Harry Potter book this year!What do we do till then?
You are Erato, the Muse of Love Poetry and Mimicry.
Find out which is your Muse. - brought to you by Amanda.
Geek assistance by Locke.
But when Erato brushed her flowery lute,
What strains of sweetness whispered in the wind!
Soft as at evening when the shepherd's flute
To tones of melting love alone resigned,
Breathes through the windings of the silent vale;
Complaining accents tremble on the gale,
Or notes of ecstacy serenely roll.
So when the smiling muse of Cupid sung,
Her melody sighed out the sorrowing soul,
Or o'er her silken chords sweet notes of gladness rung.
Percival's "An Ode To Music"
Quiz courtesy of Darren. I thought I would have been Thalia!
I'm not exactly sure why someone would name a snack food after an Italian dynasty. But with a name like Visconti, it has to be good!
I dreamt that, in the name of college campus fun (specifically, Greek-related), I legally got to beat the crap out of a certain big-fat-liar-head. I was awarded a rhinestone tiara, while friends past and present rejoiced. My sorority house was restored to glory. All was good.
When I woke up, I briefly thought that I had to go to work, but fortunately higher brain function awoke long enough to remind me that this was Saturday. One of the kitties snuggled with me. I went back to sleep till 8, which for me is sleeping in. Ahhh, weekends.
SO I had the arena football game on to keep me company while I sewed. It was Orlando vs. Tampa Bay; Jay Gruden, football god John's brother, is the Orlando QB, so it was no surprise that the grimacing gridiron guru was there in the stands. But guess who was with him? Warren Sapp, of course, and they had to interview him and discuss the retro Pittsburgh Pirates jersey he was wearing. Don't you just know that he probably went to the game with John Gruden just to get some post-season face time on the tube? When will the madness end?
2003 is the year that I prove once and for all that I am a capable cook. Last night's culinary foray was salmon. It tasted all right, but man did it ever stink up the house - for hours. That, and one of the cats threw up salmon treat.
It was funny to watch some hammerhead in an SUV spin out the other day, making too fast a turn on a rain-slicked highway. It was funny once I figured he wasn't going to hit me, anyway.
I suppose cars are being built pretty sturdy these days, this morning some numbskull rear-ended a car that had the temerity to stop at a red light. There was no damage, so the parties involved decided to go on with their lives without involving the authorities.
And what is up with the skyrocketing price of Iraqi SUV Juice, anyway? It zoomed up 10 cents within 24 hours after I filled 'er up.
I've been listing stuff for sale on eBay this week. Fabric (for quilting and for costuming), books, and Lisa's Elizabethan are all up for grabs. Bid early and often. This is to raise some spending money for my vacation coming up in March; it's also a part of my campaign to reduce clutter.
I seem to have earned the nickname "eBay Queen" around these parts; I do acquire a lot of stuff there, so it's nice to actually have an opportunity to earn money, as opposed to spending it foolishly on items like brocade fabric with bees on it. (mmmmm...bee brocade...)
Oh, and by the way, I wouldn't actually make an SCA costume out of that heraldic print fabric; I'm just trying to appeal to the average consumer of such things. Same goes for the cutesy way I described some of the quilting fabric - most quilters eat that sort of thing up. Notice too that I elected not to have some annoying MIDI file playing in the background - I hate that crap.
Chuckie, the avuncular engineer that I work with (NOT for!) is wearing jeans today. Which is very unusual, he usually wears khakis. He says he's wearing jeans because he's going to Iowa later today and wants to fit in. He damaged the temporary cap on his front tooth, the appearance of which may also help him blend in.
Earlier this week I was in his office helping him with Power Point. I happened to notice that the expiration date on the jug of generic cough syrup sitting on his desk was some time ago. "Um, Chuckie," I said, "your cough syrup expired in June 2001." At first he blew me off, but a couple minutes later he said, "Really, that medicine is expired? Because I haven't been getting any better."
I don't know what he'd do without me. Probably bug somebody else.
I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...
I will not buy the bee brocade fabric...
I keep seeing this disturbing commercial from a bank, it features a guy on a stage dressed up like Benjamin Franklin and singing The Human League's hit, "Don't You Want Me?".
Or did I dream it?
Dear Sir,
This letter may come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we
have not yet met,but it shouldn't, since we are determined to get what
rightly belongs to us anyhow,but soon when every thing goes according to plan. The message could be strange but reality will definitely dawn on you, if you pay some attention to it's content. I wouldn't have notified you but for the sake of your integrity and goodwill.Please accept my sincere apologies.In bringing this message to you, I have to say that I have no intentions of causing you any personal pains or discomfort.
I am Jolly Savimbi, son of the late rebel leader Jonas Savimbi of Angola who was killed on the 22nd of february 2002.We are esperately looking for a trustworthy person to assist us in this confidential business.My late father, Jonas Savimbi deposited huge sums of money realised from the sale of diamonds and other precious stones /metals in different banks in Europe. My father is presently no more, and the movement of his family members (including me) is highly restricted. We are forbidden to either travel abroad or out of our immediate localities.
Presently, the money realised from those sails amounting to US$28,500,000.00 ( TWENTY EIGHT MILLION,FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS),which my father realised was transfered to Netherlands is safe in a security firm over there. PLEASE YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY IN THIS TRANSACTION IS HIGHLY REQUIRED. confidentialMILLION,FIVE HUNDRED have this money collected by you and transfered into your account,as blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah lie lie lie lie lie lie lie lie spam spam spam very lame spam
Thank you very much for your time and understanding.
Yours sincere
Jolly savimbi.
Dear AssHat-
Just how many millionares are there in Angola? Must be a lot, because this is the fifth letter I've gotten begging me for help from your country TODAY ALONE. How stupid do you think people are, anyway? This scam's been going on for years, only a complete and total moron who has no business on the Internet would fall for this! And why do you assume I'm a sir? JUST STOP FUCKING SPAMMING ME, You FUCKING FUCKTARDS!
Oh, and if you're going to spam an English major, at least have the courtesy to not mangle the grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Or is that part of the "English is my second language" ruse?
Die, Spammer, DIE!
My employer decided to hold a Chili Cook-Off for us wage slaves Friday, in honor of Valentine's Day. I can see the tie-in - love can make you sweat and your stomach hurt. There were 19 different chilis to sample, and I can tell you one thing: I will never sample 19 chilis in one sitting ever again. I'm serious.
The fix was in big time, I caught the receptionist with a guilty look on her face putting all her votes for the HR person's entry, which won second place. I'm pretty sure at least one of the GLOM (Gorgeous Ladies of Marketing) stuffed the ballot box in my favor, but to no avail. This is the year I plan on proving to everyone that I am a decent cook, but a rigged office chili contest is not the vehicle to do so.
One of my favorite pairs of socks came from Big Lots, of all places. It features a caricature of an exasperated face, with the word "whatever" all over.
Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever Whatever
Please, Mister, please don't tell me to 'smile'. I'm not some empty-headed smile monkey who can just go around grinning like an idiot no matter what's going on elsewhere. Just because it makes your life more sunshiney and bright to see everyone smiling and happy and sunny and making a joyful noise and all that.
The other day I caught Office Stalker putting an opened can of Pepsi in the communal freezer. Now, since saying as little as possible to him seems to have had an effect, I didn't say anything. But that's just gross. What, is he making a Pepsi Slushie? It's just going to go all flat and metallic-tasting, isn't it? I wonder if he was the ass hat who was putting unopened cans of generic soda pops in the freezer a few months ago, with predictable, messy results. Frozen coke go boom!
I may be thirty-mumble years old, but I still take comfort in talking to Mom. Since she was a teenager during WWII, she's got an interesting perspective. (She was in a movie theatre when they interrupted the show to tell the audience about Pearl Harbor.) She says that, back then, all the other nations either ignored or appeased Hitler, and, "look what happened," she says.
I can see that. But, I say, what about China? What about North Viet Nam? And why didn't we do anything about the atrocities of the Taliban-governed Afghanistan? She didn't say anything about China, said we did eventually get around to Afghanistan, and that we needed to do something about 'Nam.
I'm still not 100% convinced. Maybe I'm more of a peace-nic then I thought. Yes, my mum is a Eisenhower Republican, but she's actually very reasonable about most things. Ialso try to be reasonable, but am pretty much apolitical. It made her mad when I told her I voted for...oh, who did I vote for? Oh yeah, the Libertarians.
I was blog-browsing and just happened to visit the blog of a sewer. She had a link to Butterick (a sewing pattern company, guys); out of bored curiousity I clicked on it, only to discover that McCall's now owns Vogue and Butterick (other sewing pattern companies). So I'm thinking, there goes divisity.
I really believe that soon there will be one restaurant - McDonalds; one retail store - Mal-Wart; and one church - probably Mormon, because they're so darn organized.
An intriguing offer arrived via e-mail today: "Grow your Penis Safely and Naturally!" Now, THAT'S what I call a science fair project! I wonder, is it like those sea monkey kits they used to advertise in comic books? Do they send you a packet and all you have to do is just add water? How long (no pun intended) does it take to grow one of those? Wow, what will they think of next?
"I'm going home to suckle upon NyQuil's murky green teat," I declared to my soup-ervisor, having come in to the office late to begin with. This sinus infection brought to you by the insurance company named after a mountain in Italy, who took over two weeks to approve my petition to stay on Zyrtek. I should be grateful they're covering a $70 medication, but now my co-pay is $30, not $15.
Rat Bastards.
I had just found a book on-line that I've only seen on sale for $100 and up for a mere $28!!! But I couldn't log in to my account! It wouldn''t let me type in my password! By the time I restarted my browser, some rat bastard had already bought it!!!!!!!
"KAHNNNNN!"
The book was The Restorer's Handbook of Easel Painting, by the way. Grumble.
Microsoft Word sucks, it is the most clumsy, stupid, vexatious, awkward, unyielding software program known to humankind, and any engineering society expecting technical papers to be submitted in Word format should be forced to have Carrot Top as its keynote speaker.
