Traipsing into the hallowed halls of a men's club

Tonight I had an unusal experience, which I think has left me somewhat richer, although some might see it otherwise. Our former chairman of the board, as a means of saying thank you, hosted a dinner for all department mangers tonight. The dinner was excellent (I had the salmon, vegetables, salad, a peppermint ice cream dessert, and an interesting concoction called a "Hummer" involving Kalua, rum, creme de cocoa, and ice cream. Actually, I had two of those, as they were quite good and I wasn't driving. Having spent years being an unreasonable tea-totaller due to alcohol abuse in my family, I've decided to cultivate occasional social drinks without placing it into some sort of black/white framework). I had a good time, saw a lot of my colleagues in a more relaxed environment, etc. In the past, our chairman has treated us to dinner at area restaurants, especially those owned by friends who could use a boost to business. Tonight, however, we dined at the Lexington Club.

For those of you who are not aware of traditional men's clubs, these are places where primarily businessmen meet, drink, socialise, play cards, etc. in an essential network that helps you succeed in society. (By society, I mean the social "society" rather than the one that the majority of us live in). Many of these go back many years. The Lexington Club was founded, I believe, in 1890, if I remember the plaque on the door. As our chairman said, many a horse has been won over a game of cards in these walls. But the Club has also come under fire because it does not admit women to membership (although widows of members can hold social memberships that are non-voting). Women can dine there by invitation--apparently it's not quite as sacred a precinct as traditonal British clubs in say, the Edwardian age. While there is no prohibition per se against minorities, there are also no African-American members, although certainly every waiter we saw tonight was. [As an aside, their service was wonder, very attentive, yet openly interacting with the guests. For a moment I was afraid they were expected to be just a part of the window dressing, although I think there was a certain prestige in their jobs. Also there were other employees who were white, and one woman, but they seemed to be doing such things as checking and concierge work.] You can see where the controversy might arise. I respect the right of a private club to choose its members as it will (certainly I've been a member of a religious club that used just such a clause to keep out some of the more wacko elements that way--and just so you don't get the wrong idea, we didn't discriminate on basis of race, ethincity, gender, sexual orientation, etc., but did proscribe Satanism (not pagan--it's a Christian heresy), channelling, and possession-based practices (because they could be dangerous). The true wackos though we just rejected based on the "we don't think it would be a good fit" line, mainly because we didn't want them in our living rooms.) Still, the liberal in me is glad I wasn't paying any money to support it. I find I have mixed feelings. I can see where some in law, racing, medicine, and other forms of business might suffer if they cannot go through the network. Our chairman and another older member of their board apparently tried some time ago to foster a change to allow minorities and the majority of women (his words, not mine; he's a fine Southern gentleman who nevertheless calls things the way he sees them), only to be blocked by some of the younger members of the board. Which only goes to prove the narrow-mindedness is not a trait necessarily of the elderly.

Some other bastions of tradition have changed, after all. The Daughters of the American Revolution, for example, now state plainly that they encourage diversity. I'm sure you still have to prove you have an ancestor who served, as that is the point, and of course, for men there is a Sons of the American Revolution analogue. But if you're black and you had an ancestor that served, it's okay. I guess the Lexington Club wants to keep the status quo. Old Lexington feels threatened, I think, by things today. The city has grown immensely. And while horses and old money are still important to our economy, things have changed. Maybe the board voted as it did to reflect that fear of change. I am rather glad that our host told us about his attempts to bring about change. He's certainly part of a "good old boy network", but not hidebound. Still, it was an unusual experience and I'm not sure exactly what to make of it. I did find that I felt totally okay in terms of the social expectations, etiquette, etc.--except I did thank the wait staff each time I was served, and I don't think traditionally you're really supposed to. I just can't pretend people aren't really there; some times the best part of etiquette is knowing when and how to break the rules. But I did not feel nervous at all, although I think the woman who gave me a ride was a little overwhelmed. She's younger, and I don't think she was quite expecting the club in all it's Old Southern glory. I wasn't sure what type of establishment it was, but some intuition (and perhaps a dim memory of the story from the link above) made me suspect, so I guess I was prepared. I am rather glad I dressed well, although I did so primarily because I was chairing a professional meeting earlier in the day.

Anyway, it was interesting to observe their operations, and see some of my colleagues in a different light. But now, I'm home, getting ready to curl up with my animals and watch the Yule tree [yes, I did get it up, after repotting it, staking it, and--yes, I'm sure I'll regret this--festooning it with those old-fashioned icicles that we never used when I was a child no doubt because my mother knew better. But is very pretty. :)]

Good night.

As promised, the alternative to the Friday Five with some changes for web posting:

1. Nicknames: Lisa, Lisa Kay, Li, Elis, E, Minion or Ex-Minion, Rabid Librarian, Eilirion

2. Number of candles on your last birthday cake: 35

3. Birthday: 04/02/1967

4. Pets: Spock, Buns, Cerys, Darius, and various unnamed fish

5. Hair colour: Reddish-Brown

6. Eye colour: Hazel

7. Piercing: One in each ear.

8. How much do you love your job: That answer is subject to whim. But being a librarian rocks. Think it doesn't? Check out The Librarian Avengers.

9. Hometown: Danville, Kentucky, USA

10. Current residence: Lexington, Kentucky, USA

11. Favourite food: Mashed potatoes. As a child I would beg to lick the beaters but wouldn't touch chocolate frosting.

12. Been to Africa? No, but I'd love to go, especially to Aegypt.

13. Been toilet papering? No, toilet paper is too precious to waste on trees.

14. Been in a car accident? Yes, several, but none with injuries, thankfully (knock on wood).

15. Loved somebody so much it made you cry? Yes--also hated someone that much; fortunately not the same someone

16. Croutons or bacon bits? Neither--I prefer sunflower seeds for my crunch, although as an aside, Bacon Bits (TM) are actually made from textured vegetable protein, and are both vegetarian and kosher. Now, bits of bacon are another matter.

17. Favourite day of the week: Toss-up between Friday, aka Scrabble Night and Sunday aka Cthulhu Game Day. Note both involve games.

18. Favourite word or phrase: Ooh, I have to pick? How about: discombobulated, bleak, and "I live to serve."

19. Favourite restaurant: Aladdin , Kashmir , or Pad Thai

20. Favourite flowers: Iris, pansy, rose, chicory, lavender, orchid, and corpse flower (you got to love a giant phallic flower that smells like dead things, no?)

21. Favourite drink: Diet A&W in a frosty mug

22. Favourite sport to watch: English Premier League Soccer/Figure Skating

23. Favourite Ice cream: English Toffee

24: Disney or Warner Bros.? Neither; I'm more of a Dexter's Laboratory or Daria kinda girl

25. Favourite fast food place: Long John Silver's/A&W's

26. What colour is your bedroom carpet? Apartment building uniform beige

27. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None

28. Do you sing in the shower? Sometimes. I generally sing anywhere but the shower, especially when walking down hallways or streets.

29. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Ooh, Joseph-Beth, The Pyramid Collection, or Pier 1

30. What do you do most often when you are bored? Play Sims or surf online

31. Most annoying thing people ask me: It's not what, it's how--the "I hate to bother you, but...". I'm a librarian. It's my job to answer them or at least try to answer them. It's okay. We don't bite.

32. Bedtime: Anywhere from 6 pm - 3 am

33. Favourite TV shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, CSI, Charmed, Dinotopia, Birds of Prey

34. Favourite celebrities: Female--Nicole Kidman/Catherine Zeta-Jones; Male--Sean Biggerstaff/David Duchovny/William Petersen

35. What did you want to be when you grew up? An optometrist

How about you?

Go me!

In the past week I have survived our first winter storm (one good thing about not having a car, no scraping, no sliding), a company Christmas party, lined up a successor to my presidency of a local library consortium, dealt well with my first family resource centre visitors (even though one kept trying to sell me a wireless plan), managed to stay alive in Cthulhu and take all sorts of new game revelations in stride, read and enjoyed several chapters of J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion (apparently I needed to read from the beginning, rather than jumping straight into the Lord of the Rings, and hunted down, captured, and brought a tree home to enjoy the Yuletide season. A note on the last: being Pagan, I prefer a real tree. [What, she's getting a Christmas tree? Not at all. If you look at the history, all this greenery and gift giving come from Pagan sources that were going on long before Christ.] And in keeping with that tradition, Yule is about the survival of life in the darkness of winter, not the survival of plastic. Being a tree-hugger, I don't really want to kill one to get the effect. For years I had a small Norfolk Virginia pine in a pot that I used, but it finally shriveled up and died last summer. The ones I've seen that were similar were more than I wanted to pay for a four foot, 10" diametre pot ($25.00). This afternoon I went over to Home Depot and found the perfect size (6' tall/14" pot), but it was $40! So, I did what any budget-conscious gardening buff would do--I examined all the specimens until I found a green, viable tree that had overshot its pot, needed replanting, was even falling down without support, but still had a 10" pot (only $12). I bought it and a 12" pot ($5), so now I have a six foot tree that's nicely branched and just needs to be staked into the new pot with a little more dirt. Seeing as I carried the thing home (I live a couple of blocks away), I am now resting, blogging, and letting some dirt I had outside thaw in my kitchen sink so I can get the tree up and ready for decorating. As with my other tree, the cats were fascinated for all of five minutes and now have gone back to playing with milk tabs.

All of this, mind you, has been post DBT. I really do feel pretty well. I'm participating in a study as a control at work in which I have to fill out a questionnaire on quality of life and mood. For the first time in awhile, I don't think I'm going to come out depressed. I've generally been looking forward to the holidays (I'm listening to Christmas music right now. Granted, I'm not Christian, but I like the music, okay?)

I have to admit, though, that I have had enough socialising for one weekend. The Christmas party didn't make me feel phobic like I used to be, although the band, which was very good, was just too loud. I would have preferred to have a bunch of us go out to Perkins or something instead once it started, but since one of my friends at work is the daughter of the band's drummer, I don't think she would have come. Yesterday I watched part of the 10-hour Taken marathon (and taped the rest). It was very good. Only 10 hours more to go. Sigh. But I am totally hooked. They've done an excellent job with the period clothes and scenery, too. The website's really great, although it gave me fits when I was on a slow connexion. For those who miss it, there's a novel out there based on it as well. Then I went over to Zabet's, had dinner, played Scrabble (TM) and watched Monsters, Inc., which was just darling. I definitely need to get a copy. At work we have life-sized figures of Sully and Mike--not cardboard cutouts--3D, with a very furry Sully that the kids love to rub in the tummy. The rec therapy staff have decorated them for the holidays with garlands and stockings. I'm thinking of having my picture taken with them for next year's Yule cards.

Okay, I guess that's all for now. I may check and see if the Friday Five's back up. Better late than never. If not, I'll probably copy a response to one of those "getting to know you" e-mails I got at work the other day. When I was answering questions on celebrities, I went to Sean Biggerstaff's website to make sure the young man wasn't still a minor. I mean, a 35-year-old going gaga over a kid, right? Well, he's legal, anyway. For those of you who don't recognise him, he plays Oliver Wood in the Harry Potter movies. He's actually 20 now. He has a lovely Scottish accent and a smirk that makes both Zabet and me just melt, not to mention a name that invites all sorts of comment. But I was looking through the site and he definitely has a warm sense of humour. I particularly like the section on "What it's like living in England?" to which he replies that he doesn't know, having lived in Scotland all his life. It amazes me that Americans (okay, I'm making an assumption here, but you and I both know that they're probably Americans asking this) just don't seem to understand that the Scotland and Wales are not English. British, yes. You can even say that one is a Briton. But English, never, unless they happen to be English people living in Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland's a little stickier, of course. But still. Geography people, it's a wonderful subject.

Talk to you later, and happy finals for all you poor suckers in school!

Well, NaNoWriMo is officially over.

My grand total of words: 7,804. Far short of the 50,000 I meant to write. But, as they say, tomorrow is another day. Some things I learned along the way:

1) I tend to write in a completed sort of way--no diamond in the rough to be polished over and over. I always did that with term papers--I abhorred rough drafts. My mind plays it out like a movie long before the words make it onto the screen. In role-playing games I have characters spring forth fully formed. The good news is I need less revision than some. The bad news is that I can't bring myself to spew forth words without thinking about my choices. It has to make sense as I write, and I have to care about my characters and the story. It can't be some rambling stream-of-consciousness thing. Plots are nice. Believable plots are even better.

2) I write from somewhere deep inside, not just my brain. If the Muse is kind, it flows outward gracefully. I won't say it is effortless--it is draining. But if the inspiration is not there no amount of pumping for water will bring up the flow. On the other hand, I think I can meet a deadline--just not a book a month. :) Maybe two a year.

3) I think the effort is well worth it. I'm going to continue writing my novel. The way I look at it, I'm almost 8,000 words ahead of where I was November 1st, so the effort wasn't wasted.

On another note, I'm enjoying my holiday immensely so far. I rested on Thanksgiving and did some things that needed to be done around the house. On Thanksgiving night I happened across my father's website. My father and I have been estranged for several years. I have no desire to contact him, but I like to keep up with where people are long after they exit my life. I was somewhat disconcerted to find that our entire life together--I hesitate to call it a family, as we were basically three people all doing their own thing in close geographical proximity to one another--was summed up in a short clause somewhere between his childhood and when he started raising horses twenty years later. But the oddest thing was that one of his brood mares--he, his wife, and step-daughter raise quarter horses--is named after my mother. No long name like you usually see with registered pedigrees--just Phyllis. I told my mom, and she thinks it's hilarious. John says he thinks he came out ahead--he'd rather have the woman over a horse. Zabet tsked tsked over the design and made derogatory comments about people doing web pages in Word--with which I have to agree, as Windows XP shut down IE three times because of errors on the page. People are supportive in their own way. Anyway, it's at Clover Ridge Farm. I have to admit, reading through the rather pompous text (yes, I got that from my dad--when we think we're being funny we generally aren't, although I at least recognise that) I found myself thinking two things: 1) I hope he's enjoying life and maybe grown up and found a little wisdom along the way. Maybe this works for him. Maybe he's finally happy and feels good about what he does. 2) I'm glad that he's in my past. I won't say I never want to see him again---but I don't think the wounds are going to heal any time soon--they're very old and very deep.

Yesterday I spent most of the day with a friend from work. That is a blog in and of itself--I think I'll leave that story for tomorrow, since it's kind of late right now and I'm sleepy. Suffice to say I was grilled for three hours by a very tenacious character (her husband) on all sorts of subjects from Ouija boards to totalitarianism, and she's probably afraid I'll never step foot in the place again. I will, don't worry. I love a chance to lecture. :)

Today I went home to Danville and visited my family. I modelled the new coat I'd bought with money from my grandmother. It's very warm and a bright sky blue, which seems to be much more visible at night. As much as I love purple and black, they don't show up well after dark.

One thing about my acquaintances is that we run a fairly large gamut in terms of religion and/or holidays. Tonight I got to celebrate Chanukah and I helped with holiday wrapping while we listened to Christmas music with a beautiful tree decked in purple and gold in the background. I still have my own preparations for Yule to make, but generally I'm ready.

On that note, I am getting...very...sleepy (too much Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald). I'll contine tomorrow. 'Night.

Three Reasons to Be Thankful This Thanksgiving...

1. I have a small cadre of people in my life who are just wonderful. You know who you are.
2. I'm fortunate to have a pack of loving animals as companions.
3. My health this year has improved; I think I'm finally living life.

and lastly, as an extra bonus, Walgreens across the street was open when I had to go out into the brisk Thanksgiving evening on the hunt for toilet paper, and the ATM outside has recently changed so that my tempermental bank card works in it, so I didn't have to walk down to the mall. Yea! (Hey, I know it's not big in the grand scheme of things, but trust me, running out of toilet paper when virtually every store is closed is not a happy thing.)

I spent this Thanksgiving mostly taking it easy. I'm going to see my family on Saturday, so I had some time to just get some rest. Oddly enough, when I checked my e-mail earlier, that's exactly what the Aries horoscope said to do. I slept in, unfortunately missing the Macy's parade, so I watched the closest thing to it--the national dog show. I'm always amazed with the incredibly different types of dogs out there. They come in so many shapes, sizes, and temperments. I curled up with my own Cerys, give her a good scritching while we watched. I played a little on the computer, and then I also did a little cleaning this evening. Not exciting, but necessary. Besides, I have the rest of the weekend planned out and it'll be busy. I accidentally found that Dinotopia, the series, was on tonight. I knew it was coming but wasn't sure which day it was starting. You can tell they've had to tone down some things because of the cost otherwise, but I think I like these actors and actresses better than those on the miniseries. It was like watching an old friend. :) If you aren't familiar with the books, you can check them out at Amazon. The miniseries is available on VHS and DVD; it's about 4 hours long. That may be on Amazon, too, or just check around. It's sort of like "Land of the Lost" meets one of those "simple utopian" societies they alway ran into on "Star Trek".

I'm re-reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and listening to Paula Cole's This Fire. I have a velcro kitty pressed up against me [Buns loves to sit on the keyboard]. Life is good. Hope it is at your house. Happy Thanksgiving.

It's been awhile...

I haven't been blogging, mainly because I've been busy. (I even thought I'd missed the Friday Five, but it turns out it's on hiatus until December.) Earlier this week instead of our usual roleplaying game of mayhem, I was able to go see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I really enjoyed it, although all I could think of at the end was that Richard Harris is dead...sob. I've become resigned to the fact that they're going to simplify the story a lot. But I loved it all the same. Our group consisted of two who had read the books, and two who had not, and we all enjoyed it immensely, even though spider and snake phobias abound within the group. We had gone early to try to get tickets for one showing, found that it was sold out, and got tickets for the next one instead (only half an hour later). That gave us time to go to Joseph-Beth, have lunch, and hurry back.

I also had a couple of other great things happen this week at work. We got a $1000 donation from Xerox for our early literacy project, courtesy of Zabet's mom, who was in charge of their department's charity giving. Z is designing bookmarks for said donations. Also, our family resource centre is finally open. Yea!!! Between the ordering for ROR and the FRC, I have $4000 to spend on books by the end of the year. That's harder than it sounds, even for a bibliophile, especially when you're having to weigh the needs of an organisation.

Also, I started my Advanced DBT class. To be honest, I'm not sure if this is really for me. The people in the class are still very depressed and it kind of brought me down. Depression can be contagious, you know. I found it draining, despite the fact that I've been feeling good and doing well with my skills. The purpose of the class is to create short- and long-term goals and practice the skills necessary to attain them, but some of the people are in the "I'm here to rant about my day" mode instead and don't want any really support or suggestions for how to handle things. Usually I feel better when I talk with others who are having problems; it gives me perspective, it gives me a chance to be supportive and caring, and it helps them. But that's not the case here, and I'd rather focus on learning how to apply the skills better. So, I may not continue. I haven't decided--after all, that was just one day. But if it doesn't seem useful I'll probably move to a social skills class instead.

Well, that's all for now. I know it wasn't much, but think of it as just checking in.

NaNoWriMo update!

Current word count: 7,084 words [23 double-spaced pages, 105 paragraphs}.
Where you can view it: The Chosen
Chances of reaching the 50,000 word mark by the deadline: Um...that depends on Thanksgiving. But seriously, maybe 55%?

But really, even if I don't, I think I've got a good start to the story and I have been writing it in my head for so long that it is bursting to get out. I'll have to finish it, even if I don't by November 30th. :) I mean, I'm already way ahead of where I was.

Cheers.

What to do when you have a half-day and it's a rainy mess outside?

Why, I went over to the little shopping centre across the street, did some small amount of shopping (Great Harvest Bread, orange juice, soda, and a video, things to get me through a weekend of rain and possibly snow flurries), came home, and slept. So now I'm awake, and just getting moving (it's 9 pm) and unexpectedly home alone on a Friday, all warm and snuggly, and kind of liking it. After all, tomorrow is another day. (Damn, I always hated that line. I wanted to ring Scarlett's little white neck by the end of the film).

Anyway, I'm catching up on reading blogs, and found this set of questions on Zabet's, and thought it would make a good Friday Five substitute. As usual, the answers get windier as I go along. Feel free to skip over anything that bores you. :)

Number of times I have been in love: One and a half. (I still wonder if I was ever in love with my ex, but I think I was, briefly, although in that adolescent way. One was definitely the whole way, but unrequited. I understand scads of songs and poems by frustrated lovers now).
Number of times I have had my heart broken: Two.
Number of hearts I have broken: None.
Number of boys I have kissed: Four. One was my cousin at age two. We have a picture of me with him up against the wall. As a child, you'd never know how meek I was going to turn out. I also had a huge crush on twins next door. At age five I announced that one was my husband, and one was my boyfriend. Hmmm...
Number of girls I have kissed: One.
Number of men I've slept with: Three.
Number of girls I've slept with: One.
Number of continents I have lived in: Just the one, unfortunately. I'd love to live around the world.
Number of drugs taken illegally: Hmmm...amyl nitrate was legal when I tried it--smelled like gym socks, ugh. Alcohol wasn't for my age (18-21), so I guess one. But I decided I didn't like either.
Number of people I would classify as true, could-trust-with-my-life type friends: One.
Number of people I consider my enemies: None, really. At one time there were more.
Number of people from high school that I stayed in contact with: None.
Number of CDs that I own: Twenty-five.
Number of piercings: Two--one in each ear. I would call that kind of boring and normal, but I think more piercings are getting to be the norm, even among people I would never think would get them.
Number of tattoos: None. I just can't get over the idea of being old and decrepit with a tatoo hanging limply from some part of my anatomy.
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Something like fifteen--mostly letters to the editor, one article I wrote, marriage and divorce, and school-related stuff. Only one was criminal, and it was thankfully minor, back in the days when my checking acount had more holes than Swiss cheese and I'd had one too many oopses in bouncing cheques.
Number of scars on my body: Oh, gee, lots. The main ones are from falling over a toy train at age 3, locking a thumb in a car door as a college freshman, being bitten by a hamster, being bitten by a squirrel, and then years of compulsively picking at these bumps I've gotten since I was a little kid. The worst two are from the last; as I've gotten older, I've started getting keloid scars (raised, hard scars that grow beyond the original wound). Fortunately they're on my legs, so they're not too bad--but no more piercings for me! Unless I do the scarification thing, and I think I'll pass. But generally, given how clumsy I am, I'm not as banged up as I should be.
Number of things in my past that I regret: There's nothing I would specifically change--they were all important to how I am as a person now, I guess. Sometimes I wish that I had learned to trust and love more easily, but I guess there's still time for that. Oh, and I wish I'd realised that I could have had my grandmother's car put in my name after her death. Instead I just left it to be taken away because I didn't want anything more to do with my father once he tried to blackmail me. Long story. But now, I know you can get the title to an abandoned car. I went for years without one (and in fact, I'm back in that position now) and it made it difficult to get a job, etc. But I did okay, anyway, and maybe I needed that hardship. If you check out my excerpt for Nanowrimo, the introduction is autobiographical. I really did walk two miles in the dark every morning to make bagels. I'm just glad I went back to school before the infamous "Railway Killer" decided to use those train tracks as a hunting ground, because later on one man was killed and a woman was raped when the two were attacked by the serial killer, just a little way down the track. Shiver. But all in all, it's worked out--not well, exactly, but as needed. Zabet thinks I just haven't had much luck in life. I say I used it up not getting AIDS from one of the men I was with who was sexually addicted and having hundreds, if not thousands, of sexual encounters with men a year. Come to think of it, not being at the bagel shop at the wrong time was a lucky break, too. As long as my luck runs into the keeping me alive variety, I'm happy. :)

Well, I see I have a snoring dog at my feet (she fell asleep protecting her food, and just as I wrote those words she woke up and woofed at a passing cat). In her defence, she's not paranoid. They do steal her food. One is hovering as we speak--unfortunately for him, he does not realise the ingredients in both foods are the same. Muhahaha. Oh, gee. I think it's time to get some soda and curl up with a good book. I'm re-reading Elizabeth Peters' Die For Love which is a murder mystery set at a romance writer's convention. Then, hopefully this weekend, I'll work on my novel--I've been sadly neglecting it. I had the events of our cooperative story (a.k.a. the game) in mind, since we've been dealing with gun-toting cultists, etc. But if we don't game this weekend, the writing will help take care of my need to create mayhem.

The Friday Five is on vacation this week, but they left a link to the Anti-Diva's Friday Five instead.

I guess that should be the Anti-Diva's #@%& Friday Five. Seriously, I thought it was hilarious, although I'm not going to contribute because I'm just not great at cussing like a sailor unless someone tries to run over me with a Cadillac. Well, and I don't really drink, and sex--we won't even discuss the last time I had sex. Let's just say it's been several years and my friends still make fun of me for my choice of partners. But happy Friday, anyway.

I'm working a half-day because I originally planned to go see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with some friends. Unfortunately the plans fell through (the UK theatre department is being a particularly unkind taskmaster)--we may not even be able to have our game on Sunday. I'm going to try the see it next week instead. Besides, some of the furor should die down by then. Besides, what I really want is book five in my hands. :( But that's next year sometime. So instead, I may go finish my holiday shopping. Thanks to our book fair, I have all of my family taken care of, although there's not a book for any of them--I decided it was important to not be so predictable. Besides, just because you're a librarian doesn't mean you have to give books. After all, my mom's a nurse and I hate to think what she'd give me along those lines. (Although there was that one Christmas we both had the flu). I've never been this far ahead--even have the wrapping paper. Unfortunately, I don't have a Chanukah present yet, and that's early this year--November 30th.

A nifty thing happened the other day. I was walking to work and saw a really huge bird up in a tree. I couldn't tell what it was, so I borrowed a coworker's telephoto lens. It was an owl--not a horned one--it's head was more hawkish, but it turned it's head completely to the back, and as far as I know, only owls can do that. It had a white breast with brown spots, and darker on the back. I think it was a barred owl. Some people think seeing an owl in the daytime is bad luck, but some of them are day hunters, after all. After I'd watched it for awhile, it flew off and circled back to the golf course. Anyway, I've been in a good mood ever since--I've never seen an owl, just heard them. And on the week that Harry Potter opens, no less! :)

Strange mail of the week...

Okay, this is going to sound like a rant, but really I'm just amused. I forgot to check my mail Saturday and so I did yesterday (yes, I know there was no mail due to the holiday), only to find...wheat flakes. Kroger had sent me a small, one serving box of wheat flakes in a brand I'd never seen. Now, if Kroger really is keeping tabs on my purchases, they should know that I don't as a rule buy wheat flakes. In fact, I'm allergic to wheat. Not to mention, and maybe, just maybe I'm being a little paranoid, but do you really want to eat something that's been through the US Postal Service? Seeing as that is probably a little much, I'll probably feed it to the squirrels. But I guess it makes more sense than people getting menstrual pads as promotions--especially when they're sent to occupant or guys with names that aren't "recognisably" male. :)

DBT went well last night, although it took me an hour and a half to get there on the buses. Waits can be a problem sometimes, but after all, I could have gone to Louisville in the same amount of time. I just needed to get to campus. Fortunately my good mood carried over, so it was okay. Then I went home and played Sims for awhile. I finally have created a family that's staying happy, social, has a nice house, makes a decent living (oh, to bring home $750 a day!), etc. The secret seems to be having a piano and hot tub. And I got a baby through the three-day hell of infancy to pouf into a little girl who's actually quite helpful. I could see where some people could play the game instead of interacting with the real world. The thing about playing the Sims for me, though, is after I do it for awhile, it gets me into the mood to clean house, etc. Strange, hmm?

Anyway, it's still sunny, I'm still sunny. Hope you are, too.