Richenza's Journal

12:03pm: my uterus has become a discotheque...
Oh my god - the baby will not ever sit still.

Ok, on the one hand, that's good right, because it's healthy, you know? On the other hand, I shudder to think what it will be like when hes is on the outside, as he doe not appear to ever sleep. At least I will be in practice for not sleeping, because it's pretty hard to sleep when you have a 24-hour-rave going on in your belly.

1:34pm: I laughed so hard I almost died...
Via WArren Ellis, regarding the VP debate

"Palin: global warming is caused by Satan draping his big gay testicles over the planet"

5:26pm: For Jen
Initially via Ian Gunn, but too awesome not to pass along everyone:

10:15am: I am finding Prague much more satisfying now that it is properly fall. For one thing, I can leave the window open, so I am not breathing recycled air all day. For another thing, there are about a tenth as many people as are here in the summer, so the cigarette stink is down and I can safely leave the hotel at night. Also, the heavier food here seems more appropriate for a cooler setting, and I now know which restaurants actually serve vegetables. I am looking forward to this weekend, (even if it means I have to get up at the ass-crack of dawn,) when we we will go to Cesky Krumulov, which I hear is quite beautiful. The leaves here are about half turned, so the view from my window, where not entirely buildings, is green mixed with gold.

10:46am: October Fool's day
Today is a day for making outrageous claims that are true, making fools of those who doubt your veracity.
(from selkiechick, via metahacker, via cvirtue)

I am a first-place Lego Champion, and have been a finalist six times.

8:34am: So, about a week and a half ago, I got what looked like a series of bug bites. I figured that they were just mosquito bites from asdr83 and laurion's wedding. (The lake was beautiful but buggy, and I remember Jen got somewhat eaten, too.) Anyway, I didn't worry about it much, though I did pack some Calamine lotion for this trip just in case.

I don't know what it actually is, but I swear to god it is spreading. The calamine is the only thing keeping me from scrathing myself raw. I am in a foreign country where I do not speak the language.

And it's too early to call my doctor.

Fuckery.

3:13pm: shiny!
We got one of our two fancy light fixtures from the restorer. The other one won't be up until after the renovation (god knows when). Jack and I installed this one ourselves, almost like we knew what we were doing! Pics under the cut.

( I has the pretties )
It is sort of a pity that some of the awesomeness is lost in translation to photo.

9:59am: House rules for the Campaign Debate Drinking Game
Take a shot any time:

Either candidate actually answers the question
A candidate draws a parallel between Main Street and Wall Street
McCain mentions $932 million in pork barrel spending
Obama mentions $10 billion/ month cost of Iraq war
McCain implies sanctioning lethal secret missions "You don't say you are going to bomb Pakistan" (you just quietly bomb them wearing "surprise" party hats...)
Either candidate mentions Reagan
A candidate tells a meandering anecdote lasting more than 30 seconds
A cadidate uses a word improperly, or stupidly:
* "orgy" of spending
* "existential" threat to Israel
* "parsing" as a synonym for "misunderstand"
* "clean coal"

Of the last, I think my favorite is "existential" threat to Israel. As if a nuclear Iran would casue Israel to paint their nails black and write mopey poetry about the meaninglessness of it all.

10:13am: Feel like hell today.

Managed to snag a nap before gaming, which helped make that more fun, but baby retaliated by refusing to let me get a full night's sleep after that. I had to be up and moving by 7 a.m. anyway. I feel like there is cotton in my head and my eyes keep trying to close themselves. (Not least because work today is dull.) I have an angsty-teen post rolling around in my head for my make-believe LJ but no motivation to get it actually written. I suppose it will join the other 50 or so half-finished writing projects I have going. At this rate, if I ever finish anything it will be cause for celebration.

4:32am: bad news/good news
Well, the bad news is that I don't think that we are naming this acorn "Eleanor" after all.

The good news is that the reason we won't be doing so is that it appears to be a healthy baby boy.

11:51am: addicted to stupid news...
Is it wrong that I have been compulsively following the stories about the lion and tiger caught in the path of Hurricane Ike? I know I should feel some more sympathy for the human victims, but on a certain level, it is just harder to evacuate two enormous endangered cats, and they are less likey to adapt well to everything going to shit. Anyway the final word is out.

3:41pm: love letter to all of creation...
Dear morons worldwide,

What the hell?!?!?

Am I the only person who knows how to use Google? There has been a tremendous upswing in people asking for papers which are not NBER publications. You are all so frantic. However, when I enter the title of the allegedly difficult-to-find paper into Google, the result is always in the first ten results.

Seriously world? Fuck off! I am not your secretary.
You, too, can learn how to use the internet.
(I am looking at you, McCain.)

Kisses,

Pissed off admin

11:39am: because it's that time of year...
I have been listening to Don Henley's Dirty Laundry on heavy rotation.

I could have been an actor
But I wound up here
I just have to look good
I don't have to be clear

Also:

You don't really need to find out what's going on
You don't really want to know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry

I assume this is an artifact of starting to read the news again.

4:50pm: because I have no focus today.

4:00pm: Is it wrong of me to be annoyed at my coworker for reeking so badly of cigarettes that it is affecting me? I mean, he goes outside to smoke, but the pervasive odor is breaching the cubicle walls and making me extremely nauseous.

1:22pm: Campaign season gets more absurd daily.

12:48pm: isn't it ironic...
Improbably, some days my job is about 90% diplomacy.

Think about that...

9:31pm: on local politics and being a spy...
So, BRA (Boston Redevelopment Authority) meeting tonight:
( cut for the sake of everyone's sanity )
My take:
Residents need to consider that it is not outside the realm of possibility that we can actually work with Harvard. Even if they have been douchebags in the past.

Harvard needs to recognize that the community has some legitimate cause to consider the university feudal overlords. Seriously guys, you can't really be surprised by how everyone feels about this.

The BRA is in between a rock and a hard place, but needs to remember that they do hold the power in this scenario. Ultimately, the buck stops here.

2:43pm: Went to the store at lunchtime, despite the fact that Rob plans to go later tonight, because I had an insurmountable Mac-and-Cheese need.

Ok, first:
What the hell, people? How much easier does Mac-and-Cheese need to be? The directions are as follows: Cook pasta, stir in milk, butter, dehydrated cheese powder. Who is it that can't handle this, and how come they are clearly such a large market segment?

Second:
It's dehydrated cheese folks. Don't try to pretend it's gourmet by calling it "alfredo". I make a perfectly fine alfredo and if that is what I wanted I would make some. I want my plain-old nuclear orange fake cheese food.

Third:
I know it's a food crime and I don't care. Who among you has no secret love for something you know is terribly wrong? MSG flavored Ramen? Cool Whip? Blue Raspberry slushies? Ryan Seacrest? Let ye who is without sin cast the first rice cake.

9:59am: excessive foolishness
If anyone would like to hear a really campy radio play featuring yours truly as the female protagonist, go here. It's a little horrifying to me to hear it, especially seeing as how I'm supposed to be something of a breathy, B-movie naif. It was recorded about five years ago.

Anyway, have a laugh at my expense. I imagine you'll recognize lots of other voices if you try.

[Edit: The sound quality on the free episodes is for crap.]
[Edit the second: Also, the first episode cuts out for no obvious reason right after my most difficult line: "I have to collate the notes from Dr Ebeneezer's tracheotomy lesson" (We recorded that line about 14 times) Anyway, will bother Mike and see if he knows or can fix it.]

3:23pm: Well, the never ending saga to get a decent haircut continues, without much success. Got a fairly dramatic cut - I took off about eight inches. I am not good at articulating what I would like, and so tend to get extremely boring haircuts. Chalk this one up as another. Right now it's just barely shoulder-length, which in my opinion makes my face look narrow and the rest of me look wide, particularly just now. Sigh. I may get more used to it as it grows in, but who knows. Right now I hate it.

Oh well. I can always grow it out again.

8:12pm: I Can Haz Alien Lifeform...
( Pictures under the cut )

I took the liberty of drawing in the outline of said lifeform in the second copy of each picture, as ultrasounds generally look like they were taken underwater, in the dark. (Which, arguably, they are.)

Baby is normal and ok - has the right number of appendages and a heartbeat - no, we don't know the gender yet.

The ultrasound people seem to think (based on size) that it is 2 weeks younger than we think it is. Given as how we did the whole thing with charting ovulation, it seems unlikely that we were that far off. Personally, I think it's just little. The thyroid bullshit probably didn't help, either. Anyway, Jack was a five pound baby (and at a month late, too) so that may have more to do with it.

As all systems appear normal, I can't be bothered to worry about it too much. They're looking at moving my expected delivery date farther out into February, which frankly is just as well. I expected it to be late, so if they move the date out, it might just show up when they expect it.

1:19pm: Hee.
America Needs To Have A Superficial Conversation About Race

10:13am: Halloween Party - Save The Date
Heads up to all concerned:

On Saturday Nov 1st, we will be reprising our annual Halloween/Dia De Los Muertos Party. The theme this year? The Inappropriately Sexy Halloween Party.

That's right. You heard me.

Now, the ladies in the crowd will know what I am talking about here. All prefabricated ladies' costumes have "sexy" in the name somewhere. Sexy Kitten, Sexy Ghost, Sexy Nurse... etc, etc. Some of them really shouldn't: e.g. Sexy Prison Inmate and Sexy Nun. Who the hell are these corporate slobs to tell us what is sexy?

I challenge all the boys and girls in the audience to show up in the most inappropriately sexy costume you can find. We already expect to have a Sexy Suicide Bomber, a Sexy Crossing Guard, and a Touch-Me-Inappropriately Elmo. Seeing as how I will be 6 months pregnant at the time, I am obviously going to go as a Catholic Schoolgirl. Let your imagination run wild. We will have prizes for the best (or is it worst?) costumes.

Be there. If only for the blackmail photos.

3:52pm: Just got a call from Vintage Gardens - they are going to replace the (very expensive) rose that died horribly. It will take another year and a half or so, as they'll be growing it from rootstock again. They are also mailing it a couple of weeks later as it was quite frosty when it arrived in late April and it had to be kept indoors for a week. (Which, apparently, roses don't like.) This time, I will pot it in a gallon pot on the front stairway. They said to be careful about not overwatering, which, IMHO is what probably put the nail in the previous rose's coffin.

Anyway, second chance at vintage roses! Yay!