Parts of my birthday that were awesome: ABBA, flowers (<3), getting off work early, shopping, dinner with my buds (mmmmmtapas), an exercise in assertiveness in which I kicked ass, and Antonio Sabato Jr in a towel.

Parts of my birthday that were not awesome: the fan-outing bullshit (see here). So furious.

*turns ABBA up higher*

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! You're awesome. *loves flist*

If you ever find yourself spending your birthday at work, might I suggest listening to as much ABBA as possible? It's like audible Prozac.

*hums along to Dancing Queen*

When I go home tonight, I have paperwork to rescue from the depths of my filing cabinet, two tax returns to finish for my dad, laundry to do, a ficathon story to finish and send to beta, my wife to murder, Guilder to frame for it...

Suddenly, work is looking bright and shiny in comparison. *clings*

grandfathers update:

My dad's dad was released from the hospital this afternoon (YAY!). As soon as his private room was open, they moved in...my mom's dad. From where he had been, two doors down the hall. (They swapped visitors for part of the day; my parents are divorced, but the extended family is still pretty friendly.)

Mom's dad is both better and worse. They discovered he had an infection, and while treating him for it, they also discovered a cardiac condition called atrial fibrillation. They're treating him for that now as well. He's feeling a lot better, but he'll still be in there for a while.

My mom's mom is holding up pretty well. I think she'd rather they were back home in Arizona, but at least this way she has my uncle around, and she's comfortable with this hospital.

With all that happening back home, I still had a pretty eventful weekend here in Chicago. (With friends who were super supportive when I had to interrupt things to freak out with/about my family.) Here's the brief summary:

Thursday: worked, paddled a canoe three miles up and three miles down the Chicago River with svmadelyn, went to midnight showing of Batman with Mads and slodwick, loved it, came home, crashed.

Friday: slept many many hours, received new air conditioner as early birthday present (!!!!!!!!!), installed air conditioner with Slod's help, then had amazing evening of not doing things--couldn't get parking for the play we wanted to see, so we headed to the movie theatre...which had just had a power outage. Came home and watched Mad Men.

Saturday: more sleeping, went to Mamma Mia! and loved A LOT, ( got a tattoo, ) and watched more Mad Men.

Sunday: fangirl brunch with the fangirls, Six Flags with Slod, anamchara, fan_eunice, suzy_queue, and others, and a lot of rides ridden and funnel cake consumed.

I need to go to bed very soon, and I think I will sleep very, very well.

Both my grandfathers are in the hospital. My dad's dad had gallbladder surgery yesterday, and my mom's dad was just admitted with severe stomach pain and is having tests run now.

Think good thoughts, okay?

am home from movies.

batman.whoa.

ded now.

z.

(I don't have a Batman icon. *loses*)

When are you guys seeing it? Midnight showing tonight? This weekend? After the theatres calm down a little? (The three of you not seeing at all, I can see you rolling your eyes. *g*)

I think Slod and I are going to go see it tonight AND this weekend AND probably at least once more later.

*twiiiiiiirls*

Tonight on Expanding Madelyn's Horizons...

We were talking about Rick Springfield (as you do, usually when the General Hospital rerun comes on) and I mentioned that my most enduring memory of him was as Zac on the original Battlestar Galactica. I was trying to explain the whole beginning scene with him and Starbuck and Apollo and then I just threw the disc in.

We just finished watching the entire pilot, which I possibly haven't seen since the late 80s, even though I own the DVDs.

...oh, teevee. *pets it gently*

I used to watch this show in reruns, along with Classic Trek. I must have been in fifth grade or thereabouts. I loved it so, so much. And somewhere under the cheesy dialogue and the dated FX and the dodgy treatment of women, there's this corner of my heart that's still deeply in love with the idea of Battlestar, and the rag-tag fugitive fleet, and the space battles, and the moments of humanity among the survivors.

*falls off wagon*

I just dozed off on the couch and had a micro-dream about fighting one of my (female) coworkers with samurai swords.

It's funny because it's wish fulfillment.

And then I dozed again, and ZOMBIES. In front of the Board of Trade.

I think I need to go to bed?

(also Happy American Gladiators Day, thank you very much!)

TV note: I caught up with Flashpoint this weekend (while I was supposed to be writing) on cbs.com and thought it was pretty damn awesome. Enrico whatsits, who I think has now done every genre ever officially; Hugh Dillon, who was AWESOME; and Amy Jo Johnson as a perky sniper. *hearts*

book note: I have been plowing my way through the Strachey mysteries, and now I really want to see the movie version of Ice Blues to see what they do with the opening from the book. Plus I'd forgotten how much fun cynical private eyes are to read. (I wouldn't live with one though. Book-Timmy has my utmost respect.)

fic note: I am making progress on my Eurekathon story (which is technically due any time between Right Now and Saturday, so I better be) and I came up with a whole new idea for my Heroes Bigboom story. I'm so easy. Also, I need to write a Middleman story shipping Ida with someone/thing, because Javi pretty much dared fandom to do it, and see above about easy. Any suggestions?

Don has a longstanding policy of using familiar names when he goes undercover. "You have to look up when they're talking to you," he explains distractedly one day while pulling on yet another of Tim's mom's sweaters. He's been their next-door neighbor, Tim's brother-in-law, the kid that delivers their paper, and "Richard Steele."

So when the phone rings one night and the hospital tells Tim someone with his name is in the ER unconscious, Tim doesn't stop to analyze, just grabs his wallet and keys and knocks his coffee over on the way out the door. He doesn't stop to pick it up.

So, funny enough, unless the sunscreen says it's for use on your face? You probably shouldn't use it on your face.

*holds wet washcloth over eyes*

Obama may sponsor Cup car at Pocono race

SI.com has learned that for the first time in history, a major presidential candidate may sponsor a race car in NASCAR's premier series. According to sources, Barack Obama's campaign is in talks to become the primary sponsor of BAM Racing's No. 49 Sprint Cup car for the Pocono race on August 3. Details of the agreement are expected to be worked out over the coming days...

Ken Schrader will drive the entry, a Toyota, at Pocono for BAM, which is outside the top 35 in owner points and must qualify for the race on speed.

I CANNOT BELIVE IT. *passes out from glee*

Quote of the day, from an analyst report on one of the commodities exchanges:

The so called "Balls Clause" enacted in 2006 (during the NASDAQ-LSE takeover battle), gives the FSA discretion over whether it wants to comply with foreign rules affecting UK companies...

OH DOES IT NOW.

***

question for Chicago folks: Journey to the Center of the Earth this weekend? (the movie, not an actual picnic expedition to the Earth's core.) If so, regular or 3D, and which day?

***

question for the flist: tell me about your tagging habits. Do you tag every post, or just certain topics? Is it for your reference, so you can find things later, or more for your readers, so they can go back and look at things? If you ever check my tag list for anything, is there stuff you look for and can't find?

***

Balls Clause. HA.

I am too tired for content tonight, so instead, have a vid! minotaurs linked to this a while back, and it's been on pretty much constant play on my iPod ever since. It's Oliver and Christian from Verboten Liebe, and it's basically everything I adore about them condensed into four and a half minutes of pure love.



(link here if the embedding doesn't work)

I survived work by the skin of my teeth today--it was like yesterday, with more crises--and then met up with thehoyden, who was kind enough to overlook that I was an hour and a half late. We saw Hancock, which I really enjoyed as long as I don't think about it too hard, and then I stopped at Borders on the way home and bought the new naominovik hardcover and a special 3-disc edition of The Mummy, because one of its several billion extras is Brendan Fraser's commentary and it's one of my favorite things in life. I'm going to rip it separately so I can just listen to it all the time.

Also, I fell asleep on the train on the way to work this morning and woke up AS it hit my stop. I'm lucky I'm not still on it, going back and forth across the city.

God, I miss caffeine. wtf, ppl.

But! Vid rec: Office Politics by wistful_fever. McGee/DiNozzo!!!!!!!!!! If I had any energy at all left, I would flail around the world. It's aweosme. YAY.

work: was fine, if you don't count the GIANT CHIP I had on my shoulder all day. still, I survived a day about half again as busy as it usually is, with my coworker out, and didn't technically do anything I can get fired for...probably.

(I hung up on ONE guy. But I said bye first! Also, he's an ass.)

after work: was great! dinner at carta's, with "cold soup," and then we watched Third Man Out, because I am in fact determined to convert all of fandom to the love of Timmy Callaghan and that detective guy he's married to. Ames said I was much more relaxed when I left, whew. :)

now: just did the fastest lj readthrough I could. Cante is sprawled over the arm of the couch next to me, one front paw extended out on each side of it. Adorable. The season finale of Eureka is playing muted on the TV (Ed Quinn!). And I am going to go pass out facedown on my bed (there will probably be drool involved). Awesome.

If anyone needs me, I'll be over here, gnawing on the skulls of the people who have displeased me this morning.

*chomp* *chomp chomp* *nom*

Courtesy of neonhummingbird and batwrangler:

Lowen & Navarro's new album, Learning to Fall, is available for pre-order and download

*flail times a MILLION* This is so awesome!

If you're in the mood to check it out, I would follow Perri's lead and recommend Learning to Fall and I Don't Believe In Yesterday.