Another very good, very neglected series

Redwall Series by Brian Jacques

Chronological Order:
Lord Brocktree
Martin the Warrior*
Mossflower*
The Legend of Luke
Outcast of Redwall
Mariel of Redwall*
The Bellmaker
Salamandastron*
Redwall*
Mattimeo
The Pearls of Lutra*
The Long Patrol*
Marlfox
The Taggerung
Triss
Loamhedge
Rakkety Tam
High Rhulain
Eulalia

*Have them/have read them.

Life update

Apartment kicks some serious booty. Had a wonderful time last night - made DINNER in the KITCHEN while jared was making HIS OWN! at the SAME TIME!

Annie's mac and cheese - using soy milk and no butter, mixing the cheddar and alfredo+broccoli cheeses

Salad - green lettuce, italian dressing "con limone" (boy was it sour!), and kalamata olives for me

Water and OJ

Apparently my water boiler is already a hit and will be used mightily. It'll make up for it sitting by itself all summer. Only problem: in the market around the corner, there is no Tetley, only English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast and some other imposter black teas. What is this shenanigans. Where is my Tetley.

I'll have to search elsewhere for it, lest I perish of my teeth getting too white.

Also, no curtains up yet and Adam doesn't know if he wants them at all. The room looks good with just blinds - well, whaddya know. I like it because there is light in the morning, which allows you to wake up at the right time and not feel like a zombie.

We're going to see about a couch tonight - brown leather, 3-cushioned, 2-recliners for $775 because it's "new" and a steal for those stats. Ikea, the cheaper-ish furniture store, has leather couches with ONE recliner (not two) for $1,299. We'll see about that.

Spotty internet, I think we're stealing it from the wireless on the roofdeck. Go us.

No cable yet - the man from RCN is coming on Wednesday between 5-8 and there needs to be an adult over 18 to authorize him to flip a switch in the cable box down the hall. Why don't we just do this ourselves? It's unlocked. Adam checked.

Same thing with legitimate internet, it's going to come through the same box. 2-3x faster than DSL for $18/month, etc.

Figuring out the bus was fun. I now officially take the M15 to East Harlem (limited or local) up First Avenue, through East Chinatown, and stop a few blocks past the hospital at 34th street. It's about a 35 minute bus ride, which is relatively long but it beats getting all sweaty walking to work. I can read or listen to music. Plus no one is on it at the Seaport stop, so I get my choice of seats. I'm going to gallivant out to Second Avenue after work and find the M15 to South Ferry so I can get back home. I re-checked this with a co-worker who takes it. It would be no good to take the subway (way too hot) or cab (???$$$) or walk (o.O).

Did I mention how much this entire experience is reminding me of Germany? It's absolutely ridiculous. Everywhere I turn, there's a major glitch in the Matrix and I'm left blinking at the deja vu. The way the apartment is set up, white walls, wood floor, view of the city, the blinds on the windows... taking the city bus (which I've only ever ever done in Germany going with Maike to school), and all other manner of things.

Tea. Now. I'm off.

big swing in opinion, then back again

1) Cat lady didn't talk about her cats today.
2) The Pope called about the miracle.
3) Had a "performance review" with the boss. He said he was overall satisfied, but that I hadn't "done things still that he had asked me before." Now I know that "maybe" and "if you want to" really mean "do it now." As much as it's my fault for not being proactive about those things, I think it's a teeeeeny bit his fault for not being clearer. Whatever. Also, he said that "I have told you specifically multiple times to not do any work for anyone else, why do you keep doing so?" wtf?? Work? That, to me, does not include bringing up a piece of paper for someone who sits right next to me when the receptionist asks me politely since I'm going upstairs anyway. THAT IS NOT WORK. I see his point, but I was so confused and kind of pissed off, since I really see that as being polite and not wasting my paid time. I've noticed a couple of times when he has been rather unpolite and aggressive when people innocently ask about certain things. It's unnerving. That day, obviously I was a little upset and kind of disenchanted - which was then followed by an atrocious day where we lost 3 test cells (the 4th is considered lost today, so a ton of paperwork and planning and money goes out the window). And I say "we" meaning I lost one at first, and then he lost 2, thank the lord - so apparently it wasn't my fault, they were just frozen wrong. Today was better, I was super busy and did some things well, so I think I'm getting back into the swing of things.
4) My dad recently said I should get a hobby. I've realized since then that instead of not having a hobby, which I previously thought, I definitely do. BOOKS. READING. GGNNNAAHRHRH. I just found out that there's a Border's 6 blocks away from me.... probably not a good discovery. I think I'm going to shift my money-spending habits from clothes I don't need to books I don't need. Yay!
4a) Just bought 4 Tamora Pierce books. I don't know why I'm still writing.... laters, y'all.

prejudices

Everyone at work is very nice and have given me no reason to be bothered by them - except one teensy weensy little thing that one person does. She constantly talks about her cats. All the time. Me, Lucy and someone I'd just met (Susan?) were all having a nice conversation about yoga and tai chi and how to find cheap classes, etc. when this woman sat down. She didn't really say anything (not being the yoga type), and we started talking about Lucy's blueberry and peach pie she was eating. I said something about strawberry rhubarb pie, and within literally 1 second of the end of one of my sentences, the woman announced that she picked up her cat from the vet yesterday.
I know more about this lady's cats than anyone else in the entire office. One of them, her daughter's cat, had a tumor "the size of a cantaloupe" on it's right side, just behind the ribcage. She couldn't stand up properly, was attacking people when touched and she was taken to be euthanized. "It was terrible!!!!" [insert a full 15 minute diatribe about how horrible putting down pets is - as if no one else in the entire lunch room had ever done it.] Everyone else is pulling their faces with sympathy and looking at her quietly as she goes on this tirade. Personally, I think if the poor cat had a tumor the size of its body, couldnt stand up and was going through obviously drug-induced paranoia fits and biting people, it was MERCY to put her down. I tried saying this and got a dirty look from her. Good thing I didn't say that I think all cats should be put down. Stupid things, making me sneeze.
This was 2 weeks ago. Every day since has been an update on her damn cats. Today's was on the sympathy card that the vet gave her in their "care bundle" after her cat died. "I read it and burst out in tears. Then my daughter read it, and she says, oohhh! and bursts out into tears. It was so wonderful and beautiful - all about how she is forever young and in the most wonderous place and happy, and how she's waiting for me, and when it's my turn she'll reach out with her paw to hold onto my hand and guide me to the place where I'll stay with her forever -"
I couldn't take any more and left. It was insanely ridiculous. I can see how you would feel something like that after your pet died, but it's been SO long and I really hope that no one cares enough to ask her about it again. In fact, I know that she brings it up herself every time and no one actually asks her.
Grawwwll!!

The reason this post is named "prejudice" is because this woman is from Staten Island. Imagine now everything I've quoted in an atrocious accent.
*shiver*

another day, another DNAse reaction...

Watched "The Other Boleyn Girl" yesterday, for lack of anything else to do. I didn't really have any desire to watch it, there just wasn't anything on tv, etc. etc. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson - basically just a real big bitch fight, although Scarlett isn't really that bitchy but just as pathetic because she is all caring and hurt and forgiving. Essentially, sucks to be them. Natalie did a good job and I really didn't feel sorry for her at all, even when she got her head chopped off. Anyway, depressing, but still a good movie if you're into English history, adultery, incest and Victorian fashions.
I did learn one thing though - Anne Boleyn's daughter with Henry VIII = Queen Elizabeth? Hm!
Shut up, I'm no good at history.

I looked on my iGoogle page and saw, under "Today in History":
"Dog days" begin, heralded by the appearance at sunrise of Sirius, the Dog Star"
Sneaky, sneaky J. K. Rowling. I had to shake my head at this one.

I'm excited about this weekend - I'm about 5 hours away from 3 days off, 4th of July celebrations and seeing family again on Sunday. There have been a bunch of somewhat hilarious emails going back and forth between me, Stacey, Jessie, Jared and Adam, all considering what we should do and where to hang out. I think the concensus is now Charles Schurz park, after a little hiccup when Jared asked if we could bring drinks in there and they said no. Oh well, there's bars around and we can always "pregame for the fireworks"... good god, that just sounds super lame. But, as we all know, everyone's gonna do it so whatever.
Going back home on Sunday, see the rents and the little bro. I asked my dad if he could pick me up Sunday morning from the train station, unless he had anything else to do, and he said he couldn't because he had scheduled the rearrangment of his sock drawer for that time. Love it.

Mark's endoscopy is today. He's had this really odd eating problem for the past couple years - whenever he eats red meat or similar objects (I'm not really sure exactly), he has a lot of trouble swallowing/moving it down his esophagus. Drinking water doesn't help, eating slower doesn't help. So he went to the doctor who referred him to a gastroenterologist, who made him drink like 5 liters of really thick radioactive gunk so they could see how his throat was handling it. Apparently his esophagus did not go through peristalsis when he was lying down, so that = weak peristaltic muscles?
He's at the hospital right now getting a tube shoved down his throat with a camera at the end so they can see what's up. Hope he's doing okay...

self-indulgent books still to read!

Tamora Pierce, I haven't had enough of you yet! (Despite reading the 4 Alanna books, 4 Daine books, 2 Aly books, 8 Circle books and I think the 4 Kel books... 22 in all!)
I still have:
The first in The Provost's Dog Trilogy, "Terrier: The Legend of Beka Cooper"
Plain Magic
Testing
Elder Brother
Student of Ostriches
Huntress
Hidden Girl

Her future stuff:
Melting Stones, an audio book - October 1, 2008
untitled Circle Universe book with Rosethorn, Briar and Evvy going to Yanjing - 2008
Bloodhound and Elkhound, II and III of Provost's Dog - both 2009
untitled Circle Universe, with Trisana going to Lightsbridge - 2010
Numair: The Early Years - conflict with Ozorne - 2010
untitled Tortall Universe, coming of age of Maura of Dunlath - 2012

Even though Twilight was SO SO SO good, it disturbed me somehow and I don't want to read the other ones. It was too good, I think. Too insightful, too perfect, too... well, I just got too involved, perhaps, and don't want to be sucked away like that ever again. I got an Amazon recommendation for one of the ones later in the series and I just felt this weird drop in my stomach and I got away from that page asap.

Anyone know of authors I might like? Anyone?

Confusing people

Someone at work keeps thanking me at inappropriate times. For example, I'll say, "Oh, the painters came in over the weekend." And she'll say, "Thanks."
What? I didn't come in and paint. They did. I didn't do anything!
Or I'll say, as a part of normal conversation and not meaning to be informant, "The CO2 tank started beeping last week! I didn't know what to do!" *laugh laugh*
And she'll say, "Thanks."
??? I can see how you might think that the "thanks" = for telling her this stuff, but it was completely meant to be conversation and that's it. It's unnerving. I don't know what to say.

Few days later...

She's getting nicer and is practicing more socially acceptable forms of communication, so it's better. Phew.