missroserose | Things I am into lately

--McDonald's Snack Wraps. Sure, they're still McFood, but they're slightly less bad for you than the burgers, and two of them is enough to fill me up just fine for lunch (and cheaper than a McMeal). Plus they taste pretty good, too - although there's always the question of whether yours is made by the employee who puts on way too much dressing.

--My new glasses. I picked them up Saturday and have to say that I really like the way they look. (The style is somewhat bolder than my last pair, though, which sometimes startles me when I look in the mirror.) Unfortunately, my gol-dern camera seems to have gone missing again, so pictures (and new iconage) may be a little delayed.

--Libba Bray's Rebel Angels. Her first novel, A Great and Terrible Beauty, was an interesting if somewhat derivative Victorian boarding-school drama. However, it was particularly notable to me for the fact that the author seemed to gain a stronger voice as the story went on; characters who started out as stereotypes (the mysterious girl with the secret, the clever but plain girl, the vain and beautiful girl, the charming but wild girl) started to take on some depth and became much more interesting. Rebel Angels, a followup that continues the story, also continues Bray's growth as a writer. Her descriptions have become much clearer and her voice much more engrossing; more depth is also added to the main characters. She pretty well captures the awkwardness of teenagerhood, especially in a time when a sixteen year old girl was considered to be of marriageable age. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

--Paychecks. My normal paycheck comes Friday, and I was notified today that my timesheet from my second job has been submitted for payment. Admittedly, it's probably going to come to all of $100 (if I'm lucky), but hey, that's another $100 to go towards new tires and insurance come September. Hurrah for cars and related expenses. (Still, it beats waiting for the bus while it's busy raining sideways.)

--The computer version of Magic: The Gathering. I had it installed once a long time ago on my last laptop computer and played it for a while, then abandoned it in favor of the physical card game with some of my friends. (Mum complained more than once that our "playing" consisted of about 15% game and 85% arguing over rules and spell chain orders.) Unfortunately, it's been quite some time since I had anyone to play with, and my cards have disappeared, anyway (probably thrown out in one of many winnowings of stuff), and I'm not that interested in getting into the current scene - the card collection has simply gotten so big and unbalanced that it's far too easy to construct an incredibly powerful deck, which makes the whole strategic element pretty pointless. The computer version (not to be confused with the online version), however, was made some years ago in the heady days of Revised and Fourth Edition (back when I was in the fifth grade and first got into all of it), before the multitude of expansion sets; and it's been fun reacquainting myself with what a fun game this really is (or was).

ETA: Link to game download page fixed.