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missroseroseIn rough order of time-suckitude:
• Playing Clockwords. One of those rare Flash games that's sucked me in and managed to keep my attention for more than a day or two, this game is absolute crack to the sort of people who enjoy Scrabble and other games where a big vocabulary is a plus (e.g. me). The vaguely-steampunk aesthetic is well-done, too - give it a go! Or don't, if you think you might be in the vulnerable demographic and would prefer to have the next few days of your life belong to you. :)
• Thrift store hunting. Spent a few hours sorting through the junk at the Salvation Army yesterday (have to admit, I've sort of missed having the time to do that), and came up with a decent haul for under $10. Highlights include some nice metal pet food bowls (we've been short ever since I broke one of our ceramic ones on the tile flooring), an adorable black crushed velvet minidress with a swingy little skirt that'll make a great starter for a goth or punk outfit, a paperback copy of Lolita for a quarter, and a very pretty top to go with a brown skirt and pair of shoes that I bought a while back. The crown jewel of this trip, however, was a lovely wrought-iron wine rack. Brian and I had admired several different styles of them in the past, but they were always a touch on the pricey side and we could never quite justify buying one. This one was $2.55 on sale, and looks beautiful:
Only a webcam shot, but it gets the gist across.
Just call it the Rack of Truth.
• Reading Dracula The Un-Dead, a sequel written by Dacre Stoker (great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker). About a hundred pages in, I believe I can honestly say the younger Stoker upholds the writerly tradition of his forebear. Which is to say, it's supremely unimpressive. Keep in mind this may be a premature judgment, but frankly, thus far I've found the plot to be contrived, the characters wooden, the action melodramatic, and the author in dire, desperate need of learning how to "show, don't tell". In its defense, the original Dracula wasn't exactly a shining example of literary genius, and at least this sequel has (so far) managed to avoid being riddled with the same inconsistencies of fact and character (the latter being perhaps because of the lack of development on that front, but oh well), so perhaps my expectations were a bit high. So far it hasn't been unreadably bad, and the story's been at least moderately engaging, but the stylistic issues make reading it far less enjoyable than it should be.
• Learning to drive stick. I've finally done it enough to where all the disparate parts have clicked together, and now I can do so pretty comfortably. Admittedly, the BMW's transmission is well-made enough that (as Brian put it) this was a bit like learning on Easy Mode, but I figure as long as I've got the basics in muscle-memory I can figure out the finer points of any given car's transmission with a little bit of experimentation.
• Interviewing for a job at one of the (apparently several) local wineries. Sadly, the demand for nubile young women to hike up their skirts and jump barefoot into vats of ripe grapes has dried up with the invention of the mechanical winepress, but they still need someone to host tastings and sell gewgaws to tourists, as well as helping with the various other aspects of the business (putting labels on bottles, picking grapes during harvest, etc.) I'd give it even odds whether I got the job or not, but at least I learned that there were wineries around here, and got a free tasting out of the deal. (Fair warning: the peach champagne from Sonoita Vineyards is dangerously delicious.)
• Wishing that some of my friends would come visit. The weather's lovely and warm, our roses are bursting into bloom, the herb/vegetable garden we planted is taking off, and I've spring-cleaned most of the house. Our guest room's awaiting your reservation - any takers?
• Playing Clockwords. One of those rare Flash games that's sucked me in and managed to keep my attention for more than a day or two, this game is absolute crack to the sort of people who enjoy Scrabble and other games where a big vocabulary is a plus (e.g. me). The vaguely-steampunk aesthetic is well-done, too - give it a go! Or don't, if you think you might be in the vulnerable demographic and would prefer to have the next few days of your life belong to you. :)
• Thrift store hunting. Spent a few hours sorting through the junk at the Salvation Army yesterday (have to admit, I've sort of missed having the time to do that), and came up with a decent haul for under $10. Highlights include some nice metal pet food bowls (we've been short ever since I broke one of our ceramic ones on the tile flooring), an adorable black crushed velvet minidress with a swingy little skirt that'll make a great starter for a goth or punk outfit, a paperback copy of Lolita for a quarter, and a very pretty top to go with a brown skirt and pair of shoes that I bought a while back. The crown jewel of this trip, however, was a lovely wrought-iron wine rack. Brian and I had admired several different styles of them in the past, but they were always a touch on the pricey side and we could never quite justify buying one. This one was $2.55 on sale, and looks beautiful:
Only a webcam shot, but it gets the gist across.
Just call it the Rack of Truth.
• Reading Dracula The Un-Dead, a sequel written by Dacre Stoker (great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker). About a hundred pages in, I believe I can honestly say the younger Stoker upholds the writerly tradition of his forebear. Which is to say, it's supremely unimpressive. Keep in mind this may be a premature judgment, but frankly, thus far I've found the plot to be contrived, the characters wooden, the action melodramatic, and the author in dire, desperate need of learning how to "show, don't tell". In its defense, the original Dracula wasn't exactly a shining example of literary genius, and at least this sequel has (so far) managed to avoid being riddled with the same inconsistencies of fact and character (the latter being perhaps because of the lack of development on that front, but oh well), so perhaps my expectations were a bit high. So far it hasn't been unreadably bad, and the story's been at least moderately engaging, but the stylistic issues make reading it far less enjoyable than it should be.
• Learning to drive stick. I've finally done it enough to where all the disparate parts have clicked together, and now I can do so pretty comfortably. Admittedly, the BMW's transmission is well-made enough that (as Brian put it) this was a bit like learning on Easy Mode, but I figure as long as I've got the basics in muscle-memory I can figure out the finer points of any given car's transmission with a little bit of experimentation.
• Interviewing for a job at one of the (apparently several) local wineries. Sadly, the demand for nubile young women to hike up their skirts and jump barefoot into vats of ripe grapes has dried up with the invention of the mechanical winepress, but they still need someone to host tastings and sell gewgaws to tourists, as well as helping with the various other aspects of the business (putting labels on bottles, picking grapes during harvest, etc.) I'd give it even odds whether I got the job or not, but at least I learned that there were wineries around here, and got a free tasting out of the deal. (Fair warning: the peach champagne from Sonoita Vineyards is dangerously delicious.)
• Wishing that some of my friends would come visit. The weather's lovely and warm, our roses are bursting into bloom, the herb/vegetable garden we planted is taking off, and I've spring-cleaned most of the house. Our guest room's awaiting your reservation - any takers?
