Smallhouse Log

Wednesday

Why isn't Snow Machine on tour? I want to see Snow Machine live.

Monday, last week of Pentecost
"This is great! That Tooth Fairy is so hot." -Brian, 11/25/2007

I was scandalized to learn that postage is now forty-one cents for letters, said learning prompted by the return of one such. Annoyed!

Also, despite the grimace and avowal of hatred presented to me by everyone so far to whom I've mentioned that I am reading it, I find The Scarlet Letter a very gripping read. Out of the three books I can be said to be currently reading (Moby Dick being long enough on the back burner as to no longer warrant such nomination), it is by far the most stimulating. Not as much as, say, Hot Pot VII: School's Out or Middlesex, but far in excess of its apparent reputation. It's a good book. No wonder they make kids read this in schools.

Black Friday

This is one of those nights where the moon casts a halo. The full moon, in this case. But the radius of the halo is about forty times as large as the radius of the moon itself (visually, that is); I've never seen such a large halo before.

So after two Thanksgiving dinners, I'm pretty happy. Or I was, until Courtney Douglas told me I was a hipster. I immediately called Dylan (and Danit, but she didn't pick up) for his expert opinion. He disagreed, and put my mind somewhat at ease.

Somewhat.

Thanksgiving

I woke up this morning with the desire to write and possibly illustrate a children's book about the first Thanksgiving full of blatent and comical falsehoods. Primarily, that the whole thing started out as a bet on which birds would win in a flight race, and the Pilgrims, having selected the Turkey, decide to cheat using a homemade catapult. The rest of the story is, shall we say, Icarian and deliciously crispy.

I could do a whole series.

Wednesday

If you're reading this on the site instead of through a feed, you've probably already noticed the change: what I call 'list view'. Going back to the traditional layout of this journal, while retaining all the functionality. I'd been putting it off because of the amount of time it would take to re-write the code for it, but with Asbestos still lacking a power supply, Pyxis Mali and I forged ahead over several nights. Not having access to my usual games and preferred browser settings has really made me more productive, even with Brian gone and the new Mario game for the Wii in the next room. My room is very clean, and I (helped) bake a pie.

It was delicious.

so much later that night as to technically be the next morning

After falling asleep in my chair again, I've come to the conclusion that my unorthodox sleep schedule of recent days is due to the fact that Middlesex is a very gripping read. It did make me feel a bit lonely, though (for romantic encounters, not family members. Well, ok, it also made me hungry for Greek food). Thankfully, for the sake of my ability to function in society, I have finished it and moved on to Infinite Jest, which, I have already discovered, and unlike the previous title, I am completely able to fall asleep reading.

Only to wake up to let in some nice men to loudly replace my windows. The cat and I retreated -well, the cat was dragged along as I retreated- into my space-heated bedroom, where Shurpak has been having many hilarious misadventures, such as accidentally turning on the printer and overturning onto herself a tub full of band pins. Part of me no-longer-secretly hopes Brian will return soon from his surprise trip to Maryland to find the apartment sans windows and that I've begun to play Super Mario Galaxy as, no longer Mario, but his infititely superior sibling, green-clad Luigi, the latter of which I find an unexpected but delightful circumstance.

And now, as hunger has, as they say, built a house within me, I think I'll be off to the grocer/sunderer in search of refreshment on the cheaps.

Monday, Twenty-fifth week after Pentecost

I woke up today to find that my computer would not turn on. I suspect the power supply. I have enough other computers around to cannibalize (or switch to) that it shouldn't be a problem in the long run, but, man, annoying. As a result, I'm just going to share some of the things I've been coming across in my reading this past fortnight.

First, from The Scarlet Letter: "She could no longer borrow from the future to help her through the present grief. To-morrrow would bring its own trial with it; so would the next day, and so would the next; each its own trial, and yet the very same that was now so unutterably grievous to be borne."

From The Prince: "A wise Prince should devise means weereby his subjects may at all times, whether favourable or adverse, feel the need of the State and of him, and then they will always be faithful to him."

From Second Samuel: "To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
to the pure you show your self pure,
but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd."

I've always found the Lord very shrewd. Should I be worried?

Addendum: When I went to go hunt for the quote from Hawthorne, I fell asleep reading. I had gone to bed early the night before, and woken up late, and yet I fell asleep shortly after breakfast, sitting in my chair. And napped so for five hours.

Should I be worried?