2004-10-21 - 1:30 p.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "The Human Touch", Rick Springfield

2004-10-18

Yesterday I got all primped up and went for a walk around Old City. I went there mainly to check out a couple of used book stores, which unfortunately did not have hardly enough smutty trash books in them, but I had a good time nonetheless.

Clearly I need to take some lighting lessons. Bear with me.

This building is actually almost orange. I can't decide if I love it or hate it. Maybe both:

I liked the archway detailing and the fire escapes on this one:

There are actually not that many fire escapes around Philadelphia. Most of the residential buildings are single-family row houses, which don't need them.

Here is a nifty mural inside a doorway:

And here's the aforementioned creepy windowsill. First the right side, then the left:

Iwas so busy focusing on the dolls that when I finally focused the Michael Meyers mask I was gloriously creeped out. I love Halloween!

And finally, here's my outfit. I have a strange weakness for that cuffed-jeans trend but I know that's going to look seriously dated by spring (if it doesn't already), so I was pleased when I found this pair at Target for $6.24. Even if I only wear them once more, it's worth it.

I screwed up with the lighting, not closing the guest room door behind me. Argh. That's our Tower City camping bedding you see on the floor there. I also should've insisted that the photographer use the fill-in flash. So you can't see my scarf, which I bought over the summer at a neighbor's party showcasing local handmade jewelry, bags, and scarves. I tried to take a picture of the scarf itself, but it doesn't pick up the colors very well:

Gee, with the mix of colors, that looks ... almost ... tweedy, doesn't it? I am hopeless. Poindexter's latest affectionate nickname for me is "TWEED FREAK!"

In other news, I cooked a meal last night (double batch actually) ALL BY MYSELF. I consulted with the chef a couple of times to make sure I was doing stuff right, but I did all the work on my own. I marinated chicken in a soy sauce/scallion/garlic/ginger marinade and baked it, and made a pureed roasted red pepper sauce (with cider vinegar and sugar and hot pepper flakes). Poindexter says it is fantastic. He has made it before several times and apparently found my work satisfactory. I did it myself partly because he spent the afternoon cleaning the bikes, and partly because he did most of the work Saturday making our fall double batches of chili and bean-and-sausage soup. YUMMY.

2004-10-19

- About half an hour ago I found out it was going to cost $700 to fix my stupid laptop. I spilled a tiny bit of water on it about ten days ago. I got into a very, very, very bad mood about the $700 but I think I've managed, with Poindexter's help, to talk myself down out of it. This is the second time water's been spilled. First time, it killed the touchpad. I've been using a regular mouse since then. This time it killed (at least) the power supply and motherboard. The reason I am so pissed is because I've spilled water and milk on laptops before and they hardly blinked, but this one freaks out over less than an ounce of water. It's a WIMP.

- I think it's time, after three-plus years, that I changed my default usericon. I don't intend to change it often, because I am lazy, and sometimes will revert to the familiar shooting-cockroaches picture we know and love, but I thought it would be fun to have the icon reflect my current obsession. Which, as you see, it does.

- Speaking of which, I've been looking for an active LJ-community where people talk about fashion. This has been surprisingly difficult to find. Most of them seem to consist entirely of spam-y posts, or the members seem borderline illiterate. An exception to this appears to be the heavily-moderated and delightfully named "Tweedskirt". I applied. I hope they accept me. :)

- Meantime, I have a mini-rant: "Signature" bags. WTFF?! $500 and up for a brown bag that says "LV" all over plus some ugly little shapes? I just don't get it. People make fakes of these bags because they are so popular. I am missing something.

- I miss my GIRLFRIEND today. Happy birthday, Kitiara!

2004-10-21

It's not "without further adieu". It's "without further ado". "Adieu" is a farewell in French, derives from Old French "(I commend you) to God", and it makes no sense to use it that way.

Thank you.

This is a public service message from your local grammar nazi.

P.S. Don't be using "infer" when you really mean "imply", either. The only reason the "imply" meaning is listed under "infer" in the dictionary is because SO MANY PEOPLE USE IT WRONG! How can a single word mean both itself and its opposite?!?! That's like saying "throw" and "catch" mean the same thing! Or "speak" and "listen"! Dammit!

P.P.S. Nothing on my friends list triggered this, so if you've committed either of these crimes recently I don't want to know about it so I can continue to love you unreservedly.

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Does anybody out there use a proper feather duster? I was reading about them on FlyLady and I think I'd be much more interested in dusting if I had one of those. They'd get into the corners of the windowsills so nicely.

What I hate about dusting is that I either kick up dust or create dust "worms" (no, I don't dust very often; it would probably be easier if I dusted more frequently). But Poindexter noticed that the Pledge Grab-Its that we use for the hardwood floor work beautifully as dusters, trapping the dust inside them. It reminded me of the feather duster again.

Poindexter thinks feather dusters are a pain to clean and was opposed. "Just use the Grab-Its", he says. But I have this THING about not liking to waste paper products. (Poindexter, on the other hand, would use paper plates every day if he didn't have a resident dish-washer.)

Grammar nazis from the previous post may enjoy (in a pained sort of way) his signoff from the feather-duster conversation:

Evelynne: I think I'm going to buy myself a feather duster.
Evelynne: I don't care how horrible it is to clean it; I think it's better than wasting grab-its or cussing at dust worms.
Poindexter: just use the grabits.
Poindexter: nut.
Poindexter: wasting?
Evelynne: But a feather duster is FUN!
Poindexter: LOL
Evelynne: And it would work on the computer.
Evelynne: Get in between the keys.
Evelynne: I could dust off my computer every few days.
Poindexter: I don't know...
Poindexter: feather dusters loose feathers and feather pieces.
Evelynne: http://www.flylady.com/pages/FlyDuster1.asp
Poindexter: Wait!
Poindexter: You don't want that static around your computer!
Poindexter: That's why they sell them damn blower canisters.
Evelynne: Good point.
Evelynne: I want it elsewhere though.
Poindexter: ok
Poindexter: without further adieu, do what you will, irregardless of what I think, even though I might loose my mind.

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