Lunch v.1.2

No, I didn't have a rose hip for lunch (they're high in Vitamin C, though, if you've ever felt like trying one. Just make sure you remove the seeds). I didn't think the world needed a photo of two mandarin oranges and a bag of chips.

Two mandarin oranges and a bag of chips.

Sad, really.

I'd brought three oranges, but I gave Wheat one.

That's why I bought the bag of chips.

Sad, really.

Oh right. I already said that.





I've basically got nothing, if you hadn't figured that out yet. The weather's got me down (if you hadn't figured out THAT yet) and as usual the improvement forecasted keeps moving farther and father down the week.

Everyone in Alberta knows that when the cold air hits it doesn't move for at least two weeks.

Everyone, that is, except the weather forecasters. They constantly insist on giving us the THINGS WILL GET BETTER IN A COUPLE OF DAYS!!! song and then wonder why we all get cranky as a couple of days turns into a couple of days later than the couple of days they thought it was going to be...

I normally come in to work at about 8 am (sounds ridiculous, I know, but I often get a lot done in that hour before everyone else gets here). Today at 8 am I decided to have a bath instead of going in to work because I wanted the temperature outside to at least break -20C before I went outside.

It took a while.

Luckily, everyone at work knows not to expect me when it's that cold.

Stupid winter.

And for anyone expecting Christmas gifts from me I can tell you that I HAVEN'T BOUGHT ANYTHING YET.




Erm... actually, that doesn't really have anything to do with the weather. I just haven't been able to convince myself to go shopping. Kind of sucks when you consider that there are a few things that should have been in the mail at least a week ago, however. Looks like we'll be celebrating Ukrainian Christmas again this year, folks.

Oh, and for anyone new to the program who might have read that last statement as a bit of an ethnic slur... it wasn't. My grandfather was Ukrainian. Should give me the right to send my Christmas presents in time for the Orthodox celebration, shouldn't it?

Anyway. I don't know how this turned so very angrily snitty when it started out as being only mildly-depressedly snitty.

I suppose that's what happens when lunch is still consisting mainly of oranges. I'd never thought of them as an angry fruit before, but... well, come to think of it I might be angry too if no one had ever bothered to give me a proper name. I mean, we don't go around calling bananas yellows or grapes purples or lettuce greens, do we?

Oh wait. That last one didn't work.





This is getting a little weird even for me. Later, all.

Lunch

I've just had three mandarin oranges for lunch. It's ok, though. They were small.

I might have a granola bar later to balance things out a bit.

And yes, I always peel mandarin oranges that way. Shut up. There's nothing wrong with it.

There isn't, you know.

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Speaking of lunch, the snakes have had their pinkies (well, one has. The other is either completely stupid or thinks he should be hibernating. It might be both, come to think of it. Can you hibernate stupidly?), the office spider has been given a few crickets as encouragement to show herself a little more, and...

Oh, I didn't mention the office spider, did I? Well, there's an office spider. If you know where the work blog is, I posted the info there. If you don't know where the work blog is it's probably because I didn't tell you. And if I didn't tell you, you can draw your own conclusions as to why.

We still want to buy a new pet, but we're going with the free one at the moment. It's my informal rule that anything that lives in the office actually has to live in the office for at least a week before we bother naming it, and this little girl (girl, yes) has officially earned a name.

She doesn't have a name, but she's earned one.

Thoughts?

Other than "why can't you ever have normal pets in your office," I mean.

She's black with a few orange markings and green chelicerae, if that influences your choice.

Oh, and she's fairly hairy too.





Where was I?

Lunch. Right. I don't know why, really. What can one say about pinkies, crickets, and three mandarin oranges with a possible side of granola bar?

Cold weather makes me not want to pack lunches, I guess. One could say that.

And yes, it's still cold. Windchill when I left the apartment (FINALLY left the apartment. It took a bit of convincing again) was below -25C.




Aaaaand... now I'm all depressed.

I think I'm going to go stare at the spider for a while. Must be nice to have a life where crickets make everything better.

I'm not sure I'd want crickets for lunch, though.




Guess I'll stick with the oranges.

Antici... pation

Yeah, the title's a Rocky Horror reference. I'll leave it to you to look it up if you're desperate to.

I'm very much the model of a snit at the moment (gah. That sent me straight to being the very model of a modern major-general. Sorry if it did the same to you... although there's really nothing wrong with a bit of G&S running through your brain now and then). It's cold, I haven't had a chance to get used to the cold, and that means that life just now is all about rashes, trouble breathing, and a constant headache.

Yay winter.

Once again, let's relax and look at the pretty flower.




Ok.

The biggest trouble with suddenly being blindsided by winter like this, though, isn't actually the physical reaction I have. It's the knowing that I'm going to have the physical reaction, that it's going to hurt, and that there's not a whole lot I can do to prevent it. Lessen it, yes, but not prevent it. Well, except by refusing to go outside, which is pretty much what I did yesterday.

And this morning, until about ten o'clock.

Anticipation of pain is just not, not fun.

It makes me cranky.






The funny thing about all of this is that I've been looking to take some time off since my current work term is drawing to a close, but being forced to take time off because I don't want to go outside isn't exactly what I had in mind.

It makes me a little stir-crazy, to be honest.

And cranky.




Did I already say cranky?

Must be true, then.

I'll end with a note to the t.v. club: I hope you enjoyed last night's wine-gumminess, because we're about to enter the December drought unless the writers' strike suddenly and miraculously ends. There'll be reruns in the meantime, however.

Are reruns still worth wine gums? I hope so, because I don't want to have to go into withdrawal. Maybe we can declare December a wine gum sours month as a ridiculous form of protest or something, eh?

Or not. I'm going back to my snit now. Singing, naturally...

I’m very good at integral and differential calculus
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General...

I, too, have snapped a few dragons

... er, snapped a few photos of flowers - yeh, that's it. But the subject line up there had you going, didn't it.

I think the Alberta contingent (one person can so be a contingent) is hibernating, or at least I would be if suddenly the temperature hit the minus teens - and I do mean suddenly.

So anyway, this flower is growing in my kitchen greenhouse window.

Sadly they last a day, or two at most, then land on the shelf. A metaphor ... well, for nothing, really. I'm just here.

I shan't mention there are five degrees running around in Toronto. Of course, it's not like the OLF is going to go find a ledge if she knows there's a 17 degree difference at the moment; for that, she'd have to go outside.

And today's excuse for the non-post is...

Work.

What? It's a legitimate excuse.

I was at a school doing a program today, so I'm behind on my usual morning's nonsense. Plus, I have a cold.

There you go. Two excuses.




Want three?

It's fricking freezing out there today, and the first fricking freezing day of the season always does a number on my system. Google cold-induced urticaria to find out why if you don't already know. I'm not in the mood to type it all out again. Just know that our weather lately has been mild enough that fricking freezing translates as fricking PAINFUL at the moment.

Ok, let's all relax for a moment and look at the pretty flower.

Pretty.

And with that... oh, I suppose before I go I could remind the t.v. club that not only is it a proper wine gum week again, but there are currently reruns from previous seasons on Mondays as the network does some empty-space-filling.

Done now.

Ring ring

My excuse for the short post today is that I got a bit too involved in a game of mahjong solitaire.

Got a best score, though. That was good.

Anyway, we'll make it a quick-question post as a result. Quick question: why do so many people use cell phone ring tones that they seem to be embarrassed of?

It doesn't make sense to me to see people blush and apologise about their ring tones when a) they chose them, and b) they most likely paid for them.

I say most likely because I personally am using ring tones that the cell company offered as free downloads, and there may actually be one or two other people out there who are as cheap as I am.

To my mind, though, most of you chose and paid for songs that meant something to you. Why are you ashamed of that? It's not like you should be worried that someone might judge your taste, and if you are... well, what the hell are you doing paying for that special song in the first place? Use the built-in rings if you don't want anyone to laugh or be offended or whatever the problem seems to be when your phone goes off.

Ok then?

Ok.





I'm outta here.

Pointless photo of the day:

That's all I've got.

Unless you want to hear about my headache, that is.

Actually, I'll admit that I'm feeling a bit better today, so here's hoping that a weekend's lethargy will go a ways to making me at least a little bit less whingey.

One can hope, right?

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Oh, I guess I do have one thing. According to the results of the last poll (don't look for it. It's already gone), more of you would prefer to treat sprained joints with basmati than with rest, ice, compression, or elevation.

I think you people may be a little bit weird.