Rat Pack!

Hehehehe, I've been wandering around York with him (he's a backpack, with a surprising amount of room, so it's pretty handy) and the reactions have been really positive- from the amount of times I've had to tell people where I got him from, I imagine the Raggy Rat Company will be getting a bit more business...

I realize that I'm about six years behind the curve on this, but Fett's Vette amuses the hell out of me.

Heh...Beatbox Flute, who would have thunk it? The guy's certainly talented, but I don't think I'd like to have to clean out his flute afterwards.

There's a strange class of shopkeepers in England that own a shop and yet don't want to sell you anything. I mean, I've been (technically politely) chased/edged/asked to leave from out of shops that are open for several hours yet, fully stocked, and otherwise seem to be ready for business. None of them are as bad as Black Books, at least, not yet, but still...It's not because I'm American, either (or at least not just), as Austin says they do that to anyone who turns up. Odd.

Going to see Hot Fuzz again...

Jeff hasn't seen it yet so we said we'd go with some evening this week. W00t!

(note: spellchecker is fine with "w00t" but not "woot" - go figure...)

Hot Fuzz is awesome

Totally, totally, utterly awesome. We saw it ahead of schedule on Thursday night, in a packed house, and it was fabulous. Seriously, we laughed our asses off. Go and see it when it opens, and if your movie tastes are like mine, you will be *hugely* entertained. I haven't had that much fun at the theater in *ages*.

Hey look, I'm in the UK and I'm *still* updating my blog more than Grey #grins#

General Travelogue (again)

So yeah, not really done a whole lot of stuff yet. For the first time I seem to be having a problem with the time change, or maybe it's leftover de-stressing, or something similar, but I've really just been sleeping a lot during the day. We did go into town yesterday to go to the dentist (and the pub, and to get fish and chips) so that probably counts for something.

There are Vikings in York at the moment, which is pretty entertaining. Apparently they're a bunch of actual Scandinavian type people who dress up and invade every year, for four days or so, and put on different events and things. We're trying to figure out which pub they congregate at, as a pub full of Vikings should make for some awesome pictures.

Re-reading Achewood...

Another Internet Meme

1. What is your occupation? Itinerant riding instructor/event groom

2. What color are your socks right now? Black. I only own black socks, because black goes with everything, and they all match so I don't have to worry about finding matching ones.

3. What are you listening to right now? Beat At Cinicetta, which is a bunch of pieces from Italian movie soundtracks. It's kind of catchy, actually.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Pasta carbonara, which sounds way more elaborate than it actually is.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? The last time I drove a stick I was sixteen, so I imagine I would burn out the clutch fairly rapidly trying to remember how it works.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Copper.

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? The man I love. How awesome is that? #smiles#

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Of course I do; she's my packsister!

9. Favorite drink: Birch beer.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Nope.

12. Favorite curse word? Favorite or most often used? I like "feck" an awful lot, but I say "fuck" in all its variations the most.

13. Any Pets? It varies. At the moment, I have three rats, Snooker, Fry, and Laurie, and two hermit crabs, both named Crabinado.

14. What was the last movie you watched? Barbara Broadcast. Which is awesome, by the way.

15. Favorite day of the year? I'm fond of all of them.

16. What do you do to vent anger? Walk or sleep, whichever's easiest to do at the time.

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? Bravestarr's horse, .30-.30 I still have him, actually; he's on my bookshelf. The show was crap but the talking horse with a gun was excellent.

18. What is your favorite Fall or Spring? Fall. Spring involves far too much mud, especially in pastures.

19. Cherry or Blueberry? Cherry.

20. Living arrangements? Apartment, and it's complicated. Well, no, actually, it's very simple and comfortable, but it's late and I don't feel like explaining it here at the moment.

21. When was the last time you cried? January 30th.

22. What is on the floor of your closet? What isn't on the floor of my closet? Currently there's several suitcases, two boxes of various things left over from this summer, two boxes of VHS cassettes, a bucket and bag full of horse and riding gear, a twelve year old laptop in a case, and a large rubbermaid trunk with my summer clothes in it.

23. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? I got this from Suz, who I have been friends with since we were seven (at least, this time around)

24. What did you do last night? Went to bed later that I should have because the book I was reading was too interesting to put down.

25. Favorite smells? Cinnamon, lilac, peppermint, rosemary, Flying Fox body wash, bread baking, whiskey, the woods after it's rained, winter, woodsmoke, clean leather, horses, and especially, my man.

26. What inspires you? Everything.

27. What are you afraid of? Not being able to take care of the people I love. Not being able to be with the man I love.

28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Rare cheeseburgers with cheddar and bacon and barbecue sauce.

29. Country you would most like to visit? Austria, to see the Spanish Riding School. I don't even need to see the big Sunday show they put on, I just want to see them school in the morning.

30. Favorite dog breed? Alaskan Malamutes and German Shepherds.

31. Number of keys on your key ring? Two.

32. How many years at your current job? It's not exactly one unbroken line of employment, but nine years, give or take.

33. Favorite day of the week? Mondays and Thursdays, currently.

34. How many states have you lived in? Two.

35. Favorite holiday? Christmas, always. I suppose you could count it as the whole winter holiday season.

36. Favorite saying? "Someone should."

100w basking lamp for reptiles: $8.00
Workbench clamp light, good for 150w: $8.00
Lessening the symptoms of two people with Seasonal Affective Disorder without having to pay five hundred dollars for a lightbox or stop playing their boardgame for the time of treatment: Pretty damned spiffy.

Seriously, it's a bare-bones setup, but it works. I clamped it to the rack above the window we use to put bills in and shine it at an angle across the kitchen, and the extra heat and light really make a difference in both she and I's mood. It's bright enough that you can't look at it directly and that seems to be enough to fool the bit of our brain in charge of measuring how much sunlight we get. I really recommend anyone who gets down about the short days give it a try.

I yell because I care. Swear to gods. If I didn't care, I wouldn't waste my breath.
Nah, nothing's wrong, it just amuses me that that's how my brain works.