Block Application

Why do I still have a facebook account? Because I'm too lazy to delete it. Because this way I can still see people's photos. It's the only way I find out about who's died lately. Currently I'm fighting the temptation to just hit the 'ignore all' bit on the invites and requests and what have you. Why? Because I'm going through and blocking every application I've been invited to add. I have no interest in the stupid things and I don't want them cluttering up my life. So I'm taking the time [while I do other, more important stuff, of course] to block as many of them as I can. I must admit to gaining some sort of rather sadistic pleasure out of it, but I don't really understand the how or the why of that.

Okay, the weekend happened. Friday morning was another horrendous early morning all in the name of teaching the tutlings. That went reasonably well, except for the fact that there are some things they don't understand. Like - if you don't ask us what something is and just assume you know, you might be wrong and you will get no marks when you have to identify something similar. But don't feel that you're under any obligation to admit any sort of ignorance. Later in the day [and far more important than some idiot tutlings] I discovered the air compressor. I knew it was there somewhere, and now I know exactly where and how it works and so on. So I can clean Wendell out of the mill completely. It's exciting.

On Saturday, I started the day by gardening. I like to garden and I like plants. I particularly like my plants. They were ruthlessly pruned and the ones not responding to the pesticide were sadly sent away. They were all half dead anyway and so infested that they couldn't be saved. It was very depressing. Now all I need are new pots and new plants. But I'm not allowed any until after we've moved. One of the plants got another spraying of poison as it was only by pruning away the dead bits that I discovered some of the evil plant-killing bugs on it. So it got sprayed. In the midst of some much-needed filing, Mom arrived with Gummy, for tea in the garden. It was fun. Later on, I seem to have brushed up against the recently-poisoned-plant and transferred said poison from the plant to the biscuit I was eating. That was not a happy half hour, particularly since we were supposed to be leaving the house right about then. Thankfully I am my mother's daughter and off we went to watch the rest of Ergo Proxy with Confluence et al. We also watched Samurai Fiction, one of my most favourite movies ever. And then, someone unleashed the blinky lights [I blame the combined efforts of Button and H*. Button just had to mention the crystal-dragon-block and H* just had to say that there was a silver stand and then they just had to find it and plug it in]. Hours passed and eventually someone [though I forget who] found the willpower to switch on the actual light and release the rest of us.

Sunday saw grocery shopping. This was important as events had conspired against it the week before and we'd had no food in the house for a very long time. We went off to fruit and veg and then headed to the Pick'n'Pay nearest our new house. It was exciting. And, I have a watering can now. I'm sure other stuff happened yesterday, but I don't remember it.

Today will involve cleaning the mill, marking and two seminars. Then, there will be dinner with archaeologists.

Glassless

So, this week has [mostly] happened. Tutorials began very early on Tuesday morning. Aside from the fact that the tutlings took forever to arrive and continued to arrive until the tutorial was nearly finished, it was all good. Of course, I've had to mark those, and be careful with the marking as the lecturer [who is otherwise very cool] seems to be under the impression that we must be super-nice to them and not hurt their little feelings. Everyone who handed in something reasonable will be getting full-marks for this assignment, even the ones who didn't really answer the question fully. The practical on Tuesday afternoon was better, at the very least, JS shares my opinions on marking.

In the evening, there was the game. Despite living around the corner, Lucas managed to be late. He did have a reason, though I'm yet to have an opinion on how reasonable it is. We defeated the undead horse, though there was still a bit of arguing as we tried to work out how to work the new combat system we made up. After that, the horse was eliminated, Yashamaru and Ishie set things alight and we argued a bit over where to go and what to do. Having decided what to do [and hence where to go] we set off. We managed to find a light as it began to get dark and we headed off in search of shelter. The crazy old lady and the cat/monkey child were very nice. Things went mostly well for the night. Hideo left Kamenosuke vulnerable and unprotected, but Ishie managed to get to him before anything untoward happened. Watches took place, which involved Nagataka sensing something, Ishie having a visitor and not much else.

Yesterday morning saw disaster strike. On arriving at the car, Button and I discovered that the one tyre was completely flat and the other partially flat. We tried to change the tyre, but the lift-car-up thingie wasn't very good and kept moving about. So, the nice man from the AA came and did it for us and then we took the car to get the tyres fixed. Apparently there was a nail in the one and absolutely nothing wrong with the other. I did make it to the tutor's meeting on time though. In the evening, there was roleplaying sushi. Or, there would have been if Wombat and Waynnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne had showed up. As it was, it was vaguely roleplaying sushi. Regardless of anybody else, I had fun. I think everyone else did too. And the sushi was good.

Today, there has been a surprising lack of work. The freezer mill is finally dry, however, so hopefully there will be work tomorrow. On the plus side, all my first year tuts are marked. This morning was another disaster for poor Button. As we ran to catch the shuttle his glasses were dislodged and something crushed them so now he has no glasses :(

Dragon Weekend

This morning, we eventually left the house and headed off to UCT. Now that Pig's rib has finished defatting, it's time to move on to other parts of the preparation process. Today, PigR is freeze-drying, tomorrow the milling will begin. Nova, the Swedish exchange student came along to watch. Apparently their department is almost completely theoretical and they don't do any of this practical stuff, so she likes to see what's happening, how things get done and she even occasionally lends a hand where necessary. She's very cool, we all like her and want to keep her.

Yesterday, I stopped by the Waterfront to do some shopping with Button. We have no food in the house. We didn't end up doing any shopping, but we did see my cousin Meggles Dragonboating. We arrived at the start of a race and, by virtue of some guy screaming 'DSK', were able to work out that we had arrived to see Meggles actually racing. We were at the bridge when she passed underneath and got to see her in action. It was very cool and we got to chat to her for a little bit afterwards. They are a junior team [18 years and under] and compete with senior teams [over 18s]. Apparently there was only one team there that they couldn't beat. Sadly, I forgot my camera, so no pictures. After that, we had surprise sushi, so named because not only was I not expecting it, I didn't even know I was hungry. Then, there was no time for shopping before Button's meeting, so we headed home.

On Saturday, I was at the Tutor Training Workshop. The food was good and the Workshop less boring and more fun and useful than I was expecting. Button got home while I was busy. There was supposed to be Jane Austen movie watching, but I was tired and cranky and wanted to be with Button. We later ended up watching anime with Confluence, H* and others. We watched the next 5 episodes of Ergo Proxy. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Then we watched two first episodes that were very pink, involved heart-shaped petals falling all over the place and ... well, certain other things that one should expect from certain types of anime. We did watch the beginning of a different first episode that doesn't fall into any of those categories. It was bad. It was truly awful. The only good part was the sparkly-blue-butterfly-things. There was an awful lot of exposition that blatantly contradicted itself, badly depicted people and horrendous attempts at what I can only presume was meant to be acting.

On Friday, there was Meggles birthday lunch at Rhodes Memorial. She turned 16.

In other news, I have just agreed to tutor a fourth course. Luckily this one doesn't require marking.

This morning I discovered #claws, thanks to prodding by Confluence and links that work on my antiquated UCT computer from H*. I'm still getting used to it.

In other news, the rock-bashing is completed to the satisfaction of the senior rock-bashing guy, assuming that we're right about what's supposed to happen to the samples now. I have sent a query to Button.

The game happened on Tuesday. We started by setting off to question our friendly neighbourhood Tainted guy. We wanted to know just what exactly his ritual would entail. So we went to the village, to find the ronin who knew where he was. The ronin was pleasurably occupied, much to Kamenosuke's disappointment. He agreed to lead us to the friendly-Tainted-guy and so the next morning, we set off with horses and headed north. We got snowed on, the ronin was cranky and Kamenosuke and Ishie chatted about Keiko. When we reached our destination [after a brief kata-stop in the snow], we discovered that the cabin was lacking in horses. Then we discovered that the cabin was covered in blood. The kami didn't want to talk, though the others did. Evidence suggests that the two people with horses left at some point. 3 people with a prisoner [for lack of a better word] arrived, did nasty things to him [hence the blood, etc] and then left. And an undead horse was wandering around. Some hair indicates that the prisoner was a Crane who had redyed his hair. And we know that the thing that left the strange tracks is an undead horse because we are currently watching it approach us.

Tomorrow there is birthday celebrations, a tutor's meeting and an examination of MSA material for a different tut. This weekend there is silly-tutor's-workshop, JA movie-watching and the Return of the Button [we hope].

Stuff. And Things.

I am annoyed. I am annoyed because I had to wake up this morning, when all I wanted to do was sleep. I am annoyed because there were people on campus this morning, making my life difficult. I am annoyed because I'm supposed to be working and just can't bring myself to do it. I am annoyed because I'm pretty sure I've forgotten something important and I don't know what it is.

Button is of the impression that I'm suffering an overdose of ennui. Nothing is quite as captivating as it used to be, which is causing some problems. I keep hoping it'll go away, but that doesn't seem to be working. Currently, I'm hoping that since I'm about to get 300 times busier than I have been, it won't be a problem because there won't be time for it.

In other news, I missed the O-Week Party. I've never really been one for the O-Week Party, though I'm sure I've been once or twice. It would have been nice to go this year, I think. However, I was at my mother's party, which was lots of fun and involved actual food. And very nice food at that. There was dancing [and singing, though it was neither drunken nor for the general populace's amusement]. The dancing was both drunken and amusing. Particularly the Seagull [and the Mashed Potato? No other songs will do]. I had fun, and more importantly, I had Button, who came in from the field especially. Sunday saw a tea party with the family and much present opening. Of course, she has to wait for her actual birthday for some of her presents. Philly and Whatsit were down from Joburg for the celebrations and even stopped by to visit me yesterday evening.

Hmm... I also appear to be cranky. I'm currently attempting to not be offended by a number of things, but specifically:
Something H* said last week sometime, that was not offensive at the time and shouldn't be offensive now because I know exactly what he meant and why he said what he said.
The fact that Wombat keeps talking about things I don't understand [because that's an unusual occurrence].
Something Button said yesterday or Saturday, or whenever, which gets the same qualification as what H* said.
The fact that I have to work, which I don't want to do. This involves, photocopying an article for my supervisor, checking the fat content of Pig, rock-bashing and so on. None of which are what I want to be doing this morning. So now I'm going to go do them and see if I stop being cranky.

In a Name

Apparently yesterday was Valentine's Day, and I missed it. Oh the tragedy!

In other news, I discovered the identity of the unidentified landline. I did this through the simple expedient of waiting for him to phone me again. And he did. And I knew that voice immediately. It's funny how that happens. Some of my friends [and possibly even some family] can phone me and I won't recognise their voices. But a guy I haven't heard from in about 4 years calls me and I know instantly. Possibly it had something to do with the squeaky knife noises in the background. It was DEM, my psycho ex-boyfriend [everyone has one, right?]. We [by which I mean Tiina Napoleon and myself] first called him SEC, then we got to know him a lot better and we started calling him Psycho-boy.

It's funny, how you think you leave some things behind with high school and then discover that you really haven't. Like renaming people with secret names such that people who don't know can't identify them. If we go through the names from high school... Well, there's clearly Tiina Napoleon and myself, Panda Mussolini. We had names that were much longer, as we constantly added to our list of nicknames [she had Vanessa, I had Felicity. She was the Crazy-Milk-Girl, I somehow ended up with Mr. Min and Andrew. One of us had Cinnamon, but I don't remember who... I could go on for a long time. Or I could find one of the letters that used all the names]. And we named other people, DSB, Cowboy Al, Padam, Peachy, Salamander Baghdad, the list goes on. I don't even remember half of them, though I know there were names for all of them, sometimes multiple names. And now, I do almost exactly the same thing.

Thunderstorm

So last night, there was thunder and lightning and it was very exciting. I love thunderstorms. Sadly, it was also hot and instead of proper rain, there was just occasional drizzling. But, it was exciting nonetheless. Especially when I looked out of my window, noticed the lightning and went 'but where are the clouds?' I decided that they must be behind the building and sure enough, there they were.

I had Wombat to visit me last night, which was much fun and involved lots of talking, though more than I actually remember this morning. I also got to talk to Button twice, very exciting. The other thing that happened yesterday, was phone calls. First, my mother phoned me. This is not a surprising thing in any way. Then, MD phoned me, which was very surprising. I had to decline his offer due to social reservations. Then, an unidentified landline called me. I don't know who this person is and for some reason, I'm curious.

On Tuesday, there was rock-bashing and role-playing. The rock-bashing was not particularly exciting. The roleplaying is always exciting, even if I was finding it a little difficult to focus. We started, at the end of the duel, with Jirobei reacting in a less-than-useful manner. And then he decided to kill himself and we made no effort to stop him. Nagataka ensured that the body was properly disposed of, without any incident. The rest of us went to examine Jirobei's room. The only thing we found that was really of interest, was some more jade tea. We spoke to the servant, who provided us with interesting information.

And now, some defatting and then some rock-bashing.

Politics

Why, simply because parliament is being opened, does the government feel it's necessary to completely shut down access to town? Why do they feel the need to have police cars blocking every entrance and exit to UCT? And why, why, do they have to do it on the morning I have an appointment? So, my mother spent an hour in traffic, to get from Bergvliet to Newlands Avenue, where she was kicked off the highway. Having walked to this point from UCT, I could tell her that the quickest way to get where we were going, was to turn around immediately. When we were halfway to our destination, the receptionist called - could we come back in the [late] afternoon, as they were running so late due to the government's decision to force everyone travelling towards town onto the Main Road. So, I am now at my mother's house - missing my glasses and other belongings foolishly left behind at UCT. So much for spending a morning in the lab and getting home early. And why, do I not have a swimming costume that fits me at my parents house?

There's not much else to say beyond ranting about how the government has ruined my day. So I won't.

Frenetic

So, time for a proper update, while I attempt to organise the first meeting of the Jane Austen Movie Club with AB.

Last Friday Button and I started our day off in a bit of a flutter. We were due to find out whether or not Button had been shortlisted for a Fulbright. And... he was. Needless to say, I was unsurprised. In the evening we went to A&A's wedding reception. It was cool. A insisted on doing all the food [he's a chef], it was yummy. Luckily it was all done before the power decided to switch off. I was the only female present who wasn't working [there were two others but they were helping with the food, etc]. I chatted to many interesting people and discovered many things. I spent a good long while talking to a [fairly young] guy who has metabolic arthritis [it's a really nasty form of gout].

Saturday started off mostly boring, with blood tests and a visit to the Optometrist. In the evening we joined a couple of other people at H* and Confluence's for anime watching. We started off by playing Zombie Fluxx. It was more fun than ordinary Fluxx, except for the bit where you had to make Zombie noises. I managed to get out of it everytime. I think that the people who noticed were kind enough to not point it out. We then watched what they believed to be the final 6 episodes of Ergo Proxy. Unfortunately it turned out that there were another 10 episodes after those. It was rather confusing at first [what isn't when you start in the middle?], but once I figured stuff out, it was quite fun. I particularly liked the girl with the purple eyes. She did remind me of NekoNinja a little.

I spent most of Sunday reading, something I haven't done for a long time. I finished the Black Magician Trilogy, which I borrowed from Lucas. I keep meaning to borrow a book from H*, but every time I've seen him since, I've forgotten to mention it.

On Monday I went to the rheumatologist, got new medication, had lunch with Button and attempted to write my abstract. We discovered that Button had been awarded a grant from PAST [the Palaeontological Scientific Trust]. Yesterday I spent most of my time in a drug-induced haze. Thankfully my body seems to have adjusted to the new medication and I can actually focus on things today.

Yesterday evening, there was a game. The magistrates met, to discuss the interrogation of Jirobei and their next step. We decided to have Kamenosuke testify on our behalf, that Jirobei had concealed his knowledge of maho, his taint and the death of the assassin from us. Before doing this, we needed to convey information to an irate Isawa Saigo and meet with Doji Hiroshi and Tonbo Sata. Unsurprisingly, the session ended with a duel between Kamenosuke and Jirobei. Kamenosuke won and Jirobei reacted badly...

Tonight, sushi!

Tagged

My sister has tagged me and I am now supposed to make a list of 50 things you may or may not know about me. Or care about. But it's my blog, it's about me - I don't care if you care.

1. I have arthritis. It makes me cranky sometimes. If you've ever met me, you've probably experienced this.
2. I am cute when stoned. I know this because Button told me last night [I have new medication, I'm still getting used to it. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in time for the game tonight].
3. I like roleplaying. Provided, of course, that it involves people I both like and am able to tolerate for long periods of time.
4. I am currently attempting to write a Jane Austen LARP with BT.
5. I've been known to tolerate morons [I mean really, it's not their fault that they're stupid. Ignorance is annoying and can be cured, but if you're stupid, it's for life. They deserve your sympathy].
6. I have amazing amounts of patience for people I don't actually like. I'm yet to work out the reasoning for this.
7. I like my hair. It's pretty.
8. I like most animals, with a few exceptions [like most insects].
9. I adore garlic. Muchly.
10. Sometimes, I crave milk. Just plain, ordinary milk. I don't even like milk. I blame the arthritis.
11. Sometimes, I enjoy watching movies/tv shows/anime. Most of the time I'm just not that interested. And I'm almost never interested enough to go to the cinema. Poor Button.
12. I adore the Symphony - there's nothing better than sitting in a concert hall while an orchestra plays. Or whatever happens to be going on in the concert hall, as long as it involves people with instruments. I'm fond of Theatre too, but I prefer the Symphony. Opera falls somewhere inbetween.
13. My sister taught me to read, when I was 3 or 4 years old. She claims that she's regretted it ever since because I would never play with her, as I was too busy reading.
14. My mother wasn't supposed to have children at all. The doctors told her that after my sister, she'd never have another. Well, yes. Clearly they know all about reproduction. Clearly.
15. I'm continually surprised by how nice I am [and how much of a doormat] - it simply doesn't fit with my self-image.
16. I like dead people. Preferably not the freshly dead though - I don't want to deal with them until they're either totally dried out, or just skeletons. Of course, when I say dried out, I meant no longer have any squishy bits or bodily fluids. I don't mind wet or muddy bones. Dirt is one of the hazards of the jobs.
17. I have some very odd phobias.
18. I like to play games. Sometimes, though, I find it difficult to focus...
19. I'm not very competitive, except occasionally.
20. I despise misspellings and certain grammatical errors. And all those smses and other messages I get that are full of stupid misspellings that are done on purpose just annoy the crap out of me. It makes me want to throw things. Preferably at the person that sent the message. It certainly does not lead to polite, friendly or even favourable answers. I don't care if it's easier for you, or if you think it's cute, or whatever you're aiming for. It makes me think you're an idiot and directs a considerable well of anger and resentment in your general direction.
21. Stationery makes me happy :)
22. I like plants. The more plants I have, the happier I am. Give me plants, now.
23. I like drums. There's something primal about that kind of music that just gets right up inside you and makes you feel. I was discussing this with AD the other day as we twittered on excitedly about tribal belly dancing. Of course, it's the same thing that makes me enjoy the Symphony so much. Or certain Japanese rock music, for that matter.
24. I didn't realise how much I enjoyed belly-dancing until I had to give it up. I still dance, occasionally, just for myself.
25. I like water. I need to be near water. Well, preferably moving water, but I'm not always fussy about it. I like to swim, provided there aren't too many strangers around and it's a place I'm comfortable in.
26. I like to read fan-fiction and webcomics. But I'm not telling you which.
27. Currently, my head is spinning [yay for new medication!], I don't want to know how I'm going to manage standing up just now.
28. Sometimes I'm easily distracted. Sometimes I'm extremely tenacious. There's simply no way to know.

I've run out of things to say, so 28 will just have to do.

Still full of fat.

So, there was a game on Tuesday. First, however, there was a lengthy discussion on changes to just how everything is going to work. I think everything was sorted out and it's going to be quite fun [though very complicated for a while]. Then the game happened. In the evening, Kamenosuke had a chat with Ishie, in which she told him that Bayushi Yutaka [the Emerald Magistrate] and the previously Doji Sakue, are both honourless and evil. Well, maybe not evil, but certainly not to be trusted and not overly fond of Kamenosuke [which shows very poor judgement on their parts]. Before he wandered off in a dejected state, she showed him a small brown stone and asked for his assistance in curbing her curiousity. At least, the curiosity that may result in unnecessary practical trials. Particularly since [which she didn't mention] she'd be most tempted to try it out on someone else. She's lived with the rather annoying side-effect for a very long time now and would not like a double dose of it. Although, that may result in more useful information than the current side-effect is willing to give... Which is why Kamenosuke will be keeping an eye on her. While it's possible that his offer to safeguard it for [and from] her is a good idea, she is unwilling to contemplate what her grandmother would say if she found out that Kamenosuke knew of its existence [though no actual details about what it's for], never mind if she found out he was the one keeping it.
In the morning, Kamenosuke sent the rest of the magistrates a message, indicating that they should meet up at around lunchtime, and not disturbh im before then. This made Ishie very happy, as she wanted to go see the messenger, and she'd prefer to do it alone. Unfortunately, she met Nagataka on her way down to the village. He decided to accompany her to the Inn, but chose to instruct the peasants rather than listen to her conversation with the messenger. In the afternoon, the magistrates [excluding Yashamaru, who appeared to be wandering the void] had a meeting with Doji Jirobei, Akitaka and Yumiko. They being the guy we think is responsible for everything going on, his father and the woman currently in charge of the village. Jirobei denies everything, though with some obvious lies. Isawa Daichi was kind enough to testify, though he accused her of lying, which was very rude, since he's most untrustworthy. Now, we need to decide if we're going to accuse him or not... Either way, there is likely to be a duel between him and Kamenosuke - which could result in injury.

Aside from that... Not much has happened. Button and I watched the latest adaptation of Persuasion last night. It was most enjoyable, despite large changes from the book and being rather short. I did enjoy it, however. Also, I asked JS what she thought about all the fat still coming off Pig's ribs and she agreed it was an obscene amount [that's what you get for dealing with fresh bone!] and made some reccomendations. On the plus side, she's now aware of why I'm not milling.

DreamWorld

Last night I had a most disturbing dream. The most disturbing thing about it is that it was so incredibly realistic. I'm not going to go into details about the dream, as it was very upsetting. The simple fact is that I was quite surprised to wake up and find myself in bed, as opposed to sitting with H* on the floor, in his kitchen, while attempting to calm my hysterical sister. In fact, I was so convinced that it was real, I was still talking to her, while my brain processed 'lying down in darkened room'.

There is no other news [unless you desperately want to know that yes, Pig's ribs are still exuding fat at an alarming rate], except that there is a game tonight. We have changed many things, I am excited by this even though half of them don't apply to me and most of it confuses me horribly.

Drowning in a sea of Fat.

My current sample is a cow, named Pig. This is not to say that I am finished with Wendell. Quite the opposite, in fact. But I am currently defatting Pig. I have been defatting Pig since before Christmas. Today, I put in some of Pig's femur to defat. Why? Because his [or her] rib is still full of fat. It just keeps dissolving out of the bone. I must admit myself surprised - I did not think that a rib would be so fatty. Otherwise, my trials continue. The mesh people have not responded, so I am unable to continue the attempted sieving of Wendell.

In other news... the weekend happened. I did indeed finish watching Kill Bill. It was not as good as the first movie [the decided lack of Lucy Liu was not an improvement], but it was still enjoyable and revealed much information. And the little girl was gorgeous. I did join Lucas et al. for the watching of FotR, or at least parts of it. Lucas had a theory on the information-extraction matter, though I forget what it was. It's not my fault, I was distracted by the NekoNinja, who is far more conventionally pretty than I was expecting. She's very nice, despite this fatal flaw. Button also had a theory on the matter, which has to do with the content of the information that one is attempting to extract. Essentially, if it's about me, I'm not going to tell you. If it's about anything else, then I will. However, since H* was managing to extract personal information, I'm not entirely sure how that applies.

Now that I've confused myself, on with the inventory. I abandoned my assessment of the NekoNinja, to go braai with a bunch of Button's friends. The puppies were gorgeous, the people not entirely unknown to me and some of them much fun to be with [or amusing, at any rate]. On Sunday, Button and I went shopping. This is partly because we are smart and know that the mall has air-conditioning, and partly because there was no food in the house. We also bought me a new swimming costume, as the clasp on my bikini top had snapped and was now useless. I managed reasonably well with an old bikini, but since the top is a little on the small side [or, really, far too small] it did not make for comfortable swimming and a new one was required. As this is not a bikini, it will enable me to do things like swim at the gym, as per the OT's instructions.

And, there was watermelon. I like watermelon.

I amaze me.

Three posts in two days. You should be amazed too. Of course, the main reason for this post, is that I am bored and have nothing to do. There is nothing online with which to entertain myself [well, I'm sure there is, but it's not making itself obvious and I don't feel like looking] and there is no work to be done [well, there could be, but for some reason Pig is still very fatty].

So, yesterday happened. I chatted to H* quite a bit about game-related stuff. All I have to say on the matter is [what I managed to restrain myself from saying yesterday] It wasn't meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! And then, because he is a non-threatening type, he managed to extract all sorts of information from me without making the slightest bit of effort. Wombat tells me that this is not a particularly difficult feat, as I apparently try to hide things from people by waving them about in front of their faces. How exactly this combines with his [and Button's, for that matter] equally certain opinion that getting information out of me is about as easy as blood from a stone is beyond me. There was other talking to people and [as I'm sure Wombat will not hesitate to remind me, frequently] the mention of cake. More specifically, the mention of cake, made by me, for the purposes of being eaten by the Wombat.

Then I went home, and did even less. Today, however, will involve acupressure. I enjoy that. I'm not sure whether or not it makes any difference [though usually when he says "this may make your [insert body part] a little achy", after a couple of weeks he's usually right], it's good for my mental health. The other things that this weekend will include: hopefully the rest of Kill Bill, a braai with a bunch of Button's friends, the possibility of watching all LotREE dvds with Lucas and [presumably] some other people [like the girl - will she be there???] or at the very least, the second half of TT... and hopefully not too much else.

taller than the universe

I'm in a surprisingly good mood this morning, though I think it could use some coke. On the other hand, being more awake is quite possibly going to lead to a less-than-happy mood. A very small amount of research tells me I'm updating less than once a week, but since I have very few things of interest to say, it doesn't matter. So, in this weeks news: Confluence's birthday; Nad's farewell; game stuff and, in that order too.

Confluence's birthday happened on Saturday. Well, it actually happened on Friday, but the celebrations were on Saturday. We were expecting to arrive late, but in fact were relatively early, as things go. I can't say I'm surprised, I can't even manage to be late when I'm actively trying. There were lots of people there and lots of food, though I don't think I ate very much. Overall it was fun, though by the time we left I was so tired I could barely stand up properly. And, just so you know, H* says I'm taller than the universe.

Nad's farewell was fun. Particularly since I did manage to be late for that [he didn't get around to smsing me the address until an hour or so before the event, by which time I'd managed to forget it was happening]. There were, again, lots of people there and I had great fun chatting with Amy1 about Jane Austen stuff and Amy2 about belly-dancing stuff. And then I spent a very long time talking to Confluence, H* and Wombat about a variety of things, mostly roleplaying. And I got to practice my deer-in-headlights look when Wombat asked for my opinion. At the party, I discovered that an unnamed someone has a blog that I'm not allowed to tell anyone about. So far I've managed that, but I'm not always very good with secrets.

Then there was the game, which was fun. Prior to our all arriving, H* had a nice long time-slice by himself, which had to do with a Crane meeting. Kamenosuke got lots of important stuff done and made Ishie very happy. Assuming of course that he told her that... it's hard to keep track, sometimes. There was a snowstorm, during which Ishie wrote a letter to her grandmother. Then the magistrates reconvened, discussed the possibility of there being more than one man hidden by the kami and generally arguing amongst themselves. Then Ishie's father arrived, which always upsets her. He gave her only partial information about something important, which always upsets her. While she was trying to work out how to say "I have to go find someone I don't know, and I'm not sure where to start looking", some Matsu knocked on the door with useful information. Everyone dressed as warmly as they could [except for Nagataka, which turned out to be a good idea on his part] and headed off to the inn, to obtain some more information. While the others dallied about generally annoying Ishie, she obtained the only useful information from the innkeeper and headed out to find the messenger. Once Hideo's uncle, Matsu Chizoku and Doji Harumi were located, the man was easy to find. Nagataka was attacked by his crazy sensei and then dove into the snow to locate the messenger. Once he was pulled out of the snowdrift [or had the snowdrift melted around him, as the case may be] he proceeded to taunt Ishie mercilessly. To be fair, he wasn't actually taunting her, she just wasn't being very rational or keeping track of what was actually going on very well. Then she read her message and hid the contents of the package and attempted to communicate as little as possible to Kamenosuke. One of the important pieces of information in the message related to Agasha Sosuke and the need for extra care to be taken by Ishie and as a result, by Kamenosuke. And then she spent a good long time debating what else she should tell him, or could tell him, without him deciding to kill her. She's probably overreacting, but she's not having a good day any more.

I nearly forgot, Button and I watched Kill Bill last night. I was very disappointed. I was cheated. Someone should've told me it was only half the movie. I know it's technically 'volume 1', but that didn't register, obviously. Aside from the fact that I was cheated out of half the movie, it was lots of fun.