Ephemera & Tales

What I just finished reading:
quicksilver, FINALLY. i don't even know what i think about it, other than "long and dense and full of science". i kept wanting to know what happened, and i didn't resort to skipping ahead to find out, so that's something. and for all the world-shaking events happening around the characters, their relationships with each other felt kind of cozy, and i liked that.

i started reading this in september. and yes, i took a couple breaks to read other things (mostly the kind-of guidebook about cuba), but still, five and a half months is some kind of record.

What I am reading now:
record of a spaceborn few, by becky chambers, also FINALLY. i'm not that far in and so far it's a lot like the long way to a small, angry planet in that we're getting to know the characters and the world, but an actual plot (or any reason for all these people to be together) has yet to reveal itself. but i like it. there's something about becky chambers' writing that i really like. it's fun and kind of soothing.

What I'm going to read next:
dunno! probably the beatrix gates because i have it. there's probably something in my house i haven't read yet.

i'm 99.44% sure the regional head of tax is encouraging the very special partner to think of me (and treat me) like her own personal assistant. apparently all the partners in the new york offices have their own admins, and no one there knows (or probably cares) how the boston office is set up. like, we have two admins, total. but she clearly thinks i should be hers. (can you see me rolling my eyes? i totally am.)

( things about the magicians! )

there was a full moon last night and according to the news here, it was the snow moon. appropriate, since it snowed yesterday. :D once again, enough to be pretty but not enough to have to shovel. my favorite kind. (well, next to snow that gets you out of school/work....)

over the weekend i did some day drinking at a local cidery with tamalinn and another friend (i didn't know there was a local cidery! but there is! and the cider is delicious!), failed to get my comics, lost at curling (again), wrote a bunch of words for my bang that i might not keep, and spent six and a half hours with my sister planning a trip to hawaii. so i'm going to hawaii. :D we still have to rent a car and get tickets for a luau, but we have the important things done. it's very exciting.

today was a very chill day and then everything happened in like the last two hours. >.< suddenly everybody needed something done.

i have a ton of links and i'm not kidding.

scientist discovers lapis lazuli in a medieval woman's teeth, leading to the thought that she was most likely a painter of medieval manuscripts. i thought that was a thing only monks did, but no! women got to illuminate too.

and speaking of medieval women, this nun faked her death to get away from the convent.

check out this mongolian metal band. metal filtered through mongolian music traditions. cool shit.

this is old news, but china successfully sprouted seeds on the moon. how cool is that? lunar plants!

the 500-year-long science experiment - in which scientists will be testing the longevity of bacteria until 2514. that's some faith in one's future fellow scientists, and in the future of science.

a dad in russia made a leafblower-powered sled for his kid.

how to make the best matzo balls, in both cannonball and light&fluffy versions. because matzo balls are always in season.

for a random dose of diy cuteness, potted cactus cake (because cactus) and snow globe cupcakes (because cupcakes).

i love church conversions (when someone converts a church, usually a small one, into living space) but this one in chicago just makes me sad. it looks slapdash and weirdly designed. who puts the pulpit right outside a door between the living/dining space and a bedroom? that makes approximately zero sense. and personally i would have made the living/dining space a little bigger. i guess you're supposed to use the altar bar as a table? also i would never pay $4000/month for it.

...i have opinions on architecture and interior design and they are not always nice ones.

i also love tiny houses, and this harry potter themed one is really neat. a mom and her daughter built it because they're massive hp fans and thought other massive hp fans would appreciate it.

a guy pretended to be a young joseph stalin on tinder and it did not go horribly. i don't know what this says about people on tinder, but maybe not much. altho to be fair the young stalin was kind of cute.

there's a 3d printed bridge in shanghai! it's the world's longest one! who wants to go to shanghai and walk across it with me? :DDD

lightsaber dueling is now an official competitive sport in france. how fun and fannish! there are strict rules, just like there are for other fencing styles, but i don't think people show up for epee tournaments dressed as stormtroopers and jedi.

103-year-old woman becomes a junior ranger at the grand canyon - i think the program is aimed at kids to teach them about national park preservation and protection, but there's no specified upper age limit. so if you decide at age 103 (making you three years older than the park) that you want to be a junior ranger at the grand canyon, you can.

and finally, in honor of the opportunity rover, have a great article about her and a lovely twitter story.

now if you'll excuse me, there's a brick of tofu in my kitchen that i have to deal with before i go to bed.

(i was watching total dramarama on the cartoon network before. little kids playing superheroes. bee girl will sting you if you're bad - her stinger is a plunger, because kids - but if you're good.... :D )

happy cheap chocolate eve, o my flist. :D we had a giant strawberry shortcake at work to celebrate, plus heart-shaped cookies and brownies. yum. and tax had pizza, because we're special. :D and at one the entirety of tax disappeared for a training, and it was VERY QUIET on the 14th floor. like, so quiet i had a hard time concentrating.

a new tax manager started on monday, and today i did some stuff for him, and when he said "thank you", my response was "for what?" >.< (for doing your job, you dumbass.)

if you want an update on the very special partner, i spent forty-five minutes yesterday adding a day to her hotel reservation for the conference in california that required all the damn flights, and booking a car service for a conference in indiana that started today. she doesn't need to rent a car, but the airport's an hour away. so, car service. (renting a car would be cheaper.) i booked it and emailed her the details (she was in new york at some work thing or other) and considered it done. ha.

her: *emails* please change pickup to 4, per new info.
(new info contained in another email.)
me: your flight is at 5 and the airport is an hour away and if you leave any later than 3 there's a chance you'll miss your flight.
her: ok, 3.
me: *calls car service and changes pickup time* *emails the partner to tell her they'll pick her up at 3 at the hotel*
her: have them pick me up at the kelley school [where i guess the conference is].
me: *thinks* i'm going to reach through the internets and strangle you. also why didn't you say that before?
me: *googles the kelley school to see where it is* *calls car service again and asks them to please change the pickup location* *emails partner to update her*
her: thanks.

OH MY GOD. if i get an email from her tomorrow with anything other than "here's the receipt for lunch" i will lose my shit. today was a nice normal day, aside from the celebratory cake and pizza and everyone vanishing for three hours. the very special partner is out of the office, maybe that's why.

still watching deadly class, altho it seems to be taking that most worn and cliched of paths and going for a love triangle. how boring. i am disappoint. music's still great, tho. and the magicians was a little disconcerting and a little weird and a little fun. ( also i giggled. )

in sad news, the mars rover opportunity finally went dark, after fifteen years of toodling across the surface of the planet. (she was apparently done in by a really bad dust storm.) she was only supposed to last ninety days. surprise. :D so raise a glass for her and for the men and women who put her on mars, and for all the information she and her fellow rover managed to send back to us. sometimes the future is a really fabulous place to live.

and finally, because it's valentine's day/cheap chocolate eve, let me share one simple trick for impressing your sweetie in bed.