Guess the Year

No Wikipedia peeking!

Working from Home

Kitchen Confidential

From the moment I moved in, I've hated the counter tops in my kitchen. They've been coated with some sort of spray-on granite type stuff, and it's gritty and nubbly and never comes clean. Plus, it's just plain ugly:



After nearly two years of procrastination, I decided to do something about it. I decided the simplest thing to do would be to simply cover the nubbly stuff with Contact paper. I measured twice, cut once to fit the smaller counter space to the right of the sink, only - surprise! - the paper wouldn't stick to the damn stuff.

The "rock" has been flaking off in spots, revealing white counter top underneath. So I started scraping. After about an hour and a half and half a bottle of Sally Hansen Pro-Vitamin B5 nail polish remover, what lies beneath was revealed:



Not a bad counter top, really. A little stained and now scratched up from my scraping. Point of no return-I've got to cover it with something now.

Voila. Contact paper now adheres:



Much bettah. I might wait for slightly cooler weather before tackling the larger counter top though.

Burble Burble

It's 10:30 p.m.

Do you know where your succubus is?

Presented Without Comment

Scanned this in from the coupon insert of today's newspaper.

Stripes with Plaid

Last year, in a fit of desperation at being unable to find a pair of grown-up girl shoes my size in any store at the mall, I bought a cheap plasticky pair of loafers out of the little girl section. When I saw REI had an online sale on Dansko clogs my size last month, I snapped up a pair for casual business work day wear.

I was glad to set aside the little loafers, with their heart-and-key charm accents. However, I have discovered that most of my pants have been hemmed while wearing some other pair of shoes. I am waiting for certain coworkers to tease me about wearing floods. The comfy Danskos seem to show an inordinate amount of sock.

This is fine by me, because I love socks. I have an entire drawerful of socks that have been longing to see the light. Holiday socks, traditional Scandinavian patterned socks, socks with cardinals and pine boughs on them, socks with cats and fish on them, socks I knit myself with deliberately mismatched stripes. All now much more on display than before. The rooster socks have been worn so much they're threatening to chicken out at the heels.

In the absence of any plain socks, today I opted for this combination of argyle socks with striped trousers. They remind me of a favorite quotation, which I've posted before but deserves to be repeated:

Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.

– Albert Einstein

I am Sorry, but I Cannot Allow This to Be

I know the apartment has been cool and damp lately, but when a worm moves into the bathroom, it's not good.

Need Tennessee

Everybody does, prolly. Keep suckin' down those giant Cokes!

In Which the Photo has no Relevance to the Post

There is an older man who works as a groundskeeper on the community college campus. While he blows leaves off the sidewalk or empties the outside trash barrels, he keeps up a steady stream of enthusiastic shouting about how fine the day is and how God loves us all. He'll holler that he loves you if you smile at him.

"Hi y'all! It's a blessed day y'all! That's right! That's right!" he yelled in his usual vein today. "God, I love y'all! God loves y'all!" Then he got a little quieter: "And you know you gotsta be careful if someone says they love you." He bit his lip for a contemplative moment. A few students giggled. "That's true," I said.

"That's right! That's right!" he resumed. "It's a beautiful day, y'all!"

Lounge

I Wanna Drive the Zamboni

If you don't know the silly song: here.

As Blue as Sky as You Will Ever See in Michigan

I cannot believe I did not know that Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog.

Anyone want to come see a movie about a typeface with me?

From Brunching Shuttlecocks via Shakespeare's Sister, a diagram of Times when I am truly happy.

Had Enough Elvis?

Happy birthday, Madonna!



She lived in Ann Arbor for a few weeks, ya know!

I Knew They Were Selling Something

More Jesus Brand® Spirituality.

Brand Manager of Faith

Notice that Jesus Brand® spirituality makes no claim of compassion. It only "leans toward" it.

I lean toward not using ITC Eras and Lithos on the same postcard. Actually, I lean toward not using ITC Eras at all.

My Final Class Project Ate My Weekend

First, I underestimated the time it takes to design and code a Web site using CSS-based navigation and layout. I'm an intuitive sort. I like to pick things up and rearrange them, move them around on the page, draw over them, eyeball shit to see if it looks right. This combing through pages of inexorable computer logic to find where I forgot a semicolon is not the kind of design I want to do. Dead trees, give me dead trees. Yay me for picking a new career in the shrinking field of print design.

I have to take Flash next semester. Double yay.

Second, I procrastinated, thus ensuring my membership status with the Society of Two-Headed Turtles. As soon as I get the application in.

Third, I forgot I had a blog until about 15 minutes ago. It's night and raining and the cat is not cooperating, so here's my 'fridge.



Fourth, is that a can of chocolate syrup on the door? I forgot that was in there. Hmm.

Midpoint

Half way through my blog-a-day year.

Bad Dreams

Last night I dreamed I was at a staff meeting for work, being forced to drink scotch in a library at 6:30 in the morning.

Learn Something New Every Day

Okay, who knew there was an herb out there called horny goat weed?



'Fess up. Who's been keeping it from me? And as for this:



I do not think it means what they think it means.