I just went downstairs to get something to drink. It’s kind of crowded in the cafeteria and on the escalators, and I was struck–once again–by how much I enjoy letting all the different languages swirl around and wash over me. Sometimes, the library feels like a miniature UN.
Author: Shelly
At Work
Yes, I’m still painting behemoth pears. Someone in one of the Canon DLSR groups recommended using the timer to take low light photos, so I gave it a try. Huzzah! Today’s photo is much sharper than yesterday’s. There’s still a little bit of shake, from the mirror moving out of the way, but I think there’s a way to lock the mirror. I intend to investigate that this weekend.
Since I’m completely clueless about photography, I’ve been reading up on the basics. Aieee! Physics has never been my strong suit, especially optics, so this stuff is not intuitive to me. It’s going to take awhile before it starts to sink in.
Tile
Or, more specifically, grout. I spent a couple of hours last night on my hands and knees, scrubbing my bathroom floor with a toothbrush and bleach water. The grout is nice and clean now, but it’s an unappealing mottled grey color that will never look it.
And check out the lovely caulk smear along the bottom of the tub. Classy! The little maple piece on the right (it’s a nightstand, actually) is in serious need of refinishing. I promised my mom that I wouldn’t paint it, which means I might get to it sometime in the next ten years. Or not.
The photo is a little fuzzy (aside from the blurring from the shallow depth of field), because I took it in low light with no flash. I had to lighten it a bit and up the cyan and blue channels to compensate for the yellowing. I’m kind of surprised that it worked, as the original image was so dark that it looked like it’d been dipped in molasses.
And now, I’m off to find something to eat and to watch some mindless television. It stormed this morning and has been drizzling all day, so my brain feels like a bowl of pudding.
Ow!
I actually got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed the entire bathroom floor with bleach water and a toothbrush. It’s itty bitty 1″ square tile, and the grout–which I’m sure was once a beautiful white color–was varying shades of grimy grey. Yuck! God only knows how long it’s been since it was properly scrubbed. It certainly wasn’t done before I moved in.
So, now my back hurts. Bastards!
I also did laundry, dumped and disinfected the litter box, washed dishes, took trash to the dumpster, vacuumed, cleaned the studio (egad, was that ever a mess!), and changed bed linens and the cover on the futon. I also sorted out some magazines from my collage stacks and recycled them and cleaned off the coffee table. The last was a mess. It was heaped with tottering stacks of art junk and trash, to the point that there was nowhere to put your feet.
I still need to clean out the fridge (ugh), empty the dishwasher, mop the kitchen floor, and carry some empty boxes down to the basement.
Auntie Em!
Wind gusts of 37.9 mph! Aieee! On the high seas, that’d be a moderate gale-force wind. I’m in just about the most solid building in town, and it sounds like a convoy of dump trucks is circling the building.
Perks
I periodically get requests to give references for former students who are looking for “real” employment. I love it. Love, love, love it. I’ve had pretty excellent luck with hiring good kids, and it makes me ridiculously happy to see them make the transition into the real world.
Today, I got a background check request for one of my old students. Apparently, he’s trying to get a job with the federal government. He’s a good, steady, thoughtful worker, and he will, I’m sure, make any employer happy. I wish him luck, and I hope that his potential future employer has the foresight to hire him.
Fog
It’s 48F right now with 94% humidity, so obviously, there’s a misty drizzle and fog. It’s supposed to stay this way for awhile, too.
The bunnies are happy about the warm weather. When I took Harriet out this morning, there were at least ten rabbits grazing in the back field. They weren’t inclined to leave, either, which made Harriet’s morning potty trip both exciting and educational. We had a wonderful opportunity to work on our ability to ignore tempting, tasty morsels of rabbity goodness. Harriet’s response was something along the lines of, “Okayfinethen! If I can’t have them, I’m going to pretend they don’t exist.” I had to laugh, because that’s pretty much how I feel about the candy jar at work.
Groovy Fish
I had to take Harriet’s new fish away from her, at least temporarily. She very deliberately started chewing them his lower fins off. I should try to get a photo of it, because it’s kind of impressive. There’s a straight cut line, as if she’d used scissors.
I think I’m going to have to cut the fins off completely if I want to give the fish back to her. I don’t think she’d actually eat them, but I don’t want to take a chance. For now, Mr. Groovy Fish is sitting on top of one of the bookcases. Harriet is not amused. Every time I go into the living room, she parks herself in front of him and moos, like a lovesick cow.
Shhh! It’s a Library!
I’ve mentioned how loud the folks in Serials are? Well, they’re LOUD. They’re talking up a storm this morning, too, which is annoying the crap out of me. And at the back of the room the two BFF are whispering furiously to each other, which is also making me want to poke my eardrums out with an ice pick.
I remember, when we were kids, my mom telling us that we were better off talking in a low, normal voice than whispering, because the sound of whispering carries. She always knew we were up to Something when we whispered. She was right, of course. And, aside from it being a really irritating, penetrating sound (I think we’re hardwired to cue in on it), it also signals that you’re talking about things you shouldn’t be talking about.
55 Days
Still no sign of Harry Potter, though on checking my Netflix queue, I see that he’s gone from “very long wait” to just “long wait.” Three discs should be shipping today. One of them will likely be Moolaadé (it’s supposed to be released tomorrow), plus two more discs of Lost.
I’ve also been looking forward to the DVD release of The Red Balloon. It’s been listed as available “Jan 2008” for a few months now. It’s February 4th, and it’s still in the “saved” section, and it still says it will be available “Jan 2008.” M’kaythen!
