September 29, 2005
orange, fried, and homers
posted by soe 10:38 am
We now return to your regularly scheduled Three Beautiful Things Thursdays:
1. We returned home to find the local pyracanthas had gone to berry. These shrubs develop whole hordes of bright orange berries at the tips of their branches, making it look like they’ve painted their fingernails for Halloween.
2. I do not eat McDonald’s at home. Outright refuse, because they cook their french fries in animal fat — an unnecessary step, in my mind — and don’t make that abundantly clear at their establishments. McDonald’s in other countries, however, are fair game, because the worldwide population that does not eat beef requires McDonald’s to be more careful and more resourceful. So while in the U.K., I stopped at a McDonald’s to pick up one of my favorite childhood fast foods — the fried apple pie. Yes, I know they’re terrible for you. But they are so much tastier than the baked version our franchises switched to about 15 years ago.
3. We went to the Mets-Nationals game on Sunday — the final game of the final series my two favorite teams would play this year. I also wanted to see All-Star catcher Mike Piazza one last time in a Mets uniform (although Dad remains optimistic I’m mistaken on Mike’s move to a new team in the off-season). So we had two good reasons to hit RFK so soon upon our return to the States. And apparently Mike could see how many Mets fans had come out to support him because he answered our adoration with not one, but two, home runs, as well as two walks. David Wright and Mike Jacobs also hit long balls, giving the Mets a 6-5 victory over the Nats.
September 28, 2005
tiredness
posted by soe 11:58 pm
With the exception of my bout with mono, I don’t ever remember being sidelined by an illness quite like this. I mean, yes, sometimes I get a stomach bug and am out of commission for a day or so. But today marks the third day in a row where I have come home and pretty much fallen asleep immediately. And today it was simply while I was changing out of my work clothes!
I am going to optimistically believe it’s a minor flu or a major cold and that it will clear by the weekend. If it doesn’t, I suppose I’ll have to hunt down a doctor when I get back from Pittsburgh next week…
September 27, 2005
sneak preview
posted by soe 5:47 pm
Rudi and I head out tonight with some friends to catch the sneak preview of Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. I have only been recently introduced to the beauty of W&G, believing them to be somehow related to scary stop-animation Pokey and Gumby. Having been relieved of that frightening thought, I’m pleased to say that I find this duo a delight and would recommend you track down copies of the three shorts Aardman Animations put together prior to the movie.
i hab a colb id my nobe
posted by soe 10:27 am
Or, in the Queen’s English, I have a cold in my nose.
From a biological standpoint, the cold is probably coursing throughout my body, but it seems mostly to have settled in my head. Unfortunately, in addition to my nose, it also is affecting my balance and my cognitive abilities (particularly my ability to type). Some will try to attribute it to jet lag, but I think they’d be mistaken. Sneezing and runny noses rarely accompany the official diagnosis of desynchronosis (for those of you who travel to places where Latin is spoken on a regular basis).
I seem to have a lot of travel on my schedule for the month of October, so I’m hoping the cold will disappear quickly and go harass people who don’t have so much to do. For my part, I will sneeze on as many strangers as I can to get this bug out of my system quickly.
September 26, 2005
five things i meant to do in england, but didn’t
posted by soe 3:35 pm
1. Watch the Changing of the Guard — I got the dates wrong on this (okay, the guide books from 2001 got the dates wrong . . . and I believed them).
2. Visit Devon and Cornwall — I’ve heard the Fairy Country of England is beautiful, but we just absolutely ran out of time and the coastline was the part of the trip that got condensed. (We also missed the Long Man and Avebury, so there’s lots to do still on the list for next time.)
3. Drive — Last time we went to Britain, I took over the driving on our first day of exploring the mountains of Wales late at night when I was tired. And it was such a miserable experience, I didn’t drive again that trip. And by the time I felt comfortable enough this time, we’d hit London and weren’t really driving anymore. So I missed out. Next time I’ll just have to take the bull by the horns on the first day when I’m too tired to be nervous.
4. Buy tea spoons — I know, I know. I don’t really need them. But they’re so cute and fit much better on a saucer than your normal spoon. Something to come by next time.
5. Eat Welsh rarebit — One of my favorite British dishes, I somehow missed out on it this time. I ate a great many other lovely things (including Branston pickle, which isn’t, in an American sense, a pickle at all), but consumed a cheese and tomato toastie and fish and chips while I was in Wales instead of the one dish I was after . . .
ninety minutes
posted by soe 6:47 am
I will live to regret this decision later tonight, but when my body (or, possibly, the cats) decided I should be awake at 5 a.m., I decided to agree with it. So I’ve been sitting here in the dark coolness of the living room, lit only by the intermittently working backlight of our laptop, for the last 90 minutes. And I have to say it hasn’t been that bad. In fact, it’s been quite peaceful.
This morning was scheduled to be cloudy here in D.C., so it hasn’t gotten light with the sunrise, but periodically I peek at the Andrus Field cam at Wesleyan to see how sunrise (and early morning activity) progresses elsewhere. They are much more diligent than I, as they are all wearing more than a bathrobe and are doing industrious things like walking, driving, and turning on and off lights. (Oh, wait, I did most of those things this morning, too… Nevermind…)
The alarm clock just started beeping to tell us to wake up. Maybe I will make some tea. Or maybe I will just sit here a few more minutes and enjoy a little bit more tranquility before the Burrow starts bustling with back-to-work activity.