Lunch Break Papers

The annoying thing about a library book is when someone else has left their mark upon it. Underscores, notes, annotations. In pencil - sensible, but then why not erase them before bringing the book back? - in felt tip, or even with yellow marker. And don't get me started on people who tear out whole chapters. Defacing books is never a good idea.

Although I admit I did find a funny thing the other day which was apparently a discussion between at least four people who, one after the other, had borrowed the book... but I digress.

What feels even worse is when people pencil in translations. These are English books, and I know the courses taught with them, and yes, they are English spoken. You need a translation for a word, fair enough. Heck, I do too, sometimes. But why would you pencil in a translation into a book that will not stay in your possession? Where's the logic in that?

Long story short - get thee a dictionary; make notes on seperate pieces of paper. If you want to study English Lit, learn the language. That will be one of the first things I will tell my students, when the time comes.

Do you know what's exceedingly good for a sore, slightly swollen throat?
Gargling with ice-cold Slivovitz.
*hic*

Started and finished a 300 page book today ("Tyranny of Distance", about Australian history and how it was influenced by geography - fascinating read); going to have to extract the quotes tomorrow, it needs to go back to the interlibrary loan desk on Friday.

Last night, I dreamt that I wanted to divorce the 9th Doctor so I could marry the 8th Doctor, but after we found desiccated Dalek mutants in a rocket in the front garden (they were of course revived by some Mad Scientist) and the 9th Doctor was almost killed in an accident involving Daleks and a model train set, I changed my mind, and he and I went off to live in a haunted house in London.
My mind is just weird.

So I'm at work again (if I am healthy enough to play a gig tonight, I am healthy enough to work; still, I will probably swallow some "instant health"-pills tonight), and digitizing the tapes. I'm at S, finally, and it's Shakespeare-Time. At the moment, it's Hamlet (with Gielgud), and I am surprising myself at how many lines I still know.
My memory isn't that bad, after all.

So I'm sat in the "new office" of ours, the ex-copy room, and let me tell you, it stinks of toner and copier and yuck. I wish I could open the window, but there are roadworks outside and with the window open, the stench of tar permeates the room, which is even worse.

There's a lot of running around to be done in the afternoon, the most important of which is going to be convincing the bank not to cancel my overdraft credit. Bloody bastards.

The classes I hold at the adult education centre will probably not take place, there are too few registrations. Which means that I won't continue to work there.

Band rehearsal is switched from Tuesday to Friday, which means that I'll be able to pander to my House / Monk addiction on Tuesdays.

Yesterday, while reading and mentally dissecting a lecture on Australian literature, my mind started regurgitating a lot of thoughts and ideas, which I promptly wrote down. Good stuff there, too. Now, if only I found the knack again to put these thoughts into a coherent whole.

No word yet from Cardiff. Will continue looking.

One
Good thing about inter-library loans: You get books you would usually have to buy.
Bad thing about inter-library loans: You can only keep the books for three weeks, with no extensions.
Good thing about photocopiers: They exist.

~~~~~

Two
My parents are getting new furniture for their living room. They will also paint the walls and get a new carpet because, as mum says, they probably won't do it again and so might as well do it the right way.
The upshot of this is that I now have, in my living room, a new table which used to stand downstairs. A real honest-to-goodness living room table instead of the ex-garden thing that stood there until yesterday. It looks great.

~~~~~

Three
I was out clothes shopping with mum today. She actually bought me a skirt - a light, sandy brown chequered overknee thing with a certain air of British Schoolgirl-ness. Then I went and bought a fitting lipstick. All I need now are some cool boots.
Good grief. Am I turning into a Chav?

Man, I feel accomplished!
Finished one book today which was a long time a-reading, one step closer to the goal (check - yep, pearl's still there). Then, I sat down and wrote two, yes, two short stories in one afternoon, that's almost 3000 words worth of storytelling.
I also did the dishes, helped with the ironing, read a few chapters of The Eyre Affaire (ok, athenais, you win - I love the book), and watched two episodes of "Look Around You", a very strange, yet fascinating look at the future as seen from the 1970s, made last year.
Oh, yes, and after lunch, I played Sims for half an hour. My first Sim was killed because he couldn't get out of the toilet at a Café - the saxophone player insisted on standing in the doorway playing.
Now I'm going to watch another episode of "Look Around You", and then I'll head off to bed, since tomorrow wants getting up early again.
All in all, not bad for a Wednesday.

In my spare time (hah!)... Ok. I have a rule: The books I am reading in the kitchen and the bathroom are "fun books", "spare time" books because I can't be bothered with criticism texts early in the morning or while eating lunch. I read enough of them during the day.

Anyway! In my spare time, I've been re-reading the Harry Potter series. Not only has this made me appreciate Rowling's ability to plot and use continuity, it has also made me appreciate "Order of the Phoenix". It is a lot better than I remembered it from the first, admittedly rushed, reading. The same goes for "Half-Blood Prince", where I've just reached one of the final chapters, the one where the thing happens that was a Big Effing Spoiler when that book came out, even though a friend of mine knew what would happen beforehand.
So, we were all wondering about that "Severus, please...", right? And do you know what, I think I figured it out!
( cut in case this is considered this a spoiler, well, you never know, better to be on the safe side and all that; besides, this must be rather uninteresting for people who're not into Harry Potter )

... and why can't I have brainwaves like this about stuff that matters? :D

I finally found a program for to make literature lists (sees people cringe at the grammar *Eg*). It's bloody brilliant. Searchable entries, key words, quote organization, and, and, and. I don't know half of what this program can do.
Combine that with 24/7 internet access and the ability of said program to search libraries in Germany, and all I have to do is enter the ISBN number and click "download" to get all the details up to and including a cover scan where available.
Now, I'll have to copy the ISBN numbers of the books I've already catalogued, and we're in business.

How strange is that... I'm at work again, that is, the work I had to do today is done and the tape is whirring away digitizing Coleridge, and I've used the net access not only to do some research, but also get a handful of free Tarot readings because it's spring and I felt like it.
And in three out of four readings, on different pages, the same card turns up in the "self"-position: the Nine of Swords. Coincidence?

It's brilliant sunshine out there today, and warm, and my brain feels like a dried-out sponge waiting for information it can soak up. The thought of books and libraries and my bookshelves at home makes me giddy. All that knowledge on the ledges! Read, read, read!

Oh, yeah, lest I forget: The gig on the 30th was very much OK. We played until we dropped, almost literally, because they didn't want to let us go - we started at nine, playing a set on the hour until two in the morning. Six sets. And we only have 25 songs, which means that the more party-oriented rocking ones were played three times at least. I agree with our bass player that it will be some time until I want to play those songs again, as much fun to play as they are.
I hope the recordings that were made last week on Thursday and Sunday are of good quality, because I promised a few people I'd send them copies. Fingers crossed!

Here's another coincidence for you: Today's featured article on Wikipedia is about the Albatross; the Coleridge playing at the moment is Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Ah, I love humans, always seeing patterns in things that aren't there.

PS: Would I be completely off my rocker to want to hear Coleridge read by Tom Baker or Brian Blessed?

On the negative side, I feel a bit sick today; my stomach's fed up and my head was hurting. I probably ate something which didn't agree with me at a friend's - our drummer's - birthday party yesterday, even though I was very careful which foodstuffs to choose. I'm guessing it was the one sausage (Wiener), which I can't always get away with at the best of times. I evaded all the sugar, even when temptation in the form of the host's wife shoved it right under my nose, but I did drink two glasses of red wine and one shot of whiskey - the host is a whiskey lover and collects medium rare vintages, and is very liberal with his hobby, letting friends taste them. I got home at two in the morning. All of this probably explains why I don't feel like cooking today and will live on bread and tea alone; this will also alleviate my bad conscience at having sinned yesterday.

On the plus side, I had a whale of a time yesterday. The band was there, sans singer, and the usual friendly bickering was much enhanced by the atmosphere. We occupied the living room, while most of the other guests were in the kitchen - it is strange how people gravitate towards the kitchen at parties. Sometimes, we were visited by other guests, who were occasionally looking at us strangely. Yep, we're the weird musicians, alright.

Also on the plus side, not feeling up to much today has resulted in me reading on in the Norton Anthology, specifically Gawain and the Green Knight, in a translation to modern English which nevertheless manages to capture the alliterations and rhythm of the original, as far as I could see. Beautiful, and very fascinating, both in how people and actions are described, but especially in light of how the perfection of nobility and honour was apparently valued higher than life itself. Although I am sure there are depths, allusions and cultural references hidden in there that my modern mind cannot see, so I won't judge what goes on within the work until I do more research in that area.

And finally on the plus side, it was a great day today weather-wise, sun shining and reflecting off a light dusting of snow, birds singing, very good to walk outside for a breath of fresh air, which always gets rid of a hangover headache.