send back my dream test baby

[freckles_and_doubt]

Not having a computer in the house rather drastically reshapes my existence - no internet, no paper-writing, no computer games (the bastard burglars stole the disks of both Bioshock and Shadow Magic, which were in the respective drives at the time, which will teach me to put the bloody things away when I'm not playing. My life may have ended). Apart from having read about twelve books in the last week and embarked on a new knitting project (fluffy mohair is evil), I've also taken to coming home from work and playing my piano for an hour or so. I suspect that this is driving the mad neighbour crazy, so bonus, but it also means that some of the pieces I've been playing (a slightly random mix of Beethoven and Noel Coward, which may also be contributing to the mad neighbour's irritation) are beginning to sound slightly less like the aural equivalent of a blasted heath.

Esteemed and generous participants in the Great Piano Refurbishment Plot, incidentally, may be happy to know that I have (only a year later) finally made progress in the piano stool department, which was the designated goal of the left-over money from the refit. New piano stools are Ridiculously Expensive, TM. Second-hand ones are apparently some sort of musical-furniture hen's-teeth or cockatrice-egg substitute. So the Evil Landlord is going to make me one, with a budget allowing for rather nice wood, and I'm hoping to prevail upon my long-suffering mother to upholster the seat for me. As an added bonus, this may distract the EL enough to prevent him for forcibly paying for half of the cost of replacing my computer, since he feels the theft was his fault for leaving the alarm off. I feel that this is silly, and besides, there's no way I could have paid for half of the replacement cost of his car if mad burglarz had, in fact, nicked it that one time I left it outside the front gate with the keys in the boot lock. (I'm not actually a ditz, only sometimes the moons of Saturn get in my eyes).

Books I read this last week: legion, since one of the things I did during my week off was to take a whole bunch of throw-out books to the second hand place, acquiring in their stead a whole bunch more. I particularly recommend Connie Willis's Remake, which is both a withering satire on the Hollywood tendency to recycle its own products, and a love-letter to classic film. It's left me with a gnawing desire to watch a whole lot of Fred Astaire.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

So no luck fighting the evil insurers then?

Also,
"I'm not actually a ditz, only sometimes the moons of Saturn get in my eyes"
...I am so stealing that.

scroob

[wolverine-nun.livejournal.com]

she's already stolen it, don't let her tell you otherwise

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

My profile warns you: vices, unmarked quotation. The moons of Saturn bit is from Peanuts cartoons, specifically Lucy coming up with excuses for missing yet another catch. I include it to make my dad happy in the knowledge that his daughter hasn't forgotten some of her early childhood influences.

[wolverine-nun.livejournal.com]

My mum has a whole lot of Fred Astaire

[origamitiger.livejournal.com]

You have been robbed? Bastards!

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

Yup. See what you get for missing a whole week of LJ? We was robbed on Monday, they took both computers and a whole bunch more of stuff. Insurance are refusing to pay out because the EL forgot to put the alarm on that morning. Battle is joined.

Glad Stockholm seemed good, it's a great reason to miss important LJ posts!

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

Have you gotten hold of Cahrlie Stross's Family trade yet? It's pulp fantasy, not deep but very readable. And it's Stross, so has all kinds of 21st century touches.

I've just finished book 3, so I have to wait for Book 5 and 6 to be actually published.

[extemporanea.livejournal.com]

I've read the first one, haven't got around to the rest yet. The EL has the series, I think. I didn't enjoy them quite as much as I do his other stuff, although as you say, very readable. But my heart belongs to all the weird Delta Green narratives :>.

[strawberryfrog.livejournal.com]

Aaargh, I have finished book 4 not 3. I will now get back to the second half of Les Miserables. Only 700 pages to go.