I seem to have misplaced my blogging mojo somewhere. It's possible that it got lost on the way and froze to death in a snowbank somewhere. It's certainly cold enough outside for that to happen - it was -25c (-13F) most of the day yesterday, and last night it dropped down to -30C (-22F), so it was quite unpleasant. I dug out my Ravenclaw scarf (of doom!) and bundled up, so at least I was nice and warm on the walk to and from work. Of course, the thin dress pants I wore didn't really keep my legs warm, but at least it was an incentive to walk as fast as I could (somewhat hindered by the fact that my Docs have very little grip on the slippery sidewalks and streets, so it's a fine balance between "omg walk faster!" and "whoops, don't walk so fast that you start to slip." One of the things that always drives me insane in the fall/spring/no snow on the ground time is when people drag their feet while they're walking. I always want to run up to them, grab them and shake them, and yell "you're not learning to walk, and you're not a hundred years old, so pick up your feet and walk like a normal person!" because it's just so incredibly annoying. So far, I've managed to restrain myself, but I'm sure one of these days I'll just snap… Anyway, as crazy as that drives me, the slippery sidewalks are just too, well, slippery to avoid the shuffling walk entirely. But since that's something that annoys me a lot, I end up annoying myself by doing it. I guess I have to find a balance between not falling on my ass and possibly breaking the laptop that's in the backpack I'm carrying and doing whatever it takes not to slip.

I've been doing my Project 365 photos every day, or at least trying to. There are a lot of close ups and macros in the set (link to Flickr), because you know what? When you work nights and sleep during the day, and it's pretty much dark by the time you get up, there's not too many things you can take pictures of. Well, there are things I could take pictures of inside the house, but it's all kinda blah, so I'm trying to avoid it. And it's usually way too cold in the evenings to go outside and take pictures. It's started to get lighter earlier and darker later, so I might be able to manage some better outdoor pictures soon. I'm looking forward to this week, when the Sulphur Mountain Gondola opens again. I'm going to try and make a trip up there with my camera, hopefully get some nice shots. I can't remember the last time I was up there, it was probably about two and a half years ago…

Only one more night and then I get three days off! I'm hoping to catch up on some reading, some writing, and some knitting. I foresee lots of tea drinking - speaking of which, I have to make a trip to the Banff Tea Company and get some plain black tea. Not that I don't love the Cream of Earl Grey (nomnomnom!), but something a little less flavored would be lovely as well. I've spoiled myself with loose leaf teas, and anything from a tea bag just tastes… pleh. So I shall have to drop by and have a chat with the lovely ladies there and pick something up. Mmmm, tea. That can get taken care of on the way to the post office. My yarn order from Colourmart was shipped on the 11th, and the one from WEBS on the 14th, so while I doubt either one is here yet, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check. Also in the plans for the days off is a trip to Canmore to (hopefully!) finally visit the yarn store there. Despite having a bag full of sock yarn (from that big order I got from KnitPicks a while back), I'm kind of tempted to buy some Socks That Rock yarn, if they have any, or something in a hand-dyed colorway. Mainly, I just want something a bit thicker than Palette - it's a lovely yarn, but it's not really appropriate for winter socks, and now that I've finally managed to more or less master the sock, I'd like to make something a bit more substantial that I can wear with my (sadly unlined and therefore a bit cold) Doc Martens.

As Harold took a bit of Bavarian sugar cookie he finally felt as if everything was going to be okay.

Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or a subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort. Not to mention hospital gurneys, and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, and soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction.

And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days are, in fact, here for a much larger and nobler reason: They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange. But I also know that it just so happens to be true.

– Karen Eiffel, Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

You know when you go out drinking, and for the longest time, there's this feeling of "there's not enough alcohol in this booze"? And then you have another drink and you're completely and utterly drunk?

Yeah. *burps* I think I'm going to go to bed now.

Team! Being all teamy! And Jack!

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I told Roommate Who Watches British TV with me that Torchwood starts today. She said "Yay!" Then I told her, undoubtedly with a slight leer, "there's boykissing! lots of boykissing!" And then she made a face and said, "Oh, well then I don't want to watch it."

I give up. I get that my roommates are all younger than me (by 7-8 years at least) and that they're stuck in some sort of limited worldview mindset. But I'm really sick of hearing "eww!" and "gross!" whenever there's something remotely approaching homoeroticism in any kind of tv show or movie.

I guess now I understand a little bit better how the hard(er) core slashers feel about the people who argue against it and say it's icky. *sigh*

Fannish goal #1 approaches - catch up on capping things. I've got half a season of Doctor Who, all of season three of Supernatural, and I'm thinking of starting to cap The Sarah Connor Chronicles as well.

And now, I'm going to watch Torchwood 2×01, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and get ready for my let's-avoid-the-rush-and-keep-to-our-budget-and-have-the-Christmas-party-after-the-New-Year Christmas party with people from the bookstore.

Dear Columbia House,

Why do you only have Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Blu-Ray DVDs? I don't have a Blu-Ray player, I just want the normal version.

Dear Michael Biehn,

This makes three movies with you I've watched recently in which you've died - Aliens (well, you don't die in that one, but you don't survive till the next one), The Rock, and Terminator. Please stop dying in movies, you're far too pretty.

Note to self,

Please avoid watching The Abyss anytime soon, so as to avoid seeing another Michael Biehn character die.

Man, I'd forgotten how deep my love for Armageddon is. Yes, I know it's a cheesy summer popcorn flick, but man, there are so many awesome things about it that entirely outweigh the cheese factor. One of the things that always gets to me in the movie is the relationship between Harry and Grace. Those of you who know me know that I am very much a daddy's little girl, and most movies/shows/books with a strong, positive father/daughter relationship are guaranteed to get me at least a little choked up.

Plus, Bruce Willis being awesome! William Fitchner! Peter Stormare! Everyone else! I kind of want to smish them all.

It's a shame that I don't own this movie. I am going to remedy that today, I think. Maybe pick up Armageddon and The Rock, or something like that, for a double whammy of cheesy fun.

—————-
Now playing: Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard - The Gladiator Waltz (feat Russell Crowe)
via FoxyTunes

That was awesome! I seriously don't know why they couldn't have aired this as it was. Slight spoilers below the cut.

All in all, this was definitely the better version of the episode. Why couldn't they have put this on the DVD set? I guess if it does eventually get released, I'll have to buy it, too. For the moment, I'm keeping my eyes open for a torrent, but who knows if it'll actually get put up.

Now all we need to do is mount a campaign to get more two-hour movies made. I mean, Paul Blackthorne can't be that attached to the hideousness that is Big Shots, can he?

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Hey, Canadian fans of The Dresden Files! Space will air the uncut 2-hour version of the pilot this Sunday, January 5, 2008, at 8pm EST (6pm MST).

Of course, I'm going to miss it, since I'm at work at the bookstore until 9:30pm, and the second airing is at 1:30am, when I'm at work at the hotel, but maybe I can sneak into the lounge and watch it there or something. And hey, there's always the possibility that someone will put up a torrent.

This is all assuming that I don't succumb to this zombie cold in the meantime, first. I'd go to the doctor, but all they'll tell me is to drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest, which, well, I've been doing, but it's not helping. At least I don't work at the bookstore today, so I can sleep through the afternoon if I need to. I was supposed to have a contact lens check (something's wonky with my prescription), but I canceled it and will reschedule next week when I'm not dying.

As a final moment of WTF?, I give you Time's article, "Can Atheists Be Parents?" which is so full of overwhelming wtfery that I can't even… *hands*

To whatever strain of the T-virus that's currently hard at work in my brain:

Look, dude, I know you have a job to do and that it takes time to do it properly. But either step on it and get it done already, or GTFO. Seriously, I bet none of the people in the Hive, Raccoon City, or anywhere else for that matter suffered this much.

I'd even settle for the idea of being a zombie, if it only makes my head feel less like it's going to explode.

Sincerely yours,

Me

Rrr… Seriously, I feel halfway to zombie-land right now. Hopefully the painkiller will kick in. I'm hoarding the last Imitrex, 'cuz I'm pretty sure it won't help with the sinus headache I've got, but the prescription anti-inflammatory might be able to help. And when I'm feeling a little bit more human and less likely to gnaw on random people on the way to the store, maybe I'll go and pick up some Neo-Citran or something, 'cuz my throat is starting to get all tight and sore.

And now, I'm going to turn off the light and close the lid on the monitor, because the lights are starting to hurt my eyes and head.

Rrr…