Warm but wrinkly

I giggled a lot at the fashionable shivery people on the train this morning, because I am snide like that. Also I actually listened to the weather forecast sometime in the past week and hence knew that we were going to suddenly get OMGWTFCOLD last night. (20s in the outlying burbs, 30 near the lake) I had on suitable outer garments, though the intolerable smugness of my demeanor was somewhat overset by the fact that even hanging it up for a week in an occasionally-steamy kitchen could not disguise the fact that my coat was stuffed in a box for 6 months. Oh well, it's supposed to get warm again by the weekend so it can go visit the cleaners for a few days.

My heat finally came on around LOST o'clock last night, and the temps in my apartment seem to be averaging around 70. Yay for ceiling fans in almost every room! Boo for a drafty bathroom window though - how to insulate it in such a way as to allow the window to still be opened on occasion? Because mildew is NOT a hip design element.

LOST was interesting but I'm just not that into Sun and her issues, even with a crunchy topping of wisecracking Sawyerisms. "You taste like fishbiscuit" still makes me giggle.

Laundry tonight. My life is so exciting.

EDIT - IT'S SNOWING!!!!

Why sick days are important

I just spent more than an hour fixing stuff I screwed up on Tuesday when I dragged my ass into the office. This assumes that I found it all.

Would probably have been better to just stay in bed a couple more hours....

well DUH!

Longer commutes outweigh savings of living in outer suburbs, study shows

Or as I put it "What's the point of having a bigger nicer house if you're never there to enjoy it?"

Not that into Halloween anymore

Most of you know that I worked professional haunts for a number of years. I put in 8 years at Fright Fest and a little over a year at the Jeckyll & Hyde Club here in Chicago. Plus I still go to TransWorld every year I can manage to ooch in on someone else's ticket, and check out the latest techy scare-toys.

When I was a little kid, Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ had a year-round Haunted House. (till it burned down and killed a couple of people). There was one place where you could choose one of two paths in the cave-like area. When I was 8 or so, I used to hide behind a stalagmite and wait for the house to close, then I'd go and try to scare the actors while they were on their breaks.

But somewhere along the way I lost something. I'm just not that into Halloween any more. I can get my dress-up fix from renfaires and cons, and after so many years of seeing rubber rats, fake blood, and cobwebs-in-a-bag, the LAST thing I wanted to do was look at them again when I got home. Plus, I'd seen the really good stuff already, so it takes a lot to impress me now. I'm totally jaded when it comes to haunted houses - I know so much about the psychology of the scare that I can walk through and pretty much point to where the scare will be and sometimes even count it down. I keep meaning to go to one of those "make it through and you get a prize" houses, cuz that's a piece of cake now. It would pee on their cornflakes though - haunters hate it when you smile and wave at them - it makes them cranky.

Not that I wouldn't jump at the chance to work a haunt again - getting paid to make annoying children pee themselves and large black men scream like little girls and hide behind their girlfriends can't be beat. Only reason I left was that I couldn't stand to see people that I was responsible for be abused and assaulted any more. Think that most of your fellow human beings are nice people out to have a good time - go work a corporate haunt. That'll learn ya. I kept going even after someone tried to set me on fire my first year. But when one of your kids ends up with a concussion or a cracked rib (yes, these happened) or you learn that someone stepped into the line of fire and took a rock to the shoulder for you (how long were you in PT, unclevlad?) - that's the kind of thing that drove me out of the biz.

Now Halloween is a huge adult thing, and I hardly ever even play. I live in apartments, so no one every trick-or-treats. I used to enter costume costests, only to have my lovingly constructed historical gowns lose to a chick in lingerie or a guy dressed as a shower. Even the stores started putting the X-mas stuff up weeks ago. The only good thing remaining is that I can get my candy corn fix more easily.

Meh. I guess I'm old now.

*ping* Rileybear

No one bought the 16-port hub off E-bay.

If we are just gonna junk it, do you still want it?

Remember

Remember that post I made about the woman who was repeatedly denied emergency contraception?

She is pregnant.

In addition to having to deal with this situation (she plans to terminate the pregnancy), she is also having to deal with tremendous amounts of e-mail abuse and death threats for having the courage to write honestly about her experiences.

This country makes me sick.

I have sent her an e-mail.
"Words cannot express my anger at the circumstances you find yourself in. Nor can they express my admiration for your courage.

While you may be getting hate mail from narrow-minded self-righteous bigots, I hope you also know that your story is also touching the lives of women all over the world. Your struggles are galvanizing women to get involved, because it's not a "what if?" any more, it's a "why me?"

I wish you all the best. "