I have been on a miscellaneous stuff (though primarily books) buying spree, and it was mostly thanks to Hastings awesome Cyber Monday deals. Especially on used books. I paid more on shipping that I did on the books themselves. Which is fun.

In total, it's five books (all Jane Austen; 2 Emmas - one of which is on backorder for who knows how long, 1 Sense and Sensibility, 1 Northanger Abbey - also temporarily out of stock, and 1 Jane Austen Choose Your Own Adventure), one game for my DS (Scribblenauts), and one DVD set (The Guild seasons 1 and 2).

They're my Christmas presents to me! I'm so happy!
/Emperor's New Groove




Now I just wait for them to show up. :D

work blew today.
fuck.

Another story, this one for LJ Idol. The prompt was "sunrise." If you like it, please let me know. If you don't, I sincerely apologize and I hope you'll forgive me. On Thursday I will post a double mix if that sort of thing interests you!

( [arbitrary name] )

SYTYCD. I love.

I don't even know how to vote people off at this point! They were all SO GOOD! Ellenore and Jakob? Mollee and Russell? Kathryn? I mean, really. REALLY.

In other news, I need to go through the past several seasons and grab lots of music to download. That Oona song was nuts.

• 22:05 We have to send them one extra document, but the letter says they don't anticipate our case needing an interview!! That's really good! #
• 10:51 How on earth did I manage to pull a muscle in my neck?!? Today is going to be unpleasant. #
• 13:59 Apparently Bill Clinton is on campus today. That would explain the heightened security force. #
• 20:49 Overheard in front of Butler Library: "Those were WEED BROWNIES!? That's why I felt so weird!" Haha, undergrads. #

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Days where I'm working, but I don't seem to be making any forward progress.

I hate those days.

And tomorrow, I have CLE all damn day. Bother. I need the work time desperately. But I also need the CLE desperately, so there's just not enough desperation time to go around.

OTOH I love my new "White Collar" icons soooo much. I finally watched the newest ep last night, and it was delightful. Almost as clever and witty as the pilot, and that's saying something.

And because this is too funny not to share...
Oh, the irony!

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're high on adventurous spirit, but low on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about inexpensive hotels and youth hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

I arrived home to find three packages of books in my mailbox.

From Ebay: "Eragon", "Eldest", and "Brisingr", unabridged on CD. Yeah, yeah, I know, but Mariann loves them, and, being a good auntie, I promised to read them. I figured listening books on CD would be less painful.

From Simon and Schuster UK: "Tsar", by Ted Bell. This is like the 7th free book that I've received from simon_saysuk. They rock.

From the lovely and talented risa7, my bookswamp Christmas exchange buddy: "The Way of Shadows", by Brent Weeks.

And let me tell you..."Tsar" and "The Way of Shadows" are bricks.

Hey all,
Well it's been a little while. Sorry about that, I've been pretty majorly ill. Not H1N1 as far as I know, just a really nasty cold. It's also the end of November so everything is/was coming due. Luckily I only have one essay left now (due Friday) then it's on to exams. On a related subject, I submitted my application to graduate on last Friday. I am now officially on track to finish school in May. It was such a strange feeling. I felt light and heavy at the same time. . . thinking this thing that I've been working for for almost six years is finally happening. I can finally say that I will have my BFA. What am I gonna do after? I don't even really know where I'm going in life. Well, I have a few plans, but plans have a way of unravelling. I guess I should just concentrate on the now, I have enough to deal with without freaking out about an unknowable and unseeable future.
I also got an A+ on the essay I got back today. So unbelievably stoked. I worked my ass off on that thing so I am totally excited that I was able to pull a grade like that off, especially in my final year. So happy. I'm also relieved that that particular course is over (basically). I loved it, it was fantastic, probably my favourite one this semester, but it's one less thing I have to worry about for the end of the week.
I have had so much to do I don't know how I handled it all, performances, essays, assignments, presentations. I still haven't applied for Work Study and I've been meaning to do that since before Reading Break I think. Yikes. It feels like my brain took a vacation and decided to stay away instead of coming back. I don't even know.
Well, off to work on my last essay of my second last semester of University Undergrad.
Cheers,
CP

• 23:46 If anyone needs free tix to the NYC One of a Kind show, let me know. We know an awesome vendor and have a bunch. tinyurl.com/ykjh4sr #
• 00:50 People upstairs, if you wake Dan up by thumping around after already vacuuming at 11pm and flooding our ceiling last month, I'LL THUMP YOU! #
• 00:51 Seriously, the fung shui must really be off upstairs, because they move their furniture around, from the sound of it, more than once a week. #
• 16:29 Dear NYC schools: leading 500 screaming kids into the subway preventing anyone from leaving station is a bad idea. #
• 16:31 I think today is the last day of pumpkin custard at shake shack. I think this calls for an after work shroom burger stop. Hungry already. #
• 17:14 Awww,why doesn't Stephen Sondheim send ME these hilarious, barbed notes? Jealous of my boss yet AGAIN. #
• 18:05 This is the most amazing folder of letters ever. Sondheim, hal prince, Eleanor Roosevelt, Groucho Marx, Jackie Kennedy...archivist-gasm! #
• 20:47 Mmm. Now I should take some insulin before I have a Shackover. And I should stop staring at the letter from Immigration until Dan arrives. #
• 20:47 Got a postcard from David in India! Today brings happy mail! #

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...assembled my witness info, and stacked my docs for review tomorrow morning. I'll organize them into a hearing file, and then start calling witnesses tomorrow afternoon.

Now, I'm off to the house for supper, the new "White Collar" ep (which I missed on Friday), and addressing more Christmas cards. I mailed my first batch of 25 this morning, and I picked up 40 more Madonna stamps this morning, so I should make a sizable dent in the remaining cards tonight.

Ciao, bellas.

I'm trying to get my notes in a case retyped, so that I can begin witness interviews tomorrow, and the thermostat in the building is automatically resetting to its lower overnight setting, and I'm COLD! I have at least an hour and a half more in the office, before I can go home.

Bother.

And I'm also hungry, and I don't have any good snacks in the office. I am reduced to eating leftover Santitas corn chips that I found in my desk. Without salsa, which makes me very sad.

I usually mouse with my left hand, even though I am right-handed. It started when I first got a home computer, and I would mouse with my left hand at work and my right hand at home, to avoid too much repetition for one wrist. Well, I got used to being able to mouse with my left hand and talk on the phone at work, so I started mousing with my left hand both places.

But now I have had to move the mousepad to the right, because my left wrist is beginning to twinge. Probably from making icons yesterday at home, combined with what I've done at the office this morning. This is going to make phone calls awkward.

bookfails
Planning to do your part to help boost the declining publishing industry this holiday? Better check here first. Sure, there are plenty of folks who post glowing reviews of their favorite books. But what about the epic fails? Compose and/or discuss snarky, incisive critiques on the books you despise most.

foundphotos
Ever stumble across a frayed photo in your grandmother's attic? How about a faded picture tucked in the sleeve of an old novel at a used book sale? This is the place to post them. An amazing, eclectic collection of photographs sure to delight anyone with a penchant for history or nostalgic memorabilia.