Discolor Online

Today was a crap day. McAfee broke my internet and I spent several hours on the phone with various tech support people who were purportedly trying to help me fix the problem. Of course, because it was ME (anti-technology field intact) things were complicated, technicians were stumped, and eventually I (and half of Pakistan) had to call it a day.

I managed to get back online through a miracle that came about through swearing, copious applications of red wine, and forces as yet unknown.

I was going to write up this really interesting (to me) comparison of how the conservative anti-witch Christians read Harry Potter (example one), how Time Magazine characterized the series ("Who Dies in Harry Potter? God"), and this guy's argument that the whole blessed thing is just one big purposeful Christian metaphor, beginning to end.

Instead, I found that what I had energy for was watching Moviefone Unscripted. Bruce Willis and Halle Barry (who used to be neighbors) talk about their movie but also just shoot the shit, with Willis looking off camera and asking "Should we be screwing around like this, like we're still neighbors?" There's some element of put-on, of course, but seeing Rupert Grint talk about his real life arachnophobia (where he blushes at the mere thought of encountering a spider) and Emma Watson saying "Not that I'd wish anything bad to happen to you but I'd really like to see that..." well, it's all so unexpectedly and refreshingly human. I'm basically shy and at core, a big ol' introvert. I'm no sparkling conversationalist and my best stories are those about things that happened to my friend Ray. I've been meeting people who others consider celebrities (especially in the game industry) since I was a teenager and I'm fairly jaded to celebrity in that way. Still, that's not to say I wouldn't love to be at a cocktail party or a Dinner for Five where I got to listen to people who have had entirely different life experiences talk about those aspects of their lives.

And so, I find I'm hooked on Moviefone Unscripted. So sue me.

Labels: anti-technology, Harry Potter, movies

Picked up my book last night at the midnight sale at Bookworm Exchange which was packed with HP enthusiasts. Costumes, trivia, snacks, excited children up past their bedtimes. What a ride it's been! Is there anything like Harry Potter for book stores in our future?

Finished today while cat-sitting and catching up on laundry. Aside from the asshole who spammed a bunch of my LJ communities with spoilers, not all of which were real, I managed to almost completely avoid discussion of the book or anything that would have spoiled the end for me. HA, Internet, you lose!

I forgot to put my final votes in for my "who gets killed" pool. I would have only been partly right anyway.

Labels: Harry Potter

I volunteered to drop by and care for my friend's spunky (but elderly) cat while she's out of town until Saturday. Last night, as I was preparing to run over to their house (by bus) I noticed that Bonnie didn't seem to be acting right. She was stretching a lot, laying with her belly flat (which she does sometimes, but not so much and not like this) and most importantly, she didn't come out of the condo to see me when I brought in new hay and veggies. Not even when I was feeding and petting Sammy (something she would normally never let pass, she's a jealous bunny!) and not even when I called out my usual "Who wants treats?" which has rarely failed. She ate a papaya treat but turned her nose up at the greens and even her favorite, parsley.

Cue me freaking out as horror stories of GI Stasis, sudden bunny death!!!" flashed through my mind.

Some panicked searching of the internet, some queries out to my other bunny-loving internet friends, and a call to the animal clinic later and I had an appointment for Bonnie for today and reassurance that unless I was seeing significant and pronounced lethargy and/or runny stools, I could probably relax through the night. (Bonnie has perked up some today, has been to our wonderful vet and has some metoclopramide syrup to be taken three times a day just to be safe.)

I finally got on the road to my friend's house, though several hours later than I expected. Just before I got to the intersection to take the bus I wanted, the bus came past. No way I could have made it (with four lanes of traffic and construction) so I resigned myself to wait the half an hour until the next bus came. Not 10 minutes in a guy asked me the time and took my polite answer as an invitation to talk. Over the next twenty minutes I found out that he took this bus to the mental health clinic to pick up his meds, that he lived only a short distance away, that he was from the Philippines and his mother was going back there for 10 days so he was looking for someone to cook for him (did I like to cook?), that he'd had shock treatment in the past ("I think I have electrolytes on the brain.") and was a former drug addict. He had three sons ranging in age from 11 to 26 with three different women and that there's a chance that a previous girlfriend was a cousin as they come from the same province and share a common surname. Oh, and he sure did like my white shirt. And women. He liked women but his last girlfriend had broken up with him and when he called to make her jealous by telling her he was seeing someone else, it didn't work.

By the time I got on the bus I was fatigued.

Because of the time of night, I had to take two buses instead of the one I originally wanted to catch, which involved walking and waiting in some areas that I might not have chosen to walk through or wait at if I'd been less freaked out by Bonnie's illness. When I finally caught the right bus I then was so preoccupied that I missed my stop by several blocks and had to back track up a big hill on foot. By the time I got to Ms. Kitty and fed her and offered to pet her (which she wanted none of, thankyouverymuch*HISSSS*) I was done in. I consoled myself by playing my friend's Guitar Hero II for a few hours and then around midnight remembered that I was supposed to pick up my dry cleaning and my CSA box. *sigh*

Today has been one giant day of catch up and man, am I ready for the weekend. I was going to go to Taste of Seattle again but it's supposed to still be raining (this summer has SUCKED so far weather-wise). Tonight I pick up my copy of Harry Potter and I will not be looking at the internet again until I finish reading it because I won't have the damn thing ruined for me.

So there.

Labels: Bonnie, Bus, Guitar Hero, Harry Potter

I volunteered to drop by and care for my friend's spunky (but elderly) cat while she's out of town until Saturday. Last night, as I was preparing to run over to their house (by bus) I noticed that Bonnie didn't seem to be acting right. She was stretching a lot, laying with her belly flat (which she does sometimes, but not so much and not like this) and most importantly, she didn't come out of the condo to see me when I brought in new hay and veggies. Not even when I was feeding and petting Sammy (something she would normally never let pass, she's a jealous bunny!) and not even when I called out my usual "Who wants treats?" which has rarely failed. She ate a papaya treat but turned her nose up at the greens and even her favorite, parsley.

Cue me freaking out as horror stories of "GI Statis, sudden bunny death!!!" flashed through my mind.

Some panicked searching of the internet, some queries out to my other bunny-loving internet friends, and a call to the animal clinic later and I had an appointment for Bonnie for today and reassurance that unless I was seeing significant and pronounced lethargy and/or runny stools, I could probably relax through the night. (Bonnie has perked up some today, has been to our wonderful vet and has some metoclopramide syrup to be taken three times a day just to be safe.)

I finally got on the road to my friend's house, though several hours later than I expected. Just before I got to the intersection to take the bus I wanted, the bus came past. No way I could have made it (with four lanes of traffic and construction) so I resigned myself to wait the half an hour until the next bus came. Not 10 minutes in a guy asked me the time and took my polite answer as an invitation to talk. Over the next twenty minutes I found out that he took this bus to the mental health clinic to pick up his meds, that he lived only a short distance away, that he was from the Philippines and his mother was going back there for 10 days so he was looking for someone to cook for him (did I like to cook?), that he'd had shock treatment in the past ("I think I have electrolytes on the brain.") and was a former drug addict. He had three sons ranging in age from 11 to 26 with three different women and that there's a chance that a previous girlfriend was a cousin as they come from the same province and share a common surname. Oh, and he sure did like my white shirt. And women. He liked women but his last girlfriend had broken up with him and when he called to make her jealous by telling her he was seeing someone else, it didn't work.

By the time I got on the bus I was fatigued.

Because of the time of night, I had to take two buses instead of the one I originally wanted to catch, which involved walking and waiting in some areas that I might not have chosen to walk through or wait at if I'd been less freaked out by Bonnie's illness. When I finally caught the right bus I then was so preoccupied that I missed my stop by several blocks and had to back track up a big hill on foot. By the time I got to Ms. Kitty and fed her and offered to pet her (which she wanted none of, thankyouverymuch*HISSSS*) I was done in. I consoled myself by playing my friend's Guitar Hero II for a few hours and then around midnight remembered that I was supposed to pick up my dry cleaning and my CSA box. *sigh*

Today has been one giant day of catch up and man, am I ready for the weekend. I was going to go to Taste of Seattle again but it's supposed to still be raining (this summer has SUCKED so far weather-wise). Tonight I pick up my copy of Harry Potter and I will not be looking at the internet again until I finish reading it because I won't have the damn thing ruined for me.

So there.

Labels: Bonnie, Bus, Guitar Hero, Harry Potter