sundries

[rm]

Thanks, all, for the birthday wishes, super cool.

Had a long video chat with Patty yesterday. We tentatively know when she's coming to see me in CH (one month, yay!) and have booked us a hotel for the duration, since there are reasons to think that corporate apartment situation might not really be what we need. Aggravating, because CH is so expensive, but I was honestly just grateful to find us a room, since they apparently like little towns on lakes when it's cold.

We've also been talking about our big non-working trip of 2011. Cruise option is still on the table. Then, the "let's rent a houseboat for a weekend in Amsterdam when it's cold" morphed into "let's rent a houseboat on the Seine for a week in Spring/Summer" which is now dueling with "let's rent a boat and sail around France's canals for a week or two." Er, yeah. Awesome, ne? Maybe a week of each?

I gotta register some domain names and do production things this morning after I finish this report.Done. Now we're into hurry up and wait mode. Soon? To the post office!

I look so good today it's ridiculous. (You know what's helpful? Actually having some male fashion role-models whose builds aren't that dissimilar from mine. Like, sure, Keith Olbermann wears fantastic clothes, but that don't help tiny little ol' me).

Meanwhile, argh! Email from the class reunion. First, dress code is apparently casual, so jeans and a "nice shirt that isn't stained" will be fine. Okay, look, I know we're Stuyvesant High School, but this is costing me $80 and is in the meat-packing district: STEP UP, PEOPLE. Secondly, the email went on and on about the goodie bag from our sponsors. Hi, this isn't a trade show or an awards ceremony. Sponsors? schwag? what now? Sometimes I hate my high school.

This all leaves me with a dilemma on what to wear, because wow, that dress and those shoes might be a little much now. Maybe wear the dress with boots (that are flat, meaning I won't be playing 5'10"+ for the event)? Or wear the awesome boy outfit I'm wearing today? I don't know. It's not like I won't get to wear the dress again in CH when I'm hosting the awards ceremony.

Oh yeah, did I mention that's part of what I'm doing in CH? Ayup. My mom keeps asking what that means, and I keep saying "It's like I'm Hugh Jackman!" Is this helping? No. No, it's not.

Did anyone in NYC make it to that candle light vigil last night? I was thwarted by rain, and, I must confess, a desire for ShakeShack, which has a gluten-free policy I was pleased to discover. Look, at least I'm honest.

Help Bacon.

This is not okay: Teacher reassigned after he tells a student in response to a direct and relevant question that he's gay in a manner that struck me as perfectly age appropriate. This is something particular I don't talk about a lot, and I deal with it somewhat less for being a woman, but the thing where I am assumed to be a predator towards children because of my gender presentation and sexuality? Causes me a great deal of upset.

Imam's wife discusses death threats.

I didn't know there were still squeegee guys in New York. Apparently so.

Well, small favors. Love Never Dies not coming to Broadway in 2011

azn_jack_fiend wrote me The Sea of Sleep for retconbookwrite (I'm still finishing mine up for my recipient). It's a lovely historical for one of the better tie-in novels, The House that Jack Built, and it has some of the best historical accuracy I've seen in this fandom. Also, hello, women characters! Fic headers provide all the background info you need if you've not read the book.

Listened to some of the commentary tracks on Moulin Rouge for the first time in ages while cooking dinner over the weekend. I'd forgotten how really bizarreo they get in places (the thing about the bullfighting!).

Totally missed Boardwalk Empire last night. Do I care?

Comments

[chicleeblair.livejournal.com]

I LOVE SHAKESHACK

why yes, that is the only contribution I have this morning

[brithistorian.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday!

Any form of the "houseboat in Europe" trip sounds totally awesome. (I love boats and ships, but oddly enough don't really like the idea of cruises.)

[azn-jack-fiend.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday! And thanks for the link!

Someone on my f-list attended the vigil and said it was rainy but very moving.

I did the canal thing with my family about five years ago, in the Bourgogne region, and it was absolutely fantastic, though a little bit cramped, the way we did it (6 people in one boat).

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Did you guys find it hard to learn to drive the boat. We're a little taken aback by "no experience necessary, we'll show you when you get here" when neither of us even drive.

[liminalia.livejournal.com]

I vote for awesome boy outfit!

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday! <3

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday!

[azn-jack-fiend.livejournal.com]

Driving the boat is easy. All you have to do is go in a very slow, straight line. But navigating the locks gets kind of exhausting. You have to tie down the boat each time. If you're going through a stretch with a lot of locks it's really better to have more than 2 people, that way you can trade off and relax more. But part of the fun is the physical labor, as well, and pretending to be a real sailor.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hahahahahaa, see, I am ALL OVER THIS. And it explains why on the website every suggested route lists how many locks there are. I can already see msyelf driving Patty mad singing relevant Jacques Brel songs over and over and over again.

[ladyofthelog.livejournal.com]

happy birthday!

European adventures, production company formation, shakes - this all sounds fabulous. :)

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday!!!

[morningloryblue.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday!

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

Hippo Birdies, two ewe!

My high school was full of farm boys and the sons of enlisted soldiers. Telling them "nice shirt that isn't stained" and to wear their dress jeans was a good idea and about all you could expect.

As it is, even for my HS reunion, most of the guys managed to at least put on dress slacks/khakis and at least a nice oxford shirt; many had actual suits with ties. I think you're right to want and expect a bit more.

The floating/punting/canaling sounds fun and romantic.

[rm.livejournal.com]

That we live in a world with the idea of "dress jeans" makes me want to cry, even if I wearing mine right now.

[adelheid-p.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday!

Sailing the canals sounds neat and I would be interested to hear about the experience. I've wanted to do a cruise or something but my spouse isn't interested unless it's an interactive experience.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I was really resistant to the idea of taking a cruise when we first talked about it last year, but it was a ton of fun, and we did great stuff on every island.

[adelheid-p.livejournal.com]

RE High School reunion dress code: Most people should have at least one dressy outfit.

I heard somewhere that introverted people tend to not be fashion conscious and prefer "comfortable" clothes. I can say that is generally true for me but I have found any number of outfits that I consider dressy and suits that fit my definition of comfortable. I don't wear heels as a rule. With the exception of one temp job at an investment firm (the dress code was that women had to wear skirts, flesh colored hose and shoes "showing a heel"), that has never been an issue in my work places.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I'm introverted and I love clothes. LOVE. Although I can't be arsed to do a thing about it every day, which I actually view as a personal, professional and merely moral failing (not for other people, just for me, because I'm not a reasonable soul).

[yamx]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

When you get to Switzerland, buy chocolate. Lots!

I'm nowhere near NYC, but someone on my f-list was at the vigil and posted about it. The post is locked so I won't link or relate anything highly specific, but she says it was very moving, there were lots of people, glowsticks, a singalong and messages of love and support scribbled on all the paths in chalk. It sounds like the atmosphere was amazing, despite the rain.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know about the vigil - mind you, I was already enlurgi'd, so probably would've not gone in any case. I did not know about ShakeShack being celiac-friendly, but clearly yet another reason why the hype about it is well-merited.

[adelheid-p.livejournal.com]

Oddly, at my last job I had the option of wearing jeans everyday but I generally didn't --I wore business casual type clothes. I believe that temping right out of college and having to deal with the various dress codes really helped me get over the intimidation I felt at getting "dressed up". That and being able to find nice clothes at second hand stores.

[bitsyrant.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday! Is a thing happening? Are you birthday thinging?

I should have gone to the vigil but didn't even know about it until after the fact. Instead, I was interviewing Nick "Xander Harris" Brendon who kept talking about fans in relation to his penis. No, really.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope it is a great one :)

[smirnoffmule.livejournal.com]

I feel like I have to fly the flag for coming over here and renting a narrowboat, because, you know, I used to live on one of those and we can totally do this as well as France, and it's also a good way to see some real non-touristy bits of the UK, as well as some pretty things.

But then you don't get to go to France.

[airspaniel.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday! ^_^