:: The Memory Burns ::

:: Sunday, December 25, 2005 ::

Happy Holidays.

:: Greta 12/25/2005 12:13:00 AM [+] ::
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Random Stuff

So as you can see I'm in a fit of bloggishness which is kind of nice. One of my New Year resolutions this year is to be much more attentive to my on line stuff. I've missed it quite a bit, but it never seems to fit into my life lately. Anyway, it was nice to have the time to sit around and read up on some of my faves, and to add a few things here.

Christmas is tomorrow and in some ways I'm glad it will soon be over, while in others I will be sorry when it is. I won't miss the stress and rush, but I will miss the fact that most people do seem to be nicer to each other this time of year. Maybe it's just my perception, but that's the way I see it. I also am a bit sick of Christmas music and can't wait to get back to normal radio stuff.

After much procrastination I finally re-registered my car. I was having a heck of a time deciding what to use as a new plate. My last one, SLNVCTS, which was for Sol Invictus (the unconquerable sun) was a bit of a hassel because everyone wanted me to explain it at great depth. The fact that someone at work thought it stood for Slain Victims didn't help. Anyway, this year the possibilities were GORRAM and SHINY, both from Firefly/Serenity; or 5PNTPLM - 5 point palm, from Kill Bill; or NOTLOST (George's idea) from Not All Who Wander are Lost; or PADAWAN as the tai chi philosophy is that we are always learners; or MEOWX2, just to annoy the people who don't like cats. I finally settled for Shiny and I am quite happy with it. Fannish thoughts were running rampant, though.

Narnia - Seen it twice - like it much better than I thought I would - cried several times during the first viewing. A very touching version of the story.

Can't wait to see The Producers this coming week!

:: Greta 12/24/2005 11:59:00 PM [+] ::
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From Maximum Verbosity

1. Do you have a real or fake Christmas tree?

I do own a fake, fiber optic tree, but I don't use it because the cats eat the tips of the branches. Usually I decorate a standing lamp with lights and ornaments, but this year I opted for decorating a small bamboo plant I have. I used a set of Harry Potter ornaments that I got at Target.

2. Do you put up Christmas lights on the exterior of your home?

No.

3. What's your favorite Christmas song/carol?

I guess it depends on the moment and my mood. Probably Little Drummer Boy, though this year I've been humming and singing Walking in a Winter Wonderland a lot.

4. What do you like better - turkey or ham?

Turkey, hands down. Ham I could take or leave.

5. Do you open up any Christmas presents on Christmas Eve?

Not usually. We never did when we were kids. At least not that I remember (I find that my two brothers often have different childhood memories than I do...)

I prefer to let the excitement build until Christmas morning!

6. Have you ever been Christmas caroling?

Many times. If people didn't hate each other so much these days I'd probably still go. As it is most folks would probably call the police to complain.

7. What was your most memorable Christmas gift(s) that you received?

Probably the British flag that my brother, Mark, gave me one year.

8. What's your favorite Christmas movie?

A Christmas Story

9. Have you ever built a real snowman?

Hell yes. And forts, and dinosaurs and all sorts of cool stuff.

10. Have you ever peeked into a present and found out what it was before Christmas?

Not that I recall. I think I used to try to, but then I'd freak myself out and scamper away before I got caught.

11. What is on the top of your Christmas tree?

Dust. Normally it would be nothing. I don't care for tree toppers.

12. Do you own a Santa hat?

Nope. but I may wear my devil horns tomorrow.

13. When was the last time you had your picture taken with Santa Claus?

Probably pre-1969, when we were still living in Boston.

14. Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

Well, I'm done. But as Christmas starts in a couple of minutes that would seem to be a no-brainer. I usually start fairly early.

15. Do you put candy canes on your Christmas tree?

Not if I can avoid it. I don't really like them, and they often look fake to me.

16. Who is hardest person to buy for?

No one that I know if. I like buying gifts for people, and the joy is in coming up with the best thing that I can. I'm pretty good at it!

17. Who is the easiest person to buy for?

My mom.

18. How old were you when you realized Santa was imaginary?

What? Who says?

19. What does your morning of Christmas routine consist of?

Sleep in. Snuggle the kitties. Drink coffee. Enjoy a bit of peace. Head out to see the family and friends.

20. Egg nog?

Ewwwww.

21. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Satellite radio! Santa brought it early, too.

:: Greta 12/24/2005 11:30:00 PM [+] ::
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Picked up over at Tamara's Flooby Blog

Your results:
You are Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)

Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 80% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 70% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 60% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 60% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 55% Wash (Ship Pilot) 40% River (Stowaway) 30% Alliance 25% Inara Serra (Companion) 10% Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 10% A Reaver (Cannibal) 10%

Honest and a defender of the innocent. You sometimes make mistakes in judgment but you are generally good and would protect your crew from harm.

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz



Hmmmm. At first I was a little surprised at the results, likely because I'm not that big a fan of Mal. But, the more I think of it the more this makes sense. He's a conflicted kind of fellow, and I'm a bit erratic myself. Some days I want to save people, and other days I want to kill them.

:: Greta 12/24/2005 11:25:00 PM [+] ::
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Post-Thanksgiving Commentary

I'm stuffed. Well, not still, but I imagine you get the sentiment. Tomorrow I'm making a Turkey Tetrazzini in the crockpot at work to use up the rest of the leftover meat.

Woke up Thanksgiving morning to a blanket of snow, which was the first of the year. We got about 4" in this area, and it was quite neat. Very holidayish. Even I can't complain about snow when it comes this late in the year. The roads were a bit slick, but they weren't all that bad if you drove with any caution at all.

Went shopping with my friend, Dianne, the morning after. She picked me up at 3:30 in the morning and we made a quick stop for coffee before descending upon Walmart. I got skunked on the computer (some people were in line since 11:00 PM the night before. I don't need a computer that bad), but I did get a Gameboy SP, which has a much better screen than my old Gameboy Advance did. I also picked up a couple of warm tops and some Christmas toys (can't mention them here in case the wrong person signs on).

Next it was off to Sears, where Dianne wanted to be in line early so she could get her $10 gift card. The first 200 people got them, and she got two because there was nothing at Sears that I wanted. She bought a new bedroom set and a low budget MP3 player. It will serve her needs.

Then it was off to Circuit City where I got a new Scan Disk card for my MP3 player. Man do I love that it is expandable. I now have more memory than I have music, or at least I fancy I do. I probably really don't, but don't ruin the moment for me. I'm going to dump everything from the smaller card to the larger card, and I'm going to put nothing but Christmas music on the small card.

Next we went to the local Ace Hardware who was having a very nice guy-stuff sale. Bought more presents, and again can't mention them here. Dianne got new outdoor Christmas lights, and also picked up some presents.

From there we went to Best Buy which had a line to the register which they said was 45 minutes long. We didn't wait as they had sold out of what I wanted (Shark Tales on DVD which I had a coupon for and would have gotten for $.99).

From there we skipped next door to Target for the final attack of the day. I got a new Gameboy game (a Star Wars one, but I can't remember which), and a new PlayStation 2 game for George (the newest in the Ratchet and Clank series). I also got Shark Tales for $2.88. I also got some Christmas gift bags. Dianne got some gloves and a present.

Then I went to work for a couple of hours, and then more shopping with George and dinner at my Mum's. It was a pretty good day and I now have most of my Christmas shopping done, as I had picked up a few things before Thanksgiving. Have a couple of things to mail order, a couple of things to make and one or two more things to pick up locally. I've truly enjoyed shopping for the holidays this year and find that it's easier when I don't feel stressed. I'm Zen shopping, by the way. Just kind of following the path and seeing what it leads me to. So far some pretty cool thinag, IMHO.

:: Greta 11/26/2005 03:13:00 PM [+] ::
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Things Harry Potterish

We saw Goblet of Fire the afternoon after it opened. Got the the theatre about 35 minutes before the showing we wanted to see, and snuck past all the lines to use the auto-ticket machine, which is the nuts! A few minutes after we bought our tickets they announced that that showing, and the next two showings, had sold out. Many people went home grumbling. I felt a bit giulty, but they should have thought of it first. I imagine not everyone has had a chance to see the film yet, so all I will say is that I liked it quite a bit, and that I think they did a very good job og covering as much of the material as they could. Things are getting darker for those at Hogwarts.

In other HP news, I am listening to The Order of the Phoenix on CD while driving around these days. I don't much care for audio books, save for the Neil Gaiman collection I have (read by the author), but a friend's daughter loaned me Order of the Phoenix and I felt compelled to give it a shot. So, when I went to Maine a couple of weeks ago I started to listen to it, and I am about 2/3's of the way through now. The jury is still out. I'm not minding it as much as I did before, but I find that I only half-ass listen, and that I often have to remind myself to pay attention. We'll see if I bother with any of the others.

And for the hat-trick, I'm re-doing all my Game Boy Advance HP games before I buys Goblet of Fire. Partially because I've spent enough on electronics this month already.

:: Greta 11/23/2005 08:38:00 PM [+] ::
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Computer Shopping

I'm looking at a new HP laptop, the one in the Walmart Blitz actually, and I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing. I really do need a new cpmputer, and I want to stick with a laptop as I enjoy not having a big, hulking computer hanging around the house. And this will do pretty much everything I want/need. I've been shopping for a new computer for a little over a year, but every time I settle on one I talk myself out of it. This seems like a very good deal.

My friend, Dianne, said she was going shopping the morning after Thanksgiving and that she wanted to be out early. So I suggested that she pick me up at 03:30 AM and we start at Walmart (after stopping for coffee, of course). I think the local store is going to hand out numbers in advance on the morning of the sale (which starts at 05:00), so I'm hoping that if we get there bt 04:00 we will be early enough for me to get one of the computers. If not, that's the way it goes.

:: Greta 11/23/2005 08:27:00 PM [+] ::
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Good Kitten News

Took Brodie and Artie to the vet today for their yearly exams and all was well with the both of them. Brodie, the old lady of the family, actually gained a bit of weight, which is pretty good news. She's always been a bit on the thin side, and has never much cared about eating. She went into a short period of mourning after Rawhide died, and she wouldn't eat at all. But, she seems to be back to normal. She came into the bedroom and slept with me for the first time in two weeks the day before yesterday. This was her first big adventure outside of the living room since Rawhide's death.

Artie, on the other hand, seemed to have one quiet day and then was back to normal. I think he misses Rawhide because she was his playmate, but he seems to be adjusting well enough. He nearly took the vet's head off today, and even though I wanrned the vet-tech and the vet, they tried to clip his claws. They lost. It is much, much better for all involved if I do that myself. He knows I'm the boss and often just growls and glares, but lets me get on with the clipping.

Anyway, it was nice to hear that they both seem to be healthy little kitties.

:: Greta 11/23/2005 08:11:00 PM [+] ::
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Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a safe and fun holiday tomorrow. We're supposed to get 6 to 10 inches of snow, the first of the season for us, so we may march into the Christmas season in style!

Yo, ho, ho!

:: Greta 11/23/2005 08:10:00 PM [+] ::
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All Dressed Up and No Place to Go

Well, I was supposed to go home at 9:00 PM, but the girl I was working with was feeling crappy, so I volunteered to stay and we sent her home. It's not like I had anything to do when I got home. I was intending to watch the rest of the DVD extras for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I want to watch the first three films before we go see Goblet of Fire on Saturday.

It's been a week to the day that I had to have Rawhide euthanized, and even though I still miss her I at least feel that the event is resolved, for lack of a better word. One of the other two, Brodie, is in mourning and will not leave the couch, which is where Rawhide always slept. I literally had to carry her to the litter box the other day because I was getting a little worried about her not using it. I moved water and food into the living room, and she will pick at both, but she won't leave the room to go to the litter box. So, last night I put a 'temporary' box in a closet off the living room in the hopes that she will use that. I've made appointments for check-ups for the remaining kitties just to put my mind at ease. Maybe the vet will have some weird little psychological cure for Brodie. She is fairly old, so it's a bit troubling. She doesn't seem ill, but neither did Rawhide.

I finished season one of Lost and am looking forward to the show's future. I do have to say that it sucks to have to wait for a new episode each week! The DVD thing is so much easier. I'm putting my money on Sawyer in the Kate/Jack/Sawyer triangle. Jack's too much of a sissy boy for Kate. Besides, he's the tortured hero, so being happy just isn't in the cards for him.

:: Greta 11/15/2005 09:57:00 PM [+] ::
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Sad News

I had to have Rawhide, my white/middle cat, euthanized this morning. I am still a bit dazed but here's the gist of it. About a week and a half ago she started looking a bit ratty. She'd stopped grooming herself, but she was eating well, pooping well, and was just as playful. And, she's always been a bit of a barn cat, so I wasn't too worried. I gave her a bath and groomed her and realized that she was awfully light, and awfully bony. I started giving her an extra meal at night and she seemed fine and happy. Then I went away for the weekend and George said she seemed fine while I was away. Then yesterday she was just plain lethargic. She was literally just a ghost of herself and she had a distinct look in her eye that told me that if I took her to the vet she would not be coming home. This morning I called them and they had me bring her in. She had a very aggressive form of cancer and there was nothing to be done but the obvious. It stuns me that something so alive can be so empty so quick. I feel the same way.

:: Greta 11/08/2005 05:23:00 PM [+] ::
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Lost

Both Mark and JK are on my list right now because between the two of them I was finally convinced to watch the first season of lost which Mark had on DVD. I honestly didn't expect to like the show, but now I find myself deeply embroiled in the middle of not only season one, but now season two on Wednesday nights. It's a little unsettling to watch both seasons at once, but honestly, this year doesn't seem to be going too far too fast, so I think I'll be okay. Anyway, the show has some pretty good and well developed characters, and the plot has kept me interested so far, though as I mentioned above, season two seems to be going awfully slowly. Some thoughts below:

Spoiler Alert

Season one: I'd really like to know what the thumping loud metal and dinasaur like sounds in the jungle are. Yeah, I know about the polar bear, and I know about the Dharma Initiative, but still, I don't know what is making all of the noise.

Lock is a great character, and I have admit that I like Sawyer. But then again I've always liked the bad guys. Surprisingly, none of the characters annoy me yet, though if the Korean fella got killed off I'm not sure I'd mind. Charlie and Hurly are both fun characters. Jack is a bit too angst filled for my taste, but he's still not annoying me.

I'm sure there are many things that will tie in together eventually, but I'm just up to where Lock and Boone find the trap door in the jungle floor, so I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Season two: I honestly haven't watched enough of this to say much, but it does seem like they are stumbling around a bit more this season. I wish they'd move things along, though I have to say that if it were me I'd want someone typing in the code and hitting the execute button for now. At least until I knew a little bit more about what the heck is going on.

Anyway, this is one of two shows I'm now watching each week. The other is House MD which I find to be fascinating. I loved Hugh Laurie as a comedic British actor, and I was not sure how I'd take to him in a dramatic 'American' role. But I find that I like him even more now. And you know what? As TV Guide said in the article on the show a few weeks back, Laurie is doen right sexy when it comes to it.

I'm a little concerned that this show will run short of plots pretty fast, or that people will get sick of the formula very soon. But I hope not because I really like the characters, and I really like the tone of the show. Ultra Sarcastic. Hmmmm, who'd've thunk? :)

:: Greta 11/03/2005 02:57:00 PM [+] ::
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Oh, The Weather Outside...

We've had a great turn in the weather, and none too soon. I had a five day weekend last weekend, having taken extra days off for Halloween, and I have a three day weekend this week during which I will be in Wells, Maine with my writing group. It is supposed to be sunny and '70's this weekend, and I have a room right over the ocean, with a balcony on the water. The usual crew will be there, the full monty, which will be the first time in a couple of years. Three days isn't that long for a writing retreat, but if it gets us all spurred on and back on track it will have served its purpose.

For Halloween we went to Salem, Mass on Sunday. Saturday we went to a local hockey game, the Manchester Monarchs vs. the Phiadelphia Phantoms, to that at least had a halloweeny feel to it. The actual day of Halloween we were going to go north to do a 2 acre corn maze. But, we were so tired from yard work and the trip to Salem that we opted for dinner and a movie (Zorro) instead. We saw very cool Harry Potter 4 previews before the film. This could be the best looking film of the lot, though I have to admit it has been my least favorite of the books.

Salem is a good experience if you are a Halloween fan like us, but the unfortunate thing is that a lot of it is very touristy. That sort of takes a lot of the charm out of it. But we did dress the part (I was a devil, a friend a princess and George, who recently shaved his head, wore farmers coveralls, and had a big jack o' lantern painted on the back of his noggin, so he looked very much the scarecrow. Lots of people wanted to stop him and take photos, which he obligingly did.

There were a lot of good costumes in Salem, mostly whiches, devils and demony things. But there were some very convincing Ghostbusters, an exceptional Anakin Skywalker on the verge of Vader (including yellow eyes). He was with the Emperor, but the Emperor's costume was a bit cheesy. There was a stunning angel with lights around her head for a halo, and stunning, arm-length wings. It was a well spent day if for nothing other than the local color.

This weekend I hope to begin a new novel that has been rattling around in my head. Nothing has seemed to stick for writing projects lately, so hopefully this will work out.

:: Greta 11/03/2005 02:44:00 PM [+] ::
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