asimplechord

This week has sucked, work-wise. I've worked 11-12 hour days every day. No such thing as overtime.

As I disembarked from the train this morning I realized I didn't have my office or lab keys (b/c they are on a separate key ring from my car and house keys, and I didn't clip them to my carabiner this morning). Getting into the building isn't an issue; huge, connected labspaces mean getting into lab isn't a problem. Waiting for security to come let me into my office, and then figuring out how to secure everything so I could leave the office unlocked for back-and-forth traffic during the day? Pain in my ass.

I should've just turned around and gone home, because the day did not improve.

At ~6pm, my boss came in and told me that he hoped I was getting out of lab soon (Me, too!) and that I should take a day off when we get the last bit of data for the paper.

He doesn't know it yet, but I am taking next Friday and the following Monday off, whether or not the third replicates work. I HAVE A FLIGHT, A HOTEL, AND PLANS TO CLING TO J AND SEE harriet_vane, among other things.

Anyway, I was waaaaaay cranky. There were further contretemps with Post-Doc W. I think she has radar: she only asks me to help her at the EXACT moment that I can't stop what I'm doing without fucking up my own experiments, and she managed that three (yes, 3) times today.

I'm tired. Tired of work. Tired of winter, in that the days are so short. Tired of being inactive in fandom. But I don't have the energy to participate right now. I fell asleep watching the recorded episode of the other night's White Collar, and I watched last night's Criminal Minds mostly impatiently, hoping that it wasn't implying anything about Reid's behavior over the rest of the season.


The one happy place for the day? ( these dudes, who spend their days swatting at fuzzy yellow-green balls )


So, yeah. I hope your week has been far, far better. What's making you smile, lately?

WANT. Can I finagle a trip to London sometime next summer? Possibly if we bail on the half-sister's destination wedding. (h/t to J)

Waffling between want and DNW. I mean, Rafa has said he's uncomfortable being a sex symbol, and I think sexy ads like the Beckham ones might be sort of mottsy. He has the ass for it. But one of his OCD traits is to always be picking his wedge, and I have to wonder if that is really the sort of spokesman Armani wants. Eh.

I haven't posted many pics of the US Open because I've been sending them to the ladies in the daily email chain, but ( here are a few from tonight's final match )

Not impressed by CBS & ESPN's coverage and broadcast choices. Hopefully this year's delays and associated problems will help convince them not to push things later just to try and get the prime-time viewership.

This entry was originally posted at http://favoritemistake.dreamwidth.org/3811.html.

♥ For ppl in the US, happy Independence Day! Go forth, re-read Master Jefferson's opus, and then commemorate!

Me, I started the day watching tennis. ( Last Rafa picture post here for a while, since he's taking time off before the US Open )

♥ In other news... I saw this sentence in a SPN/J2 Big Bang fic.

"I spent a lot of time in terrorist countries."

What exactly does that mean?

The character speaking is an ex-Navy SEAL who had spent time deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, so I understand that the author probably means he's spent time in areas where terrorists/insurgents were operating or taking shelter. But "terrorist countries"? Does that mean "countries where terrorists operate"? Because the way it's phrased makes it sound like "countries that ARE terrorist". Which, unless you're talking about being in a country where terrorism (against other countries) is state-sponsored, sort of bothers me.

And yes, it's dialogue, and people SAY things in ambiguous ways, but. Slightly more precise phrasing would be awesome.

/being a picky bitch



♥ Almost done with S3 of The Wire. Benjamin Bush is really good at leaning or standing in a way that seems menacing. Or lazy. Well done, David Simon, for using that skill. Did he learn that at Marine Corps OCS?

There's so much I enjoy about this series. First, Idris Elba. Stringer Bell might be my favorite villain ever. Drug dealer, economics student, glasses-wearing enforcer of Robert's Rules of Order. McNulty continues to be an asshole, with no apologies. I love the Carcetti storyline, with its not-so-subtle pokes at the Schmoke/O'Malley rivalry. And the fact that whoever is playing Lt Mello is CLEARLY actually from or is a long-time resident of Balmer, given his accent. (I'd guess east side if pressed, but that's just speculation on my part.) OMAR.



♥ M'kay. Gonna go figure out what to throw on the grill this afternoon, since the skies might remain clear long enough to do so. :)

So, let's put the Marines in charge in pulling our asses out of Afghanistan."

*waves upward* That's a quote from a comment at Abu Muqawama's blog entry. It sort of amuses me. A LOT.


I picked up Waging War In Waziristan: The British Struggle in the Land of Bin Laden, 1849-1947 again after finishing This Man's Army, and this sentence from tonight's reading struck me as particularly appropriate, given the uproar over McChrystal's Rolling Stone interview:

[T]he relationship between the military and politicals was not always harmonious.

No, really? That's so (not) different, a century later.


Unrelated: \o/ Rafa won today! Sadly, Hot Sauce did not. And at least one other member of the Armada lost as well. Radio Wimbledon has an iPhone app, if any of y'all are closet tennis fans. And actually, I think it's a bit better than the French Open app (possibly b/c of the differences in funding/backing between the two tourneys? IDK) - the radio has a general radio station, a feed from Centre Court, and one from Court One, so you're not stuck listening to a match you're not interested in.


The CD for the Broadway Cast's recording of American Idiot finally found its way into the stereo in the living room. SurroundSound is an amazing thing.


OK. I'm going to go see what Jon Stewart has to say about today's events and try not to stress about how long and hard a day tomorrow is going to be. ♥

The trip to NYC with vic_ramsey was AWESOME. There was Butch Walker, and harriet_vane & wordsalone & munkykiss & danacias and dinosaurs (at AMNH) and Magna Carta and American Idiot. I forgot to take my camera, so I have no photos; I'll probably make a post babbling about Butch Walker (and Locksley) and AI at some point. But I am currently watching last week's episodes of House, Criminal Minds, and Castle. Mostly because I am procrastinating about exercising and admitting that I have to go to work tomorrow.

The French Open has started. I eagerly await Rafa and FeVer and Feli photos and gossip. To spam y'all with, of course. ;)



(Also? HI, MGG, Spencer Reid's new haircut looks GOOD on you. Work the tousled sex-hair look!)

1. we_pimpin. My brain is so wrong. It's poking me to write Ray/Dirty Earl fic for the Ray/Rare Pair challenge. (Ray's been exploited by his betters. And he enjoyed it, okay? STFU.)

2. I am intrigued by skater boys, but their sparkle and bitchery has not inspired me to write. Or to break my no WIPs rule. BBB needs to get here soon and jump-start my fandom participation again.

3. None of these are new pictures, not really. And they're not bandom or skaters, they're tennis dudes and actors. But here: ( pictures that have made me happy for the last few days )

4. What I've been listening to lately. Again, not necessarily new. ( Track listing, not necessarily in order. )

5. I recorded Letterman again last night for The Hold Steady's performance (gimme that new album, boys!) and there was bonus David Beckham. I don't really care what he was talking about - he is very pretty. And his suit was also very pretty.

OK. I'm going to go run a few miles. *puts on the Citius, Altius, Fortius mix*

Hope y'all are having a good weekend. ♥

~ Bamboozle Left or Bamboozle? On one hand, Something Corporate. On the other, Weezer. Decisions, decisions.

~ Rafa continues to be the most adorable have the best smile in all of tennis.

~ I know this has probably been splashed across your friends list repeatedly since last night, but I can't look away when ( Cobra Starship are smokin' hot )

~ It's going to freeze here tonight! That almost never happens, and our neighbors are wigged out about pipes bursting. Just insulate them! Or, if the Home Despot is out of insulating foam, open the tap furthest from where your water enters the house before you go to bed.

~ Football time. Roll, Tide?

ETA: Co-headling tour for Cobra Starship? With "our boys"? Who votes for TAI? Who votes for Discos? Who else do you think it might be? ETA2: ATL?