Perverts.

I mean the book by Robert Louis Stevenson.

And for a book where the hero spends less than a page bound, and never gagged, there isn't much kidnapping going on. But then, I'm a pervert too.

It's an OK book. I had tried reading this back when I was 12 or 13, and don't think I made it much past the hero arriving at his uncle's house. I made it all the way through. Damn my OCD about trying to follow the travels along on maps.

I read it on my kindle. I got to the end and things just ended quite abruptly. I thought maybe the version I was reading (probably downloaded from Project Gutenberg) was incomplete. I got home and pulled out my "Works of Robert Louis Stevenson" book and went to the end of the book. The damned book just ENDS, practically in the middle of a thought. Although, the printed book I have has an author's note that was left off the kindle version, saying that maybe someday the author would continue the story of David Balfour. I know there is a sequel (variously named David Balfour or Catriona), but I'm not really in the mood to read it now.

He's gonna suffer a lot
Before he knows the reason why.
And that's what makes this thing
a T-R-A-G-E-D-Y!

Time to snake the drain.

Well, that, too. But since I've been letting my hair grow out, and since I'm balding, the long strands of hair have been collecting in the tub drain. I looked for our drain snake last night. I'm going to have to buy another one this afternoon.

Has Glee done Gypsy?

I'd like to see the girls do "You gotta have a gimmick."

And, of course, Kurt has to sing Rose's Turn.

Friday.
It started with me realizing, when I got to work, that I had left my wallet at home. No biggie, except that I didn't have my drivers license with me. Luckily, I didn't need money or anything.

Then I proceeded to have technical difficulties all day.

Network security had me locked out of some stuff because I wasn't put back in the Developers group after my employment was changed.

I was missing certain files.

No one in our network group has solved the time-outs we get on the development server.

Just a big fustercluck.  I was glad to go home.

Just posted a bunch of pics I took during December. I like this one. It makes me look butch and buff.

(Click the pic to see my photostream.)

I thought the Terrorist Beard would keep me off a jury, and since I would actually LIKE to serve on a jury, I trimmed things down to look a little more respectable and increase my chances of at least being considered for a jury.

Besides, the longer beard irritates my neck and chest, and my chest breaks out more. So I'll let this grow now for a few months before mowing it down again.

Places I slept in 2011:

Montgomery, AL
Livingston, TN
Fultondale, AL

It's a heavy flow day.


One of the main reasons I can never get a septum piercing is that I've had too many bleeds, the membranes are thin and scarred, and the blood vessels burst on a whim.

Does it really get better, or did we just get hardened and inured to it?

The OVERT bullying stops after high-school, but we always face some sort of discrimination. That's one reason I didn't come out until I was 27.

Yo no soy marinero.
Yo no soy marinero, soy maricon.
Soy maricon, soy maricon.

*Sigh* Just read several of my entries from 2004 trying to find out when the Baltimore Consort played here the first time. (Saw them again last night and LOVED the show.)

So many comments from Friends who are no longer with us: Russ, Dan, Jim, Greg. I'm a sad panda right now.

Still Here.
Still reading.
Still dealing with depressive spiral.

The fake religiosity and hyped ultra-patriotism are really making me sick. I'm lying low from the news until after Sunday.

I finished reading Oliver Twist today. It was a good book. Surprisingly funny. I didn't expect the humour, having only seen depressing movie versions.
Why is the title character the least interesting in the book? Even minor characters were more interesting. Oliver himself is just a pious, naive lump of nothing.  How could he be so "pure" and naive, growing up in a workhouse? He also seems a few fries short of a happy meal.

Mr. Brownlow and Mr. Grimwig seem to be rather GOOD friends, if you catch my drift.

All the murders that must occur in London every day, and Nancy's is the only one anyone for miles talks about? That's stretching coincidence, even for Dickens.

At first, I put in the disc of the 2007 production of Mansfield Park starring Billie Piper. I turned it off after 30 minutes. I should have read the comments first. OMG, it was simply awful.

So I turned on Netflix instant view and started watching Downton Abbey. I'm hooked. I love this show. Of course, Maggie Smith is delightful.

I tried to read the books, and only made it part-way through the first one. I've been watching the BBC mini-series today on DVD. I think I can safely say that I really do not like Gormenghast. The BBC production is fabulous, with an incredible cast, great costumes and design. But the characters are all incredibly unlikeable.


EDIT--
Ok, I finished watching the 4 episodes. After having seen it all, I found that I do like it after all. Celia Imrie, as the Countess, turns out to be the most likeable character. But I dislike the allegory. Post-war dystopias and moral tales bore me.

Some of them live happily ever after. (Of course, if you've read the books, you know this.)

Not a bad movie. Good performances from all.

Today was my appointment to get an MRI of my neck.

During my last MRI 3 or 4 years ago, I had an attack of restless leg syndrome and had to concentrate VERY hard on keeping my leg from twitching and thus ruining the scan. So this time, I decided that I'd take a Requip in the morning, and hopefully stave off any RLS.

This turned out to be a mistake.

I took the Requip around 7:40 am.
Around 10:30, I started feeling a bit of nausea.
Around 11:00, I was suddenly very sleepy, could not concentrate. I figured that it was the Requip, and that the effect was not temporary, so I called Phil to come pick me up from work (since driving in that state would not be recommended).
As soon as I hung up the phone, I got a wave of nausea, and my body went into shock. Deep breathing kept me from throwing up as I rode the wave that swept my body and left me in a cold sweat.

I got to my MRI appointment around 12:45, filled out paperwork, and was taken to the MRI building. The attendant told me to take off my pants and put on these not-so-flattering paper fabric shorts. Then she gave me a pair of foam earplugs, laid me down on the machine and slid me up the tube. A half hour later, I'm done, got dressed, and told Phil to take me home so I could sleep off the Requip.

I woke up around 5 simply ravenous. Ate, went back to bed, and now got up at 7. I'm feeling a little more with-it and stable. Hopefully I'll be able to stand in line 2 hours tonight and then stay awake for Harry Potter.

Oh, and look what I found about Requip:

• you should know that ropinirole may make you drowsy or may cause you to suddenly fall asleep during your regular daily activities. You might not feel drowsy or have any other warning signs before you suddenly fall asleep. Do not drive a car,operate machinery, work at heights, or participate in potentially dangerous activities at the beginning of your treatment until you know how the medication affects you. If you suddenly fall asleep while you are doing something such as watching television, talking, eating, or riding in a car, or if you become very drowsy, especially during the daytime, call your doctor. Do not drive, work in high places, or operate machinery until you talk to your doctor.



• you should know that ropinirole may cause dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, or sweating when you get up too quickly from a sitting or lying position. This is more common when you first start taking ropinirole or with an increase in the dose of ropinirole. To avoid this problem, get out of the chair or bed slowly, resting your feet on the floor for a few minutes before standing up.

Fun stuff that one doesn't notice when one normally takes a medication at bed time.

Our friend/customer Robin invited Phil and me over for dinner on the 4th.  Robin spent all week preparing, making the desserts a couple days in advance. We were asked to bring potato salad. It fell to me Sunday night to peel a whole bag of spuds and make up a potato salad.

We went over to Robin, John and Will's apartment around 3. Had fun chatting with everyone, then Robin got all the food on the table. Ribs, chicken, baked beans, bread and my potato salad. Everything was OK, but the tendony-membraney stuff on the back of the ribs was a bit tough. And they didn't have any knives, so we were all a bit barbaric tearing apart our slabs of ribs to get to the meat. My potato salad was a hit.

After eating, we watched History of the World and Rio.

It was a nice day off.