shroud ourselves in the cosmos; let the music play

With... well, just me, really. No Jimmy Fallon, no Tina Fey, no Amy Poehler, sorry. (Can you tell from that list when I have watched SNL?)

FIRST!! I have seen NO FLEAS for the past few days. VICTORY IS MINE, Y/Y???

I cooked a lot this weekend! and by 'a lot' I actually mean that I made Rice-A-Roni (but hey, at least it's on the stove and not in the microwave, yes?), I steamed broccoli (this time in the microwave, but it was fresh broccoli), I baked cheese bread (this link goes to copperbadge's recipe, because he is brilliant. I used havarti, smoked provolone, and asiago as my cheeses. I had too much salt in the herb mix, and next time I'm definitely switching the oregano for rosemary because I don't particularly like oregano, and I left it in the oven slightly too long, but the bread came out a lot fluffier than the first time I tried it (with p'tit basque and asiago) which was lovely, and anyway, my brother liked it), and I made crepes (filled with Nutella, pear slices, and peach slices. whipped my own cream, too! whipping cream + sweet vermouth (which was admittedly a little strange) + a splash of almond extract + a heaping spoonful of sugar when that wasn't sweet enough + LOTS OF ELBOW GREASE EH because I don't have an electric hand mixer and couldn't be fucked to get down the stand mixer and dirty yet another bowl okay?) for breakfast today. Plus I made myself a martini last night, and mixing is almost like cooking, yes? (I needed to finish the old gin because I bought new gin and had to justify it. don't judge me okay??)

btw, for those of you who don't know, a martini is this:
in a shaker: ice, gin (I like Bombay Sapphire but I'm too posh for my own good), "fond memories of vermouth" (I actually use a liberal splash, but I love that quote. Who said that?). And everyone says "stir, don't shake, you'll bruise the gin!" but I can't be arsed really so I stick the top on and I turn it over once or twice and then I strain into a glass (a cocktail glass, properly, but we have no cocktail glasses (they were Roomie's -- man I should get my ass some cocktail glasses, and some wine glasses) so thus far at the new apartment I have strained martinis into margarita glasses and, last night, into a coffee mug because I desperately didn't want to make even more washing up for myself after doing the washing up, then cooking, then washing up again). Garnish with olives impaled on a cocktail sword or something, I generally stick two onto a toothpick and call it a fucking night. Or if you're posh and you don't fancy olives you could garnish with a twist (of lemon peel), but honestly, who wants to make a goddamn twist? Plus I like olives.

I didn't used to like olives. Funny. I wonder when it changed?

Anyway. I had myself a bit of a Torchwood marathon this weekend, in between cooking and washing up and going to the market and attending a family function. I had stopped in the middle of the first series before Children of Earth aired in July, and now I've finished that and gotten about half-way through the second series, which is considerably less mockable than the first series. (Not mock-proof, note. Just less mockable.) And I kept getting ideas for shit, and jotting them down in my "fragments" file. So I might start writing again, god save me. Fanfiction.

No, I'm not sure I mean that the way it came out. Many good fanfiction authors are very much Good Authors In General, or at least have the potential to be should they every quit their day jobs. And it's not shameful, to have ideas and create things inspired by something you're into. It's not inferior to original fiction, but it has that social stigma, like pretty much every aspect of fandom. And I'm done denying who I am, right? I'm embracing the things that make me who I am, especially the geekery, so you know what? I am an avid reader of fanfiction. And I have been a writer of fanfiction, and I may become one again.

It's kind of crazy that Torchwood has gotten so much under my skin. I love it on a campy sci-fi level, and a Gays On TV! level, and an Actors Are Attractive People level, and a caring-about-characters level, and a fandom-makes-awesome-things level (fic, art, vids, icons) -- but then there's also the meta things: I like to read what other fans think about episodes, characterisation, themes and messages, and other fans' ideas. And I have had a lot to think about because of fandom, and because of the way I personally react to this show. It's led me to define and articulate what I think about love, what I think about relationships, and it (and even more so Doctor Who) has reminded me to appreciate the wonder of the world and the people around me. I don't think I was this consumed by Animorphs, or X-Men, or Harry Potter, or even Lord of the Rings. None of those have been so... thinky for me. Well. LotR got pretty scholarly-thinky, but not as personal-thinky. V for Vendetta and its message about integrity (Valerie, anyone?) was a step on this path, but it was nowhere near the level of personal growth Torchwood has triggered. And yet, it's a plot-holey, bad-sciencey, , campy, darker-edgier-sexier spinoff of a show that I didn't even properly watch before Torchwood sank its teeth into me. How can it have become such a phenomenon in my life?

It's very smoky in my area tonight.

The kitties were roughhousing on my bed earlier, but now they're just chilling. Baxter definitely jumped face-first into the wall a couple times, though. Uh.

Ducky (formerly Dizzy, formerly Maybe-Vasco-Maybe-Quantum) likes to sleep in the crevice that my bed makes against the wall. I guess it's probably because my apartment is hot and the wall is cold? But it worries me when I accidentally bump him or put a limp partially on top of him and he makes no complaint. What if I roll onto him in the night or something?

This morning I woke up and the kitties were curled up on either side of me, dozing and purring. It was brilliant.

I really need to practise tomorrow. I haven't since the last time I said I needed to practise. Oops.

OMG SO while driving with my family to day I heard both "Uprising" AND "Knights of Cydonia." SO. PUMPED. I was practically headbanging, with my mum and brother in the car. Honestly? Muse might be all I really need from pop music.

God I've been so tired today, and yet I've been typing this entry for nearly an hour. Priorities much? Gah.

1. I might have finally started to like Evanescence. I know I used to be snide about them and the "my clothes are black LIEK MY SSSSSSOOOOOOUUUUULLLLLLL" crowd that was into them when I was in... middle school? high school? but "Bring Me To Life" came on in the car on the way to work and... it clicked for me. Huh. I need to revisit this band.

2. Other Bands I Dig Right Now: Paramore, Franz Ferdinand, Linkin Park (CRAAAAAAAAAAAAWLING IIIIIN MY SKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN hahahaaaaaa -- but also apparently Brad Delson was pretty awesome as the keynote speaker for Commencement 2009 WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY CLASS OOPS I BLAME YOU MUSIC ED). Plus I'm still totally into Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Cake. To say nothing of my all-consuming love affair with Muse. I'm definitely going to get The Resistance. Even though my disc drive is broken still/again. (I want to have sex with their songs. It's a little distressing.)

3. I did some detective work about my Pulcinella question and uncovered a bunch of other things about it that didn't match up, so I've turned to the authorities: the conductor and his TA. I anxiously await answers.

4. I talked to Boss about it and she says that the kittens probably do still have fleas (I haven't seen any fleas, on the kittens or elsewhere, but I keep finding flea dirt where they've been sitting). So tonight, the plan is to drive to LB and get some spray for the furniture from my mum (and a more badass vacuum -- I Dirt Devil'd the room last night but it's honestly just too much room (She cannae take any more, Captain!) for a poor little Dirt Devil to handle. Which almost makes me question the capacity of a Roomba to handle it... but then, Roombas are designed for entire rooms. Dirt Devils are designed for small, localized messes, like a knocked-over plant pot, and mine does better on carpet than flooring anyway. In conclusion, Roomba: STILL WANT), and to use the spray and bathe the kittens (a regular bath, with warm water and baby shampoo) either tonight or tomorrow morning, whichever works better logistically. And to launder my bedsheets AGAIN.
Fuck I hate fleas. Nasty little fuckers.

5. The kittens had tapeworms from the fleas. I lived in the same room as the kittens and the fleas all weekend. Presumably, I was bitten by the fleas as well. Should I get checked for tapeworm too??? (Boss says probably not.)

6. Things to get from a petstore, maybe also tonight:
- flea collars (to cut up and put in vacuum bags?)
- safety collars for the kittens to wear (they'll have to be v. small)
- flea medicine (Advantage/Frontline/whatever, the kind where you put the drops on the animal's skin (usu. back of the neck))

7. I made a tentative schedule of my classes for Fall, and what I want to know is, WHY IS EVERYTHING ON MONDAY. WHY. Seriously, Monday will likely begin at 8-fuckin-ayemme with a 4-hour education class, and then in the afternoon, there are four things, two that I have to do and two that I want to do, which overlap with each other variously. And won't end until 10 at night. One of those things is Wind Ensemble (and honestly I'll probably be able to get away with only coming on Wednesdays); another is a chamber music class that I might not want to take anyway, since I only enjoy it about 30% of the time (the other 60% I'm either bored or biting my tongue so I don't dress down my classmates), and the pianist I usually work with is super-swamped and I don't know if she'll take the class either. So I guess that resolves my issue -- I take the required ed. classes and don't worry about the performance classes -- but it's still ridiculous that things are so on top of each other. I'm going to have a conflict with orchestra, too, but it's not as egregious -- I'd only be missing the last hour of rehearsal, one day a week. 5 hours out of 6 is not so terrible, right? (It's certainly better than 2 hours out of 4, but what can you do?)

8. The library is FREEZING. We put a thermometer out in the main room and it is 67 degrees Fahrenheit where I sit. Short Chris said that when he came in this morning it was only 64 degrees, so this is an improvement, but not enough of one -- my fingers are still stiff and a little numb. NB: Google says it's 87 degrees outside. DEAR UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, 20 DEGREES IS A BIG FUCKING DEAL. YOU WANT TO SAVE MONEY? CUT YOUR ENERGY COSTS BY FIXING YOUR GODDAMN THERMOSTAT. I WOULD LIKE TO NOT WORK IN A MEAT LOCKER, KTHX.

9. According to Google, today is the 400th anniversary of Galileo's telescope! Yay! Accordingly, their logo is all steampunked out. Hee. :)