![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Hump Day, oh Hump Day....
Feb. 14th, 2018 08:28 amWow, today, huh? It started out nice enough with a Valentine's Day smooch from my wife, but then it proceeded to get... hassle-ish? Shawn needed to pick up doughnuts for her volunteers. We stopped at our usual place, Sugah Rush, only to discover a sign that said "Closed" with a "back at 7:30" sign underneath that. Okay, that was weird, since they're usually up and running at 6:30 am, but okay. I dropped Mason off, then Shawn, bought myself a coffee, and drove back. I arrived at 7:32 am. The door was still closed. So I waved over the counter girl who explained, that no, they were closed the whole week (possibly for Chinese New Year?) I suggested maybe they handwrite a sign? Because we could have gone somewhere else rather than looping back.
I go next to Wollet's, which is open, but significantly more expensive. I make up the difference between what Shawn gave me from petty cash and have the nice lady there give me an assortment.
Off I go to MHS. Only to discover that the History Center's doors are locked AND I'm completely out of minutes on my phone. I see someone coming in and I say, "Excuse me, these doughnuts need to go to Shawn Rounds in the State Archives. Could you deliver them?" He says he could, and I think, "Okay, good. PROBLEM SOLVED."
Only, when I finally get home and call Shawn on the landline, she hasn't seen her doughnuts.
I think someone just stole our doughnuts.
I'm hoping Shawn will call soon and let me know that I'm wrong and that they actually arrived, unscathed.
It's Reading Wednesday also, I guess? Well, I finished that manuscript that's been hanging around my neck like an albatross. So, that's definitely a good thing. I also read Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown, which is a book that I got from the library which was listed on the most recent Locus Magazine "recommended reading list," in the subcategory of debut authors. I like reading debut authors for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that since they're brand-new, it's extremely unlikely that I'll have to hunt up the rest of a series in order to enjoy their current title (sometimes, of course, this might be a first novel, but they have a ton of short fiction.) Also, obviously, it gives me a taste of the new blood coming into science fiction/fantasy.
I really liked Tropic of Kansas. I'm going to go over to Goodreads in a bit and see if I'm alone in this. Thing is, I could see people feeling differently, if only because the book very much goes off the "if things continue this way" premise of Trump-inspired future. Brown does take some pains to make it clear this is actually an AU, (Reagan's assassination is successful, for one,) but the fascist dictator and his "first girlfriends" bare a certain resemblance in spirit to 45. Luckily, the story is about the underground attempt to overthrow fascism, which is always a story I can read, even in these, the waning days of Babylon. (Goodreads has very mixed reviews that do seem to depend somewhat on one's political leanings.)
I read a couple of fluff volumes of manga, too. I read Plum Crazy!: Tales of a Tiger-Striped Cat (volumes 1 & 2) by Natsumi Hashing. I picked those up at the library, in the juvenile section (even though its Japanese publishing rating is 'josei' which is for more adult readers). This is a story about people who own cats, or maybe cats who own people. Plum belongs to the household of a woman and her son who run a traditional dance studio in small town Japan. Plum has adventures there and, along the way, discovers an abandoned kitten, who she rescues and who causes all sorts of trouble. It is, however, kind of about nothing at all... which is often the kind of slice-of-life manga I adore tremendously. A good antidote to the dystopia of Tropic of Kansas.
What are you reading?
I'm off in a little bit to go fetch some ingredients for Mason's Chinese class. He and another student are making "longevity noodles with chicken" for the class's Chinese New Year celebration tomorrow. I'm thinking about hitting United Noodle because I love that place. (I'm pretty sure I could get the noodles elsewhere, but hey, and excuse to go to United Noodle for the win!)
UPDATED DOUGHNUT STATUS: UNDELIVERED. But, Shawn was able, through an MHS-wide email, discover that my "helper" had dropped them off at the information desk with no note or explanation. Shawn is on her way to pick them up now.
In related news, I now have minutes on my phone.
I go next to Wollet's, which is open, but significantly more expensive. I make up the difference between what Shawn gave me from petty cash and have the nice lady there give me an assortment.
Off I go to MHS. Only to discover that the History Center's doors are locked AND I'm completely out of minutes on my phone. I see someone coming in and I say, "Excuse me, these doughnuts need to go to Shawn Rounds in the State Archives. Could you deliver them?" He says he could, and I think, "Okay, good. PROBLEM SOLVED."
Only, when I finally get home and call Shawn on the landline, she hasn't seen her doughnuts.
I think someone just stole our doughnuts.
I'm hoping Shawn will call soon and let me know that I'm wrong and that they actually arrived, unscathed.
It's Reading Wednesday also, I guess? Well, I finished that manuscript that's been hanging around my neck like an albatross. So, that's definitely a good thing. I also read Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown, which is a book that I got from the library which was listed on the most recent Locus Magazine "recommended reading list," in the subcategory of debut authors. I like reading debut authors for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that since they're brand-new, it's extremely unlikely that I'll have to hunt up the rest of a series in order to enjoy their current title (sometimes, of course, this might be a first novel, but they have a ton of short fiction.) Also, obviously, it gives me a taste of the new blood coming into science fiction/fantasy.
I really liked Tropic of Kansas. I'm going to go over to Goodreads in a bit and see if I'm alone in this. Thing is, I could see people feeling differently, if only because the book very much goes off the "if things continue this way" premise of Trump-inspired future. Brown does take some pains to make it clear this is actually an AU, (Reagan's assassination is successful, for one,) but the fascist dictator and his "first girlfriends" bare a certain resemblance in spirit to 45. Luckily, the story is about the underground attempt to overthrow fascism, which is always a story I can read, even in these, the waning days of Babylon. (Goodreads has very mixed reviews that do seem to depend somewhat on one's political leanings.)
I read a couple of fluff volumes of manga, too. I read Plum Crazy!: Tales of a Tiger-Striped Cat (volumes 1 & 2) by Natsumi Hashing. I picked those up at the library, in the juvenile section (even though its Japanese publishing rating is 'josei' which is for more adult readers). This is a story about people who own cats, or maybe cats who own people. Plum belongs to the household of a woman and her son who run a traditional dance studio in small town Japan. Plum has adventures there and, along the way, discovers an abandoned kitten, who she rescues and who causes all sorts of trouble. It is, however, kind of about nothing at all... which is often the kind of slice-of-life manga I adore tremendously. A good antidote to the dystopia of Tropic of Kansas.
What are you reading?
I'm off in a little bit to go fetch some ingredients for Mason's Chinese class. He and another student are making "longevity noodles with chicken" for the class's Chinese New Year celebration tomorrow. I'm thinking about hitting United Noodle because I love that place. (I'm pretty sure I could get the noodles elsewhere, but hey, and excuse to go to United Noodle for the win!)
UPDATED DOUGHNUT STATUS: UNDELIVERED. But, Shawn was able, through an MHS-wide email, discover that my "helper" had dropped them off at the information desk with no note or explanation. Shawn is on her way to pick them up now.
In related news, I now have minutes on my phone.
