Random raves

Mastercard just offered to bump my credit limit up by 10 grand. Which would bring my credit limit for that card to 24K.

Somehow I think they won't let you use Mastercard to put down a house deposit. I might get some use out of it that way...

Ok, I earn 6 figures, but only just. And I won't be once I stop doing on-call work in the next couple of months. Seriously, why do they want to give me so much credit? Especially since, ironically enough, they rang to bitch at me last month because I was late on a payment - first time ever. I'd simply left the previous month's statement in a stupid place and forgot about it. None of this, "Oh, look, you have a great payment record, perhaps you didn't receive your statement last month?" No, it was like, "PAY UP NOW OR THERE WILL BE NASTY DEBT COLLECTORS". Wankers.

There are many many things I am capable of doing, and some of them I do quite well, but it turns out that tub-dying a heavy cotton bedspread is not one of them. The undyed spotches are so bad I can't even pretend they were an intended artistic effect.

Meh, I can't exactly bowl up to the local laundromat and toss the bedcover and more dye into one of their machines. I'll have to think of something else, but perhaps not when my hormones are about to blow.

I cracked the first of my ginger beers today, and should probably have done that a few days ago - the results were fountainous. Oh well, my kitchen floor (and bench, and sink, and splashback) needed a wash anyway. Thank god for the Grolsch bottles, because they didn't break of themselves. I've depressurised all the others, and have lost about 1/4 of the contents in the process.

The one I've drunk is ironically not quite as fizzy as I would like, undoubtedly due to the nice bubbles exhausting themselves everywhere else but in the glass first. ETA: the second one has perfect fizziness, with the bubbles having a chance to recover a bit in the next bottle.

Also, not quite as gingery as I would prefer - I started off with fresh ginger, but supplemented with fairly old powdered ginger, which was probably not the best thing to do. Maybe a tad less lemon as well (I'm amazed at that - I like lemon), but I got the sweetness exactly right - i.e. I used only 2/3rds of the recommended amount of sugar.

Still, it's very refreshing and nom. When I refine the recipe a bit further, I'll post it up.

I'm renewing the lease on my flat - I've been here over a year, OMG - and the nice landlady wants to do an inspection. Also, it was about time I got it looking slightly more presentable.

As part the spring clean, I've cleared out the load of books that have ended up by my bed. This in no way represents the total of what I've read these last few months - it's just the ones I happened to finish it some point before switching off my light. :-)

Creation in Death - JD Robb. I love these trashy futuristic detective stories. Not candy floss - more salt n vinegar chips washed down with a beer.
In the Last Analysis - Amanda Cross. This is the first Kate Fansler detective story that "Amanda Cross" (Carolyn Heilbrun) wrote in the early 60s, and how nice to see a strong independent female detective-cum-academic lead character in that era.
Economia - by Geoff Davies. This is a very long look at alternatives to the current economic systems. He is a geologist by trade, and navigates an unusual route to discuss what he thinks an economy could look like (he essentially likes mutual banking systems). The main things I agree with are the fact that growth for growth's sake is unsustainable, and that despite the pretence otherwise, economics is a social science, and humans are not necessarily rational actors. So, interesting food for thought, but I unfortunately believe - like anarchism - his ideas have a snowball's chance of being implemented.
A Grave Talent - Laurie R. King. I think Laurie King is one of the best contemporary detective writers. She writes a whole series based on the Sherlock Holmes stories - which are great and really well done - but this is one of her lesbian detective stories. So nice to have queer protagonists in books written by non-queer authors.
Undead and Unwed - MaryJanice Davidson. Just as trashy as you might expect, but an amusing romp.
Fool's Gold - Gillian Tett. This book by a Financial Times journo is the best analysis of the recent credit meltdown I've read so far. While she leans a little heavily on her apparent sources inside J.P. Morgan, she clearly explains the issues, what CDOs and the other derivatives actually do, and also explains some of the personalities involved. I laughed out loud at the assertion by one of the players that markets are "efficient and rational" - do economists and other people in the money business seriously still believe that? - but she reported it with a straight face.
I Never Knew That About London - Christopher Winn. Little quirky facts about various places around London, organised loosely by borough. Since I've read quite a bit of the history of London, there was a reasonable amount I did know, but there are also lots of interesting nuggets that I didn't.
Confessions of an Eco Sinner - Fred Pearce. This guy decides to trace the origins of various goods and foods he consumes, and finds out some interesting stuff. Frank, but balanced and non-preachy.
Strong Poison - Dorothy Sayers. A classic. Nuff said.
Dare, Truth or Promise - Paula Boock. A great teenage coming-out story/romance set in NZ. One of the better ones I've read from any country.
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte. Another classic.
Big Bangs - Howard Goodall. A book based on a TV series done by the composer to discuss the five greatest innovations in Western music. He talks about musical notation, the invention of the piano, the equal temperament developed by Bach, opera,  and the invention of recorded sound (he makes the observation that recorded music actually makes it possible to listen to music by ancient instruments that would not normally remain in tune for an entire piece). All interesting stuff.
Amazons - edited by Jessica Salmonson. This is a fairly typical assemblage of fantasy short stories written by women up to the 1980s. She says in the introduction that the stories were not chosen to be about victims or revenge, but seriously, FAIL. Depressing earnest angsty stuff, and it epitomises the strain of women's SFF I loathe. Sort of the flip side of the Stephen Donaldson/George R.R. Martin genre. God knows why I've hung onto it this long - time to toss it.
Sacred Spirit - Mercedes Lackey. I know I know, about Lackey, but about 1 in 7 of her books are entertaining reads, even if they're not the most nuanced fantasy books in the world. These are like eating fries from McDonalds - you know you shouldn't, but sometimes they just hit the spot.
The Time Trap. Classic time management how-to book, and it's bounced off me entirely. I need to figure out a way of organising myself, but I haven't come up with a method that's likely to work for me yet. I am not and have never been a list-maker, and a book that is essentially about making lists doesn't help much.
Wavewalker - Stella Duffy. I love these suspense books by Stella Duffy. Kiwi-in-London author with dyke protagonist FTW.
Lois Lenz, Lesbian Secretary - Monica Nolan. A hilarious piss-take of 1950s pulp novels, and a cute romance story as well.
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen. Totally my favourite Austen, closely followed by Northanger Abbey.
Play Piercing - Deborah Addington. Pretty obvious what this one's about!
The Flame Takers - Lilith Norman. Classic children's fantasy story by a prominent Australian children's author. I bought the book from AbeBooks for a ridiculous amount of money quite recently. Of course it's out of print.
The Changeover - Margaret Mahy. One of Mahy's best young adult stories, set in suburban NZ. I like her combination of suspense with nice resolutions, and the fact she doesn't back away from teenage sexuality.

... it's ok, I'll be able to churn the essay out by tomorrow evening, when it's due.

But I spent a pile of dosh over the weekend, I will be able to pay cash to have my car painted (it's going to cost over $5000, ie. three times what I paid for the car), and I can pay for next semester's studies ($3000). I like having this luxury of enough money. The second half of this year will be me starting to seriously save as much as possible.

I actually managed to wake myself up at a decent hour this morning and took myself off to the farmers' market at Epic. I got tasty happy pig bacns (the BLT is getting itself ready as we speak), mung bean sprouts, soba and fried tofu from the Sprout Lady, sourdough rye bread, fresh lemon pepper pasta, some asstd veges (no beans, alas - I'm so growing those next year), some real cider (it's a teeny bit drier than I like, but it's the real thing, and I can add a tidge of apple juice to sweeten it. $20 for a 750ml bottle is pricey, but I've paid that much for cider in Hereford), a lemon polenta cakey, and some hot chai to wander around with. The chai is great because they use plenty of cardamom, my favourite spice.

It's a perfect day to have had a nice wee bike ride - sunny and slightly cool. Wow, summer seems to have decided it's OVER with a bang.

...and then I was thinking of taking a wee trip into town to have a decadent lunch in a nice cafe

( maybe not )

Canberra's in the north-western quadrant, right where the band of thunderstorms is. Oh well, at least my car got another rinse before I parked it in its shelter.

So I trundled off to the Belconnen markets to do a bit of holiday food gathering today, and was lured into the clutches of the book remainders store, as usual. It's a very good one of its kind. I ended up buying over 100 bucks' worth of books, including this one on knots (I have zillions already, but I seem to like knot books in the same way I like cookbooks). The young chap behind the counter was totalling my purchases and said "Wow, we were just talking about how popular this book on tying knots is! We keep getting it in and it keeps selling! We haven't figured out why so many people are buying it!"

I did manage to keep a completely straight face, and said "Well, it can be handy to know a few good knots". He gave me this look of "Why do you need more than a granny knot or a bow for anything?" and after a few moments, a glimmer of illumination started to seep through. I think. He was very efficient - but still pleasant - with the rest of the transaction.

Also, wine salesguy at the primo wineshop in Manuka? Saying "Gosh, yes, customers keep asking for different kinds of sherry. It seems they have real problems tracking good stuff down", when you've only got five middling-range kinds at the back of the shop, seems to me like someone is missing a sales opportunity here. Do you think?

I had a nice time at the CDL and the Bear's yesterday, building another garden patch, which we did mightly due to the CDL doing most of the heavy stuff since I managed to do something bizarre to my back last week. Thank god for osteopaths (since it's ok today). There was nommy smoked trout risotto and wine and conversation afterwards.

Today I just pootled around and hovered over some of the baby plants that are sprouting - there are broccoli, leeks, snow peas, onions and rhubarb just showing their new shoots.

And this evening was mainly occupied with an oldie-but-a-goodie Flash game, Zoo Keeper Quest. It's like Bejeweled, but with cute animals and a grumpy boss. JayIsGames also explains how to play the Quest mode, as opposed to the regular game.

And now I should really go to sleep. The osteopath was giving me 20 questions about my "depleted adrenals" (as they all do, for some reason) and asking me if my life is majorly stressful. Actually, it's not. I'm acquiring a bunch of new responsibilities at work, and it's a bit stressful working out how exactly we're going to deal with some inadequately-documented systems, but we'll figure it out one way or another. I've been avoiding writing a report for the last two weeks - I've done 4 pages, whoopee - but that's my usual level of procrastination. Home is ok, but there will be some changes coming up, and all my other personal matters and finances are chugging along fine. I go to work, come home at a decent hour and dink around, go to bed, see the CDL at intervals. The osteo also asked me if I feel tired all the time - I do, because I'm not very good at making myself go to bed by 11:30 (see!), especially when I know I need 8 1/2 hours' sleep - or if I'd ever had ME or something like. No, I haven't. Maybe I just have a low disruption threshold, or I get subliminally stressed by feeling ignorant about stuff I have to do (like write a business analysis for the first time without a specific model or maintain systems I know f-a about)... but I don't feel that consciously concerned. Or maybe I really am a delicate little flower. Feh.

I also had a gastroscopy a few weeks back due to the problem I've been having with gastric reflux, which manifests itself as violent nausea when I try to go to sleep (nothing so obvious as heartburn), and the procedure found nothing wrong with me. The specialist asked me how much I drank alcohol (lightly), smoked (not at all), drank coffee (one or two a week) and ate red meat (not at all). I do eat large portions. He mentioned three times that I should consider losing weight because it can "put pressure" on the gastric region. Since I consider myself to be mildly overweight at best (although I have stacked on a bit this winter), and my stomach is not actually fat, I was fairly peeved by this advice. I should be going back to the GP for a follow-up, and I should ask him if that was serious specific advice rather than pulling-it-out-of-his-arse default advice - but I've been too annoyed to do so, frankly. I hate not finding specific things wrong with me when something is wrong.

I have worked out that I should start eating smaller portions - I'm not a snacker, but maybe I'll have to learn, especially in the evening - and there's no way I can eat anything after about 8:30pm if I want to sleep at a decent hour. The proton-pump inhibitor the doc has prescribed certainly relieves the symptoms, but I hate taking medications continually. I think I'll revisit going to a homeopath, since it's evidently not a mechanical problem (ie. an ulcer), but I won't go to the one I last saw in Mittagong, since she reminds me too much of my last g/f (not to mention the fact that she insisted on asking me about three times in each session if I consider myself to be an "angry person". FWIW, I don't - I'm easily irritated, but when I actually get angry, it's fairly rare and extremely not nice. Evidently she didn't understand the distinction - or, even if she thought I was delusional and that I am "angry" all the time, as a homeopath you're supposed to treat the cognitive dissonance, not keep prodding at it verbally).

Bah, I'm not as grumpy as all this sounds. I don't like feeling that my body is less than 100%, but things are chugging along ok in general, and life is generally positive.

...in a manner of speaking, I've gone berserk this weekend planting some seeds for the new garden that saluqi and I will be constructing at her and faxon's new property. The place I'm living at now has a very dinky potting shed, so I'm using that to start things off. I've been updating the MyFolia log - if anyone other than kightp also has a journal there, give me a shout-out. :-)

I've planted peas, tomatoes, leeks, beans, celery and onions. I forgot to get some corn seeds yesterday, so I'll be off to do that now. I also got what bean seeds were available from the health food shop at Belconnen markets, and the beans are all the flat kind, which aren't my favourite. Still, hopefully they'll grow, and I might order some nice round French beans as well.

I'm planting all the seeds into potting mix and growing them on as much as possible. Things like peas and beans can be directly sown, but we had variable results with that last year, due to the depredations of bloody earwigs.

Off for decadent lunch (I suppose it's too late to call it "brunch" now)!