Some people are only alive

because I don't have the energy to throttle them. It's that time of year, when I have one too many entitled students suddenly realizing we have 3 weeks left and they've done nothing and expect to miraculously curry favor with me and pass. Or are whining about every little point.

This day was weird. I finally got to read vol 20 of Attack on Titan and let's just say that it went all Game of Thrones and I spent the night ugly crying over fictional characters. Then I spent more time than was reasonable house hunting with two coworkers who have decided I shouldn't live near the rest of humanity (I am not arguing this).

But then I was uber late to the laundromat and by the time I was done it was 5 pm and by the time I had some dinner at the bar i couldn't possibly get back home to dump the laundry and get my computer and get to the writers hookup without being about a half hour late which would have been okay if I hadn't nearly fallen asleep like three times in the middle of dinner. I decided not to go.

What kind of week have I been having? I went into Kroger's tonight to get 2 things. I walked out with a make your own six-pack, a bottle of pre-made Long Island ice teas, 2 bags of peanut butter M&Ms, 4 bags of jerky and a box of frozen deep fried twinkles, then I went to the bar for some oil of aphrodite (It was going to be painkillers but then I saw they had some Jackie O's on tap).


I do feel a little guilty watching Archer because it's so....over the top but it's also very intelligent and you have to be really paying attention. They toss out these one liners and name droppings that you can miss. I've seen tonight's episodes several times and totally missed the who am I, Kate Warne line (She was the first female Pinkerton). cool

Poem Day 7
No Man Is An Island - Poem by John Donne
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

Ohioana Book Festival

I've been looking forward to this. I wasn't going to be able to go because I'm supposed to be at a science thing this weekend. My student backed out so off to buy books I go. In spite of sleeping 7 1/2 hours straight thru (minor miracle for me, told you I was tired), I was still off to a much slower start than I anticipated somehow losing 3 hours.

Oh well, that meant I couldn't see as many books panels as I would have liked but that's fine. It was funny, I got to the parking lot, familiar with it after last year (It was shock to see no operator and having to use a credit card to buy my time there. HATED that). An older couple was trying to figure it out. We were talking about how we have no such things where we're from and turns out they're from right next door to my school. Funny how small the world can be.

I got to hear a panel of SF/F/Horror authors, three men one steampunky woman. One of the guys is, I think, a professor at Kent State and you can tell he does NOT like being labeled a horror author and he made an excellent point about a) why tags suck b) why it's a pity publishers don't care more about niche genres (which is what I've been crying about for months now). I liked his points and it's one that's been made before by others. Being labeled a genre writer is diminishing. We're always at the kiddie table. Horror and humor are some of the hardest things to write and yet are never recognized (when was the last time we saw an Oscar go to a comedy?) I have to agree with him. He was obviously passionate about it and came equipped with a lot of great examples (betting he uses this in class). I asked about their scariest scene and what book scared them. Apparently Stephen King is still the master of horror. Makes me want to reread the Shining (and I should now that I'm adult).

I bought WAY more than I should have. I talked to a lot of them, some from last year and got book 2, a couple I bought from last year and had to sneak away from after being lured in by their splash mystery covers (and they sucked), talked to Laura Bickel again and the steampunk lady whose name is escaping me (tomorrow I'll share my list of treasures, I'm too exhausted to do it now). Steampunk will be at the steampunk festival I hope to go to in 2 weeks.

Afterwards I went to Schmidt's Sausage Haus. It's been a Columbus tradition (the sausage that is) since 1886 and the restaurant and I are the same age. Even with me getting there at 430 I had to park in a Giant Eagle's back lot two blocks away (German Village is OLD, quaint, cute and some of the most expensive real estate in Columbus. Also you can't park for shit there). Also in spite of the early hour, I had to stand in line to get in and then be told it would be a min. of an hour to be seated and there was a line beyond me too. I pulled the lonely loser card and said hey there's one seat at the bar, can I go there and eat now?

Why yes I could. I got something they were calling German Ice Tea, a riff off a Long Island Ice Tea using a liquor I've never heard of: Barenjager The German name is Barenfang which I like better. Check out that honey buttercream recipe! I need it! I'm glad I tried it because it was simply delicious and dangerous because I could have drank six and gone to sleep on the bar. Dinner was the haus saurbraten und gravy. I love saurbraten and never get it so yum again, green beans and spatzles and little potato pancakes were yummy too.

And oh, did I mention they have one pound cream puffs? That's right. I ate it. Well half. After I brought it home because I couldn't move after eating all that spatzle.

On the way out I was nearly run over by someone dashing in because someone had passed out on the sidewalk. There were so many people there and they didn't want my help so I moved on.

Right on to the casino. I lost money fast on a quick hit then found a new game Weird Wicked and Wild. I recouped my losses when I filled the screen with werewolves. Then hit three bonuses. Played my favorite haunted house game and won two bonuses there before going to the dollar machine and watched 30$ disappear until my last spin and won it all back plus 20. Played some more, lost more then found the Hand of the Devil where the devil deals you cards as a theme. The devil liked me. Hit for another 50 so I cashed out and ran home.


Oh did I mention I wore the Book Wrym T-shirt Rain got me (HUGE hit with the book people), the moonstone necklace ELD got me (also a hit) and the book earrings Grace made me?

(gah, so fat, I look like a cream puff).


I'm going to go look at that house I posted last night. Rahirah asked what's it next to to be so cheap? I guess I'll go find out but the 1.2 million dollar home in Jackson? It's right next to a cement factory. Shakes head.