Flapjacks

When I lived in The Worst Digs In The Whole World, Leigh used to cheer us up on a Sunday evening by making flapjacks (dropscones, I'd call them, but chef's prerogative). She would slave over the stove, frying them up. I would stand at the counter or sit at the horrifying glass table with the saggy chairs, and gobble them up as quickly as she cooked them. I really want some damn flapjacksdropscones.

A few reviews

Things I've read:

Irish Rebel

Classic, formulaic Nora Roberts. I didn't realise that this was number three in a series. I loathe reading books out of order, so I'm a little annoyed about that. This is one of her Silhoutte efforts, so it's fairly short and light. A little bit of steam though. And some horses. Not together, obviously, that's a genre Nora Roberts wouldn't touch with a barge pole.

Love Me, Love Me Not

I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how long this has been sitting on my TBR pile - a long, long time. It's a compilation of short stories from various authors. It's quite the hit parade of well known names, and there are some really super stories. There is a fair amount of sap, too, but then, it is a collection of stories about love. The gems are all the more brilliant for that. And not all have happy endings, which is even better.


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Confession time. I have been meaning to read this book for a long, long time. I didn't actually know what it was about, but I had heard great things. On Friday I went to the cinema to see Like Crazy, and what should I see but a trailer for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Oh, I say to myself, I'll have to read that now. Can't see the movie if I haven't read the book (that's the rule). And then I thought, damn, going to have to buy it, but I'm not allowed to buy another book until after I've finished my next essay and done the required reading for Coriolanus (that's another rule, and there are at least three books I want so you can see how hard this is going to be). And then after the movie I went home and was admiring my bookshelves (...shut up...) what should I discover but a copy of...Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. No, I don't know when I bought it either. It was terribly good though. I can usually separate myself from my experience of reading a book. I feel the book, but usually I'm quite dispassionate about it as I think about it in the real world. But this book...it didn't upset me, exactly, and it didn't give me bad dreams. But I had sad, unexplained dreams, and that was almost worse. A really complicated, painful, sad, enjoyable read.

Things I've watched

Like Crazy

This is what I wrote about this movie on the forum I post to:

English girl in US meets guy, overstays student visa, much angst and separation as she is deported, they get married in the UK, US still denies her a visa, angst, angst, angst, the end. It was VERY emo. I thought the dialogue was very realistic, and very well paced. But it also reminded me excruciatingly of that phase we all go through in our early 20s, when we have those insanely dramatic and cringey relationships, with dramatic and cringey speeches and cutesy witticisms and ugh, I'm glad that's all over. She totally deserved to get deported, by the way, she knowingly overstayed her visa, and as we all know, You Do Not Fuck With The State Department or The Home Office, no matter how much you want to stay on Catalina Island and sleep with your emo, furniture designing boyfriend.

Perhaps I'm just too old and decrepit and cynical for a movie like this..


Whip It

I'm not sure I could even tell you the names of the characters, the movie is a bit of a blur. I think I enjoyed it, but I watched as I was editing something, and then it was 5:30 in the morning and perhaps I need to watch it again and provide a better review. I do like Ellen Page, although she always seems to play another version of Juno.

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows 


Sigh. I enjoyed the first reversioned Sherlock Holmes a ton - I really liked Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr, and what they did with the characters. Big fan. But I fear I have been ruined for all non-Stephen Moffat versions of Sherlock Holmes forever. The fact that this movie deals with Reichenbach Falls didn't help - I could kick myself for not going to see the movie when it first came out. Then at least I could distance myself from the different interpretations of these characters.

The Sister says I have bad car-ma

I just want to fall to the ground, kicking and screaming. Possibly going all stiff so no-one can pick me up. Except that for all I'm 30 years old, The Father would still wallop me for a tantrum.

Feeling obligated

I know, I know, we've just had a nice holiday. But even then, as relaxed as I felt, part of me was thinking about all the things I wasn't doing, all those obligations. Sometimes I feel like for every five minutes I sit on the couch and watch The Big Bang Theory, there's an hour's worth of tidying or studying or reading or walking or learning or editing or working or studying or writing or cleaning that I really, really should be doing.

I'm trying to fix this with a Big Ass Task List at home and a Big Ass Task List at work and a Big Ass Study Calendar for The Thing and my Big Ass Rota for tidying. But inertia wants to win in the worst possible way.

Dear car battery

I hate you. And I hate your sense of timing.

You suck.

Love and kisses

Liz

A sad day for independence

By chance I logged into my work email while I was still in bed at 9:05 this morning. As you all know, my work habits are start late, work late, as my brain doesn't fully engage until around 10am.

Anyway, I checked my email by chance this morning and, wouldn't you believe it, my boss sent an email at 10pm last night scheduling a meeting for 9:30 this morning. It's a GOOD THING my commute is only five minutes.

So I have officially synched my work email to my Blackberry so I don't get anymore unpleasant surprises, especially since work is going to be hectic and all consuming until at least March. But I'm feeling a bit sad as well, because really, who wants an email from my curmudgeon of a boss at 11pm?

Sigh.

The Flat of Awesomeness (or, The Awesome Flat)

Shit pics follow, because let me tell you, Blackberry cameras suck.

The door opens into the Flat of Awesomeness.

 Is it a boxroom? Is it a study? Is it a boxroom? Is it a study?

Living room from different angles, including awesome lamp Leigh lugged all the way from Malawi.

Preparing for The Deluge (or, Happy New Year everyone!)

As I was explaining to my poor friend Margaret, who made the mistake of asking me how I was, I've only made one New Year's resolution for 2012, and that was to prepare for the deluge.

Sounds pessimistic, but I don't mean it negatively. Rather, I spent a lot of 2011 on the backfoot, so this year I'm going to do everything I can to put myself in a position that when disasters happen, I'm equipped to deal with them.

Car breaks? Got the means to fix it. Feeling insolvent? Take the steps necessary to feel more in control. Feeling dissatisfied? Got the ability to take myself away for a day, or go for a meal, or watch a movie and feel better. Feeling disconnected? Be a better sister/daughter/friend so I can embrace support more freely. Feeling unhealthy and sluggish? Be able to do something about it.

A cunning plan, I haz one.