I know this is old news, but seriously, what was the deal with the Presidential swearing-in? I mean, it wasn’t some lowly intern administering it, it was the Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Roberts. And is it just me, or did he completely over-emphasize “Hussein” when he was stating Obama’s full name? Like, “barack HUSSEIN! obama”? Next time you might want to practice the night before there, John.
Sometimes missed opportunities have a way of coming back for a second try. When I was in Istanbul back in 2007 I bought a number of knick-knacks for family members, but nothing for myself. I sort of justified this by saying that the memories were fine knick-knacks and, barring senility or amnesia, will last a long, long time. My only real regret was not buying these one caps being sold by an antediluvian man who was hand knitting them in the shade of the Blue Mosque. I am pretty certain that the caps were taqiyahs, from what I have been able to ascertain from wikipedia. The taqiyahs this man was selling were quite beautiful, knitted in white thread with little patterns on them. And while I seriously considered buying one, I somehow reasoned my way out of it, even though I am sure the taqiyah would have been no real financial burden. Fortunately my parents, in their eternal wisdom, actually picked up one for each of my brothers and me when they went to Egypt last year. Instead of being pure white this one is multi-colored, with rings on the top and a checkered pattern on the side. When they presented it to me last November I seriously thought, “Holy crap! That’s one hell of a coincidence!” So, while I may not have picked up a taqiyah in Istanbul, I did finally get one. But I really should give in to my impulses when it comes to things like that. There is a difference between buying a taqiyah, which probably costs $5 at the most, and buying, say, a 50 inch LCD TV. And besides, I was on vacation! I was already in the hole, what more could a little digging do, honestly?
Recently I stumbled upon the webcomic Wasted Talent, and all I can say is that reading the archives for days on end has wrecked havoc upon my language. Not in a I’m-cussing-like-a-sailor way, but in an oh-the-noes kinda way. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed reading the comic, and its overt adorableness is part of its charm. The protagonist, Jam (or JAM?), reminds me a lot of Yukino from Kare Kano (without the mean streak and duplicity). But, dagnabit, if I didn’t start slipping in various cutesome Internet neologisms after each session of reading the archives! It doesn’t really help my street cred!
Also, why do I find the line “It’s called a keffiyeh, and I wear it to support Palestine, ACTUALLY!” so friggin’ hysterical? Probably because it’s spoken by a guy pretending to be a hipster (NSFW link).
Oh, and the nexus between these two things is Questionable Content. I finally caught up on that as well. I’ve probably been reading more webcomics than is good for me recently…
I’m not sure why, but ever since I got these new glasses I’ve had this wicked urge to start my own company. It could be, in part, due to the fact that it is promotion time at the office, which includes a heinous process of justifying why I should be promoted over others (which, perhaps due to my naivete, I think my boss should be doing). I could also be fed up with the fact that if I’m going to have to do everything by myself I may as well be doing everything for myself. In the end, it probably just comes down to needing to be employed somewhere that has a work environment more amenable to my personality. Although being my own boss would be nice, and I would like to think it is the kind of thing I could do if I thought of a marketable product and could secure funding from somewhere. For some reason these glasses are good at instilling that idea in my head.
Inspired by something I overheard at the grocery store today:
Separate bags for everything!
Boo!
OK, separate bags for nothing!
Boo!
Alright, separate bags for some things, miniature American flags for others!
Yay!
I think it is appropriate that my first post of the new year involves the first person I saw when I woke up on January 1st. It being my birthday in a few short days, I am expecting a few packages from varied parts of the country. But I never expected a gift so completely awesome as the one I found waiting for me in my living room today. It is, as the sender so affectionately dubbed it, a birthday-in-a-box, containing “all the necessities for a rockin’ birthday.” And indeed it does, with the fixin’s for funfetti cupcakes with funfetti frosting (cupcake cups included), Roman numeral candles (I’m past the point of individual candles), and a little music box that plays the birthday song. Oh, and a cute little card that makes me smile. It really is a neat idea, and I feel fortunate to have people in my life who are so awesomely wonderful. Muchas gracias, Catalina.
