While away the time

Don't die of shock now. A second post in as many days doesn't make for a daily update but, as I mentioned before, I'm making the most of a lull at work right now. It will all swing up again next week (I'm crossing everything in the hopes that it won't be to the same extent as it was last month), so a-posting I will go and with much randomness while I wait for an experiment to finish.

Random Topic 1 - Music: I've had a bit of a thing for the music of Cold Chisel. While I would not consider them the bestest Oz band eva, I do enjoy what I've heard of theirs for the most part. I inadvertantly discovered an album on iTunes recently called "Standing on the Outside", which is a whole lot of Alternative Australian bands doing a cover of Chisel songs, Sarah Blasko doing "Flametrees" is probably the most popular. I had a listen to the samples. I fell in love. And then realised it's been at least four years since I last heard anything like a Chisel song and pined. Most of the songs from that album have been almost constantly played on my iPod, along with some country songs that I'm loving right now. Yes, you read right. Country songs. New country, not old country. There will not be any Hank Williams or standing by your man on my iPod thankyouverymuch (Don't get me started on Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers). I'm talking about songs like "I Wanna Do Bad things With You" (frawr), "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" (if you insist) and "Redneck Woman" (gigglesnort). Unashamedly country, really kinda funny, and not a dead dog, cheating significant other or lost job in sight!

Random Topic 2 - Fashion Police: Well, not really. For years, I've had a link to You Look Fab on my sidebar. Her advice is usually pretty sound and her tastes used to reflect my own when it came to what not to wear. The love is now gone, people. She started to lose me when she suggested that women's butt cleavage was a good thing. Then she announced she likes metallic shoes for daytime wear and that booties are cute, and not just for under trousers. Her latest fashion advice had me re-thinking our relationship and deciding it was over - she loves leggings. I'm crushed. I now have to find myself another fashion guru. I refuse to trust anyone who tells me that leggings can be worn casually or smartly and that all body types can wear them with success. I just can't.

Random Topic 3 - Hungry [insert body part here]: As most will attest, they have fallen victim to a hungry bum on occasion - you know those days when you've seriously depleted your underwear stores because you've not done any washing in a while and you've had to resort to wearing those pairs from the bottom of your undie drawer that have come a little loose in the leg. Those pairs that tend to...ride...up a bit. For some reason, and I don't know who told me this phrase because it's a great phrase and not something I'm clever enough to come up with myself, I've called it having a hungry bum for a while. Today, I have hungry shoes. As I'm walking, my socks (fashionable knee high to keep my legs warm under my jeans) keep sliding down and gather at the arch of my foot. Just like hungry bum, but it's my shoes. I'm not unfamiliar with socks that fall down, they do that when they're getting on a bit, but to gather in my shoes? It's rather annoying. How does one feed one's shoes to prevent this from happening?

Random Topic 4 - Author Love: I am devouring books by Patricia Briggs right now. She's done some straight fantasy in the past, but is branching into urban fantasy and has done a good job. I've not read any of her other stuff (and I'm not really interested in straight fantasy anymore) but if she keeps writing urban fantasy I'll keep buying her books. Two weeks ago, I started reading 'Moon Called'. I've since finished its sequel 'Blood Bound' and I'm off to Borders with my discount voucher tonight to try to find 'Iron Kissed', the third in the series. Love the main character. Love the men in her life. Love ancillary characters. Love the world they live in.

I think that's enough randomness for one day. I should find a pic for this post since you didn't get one yesterday. The pic I wanted for yesterday's post was on my home computer, not the work one, and I couldn't remember the name of the artist to find it again. Oh well.

Since it's a random post, how's this pic for random? This is Miss Krin and me at the British Raj party three years ago, way back before I cut my hair.



ETA: For Wenchi...

Proud

I received an email from my oldest friend (as in we've known each other for over half our lives, not that she's ancient or anything!) with photos taken of her daughter's first birthday, which I couldn't attend, more's the pity.

And there's pics of P&S's gorgeous girls on Flickr. And Lee's little Blondie and she's got another on the way, who will no doubt be as cute as her sister. And every week I get to see the Fight Club Kids and marvel at how fabbo they are...

Damn, my friends can pop out some amazing kids! I'm a pretty proud Aunty JD right now.

ETA: On a completely different note, I'm about to enter the realms advertising that is normally the territory of commercial television - the cross-promotion. I'm organising this year's Bunch Of Classes. There's a website. It's here. Many and profuse thanks to Mme Droopy Drawers and KatieMay for their invaluable assistance in trying to and eventually getting me a venue.

Done and Dusted

I managed to get all the work done I needed to and all before my self-imposed deadline. You see, for all the work I had to do, I was told I had to have it done by June. So, I told myself I needed to have it all done by the end of this week, since next week is June. (Dear Lord, hasn't this year flown?) What I didn't realise was by 'June' my supervisor meant 'sometime in June' which roughly translates to mid- to late-June. So, I've been busting a gut to get through a PCR optimisation (which can take up to a month if you're really unlucky. I got through mine in just over a week.), utilise the optimised protocols for 90 samples (the work of about two to three days lab time) then send off the PCR products to QLD for sequencing AND check DNA sequences for mutations on about 1700 samples (I had already done about 600 of the wretched things). All of that in less than four weeks. And I did.

I had a victory chocolate yesterday afternoon to celebrate. Cadbury's Curly Wurly. Nomnom.

It's looking like, for the next week at least, I have a bit of breathing room at work which means I'll have the time to post a little more often. For those whom I have ignored over the last few weeks, you have my sincerest apologies (Mum, Bliss, Sara, and others, I'm looking at you!) and I'm going to try to catch up with emails etc in the next few days.

And just 'cause I'm still a wee bit fangirly, I'll leave you with more JA. Excuse me while I quietly drool in the corner...

A New Crush

So I, like, have this new crush, ok? He's in the TV show Supernatural I, like watched him all day yesterday? (Sidebar: Couldn't sleep. Not that the clowns were going to eat me, but apparently waking up at four in the morning on a Sunday is the thing all the cool kids are doing this Autumn.) I, like, saw the whole of season two of that show and it was, like, cool.

Sorry, I think I've exhausted my teen-speak for such a late time on a school night. At any rate, I'm all a-goo over Jensen Ackles. Just so you all know.


This photo was taken of him when he was in Sydney last year. The jury is still out as to whether I reckon he's all that, or if it's his character in Supernatural I'm excited about (otherwise known as 'Captain Mal Syndrome'), but I'm enjoying the muted fangirlyness a little. A girl has to get it somehow, I guess. (God, I'm tragic. Kill me. Kill me now.)

On another note, chances are I won't be able to update much over the course of the next month. I understand that at a rate of about three times every two weeks isn't exactly consistant posting, it will be even less so over the course of the rest of the month.

I have deadlines. Work deadlines. So I actually have to do work and not leave today what I can put of until next week. I'm telling you this so you all don't think I've died or anything.

I leave you with my new crush singing with some guy. I put it here merely for my own gratification so I don't have to trawl the interwebz if I feel like being serenaded.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged..."

"...that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains."


In case you haven't cottoned on, I've just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

What's it about? Take the Austen classic, add zombies, et viola, you have this book.

At first I was a little worried that the zombie and martial art additions would get boring, but aside from a few glaring additions and characterisations that didn't quite work, the concept worked quite well. It certainly gave the militia a better reason for being in Hertfordshire than the original and some of the less savoury characters get their comeuppance in a much more satisfactory manner, if a lot less realistic.

It even has discussion questions at the end. A couple of my favourites (without spoilers) are:

• Some critics have suggested that the zombies represent the authors' views toward marriage - an endless curse that sucks the life out of you and just won't die. Do you agree, or do you have another opinion about the symbolism of the unmentionables?
• Vomit plays an important role in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Mrs. Bennet frequently vomits when she's nervous, coachmen vomit in disgust when they witness zombies feasting on corpses, even the steady Elizabeth can't help but vomit at the site of [character name deleted] lapping up [its] own bloody pus.Do the authors mean for this regurgitation to symbolise something greater, or is it a cheap device to get laughs?

All in all, a pretty good read and may make for a better read if you've either read the original or at least seen the BBC series. It's going to be made into a movie, if the skuttlebutt is anything to go by.

Some quotes: -
"The creatures were crawling on their hands and knees biting into ripe heads of cauliflower, which they had mistaken for stray brains."
"That none of the others noticed this, Elizabeth attributed to their stupidity - particularly Mr. Collins, who apparently had no idea that his wife was three-quarters dead."