C called in the afternoon to tell me he was going home sick. do you need me to come home after i vote? no, i will set the alarm. you must go to chorus and i will pick you up. 5:30pm, the phone rings. plaintively: please come home. please.

i signed in as number 15 in my precinct, cast my ballot, picked up some propel and broth, and headed home. i think he's finally asleep. sigh.

interests meme

c-wrenches:
that's an adjustable crescent wrench. it wasn't until i got out of college that i completely understood that other people did not grow up with a fully equipped machine shop at their house. i've never known that i should be something other than a tool-user. as a technician i was ever a better electrician than carpenter (and they're better people), so it was the default thing in my pocket. a c-wrench on a piece of tieline is a grand thing to have in a house, in a theatre, and in a dark alley on the way home.
dragons:
uh, big genre fan? can't help it? mostly this means the Pernese sort where you could fly on 'em. not so much with the slaying of or the burning up the countryside. i'm not in favor of them in fantasy art, although i will take them over cats, fairies, and horses.
french:
i took French from 7th grade on, earning a minor in college. i probably would have put that energy into German had it been a choice at my rural school. i had an incredibly talented and dedicated teacher in HS, i won awards for it in college, and i think my father still wishes i had gone on to become a translator.
iain m. banks:
the "m" equals speculative fiction, he drops it when writing more mainstream books. Inversions is one of the best structures i've ever seen. i first became interested after reading Excession, which has the best spaceship names ever. everyone who considers gaming a part of their life should try to pick up Player of Games.
magic: the gathering:
Magic hit big as i was finishing college (blue-white, in case you were wondering) and it was a major social activity. later i used to demo at the local bookstore. haven't bought cards in years (we have lots and lots), but C and i still take our decks to the bar every now and again.
princess leia:
typically i was the lone girl when it was time to play Star Wars. i liked to play Darth Vader, but imaginations being what they were, i was Leia often as not. it's okay; i like her cranky practicality, heart, and quick thinking. and she was indeed the lone girl keeping up with a mob of boys; not beating them physically perhaps, but always smarter.
secret festival:
each year SIFF brings me four surprise films. i don't know what they are when i go to the theatre, and i'm legally unable to talk about them with anyone who wasn't there. it's a fine ritual, lining up outside the Egyptian, patting the resident greyhound, eating pastries and speculating about what one might see. there's nothing quite like seeing a film with absolutely no preconceptions.
stephen sondheim:
writes the best musicals. not only is the music rich and complex (his choruses are grand challenges) but the lyrics are brilliant. Sweeney Todd is my favorite musical. nothing compares.
tieline:
this is a hefty woven black string used for nearly everything backstage. since it's black, it's effectively invisible. its texture means that it doesn't spin or twist, and it knots tightly but unknots again easily. it's usually used to tie up electrical cables, but right now (for example) it holds shut the broken trunk latch on my car and has for a good three years without breaking or coming untied. i keep some in my toolkit.
yuengling:
beer local to the part of Pennsylvania between Philadelphia and Iron City/Rolling Rock. cheap. good. a microbrewery before the term was coined. they claim to be the oldest continually operating brewery in the US. not even Bottleworks will bring it to Seattle for me.