on Marathons and Personal Dignity

London Marathon Dalek. Good thing there aren't any stairs!

Not that we know all that much about either. But we have recently started running again (well, run/walking) and we are verily all fired up about it as we have made a deal with God that every time our computer crashes we will do something useful while waiting for it to come back up, whether that is laundry, washing dishes, straightening up the living room, or going for a workout.

And yea, verily, we hates the housework we does.

And so. So to the quote o’ the day, in which our protagonist (far too whingey and self-absorbed to be a hero) learns at least one of the many lessons that a Marathon can teach one.

From the Guardian:

Surrounded by very short young women, whose legs must have been half the length of mine, I told myself I was pathetic if I couldn’t keep up with them. Thompson is not impressed. “If you are then passed by the short-legged women that might be soul destroying,” he cautions…

“When you get overtaken by six vikings carrying their own boat it does take you down a peg or two,” says Loosemoore. “You’ve got to prepare yourself for that before the marathon. The real battle is against yourself. You are going to be overtaken. There will be extremely good marathon runners in rhinoceros costumes. Try not to be distracted by that.”

Maybe you had to be there, but I found it funny.

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Christmas: it ain’t over till the fat lady uses up the last of her Sears Gift Card!

Alas, that would be me, the fat lady. I usually have curves, but the past couple of years I’ve gotten rolls instead. Not what I’d call a fair trade, but then, I could get off my plushly-upholstered butt and get some exercise, yes? Speaking of which…

I’m not sure if the Cybergypsy intends it to be a Christmas present, but I can see the stationary bicycle that was in the garage is now out on the patio; the unfortunate thing is, unless I remember to buy a tarp, it will simply rust there, same as everything. I know he has no intention of using it, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, until he gets his own space, there’s not enough room in the apartment to put it in here; well, not and use the bathroom.

I could use the patio. It’s a Chinese building: I’d hardly be the first. We really should give new members a user’s guide that includes the words “just because it has a drain doesn’t mean it’s a bathroom.” Urk.

In any case, the Christmas haul now includes a pressie I bought for myself, one upon which I have had my beady little eye-stalks for some time. This:

Sacred heart of cthulhu!

Yes, it is the famous Sacred Heart of Cthulhu tee, about my longing for which I have previously blogged. It was, of course and naturellement for this is the way the Universe works, in strange ways, particularly relating to me and Cthulhu-themed casual wear, the only thing in the store not on sale, but a sigh, a wistful “oh, I guess it’s not on sale?” and a twisting of coppery-blonde locks resulted in a meagre 10% markdown. What the hell, I was going to buy it come Nodens or Ragnarok. At my age the mere idea that hair-twirling could cause a twentysomething salesboy to give me 10% off is itself worth 90% of retail.

This was, of course, purchased with the complete aggregate of all my Christmas money, leaving me just enough to pay my bills and live off CG’s food for the next week or so. At least I’ll lose weight: right now, he’s soaking some seaweed that looks like sheets of green, striated rubber. It is his intention to use these sheets to make nutburger buns… although if the final product isn’t a helluva lot more appealing than the ingredients you’d have to be a nutburger to put the damn things anywhere near your mouth.

As well, I got a deck of trick cards, two books on true crime (one a how-to), one book about death, a squid tee, a bottle of perfume (a public service as much as a gift, and thank GOD; if my perfume level drops below a certain point, the scent of fish becomes overpowering and you may make of that what you will), one book about health, one book about snobbery, an MP3 player, a Sears gift card, an AT&T card which I hope I can use in Canada but am not sure, and three restaurant gift cards. So I will be fat, fragrant, and funky.

So, no change.

I also got lei’d, but that’s another story.

And, as I am a known Christmas nut, I am determined to keep the holiday going until the last of the gift cards has been drained dry. If I find myself at Milestone’s in the middle of June spending a few Christmas bucks, you’ll find me requesting the calamari with a side of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Giant Squid Tee

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Sensible Shopper Strikes Again!

Now, I have my good points. Among these is my ability to shop. I’m not just a tireless shopper; I’m not just a savvy shopper; I think it fair to say that I am, in fact and in actuality, an expert shopper. If I can’t get it for you at 50% off or in exchange for something you have lying around the garage, it does not exist.

So, it is a fact universally acknowledged that a savvy shopper at the subsistence level of poverty in possession (however temporary) of a hundred bucks and change, must be in search of some highly practical purchases.

at Winners:

  1. pink lace bra from France $19 marked down from $100
  2. blue lace over green satin bra from France $19 marked down from$95
  3. banal beige utility bra to partially justify purchase of the above $9 marked down from who gives a rat’s ass?
  4. “Olive or Twist,” a book of cocktail cartoons from the New Yorker $5.99 marked down from $39
  5. large wooden sign reading “IMAGINE” $14 marked down from who cares? I had to have it.

additionally:

  1. 1 bottle Jack Daniels for medicinal purposes $28, full price
  2. 1 small bottle Martini & Rossi Italian vermouth for flavouring purposes $7, full price
  3. 1 bottle bitters $9

Yep, nobody can say I’m not a practical shopper! And tomorrow, if there’s any left, I’ll get groceries!

a little restraint

Homer Strangling Bart, yo. Doesn't happen often enough!As I’m waaaaay over on the West End lately, taking a course, I’m often stuck using public computers during the daytime, as it is too far for me to walk home and back on my lunch hour and between appointments where the government dicks me around, and yea verily, I am very tired of taking the limo.

There is a problem with public computers, however.

The public. 

If they could just use the computer without poking the monitor with a greasy finger, presumably to stabilize themselves, while making “huh-huh” Beavis and Butthead noises, perhaps I could continue to use the computers which the government has, after all, put there for the citizenry such as myself to use.

Seriously, though: the next time someone repeatedly mutters to himself while seated next to me at a public computer station, I will rip out his tongue, tie it around his neck, pull his eyes out and tuck his dangling optic nerves under the tongue/cravat which I have fashioned, I will pop the eyeballs one by one into my mouth and swallow them whole, praying that they are still somehow transmitting messages to his brain as they slowly dissolve in the cauldron of sulphuric acid to which I have sent them, and then I will suggest that he request that the Ministry provide him with a specially-equipped custom laptop for his own personal use, as he qualifies for one now that he is disabled.

He’ll thank me later. And so will you, if you ever have to surf these terminals of despair. Just keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.

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and Jake Gyllenhaal is telling you…

tia.jpgSo it appears, it doth, that I didn’t make the shortlist for the coveted Bloggies. And I didn’t make the shortlist for the Weblog Awards, either. But will that stop me from pimping my blog out for the Koufax Awards, the Engtech Contest, and any other ego rocketfuel I can find? Hell to the no!

Let’s sit back and let the great dramatic actor Jake Gyllenhaal explain it to you.