List-a-matic

[constance]

Five bad things about pirating your internet connection:

1. Sooner or later you will be forced to dance to the tune of the people who're actually paying for the connection, so that when they decide, for inscrutable reasons of their own, to leave their connection off for four days, you have no recourse but to head out for the closest cafe with free wireless to check your email.



2. When you're forced to pack things up and bring them to another place to waste your time, you will inevitably forget something. Like the quote you were going to use as your user bio.



3. You can't just leave your computer to do something and come back to it whenever you like. You have to do everything at once, knowing that you will inevitably forget something (see item #2 above), but not be able to do anything about it.



4. You cannot sit around all afternoon chatting because the dog will eventually have to go out. :( But you sign on hopefully, anyway, just for a little while.



5. You cannot rush to your computer when you get a postcard from 21stcenturysei which boasts pictures of Butterstick-the-Panda, who is a secret obsession of yours, and also the world's tiniest Michael Chabon autograph (along with the world's tiniest Ayelet Waldman autograph, which I have to say her signature does a lot toward mitigating my unreasoning dislike of her), to thank her profusely. And so you have to wait nearly 24 hours to gush, which is inexcusable.
   
   But T, I am gushing now! Thank you thank you! It makes me happy just looking at. Just thinking about it now is putting a delighted smile on my face.

On the other hand, you do get to chat to the very nice young Middle Eastern man sitting in the armchair next to you. And also the chai is tasty.

:::

Five things I'm looking forward to in April:

1. Getting off work before the sun goes down. It's been a long time since I've gotten off work at seven and walked out into daylight.



2. Watching my greening backyard trees slooowly concealing the outside world from view until, looking out of the kitchen or bedroom windows, all I'll be able to see (aside from the junk which I have yet to clear out) are trees and meadowy wildflowered terraces. We're nearly there, now.



3. Having my weekends whole.



4. Getting a new dog, who is not, strictly speaking, a BBD but who is at least partly black. Supposedly, it will be happening this month. If it doesn't, I might die from sheer nervous anticipation. Or maybe I'll just kill my boss.



5. Clearing out my spare room so that I can get started renovating it. Or rather, I'm not specially looking forward to the cleaning up, but I am very much looking forward to the renovating. The unimaginable luxury of poring over paint chips and flooring samples without having to clear my choices with ANYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD, oh my god it makes my head spin.

Comments

[dahlia-777.livejournal.com]

Hello! I think I signed on about 20 mins after you had to go :/

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Oh, D, I'm really sorry! I never was able to get back on last night. If my connection doesn't come back on in the next day or so, I'm going to have to see about getting a connection of my own. This weekend nearly killed me, and the worst part was not quite getting to talk to you.

[dahlia-777.livejournal.com]

No problem, sweetie. My connection goes down for inexplicable reasons every couple of weeks,so I know how you feel. We'll manage to chat another time.

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Definitely! :D

Ayelet Explained

[21stcenturysei.livejournal.com]

I'm so delighted you're delighted! And I (mistakenly) really thought you liked Ayelet Waldman, based on the fact that you were the first person who made me aware of her existence, so I told them that you liked them both, and they signed your postcard. After I read your comment on my lj, I felt bad about my lie to literary eminences, but I'm hoping that it will just be a mistimed incident instead of a lie and you will decide that you do in fact like Ms. Waldman, because she was very nice and talkative, and Mr. Chabon was mostly looking tired. I couldn't say all this on my lj, because you hadn't gotten the postcard yet and I wanted it to be a surprise, so I'm cluttering up yours (apologies).
I completely agree on the remainder of the bullet points in the pirating internet list - I tried it for a few days, and gave up. Kudos for stick-to-it-ive-ness!

Re: Ayelet Explained

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, I was the one who felt bad and petty for disliking someone I've never actually met. I suppose that really it's her writing I dislike rather than her, and I have a bad habit of equating the two. :( But honestly, if I had never heard of her before, I'd be inclined to be completely charmed by a writer willing to sign half of a teeny box on a postcard.

Come to think of it, I'd also be charmed to be asked.

Anyway, I did really feel bad about dissing her, after you went to the trouble and she was a good sport about signing. DO NOT APOLOGIZE--I should be the one doing that, and so I am. I'm really sorry.

But I do love my card. I keep taking it out and looking at it.

yes! i totally saw this coming

[(Anonymous)]

So, tofty, when i saw the dis on your livejournal, i made note in my head that when you finally got the card, you would be apologizing to 21st. And 21st would probably apologize back....and on and on and on... So, I just wanted to claim my prize for calling you two out. I'm an idiot. Goodbye

Re: yes! i totally saw this coming

[tofty.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahaha *is so predictable*

Re: yes! i totally saw this coming

[(Anonymous)]

from the title i hope you readers know that I can not spell

Re: *squints*

[tofty.livejournal.com]

Wait, what did you misspell? Now I'm all confused.

Also, I was thinking for your prize: an origami frog folded from the paper of my choice. Or yours. What do you think? Because. Honestly, the caliber of writers we have hanging out in Macon GA means that the prizes I could acquire for you along those lines would kind of suck.

I might be able to swing a signed copy of Pigs Rock, though. What do you think?