Category Archives: Food

Monday Miscellania

The aqueduc truck just went by sounding the water-off alarm. There’s roadwork happening the next street over. I wonder how often this will happen; it’s the second time in two weeks.

The interview I did last week is up. Gwinevere says of me that “She is totally wise to the Wiccan ways, and I loved reading her books!”, which is very sweet of her and made me feel all warm inside.

I’m back to sequential nights of poor sleep. Last night HRH woke me up by saying “What was that?” after a loud sound on the back steps around twelve-thirty, and that was it; I was up for the next four hours. I reread most of the first Harry Dresden book while awake in the wee smas of Saturday night, and last night I got a third of Busman’s Honeymoon read. (How on earth was this book ever done as a play?). I read Shannon Hale’s latest paperback Princess Academy last Friday and was mildly disappointed that it wasn’t as rich as her Bayern books; it felt less deep, and I wasn’t as drawn into the characters or the style of the storytelling. I’m less intrigued now about her newest books Book of a Thousand Days and Austenland.

We had a lovely visit with the ADZO household Saturday afternoon where Liam had his first experience with a wagon and adored it enthusiastically, as I suspected he would: he pushed it, pulled it, and talked about riding in it the whole time we pulled him along. Thumbs up, Self, for the suggestion of a wagon as birthday gift to the grandparent contingent. (Pats self on the back.) Sunday afternoon was coven, and we roughly outlined stuff we’d like to do over the next few months and how we’d like to approach it, as well as roughing out the Midsummer ritual at the end of the month. Unfortunately HRH scheduled the meeting to begin right at the end of Liam’s nap time, so he spent most of his time chasing after the boy. This is what frustrates me about daytime coven meets: we constantly lose one person to childcare. Fortunately as it is now summer we are shifting to Monday evening meetings, because so much happens over the weekends that it gets nigh-impossible to schedule everyone on a weekend afternoon, so the boy will be in bed. Much easier to have everyone participate when one of us isn’t fielding/entertaining a toddler.

I made brownies Saturday morning from a new UK recipe (Nigella, natch), which meant I got to use my little scale as well as my funky measuring glass with the different weight measurements for various ingredients on the side. I used dark Tolberone for the chocolate. Divine. Very buttery, though. Liam called them “magic”, which was hugely amusing.

Three-word sentences are becoming the norm where Sparky is concerned. It’s mildly astonishing every time he produces one.

The Jam Sessions release date seems to have been pushed back to September. I am irked. I played through the first chapter of Phoenix Wright last evening and enjoyed it immensely.

And now, I go to clean my office window. On grey days such as this, one needs to maximise the amount of light coming in at all costs. Also, where is the rain? We were promised a downpour. Perhaps HRH jinxed it by saying, “See you in a couple of hours!” as he pulled out of the driveway this morning. I was kind of looking forward to going to the party store later with him to look at candles and such for a certain birthday cake, and maybe a new large sheet cake tin and a cake board. (Things I will never do: make a 3D owl cake. Yikes. How do you serve something like that?)

Scratch Pad May 14

9:03:

I’m back at work, dee dee dee… every day is a bonus now.

I am very out of it this morning. I’m burning myself out working at home at night after working all day. I slept for an hour and a half in the middle of the day yesterday, and could have fallen asleep several other times as well. This morning I feel mildly ill and still out of it, and as if I could nod off any moment although I got about 6 hours of good sleep (less than I ought, more than I’ve been getting on average lately). Mind you, I was practically a somnambulist all of Sunday.

Weekend summary: Excellent evening out at the ADZO house on Saturday, with sushi and wine and four tired parents just relaxing. Very good. Earlier on Saturday: new shoes for Liam, tried to test drive a trike but he threw a fit because we passed toy cars first and he wanted to drive those instead. We’ll try again some other time. Bought lattice and supports for the backyard to give us a bit more privacy from the neighbours; the next thing is to plant climbing vines. Bought and assembled an excellent little composter, so now we don’t have to walk all the way across the yard to dump kitchen scraps. Liam enjoyed the assembly; he thought it was a playhouse. Pictures to follow someday. Played cello for half an hour in the afternoon; my strings were slack from the awful weather roller coaster we’ve been on. Sunday: groceries, then made omelettes and sausages for the weekly neighbour brunch, A Blessed Nap (best Mother’s Day gift I could have received, but the trio of roses was nice too), the in-laws coming over for dinner.

Remembered to sign my imprint specialist contract renewals and get them ready for mailing this morning. Yay me.

10:03:

I feel like I’m trudging through molasses today. Argh. Getting work done, though. Looks like others are slow getting moving today as well; some people are still straggling in, and there are empty desks around.

Gods, I feel like I could sleep for a week. Why don’t I have a cottage somewhere where I could go to do this? Water, trees, a breeze… Argh. Oh wait — that’s called a vacation.

10:08:

Aha! This project now has an official release name instead of a placeholder code name! Muah hah hah! [LATER: Ah, no; that’s yet another placeholder name. The official name is still being kept very, very secret. If there even is a confirmed official name. Heh. That makes three or four working titles I’ve seen the project listed under on various sales lists.)

11:35:

I am not, in fact, doing studio stuff after all today. All the more time to work. Also, lunch is a good thing, and as last I heard I was supposed to do studio stuff at noon, the consumption of comestibles instead is an attractive notion. I’ve been wobbly most of the morning, despite tea and granola bars and most of an egg/sausage/scone thing. Lunch is also A Good Thing because I missed my regular lunch out with friends on Friday.

11:43:

One of the reasons I enjoy Paul Tortelier’s recording of the Bach solo cello suites is because I can hear the fingers stopping the strings — there’s a small slapping sound as the finger hammers down. Live, in studio, no tampering. Real stuff. And I love listening to passionate classical music at a really, really loud volume on my headphones in an environment like this. It amuses me.

13:17:

Scott lent me games at lunch today! Yay!

13:47:

The demo and presentation over the weekend at the trade show went really well and got excellent feedback. Hurrah!

13:51:

I have just run into nine words all defined as “extremely large.”

13:55:

… and six defined as “extremely good”. *headdesk*

13:58:

… and now, seven words simply defined as “extremely.” If I do not laugh now, I will cry. Or throw something.

14:11:

So, why do ‘flammable’ and ‘inflammable’ mean the same thing, anyway? This is one of those things that has gnawed at me for decades.

14:16:

Yikes — just realised the gig is THIS SATURDAY. eep.

14:24:

I give up. The definition for ‘matronly’ completely misses the point.

14:40:

Cute things discovered on P’s trip to the trade show in San Francisco: Panda Z! We’ve spent the past few minutes cooing over the toy he got, and looking up the story and characters online. They have plushies.

14:56:

Wow – very sleepy here this aft. Hard to focus. It was like this on Friday too, but today there are people here to help keep me working. I’ve done more up till now today than I did on Friday, so I’m in better shape. Considering I’m in studio till one tomorrow, I’ll have another three and a half-ish hours in which to do work, so I should be done this by the end of tomorrow. Certainly polished by early Wednesday, and I may not even stay the whole day. Maybe till lunch only. Shan’t be coming at all on Thursday, mainly because I am booked elsewhere with the family. And I can’t see me in on Friday unless they discover something that desperately needs doing.

15:19:

…aaaaaand seven words defined as “completely.”

15:33:

This afternoon is creeping along. Not a bad thing, as I’ve been skiving and surfing, but also not great because going home seems a long way off, and I still have some work to do tonight. My left hip has been hurting me a bit more each day, and today it’s twinging badly as I sit.

15:56:

Woo! Only one hour left! Time is moving along faster than I thought. Or maybe I’m skiving more. (I’ve still done almost as much today as I did Thurs and Fri together, so ha.)

16:13:

Just ordered my two-volume Shorter Oxford to celebrate the end of my contract and the excellent work I have done in pulling this dictionary’s socks up. It won’t be perfect, but it’s a damn sight better than it was, immeasurably so. The Shorter Oxford should arrive on Friday. Also ordered the new Tori Amos CD and a manga that looks interesting (which I found out about, in reverse fashion, by seeing the Japanese video game advertised).

16:46:

And now that I’m leaving in 15 minutes I don’t have enough time to prepare for going directly to the studio tomorrow. Argh! (Well, I do, it’s just slightly tense now instead of relaxed.) I’ll get the references printed and cross-check it all at home tonight.

Scratch Pad May 10

9:07:

It is probably a bad thing that I want to begin my day with a vanilla soda.

9:13:

I ended up not going to orchestra last night; too much work to do. I settled down in bed with my laptop after dinner and fell asleep around 8:30. Oops. Slept all the way till 6:15ish, too. That’s about twice the amount of sleep I’ve been getting a night.

9:59:

t! just showed up and asked me what the name of the dictionary is, as it has to go into the script somewhere.

A: Joyce. Let’s call it Joyce.
t!: No, that sounds too much like joy, of which there is none regarding this dictionary.
A: Wait — Hector, then. Yes, let’s call it Hector.
t!: Hector; yes, Hector. Doleful doleful, and all that.

10:33:

Over the past couple of days ADZO and Sandman7 have really helped me work through an issue I was having difficulty dealing with. Thanks, guys. I appreciate your thoughtful input. As a result, something vaguely resembling sanity has been restored. Or at least equilibrium in the associated area.

10:35:

For the third day in a row we are having merrily out-of-season weather. Lots of shorts and sandals around. I myself wore sandals yesterday, and am wearing a different pair today. Today I have also worn my first summer skirt of the season, and a t-shirt. Yesterday was a short-sleeved knit top with jeans, but today it is officially summer at my desk. Except when I went down to get a tea and another immensely delicious shortbreadbrowniesquarething, I discovered that not having a pocket for my key card is a drawback.

10:36:

I thought my job was pretty much over. Was I ever wrong. Now I’ve sorted my dbase by definition, and there are SO MANY DOUBLES. A script was supposed to catch these a few days ago, but I was only told about a couple of them. There are so many more. Woe! This is going to take longer than I expected. Good thing I’m coming in on Monday anyhow.

10:37:

Did I mention my contract was indeed officially extended last night? By a week, because of the placeholder voice work I’m doing in the studio next week. Heh.

14:23:

Scott and I have been talking back and forth about the different music-based games for the DS. I want someone to develop a Cello Hero game. Or maybe we could hack the upcoming Jam Sessions and make it sound like a cello.

14:32:

I wish someone would make a Music Minus One CD for Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack to King Arthur. It’s really phenomenal. Hans is so very fond of a solo cello line, either exposed or playing in the ensemble, possibly because he has such an awesome cellist in Martin Tillman. (See [well, hear, really] such examples as PoC 2 [and 1 by extension, as he had so much of a hand in Badelt’s score], King Arthur, The Da Vinci Code, and MI2. Tillman and Zimmer are the reason why I ordered the cello music to PoC2 a few months ago: it’s all for the opening track. Seriously — much is the cello love for Hans and Martin for that track alone. And it’s finally shipped to me! It should be arriving tomorrow!

14:47:

Sigh. Vanilla soda. Even at room temperature, you are heavenly.

14:50:

It occurs to me that my cello would sound awesome in this room. High ceilings, hardwood floors, not a lot of thick things to catch and muffle the sound… (See what happens when I listen to Hans Zimmer and think about music games at the same time? My worlds collide.)

14:55:

Just checked; there’s King Arthur sheet music available, but it’s for solo piano. I could arrange it, of course. Because I really don’t get enough of that in band already, you know. Although it would be worth it just for a few of the themes. And hey, band’s on hiatus for half a year; I’m going to need something to keep me busy after the July 1 chamber orchestra concert…

16:20:

Erk. t! just gave his opinion on the auditionees for one of the voices to be recorded for this project, and told the sound guy to use me instead.

Scratch Pad May 9

9:15:

So: the pressure is now off, unless something drastic happens. I’ve got a good version of the dictionary without US/UK spelling issues (as far as possible in the game words), questionable game words removed and the same in definitions replaced; all levels balanced. Now it’s tweaking, looking at words to see if I’m happy with the progression, double and triple-checking everything. I sent both last night’s version (the one currently loaded) and ths morning’s version (all known errors fixed) to our ESRB rep this morning; I’m waiting for a reply concerning changes or issues, but that may take a while.

9:47:

It feels odd to be kind of making work for myself after focusing so hard for the past couple of weeks.

11:01:

Five minutes ago they handed me a DS and asked me to play, and I found a bug for them. Heh. (Or maybe I just confirmed it. Whichever — go me.)

11:30:

I’ve been staring at -ise and -ize suffixes for so long that I can no longer tell what’s right and what isn’t — they all look wrong to me.

13:39:

I spent my lunch hour browsing in the new Welch’s second-hand bookstore location, and came out with an armful of books. Then I bought a vanilla soda and half a dozen bagels. I’m going to miss this area. I am definitely going to make an effort to come out here at least once a month for lunch with the gang.

14:01:

Yup. I’m going to miss this. I won’t miss the loss of two and a half hours a day to commuting, though, and I’m looking forward to not missing Liam so much. And I miss working on my own stuff, too. I’ve been sitting in bed at night with my laptop reading through the Vivaldi story and Swan Sister on my breaks, and my interest in them is slowly being revived again. I just wish there were more places around where I live where I could go sit and drink tea and write, in order to get myself out of the house.

14:05:

Stewart’s Cream Soda is SO GOOD. It is positively addictive. I’m glad HRH picked this instead of the lime soda by accident for me two weeks ago, because it has allowed me to discover the wonderfulness of it. I usually find cream soda much too sweet, but this is very smooth. And did I mention addictive? This one is gone much too soon. (Checking the clock I see that it’s been forty-five minutes since I started it, but it feels sooner because now I have no vanilla soda, and I am lonely…)

14:11:

They’re progammed a sound into the game that’s a kitten’s meow, and it’s amusing but distracting. I think of Stella every time I hear it, or as HRH has dubbed her, “Darroch’s little monster”.

14:37:

There is a world of difference between misspelling something and mistyping it. Just thought I’d share that. (So I have lousy typing ability. I can’t be perfect.)

14:48:

Just came back from a brief ice cream break with Meallanmouse. I had a small cup of chocolate, but I should have had a small cup of soft-serve. We also picked up vanilla soda, from a different company. Not As Good. Still, it is vanilla soda.

15:29:

Heh — they’ve just asked me to do a sound test. They want to record fifty-odd definitions. Naturally this occurs forty-five minutes after I have eaten ice cream, so I am all gunked up.

15:50:

Not happening today anyway; no time in the studio. They’ve also asked me to be the on-site consultant regarding the pronunciation of the competition words at the Friday recording session, as t! is away that day.

15:51:

Working on this contract has also really sharpened my desire to read again, particularly theological and spiritual texts. It’s like the analytical and critical part of my brain was kicked back into life.

16:41:

Looks like this sound test will happen Monday — so voila, my contract has been somewhat extended, even if only by one day. This has to be officially confirmed, of course, but it seems logical to me.

Scratch Pads May 7 and 8

The scratch pads at work have seen scarce use these past two days as I’ve been over my ears in work and staying as focused as possible. But here’s what did get jotted down:

May 7:

8:56:

I made pancakes this morning, inspired by Blade’s breakfast on Sunday. It went over very well; Liam ate more at this breakfast than he has at breakfast in weeks There is enough batter left over to do it again in a couple of days, too. My pancakes aren’t usually this fluffy; apparently all the planets aligned in a particular way this morning.

10:52:

“Armadillos range from South America to the southern part of the US.” Really? Those are well-traveled armadillos. WORD CHOICE AND ORDER COUNT, people.


May 8:

Had a pancake again this morning. I really enjoy it when the whole family eats breakfast together. Liam likes putting syrup on one of his silver dollar pancakes, topping it with a second, and eating it like a sandwich. Not as successful is trying to eat this sandwich by impaling it on a fork and lifting it to his mouth.

So very tired. What with working on the laptop at home on other work at night once dinner in finished, my brain’s not getting a chance to rest.

Was suddenly ravenous at 10 AM despite having had a sit-down breakfast again, and descended upon the cafe to forage. Ended up with a delicious square thing for my coffee break — a shortbread crust, with brownie on top. Also a hot chocolate. And yet, curiously enough I have not gained any weight while eating lunch out every day. (This isn’t necessarily a good thing. I was hoping to see the scale creep up a bit.)

14:23:

shopsoiled lotus (no, this should mean nothing to you, it’s a note to myself)

16:35:

Overheard: “Yay, you worked all day to get it broken.” (Yes, we’re on a build deadline, how did you guess?)

Today’s amusing link: The Austenblog points us to a fantasy Jane Austen action film.

Also, weather? Ridiculous. Three weeks ago there was snow on the ground. We hit a high of 27 degrees C today. Enjoyable, but alarming.

Scratch Pad May 3

11:42:
Now it’s a game. Can I transfer a certain number of words to another level to make the numbers even out? (If I think of it as a game, it’s fun.)

13:35:
Lunch out with the gang! I will have make the effort to come downtown semi-regularly once this contract is up simply for the lunches.

14:51:
The entire room emptied out to surprise our assistant producer in the cafe, as it is his birthday. Very cool. I am now back as I have a pile of work to do before tomorrow afternoon, and I am the only one in the room, which is eerie.

16:15:
I cannot believe this pile of work that persists in not going anywhere fast. It’s all about adding a word here, taking one away there, shifting between the levels to keep things at the target numbers… but there are still over three hundred missing. I am not bitter about the loss of the supplemental dictionary, but I could be if I dwell on it too long. It comes down to adding as many new words as possible, then doing a reverse casade thing where I move blocks into higher levels and look for lower level words to replace them, over and over.

22:47:
Yes, I am at home, and am slogging through this redistribution and inserting words into various levels, readjusting, inserting, readjusting… I’m not going to bed until my target levels are within ten or so words for each level. That gives me enough room to lose more for various reasons. Figures this would happen today, when I got three secondhand cello books in the mail that I won on eBay and want to play through them. Liam has a very definite cold, and is back on his cold syrup. It’s almost gone; there will be just enough to send to daycare with him tomorrow before I have to pick up more. He’s not happy and he’s kind of off his feed, but he’s not deathly ill enough to keep home. (Good thing, because I can’t stay home, and neither can HRH after taking Wednesday off for Liam and Tuesday off for the car.)

11:17:
There; done. Tomorrow, I get definitions for the five hundred-odd new words and make sure they’re within the specified length. That’s all I have to do before sending it to the people who need to upload it, to make the demo ready for next week. I say “all” but I know damn well I’m going to be working insanely hard, and taking a short lunch in order to get it done by five.

Now: bed.

Scratch Pad May 2

Happy anniversary, HRH! Eight years ago today we became engaged. I still haven’t completely forgiven you for proposing when I was exhausted and sticky from spilling apple juice on myself during our pause to rest in the middle of a long bike ride on a ridiculously hot day.

9:28:
I just mistyped “polygamist” as “ploygamist”.

9:44:
“Sleep”: something I only got 4 1/2 hours of last night, because of working on the tarot kit review (thus my brain was still active and wouldn’t shut up till after midnight), and waking up early before 5:00 thanks to intuition, twenty minutes before Liam’s asthma woke him up. Poor little guy is at home today, with HRH staying home from work to be with him.

9:51:
Craving all sorts of bread today.

10:01:
I am engaged in a morphological process. I love my job.

12:55:
Back from lunch and had to take a tour around the desks to dodge the cluster of guys playing Guitar Hero.

14:03:
I have just made sure that “cowbell” is restored to the dictionary. This dictionary: now with more cowbell!

16:01:
Okay; now it’s all about moving things around to even out the numbers. Ugh.

16:35:
I got an email dictated by Liam:
“Happy! Down wa car caarr oh hoo a a Liam Ma Ma Juice….Nemo!”
It made me smile. Apparently he had a nap that was just shy of three hours this afternoon. I’m not surprised.