Daily Archives: January 25, 2008

Grawr

I’ve had three virtual baskets of second-hand and new research books waiting for me at on-line retailers since early December. I couldn’t order them because we didn’t have the money at the time.

Today I skipped about paying bills with merry abandon, and then I went to confirm and place the book orders.

All but one of the second-hand ones had sold. And they sold within the last two weeks, too, because I checked at the beginning of January when I went back to writing the hearthcraft book, to make sure they were still there.

This makes me cranky. I’ve used an hour and a half of time trying to track down affordable replacement copies. I’ve given up in three cases; I’m waiting to hear shipping quotes from two sellers on eBay for another.

Life would be so much simpler if I wrote about things about which libraries carried books, so I could just borrow my research material instead of trying to find it in odd corners of the world.

On the other hand, now I also get to place orders for gifts, which were also put on hold for a while. So there is much pleasure in that.

Outrageous Fortune

That lovely USD advance cheque? I lost $50 on the exchange rate.

ARGH!

There’s a huge psychological difference between $X000 and $X000 – $50; it takes that number in the thousands column and knocks it down a whole step, making it feel like a thousand less when it’s really not. I depend on that extra fifty to couple of hundred dollars the exchange rate brings me on my small to medium-sized US cheques to spoil myself with a book or a sweater or something. Stupid exchange rate, bouncing above and below parity. When I looked the day before I got the cheque — which makes it two days ago now — the exchange rate would have made me a hundred-ish dollars. Boo.

But I found two Easter Creme Eggs on my desk when I came home just now, so all is well again.

And I read this on Metaquotes, too, and it made me laugh:

Klingon Kittens

They have a very tribblish trilling noise. But they wrestle all the time, like Klingons on leave. OMG, My house has been invaded by Klingon Tribbles! “We are mighty kitten warriors! purr purrr purrrr! Bring us more kitten blood wine while we wrestle and do other adorable warrior things.”

I wonder what Klingon is for “Today is a good day to — oooohhhhh string!”