Bit of Ivory

I watched That Thing You Do on Saturday night.

Am currently listening to “Goodbye to Love” by the Carpenters. This song was written based upon a movie called Rhythm on the River where two songwriters made their first hit with a song called “Goodbye to Love,” which is never actually heard. Richard Carpenter thought it was a good title, and wrote the song accordingly. It was a hit.

Now, how are these two related?

I really, really think someone, somewhere should write a song called “Alone in My Principles.” I think it’d be a hit.

Exchanged in e-mail today between myself and Rachel:

Rachel:
Icon is lovely
I wish I could punch Draco
Stupid foul-mouthed git

Emily:

Rachel:
The next MoM
Arthur, Bones, Lucius, or Grawp
Just who will it be?

Emily:
Is Ginny really
dating Dean? Or is she just
pulling poor Ron’s leg?

Rachel:
Oh the HP books
Alas, so many questions
Other than the ‘ships

Emily:
Rachel sends to me
haikus, which make me want to
write instead of work

Rachel:
This is the whole point
Making poor Em want to write
More Albus tonight!

Emily:
Ah, but you see I
may be going to see the
Return of the King.

Rachel:
I guess that’s okay
Because I have a b-ball
Game to watch at six

Emily:
So it all works out
for tonight, and maybe I
can write tomorrow.

Emily:
Is it okay if
I post these awesome haikus
on my live journal?

Rachel:
I guess that is fine
Everyone already knows
How silly we are

Silly, yes. But it was fun!

It’s raining, which is a very good thing for several reasons: One, we’re still in a drought and can use all the moisture we get; Two, the rain is keeping the pollen down and my allergies at bay; and Three: it makes it easier for me to sit here and work because I’m not gazing out my window thinking how fun it would be to go outside and play. So the rain is making me happy.

I got my Harry Potter watch yesterday! This is actually Harry Potter watch #3– my first one went through 3 watch bands before I finally decided that it wasn’t worth it to get a new band because it only had two numbers on it (12 and 6) and no lines at all so it was hard to read (what a lovely run-on sentence!), and my second one was a Quidditch one, which was just about ready for band #2 when I decided that I couldn’t read that one *either* because the “Quidditch” logo is printed on the crystal rather than the face and you couldn’t see the hands when they were at 3 or 9, and because the hands were brown broomsticks and were hard to see on a black background. So I finally decided that HP watches just weren’t working for me, and bought a cheap silver watch at ShopKo. But now the band on that has broken, and I had a hankering for a good old HP watch again. So I trolled ebay and found this watch, which I can read wonderfully.

I realized yesterday that I’ve been blogging for two years now, and my LJ had its first birthday a couple of days ago, too. I’ve never been this faithful at keeping a paper journal. I think the knowledge that there are people out there who actually want to read what I say has made me more diligent. Comments are wonderful motivation.

*sigh* Bax to work.

• Allegra. Oh, how I love Allegra. I almost love it as much as I used to love Seldane. It’s close. Combined with Visine-A for my eyes and NasalCrom for my nose, I feel almost normal today. I’m tired, though. Natural consequence of waking up in the middle of the night to blow my nose.
• Alfonso Cuaron. I haven’t even seen the movie yet, and I adore him. The trailer is spectacular enough.
• Alan Rickman. I don’t like Snape as a *person* much, but as a character I admit he’s fairly intriguing. And Alan Rickman does him so well. He spoke hardly a word in the trailer, but he just exuded Snapeiness. Chills.
• Daniel Radcliffe. Especially saying “EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!” He’s so forceful. I admit, I was a bit concerned about his acting skills in SS. But man, has he improved since. I will stop seeing the movies if he doesn’t keep going after GoF. Seriously.
• Making icons. I’ve already made one for Angua and will go home and make more tonight.
• Samwise Gamgee. He’s on my calendar today (well, so is Frodo, but Sam’s the one in focus) and I adore him. *hugs Sam*
• TLC readers. Because we’re all so excited about the trailer that we broke TLC. I love how rabid we all are. Don’t like that TLC is broken, but love the reason why.
• All of you (and all my blog readers) for being who you are and for giving me people to squee with about the trailer.
• Mellie and RJA because they are both feeling sick and are both amazing people doing amazing things.
• The PotC soundtrack. Has been a while since I’ve listened to it all the way through, but I’ve already played it twice today and am on time #3 and I adore it.
• Finding out that what could have been a gigantic project is actually managable and doable.
• Having money to buy things again.
• Life!

I find it very encouraging that my “things I love” list is significantly longer than my “things I hate” list.

• Microsoft. Especially Word. I hate how it tries to be “helpful” and does things you don’t want without you EVEN DOING ANYTHING. I hate how you can’t do anything easily. How everything is a chore.
• Allergies. My eyes have been driving me crazy all day. I wore my glasses to work and vainly attempted to stop from rubbing them. I adore spring, but pollen and I are NOT friends. No, no, no.
• Waiting. Waiting for the Thing, waiting for the Trailer, waiting for the time I get off work, waiting for my new HP watch to come. Gah. I’m going to go crazy.

But it will all be over soon. *sigh*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RJA!!!!

Kudos and congratulations to that Sultaness of Snape, that Diva of Darkness and Light, defender of Original Female Characters and purveyor of Saffron Cake, R.J. Anderson!

No fic has had as great an impact on me as D&L. I bow down and worship at your feet, O Great One.

Last time I took this quiz, it said I was a guy. I guess I’m getting more feminine as I grow old.

I have a new coworker in my office. His name is James, and he’s working through a temp agency. Poor guy has a Masters in communication and is working as a temp for $8 an hour. He’s between jobs and is doing anything he can to get a bit of money.

The good news is he’s a big sci-fi/fantasy fan. The bad news is he’s a big sci-fi/fantasy fan. We’re going to end up talking a lot instead of working, I can tell. He knew all about the autograph expo and everything. Heh. His HP shipping preferences are in line, though. He seemed surprised that anyone could ship H/H. Whoot!

In some ways having an office is good. I like my window (although it can be a bit distracting), but I’m now even more isolated from the rest of my division than I used to be. Am feeling like a social outcast.

On the other hand, I no longer have to worry about people seeing what I’m doing as they walk by. I have notice to switch from LJ to worx. Heh.

Plus there is now room on my desk for my LotR:TTT daily calendar. This is good, as it was getting ignored (read: buried) on my desk at home. Today’s pic is boring, though (it’s a wide-shot view of the army of Isengard marching to Helm’s Deep). In fact, many of the pics are boring. But we get Sexy Elf Boy on April Fool’s, so that’s something to look forward to.

Despite the large amount of time I’ve spent online, I have actually accomplished much today. Most of the time has been spent surfing while waiting for other sites to load. So I don’t feel *too* guilty. Heh.

A great big CONGRATS!! to Marta who is the Queen of the Fandom! Feel the Weasley love!

ETA: If you don’t have an LJ and would like to do the gender quiz, you can go here. It’s quite funny, really. It thought Jane Austen was a boy.

So. Yesterday I dragged my Ravenclaw costume out of the closet (ironing the skirt, which had fallen on the floor) and hied myself to Jordan Commons to meet up with SQ gals and HPfGU peeps. Jen picked me up, and we arrived more or less on time at the snake statue in front of the Mayan, where we found Kelley and Kate, as well as

Met celebrities today. Will talk about it later. Could only afford to get one autograph (they were TWENTY BUCKS EACH!!!), so I got Matthew Lewis. Was awesome, though.

Sorry, Lou. I forgot to e-mail and ask if you still wanted autographs. I feel like a complete heel for forgetting. Forgive me?

Feel free to skip.

So when I finished Gaudy Night last night, I found myself thinking more about the academic aspect of the book than the romance (although, more on that later :P). Kind of strange, considering that the romance was very nice and finally resolved and all that, and I’m usually a sucker for those kinds of things. But some of the attitudes toward academia, and especially the feelings of Harriet and Peter towards Oxford and the kind of life one has there, really resonated with me. I realized for the first time just why it was that I feel so driven to go to grad school, to get me Ph.D. It’s because the academic life subtly but inescapably captured my love. I’ve been in the corporate world long enough to know that it’s not for me, and my original intention of being an editor just wouldn’t have worked. Being a librarian was closer– it at least put me in the area of reading, of research, of the love of knowledge. But it wasn’t quite close enough.

I realize now that writing essays and papers is one of my favorite things to do, especially when the subject is something that means a lot to me. I keep doing it even when it’s not compulsory– character studies on Ginny Weasley, for example. I adore discussing works of literature with other intelligent people. I want to share my love of literature with other people.

When I decided to go for my Masters, and hopefully eventually my Ph.D., it was more because I thought myself capable of it than that I would really *enjoy* it. I realize now that although it’s going to be hard, it’s also going to be highly enjoyable. And then I can spend the rest of my life doing something that I love.

Which kind of brings me back to the romance. You see, even if Harriet is a self-insertion on the part of Dorothy L. Sayers (and self-insertions have gotten a bad rap lately; in most fiction there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them as long as they’re executed well, which Harriet is), she’s absolutely the perfect person for Peter, and he’s the perfect person for her. He not only accepts but admires her intellect; he sees her as an equal if not a superior. They’re both MAs and value the lifestyle of academia, finding it more real in many ways than the world outside of it. I feel the same way when I walk onto BYU’s campus– it’s like coming home. And I need to find someone who feels the same way.

In other words, where’s my Lord Peter Wimsey, huh?

I’ve become convinced that most guys are intimidated by me. It sounds horribly conceited, but it’s true. I’m smarter than most of them, and they don’t like it. Not at all. I need to find a guy who isn’t just willing to ignore my intelligence, but who thrives on it, who finds it intensely attractive. Unfortuantely, those kinds of men are rare, and I think I’ll be waiting a long time.

But in the meantime I’ll be having a blast, studying Austen and Wordsworth and Keats.

And reading books about people like Lord Peter, and wishing that I was Harriet Vane.

In other news, got paid today. Whoot!