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Agoraphobia
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2419
Now it's been almost 2 weeks trapped indoors, cold, far too cold to go outside. And I've been running low on supplies, every day the same: coffee, spaghetti, chili peppers, salsa...I'm needing a bit of variety.
Now by cold I mean 30 below, 20 below, why, just 2, 3 days ago we were the second coldest place on the planet, next to Antarctica. Only we don't have the scenery, the cool, the nightlife of Antarctica, it's Calgary after all, and so I would argue that we were colder.
But today there's been a chinook blow in, a balmy 0 degrees Celsius, and I resolve to go outside to replenish supplies. What do I need? Groceries, wine. I look for my snow-blindness goggles, I don't have any, I should make some, it's awfully bright outside. After a few false starts I set off.
To the Chinese grocery first thing. Marvel at the dried fish, dried fish maw, dried cuttlefish, frogs legs, other culinary mysteries and I want to buy some to treat the boy, but it wouldn't be fair, not without the daughter, and so I settle on some pork dumplings. And for some reason I have a craving for Yak-Butter Tea, but that's not something they have. Probably I've been saved from myself.
Then to Safeway, where I finish my limited shopping spree - I'm a pedestrian, after all, and I have to carry this all home. And when I get home I try to encourage the cats to go outside (encourage = pick up, drop outside) but they're not having any of it, faster than I can drop them they're back inside and hiding in the cellar. And I tell them that it's their last chance, maybe for months even, it's as nice as it's going to get, it's not going to get any better than this, but they're having none of it, and so that marks the end of my big day out.
Absurdistan - Gary Shteyngart
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 1714
Highly amusing, but light. Very light. Some of the observations - about "Golly Burton" (Halliburton) are doubtless both damning and true, as are numerous of the observations about Post-Communist Russia and it's various splinter states. But somehow - well, somehow I felt that it lacked an enduring quality. Not a keeper, not one to put on the shelf and reread again at a later date, straight to the bookstore for credit.
I find it hard to believe that it was a "Book of the Year" nominee, but maybe it was a light year.
You can read more about it (spoilers, be warned) at the Wiki here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdistan_%28novel%29
Bronze 1943-D Cent
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Lost
- Hits: 1711
Now the article tells you about the sale of one that was found, but I'm filing this under "Lost" because, really, how many of these bronze or zinc pennies are still out there? Maybe even in your pocket as you read this ...
Outbid Again!
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Miscellany
- Hits: 2053
I can't afford this cold snap, long days spent searching through eBay, so many items....
I flag the ones I want, bid at the last minute, increase my bid (beyond my means, but that's the point of auctions, isn't it?), am the high bidder, but only for 3 seconds, am finally outbid and DAMN IT I've lost another auction.
Small consolation, it was nothing I really needed, it was far more than I intended on spending, I was more caught up in the desire to spite the other bidders, I should get a premium, my involvement in this auction (as in so many others) doubled the final selling price....
Bastards.
There are more auctions today, maybe I'll win, if not there's always the small consolation of the "Buy It Now" button, 3 "Buy It Now"s = 1 lost auction.
On a happier note the accordion sold, up on Craigslist and Kijiji for under 12 hours and the buyer showed up, paid cash, the accordion is gone for surprisingly more than I expected. The Blowtorch, the Painting have as well been sold, although payment and pickup is delayed by travel/the weather, all sorts of obstacles, the Harp promised last week to an interested party, the reminder sent out today:
"Oh, Where is the bard that would strum my strings?
There's only Jack Frost and his icy fingers;
An aeolian harp on who's antique frame lingers
His Frozen breath. ..."
I couldn't be bothered to write a full Icelandic epic like some scholars I know, it's a swap after all and there's only so far I'm willing to go for a hand carved dolphin or porpoise.
Now on to Absurdistan, the novel of choice at the moment, 6 pages in and it's delightful, possibly (and like the auction let's not get our hopes up..) fine recompse for the last 2 books I've suffered through. We'll see.
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