Mishaps and other haps

When night
Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons
Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.

(Granted, Milton was a Puritan and wrote during Cromwell’s regime, when theatre was largely shut down and literature was heavily censored and infused with moralistic propaganda, but one thing I love about Milton is that he really does a fantastic job of making evil look tempting. Another thing I love about Milton is that he uses language vividly and sensually to exhibit images, as much as tell a story.)

I did not go to State Street for the Halloween madness this past weekend, so I am eager to hear reports from people who did.

I am of a couple of opinions about the State Street events. I love the fact that there is a HUGE annual party and that so many people who participate put effort into creating wonderful, imaginative costumes. On the other hand, I don’t think any party that has to be monitored by the majority of Madison’s police force, plus floodlights, plus tear gas, is worth going to.

It was a full weekend, though. Teh JoZEr arrived in town at the end of the week and we spent some time with him Friday night. My current Friday night routine involves meeting up with PhysOrg and Tom at the gym, going over to PhysOrg’s mom’s for a few hours, and then dropping by Mlitiagrl/Inle’s place and visiting until loopiness sets in, at which point I stagger down the hall and collapse into a pile of Lisa-like goo. So yes, I like Friday nights. And we did the usual things, with a JoZEr.

Artie and Guffey came to Madison on Saturday– the film festival began around 5 PM and lasted until 11:30 or so, starting with Eight Legged Freaks and wrapping up with the traditional Rocky Horror Picture Show (no, we didn’t go downtown this time). And most of us went to Perkins afterwards for the traditional food and/or pie. Twelve peeps assembled for the film fest, altogether, and there were several people present that I wasn’t originally expecting to see this weekend, so that made it really neat.

Sunday was rainy and I was disoriented. I woke up to find that the household clocks had split into two factions and had to be reunified. Usually I am on top of the time change, but it totally crept up on me this time.

Between WoW and gaming, I managed to have some fun yesterday– but I was really tired and a bit zombified. The tired started revealing itself late Saturday, actually, but it was still present most of the day Sunday, after two nights of rearranged sleep schedule. I expect that it will return at intervals this week since there is a fair amount going on. But it should be a good week

Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Halloween!

Once in a while at work, maybe once a month, we hear a sudden, bloodcurdling scream that ends abruptly. Everyone exchanges nervous glances. The next day, a new temp appears in the office and there is a faint smell of carpet cleaner and fresh paint in the air … like perhaps some horrible deed was covered up overnight.

That electronic menace, the mailcart, makes its rounds on the floor as usual, beeping persistently and innocuously. Some people claim they hear that beeping in their dreams.

But today, the mailcart issued its first set of demands.

A sign attached to a basket on its rear reads: “Give me your tots.”

Lest we misconstrue the meaning of this imperative statement based on our previous experiences with the mailcart, a picture featuring a plate of potatoes is pictured on the sign.

While it seems that a mailcart cannot live on meat alone, it might do quite well on a meat and potato diet.

My chap finally received his new laptop a couple of days ago, just in time to prevent TheDeacon from strangling him because of the incessant repetition of the word “Tuesday.”

I went over to see the new toy and generally hang out last night and was impressed by the laptop’s display (which is a lot like Signy’s) and its ability to handle a game like WoW without lagging. It did have a small flickering problem for a bit, but that seemed to go away, so maybe it will not be an annoyance.

There was some television watching (which I rarely do, although I have started watching G4 and the Food Network while I am using equipment at the gym– if one program is boring or dissolves into commercials, I can at least flip channels).

And some crackers were spread with cheese and fed to me because I was hungry.

Yes, at this late stage in my life, I have finally discovered the wonder of spreadable cheese and Ritz. While we were shopping at the Farmers’ Market before the zombie event last Saturday, TheDeacon suggested buying cheese spread (which comes in approximately 200 flavors) at a stand SOLELY DEVOTED to the purpose of sending cheese spread to loving homes all over Madison. We bought two containers and I am considering going back for more– only two more Saturdays outdoors for the Dane County Farmers’ Market (alas!). Next summer I will make it downtown on Saturday mornings more frequently, I think.

OK, I am now officially registered to take the LSAT on December 3rd. I will have to drive to Janesville to take the test since all seats for UW Madison were already taken, but that’s OK. I’d rather take it in December than wait until February for a closer testing location.

But it was a good weekend.

Friday evening, I spent time at the gym, hit the bookstore, and went to dinner with people.

On Saturday, Mlitiagrl turned 23– so we spent some time with her Friday night and Saturday evening, after the zombie antics. There was some malling and DVD watchage.

I went shopping on Sunday for edible supplies and made yet more pumpkin muffins and spanakopita. The pumpkin muffin count for the past two weeks is up to 96.

Spanakopita was baked and devoured at our SR4 game Sunday evening. Two people were missing from the game this week, so we ended a little early and went our separate ways to regroup online and play WoW.

Lag and multiple deaths eventually halted our Scarlet Monestary plundering, but Montanni picked up a terrific new axe that he will be using shortly, after he levels again. His alchemy hit 180 finally, so I made some potions after our raid and sent them out to people. There will be more of the same shortly, when he picks up some more herbs.

WoW is currently all decorated for Halloween and there are some special quests and events related to the holiday, so that has been fun. I have to say that the entertainment value I have derived from the game is far greater than the $15/mo fee for playing. I am very excited about the expansion pack due out next year and I hope Blizzard keeps the fun coming. I highly encourage anyone looking for gaming entertainment to pick up a copy of WoW– perhaps poke a friend for a free trial invitation first.

Mad props to my sis for directing me to this test!

You are the Fourth Doctor: A walking Bohemian
conundrum with a brooding personal magnetism
and a first-rate intellect concealed somewhere
beneath your charmingly goofy exterior. You are
perhaps the most terribly clever of all the
Doctors, though your occasional bouts of
childishness get you in trouble. You never go
looking for a fight, but when someone messes
with you… good heavens, are they ever sorry
they did.

Which Incarnation of the Doctor Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

on Saturday.

(Photographs were taken by our non-undead friend, Tom.)

Yesterday was an awesome day for figuring things out and getting things done.

I am pretty sure that I will be taking the LSAT in December. I need to register in the next couple of weeks, though. I am giving myself a few days to consider what I am doing so that I am sure I’m not making impulsive decisions.

I also made soup and pumpkin muffins and had various conversations with people that were productive and interesting last night.

The weekend should be good. I need to head over to the Farmers’ Market again and pick up a few things. I want to stick around for the Zombie Lurch downtown, run a couple of errands, and spend some time with Mlitiagrl Saturday evening. Sunday is our SR4 game– there will also be spanakopita baking and probably some pumpkin carving.

Work is gonna be busy today for a bit, so I’d better get on the ball.

Caught a headline on the front page of one of our local papers this morning while I was grabbing coffee. Women now make up 57% of college graduates in the United States.

Poked around for a second online and found an NPR article that said the gender gap among graduates last Spring amounted to 200,000 more degrees being finished that semester by women than men.

This is really interesting in a couple of ways.

First, I wonder why fewer men are completing degrees. Are fewer men than women enrolling in college? Are more men being distracted by other opportunities before they finish school? Are the universities failing to retain male students for some reason? Or is there another reason for the growing “gender gap” in higher education?

Second, there was an article in the NY Times the other day about the reality that many highly-educated women are now opting to stay home with their kids or work part-time while raising kids– or at least they envision themselves doing this when they have kids in the future. Total reverse of the “do-everything” Supermom/Careerwoman trend that was so predominant when I was growing up in the 80s.

I’m not *surprised* by this trend– I know several women my age who have made the choice to stay home with their child/children for at least a few years. But I wonder how this will play out with women making up a growing percentage of college graduates. If a smaller percentage of men are finishing college nowadays (knowing that *not* finishing tends to limit earning potential), it may not be as easy to give up Mom’s portion of the family’s income when Junior is born. Or maybe Dad will stay home with Junior if his earnings are less than Mom’s.

So I am wondering how this will work out– will the twenty-somethings today be willing to take their lifestyles a notch down, if need be, to be there for their kids? Or will they work overtime to pay for that new SUV and daycare?

I have been following the previews for DDR: Mario Mix for months now with some degree of enthusiasm.

Yes, the GameCube is a latecomer to the dance genre and previews have hinted that the game isn’t going to be as challenging as the DDR games for the PS and PS2 (or the arcade, for that matter). Also, I remember that the action/dance pad for the original Nintendo totally sucked. (LOTS!)

But I am hoping that these issues have been worked out.

The game should be out in the next week. Unless I hear horrible things, I will be picking up a copy sometime soon.

Still trying to figure out how furniture might be arranged in our living room to accommodate this. Dancing on my roommate’s tile/wrought iron table might be entertaining, but I don’t think it will contribute toward my efforts at long-term survival.