World Enough and Time

An oddly satisfying couple of days. I signed up for more French classes, even though I really don't have the money, but it might help me find or keep a job, and I love it.

Then I cleaned up my bedroom. I panicked because I didn't know where my French text books were - and don't want to pay for a new one. I was pretty sure they were among the piles of stuff in my bedroom, and I was right. By the time I found them (about ten minutes after I started cleaning up), I was on a roll, so I did the whole job. Sorted all the piles. Emptied all the bags. Threw out the stuff I'll never need, put away the stuff I will need, and made a bag for the Salvation Army. I even repaired the lovely little Tiffany lamp that had fallen over and come apart. Nothing broke, thank goodness, but the bulb.

I even found places for all the books and comics.

So: very satisfying.

Also went to work for four hours this morning, which will help alleviate the money worries. I'd originally planned to keep today free for myself - for reading, errands, housework, and the like - but I've been working on a project that really needed a little more attention, and I wanted to get it done. I didn't get it done, but I did as much as I could. I also set off all the security alarms because the security company didn't have my passcode in their records. Even though I sent it to them. (On March 26. Yes, really.) I'm happy to say I wasn't arrested for tresspassing, but it makes me nervous about going in to work on a Saturday. On the plus side, since I was the only one there, no one came to me with things they needed me to do, and I could concentrate on the one job.

After coming home, and after a brief nap, I spent an hour doing exercises. Yoga - a pretty full workout, which I'd stopped after breaking my ankle and never really got back to, despite a few false starts.

Yesterday, after telling myself I was not going to spend any money on anything but necessities I bought myself a kettlebell. It's something I've wanted to try for a year or two, and with some encouragement from commodorified, who was buying one herself, I got a five-pounder and studied some beginner's instruction on YouTube. You know what? It's as cool as I thought it would be. As soon as I can afford it, I'm going to get a ten-pound kettlebell, too.

And as I hoped, an hour of exercise and yoga raised my energy, which has been horribly low of late. I keep napping all the time. But I don't want to turn into a slug, and I think what I need is not more napping, but more motion. Walking just wasn't doing it, especially since I've had a sore foot ever since someone rolled a shopping cart over it. So: kettlebells, dance, yoga... Feels good.

commodorified phoned up and suggested we go for a walk on the canal with raynedaze and their friend Suzanne. commodorified didn't mean that we'd walk alongside the Rideau Canal, where there are respectable pathways, sidewalks and bike paths. She didn't mean walking on the ice of the canal, a feasible thing in winter, but not so much on a warm day in March when the ice mostly isn't ice any more. No, she meant on the canal bottom, which is still exposed, because they haven't let the water back in yet.

Sure, said I. As long as it isn't too strenuous, or keep us walking too long. I'm not in shape, I said.

She reassured me, the lying dog. She knows I can do more than I think I can. She's wise to my ways. As I am to hers: she's minimizing the difficulty, thought I.

Had I but known...

Okay, it was difficult, but fun. Here's the pics of the expedition.

( 1. We met at Kettleman's Bagels on Bank Street... )

I had a wonderful time this evening with commodorified and auriaephiala. So relaxing and fun. I made oat pilaf (an old favourite from The American Whole Foods Cookbook), commodorified brought chicken, auriaephiala brought a lovely salad, and we lounged in comfy fashion watching a bunch of music vids from Vividcon 2008, and then the Due South episode "North". It was fun and relaxing just talking, too.

I particularly enjoyed the Torchwood vid, but then, I would. There was also a lovely one about Martha Jones.

auriaephiala had a very wonderful birthday present for me: a hardcover copy of Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold, autographed. She got it at World Con. Gorgeous. That was the Vorkosogan book I was missing, too; I used to have the paperback.

I got several phone calls from both Lyn and Sandi about whether our joint birthday party with Harry, Sheila, Beulah, and Pat is still on tomorrow. Maybe, maybe not. Ahh, the suspense! Since Patrick doesn't read this, I feel safe in saying that I'm rather proud of having found four consecutive issues of Green Arrow and Black Canary for him; I had to traipse all over the city looking for them (with help form maaseru), and eventually found them in "Myths, Legends and Heroes" on Montreal Road, a comics shop I hadn't actually been in before. I was very impressed. Not only did the proprietor have them, he knew he had them and was able to put his hand on them in two minutes. He was polite and friendly - sometimes young men in comics shops treat me like someone's clueless aunt who doesn't know X-Men from Teen Titans, and I hate that - it always makes me want to play a "I know more about comics than you ever will" one-upmanship game. Too bad the shop isn't more convenient to me, geographically. On the other hand, I seldom have problems with my subscription at the Silver Snail, where Kin Jee and the others are always helpful. And on good enough terms to tease me, too.

Though Sandi's birthday comes later, I ordered her present today: the new John Barrowman CD. I think she'll love it.

If you ever doubted the corruptive influence of commodorified: she just showed me this site and I can just see I'll spend all sorts of time playing with it.

"Any word lover," she said. Yup. I'm doomed.

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