The best part is the monk's face at the end

Aaugh, my dad's getting old, guys. I just started to notice it in the last few weeks, but since the heart attack he's been looking older, mostly in the way he holds himself. He's more stooped. He's still tall and strong, but he walks more like an old man now, and he doesn't stand up as straight. He's acting older, too, although I think that change has been more gradual. He's never been the best listener, but he's developed that old person's habit of not absorbing almost anything you say because he's so focused on the conclusion he's already reached, and if you try to point out that you were saying something different than what he thought, he doesn't really absorb it. Also, his tendency to gripe and criticize has become more pervasive and very "back in my day" in tone, like he's crossed the line where he can no longer accept that things just change and has started taking it personally, or like it's all a dire commentary on the downfall of western civilization. He's not like that all the time, but it happens pretty often. It feels kinda like the beginning of the end. :/ Blurg.

Gracie has a knack for knowing when it's time to get back in people's good graces, and caught a mouse yesterday. Or rather, she cornered one long enough for me to get a bowl over it, which is good enough. I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to killing cute, fuzzy animals, even if they spread disease, so I released it at the other end of the parking lot next to the dumpster. I'm not quite sure how to go about killing a mouse in a way that wouldn't involve mess and squishing anyway. My grandma flushed them live, but I worry it might stop up the toilet, and I'm not keen on the idea of drowning animals, even mice. So I let it go, far from my building, like the soft-hearted pansy I am.

On an unrelated note, I'm downright in love with this video at the moment. Can we all take a moment to acknowledge the difficulty this level of coordination would involve?:

Weekend Update: non-sequential edition

-I started an art class this week! I've been angsting up a storm trying to figure out whether I should just take a night class here and there or whether I should go back for another bachelors (full time students can get financial aid!), but while I'm trying to figure it out, I'm taking a continuing ed course. It's very basic so far, but it's also about a tenth of the price of a normal studio art course, so, yeah. Yay!

-I love that it's been warmer, but warmer does mean more ice. My weekend walks have gotten significantly more perilous. I haven't broken anything yet, but it's only a matter of time.

-I've been really getting into Battlestar! Yayfun! :) However [dramatic pause, tragic sigh], I was hunting around on Youtube the other night for interviews and clips, and I came across one labeled "last scene of [thus'n'such episode]" and thought, hey, sure, I'll check that out. It wasn't until too late that I realized it was the last scene... of the last episode... of the last season. [Facepalm] I screamed a scream of despairing agony and swore a blue streak. I ...I now know what happens to a couple of very key characters. I've been enjoying the show a lot though, and despite this tragic, torturous slip, I'll probably see it through to the end. The last episode on the first disk (you know, where I actually am) is a cliffhanger, so I've been extremely twitchy all day, seeing as the branch that has the next disk available isn't open on Sundays. Will Starbuck be rescued from her post-Cylon-ass-kicking-session viper crash? Will Adama forgive her for her role in his son's untimely death?? WILL MY POOR SHATTERED TV SCREEN EVER RECOVER FROM THE SEARING GAZE OF ANGRY!EDWARDJAMESOLMOS?????????????? I can't stand the suspense. *EDIT*: Spoilers in the comments

-I can't believe how short weekends are. I have to go to work tomorrow? Seriously? Big!Christian-publisher-in-town gets MLK day off, so, um, why don't we again? Boooo.

We all knew this day would come.

Ew, folks. Ew.



I have no right to complain (considering it's December and we get snow in October not infrequently), but I did so enjoy it holding off for a bit. I really wouldn't mind winter so much if it didn't actively try to kill me every time I tried to drive somewhere. I only live a mile from work, and this helps a ton in reducing the chances of me slip-sliding my way to an early demise, but still, that mile can get pretty icy -- I can't count the number of times I've slid past the road my office building is on. I do like the whole white Christmas bit, and snow is very pretty and peaceful, but until transporters are invented, I remain officially Not a Fan.

In cheerier news, I have a purring Gracie cat in my face. I've switched the cats (who eat out of the same bowl) to senior food, since Funkel's just turned ten and was starting to show signs of needing it. However, senior cat food is more caloric and Gracie (age 2.5) is already a bit tubby, so I've been trying to give them less, which means they get hungry a good few hours before it's time for me to feed them. And when Gracie, who's usually a bit standoffish, wants to draw your attention to something (like an empty food bowl), she gets affectionate. (She is seriously the most manipulative creature I have ever met, but she's reeeeeally cute, so she gets away with it.) This means I've been getting more than my usual amount of Gracie affection, which is pretty awesome. I should have thought of starving her months ago.

I'm remembering why I hate Blogger

It's 12:14, I haven't showered yet, I'm very late for bed, and Blogger just ate the post I've been working on for 35 minutes. Argle bargle frick frick frick. Recap:

Kathleen and I are awesome at baking.

My dad looks like Tom Brokaw. Behold:


Dad:



Tom Brokaw:



Freaky.