A quiet night, a stack of books, a tuna melt on rye

So when other people post quiz results I pretty much always click through and take them even if I don't usually post afterwards. Under the cut, is an astrology color chart thing, which I got from c_hrista. I'm not a huge astrology person -- if anything I am a marginally interested skeptic -- so the reason I'm posting is actually the middle section. Is that really the recognized definition of ambitious? I've never considered myself terribly ambitious, but I do identify with the individual characteristics of that section. Weird.

( Cutting the Graphic )

From Here if you're interested.

So, in case you didn't know, and I'm not sure why you would, I have very pale skin. I've never tanned in my life; I just turn red and then go right on back to being very white. I even have difficulty buying stockings because they all look darker than my skin tone. So it should go without saying that I use a lot of sunscreen.

I'm sharing all this because it would appear that sometime this weekend I developed an allergy to sunscreen. Both of my arms as well as my neck and upper chest are currently covered in little, red, itchy bumps. I started noticing them appearing on the inside of my right elbow during glowwormtu's concert last night but I thought it was just a weird cluster of bug bites. As of this morning, when my arms were covered, I thought maybe the artifacts I had washed yesterday gave me poison ivy, though it didn't really look like poison ivy.

When my neck broke out I realized it was only on places I've been putting sunscreen while I'm out monitoring. I even used this same sunscreen last week without a problem (although it was new last week, since the previous week I had finished a bottle of a different brand). Looks like I'm going to be trying out that previous brand again... after I take some Benadryl (and go to sleep)

And it is another round.

( 21 icons and 5 banners, all Emma Watson )

Someday I will figure out the futility of trying to earn 125pts with things that are all worth points in multiples of 4. I will master this -- or it will drive me crazy -- one or the other.

Who figured out how to use if, then statements in google spreadsheets? This girl (with significant help from looking at the coding from the last viking week spreadsheet so thanks slumber?)

In other news, my new furniture is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, so by this time tomorrow I should be able to curl up in a snuggly chair. And yes, my shopping expedition did involve me assuming the "I'm reading a good book" position in each chair I came across, so I could choose the correct on for the activity.

So can anyone bare me out on my suspicion that 21 would still, in general, have been too young for a man in the Victorian Era to have been a practicing lawyer with a four year old son? I've always had the impression of the Era that women tended to marry younger than they do now and men were around the same if not older than today.

This random-ish question is coming from the fact that I watched The Woman in Black over the weekend and while I very much enjoyed it -- particularly for the whole horror-ish movie genre, I couldn't shake the feeling through the entirety of the movie that Daniel Radcliff was really too young for the part.

Also, possibly equally as random, would doing a set of icons of HP actors in period clothing be more or less weird than doing a set of actors and characters who are fellow capricorns? I don't know why I feel the need to have themes -- it is apparently just the way my brain works -- but there you go.

The time when I check my coding before submitting to hogwartsicons.

( 16 icons, 3 banners; all Dan Radcliff )

It is really hot out. No really. It is ridiculously hot outside, and I can say that with certainty because I have spent the last two days on a city lot, with no shade, watching a guy in a backhoe pull up pylons.

Yesterday, I ran out of water by the last hour, and so was feeling rather nauseated by the time I left. When my backhoe operator stopped, asked me what time I left, and then went back to pulling pylons when I said I had to be there as long as he was, I thought I might just kill him. (Also it would be lovely if he didn't feel the need to "adjust himself" every three seconds. Seriously).

I'm always vaguely uncomfortable on construction sites. Partly because people tend to think I have authority that I don't actually have. Like, there is exactly one reason that I am allowed to shut down a site -- they turn up human remains -- but people tend to act like I could do it at the drop of a hat. At least this time they don't all call me Miss Alice, nor have I been told that Presbyterians don't exist.

I am super excited! I am going to see Sunset Boulevard at Summer Lyric tonight. I have wanted to see this show for AGES. I mean, it has long been my favorite Lloyd Webber and the reason I can not entirely give the man up (I'm pretty sure I've expressed my love/hate relationship with Andrew Lloyd Webber's shows which stems from "guy in the barn, must be Jesus" Whistle Down the Wind here before a time or two.) It was supposed to come to the Wilmington Playhouse while my mother and I were season ticket holders there, but that leg of the tour for some reason got rescheduled and it didn't, so I missed seeing it 12? years ago, and have never gotten the chance in the interim.

I can't wait to see which version of "Boy Meets Girl" they use. And to see Norma's costumes (which I hear are from the Broadway production and absolutely amazing -- this is from a choir friend who is in the production). And, and just everything.

So people, favorite shows? Shows you've been waiting absolutely forever to see? Or forgotten gems that you love the soundtrack for but are sure you'll never see? Hate musical theater and wonder what it is I am rambling on about? Let me know.

Welcome new Hogsmeade peeps! I think there are more of you than in any previous Hogsmeade, so this should be fun.

I feeling like maybe I should start one of those all about me information posts, but I'm not really sure what to say. So, what you y'all look for in an info post?


Moving on.
I had my review at work on Friday. It was laughably good, and pretty much boiled down to, on the good side,"you come to work on time, actually do your work, and do other things without complaint if we ask you to" on the improvement side "you still have things to learn about the more unusual artifacts and sometimes you leave things out and I [the lab manager] don't know what their status is." I'll take it. After all this is the same company where my first review had the immortal line "Allison has finally started speaking. This is not such a good thing as her sarcasm can have a demoralizing effect on the team.", and in my second review I told the owner that management was often demoralizing to field staff. (I may have problems with my filter some times)

As part of the whole reviewing thing, we as the lab staff are supposed to review our supervisor. Thats not so difficult, he's probably the nicest most accommodating man you can ever hope to work for, but he needs some work on his ability to communicate to us what exactly he wants. He also has a tendency to constantly remind you of things that you didn't need reminding of or being terribly amazed when he comes to remind you and you are already doing the task.

No, the problem is that some of the other lab people want to review our Assistant Lab Manager, which was not asked for. That is a little more tricky. She's always the last of us to arrive, complains on facebook constantly about having OMG so much work or people asking her questions all the time (which is not actually happening), and also seems to think she has a much higher position in the company than she actually does (I have a post about that somewhere below). My difficulty is that I need to find something positive to say, and I just can't think of anything, and because of that I feel like sending anything in will just make it look like I have some sour grapes going on.

Finally, tonight is my last night of house sitting. Tomorrow I go back to my puppy and kitty-less life.

So I haven't posted in forever because the 8th was glowwormtu's wedding and I was doing MoH stuff, and then my parents were in town because they were invited to the wedding (but then they randomly decided to buy me a TV, chair, ottoman, and rug because they say my brother is always asking for stuff and I never do). And then pretty much since the wedding I have been house/pet sitting. First for my fur Nephew Nibs (due to the honeymoon-ish thing) and then for the dog and cat of one of the Soprano's in my choir.

But anyway, amidst all that my box came for the Odd Ducks Harry Potter Swap. OMG you guys. It came from Australia and was huge! Apparently my spoiler asked specifically for me (I assume because I said in my questionnaire that I would love to see what someone could come up with for a potions kit and she had ideas). Just look at this amazingness
[Unknown site tag]

Everything all together (well not everything because I had missed three things as of when I took this picture)


Tote with lettered and illustrated instructions for Polyjuice potion.


Potions kit and book


But wait! The potions book was hollow and contained potions vials as well as an antique bunsen burner.

I posted my thank you, to which the sender replied "Wait, did the brass scales and silver knife not make it." Nope they were there too in yet another pocket. And then not as part of the potions kit there had been socks in Ravenclaw colors and a lovely green sock yarn called "Severus loves Lily." I'm trying to decided if it wants to be a lacy scarf to match my winter coat or a pair of socks.

I have a feeling that nothing else will ever top this. (Not that other swap boxes even need to try. I am not that greedy.)