bits:

[rhyll]

* I've just read Flora Segunda of Crackpot Hall, by Ysabeau Wilce. I came across one of Wilce's short stories in Fantasy, the Best of the Year, 2007, 'The Lineaments of Gratified Desire', and found it to be utterly delightful. Flora Segunda is less dark than that story, being a children's book, but it's one of the best children's books I've read in a long, long, time. There are all kinds of witty details, and it doesn't have the Manichean worldview that so irritated me with the Harry Potter books. I found the first person viewpoint a bit jarring at times, but it's more than made up for by Flora Segunda's charming character.

* I am sick. It is tedious, and involves a lot of nose-blowing and body-aching. I would not recommend it.

* Several of my family, and assorted others, came around for lunch/afters on Sunday. It was quite lovely and relaxed. After family left we played a lot of 'Bananagrams', which Tim got for his birthday. I am ridiculously fond of word games. I also really appreciate games when I am at somewhat of a low ebb, because they make dealing with people a much tidier business.

* I spent part of this morning figuring out The Deal with my external harddrive and my new digital voice recorder. Both are now working quite unproblematically with ubuntu, which I appreciate. And the next version of Ubuntu comes out on the 18th, which I am quite excited about. (Of course, experience has shown that this is somewhat unwarranted, since last time I upgraded nothing went wrong and no sparks started flying, making it all a rather quiet process.)

* My dreams seem to have shifted from B-grade horror movie to being tremendously emotionally exhausting. While it's certainly nice not to spend my nights being chased by werewolves and such, it's still rather unsettling.

Comments

[cameron (from livejournal.com)]

Hey. I just stalked you read your lj on a whim after yesterday arvo's enjoyable wordy antics and lo and behold you had just posted something, so I am taking that as a sign that I should comment. Sorry to hear you're ill, you'd better get better soon. Or else! (Germs respond well to threats like that, right?)

Oh, and 'tis odd to read about you being at low ebb and not wanting to deal with people because that it absolutely not how you normally come across.

[alexmoon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. Mostly I'm just really loud around people, and then agonise for hours afterwards about whether I was too loud, talked too much, said stupid things, etc etc, and get terribly anxious about it all until I have to go have a lie-down.

Still, it was lovely to see you guys and I did mean it when I said you'd have to come around for more games sometime. And thanks for the threats - I will sit back and relax in the expectation that the germs will respond appropriately.

[cameron (from livejournal.com)]

Aww. I kind of know what you mean, although in my case it's more an occasional nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I'm too quiet / shy / awkward / socially inept. Probably not really a side of me that you've seen, but it's there.

Your comment on my blog shocked me for a bit, and then I realised that you wrote "giant pens", not "giant penis", and you were not quite as potty-mouthed as I'd thought.

And more games afternoons/evenings sounds like a plan! I may even try to organise such a thing at Animal House; in 2003-04 there was a fine tradition of holding house parties here but it kind of died as housemates came and left since then. At the very least it'd give me an excuse to shout at Andrew a bit until he moves his junk out of the living room.

[alexmoon.livejournal.com]

That sounds delightful. I don't seem to go to other people's houses much these days, which is unfortunate. I request games evenings after the 17th of December, please!

[cameron (from livejournal.com)]

Heh. You're a demanding one! Why 17th December? You may be in luck nevertheless since not long after that there'll hopefully definitely be my "Cameron is buggering off away from Perth for good" party...

[alexmoon.livejournal.com]

I get back on the 17th (I think). All parties before that date are, therefore, useless to me.