* A fall haiku, for Americans who mostly live indoors:
Seasons change; the furnace
returns to life after months
Smell of burnt dust motes
* I will say one big thing about fall (well, next week) that I will welcome: the time change. It feels like the middle of the night, driving to work at 7 am. And it shouldn't. Seven am should feel like "the start of the day," not "I am the only one out in this Godforsaken place."
And yeah, so it will get dark at six pm starting next week. I am completely okay with that as long as I get my morning light back. (by 6 pm I'm usually in for the night, or in a meeting in a windowless space where it doesn't matter).
Also getting back that hour of sleep rudely stolen from us in March.
* Have already decided this afternoon (I get out of class at 12:15 - this is my short day - and I have no afternoon office hours) is going to be a working-at-home afternoon. I have an exam to write and a chapter to read and I can do that equally well if not better at home where I have a comfortable chair and tea close at hand and no chance of interruption.
Also, I have a few errands to run this afternoon and may buy myself a tiny treat of a few beads and a bit of beading wire - I had to do a Totally Thankless Task that Took Time yesterday afternoon, and the person who could (and likely should) have helped me had managed to absent themselves from the situation (Interesting how some people manage to turn into ghosts in situations like that). So I think I can justify "deserving" a small package of inexpensive beads and a spool of fine wire.
I don't spend money on big expensive things - I don't have a smartphone because I cannot justify a $100 or whatever it is monthly plan (my cell phone plan, for a dead-basic cell phone, is $25 a month) but I am okay with dribbling away money on little things. But the thing is - a few small pleasures here and there are much more enjoyable to me than blowing a huge pile of money on some giant extravagance. I'd rather but the $3 cup of fancy tea a couple times a month, or get a $3 blindbag pony now and then, than put every penny of that away towards some future....I don't know what. Cruise? Pair of super expensive shoes that are terrible for my feet and will pain me every moment I wear them? Electronic gadget that will be obsolete in six months? Sorry, I'd rather have my blindbag pony or my cup of chai....
Also, given the randomness of the world, sometimes I think it's preferable to snatch little bits of happiness when you can rather than plan for some future time when you might not even be alive. (A bus could hit you, a comet could smash into the earth, a campus shooter could show up).
* Maybe some pictures this afternoon. I thought of posting some first thing this morning but then, after five minutes of connectivity, my home Internet totally tanked. For some reason, I always think these things are something I can fix at my end - so I tried shutting everything down and restarting, tried a couple of configurations of the restart. Finally called my ISP (they have a 24 hour helpline). While I was "waiting for the next representative" they had a little recorded message saying internet was out in ALL THEIR CITIES.
ALL THEIR CITIES.
That sounded terribly ominous but I spotted that the "on" light for my router (meaning connectivity is okay) came back just before I left the house. So I don't know if it could be as simple as a custodian unplugging a server rack to wax the floor or something, but at least it looks like it's back.
* Two other hangover Pony thoughts:
1. Limestone Pie and Marble Pie? I just remembered the other day that marble is typically the metamorphic form of limestone....put limestone under heat and pressure and you get marble. So maybe Marble's character developed under the pressure of her sister's unrelenting drive and the heat of her anger? Interesting. Not sure if that is an I See What You Did There, though, or if they just grabbed two rock names that people would have known.
2. The train scenes - first, the guy with the cart selling food, almost like Harry Potter movies. (I can assure you, no Amtrak I have ever been on has that amenity: you have to walk to the lounge car to get food). And second - two ponies, I missed them first go-round, but here:
It's Steve Martin and John Candy's characters from "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles!"
(And the mare in the front is probably the mom from "Home Alone")
Again, I love these little touches: they are not all "hey LOOK AT THIS" but if you pay attention you see them. (Also, weren't both those movies directed by John Hughes? Maybe a little belated tribute (in memoriam) on the part of the animators?)
It must be fun to work on that show, being able to slip in little sight gags.
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