Cascading downwards

This is especially good for dealing with librarians, but can be applied to almost any situation:

If you are asking me a question, please do not interrupt me while I am trying to answer you. If you want to provide additional information, fine - wait until I'm FREAKING FINISHED WITH MY SENTENCE!

Some guy just kept interrupting me, and I already knew the answer to his question - I just couldn't manage to get it out! He kept telling me more stuff that I didn't need to know in order to answer the question, which, if he'd waited, he would have known.

I've been getting ... odd ... compliments recently. I mean, definitely complimentary, but not ones you hear often.

Like (from a regular, who sees me almost daily) : "You look nice without lipstick" (having never seen me without before)

Or being called a "cute kid" (I'm 31! Then again, she was probably 80). That was disconcerting just because the exchange started with, "Look at those legs!" which does not usually go with "cute kid." I was, however, amused when her friends all asked if she was gay after the legs comment.

I'm reading the local news from my hometown paper and dying:

"Traffic came to a standstill and many businesses sent workers home early Wednesday because of a fast-moving low-pressure system that left icy conditions and as much as an inch of snow across Hampton Roads."

Rich's reaction: "Holy shit! A whole inch! Wow!" (with, of course, heavy sarcasm)

I can't stop giggling. They make it sound apocalyptic.

Everyone was complaining about the weather today (heavy fog), but I thought it was great. I came out of work in the twilight, with the fog and the streetlamps burning, and felt like I was in a Sherlock Holmes story complete with London fog, or maybe a noir mystery. I was definitely more dressed for the noir, in black and white with red lipstick. I was just getting a kick out of it. So atmospheric.

This message has been brought to you by the eternal optimist society.

Well, let's all be thankful I'm not superstitious, because I started out the new year with unidentified illness which involved fever and vomiting. Ugh.

I feel pretty much better today, but took another day off work for recovery. I'm still exhausted. I went to bed early and still slept 3 hours later than usual. And right now I'm limiting my diet to oatmeal - I'm still a little leery of anything more interesting.

And I discovered the interesting fact that Pepto-Bismal can turn your tongue black - very disconcerting if you didn't know in advance.

Since I had Veterans' Day off from work, I took vacation on Friday and made arrangements to go see my mom for a long weekend. It's the first time I'll see her since the engagement.

I wanted her to see my dress, but unfortunately it's been discontinued and wasn't in any stores.

So imagine how happy I was to come home Wednesday night and discover the dress had arrived! So I took it all the way to Florida with me just so mom could see it. Couldn't have been timed it better if I tried.

I obviously should not be the person to plan big events . I'm booking the second or third thing I see in every category (and so is Rich, for the ones I'm giving to him to do). Dress, reception site, DJ, and now photographer.

So. I told the *one* (yes, one) photographer I met with that I wanted to book her. She's an excellent price for the area, is just going on her own after working in a larger studio - so plenty of experience, does albums like I like, and I felt comfortable with her, so why meet with others?

I'm trying to decide how early I need her to show up. The consultant is recommending starting to get ready at 8, so I can be done at 10, and the pictures can be done before guests start arriving around 11:30. I guess 9 would be plenty early even for getting ready shots - it's not like I want pictures before I have ANY makeup on or my hair's still wet. But it still seems way to early for a noon wedding.

I'm still vacillating on the pictures before. I like Mom's theory, which is that the picture-taking is the entertainment during the cocktail hour. But Rich has no objection to taking them before, and I guess no one's going to miss seeing his first look at me. I don't remember ever looking at the groom at that moment - I'm too busy trying to see the bride myself. So pictures before might ensure getting more good ones. And while the flowers and makeup are still looking their best. And we'll be able to eat that much sooner (I know, the bride and groom never get to eat - I can hope).

And the last thing on the contract is any special requests I particularly want, that she wouldn't take as a matter of course (we can assume she'll take pictures of me with various close relatives, or the bridesmaids, or of the cake cutting, etc.). So far, I just have a picture of *everyone* (bridal party and guests both), and of the extended Fleming clan (over 30 people, you want to know about that in advance). I think everything else will be pretty standard. Other suggestions welcomed.

Rich and I basically finished registering today. For the expensive, not strictly needed stuff that's more fun to get - crystal, new flatware, etc. So, any wedding guests reading this, we are registered at Bed Bath & Beyond, and Fortunoff's, both of which are online. So please quit asking where we are registered (people were asking in August! we don't get married until April!).

Pet peeve: ironic means something that is the opposite of what is said (similar to sarcasm, but more subtle), or opposite to what is appropriate or wanted. Or, in the case of dramatic irony, when onlookers have knowledge that the people taking action do not, which casts those actions in a different light.

People using "ironic" nowadays actually seem to mean "weirdly apropos" or "poetic justice." It's teeth-grindingly annoying. I was just reading a book of rock and roll legends, and the author uses ironic constantly. Two band members dying at the same intersection is not ironic, it's an eerie coincidence.

Just had to get that off my chest. Yeah, I have weird pet peeves. Just watch, I'm sure a lot of people agree with me.

One more for free: one does not graduate college. One graduates *from* college. Or, even more strictly appropriate, one is graduated from college (rarely used anymore, but you do see it). If were able to do it, you should be able to announce the fact correctly. Please.

I don't think I can make it through this semester.

I have a lot of reading due Tuesday, along with coming up with questions that can be answered by 100 different reference books (1 question each). I couldn't do it this past week because I had a paper due Wednesday. And I have another paper, for a different class, due Thursday, which I'm not going to be able to start until Tuesday evening, probably.

Added to this is that I have not had an actual vacation since last November. I did, however, use vacation days, a whole week's worth, which I used to catch up on work for my research project (read: thesis) last semester. And I can't use any upcoming vacation days because I need to save them for my honeymoon in April. But I don't think I can wait until April for a vacation.

I wanna go home and sleep. For a week.