cranial mapping

I officially have a weird head.

In the not so terribly distant past, when taking note of the various bumps, indentations and measurements of a person's skull were in vogue, it appears that I would have been diagnosed with innumberable conditions and ailments.

I'm sure that, to some of you who may know me, this is nothing new. It is, however, a bit of a revelation to me. I went and had my new glasses fitted today and it took for-bloody-ever. There was so much adjusting going on, that the staffer (I have no idea what to call her - sales clerk? eyeglass associate? frames specialist?) ended up switching out my lenses into a duplicate pair of frames: the original set got scratched. Yikes. The arms, nose pads and bridge were all subject to their share of pinching, twisting and splaying. And, yes, these frames are the correct size for me. Seriously.

I'll give her full kudos for working on my frames for so long. I was faint with hunger and decidedly under-caffeinated, while my husband had long since resorted to playing solitaire on my Palm Pilot. That, and there were potential paying customers in the store that all had to be waited on by the lone other staffer. Well, at least she seriously upped her odds of me now becoming a repeat customer.

Good thing these frames are completely awesome. They're Gucci, tortoise-shell, plastic and very square. They even have nose pads - normally I can't wear plastic frames because I have to shove them too close too my eyes, right up on the bridge of my nose and I look like a complete idiot. This way, not so much!

I've already worn them to work and, although they're narrow (top to bottom) and will take a little getting used to, I didn't have nearly the headache I'd expected and virtually no eye strain or discomfort. Considering I've been sticking solely to contacts for the last few years, that's pretty impressive. Stairs, typing and quick movements are still tasks that I have to do a little more cautiously, but I'll hopefully get accustomed to them shortly.

Now I just have to get used to feeling air on my eyeballs....and go check my skull for any more oddities.

full moon

No, nothing crude - it's actually a full moon out tonight. I thought it kind of looked full last night, but it's definitely full tonight.

And that explains a lot.

I've dropped my keys at least a half dozen times today. Not a big deal, except for the $100 gadget that lets me lock and unlock my car. I locked myself out of my locker at work and had to page the maintenance guy to come over with a pair of bolt cutters. I got lost in the drug store (hey, it's a new one, give me a break) while looking for a new lock. And, yes, I bought a combination lock this time instead of a lock with a key. Now, I just get to forget the combo instead of lock the keys inside.

It's nice to have a full moon to blame this on. Really, how else would my day sound? I would just look like an aimless, forgetfull ditz. Yeah, good to have that moon.

I'm voting that things can only get better tomorrow. They have to - my scapegoat will have waned.

because I don't get paid to edit

The name of the book linked above is Eats Shoots and Leaves and it's simply a punctuation guide. It's a way better read than it sounds - swear to god (or whomever). I've been reading it now, on and off, for a while (see my previous post). I probably make all of the punctuation errors mentioned in this book on a regular basis, yet I have now begun to detect them in the newspapers, journal articles and online documents that I read.

It's getting annoying.

While scanning a scientific piece earlier today, purely for the work-related bits, I was insanely distracted by a missing comma. The sentence was structured such that it looked like 1,997 tests were performed recently. However, I believe the intention of the sentence was: as recently as the year 1997... Yeesh. Of all the important and relevant information in that article, that missing comma is what will now stick with me the longest.

The sad thing is that I am an offender just as much as the next guy. I can't legitimately point out these errors, omissions and abuses. Such behaviour is likely to turn around and bite me in the ass. I'll simply have to flux between having a giggle and grinding my teeth until I am comfortable and/or confident enough in my own punctuation skills (or in the lack of those I'm accusing) to flaunt others' faults.

To any readers of this blog, it is not necessary to take it upon yourselves to go through and point out any and all punctuation errors that may be present is this or any preceding post. I haven't finished the book yet and am still in the learning curve. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

and so goes 2005

jesus murphy...it's already January 10!! By the end of this week, the first half of the first month of 2005 will be over.

At least I'm sticking to a few things so far this year. I've started up a new book and I'm actually reading it. I've got several books on the go. Okay, not on the go. I've started several books and stopped reading them part way through. That's no way to get through any, and I've decided to actually complete a book before starting the next one. Maybe I'll even go back and finish some of the ones I've started.

My web pages are slacking - more time spent reading means less time spent updating. My writing is happening sporadically, but I'm spending more time editing. Editing is good. There's not much point in being excessively verbose if it's all crap.

I've been emailing. I'm a notoriously bad emailer. It's not difficult and should be an easy way to keep in touch. I've decided that's a theory worth testing.

Perhaps I'll promote the blog as more of a "keep updated on Jenn" thing instead of a "rant and vent" thing and see how that works. Maybe. Ah...maybe not.

Enough mindless drivel for one night...

the end of paper??

So, here's my dilemma. I can now purchase eBooks (I guess I always could...) and download them onto my lovely new PDA to read wherever I go. There's lots of books that this will be great for - especially poetry, short stories and non fiction. Things that I can read in short spurts that will not make me upset when my coffee break is over and I have to put the text away.

But, can or will I bring myself to pixelate my favourite fiction? I kind of like books. I like writing in journals and notebooks and I like reading a physical book. I get to turn pages that have texture and I get to take care not to ruin the cover or the spine. I get to feel the weight of the tome (my fiction choices are often tomes) and admire or scoff the cover art.

I think I may still purchase a few classics in electronic format, just to see how it goes. They're not expensive and, being the literary slacker that I am, I haven't actually read most of them. It'll be a good test.

If I enjoy them, maybe I'll get a paper copy.