Out and About With Nee

Recently spotted by yours truly in the main shopping street:

1 bunny on a leash
1 guy juggling flaming batons
1 guy singing Calypso
1 Shetland pony
1 llama

We saw the pony last week when we left my department on the way to dinner, and the llama a little later; they were part of a fundraiser to feed circus animals. I was hoping to come across an elephant or a monkey, but no such luck. We did see a little girl and her mom walking around with a couple of puppets, and then we saw them again after dinner, but I don't think they were with the circus people.

Then I saw the pony again this week and decided to make a small donation if the llama was out. It was, so I did, and I gave it a little pat. It is amazing how a smal pat on a llama can brighten your day.

There was also this little old lady at the bus terminal. She was dressed nice, but she stopped every few feet to turn back and loudly berate some people waiting for a bus, including another litle old lady. That was at 7 am. The next time I saw her, around noon, a knot of police were standing around her. It's always something at the bus stop.

10 Things

John Scalzi recently had an entry up, "10 (More) Things I've Done You Probably Haven't". I felt a bit timid about commenting with a list of my own, especially since lots of people seem to have hobnobbed with the great and nearly-great, but that's no reason not to do it here. Feel free to add your own list in the comments.

1. I have lived in a foreign country for over a quarter of my life. (Hannah has lived abroad for over half of her life now.)

2. I have stood on the roof of King's College Chapel at Cambridge University.

3. I got perfect scores on 2 out of 3 sections on the GRE, 4-1/2 years after graduating from college.

4. I have an acknowledgement for my copyediting work in Historiographia Linguistica.

5. I was once (at 26) the youngest presenter ever at a national conference for distance educators. (To be fair, my boss, quite a bit older than 26, was slated to give the presentation but had to leave due to a family crisis.)

6. By the end of next year, I will have a BA with a double major from an American university and an MA with a double major from a German university.

7. I worked a full 8-hour day on the day I went into labor with Hannah. She was a week overdue at the time.

8. I was the only person in my school year, in the whole city, to make all-region band in the 9th grade.

9. From the age of birth to 18, I lived in 5 places in 2 countries and 2 states. Since 18, I have lived in 11 places in Austin, 1 place in Sweden, and 1 place in Germany, for a grand total of 18 locations.

10. The only time I have ever been high was during dental surgery (when I became one with Gustav Mahler's First Symphony).

From My Bookmarks

This post is the archive for my "From My Bookmarks" links from the sidebar. As noted, it is a rotating list, and the items that are rotated out will end up here.

Julia
I, Asshole
Mandajuice
Bad News Hughes now The Domesticated Shithead
The Rage Diaries now Filthy Commerce (but still good!)
mimi smartypants
Indexed
Ayyyy! Gently Making Fun of the Famous

New to Me

This post is the archive for my "New to Me" links from the sidebar. I'll periodically move items from there to here when I add new items there.

How to learn Swedish in 1000 difficult lessons
LA en vie now defunct
List of the Day
Homesick Texan
Bad Astronomy Blog
Fake Plastic Fish

Artist in Training

Hannah spent most of one day painting this lovely picture of a lady.



She went back and worked on touching it up the next day, too, and even painted a frame to put around it. Then she hung it up in her room.

Then she turned it to face the wall, because the eyes were staring at her while she was trying to go to sleep.



(That’s it next to the cabinet across the room from the bed.)

Pick-me-up

One of the things I like about Germany is the love of fresh flowers. I needed a little pick-me-up today, and for 1.99 (less than ANYTHING in Starbucks*) I got these to cheer up the dining room.



*A second Starbucks** opened up on the same street as the first one, but on the opposite end. *insert sound of gnashing teeth* I solemnly swear that the one time I went into the one Starbucks will be the only time I ever go into any Starbucks.

**I still laugh myself stupid at Starbucks being the headquarters for Dr. Evil's international evil organization in the Austin Power's movie.

Make-Over in Miniature

Friday evening we went out to eat, and Hannah informed us that short hair is now “in”, and “I want to be in.” She refused to let me take her to a salon; she was worried that she would end up with an actual “style”, when all she wanted was a chop straight across the bottom.

Here, Hannah fresh from the shower:



The difference 8 or 9 inches makes:



The carnage:



And finally, the new “in” girl: