Spam I received tonight:

Hey! I bet you feel surrounded by this capitalist world we live in.

Everybody always want more...more money, more clothes.

Did you know that in the end, it's all about looks?

DOWN WITH CAPITALISM! We should all be judged purely on subjective media-driven standards of beauty instead!

LO!

And indeed BEHOLD!

Sam has internet.

It took an hour on the phone with AT&T, but I've got a secure wireless network set up and also I went over to R's and brought back....half of my futon frame and a goodly portion of Lake Michigan. Because LO!

AND INDEED BEHOLD!

It is raining like a mother-goddamn-fucker out there.

Everybody into the ark!

*begins paddling*

There's something to be said for living in old houses; I like the smell of them, and truth be told I like living in an apartment building despite the fact that I have seen a grand total of four souls since moving in. If you count Irish Super, who may or may not live here.

The basement, where the laundry is, smells like the basements of old houses in California -- my best friend's house in high school, and all kinds of old places in Berkeley and San Francisco where I found myself for one reason or another. It's wonderful; it smells like history and dust.

I'm slowly charting, too -- and this is one of my favourite pastimes -- the way time has changed the building. When I was at school in Oregon and working on my senior capstone, a history of the school and its relationship to the city, I used to stand at the top of the quad and be able to imagine it as it was -- where the water meadow used to be, where the earth was taken up here to fill in hollows there, where buildings that didn't exist anymore used to stand. I used to wish I had more concrete artistic ability so that I could sketch comparisons of things as they used to be and as they are.

Some of the walls and doors in my flat are newer than others, and the layout suggests that it's not the complete flat it once was. I suspect that when it was built it was a six-dwelling block, one flat on either side of the central staircase going up three floors; since then it's been converted so that each complete flat is now either three studios or a one-bedroom and a studio.

It's what they call a full-gut-rehab in Chicago; everything that possibly could have been torn out was, and the place was totally reconfigured. Without seeing the flat I share a landing-side with I can't precisely lay out how it used to be, but I suspect it was a two-bedroom, two bath with a dining room. The foyer where I have two doors and my neighbour has one was probably the start of a hallway; my living room was either the dining room or the master bedroom, given the elegant bay windows and view of the street. This suspicion on the whole is borne out by the fact that only the rear flats, which used to be part of the front flats, can access the rear of the building where the dumpster is. My trade off for living in the larger front flat, further from the El, is that I have to walk around the building next to me in order to get to the dumpster.

It's a bit creepy now that I think on it; it shows just how much the population boom has impacted local architecture, where really nobody can afford a two-bedroom two-bath with a dining room. I don't think I've been in a flat in Chicago yet that had a proper dining room. Even the luxury high-rises don't often have them -- R's condo doesn't either.

But then I'm influenced at the moment from reading Different Engines, which has a whole segment on overpopulation dystopias, so perhaps I'm reading a bit into it.

I also think that this was probably the first building standing in the general area. The buildings on either side are newer, less elegant, and far too close to the walls. They were built to fit the maximum occupancy for the square footage provided; my outer wall is literally two feet from the wall of the building next to me.

Anyway, it's been interesting. And hopefully my internet will be working when I get home tonight; I have to run over to R's place first, because Bland actually wants to store stuff in our storage space, which means I have to take my futon frame out. Hopefully I had the presence of mind to disassemble it before I stored it...

HOLY CRAP, busy morning was busy.

Have I mentioned that some fool made me Safety Captain for our floor, so that in case of fire, bombing, or other Emergency Event I am in charge? Yeah. I don't know either, maybe they just don't know me very well.

Anyway, the time has come to update the safety team roster and the floor directory, especially since a new company directory has just been issued, and I spent all morning rewriting the company directory so that it makes sense (about half the floor see Admin A send out a new directory via email and immediately email me to ask if I'm doing a new SUPER SEKRIT Quickguide version of it, because Admin A is very thorough but does not design her directories with efficiency in mind). Also there was an Issue with Keys, which Coworker J summed up expertly:

"I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, that was unnecessaily apocalyptic."

Meanwhile, Bulletproof Temp has been ordered to scrounge up every packing box he can find for some project or other, though he tells anyone who asks about the boxes he's carrying that he's building a fort. He is also telling everyone that Sarah Palin is a swinger, based on the Trib headline "Palin Comes Out Swinging".

J and Bulletproof make my day a little brighter sometimes.

As does BossBoss, who periodically asks me for Doctor Who casting/filming updates. He doesn't watch Torchwood, a fact which I am plotting to remedy as soon as I get my DVD burner up and running.

I watched "A Very English Genius" last night, about the translation of Linear B by Michael Ventriss in the mid-twentieth century. I have to say that I found it interesting on a scholarly level, as an amateur classics geek, but I found it much more interesting to watch all these interviews with a group of obviously batshit insane archaeologists and historians. Seriously, some of these guys I wouldn't like to meet in a dark alley at night. Others just look like muppets.

TARGET: ACQUIRED!

We have visual confirmation of the dumpster. Because of the way the building was remodeled, I just have to walk around the building next to us to get to it. The rear flats are the only ones with direct access.

In other news, I found a roach on the can of citrusy roach death spray this morning.

Ultimate irony, or CLEVER STRATEGY?

I'd hate to think I was being outmaneuvered by an insect but, as my experiences with crickets in St. Nowhere proved, it wouldn't be the first time.

And finally, OMG WTF AUSTRALIA. Why you gotta have so many creepy crawlers?

I usually walk past Pioneer Plaza on my way to work in the mornings; there are two El stops that get me where I'm going, but this is a nicer walk than the other, and I get to stroll past the Tribune Tower, which I love. They often have promotional events on the Plaza, people handing out sample cereal boxes or flyers or whatnot, and usually I try to sidestep them (often with limited success).

This morning they were handing out flowers.

A local florist apparently gives away boquets of roses on Good Neighbor Day every year. The idea is that the person who gets the boquet keeps one flower for themselves and gives the other five to other people; each flower has a little sticker on it saying "Happy Good Neighbor Day!" and the name and URL of the florist. It's a clever marketing scheme and normally I'd be a bit cynical but I think it's kind of neat and everyone has mentioned how nice the "vase" (a scrounged company-logo travel mug) of roses on the corner of my desk looks.

Considering I didn't hand out the flowers to other people, because nobody was in the office when I got to work, I do feel inclined to pimp out the florist a bit: Ashland Addison Florist Co. are cheery people who gave me flowers this morning.

jazmin_firewing reminded me today that it's That Time Of Year Again, a time when schools are starting up and adorable tiny freshmen are starting university.

I wrote The Alum's Guide To University about three years ago as a handbook to student life, and I like to think it has helped people navigate the baffling, bewildering first year of higher education. I'm a bit late in linking it this year, but hopefully it will still be helpful. I will warn that it is mostly focused on American higher ed in the humanities, though there are links to guidebooks on the sciences as well.

Also, please enjoy The Omnibus Guide To Student Gems, my compilation of errors and hilarious typos from three years of essay-grading.

I hung out at R's place tonight. We got burgers and watched Magnum Force.

Sam: I've declared all out war against the cockroaches. I'm fighting them on three fronts.
R: Have you tried reasoning with them?
Sam: What are you now, the bug psychiatrist?
R: They call me...The Roach Whisperer.

I met R's New Roommate. I'm torn as to what I think of him. He is the anti-R: clean-cut, preppy dress...also sort of, uh, short. Not that I judge, it's just a contrast.

He seems perfectly nice but sort of bland. Also he doesn't care for blues music.

I give it two months. :D

Fun meme time!

Post the first line of each of your last 20 fanfics.

( I often open with peoples' names. )

Man, I haven't gotten the toaster oven out yet because I don't want to have something that crumbful and tempting out until the roach problem is taken care of, but I really really wanted toast last night. I satisfied myself with a peanut butter sammich instead, though.

Also, bay leaves may prevent roaches from entering one's home but I think I can confirm that they do not prevent roaches from remaining in one's home. I decided this when, early this morning, I saw a roach walk directly across a bay leaf sitting on my bathroom floor.

Yes, I'm buying boric acid today.

Last night was v. boring so I watched a couple of video files I had on the computer and hadn't reviewed yet, including 49-Up. The -up series is really interesting; I saw 35-Up in my documentary film class in undergrad, then ransacked the library and got hold of 21-Up and 42-Up, which were all that were available.

( film review: 49-Up )

I am home!

Many dead roaches and a few live ones, but in all the place looks good. I'm already pretty much ready to just hit the bed, especially lacking the Internet as I am. Had a great weekend, though- relaxing and a lot of fun.

Tomorrow I have many emails to send and purchases to make! And I have to set aside some time in the evening to go on an Epic Dumpster Hunt. For now I am going to make a sandwich and kick back. See you all on the flip side :)

...ags. Argh, hit send accidentally. The perils of posting from the train...

Safely arrived in Chicago! Air travellers are still doucheb

IN UR AIRPURTZ

GETTIN ON UR PLAINZ

I'm about to board for the flight back to Chicago. I won't have any internet when I get home; I'll post from the iPhone but the next "real" post you'll have from me will probably be tomorrow from work. Hope everyone who has a holiday today is having a good one, and that those who aren't got to leave work early. :D

Caught up! Watched The Shrine. Was not blown away. THREE THINGS!

Sam's Three Things About SGA, Episode 5.06: ( Spoilers for The Shrine )

Fo Real 3a. That staticky waterfall sound effect in the background got old really, really quick.

*bounds into the Cafe, scattering sand everywhere*

*shakes like a dog*

IF YOU CANNOT GO TO LAKE ONTARIO, LAKE ONTARIO WILL COME TO YOU!

*leaves in a shower of shiny beach rocks*

Talking of UNEXPECTED ROBERT PICARDO, I'm catching up on SGA. So I have Three Things About Episode 5.05: ( Spoilers for Ghost In The Machine )

3a. I went through the DOS-chat scene in slow motion and I'm pretty sure the effects guys slipped a subtle "ALL YOUR BASE" joke into the last line.

Still alive! Quite happily so, if just the slightest bit sunburnt.

We took the kidlets to the zoo yesterday and went to Stingray Bay, which is a big shallow pool at waist level where stingrays ZOOM AROUND like they're part UFO, and you can reach into the water and pet them. Which apparently they like because it helps scrape off the parasites. Anyway, stingrays are very soft with remarkably solid bodies, and when they get uppity they get up a really good head of steam and splash everyone in the immediate area. IT WAS AWESOME.

We also saw antelopes and lions and baboons-playing-tag, and in the tiger enclosure one of the tigers was up on this twelve-foot-tall tree stump looking very National Geographic, though we suspected the real reason he was posing was that he couldn't figure out how to get down and was waiting for the zoo to close so he could carefully crawl back to earth.

Also, during lunch, I discovered that the seagulls in the immediate area could catch french fries with their beaks if the fry was thrown accurately enough. This information, conveyed to the kidlets, ensured that we had no leftover french fries whatsoever. (Yes, I know you're not supposed to feed them, but goddammit those seagulls have SKILLZ.)

By the time we got home we were all incredibly exhausted, so we watched cartoons with the kids and talked, which was nice. Except that every time we talked loud enough to be heard, the kids would turn the volume up slightly, so we'd talk a little louder, and I'm sure you can see the impending vicious circle. :D I have to say, childrens' superhero television looks a look cooler than it was when I was a kid. Also there was UNEXPECTED ROBERT PICARDO in the live-action Ben Ten movie that premiered last night.

And then we had delicious pizza and went to bed. It was a Very Good Day. :D

I am safe in Toronto, and extremely well fed!

Having a good time -- we'll be out most of today (we're taking the kids to the zoo!) so the cafe will be quiet. Try not to trash anything beyond repair. :D