soosie's Xanga

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:01:14 GMT

aw, it's wednesday already. ok so today i had a day off and i've spent most of it traipsing about cold edinburgh trying to get some boring things done. my third attempt at sourdough is rising in the kitchen, my tea is steeping, i'm tired, i have a book, i'm pleased with all of this.

the other day i entered the world of soft-bristled toothbrushes, as i have all but brushed my gums away around one of my teeth, which is gross. there is a startlingly small selection of very soft toothbrushes for adults, which means i now have a great excuse to buy toothbrushes that are shaped as dinosaurs/hot pink/etc. however! the one i got the other day IS an adult one, and it vibrates!! it's a strange sensation. i had an electric toothbrush once, a few years ago, but felt too embarrassed to use it because at the time iw as living in dorms and it was too loud? and i'm the sort to worry about that? so now it's back to loud toothbrushes. soft bristled ones.

i've been eating nutella out of the jar lately. my finest moments.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:03:52 GMT

the milk is still fine. it's hurting my head to think about it. not even a hint of bacterial anit-social behaviour.

edinburgh's getting very cold now. getting serious about coldness. today in the bath, because we only have a bath, i felt like i was huddling down in the water. that horrible feeling where you know that in the next 2-5 minutes you have to shiver your way out and somehow get dry and warm before you're tootoo cold. not easy to do in this place.

my mum's told me that the other day, my poor wee cat frisky had to go to the vet for her routine checkup. this is always, first and foremost, a 'manicure', as mum delicately puts it, because frisky's claws get so long that she gets stuck in the carpet a little bit when she walks across our living room, and she clatters a bit on the hard kitchen floor. poor thing! it's tough being a cat so mean that you can only go to the vet every so often. anyway, this time when she went, they put a sign across the top of her cage. 'FRISKY PENMAN: AGGRESSIVE', it said. i wish it had said MISUNDERSTOOD instead. that's all it is. a cat that gets so upset that she pees all over herself? mis.under.stood.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:50:21 GMT

so! i made some sourdough bread the other day. it was tasty but one of the unfortunate things about every single loaf of bread i bake is that they always resembe alien life forms, or large misshapen rocks, or rhino heads, or something like that. this dough was really difficult to deal with and i couldn't for the life of me form it into a loaf, so that's something to work on. making bread is so fun/satisfying!

also, something of note: the milk that i bought that was set to expire on october 27 is STILL NOT OFF. this is thrilling! i can still use it! it doesn't seem even close to going off. it's not debatable. i'll keep these updates coming.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:22:45 GMT

i can't help but start packing! a big horrible secret about me is that i love packing. i guess because more than that, i love unpacking? i don't know how many times i've moved in my life. let me think. nine-ish? nine properly big moves, really. i'm so GOOD at it. i know how to pack so that things break, and i nkow how to fold cardboard boxes so they don't come undone even without tape, and anyway, it's a process i guess i'm willing to make last about a month, in this case. i've been shipping my things across to the states in cardboard boxes, but this packing i'm doing now is actually into suitcases. there must be some sortof medical classification for people like me.

anyway, this is what i'm doing instead of seeing daniel johnston play right now, which is what leah and dom are doing. i'm sure daniel johnston would rather be with me.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:51:36 GMT

i'm having one of those extraordinary experiences with milk, where it doesn't go bad long after the expiry date. in THIS case, the milk was to expire on 27 oct and here we are, the first day of the next month, and i've just sniffed it (not even a deep sniff) and judged it fine enough to pour into my tea. what was once black is now light brown, just perfect, perfect.

it was halloween this weekend! i was a mime, and kept company with the likes of the joker and poison ivy. i can't believe i went all weekend without eating any candy, though? halloween candy? i did eat some monster munch. oh god, i've just remembered that monster munch isn't sold in the states. i'm moving a month from today. good heavens, good grief, dear lord.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:44:30 GMT

i carved an owl into a big fleshy orange pumpkin the other night. it glows feebly at best, but happily it resembles the owl from the tootsie roll pop adverts, so all's well that ends well.

halloween! what a time of year. it's not even that cold outside.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:39:52 GMT

one day, i want to have loads of money so that i can cook all the time and experiment with new dishes, and also so that i can purchase some neat clothes to wear while i cook, and also so that i can maybe take a cooking class in the first place, and a pottery one too so that i have something off of which to eat my food. and a cat to watch me eat it. and some nice toys for that cat. see, i could get carried away.

one day. in the meantime, i will enjoy scrimping and saving, which is really not what i'm doing at all. i spent nearly £8 on tinned pumpkin the other day - such a rare treat in this part of the world. worth it!

i read an article about hugh heffner this morning. he is in his eighties and has three girlfriends that live with him. the oldest one is my age. this thought has stayed with me all day.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:16:43 GMT

guess what!! i went to the pharmacist and she had just been stung by a bee as well, so, so!, i got some tablets and some cream and my bee sting, i think, is steadily fading. it's been such a part of me!

halloween is approaching and so we (leah) are getting the appropriate flat decorations. we (leah) got a little bat to hang from the roof. it's been battered (ha ha!) by the opening/closing of the flat door but aside from that, dang, our flat is prepared for halloween. mostly. we need pumpkins. ripe for carving!

we have this spray thing in the hallway. an air freshener. and when you walk by, it's supposed to emit this nice vanilla-y scent. however, it also makes a noise not unlike R2-D2, and it's honestly become one of my friends. i talk to it. "rrr-rrr-RRRRR", every day, a few times a day. it doesn't even have any scent left in it and it still makes that amiable noise! leah and i speaks its language now. rrr, rr-RRRRRR.

tired. tired, healthy.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:13:54 GMT

my entire left knee has swollen up in a giant celebration of bee venom. i have shown most people i know, desperate for a verdict of "nah, that looks fine", but alas! all i've done is frighten them!

i can't stop rolling my pants up and looknig at it. at work, too! i do it discreetly beneath the desk. that's when i'm not too busy showing it off.

when you walk down along princes st at night, it's neat, because all the construction workers stay out late at night working on the trams. dead quiet, big strong lights, huge jurassic machines! men in helmets not speaking to each other! it's a spectacle for sure.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:02:43 GMT

it's the 39 steps. oops.

first thing this morning i got stung by a dang bee. i walked to work, i sat down, i got up, i went to the kitchen for coffee, and then bam! a pain! right on the side of my knee. do you nkow what? do you know, it hurt so badly. it STILL hurts so badly. i abandoned my coffee, i hobbled to the bathroom, i pulled down my pants and looked: bright red, big dot, already puffy after all of fifteen seconds. a bee lay twitching on the tiles.

that was eight o'clock, the beginning of an eight hour day at work. i keep LOOKING at it, hiking up my pants and staring. it doesn't look like much now, not even very red. that poor bee. in my pants. i'm really glad it was just my knee area. oh, i shudder to think.

i have discovered the beauty of the £1 sandwich at sainsbury's. yum. not yum.