The Blog

 Still alive...

Chocolate-covered crystallised ginger is the nommiest thing I've encountered this week, and I can't believe Ian gave me a giant block of it because it was his birthday yesterday. He should turn 70 more often.

ETA, because I'm too lazy for a new blog post: I may have just turned down my one shot at moving out of home and gaining a measure of independence and self-worth before the PhD is done because I'm too much of a wimp to try. I can't decide if I'm relieved or want to cry myself to sleep.

Labels: death by chocolate, send me love, thesis ftl, uni

 Eep, I'm so slack...

So, how about yuletide, eh? I think I wrote here that I was feeling way too swamped with finishing the PhD to sign up this time around, and it's still true that the thought of committing to something else with deadlines gives me more stress than the thought of submitting another job application (I'm working on another due on Friday, but I'm not that stressed, honest).

But that's not the point. The point is that I did end up writing a Monkey Island stocking stuffer for someone called Nic, entitled "The Elaine Song". It's very silly, but I'm told it made several people laugh, which is really all I ever wanted out of it. Poor old Guybrush, he's so silly.

That's not even the point. The real point is that I did participate in a satellite exchange, where the good people of yuletide sent each other boxes or packets of candy. I may not be able to commit to writing, but shopping for chocolate is one thing I can always find time for. And as for receiving chocolate....... YUM! Made my Christmas, it did.

So, here is a big thank you to bluebrocade, who sent me a lovely package of chocolate from Chocolate Heaven in San Francisco and a little hot chocolate mug as well. So delicious, and cute too!

Labels: apologies, christmas, dairy farmers, death by chocolate, it's about singing and dancing and making people happy, monkey island, writing, yuletide

Party Time!

Today I emailled the boss a more or less "complete" draft of a thesis chapter. For all that it's chapter two, this is the first time I've actually sent him something for this project (honours was 5.5 years ago now, it hardly counts), so I'm a little terrified, but he replied back with a promise that "[he's] looking forward to making comments ranging from the bleeding obvious to the sublime", so I'm going to hope for the best and celebrate the achievement that saw me working all long weekend and not regretting a second of it.

Said celebration has taken the form of a visit to my favourite restaurant here in Cambridge, where I had a delicious Latvian potato bake, a beer, and dessert has just been delivered. I think I may have earned it.

I take it back. I don't even know what one could to earn this - it's simply indulgent and not even the long walk back to my b&b in the rain will see me deserve this kind of deliciousness.

Chocolate Wake-Up Cake, from the Rainbow Cafe.

Labels: cake, death by chocolate, england, phd, science, thesis ftw, trip09

The closing of tabs and other fun links I've been sitting on for a while...

The plot for Act I of the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera. I keep wishing it is a parody, but something tells me it's not. I'm going to see Phantom again on the 2nd of September with D'Arth Mathias and her fiance, and it's going to be awesome. Hoping for Anthony Warlow again.

Neil Gaiman interviews Terry Pratchett - these guys are two of my favourite writers, and it makes me happy that they're such good friends.

The breeding properties of M&Ms - I love this story, and will happily join in this behaviour.

Newspaper Blackout Poems by Austin Kleon.

These two Cat and Girl comics bring warm feelings to my heart.

And I want to buy this book based solely on its cover art. Actually, having browsed the galleries, I want to read any book with a cover by Dan Dos Santos. Because it's all amazing. And if the books turn out to be crap I would want to write new books based on his images. I love them.

I think that's it for the moment. *grins* Have a nice weekend, all.

Labels: art, death by chocolate, it's about singing and dancing and making people happy, linking all over the place, Neil is our god, not-emo poetry, the Phantom of the Opera, webcomics

My fortune for today...

"True love... is like chocolate without the calorie."

I want whatever chocolate my fortune is eating.

Labels: death by chocolate, fortune cookies, tru wuv

The Mary Poppins Bag...

When I was in High School, my backpack always seemed to contain more stuff than there was physically room for, with a bit of space left over for something extra someone needed me to carry. So we called it the Mary Poppins bag, and it was silly good fun.

Of course, these days I realise that the problem with bags that are bigger on the inside is that you can never find that Freddo Frog you know is hidden on the bottom somewhere unless you unpack the entire thing.

Labels: death by chocolate, doctor who, mary poppins

Labels: death by chocolate, food-porn