Friday!

Medical
Swimming yesterday was good for my back, but worked my thighs and knees a bit too hard; as I told Alanya, my body remembers things it can't do anymore. I automatically push off into a strong backstroke, cleaving the water like a knife, moving forcefully across the pool... but this pool is much larger than my parents' pool, and my body is fibro-y and deconditioned now. So I had to keep fighting my instincts and going slower, not extending my muscles as much, after that first flight across the pool. Had no trouble walking around Harvard Square afterward, but I had trouble walking later, after I rested, and had shoulder and upper back pain after I heard about my uncle. I'm a little better today. Not as good as I was yesterday in the pool. Maybe I'll go swimming again today, if I have time. I probably won't have time, though. :(

Link Soup
**New animated Star Trek series!

**What bothers me the most about this is that a fellow scienceblogger--who is surrounded by women who have *competed* at being nerdy, for crimeny's sake--is surprised by an attractive woman who shows an interest in science fiction, and thinks that this is a rare enough event to comment on it. Have we made absolutely no progress? Is sci fi still a "boy thing," while I should be more interested in Martha Stewart and Oprah? Is it just an anomaly for "hot" girls to read science fiction, or do science, or any "boy" thing you could name--but it's OK and expected for lesser attractive women to do so?

**Two dolphins were in serious danger of death this week when they swallowed some sharp shards of plastic from their pool in an acquarium in China. They were saved in the nick of time and are now recovering. Keepers at the aquarium had tried and failed to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic so they called in the world's tallest man, Mongolian herdsman Bao Xishun who stands a mighty 7 feet 9 inches tall, to reach in and remove the plastic.

**Special one-time tax credit!

**I so want to play this game. (Thanks, beelavender!)

**The best post about the new update page.

Daily Science
**A U.S. study has found that neural stem cells repair damaged brain tissue in laboratory mice far better than previously believed, a finding that could translate into treatment for stroke and other trauma.

**Microscopic grains recovered from a comet by a U.S. spaceprobe in an epic voyage could revise mainstream notions about how these lonely wanderers of the Solar System are born, scientists report.

Daily BPAL
Huh.I think I've tested all the rest of the frimps previously. Ah well - my Nov. 30th lab order should arrive soon, frimps in tow. Hopefully likewise the imps from rhovanion's Yule decant circle.

Friday memeage!
Wearing
Academic conference T-shirt, purple pajama pants with swirls and stars. Why is it impossible to find a set of pajamas at Target these days? They used to have cute pajama sets. Now it's all separates. I may have to hit *shudder* the mall.

Reading
Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from Our Brains to Black Holes, by Charles Seife. I'm really loving this. It is a library book, so I'm going to have to get my own copy, because I definitely want to be able to re-read it and lend it to people. I'll type up the section on mitochondrial DNA that made me go "dude!" later. For now? Highly recommended.

Elayna is Reading
Beauty Sleep, by Cameron Dokey (fairy tale retelling - guess which one), and the manga Full Moon and Pichi Pichi Pitch.

Planning
I was interrupted in my typing by a phone call from Elayna - she forgot her flute and concert outfit, and today's the winter concert for the school. (Tuesday's was for the parents.) So I had to run her stuff up to the school. And I went ahead and returned the library books, deposited my paycheck, bought packing tape, and got Starbucks because I was not going to make it home without coffee. (I do all of this on foot.)

Now I'm going to finish packing up holiday gifts and take them to the post office. Then haul laundry and put away clean dishes. Then sleep, most likely, or at least rest; then work on Job #3, because I haven't even logged in there this week. I *really* need to work out a flexible daily schedule for myself. It's just hard because my physical abilities fluctuate so damn much.

My parents are flying into town tomorrow. Dad was too wrecked last night to plan much, but it's likely that I'll be spending at least some portion of the weekend on the Cape with them. Don't know *which* portion. So if I've told you I'll be somewhere this weekend, make it a maybe. A strong maybe, in the case of Saturday night, since we have to be here for kissmythistle! Funeral's Monday.

*sigh* Okay. Back to getting shit done. *waves*

(no subject)

* Phone call from kissmythistle, who's at the storage place picking up our stuff and will be schlepping it up here:

KmT: "Do you want the good news first, or the bad news? How about the good news?"
me: "Um. Eep. Let's do the bad news."
KmT: "There is enough stuff here to require a U-Haul, and I do not have a U-Haul."
me: "*whimper*"
KmT: "The good news is that I got your file cabinet, and maybe your iPod."

Well, I'll take that.

* Adam, please call the voicemail and tell me via e-mail to tell me if the message is important, because I cannot hear anything over the static on the line. After that, please call the godsdamned phone company about the static on the line.

* My uncle's death was apparently a complete surprise. He'd been losing weight, there was something wrong with his blood count (static drowned this out), they were running tests. And he was home with my aunt and requested manicotti for lunch, and she turned around, and she heard a thump, and he was on the floor. Just... gone. Just like that.

* Dad suggested that we go out to the Cape for the weekend instead of Monday. We can't, because kissmythistle is arriving on Saturday night. We were trying to figure out what to do, but the static on the line made it impossible. Repeat: Adam, please call the phone company. I can't. Because of the static. I told Dad we'd call him back tonight, on Adam's cell phone.

* Will also have to call Kires tonight re: my visit and helping to get the rest of our stuff. Would love to take care of this now. But. Static.

EDIT: Sorry. I just... I've had two and a half days of relentless physical activity after two-plus days of being flat on my back, and my body has completely crapped out; I did three hours of errands this morning, and every step hurt, shocks of pain up my thighs. My feet hurt now. A lot. And I'm just trying to plan shit with my grieving father - who knew my uncle for longer than he knew his own father; Dad was 39 when Grandpa died, and he was 9 when he met Uncle Sy - and I can't, because I can't hear him. And so we can't deal with the weekend stuff and funeral stuff. And I can't call Kires or Elayna's doctor or the health insurance company. And I hurt and I'm angry and upset and frustrated. And thinking about my aunt, my favorite aunt, just thinking everything was okay and going to get her husband some lunch, and then just - losing him. Just such a horrible random thing, such a nasty shock, such - okay. I'm done for now. I need to go lie down.

breathing...

And azhure made my day. I can't say *completely* why/how yet, for reasons that will be obvious when I *do*, but - she sent lovely frimps with a swap, and also she sent beautiful gifts. I haven't looked at Elayna's yet - she'll open it when she gets home. But I expect she'll be just as blown away as I am! (EDIT: She was. She gasped aloud when she saw her gifts from azhure - beautiful handmade earrings with a matching necklace - and vowed to wear them tomorrow.) She got her Package Pixie gift today, too. She's going to have a *great* mail day.

Other recent highlights from the mail:

* Thank you for the scarf and mp3 player, wispfox!

* Thank you for the soaps, whitecrow0!

* Thank you for the Chanukah gifts (as yet unopened, but wanted to let you know we got them), Spooky and texmorgan!

Other good things recently:

* getting to spend the bulk of two days with ayalanya

* getting to meet ultra_lilac, and see the joy in mgrasso when he's with her (mazel tov!)

* seeing the look of accomplishment and delight on Elayna's face during her concert Tuesday night. Some of the kids looked bored, some nervous, some just blah. Elayna looked happy, excited. She really loves this, and I'm really glad I got her involved.

Okay. What I need:

* a nap this afternoon.

* sex soon please.

* the company of friends, in low-impact activities. Movie or something.

* help wrapping gifts. Lots of people send Elayna gifts from amazon.com and other places. No one springs for gift wrap. I understand this - they charge what, four bucks? Too much. But just know that, at the other end, there's a person who has to wrap all of those gifts, because half the fun of $WINTERHOLIDAY for a kid is that glittering array of giftage All For Them and the manic glee of ripping the paper off to see what's inside. You just don't get that from a cardboard box. So. Gimpy-handed me doing nonergonomic stuff over here.

* help hanging what little art we have up here.

* snuggling.

* Zan.

I go read now.

...and we're feeling much better now.

On the first day of Chanukah, my true love gave to me... the second season of Veronica Mars! Which, heh, I'd just picked up yesterday at Newbury Comics, because it was like half off. This is why I'm not allowed to buy anything in $WINTERHOLIDAY season. But. Yay Veronica Mars!

On the first day of Chanukah, my other true love gave to me... BPAL! A bottle of Kindly Moon, and imps of the fruity goodness that is Maenad, the mossy goodness that is Niflheim, the peculiar goodness that is French Creole, and the... uncertainty of La Belle Dame Sans Merci. Thank you, Spooky. :)

Adam opened a gift from Elayna (Arrested Development, season one, and yes, mgrasso, you can come over and watch - oh, and we have both seasons of Slings and Arrows, too! cheshyre and xiphias need to see that if they haven't already, and - oh, right, Chanukah!) and one from me (Zagat and The Phantom Gourmet's Guide to Boston Restaurants - I know my man well!).

Elayna opened one from us (Princess Peach for the Nintendo DS, and every time I type "Nintendo DS" I giggle, and she calls it her DS, and ohmygoodness. This is one of the hardest parts of parenting right here.) and two from my parents - a $50 Visa gift card and oh, man, awesome clothes! She unfolded the first item, a black hoodie with a very punk rock skull and crossbones, and I gasped and complained - "They never would've gotten me something like that!" Also a cute grey sweatsuit and a long-sleevedshirt that looks dual-layered, looks like a long-sleeved T over a striped oxford, and the tee has an awesome punky tattoo-esque print. I covet my daughter's clothing. Seriously.

We already opened the gift from my parents - new dual-tuner TiVo with three years of service. :)

And this is the first year Elayna's recited the prayers. And she sat still for a discussion of the meaning of and reason for Chanukah before tearing into her gifts. Without even fidgeting.

So. Yes. Great loot!

And... I know you already know this, but there are a lot of kids who don't get near this much stuff. It's not too late to help out with that. See if the Salvation Army runs their Angel Tree program in your area. (I don't give money to them, because I'm unfond of their practices, but I'll donate a gift, because I know that *that'll* go to its intended place.) We usually give to Toys for Tots and Atlanta's Empty Stocking Fund.

Happy Chanukah, y'all. I'm going to go watch The Hebrew Hammer.