Bad things.

I moved recently. I hate moving. This is not an earth-shattering statement, a particularly unique one, or a particularly surprising one.

But.

Man, I fucking hate moving.

Bum will tell you I have a lot of stuff. A lot of stuff. A truly astounding amount of stuff I can't bear to be parted from and have managed to tuck into teensiest corners of my apartment. It's a talent. (Plus I truly believe tiny apartment elves come out while I sleep and make. more. stuff.)

So to get all this stuff home (yes, I'm temporarily living with my parents while crap gets sorted out. Not in the basement, and I have no game consoles or black lights.), I rented a U-Haul truck.So here's the thing. They don't really ask you any questions about what you will be doing with said truck. You make a reservation, you pay with a credit card, you drive away with a truck. For 24-hours. All yours to do with as you want. What if I wasn't moving? What if I wanted to do bad things in the back of the U-Haul? Huh? Like a roving meth lab? Or a roving, tiny brothel? Or a roving band of bandits wandering the Pennsylvania highways? What kinds of bad things?

Lots of bad things.

What would your bad thing be?

me = grumpy old woman

I was an at Important Academic Event today and something happened that rather annoyed me. So, as is usual, I'm laying it out here.

It was a seminar-type situation where one person was presenting. There were a couple of professors and junior scholars, including a good friend of the presenter. When it came to Q&A, the Good Friend kept on finishing the presenter's lines/arguments and jumping in when she (presenter) was asked a challenging question or asked to follow up/explain.

It got to the point that the presenter looked at Good Friend, GF jumped in and voila! Later, GF was making a lot of comments about how "tough" the presenter had had it and how the Q&A was unfair.

I was wondering what academics or academics-in-training would make of this? I found it insulting but then I'm the sort to prefer making an arse out of myself solo (and have a regrettable tendency to become highly sarcastic when publicly-challenged/pushed). But, still, I can understand a supervisor/advisor helping out if/when their student is under fire* but a Friend? Especially one who jumped in without the presenter actually being in trouble?



* I'd like to make it clear, though, the general view was the the Presenter was not under fire and the questions, while wankerish in their repetition, were straightforward ones, asking for clarification.

Orange-y.

I find myself weirdly obsessed with oranges. And vitamin C. I think it's because of the general plague feeling this winter has consisted of.

I've never really loved oranges in the past. I'm an instant gratification kinda gal, and peeling them when the pith gets all under the nails was not very instant-y gratification-y. And, God, if seeds are involved. Yet I don't feel the same way about tangerines. The skin is different. It peels like paper without the soft insulation in between.

So oranges have been my fruit of choice lately. Lots and lots of oranges, or rather, one a day (like an apple. Except oranges. And there I go comparing).

This is, perhaps, not unusual. Except I'm also downing packets of Emergen-C in water every day, too. The Evil Co-Worker recommended it and as she has been less sick than me. With the last illness, I'm willing to try anything. And...it's kind of working. Goddamn Evil Co-Worker with her magic packets of B-12 and vitamins in an effervescent, foul-tasting decoction.

However, I also suspect I am saturating myself with Vitamin C and soon I will become an Oompa-Loompa (obviously this is based on sound medical science. And not random musings I think about instead of my dissertation).

I can probably deal with that. Oompa-Loompas don't have to turn in dissertations. I don't think.

Perhaps I am making unfounded assumptions about the Oompa-Loompa as a people. Perhaps all the vitamin C has finally pickled my brain.

Perhaps.