Is that fall *back*...?

08:44 pm: Is that fall *back*...?
Or fall behind...?

I was surprised to see how long it has been since my last update. On a day-to-day basis, there doesn't seem to be much to report, though little things do accumulate. Last week I spent one of my days off taking advantage of my health insurance to make an appointment at a local doctor's office. The nice thing about living three blocks from a hospital is that there are plenty of doctors around. (Have I mentioned recently how much I love my neighborhood?) I got my tetanus shot, which was way past overdue, and made more appointments for a cholesterol test and a physical.

I've been chipping away at the clutter in my apartment. I ordered several wire racks and such for stacking things in my cupboards, and they are starting to arrive. That should allow me to clear off my table, which up until now has been doubling as my pantry. I also worked on seasoning the molcajete that I bought while my parents were here this summer. That project made my whole apartment smell like garlic.

Another thing that's been taking up my time is filling out a wishlist for the family Christmas gift exchange. It's quite convenient now that Amazon lets you compile items from any website into one list. I've been brainstorming and websurfing to find goodies of all sorts, from books to DVDs to cookware to clothing...even a few oddball items. For example, today I called up a plant nursery to ask for suggestions of things I could grow on my balcony, and they recommended kumquats. I've never had a kumquat, though it's certainly a fun word to say. Kumquat. <ahem> Anyway, a lot of things that I wound up coveting were far too expensive for the wishlist, but I took notes so that I can go back and look them up again...possibly when I have an actual house to put everything in.

The results of the bid rotation were finally announced today. It's looking like I have a permanent morning shift, so that's a relief.

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From:	wednesday_10_00
Date:	November 3rd, 2009 04:05 pm (UTC)

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Yay for morning shift! I'm glad you got it.

(Also, I didn't know you could add stuff from any site to an Amazon list; handy!)

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From:	spacealien_vamp
Date:	November 4th, 2009 05:02 am (UTC)

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The universal wishlist was certainly a delightful discovery. Sadly, it didn't make up for the disappointment of discovering that Morningstar Farms has discontinued the veggie dog. ;_; I think I'm still in shock from that.

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From:	wednesday_10_00
Date:	November 4th, 2009 12:46 pm (UTC)

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That IS sad. We almost always buy "Smart Dogs*" (the ones in the refrigerated section by the tofu), so I didn't even notice.

*I guess I am part of the reason MF discontinued their dogs. Feel free to blame me. :(

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From:	spacealien_vamp
Date:	November 5th, 2009 04:09 pm (UTC)

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Should I take that as a recommendation for Smart Dogs? Now that I need to find another source...

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From:	wednesday_10_00
Date:	November 5th, 2009 06:03 pm (UTC)

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I've always liked them; especially since they also come in a normal hot dog size, not totally dwarfed by the bun. (Also, I like the bratwurst-esque ones, but they're really only good grilled.)

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From:	manga_crow
Date:	November 4th, 2009 06:02 am (UTC)

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I'll add another "yay!" for your morning shift =)

I've never used the wishlist on Amazon before - that's pretty neat. (My family values surprise so much that putting something on a list is the surest way not to get it :p)

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From:	spacealien_vamp
Date:	November 4th, 2009 12:37 pm (UTC)

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My family values surprise so much that putting something on a list is the surest way not to get it

The problem is that without a list it's a tricky balance between "surprise" and "useless." Sometimes one happens upon the perfect unexpected gift, but there's a not-so-small chance that the person either doesn't really want it or already has it.

I like making a really long list. That way there are lots of options of all different kinds, so it maintains the element of surprise to an extent while still guiding the potential gift-buyer in the right direction.

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From:	manga_crow
Date:	November 4th, 2009 08:36 pm (UTC)

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Heh. I could tell many humorous anecdotes about the gifts I've received over the years^^ In recent years it's gotten better though, now I tend to get TV series box sets which works out well.

On a tangentially related note; I surfed over to Amazon to see how the lists work, and I noticed you had some books from the Codex Alera on yours. Does that series get better? I enjoyed the first book, but the second book had so many bad things happening that the only solutions seemed to be "God intervenes" or (more likely) "Tavi turns into God". The magic concept was so neat that I really wanted to finish, but I wasn't in the mood for a bunch of deux ex machina.

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From:	spacealien_vamp
Date:	November 4th, 2009 11:53 pm (UTC)

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The magic concept was so neat that I really wanted to finish, but I wasn't in the mood for a bunch of deux ex machina.

I like the way it shows Tavi using his wits and teamwork to overcome complex problems. I imagine the dynamic is going to change in the fifth book, due to plot developments, so I can only speculate about that.

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From:	megory
Date:	November 4th, 2009 12:09 pm (UTC)

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Congratulations on the organizers. That's the biggest challenge for me, having a place for everything so that I can actually find it easily.

Hurray for the morning shift. That is a wonderful gift.

Now I need to know what a kumquat tastes like and what the plant looks like and how big it is, etc.

What!!! No more veggie dogs???? Is it already done, or can we go buy a bunch to horde? That's not fair without announcing it first.

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From:	spacealien_vamp
Date:	November 4th, 2009 12:29 pm (UTC)

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Now I need to know what a kumquat tastes like and what the plant looks like and how big it is, etc.

Here's a picture of the fruit from the nursery I called. The guy I talked to said that it's tart, and he compared it to eating marmalade.

Is it already done, or can we go buy a bunch to horde?

I bought some back in August. I got down to the last two in the pack, so I tried to buy more last week, but neither of my grocery stores had any. That's when I checked the Morningstar Farms website and saw that they had it listed under "discontinued."

You might check Big Lots, it's possible they have some.

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From:	megory
Date:	November 4th, 2009 05:12 pm (UTC)

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Thanks for the picture of the kumquat. I guess I've seen them before and have probably even eaten one before. I think I liked it.

I'll check out Big Lots for Veggie Dogs. It's sad because I only have one package left.

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From:	spacealien_vamp
Date:	November 5th, 2009 12:09 am (UTC)

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I guess I've seen them before and have probably even eaten one before.

After reading more about them, particularly this NPR article, I decided to go ahead and order a tree for myself. I hope it does well on my balcony.

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From:	megory
Date:	November 5th, 2009 02:43 am (UTC)

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Good luck. It's a nice article. Kumquats sound very versatile, and they're beautiful. I hope the tree does well. It'll be nice to have something that gives fruit in the winter.

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