Grr.

[slemslempike]

I went out for lunch with some people from the department. I had carrot cake. I didn't actually want carrot cake, as I only really like the icing and not the cake part, but I asked for the orange cake, and she said "carrot cake" and for some reason I said "yes". I scrutinised the cakes as I walked back to the table, and I'm sure the other one was an orange cake. Probably she was trying to hoard it all for herself, and putting spokes in the wheels of anyone who wanted it. I also had an orange/grapefruit/lemon juice thing which was nice, if rather frothy.

I am having to resist the urge to use the red marker pen on my keyboard to colour over my eyebrows.

I had a weekend of mostly sleeping, reading, and watching Freaks and Geeks with Alice. And then we cleaned the kitchen and did all the washing up on Sunday. There was a lot of it, so we divided it into glasses, bowls, plates, pans, pan-type accessories, plastics, knives, forks, spoons, sharp knives, other cutlery and bits of the oven, and then rewarded ourselves for each cateogry completed by...moving a magnet from one side of the boiler to the other. It wasn't so bad, as Jen had done the mouldy bits earlier, but I made Alice do the pan that she had (apparently accidentally) welded burnt rice to the bottom of while I scrubbed the oven. It's not exactly sparkling, but it's certainly less brown than it was.

I've finally got a form to go to a conference on "Entertainment, Leisure and Identities" in May, which oursin very kindly told me about - thank you very much. Hopefully I can get my department to help me with the costs - they have a fund, but I don't know how it gets distributed. There will apparently be a paper called "from Mississippi to Merseysippi" about The Beatles. I feel I should take nerdcakes so that she can spread her (accentless) Liverpudlian pride amongst a wider audience.

Current annoyances:

People putting out requests for specific assistance (experiences rather than googlable info), and then not thanking people who respond.

Being called "dear". I generally accept it in the spirit in which it's intended from people who use it habitually and whom I know, but on the whole I don't like receiving endearments, and that's possibly my least favourite. It sounds either elderly or patronising to my ears.

But then I have been in a foul mood for at least the last week, in the sort of temper where you want to kick things, preferably things that will break while making a harsh noise, slam doors very very loudly, tell absolutely everyone you meet to fuck off and mean it, and possibly burning things down. I have nobly refrained from almost all of the above, but can't promise that this will continue.

Did I hear aright that Sandi Toksvig is going to host The News Quiz next series? I am not at all sure how I feel about that. I mean, hurrah, for Sandi is excellent, and I have had the occasional twinge while pondering what hignfy would have been like if she had got the hosting job (and will anyone write me that fic, beg though I do? No, apparently they won't. You bastards.). But if she's hosting then that means she can't guest, and I find her so funny and wonderful, and she won't, presumeably get to collapse in giggles and make jokes about groping Alan Coren quite so often.

Comments

[nerdcakes.livejournal.com]

Hee! I would totally come with you, only I fear that they might not appreciate hearing me cheer every time the word 'Liverpool' is mentioned. ;)

Well done for the not-burning of things. That is really all you need to achieve, I think.

I feel much the same way about Sandi hosting The News Quiz. Mostly, though, I'm quite happy that she'll be on it every episode omg. And hopefully she'll continue make that exact same joke about how she and Alan Coren are like a married couple but it'll be sad that she'll be stuck asking questions instead of answering them.

[sinsense.livejournal.com]

The paragraph that begins But then I have been in a foul mood for at least the last week is so very excellent, and so exactly describes my mood for the past week that I gasped when I read it. Bravo. (I almost wrote "Bravo, dear," which is the other part of my mood -- I want to say things that people have expressly told me not to say. What in hell's name? Foul moods are dangerous.)

[birdsflying]

Erk. I use 'dear' a lot. But not in a patronising manner! (I hope). Am sorry to hear you are cranky. Would you like to join me when I toast marshmellows over the smoldering remains of my finance department? (Is supposedly sorted now but I still plan to burn them to the ground.)

Am working my way through my comments at the moment but wanted to say: thank you so much for your suggestions. I need the gender/age thing for the section on my participants (butnot for my actual hypothesis, I wanted to leave it out by the supervisor was all 'no, no - you need a bit about the people you ae asking!'.) but I did add a 'prefer not to say' section as per your advice.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

I don't think I ever say 'dear' except when provoked past bearing by internet trolls, and usually not even then. I usually associate it with little old ladies.

[whatho.livejournal.com]

I've had random angriness too. It might be the tree pollen. Or it might just be that I'm a bit rubbish and thus a good focus for anger.

Carrot cake is wrong. It's a wartime thing. People don't have to use carrots in place of sugar anymore because sugar isn't rationed. Neither is there any place in chocolate cake for beetroots, though I've seen no fewer than two recipes that seem to think otherwise.

And if you do colour over your eyebrows, kindly take a photograph.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Did I hear aright that Sandi Toksvig is going to host The News Quiz next series?
I thought it was good news. She'll be on every week and perhaps she'll write her own script, which would be funnier than the one it takes about ten people to write for Simon Hoggart. More good news from Radio 4: Marcus Brigstock & Andrew Sachs starring in The Code of the Woosters. Sunday afternoon.

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

But then I have been in a foul mood for at least the last week, in the sort of temper where you want to kick things, preferably things that will break while making a harsh noise, slam doors very very loudly, tell absolutely everyone you meet to fuck off and mean it, and possibly burning things down. I have nobly refrained from almost all of the above, but can't promise that this will continue.


YES! ME TOO! And I thought I was alone and everyone else was good tempered all the time and it was just me who wanted to do this. (And kick the cat, which I've also refrained from doing except by accident when she sneaks under my feet when I'm carrying the baby and can't see her.) *very much empathy*

And useless fact of the day... Joey Maynard's least favourite endearment was "my love" - even from Jack, apparently!

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

There was an entire book of vegetable desserts ('Beyond Carrot Cake' or some such) at the library I worked at. I was never brave enough to open it.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry if I've used 'dear' to you in the past. I may have done - I do use it, but only to people who really *are* dear to me, and you're certainly that.

Boo to your bad mood. I'd vote for kicking things that won't break, and shouting very loudly at something that won't mind. I don't like being in a bad mood, in case I end up saying something that will hurt someone, or breaking something that I'll be sorry about later. Whatever you opt for, I hope the mood goes away soon.