Tuesday, August 16, 2005 ::: last night I went to visit my friend heather who is recuperating from surgery, and I got to meet her chickens! They were in the coop for the night since foxes or cats have been after them (this is in takoma park.) Some things I learned about chickens:
they make weird noises that I guess could be considered clucking, but don't really sound much like clucking.
they have really really big clawlike feet.
the chickens like to lay eggs in various parts of the yard, leading to to an impromptu easter egg hunt every now and then.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 ::: So I was at work on monday and shortly after lunchtime the sky darkened ominously and it began to rain. to pour. sheets of rain pelted against the windows and the roof while thunder rumbled ominously. after a particularly sudden ominous rumble, the power went out. and then back on again. and then out again. and then the power went out and came back on several more times all in the space of a few minutes, during which we all heard loud popping sounds indicating that our computers were not dealing with power surges as well as we thought they could. As this all finished, we were treated to a stunningly bright electrical fire complete with sparks and pink flame visible from the office window, but a safe distance of about 100 feet away. Electrical problems continued after the storm cleared, so we all went home early, which was quite relaxing.
oh, and things are back to normal at work, since the surge protectors did their job for the most part and no permanent damage was done.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005 ::: Ah, summer. going by so quickly. I haven't done all the things that I said I would do and generally feel kind of behind but the laziness seems worth it. Gonza and I went to rehoboth last weekend (or was it the weekend before?) and we enjoyed ourselves immensely even though I was a bit grouchy while he shopping and threw a fit when he demanded that we find a parking permit. But then I apologized and we went swimming and enjoyed ourselves even though I got a little sunburned. since then it's been pretty uneventful, just a lot of work and socializing and the like. I bought harry potter (first book) in spanish and am trying to practice, but I'm realizing I've got a long way to go to reading gabriel garcia marquez in the original.
I don't normally read the fiction in the New Yorker because it's often dull and kind of pretentious. but I did read a fabulous story recently, and discovered today that it's available online - Aleksandar Hemon's story The Conductor
