at loose ends

I was doing so well with the blogging, and then I fell off the wagon. Fortunately it's a slow moving wagon, and I'll hopefully be able to get back on to it shortly. I start back to work on Friday (well, my contract starts on Friday, anyway) and I think that will help me stay organized. After two and a half months off work, I am craving the comfort of routine like you wouldn't believe. I don't even have that much to do for the first month, aside from get myself organized and build a really tech website, but it will still be good to get up in the morning with a little more purpose than "watch the Iron Chef I taped last night" and "nap on the couch with the kitten". And to wear clothes aside from jeans and a tank top.

I found a Call for Papers for a book looking for articles on reconciliation and redress in relation to historical injustice and Canadian identity, and I think there is a chance I can rework my MA research paper to fit it, which would be major league exciting. If I can't rework the paper, I think I can reuse my research to write a new one.

I really want to knit something right now, but I don't know what to do. My Matilda Jane is stalled pending bust shaping help from the designer. The socks I was working on are stalled because they're one of my entries for the Ravelympics, and I'm not supposed to work on them until the Olympics start next week. I could just cast on something new but that involves winding yarn into balls, which is not the easiest task to accomplish when you have a kitten who is full of beans.

I can has kitteh?

Yes, u can has kitteh.

Kitteh has no name at present, but he does have cute. His shelter name is Elliot but he's young enough that we'll be able to rename him (he doesn't respond to Elliot at all). I really like the name Elliott (which seems all the more apropos as Brett and I have been talking about Elliott Smith all week) but the boyfriend does not. I'm thinking a Neil Gaiman name would be nice. Perhaps Tristan? It is hard to say.

Owning a house is far more stressful than I had ever anticipated. Kittehs make things better.

Happy Canada Day

I've lived in North Bay Rock City off and on since 2000, but this is my first summer here. It's been a good summer so far (though I'll be happy to go back to work in August; I'm feeling a bit shiftless right now). One thing I've never experienced before, though, is the shadflies.

I've heard stories about the shadflies, of course, but actually experiencing them is an entirely different story. They are the oldest insect (apparently) in the world, and evolution has not seen fi to give them working mouths, so when they hatch from the water and become winged insects, they can't actually eat, and die off quickly. There are so many of them here- when I go to pick up Mat from work, it's almost like driving in snowy weather. I'm so happy our house isn't close to the water - I can't imagine dealing with them on a daily basis like that.