Rose's Rambles

So Saturday was my birthday--the big 3-0. And it was quietly good. :) Quite a few sweet surprises from friends and family, and Mum and Chappy and Sparky came up and spent the weekend. Didn't do a *lot* of running around, since Mum's back and my allergies were acting up, but we did do the shopping we needed to do and did get to eat at almost all of our favorite restaurants, so that was good. And I got to cuddle with Sparky in *my* recliner for a change, which was very good indeed.
Items from birthday wish list not received and therefore rolling onto the Christmas wish list: a better job and a boyfriend. (Only half kidding.)


Long-ish fic forthcoming as soon as I've stared at it long enough to decide it doesn't need any more fiddling. :) Toodles.

Seen on Higheredjobs.com--a very good way *not* to get people to apply (emphasis mine):

DUTIES: Teaching a full load (15 hours) in English/literature courses. Overload teaching is encouraged. Participation in college and departmental committees, college activities and public relations functions as part of the work schedule. Develop functional interpersonal relationships with students and colleagues. Documentation and recordkeeping.

See, at my alma mater, a tenure-track load is usually no more than three classes per semester. Five classes required, more encouraged?! And you're probably expected to publish, too, on top of all the extracurricular stuff. NO THANKS.
(And people wonder why I'd rather not teach....)

ETA: Seen in another job posting for a business writing prof: Specializations in new media and distanced education are desired. *snerk*

My beige bug buddy came back--I spotted him poking along through the living room, took pictures (see icon), and took him outside again. Apparently he doesn't like bright sunlight, so I put him in the shade of my plants on the porch, and he seemed pretty happy if speed of movement is any indication.
Anybody know what kind of bug he is? EDIT: Found! He's a Southwest ironclad beetle. (More here.)

Also had a cricket get in last night, but this one was smart enough to know that Big Moving Shape = Human = RUN, so I wasn't able to squish it *or* to chase it outside. Grr.

Just killed the third cricket in as many days. Bleeeech.

Still, better than scorpions... and now that I think about it, I'm especially grateful for that, given that I stepped squarely on the first cricket *barefoot* without realizing it.

One of these days, I'll live in a place where I can get through an entire summer without A/C problems. :P
At least here I know more or less what the problem is--the outside unit is right beside the porch, not up on the roof, so when I tried turning the A/C on just now, I was able to see that the outside unit wasn't running at all. And at least I know for sure that it's cooler outside than inside right now and that the maintenance people here take A/C problems seriously, so it shouldn't take an entire week to get it fixed.
But still. :P

Y'know how they say celebrity deaths come in threes?
Robert Culp died yesterday. :(

Not much news from my RL, and most of the writing I'm doing is original stuff that I can't/don't want to post online. Sorry. Might be coming up with a March Madness-related fic soonish, though.

Peter Graves has died. He would have been 84 this week. :'(
AP story
E! Online
I knew him best from Mission: Impossible, of course, but I do remember him in Stalag 17 and so much more... what a loss.

It's snowing. Been snowing all day, really, though there was a good bit of sleet mixed in earlier. And despite the fact that it was in the 70s on Sunday, it's actually accumulating on the grass. As in over an inch (I just went out and measured)--I think that's more than we got two weeks ago. And we're supposed to get at least another inch before it stops.
I haven't seen it snow this hard here in... six years, I guess (the freak Valentine's Day snowstorm in '04). And certainly not this late, apart from the Easter snowstorm a few years back.
I'm not too worried about losing power or anything, as the temp's hovering right around the freezing mark. But still. Snow. In central Texas. In late February. o.O

In other news, from one of my cousins: Think "today's music ain't got the same soul"? Let me direct you to The Baseballs, whose debut album consists entirely of current hits redone in a rockabilly style. Can't say I'm crazy about all of the lyrics they chose, but they definitely have that '50s sound (and look) down!

Translation project = DONE. \o/ I'm taking the rest of the day off!

The translation project hasn't succeeded in killing me yet, but I'm still swotting away at it--and I've got at least three smaller jobs in the queue for this month. So I'll be rather quiet for a bit longer yet, though I may need to recharge by writing (and posting) some fic between jobs. My desk runneth over!
Happy Advent!