Gillian Polack's Blog, page 330

gillpolack @ 2009-12-30T13:50:00

I can't say "Please don't laugh" but I can say "Please don't laugh too much."

I was clearing up my place just enough so that the friends dropping in this afternoon won't be acutely embarrassed. I've given up on that, and so they may well be a bit on the "I shall not look at this mess - I shall remain polite" side of things. There is a very good reason for this.

I had collected lots of recycling and decided that the rubbish could go out, as well. The security door was open. This annoys me, e...

Jeri Westerson - Eating and Blogging: Crumbs on the Keyboard

This post is a special New Year's eve's eve gift, the next in that series of writers and their history. I have some gentle reminding to do for posts next year. Jeri emailed me hre guest post about the time 451Press (and my blog there) kicked the bucket: she's been wonderfully patient.

If you're intrigued by Jeri's post, there are the books, of course, but you can also friend Crispin Guest on Facebook. The new time travel is way more fun than the new black.

I'm going to sit back and let you ...

gillpolack @ 2009-12-29T15:06:00

AAPT have left me a very nice (albeit grumpy) message on my answering machine. They're crediting me the $260, but without taking responsibility for the problem. They say it's a gesture of goodwill, but not to leave my account unpaid again. Since I didn't intend it to be unpaid initially, that suits me just fine. Thank you, AAPT.

Just because it amuses me, Mum was astonished I had called the Telecommunications Ombudsman in the first place. I'm more the sort of person who leaves things lie ...

Year in review - sadly sober and serious

A few days ago I read my first LJ year in review. I decided that I wouldn't do one because it's been a tough year and keeping the impossible bits to myself seemed sensible. I was putting out the rubbish this morning (symbolic, much?) and I realised how many amazing and wonderful things there were in 2009, too. I won't give you all the tough aspects and I'll only give you the bits of my life that I can talk about publicly. In other words, this isn't my whole year. Be thankful for that!

Let...

gillpolack @ 2009-12-27T16:15:00

Instead of lowering your mood with more unholidayish tidings (other people sing "One day my prince will come" - right now I'm singing "One day my luck will change" - though I have no objections to the advent of princes as part of that luckchange) I am meming (courtesy a_d_medievalist - and I have to admit, that I ought to be making references to the Wheel of Fortune, given I'm following in ADM's footsteps):

"If you respond to this, I will:

1. Tell you why I befriended you.
2. Associate you with ...

gillpolack @ 2009-12-26T18:27:00

People are still hoping I have a Happy Chanukah, if any of you are still wondering. I suspect it's going to be Chanukah for months!

gillpolack @ 2009-12-26T10:39:00

My last two days have been very mixed.

The really wonderful part of it was Christmas Eve, where I visited friends and shared their festivities. We had a ball.

The worst bit is my health but, in the spirit of midsummer kindness, I'll keep those details from you. It's a bit better today, because the weather change (Cyclone Lawrence!) finally happened and I split yesterday between sleep and work. Because of the sleep and work, I didn't thave to worry too much about Christmas TV. This was a ...

gillpolack @ 2009-12-24T03:06:00

Dear Various Nice Peoples

I appreciate your thoughtfulness in giving me Chanukah wishes this week. Five of them today alone! I'll hold them in readiness for the very next Chanukah because your kind thoughts mean a great deal to me. Remind me a bit closer to day one of the coming festival (December 1 2010) and I'll either invite you round or send you an e-gift.*

Tu B'Shvat (one of our many new years) is the next annual event in the Jewish calendar. A friend described it once as the birthday o...

gillpolack @ 2009-12-23T13:55:00

I'm really regretting having AAPT as an ISP provider right now.

They've charged me $65 for reconnecting 4 services – the ones that they said "It was our fault, don't worry about the reconnection fee" last time. You remember, the day I woke up with no internet or telephone? Why four? It seems they reconnected the mobile services they pushed on me, but that I never used. The ones they assured me would sit there passively, not incurring any charges, until I actually used them for the first ...

gillpolack @ 2009-12-22T18:18:00

My ongoing headaches have a solution. The solution is a script for antibiotics (probably ought to be filled tomorrow) and a series of dental appointments starting in early January and finishing in August. I have an infected root and need a root canal and I have a whacking great filling to be done and it looks as if one tooth (crown and all) will disappear entirely. So now you know.

Just think how much worse it would have been if I had a sweet tooth?