Working through the media list

This morning, to the sound of late summer drizzle, I finished The Little Drummer Girl. To add to the drama of the story, I realized I was (am) wearing a shirt that once belonged to the guy who recommended this book to me. It's been my nightshirt for years and is stretched and tattered now. It's actually... Egyptian cotton? Well, 100% cotton and assembled in Egypt, anyway. (Which means Egyptian factory workers, Egyptian slaves... while reading a spy novel about Israelis hunting Palestinian terrorists... what a loopy world.) Damn. I owe him a replacement shirt. (Buy two and keep one for myself, of course. It's comfy.)

Anyway... now to see what else is on the reading queue. I had to look up "queue" since I had problems remembering it wasn't "cue" even before I had to remember it wasn't queue. Unlike =some= men in my life he doesn't wear his hair in a queue either, just to be difficult.

Games:
Finish playing the walkthrough of Myst III.
read:
The Compass Rose which I *thought* I picked for being LeGuin short stories and NOT because it both relates to this year's playa theme and mgrasso's LJ RPG. Hmmm.
Then infinitehotel's copy of American Gods.
Then Steve's copy of Good in Bed, which he recommended because it reminds him of the screenplay he's written, and not because, like the protagonist, I am a sarcastic fat girl.
Then to the remaining book magid gave me at Christmas, which keeps sinking down the list because I own it.
I generally get to books faster if they're on loan.
I hear from chaiya that I shouldn't read Just So Stories the first time, but have them read to me. So I will start stalking the gifted voices in my life. (And I don't link that one because Amazon doesn't seem to know about the edition illustrated by Helen Ward.)

Folks may start throwing more books at me. After mentioning Tim Powers, I've been encouraged to read Jack Vance. And the Djinn and Tonnix crowd of Pratchett fans recommended some author to me last night. Admitting to not even recognizing the name brought gasps. But, unlike Erik T. Ray, I do not consistently keep my notebook in hand and write these down as they are said.

Erik asked after prog's current book, then went on to describe him as The Jack Kerouac of Tech Manual Writers. He offered some illuminating comments about Planet O'Reilly. When I mentioned I'd recently put a resume on file there, he offered to put in a good word for me, carefully writing my name in his little book.

Bar-B-Que and Burdicks

I probably wouldn't have even returned the keys tonight, except that after finishing Myst III and realizing my house was almost entirely devoid of chocolate, I decided that it was officially Burdick's Hot Chocolate Season again. Josh was over scanning in all his notes and charts from Mongolia, although he moved his operation back from the kitchen table to the living room so he could better experience the wonders of the D'ni. But he decided that Harvard Square was too long a walk. Feh.

Steve had called earlier to let me know he was back, thanked me for catsitting, and invited me over to watch Amelie and pick up the little something from Central New York he brought to make me homesick. At the time I was struggling, even with the walkthrough, to complete the game, so I deferred him. I called him back. "Burdicks?" He agreed so quickly I figured he knew what he was in for. When he muttered under his breath "$4 for hot chocolate? Better be the best hot chocolate I've ever had..." I realized he'd Never Been to Burdicks. Needless to say, he was more than satisfied with his investment. I restocked in chocolate-dipped ginger, (and even pink grapefruit jellybeans, found between Burdicks and the T).

I don't know what I was expecting, but he brought me Dinosour Bar-b-que Potato Chips and a bottle of The Original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Sensuous Slathering Sauce. Lissard's gang used to drive down from Canada to go to Dinosaur. It's a yankee sauce that sells in the deep south. And the restaurant is right down the street from Rain, the glam-est bar I've ever seen.

Now to figure out what to barbeque first!