Meanderings: March 10, 2000

Friday,
March 10, 2000

Um, yes, I did mean for yesterday's entry to be that short. I received an email wondering if that was supposed to be all of it, or if there was more. Considering how I've accidentially abbreviated entries in the past by not putting quote marks in my code, I can understand the concern. But no, it was supposed to be brief -- considering the Russian epic posting of Wednesday, it seemed appropriate.

Besides which, I didn't have a whole hell of a lot to say yesterday.

Today, however, is different -- for one thing, it's Friday, and I have decided I'm going to take some of my stockpiled flexitime and cut out of here early while there's daylight and I still have a few shreds of energy. Go home and write, go downtown and peruse the junk shops, I don't care -- as long as I can go do something fun for once, whee!

Although I'd give it all up for a couple of hours in Antigua. I WANT TO BE SOMEWHERE WARM AND SUNNY, DAMMIT. Julia keeps sending me emails about how Houston has burst into the first bloom of spring, there are majestic thunderstorms rolling across Elizabeth Moon's patch of earth, Trey told me that the temps in Chicago had actually gotten up to the 50's last week, and soft breezes are generally blowing across my favorite parts of the US.

Meanwhile, here in Sweden the temperature is around 2°C, we had more snow a few days ago, and there is yet more snow predicted in the five-day forecast. Man, but I am getting really, really tired of winter in general. I wound up running into a transplanted Californian in the mall a few days ago -- he said that he loves this weather because it always reminds him of skiing vacations. It just reminds me of wearing the immobilizer from my knee surgery and walking with crutches. Sigh. I could deal with just a little bit of Spring right now, thank you very much.

So in that spirit, I think it's time for "Yet More Songs that Get Me Perked Up." Rumor had it that Hanna Holborn Gray, former President of the University of Chicago and Scourge of Secretaries Everywhere, could sing the following lyrics in Latin, Greek and Aramaic, as well as the original English.

Arcane fact or urban rumor? You decide.

That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and
snakes, an aeroplane and Lenny Bruce is not afraid.
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn - world
serves its own needs, dummy serve your own needs. Feed
it off an aux speak, grunt, no, strength, Ladder
start to clatter with fear fight down height. Wire
in a fire, representing seven games, a government
for hire and a combat site. Left of west and coming in
a hurry with the furies breathing down your neck. Team
by team reporters baffled, trumped, tethered cropped.
Look at that low playing! Fine, then. Uh oh,
overflow, population, common food, but it'll do. Save
yourself, serve yourself. World serves its own needs,
listen to your heart bleed dummy with the rapture and
the revered and the right, right. You vitriolic,
patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty
psyched.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

Six o'clock - TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign
towers. Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself
churn. Locking in, uniforming, book burning, blood
letting. Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate.
Light a candle, light a votive. Step down, step down.
Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh, this means no
fear cavalier. Renegade steer clear! A tournament,
tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions,
offer me alternatives and I decline.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

The other night I dreamt of knives, continental
drift divide. Mountains sit in a line, Leonard
Bernstein. Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester
Bangs. Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You
symbiotic, patriotic, slam book neck, right? Right.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel
fine...fine...

(It's time I had some time alone)

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