Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Month: November 2021

  • Review: Kiss Me Deadly [SPOILERS]

    I know Kiss Me Deadly is a 1955 classic. And yet, weird. I suppose I should say “innovative.” But no, some of it is just weird. Weird beyond the suspension of disbelief. These weird things kept pulling me out of the snappy dialogue and interesting characters and gorgeous sets. Weird Opening Credits. They roll the…

  • Beloved

    Gary recently saw this post on Facebook. The headline is: Three ‘beloved’ snow leopards died of Covid complications at Nebraska zoo. “So they weren’t really beloved?” I asked Gary. “Are those, like, air quotes?’ “People use quotation marks to set things off now.” “I’ve seen that, but it’s wrong.” “They do it online, because you…

  • Toothache

    I got a toothache back in October. Felt wobbly, like it was coming out. It shifted enough to mess up my bite. Gary went to the dentist around that same time, came home and announced: “THEY HAVE A NEW MACHINE THAT SHOWS YOU WHAT TEETH ARE DEAD I HAVE TWO DEAD TEETH YOU HAVE TO…

  • TENS

    Someone at work was extolling the virtues of her TENS unit for the relief of pain. I was doing floor exercises to work on my neck pain, and they worked intermittent and temporarily, so why not use electrical shocks to get the same effect? Besides, ten years ago they’d used it to some success when…

  • My Ancestry.com Commercial

    Here’s a warning for those who are considering enrolling at Ancestry.com. Even if you ditch the service (after your interest wanes in the strangers we call relatives), Ancestry never ever stops emailing you. I mean, I liked having the DNA track all the relatives, but I did not click any leaves that made me swell…

  • The Never-Painted Bathroom

    Gary’s bathroom is the neglected bathroom. The hall bathroom (“my” bathroom) is the glorious medical themed bathroom. Gary’s bathroom is the sterile virgin bathroom. It has never been decorated in any way. It is a 1980’s bathroom preserved in amber, with the initial original paint job applied by scab painters. (We’d already signed the contract…

  • This Week in Stupidity

    I have said or done a number of particularly dumb things this past week or two, but this was Gary’s favorite. Gary and I were watching some crime heist movie involving a very labor-intensive caper. I said, “That seems like a lot of trouble to steal 300 million dollars. Especially since after taxes, it’s probably…

  • Rewriting the Novel: the Last Stretch of the First Draft

    When last seen I had only 17% more to go on draft 1 of the book, and it was fun. Now there’s just 8% to go and it is not fun. I think my problem now is that 1) I realize that finishing means I am going to go over my word goal, so all…

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 11/11

    This week the peony pitcher: got started. Photoshop makes it clear that flower is too tall and that vase is too wide. I’ll be keeping the flower as is but shrinking the vase.

  • Fluid Memory

    The other day I consumed something new: a sip of a chocolate Premiere Protein shake. Immediately I was transported back to the 1970s. The drink tasted exactly like my favorite childhood treat: SPAAACE. FOOOOOD. STICKS. It was what the astronauts ate. My brother and I were wild for them. I’m so sad I missed their…