Queen Mediocretia of Suburbia

Putting the TMI in absentminded

Month: September 2023

  • TWIL: the Real-life Trolley Problem

    The hook: I needed to look up The Trolley Problem. (Go to that link if you are unfamiliar with the Trolley Problem, or better, find the episode of The Good Place about the Trolley Problem.) What I learned: DID YOU KNOW someone simulated the trolley problem on actual people? No lie, he put people in…

  • Alexa Mystery

    A few days ago, I was awakened at seven thirty when Alexa said, in her calm yet indulgent tone: (Ding.) “Ellen. Here’s your reminder. Nail colors to match.” (Ding.) “Ellen. Here’s your reminder. Nail colors to match.” I had her repeat it again, just to be sure. I knew it wasn’t a reminder to paint…

  • Rewriting the Novel: Progress?

    Yep. We’re back here again. Actually, it wont be that bad. Just a few things need to be re-plotted. Unless I kill off a twin. No one likes the Twin Trope. Well, the evil twin trope. I have a grumpy twin trope. Twins might still have to merge. At least it interests me again.

  • Weekly Paint Progress: 9/7

    This week I started on a croquet ball in a recumbent latex glove mold. (What shall I call it? Return to Basic Shapes? Unambiguous Easy Colors? Eschewing Photoshop?)

  • Helllooo, Belgium

    Usually, I use Google Analytics to discover that three people a day use my blog to see if 1,000 thread count sheets are worthwhile or if Rudyard Kipling wrote that poem about Jesus’ dog. Then, oddly, yesterday, this happened. More people arrived at my blog from Belgium than from the States. And, they all use…

  • Sins of Omission

    I have a co-worker who rivals me in his need to tell all. He had to live a lie for years, and now he’s making up for it by actively verbally living his truth, even if his truth isn’t particularly germane to the conversation. I can watch him on Zoom while he thinks, “If I…

  • Dee

    It feels like just months ago that Gary stopped talking about his new electric car and bought a new electric car. Because it was. And now the next electric car is coming out and he wants one and he wont shut up about it. It’s just a concept car now. The BMW Dee. It has…

  • TWIL: Probiotics

    So the doctor at the urgent care clinic said, “If you do end up having a bladder infection after we do this culture test, you’ll take an antibiotic, but be sure you take probiotics with it.” “Probiotics? With Antibiotics?” I said, thinking, wouldn’t they cancel each other out? “Yes,” the doctor said, “Because if you…

  • Portrait of the Blogger as … etc. Continued.

    A voiceover announces: “Previously seen on this blog,” followed by images of: Me admiring the men at the opening of opera season, chatting up SalmonPants, my pelvis spinning me in a circle when a tuxedo walks by. Me, breathing, glassy-eyed, staring into space. A closed door and a buzzing noise. French President Emmanuel Macron. And…

  • Trial Money

    I get paid for this trial every time I visit the office, and I tell you, it makes me feel dirty. (Not so dirty that I’ll donate the money to a cause.) The researcher who presents the checks keeps assuring me that it is in compensation for my time, but I spent far more time…