Also. [link]

Dublin rents are much higher than Berlin.

I have some coworkers who have commented that rents in Dublin are kind of astronomical.

I have some coworkers who have commented that rents in Dublin are kind of astronomical

I wonder why. Maybe because the bottom dropped out of the Irish economy and it's the only way to recoop their investments?

Zooming in to say that rents in Dublin have dropped dramatically in the last year or two. They might still be higher than Berlin though.

[link] should give you a good idea on what you can get where and for what in Dublin.

Timelies all!

{{{Gud}}}

{{{Sparky}}}

Hookers and blow, y'all. I'm back from the conference, and have a cold that I got from some dude's sick kid on the plane, but I had a great time. My editors love me, my boss agreed to get off my back about my schedule (though granted she was drunk at the time), my friend who was in a coma didn't die and is back to drinking to excess just like old times (he is like Keith Richards or something), and lots of people told me I look fabulous and my hair is pretty. So it was a good time.

I'm sorry about your grandfather, Gud.

Sassafras, please go home!

But I still feel guilty my house is not clean, and feel that hiring someone to do that is lazy (but if it's not going to get done otherwise? I should really just hire. But I haven't)

I hired someone. One of the best decisions I ever made, honestly. Because I'm not gonna do it. And when I do, I don't do it well. Now, every Tuesday, my house magically becomes CLEAN. All over, all at once.

I wish I hadn't read this because it makes me paranoid. It could totally happen to you. In the next five minutes.

That happened to me once! Namely, getting my mouth stuck wide open because my jaw popped out of place when I yawned. We fixed it by smacking me. Stupid TMJ.

Yay for Tzepesh being home and eating and acting normal!

Percy the Emo Cat refuses to eat kibble from a dish. It must be free-range kibble, on the floor. He won't even take it out of the dish; I must place it on the floor for him. I suspect that when I'm gone and the catsitter is feeding him, he eats out of the dish just fine... spoiled brat cat. Who did that? Oh, me.

short sleepers

I love sleeping. I sleep when I'm stressed or anxious. I can sleep 12 hours a night if I'm allowed to. (Leo the Boss Cat does not allow it. I must get up at 5am, go downstairs, pet his tummy, and then feed him. Only then will he shut up and stop walking across my face. He's a very reliable alarm clock.) However, I don't seem to actually NEED a lot of sleep. When I'm engaged and busy with something I want to be doing (like this past weekend at the conference), I can get 5-6 hours sleep a night for days and be alert and happy. I also find that I do better when I sleep for shorter periods more often. 5 hours sleep a night, getting up early, plus a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon seems to be ideal for me.

Thanks to the business trip, and being sick two days a week ago, and now being sick AGAIN, I'm falling behind with Shit That Needs Doing and starting to panic about it. I still don't have adequate coping mechanisms for this, but at least I know what's happening.

whether Superman or Batman would be the bottom in an S/B scenario

Batman. I've carefully worked out why, in those hours of the conference when the Internet was down and the discussions were boring. I would like to thank ita and Teppy for filling my head with S/B notions for days now. I've never been particularly interested in the DC universe, I don't even know that much about the characters, so what's gotten into me? Oh, it was those slash drawings ita linked to. And I can't find any more! Gah.

Screw work. I'm gonna go watch tv.

25 Awesome Civil War Facial Hair Styles.

18 looks like a wookie but my favorite is 25. Too bad these photos weren't available when the derby team judged a mustache growing contest for the local Warhammer gaming group.

OMG y'all I am so tired. I totally borked my sleep last night too. No more talking about it! Of course, the additional aftershock news didn't help. Must go back to my plan of how I don't check the news at night.

Meanwhile, must power through the rest of the day muzzily and get shit done, because, lo, I am way fucking behind. Funny how that happens when you don't want to do anything.

Laundry is in. The SO finished the newsletter text, so I have got to get that laid out and printed if I can at all manage it today. And something else. There was something else, but I am too tired to remember.

Oh! But today was Rockets: Day One with kiddoes and it was so much fun! They went really high, so much so that even with streamers instead of parachutes it took way longer for the kids to retrieve them from the wilds of the desert than to launch. Five more in two weeks; next week is our redo attempt at spring break.

Ok. Laundry. Onward.

Fuck yes, yaoi Batman tag. Obviously, quite NSFW.

I'm usually pretty much "whoever bottoms, whenever." I don't really care, it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the story, and I don't think it's a big psychological tell. I absolutely do not buy into the heteronormativity of the vulnerability of the penetrated. That's a load of absolute bullshit. You get your genitalia exposed anywhere around me and you're vulnerable, bucko. Trust me.

HOWEVER. It seems to be clear that most of the art showing Batman catching show Batman being dominated as well. I do not see that. I do not think he's the type to give up control in the bedroom to most of the partners he's being drawn with. Certainly not Superman or Nightwing. Come on.

And, yes, I have thought about this *way* too much.

eta: I am suddenly considering South Africa this summer way too seriously.

I wonder why. Maybe because the bottom dropped out of the Irish economy and it's the only way to recoop their investments?

Corporation taxes are low. It's my understanding that many multinational companies have their European headquarters in Dublin to avoid paying higher taxes. I would hazard a guess that the high cost of living is linked to this.