I was frequently forbidden from bringing books to family gatherings. My mother (the extrovert) was under the impression that without a book i'd actually talk to all the relatives instead of sitting in the corner reading. Boy was she wrong, I just had to find less interesting things to read at the destination.

This was so me.

Phone books can be surprisingly interesting reading. I was fascinated by the variant of names and the large clusters of similar names in areas. The business section often had amusing ads, and the general information section had fun information.

Surprising how any people were offended to realize I'd rather read the phone book than listen to Great Aunt Whozit discuss her gastric issues.

I'm not feeling very Christmassy either, but Mal's way into it, and the DH is playing Christmas music nonstop. Mal's favorite carol at the moment is "We Three Kings," about which he just said, "Wow, those Christians sure make good Christmas music!"

I'm not all that into Christmas, but I'm mixing a Christmas show at the moment so I'm kinda stuck with it.

Most WTF comment of the day, pretty mild considering: I was telling Grandpa about D, and mentioned that he was kind of Jewish. He said," Well, he is or he isn't" and then he said, "He's gotta be Jewish or a Cracker." As far as I can parse that, I guess Jews aren't really white, but they're better than the other options? I wonder if that's what he said to my mon when she got engaged to my dad.

If I make it out of here without hearing him say the n word I will consider myself lucky.

On a happier note, when I opened the door to my cousin she was wearing the Van Gogh exploding TARDIS shirt; I was wearing my Doctor Hoo shirt. We went off and had hot beverages and donut muffins.

Now Grandpa is watching a preacher and reading the Bible, so I think I'll be disappearing into a book.

eta VICTORY! I asked him to play more old timey music for me. The Mills Brothers.

Mad skillz from under-cover reading as a child?

My most embarrassing youth reading moment was in high school when the bell rang for class change and everyone got up and left the room and I never noticed. The elderly teacher (who was my mom's poetry coach in HS), really hated having to let me know that I needed to close my book and move it before the next class came in.

We always brought books with us when we went out the door to visit anywhere. Both my parents were big readers and didn't think it odd that we would like to read when we got to where we were going.

I'm going to create a support group for Partners of the Mule-Headed. My stubborn and overly nonchalant boyfriend just rode his bike. Two weeks out from ankle surgery, still in a cast. I can't even. Headdesk is not strong enough. More like ::headanvil::.

a support group for Partners of the Mule-Headed

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My stubborn and overly nonchalant boyfriend just rode his bike.

Really? Self. Preservation. Dude. Get some!!

I love the bathtub like pancakes.

14 years in this apartment and I've JUST NOW worked out a way to watch movies in the tub. It involves a step stool and a Mary Kay makeup mirror.

Sure, the picture is tiny and reversed, but Lost in Austen...in the tub!

Triumph!

Speaking of minor triumphs, I took a tumble on the sidewalk this morning. That isn't the triumph part, obviously. I turned my ankle while stepping out of a tree box and had to make a decision. The voice in my head told me that trying to stay upright would make it worse, so I took what turned out to be a fairly controlled dive.

My knees are a bit bruised and my right shoulder is a bit sore, but otherwise, I'm okay. Yay team winter bundling!

The woman I was walking with said that it seemed like slowmo going down and coming up.

The great part is that I totally controlled my emotional experience. I didn't panic with the what ifs or go into a dramatic spiral over the pain. I did a logical assessment and responded accordingly.

I was afraid that Cagney would take off when I could not hold onto his leash. Instead, he sort of freaked out and hovered over my head licking me and fussing. I hate to say it, but that made me feel really good!

I was afraid that Cagney would take off when I could not hold onto his leash. Instead, he sort of freaked out and hovered over my head licking me and fussing. I hate to say it, but that made me feel really good!

Once, when I was walking Kato, he stopped all of a sudden to paw at his Halti and try to get it off (every once in a great while he does that) -- he stopped *so* suddenly that I tripped OVER him. Like, catapulted over him and sprawled on the sidewalk on my hands, knees, and stomach.

I was so stunned by the impact that I just laid there for a moment, and Kato, because he is what I can only describe as empathetic, just laid down on the sidewalk next to me, with an air of "Oh, so this is what we're doing now? Not walking? Just lying here? I can do that!"