The worst thing I can imagine in Staples just happened--I tested our corporate discount, and it's not consistent, but was more than 20% in this go round.

Wow, Grey's Anatomy feels like it's pulling further and further away. The big decisions they made with this season are blah.

Puppies are rarely not Yay-worthy.

I really liked Ingmar Bergman's The Magic Flute if you're looking for a good film adaptation of an opera. Sometimes it seems like it's just a filmed stage production except when you seamlessly realize that it's not.

Mostly though with opera I'm in the "too many notes" camp -- I can for sure see (and HEAR) that it's highly trained musicians performing flawlessly complicated music, but I just can't keep up.

Ah, Coca-Cola, the duct tape of sodas. I've just used a bottle to clean some persistent stains in my bathroom sink and toilet bowl, and it did a much better job than Comet or Scrub-free.

In other news, I'm not drinking Coca-Cola anymore.

Mostly though with opera I'm in the "too many notes" camp

"Which ones do you suggest we leave out, Your Majesty?"

Drink Coca-Cola! Your stomach will be stain free! That penny you swallowed when you were five doesn't stand a chance!

And I find the acting to be appallingly bad. I mean, I worked on student productions, but the school is ranked 2nd in the country for opera/vocal performance, so I am thinking they are actually pretty good!

Theatre geeks are as one. The acting is usually terrible. I'd almost wish they'd just stand and sing.

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I really wish I had some Diet Coke with Lime, now. Yum. I think I would have to pu on actual clothes to make that happen, though.

Oh, wait, I have flavor syrups for the Sodastream! I wonder what I have left.

Score, diet cola! No lime, but it'll do.

Meeting strange humans out in the world update: Well, it went okay. Met a couple folks who like sci-fi, hung out before the movie in a tiny too-warm kitchen talking with three older guys about various sci-fi franchises. After the movie I met a woman who's really into Firefly but didn't have a chance to really talk to her, as she was involved in a game that didn't look to be ending anytime soon. I could have stayed, of course, but I was reaching the end of my ability to mingle with strangers for one day, so I made my good-byes shortly after the movie and came home. The guy hosting the mini-con has a mother-in-law apartment in his house, and he's turned one of the bedrooms into a theater: huge-screen projection tv, blacked-out walls and window, built-up stadium seating, and six comfy chairs. (The three chairs in the front recline, and have cupholders. If I ever have room for such a thing, I will build it.) The other three people watching were, thankfully, not the type to talk during movies (Special Hell, you know) and we all laughed at the same points, so that was nice. Movies are great for creating a sense of community among strangers without requiring them to interact directly with one another. Serenity was lovely, as it is every time, and it was wonderful to have that theatrical experience seeing it again. So, positive overall and I'm glad I went. I won't be shy about going to another movie meetup. I just need to make notes about what everyone's names are.

There were a bunch of games - RP and board games - running at the same time as the movies, and I was pleased to note a few women, a couple young girls, and one young boy among the gamers, as involved and accepted there as the men. Good to see.