Sunday, December 10, 2006

Semi-Live from the deck of the Demeter

Bleah! So Mrs. Marius and the COTA* have been ill for a couple of weeks now. They have both mostly recovered, and I was actually marvelling at how I had come through the plague season unscathed...until yesternight. Some sneaky little rhino virus, showing a remarkable amount of consideration for a microscopic protein packet, waited until my pre-holiday labors were mostly done at work and then struck like a falling turd in the night. Fortunately I had already requested Monday off, so I'll get two uninterrupted days to convalesce and, hopefully, recover.

On to something really cool. Last night I attended a dance performance at HCC. It was a marvelous, brilliant show, the only downside of which was my sadness at not being involved. I got to see some of my friends whom I have been greatly missing, and had a great time. The crud mentioned above was already working its nasty magic on my, but that did not dampen my spirits as I left. Then the universe favored me with yet another gift. I was driving East on I-4 when I saw a bright orange light coming from behind the clouds and ascending. I was puzzled for just a moment before I realized that Discovery had just launched. Whenever there is a shuttle launch I try to see it, but since I had forgotten that they were going to attempt liftoff last night it was a wonderful surprise. And as I was on the raised portion of the freeway and headed straight for the launch site, I got a beautifully unobstructed view of the spectacle. I may be in the 'retire the shuttle' camp, but I still get shivers whenever one of those aging beauties muscles her way into the sky.

And on that note, I'm going to do my best to become one with the couch, the TV, and the Playstation.

Oh, that reminds me. I have been taking no small amount of pleasure in watching a fascinating phenomenon. Craig's List, if you haven't heard of it, is a website where people can post classified ads selling everything from matchbooks to real estate. I check it out from time to time since it's usually much cheaper than eBay, and more local. We have made a couple of great Craig's List purchases, including our dining room table and couch, and it's also fun to see just what people think will sell. Right after the PS3 came out, and people camped out to get one, there was a plethora of ads on Craig's List for PS3's asking upwards of $1200. Now, two weeks later, there are no fewer listings, but the prices have all miraculously come down to the $600-800 range. Could it be that the annual 'must have at any price' idiocy that started with Beanie Babies and that fraking Tickle Me Elmo has finally died? Let's hope.

OK, couch-spud time. Love you all.

Marius the Infirm


*Child Of The Apocalypse

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lucky dog. I tried to see the launch from my second story abode, but alas the clouds were too many.
Sorry about the creeping crud, get well soon.

Anonymous said...

Are you well yet? I'm doing my best to send you healing vibes!