Various things

[vilakins]

Huh! I just got a package from a friend's mother containing a book I lent my friend so long ago I'd forgotten I even owned it. Her mother was moving house when she found it: Stalky & Co, an old copy published in 1929 that I must have bought at a second-hand book fair. It's time to reread it. :-)

In other news, I am sitting here in a pleasantly cool room at 23C due to having spent some of my recent earnings on a portable air conditioner because it's been so hot lately. It's not very portable in this four-level house, since this room is the only one on this level but it's effective if rather loud. It comes up to my waist and has a huge outlet hose that looks like an alien snake with its head poked curiously out the ranch slider. Jasmin sometimes sits outside on the deck and lets the warm air ruffle her fur.

And it's going to be a long, hot summer. The pohutukawa flowers (see icon) have been out for a while now.

We also have a Kinect which Greg bought as soon as it was available here, several weeks ago. The only game we have so far is Kinectimals in which you play with cubs (lion, tiger, cheetah, leopard, panther etc). OK, so it's designed for kids, but it's so much fun, really cute, and gives a surprisingly good workout. After some time it tells you to have a break, and I'm usually ready for one.

What else? My contract finished a week early because the person I was replacing came back earlier than expected, but I have another short one starting tomorrow. At a local bagel manufacturer. :-)

Comments

[redstarrobot.livejournal.com]

Oh man. FREE BAGELS! :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I can hope so!

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the bagels! :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

They're good ones too. I've often bought them (bagels being far too hard to make).

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

A good bagel is an excellent thing. :)

[daiseechain.livejournal.com]

How brilliant is it that you got your book back? After so long it must be like getting a book for free!

I'll swap your long, hot summer with Pohutakawa for our long, bitterly cold one with snow...

Bagels, mmmmm. Do they make the proper boiled bagels, or the ones that are just bread shaped like a bagel?

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It was a book I was planning to reread, but I thought I'd have to get it from the library. A very nice surprise.

Ah, but snow means nice dry air! Enjoy the lack of humidity!

Proper ones! It's actually my preferred brand, but I can't think of any bagels I've bought here that weren't the authentic boiled ones. [hopes for some freebies]

[daiseechain.livejournal.com]

Ah, but snow means nice dry air!

You'd think so wouldn't you, but sadly? No. :-( Is f***ing freezing & damp!

Proper bagles! Yum. I can't find any of those around here. For reasons I can't even begin to fathom, New Zealand has proper bagel available quite readily in the major centres, whereas I have to travel in to London to one of the only two stores that sell them in the whole of the south of England (so far as I can tell). I did try making them a few times, decades back, but I'm not dexterous enough to fish them out of the water in time and they just end up as a big glumpy mess :-D

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Huh. It was beautifully dry in Germany when it snowed (when I worked in Frankfurt). And pretty good in summer too.

We have several bagel makers in Auckland alone! I've never tried making them and I don't intend to when I can buy such good ones.

[bramblyhedge.livejournal.com]

Glad you've got portable air conditioning - it's really been frelling HOT lately.^^;

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It has! I was supposed to get some photos for a comm I belong to but I couldn't be bothered walking in the sun. Bleah. I suppose I'll have to do that tomorrow.

I hope they've got aircon where I'll be working this week.

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

AW, I would use a bit of your hot summer just now!:-)
Long-forgotten books? Always a treat!
But these Kinectimals are so cute! I wish I had it - but then I wouldn´t be able to do anything else:-)
Now - good luck with the bagels!!!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

The kinectimals are adorable! They lick and sneeze on the screen and knock me over (virtually) and bring me things to play with (which is the exercise). The cats don't miss out because they get extra play because they're just so cub-like themselves.

[zoefruitcake.livejournal.com]

yay to getting an old book back!

Love the idea of Jasmin letting the warm air ruffle her fur :0)

Mmmm, bagels...I hope they have freebies! I temped for Allied Domeq year and years ago, who are alcohol importers, and at lunchtimes they had tables in the foyer offering tasters of new drinks. Oh and when I worked at P&H if I went home a day without some sort of freebie it was a bad day. Sometimes we had bags of stuff! I really missed that when I left, lol

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

It was a pleasant surprise. I will send her a card.

They're funny cats; they like windy days, we think because they enjoy the feelings in their fur.

It's not at all common to get that sort of thing here, but I can hope. I doubt there's anywhere to get lunch if they don't have bagels on offer, so I'm taking an emergency protein bar.

[kalinda001.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the bagels and hope the contracts keep coming.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I doubt I'll have anything to do with the bagels themselves, but I hope I have access to a couple.

I may not get more work till after Christmas now, but maybe I'll get fill-in summer holiday stuff then. Now they know me and my work, I'm very hopeful.

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

Sounds like things are going well for you. :^)

I got a package in the mail last year or the year before-- someone returning a book they'd borrowed from my brother back... must have been more than 40 years as it was a college text. That surprised the heck out of me.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

40 years is a long time, and a text book would be way out of date. Novels have much longer shelf lives. :-)

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

*nods* Why would anyone want a 40 year old book of technical medical jargon with ugly diagrams? I admit I sent it on to my brother, but that was mainly out of principle- that he should get the idea I kept nothing of his from him.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

I've had a brief glimpse of Kinectimals, courtesy of the gadget show. Yes,I would like a Kinect to play with them.

Hmm Bagel manufacturer, here's hoping they'll let you take work home. :¬D

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I don't have anything to do with the actual bagels, sadly. I'm just working on the computer system. But here's hoping I get something at the end of my contract. :-)

[luinielle.livejournal.com]

Yay for portable a/c units! :o) I hope you're enjoying your summer sunshine despite the high humidity and temps.
Good luck with the new contract and I hope you'll be able to enjoy some free bagels. I love bagels, too.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I got home to a hot house but it's cooling down very well, yay! I may even do some vacuuming soon without feeling sick from the heat.