Work, work, work

[jdbl]

I've got another temp job lined up starting tomorrow, basic admin sort of work. The job is set to go through the rest of the summer, until classes start, but the pay is fairly crappy and it's a bit of a drive to get there. I figure I'll try it out for a couple of weeks and see how it works. It's at a housing developer, which counts as marginally evil in my Big Book of Moral Alignments. Not as evil as working for an entertainment litigation firm, but considerably more evil than writing grants for domestic violence shelters. The smallness of the pay is quite depressing, but it's bigger than the zero dollars I'm getting for sitting around here on my ass, so there you go. Now I have to iron in preparation - and you can just shut it, hhw.

Besides ironing, also on the agenda for today is the purchase of some very cheap plastic lawn chairs and a hummingbird feeder to go on our balcony. It's a very nice, good-sized balcony and I had wanted to put some flower boxes with pansies out there this Spring, but my financial situation has made this impractical. At the very least I want a couple of cheap-ass chairs and a hummingbird feeder, so that's today's quest. Maybe if I can find some planter boxes really cheap . . . hmmm.

Yesterday my quest was to get my tea cabinet re-organized and to purchase more air-tight containers for the twelve metric tonnes of tea that I brought back from WisCon. I threw out some substandard Canadian tea and some things that were stale and/or I knew I wouldn't drink, shifted smaller amounts of tea to smaller containers, puttered around a little bit, and realized that with the very nice, airtight, mylar Upton bags that hhw gave me and some consolidation, I didn't actually need to purchase more containers after all. I ended up with an extra Upton bag for later use, in fact. It's such a relief to be back flush with proper tea, which is to say that I've got Republic of Tea Earl Greyer, Upton Earl Grey Decaf, Tao of Tea Red Bush Chai, and some samples of Tao of Tea Earl Grey White and Tao of Tea Earl Grey Blue Flower. I've had a hell of a time finding good loose tea in Canada (and yes, I recognize the irony here), so this seems a major triumph. I've got a whole bunch of other tea in my cabinet, too, of course - probably another fifteen varieties at least - but I drink the Earl Greys and the Red Bush Chai the most, and I was out of all three. Thanks again to hhw for enabling my tea addiction, but since she's responsible for it anyway, I suppose it's the least she can do.

Last night I went to the coffeeshop owned by my friend Rob, thinking that I'd get some writing done. But the shop was slow and so I ended up chatting with Rob the whole night instead of working. This is what happens when you're too familiar with a place. It's actually much easier to get work done at some anonymous, awful Starbucks than one's local. However, St. C is completely free of anonymous, awful Starbucks. It can only boast of anonymous, awful Tim Horton's which are so totally awful that it's impossible to work there either. It's like trying to work in a Winchel's Donuts. Theoretically possible, but unlikely and unwise. Thus is it proved that I need to stop faffing around and just sit at the keyboard like a good little writer. Bummer.

But first - consumerism! O, Capitalism! How I loathe you and yet am still drawn to purchase your useless consumer goods!

Comments

[barthanderson.livejournal.com]

I'm really into white tea lately. Ever had it? It's so mild that most coffee drinkers can't even feel it, but I can actually have a cup in the evening without the caffeine setting fire to my brain. Which is nice.

[jdbl.livejournal.com]

Heh - Young Frankenstein!

In the cabinet currently:
Yin Zhen White
White Peony (both from a shop in LA)
Jasmine Pearl White (I can't recall from where)
Republic of Tea Silver Rain White
Republic of Tea Right White
Drury Snow Dragon

My favourite (see me gettin' down with the Canadian spellings?) is the Drury Snow Dragon, which has a corkscrew-shaped leaf and a slightly sweeter flavour. I also like the RofT Silver Rain a lot; it's grassier than the Snow Dragon.

I wasn't kidding when I said I have a lot of tea.

I went through a major White phase, and I still like it quite a bit and drink it fairly often. I'm pretty sensitive to caffeine as well so I appreciate the milder kick. But currently I'm in an Earl Grey phase - how dull, I know. I haven't tried the Earl Grey White sample Heather brought me yet, but it should be interesting. I'm not really sure how well the bergamot is going to go with the grassy taste of the white, but I'm curious.

The Fellowship is talking about having a proper tea party next year at WisCon, with loose leaf and the whole nine yards, possibly at the bake sale. But logistics have yet to be worked out. This year we (or I should say Heather on behalf of the rest of the Fellowship, with financial support from Anna) brought Stash tea bags for the con suite because we just couldn't cope with the Lipton any more. But we generally do loose leaf in our rooms and forego the barbarism of even the Stash. The Stash isn't bad for tea bag tea, but no tea bag on earth can compare to the joy that is loose leaf.

And yes, I am just a teensy bit fanatic about tea. MMmmmm, tea.

[barthanderson.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'm in over my head with you, then! I just have RoT Silver Rain and an anonymous white from a tea shop in San Fran, which I prefer.

I'll keep an eye peeled for Drury. Thanks for the tip!

credit where credit is due

[ex-hhw543.livejournal.com]

alikander also offered financial support for the first venture of Friends of Camellia. (gotta pimp the website!)

[gilded-kage.livejournal.com]

So you're saying that for writing it's better not to have any RL friends you can chat with all evening...just hang out in anonymous coffee shops...

Hope the job works out ok.

[amaliedageek.livejournal.com]

What's the nearest city likely to have a Freecycle/craigslist group? And do you have a copy of The Agony of the Leaves, my tea-fanatic friend? I think it would amuse you.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Thanks for mentinog Freecycle! I wanted to see if any were near me, but the name went out of my head after reading the article.

[ex-hhw543.livejournal.com]

what about some pansies in the cheap plastic pots they come in sitting on the floor of the balcony? better to have pansies without the planter box than none at all, no?