HIDWtS: Don’t be that guy.
Some days I have a clear picture of what is right and what is wrong. Per yesterday’s post, there are unspoken rules that are pretty obvious. When they occur, passengers are fazed, or are at least slightly less apathetic than usual. Other days, I am just not sure. There is one Muni seating situation that never fails to throw me because it seems wrong yet fazes no one but me: Blockit No Pocket. You know how much I love sitting in The Pocket. As much as I love that, other people love sitting in the Blockit without anyone sitting in The Pocket. In general, I do not understand the habit of sitting in the aisle seat to block off the window seat. It’s not like I can’t see the empty seat next to you. Worse than this is when I attempt to sit in the...
Read MoreHIDWtS: Crazy train.
Things that are commonly acceptable to do while on public transit: Reading. Writing. Listening to music. Playing games on your handheld gadget of choice. Knitting, crocheting, embroidering, or any other craft that doesn’t involve poking someone else’s eye out. Sitting quietly. Napping if you don’t fall over into the aisle or into someone’s lap. Smiling. Singing, but only if you are part of a way-cool a cappella group and only singing one song and it happens to be one I like. Also please wear matching sweater vests. Things not on the first list that I have witnessed (bolded items witnessed today): Talking on the phone. Eating sweet and sour pork. Slamming miniatures during the morning commute. Most manicure- or pedicure-related...
Read MoreCozy coffee.
coffee cozy redux Originally uploaded by cygnoir This is not the best photograph, but I won a small battle this morning that I wanted to share immediately. I have been knitting for decades, but at a very basic level. This is the first thing I have ever successfully knitted in the round with decreasing stitches and the whole deal. I am not completely satisfied with this yet, but I think I am ready to try again with nice yarn. This one I will keep for...
Read MoreHIDWtS: Smell ya later.
Today the shuttle was nearly full when I boarded, so I chose the seat next to the person who looked like she smelled good. I know I didn’t include this in my rule set, but that’s because I hadn’t realized it was a rule before today. So here is my new rule set: Sit in empty row. Sit next to someone who looks like they smell good. Sit next to someone who looks like they smell neither good nor bad. Sit in rumble seat. Sit next to someone who looks like they smell bad. Stand in aisle. I love the sense of smell. I enjoy wearing essential oil, and I enjoy trying to guess what others are wearing, too. Sometimes I even enjoy trying to discern bad smells, but not enough to willingly sit next to them. Today’s revelation was that I would rather sit...
Read MoreLife three months after Facebook.
Something Facebook-related happened today, and since I closed my account three months ago, it was time for an update. This morning, one of my former coworkers emailed me to let me know that another former coworker had died recently. She very helpfully included some information, including a link to his memorial website, which mentions that his family and friends are posting photographs to his Facebook page. We weren’t close, but I still wanted to see the photos and remember him a little. This exemplifies the only thing I really resent about Facebook. It functions just as it is supposed to — show these things to only these people, and exclude the rest — but in the case of someone’s death, the assumption is that only the person’s closest...
Read MoreHIDWtS: Pat endings.
This morning I was very distracted, which meant I got out of the house early instead of just on time. I don’t know why this works the way it does, but it may have something to do with how I am too distracted to worry over the little aspects of getting ready. The getting-ready part is in automatic mode as my brain cells tussle. The subject of the distraction was a bad movie I watched last night. I am finally getting around to selling some of my things on eBay, but first I have to sort through decades of clutter. To motivate myself, I put a movie on in the background and spread my things out on the coffee table so I can put them in piles: Keep, Give Away, Sell. The movie was called “500 Days of Summer” and I do not think it set out to be a bad...
Read MoreHIDWtS: Predictably unpredictable.
Today’s installment is not brought to you by anything. At all. Because that’s how I am. I mix it up on you. See? I’m not predictable! Well, I am. But I’m not! And also am. It is the age-old struggle of loving an established routine and yet always getting bored enough to poke at it. There is one constant in my life: too little sleep. Last night, I guest-starred in a game of D&D. It was my first time playing 4th edition. While I will save the in-depth critique for another time, I will say that the mechanics of 4th edition lend themselves to more of a hack-and-slash game than a storytelling session. Still, I enjoyed myself immensely, this enjoyment only topped by a member of our group discovering that someone was watching porn across the...
Read MoreEvidently there is a gushing river of verbal creativity in the normal human mind
Evidently there is a gushing river of verbal creativity in the normal human mind, from which both artistic invention and lying are drawn. We are born storytellers, spinning narrative out of our experience and imagination, straining against the leash that keeps us tethered to reality. This is a wonderful thing; it is what gives us our ability to conceive of alternative futures and different worlds. And it helps us to understand our own lives through the entertaining stories of others. But it can lead us into trouble, particularly when we try to persuade others that our inventions are real. Most of the time, as our stories bubble up to consciousness, we exercise our cerebral censors, controlling which stories we tell, and to whom. Yet people lie for all sorts of...
Read MoreHIDWtS: Inappropriate footwear for the Apocalypse.
The fog is back. Yesterday morning it was 70 degrees at 7am. Today it was in the fifties and foggy. I’ll let you guess which I prefer as I don my sweater, scarf, coat, and boots. After a night of disturbing dreams — which I cannot blame solely on “The Wire” but I probably should not be watching that right before bed — I stumbled through my morning ablutions and to Muni. Again, I don’t know what is wrong with me. I keep getting on Muni despite knowing how slow and problematic it is. It’s a sickness. I just want to live in a real city with real public transit, and I am willing to pretend if that’s what it takes. (Note: that is not what it takes.) Got The Pocket and had one blissful stop before the Blockit was filled....
Read MoreLinkdump for 21 June 2011
Via @samspratt: JUNE Portrait Contest/Custom Portrait Giveaway!… Via @samspratt: JUNE Portrait Contest/Custom Portrait Giveaway! To show my appreciation for all of you following me on facebook and tumblr, I am giving one guy/man/dude AND one girl/woman/chick the chance to win a custom portrait from me. Free, no strings attached. All you need to do to enter is reblog this but here’s the breakdown: What You Get: A Web-resolution (1100 pixel) custom portrait, tailored to your most bizarre of requests. You can get a very traditional portrait done or as outlandish as you can dream—so long as it remains in the portrait format. Zombies, Hipsters, Pirates, Ninjas, Superheroes, Harry Potter, Robots, etc. are all fair-game themes in which you can have yourself...
Read MoreNestcam
The cam was last on Friday, May 4.
Hello What
I am Halsted, a/k/a cygnoir, and I do stuff with words.
My favourite things to do with words are keeping this diary, writing stories, and organising information.
subscribe to updates:
· mobile edition ·
Scribbling
2,322/4,000 words
1,987/4,000 words
3,593/4,000 words
Reading
Listening
- 39 - Explicit Version
Tenacious D
5 days, 2 hours and 15 minutes ago - To Be The Best
Tenacious D
5 days, 2 hours and 16 minutes ago - They Fucked Our Asses - Explicit Version
Tenacious D
5 days, 2 hours and 17 minutes ago
Plugging
