went for a brief walk to feel alive and now I can't feel my nose, but I learned that (a) there's a pottery studio half a block from me (I never go this direction so didn't realize) and (b) which side of the street shovels out their curbs.

okay the extra long leg warmers DO look a little silly (they go ALL the way up my thighs; I'm wearing them over fleece-lined leggings) but they are doing what I hoped they would do (keeping my legs warm without the extra bulk of sweatpants over fleece leggings).

okay that was not the number I was expecting when I opened this e-mail, jesus christ. (it tracks, I have been flying regular for ages, but also good gods.)

there's a podcast I listen to that I mentally categorize as "what's up with normie straight women" and I'm definitely having a "what is UP with normie straight women" moment.

it is 9 degrees outside so I am NOT going outside and am instead staying inside and making red beans and rice

Calling this done because if I don't I'll keep fussing with the details forever and it's driving me crazy. 😅 Titling this one "Languish" 🦁

student e-mailing me at 8 am morning of the final to find out if they can drop the class. this is now how this works, unfortunately, this one you have to figure out well before the day of the final exam.

"how to be disgustingly overeducated --" way ahead of you, buddy.

Brain full of bees.

why are there so many god damn emails in my email inbox

Work updates from hell: Word 365 now has a floating Copilot icon that can't be turned off,I'm going to lose my mind.

why do they keep making Spartacus spin-offs. when will HBO greenlight my desperate need for a Rome anthology spin-off about the Year of the Four Emperors.

I am having the bad sads again.

staring at the clock telling me it's only 6:45 pm and man it does NOT feel like it's only 6:45 pm.

Looks like I've got at least one more newsletter in me before 2025 closes out! This one's inspired by the gay hockey show and the Discourse and has me rambling about how characters of color are hamstrung by the white default. romancing-the-stoned.beehiiv.com/p/why-is-a-f...

There's a lot of batshit Roman history, but I do truly believe the wildest part is that the last Roman emperor in the West was named Romulus (like the founder of Rome) and the last Roman emperor in the East was named Constantine (like the founder of Constantinople).

oh. hmm. one of the other reasons I get so tense this time of year is because it's the anniversary of when my ex-bff and I had our huge blow-up breakup fight that sent me into a nervous breakdown spiral. (it was the release day of Rogue One lol so I can actually find the exact day.)

I have a headache which I'm sure is unrelated to the fact I haven't eaten yet today, have barely drank anything, am undercaffeinated, didn't get enough sleep, and am extremely stressed out. wait. hm. there might be a connection here.

man, I could have sworn I had more Marvel stickers, but apparently I do not, and many artists don't do MCU anymore. :(

I am sooooooo distracted right now. I have one thing I NEED to do today. (Comments back on a student's draft.)

maybe they should have waited to run the snowplows until the bars closed and all the drunk college students went home

mentally spraying myself with water every time I look at new lipstick because I own. so much lipstick. and I do wear most of it! (there is some I do not wear because I own. so much lipstick.) and most of it is near-identical shades of red! (I can tell the difference.)

man, I guess technically this is an accurate description of this scene but I don't think that's how I'd sum it up...

there is always something around here making a noise that convinces me that something is about to or already has broken. what's buzzing.

I am painting my nails and this is definitely a spring green and not a Christmas green.

ouch

there is *heavy sigh* an Event outside

oh okay the reason it's so cold is because it is -1 F. that would do it.

Oh wow do you promise?

okay apparently one of the problems is that The Youth do not know that textbooks include review questions

I kinda feel like this is all of us every day

yes, obviously, I would rather the city plow the roads than not, but does it have to be from 3-5 am with the most horrendous screeching sounds known to man directly outside my window? I am. so tired.

the fridge is making A Sound and as always I am filled with terror

a note to my students: y'all, I can tell when you're using AI because IT IS HALLUCINATING THE AENEID QUOTATIONS AND I'M CHECKING THEM.

"Black Friday ends today!" "Cyber Monday starts now!" what day of the week is it.

Whole little short story in book titles here.

oh it's SNOWING snowing.

I have been sooooo grumpy lately and it's actually making me even more annoyed.

Thread.

why did I claw my collarbone open a few days ago and keep repeating the process. I have already repeatedly been clawing the skin off my lips for the past week or two, a habit I thought I'd broken. why.

if you ever want to experience WIND come here. or don't. don't come here. this sucks.

abruptly realized at 1:50 am that since I am running historical card and dice games in class tomorrow (extra credit for a day I expect a lot of students to be gone) I need to take the 8s, 9s, and 10s out of the five card decks I bought.

Now I am apparently just in one of those moods where I am annoyed about everything.

Did actually read the book but I am reminded why the films work significantly better for my particular tastes.

Oh, via Instagram Jody A. Lee has listed prints and merchandise (including T-shirts!) with her lovely artwork for sale including many book covers for Mercedes Lackey, Madeleine L'Engle, and a ton of the DAW covers I grew up with! I love her color palettes and Art Deco design details!

drinking and watching THG, it's what Haymitch would want

read d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths at a formative age

why are we living in the weirdest timeline

They're also responsible for one of the best emails I've ever received, when the college office sent out a plea for sightings of Professor Biscuit while conveniently forgetting to mention that he was a cat...(I won't comment on how often a similar email might have gone out about human Professors...)

gods. I just remembered how the Disney Hercules series from the '90s gave the Roman gods (in their one episode) New York accents.