Friday Weirdness

Arrive at work on time? Check. Second cup of coffee consumed? Check. Emails red? Check. Morning visits accounted for? Check. Chart work done? Oh, please.

Yep, it's Friday, and all the work is wrap up and count the hours until 4:30. Although there is paper work and some more visits to be done, not to mention a couple of assessments scheduled for this afternoon, I have very low energy and motivation at the moment. So I've been surfing the web, and noting how my moods and interests change with the seasons.

Last year, from before summer almost to the end of December, I was full on into horror fiction, haunted houses (I tried to convince One Ring that we needed to go up to Massachussetts and spend the night at the Lizzie Borden house, now a Bed and Breakfast!), and especially the Haunted Mansion in Walt Disney World. I still have an unfinished paper scale model of the mansion sitting atop a bookcase.

For the record, the HM model stopped when my dog Peanut died, and any attempts to restart it were finished when the brother of a friend committed suicide by hanging himself (for those of you who have not been to WDW, the "ghost host" is a character who is seen to be hanging from the rafters at the beginning of the ride). Death and poking fun of the afterlife just didn't seem that appealing for the time being, so the project is still unfinished. I'll probably get to it at some point, once life quiets down to the point where I have room for a hobby again, but for the time being, it's going to stay on top of that bookcase.

Anyway, once the cold weather came roaring in, and the holiday season passed, my thoughts strayed to warmer climates, namely memories of my trips to the Caribbean. Which led to thoughts of pirates, and my current interest in 18th century nautical history and piracy. I've been devouring the Patrick O'Brian Master and Commander series of books, and you can easily see the results of my interest on this blog.

Now cold is giving way to warmth, and I'm wondering which direction my interests will take me. One Ring exclaimed with horror and surprise last night, "You want Sea Monkeys for your office?!?" Sure, I answered, I need something like that when I get a new place! Seemed like a good idea at the time, although now I'm thinking that Triops might be even cooler than Sea Monkeys. The issue is moot, though, until I get an office to call my own, and not have one that I'm sharing with another poor soul who has to put up with my interests!

In my journeys across the web today, I also found several blogs relating to H.P. Lovecraft, one of my favorite authors and the father of modern horror fiction. One, in a long, long entry, tied in everything from Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End to jellyfish to the behavior of parasites and predators to "the madness of crowds" and the Clinton / Obama political struggle. It's worth a read, if only to see how all of these things fit together in the author's mind. I'm still confused, so I'll probably have to go take a second (or third) glance.

I also ended up at the Weird Tales website, which is the famous magazine that first published Lovecraft's work. Thought about running down to the bookstore on my lunch break to see if they carry it. Must resist temptation! Nah, Lent is over. Let temptation come! : )

So that's the weirdness of the day. I may post more as time allows. One Ring and her family are going to a musical tonight at the high school where her brother teaches. I have to be at the nonprofit where I used to work at 6:30 tomorrow morning to do some volunteer work, so I'm staying home and hopefully heading to bed early. Hopefully my absence will not cause too much irritation.

More later, if possible. Time to pretend to do some work.