Friday, June 28, 2013

Oops

Wow, it's been a month already. How time flies when you're buying plane tickets for holidays, applying and interviewing for three jobs (and not getting any of them), covering for co-workers holidays, brewing, and picking scales off of our poor beleagured ficus plant.

It's actually not been very exciting around here, but it does seem like I've constantly been going. Every time I think I might get a day when I can sit on my butt, something comes up. And it's fine; I have a lot more free time than a lot of people, but on the other hand, I spend a lot of time doing things for Girl Museum, and I'm (mentally, at the moment) preparing a proposal for something I want to do with/for the bakery. Since it wouldn't cost them anything–at least initially, and possibly ever–I don't think there's a downside to it, but I might as well approach it properly.

And Lucy, our ficus, has been dropping leaves left and right, and looking generally droopy. Plus, she's been getting covered in sticky stuff on her leaves. No aphids, though. So I did some research and it turns out she has scales. Scales are nasty little buggers, and nearly impossible to get rid of. She's seeming to do better now, though, since I've picked off about 200 of the buggers over the last week, and sprayed her a few times with dishsoap and vodka (ask the internet; I just do what it tells me). I still find them every time I look her over, but I find fewer and fewer each time, and it's harder to spot them now, so I think I'm starting to get a grip on them, and she might survive yet. It makes me sad, though, because when (if) we move to the states, we can't take her with us, and I seriously doubt anyone we give her to will make the effort I have to save her.

Man, it's sad when the biggest news I have is about saving a ficus plant.

Monday, June 3, 2013

2013 Reading List: May

I was busy in May. Being out of town for a week meant that I only took the Kindle, instead of the book I was reading, so many things got started, but nothing got finished. I'm hoping to remedy that today, since they're due back to the library in the none-too-distant future.

MAY

23. The Age of Zeus, by James Lovegood (Book 2 of The Pantheon Trilogy)
22. The Saddlebag, by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani (for reading group)

APRIL

21. The CIA Lockpicking Manual, by the Central Intelligence Agency (not like it'll help, though at least I better understand the theory. The only locks I can successfully pick are TSA approved luggage locks. Real secure.)
20. 2BR02B, by Kurt Vonnegut (a very, very short story)
19. The Warlock, by Michael Scott (Book 5 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
18. The Hippo with Toothache, edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima (originally published in the US as The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes. I think it's fairly obvious why I checked this one out from the library. It's a bunch of zoo and wild-animal vet stories.)
17. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I thought #16 might be a ripoff or variant of this. It isn't really, other than the reverse aging thing.)
16. I haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While, by Taichi Yamada (for reading group. This is one of the most self-important, boring books I've ever read.)

MARCH

15. The Necromancer, by Michael Scott (Book 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
14. The Sorceress, by Michael Scott (Book 3 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
13. The Magician, by Michael Scott (Book 2 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
12. Plugged, by Eoin Colfer
11. The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (A "prequel" featuring Bartimaeus from The Bartimaeus Trilogy)

FEBRUARY

10. Weight, by Jeanette Winterson (for reading group. The parts where she wasn't naval gazing were ok. The parts where she was, well, yeah...)
9. The Lady of the Rivers, by Philippa Gregory (Book 3 of The Cousins War)
8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

JANUARY

7. The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made to Suffer, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)
6. The Walking Dead Volume 7: The Calm Before, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)
5. Love in the Afternoon, by Alison Packard
4. The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland (for reading group)
3. The Bromeliad, by Terry Pratchett (actually a compilation of three of his books: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings)
2. Smitten, by Janet Evanovich
1. Witness, by Cath Staincliffe (for reading group)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Duality

I meant to post this on Thursday, with pictures and pomp, but I got busy. And now I can't provide pictures, because the Identity and Passport Service has my naturalization certificate, along with my US passport and a chunk of my money.

All that to say that I'm a British citizen now. Though I have basically nothing to prove my citizenship of either country (as mentioned, IPS has everything), I am officially a dual citizen. I'm done, finished, complete. My need to fill out extensive forms and "prove" my relationship has been more than sated over these past few years, and I should no longer be required to fill out substantial amounts of paperwork for quite a while (renewing my US passport will require some additional paperwork, but shouldn't be too onerous; basically I just have to tell them that while yes, I am a dual citizen, I plan to continue being a US citizen).

I have also registered to vote. In no small part so as to vote out the sleazebag who presided over the ceremony on Thursday. He's the local Lib-Dem MP (local, not down in Westminster), and I first met him years ago when I was slinging sandwiches. He was a tool then, and was no different on Thursday. At least he didn't remember me.

A few FAQs:

Q: Do you feel any different?
A: Other than being lighter in the wallet, no. Should I?

Q: Did you have to give up your US citizenship?
A: No. I'm a dual citizen. The US doesn't recognize my British citizenship (in theory), but they don't care, as the UK doesn't make you renounce anything. The UK does (in theory) recognize my dual citizenship.

Q: How does having two passports work?
A: Badly, so far as I can tell. When I have both of them and use both of them, I'll let you know the specifics, but in essence, I must use my US passport to enter the US, I believe I'm supposed to travel on only one passport per trip, but I also have to prove my right to abode in the UK, so I'll need that passport to reenter the UK. Like I said, badly. I will choose which passport to travel on depending on the destination, relationships to various countries, etc. Travel in and around the EU will be on my British passport.

Q: How does this affect Adam?
A: It doesn't. I could have divorced him about a year ago and legally stayed in the country, though I may not have been eligible for citizenship at that time. I have no plans to divorce him at all (unless he keeps snoring and being cranky while sick).

Q: If you move to the US, will Adam be a dual citizen?
A: No. The US requires its naturalized citizens renounce any other citizenship(s) they may hold as a part of the naturalization process, and Adam doesn't want to give up his British citizenship. That said, there is a form you can fill out over here to reapply for citizenship after you've renounced it. Presumably for that reason. Still, not going to do it. A green card should suffice.

Q: Do you have a desire to become a citizen of a third country?
A: I have my eye on Icelandic citizenship (seriously), but there's a fair bit involved in that, including learning some Icelandic. Since I'm pretty terrible at languages, that's probably not going to happen. Also, we have no ties to Iceland (at the moment).

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

2013 Reading List: April

APRIL

21. The CIA Lockpicking Manual, by the Central Intelligence Agency (not like it'll help, though at least I better understand the theory. The only locks I can successfully pick are TSA approved luggage locks. Real secure.)
20. 2BR02B, by Kurt Vonnegut (a very, very short story)
19. The Warlock, by Michael Scott (Book 5 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
18. The Hippo with Toothache, edited by Lucy H. Spelman and Ted Y. Mashima (originally published in the US as The Rhino with Glue-on Shoes. I think it's fairly obvious why I checked this one out from the library. It's a bunch of zoo and wild-animal vet stories.)
17. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I thought #16 might be a ripoff or variant of this. It isn't really, other than the reverse aging thing.)
16. I haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While, by Taichi Yamada (for reading group. This is one of the most self-important, boring books I've ever read.)

MARCH

15. The Necromancer, by Michael Scott (Book 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
14. The Sorceress, by Michael Scott (Book 3 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
13. The Magician, by Michael Scott (Book 2 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
12. Plugged, by Eoin Colfer
11. The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud (A "prequel" featuring Bartimaeus from The Bartimaeus Trilogy)

FEBRUARY

10. Weight, by Jeanette Winterson (for reading group. The parts where she wasn't naval gazing were ok. The parts where she was, well, yeah...)
9. The Lady of the Rivers, by Philippa Gregory (Book 3 of The Cousins War)
8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot

JANUARY

7. The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made to Suffer, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)
6. The Walking Dead Volume 7: The Calm Before, by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, and Cliff Rathburn (graphic novel)
5. Love in the Afternoon, by Alison Packard
4. The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland (for reading group)
3. The Bromeliad, by Terry Pratchett (actually a compilation of three of his books: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings)
2. Smitten, by Janet Evanovich
1. Witness, by Cath Staincliffe (for reading group)

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Facebook and the perpetuation of rape culture


Over the last week or so, there has been a backlash against Facebook. Tired of their complaints falling on deaf ears, women–and men–organized by the Everyday Sexism Project have been calling on Facebook to stop their implicit support of "rape culture." I am one of those people.

[...]

Please read the rest of this post on the Girl Museum blog, here.