why, yes! this is priscilla speaking

for two years, home choice (or its debt collecting representatives) have been harassing gd as they chase the wrong number of someone named "priscilla". this hasn't been a big deal until a few weeks ago, when the frequency of their calls increased to a ridiculous number per day, but this week i taught gd to handle it differently... if they can't be reasonable, then we shouldn't be reasonable either. so we've been messing with them for days, now, and deriving a good amount more entertainment from their calls than they have.

...

 the long tail of the hackathon - we finally were ready to submit on tuesday morning, but it seems like every day there was more to do as the operators get their bearings. i'm very glad the other dude in our team has been managing most of it.

dance dance revolution: it's difficult. i'm perpetually on the balls of my feet. i kind feel like it's the best exercise i've had in ages.

of course, there're side effects: the bad knee has been acting up as i get used to stressing it properly.  combined with gd's tendency to mishear things, phrase of the week is "i need to make a conscious effort to extend my meat" ("meat" = "knee")

my mom's good news for the week - her contract's been extended again.

i took a long walk with an old friend on... thursday, i think? we walked the length of the promenade and back, which was great, but i did come home with a nasty sunburned patch on the back of my neck :(

otherwise, it was a short but productive work week.

gd's sushi-making skills are improving and last night's dinner was glorious! not only did we all enjoy the meal, but mr smear was reminded of the second phase of the hunter exam so we watched the gourmet hunters episodes of hunter x hunter while we ate.

gd and i got a bit of a shock this morning, our cleaning lady / nanny has asked us for paid leave (in spite of the fact that we paid her in full all through lockdown) and has decided she wants to take december AND january off. i understand "no try, no get" but the sheer audacity has me totally stunned. *i* don't even get more than three weeks off as a senior engineer...

i spent thursday morning dealing with a complete internet failure, and in the process learned that the fibre guys installed our box upside down so the button's as inaccessible as it could possibly be. eventually it came right, but then this morning our connection failed again just as i was getting ready for my part of the torah reading...

oh! and a man called ove. i've been reading it on and off since my "vacation" a few weeks ago, and i finally completed it last night. i wouldn't recommend it in the glowing terms of the internet strangers who convinced me to try it, but i guess it was a nice read and my eyes did get a bit watery once or twice.