Friday, May 18, 2007

Unconventional Conventionists and Rodent Requiem

I'm back! Yay for you.

Last monday week the Pirate and I went to see the Rocky Horror Show. The tix were by birthday gift to him since we'd been trying to see it for over six months but stuff kept getting in the way.

So there we were, walking around downtown Bath in our knickers.

He went as Rocky for a change, instead of his usual Frank getup. We spraypainted his underwear and sneakers metallic gold, sprayed his hair gold, and put gold sparkles all over his muscly chest. It was pure class, people.

I did a Janet, and wore a lacy white virginal bra, white knickers, a very short white slip, stockings and heels. and that were it. We had such a good time despite the fact that most of the boring, middle class people in Bath showed up in boring, middle class clothes and refused to do the Time Warp with us. What a bunch of squares.


The following morning I was off to America, where I attended the 42nd Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo and gave a paper on my recent work. I got some good criticism and feedback and made some good connections. I also bought over $500 worth of books, including an antique set of the complete works of Chaucer in 7 volumes from 1899 in beautiful condition. I had to have them.

The highlight of the convention was Miss Melville, long-time fiend who recently finished her BA in English. She had never been to an academic conference and when she came along to hear my paper she was enthralled by the whole setup. So the following day she came with me and gate-crashed.

Let me repeat that in case you missed the implications of that statement. She gate-crashed an academic conference on Medieval studies because it was fun. There's nerds and then there's nerds.

I had a lovely week at home with my parents and wonderbeagle. Daisy Doodle is still plugging along (albeit very slowly), but since I won't be back home again for a year I know I'll not see her again. It's very sad.

The other extremely sad news is that Bluto died while I was away. This does not come as a surprise. He had been losing weight and getting thin for some time, and I suspected there was a problem with his mouth. I observed that he was only storing food in his left cheek pouch, and never his right. When I saw uneaten sunflower seeds in his cage I knew it was serious, because only terrible pain could possibly keep him from his sunflower seeds, such was his love of the crunchy little delectibles. Unfortunately when these things happen there's nought to be done. I made an effort to give him more soft, fatty foods, but it wasn't enough. Poor little blighter. He was a most excellent and admirable rodent.

21 comments:

Babs said...

I'm starting to think I'm the only person on the planet who has never seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.


And sorry about yer man Bluto. He was an adorable little bugger.

Dave said...

What sort of fiend is your friend?

Sorry about Bluto, I was looking forward to meeting him next month.

I answer to your question, of course you may use quotes from my blog, as long as they are properly attributed, and I get lots more visitors as a result.

Anonymous said...

Very sorry to hear about Bluto, hope you're ok.

But shocked to hear you went out without a vest on - you'll catch your death of cold my girl!

Annie said...

I think there should be an unwritten rule that you have to dress up as whatever you go to see at the theatre AND cinema.

Although perhaps this is just me trying to find a good excuse to wear my Hitler Youth outfit.

Dave said...

Oh, were you dressing up? I'd assumed that was your normal attire. I was so looking forward to meeting you next month.

Miss Melville said...

I feel like I've finally arrived as an individual-- I was mentioned as a "fiend" in your blog! *wipes tear from left eye* I've waited so long for this day...

I'm personally quite proud of teh psuedo-academic street cred that crashing the convention gave me. I'd do it again. ;) The welsh poetry I bought from that fellow from Dublin is first-rate.

My sympathies regarding Bluto. There's something almost inexpressably sad about the passing of vaguely spherical balls for fur. It's the end of an era.

I miss you quite terribly. --MM

FirstNations said...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOO

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he have runned away! he is at large and anonymous! you are been deceive by a clever clone replicant!

*snif!*

Moominmama said...

babs: hello! havn't seen you around in a while. how's things? i dig the avatar.

dave: the devilish type. and thanks.

helena: you're not wrong about the temperaature. my bra has two small holes in it now.

ar: good thought, that. i can't wait to go see the new PofC movie.

dave: you skank. :-)

MM: i miss you too, my lovely. xo

FN: well, if it was a clone then we just burried an imposter alive in a flower bed in Brandon Hill park.

Mangonel said...

KALAMAZOO?!? You mean it's a real place? That is SO COOL! I thought they made it up, like, just for the song! (Great song though, of course. Worth making up such a fantastic name for.)

Wow! Now I wanna go!

Babs said...

I always pop by here, Chauc. Sometimes I just can't think of anything to say is all :P

I saw this pic and thought, 'Deeth with big feet?? It must be mine!!'

So I nicked it :)

Inwardly Confused said...

Sorry about the little fur ball...I loved him from afar.

Da Nator said...

Fare thee well, fair Bluto. We hardly knew ye.

So sorry to hear of your loss. I'm glad you've been having fun otherwise, though.

Timorous Beastie said...

Bye Bluto. Poor bugger.

Tim F said...

Sorry about Bluto. I'm sure he's nibbling stuff in some parallel dimension.

I had a schoolfriend who decided to apply to an entirely random US university, just for the hell of it. Not only did the Kalamazoo Theological College look kindly on his application, they offered him a four-year scholarship, without even interviewing him. He turned it down, because he discovered he couldn't say the word 'Kalamazoo' without laughing.

Sassy Sundry said...

Wow. That was a time warp for me. It's been a very long time since I've gone to Rocky Horror.

Gate-crashing nerds are the best.

GreatSheElephant said...

awww, no - poor Bluto.

As an atheist, I would guess that you don't want to be sent a copy of the Rainbow Bridge.

Billy said...

My sympathies.

Bluto was quite the hamster.

The Hopeless Romantic said...

Awww. Sorry to hear about poor old Bluto - he was such a cute little chap.

Would you consider getting another sun flower scoffer?

llewtrah said...

Sorry about little Bluto. People don't always realise how such small critters have so much personality.

One of my colleagues went to Rocky Horror Show. He went straight after work and was wearing ladies' undies and fishnets under his work clothes. He turned up in a wheelchair pushed by his partner and with a lap blanket covering the fishnets. The management apologised that they hadn't noted down his disability status when the booking was made and he got an excellent spot in the wheelchair row. At the end, he whippd off his lap blanket and danced and management weren't very amused.

Frobisher said...

Poor Bluto, it's always a tragedy when a rat passes away.

I usually dress as Riff-raff. I thought dressed up was more or less compulsory, miserable stuck up Bath people.

Romeo Morningwood said...

That is all sad news on the Pet front. I know how attached we get to critters but doggonit they are just so darn cute and understanding.

I love the nerdapalooza story and although I can completely relate to having an obssession or two myself,
I salute your enthusiastic love of 'olde wurdes' that dares not speak it's name...
..perhaps a different category pour moi but I can dig the obssession.

Paris would say "that's HOT!"