So I'm wearing a heart monitor! Until 5:30 tomorrow afternoon! And it is the most obnoxious thing ever! And I had no idea they meant to put it on me today and oh my god do you know how awkward I felt leaving covered in wires?! And I have to go out again tomorrow for my ultrasound! While still wearing this thing! laskdjf;aljsd;fl don't look at meeeeee

Also, how am I supposed to sleep tonight! Jesus god this is so uncomfortable!

(disclaimer: This test is not for any dire reason or anything. I've just been having trouble with heart palpitations for a long time, so the doc wanted to make sure there was nothing going on there.)

...

In other news, I kept thinking my strawberry-kiwi Vitamin Water tasted disconcertingly of incense. Then it hit me that it smelled and tasted (?!!) incredibly strongly of labdanum. In fact, it smelled/tasted of labdanum much more strongly than it smelled/tasted of strawberry or kiwi. I was like, there is seriously labdanum in my drink oh my god this cannot possibly be normal.

...But apparently it is. Apparently it's commonly used by the commercial food industry for things like soft drinks. Go figure. It still kind of freaks me out. Especially since it might as well be called "labdanum" instead of "strawberry-kiwi". I'm not sure I want this flavor again, um.

...

In OTHER other news, Catherynne Valente and her husband have fallen on hard times financially. She has decided to write a YA story - a particular YA story.



She is writing The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In a Ship of Her Own Making, a book within a book: it was the character November's favorite book from childhood in Palimpsest.

She is going to be posting chapters weekly, for free, but with the request for people to donate what they can, if they can, in exchange. (Needless to say, this book will involve quite a lot less sex than Palimpsest, being YA lit. Also, presumably it will be able to stand on its own without the need to read the other.)

Just wanted to put that out there, in case any fans on the list hadn't heard - and if you haven't read Cat before, this is a good chance to check out her stuff!