"Can't help myself but count the flaws, claw my way out through these walls..."

Thought I'd post a ridiculous video (featuring kids throwing things at stuff, lots of jumping and gratuitous amounts of water) for a song I actually like.


This hipster moment brought to you by the iPod at work. Which we have to listen to. Every. Single. Day.

New thingie!

Hey!

So I thought I'd do a new feature called

wherein I can show you guys some of the cool stuff I manage to score at work. I'm not usually one who likes "hauls" or whatever, but I love a good deal and want to share some of the excellent bargains I find on a daily basis at my job. Also, I am shamelessly advertising.

So, these are my last four purchases that I'm still pretty super excited about:


I really liked this suede, zippered, asymmetrical jacket from Rampage when it came in. It just looks badass. Also, YAY for being able to wear it today! It still had the tags attached, too, which is great because it's like, "Oh, I'm getting a superbargain!"

Avg. retail price: aprox. $48
Plato's Price: $16



The next item is this cool zebra-print messenger bag from H&M. I really thought it was kind of different, and I love messenger bags because a) they're comfy and b) they hold everything!

Avg. retail price: approx. $24
Plato's Price: $7


I went back and forth on this Kathy Van Zealand bag because I really liked the slouchy style (and the fact that it's smaller than most of my black handbags--though it doesn't look like it in the picture!), but I've had Kathy's before and the quality is just okay. They tend to wear and tear pretty easily. But it's a super comfy bag and I liked the hardware details, so I figured, "What the heck, why not." Plus, I get a discount. So that sealed the deal for me!

Avg. retail price: $89
Plato's Price: $18


And finally, BETSEY JOHNSON WALLET. Need I say more?

Yes.
Okay, so it's Betseyville, which is her retail-geared cheaper line, but I love it anyway. I especially love the lightning bolt zipper pull. And the inside is really cool, too. It has a neat little button-closed box inside--perfect for chapstick and change (because what else do you need in a wallet?). I fell in love. And there's another one currently in the store in red and pink!

Avg. retail price: approx. $30-50
Plato's Price: $11



So, yay! Also, all the above Plato's Prices are what they price at in the store WITHOUT my employee discount. Before you guys go running around thinking I have loads of money to spend. Because I don't. I just happen to work in the face of temptation.

Geek life.

Accurate:

Credit.

You see, but you do not observe.

Look what I got in the mail!!!

"...all the rights and privileges thereunto appertaining." EXCEPT A JOB.

No, but seriously, I'm quite thrilled. I'm now "legit." And it just feels good to hold the fruit of four years hard labor in my hands. I have something to PHYSICALLY show for it. I mean, it's kind of a measly something, but it's something nonetheless.


If you hear of anything at all in the fields of editing, publishing or anything otherwise bookish, please let me know.


Work: fine.
Family: fine.
Social life: nonexistent.



In other news, a colleague and acquaintance of mine (who's "off the grid" and scarily brilliant) introduced me to the BBC series "Sherlock." I mean, I'd known about it but I had been incredibly skeptical, because the idea of Sherlock Holmes existing outside of Victorian England was absolutely horrifying. HOWEVER, I have to say, that of all the adaptations I've seen, this one is, oddly enough, one of the closest to the books--in that they sneak in sly references to many things and use (or adapt) quotes outright. And it works! I didn't think you could ever take the, "I'd be lost without my Boswell" quote and work it into live action without a fair amount of corniness. But they did it! And it's great, because even though they've changed things to fit in with 21st century England, key elements of the original stories are still there. Only instead of firing off telegrams every 10 minutes, Holmes shoots texts. He also shoots bullets in the wall (per canon). Other canon elements: the riding crop, Watson's army stint (and inconsistent wounds attained therein), the Baker Street Irregulars, Holmes' substance reliance (only he uses nicotine patches instead of pipes...LOL), and a whole slew of other sneaky but ingenious little references.

Cumberbatch is a brilliant young Holmes, and Martin Freeman (who's going to be Bilbo in the upcoming Hobbit movie) is a really great Watson. The mysteries, though based on the originals, are fresh and exciting, and each episode stands as almost a mini-movie--they're that good.

I highly recommend it. I'd been going through an awful Holmesian dry patch (there's only so many times you can re-read the original stories, and almost all of the later pastiches are so terrible they make me want to bash my own head in), and this was the PERFECT fix. You can watch the first three episodes online at PBS's website:
here!


So since my life is so blindingly exciting, tell me, what are my readers up to these days?