alexist

1) I am annoyed at Amazon UK / Royal Mail. My order was dispatched Monday via First Class Post. IIRC, Amazon ships from Bedfordshire. First class post from Beds to London should take 2 days max. So someone has screwed up.

2) I have just made strawberry sorbet! yum. Would have been even better Sunday when it was so hot, but a) I didn't have the ice-cream maker frozen, and b) the strawberries in Brent Cross Waitrose weren't great. The Gariguettes have started early this year (probably polytunnels, but they're still better than Elsanta!) so I got those the other day. Only it turned out I needed more than I got, so I got some more yesterday, made the puree, and froze it today. Even if it's colder out, it will still be good. And once I start craving something...

3) I am getting frustrated at the Independent and more importantly, my apparent inability to stop buying it despite its descent into lefty-Daily-Mailism. Why can't I be satisfied with the Guardian? It's still up its own arse, but at least it's less screamy and publishes fewer dubious articles.

4) I wrote another letter to the Independent, this time correcting someone's misinterpretation of UK nationality law. (He was under the impression that nationality is transmitted solely through the paternal line. The Nationality Act 1981 corrected this and all births since 1 Jan 1983 come under the new law, although unmarried fathers could not pass on UK citizenship until a 2006 amendment.)

5) Some days I get depressed at my critical, pedantic, nit-picking nature. The fact that I can be good at it (I was in demand for critiquing other people's term papers in college) isn't necessarily compensation. What would you prefer--to be a good writer, or to be a good editor? I'm the latter and it's a bit like being a parasite. Especially since I can revise other people's work with ease, but am useless when it comes to judging my own.

6) The fact that I am critical, etc doesn't mean I'm unhappy. I'm not. But I'm a believer in the power of The Vent, a characteristic I inherited from my mother. I am nothing next to her. I'm a mere tropical depression to her Hurricane Katrina.

7) Specsavers have just rung to say my 2nd box is in! So I shall get dressed and pick them up before heading up to Hannah's in East Barnet.

Today's Evening Standard had an article on the woman who gave up supermarkets for Lent. My skepticism came to the fore. Now, I have some principles. I try to avoid Tesco, when I lived in New York I shopped at an independent supermarket rather than a chain and used independent shops as well, and ideally I would use more independent shops than I do. But let's face it, supermarkets are useful. I'm happy to buy my bog roll and Weetabix and Fairy Liquid at supermarkets. They arose for a reason: it's HARD to go to 6 different stores. I found it more than enough to go to 3 or 4, and it is good to have one store to buy 95% of your dry goods at. How many independent stores can stock a decent range of that stuff?

And this woman did it in west London, which is one of the best places there is--in much of the country it just isn't possible any more, even if you have the time, inclinication, and money.

Try for some balance, people...