giggles

It's giggle-inducing pleasure that my job - at times - allows me to indulge in a penchant for chasing down the obscure.
For instance, today (Friday - this is late in being posted) a hunt to fully understand the off-hand use of "proustian moment." Several colleagues, with many an MA in English lit therein, kindly offered up "long-winded navel-gazing" as suggestion. Independent research has led me to assume "proustian moment" - as it was used - referenced the notion of "involuntary memory." A term Proust coined, as it happens.
Further fun new discoveries:
• Bildungsroman
• Neurasthenia: Victorian chronic fatigue?
• various and sundry causes for eczema
• agonistes: (ægnst) 1. 'A contender for prizes.' J. rare ; Happiest of mothers am I, who have borne so noble an agonist. 1626 COCKERAM, Agonist, a Champion. 1859 I. TAYLOR Nilus in Ess. etc. 1859, 161
2. A person engaged in a contest or struggle; a protagonist. (For the spec. sense in quot. 1914 cf. AGON 2.)
3. One who advertises in an 'agony column'
• tohu bohu: (tohubohu) a. Heb. 1. 'emptiness and desolation', in Gen. i.
2. rendered in Bible of 1611 'without form and void'. So F. thohu et bohu (Rabelais 1548), tohu-bohu (Voltaire 1776).] That which is empty and formless; chaos; utter confusion. That Prophecie ... that the world should be two thousand yeares Tohu emptie and without Law. [1626 COCKERAM, Agonist, a Champion. 1859 I. TAYLOR Nilus in Ess. etc. 1859, 161] It is .. not any figure, but a Chaos, a Tohu and Bohu, a meere confusion. [1619 Microcosm. xxviii. 275] I. 8/2 Man's heart is a mere emptiness, a very Tohu vabohu. [1643 TRAPP Comm., Gen. i. 24-5 (1867)]

Last two from my fave, Oxford English Dictionary, online.

finally, this bliss comes

in these moments before my ride arrives and we embark on a wonderful energetic romp in this tardy gorgeous white stuff, i want to reproclaim my adoration for snow.

I'd almost forgotten. But I grinned like an idiot all day at the office and that first full breath when I stepped out into the air — bliss. What is that thing that makes air heavy with snow so ... sexy! Everything is gorgeous. Everything sounds good. Everything is fun, and frisson-esque and silly and every snowbank needs romping. My soaked mitts, boots and bottom attest to some of that ... *broad sparkly grin*

and now - now - i get to breathe it in deeply, unadulterated by cars and lights and get slightly sweaty and wear my favourite hat with the pom poms and get red nosed and cheeked and maybe lie in some pristine snowbank and grin at the stars. AND wear my favourite footwear - the x-ctry skis.

What weather is better than ours?

none!

Reading: snowflakes trapped on eyelashes, glint of wild animals' eyes through haphazard trees, genuine goofy grins of friends with runny noses and slightly sweaty brows ... everything good.

geek drool

Have been sans computer acess for a few days after dumping mint tea on my keyboard and scaring neighbours with subsequent prolific swearing. Got wireless network working and laptop connected and opened up firefox to this dream vision today.

This counts as swag - n'est ce pas? Right?