Larocque and Roll

Moving II: Electric Move-a-loo

2006-10-13T22:11:00.000-04:00

It's not enough that I moved to a new city and learn a new address. Nooooo. Now I'm moving my blog and learning another new address, and making you learn it, too. I'm sort of mean that way. Anyways, go here to find me.

http://larocqueandroll.com

So, what's the weather like outside?

2006-10-12T22:49:00.000-04:00

Oh, it's been snowing a little.

My neighbour just turned on his Christmas lights. I though to myself, "Awww, I should do that.... WAIT! It's not even Halloween yet! Sheesh!"

And Alice Cooper is playing at the arena about five bloocks from here. I'm not suggesting these events are somehow related. But it is awfully coincidental.

Doing something or doing something else

2006-10-09T16:30:00.000-04:00

So far today, I've accomplished quite a bit, but not really what I wanted to do. I've made muffins, cleaned the kitchen, watched a movie ("The Magnificent Butcher"), written 8 reviews over there, and had lunch. Part of me wants to continue playing around online because I'm sort of in a groove, and I don't like interrupting it to go do something else.

The something else is watching the five videos I borrowed from the library and are now overdue. It's likely that I'll be getting an overdue notice for them sometime this week, which seems silly in light of the fact the librarian who does the overdues could just come downstairs and kick me in the shins until I promised to bring the movies back. Plus, I'm so closed to being finished this mitten it seems ridiculous not to finish it this afternoon so I can move onto something else.

2006-10-09T12:28:00.000-04:00

So sorry for the lack of posts lately. Usually when I get home for work, I have three brain cells left - one for hunger, one for watching TV, and one for napping. Sometimes they gang up on each other and beat the other into submission, so I don't have much brain power left over. The job is amazing, and I'm still loving it, but it's still taking all of my mental energy during the day.

And also, for the first time in almost three years, I have a cold. It sucks. All the natural immunity I built up working in a public library over the years has obviously worn off, so now I have to build it back up again.

Thanksgiving was a pretty subdued affair, as my parents came up for the night. Instead of a turkey, we had a nice little chicken and some pumpkin cheesecake. Yum!

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet here.

Customer service conundrum

2006-09-22T22:16:00.000-04:00

Today I faced one of those customer service dilemmas which I really hate - do I help someone find a book that isn't where it's supposed to be, even though it's one minute to closing, or do I gently remind him the library is closing in one minute, and could he come back in the morning and we'd find it for him?

On one hand, going the extra mile for the patron* always makes us look good, and if the patron really needs the item, gives them a feeling of gratitude towards us. They might tell the next person they speak to, be it a family member, friend or classmate, how great it was that the librarian found that book on birding which the catalogue said was in but wasn't where it should be.

The other day I helped an elderly woman track down an issue of the French version of Reader's Digest she was looking for because there was an article she wanted for her daughter, despite the fact I was on my way to the server room to fix a problem that was occurring in the system. When we discovered it had been checked out, I took her to the circulation desk, explained to the librarian who was there what we needed (to put a PIN on her card, and then reserve the issue), and then continued on to fix the problem. The woman told the librarians at the desk how helpful I'd been, and was grateful for all our assistance. That's what we do - we help people, and we love doing it, damnit!

But on the other hand, we're only human. I wasn't feeling the greatest - there's a cold/flu going around the staff, and it isn't even officially flu season yet. We were short staffed today, so I'd spent a lot of time helping out at the circ desk and not getting paperwork done. I work tomorrow, I'll be the only manager in, and there's serious potential for all three departments to be short staffed. Plus, there's a glitch in the system that's preventing me from uploading MARC records for a bunch of new materials, but I don't know where or how to solve it. Long story short, I was a little stressed, tired, distracted, and just wanted to shoo him out.**

In the end, I had to go with the shooing, but I did promise to have a look for it in the morning, and explained how he could go online and reserve the material so that when it did turn up, we'd give him a call. What would you have done?

*That's a weird term for me - patron. As in, a library patron, or someone who patronizes a library. In library school, there were many discussions about what you call someone who goes to the library: a patron or a user?

For the last few years, I've used the term "library user" to describe someone who comes to the library, checks out material, and participates in programming. Because that's what they do - they use the library. A patron is someone who generally supports or favours something, like an arts program or even a library, but it doesn't mean they necessarily use the library.

It doesn't mean that "library users" aren't also patrons of the library, and "patrons of the library" can also be library users, it's just that, to me, they have different connotations. Library user sounds like a more neutral term than patron (which sounds a bit snooty in my head), but to some, library user sounds cold and statistical and patron is a friendlier term. However, since everyone at my new library uses the term "patron" to describe the people who are in the building and aren't staff, I've also started using the term.

**Add to that the fact I'd had to run around looking for him - twice - because he'd left stuff in my department, and then seemed to have very little idea what it was he was looking for.

It's Saaaaarsgaaaaaarrrrrd!

2006-09-19T19:59:00.000-04:00

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

You need to watch this video of a pirate's convention.

ARRRRRRRR!

(Edited to add: D'oh! Thanks for the catch, John! No wonder I had such a hard time finding it! And the Sarsgaard SARS-guard skit was hilarious.)

I wish The Cranberries would shut up already

2006-09-18T18:08:00.000-04:00

I did a stupid thing yesterday, despite taking every possible precaution to prevent what happened last night from happening.

I watched a scary movie, 28 Days Later. It was the middle of the day, the sun was shining, and I had all the blinds and windows open. I could see the kids playing across the street, riding their bikes around, and laughing and having fun. I planned to watch other non-scary movies after it to lessen the impact, but to no avail.

The movie was good. It was really good - I'd consider watching it again sometime. The most graphic thing about it was when the Infected* vomited blood (note to my mother and sisters: don't watch this movie. One word: ew.) Other than that, I was okay with the ending, and liked the alternate endings, especially the radical alternative ending.

The problem began around 11, when I started getting ready for bed. There was thunder and lightening, and when that passed, it was very quiet in the neighbourhood. I'm not used to that kind of silence; in my apartment, I was on a busy four-lane road, near an ambulance and fire dispatch centre, and above a bar, so there was always a lot of noise, even early in the morning. Here, in a residential area, it's oh so quiet - too quiet. I lay there with my eyes wide opening, knowing that it was just a stupid movie, but unable to shake the fear that someone was going to come bursting through the bedroom door. Nightmares would have been a relief because it would have meant I slept.

I did drop off eventually, and snapped awake a couple of times. Around 4am, crazy singing dude with headphones** wandered by, and it was oddly reassuring. If CSDWH can wander around the city unassaulted by violently ill people intent on killing, then surely all must be well.

* They weren't really zombies, were they? More like plague victims.
** Crazy singing dude with headphones is this youngish guy who wanders around wearing these huge headphones, carrying a discman, and singing along at the top of his lungs, usually off key. I think he's harmless - he doesn't seem to be headed anywhere specific, but he always looks like he's headed somewhere with a purpose.

Friday night it was Tim Horton's and "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart"

2006-09-16T22:13:00.000-04:00

But I didn't dork out that hard because there were two really hot guys there, and heaven and hell forbid I act like myself (or someone weirder) in the presence of hotness. So there.

Anyhoo...

Unpacking has progressed nicely, but it's come to a scretching halt because I can't find the pegs to hold the shelves in one of my bookcases. I know I packed them, and I've found the pegs for all the other bookcases except that one. I've also found all the stuff around where I am certain I last saw them. The good news is that they are here somewhere. When I went back to clean the place, I didn't see them, and I looked in every cupboard and drawer and on every shelf before I left, so the only possible explanation is that they are already in this house.

The bad news is that they are here somewhere. Since I've already found the stuff that was around them and similar to them, and have looked in the all the possible containers that I might have put them in, but haven't turned them up yet, I'm running out of possible places they could be. It's one of those things where if I spend too much time thinking about it, it will drive me bananas, get frustrated, and accomplish nothing. If I stop thinking about where they might be, it's possible they'll turn up. Eventually.

My grandparents are here. Yay!

Yes, that was me dorking out to "Afternoon Delight" in Canadian Tire tonight*

2006-09-15T00:05:00.000-04:00

So tired. But in a good way. Loving the job, even though there's so much to catch up on.

Really, I should have been cleaning and unpacking tonight because my grandparents are coming to visit on the weekend. Instead, I posted pictures of the interior of my house (my house!) and played around with Vox (meet my alter ego, Girl Tuesday). But they're not coming to see the mess - they're coming to see me!**

(Incidentally, the pictures were taken the morning my stuff arrived, before the movers got here. That's why there's a lack of furniture.)

And happy belated birthday to Dave. When the doctors said you'd never make it to 31, they were wrong - it's the thirst for revenge, not the iron lung, that's keeping you alive.

* The snappy title is to make up for a decidedly unsnappy post. But it's true - I did dork out when I heard it.
** The mess is just a happy bonus.

All the leaves are brown

2006-08-31T10:58:00.000-04:00

One last thing... I cleaned up the balcony yesterday, which means I had to disassemble my little garden. The outcome:

The Winners

Newton Pulsifier the 6th - the little ivy that double its size over the course of the summer. His tendrils are long, and there are a few more.

Spyder - the spider plant is growing a spider, or one of those shoots with a bunch of leaves on it. He's much healthier than when I bought him at the market.

The Lavender Ladies - they've bloomed once, and they're starting to go through a second growth spurt.

The Roses - I am beyond shocked that I didn't kill them. Not only are they not dead, right now they're going through a third flowering cycle (there were flowers and buds when I got the plant, which died off a few weeks later; two weeks later there were new buds, two weeks of flowers, then two weeks dormant. Now there are buds again.) I'm bringing this plant with me on the weekend, only because I don't want to miss the flowers again.

The Jade plant - Once I took it inside because it was starting to look sunburned outside, it popped out a whole bunch of buds. It's doing quite well.

The Orchid Cactus - Last count, there were six little stubby nubs on the ends of the "branches" (what do you call those on cacti?)

The Losers

The Herb Tarleks - Sadly, none of them made it. The basil never did as well as it had the previous year, nor did the mint. The sage never really took off, and the rosemary always looked pissed. When I got back from my last road trip, which was only a few days, they'd all given up the ghost, despite having been watered before I left. Alas.

The Kramers - Also sadly, the cosmos never really took off. They flourished briefly, threw out a few flowers, and then withered and died. I like to blame it on the fact they flourished during the Inco shutdown, when they do repairs on the smokestack (which I can clearly see from my balcony), and died when they started up again, pumping soot and dust into the atmosphere again.

The Also-Rans

The Chives - Still kicking. Nothing really new there.

The Aloe - One branch fell off - I was moving it, and it got knocked askew. It didn't fall off right away, but it started turning brown, so out it went. Other than that, it's doing fairly well.

The Portulaca Twins - Lovely. They pumped out flowers all summer, mostly scarlet ones, but occasionally orange, fucia or pink. However, it was starting to look like a tanned-and-leathery old woman who wears velour jumpsuits, gaudy jewelry and too much makeup: once they were beautiful, but now they're compensating for something. In this case, it was the colourless leaves and wilting. So even though I ended up throwing them out, I'm happy they did so well over the duration of the summer.

House proud

2006-08-31T00:42:00.000-04:00

I got a call at 10:30 this morning saying everything had gone through, and the house is now officially mine.

I'm excited. I'm scared. I'm so looking forward to this.

On Tuesday, the realtor and I did a last walk-through of the house. The family who lived there had already moved out, and had left me the sweetest note (we both "awww!'d" over it). Saturday I head down with my trusty sidekick, Karen T., and a week's worth of stuff. We'll clean, we'll put down contact paper on the cupboard shelves and drawers, and maybe we'll paint (or at least get the paint, and I'll paint during the week).

All the utilities have been switched over, so there will be lights and water. The phone won't work until Tuesday, so I'll be relying on my cell phone for a few days.

Packing is almost finished. There's little things that need to be done which probably won't get done until the movers show up, but I can live with that. What will be tough to live with is what I'm going to do with myself when the cable is shut off here (tomorrow, hopefully). No television (even though there's nothing on worth watching - I just like knowing Food TV and Space are there if I'm bored) and, worst of all, NO INTERNETS!!! Whatever shall I do with myself? Read, I suppose.

Tomorrow, a little bit of running around, some laundry, and packing the rest of the obvious stuff.

**

Last night while out for a walk, I was stopped by an elderly gentlemen who wanted to know if I knew of any plumbers in the neighbourhood. Ah, long gone are those days of yore when you could wander the streets looking for skilled tradespeople and reasonably expect to find one by approaching random strangers and making an inquiry.

**

I'll be back sometime next week, y'all. Have a good long weekend!

Boxed in

2006-08-26T16:09:00.000-04:00

And so the packing continues. I'm at the point where I think I've packed things I need because I can't find them, so it's the only explanation I will accept. I'm also looking for things I know I have but I can't find them, but I don't remember packing them. Like my string of paper butterflies from Peir 1 - certainly not a big ticket item, but they were pretty and added colour to a room. Also, the postcards I promised J. - one minute they were on the fridge, the next, BAM! Gone!

There are also piles of things that haven't been packed yet because everything they should have been packed with have already been packed. For instance, there's a collection of knick-nacks on the table behind my laptop, some breakable, some not, which need boxing up soon. The big problems is that all the boxes I have at the moment are huge, so they'll have to wait until I find smaller boxes.

Also to be done - sorting through the accumulated papers and correspondence from the last two and some years. I have a shiny new shredder to help get rid of the sensitive stuff, and folders to file the rest of it. I need to spend a day on stuff like that, and tomorrow's looking wide open.

The part of this whole production which is driving me batty is the piles of stuff that are everywhere, from on my bed to all over the kitchen, by the front door, and several spots around the living room/dining room. I want to pick them up, but they need to be packed just not right away, so there's not much point putting them away if I'm just going to take them out again shortly, is there? (Did that make any sense?)

What I'd like is for someone to come over and help me figure out what's left to do, and then spend an hour or two helping me do it. Mostly, it's packing up the rest of the stuff in the kitchen that isn't food, the bedroom, the bathroom (which is tiny and won't take more than 20 minutes*), and the books - which, yes John, I am packing, but not until the end!

For now, the biggest decision I want to make is when I'm going to boil the corn I got at the market for dinner, and whether to make peach crisp with the peaches I also got, or to eat the peach pie I brought back. It's a race too close to call at the moment...

* Famous last words.

Madonna says, "Holiday!"

2006-08-24T23:07:00.000-04:00

Ahhhh....

This weekend was spent visiting Owen Sound and at my parents, and it was very re-energizing. Friday I went to Owen Sound to see Rachelle's boyfriend play at Summerfolk. It was a spectacular concert in a neat outdoor venue - the amphitheater was made of rock and grass, and you could either sit on the rock or set up your lawn chairs and sit on the grass levels. The four of us (me, sister, sister's boyfriend's mother, and friend-to-all) walked to the concert with our chairs and jackets and, in our case - knitting. Of course, we made the requisite stop for junk food before carrying on, and arriving just as Joel and friends got on stage.

During the show, Rachelle and I managed to get quite a bit of knitting done, although it started getting too dark shortly after 8:30 to see much.

(Me with my wrist warmer and Rachelle with her hat.)

All the performers were amazing - I'd be hard pressed to say who my favourite was, but I have a soft spot for Jory Nash's "Spaz Loves Weezie." The African Guitar Summit, who were that evening's headliner, were outstanding.

Sadly, I had to miss the rest of the weekend concert. Saturday I headed home for the going away party of a cousin who's heading to university in the fall. It was fun hanging out with the family again, and I finally found out where the scar in my left eyebrow came from - it's not very big, but I didn't know how it got there.(I tripped and hit my head on the corner of a chair at my aunt and uncle's house when I was just wee.)

The rest of the weekend until Wednesday was spent hanging out at my parents, reading books, knitting, watching movies with my mother, playing with the cats, and baking. Or at least, helping to bake by staying out of the way or cleaning up afterwards. I came back to Sudbury with a load of stuff, including chicken cacciatore, bread, cookies, dried peaches, cherry tomatoes from the neighbour's garden, and a peach pie.

(See how I'm making all those lists up there? It's because I refuse to make a list of all the things I need to do before next weekend in case I forget to put something on the list, and therefore forget to do it at all. So I'm making lists of other things. Everything is sort of floating around my head, but I know it's there and I'm not too worried about forgetting anything. Really, I should make a schedule of what still needs to be done and when - it's not really a list, more like an outline.)

Coming back to Sudbury was hard, not only because I didn't want to go back and face the rest of the paperwork and the stack of dirty dishes, but also because it's going to be a while before I get home again, and it was also probably the last time I'll be heading home down the 69. Plenty of pit stops were made at such exotic locations as the McDonald's rest stop in Barrie (to finish I Am Not Myself These Days and use the washroom), the Sobey's in Parry Sound (to get something to eat), and the new visitor's information centre in French River (it's seriously cool - you should stop there sometime!)

Days until I get the new house: 6, 5 by morning.

Done!

2006-08-17T22:10:00.000-04:00

Today was my last official day at my most recent place of work.

However, as I had taken the last two days off as vacation, and I didn't really need to go in for anything on Monday and Tuesday, I've actually been off since last Friday. So, between now and the first week of September, I'm footloose, fancy-free, and at loose ends.

Monday I started re-watching Firefly, including commentary where applicable, and finished it up Tuesday. The intention was to watch Serenity some night this week, but that hasn't happened, so I'll leave that for next week. I've also done some running around, including a trip to my new place of work for training session. Tomorrow I leave for another trip, but there's no rush to be back by a certain time.

The rest of my time has been spent preoccupied with packing. I've deluded myself into thinking I'm well on my way, but if I spend too much time thinking about what needs to be packed versus the number of boxes I have at my disposal (at present), it's a little overwhelming. All I know is that the books will be the last thing packed in order to save the boxes (although I need to make a list of what still needs to be packed). I may be okay with what I have, but it doesn't stop me from fretting about it.

Speaking of books, I've been doing a take-no-prisoners weeding of the collection. I cheated a little on the "no packing books" rule so I could disassemble the bookcase the paperbacks are on*, and put a whole bunch of books in the pile to give away**. It will also give me a chance to start fresh with trying to keep track of what I have in my collection.

Other news:

I finished knitting a pair of mittens I started in April. The problem was that I kept casting on the wrong number of stitches for the second mitten, then got frustrated and walked away for a while. It took a little over a day to finish it once I cast on the correct number of stitches. There's enough yarn to make a scarf and maybe a hat. I've also started another pair of wrist warmers, and would start socks if I had the right number of needles (most patterns call for five needles, and I only have four in any given size. Which makes me wonder - I used five needles for the Sockapalooza socks. Where did the fifth needle come from, and where did it go?)

The sidebar is horribly out of date, and the template needs updating. My hope is to do something with the template next week, but I see that Blogger is making some changes, which would make things like updating the template and adding labels, easier. Woo!

I still haven't unpacked from my last road trip, which had its shares of highs and lows. I guess I should do that, shouldn't I?

*Except I couldn't find the allen key to unscrew the screws, and the other five I have are all too big or too small. Damn you Ikea for not sticking to a standard screw size!

**They're in a green collapsible crate, which people dig through when they come over. It's a win-win situation: I get rid of books I don't want/need anymore without having to take them anywhere, and my friends get new reading material they can pass on to someone else when they're finished with it.

Important reminder for November

2006-08-10T22:54:00.000-04:00

Okay, this year you can't accuse me of not bringing this to your attention sooner!

Don't forget: NaNoWriMo starts in... two and a half months! Now would be a good time to start hashing out a plot, getting your characters together, or (in my case) editing last year's story if you're just going to continue on with what you wrote last time.

Cars

2006-08-10T22:34:00.000-04:00

Over the past two years and many, many road trips, I've been lucky enough to drive several different rental cars. Lucky because it's sort of like being able to take the car on an extended test drive. Sure, a trip around the block is fun, but it doesn't really tell you a lot about fuel consumption, or uphill acceleration, or how conveniently located all the knobs and switches are.

So far, the worst car I've driven has been the Pontiac Grand Am. Twice, I've had this kind of car, and both times I've found the seats to be uncomfortable and the dashboards confusing. I can't remember if this was a problem the first time I drove one, but the last time I drove a Grand Am (on the trip to Manitoulin), there was no cruise control (which sucks). Also, the cupholders were poorly placed, the steering wheel didn't tilt back far enough, and acceleration was sluggish.

I liked the Nissan Altimas - good design, roomy, generally nice rides. The first time I drove one, way back on my very first road trip, I ended up parked beside an Altima which was identically to the one I was driving, except for the license plate, at a hotel. I walked out the next morning and had no clue which one was mine.

This trip, I have a Seabring, which I'm loving; while I doubt I'd own one myself, this one is lovely. Lots of room, clean dashboard, and superior acceleration, even on hills. The sound system is nice, too.

(Which brings me to one of my favourite/most annoying features - the automatic volume adjust. This is the feature where the volume of the radio adjusts to how fast you're driving. If you're driving down a city street, it's normal, and if you're driving down the highway it gets louder to compensate for the sound of the wind and engine. I loved this feature, and have only had it on one or two cars; however, I sometimes find it annoying because you keep having to adjust the volume manually if there's heavy traffic and it's stop-and-go.)*

* Oh lord, this just won the "most boring post ever" contest on my blog. Clearly, I need to write about something else. Give me a sec...

The party is this Sunday

2006-08-08T23:21:00.000-04:00

For whatever reason, I thought today was the two-year birthday of this blog. It's not - it's on... Sunday? The 13th, at any rate. Start thinking about what dish you'll bring to the party - it's a pot luck and BYOB. I'm making waffles and chocolate haystacks, and I have a couple of bottles of wine, some champagne, and several bottles of Sleeman's Honey Brown Lager.

In other slightly boring weekend news, the weekend was terrif. The best moment was watching a hummingbird chase a swallow around the yard. I love watching the hummingbirds - sure, they're pretty and delicate and little, but man oh man do they ever have a Napoleon complex. As soon as they catch sight of another hummingbird at the trumpet vine or any other plant in a 100 metre radius, bam! It's ON! So cute!

Anyways, tomorrow is my last road trip. I'll be gone until Friday, so behave. And also congrats to Doctor Beth, who is probably out celebrating her brand spanking new Ph.D. in Human Nutrition. I suspect she's out conducting her ongoing ARM research right about now* - she's a real go-getter, that one.

* Alcohol-related meningitis.

Brain goo

2006-08-02T21:44:00.000-04:00

My brain has turned into goo and has run out my ears. In addition to finishing up projects at work, trying to read the handbook for new job, mentally prepping for not one, not two, but three road trips in the next two weeks, I'm also trying to make sure all the i's are crossed and t's are dotted on the paperwork necessary for me to become a homeowner.

That's right. Home. Owner. Savour it - take a sip, taste it, roll it around your mouth and then spit it into the discreet spit bucket because, like fine wine at a tasting, you don't swallow it. You just sample it and move on to the next glass of overpriced, fermented grape juice.

(Oh, have I mentioned it's hot? And humid? So everyone - sing it with me: "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." Very good. You in the back over there - yes, you - were a little flat, but it just added to the overall harmony. Nice!)

So, because apparently the weird is not just confined to me and mine, I give you... kittens!

Manitoulin dreaming

2006-07-26T22:26:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the penultimate road trip, but alas - no pictures. No photograph could have done justice to the wonderland that is Manitoulin Island. There's a reason the Natives believed Manitou resided there - it is gorgeous. There wasn't a single unlovely vista or place to be found, and believe me, I drove the width and breadth of that place, and I didn't find it. Every house had a lovely garden out front, every lawn was neatly kept and every property looked well-tended. I was charmed by just about everything - the rolling hills? Charmed. The brown cows? Charming. The grass growing out of the cracks in the roads? Charmed. The kid who tossed his empty pop bottle into the street? Well, him I wanted to beat the snot out of, but the rest of the town was positively adorable.

Monday I was in Gore Bay, and had lunch at a pretty neat cafe. That evening, I caught a play with the owner of the B&B I stayed at (charming!). Tuesday I visited Kagawong, also called Billings - the library is tiny, but surrounded by trees and overlooks the bay. And there's a fabulous chocolate shop, as if you needed another reason to visit. Then I went to Mindemoya (so much fun to say!) also called Central Manitoulin, Manitowaning* which is also called Assiginack, and Tehkummah which is still Tehkummah, no matter who you ask. Today it rained, but it didn't make Little Current (aka Northeastern Manitoulin) any less charming.

And so I arrived home to deal with rental cars, unpacking to repack for the weekend, realtors, a lack of groceries, and sticky humidity. Ugh.

(I should also add I was amazingly productive and got six book reviews done. Now they're posted, so go read! Only twelve to go before I'm caught up!)

*I kept wanting to call it Manitouwadge, which is somewhere north of Marathon. Which is to say, absolutely nowhere near Manitoulin Island.

You guys are awesome!

2006-07-23T00:44:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much to everyone for your congratulations and best wishes! It was much appreciated and gave me a little happy boost this week, which has been largely good anyways. I'll try and keep you updated about what's going on, but I don't want to become one of those people who blogs endlessly about one thing, like cute cat tricks of or George Bush.

(Edited to add: hey, who's to say that Bush doesn't know any cute cat tricks?)

(And for Doris, North Bay is about 130km east of Sudbury, where I am now. Both cities are roughly 400km north of Toronto, and 350-400km west of Ottawa.)

Okay, one of the drunken idiots at the bar downstairs is blaring Vegas-era Elvis. That's one thing I think I'm not going to miss once I move, but I'll probably end up missing anyways.

So, I've finally got the pictures from everything edited and posted, and will be writing about them shortly. I know you've all been waiting with baited breath to hear about the whirlwind weekend following my successful job interview, and now you have to wait no longer! (Wait - does that sentence make sense?)

One Rebecca leaves town, another Rebecca comes to town

2006-07-22T23:56:00.000-04:00

(Subtitled: Things didn't start getting weird until after the breakdancing)

The very same day I found out I got the North Bay job, Steve's friend Bex (short for Rebecca) found out she got a job in Sudbury, which meant the weekend was spent lurching from one celebration to another.

Friday night, the three of us plus Karen went to The Laughing Buddah, where we laughed and talked and toasted for quite some time. It was a lovely evening, and no one got too cold.

Saturday morning I ran some errands, and while doing so, I got a call to meet the group at the lake to go swimming. Ran home, shaved my legs, and ran down to the lake. There's a great public beach on the Laurentian University grounds which (apparently) no one knows about because if they did, the place would be swamped. The water is nice, the sand is great, and the beach is huge. We sat around for a while, but I can only take so much unplanned and unfocused sitting around (which is why I knit - I can't watch TV without doing something with my hands). It was decided that, rather than scatter to the four winds for supper before going home to get ready for the concert that night, we'd go to Steve's for supper. While waiting for the lasagna to cook, euchre was played - and my reputation as a somewhat competitive player came back to haunt me.

(See, Karen, Steve, Jeff and I had played a few hands while we were at the conference in Thunder Bay. I think I was a little too verbose about winning both games we played. Oops.)

After a lovely dinner, I went back to my place for a nap and a shower. Around 10, which is normally getting close to bedtime for me*. The opening band, The Elephant Band, came on at 11, and they were awesome. The mother of the bass player (*swoon*!)*** was sitting at the table in front of us, bopping along and dancing in her seat.

The main act came on at around midnight, and they were... words fail me. I think you have to see Zuul's Evil Disco in action to understand why they defy description. Think Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem get into a car accident with The Red Hot Chili Peppers****, and what's left is these guys. If Zaphod Beeblebrox had a talk show, they would be the house band. The show was loud and totally funky, and the whole audience got into the act. How can you not love a band who has a song about pancakes, and another one called "What You Talkin' 'Bout, Willis?" (LOVED it!) Tragically, since I was hosting breakfast the next morning, I left around 1:30 and missed the breakdancing***** - bummer.

Sunday morning everyone was coming over for waffles at 11, and I discovered at 10:15 I didn't have any baking powder. I managed to dash to the grocery store, grab a container and make it home before everyone arrived. The waffles were great, but it was (as usual) the company which was stellar. After we finished eating, we painted canvases I'd picked up at the dollar store; the art portion of the morning served two functions: to stretch our creative muscles, and to provide me with art to hang around this place. Two birds, one stone.

Karen and Steven both had Monday off (me? Not so lucky), and I got a call at work asking if I would like to meet them at Red Lobster for supper? Hey, why not? It was a great way to end the weekend.

(The pictures from the concert are here. The pictures of the artists and their work are here.)

*I'm an old lady, see.**
**If I'm old at 30, what am I going to be at 80? Decrepit? Mummified?
***The bass player, not his mother.
****Originally I had Bootsauce, but I think I'm the only person who remembers them.
*****When I told my mother this, she said, "And that's a bad thing?"

In the eternal struggle of Brain vs. Body, it's the drunken asshole who wins every time

2006-07-18T05:50:00.000-04:00

Last night at around 12:30am, there was a commotion at the bar next door, whose patio is overlooked by my balcony and windows. And because the air was still last night, I could hear everything like it was next door. Shouts were heard and names were called.

My Brain starts poking my Body.

Brain: "Hey - I think there's going to be a fight! Can we go watch?"
Body: "Mmphf...no...asleep...."
Brain: "C'mon! Please?"
Body: "zzzzzzzzz"

A few minutes later, more names were called, manhood was called into question, and challenges were issued.

Brain: "Wake up! We're going to miss it!"
Body: "Shut. Up. We're getting up at 5:30am so we can do six hours of driving tomorrow. I need sleep. I don't need to watch a couple of idiots pound away at each other."
Brain: "You never let us have any fun!"
Body: "Fun? You call that fun? Just please shut up and go back to sleep."
Brain: (sulks)

Not long after that, there was the sound of glass being broken.

Body: "Okay, this I gotta see."
Brain: "Yay!"

Unfortunately, I couldn't see anything because of the trees at the edge of the property, but I did see a number of people being dispersed. Fortunately, Brain and Body got over their disappointment easily, and fell back to sleep almost immediately.

Movin' movin' movin'...

2006-07-17T21:45:00.000-04:00

In my universe, a month is really short. Therefore, the fullness of time has arrived and I can tell you the good news.

(Before I do, you should know the delay in any real posting is due to the heat frying my brain. The other part is that there are a shitload of pictures to edit and post, and the going has been slow. I also have three drafts in the works - one about recipes, one about my plants which aren't dead yet [yay!], and one about last weekend.)

So, I'm moving. And the story isn't quite as exotic as some would have you believe. I'm not going anywhere as cool (literally) as some, or as exotic as others, but it's a move nonetheless. And a new job.

Look out North Bay, here I come!

(The sea monkeys and the chopsticks were red herrings - sorry!)

I'm moving there to take over the Head of Information Services at the public library, which is exciting for many reason. Firstly, it's a move back into a public library, which I've been missing for a while now. Secondly, it's a really cool job, and my predecessor has been doing interesting things which I hope to continue and expand upon. And thirdly, whenever someone asks me what I do, and I respond that I'm a librarian, and they ask me what library I work at, I won't have to give them the song and dance that brings any further conversation to a crashing halt: "Well, I don't work in a library per se; rather, I work on behalf of libraries in Northern Ontario to provide services and training, help them do programming, and assist them with any technology-related issues." Usually, I've lost them by "per se."*

So, if posting is more sporadic and spastic than usual, you'll know why.

*Maybe it's the use of "per se." Perhaps I should have found a different way of saying it.

Is it Tuesday yet?

2006-07-10T23:18:00.000-04:00

I owe you a post about the weekend, in which we sworn in a new member to the Inco 89. There was laughing, drinking (exept for those who were driving, of course!), dancing, singing, sunning, swimming, and, of course, waffles. No gathering is complete without waffles. And forced art projects. Good times indeed.

However, I will share one tidbit from the weekend, which I think is finally over: if you're wearing flip-flops, it's probably not a good idea to stand at the edge of the mosh pit. Just sayin'.

You're such a tease!

2006-07-08T08:36:00.000-04:00

There's one thing about blogging that bugs me: Bloggers who tell you they have really great news or really bad news, but they can't tell you right now - come back in some specified time period and all will be revealed. Why do that? Why tease me with the promise of a happy story or a tale of woe, and then tell me to come back later to hear it?

I don't think it's to make people come back and read you - people read your blog because:

they like you already;
they're related to you and this is the only way they'll know what you're up to (Hi Pepe! Hi Uncle David, Rachael, Denise, Mike, Rachelle!);
they hate you and are eagerly awaiting your demise;

If there's a reason you can't say anything about the details, then don't even hint at it. I suppose if you don't have time to write a proper entry (i.e. you're about to give birth and need to get to the hospital), then you could be excused from that, but at least give us more than an unspecified reason for joy/sorrow. Give us hints!

That being said...

I have good news. I can't tell you about it right now. Come back in a month and all will be revealed! (Here's a hint: it involves chopsticks, sea monkeys, two bottles of Rebel Yell, and a move.)

Excuse me, Waiter - there appears to be a Smurf in my soup

2006-07-05T19:03:00.000-04:00

Well, that was a fun weekend, which I need another week to recover from. Or at least another week just like it. We didn't do much, but there was a hell of a lot of driving involved. Between Saturday and today, I've driven or been inside a car for over 15 hours. In the last three weekends, I've put at least 1800km on my car. (That reminds me... must get oil changed...)

To top it all off, I've been exceptionally worn out, partly from the driving, but partly from the frustrating nightmares.

Nightmare #1 (sometime last week): I'm in an airport, and I'm trying to get to my plane, which is leaving imminently, but I can't find the gate. And then I try to use an ATM, but it's asking me for confirmation numbers and departure times and gate numbers that I don't know or have. There's a line of people behind me, and they're rolling their eyes and taping their feet, and I'm frustrated because I need to get the money out to buy the ticket, but I need ticket information to do this, and no one will help me. Finally, I get to my gate (how? I don't know) and there's a delay because there are these stunt fliers who are trying to do tricks around planes which are trying to take off. I want none of this, and when the captain announces he's going to depart anyway, I start trying to tell him that this is very dangerous, and he's risking everyone's lives, and maybe he should wait, but he's just looking at me, all bemused, and nodding. "Riiiiiiiiight..." says the captain, and tries to take off anyway. I start pleading with anyone who will listen to convince the captain this is a bad idea, and I'm getting more and more upset, but no one notices.

I woke up, gasping for breath.

Nightmare #2a (last night): I'm walking across a lawn and I notice a lot of spider legs on the ground, and I realize this means there are tarantulas around. In reality, I'm not wild about them, but in my dream, I'm hysterical. I'm running across the lawn, screaming and crying, and when I realize there's one on my leg, I flat out panic. I'm standing on a counter to get away from the big, bad dream tarantulas (because... seriously, in my dream they're freakin' huge - like the size of my head), still screaming, and I'm desperate for someone to save me now. There doesn't appear to be anyone around, when a voice asks me just what the hell it is that I'm doing. "There are SPIDERS!!! And they're HUGE!!! And I don't like THEM!!!" I sob. "Well, they're just tarantulas, and they're more afraid of you than you are of them." Two things, Stupid Dream Voice:

"X is more afraid of you than you are of it" is the least useful platitude to say to someone who is having a complete and utter breakdown. It ranks right up there with, "Suck it up" and "It wasn't meant to be."
Obviously, I've move waaaaay past Rational Land and am well into Loosing My Mind Scared Territory. Perhaps you might want to calm me down some before talking to me like I'm an idiot?

Of course, Stupid Dream Voice doesn't stop there. "Besides, there are better things to worry about." "LIKE WHAT?" I scream. "Like the tornados?" it says.*

Interlude: Now, if my mother and grandfather ever corner you to tell you stories about me when I was a child, run. Seriously - they fight dirty, so be careful. Otherwise, if you don't get away in time, you'll have to hear about how as I child, while I was terrified of volcanoes (specifically Mount St. Helens), earthquakes and other natural disasters, I read almost every book in existence about them. Maybe I thought knowing about natural disasters would mean that I could avoid being in one, which seems ridiculous now but made sense when I was ten.

My biggest fear, once I realized there were no major fault lines or volcanoes in Southern Ontario, were tornadoes, because it was entirely possible that my house could be flattened by a tornado. I couldn't watch The Wizard of Oz because that whole bit with the tornado scared the living crap out of me. There were major tornados in Edmonton and Barrie when I was a kid, and I hid in the basement every time there was a thunderstorm after that.

All this to say that the dream got worse....

Nightmare #2b (last night, again): All of a sudden, I jumped off the counter and ran into the living room, where all of my immediate and most of my extended family (including relatives from Down East), were sitting around talking and laughing. Through the big picture window, I could see the tornado, which was big and rapidly approaching. I try to get everyone's attention and tell them to get into the basement, but no one seems concerned. I have the basement door open, and I'm hollering and crying and begging everyone to get into the basement because the tornado is coming, and I know it's going to destroy the house; gradually, they start moving towards the basement, but my dad is telling everyone that it's going to be okay, so no one is hurrying, but I'm still sobbing and begging everyone to hurry up. Of course, not everyone makes it into the basement, and of course, the tornado hits the house. The house is destroyed, and everyone, except my dad and I and everyone who made it into the basement, has disappeared. Dad looks sad and says to me, "Oh, that's too bad. Both your computers and the external hard drive were destroyed." And I scream at him, "SOD THE FUCKING COMPUTERS!!! WHERE DID EVERYONE GO?"

Again, I wake up gasping for breath.

And these are just the ones I remember. There have been several dreams like this over the past month, where I'm trying to get someone to help me or listen to me and no one is interested or takes me seriously. It's so frustrating, and it's stressing me out in my sleep. Maybe my subconscious is telling me to let go? I don't know - these things I'm stressing out about in my dreams seem like pretty big things, and it's not like I'm sweating the petty things.**

Any suggestions?

* (It wasn't said, but the "Duh" was totally implied.)
** Corollary: don't pet the sweaty things.

Update on the fly

2006-06-30T07:14:00.000-04:00

I realized I didn't post anything about my garden last weekend, and it's unlikely I will again this weekend, since I'll only have access to dialup. The short story goes something like this: there are no more flowers on the roses, the portulaca have several new flowers of buds between the two of them, the cosmos are going to explode into flower any day, and the sage seems to be doing better.

My kitchen is a mess, and I haven't done laundry in a while. There's nothing I can do about either right now, so I have to let it go, even though it's stressing me out to the point where I didn't sleep well last night.

Who ordered all the rain? Couldn't you have spaced the delivery a little more evenly? It's poured rain here every day this week. On the other hand, it's been a lot cooler this summer than it was last year. So far.

'Scuse me a sec... my porridge is beeping in the microwave. I've been making it with vanilla soy milk lately, and it's actually not vile.

I'm still trying to decide if I should accompany my mother when she drives my sister back to Owen Sound on the weekend. On one hand, it's going to be a round trip all in one day, so that's almost eight hours of driving on top of the 5.5 hours it takes to get home tonight, and the 5.5 to go back to Sudbury on Tuesday. On the other, maybe I'll get to share the driving! The one sure thing that will convince me to do it is if I were offered some sort of incentive, like, say..... a stop at DQ on the way back?

More consistent posting next week! In the meantime, happy Canada Day/happy Independence Day!

My mind is a strange place to live in

2006-06-28T22:35:00.000-04:00

Here are some phrases that have gone flitting through my head in the last two weeks. I've wanted to write blog posts around them, but alas, nothing is forthcoming, so I'm just putting them out there.

Set phasers on "Maim!"
Beef and chocolate are two great tastes that probably don't taste great together.
I wonder if Rachel Ray would be so perky if she switched to decaf crack.
And that's when reality and I parted ways.
Speedo Guy was in the elevator last night, but he wasn't wearing a speedo.
Why weren't we advised about the addictive properties of funk?
Captain, request permission to kick your ass.

Ho-hum...

I do have knitting updates. I started knitting a pair of mittens a few weeks ago, and got the first one done in less than a weekend. It's the second mitten that's given me issues - I've started knitting it twice, only to get past the thumb and realize I cast on the wrong number of stitches (too many, then too few). So, to avoid further frustrations, I'm knitting some squares for Cynthia's Warming Grace project. Then I went on a stitch marker-making frenzy a few weeks ago, and I have some markers for her prize bin, too.

Okay, I'm tired now. Off to sleep!

A librarian, a priest, and a whole bunch of graduates walk into a bar...

2006-06-27T22:40:00.000-04:00

Well, that was a delightful weekend. I went home Saturday morning, which I normally hate doing because then the whole day feels shot. Not this time for some reason. Maybe it was because I got to be an Only Child for the whole weekend - woo-hoo! Anyways, Saturday wasn't all that exciting, except that my mother and I watched Nanny McPhee, which was adorable. Loved Colin Firth, who I'm normally "meh" about*.

Sunday morning we went to the first mass said by a former classmate of mine. He'd been ordained the day before, and the church was packed with former parishioners and family members. Given that the two of us were the biggest know-it-alls in our grade 7/8 class, it's not the least bit ironic that I became a librarian and he is now a Jesuit**.

Sunday afternoon was spent fetting and frolicking with various relatives who were either graduating from some educational institution or another (university, high school, elementary, and junior elementary) and my aunt and uncle who were celebrating a significant wedding anniversary. It was great fun, and I wish I was still there.

Yesterday was pretty quiet. I cleaned out my car, vacuuming several driveways worth of gravel out of it, and cleaning up other spills and such. Also, watching the end of the Italy-Australia game (d'oh!) and the whole long Switzerland-Ukraine game (*yawn*). Today's drive home was fraught with interruptions - I went to leave this morning, only to find that one of the barn cats had her kittens under my car, which ended with my laying on my stomach in order to grab them and put them in a box in a safer spot. Then I stopped at Ikea in Vaughn, and an hour and a half and less than $100 later, I continued on my way home.

And, because I'm a good daughter, I left my laptop with my mother for the week, since I'm going back on Friday. She's been thinking about getting one, so now she has one to play with. Which, I'm sure, will result in several phone calls to ask the ineviable questions:

How do I open [insert name of program]?
Does it have a modem?
Who the hell is that on the desktop picture? (Because, of course, I only remembered halfway home that I'd forgotten to change it. Duh.)***

* All the Mr. Darcy/Mark Darcy fans who are composing hate mail as you read this should just chill out.

** For everyone playing along at home who just said, "And...?" Jesuits have a reputation for being the most intellectual of all the orders. Never get involved in land wars in Asia, never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line, and never debate a Jesuit about the finer points of religious doctrine.

***Right about now, Mom is reading this on her desktop computer and glancing nervously towards the dining room, where I left the laptop, asking herself, "Do I really want to know?"****

**** Meanwhile, my sister is killing herself to get to the laptop to find out.

2006-06-23T06:43:00.000-04:00

Ugh.

I just reread my last two posts, and I've realized that they suck. And I can't think of a single way to make them any better, except to say that: 1) I'm sorry I'm not up to snuff this week; and 2) I'll try to do better next time.

It's cyclical - there are times when the words are right there and they are jostling to get out. And then there are times when I can sit and stare at the screen and wonder what happened to all my ideas, which appeared to have vanished into the ether. I do have an epic/soul-baring rant or two I want to get off my chest, but I don't know if this is the venue for it. One of them has been stewing since the early spring, and has recently come up again. The other is something that's been bugging me for years.

On one hand, maybe they're getting in the way of me writing anything else. They are poised at the tips of my fingers, eager to escape through the keyboard and onto the screen, but I'm holding them back and are therefore preventing any other stories from escaping. Or mangling them badly when they do try to get out.

On the other hand, maybe I'm just being lazy. I've felt like a bump on a log the past few weeks, with just enough ambition to keep my apartment habitable (and my plants watered, of course!)

I got four books from the library this week. I read one, read the first chapter of another and decided it was crap and I'm four chapters into the third and want to cast it aside for the fourth, which is really the one that I wanted to read in the first place. But I don't really feel like doing that, either. Bleah.

This too, shall pass.

Five blisters

2006-06-22T23:22:00.000-04:00

That's how many blisters I got in Ottawa over the weekend. Ouch. OUCH.

This being my last trip to Ottawa for the foreseeable future (my regular hosts, Julie and Randal, will be going to Japan for a year to teach English, in 36 days.) (Incidentally, did I punctuate that sentence correctly? I was trying to say "they'll be leaving in 36 days, and will be gone for a year." So why didn't I just say that instead?)

Anyhoodle, I arrived Friday night, and we didn't do much since it was quite humid and Julie and I were both tired. We did take Rion for a walk, and met some very friendly dog owners (and their dogs) in the park.

Saturday Julie and Randal had a course they had to attend, so I was left to my own devices. What started as a trip to the parking lot to pay the fee for the day ended up being a three and a half hour trip to the Byward Market, where I drank juice and iced tea, browsed in the bead store, did some damage in Lush, bought a lovely silk purse, bought strawberries (which I forgot to bring home - note to Julie: don't let them go bad!), and got lost in the Rideau Centre on my way home. Once back at the apartment, I napped, showered, and took off to meet my hosts at the Earl of Sussex (which I keep wanting to call "Duke of Earl"). I had to wear my good sandals because my sturdy ones gave me mega-blisters on the backs of my ankles.

The crowd was a lively one, and the first question I was usually asked after, "Hi! I'm so-and-so - you are?" was "Where are you teaching in Japan?" Which, when I replied in the negative, was usually followed up with, "Oh, so you're an alum - where did you teach?" I got in the habit of responding to greetings with, "Hi! Rebecca - I'm not teaching, I'm not alum - I'm tagging along with them tonight" and pointing to my hosts.

After that, we went out for dinner - and by this time, the second pair of sandals had chewed up my feet in different spots. They were thong sandals, so I have a matching pair of blisters between my toes. Aren't I lucky?

Sunday was breakfast at Eggspectations, followed by a very long drive home because I wasn't comfortable with either pair of sandals. But! The blisters are starting to fade now!

And that, my dear readers, was how I spent last weekend. This weekend - Chez Mere et Pere, La Premiere Week-end.

The management wishes to apologize for the incovenience

2006-06-22T22:48:00.000-04:00

Grrr.....

A couple of weeks ago, I was updating my reading list on the sidebar, and in a moment of absent-mindedness, deleted half the template. Trust me, dumb stuff like that takes talent - which I have in spades. Happily, I still had the template code backed up in a file, so I just copied and pasted the missing code into the template.

A few days later, I noticed a chunk of the template code was missing. Like, gone - completely. I thought I'd fixed the problem, but maybe I hadn't. But I was sure I had! So, copy and paste again.

The past few days, I noticed there was something odd about how the page looked, but couldn't put my finger on it until tonight. When I went to open the list of blogs and noticed the list wasn't there.

*$%@#!!!!!!

Twice, I copied and pasted, and twice, Blogger ate the code. I sent them a message about it since there wasn't anything in the help areas; but in the meantime, I had to get rid of the movie section, since the template I'm copying and pasting from still has the what I was listening to section. Whatever.

We'll see what happens now.

I am the coolest kid you know

2006-06-20T17:24:00.000-04:00

My swag from the CBC arrived yesterday. I got a t-shirt, some stickers, and a cool sheet of magnetic words.

Here I am modeling the t-shirt:

*

Thanks CBC!

*Quite possibly the cheesiest pose ever.

An earthshattering kaboom

2006-06-20T17:12:00.000-04:00

Something just had the shit blasted out of it over near Copper Cliff.

I've felt blasts before - when I used to curl, they would be doing blasting every night around 7 in the tunnels below Copper Cliff, so I got used to the sound and the rumbling. This must have been close to the surface - it was rather loud and the jolt was pronounced. I wonder what it was?

Honey, I'm a roll of concrete clover

2006-06-18T22:56:00.000-04:00

We'll start with the new tonight:

The spider plant has a new shoot coming out from the middle.

Its colour is also much better than it was when I brought it home. At first, it was a pale green, but it's a much healthier green now.

The basil is getting stronger. I may need to stake it up soon.

And what's the general consensus on how to pronounce it - BAH-zil or BAY-sil?

The roses continue to show off.

There are a few new buds coming along, but not nearly enough to replace the ones which are finished now. Ah well.

On a down note, the flowers on the one portulaca are finished. I pinched one of the dead flowers and the water was dark scarlet. There's one new bud on that plant, and another new one on the other.

The sage plant doesn't appear to be all that happy.

The picture's kind of blurry, but some of the leaves are turning yellow. I may turn the planter around and give them some more time in the sun.

Even more HCYWAPO - Ottawa Edition

2006-06-18T22:43:00.000-04:00

(At the Lieutenant's ~~Pub~~ Pump* oops!)

Me: Hey Randal [Julie's boyfriend], what's that you're drinking?
Randal: It's a Sweet Tart.
Me: Oh well - you are what you drink!
Randal: In that case, it's a Grumpy Motherf**ker.

I'll try and write about the rest of the trip sometime in the next few days.

* Which, for some reason I kept calling "The French Lieutenant's Pub" much to the amusement of the locals.

More hilarious conversations you weren't a part of

2006-06-16T13:26:00.000-04:00

(I'm not rubbing it in that you weren't a part of them, because I'm sure you would have enjoyed just as much as I did. I say it in more of a wistful tone, as if to say, "See what you're missing? Wish you were here!")

D., a friend of Lise's:

"Creamsicles? Everyone loves creamsicles! They're like the mafia - you can't say 'No' to them!"

Listed

2006-06-14T22:49:00.000-04:00

In lieu of actually posting something coherent, here's a list of things.

1. I love Alton Brown. He cracks my shit right the hell up.

2. My car is giving me more grief - it appears there's a leak somewhere in the vicinity of the gas tank. There's a garage which shares the rear parking lot of my office, and someone came over and took a look at it after work tonight. He declared it safe to drive home, and suggested I drop it off in the morning for someone to have a more thorough look at. Still, it was very troubling to find this out, as I have three major trips planned over the next three weekends, and it took three of my co-workers to talk me off of the ledge at work this afternoon.*

3. It always bugs me when I have car problems because I don't know what's wrong, and I always feel like an idiot trying to explain it to the mechanic, no matter how sympathetic and patient they are. I think I understand how some of the librarians feel when they ask me computer questions and tell me they don't know anything about them.

4. There was a bit on The Sunday Edition this weekend, where Michael Enright was talking about a friend of his who came home from her niece's wedding shower in tears because the girl had decided to take her husband's last name. My initial and continuing reaction is, "Oh, get the [bleep] over yourself, honey."

5. You must go take a look at Dave's (figurative) baby, Armada (which, inexplicably, I kept writing as "Amanda"). It's a new literary journal, and there are some good stories in there.

6. If you ever find yourself in Parry Sound, you should seriously considering having lunch at Hanson's Mad Hatter Cafe. They make the best sandwiches, and the bread is fabulous.

* Granted, the ledge is more like a five foot drop off the back loading dock, and it was more along the lines of the four of hanging over the railing, trying to see if we could either smell gas or see any spots under the car.

I never promised you a rose garden

2006-06-11T15:58:00.000-04:00

Week two! And no dead plants!

Earlier this week, I bought a sage plant to round out the Herb Tarleks.

I moved one of the rosemary plants forward, so both are in the front, and put the sage in the empty spot. So far, so good - both plants are doing well, and the rosemary doesn't appear to be suffering from its move.

On Thursday night, I finally planted the roses.

They're doing well so far.

Some of the buds are pink, and others are orange, but they're all pretty.

Everyone else seem to be in good shape. The lavender exploded on Monday, and now there are seven or eight flowers on the one plant. The other two have several buds.

Only one of the portulaca is flowering, but the other one has a bud.

And the rest are healthy, too.

Friday night, there was a frost warning. The temperature went down to the low single digits (!!!), so I brought all the plants inside.

We had a blast! We watched a couple of episodes of Angel, an episode of Supernatural, and part of a Rufus Wainwright concert DVD. There was talk of making popcorn, but no one was ambitious enough to actually get up and do it. Later, I had to get up once or twice in the middle of the night to tell them to keep the noise down, and in the morning I had to break up an argument between the basil and one of the cosmos about whether a flush beats a straight in poker (...yes?) They stayed in again last night because it was still too cold to put them out, but there was much less noise. The Lavender Ladies wanted to join in the book club this afternoon (I was hosting this time) but since they hadn't read the book, they didn't really have anything useful to contribute.

And thus ends this update.

The CBC brings me fame and fortune yet again

2006-06-10T13:38:00.000-04:00

If you're familiar with the Saturday afternoon program on CBC Radio One, Definitely Not The Opera, you'll know about the Lost in Translation quiz. Essentially, lyrics from a song are run through a bunch of translators, and finally translated back into English. The object is to guess what the song is.

Last weekend, when Alex Trebeck was on the show, he read the translated lyrics*. I knew immediately what song it was - Elvis Costello's "Veronica" - and emailed in my guess less than 30 seconds after the bit ended. I've entered a few times before, but this was the first time I was so certain I knew what the song was.

Thursday I got an email from one of the associate producers of the show. "Just in case you're a winner, could you send us your address?" It wasn't much of a confirmation, but I did start keeping my fingers crossed.

So, this afternoon I made sure I was home before the show started, and waited anxiously to hear them announce the winners...

And I was one of the winners!

(If you were listening to the show and doubt my claim, my last name was pronounced as "La...Quoi?" Like that, with the question at the end.**)

w00t! Thanks, CBC! You rawk!

*Sorry, I wasn't fast enough to write them down today.
**As soon as there was a pause between the names, I knew it was mine. "Larocque" is a name that gets mangled on a regular basis.

I want to ride my bicycle

2006-06-07T21:30:00.000-04:00

Everyone should go check out that crazy girl, Lisa, who is riding in the RONA-MS Bike Tour. It's a 200km trip, which is just insane under most circumstances, but she's doing it in August, when most sane people are indoors where there is air conditioning and couches on which to relax and watch TV.

Wait! She's not doing this for the hell of it, people* - it's to raise funds for the MS Society of Canada! Her goal is to raise $1000 for the charity, which is very noble and very doable. I would suggest that if you're interested in donating to the cause**, you should go read her post, follow the link, and sponsor her.

*She did last year, to which I say, "Dude! That's awesome!"
**It's tax-deductable!

How does your garden grow?

2006-06-04T21:55:00.000-04:00

This afternoon my mother called, but I didn't hear the phone ringing because I was on the balcony planting my new plants. "Oh, you were out in the back forty, then?" said my mother when I called her back. Ha. HA.

That said, it's starting to look pretty green out there.

These are the small, single pots of plant, including the small clay box planter. The Lavender Ladies are doing quite well - in fact, the plant on the right is starting to flower already. Beside it are the spider plant (Spyder) and the ivy (Newton Pulsifier the 6th*). The Chives are to the right of the lavender, and they are in a separate pot so I can take them inside in the fall when it gets cold. And down front, we have the twins, the portulacas. I can't even remember what the flowers look like, so this should be interesting.

Back by popular demand are the Herb Tarleks. Their lineup is significantly reduced due to the fact that: a) I didn't use all the herbs I planted last summer, and I felt bad wasting them, so this year I stuck with the ones I did use; and b) I waited too long to buy the herb plants and there wasn't a good selection left. Bummer. What I do have in there is two rosemary plants, two basil plants, and a mint plant. There's a space between the rosemary and the mint for something else.

These are the Kramers - two pots of cosmos. Get it? (They are for flanking the balcony door.)

Here we have the Rose Kennedys. They're 4" mini-roses which were on sale at 4 for $5. I haven't had much luck with mini-roses in the past, but I though I'd take another shot at it this summer. One thing they require is indirect sun, and I spent the day checking to see if there was anywhere on my balcony that doesn't get full sun during the day**, and fortunately, there is. The reason they're not in a pot is because I didn't have anything appropriate for them.

And finally, we have the suculents - the aloe, the jade, and the orchid cactus. I had them outside for a few days, but the aloe started turning brown, and the jade is red in some spots, so I took them in. The aloe has almost completely recovered, and the jade plant has a whole bunch of little buds where new leaves will grow. (For those in the know - do jade plants like full sunlight? Should I put them back outside?)

* I name all my ivy plants Newton Pulsifier, after the character in Good Omens. And yes, that does mean this is my sixth ivy plant, g/God rest the souls of the previous five.
** My apartment faces southeast-ish.

I'll show you mine

2006-06-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

1. My Dye-O-Rama yarn came yesterday!

This colourway is called Peach Sunset, and was dyed by the lovely and talented Linz of Linz Knits. Since she posted a photo of the yarn resting in her greenery, I thought I'd return the favour and show it hanging out with mine - the ivy, lavenders, and spider plants. The blue yarn is some Lorna's Laces, which I'm thinking will make a lovely cozy for Gretchen (the Mini iPod), and a square for Justin's afghan.

2. Kittens!

Note to Giselle: there are more on my Flickr page.

3. Last year some time, I posted a picture I took of a double rainbow. Someone commented that double rainbows were rare. Guess what I saw last night?

It's not as strong as last year's, but it's there.

Because I haven't burdened you with a playlist in a while

2006-05-31T23:36:00.000-04:00

I'm stuck for something to write about tonight. I feel like writing, but I don't know what, so in lieu of me babbling about funny stories I can't tell you, here's another playlist. Think of them as my writing prompts.

I can tell you this about this list: it's a little over a year old and was one of those playlists I'd listen to on repeat for hours at a time, preferably at loud volumes.

Ray Charles - (Night Time Is) The Right Time - This song always reminds me of that episode of The Cosby Show, where Cliff is pretending to sing the song and Rudy and Vanessa are pretending to be the backup singers, and Olivia sings the "baby!" parts.

The Chemical Brothers - Leaving Home - If this song were in a movie, it would be played in the scene where the protagonist, who is morally suspect and just barely better than the antagonist, starts cutting deals with other morally suspect characters (who are normally at odds with the protagonist) to ultimately defeat the antagonist. The movie would feature many scenes set in dark alleys and sewers, and there would be characters who wear sunglasses at all times, and others who wear knitted hats and wife-beaters.

(No, I hadn't really given it much thought before I wrote it out - why do you ask?)

Mountain - Mississippi Queen - Proving that CCR and Lynard Skynard weren't the only ones who could do Southern/swamp rock. (And the Ozzy Osbourne version sucks six different kind of bad.)

The Vines - Get Free - Screamy, but fun. Not good to listen to when driving down the 400, south of Parry Sound, past where the highway goes back to four lanes after having gone down to two lanes. You tend not to notice things, like the fact your speeding just a little, but manage to slow down just in time because there's a speed trap up ahead. Not that I would ever do something like that. Nope.

Crowded House - Locked Out - Reminds me of high school, but not of anything in specific. Who cares - it's a great tune!

The Band - Up On Cripple Creek - Funky, groovy. "If I spring a leak, she mends me/I don't have to speak, she defends me." Love that line.

Beck - E-Pro - Have I ever shared my theory about Beck with you? No? Okay, here it is: once he's written all the songs for an album, he cuts all the lyrics apart, puts them in a purple velvet Crown Royal bag, and draws out one line at a time to make whole new songs. So, in order for his songs to make any sense, you have to piece them back together, like a puzzle. Except you don't have any kind of guide, like you would a puzzle where you have the picture on the box.

That said, love this song.

Beck - Que' Onda Guero - I have this picture in my mind of those cars with the hydraulic lifts that make them bounce. And - woo! Props to Yanni, who gets a shout-out at the end.

The Dandy Warhols - We Used to Be Friends - The ULTIMATE kiss-off song. It's mean and snarky, and there's no mistaking the fact that whoever this song is about is totally cut off. There is no going back after this. A great song for blasting and dancing around to, even if you're not mad at anyone. (I imagine I'm singing it to some of the snotty little bitches I went to elementary school with.) (Not you, Stacey. Or Janette. I leave it to the rest of you to figure out who you are.)

Kasabian - Club Foot - Back to the movie from the Chemical Brothers song. This would be in the same movie, but this would be the scene where the plan is being carried out. There would be lots of running down dark alleys, fistfights, and maybe a car chase or two. And at the end of the song, someone would be standing on the ledge of a building, and maybe they would jump, and maybe they wouldn't have to.

The Von Bondies - C'mon C'mon - The few times I caught the opening credits of Rescue Me, I'd always loved the song which played over them. Also a pretty good kiss-off song.

Jennifer Lopez- Get Right - What? I like this song! (My favourite part of the video is "Librarian J.Lo," the mousy character who sits demurely in the corner, with the glasses and sweater set, but is dancing on the seat by the end.)

Rufus Wainwright - Vibrate - Sweet and sad and hopeful and lonely at the same time. Borrows from Ravel's "Bolero."

Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jaques Morelenbaum, Paula Morelenbaum - Desafinado - No matter how many times I listen to this one, I can't figure out what language she's singing in. My current best guess is Japanese, but I can't be sure.

Hilarious conversations you weren't a part of

2006-05-30T21:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, Steve and I were having a discussion about search engines, which culminated in a comparison of a well-known library technologist to Yoda, and how you can never mess with Yoda and expect to win. Trust me - it was funny, but it's one of those things you had to be there for.

I suppose I could recreate it, but it would require much backstory and knowing why search engines were at the top of my mind last week. By the time I got through telling you that, you'd be bored and the story wouldn't be funny anymore. So really, I'm doing you a service by not telling it to you.

However, you've now wasted a good ~~two minutes~~ thirty seconds or so (tops) reading about the funny story I'm not going to tell you. I'm not sure what was the bigger waste of time - telling you I'm not going to tell you the story, or telling you why I'm not going to tell you the story. In an effort to not have made your visit here an absolute waste of time ("too late!" - I heard that!), here are some other random things I can and will tell you about:

Did you ever have one of those day where you look too good to stay home? Me neither, but I was so damn close on Saturday morning, I went out and ran some errands. The net result of said errands were a spider plant, an orchid cactus, an ivy plant, and three lavender plants. All, including the jade and aloe plants I got last summer, were re-planted last night.

Which brings me to my next random point: now that the weather has improved (if you can call hot, muggy weather an improvement over -30 degree winters... I certainly do) you should expect more posts about the farmer's market and my attempts to prove once and for all that I have a green thumb.

My tooth which had the root canal in March hurts. I don't know if this is a random thing because I keep poking at it, or if there's something wrong. I'm all for waiting to see what happens tomorrow - I can make an appointment for Friday if something is legitimately wrong.

Have I mentioned I'm participating in the Dye-O-Rama swap? Well, I am. I tried dyeing three skiens of yarn, and the one that turned out the best is my favourite. I'll be sending it out to the recipient sometime this week. In the meantime, it appears that my Dye-O-Rama pal sent out my yarn today - woo-hoo! I'm looking forward to receiving it! (The other two skiens - tragically - didn't turn out they way I'd hoped. Which isn't to say that they aren't lovely and haven't grown on me and inspired me, it's just that when you're hoping for dark green and get a pale camouflage green with red streaks, you're kind of disappointed.)

Seven days (II): Shop 'till you drop

2006-05-26T22:05:00.000-04:00

In which Our Heroine, less than twelve hours after returning from a week-long work trip, goes on two more trips in two days. How does she do it?!?!

Right! So! Where was I? Oh yes - what I did when I got home from Thunder Bay. Well, first, I unpacked, which is completely unprecedented. Normally, I let my suitcase sit in the middle of my room for no less than a week, maybe digging out my makeup bag at some point. Not this time. Then I packed for my next trip(s), which was pretty easy since it was going to be short.

The next morning, at the ungodly hour of 6:30am, I left for Toronto, where I was meeting Julie, who was visiting her parents. When I called her from Barrie at 9:30ish, I managed to surprise her (she wasn't expecting me until noon - had I known that I could have had an extra two hours sleep!). When I arrived, I was entertained by her mother, Waterlily, and got to see some pictures from her recent trip to the Caribbean.

Then it was off to the big city! We caught the subway down to the Eaton Centre, and wandered through, making the requisite stops at a couple of shoe stores. See, I have this theory - the reason we women gravitate to shoe stories is because they are our secret temples. Before we embark on any sort of shopping excursion, we need to pay homage to the shopping goddesses in order to ensure bargains galore, helpful salespeople, and good energy levels. Even though we don't always buy the shoes (there was a close-call in Rockports, though) or even appreciation the shoes (those 4-inch-heeled-lace-up monstrosities? Argh!), we must at least visit them.

After fighting our way through the crowds, we made it out to the street and down the block to the World's Biggest Book Store and the used bookstore next door (Julie - help? What's the name again?). I lucked out at the used bookstore, and found the book Hard Core Logo was based on, as well as three books about web page design.

Really, we didn't have a plan besides cruising down Younge St., hitting all the bookstores*, getting bubble tea, having dinner somewhere, and then finishing off the day at Insomnia with martinis. The highlights:

At Elliot's, a used bookstore on Younge, it was so quiet at the back of the store on the main level that my ears were ringing.
Being charmed by the elderly Greek clerk at the outdoor surplus store.
The very angry man who was taking out his anger on the newspaper boxes. Everyone was watching, but no one wanted to make eye contact.
Dinner at the ultra-hip Saigon Sister. I tried tofu for the first time, and although I didn't much care for the way it was prepared, I didn't completely hate it.

Almost 12 hours after we got on the subway, we got home again. Then bedtime, and sleep.

On Sunday, I headed to my parents' for the rest of the weekend. This was the weekend we were celebrating my grandfather's 79th birthday (it's actually tomorrow - give him some love!). Poker was played, music was made, kittens were cuddled, and much food was prepared and devoured. It was good to be home again, even if only for a little while.

And, finally, Monday I drove home and collapsed on my doorstep. Ta-da!

* We were both really excited about going to Bakka Books. Until we got to where it was supposed to be, when Julie remembered seeing it somewhere on Queen St., and I remembered reading somewhere that it had moved. Bummer!

Seven days (I): Thunder in the Bay

2006-05-22T22:19:00.000-04:00

In which Our Heroine recounts the tale of where she was from Monday to Friday last week.

Where has the past week gone? Oh, right - it's been gobbled up by some horrible time-swallowing monster. Stupid monster!

Monday: I went to a training session at Cambrian College - it was one of those one-day course thingies. The instructor was a gent I'd met when I started up here - he's a hoot, and a huge proponent of Linux. It got me to thinking that now that I'm mostly using my laptop, I can use the old beastly desktop (love you, Big Momma!) to experiment with it.

Tuesday: Last week of conferences - finally! This week: the Northwest, in Thunder Bay. Our flight didn't leave until 1ish, but we had to be at the office, so Karen and I got rides in with Steve. Not too exciting a day - caught the shuttle, went to the airport, and flew out TBay. The three of us managed to get some pictures of the clouds and stuff. Supper was Pizza Hut, and then later, we played pool at the bar next door to the hotel. And went to the 24hr grocery store next door to that to get juice, pop, and bubble blowing kits. We're young at heart - really.

Oh! And my sock pal, Doris, got her package! Her son is adorable with the books in that picture!

Wednesday: First day of the conference. A lot of waiting - there wasn't anything major planned for that day, and there was only one scheduled event for which we had to be there. Later that evening, a few people went to the casino, but I had a nap.

Thursday: Things pick up. I convene first thing, then I present (technology planning). Interesting discussions, totally different from the discussions at the first conference. Lunch. Then! Then I got to convene the New and Emerging Technologies session, which was presented by Stephen Abram! He's every geeky librarian's guru! His presentation was fascinating, and I felt like that kid in the Far Side cartoon, who raises his hand and says to the teacher, "Can I go now? My brain is full!" Cool beans.

Closing banquet and more pool. Back to the hotel, packing, and going over my next presentation.

Friday: Second presentation (presentation skills - this one was done by another co-worker at the first conference, and I got to do it here). Helped pack up equipment and supplies to go back to the main office, then got changed out of my dress clothes and into jeans before lunch. Since we had time to spare before our flight, we took a trip out to the Terry Fox monument out on the highway, and took the scenic route along the waterfront back to the city. Quick shopping trip downtown - the under-35 crowd hit a used bookstore, and the 35+ crowd hit a home decor shop. I made out with a vogue Knitting pattern book; most of the patterns are pretty timeless, which, considering the book was published in 1999, is a good thing.

Caught the flight home, and arrived on my doorstep at 7:30pm. I mention this because it's important to part II, which is coming tomorrow.

More mail!

2006-05-15T23:00:00.000-04:00

Dear Giselle,

The hard part - the wedding - is finally over. Now comes the easy part - spending the rest of your life with the man you love. Congratulations!

Lots of luck and blessings on the two of you!
Rebecca

Dear Rice,

Last time we spoke, I was kind of sad and upset with you because you were giving me "issues." I was afraid I would never be able to enjoy you again. But with some trepidation, I've been trying other things to see what happens, and you know what?

Turns out I can eat wild rice. And brown rice.

In your face!
R. :P

Dear Fabulous Life Of...

For the love of all that's good and holy, would you please stop using Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On" in every single one of your episodes? I'm sick to death of it already!

Peace out,
R-to-the-L

Dear Leah McLaren,

For a long time, you've been one of my least favourite columnists, but I couldn't pinpoint the moment I went from "meh" to actively disliking you. Finally, tonight, I remembered which column it was that turn me. It was the one where you talked about the type of man who's "just gay enough."

(For those of you not interested in reading the whole thing - and I don't blame you - a man who's "just gay enough" is one who can do manly macho things, like fix cars and watch sports, but is also a good dresser, can cook, and wear pashima.)

I realize you were probably just echoing something you read, and really, I should be rolling my eyes and heaving a sigh in the general direction of the article you were quoting from. But no, you're still going to bear the full weight of my scorn because you repeated it. You made it an acceptable excuse to use when a woman gets dumped by a man who's sensitive and has a "little bit of sugar in his veins." You made it an ideal, a set of standards for women to project on every man she meets, no matter how unrealistic. I was sincerely disappointed in you.

Please join the line over there, right behind Barbara ~~Frum~~ Amiel (oops!) and Dr. Laura, other female columnists I have absolutely no use and respect for.

Ms. R.

Domesticated

2006-05-11T23:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I was finished at noon, so I came home and did the following:

Dyed yarn - five skeins in total. Two are burgundyish, two were eye-searingly yellow but are now a very retro almost-advacado green, and the third is pink, red, and orange, and reminds me of a tie-dye shirt I had in university.
Washed dishes because I used every bowl and measuring cup in my posesion.
Made roasted cauliflower soup (based partly on this recipe) and cheese biscuits.
Washed dishes. Again.
Folded the clean laundry. Which doesn't necessarily mean I picked it up at the same time.

Tonight I finished knitting a scarf with the sari yarn I got at Christmas. And posted another book review - four down, ten to go! *groan* However, seeing as Our Lady of Lost and Found is still kicking my ass, I have time to catch up.

It's not that I don't like it. Mom loved it, and I completely understand why she raved about it, but I'm not feeling the love. Mostly, it's the lists and the feeling of being overresearched, which was a big complaint about Deafening during Canada Reads. It's a dull read, and I have to force myself to sit down and spend an hour or two reading it every day or I'm not going to get it done before the next book club.

One of those days, but in a good way!

2006-05-09T22:49:00.000-04:00

Y'know how Fate sometimes kicks your ass around for a few days, and you're all "Hey! Enough! I'm sad here!" Then Fate's all "Oh, alright then. I guess you've had enough for now. Let me make it up to you in some small way." So, today fate brought me the following:

News from my sister that Ben & Jerry's and Haagen Daz was on sale at A&P (and at A&P's near you!). I though I'd better check this out, and lo and behold - two pints for $10! The bestest name ever for a flavour of ice cream? Vermonty Python. I did a little dance when I saw that. However, ~~I went with Turtle Soup because I am weak and have no will-power~~ I was strong and didn't get any.

Two parcel notices waiting for me when I got home. Which means all the yarn I ordered came in - one was the yarn for the Dye-O-Rama project, and the other was some stuff for a project I'll talk more about later.

My socks from my sock pal, Krista. Get this - remember waaaay back when I started, I was commenting on how ironic it was that someone else in my group was using the same yarn and pattern I was? Yup, it was her. However, in the end, Krista went with some gorgeous red Regia and a simple rib, which is very comfy.

She also included a postcard from Monticello, which was the home of Thomas Jefferson and across the street from James Madison's home - it's very pretty! Thank you so much!

And now I'm going to ~~have a small bowl of ice cream and go to bed~~ drink a glass of water, fold the clean laundry, and make my lunch for tomorrow.

Sockapalooza Update #5

2006-05-07T00:40:00.000-04:00

Les socks, c'est tout fini! Finalment!

I finished knitting the second sock about half an hour ago - all that's left is to wash and block them, which I'll do in the morning. Some thoughts:

Jaywalker is a fun pattern, and it's pretty easy to follow.

I love the colours in this yarn, but I hate the yarn (Lorna's Laces) itself. It's splity, it was frayed in some spots, and it twisted easily. I doubt I'd use it again.

Okay, I just said I liked the colours - and I do - yet there were some differences between the two skiens, even though they were from the same dye lot. Here's sock #1:

And here's sock #2:

Maybe you can't tell from the pictures that the purple on the second sock is stronger than on the first sock. Also, the green is "erratic" on the first sock - it's not evenly dyed.

Pooling - the legs of the sock were pretty good, in that there wasn't any. However, once I did the heel and started on the foot, it was quite obvious. The worst was on the second sock, where the pink pooled in two or three spots.

Anyways, tomorrow I'm going to get some little things to put in the parcel so I can get it sent off on Monday. It's for an overseas recipient, and it's going to take a while to get there.

Get ur geek on

2006-05-05T19:55:00.000-04:00

Since Easter, my brain has been on almost permanent overdrive, and it's been running non-stop. Tonight's the first time since the weekend before the weekend before Easter it's actually at rest (or at least not in high gear.) I survived the last two weeks of April and the first week of May, and now I only have two more weeks to get through before I'm home-free for the summer.

This past week was the first of our three conferences for Librarians in Northern Ontario - it was for the northeastern and Francophone libraries. Next week, it's the conference for the First Nations libraries (which I'm not attending because I'm not presenting anything there this year), and the week after is the Northwestern conference in Thunder Bay, to which I will be going.

I don't often get my geek on and talk about my work. Which, considering a bunch of librarians link here and have yet to see proof of my librarian cred, is a pity. Not because what I do is so golly-gee-whiz important, but it means I don't often get the chance to brag. So, I'm going to drop the pretense that I don't do anything during the day and brag (a little) about this past week.

I did two presentations this week, both on Wednesday. The first was a session on technology planning - what a technology plan is, why libraries should have one, and how to go about creating one. I did a very similar session to this last year, but made some major changes to it. Since last year, I wrote a document to be used with a toolkit which was created a few years ago on the subject. And I was able to add material from there to this presentation; which, in my not-so-humble opinion, made it better than last year's.

The second presentation was basic computer maintenance - it was a topic assigned to me, and not one I had much to go one. Where does one begin on this topic? Software? Hardware? Troubleshooting? It was a vague topic with a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time. I started with a little show & tell - I have some old computer parts laying around and I passed them around, explaining what they were and what they did. Then I did a little bit about setting up a network, setting up printers, usernames and passwords, and firewalls. The trick to this segment was letting myself get sidetracked by the questions, so that the librarians would see that the computer wasn't as scary as they might think it is. Finally, I ended with stressing the importance of virus protection, anti-spyware programs, and backing up your computer(s).

Now, to brag a little - I think I did pretty good. I won't know for certain until I see the results of the session evaluations, but I'd like to think that I kicked ass and took names*. Last year I did three sessions - technology planning, automation, and an email primer for the First Nations conference - and had uniformly positive responses. (I also have two sessions in TBay - technology planning (*sigh*) and how to give presentations.)

Now that I've bored the rest of you, let's see what else is going on. Not much, really. I'm going to try and spend the weekend vegging and doing the micro-organizational kinds of crap that make me happiest. Like, sorting through the scraps of paper on my desk, and rearranging the books on my one bookcase so I can put my non-knitting craft stuff on it. And maybe reading, because I'm so far behind on the 50 books thing I may not get caught up.

*Aaaand promptly lost the sheet of paper on which I wrote them. Because I'm kind of a spaz sometimes**.

** Witness: tonight I dropped an overdue library book into the drop box, then noticed the sign indicating it was only for videos and DVDs. After doing a little oh-I-can't-believe-I-didn't-see-that-and-I'm-such-an-idiot dance, I apologized to the surveillance camera. See?

The 3 B's

2006-04-29T16:02:00.000-04:00

Finally - I am surrounded by a tidy apartment! (Well, relatively tidy - no vacuuming has been done, and my computer desk is so buried under scraps of paper that need dealing with that I can't quite get at the computer; fortunately, the laptop was nowhere near the desk when that went down. Also, the dusting isn't' done, but since that never gets done anyways, we're not going to worry too much about it.)

Anyhoodle, my brain is a little less fried by now. I managed to get some crap together to take to La Village Boutique (aka Value Village), and did a little running around while I was in that end of the city. I stopped at the craft place to get some Briggs & Little Sport for the Dye-O-Rama (because hey! I'm a joiner!), but they didn't have any. They did have some lovely, lovely Manos, but I was strong and came out with nothing. I wasn't so lucky at Chapters - I am now the proud owner of the latest by Sarah Dessen and Alisa Kwitney.

I also had the chance to take a gander through Big Girl Knits. There are some awesome patterns in there for us ladies who tend to be curvier than your average supermodel. There are some cute patterns in there, designed to flatter the three b's - boobs, belly, and butt. I do have a butt - there is junk in my trunk, of that I am certain. I also have the belly, which is an asset in bellydancing, but not so much the rest of the time. And I have the boobage, too.

Once I get through the fifteen other books I have on my wish list, I'll add this one, too.

Mostly Canada Reads, but other things too

2006-04-25T20:01:00.000-04:00

I hadn't intended to be sitting in front of my laptop for this long tonight, but it's sort of cathartic to dump all the random stray bits that have been cluttering up my brain pan for the last week or so. I've already posted two other entries, and still want to play with the sidebar for a while before I call it a night.

I suppose I could be tidying up around here. It looks like someone broke in over the weekend and started rifling through the contents of all my drawers and cupboards, then left everything where it lay, except that the someone was me and it was last week. I've decided to be okay with the mess until the weekend, at which point I'll just do all the cleaning in one fell swoop. If I let myself be bothered by it, or if I force myself to do something other than brain dumps and vegging for a few days, I'm going to be a quivering mess by next week, and in the lock-up by the end of next month (it's conference season at work, and I have three separate presentations to give.)

And now, my thoughts on this year's Canada Reads:

I told John I initially thought Scott Thompson was irritating in the days after his book got eliminated, and I confessed I thought he was a bit of an ass at first. However, by the end of Day 3, I'd changed my mind - he made some good points, and stuck to his opinion about poetry. Basically, although there are certain poems and poets he liked, overall he didn't think much of Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets. And even though I started liking Susan Musgrave, by the end of the week she was working my only nerve. "Oh, it's okay that you don't like poetry. Lots of people don't like poetry, and I can accept that." Riiiiiight. Her tone of voice said otherwise, and the fact she kept using this against Thompson made it seem like she was very much not okay with people who don't like or read poetry.

I'm all for expanding your horizons and reading outside of your comfort zone, but you can't expect someone who doesn't like poetry to all of a sudden come around and love a literary genre they've never much cared for previously after being forced to read it. While I'm not a huge fan of poetry, there are some poets I really like - Andrew Marvel, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Shel Silverstein and Don Marquis are but a few examples. I started reading Rooms for Rent in the Outer Planets, but I didn't enjoy it and put it aside after the first few pages - if I had been a panelist (and I should be! I like books! I have opinions about books!) I don't think I would have had many favourable things to say about it, either.

(And here's the other thing that really bugged me - Musgrave made a big deal about poetry not being represented in any of the Canada Reads panels. Meanwhile, George Elliot Clarke's Whylah Falls, a contender back in the first year is jumping up and down, and waving its arms while shouting, "Hey! Over here! Where's the love, eh?" And Sarah Binks, from year two, is piping up, "I'm about a fictional poet! I'm kind of poetry, aren't I?" You know what genre really hasn't been dealt with? Non-fiction. There's an idea for next year, which apparently is going to be a super-panel of the winning panelists from previous years.)

The other topic which go under my skin was the discussion about humour. I didn't find either of the two books which were held up as examples of humour to be at all funny. Cocksure was brash and lumbering, and in-your-face; I didn't find it all that funny or humourous. And A Complicated Kindness had more of a dark humour, about struggling to find something to smile at in the face of despair. But I did think that Thompson made an excellent point about fundamentalism and humour, where religious fanatics of every stripe go to great lengths to eliminate humour and satire when they take control. (He also said something about Canadians and humour, but I forget what it was because I was annoyed with him at the time.)

Am I happy that A Complicated Kindness won? Yes and no. I liked it, and had good things to say about it, but I don't know if it's the book I wanted to win. Three Day Road was so much more vivid and real, and I had big hopes for it. Oh well.

In other bookish news, during my hit-and-run visit to Ottawa this past weekend, I picked up I Am Not Myself These Days and Skipping Towards Gomorrah; the former I'd heard good things about on Bookslut (I think - can't find the review) and the later I've wanted to read since I catalogued it at my old library.

I love you Canada Post!

2006-04-25T19:42:00.000-04:00

Earlier this evening, when I got home from work, I was scrambling to get some things together for mailing. There was a card, for which I had a stamp, two squares I owed for the Project Linus afghan from waaay back in February, and two squares for Cynthia's Warming Grace project. I had to block the squares, find the addresses, find envelopes, write messages to go into the envelopes (one of which I forgot to put in the envelope - sorry Joyce!), and hustle down to the post office to mail them off before it closed.

I went to the Canada Post home page to look up what time the closest postal outlet closes, and lo - what's this? I can make my own labels? And put them on my parcels? And just drop them in the
box down the street? Oh joy!

Thanks, Canada Post, for making my dream of becoming a hermit one step closer to reality!

Sockapalooza Update #4

2006-04-25T19:34:00.000-04:00

UPDATE *sigh*... see below..

Progress has been slow. Nay, almost non-existant. Here's where I'm at right now:

I'm at the point where I start the heel flap. I'm hoping to start that tonight, and be done the decreases by Saturday. I have all of this weekend to work on them and FINISH THEM!!!

Wednesday night update: I don't know how it happened, only that I ended up having to rip back about an inch because I was having problems picking up dropped stitches. Then there were further complications that required ripping back another inch or so. In the picture, I had almost five inches, and three more repeats before I could start the heel flap - now I have another two and a half inches to reknit before I can start the heel.

Just be yourself - the best, cutest, quietest version of yourself (definitely wear lip gloss)

2006-04-24T21:10:00.000-04:00

16 hours and almost 1500km on the road this weekend, and that's the best title for a post I could come up with? Hell, I couldn't even think of a decent thing to blog about! But do you hear that sizzling noise? That's my brain. My brain, she is fried. I was going to post my reaction to the Canada Reads outcome, but that can wait until tomorrow.

In the meantime, another letter!

Dear People Who Make Signs Indicating The Distance To The Next Major Community (Probably The Department of Transportation),

When you've been driving for just over two hours, it's kind of depressing to see a sign that says "North Bay 280" because it means that North Bay is still over three hours away, and then it's another hour and a half to Sudbury. But little by little, the numbers shrank (269, 260, 252, 248, etc.) and it got easier to accept.

But then you had to start posting the distance to Sudbury as well - "North Bay 240 / Sudbury 314" - which put me right back to where I was before. In fact, further so because the numbers seemed so insurmountable.

Surmount them I did, and I am home, but be damned sure I'm going to be dreaming about the dotted line tonight,

Rebecca

Dear Signs Indicating The Distance To Wawa,

I absolutely love your optimism! "Almost there! 752km!"*

I imagine a traveller coming from, say, Florida would look at that and say, "Wow! I really am almost there!" On the flip side, the traveller who's been driving through the pouring rain, who's sick of all the songs on their iPod, and who's last cup of tea is looking to make an exit - and soon! - would look at that and say to themselves, "Thank G/god I don't have to drive that far!"

Really, although 752km hardly counts as "almost there", you've put such a positive spin on it that you can't help be happy that that's all it's going to take to get there, or that at least you don't have to go that far to get home.

Yay! 752km to go!
Rebecca (only 264km to go at that point)

* I've never been to Wawa, so I can't say with any certainty this is a good/bad thing. However, I've seen pictures, and it looks like a lovely place to visit. You should go - it's only 752km away!

Spring is springing up all over

2006-04-19T22:32:00.000-04:00

I wish I could do a fabulous recap of my trip home like Dave did with his trip to BC, but you're stuck with this succinct wrap-up:

BBQ. Tipsy American Idol. Rain. Home. Kittens. Old work visit. Made dinner. Movie. Funny cat moment. Everyone's home. Poker. Kittens. Movie. Shopping trip. BBQ. More Poker. More movies. Church. Breakfast. Pie making. Dinner at the grandparents. Family! Pie eating (and overeating). More movies. Kittens. Packing. Travel. Dropping off forgotten items. Owen Sound. Vegging. Homemade ravioli. Travel. Travel. Brunch. Travel. Unpacking. Crash. The end.

(I will expand on one of the funnier moments of the trip. We've created a very special new hand in poker - the Rebecca Straight. It's when you have three or four cards in a row, or almost have a legit straight, but are missing a card somewhere in the order. You don't actually win anything for a Rebecca Straight, but do get a hand named after you.)

The weather in Sudbury is just stunning, but I can't help but be suspicious - I'm waiting for the last surprise snowfall. Don't laugh - it could happen! It was so nice tonight, in fact, that I walked my route twice tonight.

The other reason I did that was because I was getting caught up on the first three episodes of Canada Reads. You can download the episodes, which are available as podcasts after they air. I listened to the first two episodes while I walked, laughing at inopportune moments as I walked through the subdivision where I go, and the third while I made supper. The panel is great, although I though Scott Thompson was a bit of an ass when his book (Cocksure) got eliminated. I dearly love Maureen McTeer, and have a new appreciation of Susan Musgrave, who I'd never given much thought to before.

It's too late for me to do or say much else, but I will leave you with the reminder that not all of the titles or artists have been guessed in the first line meme. I'll post the answers on Friday.

Happy first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox

2006-04-14T16:14:00.000-04:00

'Cause that's how we know when to celebrate Easter, yo.

I'm home for the weekend, having actually left on Tuesday. So far, the weather's been great, the birds are out in force, and there are crocuses (croci?) everywhere. There are also kittens - three fluffy gray balls of utter cuteness.

I'll try and post something more profound later, if I can get at the computer and the dial up connection doesn't let me down.

First line meme

2006-04-10T20:28:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back, Tiny Little Librarian borrowed a music meme from someone, and now I'm borrowing it from her.

Here's the deal: I've posted the first line from the first twenty* songs that came up on my iPod. Your job is to guess the name of the song and the artist without** looking it up.

This should be fun, not only because I can't remember where half of them come from.***

1. Rat-tailed Jimmy is a second-hand hood, he deals out in Hollywood
[Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood]
2. Ya lookin' just a little too hard at me, standin' just a little too close to me
[J. Lo - Get Right]
~~3. Now here you go again, you say you want your freedom~~ [Mom got the artist - Fleetwood Mac - but what's the title?] [And John gets the title - Dreams!]
4. Blind leading blind, tryin' to keep yourself alive
[Sloan - All Used Up]
5. Yellow walls are lined with portraits, and I got my new red fetching leather jacket
[Rufus Wainwright - Poses]
~~6. So if you're lonely, you know I'm here waiting for you~~ [J. nailed it! Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out]
~~7. Been beat up and battered 'round~~ [Sarah got it! The song is Handle With Care, and I accept either The Traveling Wilburys or Jenny Lewis, since it's the Lewis version I have.]
8. He will then be reborn from 1970's porn
[Rufus Wainwright - Gay Messiah]
9. Hey what's that in the alley with a knife in her hand
[One of the ones I couldn't remember, so I ended up having to look it up; Jarvis Church - Run For Your Life]
10. No one looked, I walked by - just an invitation would have been just fine
[Stevie Nicks - Stand Back]
11. It's cold outside and the paint's peeling off of my walls
[Another look-up; Gary Neuman - Are Friends Electric?]
12. He was in the habit of taking things for granted; granted there wasn't much for him to take
[Hot Hot Heat - You Owe Me An IOU; Kellie Ann is right - it's a pretty brilliant line!]
13. I see you on the streets and you walk on by
[Madonna - Open Your Heart]
14. It's neverending, as far as I know
[The Trews - Not Ready To Go. Which is basically my theme song.]
15. In the year of my decline sucking freezies in the rain
[The Stars - Reunion]
16. We went out one night, everything went right
[Macy Gray - Why Didn't You Call Me]
~~17. The Mississippi Delta was shining like a national guitar~~ [Yay Mom! Paul Simon's Graceland]
~~18. Oh what a shame that your pockets did bleed on St. Valentine's~~ [J. got the artist correct - it's Rufus, but which one?] [And, she comes back with a title - April Fool's]
~~19. Punctured bicycle on a hillside desolate, will nature make a man of me yet?~~ [And D. gets it correct - The Smiths' This Charming Man]
20. I was working part time in a 5 & Dime
[Prince - Raspberry Berret]

(Here's the hint I gave Julie last week: there are three Rufus Wainwright songs on the list. If that makes anything easier.)

* Okay, it was more like the first 120, since I kept running up against obscure stuff only a few people might know.
** 'Cause that would be cheating!
*** What? I made the list last weekend and left myself minimal hints. But don't worry - I'll figure it out eventually.

Sockapalooza Update #3

2006-04-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

Is that... is that a whole sock?

Why, yes it is! AND! The beginning of the second sock!

Freakin' Friday

2006-04-08T19:43:00.000-04:00

Oh joy, another week is over!

It was a crazy week, what with being sick Tuesday, getting some great news on Wednesday, and being run ragged Thursday and the first half of Friday. So, a little retail therapy was in order.

It ended up being a mixture of girlie and geeky. I got some casual dress pants, a pair of jeans, two t-shirts and a blouse, as well as an external hard drive to back up my two computers.

When I went to get something for dinner, I was accosted by an elderly gentleman who insisted I could get the ingredients for a salad for the same price as the pre-packaged salad I was holding. He was a delightful character, to say the least.

I ended up having to make a second trip to the grocery store around 8 because I didn't have any bread. Or peanut butter. Or mineral water. Y'know, the basics. While I was there, I made the happy discovery that the local Independent (aka Zehrs aka Atlantic Superstore) is carrying the President's Choice Organics European Dark Chocolate bars. Jody did a review of them back in January, and raved about them - with good reason.

Today has been spent doing a thorough cleaning of the apartment, and wasting time. I do have a fun activity for y'all, so get your thinking caps on!

Mail call!

2006-04-04T20:54:00.000-04:00

Dear rice,

What's wrong with you? I thought we were friends, but I can't be friends with you any more if you keep doing this to me. We had, what? Twenty-eight? Years together, but in the last year and a half, things seem to have gone sour. Any time I eat you, I get crampy and my tummy hurts.

And just yesterday, you snuck up on me - you hid in the vermincelli noodles I cooked to eat with the curry I made last night. This morning when I woke up, I realized what you had done, and the pain was significant enough that I had to stay home.

I don't appreciate this, and I wish you'd given me some warning.

Unhappily,
Rebecca

Dear David Byrne,

Why did you do a cover of "Au fond du temple saint" with Rufus Wainwright? Love you, love Rufus, but... you sound like you're straining to hit some of the notes, and struggling at other times. And meanwhile, that young whipersnapper in the background sounds like he's singing circles around you. I have a love/hate relationship with this song, mostly because it's a lovely piece but the voices don't blend all that well.

You know who I'd love to hear you duet with? Cyndi Lauper. I think you two kids could kick some serious ass together.

I'm serious!
Rebecca

Dear snow in April,

*sigh* I knew you were coming, so I wasn't too surprised to see you last night. But do you have to rub in the fact I'm not going to see any crocuses or tulips up here anytime soon?

Bah!
Rebecca :(

Not-so-Trivial Pursuit(s)

2006-04-02T15:14:00.000-04:00

Despite my coaxing and cajoling* the two other librarians, the teams ended up being based on gender. They didn't have quite the same faith in our ability to take on the other seven.**

So, Girls vs. Boys it was. And, not to rub it in or anything***, but we won two out of three of the games.

* Read: whining.
** Read: they thought I was was off my nut.
*** Who am I kidding? Girls rule! Boys drool!

Some randomness

2006-04-01T00:11:00.000-05:00

1. Today is Flash Your Stash Day! Alas, I only learned of it yesterday, so I can't sign up for it. But, I'm going to flash it anyways!

Take it off! Take it ALL off! Woo-hoo!

*Ahem*. Excuse me.... The reason all this yarn-y goodness is out in the open is because I recently got a chest of wicker drawers like Alison, so I'm going to try and reorganize it all. I have two clear plastic drawers, plus two plastic bins, and am hoping to use the bins for something else.

2. It's raining.

3. Happy Birthday to my godfather, who turned 53 on Thursday. (That's him on the right)

4. I should explain that the Lisa in the previous post is a classmate of mine from Library School. She's a vivacious, charming and lovely gal from Newfoundland, and you could always count on her to be the most optimistic and happy person in the room. Last summer, she married the charming and lovely (I'm sure - I haven't met him in person yet) Marcus, and early in March, they added Emma to their little family.

5. Damn, I can't remember what five was.

6. Tomorrow night Karen's having a Trivial Pursuit party. She wants to have a Girls vs. Boys matchup, but I want a Librarians vs. Everyone Else matchup. There will be three of us - Lise, Steve, and myself - against... five? six? It's an unfair competition, really - the Librarians are going to kick everyone else's arse.

It's a girl!

2006-03-28T21:03:00.000-05:00

Congrats to Lisa and Marcus! And welcome to little Emma!

What is that glowing orange ball in the sky?

2006-03-26T15:20:00.000-05:00

It is stupidly gorgeous outside today, 6 degrees and sunny. It's the kind of day that makes you believe spring has finally arrived, even thought there is still a week of March left, and the weather in April is a total crapshoot. People are out walking around in t-shirts and light jackets, and are as smiling as much as I am.

The long dark naptime of the soul I've been feeling since January is coming to an end. I'm less moody and am more energetic. I'm feeling happy and giddy about stuff, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good things to happen to good people - it's just good karma, people!

Seven things meme

2006-03-25T23:48:00.000-05:00

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Get a passport
2. Knit a sweater
3. Live in Halifax for another two (or more) years
4. Find my soulmate
5. Host a fabulous martini party
6. Own my own house
7. Fit into a size 18 again

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Fit into my prom dress (which, not a terrible thing - it's a hideous green)
2. Make witty small talk
3. Drive over the Burlington Skyway without having mild anxiety attacks
4. Figure skate
5. Stop buying books before I read all the ones I have
6. Get over my fear of hospitals
7. Find it in my heart to understand or forgive bigots, misogynists, homophobes and/or inconsiderate drivers

Seven things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. Eyes
2. Sense of humour
3. Politeness
4. Level-headedness
5. No facial hair
6. Good cook / likes to cook
7. Appreciates the musical genius of Rufus Wainwright

Seven books I love (only seven?):
1. Stephen R. Donaldson, Mordant's Need (technically, two books - Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through)
2. Tanya Huff, The Keeper Chronicles (okay, more cheating! This one is three books, Summon the Keeper, Second Summoning, and Long Hot Summoning)
3. Poppy Z. Brite, Liquor (and Prime and The Value of X and Drawing Blood)
4. Neil Gaiman, Stardust (and Neverwhere)
5. Terry Pratchett (I can't pick just one, and the list of the ones I like is too long)
6. Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential
7. Gordon Korman, Jake, Reinvented

Seven things I frequently say:
1. "Let's not and say we did."
2. "Uhhhhh....."
3. "Oh, so that's what the kids are calling it these days!"
4. "Tinfoil!"
5. "I read somewhere..."
6. "Bite my shiny metal ass!" (from Futurama)
7. "Make me!"

Seven movies I've loved:
1. Tank Girl (let the mocking commence!)
2. New Waterford Girl
3. Wilby Wonderful
4. The Empire Strikes Back
5. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
6. The Last Unicorn
7. Finding Nemo, Willow, The Dark Crystal, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Mystery Men, and Yellow Submarine

I'm not going to tag seven people, but feel free to do it if you need something to write about.

Beep beep

2006-03-25T22:20:00.000-05:00

Know what I spent five hours of today doing? Five hours of my life I'm not going to get back? Five hours I had to spend reading Mordecai Richler, because I didn't think I was going to be that long so I brought a book I didn't think I would like so I wouldn't waste too much time reading it?

Getting the brakes on my car fixed. All of them.

Turns out it wasn't just one or two of them that needed fixing. The front two were all gummed up, and the back ones were wearing thin. Or something like that. Basically, it was probably better that I follow their recommendations since, hey - brakes are kind of important. And I know squat about how brakes work. I like being secure in the knowledge that when I want my car to stop, it's going to stop without having to hit something in order to do so.

Oh! And I got the oil changed yesterday. This weekend is shaping up to be all about the car maintenance.

Sockapaloooza Update #2

2006-03-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

Three weeks later, and I have almost one whole sock!

I can't even begin to tell you how pleased with how I'm doing. All of the other socks I've started, whether I finished them or not, haven't progressed this far this fast. I'm loving Jaywalker, and I'm loving the fact I've avoided "laddering" (the loose stitches that form between needles when knitting on multiple double-pointed needles).

(See update #1)

May be worth mentioning

2006-03-24T17:13:00.000-05:00

Since I didn't have to be at work first thing this morning, I was going to write about how I taped the men's long program at the World Figure Skating championships last night and watched them when I got home (since I didn't have to be up early, but we've already visited this point. Moving along....)

I would have mentioned how sick to death I am of the CBC showing Dubreuil and Lauzon's wicked fall at the Olympics. We. Get. It. She fell and was hurt badly. Every time I watch that clip, my hip throbs in sympathy.

I would have mentioned how every time Evan Lyscek skates, he always seems to be at death's door. Fractured hip? A case of the flu requiring IV? A serious upper respiratory infection? Check, check, check.

Also worth mentioning was how shocked I was that Sandhu managed to skate relatively well. And how awful I felt for Buttle. And how when the announcer mentioned Weir was skating with back spasms, I felt myself seizing up. (When he fell and didn't get up right away? I started whispering, "please get up! Please get up!" Having been there, done that on several occasions in the past, I know the feeling.)

Other things I would have mentioned:
That I have to get the oil changed in my car.

That there's a flapping sound when I apply the brake, but I won't because then I'll get the parental phone call, "What kind of sound? How long? What is it?" (Like... flapping. Since Monday or Tuesday. I'm not sure - maybe the antilock brakes?)

To Cynthia - I promise I'm going to do that meme! I'm halfway done already!

But, since I was pokey and didn't get around to any of this before work today, I guess I won't.

Important life lessons

2006-03-22T00:15:00.000-05:00

This goes out to Julie, J. and Bex (and Karen T.!): since we're all turning 30 this year, one of us has to hit that magic number first. And, lucky for you, it's me.

In our 30th year, we're going to learn a lot of important lessons along the way, so let me share the first lesson I learned as a 30-year-old:

If you're going to start baking at 11:30, make sure you're not too tired to read the recipe carefully. Otherwise, you'll have the batter in the pan and be thinking, "Huh. This stuff is awful thick," before realizing you forgot the cup of boiling water that gives the batter a more batter-like consistency. Then you have to scrape it back into the bowl, getting the batter (which has the consistency of marshmallows at this point) all over the counter, the floor and, mysteriously, in your hair*.

* That last one may be unique to me. I'm talented - what can I say?

Greet me warmly, I'm one-quarter Irish!

2006-03-17T20:24:00.000-05:00

(My mother's mother was Irish - everyone else is French)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm home, safe and sound, and want to sleep. And eat. Not necessarily in that order, though.

Today's best moment, in the airport in Thunder Bay: a group of high school students were getting back from a March Break trip overseas, and two weary chaperons were following a particularly rowdy bunch. The first one turned to the second and said, "Where are their bags?"

The second chaperon responded, "Who cares? They're the responsibility of their parents now."

Priceless!

2006-03-16T17:44:00.000-05:00

Normally, I don't obsess over my stats that much. I average about 150 - tops! - visitors a week, and I'm pretty cool with that.

I get my stats notification this week and look at the numbers. Over 200? And starting on Monday, it completely exploded - from and average 20 visits a day to almost 60? What gives? Checking the logs, it appears there's a large number of visitors coming from the CBC website, specifically, The Hour. Huh?

Apparently, if you link to their web site, they link back to you, which is pretty cool. Very nice of them, in fact. I'm tickled by the attention I've been getting. Tickled, I say. Hee hee! That tickles! Stop...stop tickling! I CAN'T BREATH!

*Whew*! That's better! Thanks guys! You rawk!

(And hi to all the new visitors!)

(And I'm still on the road. Tales of my various flights, hotel adventures, and pictures to follow sometime soon.)

(Aaaaaaand, because sometimes I'm a complete and utter spaz, I accidentally just posted this to the Team Canada blog. Gah!)

Need purse advice? Turn to the Internet!

2006-03-13T16:49:00.000-05:00

I'm going on a business trip on Wednesday (let's call it Excursion Around Northern Ontario, Part the Third: The Northwest Redux - I'm looking forward to it, as long as it doesn't snow), and need serious help. About other things besides the obvious!

I don't know which purse to take.

Here are the candidates, with a brief description and pros and cons of each.

Purse #1: The Everyday Purse

This is the purse I use on a daily basis. It's big enough to hold my wallet, camera, cellphone, iPod, in addition to at least one paperback or a small knitting project (like, say, a sock). I got it a few years ago in a funky little shop in Port Dalhousie.

Pros: It screams "I'm unique! I'm an individual! I have funky, eclectic tastes in shoulderbags!" Plus, it holds lots of stuff.

Cons: What it doesn't exactly scream is "I'm a professional!" And it's fraying and a little worn in spots.

Purse #2: The Boring Purse

This one is more professional. The strap comes off and I can carry it around like a handbag. It's brown leather and it looks nice. It doesn't hold much, but it has pockets for what it does.

Pros: Screams "I'm a professional!" Is a good purse for polite society and going out. Like I mentioned, converts from a shoulderbag to a handbag.

Cons: There isn't a lot of room in it, and tends to get heavy fast. Also, it's bulky and sticks out and gets caught on things. I don't usually take the strap off because I'm afraid I'm going to put it down and forget it somewhere, which is bad, moreso on this upcoming trip because of the distances I'll be traveling.

Purse #3: The Smaller Shoulderbag

It's small and neat, and I use it all the time in the summer. As well, I know at least four other people with this exact same model (Hi Julie! Hi Thistle! Hi third person who I've forgotten who you are but I apologize for doing so! Hi Robin!).

Pros: Small and portable, which is good if I'm already going to be lugging around a briefcase and a suitcase. Will hold the absolute essentials, which is good if I'm going out for dinner or something.

Cons: Somewhere, my sisters are looking at it and having the same reaction - "It's a summer purse! You can't use it in the winter!" Which probably means I need a smaller winter purse. And have you noticed that word I keep using to describe it - small? Yeah. Its size is a liability (what with the putting down and forgetting of things.)

Purse #4: The Big Bertha

This is the one I used on previous trips because it was big and doubled as a briefcase. Hell, it's big enough to fit my laptop in. I can fit everything from purse #1, plus a hardcover book, maps, and snacks in it.

Pros: Like I said, big. Roomy, even. I can't lose it or forget it somewhere. If I go souvenir shopping, I can pop everything in here until I can get to my suitcase. Or I can put important stuff in here and save room in the briefcase. Did I mention the size?

Cons: I'm already bringing a big briefcase for my laptop (it has wheels!) - why do I need a second laptop-carrying option? Plus, the size means small stuff tends to get lost in the bottom, if I put my wallet in the pouch on the inside, it keeps collapsing, the iPod fits in the cellphone pocket, which means the cellphone usually ends up lost at the bottom, and the more room I'm allowed, the more I find stuff to put in it.

Which one do you think I should use? I think I know which one I'll end up using, but I won't say anything until you've had a chance for input. It's too late to buy a new one, but is there anything I should look for in my next purchase?

Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive!

2006-03-12T21:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was the annual shinny tournament, hosted by my sister and b-i-l. And once again, it was a blast. Unlike last year, there was no snow - in fact, it was sunny and warm enough that some participants didn't wear their jackets. Also this year, my sister in Owen Sound couldn't make it, and I'm not aggressive enough to try and steal Denise's hat and fill it with mud. Plus, she wasn't wearing a hat.

This year, the winner of the Furthest Distance Traveled to get to the game went to a friend of Mike's sister, who came all the way from New Zealand. Not specifically for the tournament, but it definitely beat the Ottawa contingent by a few miles.

In a change of pace, the post-game meal wasn't chili this time - it was lasagna and peirogies, both homemade. There was much feasting and groaning, and much, much discussion about what bar(s) to hit Saturday night. Once again, it was an argument I didn't participate in, since I went home with the couple at whose house I was staying. Breakfast this morning was another feast, and the drive home was alternately sunny and foggy, but I made it home nonetheless.

And here is your 2006 Shinny Team - we forgot to decide on team names this year.

iPope*

2006-03-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

*No, this headline is never going to get old. Learn it, live it, love it, people!

Apparently, the Pope now has an iPod nano. It came loaded with classical music and special Vatican Radio programing.

Boooooring.

What the Pope needs is some music that will help bring him into the 21st century, help him relate to the kids today.

Ministry - Jesus Built my Hotrod
Perfect! They have an appropriate name, AND the song demonstrates how our Saviour is with us at all times, and helping us whenever we need it.

Marilyn Manson - Personal Jesus
Even though he looks like Satan, Mason tells us about how important it is to have Jesus in our everyday lives.

Rufus Wainwright - Gay Messiah
The Pope, like many other Chrisitan leaders, apparently labours under the assumption that Jesus doesn't like gay people. I know they're wrong about that, but just in case, Wainwright sings about the Messiah who is coming exclusively for homosexuals.

AC/DC - Hell's Bells
Need a reminder about what happens to sinners when they die? These "bells" of hell will ring out to remind you to stay on the path of righteousness!

Joan Osborne - What If God Was One Of Us
Well, He may actually already be one of us - ever think of that, Benny?

The Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Which explains a lot.

Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
See what happens when you sympathize with the Devil? You become inexplicably attractive to the opposite sex, you drink and do a lot of drugs, and become millionaires with throngs of screaming fans. Wait... is that supposed to be a bad thing?

B-52's - Love Shack
I think all places of worship should be called "love shacks" from now on.

Led Zeplin - Stairway to Heaven
Only young, fit folk need to climb the stairway to heaven - the elderly and infirm will take the express elevator.

Tom Waits - Chocolate Jesus
How sacreligious! I can't imagine what a song like this is doing on the Pope's playlist!

Johny Cash - Ring of Fire
If you're not careful, you'll end up going to hell too!

Okay, I've given you a head start - what are some other songs I should put on here?

(Incidentally, a co-worker told me George Stroumboulopoulos did something similar on his show recently. However, I can't find the list anywhere, so you'll just have to put up with mine.)

Thanks to my posse at work for the suggestions at lunch today.

Sockapaloooza Update #1

2006-03-07T22:24:00.000-05:00

After a week of knitting, which includes ripping out a good three inches and starting again, this is what I have:

Yay! Two and a half inches of Jaywalker!

(Can I just say how envious I am of people who can whip up a pair of socks in a weekend?)

(And can I just also say how ironic it is that someone in my group has chosen the same colour as me? Lorna's Laces in Gold Hills... wait, I already told you that. Sorry!)

(See update #2)

My Oscar thoughts

2006-03-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

Gee, like it hasn't been done to death already. But I took notes, so here it is!

Jon Stewart - I wasn't sure if I was going to like him in the job as host, since it was going to put a crimp in his style. Either that, or he'd be funny but no one would laugh at this humour. Happily, I did like him, and I did think it was funny.

The cowboy montage was hilarious.

Ben Stiller and his green screen suit wasn't funny. Not even a little. Shut up, Ben. Also annoying was the music they played while the winners were accepting their awards - it was distracting!

The skit about how winners would know their time was up was amusing. Kudos for Tom Hanks for being hit over the head with a viola.

Wait a minute - Beyonce isn't singing all the nominated songs this year?

John Canemaker (Best Animated Short) thanked his boyfriend - awwww!

Someone needed to tell Colleen Atwood (Best Costumes) that she looked like she was trying to dress half her age. I mean, the sides were open all the way up, and it was very low cut. Maybe on a younger, more svelte woman, but not her.

Will Ferrell and Steve Carrell - hee. I would kill for Steve's fake eyelashes.

The fake campaign commercials were dumb, but funny. Still, Dame Judi didn't look all that amused.

Jon nailed it when he asked what was up with all the montages. Seriously. They cut people's speeches short, but there was a montage for everything. I felt sorry for Lauren Bacall - she started to loose it about halfway through, and I held my breath hoping she was going to make it to the end.

It seemed the predominate colour scheme was neutrals and ivory, which was dull, as most of the women wearing it were blond. It made them look bland and washed out. Except for Salma Hayek, who's turquoise gown was gorgeous. (And thank you for not appearing alongside Penelope Cruz again this year - it's been a few days since I've gone for a walk and I'd eaten a lot of waffles on Sunday, so I don't need any further reminders how bloated I am right now.)

(I don't have many notes after this point, so I'm winging it now.)

Steve Box and Nick Park - so cute with the bow ties for the awards! And the stuffed penguins! Also so cute!

I cannot believe "It's Hard Out There For A Pimp" won. There are a myriad of cultural and social reasons why a song about pimping and exploiting women is wrong wrong wrong, but also that the song just plain sucked. Dolly should have won, but was the picture of grace when those yahoos got the award instead of her.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, George Clooney, and Reese Witherspoon all had excellent acceptance speeches. I won't speak on Rachel Weisz because Michelle Williams was ROBBED. (So was Jake Gyllenhaal, but I can live with that.)

Lord love Larry McMurtry for wearing a "Texas tuxedo" (jeans and cowboy boots with a tux jacket).

Corinne Marrinan (Best Documentary Short) was adorable. And she got to sit next to The Clooney at the nominees luncheon - so lucky!

I can't believe Crash won Best Picture. Sure, it was a great movie, but it relied on multiple plots and a vast list of characters to pull it off. Brokeback Mountain was carried by two actors, who made it a spectacular film. Grrrr...

Disco isn't dead, sadly

2006-03-02T07:18:00.000-05:00

So, on my way into work yesterday I heard a Bee Gees song, and I realized I don't have enough Bee Gees in my life right now. I'm open to suggestions as to what should be my Bee Gees theme song should be. (But it can't be Stayin' Alive - be creative!)

The rest of my day was tedious. An hour at the dentist to get a root canal filled, then two hours at Canadian Tire to get my car fixed. I brought my Sockapaloooza sock with me, and ended up having to frog the whole damn thing when I realized I'd messed up big time. Argh.

Mardi (tres) Gras

2006-02-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

Has it been a week already? Man oh man, time flies when you're not paying attention....

This past weekend, I helped my sister and brother-in-law move to a fabulous new place. They were both so excited, and rightly so - it's big and bright, there's lots of room, and several people can stand in the kitchen and swing their arms at the same time and not hit each other! (At the old house, maybe one person could do that, but there was a good chance they would hit the walls.) Because almost everything got done on Saturday, I came home on Sunday.

Yesterday was spent entertaining and being entertained by a co-worker's friend who was in town. We made it out to the Korean restaurant in town, where we were pleased to discover (or at least, I was) that they serve a variety of Asian dishes, including Pad Thai, Vietnamese spring rolls (oh so tasty!), dumplings, and some curry dishes. And bubble tea - sweet, sweet bubble tea! How I've missed you and your tapioca beady goodness!

Last night was the East Coast Music Awards. I thought I wrote last year about how much I love them, but I think I was hallucinating about writing it. Anyways... they were hosted by the Trailer Park Boys, and the whole thing stank. I watched maybe ten minutes, and it was a painful ten minutes, let me tell you.

Now I'm going to work on my sockapaloooza socks. I've decided I'm going to do the Jaywalker pattern.

Is that a propeller in your pocket?

2006-02-21T21:31:00.000-05:00

(Or are you happy to see me?)

Okay, wacky title for a ten minute post, but it's the best I can come up with at the moment.

I finished my knitting olympics project on... Saturday night? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Saturday night. The handwarmers, they are done - read more about it here.

This Friday I'm heading to Guelph to help my sister and brother-in-law move, weather permitting. I mean, for my drive down, not the move - that's going on, regardless of whether or not my sorry ass is there to help them. Anyways. My mother has already claimed me for the unpacking-and-organizing-the-kitchen team, as well as lunch crew. My job is to keep my sister fed so that she doesn't get cranky. Although, I suspect she's going to get irritated with me eventually if I keep following her around with a tray of muffins, telling her that it's been ten minutes since I last saw her eat something, and isn't it time she eat something else, and don't these muffins I made just for her look delicious?

The Olympics are almost over, which makes me a little sad. I'm a bit of a junkie now - I get up and watch for a little while before getting ready for work, then I watch when I get home from work. I'm very happy the women's hockey team won the gold medal, and I'm pretty happy with our output in general.

Wow - I didn't really accomplish much in that ten minutes, did I?

Love me, love my playlists

2006-02-21T20:49:00.000-05:00

I've got two trips in the next couple of weeks, both heading south to visit family. They keep saying they miss me, so I'm going down to test that theory this weekend when I go help my sister move. Love you guys! Miss you too!

Therefore, I need tunes for the drives. I haven't downloaded much since before Christmas, so I may go all crazy and make a playlist sometime before Friday. In the meantime, I thought I'd revisit an old playlist.

This one was all about the Scissor Sisters - I think it was around this point I decided I liked them. They were campy and fun, and reminded me of the bastard offspring of The Village People, Eurasure, and The B-52's.

Take Your Mama - so much fun. Guaranteed to pull you out of your deepest funk.

Filthy/Gorgeous - vampy. Should be a song in The Rocky Horror Picture Show sequel (if there is ever to be one).

Comfortably Numb - I will confess that I don't like Pink Floyd. At all. But for some reason, I like Pink Floyd cover songs, and especially this one. I think I saw this video long before I heard of the band - I saw it not that long ago and had a moment of deja vu.

It Can't Come Quickly Enough - the song that evokes memories of Eurasure tape-of-a-tape my sister had, and we listened to often many, many years ago.

Laura - more campy fun!

Better Luck Next Time - every time this song comes up on shuffle, I always want to skip it. But then the first verse starts and I get over it.

And there are others on the playlist...

I Am Stretched Out On Your Grave (Sinead O'Connor) - haunting, but with a celtic-techno beat you can dance to!

So Pure (Alanis Morrisette) - fun video.

Bitch (Meredith Brooks) - I think every woman has a day where this song is their theme song.

Legend of a Cowgirl (Imani Coppola) - when I used to use Puretracks, I downloaded this song. When I had to format my computer, I had to burn it to a CD; when I went to put it back on my computer, it wouldn't let me because it felt I had copied it to one too many devices. Give me a break! Oh, and I quite like this song, too.

Shoop (Salt n' Peppa) - This song reminds me of a friend of mine from university. She was bubbly blond, a party animal, and perky as all hell. I hadn't really thought much of this song, but she was in the habit of singing along to it. Eventually, it got stuck in my head, and whenever I hear it, it always makes me think of her.

Take on Me (a-ha) - Okay, another song with memories attached to it. The first summer I ever went to Cape Breton, I heard this song, like, a million times. I even saw the video a few times, thanks to the satellite dish my aunt and uncle had (and it's still one of the coolest videos ever). This song will always remind me of sitting around the basement with my cousin, his best friend, another cousin from Ontario, and my sisters. (The other song we heard a lot of was "You Spin Me (Right Round)" by Dead or Alive.)

Voices Carry ('Til Tuesday) - How many other people, on first hearing this song, thought that the chorus was "This is Carrie"? Or, alternately, "This is scary"? I went through both until I finally figured out she was saying "Voices carry." And it's one of those angsty 80's songs which make me want to dig out a pair of leg warmers and a neon scrunchie to put my hair in a ponytail on the side of my head. But that's just me. And maybe Pender.

She's So High (Blur) - I like old Blur, pre-"Song 2"* days. Probably the first Blur song I heard back in grade 9, when I started listening to the cool "alternative" station. (In grade 11, when I had the bestest locker ever - mostly because I had it to myself - I had a picture of the band in my locker. It was just a small one, cut out of a copy of Seventeen someone had given me.)

OneTwoSix feat. DJ Teranova (DJ Liquid) - Okay, I have days where I like this song, and others where I think, "ugh! What was I doing when I downloaded it?" If you like the Chemical Brothers, you might like this one - it's repetitive, almost trance-like.

Hey Girl Hey Boy (Chemical Brothers) - funny, didn't I just mention them? Heh. Also trance-like, but less annoying than the previous song.

Let Forever Be (Chemical Brothers) - I like this song, but I can't remember which Gallagher brother does the vocals on this song. Is it the drunk one or the useless one?

*I actaully have a funny story about Song 2. My friend Kim had just got Napster (this is back a few years) and called to ask me what the name of the Blur song with the "woo-hoo!" was. I told her it was Song 1, and when she downloaded the song it turned out to be a Japanese version of "If You're Happy And You Know It (Clap Your Hands)". Julie eventually gave us the proper song name.

Recovery

2006-02-18T10:40:00.000-05:00

The week, which started on a low note and got worse as it went on, was ultimately salvaged at the end. The bright spots which made everything else a little more bearable came from a couple of places.

The first two were the arrival of a couple of parcels. The parcel from Giselle, all the way from the mostly square state, arrived on... Tuesday? Yes - Tuesday. Or wait, was it Wednesday? Anyways - it was a box of previously enjoyed (and soon-to-be-enjoyed) chicklit books, some Nerds rope (anyone else having flashbacks to childhood?) and a cute little mirror.

The second parcel came from my mother, and that came Thursday but I was only able to pick it up yesterday. It was the Valentine's Day cookies she hadn't told me she was sending, but were welcome all the same.

And no, I'm not sharing. I'm sorry, but these are too special to share, let alone show you.

Thursday we had yet another snow storm. The whole province had bad weather Thursday, but our started mid-afternoon and lasted until the early morning. There's something about being home during a snow storm, knowing that you don't have to go out, and you have enough provisions at home to get through. So you spend the night just watching the falling snow and listening for the snow plows, certain that you'll have to go into work tomorrow (but secretly hoping you get snowed in, and all schools and places of business will be closed in the morning.)

When I ran out to put my Zip movies in the mailbox* I took some pictures of the accumulation from the last few storms. The one picture I forgot to take was of the crosswalk buttons on the corner; until Thursday, you had to crawl over a snow bank to get to them. Yesterday, I had to dig down about half a foot to find them. Oy.

Later in the evening, I saw flashes of light and thought there had been an accident on the street below. Then I heard the thunder, and saw a few more flashes. So - turns out we were having a thunder storm, but with snow instead of rain. Cool. I was supposed to go to bellydancing, but nearly got blown over in the parking lot, and ended up staying home and watching men's figure skating instead.

Emmanuel Sandhu did about as well as I expected - the less I say, the better. Shawn Sawyer was solid, and had a good skate. And big, giant kudos to Sudbury boy Jeff Buttle, who won the bronze medal! His reaction to the results were priceless, and I'm quite happy he won. (A little part of me was also rooting for Johnny Weir, who ended up in 5th - kid, you had me at the orange glove named "Camile". Better luck next time!)

Even though the sun is shining out there today, it's a positively frosty -17C out there. I'll be spending the afternoon working on my knitting Olympics project (which is about 65% done - here's a photo of the finished half; more pictures later on.) Speaking of which - the knitting Olympics have been getting a lot of attention recently. Last night there was a piece on The National on CBC about it, and there was a segment on Fresh Air (on CBC Radio 1) this morning. There have been other sightings, so go us!

And I also made chocolate ice cream, with Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa bars. That I'll share with you.

*Verdict: The Good Girl: D-; Bubble Boy: B+

There ain't no cure for the wintertime blues

2006-02-15T22:29:00.000-05:00

Mark this date on your calendar - I'm about to do something I've never done before.

Admit that I'm sick of winter.

Don't get me wrong - I'll take the cold and snow and ice over the heat and humidity of summer any day. It's just that over the last few weeks, I've noticed I've been moody and short-tempered at least five days a week. It's like having low grade PMS (without the cramps and with the occasional headache) almost constantly since before Christmas.

Yes, the days are getting longer, I'm walking more than I was, I'm trying to eat better and I'm trying to avoid things I know will drag me down, but I still seem to want to come home and hide in a corner with the blankets pulled over my head.

A trip somewhere sunny and warm would be nice (lucky, lucky Dave!), but besides the fact I'm not really interested in heading south to warmer, tropical climes, I can't really afford it right now. Without going into excessive detail, let's just say I'm expecting interruptions in my work schedule over the next few weeks unless something happens to bring certain people back to the bargaining table - and soon!

So, for now, I'm just going to resist the urge to indulge in retail therapy and pints of Ben & Jerry's, since both options won't end well.

Happy Day-to-make-single-people-feel-guilty

2006-02-14T21:02:00.000-05:00

This has been an absolutely stellar day. I wore black out of protest, thinking that my office partner would also be wearing black out of solidarity. Not so - the little traitor wore red. Humph. (He did bring me a Kit Kat bar, so all is forgiven!)

The two pounds of cinnamon hearts I brought only appealed to Karen and I, so we spent the day taking three or four at a time, but there's still about a pound and 5/8ths left. (I'm thinking I'm going to make ice cream with the rest - how does that sound?)

At lunch, I drove Karen and another co-worker to Wendy's and my Frostie overflowed in my cupholder. And then all over my desk. I nearly dozed off several times during the afternoon, despite having gone to bed at 10pm the night before, and getting up at 6 (and still managing to be late for work).

Then, when I went to the bank, the ATM machine ate my bank card. I went to call the 1-800 number and discovered I had no time left in my account. Topped that up, got the card cancelled, and proceeded to use my Visa to buy milk.

The bright spot in all this is that my next two movies from Zip.ca had arrived today - The Good Girl and Bubble Boy. I'm ending my day with two Jake Gyllenhaal movies - really, how bad a day could it have been after all?

Stickin' it to the blog

2006-02-10T07:20:00.000-05:00

Seeing the title, you're probably thinking I'm going to skewer (ha!) someone else today. Ah, not so! I'm doing a roundup of my knitting progress so far.

Raspberry Alpaca wristwarmers:
I'm almost finished the second one - I'm past the thumb hole and the end is nigh. No pictures, however. Oh, what the hell - there's a nice snow drift on my balcony.

There. See?

Knitting Olympics
I have swatched the yarn I will be using. I have swatched the pattern. The only thing left to do is cast any time after 2PM.

Sockapaloooza
Damn it - I've been spelling it with only two O's, and apparently, there are three. My bad. Anyhoodle...

If you go here, you can see a list of all 606 ~~crazies~~ of us who are participating. My Sock Sister (sort of like a TA or a den mother - she's the person I keep in touch with about my progress) is Mary (Hi Mary!) The good news is that I've chosen a yarn:

Purty, ain't it? It's Lorna's Laces in Gold Hill that I got at Lettuce Knit last February, and I've been holding onto it since then. I think this is a good excuse to use it.

But I do have a confession - even though I'm in the beginner group, I've made two pair of socks and am working on the third. However, the first went well, the second were too loose, and the third have pretty much stalled on the needles (which is a shame, because I need them to knit this yarn - yikes!)

Right - that was fairly painless, wasn't it?

Today is not the day to cross me

2006-02-07T20:41:00.000-05:00

Today, I am feeling bitchy. Catty, mean, petty, full-on, hardcore bitch. I am full of piss and vinegar. I'm touchy, insensitive, sarcastic, cynical, and there's a good chance I'll disagree with whatever you tell me, argue with you just for the sake of arguing, and call you on your bullshit. Fear me, people. I'm not taking prisoners.

Which is why when Beth pointed out the lack of personal attacks on David Emerson, I was immediately incensed. Why hasn't someone from the Liberal Party paraded in front of the cameras with a basket of weasels, and said, "Look! It's Emerson's advisors!" Why hasn't anyone called him a dipstick or a whore or worse? Why was it okay to call Belinda Stronach these things, but not Emerson? Darren suggests that she shouldn't throw stones (in regards to comments she made about Emerson), which I have to respectfully disagree with. Stronach gave the Conservatives over a year before she defected, whereas the election in which Emerson was elected as a Liberal was - what? Two, three weeks ago? She tried to work with the party, and Emerson got out while the going was good.

So, I'm going to call him on it. You, David Emerson, seriously mislead your constituents. You didn't even hesitate to jump ship. You, sir, are a coward and a scoundrel.

It's only a month or six late, but who's counting?

2006-02-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

I cannot begin to tell you how relieved I am to tell you that I've finally finished reviewing all the books I read last year. Granted, most of them are just brief two- or three-sentence reviews, but enough to get the gist of what it was about and what I thought about it.

Part 1: April to June
Part 2: Early July
Part 3: Mid to Late July
Part 4: August to December

I read a grand total of 58 books over 52 weeks last year. There were a few slow months - November springs immediately to mind - but it still works out to a little over a book a week. So far this year, I've read five books, and I'm well on my way to finishing the fifth.

There are two things I have left to do. Firstly, post a complete list of the books in chronological order of reading, and secondly, post reviews of the books I've read so far this year. The biggest change I made this year is that I'm taking notes as I finish the books, so I at least have some idea why I did/didn't like something.

Some reflections:

One thing I didn't read a lot of last year was fantasy/sci-fi. I used to read them almost exclusively, but I'm branching out to other genres. However, this year I'm not going to worry so much about how it looks that I'm reading something by - *gasp* - a science fiction author. Plus, I didn't read any Tanya Huff last year, and I love her stuff to bits. It's time to revisit the Summoning series, I think.

I also read a lot more non-fiction, be it essays, histories, or sociologies. I enjoyed that, and I plan to read more of them this year.

The only thing I plan to read less of are books that bore me in the first twenty pages or so - more than a few of the books I finished last year were a chore to read, but I still felt obligated to do so. But not this year.

Note to self (re: Disaster movies)

2006-02-05T17:21:00.000-05:00

Note to self: don't watch The Day After Tomorrow in the middle of the second winter storm in a week.

It's bad enough that it's -20 with the windchill and that the snow is thigh-deep on me in most spots (the first storm dumped between 15-20cm of snow, this one is supposed to dump 10-15cm). I don't need to be reminded that it could get worse.

An open letter to Lee Aaron

2006-02-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

Dear Lee Aaron,

Can I call you Lee? Awesome! I feel this sense of familiarity with you because lately, I think you've been trying to tell me something. In the past week, I've heard you on the radio twice, and this morning when I flipped to MuchMoreMusic, they were playing one of your videos.

Now, I'm not sure what you're trying to tell me, but you need to be a little more clear. Am I supposed to be heralding a return to the late 80's bir hairstyles? Or are you launching yet another comeback career and I should start telling people?

Confused, but still A Fan,
Rebecca :)

If there's a commercial out there that's funnier than this, I don't want to know about it

2006-02-01T22:42:00.000-05:00

I like to pinch

This commercial was playing before Brokeback Mountain last week. We must have seen it at least five times before the movie finally started, and the whole audience laughed every time (granted, there were about a dozen of us there...)

For some reason, it reminds me of my sisters.

A tribute to a friend

2006-02-01T16:10:00.000-05:00

Three years ago Friday, a good friend of mine from my undergrad days came out of the closet. It was one of those moments where you will always remember where you were and what you were doing at the time, like when Kennedy was shot, Henderson scored the winning goal, and when the towers fell. I was working at the law library at the time, it was early afternoon, there was no one else in the room, and I'm pretty sure it was snowing. In his email, he acknowledged that some people would reject him for this admission, and he was prepared for that.

I was shocked for two reasons - firstly, because I never suspected it at all (I have non-functioning gaydar - just ask me about my two major high school crushes!), and secondly because I couldn't understand why someone would reject his friendship for such a flimsy reason. He hadn't changed anything in his basic nature - he just came clean about his sexuality. It didn't change the fact he was one of the smartest and most politically astute guys I knew, or that he was snarky and opinionated, and could sit in Tim Horton's until 3am talking department gossip with myself and another friend.

We haven't talked lately, but neither of us were good at the whole correspondence thing. I might send him a quick email to tell him what's up, and I'll get a short reply in response. However, it doesn't stop me from worrying about him every time I hear some narrow-minded bigot declare that homosexuals are evil or wrong or somehow not worth of the same rights and protections as everyone else. If you prick them, do they not bleed as well?

So, this is just to say that I hope he's okay and that he's made peace with his decision, and that next time he's around, we really need to go to Timmy's and get caught up.

Flying Fickle Finger of February

2006-02-01T15:09:00.000-05:00

Ten minute post.... go!

Gah! I had a bunch of random things to post about, so this seems like a good time to get them all out and down on a post.

I had half a day off today - woo-hoo! Part of it was spent going to Home Depot to get a dowel to use at bellydancing (don't ask). Also got a card for my father, whose birthday is on Saturday.

For everyone who isn't interested in participating in the Knitting Olympics, but want to participate in some, small way, there's a button for you too:

Put it on your blog, and feel smug about sitting there on your duff doing nothing during the Olympics while the rest of us sit on our duffs and knit. That's okay - we won't make you feel guilty about your lack of craftiness. We also aren't going to knit anything for you, either :)

I gave up on Gods, Mongrels and Demons. I'm sorry, but I had to. It was basically an encyclopedia of odd and eccentric people, which might be interesting, but the writing was too dry and unfocused. The book I read before it was also causing no small amount of reader's block, which is maybe why I didn't try very hard, but I gave it two weeks, and... nothing. I wasn't feeling the love. So sorry. I also gave up on the book after that, which I didn't even get a chance to post - it was a book from the CBC's list of literary hoaxes. Three pages in and even I could tell it was too over the top to be real.

Technically, my time is up, but I had trouble finding the button, and I haven't run out of things to say just yet.

I was considering changing the template for this site - again. I know, I know - I just redid the bugger in July, but I want to redo the sidebars, and the font scheme, and this, that, and the other, so it felt like it would be easier to just start from scratch. However, I haven't really tried to fix things with this template, so I may take a bash at it, and save what I did get done for another time. Or, finish the modifications and give it to someone I know who was mentioning they wanted a new web site. Whatever. I like doing it, and I'm learning more about CSS when I do it, so bring it on!

"Pancakes" by Zuul's Evil Disco is quite possibly my new favourite song. And that is all I have to say about that.

The things I come up with when I'm thinking about other things

2006-01-29T13:00:00.000-05:00

If I could supply a visual for how my day has gone so far, it would be a Cold War-era poster with a Stalinesque-looking gentleman looking fearfully over his shoulder, and the caption would read:

"ARE THERE COMMUNISTS IN YOUR CUPBOARDS?
MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS ORGANIZED
AND IN ITS PROPER PLACE
TO PREVENT SOCIALISTS FROM GAINING A FOOTHOLD!"

My cupboards were a sad, sad mess. Everything was mostly in some sort of order, but I can't figure out who defined the order (it couldn't have been me - no siree! I'm a librarian! Everything is in perfect order in my apartment! Someone must have come in a moved things around when I wasn't home one weekend. Yeah, that's it!)

I took EVERYTHING out of ALL the cupboards*, grouped it by function, and am in the process of putting it all back now. I need to go finish it without further ado before those sneaky Socialists get in there again!

*Except the plates, cups, glasses, and pots and pans - they're all fine where they are.

Come into the kitchen - I'm just making a pot of tea

2006-01-27T23:45:00.000-05:00

To everyone who's found their way here from one of the various Knitting Olympic blogs* where I'm also participating: Hi! Come in! I'm not really making tea, since it's late and it will probably keep me up for the rest of the night, but if you want something to drink, I'll see what I can do. Please excuse the wonky colour scheme and haphazard attempt at font standardization - I'm working on both at the moment and hope to have something new before I turn 80.

* Specifically, the Hurry Hard Handwarmalong, which I'm co-sponsoring, and Team Canada, in which I'm posting also.

(For everyone else, I'll try and keep the knitting angst to a minimum over here.)

Because I enjoy the experience of having lost my mind a while back, I'm thinking of joining Team Wales (motto: "The Jamaican Bobsledders of the Knitting World") for the Knitting Olympics. I'm not Welsh - not even close! - but I had a friend in grad school who was, and I have a Super Furry Animals CD. Does that count?

In non-knitting news... wait, where was I going with this? I have notes all over about things I want to post about, but I can't remember which ones were the important ones, that I need to get down before I forget them completely, or fall asleep. Which, really, is the same thing.

Okay - here's something I was thinking about this afternoon. When people ask me what I like the most about living in Sudbury, lately the answer hasn't been "the weather." For example:

Thursday morning, when I went out to my car, the temperature was hovering around -15, or below -24 with the windchill. And - as a good Canadian - I would like to point out that this was a dry cold, which means it's very crisp. My nostrils froze, the soles of my boots froze, and any exposed skin got rather nippy. There were a few difficult moments opening the rear driver's side door because the damn thing had froze shut again.

Friday? At noon? It's +4 out there. All the ice is melting, and there is slush and ice packs everywhere, which means my evening walk will be an absolute joy as I dodge puddles and half-melted ice. And it's all going to freeze again on Sunday. Wonderful!

I went to see Brokeback Mountain again tonight, right after work. Since it was an early show, there was no group of obnoxious teenagers sitting behind me talking all the way through the movie. In fact, I was the youngest person there! To prepare for this second viewing, I reread the short story last night and this confirmed my suspicion that the movie was an outstanding adaptation. I'm almost tempted to read something by Larry McMurty now.

And with that, I'm officially too tired to think of anything else.

Experiments with food

2006-01-24T22:41:00.000-05:00

Don't those look good? Last week I made mashed potatoes, and I made sure I had enough left over to make potato pancakes later in the week. It's so simple to make - take the leftover mashed potatoes, add an egg (or two, depending on how many you have) and enough breadcrumbs to make sure the whole thing sticks together. Coat them with something, be it more breadcrumbs, flour, or cornmeal (as I did above), fry them in vegetable oil, and that's it.

There's plenty of room for improvisation. I always add grated cheese, and this time I also added tobasco sauce, dried parsley, paprika, pepper, cumin, and salt. If I have green onions, then I add them. But nothing is written in stone - feel free to add other things, like seasoned breadcrumbs instead of plain, for instance.

This was soup I made on Sunday night, and it was one of my successful experiments (they don't always end that way). My sister makes soup by roasting vegetables, adding them to stock, and then pureeing them, which, again - fast and easy.

The above soup is potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Seriously - it took less than ten minutes to peel and chop everything into bite sized pieces. Rinse them, put them in a big bowl, and drizzle olive oil over them - but not too much. Add whatever spices you want to add, which, in this case, was fresh rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix the vegetables well, spread them on a cookie sheet, bake at about 400 for 40 minutes (or less - actually, ignore me; if you're going to try this, 30 minutes will probably do you, unless Rachelle wants to correct me).

When they came out of the oven, I sauteed half a sweet onion in butter, added the roasted vegetables, some dried chilis and parsley, and a cup of chicken stock, plus three more cups of water. I let that simmer for 15 minutes (which is the amount of time I needed to make biscuit dough and get it into the oven), then pureed it. Now, how smooth or chunky or thick or thin you want the soup will depend on how long you puree it for and how much water you add. I like mine smooth and not too thick, so I ended up adding another four cups of water and pureeing it for about ten minutes (this also will vary based on what you use to puree it - I use on of those Braun wand thingies.)

I've been eating it for supper and lunch every day this week*. It was delish!

*I also had an unexpected root canal on Monday, so I couldn't chew anything anyways.

It's time to start campaigning for the next election

2006-01-24T06:24:00.000-05:00

I know it's slightly hypocritical of me to complain about the results of the election when I never spoke about it in the first place. Hell, I have a BA in Politics, so it's not like I didn't know what was going on or have some insight into the whole damn fiasco. The least I could have done was to tell everyone to go vote.

To say I'm disappointed with the results is an understatement. I've lived in Ontario for all but two years of my life, and I vividly remember what having the Conservatives in power meant (granted, they're a slightly different party than the Conservatives at the federal level, but they shared a lot of the same policies). And I'm old enough to remember what it was like under the federal Progressive Conservatives, with Mulroney at the helm. (Would someone please tell him to shut the ever-loving hell up already?)

A great deal was made about how the Liberal party is corrupt, but really? It wasn't the whole party - it was only a group of people, most of whom aren't around anymore. And it's not like any party who has had the chance to be in power is squeaky clean. Also - I never really saw the Gomery inquiry report as that big a deal - the government wastes ten times that on a daily basis, so what's the big deal?

My greatest concern is what this is going to mean for us as a country. Under the Liberals, we've done pretty good for ourselves as a nation. It's not to say I don't want to fling things at Paul Martin occasionally, but I'm much less worried about who we align ourselves with on the international stage. The last time we had a Conservative Prime Minister, we had the mass sale of public holdings, NAFTA, and Free Trade. This time - who knows? Participation in the quagmire that is Iraq? A deepening of NAFTA? And this is just my concerns about what's going to happen to us on an international level, never mind the monumental foul-up which will go on at the national level. (When you get the outcome the Republican Party is hoping for - start worrying!)

The only consolation out of this is that the Conservatives only have a minority, which means they have to play nice with the other parties. And that - joy of joys (I say sarcastically) - this won't last five years because minority governments never last long.

Challenges schmallenges

2006-01-22T09:39:00.000-05:00

Update: If you're finding your way here to learn more about the Hurry Hard Handwarmalong, we also have a blog specifically for the project, too!

When Stephanie (of the Yarn Harlot) challenges her readers to anything, hundreds of us respond. Witness the TSF from last year - $83,000 and still growing.

Now, she has issued another challenge for which hundreds of us are signing up. The Knitting Olympics - the gist is that we will all cast on a challenging project on the day of the Opening Ceremonies (February 10th), and the project will be completed by the Closing Ceremonies (February 26th). And because ~~I'm a sucker for punishment~~ I sincerely believe I can do this, I'm going to be participating as well.

But I'm not doing this alone - oh no. J. of CanKNITian and I will be making the Hurry Up Spring armwarmers at the same time. This stems from a discussion we had about the fact we both bought Noro (a type of Japanese yarn) over the holidays to make the same thing. This evolved into a discussion about possibly doing a mini-knit-a-long with this (for all y'all non-knitters: a knit-a-long is when a group of knitting bloggers all work on similar projects, and post pictures and progress reports on their blogs).

However, once we heard about the Knitting Olympics, our purpose was clear - roll our mini-knit-a-long into this bigger knit-a-long, and give it a clever Olympic-sport related name. Oddly, we both said "curling!" at the same time. And because we are one complete sane person between the two of us, we're opening it up to anyone else who wants to join. Naturally, there is a button.

If you want to join, email either me (rlarocque *at* gmail dot com) or J (canknitian *at* gmail dot com).

Tear jerker

2006-01-22T00:09:00.000-05:00

Normally, I don't cry at movies. I can count on both hands the number of movies that made me cry, out of all the movies I've ever seen, ranging from a few sniffles to outright sobbing.

The scene in The Empire Strikes Back, when Leia shouts "I love you!" to Han Solo, and he says, "I know" is always a good one to elicit a few sniffles.

The whole Carmen storyline in The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, but especially towards the end. It was hard not to shed more than a few tears.

From the very first time I saw it, The Last Unicorn. Like, every time! I've seen it more than two dozen times, and every time, I get all choked up at the end. Even worse - in the last few years, the scene where Molly says to the Unicorn, "Where were you when I was new? When I was one of those innocent young maidens you always come to? How dare you! How dare you come to me now, when I am this!" has really gotten to me.

Within the first ten minutes of the opening scene of Truly Madly Deeply, I was openly weeping. Then again, about halfway through. And at the end. I cried more watching that movie than any other.

I've never seen all of Iris, but whenever it's on TV, without fail, I will flip to it the scene before the scene where John looses his patience and goes into the kitchen, then sees Iris watching him through the French doors, so he goes and reads to her from a book, and she stops him and says, "I wrote?" and John says to her "Yes, my darling, clever cat! You wrote books." I don't remember what the scene before that is because I've already started with the waterworks at that point.

Embarrassingly, the scene in Titanic, near the end, where the ship is really sinking and there's a priest or a minister surrounded by a group of people and they're reciting Psalm 23 ("the lord is my shepherd..."). I was holding on until that point, then I lost it. Worse, I didn't have any tissues.

Tonight I went to see Brokeback Mountain, which FINALLY opened in Sudbury yesterday. The scene where Jack tells Ennis "I wish I knew how to quit you!"? Sad, heartbreaking, but not as sad and tear-jerky as the scene where Ennis goes to visit Jack's parents. Oh, how I wish I wasn't being distracted by the losers sitting behind us who talked all the way through the movie. Even with the oh-so-clever commentary which only 16-year-olds can provide, it was, without a doubt, the scene where I should have lost it. If I hadn't been distracted, mind you.

Alright - I've laid my soul bare. What movies made you cry?