.

Moving On

2007-05-21T18:05:00.000-06:00

New Adventures call for New Blogs, so I think I'll be abandoning this one for the time being, and will be strictly posting here.

It's been nice posting here... I hope to see you at my new digs.

Gillian

... just a quick note...

2007-05-02T23:43:00.000-06:00

If I'm swimming in cash after I sell my condo and pay all those nasty fees, I've been thinking that I'd really like to buy a cello. I've been doing some research and have decided to buy it from cellos2go.com... The reason for this?
They're located in Schenectady, New York... What a wonderful name for a city... I fantasize about starting a story with "so I bought a cello in Schenectady..." That promises to lead in to a great conversation, doesn't it? I can just imagine!!! Maybe I'll use it next time there's a lull in elevator conversation with co-workers...
"Great weather, hey?"
"Yeah..."
*silence*
"So... I bought a cello in Schenectady...."
"...What?"
"oops, this is my stop. Seeya!"
Keep 'em guessing, Gillian... always keep 'em guessing.
~g~

On Being a Hermit

2007-04-29T19:47:00.000-06:00

Dude, it's been a weird weekend. I've been in some sort of anti-social vortex, and although I did socialize on Friday night and Saturday night, I still feel... weird. Do you ever get like that? Do you get into this weird space where you don't see anyone or speak to anyone (except on Facebook or MSN) and dwell in 500 square feet of your own little world, just packing and being and watching a dangerous (dangerous!!) amount of The X-Files? I've also been working on the new blog, and fixing my wireless network, and time has no meaning and the world is shimmery and strange.

I am a geek. I am really, really a geek. And I don't particularly care except that it's 8pm now and I've done a LOT today, but very little of it has been productive. And? ALL I want to do is watch more episodes of The X-Files. I have a problem. I know. But I'm not sure I care.

Hmmm, what else? I have a lot of packing to do. I have a grand total of 14 days of work left (YES!!!!) and am going to New Brunswick in two weeks (YES!!!!!) and San Francisco in four weeks!!! I have a lot of cookies in my house that I need to eat before then. That's pretty much it. I'm just geeking out and frankly, it's all good.

Hope everything is good with you guys!
G

... Because I MUST own these boots...

2007-04-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

I got to work this morning and was sent home after an hour... I didn't argue because I am fairly useless and disgusting... stupid flu. Now I'm bundled up on the couch watching daytime television, and planning my trip to San Francisco! WOOHOO!

This trip is going to be tricky because I want to see so much, but I'll be doing Yoga six days a week, and I want to spend time with Josh, Susan and Caspian too! I'll probably stay an extra week after my class is done, and then I'll hopefully know my way around a little better so that I can dash off on journeys on my own. Like Target. I MUST!!! own these boots. But from what I can see, Target isn't exactly convenient to where I'll be living (by Fisherman's Wharf) or by Yoga school (On Folsom.) So that could by tricky. Luckily, the San Francisco Shopping Center is a little too close to Yoga School, and has most of the stores I plan to spend a fortune at. These include Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works, H&M, Bloomingdales and Borders. (I never intend to spend a fortune at Borders, but it inevitably happens whenever I go to the states. It's the Bookstore Vortex!) I can do this stuff on my own (or with Susan) so I don't have to drag a four year old around while I try on everything at H&M ;)

Aside from shopping, I have many touristy things I'd like to do, too! Such as:

- Pier 39

- San Francisco Botanical Garden

- Sutro Bath Ruins

These ones I'd like to see, but not sure I'll get the chance since they aren't convenient:

- Winchester Mystery House

- Jelly Belly Factory

- Berkeley

I'd also like to go see where Josh works, and of course hang out with them a lot and take lots of pictures :) Also, go to as many museums as I can. YAY! I am soooooo, SO excited about this. Have any of you been to San Fran? Is there anything else I should see while I'm there (June 2nd to July 5th, I think!) Let me know!!!

I'm also going to be starting a new blog for my San Francisco/Nova Scotia adventures. Any thoughts on what I should call it?

Lots of love,

Enter Fear, Stage Left

2007-04-24T19:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I knew it would happen one of these days... This morning I woke up in a panic thinking "OHGOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?!? WHAT AM I DOING?!?" I just quit my job and sold my condo and registered for a Yoga class in San Francisco. SERIOUSLY! OHMYGOD!!! What was I thinking?!? I'M GETTING OLD! I need to settle down and find a husband and this is SO NOT ME TO DO THIS! AUGH AUGH AUGH!!!!

Damn, how it just attacks like that. It's like a closet, really; Packed to the brim with all of the stuff you've shoved in there for five years. You open it just a crack to shove something else in there, but NO!!! Not today! Instead, five years of skeletons crashed down on your head. Curse it all. I wish I could go hide under the covers.

I know that I need a change, though, so why not make a big leap? San Francisco will be good, and after that? I guess we'll see! I'm going to keep in mind that being scared will get me nowhere, and use this poem as my inspiration:

To his Coy Mistress
by Andrew Marvell

Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.
We would sit down and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day;
Thou by the Indian Ganges' side
Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide
Of Humber would complain. I would
Love you ten years before the Flood;
And you should, if you please, refuse
Till the conversion of the Jews.
My vegetable love should grow
Vaster than empires, and more slow.
An hundred years should go to praise
Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;
Two hundred to adore each breast,
But thirty thousand to the rest;
An age at least to every part,
And the last age should show your heart.
For, lady, you deserve this state,
Nor would I love at lower rate.

But at my back I always hear
Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound
My echoing song; then worms shall try
That long preserv'd virginity,
And your quaint honour turn to dust,
And into ashes all my lust.
The grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may;
And now, like am'rous birds of prey,
Rather at once our time devour,
Than languish in his slow-chapp'd power.
Let us roll all our strength, and all
Our sweetness, up into one ball;A
nd tear our pleasures with rough strife
Thorough the iron gates of life.
Thus, though we cannot make our sun
Stand still, yet we will make him run.

Love,
G

Whirlwind!

2007-04-22T20:53:00.000-06:00

Well, the first people through my condo put in an offer of Full Price, No Conditions, so of course I accepted. I'm diggin' that! My hair is blonde-er, but not by much. My stylist said it will fade in nicely, and it looks pretty... more honey-coloured, really. Lovely!

I did a major sort out of childhood possessions in my parents' basement this weekend, and they had a free-for-all today. I kept about 5 large bins of dolls and doll clothes (ashamed) but got rid of almost everything else (save a few shelves of favourite books.) It felt good, though, to give a lot of well-loved books and toys to neighbourhood kids. Two little guys who were about 10 years old were SO excited about a big box of Archie and MAD comics... It was like the motherload of treasure for them. So cute :) It was so much better than having a garage sale!!! I highly recommend it!!!

I'm quitting my job tomorrow (thank GOD!) and giving a month's notice, although a week of that I will be on vacation in New Brunswick. Well, that's about all for now!

Hope everyone is doing well!
G

Updates!

2007-04-20T12:54:00.000-06:00

A few things have happened this week, so it's time for an update!

Monday night I bought a new laptop!!! It is all things beautiful and perfect, although heck if I know how to use it (Vista?! GAH!!! It's the antithesis of intuitive!!!)

I listed my condo on Wednesday night! EEP! It's sad, I've only been living here for 8 months, and I rather like it. It's my cozy home, but I know it's time for a change and I'll be sadder if I stay. I also sent my kitty to my parent's house *sigh* so it's pretty lonely here, but I don't want her to be scared by people coming on tours. The good news is that I will make a TON of money from this.

Thursday I got up reallllllly early (4am) to go to Edmonton for a work meeting. It was so painful, but made me realise how much I really hate my job. I am flooded with relief to know that I'm quitting in a week, and only working there for another month or so. It was a long day, and we ended up schmoozing over dinner and drinks, which frankly, pissed me off. Some of us girls found out that there's an H&M at West Edmonton Mall now, so we were flipping out, hoping to go there. The guys KNEW this, but kept ordering drinks and drinks and my boss was being a jerk about it. ROAR! I was really mad and tired (since I'd been up since 4am and it's freaking H&M!!!) At any rate, we didn't get to go, nor did we get back to the hotel till 10pm, so I was dragging and cranky. Then I woke up at 6am again, completely frozen and with a brutal sore throat. Then there was a torturous drive back to Calgary, where my loathing for THOSE PEOPLE only grew with my boss's taunting about going to the mall... jerk. I lost my voice (thank goodness) so I had an excuse to not talk AND (best of all) not go to back the office. Instead, I called the Yoga school as soon as I got home, and registered for the June session. Now I just have to buy a plane ticket!!! YAY! In just over a month I will be San Francisco doing Yoga six days a week, and then? Certified Yoga Instructor, people!!! I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!!

In a few hours I will be going back to my roots as part of my pursuit of a more Zen, boho-chic, simple lifestyle. I will be getting my hair stripped... I am going back to blonde. This will be interesting, but I trust my stylist and think she'll make me look good. It will be way less maintenance to just accept my blonde destiny... for now.

Alright, time for a nap before my hair appointment!!!
Love,
G

Getting To Know Me, Getting To Know All About Me!

2007-04-15T20:00:00.000-06:00

One interesting thing about being under extreme amounts of stress is that I’m learning a lot about myself. I’m approaching it like a science project, because it’s somehow easier to externalize and watch the carnage at a safe distance. So, from behind glass, here are My Stages of Stress (thus far.)

Stage 1: Overcompensation
This is the first stage of stress, where I’m starting to worry, but imagine that if I “just work harder” that somehow, everything will be okay. So I work and work and work.

Stage 2: Panic-Mode
This is the stage where I start to get surly and snap at people who (I imagine) are impeding my progress.

Stage 3: The Hair Stage
At this point (as one of my friends noticed) I get a hair-cut/colour. No, I don’t know why…

Stage 4: Constantly on the Verge of Tears
This is the stage when I cry all the time… about anything… and everything.

Stage 5: Everything is Hilarious
At this point I can still be on the verge of tears, but everything seems so funny at the same time. I alternate between tears and giggling.

Stage 6: Research
I break out of the teary/giggly stage and become determined that I can FIND the ANSWERS to EVERYTHING. I take a lot of notes and make a lot of lists. I also seem to gain the ability to connect everything to Harry Potter or The X-Files, thus giving Harry Potter and The X-Files Divine Status in my mind… The Truth is Out There.

Stage 7: Paralysis
I get really sleepy and can’t seem to do anything at all, like laundry or getting out of bed or being productive at work. I’m tired. I also get really hypocritical at this point. Like I’m lonely, but I don’t want company. Or I ask for advice and get angry when people give it to me. I also forget everything at this stage… How do I boil water??? What’s my email password??? How do I spell my name???

Stage 8: Insomnia
I am sooo tired, but I can't fall asleep, and then when I DO fall asleep, I can't stay asleep. I also get REALLY angry because I'm so tired. I yell at important people, like my boss. It's safest at this point to just watch X-Files all!the!time! and not speak to anyone, or look at anyone, or try to sleep at all.

I've been at Stage 8 all weekend, so we'll see what comes next. The realtor is coming to list my condo on Wednesday, and then I'm up to Edmonton for work on Thursday... and... ummm... I guess I'm moving to Nova Scotia this summer... and becoming a certified yoga instructor in June... If the chest pains stop... the chest pains will stop, right?

Love,

Uber-Stressed G.

Heyyyyy Yoooouuu Guuu-uuuys!

2007-03-28T20:30:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to come up with a logo for the Social Committee...
70s Baby + Power Company = Electric Company Knock-off....
Think they'll go for it? nah, me neither... but how cute would that be???
And now, cuz the song is going through my head... let's groove, shall we?
"We're gonna turn it ooooooon,
We're gonna bring you the pow-er!"

xoxo,
~g~

Links, Links, Links to Set You Free!

2007-03-27T16:44:00.000-06:00

I've run across a few tidbits of information over the past few days that people of the INFJ persuasion might find interesting...

Grammar Girl - Helpful grammar tips and podcasts! Lovely!

I was listening to CBC Radio - Freestyle the other day and they were discussing lists, which they affectionately referred to as "Itty Bitty Utopias." Here is their List of List Websites :)
www.tenspotting.com
- Top Ten Lists... of everything.
www.allconsuming.net
- This is intense... Catalogue your life, and get suggestions for other things you might like.
www.tadalist.com
- Inspires savvy list-making!
www.listsofbests.com
- The best of the best... of everything.
www.43things.com
- This one is also a little intense... people from all over the world write what they want to do, and this catalogues your goals... and everyone else's.

Here are two other helpful websites for those who crave X-TREME ORGANISATION!
- Stikkit.com - Sticky Note Heaven
- I Want Sandy - Your personal email assistant!

I am completely stoked about using all of these :)
Enjoy!

Gillian

So Neurotic...

2007-03-26T19:01:00.000-06:00

In honour of my recent COMPLETELY NEUROTIC brain activity (this Nova Scotia thing is wigging me out), and the fact that I finally learned how to post videos... I hereby present some Crazy Music Videos.

Crazy - Patsy Cline

Crazy - Britney Spears

Crazy - Aerosmith

Crazy – Gnarls Barkley

Y'all will come see me at the institution, right?
Love,
~g~

Finger Paint The Sky (Til Everything Shines)

2007-03-25T21:45:00.001-06:00

Well? It's been a helluva week, and I've sat down to post about it a bajillion times, but the words won't come. So I'll try to be concise and let Great Big Sea do most of the talking.

Work... there are a lot of words to describe my week at work... but my family reads this blog... so I'll just say *eh hem* Work Sucked A LOT this week.

My parents are moving. Probably to Nova Scotia...

Dear Universe... I hear that when I send ideas out to you, you will respond. Please note that I said "IF my parents moved to Vancouver Island"... not Nova Scotia... Let's meet and discuss this. Here are a few questions in preparation for our meeting.

Should I move out to Nova Scotia? We all know I'm a Family Girl, as documented in the Great Vancouver Disaster (the horror, THE HORROR!!!)

Should I go do my Yoga Instructor Certification in San Francisco and then move to the East and do Yoga type things?

Is Great Big Sea trying to tell me something? Am I a loser standing in line waiting for my time....? Is it my time to move? To the East Coast? And Finger Paint the sky?

To conclude, Universe... I'm not good at hints... Please advise.

Much Love,
~g~

P.S. The new Avatar is meant to show the "East Coast Yoga" me... think it suits me?

P.P.S. Dear Alan Doyle, with your big head... I love you... don't steer me wrong, here. In case you've forgotten who I am, here is a picture of us together... Please note the smitten grin on your face, and the starstruck look on my. BTW, isn't my dress totally cute? I think so too...

Easily Influenced

2007-03-17T21:26:00.000-06:00

I don't have much to say tonight... Frankly, I'm just a little lonely and I'm trying to distract myself from horrendous milkshake cravings. I don't usually crave milkshakes, but tonight a little voice is screaming "Strawberry Chocolate Milkshake" ... probably because I borrowed a car from my parents, and I am therefore entirely enabled to go get a milkshake. However, I have to work tomorrow (don't ask) and I'm tired, and who needs a sugar buzz right before bed? Not me.

I went to the spa today and had a Butter Body Wrap. First they exfoliated, and then lathered me with body butter and then mummified me in various layers of plastic and blankets. I had a hard time not giggling at this very serious process, because I was imagining that this must be like tucking a Pharaoh in for a cozy, eternal sleep, sans internal organs. Really? Not so amusing, but when you're naked and wrapped in plastic almost anything is funny. Then this reminded me of an "article" I read that explained the term "Graveyard Shift." The article explained that cemeteries in the Victorian period were running out of space, and caskets were exhumed from burial sites to make room for new caskets. Apparently, they found a number of scratch marks on the inside of the caskets from people who were buried alive, so they started attaching strings with bells to the wrists of the corpses, and hired someone to work nights, listening for the bells of the living dead... eeeeauw. I'm not sure I really buy this story, but dude, how creepy is THAT??? And really, what kind of a sick monkey am I to be thinking of this when I'm supposed to be relaxing at the spa? My mind... I don't get it either.

Now on that happy note... time for bed!
Night Night! Don't get buried alive :)
~g~
P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The "If" Game

2007-03-15T19:26:00.000-06:00

I must be feeling a little lost lately because I bought a copy of Oprah's magazine which promised to "help you find the real you", and because I've been playing the "If" game all!the!time!!! You know the game... "If" this happened, and then this happened, and then all the stars aligned, THIS would be the outcome and I'd be truly happy. This game is sort of self-sabotage, I think. The stars will only align if I make them, and I will only be truly happy if I embrace the happiness in my life...
and yet....
IF my parents have their house evaluated, and IF it's worth a million dollars, and IF they move out to Vancouver Island, THEN I will quit my job, sell my condo, move to San Francisco to become a certified yoga instructor, and teach yoga on Vancouver Island... thus aligning the stars and becoming truly happy. Because? Because it's not Calgary. It's not Accounting. I'd be totally zen all!the!time!!! I dunno why I don't just quit my job and sell my condo and go be a certified yoga instructor, without the "ifs"... well, yes I guess I'm scared, and that's why. I've worked so hard to become a stable, independent, saucy, capable young woman!!! I own property! I have an okay job with kick-ass benefits! But then part of me goes "mm-hmm? now you've proven you can do it, get on with what you really WANT."
but what do I want???
WHAT DO I WANT?!?!?
... if you know, gimme a call.
Love,
~g~

A Random-Thought Post

2007-03-11T15:03:00.000-06:00

1. Daylight Savings... why? I really needed that hour of sleep! Thanks for taking that away... you guys suck, whoever you are...

2. My calendar also says that tomorrow is Commonwealth Day. Does anyone know what that's about? And why isn't is a holiday?

3. I'm awfully sore from painting a co-worker's bathroom yesterday. Painting a ceiling while standing in a tilting victorian clawfoot bathtub apparently uses some muscles that I wasn't aware I owned. In conclusion, OWY!!!

4. I AM working on my list of Things to do Before I Die, as inspired by my brother and sister-in-law. The thing is that I've realised just how many things I have to do before I die, so I thought maybe I should take a few off the list before I wrote it... oh my... I have a lot to do, I guess I'd better start living!

5. It's all lovely and spring-like outside, so the creative part of my brain has started defrosting and I have a few little "projects" on the go... none of them involve painting or victorian clawfoot bathtubs. If I had a scanner I'd share them with you... sadly, I don't. If I find one, I will post them.

I think that's it for now... just wanted to let y'all know that I'm still alive!

~g~

One Two Cha Cha Cha

2007-03-04T14:21:00.000-07:00

So THAT was an interesting night.

During dinner last night, K and I discussed her preference for a certain young man in our salsa class, who I shall refer to as B. K jumped over the moon when B came to the party last night, and settled himself down to talk to her and dance with her. Immediately, feeling like I should give them some space, I decided to look eager so that guys would ask me to dance. It worked, specifically for one guy who is an awesome dancer, but grabby in a big way. As a result, I danced quite a bit, but mostly with Mr. Grabby. Mr. Grabby was unaware of the etiquette of saying "thank you" and parting after one dance. Mr. Grabby wasn't interested in sharing, despite the fact that I made him aware that I was too old for his advances. Mr. Grabby didn't care, and he was a good dancer, and K and B were off making googley-eyes in the corner so I danced, and complained about the merengue until I danced with an AWESOME merengue dancer, thus learning to love the merengue. I also learned how to Cha Cha, which I LOOOOOVE! Cha Cha may be my new favourite dance! So easy, but it looks really great! I sat out the sambas, and tried to figure out the samba line dance (hot!) At one point I got fed up with Mr. Grabby and escaped to the hall to make a phone call ("Pleeeeease keep me on the phone so I don't need to go back in there!") until K came to find me, proclaiming that we could leave, and that she had been kissed, which thrilled me to no end!

Over-all, it was a successful night. I really love salsa, in spite of the creepy, grabby guys. I'm really thrilled for K, too. Wanna give it a try (the dancing, not the kissing)? These should help you out!

Wanna see some slick Cha Cha?
...I'll NEVER be that good!

Samba Line Dance
You can practice to Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie"... it's a samba!

LA Style Salsa
This is the style of Salsa I do... I'm nowhere near this good, but I CAN do a lot of the spins that they do :D

This is a little more basic Salsa... apparently dancing in your lingerie helps! Who knew?

Merengue... (video is pretty rough quality) Not about the foot movements, more about shaking your ass and doing spins. It looks complicated, but it's not... I did almost all of these spins last night.

Enjoy! Let me know if you want to go practice at Don Quixotes one night :)

~g~

I Enjoy Being A Girl

2007-03-03T16:26:00.000-07:00

Work was yucky this week, and I was mighty relieved when Friday rolled around. This morning I was having a good dream, so I decided to forget about cleaning the house and sleep till noon instead. And then? I got up and read for two hours. And then? I decided to spend the next two hours getting all dolled up to go to a Salsa Party tonight... yuh-huh... sometimes living alone is not so bad. I'm not sure anyone would be understanding enough to put up with me shaking my ass to Gwen Stefani while playing with eyeshadow and pinning my hair all afternoon. But now??? I'm pretty and sparkly and my hair is all pinned up with a big fake flower and I'm relaxed!!! And not thinking about work!!! It's la dolce vita, baby!

Hey! You!
Go spoil yourself, you deserve it!
~g~

I Heart Sweatpants

2007-02-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness I stayed home today! I would have been so useless at work. Between the Sinus Infection and my stomach deciding that Amoxicillan is The Enemy... yeah... I'm one sexy babe today.

I have a whole basket full of baby blue cotton yarn so I decided to check out the free patterns on the Lion Brand Yarn website (you have to register, but it's free, and they have hundreds of free patterns!) I thought this little sweater was cute, so I'm giving it a try. Mine will be a looser weave than this, because I'm using bigger needles to achieve the gauge, but still... I can visualize it being cute. Maybe...

That's all for now :)
~g~

G is for Gross

2007-02-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Alright.
I'm officially disgusting.
I am so disgusting that I am, in fact, disgusted by myself. I am disgusted by my sweaty, snotty, gross, disgusting, sinus-infected self. YUCK!!! Not remarkably, I had half of a bus to myself on the way home from the doctor because everyone could see that I was disgusting; pockets bulging with damp tissues, eyes watering, nose running, sneezing, cuddling my chai latte, huddled in my gross little world. ... being gross... trying to stay alive until I could go home and put on my sweat pants and be gross all by myself. The doctor has me packing in 1,500 mg of Amoxicillan a day, so hopefully I'll be slightly less disgusting soon.

I had to work (alas) part of the day today as I had my DREADED, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT REVIEW! AUGHHHH!!!! I was so certain that I was going to walk into the room and my boss would sigh and say "G, I'm sorry, but you're dumber than a sack of hammers and we're going to demote you to cleaning the bathrooms. We'd fire you, but the union won't let us."

ASTONISHINGLY, my boss actually said that I was meeting or exceeding all of their expectations AND would I be willing to become the Non-Resident Withholding Tax guru AND take trips out to some of the plants to, like, schmooze or something.... So I said "heck, yes, boss!" and he said "Swell! Just Swell!" ... or something... I was just trying to not be disgusting in front of him, so I didn't really listen :P

I passed!!!
That's all that matters!!!

And now, I'm going to drag my DISGUSTING SELF to bed.

A
AAA
AAAACHOOOO!
~g~

Hooray for Neo-Citron

2007-02-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

The only thing worse than being sick on a long weekend is having bad dreams that Human Resources fires you for not showing initiative by coming into work on the long weekend. Can you tell that my annual review is on Wednesday?

On account of I feel like death this weekend, I haven't gotten up to much. Today I went shopping with my parents for stuff for Skylark's baby girl!!! Almost everything in the stores was frilly and pink and flowery, which made things sort of challenging, but we did manage to find some really adorable things. AS WE SPEAK I'm washing the red sweater, which makes me kind of scared that it will unravel or something. The lady who I took the class from said it was fine to put in the washing machine, but I was still a little scared, so I put it in a pillow case and put it on the delicate cycle. Luckily Skylark's baby is the cutest thing I've ever seen, so she would look gorgeous wearing a paper bag, quite frankly ;)

Well it's time for Neo-Citron and bed, I do believe!
Lots of love,
~g~

I'm Only Sleeping

2007-02-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

The problem with cleaning my house before the weekend is that I'm really bored during the weekend. I just realised this afternoon that I would rather be sleeping because my dreams are WAY more interesting than my real life. I think that's probably not a good thing. Hopefully it's just the weather, and in the spring I'll be more inclined to go out and do things. Part of the problem is I don't like doing things alone. I could go to the museum alone, but then who would I share my running commentary with? Museums are a good "test date" for me, because if they can follow my silly-yet-interested-and-sometimes-inappropriate verbal stream then they're worth further investigation. Unfortunately, I've yet to find said person. I generally get the "hey, wanna make out behind that vase?" Well, no. First I want to read the description on the vase, then I want to point out that the difference between Greek and Roman sculptures is all about the nose, and then... THEN, if you're interested in my brain and not just my body? We can maybe make out behind the vase.
... This is the point where my older relatives say "you're being too picky."
Am I? Should I just shut up and make out behind the vase? Or will this just lead to a torrid love affair down the road with a man who is totally digging on my Art History knowledge? Should I hide my complexity? I'd rather hoped that the days of unintelligent=desirable were over. Perhaps I ought to go to museum alone to scope out single men who are actually interested in the art. Now THERE'S a thought ;)
On that note, I'm going to have a nap and hope for exciting dreams! ... it's too cold to go the museum anyway :P
Much love,
~g~

Making The Sun Shine

2007-02-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

Snow, snow, snow. I'm so done with it! NO MORE! Are you so done with it too? These things might help...

If you go to http://katamari.namco.com/ you can download Katamari wallpaper and even a Katamari Desktop Buddy! The Katamari Desktop buddy rolls around your screen while you work! It's SO CUTE! You can even play with him with your mouse! heehee. So adorable!

Have some time on your hands to solve the ultimate mystery? Read about The Mystery of Oak Island. I have a few ideas of my own as to recovering the treasure. Wanna help?

At home sick and bored? Benylin has games and music (sick day radio stream) and even "how to call in sick" scripts! What fun!

I also made a "Bottled Sunshine" CD for my aunt, filled to the brim with songs that cheer me up and make me dance around my livingroom. Why not make a CD or MP3 playlist with tunes that make YOU dance around YOUR livingroom? Here's my playlist if you need a little inspiration.

Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

Canned Heat - Jamiroquai

Me Voy Pa Cali - Oscar de Leon

A Kiss To Build A Dream On - Louis Armstrong

Dirty Laundry - Bitter:Sweet

Aquarium Dreams - Rondo Brothers

Sirenes de la Fete - Brazilian Girls

Be Gentle With Me - The Boy Least Likely To

You Can Feel It All Over - Stevie Wonder

Orange Coloured Sky - Natalie Cole

Downtown Girl - Jim Fidler

I Want You To Know - Chantal Kreviazuk

Like A Star - Corrine Bailey Rae

Butterfly - Lisa Loeb & Elizabeth Mitchell

You Can Close Your Eyes - Carly Simon

Angel - The Corrs

Hot Chocolate - Shonen Knife

Cheer up... TWO MONTHS TILL SPRING.
Love,
~g~

Happy Blog-I-Versary!

2007-02-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I missed the official one-year anniversary of my blog, but in the infamous words of Skylark "that's okay, have a cheezie." (haha! You thought I'd forgotten, didn't you? hahahah!)

I can't believe I've been spouting nonsense on here for a WHOLE YEAR! Isn't that amazing? Aren't you thrilled? I thought you might be.

Not much is new here... I've been very "pre-packaged domestic" this weekend, which is to say that I've been baking things from boxes because... well... I'm lazy, but I have commitments. Aside from that I've been rather focused on exciting things like Property Taxes.

That's all for now :P
~g~

"The Trouble Is I'm Tired"

2007-01-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, before you read this, watch this:

Be Gentle With Me - The Boy Least Likely To

Generally, marionettes creep me out, but I've loved this song for ages... anyway...
Did you listen to the lyrics? This is tonight's theme song ("please be gentle with me..."). Tonight has been wicked depressing ("before I just fizzle out and die"). Two of my friends attacked me with angry rants about their lives, and then another friend aimed a magnifying glass on my faults ("I'm happy because I'm stupid"). Now I feel completely empty, picked apart and genuinely horrified at the state of my life and the world in general ("my heart gets broken so easily"). Jeez. I hope they feel better for their rants, because I feel like crap. ("I guess I've always needed to be needed by someone")... you see where this is going. ... but really I'm just a really cute stuffed animal... or something ;)

So the new plan for tonight is to get TOTALLY wasted and stay up till all hours watching my Sesame Street DVDs. Haha. Maybe not. I watched the first one earlier today and I was practically sedated by the end of it. It's weird how those pleasant childhood things can just instantly calm me down. Definitely time to put on the Sesame Street and turn off the phone.

The Psychiatrist is OUT!
~g~

Sick Day Asinine Thoughts

2007-01-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

My stomach has been doing a reenactment of every Civil War in history this week. It's really not happy with me. So long as I don't eat anything, drink anything, think about food, think about moving from the couch, don't turn my head too quickly, then it's okay. Unfortunately that means that I'm watching a lot of Much More Music to pass the time, So this post will be full of comments like "I wish I had Beyonce's hair/body/talent" or "Axel Rose is too loud... all the time... he needs to use his Inside Voice." I wish I could have gotten sick NEXT week after my Sesame Street Old School DVD had come from Amazon... D'oh.

Onto Nathan's comment about Sexy Celebrity Sandwiches... that's awesome!!! "In otherwords you have to come up with celebrity pairngs you would like to be, er, sandwiched between in intimate circumstances. Of course you must pick celebrities who's personalities or other qualities are complimentary."
Now my question is: does it have to be a man and a woman? Or can I just be stuck between George Clooney and Anderson Cooper? Because if that's the case, there's no contest. They're both gorgeous and so damn smart and have nice smiles... we could all hang out and figure out how to save the world, and they could adore me. I would so love to be in that sandwich... *sigh*

What else is new? Before I got sick I saw "Pan's Labyrinth", which was very good, but pretty dark. If you're feeling strong, I'd recommend it, but it's absolutely not the thing to see if you're looking for light-hearted. It was beautiful and hard at the same time.

I've also been reading a TON while I've been sick. I re-read "Bridge to Terabethia"... it made me cry when I was a kid, and darnit, it made me cry this time too. I also started and finished "Forty Words for Sorrow" by Giles Blunt, which was very well written and interesting... a Canadian Murder Mystery. Cool, but really, REALLY creepy. I'm building up to "Bones" by Ian Burke, which my aunt said is the only book that has really scared HER, and everything scares me, so... there ya go. I probably won't sleep for a month.

Love and Gravol,
~g~

Lazy Sunday

2007-01-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

This is the first Sunday Afternoon in the longest time where I find myself with nothing to do. The Resolutions are still going strong, so my place is clean and my laundry is done and now I'm completely lost!!! Isn't there something I should be doing? So I'm making a CD and drinking excessive amounts of coffee. Heh heh. My life is thrilling.

I also switched over to the new blogger. I'm not sure I'm going to keep up with blogging, because it seems that I have very little to say lately. Probably that's just because it's January and I'm practically hibernating, but we'll see. I daresay that soon my life will get very exciting... Like today? I might tidy up my bookshelves... damn, I'm living on the edge ;)

Hmmm. What else? I was on the bus yesterday and overhead a few 14-year-olds discussing which was "sexier".... "Seeya" or "Later." Thoughts? Opinions? Their general consensus was that "seeya" was sexier. Teenagers are weird. I'm in denial that I was ever like that. When I was their age I totally walked two miles to school, uphill both ways and did my homework on the back of a shovel... or something ;)

Later...
er...
Seeya...

~g~

Ooooh, Shiny....

2007-01-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

So Shaw has this new toy called Photoshare for people (like me) with Shaw accounts. You can make nifty little slideshows and put them to music and put them online. It's so much fun! I've spent basically the whole evening playing with it, and this is what I came up with. Just a bunch of shots from my adventures in BC and Alberta, all to the lilting music of Great Big Sea :)

In other news, it’s been a bad week. One of those weeks at work where everything goes wrong and the people are stressed and act vile towards their inferiors and every event only serves to make you more disheartened about your job. I spent most of today trying to calm it all away by listening to classical music and ducking under my desk when someone came my way with that “oppressed and angry” expression on their face.

At noon I went to Staples because, for some reason, stationary gives me sense of peace and clarity. That helped, as did the Magnetic Combo Board that I got for half-price (sweet!) It includes 1 magnetic dry erase board, 1 magnetic dry erase calendar and a section of cork, all on one convenient board. It also comes with cute jewel magnets, photo magnets, clips, pins and markers. I have hung it between my desk and my fridge (at home), so that I will be so organized, cool, calm, collected, and know exactly what night I’m going to clean the bathroom and do laundry. The unfortunate thing is that it’s fairly unattractive and it doesn’t go with my condo’s “theme”, which I like to describe as “Eclectic French Vintage Café/Moderne Bibliotheque.” Okay, I just made that up on the spot, but that’s the feel I get from it, so I’m going with it.
*fantasizing about future biographies re: myself*
“The early fashion and interior design themes by G have been described as ‘Eclectic French Vintage Café/Moderne Bibliotheque’ for her bold use of colour embraced in the context of classic lines. Furniture and textiles span generations; complimentary colour palates framed with large pieces in white and pine. Vintage Art Posters featuring black frames and bookshelves line the walls, coyly inviting interpretations of the intertextuality of Art and Beauty.”

Ahhh, one day ;) But what was I saying? Oh yes. The silver metallic frame of said Magnetic Combo Board does nothing for me, so I’m going to have to see if I can find a wood frame in a thrift store and paint it red or something.

Haha! K I’m out ;)
~g~

A Fresh Start!

2007-01-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, a new year, fresh beginnings, new ideas! Isn’t it exciting?

Usually I don’t do resolutions, but 2006 has been leading up to a variety of spectacular things for 2007, so here goes nothing:

Resolutions for 2007

1. Find Romance (and not run for the hills screaming when something promising shows up)

In the words of my therapist, just because one person thinks that the things you enjoy are boring or silly doesn’t mean that other people feel the same way. Thus, I am not a boring or silly person and I shouldn’t automatically assume that someone is crazy for liking those things about me. This may seem obvious to everyone else, but this is a big epiphany for me!

2. Make more spreadsheets and lists to track things like bill payments, chores, meal planning, etc so that I am less neurotic at 3am trying to remember when my phone bill is due or when I’m going to clean the bathroom.

3. DO NOT, under any circumstance, let my pile of laundry reach a terrifying and incomprehensible state. Don’t let the hamper overflow at all, in fact. This is a serious offense, with a punishment of NO READING until the laundry is under control.

4. Be more creative (aka: my brain is there for a reason.) This includes infusing more creativity into everyday tasks, and making an effort to do more creative projects, such as writing and other artsy stuff every day. This is particularly important when coupled with having lists and spreadsheets. It may not seem very creative to clean the bathroom on Tuesdays and clean the kitchen on Thursdays, but it will definitely spare me from long Sundays spent cleaning when I could be doing fun and creative things! Plus, let’s face it. If I know I have to clean the bathroom THAT NIGHT, then I will be less likely to veg on the couch all evening and will have more energy to be creative post-cleaning.

That’s all I have for now, but I think having 4 resolutions is far more realistic than having 55 anyway. One must have attainable goals, after all. Considering that all of these things ARE, in fact, things that I used to do all the time, I think it’s fairly realistic for me to expect to achieve this. Well, except the laundry thing. I’ve never really had that one down. But yes, at one point I liked boys who liked me back, and I had spreadsheets and I was artsy, and I can have that again! I CAN AND WILL! Because this is 2007, baby, and this is gonna be my year! … but y’all can share it too, I don’t mind.

Love and best wishes for 2007!!!

~g~

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

2006-12-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

I just got back from having dinner with D and am now toooooo full to do anything but slump in front of the computer while singing along with The Sound of Music on TV. I lead an exciting life ;)

I should be getting my presents, etc ready to go to my parent's house tomorrow as I'm staying the night. I, along with my two other single, successful, home-owner friends have unabashedly decided to sleep over at our folks' houses Christmas eve. There was just something so upsetting about the thought of waking up alone on Christmas morning. We need to be surrounded by love first thing, sleep in our old bedrooms and feel peaceful. I am SO looking forward to having breakfast with my parents, and sitting in front of the fireplace to open up our stockings. Stockings are my favourite part of Christmas because Santa (my mum) always found the most wonderful little trinkets and toys and gadgets and marvels, and it was so delightful to take turns at unwrapping those tiny miraculous things. I've gotten five little things for each of my parent's stockings this year, following suit with Santa and trying to find little treasures that I think will delight them.

I am also very much excited about Christmas dinner, although it's upsetting that Grandma B will still be in the hospital and not at our table. We'll take her little treats to the hospital, though, and try to make it a special day regardless.

What about you? What Holiday Traditions are you looking forward to the most?

Love and peace and joy to you all,

~g~

'Tis The Season!

2006-12-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Wow, have I had a productive evening! N&S came over after work to help finish up the present for my parents, I cleaned the place top to bottom, did three loads of laundry and am now making a CD of Christmas Songs. The place has gotta be ready for Santa, ya know.

I'm full to the brim with Christmas Spirit, so I shall share with you some Christmassy things:

My Christmas CD
Skating - Charlie Brown Christmas
Christmas Time Is Here - Sarah McLachlan
It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - Bing Crosby
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/ We Three Kings
- Barenaked Ladies & Sarah McLachlan
Shopping - Barenaked Ladies
What Are You Doing New Years?- Ella Fitzgerald
I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas - Gayla Peevey
River - Joni Mitchell
The Man With The Bag - Kay Starr
Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney - Ella Fitzgerald
In The Bleak Mid Winter - Sarah McLachlan
The Christmas Waltz - Nancy Wilson
All That I Want - The Weepies
Gaudete - The mediaeval Baebes
Children's Winter - The Celtic Connection
Pat-a-Pan - Mannheim Steamroller
Wintersong - Sarah McLachlan

Recipe for Eggnog Muffins.

Caspian and I made these last year on Christmas Morning. I mixed the dry ingredients the night before and then in the morning we just dumped in the fresh ingredients, stirred, put them in to bake and made coffee for the parents and grandparents. By the time we were all up and about there was a lovely Christmas breakfast ready!
Now whenever I talk to Caspian he asks if we can get up early and make muffins together, so apparently he enjoyed it just as much as I did :)

Eggnog Muffins (Makes 16 muffins)
3 cups Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 cup Oil
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 cups Commercial Eggnog
1/3 cup Raisins
1/3 cup Chopped Candied Deluxe Mixed Fruit
(The kind you use for fruit cake)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk together oil, egg and vanilla until blended; Gradually whisk in eggnog. Add eggnog mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until blended. Fold in raisins and candied fruit. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups, filling cups three-quarters full. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) for 25 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool muffins in pans for 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on a rack.

Mmmmm. Enjoy!
Love,
~g~

Baby In Red

2006-12-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Baby's sweater is done!!! I still have to wash it to tidy it up a little bit, but the knitting and sewing are done! HOORAY!
I'm actually really pleased with how it came out, so I hope Skylark and Hubby and Baby like it too!
I will post something else soon... as soon as I find something interesting to say.

Love and Candy Canes,
~g~

My Scary Morning

2006-12-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

I’ve been having a time lately as you probably guessed by my lack of posts recently. Things have been stupid-crazy which is why I wasn’t overly concerned last night when my alley was blocked by a police car. I was so NOT phased by this that I didn’t even look out my window last night, because there are four thousand more important things going on in my mind, and it was late and I just went to bed.

At 4am something woke me up, although I wasn’t sure what. I fell back asleep and dreamt that I was at my parent’s house and that their dog was barking. At 6am my alarm clock went off, and I hit snooze and tried to fall back asleep except that someone was talking so loudly that I couldn’t sleep. After a moment it occurred to me that it was strange that someone was talking so loudly, so I got up and looked out my window, which has a beautiful view of the parking lot and alley. I saw a guy talking on a headset facing across the alley and got annoyed until I realized that he was talking REALLY loudly and there was an echo… like what he was saying was coming out of a speaker. I looked around and realized that in the darkness there were many dark figures crouched in my parking lot, also facing the alley. Figures with really big guns. That woke my brain up enough to realize what the man with the headset was saying: “I know you can hear me. You need to come out of the back door slowly. That’s the only way we can help you.”

Oh crap. I sat on my bed. This was a hostage negotiator. This was a hostage negotiator standing so close to my window that I could have reached out and touched his leg.

I did what any other brave young woman would do… I burst into tears and phoned my mum. “MUMMY there’sahostageandtheswatteamhasbiggunsandI’mscaredandIhavetogotowork.”

“Okay,” she said. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying away from the window and you’re leaving your lights off.” She told me to check the news, which I did. It wasn’t helpful except that my street was blocked off and that the police had been dealing with “a serious situation” since 6pm last night. What the hell?? So I went and lay down on my bed and listened to the negotiator talk for half an hour. It was all very interesting, in a terrifying sort of way, and I started to really worry. Things got quiet and I looked out my window to see the SWAT guys on the move, backing up in formation, BIG FREAKING guns drawn, and I started to cry again and dove back into my bed. Please don’t shoot someone in my parking lot. Please Please Please.

The negotiator started talking again, sounding slightly more anxious and BOOM BOOMBOOMBOOM BOOM BOOM, gunshots and I sobbed and just KNEW he’d been shot or had shot someone. I knew someone was dying right there, 4 meters from my home, and it was all silent. I just lay there shaking and shaking, but I HAD to get to work, I had to see if it was okay. I looked out the window and saw all of the officers standing by my dumpster and I was horrified. Someone stepped out of the way and I saw them put a man in handcuffs in the back of the police van. He wasn’t dead, nobody was dead. The police milled around for a while longer and drove away after another half hour and the alley was clear, like nothing had happened. I was still so scared that I was fighting to breathe, and I wanted to thank the negotiator because he was so good and so calm. I wanted to thank the police officers for helping keep everyone safe, and for not killing anyone.

I got to work and bought myself a sugary latte and told a friend of mine about it, and he said that he heard on the radio that the guy had let a hostage go at 4am, and he figured that they probably only shot rubber bullets or tear gas to bring him down. I’ve been looking on the web for news, but there hasn’t been any, so that must mean that nobody died, thank God. What a horrible, scary way to start the morning.

Needless to say, I’ve been thinking a lot about this morning. Thinking about the things the negotiator said, thinking about how scared the people inside must have been, the hostage and the hostage-taker. What sort of desperation would drive a person to make a choice like that? How much would you have to lose or gain by resisting people with really scary guns for 12 hours? I really hope that the negotiator was being honest when he told the guy that they’d get him help. I really hope that the hostage has support and help available too. I hope that the negotiator and the officers have warm homes and loving, understanding families waiting for them, and that they understand the virtue of helping this man, and understand the virtue of saving lives, especially after twelve long hours. I hope I can show them that I appreciate that they were keeping watch while I slept a few feet away, completely oblivious to the turmoil. I’m glad that everyone is okay. I don’t ever want to witness that again.

Love,

Second Post Today! Oooh, bored much???

2006-11-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

I saw this meme on Mocha's site, and it was cute and I was bored :)

Enjoy!

1. Flip to page 18, paragraph 4 - in the book closest to you right now, what does it say?
"This time, before the Pirate Captain could make any meat-related promises, there was a tug on his sleeve, and he looked down to see a sooty street urchin." from "The Pirates! In an Adventure with Communists" by Gideon Defoe. Excellent books!

2. If you stretch out your left arm as far as possible, what are you touching?
Why... THIN AIR!!!

3. What’s the last program you watched on TV?
"Ugly Betty"... very cute!

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.
10:15pm (oooh, 10:14... am I good or what?)

5. Aside from the computer, what can you hear right now?
Christmas Music. More specifically, the skating song from Charlie Brown.

6. When was the last time you were outside and what did you do?
Walking home from work through that blasted cold park!!! BRRRRR!

7. What are you wearing?
Navy tank top and navy plaid PJ pants... hey, it's almost bed time!

8. Did you dream last night? If you did, what about?
I did, but I don't remember what it was about. I just remember waking up at 3:30 thinking "Oooh, I gotta remember that dream!"

9. When was the last time you laughed?
Honestly? I giggled to myself all day in my cubicle about my NEW JOB!

10. What’s on the walls in the room you’re in right now?
My Alphonse Mucha calendar, my framed "Il Ragno Azzurro" poster, a bunch of mirrors and some smaller framed pictures.

11. Have you seen anything strange lately?
Not really! hmmm. Nope, I got nothin!

12. What do you think about this meme?
It's lovely, thank you.

13. What’s the last film you saw?
“Happy Feet”… wasn’t a big fan.

14. If you became a multimillionaire, what would you do with the money?
I’d buy my parents an acreage on Vancouver Island, take my whole family on a European Vacation and then go see what I could do about Darfur.

15. Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.
I think Weird Al is actually brilliant... there, I said it. And I know all the words to too many Britney Spears songs.... oohhh, shameful.

16. If you could change ONE THING in this world, without regarding politics or bad guilt, what would it be?
What do they mean "bad guilt" exactly? I’d make everyone more compassionate and empathetic, because I think that would fix a lot of things, like hunger and wars and nonsense.

17. Do you like dancing?
What a silly question! Of course not! I LOVE IT!

18. George Bush?
No thanks, I'm good.

19. What do you want your children’s names to be, girl/boy?
Audrey Rose for a girl and Ethan Christopher for a boy.

20. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Only every waking moment...

21. What do you want God to tell you, when you come to heaven?
That it's all going to be okay down here one day.

22. Who should do this meme?
Whoever is bored, I should think!

K, bed time! Sleep Tight!

~g~

Isn't That Something???

2006-11-23T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well. I’m a fairly open person. I like trying new foods and going on adventures, learning new things and going new places. Yet, there are some things that I think I’d never do. Skydiving might be quite a rush, but I don’t think I’ll be a worse person for having avoided it. Likewise for eating liver… frankly, it doesn’t ever need to be done, and it’s better left to those who like it.

But now? The unthinkable has happened.
The most unlikely thing in the world.
More unlikely than liver and skydiving.
You’ll want to sit down for this, and keep a lookout for flying pigs, because what I’m about to tell you is THAT unreasonable.

… are you ready?

I just landed a job in Finance.
Me…
Finance…
I, who spent my life devising elaborate plans to avoid math…
I, who had to take remedial math TWICE just to pass…
I, who took French 30 Honours because my math grades weren’t good enough to get into University otherwise…
I, who took English in university because it was the only degree I could get without Math 30…
*I* just landed a job in Finance.

I still don’t know how it happened, except that my new boss, human resources and the VP of Finance were all eagerly asking me to apply, and then there was a lunch and now this. Now it’s “hey you start December 1st and here’s more money.” A lot more money. And I want to say “are you suuure?” and I want to look for hidden cameras and I want to dance around because this money couldn’t come at a better time and… wow. Just wow.

I guess the thing is that Finance has changed, so it’s less about calculators and more about spreadsheet formulas and being detail-oriented. I kick ass at that, and it seems that the VP Asset Optimization has been singing my praises loudly enough to get people’s attention. Isn’t that something? As of December 1st I’m an Accounting Payroll Clerk. Dig me!!!!

Alright I’m going to go dance around my cubicle now ;)
Love,
~g~

Random, Random

2006-11-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

My un-vented dryer is making my condo very humid, so I decided to put on some Salsa tunes and imagine that I'm somewhere tropical. Mui Caliente!!! Must be time for a random post.

- I went to see "Happy Feet" last night.
Well, that's not exactly true.
I WENT to "Happy Feet" to SEE the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" teaser trailer. *shame* Thank goodness the trailer was so worth it, cuz I wasn't a big fan of "Happy Feet". Anywho, HP comes out on your birthday, Nathan!!! Harry Potter Birthday theme for your 30th? PLEASE?!

- What else? I bought "Island of the Sequined Love Nun" by Christopher Moore. How could you pass up a title like that? Honestly. I'll let you know how it is, but I daresay it'll be fabulous ;)

- I had knitting class today and am almost done! I sewed the front and back together, so just the sleeves left.

- I highly, highly recommend the documentary "The World According to Sesame Street." It actually made me feel better about my obsessive love for Sesame Street, and has inspired me to move to New York and harass Sesame Workshop to give me a job. Really, Sesame Workshop. I'll do anything.

- Winnie is looking at me like I'm crazy because I'm salsa-ing in my chair. Someone is obviously feeling better from the looks of that "Humans are stupid" glare she's sending me.

xoxo,
~g~

SHE'S OKAY, FOLKS!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-11-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, my dear Miss Winnifred is FINE!
I came home, begged and pleaded with her, cried, moved my bed, shut the bedroom door.
Then she scowled at me for an hour.
Then my parents came over and guess who decided to eat? My mother is a MIRACLE worker. Got her to use the litter box too! HALLELUJAH!!!! HOORAY FOR MOTHERS!!!!
Thanks everyone for your concern. I've given Winnie a stern lecture about scaring people.
Love,
G

There's Good News and There's Bad News.

2006-11-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

I’ve had sort of a stupid few weeks, but lucky for you I don’t feel inclined to discuss the gory details ;) At any rate, last night was the general meeting of Condo Owners for my building, and I was very much dreading it as the Property Manager is my arch-nemesis. I have had nothing but issues with him and his company since I bought my place, but I determined that it was probably in my best interest to attend the meeting, if for no other reason than to let him know that I am still in his face and am not backing down.

The discussion began over an old issue about the developers, and the decision was made to take them to small claims court. Were there any other issues with the developer, they asked? I stared Property Manager down. “Would the issue with my dryer not being vented count?” I asked lightly.
“Er, ah,” Quipped Property Manager.
“Your dryer isn’t vented?” asked one guy.
“Our dryers are supposed to be vented?” asked another guy!
Mwahahahahaha.
Property Manager mumbled something about it being a “grey area” about who covered those costs and that really it was up to the Condo Board to decide. The Condo Board said “oh yes, of course we should cover it!” Motioned, Seconded, all voted in favour and SCORE!!!! I WON I WON I WON!!!!
The only rough thing that came out of the meeting was that they’re getting someone in to flush the plumbing, which will cost everyone a few hundred bucks. A few hundred bucks that I just can’t spare, especially in December. So I’m going to take Scarlett O’Hara’s approach and say:
“I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about that tomorrow.”

The bad, BAD news is that I came home after the meeting to a very sick kitty. She won’t come out from under the bed or eat or use her box. I’m really worried about her, and want more than anything to be at home with her right now. If she’s still not better by tonight then it’s off to the emergency vet. Please send healthy vibes to my kitty and tell her to please get better.

I’ll keep you posted!
~g~

My Terrifying, Horrific Tale (aka: I'm a big chicken)

2006-11-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

This morning I was careening out of my door, running very late, carrying my purse, coffee, bus ticket, envelope and a large, unwieldy trash bag. I was contemplating the physics behind putting said bag into the dumpster without dumping the purse, coffee, bus ticket and envelope also, and I started toward the dumpster when my heart stopped. STOPPED!
My condo is in a "good neighborhood", which is situated a few kilometers from the drop-in centre, and will soon be sandwiched by another temporary homeless shelter. Let me first say that I’m GLAD that the shelters exist. Calgary is damn cold in the winter, and with the recent economic explosion, affordable housing is simply not available, so I’m happy that the city is stepping up to help some people through the winter by utilizing empty buildings. On that note, however, my area has many apartment buildings and condos, and is a popular route for Dumpster Divers.
So this morning it’s dark, I’m precariously balancing things, and I look at the dumpster and I swear to you, there’s a large man standing in the dumpster. I was terrified, and I can’t say exactly why. Maybe I was afraid, maybe I didn’t know where to put the garbage, maybe I thought he’d attack me for drug money, maybe I thought it was a dead body. It was, after all, a very dark, very empty alley, and I am a fairly scrawny, easily intimidated girl. I don’t think I had time to THINK anything. I think I just registered "Big man in dumpster" and froze. Because hello…. Big man in dumpster!!!! So I stood a few feet away, contemplating.
What were the risks?
He wasn’t moving.
I took a few steps forward.
Ohmygodhejustmoved. Or maybe… it’s just shadows.
I had to do something or I would miss my bus.
I took a few more steps, and THEN?
AND THEN?!
I realized that the man was NOT A MAN AT ALL!
The man was, in fact, two garbage bags, stacked on top of each other in the very dim dawn light. And I??? Am a big coward.
I tossed my garbage into the dumpster and headed down the alley. My heart clenched strangely as I came to the full realization that I’d just had a five minute standoff with two garbage bags.
I wouldn’t last ten minutes in New York :P

I Got To Put On Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Boogie Shoes!

2006-11-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Both N&S and K. heard my Plea to Salsa and told me that the U of C Ballroom Club was having a Salsa Party Saturday night. K., who is a member of the club, invited me along, as it was her first experience at a Salsa Party and she wanted some back-up.

Like all wholesome U of C events it was held in a church gymnasium with three kitschy little pie-plates of nacho chips, bottles of no-name soda and jugs of water. "Bless their little hearts," I thought, and hearkened back to the days of Jr. High dances, figuring we were about 20 minutes away from staring awkwardly at the floor while Boyz II Men crooned from a ghetto blaster. Sweet.

At 8:30 they turned the lights low and turned the speakers up, up, up and things started to get crazy. CA-RAZY!!! As soon as one dance would end, I'd turn around and another person would be waiting to ask me to dance. It was madness! Every time I'd try to sit or get a drink of water someone would approach. It was SO much fun and such an ego boost, a bunch of people asked if I was in the "Intermediate Class" *yay* or said I was a great dancer. Half of the time I was pulled into a group doing "Casino Salsa" which was great fun, although I still don't understand it.

By 10:30 I was so tired I told K. I was going to go sit in the hall for a minute. We sat for about 5 minutes until a Cha Cha came on, and the guy who was manning the ticket table got all crazy-eyed and asked if I knew how to Cha Cha. I said "no", but he insisted on showing me, right there in the hall. By 11:30 I was stumbling rather than Salsa-ing, so K and I left, but I'm glad I went. It was NOT what I expected in the least, and I think I'm going to enroll in the intermediate class in January ;) Swwwweeeet!

Too much fun ;)
~g~

My Hips Don't Lie, Either!

2006-11-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

On October 4th, 1998, a young woman and a bunch of other Calgary citizens sat on the top of a hill and watched the General Hospital implode... don't worry, it was planned.
At that same moment, a city planner somewhere decided to re-use that land to create an uber-trendy hotspot for wealthy young e-generation urbanites. The city planner boldly decided to make the block of 1st Avenue and 8th Street particularily dangerous to young women with a lust for used books, coffee and knitting.

After chilling in Heartland Cafe and attending knitting class Sunday, I could no longer resist the allure of Baskerville Used Books. The owner was very nice, we had a conversation about Steinbeck, Jazz and San Fransisco while the stereo blared some unbelievable salsa tuneage. It took everything I had to keep my hips still, so of course I asked who it was. Oscar D'Leon, he said.
Oh it makes me miss my Salsa class....
*sigh*
Just salsa-ing through my kitchen isn't doing it for me anymore, I miss being whipped around the dance floor, despite having to fight off the advances of the instructor. I miss salsa! I MISS SALSA SO MUCH!
Must... Go... Dancing....
~g~

A Red Sweater for Baby

2006-11-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, this post is mostly for Skylark ;) I had my third knitting class today, and the front of the sweater is done! Tada!
Pretty :) I've also started a sleeve, which doesn't look like a sleeve yet ;) heehee.
Okay, that's all!
~g~

Ooooh, Saturday!

2006-11-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

This picture will become relevant later in the post...

But for now, ahhh, Saturday night, how I love thee. N&S came by earlier to come up with a "secret plan" re: my parent's 50th birthdays, then I talked to D on the phone for a few hours, and now I'm eating many tiny Mars bars and dancing around to "Sugar High" from Empire Records.

I know I’ve been awfully quiet on the post-front lately, but although a lot of stuff has been happening, not a single event has been bloggable. I will leave it to your imaginations to believe if it’s too boring to mention or too scandalous to put into writing. I hope you will all lean toward the “scandalous” side of things ;)

I have once again been in Executive Assistant land, which is all thrills and tantrums; Much like the fashion industry, but with remarkably less-attractive people. I believe one of the construction workers behind me Friday didn’t “measure twice, cut once” because he was swearing a blue streak… no, worse than a blue streak… more like a magenta streak! A whole paragraph of expletives with a vocabulary that, I daresay, would make many a sailor blush. I’m always a little impressed when someone can string together that many bad words without blinking an eye… I am neither that quick witted, nor do I know that many bad words.

Friday at noon we had a rousing game of “Trivial Pursuit Teambuilding” at work. I’m sorry to say I only helped my group answer two questions, one of which was “Who appeared half-nude with Michael Jackson in his ‘You Are Not Alone’ video?” I said “I’m ashamed to admit I know, but it’s Lisa Marie Presley.” The Ex was crazy about Jacko, what can I say? How many nights did we spend watching Michael Jackson music video DVDs with friends?! HOW MANY! And also, because Jacko used my favourite Maxfield Parrish painting as a scene with the Afore-Mentioned-Half-Naked-Lisa-Marie (see painting above.) So then someone made a comment that “of course” I only knew the answers about nude people…. Yikes. “Of course.” … right in front of my boss and the president. “Of course.”

Ah well. So that's really all that's new with me.

How are all y'all?

~g~

Kaity-bug's 2nd Birthday (AKA: I Can't Believe I Survived an Afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese!)

2006-10-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Kaity-bug!

The whole Family :)

Angelic little monkey (before the mass amounts of SUGAR!)

Isn't she so cute???

When your friend's baby turns 2, even the shifty, psychotic gaze of one Mr. Chuck E. Cheese can't keep you away. It can haunt your nightmares, yes, but Kaity only turns 2 once!

I couldn't resist the dimpled elbows!!! How cute are those?!?!

~g~

Day of Adventures: Thriller, Party Planning and more!

2006-10-26T14:09:00.000-06:00

As you can tell from the yellow/weird punctuation/weird font in my last post, Blogger beat me in a battle of wits. I won the round where my post wasn’t showing up at all (black on black) by changing it to yellow, but then Blogger came back with a fierce fight and parried my many attempts to make the text white and normal and sans little yellow squares. You won this time, Blogger. But watch yourself.

Yesterday was one of those evil days where, given the option, I would prefer to be chased down by the zombies in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video than deal with work zombies. Those guys may look freaky, but at least I know the moves to their dance. I’m not going to go into details, but it’s sufficient to say that I am now cowering in my cubicle, waiting for my boss to come talk to me about being a team player. It’s not hard to be a team player with the “Thriller” zombies, because they don’t throw in new moves to psych you out and prove their superiority. They dance as one, to create a mass, terrifying dynamic. The only Zombie Overlord appears to be The Zombie MJ, and I think if I bought him a cup of coffee (human brains?), he’d probably be okay to deal with. They’re all just there to freak people out, ya know? I guess Zombie Communism is a good idea “in theory”, but not in real life, right? The Conclusion to my Zombies vs. Human rant? Office Politics! GAH!

Time Lapse:
It is now afternoon. The talk with the boss wasn’t bad at all, it lasted less than a minute and I explained *calmly* that had I known that I was expected to work a different shift when I was told (not asked) that I was covering the EA’s vacations, I would have mentioned it sooner, but as it stands, I can’t work past 4:30. Sorry. No dice. Family stuff, blah blah blah. He responded calmly that Wicked Witch #1 threw in that monkey wrench, and he completely understood. WOO! Then an accounting lady came up to me and “encouraged” me to apply for a posting that they have coming open! WOOHOO! Other adventures this morning included me asking the Social Committee who they had booked to cater the staff Christmas party in just over a month. They didn’t know. In fact, they’d totally forgotten about a caterer. So I dictated and was stern and after much persuasion/bribery/threats we were able to book one *phew* and then? They made me chair of the Social Committee. What… the hell? They claim it’s due to my slick (anal-retentive) organizational skills and my “pretty emails”… oh yes. This brings my Strange Talent Count to Three: Pretty emails, fun mixed CD covers and my miraculous ability to make babies on the bus stop crying. *shrug* It’s what I do. Anyway, I’m okay with it because it’ll look smokin’ on a resume to get into an Event Coordination career, and also? I love this kind of thing. Love, love, love planning, to a disturbing degree… I can see you all nodding out there as you read this… “uh huh, I know.” And planning parties? Fabulous. I love the little details and the adrenaline, and standing there coolly, looking fabulous in a little dress, watching as the party flourishes around me. Gillian: Extreme Party Planner. Yeah, that’s me ;)

That’s all for now ;)
~g~

Five Things Feminism Has Done For Me

2006-10-24T21:09:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time, back in my university days, I was working in digitization at the University of Calgary Press. Those were some good times. We played in photoshop all day and listened to Stevie Wonder, Shonen Knife and Paul Simon. We ran wild in the provincial archives and learned a ton about local history, provincial law history and the terrors of medical history. It was awesome. This job was super-flexible, so I was able to take off for a class for a few hours in the middle of the day and then come back, thus earning money and finishing my degree a bit faster. One summer I decided to take two classes: Women's Studies and Music History of The Beatles. My dear friend K used to hate the days that I had Women's Studies, because I would come back to work, horrified and depressed about what I was learning. 'We have it so good,' I'd tell her. 'You need to take that class.'

That's why hearing that our government has cut $5 million of funding to Status of Women Canada when they have $13 billion surplus this year made me crazy. Skylark tagged me to write my '5 things feminism has done for me' so Canadian bloggers can show our support for the SWC.

So here are my five things:

1. Feminism has made me a Person.

It's kind of shocking to think that in terms of the Senate and the British North America Act, Canadian Women have only been considered as "people" for 77 years. Thanks to the Famous Five, in 1929 women were at last allowed to become members of the Senate. Interestingly, most of the provinces gave women the right to vote between 1916 and 1925, although Quebec did not until 1940! Something to keep in mind at election time, ladies, when you think how hard women fought for your right to vote!

2. Feminism has given me the right to read and learn.

Books aren't "inappropriate" for young women anymore! yay! I can be educated! yay!!! And most men consider that desirable. And the men who want Jessica Simpson (bless her little heart) are not the men I want! Hallelujah!!!

3. Feminism has given me options.

I can choose any career, I can choose any hair style, I can choose to say yes or no, I can believe anything, I can want anything and I can work hard to achieve my goals. I can laugh or cry or get mad. I can climb trees and hop fences. I can be a tom-boy and a girly-girl. Which brings me to:

4. Feminism has given me the ability to live with less fear.

I say less fear because, like every woman I know, we are aware that we have to be cautious in certain situations. There are some streets that I won't walk down alone in the dark, and some situations I wouldn't put myself in at all! However, that being said, I can show my ankles or my hair and not be afraid for my life. I do not need to live in fear of a father, brother or husband. I have the power to say no to a man or scenario, and I have the law behind me. I do not need to be subservient for fear of my life. I do not need to face rape, HIV or genital mutilation on every corner. I know that abuse and rape are still risks in Canada, don't get me wrong, but we have rights that women in other countries simply don't have.

5. Feminism has given me the ability to keep fighting.

As far as we have come, I am reminded every day of why we can't stop fighting. I've had jobs with bosses who pinch, bosses who introduce me to other men as "my intern *wink, inappropriate laugh*", profs who look me up and down and then ask me to go for a drink to discuss "grad studies", male co-workers who tried to call me "sunshine" or do George Bush's patented "shoulder massage". I've learned that it's hard to be a young woman trying to stand up against inappropriate behavior from an authority figure. I've learned that when you say "no" to a prof you can start getting "C"s instead of "A"s. It can be a big pain in the ass, where each new job is a new battle to let them know you won't take it, and that in the Old Boy's Club you're either invisible or the little pet who brings in the coffee. We can't stop fighting. But hopefully as time goes by, we'll have to fight less.

I don't know too many Canadian bloggers, so I'll "tag" the lovely Strawberry Blue Viking, the equally lovely Queen of Swords, Joshua (I doubt you read my blog, but what the hell? And no, Feminism isn't just for women) and the delightful Mocha... I know you're not Canadian, but I don't see why this should be strictly Canuck territory. I'm tagging loosely here, people... NO pressure :)

La-La-Love,

~g~

Waterton Lakes National Park

2006-10-21T21:42:00.000-06:00

I got out to Waterton today, which was heavenly. So good to get into the mountains! Man, this is some flat-ass prairie we've got here. Big, bold skies though. In Waterton Lakes National Park now, you can see the Prince of Wales hotel on the hill, which is gorgeous. It's closed up for the season, but you can peer into the windows and see the furniture all draped in sheets. Spoooooky. This is Lake Cameron. Love the low clouds, such drama ;) Pretty, snowy branches. Pretty mountain view! Had to stop the car anyway, as there were deer on the road ahead, licking salt off the road... Hey, I wouldn't move either. mmmm salt. Saw tons of wildlife today! A coyote, a ringneck pheasant, bluebirds, and too many big-horned sheep and deer to count. Lovely! ~g~

My Ode to Coffee

2006-10-20T13:29:00.000-06:00

Today is what Winnie-The-Pooh would refer to as “a rather blustery day.” There is a howly wind and rain, and a sleepy girl at a desk with a scalded hand from an unfortunate coffee incident. Yet, I am still eternally grateful for coffee. I am eternally grateful for Fridays, and for meetings that keep executives busy on Fridays. I’m grateful that I wore tights and knee socks and boots and wool pants to work, because it’s freakin’ cold. I am grateful for Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers and St. Ive’s lotion in a dry climate. I’m grateful for Apple Rosemary Flax Sourdough from Urban Baker. Did I mention coffee? So grateful for coffee.

So grateful that it might be time to channel Keats and write:

An Ode to Coffee
By Gillian

O’ obsidian sheen’d liquid,
O’ aromatic tendrils of steam;
Artful provocateur, spinning promises
Of light and heady romance.
Cool, crisp china: the prelude to your kiss.
I am lost to the world, my senses devoted
To this strange love affair.

Such gracious, dusky warmth
Enfolds me with calm tranquility,
A willful stronghold against the vile
Complexity of the external, the world.
I crave this solace, the warm comfort
Of your embrace, which clears the cobwebs
And the clouds from my mind.

Hmmm. Talk about addiction! HAHA! Nothing like an epic poem about a beverage ;) And please don't send me away to an institution, this is all just silliness. I know I should write at least one more stanza, but the construction workers are drilling drywall about a metre from desk and my head is vibrating (and shaking away the poetry.) Feel free to create a stanza/ode of your own!!!

Much love,
~g~

Working in the Power Industry does NOT give you the right to POWER TRIP!

2006-10-18T12:42:00.000-06:00

This week I was begged to cover for an Executive Assistant to replace a temp who “was weird” (??) while the regular EA is away on vacation. Being an EA isn’t rocket science, so I said okay. But boy am I glad that the regular EA is back tomorrow.

People drive me ^&*$% nuts! Rather, men in positions of power drive me ^&*$% nuts! Some of them are quite nice and even say “please” when they need something. But THEN? There are the guys who ruin it for everyone. The ones who don’t bother to learn my name, or insist on calling me the wrong name, no matter how many times I correct them. The ones who insist that we must have so-and-so’s cell phone number in a file somewhere, even though we don’t, and yes I checked everywhere, and no, as a peon, it’s his prerogative to provide us with a personal cell number, which he obviously chose not to. And yet somehow, through the divine mystery of the universe, this is my fault. And yes, this will probably cause the earth to shatter into a million pieces. The demise of the human race is on my shoulders, because I’m not well-versed on using Jedi Mind Tricks to force people into giving me information that they don’t want to share. Oops. Sorry guys.
“HOW is this possible, Jody?!” they shout, letting loose with their Demeaning Gusto!!!
“How is it possible that you’re not having a stroke right now from this massive tantrum?” I wonder.
They should provide us with tranquilizer guns for this job. “My name isn’t Jody, and you need a time-out.” *ping*
Perhaps I’ll have a word with Health and Safety about this. It’s not healthy for my outlook on life, and it certainly isn’t good for their blood pressure to get all up-in-arms over something that, by the way, won’t change no matter how angry they get.

I’m generally a fairly calm, non-confrontational person, but I refuse to give in to Power Trips. If, heaven forbid, someone tells me that something is “unacceptable”, I will stand right up and fight it, even if I don’t believe that it’s right, just because the word “unacceptable” makes me crazy. Even a small thing, like someone coming to my house unannounced, puts me immediately on the defensive. I won’t answer on principal, even if my lights are on and I’m obviously home. Why? Because it says to me that they don’t respect my personal space and that they believe that I should be willing to drop whatever I’m doing to entertain their whim. Not cool. I only drop everything for family, and my family is considerate enough to call before they come over.

How about you folks? Is there something silly that you get irrationally upset about? Any stands that you make?
Xoxo,
~g~

UPDATE:
Guess who decided to extend her vacation? I'm an EA till Friday at least! "nooooo!!!!"
Also, weird link from boingboing.net of "Victorian Postmortem Photographs." ... Dude. If you're easily creeped-out, don't look at it. I looked at it yesterday morning and was up till MIDNIGHT last night, still too freaked out over it to sleep. I was freaked out by the concept, there's nothing graphically horrible about the pictures themselves. Just the whole "let's prop up your dead sister for one last picture of you two." .... yikes.

Serendipity, In Wool.

2006-10-17T20:55:00.000-06:00

Having been a little down lately, I've been thinking that I need to get out of the house and do something creative. I've been looking at evening classes, but they're all so expensive. I really want to take Cello lessons, but that would also cost a fortune, considering I'd have to buy a Cello ;) I've also been trying to fight my way through knitting patterns. Do you know the part in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" when Holly says "I have this strange feeling that maybe the blueprints and my knitting instructions got switched. I mean it isn't impossible that I'm knitting a ranch house!" ...That's pretty much it. Knitting patterns give me worse tunnel vision than math.
So I thought "what the hell" and looked up "Knitting Classes Calgary" online! The first link I opened was for a knitting class that starts this weekend, to knit a baby sweater, and it's mere blocks from my condo!!! As if that wasn't serendipitous! So Skylark? Pick a colour, honey! Your little cookie monster will be the first to get either a sweater or a ranch house ;)
xoxo,
~g~

Hazy Shade of Winter

2006-10-16T21:53:00.000-06:00

And so it begins....

New Banner

2006-10-15T19:15:00.000-06:00

Another new banner!
Too much time on my hands?
Maybe a little :)
~g~

Out Of The Orange Coloured Sky!

2006-10-13T11:36:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I left a comment on Mocha’s blog wishing her an orange day, and guess what? She’s having an orange day! And even my day is getting progressively sunnier and orangey too! Is the spell broken? Is anyone still having a blue day? Or is it “WHAM! BAM! ALAKAZAM! Out of the Orange Coloured Sky” fabulous?
Everyone at my work is even chipper. They’ve been walking by crying “good morning” with such enthusiasm that you’d swear we were in a musical. I expect they’ll break into song any moment now! I even used my mad telepathy skills to convince a co-worker to get me a vanilla latte from Starbucks. I requested a tall, and they bought me a grandé and then? THEN!? They invited me to go for lunch with the cool “commercial group” kids.
And THEN I saw on Skylark’s blog that the Sesame Street Oldschool Volume 1 DVD is coming out on the 24th!!!
Today totally kicks ass!
I have to say, I was a little apprehensive about today. My friend N (who I’ve know since Kindergarten) is going in for surgery today, and she has a bad track record of forgetting to breathe when she’s under. Also, my Grandma B. is heading out on her Inca Trail hike today, in spite of the fact that she was hospitalized in Peru two days ago for altitude sickness. I’m worried about both of them, but am shooting happy “orange day” thoughts to both of them right now, and I have a good feeling that they’ll both feel a million times better when they’re done.
And YOU? If you’re still sad I’ll shoot you some “orange day” thoughts too. Until then, I’ll leave you with the lyrics to “Orange Coloured Sky”, which I have deemed to be today’s Theme Song:

I was walkin' along
Mindin' my business
When out of an orange colored sky
Flash! Bam! Alakazam! Wonderful you came by.
I was hummin'a tune,
Drinkin'in sunshine
When out of that orange colored view
Wham! Bam! Alakazam!
I got a look at you.
One look and I yelled, " Timber!
Watch out for flying glass!"
‘Cause the ceiling fell in and the bottom fell out,
I went into a spin and I started to shout,
"I’ve been hit! This is it! This is it!"
I was walking along minding my business,
When love came and hit me in the eye...
Flash! Bam! Alakazam!
Out of an orange colored sky.

Love, love,
~g~

My Stand Against The Blues

2006-10-11T12:07:00.000-06:00

Well, if it isn’t Wednesday morning!
Here I sit in my cubicle, staring at power generation statistics while Nelly Furtado’s “ManEater” revolves around my head. I look at the wind stats, which always make me think of going to Waterton and passing those beautiful wind farms by Lethbridge. I don’t know why, but I think wind farms are “just elegant”, in the words of Marilyn Monroe in “The Seven Year Itch”. At any rate, I really feel like going to Waterton now! Heehee. Ooooh, maybe I could go to Great Falls, Montana and stock up on Excedrin and Galoshes! Oh my GOSH, that’d be so much fun!!! K, I totally want to go now. I’m not sure how Homeland Security feels about day trips like that. Maybe if the car was really clean and I had my passport? Does anyone know?

I’ve been fighting a big old case of the blues for about a month now, and I’m getting awfully tired of being a misery, so I’ve decided this week to take a stand against the blues. I’ve ordered self-help books, made changes to a few things that are getting me down, and am going to do meal planning and budgeting and make LISTS! Life lists, people. I know an awful lot of women who are having the blues right now too, so maybe we should all take a stand against the blues?

Ready for a rant? Here goes:

One of the things that drives me nuts about Eurocentrism (I’m apprehensive about saying “American Exceptionalism”, because I think that this is one of those “direct results of the industrial revolution” things) is our lack of community. I think about Native North American cultures, the sense of community for women, the concept of the village raising the child, of women convening to celebrate the things they have in common. I feel like that’s missing in our culture. I have women that I’m close to, like my mum and a few girlfriends, so I’m not saying that I’m completely without a support network. But at times I do feel alienated and alone, like I missed a huge memo about growing up, or like I did something that set me ten years behind everyone else. There’s love between us, but there’s not always understanding. I love that blogging has created new communities of women, like BlogHer and MommyBloggers, and I think that women are so grateful to start re-building these connections. Competition runs so high with women these days, and we’re always trying to BE more, DO more, and create more meaning in ourselves. It’s hard. It alienates us. I work with a lot of strong women whom I respect, but I’ve only been able to forge a friendship with one of them. Sometimes I just want to sit down with someone and say “I’m not here to challenge you” and see what happens.

Well, I’m not even sure if I know what I’m getting at, but I’m wondering if there’s a common thread between all of us blue women? How can we take a stand about this? Are we all just being too hard on ourselves? Do we just need some positive reinforcement and to be a little nicer to ourselves?

If you have any thoughts, let me know. If I come up with anything brilliant, I’ll sure share.
~g~
P.S. This isn’t meant to trivialize any of you guys out there who are feeling blue! I just haven’t witnesses a rash of unhappy men lately ;)

Treasures

2006-10-07T21:57:00.000-06:00

Today's Treasures: Engraving, Book and Grow-Your-Own-Rubber Ducky

Those of you who know me well know that my passions in life are simple: Coffee, Kids and Books. Coffee is my comfort food, I've wanted to be a mother all my life, and Books have been my dear friends since the beginning of time ;)

Well today my friend Butler introduced me to my new version of heaven: Tom Williams Rare Books. Add a coffee machine and a baby of my own to cuddle and teach, and so help me, I could want for nothing more in life. I want to live there.

I thought I'd been to every Used Book Store on the Red Mile, but Tom Williams' is an unassuming door across MacLeod Trail from the Stampede Grounds and Saddle Dome. Much like a wizard door in Harry Potter, you'd have to be a book lover to notice it there. You open the door to a delightful waft of musty-book-smell and go down the stairs into a veritable wonderland of hardcover books, first editions, engravings, strange old records, etc. Books piled to the sky, shelves filled tightly around you, enormous, delicious, quiet, beautiful. Excitement trilled in my stomach. I wanted to read every book I saw. I wanted to hunker down on the floor and just start reading, and never leave. I was a junkie surrounded by a life-time supply.

I'm very proud to announce that I limited myself to an engraving of a ship for my mum, and ONE book for myself: "Mistress Beatrice Cope" by M.E. Le Clerc. Once again, the cover drew me in. I know nothing about it except it was in the "mystery" section, and was once owned by a Mrs. N. Arnold of Edmonton. Even the page with the publication date has been removed.

It was very nice to see Butler again after so long. I don't know about him, but I had a lot of fun :) He even bought me a "Grow Your Own Rubber Ducky". I will document Ducky's growth in a later post. For now I am soooo tired, and am off to bed.

I wish you all endless shelves of the things you love. Thanks Butler, for introducing me to this delightful place!
~g~

The One With All The Links

2006-10-06T11:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, I have so many treasures to share with you today, kiddies!

Angry Alien Productions presents The 30-Second Bunnies Theatre Library! Yes, bunnies re-enacting classic movies in 30 seconds or less! LOVE IT!!!

When people ask me about my job, I want to sit them down and show them this video. *I'M* the superhero! haha! okay maybe not. But I am on the "production" side of things.

Susan helped me find one of my favourite Sesame Street videos! The Psychedelic "I know I'm Lost" boy. YIPPEE!

Susan and Josh also sent me this Insurance Commercial inspired by Katamari Damacy.

And now, for the true gem! For those of you who haven't played Katamari and have heard me rave about it, here is the "intro" of the video game! Go watch it, I'll wait.
Isn't that the strangest thing you've ever seen? Aren't you a little disturbed/intrigued/terrified? Don't you want to play it?!? I KNOW!!! That's exactly how I felt when Josh and Susan showed it to me.

K, I gotta go play now ;) Haha!
YAY FRIDAY!
Tomorrow is Used Book Store Day with Butler. I'll let you know how that goes, and what "charmingly illustrated classics" I lug home ;)

~g~

Random Couch Post

2006-10-05T22:08:00.000-06:00

Friggin' banner. Why didn't I just keep my old one, I wonder?

I'm fighting with Microsoft Digital Image, which is no fun. It has a lot of features that I like... things that you have to pay extra for in Photoshop. But I've been using photoshop for so long that I know it really well! So there's the problem. I don't know how to get this new program to do what I want it to do!

Ahhh, it's so nice not to have to go to work tomorrow! My throat is starting to feel better, but I have virtually no voice still. I miss not talking *sniffle* It's also nice that I don't have to go to bed right now, because I've been having weird dreams. For example, last night I dreamt that I was in a tremendously tall store looking for "the right yarn" to knit Christmas presents for people. They had 4000 kinds of yarn, but apparently not "the right yarn." Then I dreamt that Skylark and I were in Vancouver, trying to deliver an RC car to someone, but the RC car kept speeding away. We finally gave up and listened to a miniature record player in the basement of an old Victorian Mansion. ... honestly. No more Cheerios before bed, I think!

Alright, I'm going to go see if I have any fun pictures that could become potential banners, and then bed!

Night!
~g~

New Banner

2006-10-05T14:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, which one do you guys like better? I can't decide. The top one is a restored Fair Ground Organ I saw at the Stampede this year. It played some crazy circus music and the figures moved and it was both disturbing and alluring at the same time. I had to take the pic with my camera phone, since S refused to go near it (he has an aversion to "creepy dolls" lol)
The second one is a statue at Devonian Garden in downtown Calgary, taken shortly after I got my beloved digital SLR. I dunno. I can't decide. What do you think?
~g~

Now With Bacteria!

2006-10-04T21:13:00.000-06:00

Some days a girl just needs her bear. This is me with my bear, circa 1983.
I woke up this morning and went "ack!", which was the only sound my closed up throat could make. "Strep Throat" I thought, and hopped on a bus and a train and "Strep Throat" the doctor said.
But it's okay. I'm on the couch, with my bear... I basically still look the same, but not blonde (this week). I have tea and a blanket and am watching "Elizabethtown" for the 800th time. My cat is watching the movie too, but I know she wishes I'd put on "The Corpse Bride" because she likes all of the noisy crow scenes. She seems to like "Elizabethtown" too though. She's sitting under the coffee table, watching attentively. She's so adorable.
I get a couple days off work (might work Friday if I can talk), and then a long weekend for Thanksgiving (yay!) where I can gorge on pie at last (yay!) Mocha, I'll see what I can do about sending you some!

This post is most uninteresting! Tomorrow I'll see what I can do about updating my blog a l'il bit. Maybe I'll make a new banner or something :)

OH! and Nathan, I was thinking that you need to be a Lego Pirate guy for Halloween. Party is at Mum and Dad's this year! WOO!

What should *I* be?

Love (but no bacteria kisses!)
~g~

Grumpy Bear

2006-10-03T19:47:00.000-06:00

I'm sick.
Again.
I need bed.
And medicine.
And Pie.
Excessive amounts of pie.

Much Love,
Grumpy Bear

Number 9, Number 9...

2006-10-02T20:35:00.000-06:00

I’ve had every intention to post about books allll weekend, but the AMAZING Elton John concert, the inspiring Deepak Chopra Lecture, and the evil hangover I had from the post-lecture glass of red wine (which I didn’t even finish) took the wind out of my sails. One glass. Isn’t that just sad? Granted, it was an expensive glass of wine and by all rights SHOULD have gotten me as loaded as it did… but still. I was a little ashamed, since I’d only just said “aren’t drunk girls in high heels funny?” Low and behold, there I was, a drunk girl tottering around in high heels. Talk about Instant Karma, Mr. Lennon.

So enter Monday morning: I’m a little gleeful cuz I’m wearing my new purple cashmere pea coat in that husky autumn chill. Only one bus driver smugly drives PAST my stop, but the second bus stops, so it’s all good. It’s empty, I get a seat. I’m happy (as happy as you can be on a Monday morning) and then WORK has to go on and wreck it all. It’s been nothing but adventures since I moved up a floor due to construction. Thursday we were fumigated at our desks by Eau du Oil Primer in the ventilation system. Friday my friend A. had a colossal (and well-earned) melt-down and stormed out of the office mid-afternoon. And this morning has brought 40 phones calls in the first 2 hours and a RUDE email from the ladies on the 8^th floor. So I sent a rude email back. And THEY sent a rude email again. In response, I verified that the Accounting group is still working on finding me a position, and then said violently (to myself, of course) “Liberté, egalité, fraternité, ou la mort!” AKA: IT’S ON, NOW!!! I’m so mad that my eye is twitching. Why can’t people just play nicely?!

It’s very much John Lennon day today. I’ve had “Jealous Guy” going through my head all morning, but now it’s been replaced by “Revolution.” Not the non-committal White Album “Revolution” or the drug-induced “Revolution 9” but the “Revolution” single… “you can count me OUT!” I’m THAT MAD!

So let’s see. Happy Thoughts! My friend Butler is in town and has promised me a day of Used Book Store perusal on 17^th Ave (“The Red Mile”, for you hockey fans. IMHO, this is Canada and it should thus be called “The Red 1.609 Kilometres”, but who am I to judge?) I haven’t seen him in about 8 years (he’s been teaching English overseas), so this should be interesting, and fun! The last time I saw him was under a street light in the rain after we saw “The Avengers” at Banker’s Hall. I’m older and jaded now, Butler… But we’ll find ourselves two copies of “East of Eden”, I promise!

I take this post to mean that my best friend is totally OKAY with me buying her baby cute clothes. Now if only I could remember where I saw those Tie-Dye Onesies? Heehee. As if you wouldn’t love that ;) I know you’re a hippie at heart, and Baby will be too. When I’m rich I’ll buy your family a brightly-painted VW van.

I went to Starbucks at lunch and the guy who made my coffee said “I like your jacket!” Yay, Purple Cashmere Pea Coat!

A. was a darling and bought me a Deepak Chopra book at the lecture called “The Book of Secrets”, so soon I will totally be able to uncover the hidden meaning in my life, and will astound all of you with my fabulous writing and astute understanding of human nature. Book publishers will trip over each other, begging me for the privilege of publishing my as-yet-unwritten manuscripts. Old friends will see each other after 8 years and go to the used bookstores on “The Red 1.609 Kilometres” (renamed in my honour) to find my books, but there will be a waiting list (like there was for “He’s Just Not That Into You”) and they’ll totally pay full price for it new, especially since they know the royalties will be going to help the people of war-torn Darfur. Additionally, my passion to help the people of Darfur will make Anderson Cooper fall in love with me, because he’s so smart and handsome and quick-witted, and at our quiet, unassuming city-hall wedding, I will tell everyone that I owe my blissful happiness to A. and Deepak Chopra. … and Anderson Cooper, for being so smart and handsome and quick-witted ;)

*giggle* I feel better already.

Much love,

~g~

A Student of Weather

2006-09-28T19:13:00.000-06:00

Today, inspired by the sub-artic temperatures in the office, I will continue with another Canadian book:

Elizabeth Hay's A Student of Weather

Many, many moons ago I was working at a bookstore, and this book caught my eye every time I walked by the Fiction “H” section. I should mention that I’m notorious for judging books by their covers. I’m a glutton for charming illustrations, which is why the Classics sections in used book stores are strictly off-limits for me, because I go “charming illustration” CRAZY!!! My Best Friend can vouch for this obsession, since I send her many children’s books because the illustrations are so charming. But I digress. That’s how “A Student of Weather” sucked me in…. The Allure of the Cover Art…. Take a look at it for a moment. Aren’t you intrigued? Isn’t the title drawing you in? I thought so…. Let’s continue.

“A Student of Weather” takes place in Saskatchewan during the Depression, when there was nothing but dust. No rain, no crops, just dust. I know you think “that’s all well and good”, but take a look at some of these dust-storm pictures from Alberta in the ‘30’s.

That’s a whole lotta dust, and I’d sure hate to be in the path of THAT. A little oppressive, non? The novel follows the lives of Norma Joyce and her sister Lucinda on a Saskatchewan farm in the middle of the depression. Norma Joyce is an unusual child; wildly uncooperative, strange and virtually alone amid her family since her mother’s death, while Lucinda is beautiful, busy and efficient. Maurice, a student from Ontario stumbles upon their home during a violent snow storm and throws their lives into an eternity of love-triangle turmoil.

Perhaps the most unnerving (but wonderful) thing about this book is the blunt honesty of it. The characters are reflective of the landscape… Harsh, expansive, wildly extreme as the weather. Again, the characters are in survival-mode, existing, but not living. Norma Joyce is the exception to every rule… violently alive, aware, different and alone. Hay’s greatest talent (imho) is her ability to write with such bold honestly, create characters that are so damaged and real, and yet weave in breathtaking moments of beauty. I’m again reminded of the prairie landscape with this… in the winter I see the brown frozen stubble of wheat fields, the white heavy snow clouds that go on forever, flat, like eternal hopelessness. But in Summer, when the sky goes purple with thunder clouds, with sunlight slanting in from the west over the mountains, the wheat turns to gold and my heart just soars. Hay has captured this prairie dichotomy perfectly, and her lyricism, her characters are pulled by these polar opposites. Beauty and ugliness, drought and flood, hope and despair, dead and alive.

Being the “emotional reader” that I am, this is the book I turn to when I’m feeling alone or misunderstood. This is yet another book that I give to everyone, because I think it’s brilliant, and also because I feel so connected to it. Hay’s writing sinks into me and stays with me, challenges the ways I think and see people. What else can I say? GO READ THIS BOOK ;)

Much love,
~g~

What We All Long For

2006-09-27T12:01:00.000-06:00

I have been in the sourest of sour moods this week, for a variety of reasons with which I won’t bore you. As much as I want to post a caveat on my blog for everyone to Please Leave Me Alone Until Further Notice, I’m going to try and snap out of the sour mood by posting about something that makes me happy: BOOKS!

Mocha Momma’s recent posts on “Books I Love” have inspired me to write a little about the books *I* love, and why I love them. Sort of hard to think where to start, since the ones that have touched me are not necessarily on the banned book list (it being Banned Book Week!), but are just ones that stuck. By “stuck”, I mean they’re the books that seeped into my skin and my brain and changed me on a deep and personal level. The ones that changed the way I perceive life and people, the ones that gave me feelings I couldn’t shake for days, the ones that woke me up to something profound. The ones I can read forty times and still get something new out of them. I’m pleased to say that a lot of the authors of these books are Canadian. There seems to be something intrinsically dark in these authors, which I suspect comes from the landscape and the winters up here. I think Canadians have that ability to tap into that emotional wasteland of “winter survival mode” when it’s -30 Celcius and dark for 18 hours of the day. The “move forward, because if you stop you’ll freeze to death” attitude. Sort of like Russian authors, I suppose, but different. Somehow, Canadian, eh? ;)

Dionne Brand “What We All Long For”

I was introduced to Dionne Brand’s writing in my first year of University by my Detective Fiction prof. Brand has nothing to do with Detective Fiction, so I’m not sure how this happened? I believe the prof just recommended her to me. At any rate, upon reading a book of her poetry, “Land to Light On”, I was hooked, shaken, breathless by the end. Last year I finally had a chance to go to a reading of hers at Wordfest, and gained an even greater appreciation for her lyrical artistry. I ordered “What We All Long For” in the Spring and it arrived just in time for The Great Chicken Pox Episode of 2006. Good thing I had a week off, because I could NOT put this book down.

The book takes place in Toronto and follows the lives of four friends in their early twenties, as well as a man who was separated from his family as a young child during a flee to freedom. The characters are so rich in their flaws, so emotionally bold and so real that their experiences cut away at you. Brand’s writing is beautiful and tragic, strong, challenging, aching. One of the characters, a young artist, creates an art installment to document what people long for. The theme is rich and destitute, connecting everyone through their desires. What do you long for?

This is one of those books that I want to share with everyone (guess what you’re getting for Christmas?? Heehee) because it’s so relatable. It displays longing as one of those cross-cultural, cross-generational strings that inadvertently tie us together as “humans”, no matter how hard we strike out at each other and ourselves. At times like these, I wish I was a movie director, because I can visualize this book SO clearly, and I want people to KNOW it and read it and feel it like I did, because I think it’s that important.

More books as the week progresses,
Much Love,
~g~

Evil Monday

2006-09-25T16:15:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've pretty much decided that everyone is evil today.
HOLY
RUDE
PEOPLE...
What one earth happened last night to turn everyone into rude, impatient lunatics?
... Condo Board Idiot specifically.

As for the rest of you....
BE NICE!!!!

~g~

Style Icons - Audrey Hepburn

2006-09-23T22:14:00.000-06:00

The recent GAP Advertising Campaign put me in the mood to watch Funny Face (the movie from which that footage was taken.) Audrey has been one of my Style Icons for many many years, but as much as I love Audrey, I can't love the skinny black pant. It looks so terrible on most people!!! Why, GAP, WHY?

At any rate, Audrey is the picture of style and grace, (much thanks to Givenchy). Such elegance! I want to be her :) I want the dress in the balloon scene. Get on that, will you GAP? heehee. Also the wedding dress, if you can manage it ;) Why Not? There's Baby GAP, GAP Kid's, Adult GAP, even GAP Maternity... Why not GAP Formal? Think on it, lemme know.

If you haven't seen Funny Face, please see it. It's a strange little movie, and Audrey is just plain silly in some parts, but holy romantic, visual, innovative!!!

Who is your style icon? ... and please, don't say Jessica Simpson :P
~g~

More Mushy Stuff...

2006-09-20T20:36:00.000-06:00

Just a table shot, my corsage, etc.

One of many kisses, I assure you...

Hand, ring, lovely.

another pretty rose

The wedding cake... Please note the bride and groom topper ;)
THAT'S love!

Viva La Romance!
~g~

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2006-09-18T22:21:00.000-06:00

I'm pleased to present the Lovely Couple:

Gran (my mum) and Caspian... ROAR!!!

Bride and Groom... They only love each other a little ;)

Mmmmm, flowers.

My parents :)

More to come later!!!
~g~

Romance and Icy Wedding Guests

2006-09-18T14:40:00.000-06:00

The air was full of love and a wintery chill this weekend, and N&S’s wedding was beautiful, perfect, lovely, romantic and all things wonderful.

The bus ride out went quite well! I was nervous about being in charge of entertainment, but I was soon all about the microphone, spouting my bad humour and foolish commentary. People laughed, but the jury is still out as to if they were laughing with or at me. Everyone liked the slideshow too, thank goodness!!! When we got up to the top of the hill, it was cold. It was snowy. I didn’t ever find galoshes, so I wore my winter boots instead (hot!!! I know, with the dress, I looked like a character from the Popeye Movie.) But people mostly dressed appropriately and even made a few snowman “guests” (too cute). The ceremony was short, but beautiful. Then there were pictures, and wine and cheese back on the toasty bus… mmmmmm, warm.

Most people slept on the bus ride home, so I gave up on entertaining them. Then dinner at the Danish Canadian Club, and speeches that made me cry. It was quite beautiful, and I think it was everything N&S hoped for. I didn’t bring my camera to the ceremony, because of all my “duties”, but many people took maaaany pictures, so I will post some as I receive them. I took some pics at the reception, although none of them are spectacular, but I will post those this week sometime.

I *DO* have to vent about one thing though: People and their inappropriate comments about me being single! One would THINK that family at a joyful occasion would display a certain sense of decorum. However, one after another, they came at me in the receiving line… Comment after comment:

“Still waiting on an invitation to YOUR wedding”
“Well, just YOU left now.”
“Still single, eh?”
“Tick Tock, ha ha ha.”

Are you KIDDING ME?!? I feel like Bridget Jones, standing there with all the Smug Married’s attacking me. No where to run. In the middle of a #^@%!*& field!!! And one after the other, they come at me with that smug look on their face, and I am STUNNED, defenseless, and completely shocked that they have to gall to say these things to my face.

Perhaps someone can shed some light as to why these people are so abrasive and vile as to attack me on my most sensitive issue, at the most inappropriate moment. What are they hoping will come out of this?
Do they think that I don’t realize that I’m single and 27 now? (27!!!!!!!)
Are they hoping that I will somehow justify my status?
Are they pleased at the prospect of making me cry on the top of a hill?
Are they hoping that I will say “Yes, I am hideous and unloved, thanks for pointing that out.”?

I’ve thought about this for two days now and I just can’t think what they’re hoping to get out of this confrontation. Perhaps even worse, my mum said that they were saying the same things about me to HER!!! So not only did I personally receive approximately 12 vile comments, my mum received countless others on my behalf (she won’t tell me how many, so that means it was a lot.) So not only were they discounting me as a hopeless, lost-cause old maid, but were accusing my mother of RAISING said hopeless, lost-cause old maid. For the love of all things holy. People need to shut the hell up. Because honestly, being the only single person at a wedding is hard enough, and commentary like that makes me want to shoot myself in the head.

*eh-hem* sorry for the rant!
Much love,

Hopeless, Lost-Cause Old Maid Formerly Known as ~g~

GALOSHES!!!!

2006-09-13T11:42:00.000-06:00

It is one grey, grey day in Calgary today. I have to admit, I’m starting to worry about my shoes for the wedding. They are so vastly inappropriate for hiking up a hill in the FIRST place, but add precipitation to the mix and I WILL fall. I just will. And 60 people will point and laugh. And there will be photographers to document this. Two, professional photographers. SO not cool.

Can I possibly justify buying galoshes as a back-up to the Kenneth Cole Cherry Red Patent Leather Kitten Heels? Can I possibly justify wearing galoshes with a Cherry Red (with Polka-Dots) Silk Organza dress? And even if I can justify this, do I really have time to go shopping, since in all of this turmoil I have scheduled “Clean Condo” at 9pm tonight? If I don’t have time to sleep, do I have time to buy galoshes? And in my sleep-deprived (but clean condo!) state, can I be relied upon to NOT buy galoshes with lady-bugs on them AND remember to bring the rings Saturday?

Does anyone know where I can find a personal assistant for the next three days?

See, why don’t we have Target in Calgary??? These would be perfect.

And Also? Walmart? Your website is not helpful.

And also? I need more coffee, because 3 cups is NOT… ENOUGH!

Oh, and Also? Gravity Pope? I can not BELIEVE you want $100 for GALOSHES!

Alright, I think that’s all for now. I’ll keep you posted on the Galoshes situation.

~g~

Jung and Me, We Go Way Back...

2006-09-08T16:20:00.000-06:00

This post is a little long-winded, so be prepared….
A few years ago I had to do a group presentation on Jung and Archetypal Literary Criticism
for my Literary Theory class. I think I would have loved that class were it not for the prof, who fell asleep during our presentation, and the raging arguments between our group members. Although I’m not a big fan of Literary Criticism at all, I am a fan of philosophy, and I discovered a lot of concepts which I could relate to life, if not literature. Back then I knew more than I cared to about Jung, and was more inspired by Deconstruction Theory and Jaques Derrida , and thus promptly forgot everything I ever knew about Jung immediately following the final (I had to make room for Astronomy in there somewhere.)
Fast-forward to last Friday afternoon at work: I found it nearly impossible to do anything productive, since I was SO excited about moving, and I casually started to think about personality types of the VPs at work. They are such a diverse group of fellas in a very old-fashioned-boy’s-club-mentality company, and where some are domineering, others seem truly helpless without their exec assistants. I often wonder what they go home to at night. Do the Domineering ones go home and do some more dominating there, or are they eager to give up their power to their blonde, ambitious third wives? Because personally, I have to be all perky, polite and well-groomed at work, and then I go home, put on my Lululemon yoga pants and revel in being antisocial. So I did a bit of searching online and found a link to a personality test, which just happened to be of the Jung-Myers-Briggs Archetypal persuasion. I was pretty floored at my results, because they seemed pretty bang-on… but really I had no idea.
I am considered an INFJ, with a break-down like so:
Introvert – 67%
iNtuitive – 75%
Feeling – 62%
Judgmental – 78%
I know that stressful situations bring out the worst in people, and this weekend that was proven to be true, as my quiz results were, one after another, put on display for family and friends to witness, with a prominence in Introvert and Judgemental. If only “clumsy” were in there too, it would be a perfect representation of me ;) Moment by moment, comments from my quiz result came floating back to me:
“There can sometimes be a "tug-of-war" between NF vision and idealism and the J practicality that urges compromise for the sake of achieving the highest priority goals.”
(This is when I don my Gillian The Dictator cap and start ordering people to perform tasks with very particular details as to how it should be done, until they suggest a better way, at which point I get irritated and my voice gets really squeaky.)
“The INFJ's thinking is introverted, turned toward the subject. Perhaps it is when the INFJ's thinking function is operative that he is most aloof.” (after a barrage of questions, I give up, shrug, and say “whatever. You know better than I do” And walk away because my brain hurts.)
“INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long-term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates." While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates.” SO TRUE! I shut myself off to everyone this weekend, not returning voicemail messages, not checking my email and ignoring my buzzing phone. I had to make everyone go away and just listen to tunes and unpack to become normal again.
None of this is very surprising, but I was shocked by my consistency in displaying this. I am regularily accused of being aloof, and I didn’t really realize how true it was until about a year ago. I’m a very shy person, very introverted, and I don’t find myself to be very quick-witted or well-spoken, so I do have a tendency to try and meld into the background. But even with friends, I’ve been known to shut myself off or stop speaking with them altogether when things get too personal or uncomfortable between us. Most of the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it, and it surprises me when people call me on it; My instant wall. Impenetrable, Just Add Emotion :P Even when I ask my BEST friends about this, they just laugh and say "you have NO idea, do you?" I guess not!!!
At any rate, if you’re looking for a little insight into your little quirks, here’s a link to the quiz. SEND ME YOUR RESULTS!!!
To completely figure me out, here is the complete description of INFJ.

Much Love,
~g~

Autumn in Calgary

2006-09-07T13:49:00.000-06:00

Autumn has come to Calgary.

The trees have all begun to turn, at once, as though they too were giddily awaiting Labour Day to sport their Autumn fashions. They’re glowing delicious golds and reds and purples in the sunshine, and a few overly-eager ones have already spilled and sighed their dressings to the ground. The weather is hot, not like most Septembers, (keep your fingers crossed for N&S’s wedding!) and the air is rusty with smoke from forest fires somewhere. It smells wonderful and earthy, like October in Victoria. I loved the smoky air, the vivid orange pumpkin fields, the glowing banners of newly-flooded cranberry bogs, and the burgundy maple trees in Butchart Gardens and in front of the Empress Hotel. Autumn in Victoria is the most wonderful thing to see… too bad I’m in Calgary ;)

I went for a walk at lunch today and discovered a veritable treasure-trove of Mediterranean delights called “Kalamata Grocery.” Oh, the joy of it!!! Skinny little isles between shelves packed near-exploding with packages of delicious looking things with little-to-no English on the labels. Beautiful, amazing bottles of Pomegranate syrup, jars of Vanilla Preserve and bags plump with tiny pasta stars. A hundred kinds of olives in bins and jars, Feta, and stacks of sweets from marzipan to beautiful mystery boxes, all written in Greek. *sigh* I could have looked around for hours, but I limited myself to a bag of fresh Pitas, a bottle of Rose water and a tray of Anise cookies. Mmmmm, heaven.

That’s all for now! More soon…
~g~

Haiku for Possession

2006-08-31T13:37:00.000-06:00

Just sneaking a quick post at work, because I'm too excited to wait.

HAIKU FOR POSSESSION

Tonight, the last step!
A little home, just for me;
I take possession.

~g~

Chocolate Sickness & More Quotes

2006-08-29T21:08:00.000-06:00

ughhhhh, no more chocolate.
I took K to Death By Chocolate at the Palliser as Part 2 of her birthday celebration. By round 2 (after mousse, cheesecake, pudding cake, chocolate covered fruit and white chocolate grand marnier soup) I was regrettably feeling the Chocolate Sickness, but forced a round 3, which has left my stomach and eyes twitching. ... Fairly certain chocolate is now pumping through my veins. It's actually quite wonderful :)

At work today I found a few more quotes (I can only file for so long) that I thought I'd run past you. The longer I file, the more my mind wanders into strange realms, such as a long winded dissertation on "Why Life is like Sushi." Better just to take "surfing breaks" every so often to clear out the craziness.

Anywho, QUOTES:

The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle. - Anais Nin

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. - Carl Jung

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world. - Oscar Wilde

If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time. - Marcel Proust

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. - Maya Angelou

She was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner. - J.M. Barrie

Thoughts? The J.M. Barrie one I love! It's from Peter Pan, which is the most delightful book I've ever read. Since I read it, I always delighted in the thought of the hidden kiss in the right-hand corner. You really can see it in some people. I wonder if I have a hidden kiss? I certainly have the romantic mind of tiny boxes.

Do let me know, my darlings.
Also, TWODAYSTILLITAKEPOSSESSION! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!
~g~

Up A Lazy River With Me

2006-08-27T15:41:00.000-06:00

This picture of Belal has nothing to do with the post... I just thought it was darn cute! heehee!
I'm feeling particularily lazy today, in spite of the four million things I have to do before THE BIG MOVING DAY!!! I am so super excited that I can barely contain myself. Not super excited about packing though... hmmmm... I find myself lounging by a window with a warm breeze saying "just another chapter of my book" and then 3 hours later... oh well :) It just has to be done sometimes.
However, I could use your input on quotes. So I mentioned that I want to paint a quote on my bedroom wall, and that I couldn't pick one? Well I've narrowed it down to a few. Any thoughts? Here they are:

"But when a young lady is to be a heroine, the perverseness of forty surrounding families cannot prevent her. Something must and will happen to throw a hero in her way."
- Jane Austen

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: The word is love."
- Sophocles

"A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous."
- Ingrid Bergman

"Life is the flower for which love is the honey."
- Victor Hugo

Those are my current favourites... My bedroom theme will be warm, Moroccan, sensual... a cozy den of warm colours, but simple and easy to relax in.
Any thoughts? Any PERFECT quote ideas?

Much love,
~g~

ROAD TRIP!

2006-08-20T21:41:00.000-06:00

Last night, in a fit of packing procrastination (I know I move in less than two weeks) I said to my sad friend, R "Let's go on a road trip tomorrow." R agreed that my special brand of Tomfoolery might be an appropriate way to quell his sadness, so tally-ho, off we went this morning to Drumheller. Here is a rather terrible picture of Horseshoe Canyon. I never like any pictures of Horseshoe Canyon, because you can never really see how big it is.... well it's big, believe me!!! The special thing about Horseshoe Canyon is that you're driving along in flat-ass prairie for an hour and a half and then there's this big HOLE suddenly. It's so strange... I daresay it's a place that Wiley Coyote would find appealing.... *poof* *splat*

Next it was off to Drumheller, where we met a gigantic T Rex, who we named Al. We had a special bond with Al, until Al decided that R looked like a good snack....

In my attempts to save R from Al, I fainted.... I guess heroics aren't really my strength....

Then on the way back into downtown Drumheller (or so I thought), my questionable driving skills got us completely, utterly, hopelessly lost. LUCKILY, we found a very cool abandoned old farm house. Abandoned farm houses are a dime a dozen out here, but very few are this cool and creepy AND have wide open gates. R is much braver than me, so he got out of the car and I followed. I almost had a heart attack from a silly pigeon, BUT we weren't even attacked by rattle snakes, so HOORAH! This is the roof of the farm house...

This is the manky side of the farm house....
And this is the even MANKIER inside of the farm house....yum.... rotting things.... but it made for pretty pictures :)

It was a very good day, and I think after 14 years of knowing me, R has finally come to see my childish, bratty side (phew, glad THAT'S out in the open now.... lol!) I'm not sure if he had fun, but *I* sure did.

xoxo,
~g~

The Strange Days Have Come

2006-08-17T22:33:00.000-06:00

This is a sketch from my sketchbook which I am using to illustrate the "Strange Days" theme of my post... It was a strange day when I drew this, and only I will ever know what made it so strange... but I digress...

Strange days indeed. Being back at the old job has been really weird. It honestly feels like I never left, and that the deplorable job was some sort of nightmare. It's not as though I love the old/present job, but the people are so great (most of them) and it's really like I'm home. It's all come back to me and it's just... WEIRD... I love the smiling faces, people coming to my desk and stopping to talk for ten minutes, phone calls to say "welcome back", people begging me to join the social committee again (heehee)... it is so, so good and so very different from the deplorable job. And the mortgage papers will be signed tomorrow and I take possession September 1st and THAT's exciting too! But the days do get stranger...

Tonight I was looking through a bunch of quotes that I like, because I really want to stencil an inspiring quote on my bedroom wall to wake up to every morning. I can't narrow it down to one, but most of the ones I like have to do with love, so I thought maybe a FEW quotes.... anyway, while reading quotes I got a strange message from a friend out of nowhere... a friend who has been behaving oddly lately... and it turns out that he and the love of his life broke up. It's one of those things where you feel it coming, but it's still shocking to hear. So I asked him "what now?" and he said he didn't know. So I've been thinking about that this evening. For the past three years I've been dealing with my own "I don't know" in the grand life change, fresh out of what I thought was a "forever" thing... and I've been watching my friends build their lives with "forever" people, and it has left me dumbfounded that I somehow went awry on that path. Honestly, DUMBFOUNDED. For three years, people. And I know that my dear friend, I want to just wrap him in quilts to shelter him from the pain. I know my friends wanted to do that for me too. And I feel like only now, three years later, am I digging myself out of the dumbfoundedness. I want to do something but there's nothing I can do, is there? I guess not. There was nothing anyone could do for me except be patient with me and love me, and only the truest of hearts could do that.

So I know you're wondering "how does this all go together?" so here it is:
The days are strange because I'm waking up to certain realities, and seeing that I have quite a few things to be proud of, and quite a few things to look forward to. The days are strange because it hurts to see someone you've cared about for 14 years hurt from losing a "forever"love. The days are strange because it's just impossible to look back and see the waves you've made sometimes, and the days are strange because we don't say or hear this stuff enough: "you've impacted me" or "now I understand who you are/how you feel/why you did what you did." So I'll leave you with one of the quotes I'm contemplating:

"There is no remedy for love but to love more."
- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Keep making waves, darlings. You've impacted me.
~g~

Am I A Bad Mommy?

2006-08-13T16:22:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned, I'm dog and cat sitting for my parents while they gallivant around San Francisco going to protest marches and Telegraph Hill and watching the nephew dance while awaiting public transit.
I'm discovering, though, that I'm not a very good mommy. I may have, in fact, given Belal two breakfasts this morning. Then this evening I was bustling around feeding the kitties, giving Belal his medicine, etc and I figured I'd accomplished everything, so I sat on the couch with my laptop. Belal walked up to the couch, made firm eye contact with me and stared me down. "What, sweet pea?" I said.
*death stare*
"What do you need, baby?"
*death stare*
"Are you okay?"
*stare, stare, stare*
"...Belal?"
*staaaaaare*
"okay, don't freak out," I think. "Belal, what's wrong???"
I stare at him.
He stares back, as if to say "you're forgetting some vital part of my maintenance", as if he's willing me to read his mind.
I try.
I fail.
I fed him, walked him, gave him fresh water, medicine with a chaser of cheese.... what what WHAT?
Still he stares me down. STARES me down with a persistent, expectant glare in his big brown eyes. I lean my face in close to his, and he doesn't even try to lick my nose... he.... just.... stares. At which point the panic hits and I start to sob.... Oh god, is he breathing normally? did I do everything right? my mum is gonna kill me!!! Should I call my brother??? OH MY GOD!!! *sob* "BEEEELAL! WHAT'S WRONGGGGG?" after a minute that SEEMS like 4 hours, he finally jumps up onto the couch with me and lets me dry my tears on his golden coat. I really can't take the pressure. I'm 100% certain that I did everything I was supposed to do with him, and I'm sure he's just wondering what I've done with mum and dad. He's probably aware that I'm a nervous wreck in this big old house on my own, taking care of HIM, my mother's pride and joy, and is possibly using fear tactics to get me to give him large cubes of cheese and let him sleep on the bed with me. ... well, he's winning. I'm DONE, Belal, do you hear me??? You've won!!!! Love, ~g~

50 Ways To Avoid Having A Productive Holiday

2006-08-11T16:47:00.000-06:00

Oh Vacation, how I love you. It's been a busy week, and I have managed to do basically nothing productive. I'm also dog-sitting while my parents are away, so I made an apple pie from the apples from their tree, and took pictures of the apples, and avoided doing things. Yes, it's been a busy time of avoiding. Perhaps tonight I will be productive. But perhaps not....
Not much news... the condo thing is progressing, just waiting on the paperwork now. I have some stuff picked out from Ikea. Is this the most boring post ever? Well yes, I think it is!
mmmm apples! Yummy! Delicious way to avoid things. E-heeheeheee!
~g~

Folk Fest 2006!!!

2006-08-05T22:23:00.000-06:00

Alright, the post I've been promising for a week is finally here!

The Calgary Folk Fest this year was a-maz-ing, and the most successful ever, ALL due (I'm sure) to my Uncle Les who is the General Manager! Yippee. I was there for almost the entire weekend and I saw and heard so many incredible musicians. I will highlight my favourites below and include links to their sites (if they have them). I encourage you to look around and take a listen, since many of the artists have free MP3s or sound clips on their sites. Check it out :) and enjoy!

- Kris Demeanor and His Crack Band - Very funny local boy, uber-talented and very enjoyable.

- Kathleen Edwards - Simple but haunting. Can't help but FEEL her songs. Looooove "Summerlong"

- Niyaz - They don't have a website, but my GOD their music sent shivers through my body and I rushed the CD tent to buy their album. They are described as "An acoustic-electronic fusion of traditional Persian, Indian and Turkish music." SO amazing.

- Stew - Very funny :) Described as "Afrobaroque"...

- Ndidi Onukwulu - She was incredible! Sultry blues voice was un-freaking-believable. BUY THIS CD!

I saw some other amazing groups at the festival who are the more popular ones, but who I still thought were amazing, such as Macy Gray, Matthew Good (in love with him), Kris Kristofferson and Jeff Healy. Check them out if you don't know their work.

For more stuff like this, check out the Folk Festival website and consider a weekend pass for next year.

Much love,
~g~

My Brain Is On Spin Cycle

2006-08-01T12:42:00.000-06:00

So lately my fondest dream has been to purchase a pensieve, as my brain is really very full... Sadly, I don't think JK Rowling has created a working prototype yet! So my blog will be my pensieve, and I'll put all of my thoughts on display, you lucky readers you!

- I keep meaning to post about the folk festival, which I will do soon, I swear, because there's a lot of music I want to share with y'all.
- I got approved for my mortgage! EEEEEEEE!!!!
- How will I fit all of my possessions into such a very little space?
- My last day at this evil job is Friday, and in light of this, I have written a poem. Please note the "Oil Company" allusions. But don't analyze, it only took me five minutes to write :P

Ode To Leaving A Deplorable Job
By Me

Be still, oh impatient demons
of blackened wells!
Retreat into your darkest shadows,
Drill further still to the murky depths,
And count thy coins with
Oily fingertips.

For I am no more your driven slave,
And shall not bow
to your rapturous greed and lust again!
Ere long, the dark angels of wealth will flee,
Screaming through the twilight of
Your dying soliloquy.

I shall be far from your den of iniquity,
Practicing my alchemy
Of briny oceans into power and light!
Your spell of burnt and broken earth revealed,
And yee shall be left to your memories
In your eternal darkness.

- So THERE, CNR!!! NYAAAAAH!
- Sometimes boys are dumb... Well, frequently. But that doesn't mean I should be rude to them. So if you're a boy and you're reading this and I've recently been rude to you, I'm sorry... I'll try to control myself in the future.
- Should I get an entertainment centre or should I go with some crazy bookshelf Ikea montage?
- Where should I buy a new bed? (advice would be helpful on this one!)

Alright, that's it for now because my lunch break is over *sigh*
Folk Fest stuff is coming soon, I swear!
~g~

On Being A Grown Up

2006-07-28T12:45:00.000-06:00

This week has been the most grown up week of my whole life and I have to say, it is SO terrifying and exciting and strange!!!
Last weekend I went to look at a condo that I knew I couldn't afford, and as with MOST things that I can't afford, I fell in love! There was much talk with my parents at this, and lots of "well, maybe" and lots of phone calls.
Of the phone calls, there was one on Monday from ATCO offering me a job, which I gleefully accepted :) So I tried, unsuccessfully, to quit The Deplorable Job on Tuesday, which they refused to accept because APPARENTLY when people yell at you and tell you you're doing things wrong and make you cry, it actually means that they think you're the BEST EMPLOYEE EVER! Well, who knew? And who, actually, cares? So Wednesday I quit again, for real this time. Because this place radiates Evil... Anyway....
Wednesday I also put in an offer on the condo, which was accepted, based on approval of financing and my lawyer approving the paper work.... WELL!!! The bank figures (due to the kind generosity of my family members, and my meager savings) that this financing "won't be a problem." Well, my GOD!
This little condo is so adorable, SO painfully small, and costs more money than my parents paid for their 3 bedroom house, thanks to the market boom in Calgary ;) Oh dear.
So now, it's all down to the waiting, which is awfully hard.
WAITING for the call from the bank saying "you got it!"
WAITING for the paperwork for the lawyer.
WAITING for Friday, which is my last day toiling in the glow of EVIL!
When I have answers, I will update :) And also, post pics from the folk fest this weekend (Thanks to my prime weekend backstage pass!!!!!!!! LOVE my aunt and uncle!!!)
xoxo
~g~

Space Cadet! AKA: TGIF

2006-07-21T12:52:00.000-06:00

I've been battling a horrible case of Space Cadet-edness all week, I'm very sorry to say.
I know what I should be doing (like working, for example) but instead I choose to sit and stare at my computer, and maybe blink on occasion, while my brain makes the sound of a skipping record, an engine that won't turn over, or a broken hard drive (it alternates... no, really.)
I don't really know why I have this affliction! So many reasons, I suppose, and all I want to do is go play outside.
The Sister-In-Law-To-Be has a similar post on her blog. Is it the weather? Whatever it is, we need some excitement!
Any advice?
~g~

Post Stress Sleepiness

2006-07-20T12:33:00.000-06:00

Ahh, my presentation is over after many late nights and a lot of nerves and now I'm just plain sleepy. Relieved, yes. Proud, yes! But mostly sleepy.
The presentation was a success, and as I blog some random big-wig is reading our 80 page glossy, full colour, bound book of silliness. This makes me slightly nervous, but the sleepiness has mostly taken over and I'm happy to sit at my desk and do barely anything while smiling vaguely. I'm calm in my awareness that my two team members are doing the same thing, and as long as none of us drool and short out our keyboards then I think we'll get away with it.
I'm hoping that Mr. Random Big Wig is moved to tears by the effort of the three young prodigies of the 24th floor, and was not around last Friday to witness our debauchery at the staff Stampede party. I imagine him rushing from his office to tearfully embrace us, and presenting us with a "small token of gratitude" in the form of a $1,000 bonus. ... hey, this is my fantasy.... don't wreck it for me :P
xoxo,
~g~

Institutionalize Me, PLEASE

2006-07-18T12:41:00.000-06:00

Alright, I've clearly been working too hard...

I've had a few late nights of taking work home with me, and tonight 2 of the girls and I are staying at work late to finish a project, and I won't be surprised if we're here till 9 at least. Ugh! But that's okay, because I just come home and dream about work anyway, waking up every 15 minutes with panic attacks... so probably best to just fight the demons here after all.

At any rate, I think it's finally caught up with me.
12:10 PM and I'm in the line up at Tim Hortons... Suddenly conscious of two things:
1) I'm not really sure how I got here.... I remember needing coffee, but do not remember actually WALKING to Tim's.
2) I was just swaying along to Pat Benetar in the Tim's line-up. I wasn't even aware that you COULD sway to Pat Benetar, but apparently you can.
"Hmm," I think to myself. "Probably shouldn't work through lunch today."

So I came back to my desk and decided to drink my coffee and read a few blogs while listening to CBC. I became so engrossed in the music and blogs that I actually forgot where I was, and snapped out of the trance all freaked out "wha... where am I?"
... yikes....
So now, all sleep-deprived, head-spinning, I'm not exactly sure that I'm really awake at all, or if this is just another bad-work-dream. I think I can see the piles of paper growing (they're taking over my desk... maybe I'm shrinking like Alice in Wonderland.)
I HAVE to sleep tonight. I have the big project presentation tomorrow AND a meeting at the bank about getting a mortgage on Friday.... and I can't be crazy at EITHER of those. Nor can I cry, or throw things, or nap or ANYTHING like that.
SO I will pay someone good money to hit me over the head with a rubber mallet so that I may sleep.... anyone? Please?
Wishing you dreams about Pat Benetar, Tim's coffee, Alice in Wonderland and Rubber Mallets.
Xoxo,
~g~

Fun With Power Tools!

2006-07-16T21:27:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a busy day! I spent the day helping Nathan and Sheila build their fence. I was told there would be single men there... sadly, they didn't show up! But it was still good. When we started there were only fence posts. I honestly didn't think we'd finish!
It was a hot day and I got a sunburn, but oh well. I got to use a power drill for most of the day, and got to be quite efficient with it! yay me! I also managed to stay behind the camera all day! muahaha! This is when the fence finally started coming together! Doesn't it look nice??
TADA! It's so beautiful! Here's the happy couple in front of their handy work! Great job everyone!
Love,
~g~

Can't a Cowgirl get a break?

2006-07-09T22:26:00.000-06:00

Yes it's Stampede time again, Folks! Time to don your hats and jeans and boots and go drinking and partying! haha!

But really, this city sure changes during the Stampede... I only hope that the pile of work I got last week was an indication that the companies I deal with will be too busy this week attending parties to bother with me. Keep your fingers crossed. This is typical Stampede protocol, so I hope they follow suit!

I remembered the three big things I don't like about the Stampede yesterday:
1) The country music.... ick!
2) The traffic!
3) The alcohol-induced idiocy!
I was driving home past the Stampede grounds early Saturday morning after seeing "Pirates of the Caribbean" and this ass-hat was standing in the middle of the road with his bicycle. I braked, I honked (for the first time ever) and he had the gall to wave his hand, as if to say "just go around." What the hell??? Who stands in the middle of the road with their bicycle at 1am??? Well, drunk Stampede idiots, that's who!

Oh well, Friday is our Stampede party for work (yay) so we get to spend the day at a club, which will be fun! Then down to the grounds to see Our Lady Peace.
I guess the Stampede isn't SO bad!

xoxo (you've been branded!)
~g~

The Significance of Song

2006-07-03T23:21:00.000-06:00

Wow, two posts in one day!
I should be asleep right now, but it just isn't happening. I've been messing around doing prep work for the DVD slideshows I'm making for Nathan and Sheila's wedding. Sheila's sister and I are in charge of the entertainment on the charter bus to The Retreat, so the slideshows are meant to be part of that entertainment.
The significance of the music is important, I believe, and I've been racking my brain to find songs. For Nathan's slideshow I think I'll be using "On Horseback" (AKA: track3) on Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn. This was an important song growing up... sometimes I loved it, sometimes it made me uncomfortable(not sure why?), but it was one of Nathan's favourites... apparently he would listen to it for hours while playing on our bouncy horse. I'm sure the LP is worn out by now, complete with the hiccups and pops of all well-loved vinyl. Listening to the song now brings back SO many memories, much like James Taylor's "Sun on the Moon", which was a favourite of mine growing up. I loved the part that goes "In line, in line, it's all in a line, my ducks are all in a row, they do not change, they do not move, they have no where to go." I was enamored with the thought of a group of well-behaved ducks standing in a perfectly straight row, and I was always pleased when dad put on the LP during our family game night battles of "National Geographic Pursuit". OH THE HORROR! Being the youngest and the worst at geography, it was a blessing to retreat into the barnyard in my mind and converse with well-mannered ducks. It's funny how these memories just rush back at you, isn't it?
I'll leave you with the lyrics to "On Horseback" so that we all might have interesting, bouncy-horse dreams tonight.
Much love,
~g~

I like beer, and I like cheese
I like the smell of a westerly breeze
But what I like more than all of these
Is to be on horseback.
[ Chorus ]
Hey and away we go
Through the grass, across the snow
Big brown beastie, big brown face
I'd rather be with you than flying through space.
I like thunder, and I like rain
And open fires, and roaring flames.
But if the thunder's in my brain,
I'd like to be on horseback.
Some like the city, some the noise
Some make chaos, and others, toys.
But if I was to have the choice,
I'd rather be on horseback.
[ Repeat Chorus ]
Some find it strange to be here,
On this small planet, and who knows where.
But when it's strange and full of fear,
It's nice to be on horseback.
Some are short, and others tall,
Some hit their heads against the wall.
But it doesn't really matter at all,
When you happen to be on horseback.
[ Repeat Chorus ]
So if you you feel a little glum,
To Hergest Ridge you should come.
In summer, winter, rain or sun,
It's good to be on horseback.
Hmph!
[ Repeat Chorus ]
[ Repeat Chorus ]
I'd rather be on horseback.

I Heart Education: My Love of Books and Sesame Street

2006-07-03T15:53:00.000-06:00

For a few months now I've been forced to downsize and keep most of my stuff in a storage facility. With the booming market in Calgary, you have to take what you can get, and my limited space means that I'm living a very basic life. It's been hard, but the worst part is that most of my books are in storage. The books in this picture are pretty much the only ones I kept out. This has been the hardest thing for me. I have bins and bins of books, and I miss them so dearly. I'm very much an "emotional reader", and most of the books in my collection have very personal significance. I re-read certain ones when I'm happy, sad, frustrated, juvenile... I'm ashamed to say that being separated from my books has caused me many outbursts of frustrated tears. It seems I can go without most of my possessions, but my books are like old, trusted friends, with much personal history caught between the covers.

On that happy note, let's move on to other ways to wile away the hours. A few posts ago, during the Chicken Pox Episode of 2006, I mentioned that I was watching a lot of Sesame Street videos on YouTube. Today I found a blog that has a list of links to such videos, to help shuffle through other Truly Bizarre Nonsense on YouTube. Like most people born in the 70s, my life was deeply affected by Sesame Street. I don't think a day goes by without me thinking about SOMETHING from Sesame Street. Obsess much? But that was some damn wonderful, fun, educational television. Check it out, tons of fun! PLEASE let me know if anyone can find a copy of the Bert and Ernie Rhyming Game ("Hey there lamp, that's a nice shade!") or the animated short where a little boy who is lost is helped out by a psychedelic guy in a top hat ("I know I'm lost, I'm definitely lost!")
Until then, here are a few of my ALL TIME FAVES:
- Bert and Ernie "Heeeeeeeere fishy fishy FISHY"
- A-B-C-D-E-F-COOKIEMONSTER
- A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter
- Bert and Ernie in a pyramid (this was what sparked my love of all things Egyptian.. little known fact about me!)

Have fun everyone :)
~g~

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

2006-07-01T20:09:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Canada Day indeed! Kim and I went down to Prince's Island today, which was fun, but not very exciting, unless you were five years old, which neither of us are. But the weather was lovely, so we indulged in blue snow cones....
mmmmm, tastes bluuuuuue. Very yummy, and with the additional bonus of blue tongues:
Nyyahhhhh! Happy 139th, dear Canada! Fireworks tonight if it doesn't storm! Yippee!
~g~

Happy Birthday Dear Canada!

2006-06-29T21:16:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's almost Canada Day! Let's all celebrate our kick-ass country! Awwww Yeah! I'll post some pics over the weekend to celebrate! I plan to get up to a LOT of mischief. Here are a few pics from last weekend at Bow Lake to start... not very good pictures because the sun was bright and glarey, but I can still celebrate the prettiness of Canada!

These are fun pine needles... I have no idea why some are red and some are green!

I, uh, just thought this log looked cool :)

Bow Lake. Blue, blue, blue!

~g~

Why I Don't Care About Flat Lake, Alberta...

2006-06-28T12:09:00.000-06:00

Honestly, my life has turned into some surreal jumble of absolute nonsense, and frankly, I'm sick of it. WHAT A STUPID WEEK! I'm going to bring a hockey stick to work one day, and y'all better stay away if you don't want to be chased down the hall.
Things have been SO strange, and SO busy, and SO unpleasant... I won't even get into it, because it's so dumb that it's not even important anymore.... So I'm writing off work and I'm going to just think about the nice things in life.... For example:
1. It's hot outside
2. It's almost the long weekend
3. I'm having my hair coloured some arrogant, unprofessional colour tomorrow
4. I'm going to play outside all weekend... unless I go to Claresholm... which I probably will... but still
5. It's almost Stampede time! Normally this wouldn't excite me, but this year I'm SO in the spirit of letting loose that I even bought a cowboy hat... oh yes... and I'm determined to have a helluvatime!!!! I may even flirt with guys and everything.... I'll keep you posted.
Alright, time to get out of the office for a bit.
~g~

When Pigs Fly!

2006-06-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

This charming illustration is by Michael Sowa, whose pictures I love beyond all measure.
As you may note, there are sheep using computers... we aren't sure how effectively these sheep are typing, and the black sheep of the crowd has retired to watch daytime television (who can blame him?). It's a nice picture. No one seems very concerned that the pig is coming in for a landing.
If you work in an office, the sheep on computers probably look familiar to you.
I had an interesting phone call today about a position opening up at the Old Job. It's not an exciting position, but the important part is that it isn't HERE, at the Deplorable Job. I left a message with Old HR and then lapse into a fantasy about going back to Old Job. I imagined everyone being sooooo happy to see me, however inaccurate it might be. I imagined suffering at New Job... "why did we yell at that wonderful person for stuff that wasn't even her fault?" Oh, such bliss.
I've been thinking about the Pros and Cons of each job. The only Pro I could come up with about New Job is that I get to wear Jeans on Friday... oh boy. I tried to remember the Cons about Old Job, and didn't remember a darn thing. I miss them. That's all.
I'm hoping that Old HR calls me back this afternoon and says "come pick up a formal offer TONIGHT!" Haha. That would never happen, but a girl can dream ;) It would be so nice to tell New Job to shove it.... mwahahahaha.
Love,
~g~

Lunch Blogger

2006-06-19T12:36:00.000-06:00

Ah, more lunch-break blogging.

I had every intention of working through lunch today since I have an afternoon meeting that will likely take far longer than the anticipated hour. But as I sat at my desk, tersely avoiding the tomatoes in my salad, my thoughts turned to sleepiness and hockey and people and places and things, and anything EXCEPT enthusiasm for the task at hand.

I realize that I am very tired, overwhelmed with the grandparents and the job that I hate. I've decided to take a new approach to the deplorable job, which is basically to shock them with my enthusiastic pestering about streamlining, which gives me more work, but which (hopefully) demands acknowledgement and will lead to efficiency. As you all know, I'm a big fan of efficiency. I've decided to be obnoxious about this. I will keep you all updated.

I have also been thinking how this obnoxious efficiency could be potentially beneficial in my "real life" as well. I think I need chore schedules, meal plans, budgets! Martha Stewart gets a bad rap, but I think maybe she just got sick of coming home after a long day at work and staring at the fridge for 45 minutes, praying for a miraculous dinner to appear in front of her, and then giving up and eating crackers in front of the TV. If I plan my cooking and shopping, if I budget, if I have a night set aside to do laundry, etc. then that should technically eliminate the fridge-stare-down and the sleepless nights wondering how I can afford to buy a house on my own or if I have clothes for work the next day. I can lose sleep over far more complex things... heh heh.... or maybe learn to relax.

Happy, Efficient Wishes!
~g~

Every Minute, Every Hour....

2006-06-18T22:21:00.000-06:00

This weekend has had such ups and downs. My grandparents continue to deteriorate, so my brother Josh decided to come up from the states this weekend to see them, to say goodbye, just in case. What we didn't know was that he was bringing my little nephew! When I found him at my parent's house Friday night it was such a lovely surprise!
We all went to Claresholm on Saturday, which was so upsetting. It's been about a month since I've seen them (because of the chicken pox) and I was shocked at how thin and broken they both looked. It was so horrible going between the hospital and the care facility, my heart broke a hundred times over each time I looked at them, each time my grandpa said he was ready to go, each time my grandma looked confused or hurt, every minute I could feel it, with each hug and kiss goodbye. My heart broke with love for them, it broke for my mother, it broke because they were both so sick, and had to live apart from each other. I thought in my last days, last hours, last minutes, the only thing I would want is to be with the people I love. Their health has denied them that.
When we were getting ready to leave and drive gramps back to the hospital the car was full, so I offered to walk from the senior's home and meet everyone downtown. As I walked my mind was just burning and a storm was rolling in with a huge dark sky and thunder everywhere... that's how I felt inside, too. As we started back on the highway home the sky broke and poured torrential rain, I felt a bump on my shoulder and looked down to find the little guy had fallen asleep leaning against me. The sky opened up, my heart burst with frustration and love for the little guy and my family and I took a picture with my camera phone for a little perspective. I have to keep it together. I have to keep my family alright.
I guess I just wanted to say "tell your family that you love them." They need to know. They deserve to know.
Love,
~g~

Boredom Breeds Memes

2006-06-10T22:29:00.000-06:00

I am hopelessly, incredibly, terribly, toxically bored. Bored Bored BORED! Do you know what that means? It means it's meme time....
HA! So THERE!
~g~

Three names you go by:
1. Gilly (by people who have known me my whole life)
2. Gill-o (by my brother Nathan)
3. Anime Babe (apparently I look like an Anime character)

Three physical things you like about yourself:
1. My lips
2. My neck/shoulders
3. My eyes

Three physical things you don’t like about yourself:
1. My disproportionately long legs that earned me the “Anime Babe” name
2. MY FRECKLES! GAH!
3. My hands

Three parts of your heritage:
1. Scottish
2. Irish
3. French

Three things that scare you:
1. The thought of becoming a crazy cat lady
2. Driving
3. Disappointing people

Three of your everyday essentials:
1. Mascara
2. Cell phone
3. Deodorant

Three of your favorite musical artists:
1. Billie Holiday
2. Sheryl Crow
3. Aqualung

Three of your favorite songs:
1. “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap
2. “Goodbye My Lover” by James Blunt
3. “Thanks for the Memory" by Mildred Bailey

Three things you want in a relationship:
1. Passion
2. Understanding
3. Compromise

Three lies and truths in no particular order:
LIES:
1. The earth is FLAT!
2. Fairies are pretend
3. An Apple a day keeps the Doctor away

TRUTH:
1. True Love is real
2. What goes around comes around
3. Beauty is in everything

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to you:
1. Genuine smile
2. Dark hair
3. Smiley eyes

Three of your favorite hobbies:
1. Reading
2. Photography
3. Writing

Three things you want to do really badly now:
1. Have fun with someone special
2. Go see my brother, sister-in-law and nephew
3. Hang out on a beach somewhere warm

Three careers you’re considering/you’ve considered:
1. Freelance grant writer
2. Fashion designer
3. Fiction writer

Three places you want to go on vacation:
1. France
2. San Francisco
3. Italy

Three kid’s names you like:
1. Audrey Rose
2. Ethan Christopher
3. Alexandra Grace

Three things you want to do before you die:
1. Find “The One”
2. Have babies
3. Go Whale Watching again

Three ways that you are stereotypically a boy:
1. I think most women are catty and irritating
2. I like tools and building things
3. I LOVE climbing trees

Three ways that you are stereotypically a girl:
1. I get such pleasure out of getting all dolled up
2. I cry every five minutes at commercials, etc
3. I get all choked up over babies

Three celeb crushes:
1. Cary Grant (back in the day)
2. Ralph Fiennes
3. Jude Law

Three people that I would like to see take this quiz… (but who probably won’t)
1. Kirsten
2. Josh
3. Sheila

Tragically Un-Hip

2006-06-09T12:20:00.000-06:00

I'm blogging at work, which probably I'm not supposed to do, but I'm on my lunch break... If this irritates them, they can just deal with it. Nyah-Nyah.

I realised today that I'm a grown up and hideously uncool. I can't really say that I've lost my coolness, because I don't think I was ever really cool. I had followers, yes. Friends who thought I was cool, and the occasional young kid who allegedly looked up to me. I still have friends who say I'm cool, but they're weird like me, so who really knows?

Anyway, let me get to the point. My summer student. My summer student is probably in her first year at university, because she's still young and chipper and not dead inside, which happens in the 3rd year. She started working here after I did, and has managed to become friends with the other chipper girls in the office who don't really like me. I wasn't sure why they didn't like me, but I think now it's because I'm old and not cool and I over-compensate for this by being really friendly, which comes off as needy, which is even less cool than before. Oh dear.

For example, this morning I had a few very important things that needed to be done. So I asked her "when you have a second can I get your help?" and she said "sure, but I might be slow today cuz, you know, it's Friday. I can't work too hard." The rage started to bubble in the pit of my grown-up stomach at this, and as usual, I over-compensated by saying "No kidding! Well, if you could get this done as soon as possible, that would be awesome. Then relax, by all means." and then I swear to you, I flounced out of the office.... and I don't flounce. And did I just say "awesome"? Do people even say that anymore?

Am I either
a) dating myself as an Eighties Child by using prehistoric slang, or
b) becoming an old person who tries to be cool by staying on top of young people's slang, in spite of the fact that it's completely inappropriate because you aren't 19?
Either way, this isn't good. I think 26 is a difficult age. It's a little hard to see where you fit when half of your friends are married and half of them are still binge-drinking party animals. I don't fit into either category, and I can't seem to bridge the gap. I can't, because I don't "get it" because I'm not "at that point" in my life, as they say. Maybe that's why nobody seems to get me either... none of them are 26 and single and shy.

It's a little hard to think of myself as grown-up, and even worse to think of myself becoming so focused on work that the "young adult, fun-and-games" attitude makes me want to shout "OH, GROW UP!" I still feel like a kid, I still text my friends "Cya l8r, GMTA, LOL!", but then I come home at night and am in bed by 9 because I'm exhausted.

Where do I fit??? WHERE?!?
~g~

Where did THAT come from???

2006-06-08T21:35:00.000-06:00

I had the strangest dreams last night... one was that my mum decided to redecorate the posts for the power lines outside of their house, and she chose chrome ones that were only 6 feet tall, so we all had to duck when we walked in the yard or we'd be electrocuted. ... something is really wrong with me.... This girl ain't right in the head. I'm scared to find out what tonight will bring. Let's hope it involves pirates that look like Johnny Depp with anchor tattoos.... Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho.

~g~

148 emails, 10 voicemails, 34 Authorizations

2006-05-31T18:54:00.000-06:00

I could vent extensively about how much work STINKS after being sick for 6 days, but the title says it all, don't you think?

Yesterday when the world was heavenly and I was parked on the couch I made a few blog revisions. My favourite is my new banner. This is one of my FAVOURITE pics; of course a fern in my mum's lovely garden. It took me less than a minute to create and 4 HOURS to figure out how to post the damn thing. But I got it now, and have dubbed myself HTML Princess for the day. YAY!

~g~

Polka Dotted and Bored to TEARS!

2006-05-26T20:28:00.000-06:00

Okay, this is dumb! I HATE CHICKEN POX! AUGH! I am bored and polka dotted and uncomfortable and tired of this. I just spent 2 hours watching old scenes from Sesame Street on YouTube.

BLAH!
~g~

Cursed by Chickens

2006-05-24T18:09:00.000-06:00

For 26 years I avoided it. For 26 blissful years I thought I was immune. But this week I have learned that I was probably more cautious than lucky... for now, alas, I have Chicken Pox.

I am SO itchy, I have spots on my spots and feel sick sick sick. Oh how I wish I had gotten this when I was a kid, and not now.

I WANT MY MOTHER!!!
~g~

More Spring Pictures!

2006-05-15T21:49:00.000-06:00

I love it! SO BEAUTIFUL! So warm. This is heavenly.

~g~