January 31, 2005
Our new little man
Finally, I get to see his eyes. Just 2 days short of his 1-month birthday!
I haven't blogged much about Alex's first month of life yet. It's been a little rocky. Not only have I not been able to get to know him with my little saga going on, but he also has had a run of sickness. Poor little guy had Pink Eye already! And now has a terrible cold. So tough on such a little one.
The good news is he is already 10 lbs. 11 oz. (nearly 2 lbs. over birthweight) and loves his food.
Tonight was great. I got to have a cuddle with both the kids. Hayley's still wondering if this whole new brother idea was really the best her parents could come up with. I mean, he's alright, I guess but he keeps CRYING!
Another call from my NavyBoy today. This whole satellite phone business is not going to be the most fun, but I will take what I can get. Speaking of which, does anyone have any idea where I can buy AT&T Phonecards online?
Are you looking at me?
As he checks out his Auntie Sue. I told him about all the fun times we have in store, but he's not quite sure yet.
Tech Support
INSTALLING LOVE (v1.a)
Tech Support: Yes, how can I help you?
Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?
Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?
Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?
Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?
Tech Support: What programs are running?
Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.
Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?
Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.
Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?
Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.
Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?
Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.
Customer: So, what should I do?
Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files:
Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.
Customer: Okay, done.
Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will
overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also,
you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty
your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.
Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?
Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.
Customer: Thanks, I'll try it now.
[update: This is not original. It's just an email that was circulating our office this morning and I thought it was pretty good. - sue]
January 30, 2005
Moving
So on a side note, thanks those who commented on whether I should Haloscan it. As you can see, I'm now trying to set it up. My brain's mushy tonight so it probably won't look right for a little bit.
My friends are moving. It's funny how you have many, many takers when it's summer, and you offer barbeque. But you ask help moving, and everybody's suddenly washing their hair. It's not like this was new...they had the moving date last, oh, August, I believe.
I'm a little slow at the moment, between the last vestiges of the pneumonia and the rest of the junk so while I'm totally with it in spirit, I'm about as useful as tits on a bull. Frustrating as all hell. But I was there today, brought the music (thank you, MP3 player!) and was put to work taping dresser drawers closed. It was fun though...well, as fun as moving can be. We laughed, talked about the good times had in the house. But I am beyond exhausted tonight! Embarrassingly so!
We found our new favourite food....Golden Oreos. No doubt these are old school in the US, but are new to us. It's like the vanilla Girl Guide cookies but now we can have them anytime. And we will! Oh, yes...we will.
Tomorrow, it's the rest of the move. I'm not able to take time off work, not with the upcoming medical fun, so I've knighted my brother and dad to go help out. My friends live at the Canadian/US border. Basically, it's their house, a road, a small ditch and then the other side of the street is the US. I'm sure there's some sort of super-sonic radar somewhere, but from the outsider, it just looks like the other side of the road. Last year, I had to smile at something. There were some little kids...two on the US side and two on the Canadian. They were chucking a ball back and forth over the ditch. Too cute!
Watching all the news reports on the Iraqi election, all I can think of is how much we take for granted our voting. I voted for the first time this year. I was one who truly did take it the right for granted, and used to say that living in democracy allowed me NOT to vote, if I so chose. Yeah, I grew up since then. Anyway, it has struck me these past few days that I can't imagine never knowing what it was like to vote, or even my parents knowing either. Living in a society where it wasn't even possible boggles my mind, and makes me realize that it is just so easy to let it become not a big deal. I watch these people, going to the polls for the first time and looking so incredibly happy. They are smiling. They are wearing their best clothes. In Canada, we had 3 polling stations and the closest one to Vancouver was in Calgary. For those not too sure of geography, it's an hour's flight. When it's time to vote here, we complain if we can't get a parking spot or if we have to take time out of our schedules to detour to a polling station. We don't have to arrange a flight at our own expense just to exercise our right. It's a sort of humbling experience to me, and makes me take a little check into my reality.
So my Mom's not well. I am having a very difficult time dealing with it, and have really only been able to talk to one person about it. Even typing this, I feel like I'm somehow allowing things to become real. She is suspected to have colon cancer. There, I said it. On Tuesday, she will have the colonscopy and the biopsy that's required. I've decided, until we know something concrete, I'm not allowing this to be real. My Mom is the type of mom who won't tell us when she's sick until she's 5 minutes to going to the hospital. It's who she is, and I respect that. So she hasn't told my brothers yet. I have chosen not to either at this point. I'm not sure if I'm helping or hindering but in a few days, it won't matter either way. We will be dealing with things or we'll be moving on. In any case, any positive vibes that could be spared would be greatly appreciated.
And before I forget,
Flirt has a great charity thing going on tomorrow. She will be donating $1 to a certain charity for each comment on her blog on January 31. Go ahead, check her out, and leave a little hello. It's a small gesture, but will help many.
I've had a couple questions about eyebrow threading. It's a middle eastern practice (although I think Indian as well?) and it's sort of new around here. Instead of tweezing or waxing, the girl takes a piece of ordinary thread and through sort of quick movements, pulls the hair by twisting the thread around it. I'm not describing it well, but there's a couple articles
here and
here. It's like a mini-facial too. I'll never go back to any other way now...I'm hooked.
Haloscan?
Is it worth it? I keep hearing from people it makes their site easier to navigate. I haven't had the problems that a lot of people experience with Blogger (yeah, probably have jinxed in now). What's your opinion? What are the benefits? Cons?
Oh, and got my haircut yesterday! Woohoo! It has been 6 MONTHS since I was able to sit in a chair long enough to get the job done. Finally felt well enough this weekend, and it wasn't without struggle (some people still freak out at my deep cough!) but I'm so happy. I feel 10 lbs. lighter! She threaded my brows too. A new experience, but I think I'll never do anything else but again. Once I got used to the sensation, I swear I nearly fell asleep!
January 29, 2005
Perfectionism
I am in the process of uploading my entire MP3 collection onto my new Nomad Zen MP3 player. 30GB, seemed doable but holy hell, that's a lot of SPACE! I have so many random CD's all over the place full of MP3s. I've finished uploading about 13GB (or around 4000 songs) so far....still miles to go. But I'm finding one incredibly annoying thing as I look through the list, it's missing tonnes of information. Some have uploaded only information like [track 1] or [unknown], or better yet, something as descript as 223.
There are few things that really rankle me in life, but one of my pet peeves is either unfinished forms, or spelling mistakes. So I see this little database of music, and it's poorly set up information, and my little perfectionist side of me starts convulsing.
So tonight, it would seem I am playing a little Name That Tune Solitaire.
Play a song. Listen to the first 5 seconds. If I can name it, great. Fill in the info and move on. I'm batting about 75% right now.
But, if not, it's onto Google heaven. I am amazed at how many lyric sites there are out there. Type in something as obscure as 'Here comes Johnny" "Government Loan" and lyrics, and I'm dutifully informed that Iggy Pop sung Lust Of Life and it's from the 70s.
I've also learned I've been suffering from a 20-year old case of Lyrichosis. All this time, I thought Journey sung in Faithfully 'Loving an amusing man isn't all it's s'posed to be'. Ahh...MUSIC man. Whatever. He was probably was amusing too. I liked it better that way.
More 70s Mayhem
The quest through photos continues...I'm pretty sure I didn't call them F-M boots back then, but I was pretty proud of those pleather beauties. Again, gotta love the fluffy random poodle (we had a kennel, there were millions of them, I swear..) or the aged tricycle that likely saw it's way through at least 2 other brothers before me!
January 28, 2005
Scottie McMullett Rides Again...
A friend sent me this
link tonight.
Someone's taken the time to 'redesign' the covers of romance novels. Too funny!
The day that was
I've been trying to figure out how to start my post tonight. How to make it a witty little reparte into the life and times of the moment. It ain't happenin'. You're stuck with me (or at least if you're BE/BC-ing it, for another 25 seconds) in my introspective thought pattern for the moment.
In another episode of how-stupid-is-my-boss, though, we went out for lunch to try and salvage the mood amidst the layoff news and the conversation turned to my life and my support for Todd and the troops overall. I always enjoy a chance to change some opinions or inform some of the more lesser known stories (usually gleaned from blogs like
Blackfive, etc.).
My boss asked if I planned on visiting Todd while he was in Iraq. Um, last I checked, it wasn't really set up too well for Club Med soirees.
I said (trying not to laugh): 'Well, no. I think it's safe to say I won't see him until he returns'.
BossDude: 'But that could be a year! That's too long to ask of anyone.'
Me: 'Many people do it and in more extreme situations than I'.
BossDude: 'But a whole year? Really? I'm sure you could maybe visit him in Baghdad or something'.
Me: (trying very hard to be serious and not sound condescending) 'I think it's not really a safe place to visit. It's just part of the commitment. We wait it out. What will be will be'.
BossDude: 'Can't you just go and maybe stay on the American base or something?''
Anyway, you get the idea. The man just doesn't have a clue.
I'm sort of down tonight about the situation with Todd. We had a very emotional conversation last night (yes, he was able to call back) and it's put me in a bunch of varied emotions. He was feeling sort of sad, introspective. Not knowing the long picture, and just getting settled, he was really concerned about how I was dealing with it. The gyst of the conversation was that he knew he had no right to ask me to wait for him, considering the length of our relationship (6 months yesterday) and the fact that he doesn't know what's going to happen. I told him I was prepared to. I made that decision some months ago, when I realized that my heart was speaking louder than my head and that it was what I knew was the right thing to do. For me and for him.
He was worried that I was being emotional and felt that he was being selfish for wanting me to. That he felt he was holding me back. I disagreed. He said some amazingly sweet things about me that still make my ears burn red as I'm not able to take compliments well. And said that I was too good a catch to wait for a year plus. He implored me to agree to continue to date while he's gone and to try to live life to the fullest. That when he returned, if things were still ok, then we'd resume.
I obviously wasn't buying. I told him I knew what I'd signed up for, and if I planned on ditching when things got too real, we never would have got this far. I know, from this last conversation and previous ones, that he does think we have a future but his chivalry prevents him from wanting me to be in any hardship because of him. It's proven extremely difficult for him to take compliments from me too, and when I've sent him little gifts, he's been overwhelmed and very emotional that I've taken the time to do so. We've both had some pretty painful pasts and I think it's very hard for both of us to accept that there are no real hidden agendas, and we just seem to have bonded and well, grown to love each other over these past few months. Sure, I'm well aware that the odds are against us, that neither of us are getting younger, that we both have so many reasons why this should not be. But at the end of the day, I hear his voice and my heart melts. I feel like a 16 year old schoolgirl, and want to play his phone messages over and over and over. He makes me smile and when he calls me 'hunnybunny' (which any other time in my life would have made me GAG), all is right in the world.
That's gotta be worth somethin', doesn't it?
Blast From The Past
I've been going through some old pictures trying to sort out a family 'walk through the years' DVD for my parents upcoming 53rd anniversary. Here's probably the only picture in existence of me ever having any interest in sports.
I love this shot. I must have been 3. I'm not sure if it's the pink pants poking out of the lacrosse jersey or the classic station wagon in the background. 1972, baby! It doesn't get better than that.
January 27, 2005
Old School meets New School
A guilty pleasure. I've been sort of hooked on
Degrassi: Next Generation. There's some sort of fascination with seeing Joey Jeremiah as a teacher and it's somehow like watching my high school reunion. Growing up, I was hooked on Degrassi Street, Degrassi High...the whole shebang.
(For Americans reading this, trust me it was a good show!)
Now, I see a commercial for
this. Could it be true? Kevin Smith's part of the crowd too? Too cool!
Two guilty pleasures collide. I couldn't be happier.
And on a side note, Hi Ian! This is what I was telling you about last night!
Who was on the planning committee?
I had to upload directions of Vancouver International Airport today to forward to a vendor. Is it me or does the International Terminal rather, um, masculine?
And you just knew it would happen..
We had a fire alarm at work today. First one in probably 4 years. So, trudgingly, (if that's not a word, it should be) I put my coat on, and evacuated. Well, started to, then ran back for my cell phone in case I got a call. We got outside, were there about 90 seconds and then the all-clear rang for us to go back in.
Sure enough, Todd called.
10 freakin' days I've waited for that call. 10 days of news reports, my mind wandering. 10 days of not leaving my desk, even for lunch or moving more than 3 feet without my cell phone. And he calls then? The 5 minute window.
Of course, he gloated. 'Ha, Sue...you told me you'd stay by your phone. Thanks for keeping your promise. Ha ha.' Argh.
He said his next chance is probably not 'til Monday. Great. Performance review day.
But the bright side, he's safe. We'll just have to go with that. The funniest thing I'm learning about myself on this path is how little it takes to make me happy. He once hiked a mile down the road in a snowstorm to find a payphone to call me when he couldn't get an open line at the training centre. I was on Cloud 9. It's the little things that somehow become the big things.
Ooh, great line on Law and Order the other night. 'He doesn't just have issues...he has a subscription.' I am so going to have to remember that one.
Politically Incorrect Day
Yesterday was Politically Incorrect Day in our office. There's a view around our department of a big ol' WTF. We haven't heard any more about the headcount reduction, so the mood has passed the somber zone and gone right into the giddy world of whocaresatall. It's a much less stressy place of practical jokes, rude comments and bringing all we've learned in those mandatory Sexual Harassment courses to shame. Someone once said of the S.H. courses, that at least we were being taught how to do it
properly! And with that, the following post will be somewhat suggestive. You've been warned! =)
I work in a procurement role. So time to time, we get fairly odd requests considering we're an Scientific R&D type company. We have had to source an anatomically correct model for a male catheter. The sample we got in was contained in an oversized lunch-box type container, and when opened, it contained a very real-looking, um, package. Although, we decided it was a bit small, really.
My boss hates not being part of a secret. Or if he thinks he's not part of a conversation, he will make a point of coming over and standing there, like some kid being picked last for the school team. The exchange went something like this:
BossDude: 'What's in the container, b?'
b: 'Oh, nothing...just a package'.
m: 'it's a bit small really....'
BossDude: 'Can I see?'
b: 'Ahh...no, it doesn't really concern you'
BossDude: 'But what is it? I want to see....'
b: 'Well, it wasn't really addressed to you'.
BossDude: 'But it's to our group, isn't it? Can you eat it?'
b: 'Well, some do. Some really enjoy eating it'
m: 'Just shouldn't use your teeth'
b: 'Actually, the instructions say you shouldn't use your fingernails either'.
BossDude: 'Oh, ya gotta show me....' [voice taking on a whiney quality]
b: 'Oh, ok, don't be a baby. Close your eyes and stick your hand in'
BossDude closes his eyes, and starts rooting around in the lunch box.
The look of pure horror comes over his face as you can see his hand encircle the um, tubular part of the model.
BossDude: 'But, but...it feels like....SKIN'
Apparently BossDude and Mrs. BossDude don't go for the extra fullmeal deal, after all.
The container was then dutifully zipped back into it's original condition, with a note attached to one of the other managers: 'Your wife dropped off your lunch today'. I have rarely heard a guy scream but you certainly knew when he opened it.
Tension breaker. Had to be done.
January 25, 2005
The wheel keeps on turning...
Another day done, but today was just a little brighter. I realized today that it was actually still LIGHT when I left work. Only for about 15 minutes, but still, the days are definitely getting longer! I have never been a winter person. But there's something about getting up and driving to work in the dark, and then driving home after work in the dark. I work with my back to the window so I don't really see the day, and after a while it feels like I never see the daylight except on weekends. I could never be a nightshift person. I would go mad!
Work was, well, like a mausoleum. It's feeling like they took the heart out of our team. I am seeing a little clearer today that it truly looks like R. took it for the team. He wrote himself out in such a way as to leave us a little safer, and that's something I will always respect him for. Actually, I ended up writing him an email to let him know how I felt. I don't really do resolutions as such, but I do try to improve certain things in my life when I see them. The one I'm working on now is to let people know what I feel, for good and bad. I figure if I'm thinking it, it should be said.
In other work news, I got my performance review from my boss today. He's such a weak little man, such a shadow compared to the other guy. The way we do our reviews is somewhat drawn out. I did my self-assessment two weeks ago, then today he gave me his response. On Monday we will meet to go over where we don't agree. So far, I've got a couple big ones. I am trying to work out the most effective manner to mediate them. The review overall, is pretty damned fine, actually. He acknowledges all the crap I've negotiated through during the year, along with the tight deadlines and there's quite a few good comments like 'goes the extra mile.', 'reputation of getting the job done no matter what the obstacle', etc. But it's the shit sandwich part. You know, sandwich the positives with the negatives and make everyone all happy. My negative? That I get sick. I am really not sure how to handle that one. It's such an Achilles' Heel to me. I am very sensitive to my ill health, and taking a day off to me is a failure. So I don't. His comment is that I make everyone feel uncomfortable because they know I don't feel good and they don't know what to say. huh-wha?? Oh, gee, dude, sorry my pain is causing you embarrassment! I'm not really sure what he wants me to say! He went on to say that I have consistently met deadlines and not missed any goals, but that he wants me to improve on my health. Yeah, you and me both! I just don't get it. I am at such a loss! I realize I'm close to it, but what other employee would be working on a report while in a hospital bed? I am hurt over it. I know I'm taking it too personally but how else should I take it? I just do NOT get it or what I can do about it. So, I'm going to call him on it on Monday...I need ideas of how to word it, but I'm going to just make it clear that as long as I am not missing my goals and am consistently putting work above my health, I do not want that in the review!
In other news, my brother had some scary news with his older dog today. We're big dog lovers in this family. My parents even owned a kennel when I was a kid. We showed poodles and basset hounds. So growing up, it was nothing for us to have 6-7 dogs living in the house at any given time. So now we all have dogs...most of us have rescued our babies and they're just like our kids. Anyway, Rick's eldest, Maggie was diagnosed with congestive heart failure today. She's 17 but was born as a runt, with a heart problem and was given only a few week's to live then. She has had an amazing little life. Maggie weighs MAYBE 2 lbs., if that (she's a cocker-poo) but has more attitude than a pit bull on 'roids. She has been run over 4 times, attacked and chomped by dogs more than once, stolen and recovered and all the time, ruled the roost in that house. This morning, my sis-in-law woke up to find her barely breathing. Rushed to the vets, she was given medicine and is expected to pull through for the next few weeks, anyhow. Now I wish I could run down Deb's comments about the episode, because my SIL has a wickedly dark sense of humour but it's not going to nearly come out like it should. Deb said 'So I just told her, Maggie May....I just spent $200 on you and well, I just don't have the extra $300 it would take to stuff you after, so you are just going to have to hold on'. She went on to say she was going to stuff her, and then get a little thing put on her paw so when she pushed it, Maggie would either shake and vibrate, or sing 'How much is that doggy in the window?' Yeah, sick to some, sure, but it made us laugh!
Their new boxer baby arrives this weekend. Patch is just 7 weeks old now, and is now on her way to them. I just hope Maggie's not too ill for this to be a bad transition starting out.
I haven't heard in Todd in such a long time now. Over a week. Yeah, I knew it was bound to happen as he transitions around the big Sandbox, but knowing it and dealing with it are two different animals! I read the milblogs and it makes me wish he was more of a computer guy, but I'm lucky if I get a one liner email! He said he's gonna work on it, but you're either into emailing or you're not. And well, he's just not. I was reading about those yellow ribbon magnets for cars, but I'm not sure where you get them. I know I can't buy 'em here, but not sure where in the States I'd have to go. There must be somewhere online, I guess...anyone have any ideas where I could get one?
Looks like the
Boston terror threat was another hoax. No surprise there. It was just too bizarre and smelled way off. I can only imagine how many would-be theorists they must get, calling with crazy stories after reading some old Tom Clancy novel. I am just surprised this one even got attention.
Random weird thought....what ever happened to Andrew Dice Clay? I googled him but it seems after he freaked out on CNN during an interview in November, 2003. Nada. Yeah, he was crass but I had to admit I kinda thought he was funny at times. I loved Ford Fairlaine....great movie.
And wow, 1 month since the Tsunami. Seems like such a quick month, but I guess not if you're there. I read on the weekend where they found a survivor stranded
25 days on a small island after being washed up by the waves. He was the sole survivor on the island. Take THAT, Mark Burnett! That dude deserves his $1M and more! But, no doubt, someone's already selling his story and trying to figure out who going to play him in the movie.
January 24, 2005
The worst day of the year?
This morning, BBC reported that today is the official
worst day of the year. A combination of foul weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and a lack of motivation conspire to depress. Great way to throw a smile on your face on Monday morning!
Turns out it ain't been all that good after all. Again, I fight myself here not to be down and depressing. There's way too much of that, and it doesn't do anyone any good!
We started our company redundancies today. One of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure to work for was the first to go. This is a man who pushed me to become what I am today. I fight with my insecurities over the whole BookSmart/StreetSmart story all the time (damn you, Trump, for listening to my thoughts again!). However, R never saw that in me. He saw what I could do, and always pushed me to do it. Subtletly. Most of the time I never realized he was doing it, until I looked back later. Everything was a negotiation to him and he was very instrumental in the organization as it is today. These last 7 years, it was he who had the vision to see us as an international success, and not just a mom-and-pop store. But, sadly, things change. Loyalties fade. New management doesn't see the blood sweat and tears, only the bottom line numbers. So we lose a man who held our department so close, we became a family. The company loses a high-level manager and many, many vendor relationships that will be very difficult to rebuild.
The story is that is just the start. So many numbers being thrown around right now. Everyone's scared. Puffed up bravado everywhere ya go... In all honestly, I really can't get too excited about it. I'm either going to have a job or I'm not. Nothing I do will make a difference, so it ain't worth worrying about. It's a job. I actually think we're safe anyhow...something tells me R was the sacrificial lamb.
I went to the doctor again today for a check on the pneumonia. Good news is that it seems to have stopped progressing. It's not better, but it's not getting worse. The cough is ridiculously bad. I sound like a seal in mating season. Don't be surprised if you see me balancing a ball on my nose and clapping my flippers, I mean, arms together. When I start craving sardines, I know it's bad!
She's sending me for more tests. Basically, to test for lymphoma. At this point, my head is just going blahblahblahblah I'm not LISTENING! But because I've been sick since October, and the cough, fatigue, swollen lymph glands, kidney stuff, backpain and headaches are just not making the doctor happy. I guess she's tired of seeing me every week. Whatever, I'm helping her kids through school...she should be! I must have CASHCOW stamped on my forehead! Speaking of which, I kinda made the paper. I wrote a few letters after my
unfortunate incident in December and was referred to as "Irate hospital patients demand change" in the local paper. They've now admitted that there really is a problem and it needs to be addressed.
But because I am not letting freak out about it (yeah, right!), I would just like to share a
blog I found tonight. Cav is such a wonderfully upbeat and hilarious person. I only wish I could share her great sense of humour!
Ok, nuff about me. Time for some news comments...
CTV reports that 30% of Canadians are
ignorant about the Holocaust. So 3 out of 10 Canadians live under a rock. Seriously? Speaking of which, I wonder if the Idiot-Prince Harry ended up making it to Auschwitz today for the 60th anniversary memorial service. I really hope that his Dad made him follow through on it. It really should not be swept under the rug. It is a big deal. Period.
So the US has
spies? The Pentagon confirms they have a secret branch. But don't tell anyone, 'k ? Is this really news? Maybe I am just not getting it, but did anyone really think they didn't have some sort of clandestine information gathering department, if not more? Every country does, for domestic and foreign interests! I mean, heard of undercover cops?
And apparently, Bush didn't really
mean it last month about missile defence in Canada. Gawd, ya can't make any comment under your breath these days without everyone making a federal case of it.
They say being big-boned runs in the family.
So the whale and the hippo are related. They do look sort of familiar now that you think about it...hmmmm....what's the next step? A whalopottamus?
Nice to know Vancouver makes the international news scene with this little
story. Again, why is this news? He's a shoplifter. Plain and simple. Doesn't matter what you steal, you're just a thief. It's like Beavis-and-Butthead were in charge of the headlines today.
And congrats to Madame Rowling on the
birth of her 3rd little Potterling. She-who-has-not-been-named, arrived over the weekend.
Speaking of which, a fun little time waster is always
Celebdaq. Run through the BBC, you can 'buy' shares in celebrities. Based on how much a certain celebrity is reported in the media during the week, you receive dividends. It's kinda addicting!
Ok, pet peeve about how the media reports. Why do they have to write like we're all complete idiots and have been living in caves for the last decade? Reading a story about the tsunami, it's detailing the recent developments and then the last paragraph states "On December 26, a tsumani ripped through South East Asia killing 226,000 people'. It's like
You're kidding? Really? How come I never heard of this before now? Similar reading a story on terrorism, and then seeing a paragraph stating "On September 11, 2001, 4 planes were hijacked...", etc.
Naaaaaawwwww....you don't say! It just really grates on me! What editor would actually let that go? Do they really and truly think there is ANYONE who is reading in the entire world that does not know these basic facts?
January 23, 2005
Johnny Carson passes...
So the
breaking news of the morning is of Johnny Carson's passing at the age of 79. He passed away of emphysema, something my Mom also suffers from.
Watching the news coverage, I'm stuck with the fact that either he was an extremely difficult person to get to know, or that pretty much everyone famous is busy this Sunday morning.
FoxNews has Jerry Lewis and Phyllis Diller talking about him. Neither had seen him in 30 years. But as Jerry said, those 4 weeks back in the 50's were a dream.
On CNN, it's Joan Rivers. She can't even hold back the fact that he obviously did not care for her at all. They try to coax her to say nice things, but she refers to the fact that they haven't spoken in years. She tried to get in touch, but he didn't return calls.
So, it's been clips of the Tonight Show. Mostly Bette Midler stuff. The last monologue. Nothing new, or so far, anyone other than his nephew having any real connection to him. Words like reclusive, shunning the spotlight and others are being used.
Is that a bad thing? Maybe he was a smart guy. Surrounded himself with those that truly cared for him as an individual, rather than an icon and fuhgettabout the rest. When he left TV 13 years ago, he didn't owe anyone a thing. He was more than allowed to fade into the horizon, which he did.
He passed away surrounded by his family. And that, I think, is a great way to go. By those that truly love you.
Fraser River driftwood
Snowbirds - Tallship Festival 2002
Picture Posting Sunday
Mendocino Beach, August 2003
In honour of no real good ideas for posting at the moment, I thought I'd post some of my more favourite pictures I've taken. My friends call me Snapper. I'm never without a camera. I take pictures of everything. Anything.
One day, maybe even this year, I might have to take a course on photography and find out how to do it better. So far, I'm just going on instinct and whim. The above shot was taken around 5:30pm on a California beach in August 2003. My friend and I had been driving north all day and were dogtired. We saw this beach and thought it was time to get out and run.
January 22, 2005
Knowing your neighbours
The week I moved into my home in 1999, there was a tragic and scary incident in the park behind my house. A woman was beaten so badly by her
husband, she became comatose and was hospitalized for an extended period. What bothered me at the time was the man beat her with a baseball bat, while she screamed and no one tried to help. They called 9-1-1, sure...but no one stopped him.
I thought, what kind of neighbourhood am I moving into? This would probably be categorized as upper middle-class. Houses run in the $500K range. It's close to amenities, parks and the water. But I could not keep thinking about that poor woman. Frankly, I often wondered about what ever happened to her. I never really spent a lot of time until today trying to figure out where she actually lived, but thought of her often. Did she come through it ok? Did she leave him? Do I pass her on the street and don't know it?
A couple days ago, I mentioned
here that there were police cars acrosss the street. I assumed it was to do with the rainstorm. There was a city truck nearby with sand in the back, so I just figured there must be some sort of localized flooding somewhere out of my view.
The same day, in another part of my city, a man was
murdered. Two days short of his retirement, a mental health therapist was brutally attacked and stabbed to death while leaving work. Before he passed away, the man was able to identify the assailant as one of his former patients. Again, murder doesn't hit my town. It's rare. It's a pretty safe place over all.
I didn't put two and two together until I saw the news last night. They showed the man who was arrested for the murder and he looked extremely familiar. Then it hit me. That's why the police cars were across the street. That's where the dude lived!
So I did a little google search on him and sure enough, it's the same guy who did the deed on his wife in 1999. Oddly, the same search also brought up other convictions of firearms related issues and illegal importation of steroids.
Hmmm...steroids? An odd thought crossed my mind. Last June, I was driving a friend to work for a late night shift. We stopped at a store to grab some snacks. It was about 11pm. I waited in the car while Dan ran in. Beside the convenience store, there was one of those weight-lifting based health food store. It was closed, obviously, but there were these two dudes out front that just creeped me out. As I sat in the car, watching them, they seemed wired. Almost like they were jonesing for a fix, and couldn't get it. I was relieved when Dan came back to the car, kinda laughed about the 'roid monkeys and we drove off.
Turns out the store was owned by this scary guy from across the street. It's where he was finally
arrested for the murder of the health care worker. So, sounds like this guy is just an entire prince all around.
Kinda makes you stop and think. Who are your neighbours? Do you know?
January 21, 2005
Movies for me
The Americans have
Netflix for mail-order DVD rentals, as well as now
Blockbuster and
Walmart, I think.
The Canadians are a bit slower on this game. Probably due to less population, I'm guessing? Not sure exactly why but this great idea hasn't really caught on too well.
We have a couple of choices.
Movies For Me and
VHQ Rentals as far as I know. Both are about the same. $25 a month, unlimited rentals. 4 or 5 out at a time.
Just around the New Year, I decided to give Movies For Me a test run. They offer a 2 week trial, but if you pay for 6 months in advance you get a 5% discount. Sounded like a decent deal to me. I'm always out at Blockbuster and I'm always late. I tend to rent movies, make copies of them (yeah, shame on me!) and watch 'em later.
They suggest you pick at least 20 movies in your queue and can chose up to 200. So, happily, I filled up the list to 45. They offer a handy little priority sequence too, so you can choose what order you would like. Sounds like a dream? Yeah, not so much.
So far, my first 4 movies were sent out on January 4. They were numbered 28-32 in my list of priorities. Ok, fine, I thought. It's the holidays, I'm sure a lot of movies are out. It'll work out better the next time.
Then I waited. And waited some more. My first 4 movies didn't even ARRIVE at my door until January 13. I realize it's busy in the mail, but 9 days? I quickly turned them around that night and had them in the mail on the 14th.
According to their website, they received 3 of the 4 on January 19. Another week? So much for my two-week trial! It's done before we even got going!
In the meantime, I've already been back to Blockbuster twice for other movies, updated my queue on Movies For Me twice to take off the ones I already picked up, so I'm certainly not saving anything by doing it this way. If not, my expenses have probably doubled.
Just looking at the site now, the next batch has now been sent today. Guess what numbers this time? Numbers 14, 15, 17 and 32. The best part? I ordered the Shogun miniseries. It looks like they've sent me Disk 3 and 4. Yeah, didn't really want to start it at the beginning or anything.
Not very impressed at this point. I thought this was supposed to make things easier but can't say I'd recommend it!
A Challenge
Rebecca was kind enough to pass this little Friday night item on to me, and really got me thinking a bit.
- What is the total amount of music files on your computer?
Ooh, it's scary. Somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000. I really need to clean it up SOON. But thankfully, my new little friend is on it's way to help with the chore. Music is what keeps me going. I love pretty much any genre, and make it a habit to always listen to music from all over the world, and not just our Pop 40.
- The CD you last bought is:
Rod Stewart's Stardust. Not much I do buy these days, but there are some that still are worth it. I found a great programme for cataloguing music collections though and it does great reports like this.
- What is the song you last listened to before reading this message?
Hmmm...been watching TV so maybe the theme to Dateline? Last song on the radio was "Over and Over" by Nelly/Tim McGraw, which I must admit is rather catchy.
- Write down 5 songs (only 5??) you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:
- Five for Fighting - Superman. One night after my brother had a particularly difficult day on the job as a policeman, we were sitting around the campfire and he said he felt like that song was about him. That he felt he had to always act the hero and he didn't particularly feel it very much. I felt so close to him that night, and now that song always makes me think of him and our family.
- Andrea Bochelli - Con Te Partiro. Yeah, all the best opera I learned from the Sopranos. Seriously though, there is something about this man's voice that just moves me. This song in particular stirs deep inside.
- Just Jinger - I Like You Madly. A South African group I was introduced to during my 1997 trip. I don't think this song even made it out of South Africa, but it's light and happy. Reminds me of summer and happy times.
- Bowling for Soup - 1985. Probably just a fad for me right now, but it just astounds me that it's really 20 years ago. How did time fly?
- Faith Hill - Breathe. I've been a Faith Hill fan for eons. Her early country songs always spoke to me and even were a push for me leaving home in her song 'Someone Else's Dreams'. It may be a little corny, smushy or whatever, but it was the first song I heard on the radio in the morning after meeting Todd and it just sort of makes me miss him and think of him now. Yeah, sad, isn't it?
- Who would you like to pass this torch onto?
