End of the Year

It's been so long since I've blogged! So much has been going on, I probably won't even remember all of it.

Currently, I'm hanging out at home after an excellent Christmas. Last year wasn't so great so I was a little concerned about this year's. I headed to Goderich on Christmas Eve to be with my Grandma. The drive up was really good due to the rain: the back roads were clear! Unfortunately, once getting to Goderich I ended up driving all over town trying to locate some Eggnog. I finally bought the last two cartons at the fifth store. Christmas Eve was spent with friends and family and way too much food. Another crazy Christmas morning at Grandma's, Karen was given a guitar and she was so excited! In the afternoon I hooked up my wii and Grandma and I played some bowling and golf. Dinner was spent at my Aunt Judy's and dinner was excellent. I spent most of the evening playing with the dog (it really made me want a dog, but I don't think the cats would let me do that).

After Christmas Sharon came to visit and we had a night of Wii fun. We were totally addicted to Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately, the next day I woke up with a wicked headache. I thought it was from the beer and the wii. It was not. I've been sick since then, so just about two weeks now. I've never been sick for this long and I hate it. After a week I decided to go to the doctor and he believes I have bronchitis. Blech! The antibiotics make me nauseous and give me a metallic taste all day and night. I also have $70 cough medicine (and no I don't have benefits). It has codeine in it and I had forgotten that codeine and I don't get along. I actually don't sleep well on anything that is supposed to help you sleep. I've only been able to sleep for two hours at a time for the past two weeks (so lots of naps) and crazy-ass dreams. I'm looking forward to getting over this!

Olympic Hockey Tickets

So, Julia and I just found out which tickets we have for the Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 and I am ecstatic that we did get tickets to the women's gold medal hockey game. That was the one event that I really wanted and we got it! We have tickets to a number of other events as well, but that was the big one and we got the A seats.

Madonna, meh

So, I went to my first Madonna concert last week. I was excited, I had heard she puts on an amazing show. Julia, Jana, Trish and I met up at union station just before the concert started at 8pm. We had tickets up in the 300s. But, when we got there, they were actually pretty good. We were kind of straight on to the stage. While we were waiting for the show to start we were checking out the audience. There were some drunk women everywhere! It was crazy. We were having great time watching everyone. About 8:15/8:30 a DJ came out and got everyone pumped up. That was good, but then... nothing for a good hour. It was crazy. The DJ was pretty good and the vibe was good but then he left the stage and we waited for over an hour for Madonna, so all the good vibes went away. I was not impressed. It reminded me of the SARS concert, when AC/DC had an amazing set and then The Rolling Stones made everyone wait for over 45 mins (which doesn't seem like long until you've been at the event for over 12 hours). I was annoyed!

Finally the concert started. The screens and the video were phenomenal! It was crazy how good the production value was on the stage. There she was on a thrown. It was impressive. But, there was something missing from the performance. I'm really glad I went, but it wouldn't even make my top ten concerts of all time. Now, granted, I'm been some pretty phenomenal concerts. But, I don't think it was even as good as New Kids on the Block. I had a lot more fun at that concert (not that it is in my top 10 either).

The most fun I had: was after the concert was done and Holiday came on over the speakers and Julia and I were dancing in the stands. That was fun.

Welcome Fiona Judith!

Welcome my niece, Fiona Judith! Congrats to my brother Jason and my sister-in-law Megan. I can't wait to go out to BC to meet her.

Mini 2008 Annoyances

So, I finally picked up my new 2008 Mini Cooper. I don't love it. :(

I can't figure out why I don't love it. I'm not a big fan of the black roof with the green car. But, I do think it looks sharper than with the white roof. It's just not as cute. I think I want a white racing stripe.

But, what really annoys me: the stereo. Here are the 'features' of the mini stereo: when you turn off the car the CD player goes back to the beginning of the track.

TIFF Images

I have now realized that I need a new camera. I was in the same room as Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White and I don't have a single good picture. (Plus, my batteries died multiple times during the last couple of days.)

Here are a couple of the shots. I do realize that they are bad.

Here's Mark Van de Ven and the young actress, Amariah Faulkner, from his film 'Us Chickens' (it's on imdb.com http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1266721/).

Here's Michael Cera on the red carpet outside of the Ryerson Theatre.

Jack White leaving the Ryerson Theatre.

The Edge leaving the Ryerson Theatre.

Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge (and the TIFF MC and the producers and director of 'It Might Get Loud')

Michael Cera is Such a Cutie

Yesterday was a day filled with TIFF action for me. I had plans to take the bus into Toronto and TTC it around the city. Unfortunately, I was running late in the morning and it can take a good 2 hours to get from my house in Mississauga to downtown. So, the car went with me (thank goodness for green P parking). I was running so late I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast or lunch before my first movie (I was starving). First up for the day was 'The Secret of Moonacre'. This was my second choice for early Saturday afternoon. My first choice was the 'The Largest Chinese Restaurant In the World' (but no one seemed to get this movie - from discussions I had with people at the festival). 'Moonacre' was a fantasy kid's movie. I love fantasy so I was looking forward to this. I wasn't too far in the line and it was playing at the Winter Garden Theatre (which is such a beautiful theatre). Two of the stars were there (one being the girl from 'The Golden Compass'). Unfortunately, the movie didn't find it's groove. It wasn't fantastical, it just felt like it was trying too hard. There were a couple of instances where it felt like it had found that right mix of fantasy and real, but then it lost it again. I was rather disappointed.

After that I had a few hours before 'Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist'. This was the movie I was most looking forward to. I grabbed some food and walked around the Eaton Centre but wasn't really feeling it so I went and got in line about 2 hours before the movie started (which meant I was pretty close to the front of the line - probably about 30th). It gave me lots of time to knit :) Here's the issue with the film festival: I'm going to see the movie so I'm in line, which means I can't see the red carpet. I can't see the stars! I like the stars. I want to see the stars. But, if I want a good seat I have to get in line. So, I saw the limos. I saw the cameras. I heard the girls screaming for Michael Cera, but I didn't get to see anything. Well, that's not exactly true. I saw Tyler Labine (Sock from Reaper) waiting to walk the red carpet and I did see Michael Cera talking to the reporters when I was walking into the theatre (but they keep you walking pretty quickly so I was only able to stop for a quick second and one picture). Before the movie started they brought out the cast to say a quick hi (apparently this was the World Premiere so everyone was there - people were commenting on how many rows were sectioned off for reserved seating - normally there are one or two rows but this time there were at least 10). When Michael Cera came out on stage there was a lot of screaming (for those of you who don't know, he's from Brampton and was in Arrested Development, Juno and Superbad); then when the movie started and the first frame was of Michael Cera everyone screamed again (there was a lot of love for Michael in the theatre); after the movie the MC told us she would not accept questions that started with 'Michael We Love You. We take that as a given.'

The movie was really good. Michael was awesome as always. There were a couple of scenes that I felt were a little flat, but it was a good 'crazy night in New York movie'. I've had nights like this and they were always so awesome (maybe not quite as crazy, but definitely nights that just had a lot going on, where you didn't want them to end).

After the movie I met up with Lisa and friends for a drink before heading over to see her brother Mark's movie. Lisa had the job of trying to get her family in line for the movie. I would say Mark definitely had the largest contingent of people in the theatre. There were 6 short films at this screening and all very different. I've never really seen a group of shorts before so this was pretty cool. One of the shorts, 'Next Floor', was really interesting but also very disturbing. Mark's movie was good. I really liked the look of the film, but there were parts of the acting that kind of took me out of the enjoyment, overall though, I really liked it and was really happy for Mark to be at TIFF. After the presentation we headed over to Coca for the after party. The patio is really nice and it was a gorgeous night.

Today I had one movie to see, 'Witch Hunt'. This was a documentary about Bakersfield, California and a number of people that were wrongly accused of child molestation. It was a very emotional movie and one of the really interesting things they did was talk about how this affected the children involved. The children were coerced into accusing the adults and it has now affected them in their adults lives. It was very moving. Sean Penn narrated and he was in the audience. But, what was really great was the fact that a number of the kids and the accused were in the audience and they were available for the Q&A after the film. There were a lot of tears in the audience and a number of standing ovations. It was a very powerful moment for me (and I believe a number of others) at the festival.

This is what I love about the festival and why I am so glad that I chose to go to more than one movie this year - the moments that you weren't expecting. Friday night I wasn't expecting to be sitting in the same theatre as Jimmy Page, today I wasn't expecting to be so moved by a film and last night I was able to see a movie made by a friend. I only have two more movies left and I am wishing I had more.

Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge ... oh my!

Just returned from my first movie at the festival. I hadn't checked any of the news so I had no idea that The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White were expected at the screening of 'It Might Be Loud' (Elisabeth Sue was there as well, but I couldn't see her). I also didn't expect them to come in and sit to watch the movie (I'm such a TIFF newbie). It was crazy, I could see Jimmy Page and The Edge if I looked around during the movie (they were sitting about 20 feet from where I was). Not that I looked around alot during the movie. It was so good! Watching the three of them jam was amazing. After the movie there was a question and answer which was very cool. Jack White is really tall, or at least really seems like it. He's taller than Jimmy Page and I think he's pretty tall. The Edge is sooo sexy and Jack White definitely has that 'thing'.

I stuck around to see them walk out. It was kind of funny, hardly any of the people waiting around had seen the movie. Most people had just been hanging out at the door waiting for them to go in and to come out.

The lineup waiting for the movie was crazy; wrapped around the block. I had brought my knitting so that was good. This next week of movies may give me the time to finish off this project :)

So, I'm highly recommending 'It Might Get Loud'. The three guys talk about how they came to be guitarists, they jammed, talked about some of their favourite songs and beginnings with their bands. I loved it.

Us Chickens at TIFF

Lisa's brother, Mark, has a movie premiering at the Toronto Film Festival this weekend. It's called 'Us Chickens'. Mention of the movie made it into the Sun today:
http://www.torontosun.com/TorontoFilmFestival08/news/2008/09/05/6666836-sun.html

I am excited about seeing Mark's movie as well as my other 6 selections for the festival. I start tonight with 'It Might Get Loud' (with The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White). Tomorrow I'm seeing three presentations (including the Short Cuts presentation which will include Mark's movie). I've been to a few movies in the past for the festival, but this will be my first full-fledged undertaking. Well, I guess it's not really full-fledged since Lisa did most of the leg-work for me. It was all crazy trying to get the tickets and movie selections completed in time (THANK YOU Lisa). I'm seeing a couple of documentaries, the short program and at least one 'Hollywood' movie (ie the Michael Cera film 'Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist' I am so excited to see).

I will try to keep my blog updated on the festivities, but I'll probably be crazy tired after all the running around.

Updates

The Olympics are finally over and I can get back to a somewhat normal pace of life. Those two weeks wiped me out! My PVR still hasn't recovered from the 12 hours of coverage a day (well 24 if you count that I was recording CBC and TSN most days).

What did I love about the Beijing Olympics:

1. Michael Phelps


2. Eric Lamaze


3. Sook-Yin Li's Ying and Yang segments


4. Simon Whitfield


5. Adam Vankoeverdan

Phelps Obsession

I just returned from my friend's place, where I watched Michael Phelps' final race at the 2008 Olympics. I am so happy this part of the Olympics is over. I've been obsessed. I've stayed up late to watch every time he was in the pool in the morning. Gotten up early to watch every time he was in the pool in the evening (Beijing being 12 hours earlier). This week has had me remembering all those Saturday mornings waiting for my swim meets. Getting on the bus early and travelling to a different pool in Huron County, sitting at the Judith Gooderham pool in Goderich waiting for my heats. The excitement of winning those different coloured ribbons (which I believe were lost / thrown out in one of the many moves over the years). Watching the medley relay tonight reminded me so much of my team relays oh so many years ago. I was always the breast stroke leg and Laurie Dawson was always the butterfly (she was amazing). Normally we had different people in the back and freestyle legs every week (depending on who was around - I believe a friend subbed in one week because she was visiting). But, we always won. That is until we turned 12. That's when everyone else grew about a foot and I didn't. After that I never won another race (that I can remember). I'm still a strong swimmer and still have a strong breast stroke. When I swam in those two mini-triathalons, I swam breast stroke. It's a slow stroke compared to the others, but it's still my favourite. I found it strange when they were discussing the different strokes and said that the breast stroke was the most difficult. The butterfly is insane and was definitely the one we were in awe of when we were kids (and I'm still in awe of). Mostly what I'm getting from this week of intense Olympic watching, is that I want to go back to swimming. I miss it so much. The problem: my fear of water. After years of swimming, I developed an irrational fear of the water. I read Jaws when I was about twelve. Not a good idea. It really messed me up. I still swim, I still waterski, I received my scuba diving certification a few years ago, I still get on a windsurfer when I get the opportunity; but, it freaks me out. I don't just jump in a pool like I used to. I have a pool in my building complex that I haven't been in at all this summer. Part of that is how busy I am, but most of it is me freaking out. So, I'm thinking of taking a class. I'm not super happy with the options that Mississauga has on offer in the pool. But, I don't think it matters at this point. I think I just need to get back in the pool. I guess I'm happy with my obsession of Phelps this week, if for nothing else than it getting me back into a pool and swimming. And I think that might be one of the point's of the games, getting people interested in the sports. Well, the hype and the attention on Phelps may just do it, for me.

MINI Drama

So, the MINI drama continues. I was hoping they could find me a mini earlier than mid-Sept. Apparently they are in major demand. At least in the configuration I want. Currently, there is a mini coming in about two weeks from now. Jaguar / British Racing Green with everything I want except the media connect. The media connect is the usb connection to the ipod so that I can see the song name and charge the ipod while driving, it also allows my phone to go through the radio. This would be super nice to have. But, can I live without it? Sure, but I'd rather have it now that the option has been presented. Is it worth me going insane over car options for the next month? No.

There is another dealer that found a mini with the colour and everything I want (including media connect), but they don't know if they can get a dealer trade. I kind of want this one to become available so that I get everything I want, but I would also feel bad going with a different dealer than the guy that has been putting up with my craziness for the past two weeks. He actually said I was easy to deal with (I know many people that would beg to differ on that one - it was through email so maybe he was writing it through clenched teeth).

Fingers crossed that I get a car soon!

The Mini Has Died

A couple of weeks ago I was driving to work and the mini started to make some horrible noises. I decided to turn around and go to the dealership. Unfortunately, the car didn't cooperate. It started to shake and then just stopped. Apparently the transmission went (possibly due to an oil leak that caused multiple problems).

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. I loved my mini, so I think I want a new one. But, it's going to take forever to get a new one. It's costing me a fortune to rent a car until it's ready.

Finally Nice Weather

Just got back from my friend Dorie's cottage. It's about time we had some beautiful weather. Dorie just returned from about a month in Samoa, Australia and New Zealand. So, we pretty much just relaxed - napped on the dock, went for a swim, tubing, reading in the sun, hanging out in the hot tub. It was great.

Dancing in the Rain and Mud

This past weekend my friend Julia and I headed to my hometown of Goderich for the annual Beer Tent. Julia had never been to Goderich before, but she is also from a small town and was keen to check it out. We arrived around 11:30am Saturday morning, made some lunch and then hit the pool. It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon and I was so happy to be in the pool.

We had been told to get to the beer tent early to avoid the lineups. I haven't been in years, but do remember being stuck in those lineups and wanted to avoid that at all costs. But, we ended up being there too early. When we got there it was only us and a couple of other people. But, we chatted and had a couple of beers so it was not a problem. But, as the lineups started and the place started to fill in, we felt a little out of place. People kept staring at us and avoiding sitting at our table (I've been away from home for awhile, and most of the people I know went on Friday night). Finally this group sat with us and we chatted with them for a bit. The rest of the night is kind of crazy.

The dancing started before the rain and I was super happy to get up and dance on the grass. Then the rain started and that was awesome. I love being out in the rain. But, I kind of wish I hadn't of decided to wear white shorts :) Julia had to keep me from dancing on the wet picnic tables!

Around midnight we were done (an afternoon of drinking in the sun will do that). We walked home in the rain (a couple of other souls were also leaving at that time). I had to strip out of my wet clothes in the garage and grab a pool towel so that I didn't drip water all over the house!

Both of us woke up with hangovers the next morning and just lounged around watching a movie with Grandma until we felt we were well enough to get in the car. But, all in all a fun time was had.

Stupid Book

I finally finished 'Cryptinomicon'. It took ten years. Well, it sat on my shelf for 10 years. It took me at least 3 months to actually read it. It took forever. I skimmed a lot of it. I do not recommend it. Which is sad since I loved his 'Snow Crash' and 'Zodiac'.

Bittersweet for Truscotts

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080707/national/truscott_compensation_4

Knitting Projects

I can finally post some pictures of my knitting projects. I just completed two pieces for my friend Tara's baby shower. A 'baby bib o'love' and a 'baby genius burping cloth'. They took me a little longer than I thought they would so I still want to knit one more baby bib.

Tara's baby shower was good. The day was beautiful and there was even time after for a swim in Christi's pool.
Julia has a knitting book that contains these two patterns and I liked the book so much that I bought it as well. This was my first foray into the purl stitch. Julia was very patient with me! I made a few mistakes, but I'm pretty happy with it. I can't wait to finish my next project.

Happy Canada Day

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather for Canada Day (at least those of us here in the GTA appear to be having a beautiful day today).

I'm currently sitting in my pjs, watching the last two episodes of season 7 of the X-Files. I only have a couple more weeks to finish watching the remaining two seasons before the movie comes out (Julia, Jana and I saw the trailer when we went to see Wanted on the weekend). Julia is a huge fan and can't wait for the movie.

So, we went to see 'Wanted', the new James McAvoy / Angelina Jolie movie. It was okay. I'm not sure what it was that put me off (I think there was a point where the suspension of disbelief was too much).

I can see an end in sight to reading 'Cryptinomicon'. I've been reading this book since March and can't wait to finish it. It should be really good, but it is too long.

Blah

I'm so not in a good mood. I can't find my phone or a replacement phone. I'm so sick of going over to Rogers to try and get this worked out. I'm annoyed with my job and can't decide if I will sign the extension for my contract. And this morning I was even thinking that it really didn't matter if I go out to BC after Jason's baby is born. I can't even get excited about my birthday party this weekend.

Lost My Phone

This weekend I headed up to Peterborough (again) for my cousin Candice's wedding reception. Her and Sean were married in the Dominican a couple of months ago and this was the party for those of us that couldn't (and some that could) make it down to the Caribbean.

Sean's parents hosted the reception at their gorgeous property on the lake. It was a gorgeous day and it was great to see everyone. I had a great talk with Chris' mom about my mom and her family. Unfortunately, I found out that a number of my relatives have passed away. I received confirmation that my grandfather did pass away (it's nice the my aunt and uncle let my brother and I know these things). It was also confirmed that all of my mom's aunts and uncles have passed away. I think my grandmother is still out there somewhere, but I am quite okay if I never hear from her again (horrible woman). (Just to clarify I am not talking about my Grandma Woodall who I love.)

The bouncy fun castle that I bought for my brother's wedding was put to good use for the kids (and I did make it in there again). Nicole bought it from me for her kids and they love it. I'm happy to see that it is still in working order.

The group of us took a cab out to the site. The cab driver refused to listen to directions and we were so lost and late. We took a cab back as well and I fell asleep soon after getting back to the hotel. I was woken up by the power going out in my room, but went right back to sleep.

I had to leave Peterborough relatively early to get back to the city for golf with my dad. I woke up wondering what time it was and worried that the power being out would affect the clocks. I woke up and went searching for my phone as I figured it would have the correct time. I couldn't find it, it wasn't in my purse. I turned on the TV and found a weather station that told me it was 5:30 am (and the clock in my room was correct). I went back to sleep and dreamt of my missing phone.

At 8am I was awake and trying to figure out how I could locate my phone. I called out to Sean's parent's place and they were just heading down to the tent and would take a look. I called Nicole later (but forgot to ask for the name of the cab company) and asked if my phone was by any chance in her room and for her sister's cell phone number). I tried calling her back to get the name of the cab company, but no answer. I called back to the reception site, but no one answered the phone. I needed to leave town to make my golf game, but needed to know if there had been any luck. So, I packed up the car and drove out to the site (about 30 mins out of my way). They hadn't found it. Which is fine but why couldn't someone have called me to let me know? That would have been really helpful.

I made it back to Mississauga in time to look up the directions to the golf course and to drop into Rogers to find out about getting a new phone. I couldn't call my dad as I didn't have his number (everything is in my phone). Rogers computer system went down (of course) and I had to leave to make my tee time.

I made it in time and dad and I got right onto the course. Around the 8th hole the lightning started and everyone was asked to leave the course. We were given a free pass (18 holes) due to the weather. Sweet! Dad and I went for a great meal at the Miller Tavern and I was able to get back to Mississauga before Rogers closed.

Rogers was able to give me a loaner phone and check if anyone had used my phone yet. They hadn't and I do have access to my phone number (yay). I was quite happy with the Rogers service I received yesterday.

But, now I have to buy a new phone. That's going to cost me around $300. All in all a very expensive weekend. I really wish I had of gone with my first plan - no hotel room. I wouldn't have been drinking, my car would have been at the site and my phone probably wouldn't have gotten lost.

Happy Birthday to Me

It's my birthday and it started off great last night. I had a great time at hockey. Both Stef and Rob said I was reading the puck really well. Now, I just need to get faster (and resharpen my skates so that I can stop properly). The girls stayed after the game for a couple of beers to start the celebration week off right!

Tonight I'm off to dinner with the Waterloo gang (Lisa, Keith, Tim and I). I don't remember the last time we were together, but it may have been at Waterloo. Golf with Dad on Sunday and then the birthday bash next weekend at Christi's!

Stress

It's rare that I get stressed at work. I've been very good at separating work and home life for the past ten years. But, I think it may have crept up on me. I have developed an eye twitch and a back problem in the past two weeks.

I had to leave work early yesterday due to the back issue and the eye is driving me crazy daily. Who knows if it is just stress from work, or stress from trying to date a guy that is completely unavailable, or the inability for my stepmother and I to get along. Who knows, but I think the work stress is higher than it has been at any other place I've worked. It's not the deadlines, it's the lack of process. But, who knows. I do know that my back hurts and I have a wonky eye.

The Wii

Last week I took my new Wii over to my friend Julia's. I hadn't even taken it out of the box yet. She knew what she was doing so I let her play the inaugural game, which of course was tennis. So, she played a match and then it was my turn. I kept missing everything. But, I finally got the swing of it and we had a lot of fun.

Friday night I finally hooked it up at home and played each of the games. Took out some aggression by boxing a couple of times.

On Sunday I headed over to my friend Karen's for a visit and to play wii with the boys. Nintendo annoyed me right off and I didn't want to play anymore. Brandon really wanted to play, but it had put me in a bad mood.

After about an hour I wasn't so annoyed and Mackenzie and I tried out the Wii Play. I may have to pick this game up. The pool was really good and I did have fun with the cow racing. I think the bubble one will be fun and help me to figure out how the controller works (or it could just be super frustrating). I wonder if you have to have a second player for that game.

I still can't find the Wii Fit anywhere! The more I hear about it the better it sounds. My dad is coming over tomorrow and I can't wait for us to try out the golf. I was amazed that the same mistakes I make out on the course I was making in the game. Maybe this will help me to improve my game (I can only hope).

Late to the Ballet.... Again

Last night Lisa and I were finally able to get together. Now, it helped alot that we had tickets to the ballet. We were off to see Cinderella, the last ballet for us this season. This season we only purchased tickets to three ballets. The first had me laughing (West Side Story is just silly to begin with but, ballet dancers in a gang fight?); the second was the amazing Rooster (which I've written about previously). We were almost late the first night and just made it to our seats in time. Same with the second. We thought we had lots of time last night, but the fates were against us.

Lisa and I haven't seen each other in over a month. She had a crazy month of work travel. We were really happy to get together for dinner and a chat before the show. I made it to her place in pretty good time after work and so we walked over to an Italian place near where she lives. She'd never been so we thought we would check it out. We were really impressed with the menu as there were a lot of vegetarian options. Neither of us could decide there were so many options. She finally selected the tortellini and I went for the risotto (I always forget how long this takes). We ordered some red wine and were having a great chat.

Lisa kept getting distracted as there was a woman at the table beside us that started breast-feeding her child at the table. She apparently didn't feel the need to cover herself up.

Our food finally came to the table and we were starving. It all looked so good. I picked up one forkful and it was soo good. Then I noticed something odd on the plate. It really looked like bacon and fat. That's odd, I know there wasn't any mention of meat on the menu. I asked Lisa and she agreed that it looked like meat and started to check hers. Meat there as well. So, we called over our server and she was all indignant. Of course there is meat! I was rather upset because I knew I always look for that in the menu. She took both dishes away. She came back with a menu and low and behold - no mention of meat for my dish. There was mention of meat in Lisa's, though. The waitress did feel bad that the menu was incorrect for my dish. They offered us a half litre of wine and some brushetta while we waited. The brushetta was amazing!

Unfortunately, we were now cutting it really close to get to the ballet on time. Finally our food did arrive and it was excellent. Lisa and I both agreed that if we couldn't make it to the ballet that was fine because at least we were getting to visit.

When we were done, it was only 7:38 and the ballet had started at 7:30. We can probably catch the second act! So, we hopped in a cab and off we went. They told us they wouldn't be able to seat us until the first intermission (in about 15 mins), but we could watch on the screens.

The ballet was not that good. I'm sorry, but Cinderella should not be set in the roaring '20s. I didn't like the costumes (and Lisa kept saying that Cinderella looked like a Russian hooker in her coat). The one scene with the men dancing around the world was good (well, it was a weird scene, but the dancing was great). The crazy pumpkin headed men were the highlight. It was something out of 'A Nightmare Before Christmas'. Unfortunately, I missed their big dance.

Next season they are bringing back Romeo and Juliet as well as performing Carmen. I have seen Romeo and Juliet twice (once by the Kirov Ballet) and will definitely be keen to go again. I'm really looking forward to Carmen. I suspect there will be at least one other that we'll pick and therefore we can get the subscription seats (cheaper).

I think I keep hoping that the corps of the ballet will get better and actually keep in step. I went to my first performance by the National Ballet when I was 12, I'm now 36. It hasn't happened yet, but I keep hoping it will :)

Another Great Post

This one made me laugh outloud as I have thought most of the same things about movies not based in fact (so true!).

http://www.empireonline.com/empireblog/Post.asp?id=164

Awesome blog idea

I'm definitely going to think about this idea and will try to get my perfect day (comprised of movie scenes).

http://misfortune-cookie.blogspot.com/2008/06/perfect-day-comprised-of-movie-scenes.html

Television Craziness

I love my PVR, have I mentioned that before? When I got home from work last night (around 7pm) I noticed that the PVR was recording something. I thought that was odd because I had turned off the recording of The OC (I've watched each episode at least twice now, and that's enough). I turned on the TV to figure out what could be recording at 7pm on a Thursday night. 'So You Think You Can Dance'? Really, I thought I had turned off the recording from Much Music (because it only ever seemed to pick up the reruns of the result shows). But, no! It was the new season starting. I would have completely missed it, if it wasn't for my PVR remembering to record any episode at any time on CTV. I had almost forgot how much I love this show. I just finished watching 'Dancing with the Stars' this week and I do like it, but the dancing is not near as good as it is on SYTYCD. These are all professional dancers. Granted, the first few episodes are the auditons, so these are not all professional dancers. It still strikes me as strange how people will embarrass themselves to get on TV. If there is any chance I will be embarrassed I won't do something, so I have to give these people some kudos to be willing to take a chance. I am definitely excited about what we will get to see this season. I always end up with at least four new favourite songs after a season. I'm hoping we will also get to see some of the guys from the previous seasons. Last night already had Travis and Dominic make appearances. I'm hoping for Neil (and more Travis).

Last night was also the season finale of Grey's Anatomy. There was way too much drama for me last night. Too many people dying, or possibly dying. I could not handle it. Plus, I'm pretty sure something bad is going to happen to Derek at the beginning of next season. He said the kiss of death 'I'll be right back'. I know it normally heralds death in horror movies, but I'm pretty sure it still means bad things will happen on tv. I was happy that Meredith and Derek got back together at the end. I don't like them apart.

The Bump

Here's the pic of the baby bump! Jason and Megan went for the first ultrasound this week. Pics of little baby feet! I'm so excited.

Tagged Sort Of

Julia has a list of 5 things about herself on her blog and sort of tagged me (I figure since I read it, I've been tagged).

1) What was I doing ten years ago? Probably on a plane for some work thing (I'll have to look it up). Working in Toronto for a software company.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)? Finish off some IVR testing; polish the motorcycle for the BAD ride this weekend; pick up my books at the library; knit at least ten ridges on the blanket; get to bed early for once this week.

3) Snacks I enjoy: (I'm stealing two of Julia's here) the fresh guacamole from Max’s Market in Bloor West Village, edemame beans, spicy hummus with flat bread.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: get myself a cottage for when I'm not travelling around the world; volunteer for greenpeace.

5) Places I have lived: (in order) Mississauga, Goderich, Waterloo, Burlington, Beijing (China), Burlington, Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga

Those of you that read my blog: consider yourselves tagged :)

Back

I feel I have been remiss in my blogging. I get home from work and really don't feel like doing anything on my computer. (My facebook games have suffered for this - as Sharon keeps reminding me.)

The job is good. I don't love it, I don't hate it. The drive isn't too bad and I've been able to listen to a ton of books on CD. I just finished 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemingway. Definitely had me really hating bull fighting (and thinking back to Lisa's post about the bull ring they went to in Spain).

Trivia has started up again. I'm back with the Mods (yay). We won our first game, but I think I was sitting in the wrong spot because I knew more answers in different seats than my own (I still didn't know very much, though).

I just returned from a quick visit out to BC. I spent the weekend with my brother Jason and his wife Megan. She's expecting in October and she looks great. My brother has grown a beard and I almost didn't recognize him at the airport (pictures, hopefully, to be posted tonight). The weather was amazing (Jason even had a sunburn after Saturday). We hung out with Megan's brother and his wife and a couple of their friends for a barbeque on Sunday. It was a really great weekend. But, I am paying for the time difference today! I am so tired.

Stitch and Bitch

Julia and I had our first 'stitch and bitch' session last night. I taught myself how to knit a couple of years ago, but haven't really done much. Julia had found that she wasn't knitting as much as she would like so we decided to set aside time each week to get together and make a concerted effort to knit. I'm almost done the scarf I started last summer. I can't wait to be finished as Julia has me excited about starting work on a blanket. We are going to go looking at yarn to pick out colours and I can't wait.

Night and Fog

Last night I watched the 1955 documentary 'Night and Fog'. It is ranked #2 on the imdb.com documentary list. Very powerful depiction of the Nazi concentration camps. Stuff like this makes me wonder how we can think we are an intelligent race.

Crazy Weekend

With the warm weather comes even more plans for the ever busy me. This past weekend was no exception. On Friday night after a crazy day of writing test cases at work, I had to stop by Purolator and pick up the latest Creative Memories order for my customers. (I can not believe the guy who came in after me left his car idling outside the entire time he was in there.) Home to grab something quick to eat, pack up the orders and then head over to my friend Sue's for a Creative Memories Get Together. The night was a lot of fun and I ended up getting home at 11:30pm. So much for getting to the grocery store on my way home.

Friday morning I had to be up early to get to the grocery store so I could make up a batch of soup for the scrapbooking workshop Dorie and I were hosting (well, Dorie was hosting and I was helping out since none of my customers could attend). I had the soup all made and my car all packed by 9am (about 40 mins later than I had hoped, but Dorie didn't need as much setup help as we thought). As I was driving from my place to the 401 I had to stop at a stop light. It wasn't a quick stop or anything, but the crock pot of soup overturned on the floor of the passenger seat and it all spilled out. The car smelled great but it looked like someone had thrown up all over the floor (thai coconut and sweet potato soup - very orange). I gave Dorie a call and let her know the soup was not happening. I just had to laugh or I would cry.

I got to Dorie's and the place looked great (as always). Everyone was late getting there (so I didn't feel so bad about my 40 mins of lateness). As people started to arrive I took on the duty of helping out two of Dorie's friends with the digital scrapbooking. We were able to upload some options, and I was able to get them started on the basics. They are both pretty excited about getting their trip books completed. I was working on my Vegas book from when Jason and I went to Vegas. But, I wasn't really in the mood. I did not get a lot accomplished. Around 3pm I talked to Christi and she was having issues with her digital book so I needed to get back to Mississauga to help her out. Back into my soup car!

Who knows what is happening with Christi's internet, but we could not get the digital book uploaed to CM so I took it home with me and was able to upload it from there. Can't wait to see the printed version!

By this point it was 7pm and I was supposed to be over at my friend Karen's to watch the hockey game. I finally made it over there for 7:30 and really just wanted to crawl into my bed and sleep. The game did not end as we hoped (Montreal had so many chances and just couldn't deliver). It was great to hang out with Karen and Kevin and visit with their boys, but I was falling asleep so home I went.

Up early again on Sunday morning for a day with Christi and Alex (her 2 year old) at Wonderland. We spent most of the day in the kids park. We had a lot of fun and Alex went on his first roller coaster (he did not enjoy it). It was a gorgeous day. Around 2:30 I left Christi and Alex to check out the new coaster 'Behemoth'. The line was not at all long and I was on the ride in under 20 mins. Let's just say this ride is crazy and a tad scary. I love rides. For my 18th birthday my family took me to Cedar Point to try out the tallest, fastest, steepest coaster in the world (at the time).

After the craziness of wonderland I headed into Toronto to play some tennis with Julia. It was our first day out this season so we just hit the ball around for an hour. It did not start out promising. I was all over the place, I'm hoping I will improve over the summer (I only started playing last year). By the time I got home last night I was so tired. Work was tough today!

Saving Water

Last weekend was not so good. I was supposed to have plans on Friday night, but ended up having an update every two hours on how I did not have plans. There was a breakdown of a car involved. During this time I was not a happy camper. I get very excited about plans (regardless of what they are) and get rather upset when they are cancelled (I blame the depression). While talking to my friends Dorie, Sharon and Julia, I decided I should go out on the motorcycle for a ride to calm down. It was a beautiful night and I should embrace it instead of waiting around. Okay, I had a new plan, great!

For the past few months I've been having problems with my toilet. It keeps running. Normally I can get it to stop. But not Friday night. I was half in my motorcycle chaps when I realized that it was still running. I could not get it to stop. Now, I suspect that my unhappy mood did not help matters. I got rather frustrated with the whole thing. So, there I was sitting on my couch with my chaps half on and me on the phone with my friend Dorie, again. I could not get a hold of my dad or my brother to figure out what was going on with the toilet (as now, not only was it continually running, it also wouldn't flush). Dorie convinced me to put the chaps on and get out on the bike. Which I did. It was quite nice (chilly, but nice).


The next morning I did get a hold of my dad and he gave me some ideas of what was wrong, but reiterated that I needed a new toilet. I was able to get the toilet flushing again, but had to keep the water turned off because it would not stop running.


Last night my dad was able to come into town and replace the toilet. I have a swanky new dual flush toilet that saves on water. Very cool and environmental. I even get a $100 rebate from the city for installing the swanky new toilet. It's so small!

Don't Get Mathy On Me

I was feeling a little down and Julia picked me up with this strip from Dilbert. Hee Hee!

Well, I was going to post the strip here, but my PC is not cooperating.

Here's the gist:
The manager says at a staff meeting "don't feel bad if you only got a 3% raise. I only got 2% myself."
Angry girl replies "can we feel bad that 2% of YOUR pay is bigger than 3% of OUR pay?"
The manager replies "Don't get all mathy on me."

Go to Dilbert.com and search on published date 4/21/05 to check it out. Okay, Julia just sent me the link: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2005-04-21/

Empire

"The Greatest Five Seconds in Movie History"
http://www.matchflick.com/column/1640

I thought this was an excellent article. I remember being extremely surprised by this moment on film.

5 + 7 Revisited

It showed up again today on my brain teaser. The dreaded 5+7 and this time it was 5+7, not 5x7. But, I got it right. I answered 12 on the first try. Maybe I have overcome this crazy mental block... maybe. We shall see. Of course, though, the system had a glitch and I couldn't answer the rest of the questions for a good 20 seconds so my score was 54 seconds this morning. I swear 5+7 are out to get me :)

The Martini

As posted about a week ago, my friend Dorie and I went out dancing in Mississauga. It was so much fun we made plans to do it again - this Saturday night. This time the plan was to go to my favourite bar, The Devil's Martini. Back in the late 90s Lisa and I first happened upon the Martini. I believe (and I hope she will correct me if I'm wrong) she heard about it through this guy she was dating at the time (Kevin, but not the Kevin she's dating now). We checked it out and fell in love with the place. It was this tiny, dark, little bar just down from the Osgoode subway. It had a couple of pool tables in the back and the best dance floor / bar at the front. Now, I loved the dance floor for many reasons. First, there was a stage. As many of you know, I'm a bit of an exhibitionist and I love to dance on a stage. But, even better: I was allowed to dance on the bar!!!! There were these two small sections of the bar that met up with the stage so you could just step up and be on the bar. Since people weren't normally getting drinks from those sections a couple of us were allowed to dance there. The one side, though, had duct work that came down over the bar. This made it impossible for most people to stand on the bar in that space. But, not me. I'm under 5 feet tall so I could stand under the duct work. I could actually dance under the duct work (I had to watch out when 'Home for a Rest' was played, though, as I got a little jumpy and hit my head on more than one occassion). Lisa and I would always start out the night playing some pool. There were many a night when we had the run of the pool table for hours. But, no matter how well we were playing, once the dance floor got going I was up on the stage for the rest of the night. We had some really great times there, including the night I sat on Mike Myers jacket and the night we took a guy to a strip club for his stag.

Unfortunately, the Martini had to move on. They tore it down and put up condos (I think). It was a very sad day for me. Then they reopened on Adelaide (at least I think it's on Adelaide, I really can not remember where the new location is; I know it's in an alley and I always think it's a miracle that I find it). It's a much bigger place with white decor instead of black. But, they still have the same type of music and a couple of pool tables. Whenever I get a chance this is the place I like to go dancing. I certainly don't go as often as I used to go to the old place (what with being older and living in the burbs).

So, this weekend Dorie and I decided that that's where we should go. I sent out an invite to a couple of people to see if they wanted to join us. I included two of my sisters, unfortunately, they were not available. But, Linds emailed me back to warn me that my third sister had sent her an email saying she was planning on going out for her birthday this Saturday at the Martini. This did not sit well. I found this out on Wednesday and I was having a really crappy day on Wednesday (my depression was in full swing). Why would she choose to go there? She's never been there before (that I know of), it's not her type of music or crowd at all. Were the fates toying with me? I haven't spoken to this sister since July and I certainly didn't want to have a run in at my favourite bar! So, I called up Linds to find out the deal and to determine if I needed to pick a new bar. A little voice in the back of my head reminded me that Dorie had heard of a new bar opening in Mississauga with martini in the name. Could that be where Rach was planning on going? Linds checked her email and yes, there is a place called the Dirty Martini in Mississauga and that's where they were planning on going. Sigh. All is right with the world again. Now, I don't hate my sister, but we don't always get along. I didn't want our first encounter after 9 months to be at a club in Toronto. It could go well, or it could go bad. Let's not find out.

So, I'm off to the Martini (Devil's, that is) on Saturday night. I'm hoping for a great night of dancing, drinks and friends (and maybe a pool game). Hope you all have an excellent weekend and I hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane of one of Toronto's coolest bars.

Stupid 5 + 7

So, I have a Math degree. From the University of Waterloo no less. But, try as I might I can not remember what 5+7 is. Yes, right now I am aware that it is 12 (yet, I keep looking at that answer and am second guessing myself and will need to finish this post soon so that my brain doesn't explode). In an hour I will have forgotten, again. I love math, I like to do math for fun. On my google home page I have a math brain test every morning. A couple of quick multiplication, addition and subtraction questions (I don't understand why there aren't any division). Normally I finish the questions in around 20 seconds with 0 wrong. This morning because of 5 and 7 my time was 37 seconds with two wrong answers. Why 2? Because apparently as soon as I saw 5 and 7, I assumed it was 5+7 and my brain froze. I answered 13 (which is what I always think the answer is - even though I know I'm always wrong). Then I saw the red x and changed it to 12, still wrong! What? Oh, 5x7. Well, that's a whole different story, that one I know. But, because of my aversion to 5+7 my brain went right to 13 and a wrong answer.

A couple of weeks ago at trivia this got me in to some problems with scoring a round. I can remember the digits of my credit card, my debit card and my library card and yet I can not remember that 5+7 is 12. What traumatic event happened to me as a child that involved these numbers?

Trivia Finals - Way To Go Mods

Last night were the finals for my trivia league. First off - so happy this season is done. I've been sub-ing for Rod's team this season. They needed an extra body to QM (ask the questions). So, Julia was nice enough to take my spot on the Mods so I could help out the Naughts.

Anyway, this was the first time I had gone to the finals. In the finals there are three teams competing. The Mods just squeaked in after an upset in their final regular season game. Throughout the evening the Mods were in the lead, but they almost lost it in the challenge round. They won by only 1 point and the trophy is now theirs. Yes, there is a trophy. Julia has the honour of having it at her home as the rest of the guys have already had the privilege. They promise me we'll be back to the finals when I'm back on the team so that I get to take it home.

Congrats as well to Mel for winning the individual trophy!


Picture of the Mods: Tim, Mel, Julia, Bob and Ralph

Riding Giants

I just finished watching 'Riding Giants', a documentary by Stacey Peralta (the same guy that did 'Dogtown and Z-boys). This one is about the history of big wave surfing. Jeremy recommended this one to me. Very cool movie. The waves are crazy and it was really well done. I can't wait for my dad to check this out. There is a small bit of windsurfing in the movie, which really made me want to get back out in the water. These guys are crazy. Some of it reminded me of the day we were out at the beach after the last remnants of a hurricane had made its way up to Goderich. I wasn't allowed out (not that I would have gone). The waves were huge and I'm pretty sure Ian did a full flip (the 13 ft mast cleared). I was freaked out once the lightning started. It was a crazy, crazy day.

One Month In

I can't believe it, but I've been at the new job for a month now. It seems like it just flew by. So different than the time at AIM. It is so nice to have actual work to do. Things seem to be going well. They have me working on a number of different things and are really happy with what I've done so far. The contract is for 4 months, but I suspect there is a good chance it will be extended.

I believe I've figured out the commute. If I leave around 7am, the drive takes between 30 and 40 mins. This allows me to leave work around 4:30 and it takes about the same amount of time to get home. Unless of course, we're talking about a Friday afternoon. Then it takes about an hour to get home. I am not complaining. It's still better than the hour and fifteen minutes it used to take to get to the casino and it took about that long to get to AIM on the bus. I need to find some more books on CD, though. I forgot to pick some up this week so I've been stuck with the radio and my ipod (don't get me wrong, I love my ipod - but I listen to it all day at work).

It's Friday and that's exciting! This weekend I'm off to the stamp show with Julia (both of our father's used to collect stamps so we thought we'd check it out). Then I'm heading to Oshawa to see Heidi and Jen (and Heidi gets to play around with the Mini again). I'm hoping to get out and play cards with Rod and Darlene tonight and dinner with Lisa (and maybe Kevin) on Sunday. Another packed weekend.

Last night I headed to Burlington to meet up for dinner with my sisters and a couple of their friends. It was an awesome time. My sisters are so beautiful! After dinner I followed Linds over to her new apt. It's gorgeous. The colours they chose are amazing. I'm really happy for her. I was worried when she moved in with Mike so soon after meeting him, but she seems really happy. As if my evening wasn't jam packed enough, I then drove over to Karen and Kevin's for a quick visit. Karen chopped off all her hair. It looks really good, but it's so different! We watched part of the hockey game (Karen is a Habs fan and was very happy with the 4-1 win). We also watched part of The Office. I had only ever watched one episode and it annoyed me, but I found myself chuckling quite a bit. I may have to give it another try.

It's About Time

Just read that they are thinking of phasing out plastic bags at the liquor store. All I can say is 'it's about time'. We need to stop getting plastic bags when we shop. Get yourself a handy little bag that pops in your purse, or in the car and when you are out shopping, grab it. Reuse the cloth bags for the grocery store. Make sure you put them back in the car after you unload your groceries. Every little bit will help!

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080409/national/liquor_store_bags_ban

Beautiful Weekend

What an amazing weekend. It was so beautiful outside. On Friday night I met up with the girls (Tara, Sue and Christi) for pedicures and dinner. It was really nice to hang out and chat. Dorie then came to Mississauga and we went out dancing at Crocodile Rock. We had such a good time. I haven't been dancing in forever and I forgot how much I love it. My feet were so sore afterwards (stilleto heels seemed like a good idea at the time).

Saturday, my cousin Amy (well, for all intensive purposes - she's actually my cousin Michelle's cousin) came over for an afternoon of scrapbooking. My Austria album is almost done. A couple more pages and it will be done. I'm so procrastinating. But, I want to show it off tomorrow night so I need to finish. Before she came over I took the motorcycle out for the first time of this season. I had the bike detailed last weekend and it looks amazing! It was great to be out.

Last night I watched 'No Country for Old Men'. It was really good, not the ending I expected, which is good. I find that I think about movies more often when the ending isn't what I expected. Today I hung out on the couch all day instead of actually getting anything accomplished.

Mel's Going to be an Aunt

That's right, Jason and Megan are expecting. I'm so excited! The baby is due in October and I can't wait. I'm heading out to visit them in May and of course will go back in October. I actually found out back when Jason and I were in Vegas, but couldn't say anything until they had heard the heartbeat.

Top 50 Television Shows of All Time

Empire just posted their top 50 tv shows of all time. I think #2 should be #1, but the list was pretty interesting. I think Monty Python's Flying Circus should be higher though.

http://www.empireonline.com/50greatesttv/default.asp?tv=50

For each of the shows you get a synopsis (I love Firefly's, probably because I agree with the Nathan Fillion comment), the best episode and a fact you might not have know (I did not know the Buffy fact - not sure I would have loved it as much if Angel had of died in Season 2).

Dancing With the Stars

I just finished watching last night's dancing with the stars. Am I the only one, other than the judges, that actually pays attention to the dancing? Mario's dancing was horrible! As was Karina's and she's the professional. They were not in step and the steps they did have were not good. Yet the audience boo'd when Len gave them a bad review. Please start paying attention to the dancing people!

Julianne is still my fav by far. It's too bad that's she's partnered with Adam as they won't be around for very long. I'm liking Adam, he's pretty funny, but a dancer he is not. Kristi and Mark should win. She's amazing.

Being Single Sucks

Normally I don't mind being single. I've been single pretty much my entire life (there was that year or so with Dennis, but for the most part single). I've come to accept this and don't mind going on vacations by myself (New Zealand was great - if you don't count the problem at the Sydney airport); I go to dinner and movies by myself. This is all fine. But, today I went for a rock climbing lesson. I did not realize that this is not a sport you can do by yourself. In hindsight, I should have realized, but I just decided to try it out. They didn't say anything to me when I signed up by myself (which I really think they should have). The first part was fine, I figured out all the knots, figured out how to hook everything up. But, then everyone else in the group got to climb. I didn't get to climb because I didn't have anyone to belay. I did get to belay, though. The instructor had me practice while he climbed. So, I have no idea if I actually like this sport that my brother speaks so highly of.

My Sister's Keeper

Last night I finished reading a book that Christi lent me. I hadn't read anything by this author before and I couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend reading 'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult. I really liked the style of the book and the premise was really interesting. I finished it last night and cried for about an hour. My eyes were so puffy this morning. I don't want to say what it was about or details about the writing style because I think everyone should come to this book as fresh as possible.

Before that I read 'a long way gone'. This book was written by a boy soldier from Sierra Leone. It was definitely interesting, but I'm not sure that I liked the writing and I didn't feel for the writer.

I'm back to listening to books on CD for my long drive to work. The first one was 'The Pleasure of my Company' by Steve Martin. I loved his book 'Shop Girl' and I really liked this book on CD. It was actually read by Steve Martin and the story was really interesting. The main character is somewhat autistic. The second book was 'Therapy' by Jonathan Kellerman. Always a good option for a quick / trash read.

I can't decide what to read next. I need something up beat, but I don't really have that on my bookshelf right now. I have a ton of options, but nothing is jumping out at me.

Ballet and The Rolling Stones

I just got home from the ballet. Lisa and I once again purchased subscription seats (seasons tickets). We only went for three ballets this year. The first was back in November and it was a mixed program with a West Side Story performance (I think I already wrote about that). Tonight was also a mixed program (which I realized I am not a big fan of).

The first piece was set to Chopin and I did like it. It was a little too modern for my tastes (I am definitely a fan of classical). It was amazing what they can do with their bodies. I think I am just really tired of ballets where the dancers just run around the stage.

The second piece was called Soldiers' Mass. There were just 12 guys on stage and I found it really moving. Lisa found this one boring. There was a male choir throughout and that was pretty impressive (much better than when the dancers were signing during west side story).

But, the reason I wanted to go tonight was for the third piece. 'Rooster' was set to music by The Rolling Stones. WOW! I loved this. It is up there with Swan Lake in my list of favs. Now, I am a huge fan of the Stones, so that could be part of it. But, I am also a fan of the type of dancing they were doing. It was just a lot of fun. I may just go back before the last performance on the 16th. It's been a long time since I was blown away by a performance by the National Ballet (normally I just complain about them not being in step - really, they are professionals, they should be able to stay together). If you get the chance go see this!

First Day

Well, the first day was good. I had a ton of work to do and it looks like they have lots for me to do for quite a few days :) The drive wasn't horrible, but that could be due to the fact that it is March break. I did not have fun trying to get to trivia after work, though. Apparently there isn't a DVP south exit off of Wynford Drive. I got a little turned around, but finally found my way and that wasn't a bad drive.

I did get a call after work that I was hoping for and I am hoping that it means I have plans this weekend.

I had a really bad Thai meal tonight. Julia and I met up before trivia at the Green Mango. It was like they didn't want to serve us, first off. Then the spring rolls were reheated, my entree smelled like cat litter (and Julia's smelled like urine). Mine was supposed to be spicy, but it hardly had any flavour. It was not a good meal at all. So, we went back to the Duke and had a deep-fried Mars bar to make up for it :)

CSI

I'm watching the 'Mickey Dunn' episode of CSI right now. It's the one with Roger Daltry playing multiple characters. The young Mickey Dunn is played by Rik Young. He is pretty damn hot. I think I need to get out. I was supposed to go dancing last night, but mother nature did not cooperate. Dorie and I talked about how sucky it was that we didn't get to go dancing last night, we were both definitely in the mood. She has two weeks off for March break so our dancing night will have to wait a couple of weeks.

I also just caught up on two months of go fug yourself. I think there was only one or two posts that had me laughing out loud. I really should have spent my time on my Austria scrapbook instead.

Vegas, Baby

A couple of weeks ago Jason and I met up in Vegas. It was really nice to get to hang out with my brother for a weekend away. Megan didn't feel like hanging out in the casinos all weekend so she stayed in BC. Originally I was supposed to get into Vegas half an hour before Jason. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. I was flying on points so I had to fly from Toronto to Ottawa and then on to Vegas. The flight to Ottawa was fine and on time, but the plane we were taking to Vegas ended up stuck in Toronto due to the weather. Once on the plane, we had to wait for the wings to be de-iced. I ended up getting to Vegas an hour after Jason. He had flown in to the main terminal and hopped on the shuttle over to the little terminal where I was. Unfortunately, the one I flew in to didn't have any stores open so he couldn't even get a drink. I was so excited to see him!

We then had to deal with the car rental place. We were planning to rent a car for the whole weekend because it wasn't too expensive, but once we got there they hit us with a $20 / day insurance fee. We decided we would just keep the car for one day (we were planning to go to the Hoover Dam and do some driving in the desert). By the time we got to the hotel I think it was 2am. I was so tired!

We woke up to a screamer in the next room. Every morning at 7:30 am she was letting the world know what a great time she was having in Vegas.

Off we went into the desert. It takes forever to get anywhere in Nevada! Our first stop was the Hoover Dam. Dad has always said it was one of his favourite places in the world. He was just amazed by the structure and I can see why. It wasn't so much how high the dam is, but the story of its construction. During the depression they completed the dam in just three years, two years ahead of schedule. The innovations made during the construction were amazing. It was definitely impressive and I'm really glad we did the tour.

What is not impressive is that they are building a new bridge over the river at the bottom of the dam and it is at least 5 years behind schedule. It's amazing how times change and how work ethics, etc change over time.

We then headed into the desert to drive up to the Valley of Fire. Since it takes forever to get anywhere, we didn't have time to go to Death Valley or the Grand Canyon. But, I think it was okay because the drive was absolutely stunning. We stopped a number of times to get out of the car and take pictures.

By the time we got to the Valley of Fire, we were so tired. It was pretty cool, but not that much better than anything we had seen on the drive. The petroglyphs were cool, though.
We hit rush hour traffic on the way back in to town. We drove down the strip and found a thai restaurant for dinner. I do not remember it taking so long to get down the strip! The hotel that I stayed in on my first trip is gone, The Frontier (except for the sign). Jason and I were staying at the other end of the strip at the Tropicana (which worked out really well for getting to the airport, not so good for getting to the Mirage).

After taking the car back we decided it was time to get into a casino! I'd already checked out the hotels / casinos on my last trip so we were checking out the ones Jason wanted to see. We headed over to the Luxor and played some slots. I was not a fan of the slots before. It turnes out I had not been playing the fun video ones. Jason introduced me to the video slots that have bonus games. I was having a great time. We ended up at three or four different casinos playing slots until around 2am (I think). I really wanted to play poker, but the only hotel on the strip that has a 7-card stud game is the Mirage. We were too far from the Mirage to go that night.

I had forgotten how much people smoke in the casinos. When I went the last time I spent most of my time in the Mirage poker room which is non-smoking. Playing slots I was near smokers all the time. What I don't understand is how anyone can bring their kids into a casino or be there when they are pregnant. There were so many kids and so many pregnant women in there, it boggles my mind. I was sick for a week after I got back with this horrible cough that I completely blame on the smoke.

On Saturday morning we decided to take a Craps lesson. Jason and I watched a bit of a craps game on Friday night, but it was so confusing. We ended up at New York, New York at 11am (after touring down the strip and trying to find out if we could get cheap seats for another Cirque show) for the craps lesson. There is so much going on in this game! It sounded really cool and we decided we would play at some point, but, I really wanted to play some poker. Instead of walking down the strip to the other end we bought ourselves some day passes on the bus. The bus was great! Hop on, hop off, but boy does it take a long time to get to the different casinos. Plus, you can bring your drinks on the bus.

We got to the Mirage and the first thing we did was go to pick up our tickets for the Cirque de Soleil show 'Love'. This is The Beatles show, and the main reason I wanted to go to Vegas. I'm emotionally at the best of times. I was so excited to see the sign! It looked awesome and the Mirage was playing Beatles music most of the time. It was great. The poker room is right next to the theatre. Jason is more a texas hold'em player but he wasn't sure he wanted to play at the Mirage because the cheapest table was a little steep for his first time at the casino. Lucky for me he was willing to play 7 card stud. We put our names on the list and waited. They only had one stud table and it took about an hour before I got to sit down. I won my first two hands and thought I was going to have a great day. Then Jason sat down and all my luck went over to him. He was having a great afternoon. He was up quite a bit and decided to try his hand at one of the texas hold'em tournaments they were having, $70 buy in. He ended up being the fourth last person at the table and his queen was beat by a king, not too bad. While he was having good luck with his cards I was having really bad luck. The players at the table and the dealers were feeling really sorry for me. I was dealt the low card every other hand so I always had to bring in the pot. Unfortunately, I never had anything to go with that low card. It sucked!

Jay and I had to go back to the hotel to get ready for the cirque show, so back on the bus and back down the strip. I was starting to freak out that we wouldn't get back in time for the show. We did make it with about 15 mins to spare. The theater was awesome (as is always the case with Cirque). The ushers were wearing cool 60s outfits and I so want one of their hats. The show was spectacular. So much going on that I'm sure I missed half of it. I loved what they did with the music. They mixed a number of songs together and it was fun to pick out the different Beatles' songs that were being used.

After the show we couldn't decide if we wanted to play poker or try our hand at craps. Poker won out. Neither one of us had good luck, but we still played until around 3am (and I think I only lost $40). I thought for sure I had it on one hand. I had the flush on the first five cards and I was able to get most people out of the hand, but one guy would not leave. He ended up catching a full house on the last card. I was so bummed!

Sunday morning meant that I had to say good bye to Jay. I so didn't want to say good bye. I miss him so much! We did head over to the MGM to try our hand at Craps before he had to leave. There were a couple of girls at the table that had never played before either. We all had a lot of fun. There was a very cute guy at our table and he bet on me rolling a hard eight when I had the dice. I didn't roll the hard eight, but did roll an eight and won us all some money. We could only play for about an hour before Jason had to leave to catch a bus to the airport. We were each up over $100 so craps was definitely a lot of fun. I did not want Jay to leave. I had an extra 12 hours in Vegas after he left and I knew I would just be unhappy. My cousin Amy (well, actually my cousin Michelle's cousin Amy) was actually in Vegas as well so Jason told me to call her and spend part of my day with her.

After Jay left and I stopped crying, I headed back to the craps table. The cute guy was gone and unfortunately, the dice had gone cold. I lost all the money I had one in a very short period of time. I headed back to the Mirage to play some poker. I hung out there for about four hours and once again had crap cards. But, I had fun hanging out with the guys at the table. I only lost $20, but was getting bored. I decided to try my hand at craps again. I learned that I should not touch the dice! I actually ended up throwing them off the table at one point and hit a guy in the back at another table (oops). Dice cold again: I lost $60 in ten minutes. I decided I should call Amy and get away from the tables.

I met up with Amy and her friends and we went shopping at Caesar's Palace. Oh my God! This is not my type of shopping. It was so expensive. There was a Kate Spade shop and the purse I liked cost $400. It was fun to hang out with people who do shop like this (at least for one afternoon). I didn't buy anything (obviously). I decided to head back up to the strip so that I would be closer to my luggage for when I had to hop in a cab to the airport.

Back at New York, New York, I had some dinner and then hit the crap tables again. I decided to watch for a bit to see how the dice were doing. They seemed to be good so I put down some money. At one point the dice bounced into my chip tray and I backed quickly away from them. I did not want my bad luck going anywhere near those dice! No one on my end of the table wanted to touch the dice, which was fine because the guys at the other end were doing a great job. In about an hour I had won $230. I was so unhappy that I had to leave to catch my plane (even more unhappy later when I ended up waiting at the airport for over an hour).

Overall a great trip to Vegas! It was awesome to hang out with Jay for the weekend, the Beatles' Cirque show was amazing and I had fun gambling (only lost $150 over the three days).

Loving the Snow

I love the snow! It is so beautiful outside today. I was upset with Mother Nature yesterday since she made it impossible for me to go out last night (dancing or dinner). Today, I am back in love with her. I went out this morning for a two hour walk and it was amazing. Nice, fluffy, white snow!

The sidewalks were plowed for the most part and I was able to walk and read my book. As I said, for the most part. At the end of one sidewalk the plow had just stopped, or, more likely, the road plow had come by after and closed off the access to the road. I decided to go for it and walk over the snowbank. I sank up to my butt, but it was so much fun. I wish the snow tube park was working at Glen Eden because I really feel like going out tubing today. I am thinking about going out skating later. I have a hockey game at 10:15 tonight, but I don't think I'm going to go. I start my new job tomorrow morning and I would be wide awake until at least 1am after the game. It's our last game and I really want to go, but I don't think it would be a good idea. I haven't been to work in over a month and I would like to give a good impression.

I may just go out for another walk. I'm almost finished my book and I know I would finish it during my walk. I want to go over to the library and get some books on CD. I have a long drive to work starting up and books on CD are a great way to make the time go by quicker.

This reminds me. My trivia round went over really well last week. My round was on Stephen King. There were a couple of comments on it 'not being literature', but I don't care. I love King. Well, not so much his new stuff. It was really fun to write the round. I have another round to write, but I've been putting it off. I've been asked to change the round so that it fits another category. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to write it to fit.

Bangs!

I braved the snow today to get to my stylist. New job almost always means new hair for me. This time, I decided to get bangs. My stylist (who has been styling my hair for ten years) has been wanting to give me bangs for a couple of years now. I was really leery. My mom wouldn't let me have bangs for years and when I was in Grade 6 she finally relented. I love my Grade 6 school photo! I haven't had bangs since (well, I had super short hair for years so I sort of had bangs).

It's weird, it doesn't look like me at all! But, I think I really like it.

So, new hair should be taken out on the town. Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not cooperating. We are having a horrible storm here and there is a good chance that I won't get out. I was supposed to have a date tonight, but it was dependent on the weather. So, no date. There is a chance that Dorie and I will try to get out dancing here in Mississauga, but I don't want her to get in an accident. I could always hop in a cab and go by myself but I'm not really keen on that (especially since I'd prefer to be out on my date).

Last night I went over to Christi's and had a really good time playing hockey with her little guy, Alex. I was a little concerned about the high sticking, he's a little crazy with the stick, but it was a lot of fun. He let me read him a couple of good night stories (including the one I bought him). He may just let me babysit one of these days so that Christi and Mike can go out. After he went to bed, Christi and I spent a couple of hours scrapbooking. I'm working on my Austria trip from 2005. It's almost done! Christi only has one page left of her wedding album. I think we may both work on Disney albums when we are done with these ones. Or, we may work on digital books. So many choices, so many pictures!

Word of the Day

My 'Word of the Day' calendar has 'dewy' as the word. Meaning 1. moist with, affected by, or suggestive of dew *2. innocent, unsophisticated.

And the following sentence to demonstrate the second meaning:

* Although she'll be graduating from college this year, Melanie still has the delicate face and dewy eyes of a young teenager.

It just gave me a giggle since it uses my name.

Possible Job

I had a great interview yesterday and it sounds like the contracts should get signed today and I could start Monday morning! I'm excited and scared (which always bodes well). The only problem: it's the DVP and Wynford. Not looking forward to that drive.

I woke up feeling really horrible this morning. The cat started whining at 5:30am and then I was wide awake. I stayed up for about two hours and then went back to bed. I had the most horrible dream. I was trying to read a trivia question, but the words kept going out of focus and then I kind of passed out and fell on the floor. This happened twice. I couldn't speak or move any limbs. It was horrible. Now I'm up and have no energy. I'm wondering if it was from all the adrenaline I used up yesterday :). I was in a really good mood yesterday.

No New Job

Still no job. I go back and forth on freaking out about this. It's been a month and I know I'm okay for a couple more, but it is nerve racking. I keep thinking back to the time after Nortel when I was off work for 8 months. The two recruiters I have interviewed with seem optimistic. Fingers-crossed.

This past weekend I had absolutely no sleep! On Friday I headed over to Tim and Jen's to scrapbook (since Jen and I are both off work right now we can get together and work on our projects). I'm currently working on my Austria trip and she is working on the last BVI trip (oh how those pics make me want to go again).

When I got home I was going to continue to work on my book, but instead I felt the desire to pull out this Disney puzzle I had bought a couple of months ago. It says 'world's most difficult jigsaw puzzle'. The picture is the same on both sides (with a 90 degree turn). I became obsessed and stayed up until 7:30am completing the puzzle (I was also watching season 3 of Felicity). I woke up at 10am and could not get back to sleep.

Saturday night I hung out with Rod and a couple of his friends. Had an awesome time. We played cards (for the first time in years I actually reneged in euchre - no more red wine for me) and hung out in the hot tub (Christi, you have to get your hot tub up and running!).

Lovin' Ben Covington

While sitting at home looking for a new job I've been watching Felicity on DVD. I swear Ben Covington (aka Scott Speedman) gets sexier with every viewing. When I was over at my friend Dorie's tonight, the group of us (4 women) had a discussion on just how damn fine he is. It's funny to me that all I had to say was 'Felicity' and everyone in the room immediately went to Ben.

Julia was asking if I had watched anymore X-Files. I just can't seem to get into season 7. But, I can't wait to get Battlestar Gallactica season 2.5. I love that they brought in Michael Trucco. They need to go back to Caprica so that there is more of him.

I wrote my first round of trivia this week. I'm a little nervous for Monday to find out how it goes over. It will be weird to QM that round and ask people questions that I wrote. I can't say what the theme of the round is until after trivia on Monday, though. Julia reads this blog and that would just give her too much of an advantage :)

Oscar Winners

IMDB.com had a poll today about how many best picture Oscar films you've seen. There have been 81 so far and I have seen 53 of them. I didn't realize I was so close to seeing them all, so I guess that will be one of the next lists I try to finish off. I haven't seen this year's winner 'No Country for Old Men', but I do want to see it. I have to go back to 1990 for the last one I haven't seen, 'Driving Miss Daisy'.

Sunday was Oscar night and there had been some worry that the Oscars would not go on this year. The writer's strike had taken its toll on the Golden Globes and I would have been rather upset if the Oscars had also been affected. Luckily the strike ended.

Julia invited a group of us over for a housewarming / Oscar party. She just moved into a new apartment near high park. I headed over early afternoon to start watching the Oscar coverage (it started on some stations at noon). I hung out for a bit with the gang and then had to head out for my hockey game. The Oscar show started at 8:30 and my game ended at 8:15. I only missed the first award and the mologue. I also missed the red carpet, which is my favourite part of the show :(. Unfortunately, my two boys were not looking at their best (Mr. Viggo Mortensen and Mr. James McAvoy). But, Jana's definitely looked good (Mr. Jason Bateman). And everyone's fav (Mr. George Clooney) looked great as always.

I haven't had a chance to look through all the outfits, but I thought Laura Linney and Miley Cyrus looked really good. I loved all the red!

I didn't do very well on my Oscar poll. There were a lot of upsets and my favs didn't win very much. I was really happy that Juno won for best original screenplay!

Goderich Native

I just had to post this because it gave me quite the chuckle this morning (thanks Dorie):

You know you are a true Goderich native when:

1. A ringer on The Square was common practice, and included a beach tour. (Mel's Note: and it always reminds me of coming home from Waterloo with Tree, she could not drop me off without doing a ringer)
2. You actually know what is referred to as 'The Square.'
3. You refer to Goderich as Gdot or Godrock and expect people to know what you're talking about. (Mel's Note: I do not do this, it is Goderich)
4. You looked forward to stag and doe 'season,' and couldn't wait till Wednesday to check 'the paper.'
5. The beer tent was the biggest event to anticipate all year long.
6. The only expansion in town you really care about is Tim Horton's. (Mel's Note: this happened after I left, and I really didn't care because I don't drink coffee)
7. You survived/experienced many a gravel run (just try to find someone from the city who knows what the hell you're talking about).
8. You waited in a beer store line up all the way to the road.
9. You don't have to show your I.D. to buy booze because you know every single person in Goderich.
10. You make a joke about the third floor and people know exactly what you mean.
11. You went to parties with ages ranging 14-25 and everyone's goal is to get the drunkest and 'more drunk than you've been ever before.'
12. You know what being 'storm-stayed' is.
13. You have experienced more than 10 'snow days' during one high school year.
14. You laughed at tourists driving the wrong way on The Square, and know where the lanes are. (Mel's Note: I once saw a transport truck do this)
15. You know what the Five Points are, and what to do.
16. Growing a mullet in high school was cool. (Mel's Note: I can't believe we thought this was cool, but I do have the pictures to prove that I thought so)
17. You know what 'combat juice' is. (Mel's Note: was I so drunk that I do not know what this is?)
18. You refer to our mall as 'the mall.'
19. You went to the the drive-in only on long weekends, but never watched one movie there.
AND LASTLY...
20. You hear the name 'Culberts' and you still instantly drool.