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.