An Amazing Speech, That Will Never Be

My brother just sent me this speech in an email, please read and think on how amazing it would be if this could happen.

From: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0707.Sorensen.html

The New Vision
The speech I want the Democratic nominee to give
By Theodore C. Sorensen

On the 15th of July, 1960, Senator John F. Kennedy accepted his party’s presidential nomination at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. In his remarks, made at a moment of high tension in the cold war, Kennedy asserted that the United States was at “a turning point in history” and called on his listeners to be “pioneers” in a “New Frontier” of “uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.”

Collaborating with Kennedy on the speech was a thirty-two-year-old aide named Theodore C. Sorensen, to whom Kennedy was known to refer as his “intellectual blood bank.” With Sorensen’s help, Kennedy would earn a reputation as one of American history’s great orators and provide a bold new vision for the nation.Today, we are at another moment of high tension, the result of a disastrous war abroad and division and drift at home. Like Kennedy, the next Democratic nominee, whoever he or she might be, will have a similar opportunity to form a new vision for America and to reestablish its moral leadership in the world. To encourage such boldness of thinking, we, too, tapped Kennedy’s intellectual blood bank. We called Theodore C. Sorensen and asked him to write the speech he would most want the next Democratic nominee to give at the party convention in Denver in August 2008. We requested that he proceed with no candidate in mind and that he give no consideration to expediency or tactics—in other words, that he write the speech of his dreams. Here is the speech he sent us.

My fellow Democrats: With high resolve and deep gratitude, I accept your nomination.

It has been a long campaign—too long, too expensive, with too much media attention on matters irrelevant to our nation’s future. I salute each of my worthy opponents for conducting a clean fifty-state campaign focusing on the real issues facing our nation, including health care, the public debt burden, energy independence, and national security, a campaign testing not merely which of us could raise and spend the most money but who among us could best lead our country; a campaign not ignoring controversial issues like taxation, immigration, fuel conservation, and the Middle East, but conducting, in essence, a great debate—because our party, unlike our opposition, believes that a free country is strengthened by debate.

There will be more debates this fall. I hereby notify my Republican opponent that I have purchased ninety minutes of national network television time for each of the six Sunday evenings preceding the presidential election, and here and now invite and challenge him to share that time with me to debate the most serious issues facing the country, under rules to be agreed upon by our respective designees meeting this week with a neutral jointly selected statesman.

Let me assure all those who may disagree with my positions that I shall hear and respect their views, not denounce them as unpatriotic as has so often happened in recent years. I will wage a campaign that relies not on the usual fear, smear, and greed but on the hopes and pride of all our citizens in a nationwide effort to restore comity, common sense, and competence to the White House.

In this campaign, I will make no promises I cannot fulfill, pledge no spending we cannot afford, offer no posts to cronies you cannot trust, and propose no foreign commitment we should not keep. I will not shrink from opposing any party faction, any special interest group, or any major donor whose demands are contrary to the national interest. Nor will I shrink from calling myself a liberal, in the same sense that Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt, John and Robert Kennedy, and Harry Truman were liberals—liberals who proved that government is not a necessary evil, but rather the best means of creating a healthier, more educated, and more prosperous America.

They are the giants on whose shoulders I now stand, giants who made this a better, fairer, safer, stronger, more united America.

By making me your nominee, you have placed your trust in the American people to put aside irrelevant considerations and judge me solely on my qualifications to lead the nation. You have opened the stairway to what Teddy Roosevelt called the “bully pulpit.” With the help of dedicated Americans from our party, every party, and no party at all, I intend to mount that stairway to preach peace for our nation and world.

My campaign will be based on my search for the perfect political consensus, not the perfect political consultant. My chief political consultant will be my conscience.

Thank you for your applause, but I need more than your applause and approval. I need your prayers, your votes, your help, your heart, and your hand. The challenge is enormous, the obstacles are many. Our nation is emerging from eight years of misrule, a dark and difficult period in which our national honor and pride have been bruised and battered. But we are neither beaten nor broken. We are not helpless or afraid; because in this country the people rule, and the people want change.

True, some of us have been sleeping for these eight long years, while our nation’s values have been traduced, our liberties reduced, and our moral authority around the world trampled and shattered by a nightmare of ideological incompetence. But now we are awakening and taking our country back. Now people all across America are starting to believe in America again. We are coming back, back to the heights of greatness, back to America’s proud role as a temple of justice and a champion of peace.

The American people are tired of politics as usual, and I intend to offer them, in this campaign, something unusual in recent American politics: the truth. Neither bureaucracies nor nations function well when their actions are hidden from public view and accountability. From now on, whatever mistakes I make, whatever dangers we face, the people shall know the truth—and the truth shall make them free. After eight years of secrecy and mendacity, here are some truths the people deserve to hear:

We remain essentially a nation under siege. The threat of another terrorist attack upon our homeland has not been reduced by all the new layers of porous bureaucracy that proved their ineptitude in New Orleans; nor by all the needless, mindless curbs on our personal liberties and privacy; nor by expensive new weaponry that is utterly useless in stopping a fanatic willing to blow himself up for his cause.

Indeed, our vulnerability to another attack has only been worsened in the years since the attacks of September 11th—worsened by our government convincing more than 1 billion Muslims that we are prejudiced against their faith, dismissive of international law, and indifferent to the deaths of their innocent children; worsened by our failure to understand their culture or to provide a safe haven for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees displaced by a war we started; worsened by our failure to continue our indispensable role in the Middle East peace process.

We have adopted some of the most indefensible tactics of our enemies, including torture and indefinite detention.

We have degraded our military.

We have treated our most serious adversaries, such as Iran and North Korea, in the most juvenile manner—by giving them the silent treatment.

In so doing, we have weakened, not strengthened, our bargaining position and our leadership.

At home, as health care costs have grown and coverage disappeared, we have done nothing but coddle the insurance, pharmaceutical, and health care industries that feed the problem.

As global warming worsens, we have done nothing but deny the obvious and give regulatory favors to polluters.

As growing economic inequality tarnishes our democracy, we have done nothing but carve out more tax breaks for the rich.

During these last several years, our nation has been bitterly divided and deceived by illicit actions in high places, by violations of federal, constitutional, and international law. I do not favor further widening the nation’s wounds, now or next year, through continuous investigations, indictments, and impeachments. I am confident that history will hold these malefactors accountable for their deeds, and the country will move on.

Instead, I shall seek a renewal of unity among all Americans, an unprecedented unity we will need for years to come in order to face unprecedented danger.

We will be safer from terrorist attack only when we have earned the respect of all other nations instead of their fear, respect for our values and not merely our weapons.

If I am elected president, my vow for this country can be summarized in one short, simple word: change. This November 2008 election—the first since 1952 in which neither the incumbent president’s nor the incumbent vice president’s name will appear on the national ballot, indeed the first since 1976 in which the name of neither Bill Clinton nor George Bush will appear on the national ballot—is destined to bring about the most profound change in the direction of this country since the election of 1932.

To meet the threats we face and restore our place of leadership in the free world, I pledge to do the following:

First, working with a representative Iraqi parliament, I shall set a timetable for an orderly, systematic redeployment and withdrawal of all our troops in Iraq, including the recall of all members of the National Guard to their primary responsibility of guarding our nation and its individual states.

Second, this redeployment shall be only the first step in a comprehensive regional economic and diplomatic stabilization plan for the entire Middle East, building a just and enduring peace between Israel and Palestine, halting the killing and maiming of innocent civilians on both sides, and establishing two independent sovereign states, each behind peacefully negotiated and mutually recognized borders.

Third, I shall as soon as possible transfer all inmates out of the Guantanamo Bay prison and close down that hideous symbol of injustice.

Fourth, I shall fly to New York City to pledge in person to the United Nations, in the September 2009 General Assembly, that the United States is returning to its role as a leader in international law, as a supporter of international tribunals, and as a full-fledged member of the United Nations which will pay its dues in full, on time, and without conditions, renouncing any American empire; that we shall work more intensively with other countries to eliminate global scourges, including AIDS, malaria, and other contagious diseases, massive refugee flows, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and that we will support the early dispatch of United Nations peacekeepers to halt the atrocities in Darfur. I shall make it clear that we do not covet the land of other countries for our military bases or the control of their natural resources for our factories. I shall make it clear that our country is not bound by any policies or pronouncements of my predecessor that violate international law or threaten international peace.

Fifth, I shall personally sign the Kyoto Protocol, and seek its ratification by the United States Senate, in order to stop global warming before it endangers all species on earth, including our own; and I shall call upon the Congress to take action dramatically reducing our nation’s reliance on the carbon fuels that are steadily contributing to the degradation of our environment.

Sixth, I shall demonstrate sufficient confidence in the strength of our values and the wisdom and skill of our diplomats to favor communications, negotiations, and full relations with every country on earth, including Cuba, North Korea, Palestine, and Iran.

Finally, I shall restore the constitutional right of habeas corpus, abolish the unconstitutional tapping of private phones, and once again show the world the traditional American values that distinguish us from those who attacked us on 9/11.

We need not renounce the use of conventional force. We will be ready to repel any clear and present danger that poses a genuine threat to our national security and survival. But it will be as a last resort, never a first; in cooperation with our allies, never alone; out of necessity, never by choice; proportionate, never heedless of civilian lives or international law; as the best alternative considered, never the only. We will always apply the same principles of collective security, prudent caution, and superior weaponry that enabled us to peacefully prevail in the long cold war against the Soviet Union. Above all, we shall wage no more unilateral, ill-planned, ill-considered, and ill-prepared invasions of foreign countries that pose no actual threat to our security. No more wars in which the American Congress is not told in advance and throughout their duration the true cost, consequences, and terms of commitment. No more wars waged by leaders blinded by ideology who have no legal basis to start them and no plan to end them. We shall oppose no peaceful religion or culture, insult or demonize no peace-minded foreign leader, and spare no effort in meeting those obligations of leadership and assistance that our comparative economic strength has thrust upon us. We shall listen, not lecture; learn, not threaten. We will enhance our safety by earning the respect of others and showing respect for them. In short, our foreign policy will rest on the traditional American values of restraint and empathy, not on military might.

In the final analysis, our nation cannot be secure around the world unless our citizens are secure at home—secure not only from external attack, but secure as well from the rising tide of national debt, secure from the financial and physical ravages of uninsured disease, secure from discrimination in our schools and neighborhoods, secure from the bitter unrest generated by a widening gap between our richest and poorest citizens. They are not secure in a country lacking reasonable limitations on the sale of handguns to criminals, the mentally disturbed, and prospective terrorists. And our citizens are not secure when some of their fellow citizens, loyal Islamic Americans, are made to feel they are the targets of hysteria or bigotry.

I believe in an America in which the fruits of productivity and prosperity are shared by all, by workers as well as owners, by those at the bottom as well as those at the top; an America in which the sacrifices required by national security are shared by all, by profiteers in the back offices as well as volunteers on the front lines.

In my administration, I shall restore balance and fairness to the national tax system. I shall level the playing field for organized labor. I shall end the unseemly favors to corporations that allow them to profit without competing, for it is through competition that we innovate, and it is through innovation that we raise the wages of our workers. It shames our nation that profits for corporations have soared even as wages for average Americans have fallen. It shames us still more that so many African American men must struggle to find jobs.

We will make sure that no American citizen, from the youngest child to the oldest retiree, and especially no returning serviceman or military veteran, will be denied fully funded medical care of the highest quality.To pay for these domestic programs, my administration will make sure that subsidies and tax breaks go only to those who need them most, not those who need them least, and that we fund only those weapons systems we need to meet the threats of today and tomorrow, not those of yesterday.

The purpose of public office is to do good, not harm; to change lives, help lives, and save lives, not destroy them. I look upon the presidency not as an opportunity to rule, but as an opportunity to serve. I intend to serve all the people, regardless of party, race, region, or religion.

Let us all, here assembled in this hall, or watching at home, constitute ourselves, rededicate ourselves, as soldiers in a new army. Not an army of death and destruction, but a new army of voters and volunteers, in a new wave of workers for peace and justice at home and abroad, new missionaries for the moral rebirth of our country. I ask for every citizen’s help, not merely those who live in the red states or those who live in the blue states, but every citizen in every state. Although we may be called fools and dreamers, although we will find the going uphill, in the words of the poet: “Say not the struggle naught availeth.” We will change our country’s direction, and hand to the generation that follows a nation that is safer, cleaner, less divided, and less fearful than the nation we will inherit next January.

I’m told that John F. Kennedy was fond of quoting Archimedes, who explained the principle of the lever by declaring: “Give me a place to stand, and I can move the world.” My fellow Americans—here I stand. Come join me, and together we will move the world to a new era of a just and lasting peace.

Theodore C. Sorensen worked with John F. Kennedy for eleven years, first as his senatorial assistant and then in the White House as his special counsel and adviser. He is now retired after more than forty years of practicing international law in New York City, and is presently working on his memoirs, to be published in 2008.

Dinner with Joss

How cool would this be: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280130727494?

Dinner with Joss Whedon! I so wish I had money ... and lived in San Diego :)

New Eyes

A couple of weeks ago my eyes were really bugging me so I went to see my optometrist. While there we discussed laser eye surgery. She told me that I would probably be a good candidate. So, I called TLC and made an appt. They checked out my eyes and told me I was definitely a good candidate and I could schedule an appt in two weeks.

I've worn glasses / contacts since I was around twelve years old (I can't remember if I first had them in grade 6 or grade 8). As soon as I could I was wearing contacts. I hated my glasses and hated any time that I had to wear them. For the most part I only wear them for the hour before bed and the 5 mins after I wake up.

When I heard about lasik eye surgery a couple of years ago it just really freaked me out. I couldn't fathom letting someone do something to my eyes. What if something went wrong, of if there was a problem that they didn't know about years after you had the surgery. But, really my issue was knowing I'd have to be awake for the surgery. Ick!

But, I decided it was time to do it. So, last Friday I went downtown for the surgery. It was very scary. They are super efficient over there, though. They showed me into the waiting room and took me through the procedure. In all the times people told me about the procedure, not once did anyone mention the fact that the doctor was going to have to stick something in my eye to pull open the flap that was created by the laser. That I did not like at all.

Other than that I was pretty impressed with how quick everything went. I was under the laser for 57 seconds for each eye (20 seconds to create the flap and 37 seconds to change the shape of my eye). As soon as it was done I sat up on the operating table and could see the clock.

Julia was kind enough to pick me up at the clinic and drive me home. On the way home I was able to see, even though everything was a little foggy (really it could have just been the Toronto smog). I slept for most of the day and then on Saturday morning I headed back to the clinic to have the optometrist make sure everything was okay. She gave me the go ahead to drive and that everything was healing fine. I go back on Friday for my next appt.

It's been weird this week, I keep thinking that I need to take my contacts out. Then I remember that I can actually see without contacts. It's crazy. Totally worth the money! I'm just worried about the first time I'm out drinking and think that I need to take out my contacts :)

I'm watching a very odd movie right now so it is very difficult to concentrate on writing this blog. I'm watching 'Hard Candy' and it is very odd.

100 Memorable Movie Scenes

I just found this website (IMDB has some awesome links).

http://film.guardian.co.uk/100filmmoments/0,,76993,00.html

I've only read the top 10 so far (I kind of wish I had of started at the end). My dad will love #7 (as do I) and Jason will love #6. I have to agree with #1. The stories behind the scenes are great. I'm hopeful that my favourite will make the list (I'll keep you posted).

So far I have seen the movies in the list, I hope this will not lead to more movies that I want to see.

What does everyone else think?

The Tyee

Check it out:

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Logan and Veronica, I Will Miss You

While recovering from my weekend of debauchery (read: too much red wine and vodka and crans), I was finally able to catch up on the final episodes of Veronica Mars.


I know Lisa has already mentioned this (I believe on facebook) that it is sad how invested we get in fake lives, but I am not happy to see this show go off the air. Three years was not long enough! Especially (spoiler ahead) when Veronica and Logan are not together at the end of it. That just plain sucks. Piz? Really? I don't think so. He was too much like Duncan, no chemistry (well, more chemistry than Duncan - I don't see how any two actors can have less chemistry, oh wait, Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars movies, that was worse). Anyway, the end should have had her back with Logan.


I would really like to see this show move on with her in the FBI. But, it appears that it will not happen :(


I also watched the movie 'The Believer' with Ryan Gosling. Very reminiscent of 'American History X' (eerily similar performances). The journey that Ryan's character makes is very interesting and the details of the Jewish faith (that are given), I found to be very interesting. I highly recommend taking a look at this film.

Friday night I met up with Lisa, Anna and Mohsen for dinner. We ended up at 'Fred's Not Here'. I was very happy with the Pad Thai I had. I don't know what it was (probably the lack of tofu and egg), but I really enjoyed it. The red wine was very good and the dessert with the sparkler for my birthday was excellent.

Throughout dinner I kept receiving calls from the girls (Andi, Liz and Michelle) asking where I was. I had told them that I would meet up with them for Pride after I was done my dinner. I was having so much fun at dinner I didn't want it to end. But, it did have to end since they had bought me a ticket for a pride event.

I met up with the girls at the Opera House. Unfortunately, the DJ(s) sucked. So, our night of dancing was more a night of standing around. The can-can girls were good though :)

We then took a walk down Church street and back to Andi's where we chatted until, what, 4am? I crashed on the couch and then went back to Anna and Mohsen's to get my car around 8am. I walked to their place. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I was so surprised to see how clean Yonge street was. It was quite remarkable.

I then headed home where I slept for most of the day (I woke up at 3, I think, and ended up missing the Dyke march and the rest of the festivities for the day). I then had to rush around and clean my house.

Lindsay and Dave and Jaime and Sami got to my place around 8:45 for the drinking prior to going dancing at The Devil's Martini in celebration of my birthday. Tara and Christi were to meet up with us there (Christi didn't get my change of plans email). Jana lives downtown, so we called her when we were leaving. But, we had to have a short air hockey challenge prior to heading out. I believe Lindsay beat me, but I can't remember which of the boys won.

We then made it down to the Devil's Martini with about 5 mins to spare to get in on the guest list. I was so happy to be back there. I haven't been in so long and it is still my favourite bar. The music was great, lots of room to dance and I even ran into an old friend. Unfortunately, I could not find Christi or Tara (and it turned out that neither of them brought their cell phones). But, we stuck to one section of the bar in the hopes that we would find them. We did finally find them when we went downstairs to the bar (they were trying to call me on the pay phone).

So, we danced and we drank and then everyone started to leave. I could have stayed (I think). Christi and Tara dropped me off downtown so I could meet up with Liz and Michelle. Apparently I said I would text Christi to let her know I had gotten there okay (I have no recollection of this promise), I think she was worried about me walking down Church Street by myself at 1am.

I met up with Liz and Michelle and we attempted to get into a bar. Not so easy on Church during Pride. We waited in line for about an hour and half and then the bouncers pissed us off (we were at the front and they let 8 people who had not been standing in line for an hour into the bar).

I spent Sunday asleep on my couch and missed meeting up with Heidi for the parade (sorry Heidi :(!

That's about the excitement of my weekend. I hope everyone had a great weekend and a happy Pride!

The New AFI List

Okay, I couldn't help it, I had to take a look at the new list.

There are ten that I haven't seen (well, one of them was on the original list, but I can't remember watching it again for that list. I know I've seen West Side Story, but I've decided I need to see it again).

I was quite happy to see the following additions to the list:

• Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (amazing!)
• Shawshank Redemption
• In the Heat of the Night (I was surprised it wasn't on the original list)
• All the President's Men
• 12 Angry Men (the original of course)
• Toy Story
• Blade Runner (which should make my brother happy, if he cared about these things :)

Okay, what also makes me happy: 'Birth of a Nation' has come off of the list! What doesn't make me happy: 'The Searchers' is still on the list and it ranked higher this time. Did people not watch it, or is America still that racist?

I am not happy that the following movies are no longer on the list:

• Dr. Zhivago
• From Here to Eternity
• The Third Man
• Rebel Without a Cause
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (because it is one of my dad's favourite movies)
• The Manchurian Candidate (the original is amazing)
• Frankenstein
• Patton (it was just such a beautifully shot film)
• Guess Whos' Coming to Dinner (I personally think this was too important a film to be left off)

So, I guess I'm off to watch more movies and let you know if they deserved to be on the list. If I remember correctly there were only a couple I didn't think should be on the list the last time.

Damn the Floor and Damn AFI

So, I'm watching 'so you think you can dance' last night, but during a commercial I'm flipping (I miss my pvr and being able to fast forward through the commercials). And I see an AFI (American Film Institute) special. I love their specials (as I'm sure you are aware if you have read my posts). But, I was confused. This appeared to be the Top 100 Movies, but not the list I had finally finished watching. Then they mentioned this was the '10th anniversary' edition. What? I now have to figure out the differences in the list and see more movies? I know, I don't have to, but I'm kind of obsessive in that respect. Anyway, I will keep you posted on how different the list is (I didn't get to watch the whole thing and I didn't have a chance today to look it up). But, number 1 and 2 weren't any different and I still agree (Godfather and Citizen Kane).

As for the floor, well, I'm pretty sure I've posted it before, but maybe not. The floor at the casino and I have been at war since I started here. Back in December I kept slipping on different sections of the floor and at one point I ended up falling and spilling the contents of my purse all over the floor. Well, there had been a reprieve for the past few months. Little did I know the floor was planning a sneak attack to be launched today at lunch. As I left the cafeteria the floor struck. This time it took out both heels in a show of power and I ended up on my knees with my water bottle skittering across the floor. When I looked up I noticed that two of the guys I work with were staring at me. They asked if I was okay (I was, just really embarrassed) and I ducked into the bathroom. When I got back to my desk they had sent me a link to a website about 'walking courses' yep courses on how to walk. The floor definitely won this battle.

Happy Birthday .... To Me!

Well, I'm 35 today. I must say I hope that this year is better than last year.

I really hope that I find out what is wrong with me soon. I hate being so tired and listless all the time. I slept from 2pm to 6:30pm yesterday (and I had a good night's sleep the night before). I almost missed the trivia night.

While I was at trivia I was falling asleep so I had Julia sub in for me. A sub can only come in before the round has been revealed (that is before the topic has been given). So, she subed in for me prior to the literature round. Wouldn't you know it, the round was all about The Lord of the Rings. Yep, my favourite book / movie and I missed the trivia round because I was tired. I knew the answer to every question. It drove me crazy to not be able to answer. The other team was nice enough to say I could come back and play if I wanted to, but that would have been unfair (and against the rules). I did do well on a couple of the other rounds, though and I did have fun.

On Sunday I went golfing with my dad in London for father's day. I started off playing very badly, but was definitely playing better by the end. My dad is buying me a new putter for my birthday (slowly but surely I will get a half decent set of clubs). Dad had some excellent shots and even chipped one in (yea Dad)!

Saturday was my cousin Michelle's wedding. I didn't get into Goderich until very late Friday night / Sat morning. The day was absolutely beautiful. The wedding was held in my aunt and uncle's backyard. It looked great. The tent and the tables, everything. The food was delicious and served very quickly. It was a very relaxed event and everyone seemed to have a great time. My Grandma said it was one of the best parties she's been to. (At some point pictures will be posted, I'm getting so bad at that).

Yesterday morning I went for my consultation for laser eye surgery. At one point they said I was overfocusing for the tests (yes, that's me, the over achiever in everything I do). So, the surgery has been scheduled for July 6th. I'm still pretty nervous, but was happy to hear that they no longer use a blade to cut open your eye (it is all done by lasers now). It still freaks me out, though. They didn't warn me about not playing hockey after the surgery though :( Also, I have to not pet my cats for a couple of days after the surgery. I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to cuddle with the kitties when I get home (well, after I wake up).

So, hopefully only a couple more weeks of glasses or contacts. Keep your fingers crossed that it all goes well.

Plastic in our Oceans

Jason posted this link today and, after reading the article, I think it is important for all of us to understand some of the implications of the plastics we use:

http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Ocean/Ocean-Plastic-Landfill-Algalita1nov02.htm

Blah

I am having a completely blah day. I left work early yesterday because I just felt blah. Today I feel even worse. I swear my medication doesn't help at all.

I just want to go home and sleep.

Plus people are very annoying today. Probably due to me feeling very blah.

I have some documentation I want to get done before I leave but I can't seem to be able to get the one manager to sign off on it. Once she does I'm heading out of here, I hope.

I'm heading to Goderich for my cousin Michelle's wedding tomorrow. I kind of want to go home so that I can be in a good mood for tomorrow. Plus, I have golf with my dad for father's day and I don't think it would be good to be in this mood when I go over to Sue's house.

On Monday morning I'm heading to Toronto for a consultation for laser eye surgery. In a couple of weeks I may be able to see without my glasses. I haven't been without glasses or contacts since I was in grade 6. I think my freakout may be overpowered by my excitement about seeing when I wake up in the morning.

One Year Off

I just finished reading the book 'One Year Off'. I highly recommend this. I finished it in about 2 days. This guy in the states sold all of his stuff (house, etc), quit his job and took his wife (she was more gung-ho than him) and three kids around the world for a year. Some of the places they went sounded so amazing. I need to find more time and more money so I can do these things. The afterward was quite poignant regarding North Americans vs Europe, etc, when it comes to time off.

If it wasn't for the spiders I would be heading to Costa Rica and Africa. Stupid fear!

I Tipped Over, I Didn't Wipe Out

On Saturday, my friend Liz called and asked what I was doing on Sunday. I replied 'I don't know, what am I doing on Sunday?' because I know that I will always say yes to whatever Liz and Michelle have planned (they organized the Newfoundland and the Nunavut trips).


The plan was to head up to Blue Mountain and go downhill mountain biking. Now, I went once about two years ago with Michelle and Liz in Guelph. It was mountain biking no real down hill elements. I really enjoyed it. But, this was going to be different, this was actually going down a hill that I normally go down on a snowboard. I was a little nervous (okay, I was a lot nervous).


Michelle and Liz both have their own bikes, so I needed to rent. Well, as most of you know, nothing ever goes smoothly for me. Liz attempted to get a confirmation rental in my name, but the woman on the phone couldn't handle the reservation being under one name and on a credit card for a different name. So, I called. Everything sounded fine. We got to Blue Mountain and they couldn't find my reservation, when they did it said it was for the day before and that I was late picking up the bike. Ah well, luckily they still had bikes left (normally they don't on nice days - and it was beautiful up there - so I was pretty lucky they still had one I could use). Then came the armour. Liz and Michelle had a helmet and gloves I could use, but I needed a chest protector, elbow and leg guards. Chest protector wasn't a problem (well, later on in the day it turned out I put it on backwards and no one told me); leg guards there was a chance they were going to have to go to elbow pads due to my very short legs. But, they found some kids ones that fit and I was ready to go.

Then came the first trepidation of the day: the lift. As some of you may be aware, I have a fear of chair lifts. I have fallen off at least two chair lifts in my skiing career and I'm still afraid to get off of one on the snowboard (even though I am quite the pro at it now). Luckily, taking a bike up a lift is a lot nicer than taking a ski lift. It actually reminded me of the ski lifts in the Austrian Alps. You put your skis on the outside of the lift and stand up for the ride in the gondola. This was pretty similar. There is a separate lift that takes the bikes up and we all stood in a gondola for the ride up. One you are at the top, they hand you your bike and you are ready to go.

So, I hopped on the bike and realized that the cross bar was much higher than my mountain bike and it was really hard to stand on flat footed.

Liz directed us towards a trail called Happy Valley. Sounds so nice, doesn't it. And really it was. Nice, long, sweeping curves, not too steep. Unfortunately, these long, sweeping curves were murder on my knees. My legs felt like jello. But, I didn't fall. I did have to stop the bike at one point and then it was very hard to get back on (most of the time I am okay with being short, really, I am). Liz held the bike for me while I got my balance and we were off again. It was fun, but my knees were killing me.

We did that run again and I needed a break. We had some gatorade and a granola bar and then headed back up. This time we were going to try another trail 'Fresh Air'. Which is really an odd name since this trail was not in the open air, but was through the trees (you heard me, through the trees). On the way to that trail we tried out a pump track. I was not good at this. I kept losing steam going up the hills and then would have to jump off my bike. Liz, of course, was quite good at this and made it look very easy. Then off to 'fresh air'. Much steeper and way more turns (through the trees). It started off okay and then I started to freak out about the fact that I could hurt myself quite badly due to the fact that the bike and I were not quite getting along. So, I walked the bike for a bit. Then I tried again. Well, I didn't wipe out, I tipped over very, very gradually (and it was on a straight section). I just lied on the ground and laughed until there were a couple of guys zipping through the trail and I had to get out of the way. After that I did stay on the bike for the rest of the trail and it was awesome, it didn't hurt my knees at all (probably because I was too scared to think about my knees).

I went down one more trail after that (happy valley), but my knees just couldn't handle it. That was it for me for the rest of the day. Liz and Michelle went back and did one more run each (and they found a trail for me for next time). I can't wait to go again, it was scary, but totally exhilarating. I do have some pictures, but no way to upload them while I'm here in the falls.

Walking and Reading

I am so happy that I was back in the swing of walking yesterday. I finished reading 'The Measure of a Man'. It was okay. Not great, not bad. There were some very interesting ideas and memories of his life. I think I may need to pick up his other book. This one wasn't really his biography (and wasn't meant to be), it was more about his ideas on life and, I guess, spirituality.

I am now reading 'One Year Off'. It is really interesting so far. It makes me want to pick up and travel the world. I don't know that I could give up all my stuff though. I do like my stuff. I'm way too sentimental about things I own. Who gave it to me, where it came from, how long it has been in the family, etc.

Handwriting Analysis

Check out this website: http://tul.com/

Very funny and sounded very close to me. I'm outgoing, life of the party, very close to my mother, but frustrated when it comes to sex. :) It's a very funny site. Plus, it then tells you which pen is right for you.

Damn Facebook

Facebook is evil, it is keeping me from updating my blog :)

But, I must say it has been very cool. I have hooked up with a number of friends from high school and beyond since joining. I was even able to find my ballet teacher from when I was in public school.

Just a quick update today and then hopefully more later (as many things have been happening in my life, of course).

My contract has been extended so I will be staying at the Fallsview Casino until the end of December (very happy to know that I have a job). I have rented a room here in the falls from a friend at work. This allows me to stay up here most of the week and not deal with the drive (which is nice). Plus, he has a backyard and a deck. I forgot how much I like just sitting outside. The kitties are not happy about it, though.

Enron like Nortel?

On the weekend I watched the documentary: Enron - The Smartest Guys in The Room. I highly recommend taking a look at this film. I found the directors commentary to be very enlightening as well and I am going to read the book as well. What I found to be the most disturbing about this story was that the banks and the auditing firm were in on the shady dealings. I had always been of the opinion that outside auditors / accountants were supposed to pick up on bad accounting, oh how wrong I was.

The other thing that struck me about this movie was how much the Enron story reminded me of Nortel. When I worked at Nortel I was struck by how badly managed the company was and was not at all suprised that the stock took a nose dive. What does surprise me, is that even after the Enron scandal no one seemed to really question the management of Nortel. Those guys got to walk away with millions of dollars as well (in benefits, severence, etc), yet stockholders were losing money.

I don't pretend to understand the stock market, etc, but it does strike me as odd that Martha Stewart goes to jail for insider trading, but no one questions when a CEO cashes in his stock and then the company goes under.

Canada's 7 Wonders - Vote

You know how much I love CBCs weird Canada's best shows, well there is another one: Vote for Canada's 7 Wonders.

http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/index.html

The link contains the 50 that made the list; they include natural and man-made wonders.

I haven't checked them all out yet, but I do have 9 already on my list out of the 50 to vote for. I actually have quite a few man-made items on my list because they are what make me think of Canada. But, I may change my mind. The Northern Lights will definitely stay on my list and I suspect Gros Morne National Park will also stay on my list since that was one of my favourite adventures.

So, go take a look, vote and then let me know what you think should be included.

Here is what I have so far as a first pass:

• Gros Morne National Park
• Ice Roads (can't get more Canadian than roads made of ice)
• Northern Lights
• Old Quebec City
• The Canoe
• The Stanley Cup
• Trans Canada Hwy
• Rideau Canal

Reading, Finally

Well, it took a while, but I finally fished Christopher Moore's 'You Suck'. This was his follow up to his 'Bloodsucking Fiends - A Love Story'. The book was pretty good and definitely better than 'A Dirty Job'. I liked 'job', but it wasn't one of his best. I think the sarcasm was back in 'suck'. But, he is falling into that Stephen King realm where the stories interconnect. I liked that about King when I was in high school, but now I think it is just a little too gimmicky.

I've also been listening to 'The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter' by Peter Singer and Jim Mason. I borrowed the CD set from the library and I've been listening to it on the way to work. I highly recommend that everyone pick up the book or listen to the CD set. I was hoping to find some excerpts on the web to put in here. I will hopefully post more on this in the future (if I ever find spare time).

The Best Sci Fi in 25 Years

Check out the following website from EW:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20036782_20037403_20037541,00.html

Out of the 25 listed, there are only 6 where I have not seen the movie or at least one episode of the TV show. I have to agree with the writers that it is too bad that Star Wars or Empire were not eligible for the list (I can't believe they are both over 25 years old).

A number of my brother's favourites are on here, as well as mine. I knew it had to be a good list when the first thing I saw was a picture from 'V'. How we loved that series in our house! As well as getting to watch 'Dr. Who' with my dad after the news on TVO. Definitely some of my fondest memories (and scariest: 'exterminate' is still one of the scariest things I've ever heard).

I was very happy to see Serenity on here (since Buffy doesn't count as Sci-Fi).

For some reason I still do not have any urge to watch Heroes. From what I have heard this is a show right up my alley that I should love. I don't know why I don't want to watch it. Maybe because I am so disappointed in Lost this season. Maybe I am just TVed out? I seem to still have lots of room for 'reality' tv. But, not so keen on the serial television. I still haven't watched the last half season of Lost, Veronica Mars, 24 or Gilmore Girls (and boy are they taking up space on my PVR). It took me forever to finally watch Prison Break and I just found out that I haven't seen the last episode. I seem to be way more interested in watching reruns of Dawsons Creek (which I watched when it was originally on tv).

I'm definitely putting some of those shows that I have missed onto my library list. I do want to check out the new Battlestar Gallactica. I hear it's pretty good.

Woo Hoo Hockey Is About To Start

Can I just tell you how excited I was to get an email last night? My summer hockey league starts up in three weeks. I can't wait. Oh how I miss it when I'm not playing.

I really need to start getting out to some tournaments or something in that time off.

The Corey's Are Back

I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't actually gone to the site. Of course I went to the site. It was about the Corey's. Yes, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman are back from the 80s. How I loved them back in 'The Lost Boys'. Now I'm older and realize that Jason Patrick and Keifer Sutherland were actually the hot ones. Hey, I was only 15 when this came out and they are my age.

http://tv.msn.com/dearcorey

On this website you can send your questions to the Coreys. They are coming out with a new reality show on A&E soon and I guess this is part of the promotion for the show.

I just have to figure out a really good question to ask them. (Just so you are aware, I am kidding, I do not plan to send in a question.)

Happy Belated Bday Dad

This past weekend I celebrated with my dad for his birthday. I headed up (over) to Goderich on Saturday morning (in the freak snowstorm - what's up with that? Easter is supposed to be about getting a new skipping rope or bike, not about shoveling the driveway). Dad, Sue and Rach met me at Grandma's and we all made dinner and chatted. It was really nice. Jason had sent me a new game and we tried it out after dinner. It was quite fun and my Aunt Karen even beat my dad (at two different card games).

This week I am working crazy hours at the Casino. I am training people on the software I'm implementing and have to hold session throughout the night as well as the day. Today I was at work for 8am. I had two four hour sessions, checked into the Hilton across the street (did not get any sleep) and was back here for a 9pm four hour session. My next session starts at 2am and goes until 6am. So far I am still awake, but I may just have to go and get some hot chocolate or one of those triple chocolate donuts from Tim Hortons (damn Starbucks for closing at 8pm - I missed them by 15 mins). Tomorrow I am off to the doctor to find out about my stupid cyst. I'm finally getting in to see a gynocologist (hopefully he can figure out what is going on and make the pain stop). After that I'm meeting up with Liz to go to the travel agent to book the trip to Nunavut (woo hoo)! Then back here for another set of training through the night. It is just totally crazy. I hope my cats are behaving and not wrecking my couch or my bed (their new thing).

On the change front, I finally found a penny today at work in the women's change room. I hadn't found anything in weeks.

No Plastic Bags

Check out this article:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/28032007/3/world-san-francisco-bans-plastic-grocery-bags.html

When I was in university I lived with someone that was taking Environmental Science. She introduced me to the idea of taking a knapsack to the grocery store to avoid using plastic bags. Since then it is very rare that I get a bag at any store (I always try to have a bag with me so that I do not have to get any new ones). These plastic bags are extremely bad for the environment and I am so happy to see that they are starting to be banned.

I know my local grocery store is beginning to sell the cloth bags (which are awesome for veggies and fruit that I don't want to throw into the knapsack).

If you haven't already made the switch from plastic, please do so. The environment needs your help.

Left Handed Mouse

I'm right-handed, but I use a left-handed mouse. I hardly ever use a mouse so it really doesn't matter to me what hand I use for the mouse at my computer. I was having a problem with my right wrist a couple of years ago, so I switched.

This was all well and good for the most part. The only problems I really had were when someone had to remote to my computer or a techie had to stop by and do something. It was actually pretty funny.

This was until I couldn't sort columns in the software application I use all day. I thought it was a bug in a new version of the software. But, it was working for everyone else in the office, but not for me. I reinstalled, changed computers, nothing was working.

On a whim I decided to try switching my mouse buttons back to being right-handed. Low and behold that worked. It wasn't that the opposite buttons had to be pushed, it was that the options didn't work at all if the mouse was set up left-handed. Talk about bad programming. And once again the helpdesk couldn't help me, I had to figure the problem out by myself. Note to self: left-handed people are discriminated against by programmers :). Don't get me started on colour-blindness and software.

Attack of the Sevens

After reading Julia's (and her sister's) blog, I have decided to tag myself for the Sevens.

Seven Things to Do Before I Die:

1. See a ballet at the Bolshoi
2. Learn to speak French
3. Sail around the world
4. Hike to base camp at Everest
5. Visit the pyramids
6. Actually jump out of a plane
7. Go diving in the Caribbean

Seven Things I Can Not Do:

1. Speak French fluently
2. Reach the top shelf
3. Sleep through the night
4. Train my cats to not scratch the couch
5. Swim by myself (stupid fear of water)
6. Read Huckleberry Finn
7. A slapshot

Seven Things that Attract Me To ... Mississauga

1. My condo
2. It's where my parents met
3. It's where I was born
4. It's close to Toronto, but I wish I was in Toronto
5. Other than my condo, really there isn't anything that attracts me to Mississauga

Seven Things I Say

1. Moron
2. People are Stupid
3. Buffy is not a dumb show
4. Placenta Head Stop Scratching the Couch
5. Placenta Head why do you have to be so bad?
6. Wicked
7. Boys are Stupid

Seven Good Books

1. Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Dune by Frank Herbert
4. The Sarantine Mosaic by Guy Gavriel Kay
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
6. It by Stephen King
7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Seven Good Movies

1. Star Wars: A New Hope
2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. Shag
4. Slap Shot
5. Pretty In Pink
6. Gone With the Wind
7. Bullit

Seven Blogs to Tag
Just like Julia and her sister, I don't know.

1. Michelle and Andrew
2. Jason - Gollum
3. Jamie
4. Marn and Paul
5. Julia has already done her seven
6. Lisa, if she ever gets her blog up and running
7. I don't think I know seven people with blogs.

Alcohol and tobacco more dangerous than illegal drugs, study shows

So, I saw this article on the web today. Very similar to things Jason (my brother) and I have discussed in the past. Stupid governments. Eric Schlosser made some similar points in his essay 'Reefer Madness' (he also wrote Fast Food Nation).

By Maria Cheng

LONDON (AP) - Alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than illegal drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy, according to a new British study.
In research published Friday in The Lancet magazine, Professor David Nutt of Britain's Bristol University and colleagues proposed a new framework for the classification of harmful substances, based on the actual risks posed to society. Their ranking listed alcohol and tobacco among the top 10 most dangerous substances.
Nutt and colleagues used three factors to determine the harm associated with any drug: the physical harm to the user, the drug's potential for addiction, and the impact on society of drug use. The researchers asked two groups of experts - psychiatrists specializing in addiction and legal or police officials with scientific or medical expertise - to assign scores to 20 different drugs, including heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, amphetamines, and LSD.
Nutt and his colleagues then calculated the drugs' overall rankings. In the end, the experts agreed with each other - but not with the existing British classification of dangerous substances.
Heroin and cocaine were ranked most dangerous, followed by barbiturates and street methadone. Alcohol was the fifth-most harmful drug and tobacco the ninth most harmful. Cannabis came in 11th, and near the bottom of the list was Ecstasy.
According to existing British drug policy, alcohol and tobacco are legal, while cannabis and Ecstasy are both illegal. Previous reports, including a study from a parliamentary committee last year, have questioned the scientific rationale for Britain's drug classification system.
"The current drug system is ill thought-out and arbitrary," said Nutt, referring to the United Kingdom's practice of assigning drugs to three distinct divisions, ostensibly based on the drugs' potential for harm. "The exclusion of alcohol and tobacco from the Misuse of Drugs Act is, from a scientific perspective, arbitrary," write Nutt and his colleagues in The Lancet.
Tobacco causes 40 per cent of all hospital illnesses, while alcohol is blamed for more than half of all visits to hospital emergency rooms. The substances also harm society in other ways, damaging families and occupying police services.
Nutt hopes that their paper will provoke debate within the UK and beyond about how drugs - including socially acceptable drugs such as alcohol - should be regulated. While different countries use different markers to classify dangerous drugs, none use a system like the one proposed by Nutt's study, which he hopes could serve as a framework for international authorities.
"This is a landmark paper," said Dr. Leslie Iversen, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University. Iversen was not connected to the research. "It is the first real step towards an evidence-based classification of drugs," said Iversen. He added that based on the paper's results, alcohol and tobacco could not reasonably be excluded.
"The rankings also suggest the need for better regulation of the more harmful drugs that are currently legal, i.e. tobacco and alcohol," wrote Wayne Hall, of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, in an accompanying Lancet commentary. Hall was not involved with Nutt's paper.
While experts agreed that criminalizing alcohol and tobacco would be challenging, they said that governments should review the penalties imposed for drug abuse and try to make them more reflective of the actual risks and damages involved.
Nutt called for more education so that people were aware of the risks of various drugs. "All drugs are dangerous," said Nutt. "Even the ones people know and love and use every day."

Air Hockey

I am so excited, I just bought an air hockey table. It isn't a super snazzy one. It cost me $60 and I'm pretty sure it is straight out of the 70's. Someone at work had posted it on the associate for sale board. I went and took a look at it last night and bought it. I didn't think about how I would get it home. It's way too big to travel in the mini. But, luckily, Julia has an SUV (they do come in handy once in awhile) and she is willing to take a trip to the Falls with me to pick it up. We will have dinner, go check out the falls and pick up my air hockey table. Hopefully Christi's husband Mike will be able to help us carry it upstairs to my condo.

When I was little (probably six or so, yes, I know, I'm still little), my dad's friend, Dick, had an awesome games room. It had a ping pong table, pool table, shuffleboard, poker table and an air hockey table. It was one of my favourite places as a kid. Jason and I would spend hours playing the different games. Well, we were not allowed to go near the pool table (and we never cared about the poker table). For some reason I think there was one other game in the room (in between the shuffleboard and the pool table), but I can't remember. From that moment on I always wanted my own air hockey table.

I'm going to get rid of my futon and make the back bedroom a games room. It already has a dart board. I may also take down the wallpaper and paint. I want to put up some of my movie posters and Beatles paraphenalia. I'm really excited. Now that I have my awesome new floors I think it will be great. Maybe people will actually come and visit me. Of course, with air hockey I can play by myself. I just have to close up the one goal and I'm set to go. I'm sure the cats will sit up near the table and try to steal the puck.

Since the reno, I've decided to get rid of my rattan chair and my futon. I am also thinking about selling the dining room table. Now that I will have an air hockey table I could be like Joey and Chandler and just put a board on top if I ever have people over to eat at the table. I suspect it will get a lot more use than the table I currently have.

More Pennies

Well, actually, one penny. I keep finding pennies near the change rooms at the casino. I guess everyone cares about their changes, except pennies (probably because we don't have any slots that take pennies).

Last night I watched Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book a number of years ago. I thought it was an excellent read except for the ending. The ending came out of no where. It made no sense that she ended up with the guy that she did. In the movie, probably because they have to get through everything quickly, it made more sense that she ended up with the guy. The movie was so long, though. Other than the dance sequence (with the snow), I really wasn't that impressed with movie. It wasn't that there was anything wrong per se, but it certainly wasn't as mesmorizing as I found the book.

I did begin watching 'The United States of Leland' last night (had to go to bed before the end). Can I just say that I love Ryan Gosling? Now, he doesn't look as good in this as he did in Murder by Numbers and The Notebook, but he is very intriguing in this movie.

Test the Nation IQ

Last night CBC had a special called 'Test the Nation' to determine the nation's average IQ. I taped the show, but decided to take the test online. While taking the test I knew I had at least three questions wrong (as soon as I clicked on the button, I knew I was wrong), but online it did not allow you to change your answer.

My average on the different sections was 10 out of 12 correct. The average IQ is between 90 and 100. I have taken a couple of other online IQ tests and I normally end up with around 115. But, on this test I ended up with 124. Which puts me in the top 8% of Canadians. Woo hoo. But, I'm not a genius. Genius level is over 130 :( (I want to be smarter). My lowest section score I am unhappy to say was 9/12 in the logic section. I'm super annoyed, since I do think of myself as a pretty logical person. Maybe I shouldn't have had a beer before taking the test.

Check out the test:
http://www.cbc.ca/testthenation/takethetest/

On the website they also have some 'fun facts' on IQ. One of the not so 'fun facts': Women with a higher IQ are 40% less likely to marry.

Weekend Roundup

Another St. Paddy's Day has come and gone. I was unable to stay as long as last year. I drank one too Harp's, I think. Julia got me home just after 6pm (I think). I had a great time, as always. But, we didn't have as big of a group throughout the day, so I think that had me drinking more. I was not well at around midnight (when I woke up from sleeping on the couch). Wicked headache in the morning, but advil cleared that up right away.

I wish I had of been able to stay longer. I didn't really get to enjoy the band and I do love that band (I bought a CD this year so that I can at least listen to them once in awhile).

Julia, Kevin, Karen and I made it to the pub for just after 11am. Kevin was complaining about why we had to be there so early. He just doesn't understand our love of St. Paddy.

Friday night I ended up staying at work until around 8pm and came outside to a ton of snow. Being in the basement all day you just don't know what it is like outside, at all. It took me two hours to get home. I was so tired, but had a ton to do. I didn't get to sleep until around 4am and had to be up for everyone to meet at my place prior to heading over to the pub. Why do I do this all the time?

Sunday I vegged on the couch and finished watching the third season of Sex and the City, along with the third season of The X-Files. I can't wait to get season 4 of the X-Files. I never watched this religiously, it is much better when watched in order.

I also watched A History of Violence. I don't know why it took me so long to watch this movie. It has Viggo (ah, Aragorn) and Lisa told me it was excellent (she saw it at the Toronto Film Festival, I believe). It was a great film. I highly recommend it!

I also finished reading 'Long Way Round'. I really want to see the TV show, now. I can't wait to get the motorcycle out this spring (I've already seen two bikes out on the QEW) and hit the road. I don't think I would ever be keen to ride through Mongolia, but I would love to travel there.

Last night was our final hockey game of the season. I played pretty well, I made a couple of good passes and picked up a rebound, but didn't put enought weight behind my shot. The summer season starts in a couple of weeks and I can't wait. I really need to get out there and be more active this year.

Star Sighting

I had my first star sighting at the casino today. Englebert Humperdinck! He is performing two shows at the casino this weekend. He was being led around the basement of the casino this afternoon. Of course, it didn't register who it was until I had already passed them.

What I am most excited about after this sighting, is that Gary Sinise is going to be at the casino at the end of the month with his Lt. Dan Band. I kind of want to go. Who knows, I may still go by myself. Maybe I will get to see him in the hall. I would definitely have to stop and get his picture. He is damn sexy.

Lisa, Sandra and I have tickets to see Jon Stewart in June (very cool). And I just found out that Huey Lewis and The News will be here in June as well. When I was in Grade 8 (I believe) my dad took us to see Huey at the CNE Stadium. It was awesome (except for when dad got knocked out by flying addding machine paper - one minute he was standing next to me dancing and next he was on the ground bleeding from his head, it was rather scary). Huey is an awesome entertainer. Tickets are at most $50, well worth it and it is during the week, so I could just stay after work (hopefully get a comped room and work late / early).

On the change challenge front, I found another penny after the sighting of Englebert.

Change Lost

I had been keeping track of my found change on Julia's blog, but all of my comments were lost when she updated her blog site. So, I can't remember how much change I found and where. From now on I will definitely keep those details here.

So, originally I had found 3 cents while walking around the mall with Julia.
I found a dime outside of the women's change room at the casino.
Yesterday I found a penny on the floor of the jewellery store I was at (really shouldn't people in a jewellery store have better change falling out of their pockets?).
I found a penny on the floor of the mall.

Unfortunately, that is all I can remember today. Hopefully I will find more tomorrow at the pub. I'm falling behind.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

I know it is a day early, but since I will be too busy drinking green beer tomorrow, I figured I would need to be proactive in my well wishes.

Julia, Tim, Karen, Kevin and I (among others being brought along) will be hanging out at Failte once again this year. I think this is the 4th year in a row that we will be hanging out at the best Irish pub in Mississauga. Once again 'Kitchen Party' will be providing the entertainment. They are an awesome Celtic band from out east (I can't remember which province). The Irish dancers will also be there again this year kicking up their hills. I would love to take Irish dance lessons.

I believe we are planning to get in line around 10:30 am (pub opens at 11). We've never been on a Saturday for St. Paddy's Day. Normally we all take the day (or afternoon) off from work and spend the afternoon there and the line up gets really crazy starting at 4pm. We have no idea what to expect for tomorrow. Julia will be at the chiropractor around 9:30 and will provide us with updates on the lineup then. It kind of reminds me of the Bombshelter on St. Paddy's Day (especially if it was a Wednesday). No one went to Wednesday classes if it was March 17th. I know one year I was meeting Lisa in line at the half way mark of my night class and the instructor asked us all what we were doing there, why weren't we in line at the Bomber. I think I picked up my books and left right then.

I am going to have to pace myself tomorrow, a number of people that are not able to join us have asked us to have pints for them. That's alot of extra pints on top of my whole Guinness routine (Guinness, Black and Tan, Harp, etc, I have to sample all of the Guinness family offerings on St. Paddy's Day).

It is also Canada's National Kissing Day, so go out there and Kiss Someone!

Snowmobile Accident

One of the women that I used to play lacrosse with was killed this weekend while snowmobiling in Manitoba. I didn't know her very well, but I knew exactly who it was when I heard the news. She was always laughing and looked to be having a lot of fun out on the field whether she was reffing or playing.

She was unable to negotiate a turn and struck a tree and died from internal injuries. For those of you that do snowmobile, please be careful. I know it is the end of the season, but please remember for next year.

Happy Pi Day

That's right, it is Pi Day (3.14), so at 1:59 pm celebrate that wonderful value of Pi!

This link gives you some ideas on how to celebrate:
http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Pi-Day

I am rather disappointed that there was not a Waterloo Math event this year. Maybe they kept me off the invite list. I do tend to drink to much on Pi day. But, they normally invite me back to handle the pool tournament :(

Well, since the mathies in pink are not here to celebrate, I will just have to celebrate on my own. Damn, I forgot to wear my pink tie earrings today. I wonder how I can celebrate at aquafit tonight, any suggestions? I wonder if I will be able to convince Tara and Christi to come over for a Pi day drink and maybe a slice of pie after aquafit (I guess that would defeat the purpose of aquafit, though).

Have fun and remember to sing Happy Birthday Albert (as today is also Albert Einstein's birthday).

Another website all about Pi: http://www.piday.org/index.php

Perils of Being Short

As many of you know, I am under 5 feet tall. For the most part I have come to terms with my shortness. I actually like being short most of the time. I can laugh at the fact that I am short and have fun with it.

I had forgotten one of the annoyances of being short: offices. By the time I had left ESI I had forgotten all of the problems I had at the beginning of my work there. Not problems with work, or people. No, I'm talking about problems with my desk and my chair. Did you know that most desks and chairs are made for people over 5 feet tall? Probably never thought about it, did you? Well, they are.

At ESI I had my desk lowered (it confused many people when they tried to sit on it), had to have the arms taken off of my chair (not always an easy task) and required a foot rest so that my feet weren't always dangling. But, after four years I was comfortable at my desk.

Now, I've had to start all over again. I'm at a desk that can not be lowered. I had a 'management' chair, which apparently everyone wanted. But, the chair could not be raised high enough so that I could sit comfortably at my desk. So, I switched it with another chair, but I could only remove one of the arm rests and it didn't slide on carpet at all. Plus, the depth of the seat was too long for my short legs and I couldn't with my back against the back rest. So, I found a new chair. This one appears to go high enough, the arms were super easy to remove and I can sit with my back against the back rest. I feel like Goldilocks.

Best Investment

I had a meeting today to go over the project I'm working on. One of the guys in the meeting said that this was the best investment he had seen in awhile. Woo hoo. It is nice to hear that I'm doing a good job and will make people's jobs easier.

I had a 12 hour day yesterday. It was great. Yes, this is what I thrive on. Maybe I'm not suffering from depression, I'm just suffering from boredom. I was up early yesterday and today. I haven't had a 12 hour day since I was working at Nortel or when I did my first Heat implementation at ESI. I was missing that feeling when a project is ramping up and there are so many things to get done in a short period of time.

I am super tired today, though. The cats woke me up at 4am. Placenta Head has some how figured out how to scratch the couch with his new plastic claws. I swear he is going to give me a stroke or a heart attack.

Random Movie Quote

I just found a cool website: The Movie Quote Generator. http://thesurrealist.co.uk/movie.php

I entered the word Wookie and it came back with: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my wookie. Prepare to die!"

I could spend all day on this site.

Change, etc

So, on the change challenge I found 3 pennies today. Of course, I was with Julia and she found 12 cents. She is totally going to kick my ass on this challenge.

Julia and I had a nice lunch at Moxie's today. She is also the first person, besides my dad, to see my beautiful new floor. The apt is starting to get back to normal. I have a ton of stuff to give to goodwill. I really shouldn't be allowed to buy things.

I watched the BBC miniseries 'Pride and Prejudice' today. It was so good. Now, I know I had heard it was really good, but I was very impressed. Of course, the mother and Lydia were even more annoying on the screen than they were in the book. I really hate stupid people and stupid women even more. I was screaming at the tv for them to shut up. I'm now watching Jeopardy, yeah smart people.

I Hate Microsoft

I finally took a look at my friend Marn's blog. She has a 'cute kid moment of the day' part to each of her posts. It is so cute. It's great to hear how they are doing.

But, what annoyed me was that I wanted to post a comment to her blog. Not easy, it took me over 25 mins and it erased what I wrote three times. Now, I'm not sure how much of that was the microsoft site and how much was stupid firefox browser (I hate that my brother put this as my default, as much as I'm not a fan of microsoft, explorer is way more keyboard friendly). So, Marn's blog site wouldn't let me leave a comment unless I signed up with an account (apparently you can not leave an anonymous comment). Then it wouldn't let me remove the web link that it set up for me. I would have put this website in, but no, it had to be a microsoft blog link. So stupid!

The Challenge

Julia and I have decided to have a 'change challenge'. That's right, who can find the most change. The challenge goes until Canada Day. I don't believe any of the change I have found so far counts. So, keep watch on how I'm doing. I already have a large change jar at home, I'm hoping this will help it grow.

On the challenge front, I am also in another challenge. This one is with Christi. We are doing a weight challenge. The challenge runs for 15 weeks and we are "attempting" to stick to the weight watcher's point system along with an excercise challenge. For every day that we do 20 mins of excercise and stick to our weight watchers points for the day we can receive up to 2 challenge points. At the end of each week the person with the fewest challenge points puts $10 into a kitty. At the end of the 15 weeks we are hitting the spa.

So far, I am not doing so well. I am definitely trying to watch what I eat, but I had forgotten how easy it is to go over those points. It also didn't help that my hockey game and skating class were cancelled this past week. Luckily, the cafeteria here has a veggie soup everyday. I'm attempting to really limit my lunch intake with a nice hearty bowl of soup (and sometimes a side of veggies). I find that it is harder here at the casino, though. At ESI I had Annie's support to keep me on track. I guess I will just have to find some inner strength :)

Stupid Car

Remember my post on how many problems I had with my mini when I first bought it? Well, they haven't stopped. It turns out the battery that they put into my car is leaking battery acid. The gauges went all crazy last night. So, I took it into th mini dealership for them to check it out. $150 for them to look to see what is wrong (this after I have spent over $1200 on them checking out my car in the last 2 months). I am not impressed.

So, I called the dealership where I bought the car, they are checking to make sure the battery is still under warranty. They will then replace it (mini wants to charge me $480 + taxes for the diagnostic and the battery replacement).

Heidi, you need to find out how to service a mini! I would definitely prefer to give this money to you.

The Pink Carpet is No More

Ding Dong the carpet is gone!

I can't believe how much happier I feel with the carpet out of my house (maybe that is what caused my depression). My dad did an amazing job on the floors.

My condo is still a mess as I had no time to clean up this weekend. So, pictures will have to wait.

On Friday night I headed to Karen's after work for a night of Friday the 13th. I picked up some Indian takeout for us and some beer. Her baby, Spencer, is so cute. He has the biggest smile and boy does he love his bathtime. Once Spencer was down for the night, Karen and I dug into the food and put on the first installment of Friday the 13th. Karen got the DVD collection for Xmas. I couldn't believe the picture quality. I don't ever remember the movie looking that good. I think I may have to go out and get the collection for myself. We watched part 1 and part 2. The second part is way scarier than the first. Next time we will check out parts 3 (3D) and 4 (the first one I ever saw). Can't wait.

Saturday night I headed over to Christi's for a girls night. Tara, Christi and I played an 80s trivia game. I absolutely loved it (even when I was losing for the first half of the game). Movies, TV and music from the 80s, how can you go wrong (there were also events and sports questions - we didn't like those). Then we relaxed in the hot tub. All in all a good evening.

Nunavut, Here I Come

Yesterday, I met up with Liz and Michelle at the Outdoor Adventure show. We checked out some companies that have adventure tours, as well as some booths for the different provinces. There weren't a lot of companies with stuff to buy. But, I did locate a sleeping bag for the Nunavut trip. Since I am so short I was able to buy a kids sleeping bag. It will keep me all nice and toasty up near the artic (apparently we will get to step into the artic circle on the trip - how cool is that?).

We also hit MEC to check out what they have. I bought a new sleeping mat. It used to be all about the thermarest, but now it is all about the Big Agnes. It folds up so small! I'm very excited, but boy is my bank account unhappy with me after yesterday.

It was great to get to hang out with Michelle and Liz again. It had been way too long. It sounds like I will be hitting Blue Mountain this summer to do some mountain biking. I am a little scared (okay, more than little) to ride a bike down the same slopes I would normally snowboard down.

Oscar Fashion

I was supposed to play hockey last night at 10:15 (right in the middle of the Oscars). Being the dedicated player that I am, I headed out in the snow (we got hit with quite a bit of snow last night and this morning). Here's a surprise, only four of us showed up (and the four that almost always show up). So, we had to forfeit our playoff game.

But, it did mean I was able to head home to finish watching the Oscars. This year I haven't seen any of the movies, but it seemed that everyone won that was expected to win (at least in the main categories).

I did like the opening bit where the nominees were all in front of the camera. I also liked the sound effects choir, very cool. But, as normal it went on way too long. Now, I understand why they don't do the main awards at the beginning of the show, but if they did, then these would be the people that didn't have to keep their speeches short. And really, why don't they just say the show is 4 hours instead of 3, has it ever been under 4?

On to my favourite part of Oscar night: the fashions. I watched most of the live on the red carpet with the E network (I did turn on the Canadian one for about 2 seconds and Mulroney was so annoying I had to turn it back).

My top 5 best dressed (oh, how to limit it to 5):
Reese Witherspoon (she was definitely my fav)
Helen Mirren (to look this good at any age!)
Jodie Foster (love her hair)
Emily Blunt (loved the blue)
Melissa Etheridge (she looks amazing)

(Cate Blanchett looked amazing as well - what a stunning dress, as did JLo and Kate Winslet)

My 5 worst dressed:
First off, are the reporters on the red carpet paid money by certain designers? Because someone may look completely horrible, but they say the person looks great. I don't understand.
Gwyenth Paltrow (red lipstick with a burgundy dress, yuck)
Nicole Kidman (okay, I didn't mind the bow and the red dress was quite lovely, but she sounded stoned, or stupid)
Cameron Diaz (I am not a big fan of Cameron's but I have seen her looking much better. I do like the brown hair, but I don't think that skin tight dress did anything for because it looked like she couldn't walk properly)
Anne Hathaway (has she ever shown up looking good on the red carpet? I think she is a beautiful girl, but she has really bad taste in fashion)
Kirsten Dunst (once again an actress I am not a fan of. I did like the top of her dress, but then the bottom was horrible. You could see her legs through the bottom and it just made the bottom half of her look bad, and really bad hair, way too messy for the Oscars)
Beyonce (hair and makeup were gorgeous, but the dress would have been better without that thing around her neck)

Great Book

I just finished reading an amazing book. Lisa leant me 'Sweetness in the Belly' by Cynthia Gibb. I highly recommend this book. It really reminded me of 'The Kite Runner'. I'm not sure if that is because it was written about a part of the world that I don't know, and a part that went through a huge shift in power during the story. Either way, they were both excellently written. I could hardly put it down. The story is set in Ethiopia and London, England.

I just received word that my contract is being extended another 3 months. So, 3 more months of driving to and from Niagara Falls. Which is good. I'm excited about the project. It just really needs to get off the ground (waiting for a consulting company that is coming in before I have a project start date). Right now, I'm writing documentation and recommendations. Very exciting stuff. But, now that I have an office it isn't so bad. I didn't realize just how loud it had been in the room I had been working in.

My dad is (hopefully) coming tonight to finish up the flooring. It looks awesome, but I am really tired of not having a closet (I had ripped out all the carpet last week since I thought he was coming on the weekend). I should have ripped out the carpet in the back bedroom yesterday, but I just couldn't find the energy. I can't wait for everyone to see it when it is done. I will definitely be having a party to celebrate the death of the pink carpet.

Office

Today I moved into my very first office. I have a door. It is all very exciting. I hope this means that my contract is getting extended.

It means that I no longer have to get the tech guys to open the door to the room I work in. I have a key to my office and can actual access this room. Woo hoo!

Boarding, Finally

Christi and I hit the slopes on Saturday for the first time this winter, finally. Christi and I have never gone skiing / snowboarding together before (she seemed to pregnant every winter, or some such thing :).

I was so out of shape, I only lasted a couple of hours. I forgot my knee brace and that was not a good thing. But, it was great to get out there. We went to Mount St. Louis and the conditions were amazing. It was an absolutely gorgeous day: sun, powder and not too cold.

I definitely want to get out there again soon. Anyone who wants to go, just let me know. I'm up for night boarding after work, or during the day on Saturdays.

St. Valentine's Day Blizzard

Check out Wikipedia, they are calling this week's storm 'The St. Valentine's Day Blizzard':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_2007_North_America_winter_storm

I didn't realize it was that crazy. I was curled up in my bed sick all day.

Books

I finally finished a book. I don't know what's going on with me, I haven't been reading a lot at all.

I finished reading Guy Gavriel Kay's new book, Ysabel. Not his best, but an excellent book none the less. I just started reading 'Sweetness in the Belly'. Lisa leant it to me and it is reminding me of The Kite Runner. I am really enjoying it. I think it reminds me of the kite runner because it is giving me background on a part of the world I don't really know anything about.

Kitties

As many of you know I have a very bad cat named Placenta Head. He loves to scratch the furniture. I finally had to replace my mom's couch because he had destroyed it. So, I bought a new red couch that I love. Unfortunately, because he keeps scratching the new couch it has to be covered in plastic all the time.

My brother told me to check out 'soft paws'. I found some at the store last night. They are these little plastic claw caps. I glued them on to Placenta Head's feet last night. He was not happy with me. I didn't take the plastic off the couch (just in case), but the paws appear to be staying put.

I didn't attempt to put them on Noke yet. She's a little unhappy these days with all the flooring craziness going on.

Keep your fingers crossed that these work and that I can finally take the plastic off the couch!

Flooring

The pink carpet is almost completely gone. There is a small section left in my closet and that is it. It is amazing. My dad has done an awesome job and the flooring looks great.

We worked most of the weekend and part of this week. The living room, bedroom and kitchen are done.

Last night I finally finished removing the old linoleum. That was horrible. There were large sections where it just peeled off the floor, but the parts that were glued were not at all fun. Yes, that is how I spent my valentine's day: in the dust and dirt of removing linoleum.

All that is left is the breakfast nook, the back bedroom and my bedroom closet. I know the cats will be super happy when it is all done. I will have before and after pictures once the dust settles. My laptop is covered in dust.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day (Belated)!

Last year at this time, Brian and I were breaking up. Well, actually, we broke up. So far, this has been a much better Valentine's. I was supposed to go to a Leaf game with the guy I'm dating, but it fell through (I wasn't really all that surprised). I did get an email wishing me a happy valentine's day, which was way better than the 'you're not a very nice person' email of last year.

I hope everyone had the Valentine's day they were hoping for.

Oh The Satisfaction

Last night my father and I began the process of ripping out the pink carpet. I spent hours cutting up pieces of that horrendous stuff. I can not wait for it all to be gone. It is so foul!

Mel vs. The Floor

Working at the Fallsview Casino, I find that I must dress up for work. This means heels. Now, I do not have an aversion to heels, I love the new shoes I have purchased since starting this job.

The problem is that the floor at the Casino does not play nicely with heels. As my friend Annie put it, 'how goes the war with the floor'. Well, I was doing okay lately. About a month or so ago, things were not going well. I had one day where I slid and fell twice (in the same pair of heels). It was quite embarrassing as my purse (and contents) went flying all over the hallway (and yes there were people passing by at the time). Luckily, this is all happening in the basement and no where near the casino floor. Since that day I have been pretty careful about how I walk on certain parts of the floor.

Today, though, the floor appears to have launched a new attack and I believe I may lose. I have a new pair of heels on today. They just have a kitten heel, very tiny, but they seem to be causing me way more problems than more 1 1/2 inch heels. I have slid at least 5 times already this morning. At one point I was carrying a glass of cranberry juice (Tim, it reminded me of that time at the bar when my heels went out from under me and I didn't spill a drop of the beer and the bouncer was super impressed), but I managed to stay upright.

I don't know who will be the overall victor in this war, but it is not looking good for me.

Movie Choices

I made some bad movie choices this weekend.

Lisa came over for dinner and a movie on Friday night. Since Lisa watches way more movies than I do, I was quite happy to go with her thoughts on what to watch. She was in a mood for a cheesy romance. That sounded good to me, but unfortunately, there really weren't a lot of choices (at least of things she hadn't seen). So, we chose 'The Last Kiss' with Zach Braff. it was so horrible. Not one redeemable quality in any of the men in this movie. They were all such jerks. I don't understand why any of the women in this movie would want to be with these guys. So, why was this a bad choice (other than the movie was crappy)? Because the guy I had been dating stopped emailing me and I really needed a movie where guys weren't jerks.

Today I watched two movies, 'The Wild One' and 'Girl, Interrupted'. The Wild One was okay. I had always wanted to watch it, see Brando as the rebel motorcycle rider. Girl, Interrupted was probably the wrong choice when I hadn't taken my medication for a couple of days. I was definitely having thoughts of being super crazy while watching that movie (hee hee). But, it was very good. Normally, I'm not a big Angelina fan, but she was quite impressive in this role. I read the book a few years ago, but never had the chance to watch the movie.

In the future, I need to think the movie choices through :)

Things I've Learned

This weekend I learned a couple of things: Do not stop taking your meds and do not order anything deep fried from a place that has chicken wings on the menu (if you are a vegetarian).

I headed to Waterloo this weekend to visit Paul and Marny. It had been way too long. Their girls are so super cute (I didn't get any pictures this weekend, so here they are at their uncle's wedding). We had a great visit. They have a beautiful home and are expecting a new addition to their family (congratulations). I hope that it won't be so long between visits in the future.

We went out for dinner at a pizza place in Kitchener. I hadn't had a panzerotti in so long and it sounded so good. It was quite tasty, but shortly after eating it I felt pretty sick. It was probably deep fried in the same oil as the chicken wings and I think that is why I felt sick for the rest of the evening.

I woke up this morning extremely dizzy. I hadn't taken my anti-depressants for two days (first because I forgot and then because I thought was going to throw up - see above). So, I called the pharmacy and they confirmed that not taking my effexor would cause extreme dizziness if not taken for a few days. So, I had to miss my hockey practice, a super bowl party and my hockey game. I'm still a little dizzy, but I'm hopeful that I will be back to normal tomorrow.

I am so tired of feeling like crap all the time.

Home Depot Sucks

This past week my dad and I looked at laminate flooring for my condo (as I posted earlier this week). The home depot that we went to, didn't have enough stock. So, we bought what they had. The 'manager' there was a real jerk, he wouldn't help us to contact another store to put aside the rest of what we needed. He just said the other stores had to stock and would have it for the same price. Unfortunately, they didn't give us locations, only store numbers. Did you know that the home depot website doesn't give you the store numbers, just the address? So, how helpful are a bunch of store numbers (not phone numbers).

Anyway, my dad went out over the next couple of days to track down the other eleven boxes of flooring that I needed. He toured all over south western Ontario. At one store as he was talking to the flooring associate the rest of the stock was being purchased. He asked me to stop at the home depot at Winston Churchill and the 401 on my way home. Which I did. They had 11 boxes at least, but for over double the price of what I paid at the Mavis and Brittania store. So, I talked to special services to find out why. They said it was because the Mavis / Brittania store was having a discontinuation sale (1st reason) and it was only that store. They would not be able to match it (even though, right behind her head was a sign that said 'price match guarantee'. I was so pissed off, I left and was ready to return what I had already bought.

The next day I had calmed down and I called customer care. They put me back in touch with the Winston Churchill store. This time they told me that the reason the price was different was because the Mavis store was closing and they were getting rid of their stock (2nd reason). Which would have been a valid reason if I had of bought it before they moved into their new location. She finally told me she would look into it and get back to me by the end of the day.

Then I talked to my dad and told him that they said the sale was only at the Mavis / Brittania store. He told me that was a lie since he had been to at least four other stores with the sale price. I was not impressed at all with Home Depot at this point. The woman then called me back and said they would not match the price because it was a manager's choice sale (3rd reason) and they were not having the sale. I was so mad at this point.

I called customer care back. This time they put me in touch with the mavis / brittania store. I talked to a very nice woman and she told me that the Winston Churchill store was showing on her computer as having the sale price. Yet, I had talked to them 30 mins before and they said no sale price. Luckily this woman at the mavis store took pity on me. She called around and found me a store in Brampton that had stock and had the sale price. I headed right over and bought the rest of what I needed so that my dad could pick it up.

I hope this is the end of the craziness of dealing with home depot. But, I'm not holding my breath.

We start this week on pulling up the horrible pink carpet. Woo hoo!

Humans to Blame?

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. 'Humans are most-likely to blame for global warming.' Who did they think was to blame? The monkeys? They needed to put together a study for this? This is what research money is going to? We are such a stupid race. I don't understand why I'm always surprised by the stupidity of the human race.

Let's not put money towards correcting the problem or teaching people on how to (hopefully) reverse the damage we have caused. No, let's put money towards figuring out (what everyone should already know) is that we are to blame.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/070202/world/france_climate_change_10

Change

My friend Julia has a link on her blog to another blog about change being found. I am strangely fascinated by this blog. I keep going back to it, to see how much change they have found. It has a running total, as well as monthly stats (and you know how I love those stats).

So, now I find myself picking up the change that I find and wanting to comment on it. (We shall see how long this lasts.)

Last week at hockey practice I found 2 pennies, but I only picked up one. It was really gross outside and the one penny was stuck in the mud. Today I found two pennies on the casino concourse floor when I went to the caf to get some water. I felt weird each time bending down to pick up the pennies because there are always eyes watching you at the casino. Total so far is $0.03.

I did find a loonie as well, but I'm pretty sure it fell out of my coat, so I am not counting it.

Blogging

I just completed a survey on why I blog. Hopefully I win an ipod.

http://www.whydoyoublog.com/

SexyBack

Last night my sister, Jaime, and I went to the Justin Timberlake concert at the ACC. My sister, Lindsay, and her friend, Leslie, were also there, but we weren't sitting together (we did see them briefly just as we were passing security). Jaime and I were a little late (me coming from Niagara Falls, then having to change, accident on the Gardiner, find parking, dealing with someone at the ACC that didn't know where are seats were).

Pink was the opening act. We missed her first song (we think) and she was amazing. She is way tinier than I thought she was. She looked great. But, the sound was bad. I had forgotten how bad the ACC sound is. The first concert I saw there was Alanis Morrisette and all I heard was the band. It has gotten a little better, but I still find it hard to hear the vocals. Now, Simon and Garfunkel were different, probably because they don't have that much of a band. Bob Dylan? Well, that could go either way :)

During her set, Pink actually did some acrobatics. It was wicked. If you have ever seen the performers that wrap themselves in fabric and flip themselves around over the stage, that is what Pink was doing. Not her dancers (well, one of her dancers was also doing some of the acrobatics), but actually Pink. It was tres cool. I would definitely go see her again.

Justin was damn good. He is just so sexy. He sounded good (well, as good as he could have with the horrible ACC acoustics), he looked amazing in his black suit, and damn can he dance. I normally go to rock concerts, this is probably only my fourth pop concert (Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, New Kids on the Block). I was very impressed. the stage was in the round and they had an excellent set up. Timbaland did a 20 minute set in the middle of the show and it was very good. I'm not sure I've paid so much for a concert ticket before, but it was definitely worth it. The show was over 3 hours long and I couldn't talk the next morning because my throat was too sore from all the screaming.

Check out the review of the show: http://www.thestar.com/article/176593

The States

So, I ended up in the states this morning. Apparently I was really tired. I knew that I was falling asleep while driving, but I didn't realize that it would lead to me missing my exit. I went over the bridge, through US customs where they let me turn around and then had to explain to Canadian customs that I was really only over in the states for a total of 30 seconds.

Needless to say, I was late for work today. Not by much, though.