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.

Out of the Blue

I almost fell out of my chair while checking my mail today. An email from Liz (and Michelle). They hadn't fallen off the face of the earth, or lost my email address, or decided I was evil incarnate (well, I don't actually know about that one).

Liz has once again come up with an amazing trip idea. For my last trip with Liz and Michelle you would have to go back to the very first blog entry to see my trip to Newfoundland. It was awesome.

Well this time they have their sights set on Nunavut. How cool is that? So, of course, I want to go. One small problem. They leave on the day of my brother's wedding. I'm not speaking with my brother right now, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be at his wedding. It does mean that I looked into options of flying out of London first thing in the morning after the wedding.

I guess this means I need to start tightening that proverbial belt and save some money. This will not be a cheap trip, but it will be a once in a lifetime experience. Wish me luck. I can not wait to add a Nunavut postcard to my collection.

Flooring

My dad was here today for dinner and we headed out to look at flooring. He is going to help me install laminate flooring so that I can finally get rid of the hideous pink carpeting (woo hoo)! We actually bought half of it (it was on sale, but they didn't have enough so Dad is picking up the rest next week at another home depot). I am so excited. I can not wait until the carpet is gone. I will definitely have a 'so long to the pink carpet' party when we are done. I think I may keep one small scrap so we can burn it at the party.

While he was here, Dad also helped hang some new paintings for me. My friend Dorie is super creative and did some painting for me. Aren't they beautiful? (The picture is against my red wall.)

Cell Portability

I'm so excited. On March 7, 2007 cell phone numbers become portable. This means I can keep my cell number, but get rid of Bell. So, I'm looking at Rogers. Anyone else have Rogers for cell service? Good / Bad? Any details would be great.

Hockey

Well, it has been awhile since I mentioned my hockey team. As always I'm having a great time playing, and as always our team is in last place. I don't know what it is about our team, but we are always in last place during the season and then we do well during playoffs (let's hope that is the case again this season). But, even though we haven't won a game yet (we did tie one), we love being out there and we aren't one of those teams that gets angry or discouraged. There are teams that we play against that when they are beating us 4-0 they start getting really aggresive. I don't understand that. Do they want us to get bitchy because we are losing? It just doesn't happen. It's very weird.

I did have a good game last night. Two shots on net (we are pretty happy when we play in their end, so a shot on net is a very big deal) and my couch was really impressed with my back checking in our end. I seem to finally be getting the idea of this game (it's about time).

This weekend I also watched a couple of movies. I watched Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock with Ingrid Bergman and Carey Grant), it was okay. Not one of my favourite Hitchcock movies. I also watched Out of Africa. This movie so makes me want to go to Africa on safari. It was absolutely beautiful. Meryl Streep was amazing; and Robert Redford was damn good looking as always.

On Saturday night, my friend Dorie made an amazing stir fry dinner and we played a couple games of Sex and the City trivia. I was finally able to help her with setting up her wireless router for her laptop and she completed some paintings that she had done for me (I can't wait to post a picture - they are awesome).

That's about it for me. This week I am off to see Justin Timberlake with two of my sisters. I'm so excited, he is just damn fine.

Parking

Well, my travel to Niagara Falls just became much longer. I have to relinquish my parking pass. This means taking a shuttle to work. This always adds so much time to the morning / evening. You have to make sure you plan / time everything just right.

I'm so annoyed. I had this at Clarica as well and it sucked.

Sisters

This past weekend I was able to get together with two of my three sisters. Unfortunately, Rach was not able to join us. Her guy (current or ex, I'm never sure), Steve, had to have back surgery so she has been run pretty ragged taking care of him. I'm hoping that the recovery is going well.

Lindsay, Jaime and their respective others, Dave and Sami, and I met up for dinner and a night of playing pool down on the Lakeshore. We have decided to try and get together every month. There was too long there when I didn't get to see them at all. As always I was pretty inconsistent with my pool playing. I made some great shots and really blew it on others. But, either way I had so much fun and can't wait to do it again. We are thinking bowling or the cottage (for snowboarding and skating) next. I'm hopeful that we can go to the cottage. I really want to get Jaime out on the slopes. She says no way. But, that's kind of how Lindsay felt the first time and now she loves it. Either way, it should be fun.

Happy Birthday Kitties

Today the kitties are 6 years old. I thought they were five, but I was wrong. As always Jason (not my brother) sent out an email to remind everyone of the bday celebrations. Six! Wow, how time flies.


Placenta Head is just as bad as ever. He really likes to scratch my new couch (which means it is still covered in the plastic it was delivered in to keep him off of it). Bad kitty. But, he is such a suck and so cute that I forget how bad he is (until he jumps on my head at 2:30am).



Noke (Princess Mononoke) is also becoming very cuddly in her old age. She isn't near as scared as she used to be. But, she still does hide on occassion (especially when there are children around).



I meant to go out and buy them treats today, but I forgot (to buy gifts, not about the birthday).



So, once again, Happy 6th Birthday to my babies!

The Falls

So, I finally made it outside to see the Falls. Yes, I've worked here for over a month and it took me that long to make it outside.

I'm stuck in the basement all day and by the time I leave I just want to get home.

The day I was able to go out and see them was after the ice storm. It was so pretty.

Then I caught the flu. Stupid flu. Of course, the flu did not stop me from hanging out in Christi's hot tub.

Snow!!

Yay, I love snow. It is so pretty outside. It's funny how the weather can affect your mood. I have this perma grin on my face today because there is snow outside. Even with the pain in my stupid ovary I can't help but smile when there is snow outside. This global warming thing better end (all of you stop destroying the environment) so that we can go back to our normal seasons.

Have fun with the snow!

Ovaries suck

The ongoing saga of my crappy ovaries continues. On Thursday I went to work and at about 10am the pain became unbearable. It appears that I am going to be in extreme pain like this every month. Personally, I wish they would just take the cyst out. Instead, my doctor has put me on the pill. She thinks that will shrink the cyst and the pain should subside. I really hope she's right. I've been hanging out on my couch for two days trying to sleep. Even the percocet wouldn't put me to sleep. When I stepped in the fire and had 3rd degree burns on my feet, I thought that was the worst pain; then when I ripped my cornea and it felt like a knife was being stabbed in my eye, I thought that was the worst pain; now I'm not so sure. I think the cornea was the worst, but this was definitely up there.

Last night, I had dinner with Mohsen, Anna and Lisa. It was really nice to see them and dinner was excellent, but I had to leave early due to this stupid ovary.

On a happier note I finally started reading again. For awhile there I really wasn't in the mood to read, which is weird for me. I've only read one book in the past couple of months and it wasn't that good of a book: The Murder Book by Jonathan Kellerman. Currently, I'm reading Predator by Patricia Cornwell. Both books are part of series that I've been reading for years. Predator really isn't very good either. But, next I'm planning to read the new Guy Gavriel Kay and I can't wait. Kay, Moore and King all have new books out this season. So, it should be a good time for reading. I have a ton of books waiting for me.

On the movie front I've watched a bunch of movies including 'Dial M for Murder' and 'Suddenly, Last Summer'. They were okay. 'Suddenly, Last Summer' wasn't near as shocking as I expected it to be. The whole build up is to the end when Elizabeth Taylor explains how Sebastian dies. Really it wasn't that good of a build up. I also watched 'Sahara', which was actually fun; and 'Pieces of April' with Katie Holmes, it was pretty good, but boy was her mom a bitch.

Happy New Year - Well not really

I am so happy to start a new year, 2006 was not my best year and I am hopeful that 2007 will be much better.

Right now, I'm extremely upset with my brother. I don't remember being this angry with him since I was in high school. I know I told some of you that I had this special surprise gift thing I was going to do and would let you all know how to join in, but that just isn't going to happen. I don't think he would have appreciated it anyway.

On to a different topic, my Great Aunt Alma (the picture is of her and her brother Glenn) passed away a couple of days ago. She was one of my mom's favourite people in the world and she will be greatly missed. My cousin Kim was married just after my mom died and as a surprise my aunt had Alma fly in for the wedding. Well, it was a bit too much of a shock for me. I burst into tears (personally, I thought Jason and I should have been told ahead of time, not that Jason needed the heads up, but I certainly did) she reminded me so much of my mom and I just didn't handle the surprise of finally seeing her after my mom's death very well. The wedding itself was pretty hard for me because my mom would have been so happy and so involved. One of my first Christmas memories is of being in Plymouth, Massachusetts when I was probably four years old. We went on a train Christmas Eve and the lights with the snow were so beautiful. My grammy, mom and Alma were there and that was the last time they were all together (my grammy, Mom's grandmother who raised her, died the next year when my mom was 25; I lost my mom when I was 24, if only I had of known how hard that must have been for mom).

The last time I saw Alma was when I was in California on business. I flew earlier than I needed to so that I could spend the weekend in San Diego with Alma. This was another trip where my luggage went missing. It really messed up the amount of time I was able to spend with her because alot of the time was spent at the airport and fighting on the phone with United. But, we did have a wonderful visit and even went to Tijuana (my only trip to Mexico, so far) and went to the beach (where I was stung by a jellyfish). We talked alot about my mom, which was really great. I always wanted to go back to see her; but the chance was never there. Hopefully, I will get to visit with her in my dreams like I do with mom (maybe we will all go shopping together, as that is normally what mom and I do when I dream). It's times like these that I want to believe that we do go to a better place and be with our loved ones. I know that my aunt Lynda (on Dad's side) believes that my grandpa looked after my mom when she died and now maybe my mom has Alma as well to keep her company.

This is a picture of Alma and I in Tijuana in June of 2001:

On a happier note, as with most weddings and funerals (not that there is going to be a funeral) I did get a chance to speak with family that I haven't talked to in a very long time. My cousin Nicole called to let me know. Nicole and I used to be very close, but we haven't seen each other very often in recent years (I did get to see her and my other cousins back in August, and that was awesome). Along with this news she reported that her mom (my cousin Chris) broke her wrist after falling off of a horse in Jamaica a couple of days ago and was going in for surgery. I then called my mom's sister, Deanie, to see how she was doing with everything. Found out that she had just gotten out of the hospital from a burst appendix and that my cousin Kim was out of commission due to knee surgery. I then called my mom's brother, Ian, who I haven't seen or talked to in probably ten years (my mom seemed to be 'the glue' and when she passed away it really did a number on this family). But, he sounded exactly the same and we had an awesome 1 1/2 hour conversation. He, unfortunately, is suffering from really bad arthritis in his knees (Jason and I better watch out, since we have such bad knees already). During our talk, I found out that mom's side of the family has even more Scottish ancestry than my dad's. This we never knew. We thought it was only Grandma that had that Scottish blood. But, my grampy (Stanley) had family from Scotland as well. My dad, is named Robert Bruce (after Robert the Bruce) and I found out that my great grandfather's family fought alongside Robert the Bruce. We can trace our ancestry back to James the 1st of Scotland. Unfortunately, we also have relatives that fought against Bonnie Prince Charlie. My uncle believes that the family has a curse due to switching sides.

My aunt Alma's daughter Lynn is hoping to have a service sometime this year when she can get back to New Brunswick. I will then meet her there and take my mom's ashes as well to be scattered on Grammy's grave as she would have wanted it. That way the three of them will be together again. Now, I wasn't really paying attention, but I think my Uncle Ian may have also indicated that my grandfather (Gerald) is no longer with us. As I said, our family really doesn't keep in touch. I would hate to think that no one contacted Jason or I to let us know. I know that we were not close to Gerald and didn't really know him, but he's still family. My mom, her sister, and brother were raised by their grandparents, so Gerald was really not a part of our lives. But, I do know that for years my mother kept a mug that she had bought him for Christmas in the hopes that one day he would show up and she could give it to him, but he never did. The only time I ever remember seeing Gerald was at my mother's funeral.

Well, that is all my sad news for today. It's been a pretty emotional couple of days, with much crying.

Christmas and Such

Prior to Christmas the Goderich gang (Teresa and Greg and their two kids; Cara and Jeff and their three kids; and Heidi and Jen) came to my place for our annual (most of the time) Christmas gathering. Teresa couldn't handle my crazy cats (allergies are not fun) and they had to leave just after dinner. Cara's family stayed until the next day so that they could go shopping. It was great to have everyone together, since it is so rare that this happens. Cara's kids


My friend, Angele, is getting married this month (January) in Mexico. Back in December there was a surprise wedding shower for her. It was a lot of fun and it was great to get to see everyone outside of work one last time before I left. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go to the wedding. I would love to go to Mexico, but I just can't afford it this year (two family weddings) and I just started a new contract.

I was finally able to pick up my Mini and I absolutely love it.

On my last day at work a group of us went out to lunch. I miss everyone. It was really sad to leave and I totally cried before I left. It's one thing to make a decision to change jobs, it's another to actually say goodbye to all the people you've worked with for so long. I miss have my morning talks and lunches with Annie. Luckily we are getting together for dinner next week.

Just before Christmas Tara and Christi invited me to a 12 bars of Christmas pub crawl. It was a ton of fun (for the most part). Unfortunately, that day my ovary was acting up and I took a tylenol 3. It appears that codeine and alcohol are a bad mix. I have very few memories after the 8th or 9th bar. Christi tried to get me to have a shot of tequila at one of the bars (I don't recall this at all). She said it was pretty funny that I had a hold of the lemon, licked the salt, and instead of taking the shot of tequila I grabbed my glass of water (it appears that I look out for myself even when I don't know what's going on). At the next bar they poured me into a cab and we headed back to Tara's. I threw up most of the evening (sorry Tara) once out of the cab. But, until that point I had a great time. Can't wait until next year. I would definitely like to go again next year, but without the codeine.

The week before Christmas Jason and Megan flew in from BC. It was great to get to see them (at some point I will publish the pictures of my trip out west back in August). On the Friday they came to Niagara Falls with me and while I was at work they went to St. Catherines to visit their friends Quentin and Martha. When I was done work we checked out the casino where I work. I'm not allowed to gamble or talk to anyone who is gambling. I had to check in with security so they could be sure that I wasn't doing anything I wasn't supposed to. It's too bad that I can't gamble because it would be nice to go play poker. After that we went to a vineyard and a bought a ton of wine. Then we met up with Lindsay and Jaime (and their boyfriends) for dinner in Burlington. It was great to see them and hopefully I will get to see them again soon.

We then headed to London to see Dad, Sue and Rach. We had Christmas dinner (with mushroom gravy and vegetarian stuffing). It was great. Then we headed to Goderich for the Woodall Christmas. As normal there was lots of drama, screaming, hospital visits and crying. Luckily, Grandma is now okay and has survived the flu.

New Job, New Car (sort of)

As some of you know I was thinking of leaving ESI for something more challenging. Well, it appears that I am leaving. A headhunter called me about a month ago looking for someone with my specific skill set. I had a phone interview and while I was in the hospital (for my stupid ovary) I found out I had been offerred the job. I start on Monday (Dec 11th) and finish at ESI on Friday (Dec 8th). Not alot of time in between, but that has never stopped me before. Besides, I'm taking time off at xmas when my brother and Megan come to visit.

So, the new job is a 3 month contract (probably extended to 6) at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Which means I need a car. It also means I have to make a decisiion on where I be based. I'm going to try out the commute to start and then I will meet with my real-estate agent to find out my options and what she recommends. I have looked at student housing for a place to crash and St. Catharines is pretty cheap (and Martha and Q love it there).

First things first, find a car. I've been pretty happy with the Toyota Yaris, so that was my first stop. Heidi and Jen were in town so they went looking with me. Toyota sucks! I went in with the idea of buying a car and they so didn't want to help me and couldn't answer Heidi and Jen's questions and called me a liar (I'm not a big fan of that).

Next stop the Mini dealership, just for a fun test drive. Well, after the test drive I was sold. I wanted a mini. But, I can't afford new. So, back to autotrader to find a used one. I found a 2003 that was perfect, but the bank said no. Back to autotrader. Found another 2003 and last Friday I went to look at it in Downsview. They didn't have the 2003, but they did have a 2002. I took it for a test drive (by this point I was pretty bored with the whole shopping thing and just wanted a car). I liked the car and got Heidi on the phone for her thoughts. Negotiated a price and the bank said yes. Took the car to Canadian Tire for a safety inspection and they said it was in good shape (it needed a new battery and the brake fluid changed, but that was it). The dealership said I could have the car on Monday (provided I had the insurance taken care of).

I was super excited. The car was great; red with a white top (aching to have a Canadian flag decal put on).

Then I called RBC Insurance. I had already talked to them (and Primmum) to find out if I could afford the insurance on the mini (or the Yaris). Primmum was crazy in their pricing, so I went back to RBC. But, when I talked to them on Friday the quote was $400 more than what I had received before. I was pretty upset and told them I didn't want it. I needed to calm down and try to get the excitement back.

Monday I called RBC again. I received a completely different quote (at this point I think I had 4 different quotes for the same car from RBC). I finally said okay so that I could get my car. This meant I could get the car on Tuesday (last night).

I took a bus from work, to the go bus at square one, to Finch Go station, I hopped in a cab ($15) that took me to the dealership. I got there and the car was all pretty and clean. They brought it around to the front for me, I hopped in. I tried to adjust the seat, I tried to adjust the seat, I hopped out of the car and found my sales guy. The seat would not adjust to an upright position (no comments from the peanut gallery, please). It turns out the seat is broken. It worked fine on Friday when I went for a test drive. I don't know what happened between those two times, but I do not have a car that I can drive. So, they finally drove me home and said they would try to fix it today. When I called at 3pm they were working on it and expected it to be done by 5pm. It is now 4:16 and I am just leaving work. I will give them a call and then hop on a bus and take another two hour tour to Downsview. Let's hope this trip is more successful.

Ovaries, Do We Really Need Them?

I think I would be in less pain if we didn't. A couple of weeks ago I had this stomach pain, that was the Friday night before Wicked. I didn't feel bad on Saturday and forgot about it until Sunday night. No sleep until 4am! It was driving me crazy. Monday I went to work and Julia yelled at me (as well as you can in an email) and told me to get my butt to a doctor. Which I did. The doctor believed it was a cyst and that I should have an ultrasound. He didn't sound too worried, said they were pretty common (which I have found out, they are). He prescribed me some pain killers. Wed I headed to the ultrasound, they told me I would probably hear back in 3-5 business days. I thought, okay, no big deal, the pain isn't too bad and I went back to work.

About an hour later the doctor's office called and told me to come in right away. Hello, panic! The radiologist thought it might be something called Ovarian Torsion. Not so common and pretty serious. I read later on the internet that the ovary is saved in less than 10% of cases. This was at a walk-in clinic and they told me to go see my family doctor and if the pain gets worse before then to go immediately to the ER. I was pretty upset.

I headed to my doctor on the Thursday (almost a week after the initial pain). She went over the results and tried to get me in to see an OB-GYN. No such luck so she sent me to the ER at Women's College Hospital, because if it was torsion I did need surgery right away. Needless to say I was upset and in tears.

Things were quick at the hospital when I first got there. I saw a doctor and he sent me for another ultrasound to find out if it was torsion and if the ovary was already dead. It took a while to get the ultrasound (and it was not fun). Evil nazi radiologist who wanted to see if she could make me cry from the pain (she succeeded). But, it turns out, it wasn't torsion (it took another hour to find that out). It is a cyst, though. It's bigger than my right ovary (which means my left ovary is growing to accomodate). It's bleeding in on itself which is what makes it grow. But, no surgery is necessary (at least not yet). I go back for another ultrasound (oh joy) in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime the pain is still there. I'm happy that it doesn't appear serious and that I shouldn't lose my ovary. I've never had surgery so I'm not looking forward to that (if it happens). Of course, so many thoughts going through my head: should I harvest my eggs, will I be able to have kids, etc.

Wicked

Today I went to see 'Wicked' with my Dad, Sue, my Grandma, Lisa, Christi and Sandra. It was awesome. I highly recommend this production to everyone. I would definitely go see this again. Much better than I expected, it was great and I loved the idea behind it (especially the propaganda idea). I'm going to have to watch The Wizard of Oz. Go see this show!

After the show we all went to the Overdraught (Irish pub), where my cousin Ed works. We had an excellent time. I wish it was possible to do this more often.