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.