Pisces Muse

NEW BLOG

2010-02-26T15:44:00.002-05:00

Once again I have decided to switch things up on my blog.

I have gone with a complete relocation program over to Wordpess.com.

The new site is: http://piscesmuse.wordpress.com/

As you can see it is no longer titled Book Minstrel; I have reverted back to Pisces Muse. As such I have imported both my Book Minstrel and my Pisces Muse blog posts to the new site.

Enjoy, my kittens, enjoy.

The Reopening of an Era that should have never ended

2009-09-27T10:50:00.006-04:00

I have made an executive decision. It would seem that there are indeed two parts to my life. Actually life is made up of lots of little parts that kind of meld together and create this giant never ending story, that never quite peaks the same as fantasy epics but if it did rest assured there would be a lot of shit and depression involved, because slaying evil while justifiable would have some serious emotional whiplash and morality issues involved. (That was a long but beautiful sentence to my writer soul.)

I had written a ‘fair thee well’ and then re-assigned everyone over to a different blog were I can blather about books. But the thing is – remember that 101 list of things I want to do before I die. Well I did something this summer on that list. I went to Vancouver and saw the west coast of Canada. Something I am hoping I will eventually have the luxury of repeating. But for now I can nock it off my list. However, I didn’t post about it - I wanted to, but I didn’t mention a peep. Because I had closed down my Pisces Muse blog – and this event would have fit there perfectly. Trying to squeeze it on the Book Minstrel web site seamed invasive and out of place. So I have left that tiny tidbit just floating out in the abyss – in existence but without firm acknowledgement. And it was such a grand adventure that I really regret not being able to write about it properly.

There is another event that just recently occurred – last night - that has finally pushed me into the acknowledgment that I still need Pisces Muse. Still need a place to blather freely about life in general. I am not sure about the lines I will keep between the two blogs. For sure book reviews go on Book Minstrel. For sure anything on my ‘101 list’ goes on Pisces Muse. Those are the only two for sures I can offer at this point.

Alas though with great ado, I give you the event that has forced me into doing what I should have done all along. Sorry Vancouver – maybe later I will post a long beautiful memoir of our event.

Last night, I went to a Great Big Sea concert at the Sudbury Arena. I have scene them 3 other times. First: Canada Day for free when I was 16. I didn’t quit respect them and love them the way I do now. But that was my official introduction and the beginning of loosing a piece of my soul to their work. Second: I went for my graduation from college to the Molson Amphitheatre to go and see them with my little sis. Third: I went to the Grey Cup festivities about a year ago (maybe two) to go and see them in Toronto.

What was different about last night though was that I did a total groupie thing. Were we parked our car we had to walk through the back parking lot area were they have parked there tour busses. There were a couple of groups waiting outside. And while Cowboy and I had another engagement we had to get to, he stuck around with me to see if the band would come out and we could harass them for pictures and autographs. The opening act Jeremy Fisher came out and I kind of regret that I didn’t bombard him with my request for a picture and an autograph, but dude I was intent on the main event – and I promise you I will acquire your music. Hopefully in a legal means that will insure cash in your pocket, ‘cause trying to make it as a musician is tough and I can imagine sometimes soul defeating if you don’t have the right kind of fortitude. Maybe even if you do have the right kind of fortitude.

This here is a picture of me with the bass player – Murray. Who was ever so nice and put up with my giggling and fan talk and my awkwardness. I also kind of just walked away from the guy when I didn’t know how else to comport myself.

This here is a picture of me with the drummer – Kris. Who was equally nice and kind of reminds me of a guy I know (I don’t know how much this guy I know would appreciate me dumping his name on the web, he is an aspiring musician so it might be like free publicity but I don’t want to invade any boundaries). I totally stole Kris away from these two girls. And I don’t know if it was a stimulating conversation or not that I interrupted. All I offered was bringing him to another group that wanted pictures and autographs and didn’t quite know how to talk to a band. I felt a little guilty about the stealing last night, I admit, but today I feel completely happy with my confidence in doing it because I might never have the opportunity again and sometimes you just need to seize life.

After that Murray stole Kris away and went with Jeremy Fisher and some other people to find a bar I am assuming. They walked in the direction of the Townehouse Tavern – total dive but known for music in Sudbury. But might have been dissuaded by the cover charge because I am pretty sure I saw them walk around the corner after a pause long enough to be told about the cover charge. I saw one of the groups that had been waiting for them outside follow them to the Townehouse. Not sure if they continued stalking them. There is a part of me that did want to find them and chill with them, but there is a part of me that knows I don’t know them and don’t’ know what to talk to them besides gushing and that respects that maybe they need some space. Also I am not single so any flirting I would be able to pull out in band euphoria would be kind of nil and void because I am a loyal girl who loves her man + man was present, so he might have been inclined to defend his honor even though he knows my love for the band and my love for him are two different entities (well I hope he knows that). He might have let me embarrass myself sufficiently first though before it got too far. Le Sigh…

I desperately wanted to ask Kris and Murray last night where the other three were. But felt it would be disrespectful to be asking two very credible and amazingly talented musicians were the others were – like undermining them. Like it being “Dudes you were good, but you just aint the core of the show and I want to see them so um thanks for the effort but bring on the real deal.” See that is how I picture asking after the others would sound like no matter how respectfully put. And they are both two very incredible musicians who do deserve just as much praise for their talent and deserve a worshipful following. And maybe it was deliberate on the other threes part to not go out and socialize and let those two get the brunt of the gushing fans so they can sweep up their credit too.

Truly though what I want to know is how do you talk to your favorite band? I really want to know what to say to them. Do they like fan gushing? Or do they just tolerate it? Do they think it weird if you ask about their personal life – even though bits of it are shared in the online community? Is it passing the line to try and talk to them in such a familiar manner? Cowboy is a musician (at heart) and so I get the passion, but I also know that there is more to people than just the music. So do you talk just music with them, or do you try and find something else besides that to talk about because maybe it would be like a breath of fresh air.

However, based on what I do know here is my list of things that I would like to say to the other three band mates that we didn’t get to see:

Allan – I love your blog posts online. You have a very fluent narrative style, and I think that if you so chose you would make a good author. You have a way of observing the world that makes it nice and bright and you are respectful in doing so. I think you might have the soul of a writer in you, and there is a part of me that is jealous and envious and another part of me that wishes you all the best if you ever chose to pursue that path.

Sean – Is Tosh really on the bus on tour with you? I love the fact that you are an animal man and that your dog means so much to you (well that is the vibe that I get from the online stalking that any fan worth there salt has done).

Bob – I love your versatility to know so many different instruments. The tin whistle and the fiddle particularly. I really really really want to learn fiddle. There is a part of me that whenever I hear the fiddle played, that it sweeps me up and touches my soul. I may not be a musician but I understand the way that music moves a person and how it can truly be ingrained in their soul. It is a powerful experience. (Actually I might like the whole band to know that about souls and music.)

It was an amazing performance guys. The music pulsed through and swept to a different plain of existence. I love how your music makes me feel guys. I felt uplifted.

Songs I wish were played though that were not:

Beat the Drum (Something Beautiful)
Walk on the Moon (Fortune's Favor)
Oh Yeah (Fortune's Favor)
Company of Fool's (Fortune's Favor)
Dance Dance (Fortune's Favor)

I really really like "Dance Dance" and "Walk on the Moon".

Thanks guys for the great night and thanks for half fulfilling one of the events on my 101 things to do in life list.

P.S. I got my ticket signed by Kris and Murray. You were ever so awesome in dealing with us - the hopeless fans. Sorry about all the awkwardness. Maybe someone should write up a social code in how to properly converse with a band you are a huge fan of.

The Final Post...probably

2009-04-11T17:38:00.001-04:00

Recently I had re-vamped this site to be a book blog as I had come the realization that despite my uncertain intentions as per what this blog was truly going to be about, it now mostly pertained to reading and writing. However, something about this being a book blog didn’t seam right (very tempted to put write instead).

I am well aware that the original nature of things evolves given time, however the state of evolution of this blog needed a new name and in respect to a new name a new home.

It felt disloyal to turn this into a book blog, not that it hadn’t been leaning that way for quite some time. But I felt that this blog deserved its respect. It deserved to be recognized for it’s efforts in leading me in the direction I am now traveling in, and giving it a fresh coat of paint, is still painting over top of it. And that would be disrespectful.

So I am leaving this blog hear in its natural habitat, as an attestation to my origins of blogging. It will be like a history monument for those who wish to come visit and see, but it will stay preserved in its original state.

Therefore, as some of you may have predicted by now, this will most likely be my final post on this site.

My new alias can be found at: The Adventures of the Book Minstrel… and her trusty sidekick Roobear!!

I will, however, keep twitting as Pisces Muse, as what I twitt about seams loyal to the original symmetry of this blog.

Thank you and happy adventuring….

A wee little corner of the world all to myself.

2009-03-26T17:08:00.001-04:00

When people ask me what I do, I generally refer them to my day job. My official title is “office assistant” but it covers a lot of ground here were I am. I am good at what I do, but it doesn’t exactly leave me exited to get up in the morning.

If I told the random people who I am first meeting and striking up a conversation, when they ask what do I do, that I am an aspiring author, that I read a lot and write book reviews on a blog, they might just look at me with crazy in their eyes and the thought firmly fixed in their mind that “I hope she has other plans, because girl be a dreamer.”

I won’t deny that I am a dreamer. I think it is a key fundament of what makes me, me.

When I was younger I belted out a tune and asked my parents what they thought. In my mind I sounded like a rock star. I was told “don’t quite your day job.” Maybe they were trying to be witty and smart. Maybe they were trying to break it to me gently. But it stuck with me. And once I figured out what they meant, it held a cruel edge for me.

Why is society trained that when someone professes their dreams, we all hope that they have a practical fall back plan? Why are we discouraging? Why are we jaded?

There is this part of all of us that isn’t our day jobs. It isn’t the 9-5 daily grind. It’s our hopes and dreams. But lots of people lock those away saying it’s impossible and won’t happen. Lot’s of people don’t share them because they are scared that others may reflect their own sneaking opinions that it is all smoke and mirrors and that all they will ever truly aspire to is a job that they feel no passion towards.

How there is always that seed of doubt lacing every dream and fantasy. That one strand that holds us back from completely committing everything of ourselves to that purpose and goal. It’s a part of what possess me to clean the house first before I sit down to write. The practical part that says do the nitty gritty before you have the fun. What would you do, if you were free of those ties though?

What if we lived in a world, were we supported each other, truly supported them, without the reservations of failure locked in the back of our mind? What would that be like? Would we have the delusional American Idol star wanabes who can’t sing but their mama says they can. Or would we have people pushing the limits of what can be done, instead of being held back by what can’t.

How much different would our work force be? How much happier would we be as a society? Is it even plausible?

I started this post with the intentions of pointing about how I liked how I have re-vamped my blog. How I have found a niche were I am able to talk books all I want and I won’t bore anyone. (And anyone who is bored by it then should not be here reading my blogs. They should be off doing what makes them happy.) I wanted to say how I am able now to express that little corner of myself that previously I hadn’t quite found the right audience yet to share with. I imagine this would be something like what a book/writing club would feel like. A relief.

Thanks for being there.

Ass in snow Bank or Review on The Longest Trip Home

2009-03-23T21:10:00.003-04:00

Book: The Longest Trip Home

Author: John Grogan

Pass or Fail: Pass

A memoir about growing up in a very Catholic household, by the author of Marley and Me. Being an autobiography and out of my regular book range, I found it a bit harder to get through as it didn’t have the usual story arcs and driving action. It is slow passed, but poignant and very real. However, I liked the pace. Slow but growing. The proper pace to read as a life goes by before your eyes.

After a while you find you aren't just reading to know about John but about his relationship with his parents as well. It allowed me some introspection into my own relationships with my parents. The subjects that have been deemed taboo and how we try and protect our parents from ourselves, but how we also long to just be honest as well, if only it wouldn't hurt them so. WE= Myself, and those who feel the same way as I do.

As the reader you are taken on a journey from being raised in a Catholic household, to questioning those values. He breaks away from religion and disappoints his very devout parents, to find himself and carve his own niche in the world and raise a family. It's also about coming to terms with their differences and finding peace within yourself. Its the journey of a lifetime.

The ending made me cry, so find a quit time were you have an hour to yourself to read the last several chapters and no one is going to interrupt you. So you have the time and the space to let a few tears shed, and give the book it's proper respect (yes in my world, books get respect!).

I found the story very moving and relatable. Not as many laugh out loud guffawing moments as Marley and Me, but this story was meant to be more personal and touching.

I would recommend this book to just about anybody. However, if gifting it, I strongly suggest that you read it first. Simply because it is a book to share. One to open up conversations about life and reflections.

Next: The Name of the Wind, by: Patrick Rothfus

I believe the next book is high fantasy. I decided to pick it up after I was linked to Patrick’s blog from George RR Martins blog. Read down for “Concerning the Release of Book Two” - on Pat's blog.

I have been eagerly anticipating this book, however hope that said anticipation isn’t misplaced. From the reviews I have read in regards to it, it shouldn’t be. Anyways Robin Hobb says it’s cool so it must be.

P.S. In general when finishing a book try and find an hour alone to do it in so that you are able to fully enjoy the ending to a book without interruptions and be able to digest the ending properly and reflect upon it. I seam to keep making the same mistake on this forefront and should really, when I see that I have only 20 pages left of a book, sit my ass outside in a snow bank till I am done rather than risk trying to finish the book in the house with its many distractions.

Roo's Poo Emporium and other spring cleaning

2009-03-22T17:16:00.002-04:00

Just to state the obvious, spring is in the process. And to state the even more obvious as is spring cleaning. Now to be honest, I purge when necessary and clean on a weekly basis, so the need to do a complete overhaul at home isn’t necessary. That doesn’t mean that some spring cleaning isn’t needed. For example I cleaned up all the Roo winks in my front yard the other day…well all the ones I could get too. Messy stinky business but much needed.

I had this brilliant idea while at the bar last night, sober as hell, as I am the DD (not the designated drunk, the other one). I am staring off into space thinking about writing and the sad sorry state my blog is in. Like mentioned previously I dislike doing the “hey this is what is going on/planned to happen in my life.” It’s boring and mundane, and doesn’t attract viewers. And while I may not be all about the viewers, I am about having some additional viewers that aren’t just close friends and family.

The reason I was inspired to Blog started with the Yarn Harlot and socks. I thought to myself, I will do a craft blog, it will be funny for people to watch me stumble along on my knitting learning road experience. I was also really into costuming as a teen and I can showcase my other creative works as well. WELL…. that hasn’t been very successful.

In the other creative arts field one may find me pontificating about my desire to become an author. An author with the world’s worst case of procrastination and stage fright and commitment issues. But with the desire, and with a great big huge shove, the drive to accomplish said goals.

And I also read a lot. A LOT!!! I don’t go anywhere without a book, and feel kind of naked and exposed without my safety blanket of bookishness. Mostly high fantasy sprinkled with a wee bit of science fiction.

And then I ask myself, why am I trying to blog about something I am struggling to find the passion and time to commit to (crafting), when I spend so much of my time reading and trying to write. Books are like my crack. I literally jones for them. I think, I can easily write book reviews. Reviews that are hopefully funny and witty and inspiring enough to make you want to pick up a certain author. I can easily drone on and one about wanting to write and my issues concerning trying to write, and how I should just shut up and get to it.

Sure there are many other book reviewers out there, but what’s one more. Maybe I will bring something different to the table. Won’t know till I try.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO…. I know I am not a big name in the book reviewing field yet, and may well never be, but that won’t stop me from suggesting it right now, that if you have any ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) that you would like to send me please e-mail me at jemuldoon(at)gmail(dot)com and then I will provide you with mailing information.

Maybe one of these days someone might actually take that above request seriously, but while I am still in the world of lalaland, I would specifically like to encourage Robin Hobb, Christopher Moore, George RR Martin, Yarn Harlot, and anyone else whom I spew my undying love for, to send me their ARC. Like I said, dreaming with me head up me arse.

And now that I have gone and revamped my blog, I will be hit with this wall of I can’t concentrate to either read or write and will conclusive once again have nothing to talk about. Karma baby, karma.

Occasionally I will sprinkle the blog with a little real life, maybe even some movie reviews, but mostly I will reserve real life witty updates for Twitting. And by the way I have added a Twitter tracker thing of my updates on the side toolbar of my blog. ENJOY!!!

I am not sure what format my book reviewing will take so you will have to bear with me while I blunder along. I will tell you straight if I liked it or not. I won’t avoid brushing over a book if I didn’t like it, as that would not be fair to those who are looking for an honest opinion. Please keep in mind though everyone has personal taste and tastes change over years and even seasons.

For example: I loved Terry Brooks when I first started reading fantasy and thought him purely brilliant, however now that I have read George RR Martin, my opinion of Terry has shifted. Not that Terry isn’t gifted; just George is way, way better at high fantasy in my oh so meager and humble opinion. However, George’s style of writing is very much different than Terry’s, so it’s like comparing apples to oranges or maybe even Gorillas, but that’s what happens in this field.

So please bear with me while I come up with my own format. What feels comfortable and good for me and for you my audience.

First official review.

Book: On Writting
Author: Stephen King
Pass or Fail: Pass

Well done, good insight, and consequently has inspired in me a desire to pick up some of his books. Not all, but some. He has good advice for aspiring authors. One that comes to me immediately is to put some time aside each day, at the same time, and sit down and write, and make sure you close the door and are locked away from the outside world. Writing at the same time, should be like developing a healthy sleep pattern. I was going to get into the nuances of why his suggestions were not feasible for me to apply, however, it no only became long winded and boring but also sounded like me wining and not committing.

I liked his autobiography at the beginning. It made him feel more human to me, and less of scary horror writer. He has gone down the rabbit whole and came out the other side, and I can respect that in an individual. Life is not all peaches and cream. He didn’t go into horrific detail but he was honest.

I also liked his advice to show someone if a person is worried or happy. Rather than write; Sarah was feeling happy today. One might try; Sarah answered the phone with a smile in her voice. Well Stephen has had many years of experience and my examples are paltry in comparison, but it is a good lesson to take to heart and try to implement.

You don’t need to be a Stephen King fan to read this book and get enjoyment out of it, but be aware before picking up his book that it is autobiographical and about writing, so if those two subjects do not interest you then this book is not for you. Also I found it a good transition book between getting over reading a good series and picking out the next set of material that I wanted to experience.

Next: The Longest Trip Home, by: John Grogan

To Blog or not to Blog... that is the question

2009-03-13T19:52:00.000-04:00

For quite some time I have been struggling with what to post, or even for that matter what to Tweet.

For tweeting I like obscure little thoughts. Like random observations. I don’t want to tweet that “today, I went to work and have been given the responsibility of ordering office supplies.” I am sure there are people out there that give mundane tweets, but I feel that I like a witty observation about life better. And since I haven’t had any, I haven’t tweeted. And peering at life trying to find a tweet leaves me with road block.

Then there is the blog. I really dislike those long posts of this is what I have done with my life. Everyone goes out and parties, everyone cleans their house on the weekend. Everyone eats, sleeps, and watches movies/tv. Everyone goes to work. I want to blog about more than mundane stuff. I want to share me thoughts on books, or movies, or food. Rather than say that I read or watched or cooked. I want you to experience, rather than being told the facts. I want you to get a feel of emotion, rather than disattachment. So I sit here and wonder what to blog about.

So I guess it comes down to what I have been doing – yuck. And my observations on those points – a wee bit more interesting. Maybe I will get to rambling and find a nugget of gold and cling to that. We’ll see….

Finished all of the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlain Harris. Waiting on the TV series True Blood DVD release. Wondering if I should just order HBO through cable so I can watch the second season right away, but then realize if I like the first season after buying it odds are that I will buy the second season and get a chance to watch it eventually, if but later than I would like or that the people around me can stand (I get really annoying when I am stuck on something and must wait… like a kid at Christmas or on vacation “Are we there yet”). Magic PVR would solve some issues. But I like having things on pretty DVD’s with pictures in nice boxes with special features. Do you watch special features?? Darren and I do.

Thoughts on the books – good. Left me wanting more. I felt there was more to the characters than the author was writing. Wish she would be more in-depth. Watched some clips of the TV True Blood on UTube, and my theory was confirmed. First time I ever experienced getting more out of a TV show (well generally books are made into movies, so I am going on that) than I did the books. Technically the first time would be the Jane Austen Book Club, but in all truth, I got more out of the movie because the movies was better and made appropriate changes. Sookie on the other hand has a good foundation in the book and builds in the TV show. However, upon viewing more video clips I think the TV show may be darker and less humorous than the books, and I think the characters were much more beautiful in my mind, than cast. Except Sookie, she’s a good choice and stunning in the show.

Anyways I am at that hangover state in my reading where I feel restless and can’t settle because I am still caught up too intensely in what I was reading before to move on properly. So I am reading transition material. This time it is autobiographical. I have started Stephen King’s On Writing. Next it will be John Grogan The longest Trip Home. Then I have a high fantasy I think I will be all set to indulge in. After that I will peer at my bookshelf to indulge in materials I have bought but not yet read. Dessert material. Authors I treasure. And want to keep their gems waiting for that rainy day, when I need it most. I have a system on how I choose my books to read. I even wrote it out. One of these days I will pull it out to post – once I polish my system.

So – Autobiographical. In grade school we had to read a Biography (by the by, I will look this up, but I can’t be the only one who sees Autobiography and biography as being close proxsimilies*** to each other with the only difference being in who writes them… right??). It was the most boring piece of tedium that I have ever read. Facts with no invocation of emotion. Nothing that made me want to drive onto the next page, nothing personal even though it is the story of someone’s life. No anecdotes or personal observations of how they perceived their life. It was the story of some male figure skater – Canadian. And that is all I remember. I don’t even think I finished it, as jabbing my eyes out with a marshmallow seamed way more appealing. Actually I was in grade 5 or 6 then, so I was probably more invested in reading Romeo and Juliet with my friends. (We were an odd bunch. I have carried the torch through.) The fact is, that it left a bad taste in my mouth, when the school was trying to broaden our horizons, and since I have shunned biographies and autobiographies alike thus narrowing my reading horizons (irony of the school system, is it not?).

Fast forward to now. I prefer escapist literature. I like my high fantasy, and other genres I indulge in. If I wanted to read about real life I would go out and live it instead. My reading is my escape from reality, so then why would I read reality? I guess it started with the Yarn Harlot, without even realizing that is where it started. She wrote real, but she wrote poignant and witty, and so I was drawn in. A free blog is good advertisement for a taste of her books.

Next to cross my path was Marley and Me. I had seen it in bookstores several times, drawn to it but escaping its allure as it wasn’t fiction, therefore not for me. The movie came out; I went and I saw. Hesitantly I bought the book and let it mellow on my shelf. My dad read the book, saw the movie and insisted I pick it up. Well my dad and I are a whole different Kettle of fish. And that is a story for another day, a day were I can be as candid as I need to be, probably with a therapist present; so that day is not soon. To be true, but also broad, my dad and I are two very different separate people who happen to be family, but have very different views on the world. (Broad but safe description that can apply to many family situations.) However, since he is family I try to be generally appeasing, and reading a book I am interested in so that we have a neutral subject to talk about didn’t seam too bad of an idea. Good FREAKING book, by the way.

Then I decide that John Grogan is a really good author. He writes real, but is poignant and witty, and those are things I can really appreciate in an author. He is truthful but not dry. And so I researched him online as I am apt to do with good authors and find out he has another book. The Longest Trip Home. An autobiography on growing up in his house and how he is different than how his parents tried to raise him. Well this struck me as so relatable to my dad and I that I needed to read it. But the library had 14 holds before me. So I went to the bookstore. But they only had hard copy available and that was a wee bit expensive considering I wanted two copies, one for me and one for my dad. I passed. I decided that I could wait out the library. If it was that good, then I might splurge for a copy for my dad. But I am not about to get him something he may hold against me, so I need to read it first. Like parental censorship, but reversed.

However, while I was at the book store I was browsing around the autobiographies thinking to myself, maybe I should give them a second chance. Maybe someone might have something for me. An author writing about being an author for example would be perfect. Stephen Kind. On Writing. Now, I know this post is really long already, but with anything in life there is back story. So I am going to have to share with you the back story of my disgust and inability to pick up any Stephen King books.

When I was younger, back to the era of grade 5 and 6, leading into grade 7 and 8 (do you notice how some years get melded together in your mind?) and then leading into early high school, I would watch horror movies only as it seamed cool, and not out of any desire to be scared. I hated sleeping with a light on and wondering who might be peering in my window, or who might be following behind me as I walked to school. I did it to be cool, although self admittedly while I ran with a close group of friends I was far from hanging with the cool crowd. What this meant was that I didn’t read horror. If I had a hard enough time getting through a movie that was only a couple of hours long, how ever would I make it through a book that would take me several weeks to get through? I just couldn’t torture myself like that. Stephen King was notorious for horror, therefore avoid all Stephen King.

Then I started exploring theories, on a whim, without any actual deep meaningful thought behind it, because I wasn’t out to prove it one way or another because I didn’t want to immerse myself in that world, that someone must be pretty twisted to write horror or crime books. Serial murderers – coming up with them and the sick shit that they do. The author had to be in the frame of mind of a serial murderer. It made me wonder, that if they were not writing what kind of person would they be? Now this may be unfair, but Stephen King is a name one could grab out of the air practically as he is so well known for his twisted material. He could not be a normal functioning human. He had to have something wrong with him to write the material that he did. And for that matter, did his audience have something wrong with them to read the material that he wrote?? We are indeed a twisted society, and I myself will admit to rubbernecking.

So I developed this broad theory encompassing authors of horror material, and substance abuse was definitely rolled into that theory. Now as I am browsing the bookstore, there is a book on writing by an author, who may be an author that I shun, but I flip through. And there is this paragraph about him being drunk at his mothers funeral. That is in my realms of normal so I accept it, but I also want to know his style of writing, so I keep flipping. He had an intervention, he was a substance abuser, and his fucked up material was a cry for help. I feel justified in my theory, and while it may only be one example that I have, I am sure there are others out their to follow. I also feel the need to rubberneck so I reserved the book from the library to see who he came out the rabbit whole on the other side. I also give him some redeeming qualities for having written the Green Mile, I have not read it but the movie is moving, and so one of these days I very well might read said book.

So far, so good. Authors are people with their own barrel of fucked up shit that they pull on to produce said material. And like any other human who can get pulled into the torrent of substance abuse, so may an author but hide behind it as a means to their art.

I rambled and I found nuggets. I apologize for the length, but I like my excessive expressiveness, and it was a good distraction and relief for a Friday. Now I may post you another blog next week, describing too fairly ironic and interesting events, or I may be witty and twit them in 140 characters or less. Twitt Twitt Tawoo (repeat 3 times growing louder each time, and reminisce in those days of Brownies).

****Not a word yet. But one I felt I needed to make available. Close in proximity, but not quite the same. Similar, but not quite the same. Used as a Simile, this is like this, but is not this. Hence Proxsimily, plural prosxsimilies. (If you don’t like, then find me a word that describes it as I want it. If there is a word out there that describes it as I want it, and you know it, then make me aware of it. I like words after all, I want to be a writer)

Life and Books

2009-02-25T20:12:00.001-05:00

Blogidy blog blog blog blog, how I missed thee, luv luv luv. Tee hee. That is a bit over the top and a little stretching it on the truth side, but I have been meaning to write, so I do apologize for the delay.

Yesterday morning it sounded like the Indy 500 outside my door and the highways is at least a mile from my place, and you can’t here it in the summer. That’s how cold it was, that is how much sound was traveling yesterday. Not the first time I had noticed this phenomenon, but at this time of the year I am getting seriously shack wacky and am jonsing for a good hit of spring weather. Cold like that is like moving in the opposite direction of productivity.

Also, currently I have a stinky stink man stink sleeping in my bed. Not too odd considering that I live with him and he is my significant other, but man does our bedroom get distinct man smell to it when he’s locked in their all day sleeping before he has to go to work.

Also, I have been reading a lot in the past couple of months. Not that that is unusual for me, but I thought I would like to share with you what I have been enjoying.

Marley and Me – bought the book, saw the film, saw the film again, then read the book. All of it, all good. Both he book and the movie. The movie took some liberal adaptations, but altogether stayed fairly true to its source material. The book was really really well written. Keen observations about the world around us and how it is affected by the love of our four pawed fellow life mates. I laughed, and I cried. I cuddled my dog too, because, well, I just do that a lot anyways. Read the ending when you have an hour to yourself with no interruptions. It’s the best way of dealing with the ending, like healing the final wound you need to do it alone. The book is high on the list of things I would recommend to anyone to read, especially dog lovers.

I have also taken up with Christopher Moore again; I know I am such a book slut. I take up with whatever author strikes my fancy and just don’t give a damn about how the other books on my book shelf feel about it. I have read Island of the Sequined Love Nun, Fluke, and Lamb – this year. Last year I hit up You Suck, Bloodsucking Fiend, and Dirty Job. All very very funny books, with a little bit of the mystical magical. A little obscure and offensive at times, but I appreciate his ability to slap you in the face and not pussy foot about (that is my attempt at Chris Moore bluntness). I wouldn’t recommend all of his books to all people though, but if you have an obscure kind of humour, and like Douglas Adams, and Terry Pratchett, he just might be the guy for you. He is not British though, just thought I would let you know so you don’t think I didn’t warn yah or something if you got the impression that he might be.

The next author I have been sleeping with is Charlaine Harris, the Sookie Stackhouse Vampire series. Honestly, I have always been a huge Vampire fan. I watched Buffy religiously when I was a teen, and then Angel. I read Buffy books. I joined an online fan community who wrote their own fanfic for Buffy. Okay, maybe I was just Buffy obsessed, but the Vampires were definitely the allure. Also the kick but girl. Go girl power. Anyways, after having gotten through Twilight (good series) and after I got over that break up feeling one gets after finishing the last of a good book and not knowing how to start ones reading habits again because just nothing could compare and one feels kind of changed after the experience. Well after I got over that feeling, I found I still needed some Vamp action. Also while I was stalking Stephenie Meyer online, I ran across the reference to the HBO series True Blood, and as I don’t have HBO on my cable box, because I am cheep and haven’t subscribed to it, I found out they were based on books – Vampire Books. Well, the only logical thing for me to do then would be to read those books.

Times are a wee bit tight, so instead of my most recent habit of going out and buying whatever it is that I want to read, I decided to supply my habit through the library like the book whore that I am. They are really starting to get used to me their. The first time I went in I got the dirtiest look, now it’s old habit. I go in and pick up whatever I ordered, come back a week later give it back and pick up more crack for the soul. Sorry I ramble a lot.

The point is the book series is funny, witty, fast passed and a quick read. Told in first person by the heroine Sookie, how it a telepath. You can pick up any book and get a feel for things without feeling like you have to read right from the start. Each books is a stand alone, but I get the feeling that if you read it in order, all the better. I don’t have that luxury as the first and second book are on hold for all of infinity until the teenage hordes decide to release it from bondage back to the general public. Anyways the books are good, I am not sure if they are adult or young adult, but there is some sex in it, like romance novel type sex (romance not porn), so if you are thinking of giving it to your teenage daughter read it first to make sure you are comfortable with the level of sexual involvement. Personally it doesn’t bother me, but I wouldn’t give it to my Kid (don’t have one yet, but you know when I do) until they were at least over the age of 16, not matter how much TV has rotted their brains. Don’t hold me to that, I may become more liberal with said child (if/when I start reproducing) or more strict. Can’t tell officially till I get their.

I am not done all of Charlaine’s Vampire books yet, so you may or may not hear more about them. In the mean time ladies and gents, go pick up a book of your own. Books are good for the soul and healing and mending. I always find that when I want to hide from the big bad world, a book is always willing to embrace me and sweep me away to another time and place, where I know no matter how grim things are they will be fixed by the end of the book. Gives one some hope for their own lives – eh??

Plans for the weekend

2009-02-14T20:40:00.002-05:00

Friday the 13, Valentines Day, A Birthday, and Family Day = Big plans for weekend

Friday morning I was all hoped up on an energy drink and I was quivering like an excited little puppy. I thought said fraise was so fantastic I almost called my significant other to post it on Twitter for me, as I can’t at work. And then that would have elicited another twitter message that would have read something like “posting by proxy.”

We went out Thursday evening; I of course was the DD as I had to go to work in the morning. Darren was a different kind of DD – the dedicated drunk. We went out to an open mike night. Our good friend Trevor – my bestest girlfriend who is not family, came out with us, but left early like the little girl that he is. HA!!!! Trevor!!!! HA!!! That is what leaving early gets you, love like that. (I hope you know I still want to hang out with you on Saturday though).

As he was leaving a friend from Darren’s work comes in, and his GF. I knew her a bit from high school. We did the standard catch up. “Hey, how’s it going? What have you done since high school? What are you doing now? Oh, their was a crash in New York? Well I guess that means that flights to New York should become a hell of a lot cheaper. I wonder if they are going to blame it on Terrorists? I wonder how Barack will deal with this? Yes Darren is a really good musician. Yup, even after that many bear.” That kind of conversation.

Came home crashed, woke up three hours later. Showered, drove to work. Had energy drink. Commence puppy dog quivering excitement and a jubilation for getting lots of work done fast. Plans made and confirmed for the weekend. Plans that go something like this:

Friday night – Errands and pre- prep for the weekend before crazyness ensues without access to a vehicle. Pre Valentine goodness = movie = Coraline 3-D.

Saturday – Clean house. Clean dog. Make super - Ham. Have parents over for super. Present them with Valentiny goodness. Kick parents out after super. Have Trevor over for drinks. Leave Darren behind, because he has to work in the morning, to go sing Karaoke down the street like the fools that we are. Go back to my place and crash.

Sunday – Wake up. Go for the cure at the bars morning buffet (at which we had just finished Kareoking not even 8 hours earlier). Recover enough to make a turkey dinner for Cowboys small dinner party birthday bash. Invited over Manitowadgeaons for feast. Present Cowboy with birthday presents.

Monday – clean up again after all of the cooking. Spend a day bumming around reading/writing/playing video games. Notice how stinky I am. Remember that I haven’t schedule a shower into weekends schedule. Have serious debate about the benefit of personal hygiene (outcome yet to be determined). Vocal rehearsal in the evening.

Tuesday – hall ass back to work, not on energy drinks. Suffer through not being hopped up like I am now.

And I have managed to refer to my boyfriend in 4 different manners throughout this e-mail. TA DA!!!!!!!! Quivering decreased a little. Still hoped up though. CRAZY!!!!!!!!!

Twit like bird, type like monkey

2009-02-01T20:20:00.001-05:00

So, the other night I did one of the last things I ever thought I would jump on the band wagon for. I got a Twitter account.

I feel kind of like a kid when your parents ask you if everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you do the same. You know that question, were they try to dissuade you from doing what everyone else is doing, and you use the fact that everyone else is doing it as a good idea as per why you should be allowed too. Double edged knife that one.

Well the truth is now that I am older I would have a few question to ask them in return before I gave them my answer. Like is there water under that bridge? If yes, than how deep? What is the current like? What is the quality of the water? What season is it? Are there Piranhas in that water? If there is not water under the bridge, then what is under that bridge? Do I have super human powers that would allow me not to get hurt? These are serious questions to ask before anyone answers that question.

So I feel like I am doing what everyone else is doing, just because everyone else is doing it. Facebook, leaves me feeling kind of dirty, as did Myspace, yet I still have accounts. Now I have jumped on the bandwagon of evil and finally gotten a Twitter account. The one who forced my hand…. The Yarn Harlot. I really should quite idolizing her. I should quite idolizing anyone who has any account that I must get one in order to see what is going on in there lives. Like Robin Hobb should no longer be cool, because she ahs a Myspace and the only way I could comment on her blogs was to get a Myspace. And Facebook, I don’t even know how I got suckered into that one, yet now I have it and use it kind of like an e-mail account to keep up with my friend Stephy from Newfoundland. Frig!!!! Frig!!! Frig!!!

So anyways, catch me on Twitter, PiscesMuse. Yaharg!!!!

As a side note I would also like to address my addiction to using the word “So” to start many a posts. It’s like starting a new conversation and just happens to be the first thing out of my mouth/off my fingers when I start to blog. I am working on it, but decided to leave it for this post, just so that others can acknowledge my bad habit and point it out whenever I do it. I usually, by usually I mean when I notice, try to go and change it and revise my starting.

White Chariot of Public Transportation

2009-01-25T19:26:00.005-05:00

Ironic Karma - thats what I called it the other day.

Well the truly Ironic part of it hit the next day. I missed the bus in the morning. One should try to avoid enjoying bus time, or one might be deprived of the profound privilege of loathing it daily. Once the loathing stops, and one starts to enjoy their daily torture, then Karma comes in and rights the balance.

Go figure.

(I did catch the next bus but was subsequently late for work by 15 minutes)

Found: Ironic Karma

2009-01-21T19:46:00.005-05:00

So today, two things of importance happened before I even reached work, and was on a bus. I take two busses to get to work in the morning, transferring downtown, so I am not sure if I can constitute this as irony, but the two things happened on the same bus, the last bus, the second bus, that gets me to work. They really aren't important, but amusing and quirky. So I am going to share.

Both events happened while listening to my iPod, one I got to continue listening, the other I had to take out my earphones to have a conversation, and then continue to listen to my iPod.

The first is in relation to my recent acquisition of some Britney Spears tunes for my iPod. I had kind of gone on strike from listening to her as she had turned all pop and dance like, and I wasn't really into that style of music. But I needed that type of beat to put on my playlist tracks for gym music, so I acquired some Britney. Also I find her  Womanizer song to be really amusing. Well, as I am listening away this song comes on. Piece of Me. Holy frig, it is hilarious and totally supports Darren's theory that she is F**** with the media.

Here are the lyrics for those of you who do not have acquiring abilities:

I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17
Don't matter if I step on the scene
Or sneak away to the Philippines
There still gon' be pictures of my derrière in the magazine
You want a piece of me?
You want a piece of me...

I'm Miss bad media karma
Another day another drama
Guess I can't see no harm
In working and being a mama
And with a kid on my arm
I'm still an exceptional earner
You want a piece of me...

I'm Mrs. Lifestyles of the rich and famous
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Oh my God that Britney's Shameless
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Extra! Extra! This just in
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. She's too big, now she's too thin
(You want a piece of me)

I'm Mrs. 'You want a piece of me? '
Tryin' and pissin' me off
Well get in line with the paparazzi
Who's flippin' me off
Hopin' I'll resort to some havoc
End up settlin' in court
Now are you sure you want a piece of me?
(You want a piece of me)

I'm Mrs. 'Most likely to get on the TV for strippin' on the streets'
When getting the groceries, now, for real...
Are you kidding me?
No wonder this panic in the industry
I mean, please, Do You want a piece of me...

I'm Mrs. Lifestyles of the rich and famous
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Oh my God that Britney's Shameless
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Extra! Extra! This just in
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. She's too big, now she's too thin
(Do You want a piece of me)

I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17
Don't matter if I step on the scene
Or sneak away to the Philippines
There still gon' be pictures of my derrière in the magazine
You want a piece of me?
You want a piece, piece of me... (yeah)

You want a piece of me?

I'm Mrs. Lifestyles of the rich and famous
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Oh my God that Britney's Shameless
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Extra! Extra! This just in
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. She's too big, now she's too thin
(You want a piece of me)

I'm Mrs. Lifestyles of the rich and famous
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Oh my God that Britney's Shameless
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. Extra! Extra! This just in
(You want a piece of me)
I'm Mrs. She's too big, now she's too thin
(You want a piece of me)

Me ME ME ME
You want a piece of me...

The second item: I was listening to the above aforementioned song, totally getting my giggles on for the morning at the irony of said song, and this guy starts talking to me. Well I have these awesome ear buds in by Skull Candy with foamy tips that totally block out the rest of the crazies, so I can't hear him. I take them out, because you know it could be important. Like the bus is on fire and we all must evacuate. Instead he is pointing at the book I have in my hand casual slung over my. Lamb, by Christopher Moore.

Turns out the guy is a fan. Practical Demon Keeping comes highly recommended. Now this just totally supports this passage I stole from Chris' website (follow linky goodness to see the whole passage):

"Readers have given my books credit for giving them new perspective on their spiritual lives, as well as opening their horizons to new and humorous ways to go about living their lives -- Joys, all great joys, all flattering and humbling and profound, but my greatest joy, my most satisfied moments come when I read letters from people whose spouses have thrown them out of bed for laughing while reading my stuff.

(This second only to those people who write to say that they have embarrassed themselves on public transportation by laughing at my stuff. Sometimes I get the impression that my readers do little but ride busses and trains giggling like loons. Excellent!)"

Frigin! Right! That is me, laughing my ass off on public transportation, and I found a similar junky on the bus today, who has the same addiction as I, Chris Moore. Dig it!!

All this before 8:00 in the am. Good Karma. Could only signal good events for the rest of the day. Storm clouds go away, for I have good karma before 8:00 am in the morning on my side. TAKE THAT CAYOTE!!!!

On a side note, the dog will probably have pooped in the house from the leftovers she received last night. That will certainly balance out the equation knowing my luck.

P.S. No balancing Karma as of yet, but life is full of surprises, I'm sure it'll find me eventually.

A Rant of Blues...

2009-01-12T18:20:00.005-05:00

I don't mind having my blog open to the public. I was hopping to attract some kindred spirits; ones who love to read and have various hobbies like mine. I toyed with having my blog only open to a select few of my choosing, people I have put on a "yah, there cool list." But decided that, that would defeat the purpose of attracting kindred spirits. Another draw back is that it would be a larger pain for those who I did give approval because they would need to sign up for a Gmail account, and then sign in every time they wanted to read my blog. Which would really deter readership and then make my posting a complete waist of my time as I would have chased away my very small fan base (mostly family and friends at this point).

Well ladies and gents today I acquired a new reader (for at least one of my posts) and you know what I did to their comment??? I deleted it. Yup. It was what I would classify as spam as they said they read the whole thing and they would tell their friends and that I should check out their website –yoga… in India? It started off okay, and might not have hit spam quality for me if their English wasn’t broken halfway through the comment, and they didn’t give me a link at the end. Also they posted under anonymous, that just irked me. I really hate having to be a mind reader. What if their link wasn’t legit, what if it was complete spam? If you can’t even sign the end of a post, how am I to take you seriously? If you are reading this, and truly are a fan, I am sorry, but your posting was just too suspicious for me to keep it. I think I may be crazy, but those who know me just view it as charming quirkiness instead.

And you know what other string of events this triggered??? Take a guess, you know you want to.

ANSWER (the other Daily Double): Comment posting privileges have been changed. I really did not appreciate having someone post under anonymous. And it wasn’t just them. I left what I suspect to be a family members post up, that was posted under anonymous without a signature. A little common courtesy please, have some manners. I am not a mind reader. If I am taking responsibility for what I am writing by posting it on a blog and inviting everyone to see it, then please take responsibility for your comments. Heck, pick a code name if you really want. Just something I can tag to you and your comments. You know so if I am winning a Golden Globe I can pull a Tina Fey.

WHAT TO DO: Sign up for a Gmail account and you can post a comment, or a Blogger account, but if you have one technically speaking you have the other. Then when you go to post a comment, you will have to sign in with your Gmail/Blogger account name and password, and will be allowed to post. TADA!!!! Like magic.

In other ranting news, the freaking bus system sucks. At the time I take a bus there are two buses running to the two small outskirt towns. One that goes to both, and one that goes to the closest town. The farthest town we will call Town B and the closest town we will call Town A, just for my ranting purposes. (See guys, I leave it open to the public and I am still protecting family by being vague about my whereabouts, how’s that for manners?? Don’t check past blogs I am not sure how polite I was on these details.) So what there is then is a Bus A/B that goes through town A to pick up people who would like to go to town B, then goes to town B and drops people off who were going their either from the terminal downtown or from town A, picks up people who would like to go downtown or to town A, and then heads back to town A and then downtown. Complicated, but really not if you know what I am talking about.

Then there is a Bus A only from the downtown terminal to help make the other Bus A/B less crowded that leaves slightly earlier. Well they run that like a train crash. Sometimes there is a Bus A, sometimes there is not. The Bus driver on Bus A/B rarely knows one way or another. I have seen a Bus A waiting their and get cancelled last minute, in the mean time those of us willing to take a chance and find out, almost missed the other bus, because we couldn’t get a straight answer. Today was another one of those days, but as an added bonus for our patience and literally getting kicked off of the A/B bus to validate having an A bus, the bus we were supposed to take was broken, so they had to get another bus, and we also got to leave later than the A/B bus (not really knowing if we had a bus until it pulled up after the other bus left) when one of the privileges of the A bus is to leaver earlier than the A/B bus.

See how privileges can change. Ironic isn’t it?? And I didn’t even do anything wrong, besides want to go home from work. I am sure someone out there is blogging about me and my failures of proper bus ridding manners, so maybe it is just Karma coming in around to kick me in the ass. Either way, bus riding sucks, and if I wasn’t so friging financially stressed out and if things in this house hold were looking much brighter than they are - potential layoffs due to market fluxes in the downward direction - I might consider buying myself a car.

In the mean time I am going to stress out about a potential move to who knows wherever my significant other can find a job that pays good enough money to validate us picking up and moving our lives, which I really, really don’t want to have to do because I am finally at a place in my life were I feel relatively peaceful compared to my usual level of constant anxiety. I like being close to my friends and family, it puts me in a position of security were I feel that I can settle down and have a life of my own and create a family of my own. Moving out of town away from my security blanket seams to be moving in the opposite direction of the progress we have made thus far.

The other option is that we do it like the Newfoundlanders, whereby the girl stays at home and mans the house, and the Man goes out and earns money and comes home for a visit every now and again. Really not that uncommon especially amongst contract miners, but I really, really dislike being alone. Some days I can face the possibilities better than others, and can look at the situation and say I can do this. I tell myself that I am strong and enjoy a challenge and want adventure in my life (all only really half truths and partial lies, because I do prefer a certain amount of security in my life). Other days I am on the verge of a complete nervous break down, facing the possibilities of being alone even for a period of time knowing that my man will be coming back to me, or having the other option of following him and leaving another part of me behind. Either way I will be divided, having a part of me missing. And it is all making me even more stressed and moody than usual.

Don’t you love the post Christmas blues when you quit running off of adrenaline and happy warm fuzzy feelings and reality comes crashing down to smack you in the face. Absolutely astonishingly lovely experience I tell you.

In the mean time, I am trying to live in the present, and not worry about what might/could happen as nothing is conclusive. We are only considering potential possibilities at this point so their is truly only speculations about what the future may hold. Got to get me a crystal ball to ease my woes away. Anyone have one that I can borrow?

101 - Not Dalmatians

2009-01-04T17:23:00.011-05:00

I thought about giving my blog my new year’s resolutions, but to be honest, I didn’t want to be held up to such high standards. I mean what if I didn’t succeed at my list? What if I went in the completely opposite direction? Then what?? If I keep it to myself, the only person I am responsible to is myself. No one else can tell me I am a failure besides me. And so I will leave me to my harshest and yet most forgiving critic, myself. Because if you can’t forgive yourself, then who could forgive you?

So what I give you instead are 101 things I would like to do while I am alive list. Some are a little fun and wacky (not many though), others are practical, some are ambitious. Most is seeing the world and learning new experiences.

P.S. Christmas went well, I was absolutely spoiled to great delight as I received many an item I had been coveting for quite some time. I enjoyed many a good times with the people I love. I feel a wee bit guilty about the abundance we are able to enjoy while other places in the world have very little. However, I think that this is a really good charity, and have made it a goal to donate to them yearly, see list bellow. And that will satiate my conscious for now.

101 Things I would like to accomplish while I live

Travel:

1. Ireland – Dublin (can we say Guinness), Stonehenge

2. England – London (Big Ben - maybe I'll find my way to Neverland)

3. France - Paris (Notredame, Eiffel Tower)

4. Italy – Rome (The Coliseum), Tuscany (the Leaning Tower of Pisa), and Venice

5. Greece - Athens

6. Scotland

7. Czech Republic – Prague

8. Germany – Berlin

9. Spain – Madrid

10. Austria – Vienna

11. Switzerland

12. Australia - Great barrier Reef

13. New Zealand

14. Canada’s East Coast ( I have been to Newfoundland but I want to see more)

15. Canada’s West Coast

16. The Prairies (Canada) – were you can see next week

17. Caribbean – become a pirate, or just talk like one

18. India – The Taj Mahal

19. China – The Great Wall

20. Egypt – The pyramids

21. Amazon Rainforest – try not to scream when I see a snake

22. Travel the States and see all of its wonders, like that Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and Disneyland

Creativity:

23. Knit and finish a pair of Socks - practice before the 2010 winter knitting Olympics

24. learn how to play the violin/fiddle

25. become a better piano player

26. learn how to play guitar

27. learn how to spin fiber

28. learn how to die fiber

29. design and make an evening gown

30. sew more of my own clothes – for daily use (create a clothing line?)

31. Become a better artist – take painting classes and drawing

32. Learn Woodworking

33. Become a better photographer

Physical Activities

34. become physically fit and eat healthier/cleaner

35. Parasailing

36. Sky diving (the music on this sight is really annoying)

37. Bungee jumping

38. Surf off the California Coast line

39. Ski in the Swiss Alps and the Canadian Rockies (not at the same time)

40. Kickboxing/Martial Arts (self defense)

41. Belly Dancing

42. Yoga/Pilates/Tai Chi

43. run a marathon

44. Medieval activities I would like to learn: fencing, archer (archering?), throwing daggers, and jousting

45. Learn how to rock climb

46. Learn how to scuba dive/snorkel

47. Learn how to stripper pole dance (the fancy stuff that you go upside down for)

48. Learn how to Kayak

49. Become a better Canoe-er

50. Learn Ballroom Dancing

51. Learn various Folk Dance styles (mainly Irish, English, and Scottish)

52. Learn Latin Dancing

53. Horseback riding

People I would like to meet

54. Great Big Sea (my favorite band!!)

55. Robin Hobb – author – try not to gush

56. George RR Martin – author – try not to gush

57. Terry Pratchett – author – try not to gush

58. J.K. Rowling – author – try not to gush

59. Yarn Harlot - knitting guru/author, wise and kind and witty, truly a remarkable woman - be on my best behaviour when I meet her, bring A game in wit though

60. David Suzuki – be informed (don’t stick foot in mouth)

61. The Queen of England – act like a lady – no chewing gum like a water buffalo (if she happens to pass away before I meet her, because lets face it, she's not going to live forever, I will take the next available monarch)

62. Meet Johnny Depp – try not to swoon

63. Tina Fey – really funny witty woman

Career

64. Play in an Orchestra

65. Perform on Broadway

66. Write a book, and several shot stories bouncing about in my head

67. Get published

68. Write a musical

69. Be involved in the production of a video game

70. Sail a Tall Ship

71. Go on an archeological dig

72. Invent Something really freaking awesome and cool

73. Participate in the creation of a Comic Book

74. Be involved in the production of a movie/TV show

75. Be interviewed for a magazine, TV show, radio show, website, etc…

Random

76. Give a graduation/commencement speech

77. Go on a wine tasting tour

78. Go on a cheese tasting tour

79. Learn astrology

80. Learn how to brew bear and make wine

81. Learn more about smithing (how to work metal)

82. Grow a garden (one that I don’t kill)

83. See orignal works by Leonardo Davinci

84. See original works by Van Gogh

85. See original works by Rembrandt

86. See original works by Michelangelo

87. See original works by Monet

88. Improve upon my French

89. Learn different languages like: Italian, Gaelic, Russian, Spanish

90. Get through my never ending list of books to read

Lifestyle

91. Achieve financial stability

92. Live consciously greener

93. Get Married

94. Own a House – preferably a castle with a winding staircase and a turret

95. Have Kids – make sure to read them bedtime stories

96. Own a really frivolous car – something that looks really cute but is highly impractical for this climate, that goes really fast

97. Dogs I would like to own: a Great Dane, Bulldog, Shar Pei

98. Create a Roo Farm

99. Own a camp on a lake with a water trampoline

100. Donate to worthy causes like Doctors without Borders

101. Be happy, and enjoy life. Forgive and love

Now I challenge you to come up with a list of 101 things you would like to do. It's not as easy as it sounds. As you can see I found sorting it out into groups to be the easiest way to go, just to keep my thinking straight. Mind you I could have just taken the easy route and posted my list of books that I want to read in this lifetime, their has to be more than a hundred and one of those.

Have fun and enjoy ladies and gents.

Book Review – Inheritance Saga

2008-12-13T20:30:00.000-05:00

I finished reading the Inheritance Saga (well the first three books, as the last one is being written right now, or what we – the fans – hope is the last one), several weeks ago. It didn’t take me quite as long to recover from this book series as the Twilight Saga, as I wasn’t as torn apart by it emotionally.

I think that Christopher Paolini has a fairly unique idea with moderate writing skills. It was interesting to read the series from book one to book three and see him improve as an author as the series progressed. However, the more his writing style improved the less he used action to drive the plot and the pace of the novels felt slower in relation.

The story is about a young boy, Eragon, growing into manhood who finds a Dragon Egg, that hatches for him, whom he bonds with. He becomes the Dragon’s Rider. There is one other Dragon Rider in all the Kingdom – Alagaesia - who is the evil King that destroyed the order of Riders. That is what we are led to believe in book one.

In book two we find out that there is another Dragon Rider who survived the fall, however, he is damaged mentally, and his dragon is damaged physically. He is in hiding in the forest of elves, preserved by magic, waiting to train the newest rider.

The plot centers around Eragon and his relationship with the Varden, the free people who oppose Galbatorix, and how they intend on overthrowing him and leading the land of Alagaesia to freedom from oppression. Eragon stands with the Varden. The elves and the Dwarves are in allegiance with the Varden, as well as the free country of Surda.

It is a classic good verses evil story, with several view points, that or Eragon primarily; Nasuada - leader of the Varden after her father passes away; and Roran – Eragon’s cousin/brother.

Even though the story focuses around Eragon as the last rider, I enjoyed, in the third book, the viewpoint of Roran best. I found his story the most touching and I found him well developed for a secondary character. He could easily steal the show.

Eragon is on a journey of not only trying to overthrow the evil empire, but also of self discovery. He spends a lot of time being juvenile, when he should be wise, but I understand that his youth and his inexperience stand in his way. And that in order to properly develop him and feel for him as a character we must go through these awkward fazes to realize exactly how far he has come.

The Liveship trilogy by Robin Hobb, her character Malta, I could not stand. I found her very selfish and naïve. I struggled to get through her chapters, however, by the end of the trilogy, I thought that she was brilliant, and truly appreciated her journey. I will forever refer to her, when it comes to a character journey that is hard to get through initially, but worth it in the end. And I can only hope, that while Eragon’s journey isn’t quite so hard to read, that I am just as pleased at his ending as I was of hers.

Overall I can understand why this is a young adults book, but it is moderately well written for such. He does not talk down to his readers, but his grasp of conflict and resolution is very basic and straight forward. Besides the characters the author himself has taken an amazing journey of self discovery having started this series when he was only fifteen. It is heartening to see his success, and I would recommend this book series to all lovers as fantasy to read, but to read it with an understanding of were the author is coming from.

Walk on the Moon

2008-12-11T18:08:00.002-05:00

I don’t know if I have made this plug before, but if you have the opportunity, listen to Walk on the Moon, by Great Big Sea.

HOW TO LISTEN TO IT: Go to the GREAT BIG SEA website on the right hand side of the page scroll down and you will see a bass cleff, which will say launch player. Click on it. In a new little screen a player will pop up and click on the song you would like to listen to. If you click the first one it just progresses through the list once you are done. Make sure your speaker are turned on. Enjoy. They are my favorite band.

And afterwards ask yourself, what is your walk on the moon?? What is you biggest accomplishment, your most touching memory? Is it family? Is it personal perseverance? Is it a goal reached career wise?

I’ve looked back on my life to date, and while yes I have had some pretty amazing accomplishments, and I have had some really good times, and I have persevered through some really hard times. However, I feel as though there is too much ahead of me still and so much life yet to live, to be able to honestly answer that question. I think I am saving my answer for the day I finish writing my book and if it ever gets published. I think maybe that would be my walk on the moon, yet I haven’t experienced it yet in full, so I don’t know if that is it yet. Maybe it will be having kids and holding my firstborn in my arms for the first time. Maybe it will be performing on Broadway? I don’t know yet, and so I am leaving my options open.

Have a GREAT DAY!!!!

JK Rowlings Harvard Graduation Speech

2008-12-09T20:49:00.000-05:00

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

Follow that link for a very amazing graduation speech. I think various aspects of this speech will appeal to various people. Everyone will take a little something from it and mold it to their being. Whatever it is, I hope you are changed for the better for it.

Why I should stick to my obsessive nature and never let go.. good things some to those who obsess

2008-12-04T20:33:00.003-05:00

I only became aware of Neil Gaiman due to the Stardust movie. I love the movie and so picked up his books. But his book is not the movie, books never are. Movies are more like snapshots of peaces of a book. I loved the movie so much that I spent the whole time reading comparing the book and not getting the full effect of the book. Shame on me for not showing the book proper respect.

Now there is another movie coming out based on Neil Gaiman’s book Coraline. It looks good and interesting but I am unsure when I would like to read the book, because read it now I must. Do I want to read it before the movie and spend the whole time comparing the movie to the book. Or do I want to read it after the movie and spend my time reading the book comparing it to the movie. If I leave it to afterwards, maybe I can give myself enough space so that the movies edges become a little blurry and I can't compare as distinctly, and therefore am able to let go and enjoy the book for what it is truly worth. I will probably try and get it from the library as soon as possible, because I am after all a book slut.

The point is for the purpose of this movie they have made 50 original boxes to send out to bloggers of note. I am not one of them… shame on me for not being more prominent in the blogsphere… but I’ll work on that. Anyways, I wanted to post the links to the found boxes so far, so that you too can go and check it out.

Box 2. More Everything, Diary of a Fangirl (http://kissthelibrarian.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/a-little-nail-polish-a-bit-of-coraline-and-an-email-from-neil-gaiman/)
Box 5. Fashion Piranha (http://fashion-piranha.livejournal.com/40454.html?mode=reply)
Box 6. Wendyknitts (http://wendyknits.net/archives/2556)
Box 8. Knitty Blog (http://knitty.com/blog/)
Box 14. Geeks of Doom (http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/11/24/doom-deliveries-coraline-handmade-box/)
Box 22 ToyCutter (http://www.toycutter.com/2008/11/coraline-magic-box.html)
Box 24 Despoiler (http://www.despoiler.org/2008/11/17/my-funny-coraline/)
Box 33 Cleolinda (http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/684900.html)

I’ll add more as I find them. Some of the links for some of the boxes aren’t working, I didn’t bother posting those ones.

Or you can just follow the following link and it will give it all too yah, without me having to labor around. HAVE FUN!!!

http://www.animationarchive.org/2008/11/more-on-our-coraline-suitcase.html

It is endlessly amusing to see these boxes and the bloggers reactions, and makes me infinitively more jealous and a little depressed with myself. Self loathing…for shame. I am a happy person who shoots sunshine out their ass…. ask me about that later.

P.S. The movies is at this website: http://www.coraline.com/

But you will need the following passwords to check things out:

stopmotion
buttoneyes
moustachio
puppetlove
armpithair
sweaterxxs

I would tell you what the passwords show you first, but that just ruins the whole fun and surprise of it all. Anyways, very amusing, and so worth your time.

Just blowing some steam... and writting Haikus

2008-12-03T20:20:00.003-05:00

So here’s the deal. I go for a shower and shut the door. Simple logic. But my dog who suffers from separation anxiety has taken up doing lines of carpet when she is discluded from events or included in events she does not wish to be a part of. Such as being in the same room while Darren is sleeping on dayshift. Or when I am having a shower and she can’t but in to see what is going on. How she does this I am not quite sure as I am not around to catch her. However, suffice it to say I am absolutely 100% not pleased by this relatively new distructive behavior and absolutely not smitten about the prospect of once again having to replace floorign due to her renovations habits.

So in the mean time I have written a couple of Haikus, inspired by the Christopher Moore (go check out his blog, it's pretty funny) and the Zombie Haikus.

Christmas pudding time
Gather all ingredients
Fresh Zombie fodder

Shut door for Shower
Dealing with Separation
Does lines of Carpet

Twilight Movie Review

2008-11-30T11:44:00.000-05:00

So like promised I went to got and see Twilight opening weekend. I couldn’t help myself. It’s a guilty pleasure. My sister and I went and we dragged along our significant others so they could get a taste of why we were so obsessed. Now that we did I am not entirely sure that was the right thing to do.

I really, really, really wanted to give Twilight a raving review. I wanted to demand that you stop whatever it is you are doing and rush out this instant and go see the movie. I wanted for it to be so phenomenal that it totally kicks Titanic’s ass in the love story field.

I wanted so much for this film but it just didn’t deliver. Now that isn’t to say it was complete bust, you just kind of have to go in with an open mind. A very open mind. I found myself laughing at places were I probably wasn’t supposed to be laughing, but couldn’t help myself.

Now, I felt guilty a bit about my behavior and my reactions. So I went around reading other people review of the movie. THANK GOODNESS!!! I am not the only one who came out of their feeling the way I did with the same observations. Really, I wasn’t. The list bellow are some pretty freaking awesome reviews that explain exactly how I feel about the movie. And by freaking awesome I mean freaking awesome in the sense that they describe how I felt to the T, and that they might actual spend the majority of their time picking apart what went wrong with the movie and those involved with it.

http://www.laineygossip.com/Twilight_movie_review.aspx?IsMicro=0

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie_review_detail.php?id=12166

http://www.northwestvoice.com/home/ViewPost/82746

http://www.volanteonline.com/verve/movie_review_twilight_features_hunky_male_lead%252C_not_much_else

http://www.movie-moron.com/?p=1680

Really just read their reviews. It totally sums it up for me, without having to do all the writing myself. I may have additional opinions, but for the most part the reviews I’ve selected embody the majority of my feelings towards the movie.

There was so much wrong with this movie, that the only thing that is carrying it is the devoted fan base to the books. The movie does have its redeeming moments, and some of the changes I do agree were necessary. But as a whole, it was a wee bit hard to get through with a straight face and take it seriously.

However, if you are going to see it take with you a good sense of humor and enjoy the atmosphere around you. Because as an average person going to see it you will probably spend most of your time cringing and laughing when the director probably meant for you not to, like I did. Don’t feel bad. Enjoy it for what it turned out to be.

The only foreseeable good to come of this is that New Moon has been green-lighted. I hope that they, the proverbial they involved in making the next movie, read the reviews pertaining to Twilight, and improve upon the next movie from there. They have a base to start from, if but a wobbly base, and I think they have the potential to make a much better film the next go around. IF, and only if, they listen to their freaking audience.

Maybe we'll get some better updates

2008-11-13T21:44:00.001-05:00

Alright, so there is like, only, like, seven days, like totally, left until, like, the movie, like, Twilight, is FINALLY, like, in theatres. Like, you knot what I mean, like.

Okay, that was a really bad attempt at being a sixteen year old teenager again, but imagine that at some points of my adolescent career I did indeed sound like that.

Anyways, I am actually very exited. I have been haunting the Stephenie Meyer web page for updates religiously.

The movie needs to make sale of $150 million in order to insure that the second book, New Moon, is made into a movie. To put that in perspective the author has only sold 17 million books in the Twilight series. So lets divide 17 million by 4 books, and that would approximately give us a fan base of approximately 4 million 250 thousand fans. Now lets say the average price of a ticket is $8. 40 million 250 thousand by 8 is only 34 million dollars. What that means is that they have to hit audiences larger than their fan base based on the books sales.

So bring your boyfriends, your friends, your family, and even the people you only casually talk to just to be nice. That funny person that smells on the bus, yah, tell them that they have to go too. No one is exempt from seeing this film.

My boss asked me about the movie today. I mentioned that it had a love story and he kind of went ick. But the action in the book has been played up on the big screen. It is primarily a love story though, and I just can’t escape having to tell people that (yah, I am totally going to go see it for the love story – not even being sarcastic), even though there should be a decent amount of action. I just want people to be aware of what they are getting themselves into.

I hope it does well enough to justify the rest of the series. Because really, although I say I am team Switzerland, I lean towards Jacob when I read books 2 and 3, and in books 1 and 4 I lean towards Edward. I do want to see Jacob get his chance though in the second movie, and although I know how it ends, I will still be rooting for Jacob, and be like aw man, why Bella, why. You know I really do want that on the big screen and I am interested to see their interpretation of the rest of the series.

Also another reason why I can’t wait for the movie to come out. Maybe just maybe, after we see how well the movie does, the author might post something like what she has been working on in her writing as an update on her web page. I understand that all the hype should be for the movie. That the tension should not be broken with another Stephenie Meyer distraction, but I really, really want to know what she has been working on and how it has been progressing.

P.S. I wrote my first chapter. As in the first Chapter in the book I wish to write, as well as a whole finished Chapter, that probably needs some severe editing. It probably should feel more victorious, but really, I'll wait untill I have 500 pages before I start celebrating.

Point form overview of stuff

2008-11-04T18:48:00.003-05:00

Alright, time for a good ol' fashion catching up.

PAST SEVERAL WEEKS

Have been fairly mundane. I have been going to work and waking up in the morning, and you know going about the regular routine. Also trying to keep the house as tidy as possible by doing the least amount of work.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Went to a comedy show with my parents. Freaking hilarious. Need to see more comedy acts.
Writing – been working on the goal of being an author. Good progress – slow progress, but progress none the less.
Reading – the Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, so far so good. A bit jealous that he is an author at such a young age. Hope for me though.
Video Games – finished Lego Indiana Jones – freaking rocked. Started Lego Batman – good so far, except the game froze.
Darren and I went to Toronto to go and see the Musical Spamalot, based on Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail.
Died my hair superhero red – has faded a bit, still love it.
Visited with family while they were in town, Gramma called me. It tickled me that she thought of me. Little kids are cute and endearing, not ready to have any for at least another 5 years. Need to travel more first.
Had a dinner party. Need to get more seating/bigger house. Really would love to own my own house. I really, really, really want my own office/library and more space. Never seams to be enough space. Super went well, food good. Hungry, hungry men.
Darren and I going to the gym. I am doing classes. Body Attack – your body is attacked. It took me five days to make a full recovery. Still debating if I would do it again. Maybe once I am in better shape. RPM – nicest Nazi we have ever met. Darren did class with me. Intense, but body still operable the next day. Would do again. Body Flow – Yoga, Ti Chi, Pilates. I need better balance, and some things are hard to do, but I would definitely do this again. Very refreshing.

FRIDAY

Left work early, caught a Greyhound bus to the Bay. No Psycho killers.
Saw my sisters new work – looks good. Retail still bights though.
Lori makes a good super; her apartment is much nicer than my fist two places. So jealous.
Pre-drinks/getting ready for costume party downstairs in the bar.
New Ryan could play Edward in Twilight. Pale and pretty and tall and lean muscled and deep voice. City Boy though. But definitely an Edward. Need to find him a Bella.
Interesting costumes. See pics bellow.

Didn't win any prizes (not me or Lori or Rick) Most memorable costume at bar for me was the Joker a la Heath Ledger style.
Spent a lot of time holding my wings so I didn't hit people. Wings take up a lot of space in a crowded bar.
Went upstairs, more drinks. Slept.

SATURDAY

Slept in kind of, had shower, got ready to drive to Vaughn.
Went to Timmys, ordered breakfast, after order placed and paid for and tip left, was told there was no more hash browns. Was also told they would not make any for me. Proceeded to take a wee bit of a fit, were I mentioned that I shouldn't have tipped them, and that I wanted it back. Didn't say this directly to the staff, but to my sister, but load enough so the staff would hear my displeasure and almost made them cry. Not the most grown up thing to do admittedly, but to late to take it back now.
Slept in vehicle, refused pee breaks.
Checked in at hotel briefly met people Lori worked with this summer. Layered up for evening events.
Went to supper with people Lorie worked with, Rick and I secretly on our own date. Sorry Darren.
Went to Wonderland for FEAR FEST. Did maze Mother Noose, freaked out halfway through and just wanted to get out. No more mazes.
Did lots of rides, short lines. High speeds = extra cold.
Glad I went to the Halloween Haunt at Canada's Wonderland, but I don't think I would do it again. Had lots of security once in the park and cops. But security on the way in needs to be improved. Full body searches would make me feel much better. My imagination kind of runs wild.
Went back to hotel, sipped on some wine, watched some TV, slept.

SUNDAY

Time change, who knew???
Woke up by a Lori nudging. I thought if I slept through it she would go away - she just gets more persistent.
Had shower, got ready, did not flip out at people in Tim Hortons this time even though they didn't have the ice tea I wanted. Bacon soggy and gross in Timmys Sandwich. Gave it to Rick. Wanted to go back and flip out on them at Timmys but didn't because a) I didn't ask for it crispy, and b) I withheld my tip because they were incompetent in the ice tea department. Soggy bacon made me feel extra justified for withholding tip , and so I held on to that as cancelation and acted like the adult I think I can be.
Went to Ikea. Ikea is a dangerous, dangerous place. Glad we didn't have a U-haul and more money.
Bought – magazine rack holder to hang on wall in front of bathroom above laundry hamper. Apron for kitchen cooking, which spiraled into matching pot holders, mittens for oven, seat cushions, place mats and table runner, blue accent table cloth. Also bought pot scrubber with a suction that stands up on the side of your sink and some new cutting boards. All waiting at Lori's to be picked up in a couple weeks next time we're down. Couldn't take it on the bus.
Travelled home, slept, refused pee breaks.
Leftover super good, Lori is a good cook.
Watched some TV, learnt how to fold towels so they look pretty. Helped fold laundry.
Was driven to bus depot. Two busses to Sudbury, one left without me, just about cried. Another one right behind it. Good news.
Tried to stay awake on bus as it was dark and didn't know if there were any Psycho killers. There wasn't. I got in safe.
Mom picked me up and dropped me off at home. Roo barked at me. Lori called as I was getting in from taking Roo out, wanted to make sure no Psychos got me – they haven't yet.
Went to bed, cuddled Roo. Darren came home. Kisses. Slept some more.

PLANS

More writing, and editing and changing things back to first person. Fluttering in-between first and third person POV, decided that it should be first person as it is a personal journey.
Need to go see Trevor's play – A Guide to Mourning (dark comedy) Black Dog Productions. Nov 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28, 29. Probably go out for drinks afterwards. Trevor = good times.
Going to go visit Lori and Rick again the weekend of Nov 21. Bringing Darren this time. Going to see Twilight, and partying.
Maybe going to attack my basement and organize my dad's stuff in the tiniest hole available. So sick of looking at it.
Need to make a map of my world I am writing about.
Need to do more sewing, forgot how much I liked it until I dug out my Halloween costume.
Need to finish getting ready for Christmas. Yes I have started. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
More gym, and the search for personal fitness and the perfect body.

Another obssessive blog post about Stephenie Meyer

2008-10-12T13:46:00.001-04:00

Really if you have been me lately, you would think that I was a love struck teenager the way I am mooning about for Stephenie Meyer. I have been analyzing her writing from various angles, reading many interviews, and watching many interviews to get a better insight into her writing career and her as a writer and her style.

I have done some comparisons in regards to her material and Harry Potter. I think the reason for the success is that both are taking everyday people in a modern day world and putting them in extraordinary circumstances that their audiences can’t help but want to partake in because their characters and the modern world are so easily able so sympathize with and wish to be.

Harry Potter takes an average boy who has had a few rough nocks from a modern day society and plunges him in to this fantastical world – where as a reader you can’t help but be swept away by it. It took me to a magical place where I wished I could be, and it was believable in the sense that we can be compassionate to the characters and relate and it is placed in our society now.

Twilight does the same thing. It takes an everyday girl – one that almost anyone can relate to – and places her in an everyday town in the modern world – and then gives her this hunky vampire as a boyfriend. There are struggles, she gets swept off her feet and the reader finds it believable because they can relate to a certain extent and wish that they were that character. That is the magic of her writing.

And both of these series reaches out to adults too. We all wish we could be kids like Harry growing up in a magical world. A lot of women wish we could be Bella. A lot of us don’t feel like we belong – especially throughout the high school years – and wish that maybe we could have an outcome like Bella. We can relate to these characters and that is the power of their stories and why it is so interchangeable across various ages.

I have watched several interviews for Stephenie Meyer and she has mentioned future projects. She has also mentioned that she writes for herself and is unsure if some of her stories will ever be published. And I believe – although I am unsure if she has said this directly – that due to fan reaction she is hesitant to put our her material because of the overreactions. The intensity of which people are declaring their dislike for how she ended the series.

Now I can admit that I was a bit disappointed. Then I sat back and digested the information. I thought it over, I looked at the characters. I considered the author and her style and background. I also reflected on myself, and why it didn’t sit well with me. And then something struck me from an interview that really clicked. It said that this was Bella’s story and that that was a natural place for her story to end. And that she doesn’t really feel like she can keep writing Bella as a vampire because her audience is no longer able to relate to her. And that is precisely true. Once she turned – I was happy for her, but I also felt like she was no longer the everyday Bella that we could all relate to.

And I have to comment on the intensity of her fans. I don’t want her to hold back her stories and not publish them. As much as I might have chosen differently if I were Bella or she was my character I still fully enjoyed the series - how it was presented, and I can only hope for more material.

I am sorry for the negative reactions of the people who can’t seem to appreciate her wonderful gift as a story teller. But I also hope that Stephenie can see past these negative reactions and recognize the passion that she has ignited in her audience that even though they may not agree with how things turned out, they are passionately involved with these characters and this story enough to care that deeply. That is a true gift. To have an audience that is that passionate about your stories.

I hope that she does put out her story for Nessie and Jacob. I am deeply curious on how things work out for them. I have my own story line I have kind of developed for how things work for them, but I am curious on how her Nessie turns out, and the type of character she grows to be.

I want to read any and all material that Stephenie Meyer writes, because she has a talent. She creates very believable characters that her audience can relate to and feel passionately about. She uses humanity in a modern day setting in surreal circumstances as her backdrop and yet it feels so real. If you can step into those characters, you genuinely feel for them. A very very talented women. I am envious of her gift and wish that I can master a talent of my own in writing that would have such a passionate audience as she does.

I also hope that maybe somehow she stumbles upon this post. I really want her to know that I really appreciate her gift. There are a lot of people out there who finish a good book and put it down and are like wow. And then that is it. They don’t go to write and say please please write more. So for every one person who does say that they want more, there are several people behind her/him who have not, but who feel the same way. It’s so easy for the negative to get in the way, and I hope she doesn’t become blinded by that. She has so much to offer still. And I really want her to be inspired to keep sharing her works.

Twilight review

2008-10-02T19:43:00.001-04:00

Alright so I gobbled the Twilight series down so fast that I have been letting it digest for the past several days. I finished it Sunday morning, September 28. WARNING THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS.

After having finished the series I was left with a flurry of emotions. I have mixed reviews for it. I think it is well written, and I think it is a well told story. I think different people will take different things out of it. It is enjoyable and an easy read. While the series deals with teen romance it reached out to audiences of all ages.

There are suggestive scenes, but nothing that isn’t dealt with in Romeo and Juliet which is covered in grade nine for sure, and sometimes even earlier like grade 7 or 8. Romeo and Juliet have pre-marital sex and they commit suicide to be with each other. Bella and Edward do not have pre-marital sex (they do have sex though, but it’s kind of one of those things that they lead up to then shut the door on), and no one gets to actually commit suicide, though the attempt is made but stopped just in time. Imagine Juliet waking up a minute before Romeo takes the poison.

At different times in the series I had to just keep trudging because I didn’t agree with the decision the characters were making. But I had to have faith there was a reason for them to screw up so royally. I tried to remain team Switzerland but after several days of digesting this book I will say that I am leaning more towards Jacob, because he is more realistic and I admire the passion in which he fights for Bella.

The primary reason I would rate this young adult literature over adult literature is in the final book, when they make a stand – everyone walks away somewhat peacefully. I don’t agree. The final fight needed to happen. Now it all falls on Alice’s shoulders to be watching the future to forewarn everyone because they wouldn’t put up the fight when they had the available resources at hand. The future will be shaky and everyone will be paranoid and watching their backs. And now the Volturi have learned their greatest weapon and are able to prepare better for a next time. Because their will be a next time.

Because the author wussed out and tied everything up in a neat little package, I give it a YA rating. If she would have written the ending that needed to happen, it would have stepped it up a notch in my books. Not to say that it wasn’t a decent ending, but I felt like she really didn’t given the characters what they deserve. They deserve peace of mind and they didn’t really get that. Not truly.

Would I recommend this series to others – of course. But read it with an open mind and an open heart. Try to understand that the characters are not you, even though Bella is meant to be an every day girl. I would not have made the same decisions were I writing these books. It would have been a much different series after the second book let me tell you. Because Bella would have chosen Jacob, and Edward would have to fight to prove himself if he were ever to get Bella back, and he would have to show a lot more passion than just being the gentleman about it.

I really loved the new concept of Vampires and Werewolves that she brought to the table. The only downfall is that it is probably insanely copywritted that no one will be able to touch the new ideas and concepts legally for many many generations to come.

These book gets 4 out of 5 star ratting. I liked the characters, and the concept was good, and it was decently written.

My Night in shinning Armor

2008-10-02T19:25:00.000-04:00

The following is the blog post I should have posted two weeks ago, Friday September 19. I didn’t well, because me being me just never got around to it what with actually reading the most coveted book series.

After I post this I am going to post my book review on the series. There will be spoilers.

My Night in Shinning Armor.

Although I am not sure whether or not Darren understands my complete love for books and their magical nature, he understands the need for me to be happy. When I am not happy I am unbalance and hard to be around. When I am happy I am still unbalance but perhaps a little easier to be around. I love Darren for his way of being able to deal with me, because I know I am not an easy person. I also love him immensely for a variety of other reasons, but the fact that he has managed to stick it out for this long gives the man some street credit or something.

The reason why he is my savior at this point has a bit of a back story involving my complete obsession with the Twilight series and their much anticipated arrival in the mail.

I had got a slip in the mail that said I had a parcel. I was quivering with excitement, like a puppy. It was like Christmas morning. Darren came to pick me up yesterday after work (well I left a wee bit early, but I was in early so it works right?) and we made it to Azilda in time at the post office where I eagerly handed over the parcel slip practically glowing. She handed me a box. Admittedly a much large box than I anticipated to hold the first book in the series.

You see I had ordered the first book first and then hit send on the rest of the series several days later. When I got to the car I opened the ominous box. It was half of my order for the second order I had placed. I was confused. I thought well maybe the first book is on back order as are the rest of the books in my second order. I called the company in order to be enlightened. They said they had made a shipment on the 9, 10, 11, and 12. Admittedly being a book slut I am expecting 15 books within the next two weeks. Although five of them are not for me and are duplicates and are a gift for someone else.

Now originally when I was concerned that they had the wrong shipping address and called they had said that they had shipped out material on the 9, 10, 11, and 12. Which with my logic made sense because I had place four orders so I assumed that those were the four orders being shipped out in the sequence in which I had place them.

When I called for clarification on the box in my lap while I was in the car, she explained to me that they ship them out as they find them with complete disregard for keeping a series together and even the order in which one might have placed their order. I was flabbergasted that they could have so little respect for books and the people that worshipped them.

I was devastated. I was really really really anticipating being able to read the first book in the series this weekend and I was also I bit skeptical on how I was going to drag it out until the second book reached me considering the rave reviews and the pace at which most of the audience had already read it. I no longer had to worry about pacing myself, there in my lap sat the second and fourth book. But not the first book.

I may have lost control and started pouting and then that maybe I might have started crying out of frustration. At which point Darren might not have understood, but asked me if I new anyone that read. Well of course I do, my mom and my sister. But you know not everyone reads the same stuff. I was trying to logic it out with myself that if I didn't receive the next shipment on Friday with the first book in the series in it then I would be forced to turn around and head back into town to buy it because I was running out of patience and could no longer stand the suspense. Also I may have been driving the people around me absolutely crazy with my obsession for the books.

However, in my fit of reasoning with myself, all done behind some sniffling and tears, in my head, I thought well if I was resigned to buying the book anyways I might as well do it tonight so I can quite this mail charade and relax a bit. Darren had precisely the same thought. That if it was so important to my happiness that I have these books now and not wait then we would be going back into town to get them... after super. We need nourishment.

We went home, I finished making super (my slow cooker burn my spaghetti sauce, yes I had it on low, so my dog dot most of the supper that night. She was pleased and had quite the pot belly). And afterwards both Darren and I went in to retrieve me some happiness in the form of 498 pages of bookly entertainment.

At the bookstore I picked up the first and third book. My logic being that if they (being the book company I ordered the books from) have absolutely no respect for books and the people that read them, then I have no respect for them. I got the third book so I could happily read along at my own pace and not worry about the mail except to now go on Saturday morning to check for parcels instead of trying to get their in the evenings before they closed so I could start reading my most coveted treasures. I will send them back the third book and not pay for it and they can deal with it (which means that they will credit my account – I have returned books before and they have credited my account without a hastle). But now I will have two of the first book because I could only get it in soft cover (the third is in hard cover, that's why I can send it back) at the book store, and I want my collection in hard cover. But I think that I will either pass it along or it will be the copy that I can highlight and make notes in.

And you know what my hero did when we got to the cash and I was pulling out my wallet? He paid. Yup. He bought me my books. I was so happy and so relieved. I was also a bit scarred to start reading them because I was torn between worshipping him like a god and tearing into my book. I didn't know what was the best way to show my gratitude and appreciation for his rescue. I am also a bit intimidated because of how I have built them up and I am not sure if they will be able to live up to my expectations.

Twilight Saga

2008-09-17T19:14:00.002-04:00

I had walked through the book store and noticed these tantalizing new books, the covers were fascinating and the collection was prominently displayed. I noticed them, but paid them no head. I then heard about them. They were being referred to as the next biggest thing since Harry Potter, maybe even bigger. I was skeptical; I had a profound dislike to have a book compared to another book by a different author. Two authors will never write the same, they each have their own voice. That is the allure of being author loyal, you like the voice in which they write, their style of writing, how they weave a story and draw you in. No two authors will do it the same way. It’s a very unique field.

The books I had been trying to ignore were the Twilight saga, by Stephenie Meyer. I was doing quite well. The movie trailer hadn’t even enticed me to read them. My level of scorn just got bigger as the popularity rose. However, Robin Hobb did a book review on them on her blog on myspace. That is pretty freaking good praise coming from another author. And so I thought that maybe just maybe I would give it a try.

I decided that if the books were all that they were cracked up to be I probably would want my own set in hard cover. Well it just so happens that I have a membership online to a science fiction and fantasy book club, were I receive hard covers for half of the retail value. I made an executive decision. I was going to order the books. I decided that I would get the first book shipped right away, and put the other three on hold. If I liked the first one I would hit send on the rest. If I didn’t like it, then I wouldn’t have a collection of books I wanted nothing to do with, only one that I could donate to the library or something.

Now here is were it all went downhill. Were my will power completely crashed and I crossed a very scary line into the world of obsession. I placed my order on Thursday, September 4. That upcoming weekend I decided to do a bit more preliminary research to see what I was getting myself into. I wanted to know what to expect. They were YA books. So I wanted to know were they going to be magical and sweep me away, or were they going to boar me to tears with simplicity.

The premises of the books are a Vampire love story. That is the barebones of it. The reality I can only imagine is so much more. I started out by visiting her website - reading her facts regarding the first book. I didn’t want to read too much information about the other books, because I wanted to leave it as a surprise.

Come Monday though I was getting more and more anxious for the books to arrive. I wanted to know more about this world. About these people. About Bella and Edward. I heard of team Edward and Team Jacob. Who was Jacob??

Monday hit and I was curious enough about the whole series to hit send on the other three books. If it was all it was cracked up to be I didn’t want to have to wait another three to four weeks to receive the rest of the books. I know myself. I would want to pick them up right after I put down Twilight.

Midnight Sun – is the first book in the series, Twilight, told from Edwards perspective. The first twelve Chapters are online on her website to read. I can only hope that she finishes it and it gets the editing done and the time in the spotlight that the book deserves. It saddens me that it was leaked and is now in jeopardy of never being completed for her readers to view. I didn’t want to read it until after I had read Twilight. But my curiosity was getting the best of me. I started reading it. It is locked so that you can’t print it out, so I was only able to read it while I was at a computer. I finished it by Friday.

Saturday I went to the mail (September 13). No books. That is fine. I was told it would take 10 to 15 business days. It had only been 7 at that point. I went on Monday – no books, fine it is only 8 days. Tuesday – no books, fine it was only 9 days. I am going on ten days today – Wednesday. I should get the first book sometime between this Wednesday, September 18 and next Wednesday, September 24. The other books I should receive between September 19 and September 26. Now the only thing I am getting antsy about is that I did a change of address right before I ordered the books. I am hopping they were sent to the right mailing address. If they were sent to the wrong one I’ll still get them as it’s my parents post office box. But now I need to monitor both boxes religiously.

However, with all of this waiting I needed more to tide me over. So I have caved even further. I have read every outtake and extra for everyone one of her books. I have read every beginning sample chapter. I have watched interviews. I have read interviews. I had watched movie trailers. I have become obsessive.

I may have even gone so far as to look up some fan fiction. I digress I was becoming that antsy. But I realized that I wanted to get to know the characters from Stephenie’s perspective. Feel them how they were meant to be felt and portrayed. Not how someone else interpreted them and is now portraying them. I don’t know about you but when I read a book I take away something, and it might not be the same something that someone else takes away with them. So while I am touched by the amount of fan fiction out there, I really want to experience the characters first how they weren’t meant to be experience and then take from them my own perspectives of them.

I keep trying to talk myself into/out of going to chapters and buying the first two books in soft cover to tide me over. But if the rumors can be believed and it is as good as the teenage masses have declared it to be, then I will probably gobble them down in two days. And I would have two extra books. And still be waiting for the rest of them to come in, in the mail. I keep making deals with myself – if they are not in by this date then I will cave and go and buy them. I think by the weekend of the 27, if I haven’t received at least Twilight, I will then go and buy at least that one.

In the mean time I can’t seam to concentrate on the other book that I am reading. Phenomenal author – Christopher Moore. Witty. But I am just jonesing for something else so bad right now that I am unable to give him the due respect his work deserves.

And one final bone of contention to pick. I really dislike the clichéd reviews that state that readers “can’t wait to sink their teeth into” the next book. I never ever want a review that is that tacky attached to a book I might write. I find it talks down to the audience and doesn’t add any enticing appeal what so ever. I feel sad that Stephenie has to tolerate that level of un-creativity and ignorance attached to her works. No author no matter how good or bad should have such tackiness attached to their works.

Now if only I could write this much of my own books rather than admit my complete adoration for a set of books I haven’t read yet, I would be that much closer to becoming an author. But I just can’t concentrate on anything right now until those books are in my hands. It is going to be a long week and a half yet to come.

P.S. I called the book club today to make sure that they have the correct shipping address, waiting for e-mail was taking too long. They do. The proof - the one night I decide to be zen about it all and don't make Darren race home before the mail closes to check and see if I have a parcel - that is when I get a parcel ticket in my mail box. Today. Tomorow night we are going to play beat the traffic. Lets see who wins.

Once upon a time there was a machine that when vroom

2008-09-10T17:51:00.001-04:00

"So on this day, you shall be King." Said an ominous voice in the sky.

"Why?" asked the man on the earth.

"Well because I said so… and um.. you can only be kind until the birthday in wich you are able to get another motorcycle."

"Well um.. that's a bit confusing." Said earth man.

"Damit I am the ominous voice in the sky. I make the rules. So take that! HA!"

And that is why the man in the following story shall be referred to as the King. Because as the narrator I am aloud to be the ominous voice in the sky.

Once upon a time there was a King. This King had a motorcycle. On an outing one day in the back of the kingdom there was a horrible accident in which the King barely escaped with his life and foot, but not his motorcycle. It was a tragic end for the candy apple red vehicle of vroom. The queen having had quite the scare said no more motorcycles because they equal almost certain death.. almost.

But the King took it to mean just road bikes and that a dirt bike did not apply to the motorcycle rule. So he went and got himself the fastest meanest dirt bike around at the time. He road it without death, but with lots of broken bones.

However, he still longed for a motorcycle. He spent much time coveting one and drooling over them like a newborn. After many many years and many other brushes with death the Queen finally relented and told the King that if he could afford one he could have one. The King not really wanting to relent his title as King did really really want a motorcycle. So after careful deliberation he acquired a motorcycle within that same week the Queen had granted him his wish.. sort of. And you know because Kindly duties can be really tiring.

The King has never been happier. It has been one of the best summers in a long time for the happiness fairy to visit and sprinkle her magical happy dust. However, the King has been neglecting his duty as a carpenter to his fair princess daughter by riding and shinning his most coveted positions – the motorcycle. The princess is relatively okay with this as long as she gets to go for rides on the vroom vroom at fast speeds. She can be bribed.

This past weekend it was the Kings birthday. And so after a summer of vroom and presents for his to ride on the motorcycle (to which is still must be named) he relinquished the title of King. However, that does not relinquish him of his duties as the princess carpenter. The princess and the now not King also spent a most lovely day on the motorcycle for a toy drive in the kingdom

Also the princess and the now not King have never gotten along better that she can remember. It has been a most enjoyable summer indeed.

P.S. I need to acquire my dad’s camera temporarily to procure some pictures of us with the new bike. He gets someone to take pictures before all of our outings and I am beginning to think that they are all going to start to look the same. I’ll have to start wearing different pants.

Charming...

2008-09-02T22:16:00.004-04:00

I owe my blog a welcome back to a "I think I might be posting on a regular weekly basis" kind of post. Things have been hectic but are slowing down a bit. If they slowed down completely I am not sure I would know what to do with myself. I am fast paced person in a small paced small town. I tried living in a fast past city in with more geography, but discovered that I am just not up to par. It feels better when the rest of the world is moving slowly around you, that way if you fall behind you are still in pace with the rest of them. Odd logic, but works for me and keeps my morale's high.

The house is still in progress but the upstairs is pretty much in position and beaten into submission. I have some pictures that need to be hung up and a miror. I also need some art in the bedroom, which I might just go with a collage of pictures from my recent trip to Newfoundland (keep reading I will get to more details regarding that)which will require both prints and frames, but those are all really minor details, and so the upstairs is about 90% done.

The downstairs has turned into a permanent tool crib…. Or at least I can't come up with a time in the near future were it will no longer be a tool crib. I think this should bother me more except I have developed a very finicky Zen towards it that could crumble at any moment if anyone reminds me how annoying it is not to have full use of your own space. So far I am only reminded of that when I need to do laundry and I try to do it on a get in get out kind of basis were folding happens upstairs. So my contact with my basement is minimal and the Zen remains.

Events in my life over the summer that I haven't let the blog be privy to thus far in no particular order except my random thought process:

It was my mom's birthday a couple of weekends ago. I had written another blog summing up my life and wishing her a happy birthday, but I just didn't get around to posting it. My mom turned an undisclosed number of years and hopefully has many more ahead of her. We had a wonderful weekend that consisted of a pedicure and shopping trip on Saturday (I have wicked awesome orange toenails right now that please me to no end). I also spent an absurd amount of money on clothing at GT boutique but got lots of bang for my buck and really should not be complaining about it. We had a swell time and I would repeat that day all over again including the lavish amount of money spent on clothing.

Which also meant that when I came home that evening I purged my closet. Out with the old, in with the new. Say goodbye to that girl, the new one who is striving to find her place in a more mature world has come in with a new wardrobe full of clothes. Funny how we define ourselves by clothing. It felt really good though to get rid of a lot of high school stuff and let go of the past a bit.

I finished my sailing lessons. I now have my White Sail III. Which means I am able to sail a boat of a certain amount length all by myself. Need to really look into the details on that one. However, I definitely think I will be doing a refresher course every summer until I am able to buy my own boat to sail. I am thinking along the lines of a pirate ship, mind you I might want to start smaller first and slowly work my way up. Yahar me mates. Going to go and find me some adventure and buried gold.

And as previously mentioned I went to Newfoundland this summer. I wish I had planned it out a bit better than I was able to, but with the move, everything was just so hectic that we free-styled it once we got there. Well, we did have one big thing on the Agenda. We had to get to Burgeo before Saturday afternoon for a wedding. Other than that the Island was ours to explore. We flew into St. Johns on Wednesday afternoon, July 30 and left the following Wednesday, August 6.

We experience St. Johns. We stayed at the Battery and had a wonderful view of the harbour... well our room didn't the first stay, but the hotel did. The hotel was absolutely charming, painted in reds and yellows and the staff was lovely. They had Newfoundland sayings and verses all over the walls and every room was named for a sea fairing coastal town on the rock. The hotel was on Signal Hill, well just a wee walks up the hill to get to Cabot Tower were Marconi received his first radio signal. It was extremely misty and damp almost the whole time we were in Newfoundland, and the only time it cleared up really was for the 3 days of the wedding Friday to Sunday and by Sunday the weather was starting to look glum again.

St. Johns was very very charming. I loved all of the leaning townhouses in their various colours. But the streets looked mighty precarious for the winter, which made me wonder how many cars go into the harbour every winter. We did George St. twice, our first night there, and our last night there. We have a t-shirt that says "I got George faced on Shit street.", which pretty much sums it up for ya. We did the George St. festival and Darren played on open Mike night at o'REllies

We also went out to Cape Spear (Tuesday evening I think) which is the most Easterly point in all of North America and were rewarded by quite the whale show off of the coast. We watched for a good long time and then proceeded afterward to continue our trek to see the lighthouses. We didn't get to go into the old one because we came fairly late in the evening when things were shutting down but I got some pretty good pictures that are up for there need to be printed and displayed in my house somewhere.

We also did a wale watching tour and bird tour (Wednesday morning before we went and caught our plane home. Crazy day). We only saw birds, but the people we did the tour with were ever so nice and signed the back of our tickets and promised that whenever we wanted to come back (next summer included) that we could go on a free tour and hopefully see some whales. It was a really blustery day and the waves were pretty active so I can understand why the Wales didn't want to give us a show, but now I have an insane amount of picture of birds (that previously I had no interest in) and a very poopy island they rest on.

As for the wedding; well we drove all the way across the other side of the island in our "car" that we had rented. The vehicle rentals service here was a bit messed up and we almost had to take a bus across the island. There were things that weren't told to us until after they tried to process stuff, and had we been informed properly in the first place it would have went a lot smoother, but it wasn't and so this was our Chariot.

The last vehicle available in all of ST. Johns, honoured for the price of a car because of the mix up and taken from the manager. But we made it and I swear we will laugh at this in the future. I really don't want to get into too many details on how we ended up with this, but it was pretty much equally their fault as it was ours, and so the end result didn't turn out that bad all things considering and we got something to drive.

We drove to Gander and had super and I was almost inclined to stay there and not go to the wedding just so I could see Great Big Sea on their Native soil. Luckily for Stephy Gander wasn't as charming as I had hoped and we proceeded onto Dear Lake (Thursday evening) were we got the last room in town at a Bed and Breakfast which was absolutely charming. We left Deer Lake promptly the next morning… well as prompt as its going to get on holidays which is to say we left before 10:30 I believe.

Then we travelled for another 4 hours to Burgeo. Burgeo is off of the main highways by about 2 hours and there are no gas stations along that stretch so the sign says to make sure you have everything you need for the next leg of the journey. There is a sign. I didn't get a picture of it. I was also surmising.

We arrived in Burgeo on Friday afternoon and got put to work decorating the hall. Everyone was very very nice and we got welcomed into the festivities like members of the family. I also learnt how to set a table properly. The wedding was very small town, but was full of wonderful people and small town charm. Stephy looked gorgeous, and Corey looked pleased (he has funny eyebrows but he does clean up well).

Burgeo has 13 sandbanks, five of which you can get to through the park (provincial I think). We (Darren and I) spent Friday evening during rehearsal, hiking to each one and taking pictures of the old graveyard. I asked Darren before we entered to check it out if what we were doing was morbid. He said no, but after taking a picture of every head stone changed his mind to yes, we were a bit morbid. Oh well.

A good portion of the wedding pictures were taken out at the sand banks. And so we got to spend a portion of Saturday out there as well. We chilled at her parents place between the ceremony and the super with the rest of the wedding party, and Steph ate a burger and we have the incriminating evidence captured in a photograph. I really can't say that I am very sorry about this Stephy. I'm sure you would do the same for me.

Sunday was spent doing a present opening and hanging out with Stephy and Corey. We stayed at their place when we were in Burgeo; they were very very nice and accommodating considering that we were there for their wedding. Stephy kept apologizing for not spending enough time with us, and I was like "hun, we are here for YOUR wedding. Seriously." She is so cute and charming.

We drove all the way back to St. Johns in one day on Monday. The reason we didn't go the hole trip in one day before was because of the whole vehicle mix up – to which we have learnt a great many lessons I will impart on your at the end of this post . We didn't end of leaving St. Johns the previous Thursday till almost 2 in the afternoon. This time we got on the road by 11:00 ish. We found our way to St. Johns by around 10:00 at night. They didn't have any rooms left at the Battery (we did have one reserved for the next night thought) and so ended up staying at the Holiday Inn (double check please) for a room of equal value to our next nights accommodations. We were tired and had super and then went to bed.

We also made a stop in Corner Brook on our way back were I acquired a bottle of Bakeapple ice wine. Which is not Baked apple spelt wrong, but a berry. Indeed. We had scene sign on our way to Burgeo on the main highway leaving St. Johns that was advertising Bakeapples, like we advertize fresh blueberries. And Darren and I honestly thought that they had misspelled Baked apple until it was explained to us in Burgeo by a Pilot from the East coast ( I really should remember peoples names better). We also acquired a bottle of Cabot Tower Rum (because the Screech in Newfoundland is the same stuff we can get here in Ontario), for a friend, but I have now decided to keep it for myself.

Tuesday was spent trying to get a whale watching tour and finding out that the ocean was not cooperating with us and booking one for the following morning before we flew out. We walked around downtown St. Johns and did some shopping and experience the charm once more of the city. Their was a giant cruise ship in the harbour, that we have pictures of. How did they get that thing in and out of there?? Don't answer, that is a redundant question. That afternoon we went out to Cape Spear which I wrote about earlier. And then there was the George ST. festival and Darren played open mike, which I wrote about earlier.

People we know from here that we ran into there. Funny and ironic.

The following morning was the boat tour, and flight out of there. I ate an abundance of sea food while in Newfoundland, but didn't have any lobster which was a bit disappointing. I was exhausted and slept for as much as I could on the trip home considering I had to go to work the next day, which I am still catching up on things due to a weeks worth of holidays.

And now for the things I have learn about renting a car that I didn't previously know, that maybe you might want to know if you ever get caught in a similar situation.

1) Don't rent from the airport. They charge you more because they are busier. Take a cab and rent somewhere in town, it is cheaper.
2) Reserve your vehicle at the same time you book your flight. Or while you are planning your trip. Don't leave it to the last minute. Remember there is such a thing called tourist season. They get more people than they have cars available.
3) Make sure you have room on your credit card for the price of the vehicle plus 25% more. They will not tell you this till after they swipe your card.
4) If you are ensuring a second driver, they also need the same amount of room on their credit card. No exceptions.
5) If your credit card is declined for whatever reason (for example not enough room, that didn't tell you about till after the fact) they will also not re-swipe your card for another 24 hours. Apparently their system won't let them. However, I am sure if you harassed the employee enough or were charming enough you might be able to convince her to contact to someone above her to do something in your favour. Maybe…
6) Your vehicle reservation gets cancelled at midnight unless you ask them to hold it for you because of the whole 24 hour policy (a bit stupid eh). And make sure they do it and get the persons name you were talking too. Some rental places will only hold for a couple of extra hours after your reservation time unless you contact them. So stay on the ball in case your flight is delayed. Or for any other reason.

I also recently went for a bike ride (motorcycle thank you very much) with my Dad to Elliot Lake for a Baby shower. It was good as far as baby showers go and I one the memory game, which I think is my favourite game. They put items on a tray and you have a certain amount to time to view them, then you have to write down everything you saw on a piece of paper. I was missing 3 items out of 54 and only had 2 wrong ones on my page suggested to me by my mom. Shows how much she pays attention. Tee hee. There was a delicious amount of food, and good company, so really it was a lovely afternoon.

I also called my mom "Mommy" at the baby shower and the other ladies (because besides the daughter of the lovely lady we were holding the baby shower for I was the youngest), were like "you call her Mummy." And I was like "yes, do you have a problem with that?" They seamed to think it was odd and that at my age I should have outgrown that. Well the fact is you never outgrow your need for you parents, so why disguise it?

And so now here we are. Life is slowing down to where I am not running around like a chicken with my head cut off and my place gets cleaned on a regular basis…sort of.

Now maybe I can re-focus on that writing career I have been coveting.

P.S. I totally forgot to mention that everyone told us to watch out for the Moose on Newfoundland. There are lots on the island. You know because they have no place to go, and they breed. Yah…. Freakin urban legend. We didn't see any Moose. I think we may have scene caribou though.

2008-06-11T20:26:00.002-04:00

Wisdom from Bambi, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. I think I will be taking a bit of a highatess from bloging for the rest of the month, until this move is over. I am really stressed and really anoyed and I might take it out on the wrong person. I need for this to be over and done with and not have to worry about anything concerning this move any longer. Until that day comes and I post a victory post about the success of the move, I am not posting anything further regarding the set backs and failures. So until victory I bid you adui.

Random Updates

2008-06-04T21:52:00.002-04:00

1. Alright so this past weekend didn’t turn out how I expected it to, but at the same time, neither does life really. Let’s just say that there were complications with the desired move in date, and some renovations that need to be completed before hand.

2. I played softball, and have another game scheduled for this upcoming Monday. I managed to hit the ball twice, but it is kind of negated by the fact that the ball managed to hit me twice. We lost, but we don’t exactly have a super team either, most of the girls have never played before, and the rest of the team are miners. That should mean that they are hard working but let’s face it we come from a unionized town. Maybe by the end of the season we will know what we are doing, or at least be a bit more coordinated.

3. I bought my plane tickets to Newfoundland, so here I come Stephy, are you ready? Yah a good friend of mine from Brampton moved back home (to the Rock) and is getting married. I really really really really really (times a hundred billion) wanted to go. And Darren being the sweetheart that he is, is humouring me by coming as well. It’s going to be good times.

4. A small bit of news about work. I am officially employed there now, and am no longer through a staffing agency. A few small perks include paid vacation time of 10 days (I won’t have accrued that much time by the time I leave to go to Newfoundland this summer, but for the future, that is what I have). I will also get paid for stat holidays now, and I have a raise (compared to what the staffing agency was paying me). Plus it feels like a wee bit of job security.

5. My check for the sailing lessons has finally been cashed (I mailed it off about a week and a half ago, and considering that it was going to the same town in which I mailed it I thought it would have been cashed a lot sooner). That means that I am down about 200$ right now at a fairly crucial time. But it also means that I am going to learn how to sail. This makes me extraordinarily happy. I will have to miss one softball game, but I think it is totally worth. One step closer to becoming a Pirate.

6. My writing is coming along. No new developments on the novels (did I mention that I have about 4 novel ideas, 2 of which could be trilogies). But I have been brainstorming a lot of short story ideas. I have a notebook that I bring a lot of places with me so when an idea strikes I can just write it down. I need to type up those notes, that is on my list of things to do this week sometime.

7. Euphoria shall strike once again tomorrow evening at 6:30. I’ll just let you figure that one out.

Softball

2008-05-28T18:13:00.001-04:00

Please someone ask me how my weekend went. Ask me if I got anything from my to do list accomplished. Ask me how the packing went. Really, honestly, I dare you to.

I had a very good weekend. It was in no way shape or form productive at all to anything I had on my to do list, except for the random fun stuff. Friday evening I attacked my kitchen and had it looking like a kitchen and then Sunday it looked like a bomb had went off under the kitchen table.

I got roped into playing softball this weekend. If you know me, you would know that I am not the most athletic individual, preferring to curl up with a good book. But Darren had joined a co-ed softball team at work, and I was going out to go and see his Saturday afternoon games. On the way he calls me to tell me that they are a wee bit short, and they might need me to play. And by might, when I got there I played. Afterwards they totally assumed that I would be playing and be a part of the team for the rest of the season. I am going with this assumption based on the fact that I now have a team t-shirt.

Surprising things about softball.

I actually liked it. Yup, me and a sport relatively got along. Helps that my teammates are really nice and tolerable and don’t expect much of me, except to be an extra girl for their team.

On their second game on Saturday, my first, I scored the only run of the game and it was another girl who hit me in. Yah, my terms are a little off, I will hopefully get better as the season progresses.

On our Sunday game, I caught the ball out in left field (it was left from were I was standing). I was totally stunned. My team was totally stunned. The other team was totally stunned. I stood there with this look of amazement on my face. I mean I know I was running for it with my glove out, but I totally didn’t expect it to land in my glove.

I learnt a lot of new rules for softball, well new to me anyways (its all new considering I didn’t know a damned thing). Like when I caught the ball, after that they could have started running basis, until the ball got thrown in and they were tagged out before they got to a base, or they got safely to a base and stayed there. I also learnt a few other ones, but I won’t bore you too much with more details.

Softball is a really good workout. Darren was destroyed on Sunday and could barely play. Today I feel it all over, my stomach and back and arms and legs. It is a complete body work out. This is good because I didn’t even realize I was getting this much exercise, and I was having fun. I normally totally loath working out, but do it so I don’t end up with an even bigger rear end than I already have.

I need lots of practice at hitting the ball, at catching the ball, and at throwing the ball. Basically I am the weakest link. This doesn’t bother me to much, as long as my team mates don’t get mean about it. If they do, then I won’t play. That is the main reason I don’t like sports. When they get too serious, and I suck, I get picked on. Don’t need it; I am just doing it for fun.

Other things I accomplished this weekend: I finished my fantasy and science fiction magazine, and I made super once. I also went to go and see Indiana Jones, the newest one, this weekend with my parents and Darren. We did this on Sunday evening. Good times. It was a really packed weekend with lots of fun things to do. I had a great time. The only thing I would have liked to have added to my weekend was going to go and check out the Celtic and highland festival down in Bell Park. But that was only happening on Saturday, and by the time we were done ball, it was over.

Oh yeah, the outcome of ball. We had our bums totally kicked. They one their first game on Saturday, I wasn’t there for that one. And the other three of the weekend we didn’t do so well. But it was good times. Right guys? Right? Guys?

P.S. No pictures of my humilation at playing softball guys. Sorry. Maybe when I don't look so ackward I might get some pictures, but right now it is pretty rough stuff.

Stuff to acomplish

2008-05-23T19:59:00.001-04:00

I have decided to post on a trial basis my list of things I wish to accomplish over the weekend. This way I might (very slight might) feel more motivated to actually accomplishing these goals.

Pick up check and Deposit it
Pick up some wine (no specific quantity, just some)
Clean up kitchen (do dishes, put away clean ones, and tidy up table)
Make super (pork loin and rice)
Clean up Bathroom (mirrors, sink, toilet and shower)
Sweep floor
Start packing (start in storage closet, and move on into living room)
Make check and Mail for sailing lessons
Finish reading Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine
Finish reading Off Armageddon Reef
Laundry (sort, wash, and fold)
Type up notes for stories, also proof them
And random fun stuff
Up credit balance on credit card (I’m flying to Newfoundland this summer, and I need a wee bit more room on my credit card than given to buy the plain tickets, plus I was some emergency room left)
Reserve U-haul for move

Now the ones in a different colour are the ones that I have accomplished so far. Not a bad start. The rest have yet to be determined by thee weekend. The rules are that the weekend starts on Friday (sometime, very vague) and ends Monday morning when I get to work wich is around 8:30 am. Other than that all is fair in love and war.

Writing Muse, oh where for art thow (sp? mom?)

2008-05-18T17:53:00.002-04:00

It has occurred to me that the only time I truly feel inspired to write is when I am absolutely bored out of my freakin mind. Would you like to know when I am bored out of my freakin mind?

At work, ladies and gents, yup while I am at work. I am most inspired to write then and come up with really fun scenes and witty remarks that I try to subtly jot down on pieces of paper so that I can take it home and elaborate upon it.

And you want to know why I try and do this subtly on pieces of paper? Because computer usage can be tracked. I am not entirely sure to what extent but my boss has made it perfectly clear that work time is for work, their work, not my work. Go figure.

So the need to be creative hits me hardest after several hours of number punching in excel, when I am at my weakest and most vulnerable state because I really am not a numbers girl, sure I am good at it, but I don’t like it. And liking it is what makes you that type of person. And so I must be strong and appease the muse to the best of my ability and maintain a job at the same time.

And you would think that now that I have a long weekend off that the first thing I would do was type up all of those notes on various stories and just have a holiday and go nuts about it and stay up way past my bedtime and sleep at odd hours and get up and write some more. You would think that that would be all I would want to do with my time.

What I did for the first day off of my long weekend? I cleaned my apartment top to bottom. Yup, it had been neglected for a few weeks now by both Darren and I, and I couldn’t think straight in here any longer. Dad be happy, cleaning has rubbed off on me. Shudder.

It has also occurred to me after it has been cleaned that I still can’t think straight in here because it just doesn’t feel like the right environment for creativity. But somehow I also think it is a lack of boredom. See I have my dog to take for a walk, and supper to make, and books to read that no one is going to stop me from reading. And a tv (although I prefer the silence to mindless tv), and a multitude of other things that are fun that I can do that I won’t get in trouble for doing. Crazy.

So in conclusion I don’t know how I am ever going to get this writing career underway at all if I am not at least tolerably allowed to write at work. Either that or I need more self discipline.

Anyways, going to work on my notes and see if that brings me any progress. See if the muse likes my home environment, maybe she’ll appreciate a little hard work on my behalf and then when I am weak and can’t resist she will strike. You know, right when I am about to cave and make supper, or go to sleep or something of that nature. She’ll be like oh no Biatch, you are mine. You complained and now I am here, so take it like a champ or not, but take it all the same. Yah my muse is a little mean and vindictive.

Favourit websites

2008-05-09T20:11:00.002-04:00

So every day I have a few haunts that I like to visit online to check for updates. Mostly they are blogs, some are information based, but all of them are good.

Without further ado here is my list and why they rock.

Yarn Harlot: She ranks number one. I love her. She makes me laugh and inspires me to want to knit. She is an amazing woman, and she is on a path in life that I would love to lead. She has come to it from a modest background and one I can feel that I can relate too. I feel that my dreams aren't as insurmountable as she has achieved hers. Anyways, go back through the archives and read all of her material if you get the chance. She is really witty.

Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine: Mostly I go to the blog there. On Friday's they have free fiction. This is awesome. I love to read, so any stories that are for free is great. It also gives me a better feel for short stories, there formatting and style. F&FS also keeps you updated on the various award nominations in the sci-fi/fantasy world.

Great Big Sea: Okay seriously, I love there music. They are so inspirational. Listen to there lyrics. They are very uplifting, and upbeat music. I like Alan's on the road blog, he has a way with words. I really like Tosh (tells no) Tails (Sean's dog's blog). It's new, but it is absolutely hilarious. Plus Sean has the most soulful eyes. A girl could get lost in those. Best not to ever meat him in person. Also there new song Walk on the Moon is available to listen to from there home page, click on the bass cleft. It is a beautiful song that brings tears to my eyes.

Rick Mercer Rant: He hasn't posted a new one in quite some time, but I still think he is hilarious. I am not a huge one for politics; my general rule of thumb is to avoid them at all costs. But Rick Mercer takes a really refreshing outlook on it, and has not compunctions against calling them on their bullshit. He almost makes me want to take voting seriously.

The Weather Network: I know I am a geek. Nothing is ever really true on the weather network and I really would have better luck reading sci-fi to figure out the forecast but a part of me still hopes that there is some measure of truth in the forecast. The other part of me likes to secretly gloat with glee whenever they are wrong in our favor. Like they forecast rain and there is nothing but sunny skies. Makes me wonder it they ever actually step outside.

Knitty: Knitting stuff. Yup free patterns and a lot of them really rock. Some of the older patterns in the archive are a bit outdated, but were fashionable for the time. I also really like there articles on technique. They have a blog there too and a forum.

Revelry: this is the devils work I swear. It is another addictive knitting site. I try not to visit too often or when I have lots of time to spare or else I might never see daylight again. Everything you would ever need to organize your knitting stash. They have patterns and you click on them and add them to the list of things you want to knit. They have forums to talk to people about knitting. Everything you could possibly desire in knitting organization spawns there. (you have to sign up for an account to explore ravelry, and there is a wee bit of a waiting list. It took me less than two weeks to get my invite)

Coloursknits: Another knitting blog. She doesn't update as often as I would desire, but her photography of her pieces is absolutely amazing. I love almost all of the projects that she tackles and can only hope that one day I will knit that well.

Brooklyn Tweed: A male knit blogger. I love his lace knit in heavier yarn. This guy has amazing vision when it comes to looking at a pre-existing pattern and seeing that it isn't working for him, but also how he can make it work. He takes sweaters and turns them into cardigans. I love that.

Asimov: A Science Fiction magazine. Sometimes you can grab some free fiction off of their site. Especially when it is close to nominee season and something from their magazine is up for a nomination. Then they want to make it as available as possible so that those casting the vote can not go with the excuse that the fiction was unavailable to them before they make a proper enlightened response.

There are other websites that I check out random sporadically, you know when I think about them or something, but the ones above definitely make my top ten list. To be perfectly honest I didn't even know I had that many websites that I like to visit on a regular basis. I just kind of came up with my favourites and then wrote about them and then counted how many there were. Crazy.

Things I never thought I would be excited about.

2008-05-06T21:08:00.003-04:00

Alright guys I really have been taking quite the hiatus from bloging.

Darren and I are trucking right along on life's goals down a path that leads to settling down. Not a bad thing, I wouldn't mind a place to call my own, but a little intimidating considering there is so much I still want to do. But that is the joy of life, the journey of all the experiences. Things I never though I would be exited about I am totally psyched for now.

We are going to be living in my parents second house come the beginning of June. This is really awesome because it means a significant improvement on space, something that we seam to be lacking in the Hobbit Hole. Well that means that we need things to go in that house. Things that we currently do not possess in our minute living conditions. You know like a fridge and stove, washer and dryer. Maybe a living room set too. Those items are all included in the Hobbit Hole.

So we had to go on a hunt for these items. I have slowly begun to realize that both Darren and I have very expensive tastes in things. Actually it was a sudden realization when we were looking at fridges and realized that even though we do not know the dimensions of were our fridge will be going we still wanted the mammoth fridge. You know you don't have to keep the fridge in the whole in the kitchen it is designed for. You can keep it in your living room if you really want. Closer to the TV, like a beer fridge.

We could just get the cheaper fridge and stove. But neither one of us is willing to give that much ground on what we like and want. We got the mammoth fridge with the freezer on the bottom. There was a fridge that was slightly cheaper and just a smidgen smaller, but Darren liked the freezer organization on the more expensive one, and seeing as how he is paying for most of this (more like all of this) it was his final decision that got us the bigger one.

We did cut a few corners on things that I liked, that were more expensive that I felt I could live without. Aesthetically we went with white because it was cheaper even though I like the look of stainless steal better. Also for our washer and dryer we went with the white one because the colored ones were most expensive. We also didn't get the steamer option on our washer. Because honestly I will simply wash something if it needs freshening rather than steam it. Those were our compromises.

We also went and bought ourselves some couches. Now these make me really really happy. Because they are the ones that I have been coveting since the moment I laid eyes on them. I swear it was like love at first sight. They are huge. The big one will fit Darren lying down and width wise we could both cuddle up on there without fear of falling off. We also got the love seat and the chair that looks like a slightly smaller love seat. We went without the over sized foot stool. That was the cutting back we did there. It is all really pretty olive color and is made of a super heavy duty cord like material, that should last us for quite some time.

I had originally thought about the micro suede, but none of the colors seamed to go with our current decor, Rory fur. And well none of them were as big as this couch set. One of my main things was that Darren had to be able to lie down on it, and I like how deep it is so we can both cuddle up on it. Also none of the micro suede couches that we had scene was long enough or deep enough.

I took my mom to see it while I was still coveting it and we hadn't bought it yet, and the only complaint she gave me was that you can't sit in it with your back to the back and your feet on the floor because it is too deep. But honestly, when I am at home relaxing on my couch my feet are up and tucked under me or I am lying on my couch. Relaxing is not formal time so sitting properly on my furniture never really came into consideration while I was choosing it.

Now the only frustrating part is that we would really love to be in the house with all of our new stuff. Yup I would love to occupy the space with all of my new goodies. I mean we have spent money on them. It would be nice to use them.

P.S. The other day my mom found some toilet paper on sale and she bought some for me. I was so exited. I never thought I would ever be that exited over toilet paper. I like taking joy in things like that. How the smallest thing can make me smile. Shows that life will please you in the most unexpected ways. A good lesson to learn, keep your mind open to the posibilities and don't let any joy escape you.

Anticipation for an awsome summer

2008-04-30T22:33:00.003-04:00

I think we're going to Newfoundland this summer for Stephy's wedding. Darren and I took a look at the financials and we can afford it, because it isn't as expensive as we originally anticipated. I am so freaking excited and happy.

Now all I have to do is stick to my diet and exercise regimine to get to were I want to be for the summer, and It will be one of the most amazing summers I have had in a long time. i really want to have a decent bikini body, and while I am okay with were I am know, I think I am at my limit of my okay-ness to the situation. Now I have to start cracking down. Ah well. I like a challenge.

Other things to anticipate for the summer, is spending much more time outside so that I actually look like the red head i was born to be. And I wouldn't mind a decent glow of sunkissed skin, instead on this pasty white thing I have going on right now.

I really just want to be outside more this summer enjoying it. Doing fun things like canoeing, and hiking, and swimming. I didn't get hardly any of that in last summer. Actually none for that matter. So disapointing.

Anyways summer, feal free to hit any time soon. I promise that we are totally over snow and winter until maybe next winter, maybe even a little longer than that. You could at the very least hold out until next December. That would be fantastic.

Random Thought Thursdays:

2008-04-24T20:17:00.002-04:00

Dog walking is a social culture. Really it is. I have had a dog all my life (most of it anyways), but I was never really a dog walker. Until this last dog. I love to take Rory for a walk because she loves it, and it gives us both exercise. But boy oh boy do you meet a lot of people on the road. Some have nice dogs, some dogs aren’t very social. Some owners aren’t very social, and some owners are extra social. It is really kind of neat. I personally like meeting the different breads of dogs.
I have written approximately eight pages of my novel. Not consecutive. Different scenes that need further elaboration, but this makes me really excited. There is more I need to write still, but I need to think it through.
Euphoria has its ups and downs. I still love my new hair cut, but am finding it looks best when I freshly style it from wet by blow drying and then tweaking with a straightener. The only problem is that my current routine I shower at night and dry my hair before I go to bed and when I wake up I have bed head. I have some solutions for this, but it is a little disappointing that my hair looks more fabulous before I go to bed, then when I go to work in the morning.
We have a new customer at work and he is from down south in the United States, and has the most awesome southern drawl. Love answering the phone when he calls, I am so amused by his voice.
My current reading projections are to read all of the nominees for the hugos, nebulas and the locus’. I am reading some other stuff in-between, but this seams like a decent goal. I want to know what potential award winners write like. What makes there concepts worth a nomination.
I really really want to go to Newfoundland. A friend of mine is getting married in the summer back in her home town there and I just got the wedding invitation and I really want to go. I just have to figure out if I can afford to go, and if I can how I am going to get there, and when I am going to travel and if I am doing this alone or if Darren can get the time off to go with me. Also if we/I are going to have enough time to go and see other parts of Newfoundland. Its one of those things that if I don’t go I know I am going to regret it for quite some time.
I really need to eat some barbequed chicken. The way my parents make it. Marinated in Italian salad dressing over night and then barbequed to perfection with barbeque sauce. I am so jonesing it is not even funny.
Did I mention I am scared to write in the evenings. I can totally see myself getting carried away and all of a sudden my alarm clock will be going off for me to get up and go to work and I won’t have slept one bit because I spent the whole night writing. I’m not sure if any of yous have the same fear, but if you do feel free to point me in the right direction.

Maintaining Euphoria

2008-04-21T19:41:00.001-04:00

Thursday morning after I had showered I was blow drying my hair and I realized how uncooperative it was being. And then I was doing my makeup I realized how truly unattractive my eyebrows were looking; they looked like some sort of funky caterpillar taking up residence on my face and that is funky in a bad way. I had been toying with the idea of going and getting my hair cut. I needed it, but I hadn't decided what hair style I wanted. How short did I want to go? Maybe I wanted to grow it and just get a trim to tame it. Did I still want bangs? These are very important questions a girl goes through before she calls the chop shop.

So while I was at work, Thursday, I called my hair dresser. And I was totally expecting booking sometime this week, you know so I could finalize my plan. But she was all like come on in tonight. I went in. I threw the hemming and hawing to the wind, and went for it. It feels like an instant face lift. It is amazing. It is sort of like Prudie's from The Jane Austen Book Club, but better and with a bit longer Audrey Hepburn bangs. Next time though I think I want the shorter Audrey Hepburn bangs. That woman is so sexy.

Don't you just love getting your hair cut? I know I do. There is a lot of thought that goes into it, but in the end if your hair dresser is anywhere near as fantastic as mine is, you feel like a million dollars afterwards. I feel like a new person. I feel a lot more confident. I want to go out and get noticed. I am smiling more right now. I know that this euphoria wears off, but right now I am totally going to soak it all up.

And those caterpillars that were taking up residence on my face… gone. Oh yah baby. Amanda does eyebrows too. She rocks.

And really I should be a little more appalled that with a tip everything came up to close to $45, but I am not. I think it is totally worth it. I also think that I am going to adhere to the 4 to 6 weeks rule and go back in and pay that appalling amount of money just to maintain this fantastic feeling. Yup, something that I am going to add to my monthly budget... maintaining euphoria.

Sorry guys I don’t have pics yet of the new do. I am currently dog sitting at my parents place and a) forgot to bring my USB cable to hook up to there computer for pics, and b) have not taken any pics of the new do yet. Use your imagination, trust me it looks superb.

Freedom and forgetfulness

2008-04-15T18:51:00.000-04:00

I left work in a bit of a hurry today, not taking my usual time to pack up. I worked to the last possible moment trying to move off a pile of papers from my desk that will just reappear within the next couple of days. One of my co-workers (more of a superior really, but not directly over me, but just in general above me), will give me a ride downtown to ensure that I make my connecting buss to home. This is really greatly appreciated, especially today were I wanted to get home and get stuff done.

Well the problem herein issues. Because I was in a bit of a rush I didn’t check my usual spots for things to take with me. I almost forgot my gym bag, and even though I am not going to the gym tonight still wanted my gear to go for a jog with my dog. I dropped my lunch bag, which is just a plastic grocery bag, but it had a bowl in it. One that didn’t brake, thank you very much, but could have. And I thought I had everything. Until we stopped to pick up my co-workers son from day care and I looked in my purse for my book that I was reading and realized in sudden horror that I had forgotten it at work.

Forgotten it with my cell phone that sits on top of the book, and my evening list of things to do (that I work out while I am at work) that I use as a daily renewed bookmark. I forgot it on top of my computer tower that sits beneath my desk on my left hand side. And so while I had done my once over and checked the top of my desk for things I was forgetting I didn’t check under my desk. Now really this is excusable because it is normally the first thing I pack up when I am leaving, the first thing I think about, but today in my rush I skipped it. And thinking of it last just didn’t work in the thought process.

You know what else is really funny about the situation though, is that I debated about asking to go back, but I know that we all just wanted to get home. I also debated about catching a bus back, but we had just locked up and I don’t have a key and I didn’t know if anyone in the back did for the office either. Also going back would mean that I miss the connecting bus she was giving me the ride for to catch. So as the thoughts rush through my head I must come to terms that I am not getting the book I am reading to read on the bus home with me tonight.

What later occurred to me is that I also won’t have my cell phone with me either. Which also doubles as our main line. And honestly this doesn’t bother me too insanely much. It really doesn’t, unless of course there is an emergency or I am wondering why Darren isn’t home when he has been trying to call me to tell me he is stopping by someone’s place and will be home later than expected.. So if you are trying to get a hold of my tonight I apologize, I won’t be answering the phone until tomorrow morning at 8:30 when I get to work.

The back up plan though. I have a certain amount of freedom reading wise tonight. I can read whatever I want. I think I am going to get caught up on some short fiction visa vi sci-fi magazines I have been hording but not reading. I did a bit of this activity on the bus home because I had shoved one in my purse (bag of holding, like Mary Poppins has), just in case I finished a book and had nothing to read. I take a book everywhere with me. It’s like a security blanket. Being without reading material makes me feel edgy.

I am also not going to go and rent Juno. I really want to see this but I want to save it for a night were I can watch it with Darren. And now that I don’t have the phone for an evening I can’t receive his call (because he does call me most nights from work) and find out when he’s getting home or even if he is up for a movie. This gives me extra reading time.

I can also ignore that nasty little list of things to do. Skip right pas the chores I know I put on that list, because I am a bit foggy on the details and do the fun things that I absolutely remember I put on that list which I do remember the details. Also I really don’t like cleaning my apartment too far away from the beginning of a weekend because then I feel obliged to clean again on the weekend because things have gotten a little messy and I can’t think properly in a mess on the weekend (I know that is totally weird, because the rest of the week I spent ignoring that mess and I was just fine sanity wise). This way I can let a little more mess accumulate and feel like I really accomplished something when I attack it tomorrow night. I might do the dishes though when I return from my walk with Rory, I am definitely ignoring the floors and the laundry though.

See forgetting things is liberating. I feel free and unshackled tonight. Free to do what I want, and reform things to my own way and liking. Nothing I don’t want to do. No list telling me what I have to do. I miss the list a wee bit, because it gave me a sense of accomplishment to check things off of it, but it also made me feel bad about not finishing everything. Now no list, no feeling guilty about not looking up sock codes because it was a fun thing that I saved for last after the chores. And the chores are so time consuming and energy sucking I just didn’t have time to look up those codes. I might not do it tonight either, but I certainly won’t feel guilty about it either.

So here my darlings is a night to liberation and freedom and walking my dog. Viva la Vie!!!

P.S. Yes I considered calling a cab to take me back to go and get my stuff. I considered also whether or not that cab would bring me back downtown to catch a bus or straight out home (which would have been ridiculously expensive). I considered borrowing my mothers car once I got home to go back and get my missing items, but I might as well have caught a bus back out to that end and back an caught the later bus home because that’s how much extra time that would have all taken. I also even considered going over to my parents place to use the phone to try and reach Darren at work to ask him to go by work to see if someone will let him into the office in the front (the same someones I suspect don’t have keys for the front), to see if he can grab me my stuff. In the end all these ideas were shot down with the general idea that the world will keep spinning and I will do just fine being unconnected with my book and the rest of the world without my phone.

My sock scavenger hunt day.. a little belated..

2008-04-13T18:26:00.004-04:00

Alright I realize I haven’t posted in a while, and I wish I could give you a better reason then the one I have. I wish I could tell you that I have been furiously typing on my novel or something to that effect, but I haven’t. Really it has just been a huge conglomeration of things, all relatively mundane, but enough to keep me away from bloging and writing. I have been reading though, so that feels a little accomplishing.

Anyways on April 1, 2008 the Yarn Harlot’s latest book was released: Things I learned from Knitting whether I wanted to or not. I have finished reading it and found it a hilariously good read. Very light, so if you can’t concentrate on anything too demanding this allows you a good laugh and a sense of accomplishment. Plus she is very witty, and reading her allows me to think of different styles of writing.

So on with the point. For her release date she had a sock scavenger hunt all around Toronto, where the goals was to take pictures of a sock in progress a varying locations. Here’s a link to her list. Well I was a wee bit jealous and decided that I was going to take place in the free styling event. I totally meant to post my pictures much sooner, but have not.

Also, my mom and I kind of cheated. We went out on March 29, 2008 to get our pictures around here, because we both work and that seamed like a good time for us anyways. Really not better reason than that, it was a really amusing Saturday afternoon anyways. We brought Rory, the confused dog who has cat like habits. She plays with yarn and insists on jumping up and lying on the back of the couch and on the arms of it.

So without further ado… here are the much awaited for and anticipated pictures and not in the order in which they were taken. Moihahahahahahaha…

We went to the Groto (SP? mom, I knot you'll let me know if I didn't get it right). And while I am not particularly religious, I did manage to get the first three stages (three pictures above here) of what this is suposed to be representing (once again mom chime in here and fill me in on the details I am obviously forgetting. ) We had a fun time hicking up a hill while my dog tried to get as close as she could to the edge before I started to freak out. Also lots of snow in our shoes. Good Times.

This is the train station. Not that we have many trains that are carying passengers, but I mean if you were on a train and coming to Sudbury, this is were you would stop and get off. I love trains. I love old buildings.

The above three pictures are some sort of mining monument. Did I mention that I live in mining central. Really neat sculpture if you ever get a chance to check it out. It is at Bell Park. The details are phenominal.

This picture is the first signs of spring. I was ever so hopeful, and then we had a snowstorm two days ago. Sigh....

This is our bridge of flags. Flags from all over the world. Sure there is an oficial name for it, and by all means if you knot it chime in. The Canada flag is int he middle of the bridge on the left hand side in this photograph on the talest flag post. Makes me a little proud.

This my dears is as close as I could get to the smoke stack, the primary defining quality up here. Really it's like being able to see the CN tower in Toronto. Here we look for our smoke stack.

This is the Big Nickel. I asked my mom what hapened to the big quarter, and the loonie, and the penny, and the dime. They might have been here at one point or another, or not. Either way our primary mining industry is nickel anyways.

This is a picture of an air plane in the bars. Kind of abstract, you can only see the plane if you are looking at the right angle. Or else you are just wondering why there are a bunch of metal posts sticking up out of the ground like that. Thought it was neet. I aquired this picture over at Science North.

This is Science North. Or at least the part of it that host the majority of the atractions. It is fashioned in a giant snow flake. Many a school field trips spent here.

And the piece du resistance. My dog who thinks she is a cat playing with my ball of yarn and sock in progress out on ramsey lake.

And loves, that was my sock scavenger hunt day. I blew off ice fishing for those pictures. Admitadly the only part of ice fishing I am any good at it the beer drinking and the complaining I am cold, so I did not feel it was too big of a sacrifice.

Blood Sucking Fiend

2008-03-26T07:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Blog:

It has been brought to my attention that you are a blood sucking vampire . Yes you blog. I am talking to you. That you suck the time and creativity right out of aspiring writers much the way that vampires will suck a person dry of there life force, blood. As I am an aspiring writer, my life force is my creative prowess.

Now truly it is not solely your fault as I was the one to first volunteer that life force to you. I may admit that the Yarn Harlot and her blog can take some of the blame because they are so very amusing. And that I may have sought you out in hopes to gain that same companionship that she shares with her blog.

I realize that I sought you out and not the other way around. However, you must also admit that you have your own charms and are quite sexy and appealing and alluring. You offered me an easy release that did not require much effort. Enough is enough. There is only so much I can give and I need to lay down the law. I am willing to expend my time writing amusing tidbits of my life for your enjoyment, but I will no longer sustain your life force with my creative blood.

I am taking back control of your monstrous blood sucking habits and ways. You are going on a diet. I have decided that as I really do live a very boring and mundane life and that you need no more than three blogs per week, probably less. My days are much the same. I get up, go to work, get home from work, run errands in my evenings, and go to bed. Repeat process. I read a little in there too, and try to work on creative projects. I also slot in some time for the gym, my dog, and my mate. The weekends are a little bit more freeform, so I might find blog fodder there. You will not demand material from me though. I will grace you with it when I feel like it.

What I need to be expending my time, blood, and energy on is the actual writing of my novel. I need to think in fiction, and not how to make mundane reality more amusing. It is easy to write about real life rather than come up with a whole new world from the bottom up, or top down, whichever way you prefer. No more easy route for me.

And while your seductive allure may have led me to believe that you were writing time and helping me out, what you were really doing was distracting me from my true purpose. A way of putting off what I am scared to look straight in the eye, the flow of my creative powers. I can no longer constitute you as writing time. My conscious will not allow me to. You are bloging time. Bloging is not writing.

I hope that we are perfectly clear of the rules of the game now, and the role that you play in my life. I am sorry if this letter has upset you, however you needed to know the truth. I hope you can understand, and see the logic and reason behind this.

Sincerely,

Pieces Muse

Just a wee bit o green on this fine day

2008-03-17T20:29:00.001-04:00

To all those of Irish decent, and all those wishing they were, happy St. Paddy’s day to ya.

This weekend Darren and I went to go visit some friends down south in Brampton. Previously, we had lived there for a year. It was a huge learning experience for me, and this visit reconfirms those lessons learnt; I am not a big city girl, but a small town mouse. I don’t like the air down there, it is not fresh enough and the whole place smells like a locker room/kitchen gone wrong. I don’t like the multicultural society, because I find them very ignorant and rude. I also just find it not personal and cozy enough and so very detached.

But despite all of that I do like visiting. I like the city for a visit. I like to go and see plays and experience the fast paced atmosphere for a weekend. Then I like to go home were the pace slows down to a level I can deal with and I feel safe and secure in my corner of the world.

We did much pre-St. Paddy’s day festivities. We went to Orleans to here a friends band play were they played much Irish music, and Great Big Sea, and music that makes my heart sing and my soul soar. We also went to an Irish pub on Sunday for a meal that could be categorized somewhere between lunch and supper, slupper maybe. Good food, I would go there time and time again. We also went ten pin bowling, and while I am not much better at it than five pin, I find it infinitely more enjoyable. My only wish is that I get three balls instead of only two.

However, I would say that this weekend’s biggest accomplishment for me was the amount of writing I accomplished. While I didn’t actually set pen to paper once with the intention of writing a part of my book, I had brainstormed a whole new novel/idea. It started off with an inspiration for a tattoo Friday while I was at work that had something to do with the cut of my sweater I was wearing that day. By this morning I had the beginning of a novel set out in my mind. A prelude and the start of how it would begin, a setting, and a couple of chapters planned out.

I have always wanted to write, but was in complete aw of how they came up with concepts for there books. I was also in complete aw in how they managed to manifest whole worlds that are completely believable. The histories and rich textures that coincide with the style and genre of novels I enjoy most and aspire to write.

What I have discovered this weekend is the pre-process to writing a novel. I thought it would be more difficult, like digging for water in a desert. I thought that because I read so much that I would be stealing ideas from another author. That all possible stories have been told, and that even if I was to write a book, I would find it already on a bookshelf somewhere. What I discovered is that once I tap into that well (water well), the ideas kept flowing, and while I do not have all the answers yet, I definitely have the questions involved with finding the story.

And then the next faze hit me. Research. I have to answer those questions. And parts of the answers are founded in research. For those authors who create a world based on our own, and even for those who create a whole new world, part of there inspirations come from what we have here. Science fiction is indeed based on science, even though it is fiction. No author has it any less easy in the research department whether they are using our current society as a landmark for there novel, or creating a whole new world.

A part of me would like to shy away from this task. Because as far as time management goes, I am really trying to do this all in my spare time, which to be perfectly honest, is not a whole lot of it. And there is an even greater part of me that not only wants to research, but wishes to travel and make experiences in which to base this research on.

I want to write about pirates, yet know nothing about sailing. I don’t want to read about ships and how they work, I want to work a ship. A big old fashioned wooden one. I am sure they have a name, but I don’t even know that. I feel so ignorant. Yet what it really leads me to believe is that an author is a Jack of All Trades. They must know enough about everything in order to have accurate information in their novels, even if they are writing fiction.

I think of the old adage, write what you know. A part of me knows that this is true, but another part of me says know more. Learn more, never stop learning. I have years ahead of me to fill my brain with knowledge. There will never be a point were I can say, “yes, now I know everything I will ever need to know, for this novel and every novel yet to come.” The world it evolving and we must stay on top of that knowledge, because something as simple as a light bulb changes the setting entirely of what you are writing. It goes from being medieval fantasy, to modern fantasy.

Another adage that comes to mind is, Make every word tell. This also I am in aw with authors over. I read, and I think wow, how they mince words, and use descriptions I would not have thought of to paint this picture. They are word smiths. They know words that while yes I am familiar with and understand, I would not always think of using. Instead I would reach for a familiar cliché, because of its convenience.

For the amount of time and effort, the sacrifices made, it doest not even begin to compensate authors for their work and efforts. Truly it is a career of love, for it is not for wealth, fame, and fortune. It is a passion, and drive larger than any tangible gratification.

And here I am caught up in its maw.

Jane Austen Book Club

2008-03-13T07:34:00.001-04:00

"He looks at me like I'm the bowl of ice cream and he's the spoon"- Jane Austen Book Club (the movie)

Is that not an incredible line or what? You really have to watch the whole movie though to get a true feeling for were this line comes from. I am really happy with the outcome of the movie, and although it is certainly predictable, the struggle to get where they are is believable. The whole movie itself is pretty darned phenomenal. It is fast paced and witty and funny. It is about the people’s lives of the book club and how their lives relate to those characters in Jane Austin's novels. I highly recommend watching this to anyone. It is not necessarily a guy’s film, actually pretty far from it, but if you are going to get your man to watch a chick flick, and this one is worth making him suffer through.

I can only hope that the book is as good as the movie.

Why Shoveling Driveways is Sexy

2008-03-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

Another birthday has come and gone. I am a year older, but it didn’t happen all in one day. Sure we celebrate the passing year on one day, but it happens in every day, each moment and in every breath, we grow older, and perhaps grow up a little too, though for some it may feel more like shrinking and getting wider as the years climb up. But besides the physical growth, we also grow mentally. We become wiser, have more life experiences to call from in order to make our judgments and decisions. Sometimes those life experiences leave us jaded and quick to judge and not take risks. Sometimes those life experiences force us to close our selves off from the world. Sometimes those life experiences teach us to reach out to those around us that we care for and value. Sometimes those life experiences work in mysterious ways to shape us into the people we have become.

My dad asked me on my birthday if I felt any older. The truth is both yes and no. Mentally I know I have changed, but I am more at peace with myself. I have goals for the future, some very realistic and practical and manageable and attainable, others that will require a bit further of a stretch and more time, energy, effort, creativity, and perseverance to come to pass. I feel very at peace with myself. I can control certain things around me, and the ones that I can’t I can live with and flow about. I find I have found an inner calm and a centre.

I have financial goals that will be realized before the summer starts. I have savings goals that will be commenced once summer starts and those other financial goals are realized.

I have traveling goals. These traveling goals require financial support and I have taken those into consideration in my financial planning. I wish to see Europe and would not be too disappointed if I have to quit a job in order to get the time off. Because to be perfectly honest, if I was doing my ideal career I wouldn’t have to barter with anyone but myself for time off, and of course I would say yes to me traveling to Europe. It would be like research.

I have career goals. I find my current job very boring and mundane; however it is a means to an end. I have aspirations of becoming an author and have been working towards those ends. I have words on paper, and ideas flow forth. I will write a couple of paragraphs and realize that with a little time and effort they could become whole chapters.

I have physical goals too. I want to go hiking this summer, and canoeing, and learn yoga. But it doesn’t all happen in one great big leap and bound. It starts out with small steps in the beginning. I am really making a concentrated effort on eating healthier. I have a gym membership and try to make it to the gym three times a week during the week days. I am also going to be starting a more focused workout plan.

My personal relationships are also going really really well. I feel very calm and at peace with where I am with the people around me. There is a little tension sometimes, but it isn’t any insurmountable tension. My friends are well, my family is well, and my mate and I are well, so is my little dog who by the way is the sweetest dog ever. I also just bathed her so she smells pretty darned fantastic too. Darren gets a secret joy out of letting her role around in the snow after her bath. This should bother me, but somehow it doesn’t. She will get dirty again eventually and I will bath her again eventually, and the cycle with continue. I am okay with that.

I have even come to an inner calm and peace in regards to the housework, it happens and I role with it. It is never ending, and I can accept that it will always consume time. I couldn’t quite grasp before when the yarn harlot would say that housework was a sexy trait in a man. Now I am starting to see what she means. I feel a sense of relief when Darren will do a couple of loads of laundry or run the dishwasher and put the dishes away. That is one less thing I must budget my time for, and it feels like a little gift of time to me. A little show of love and support. And that is why shoveling the driveway is sexy.

I really find that I like where my life is going. It is not a sense of control, but a sense of acceptance. I put forth effort into what I hope to accomplish and really feel as though it has been paying off. I know I am a long way off from were I want to be, but I think that the path I am making now will lead me in the right direction to the destiny I am meant to have. Destiny is not a preordained event; it is the journey we make for ourselves. I have the ability to make my own destiny. I am looking forward to what life gives me next.

the wee little socialites adventures continue

2008-03-07T19:10:00.004-05:00

Darren stopped by my work the other morning after night shift. And I know we didn't talk about anything too significant. There were no grand gestures of love, no earth breaking new to declare; just the regular day to day mundane hey I'm stopping by the grocery store is there anything you want, kind of stuff. And yet it still makes me feel like the most special girl in the whole wide world. I love that he stops on his way home, and I get a kiss, and I can mention that Rory had a wee accident in the apartment and that I cleaned it up as best I could at the time, but it still might be damp. It makes me smile and gives me a warm glow.

Anyways, this little socialites latest adventure include shopping on Monday evening, whereby I acquired purchased the starting of my new spring/summer wardrobe. I got a couple of blouses, two new pairs of jeans, a few tanks, some running shoes (I plan on doing a lot more outdoor exercising this summer) and a summer jacket. I want to go to Fabricland (once we have relocated our living situation and I will have an actually sewing room) and buy some material for a couple of summer dresses, a red jacket, and maybe a couple of blouses too. I will leave the pants situation up to Reitmans, because they seem to be the only place that has a realistic grasp on how women are actually shaped.

While we were at the mall on Monday evening there were collaborative can displays. Really it was awesome. Anyways, at the end of this post you will find the picture I took of the cans. Two points for every picture you guess correctly. Three points for creativity. Four points if you can somehow come up with a story for the picture that relates to my dog.

The continuing socialites adventures also included going out for super at Boston Pizza and going to go see the late show of The Other Boleyn Sister. Good movie, liked the book better. However, I understand what they cut out and why because they only have two hours to tell the story, so they had to make some executive creative decisions on how best to do that. The costumes however, were amazing. I also liked how they used there costuming to create similarity in the sisters and contrast at the same time.

My adventures also extended to Tuesday evening going over to Darren's Dad's place for supper. Good food, good company. We watched Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and the first five are really easy questions, and then they turn on the hard switch and I am all like who la, "I don't know notin bout 'merican history." Say that last part like a real red neck please. We also watched Jeopardy, and the one woman was taking the wildest guesses, kept digging herself into a whole, and then rallied at the end and came in from behind on the final jeopardy question.

My socialite adventures also spilled into last night. My good friend Trevor came over for a quick visit after his vocal lessons in my neck of the woods. Yup, I have woods. Anyways he bought me the most awesome pair of sunglasses as a birthday gift. I don't own sunglasses because I were glasses, but I still really like sunglasses and every now and then I rally myself and go for a search for sunglasses. But they all seam to fall short somehow. The ones he bought me rock, and I will be wearing my contacts a lot more this summer so I can show off my cool new shades. Plus I like the ambiance (wrong word but I am searching for something that means ambiance but in a more personalized manner) that sunglasses create. The look. The feel of them. The "I am so cool, and yet just looking casual and placed these on my face because of the sun, don't you know." Yah, that look.

So I am thinking that I have done my time as a socialite, and that hopefully I can look forward to a couple of evenings of solitude. But really, because I have been quite the little socialite, I am a-feared that I might miss my socializing and be in the middle of enjoying my solitude and then have this feeling hit me that something is missing. And that feeling will no longer allow me to enjoy my solitude but force me out of the house in search of sociale company. I think I will invite my parents over for super on Sunday; I am thinking either a ham or lasagna. Either or I cook really well and can't screw them up. Nock on wood.

Until later my good friends. Many happy a socializing.

The socilizing experiment.. aka drinking 101

2008-03-05T07:43:00.006-05:00

This little introvert has turned quite the social extrovert these past couple of weeks. I have been insanely busy, and a part of me totally thrives on it, and another part of me goes, no no, I need to hibernate. This weekend was my sister and mines birthday. Saturday night was party night. Sunday morning, was I got hit by a Mack truck day.

I wish my birthday was in the summer, we could rent a cabin somewhere and go camping, and have bonfires and beers, and swimming, and barbecues. That would be an awesome birthday party. Have all my close friends out for a weekend of fun. Unfortunately my birthday lands in the middle of winter, so we are left with things like bars to go to, or the movies. A pale substitute compared with camping for me.

Which really means we commenced mixology 101, aka the drinking experiment, whereby you drink as many different kind of drinks to insure your grand success by turning into a blubbering idiot, who is perhaps a wee bit emotionally unstable. And then for the grand finally when it is last call you become offended that they need to close the bar and rush over, or have someone who is more sober than you do the rushing, to acquire you your final amount of the elixir of idiot.

So we made the best of it, we had friends out. Loris friends showed up, only one of mine did, but I thank him all the same for coming. We started the night at Shawneseys, and ended it at my place for post drinks. Darren joined us after work, and was our DD back to the Hobbit Hole.

There was lots and lots of booze, and lots of laughter, and the band was good. The woman who was the lead singer in the band was in her early forties but looked more like early thirties. She took really good care of herself.

Tania, LAUREL the GREATs friend, put up with my drunken ramblings. I assure you that they followed no clear path of logic that I can remember. I vaguely remember giving her post relationship advice. It was supposed to be heart felt; unfortunately I think it just came out slurred.

We passed around the Fedora and took pictures, some were goofy, and some were supposed to be your sexy pose. I have discovered that I don't know how to make a sexy face for the camera without mocking Victoria Beckam, which just looks funny instead of sexy.

Lori got me another Fedora for my birthday, did I ever mention how I like to collect hats. I think they are fantastic. They are like a jewelry accessory to me. The only problem is when people want you to take them off when you are indoors. It's hard explaining why I want to keep it on; it's like do I ask you to take your earrings off, or your necklace. The hat is same kind of accessory to me.

Oh and our bartender was fantastic. You could say give me something fruity, and she would make you a delicious drink. I had lots of Banana Cream sickles. Yum yum. I think the whole Mack truck experience comes from the mixing of the different drinks. I think we tried to sample the whole bar. I also don't think that ordering doubles was the wisest course of action.

Next Year my loves, I think I want to travel somewhere on my birthday. I want to go see a musical or something fun and fantastic. Maybe I will fly to Hawaii for a week. I am definitely down with traveling though. LAUREL THE GREAT, you better start saving so we can travel together. Or we can rent a ski cabin at a chalet and go skiing for a weekend and hot tubing in the evening; that is the closest experience to camping in the winter. Actually I quite like that plan very much.

P.S. Sunday I visited with my Gramma and my Aunt Shan. I'm sorry I was poor company, however, thank you very much for your generous cards. I also had super at my parents place, where I only really at vegies, shrimp, and fruit, and skipped the main course. I'm sorry once again, that was all my tummy could handle. And sunday I got amazing gifts. The pic of me in the fedora is the try to be sexy pic. The fedora is my newest item to the hat collection. Thank you everyone for a wonderful birthday and amazing gifts. A girl can never have too many books. I alos hung up the picture you gave me mom; I hung it on one of the protruding previously place there not by me nails in my apartment. My head is on the bottom so A) I will be more prominent and B) my head looks less large on the bottom and more proportionate.

P.P. S. Sorry Rickolas I did not post any pictures of you on our adventures on Saturday evening. Dude you have to learn how to take better pictures. You resemble my dog when she gets caught with stupid face. And that is meant in the most kind and loving way possible.

LAUREL THE GREAT's Birthday... sorry it is a little late

2008-03-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Dear LAUREL THE GREAT:

I don't quite remember when you were born, I am told that I was jealous of you and tried to steal your soother. And while I don't remember this, I can probably accede to the fact that it is true. A certain part of me has always been jealous of you, but I think that is healthy and comes with the friendly competition of sibling rivalry.

What I do remember of being younger was that we were always together, willingly or unwillingly. Were I went, there you were. We took gymnastics together, and swimming lessons together, and while age separated us for brownies, I'm sure if you could you would have jumped up those steps from sparks to brownies as fast as possible to be with me. When we went camping we were each others best friends and enemy all at the same time. We shared friends, when we were younger unwillingly, and when we were older more willingly.

You and I are so similar, yet sometimes we are opposites. I never quite understood how this could be, yet a quarter is a quarter whether it is heads or tails, but there are still two different sides of a coin. One of us is heads, while the other is tails.

You were my shadow, my second half. But unlike Peter Pan I could never quite lose you. That is okay, I'm glad I never did. You challenged me. You were also my best friend. We went through some pretty rough times together, and because of those times we have bonded very close. You are my best friend in the whole wide world, and there is no one I trust more than you.

I know I haven't always been the best big sister there is. I know that we fought. But being a big sister is hard. I had to break the ice for almost everything, which meant that it would be easier sailing for you. And maybe I didn't say it enough, but I love you.

I am very proud of the young woman you have become. Proud to be your big sister, even prouder to be your friend. You are smart, and witty and intelligent. You are more the socialist and extrovert, than I am. You are outgoing and most almost always willing to go out and have a good time. You have good taste in music and in clothes, better than mine. And Rick isn't too bad of a catch either (I'm just joking, I think he is fantastic).

I hope that all your dreams for the future come true and wish you a most excellent Happy Birthday.

Love Always,

Big sis,

Julia

Birthday blog for me from my mom

2008-03-01T11:07:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to the child of my heart - I should have known when I felt that first little flutter under my heart, how you would steal in and take root. How two big brown eyes, topped with curly red hair, would entrance me. All of a sudden, the world was new again as I watched it unfold through your eyes. We've always referred to you as our little ray of sunshine - you would beam at the world, so sure in our love for you, that you just knew the whole world loved you too.

You've always been so fascinated with the working of things. I remember there was a play at the school on abuse - verbal, emotional and sexual. They invited the parents to preview it before giving consent, which I did. Then you saw it and I prepared myself for the question "Honey, do you have anything you'd like to ask me?" To which you replied, very solemnly "Yes, Mommy, I do". As I steeled myself and hoped I could answer without traumatizing you, you asked "How did three people play all those parts?" I think this was the start of your love of the theatre.

You've also always seen the bigger picture. I remember after Poppa died, Gramma was pushing you on the swing and every time you got to the highest point you would shout out something. Finally, Gramma - who finally smiled in her grief - realised you were shouting at the top of your little lungs "Hi Poppa and Jesus!".

You give yourself 100% to something and aren't afraid of a challenge. Take sewing - I took lessons and managed to make an apron as my first project. You took one look, thought 'I can do this' and produced a beautiful satin lined velvet cloak complete with hood. From there, you made your own grad gown and countless costumes for Ampgard. Your creativity in forming the costume company "Fairy Tales" also placed you in the top five for the Entrepreneurs competition for the Region.

Sometimes when I look at you, I can't believe that this beautiful, smart, witty young woman is my daughter. I count my blessings every day for both of my girls. My joy was doubled when I gave birth to your sister "Laurel the Great" three years and a day after you. I was ecstatic that I had a second daughter - you would have a sister (I have 3 and can't imagine my life without them) and I would have another little girl to love.

So, Happy Birthday child of my heart - I love you. I'm proud of you - proud to call you my daughter, proud that you're also my friend. The world is a better place with you in it, I'm blessed to be part of it. Mom XOXOXO

Knitting bug

2008-02-26T19:56:00.001-05:00

Every year around Christmas time I am hit with the knitting bug. I am inspired to create something with my own two hands lovingly for a family member. I think to myself, I will knit every one scarves. It can't be that hard. The stitches are easy. I know how to cast on and do a knit and a purl. I can have it all done. This never works out. With all the running around for Christmas and everything else I have to budget my time for, I just don't get a chance to finish that lone scarf that I cast on. I realize that had I started this need to re-learn how to knit a bit sooner, I would be better equipped with speed and agility and none of my clumsiness and fumbling around, however I am not.

So this past year (2007) the knitting bug bit a me a bit early. I was on the internet browsing around. I had just finished reading a tutorial on how to write a novel or short story. And I found a picture of a knitted sock, and I thought hey that looks really kind of neat, I think I could do that. I should also mention that I have a penchant for period style clothing, more of an obsession really. This was a period style child hose. Now I continued clicking links and low and behold I end up on the knitty.com website looking at socks. There are gorgeous socks. I fell I love with Classidra. I found Cookie A, who is a sock goddess.

This clicking around persists though. I felt like something was missing in my new found knitting career, or at least obsession. Eventually I found the Yarn Harlots blog. I read it, it was witty and funny. She also has some earth shattering profound moments and insights not relating to knitting that were moving for me. She was my daily smile, at a hard pass in life for me. And suddenly I was not just moved to learn how to knit, I went beyond that. I became obsessed with learning everything I could about it. I started to collect patterns, and magazines, and books, and ordered knitting supplies. I realized that I didn't just want to learn how to knit, I wanted to master it. I didn't just want yarn to make projects, I wanted my own yarn shop in my house. I wanted a stash. I haven't even finished my first scarf, or pair of socks that have originally inspired me and here I am thinking of making a wool house, and becoming a wool pig.

I was no longer thinking of knitting in terms of a hoby, but as a lifestyle journey I wanted to take. I no longer wanted to be a knitter, I wanted to be Knitter.

And so I should finish those socks, and tink back that row on the scarf because it ended on a knit instead of a purl. I should organize that stash, and clean off the table from sewing projects, because I am on my way to becoming a Knitter.

So sorry for the Neglect blog

2008-02-25T19:22:00.003-05:00

Dear Blog:

I am so deeply sorry that I have neglected you for the past week. However, I knew that you would understand. If it makes you feel any better my days felt incomplete not reporting to you. I did manage to have a good week, very busy, very very busy. I did miss you, and so to make it up you I am now going to report how I passed my time this past week without you. Please feel free to comment (also please feel free to sign your comments. I love to read them. I love even more to know who wrote them, not all of the comments are signed. Thanks to those who do sign there comments.).

Last week was so hectic. It started off with the finishing of a long weekend, the new family day holiday. I have no qualms with a new holiday, what I have issues with is retail getting a hold of it and morphing it into a spending spree that it does not need to be.

Tuesday evening must have been my most relaxed evening of them all. We went to the gym, were I watched gymnastics as I did some cardio. I kept saying go, but my legs were saying in your dreams. Later that evening Darren and I sat back and watched a movie and cuddled on the couch. And I thought, heck I have the rest of the week to get this apartment underway and do things like organize. Was I ever wrong.

Wednesday my friend TREVOR asked if Darren and I wanted to go out for coffee in the evening, this quickly got redirected to a couple of drinks, because neither Darren nor I are huge coffee fans. To be perfectly honest Darren does not drink coffee at all and I am so random sporadic about it, now that I am not in college and get a decent amount of sleep, I find that coffee is unnecessary.

So we went to Two Thumbs. And had hilariously good times. There were times to be perfectly honest were I spaced out and lost track of the conversation, because that is simply in my nature. But I have a few good quotes. I am going to make a quiz and you can guess as per what quote belongs to what situation. Tomorrow, or at a later date depending how generous I am, I will explain and reveal the answers.

QUOTE A: She's a 37 year old 23 year old.
1) American Idol Contestant
2) My dog
3) A midlife crisis
4) Our waitress

QUOTE B: She's Manolicious.
1) My dog
2) American Idol
3) Britain's Top Model
4) Our Waiter

QUOTE C: What type of socks do Pirates wear?
1) they don't wear socks
2) long knitted hose, because they are fashionable
3) Arrrrrrgyle
4) My dog

QUOTE D: Instead of a Pot of Gold, a Prada Hand Bag.
1) Something related to the fashion industry
2) I don't remember but I'm sure Trevor will let me know
3) My dog
4) All of the above (why not, eh?)

There was much laughing and good times to be had. And afterwards when I got home and was in the shower, I was promptly told to hurry up and get out and get bundled up and go outside because it was an eclipse of the moon. I was totally warned that this was happening, and really had intention on witnessing it, but me being who I am totally forgot about it. I made it as the moon was re-revealing itself, and was surprisingly well bundled up very warmly considering that my hair was style sopping wet. It was really beautiful, this orange colour glowing behind the part that is supposed to be hiding with a sliver of silver showing. I hope you all got a chance to see it.

Thursday, I raced home and Darren and I went and did groceries. I end up getting the most stuff, because I need fresh veggies and dip every week, and then lots of healthy stuff for lunch, and breakfast and supper, not in that order of course. We also went to go see Definitely, Maybe, Yes. It was a very sweet story, a romantic comedy, a little slow in the middle, but cute all the same, gives a nice feel good vibe at the end. I recommend seeing it, however maybe more in the comforts of your own home. It did not require a big screen to get the full effects of the movie. I really like the little actress that was in it. She seams to be popping up all over the place.

After that we went to the Nightclub were Eargasm was playing. It is the Cambrian College Music program rock band. Members are always changing. I think the acoustic of the place could definitely be improved. I also think that they would be a good band to hear in the summer on the water front with a couple of beers. The middle of winter in a club, just didn't have the right atmosphere for them.

Friday is truly were my week got hectic. I rarely ever facebook, to be perfectly honest I might facebook once a month, maybe. Anyways I facebooked this week. And low and behold, one of my other friends who facebooks as often as I do, facebooked me to let me know about a party happening on Friday. And I thought well, heck why not.

Now I did already have plans for Friday night, I was going to watch a movie with my mom. But my mom being the kind and understanding person that she was did not mind me multitasking my night. We had time to make a couple of stops on the way home, grab a bight to eat with the movie, and watch a movie, The Jane Austin Book Club, my second time and it was till awesome, and I still had 40 minutes before the bus was coming to go back into Sudbury.

The beauty of Darren working afternoon shifts means that I can go out and party with my friends and there is someone to be the DD. I normally end up being the DD. I don't usually mind, but sometimes I want to let go and have a good time too. And letting go and having a good time is precisely what I did once I got the frat house(that is what I refer to Sean and Dave's place. While I think they only have 2 people who are going to college or university out of six people in the whole house, the style in which they live in reminds me of a frat, the beer drinking kind that need a good tidy up. And by good I mean severe).

This weekend was frostbite, a winter Wolven Fang, Amtgard event. And while I decided that I did not actually want to get Frostbite, I still wanted to visit and hang out with my friends. So my mother being the kind and understanding person that she is did not mind at all when I called her Saturday morning at 11:00 am to ask if I could acquire the car that day around 3-ish to head on out to the event. I also needed to acquire one Bush man and take him out to the event too. When all was said and done we made it out for around 5:30-ish.

As a side note, ISH is like a timeframe to mean approximately in the broadest sense of the term. And by broad I mean anywhere from a couple of hours, to months, to years that ish can cover as long as you attach it to the right terms. Like February-ish would mean months, 2008-ish could mean years.

I stayed for super and for the awards, but honestly because I haven't been in such a long time, I was so unfamiliar with the Role Play I didn't want to start anything that I couldn't follow up on. So I hung out, but I probably should have brought some knitting or some embroidery, something to do with my hands that would have created interest to those around me. I left around 8ish and was in bed by 11ish. I was supposed to call Sean to hang out but I was simply way to exhausted.

Sunday, oh glorious Sunday, was the day upon which that the mess that is my apartment finally got dealt with. Yes my friends I did laundry, I cooked, I vacuumed, I did the bathroom, I found our kitchen table amid my sewing projects. I dug them out a couple of week ago (sewing projects) with intentions on getting some things done. They just sat there on the table taking up space. I used the sewing machine once, and that was to fix Rory's hotpants. I made super for my parents, and prepped everything food wise and clothing wise for myself for the rest of the week. The last thing I need to do for food prep is make some hummus tonight.

I watched the academy awards last night, and found that for the most part the movies that were nominated were about 5 that were repeated through the majority of the categories. By the end I was just like wow, I wonder witch one has collected the most. I haven't even scene any of them yet, and besides Juno I don't really want to see any of them. I was really rooting for Juno because it would have been the underdog had it cleaned up shop. It didn't. It only one best screen play. I was happy for it.

Now today starts with me acquiring my co-workers office. She has been relocated to the back to share an office and focus on work order entry, and I am the new receptionist. Everyone seams to be moving up and around here, and I am still the lowest person on the totem pole yet the happiest about it. Everyone else is all like, ouch my toes, you are stepping on them. They are pretending to be good natured about it, but I can sense the hostility. Oh well, I try not to be too happy about the new developments around them, lest it feel like I am rubbing there noses in it.

Wow, this is very long. So sorry about that guys. I hope the few pictures I did post helped to break up the monotony.

Hope you guys had a fulfilling as a week as I did.

- yours truly, Jem. (those are my initials. As an extra added bonus to the questionnaire you can tell me what they are. Or not. Either way. Oh yeah 2 points for every question you get right. I may or may not develop an ongoing points system. I might just do it on the honour system and let you keep track of your own points. Not that I think there will be prizes or anything, but if I felt like prizes I might base it on points, or a random draw. Who knows. Apparently I don't.)

Top five authors in fantasy I like to read

2008-02-20T07:27:00.002-05:00

Since I moved out last year I have been having a hard time finding time for reading. I thought I had lost my groove with it. I just couldn't find a book that made me want to sink my teeth into it and find the time for it. I thought maybe it was the books. I also thought maybe it was the change in lifestyle. Whatever it was I just could not find my reading groove. Sure I read, and I read some pretty phenomenal stuff too. However, I didn't read it with the same vigor and passion and it took me three times as long to finish anything.

I think I have now finally found the grove again. I am currently reading Forest Mage by Robin Hobb, the last installment of her Soldier Son trilogy. I do not love it as much as I do her other trilogies, however, I do like it still. She is an amazing artist with a spectacular ability for portraying characters. I absolutely love her style as an author. I only wish I could aspire to write as well as she does.

Originally I had thought to pull myself out of this groove I would re-read favourites. It would be easier an wouldn't require as much concentration and I would get to find new things in the stories to love. I was going to begin with Robin Hobb's Liveship Trader Trilogy. Butt now, since I seam to have found my passion again I just want to sink my teeth into everything that I have waiting for me on my book shelf.

I think I am still going to reread the Liveship Trader Trilogy, not just because I love them, but for research into character portrayal and plot development. And the sheer artistry of how she skips from character to character and still keeps you drawn and waiting with baited breath.

I have been meaning to get into the classics. I think that will be my summer goal, to read Ann of Green Gables, and Jane Austin. Previously, I had started them, but for Ann of Green Gables I was too young to grasp it (I was really into the babysitter club at the time), and for Jane Austin I found that it really required concentration as I was not used to that style of writing. The way they spoke is much different than the way we speak.

I love Robert Jordan, his Wheel of Time series is phenomenal as is his system of magic. He has created a whole new world from the ground up, and the epic proportion of it all is very believable. The politics involved are amazing, and almost make me want to follow our own politics. Almost.

I also thoroughly enjoy Terry Pratchett, his satiric sense of homour in a fantasy land is like a breath of fresh air. He parodies reality in a fantasy world. I save his books as little quickies of desert morsels. They are a special treat to me.

I also really enjoy George RR Martin. His epic fantasy is amazing. He writes the story from both sides, so it is not simply a good versus evil, but varying points of view. I can't help but root for the bad guys sometimes because his portrayal of characters shows the story from both sides and you can begin to understand why they think like that. It is amazing. I wish to be able to write like him as well.

And last but not least Tolkien. While there was indeed fantasy before him, he truly defined it. I have yet to actually finish reading Lord of the Rings, the movies kind of stalled me on that. But as the beginner of it all, the one to open our eyes to the world possibilities, he did a fantastic job.

There are many others but those are my top five. I would recommend them to anyone. They all have very different styles of writing and voice that an aspiring author could benefit to learn much from.

Happy Birthday Darren

2008-02-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

Friday was Darren’s birthday. I had written most of this post on Friday intending on posting it when I got home, but stuff happens. So a little belated today will be his birthday blog.

A GREAT BIG HAPPY BIRHTDAY goes out to him. And here are the reasons why he rocks my socks.

He is a very layed back person. He takes everything in stride. Mostly, even his little bit of temper is really very in stride and never misdirected.
He is a Musician. He plays bass and acoustic guitar. Though in bands it is Bass. He also sings. I think the whole musician thing is dead sexy.
He has long hair. This may not be the height of fashion, but it looks very good on him.
He is a dog person.
He knows lots of quirky facts, and likes to watch jeopardy. He also reads Uncle John Bathroom readers for the quirky facts, and proceeds to tell me about the ones he thought I would be interested in, like the pirate ones, or the riddle ones. And while he never really committed to school, he is very smart.
He does drama, and likes plays. We actually met doing a musical together.
He is very personable. I can take him anywhere and he gets along with everyone.
I can take him anywhere. Yarn store, doesn’t faze him, book store is cool too, any play or concert I want to go to and he is game. I like this a lot.
He wants to travel. He is also a good traveling partner (this information gathered from road trips), who doesn’t loose his temper at stupid stuff. We are going to go to Europe.
He knows how to do laundry, cook, and all other manner of household work and chores. While he doesn’t often employ these skills, I can count on him to kick in when I need it.
He goes to the gym. He watches sports. He plays various sports. He is a bit of a jock, but not the meathead type. The musician and acting thing really help to balance it all out. He is very versatile.
He takes very funny pictures (of himself). He makes the funniest faces. See above picture.
He also has a good eye with the camera. I love when he is taking pictures; he gets good stuff, way better than mine.
He has a wicked off beat sense of humour that I totally get most of the time. He makes me laugh.
He is a hard worker. If you ask him to do something he gets it done (eventually), and he does it well.
He loves me. We live together, and I know that I am not an easy person, but he deals with all the quirks in stride. I think sometimes that he knows me better than I know myself.

I love you Darren, very much. And hope you had awesome birthday, or at least on okay one since you had to work.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Jem

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-14T06:38:00.000-05:00

Valentines Day is about the people you love who surround you. Whether they are lovers, friends, family, or even pets, they have showered you with their love and helped to shape you into the person you are today. Love is not always easy; it is not always peaches and cream. Love can be tough, and love can be trying. But love is worth all obstacles. Please see the Yarn Harlots post on love.

I may not be rich, but I am wealthy in love. So here is a list of those who have helped me to become the person I am today and a few reasons why they are valued. I value them with much love, and great regard.

To Darren: you are the love of my life. I could not imagine a future without you in it. And while I may not always be peaches and cream to live with I appreciate your laid back calm and cool manner. Thank you for the inner peace and calm you have brought to me. You are my whole wheat bread. The little things are just as greatly appreciated as the big, as are the mundane and the romantic. I love that you are a musician, it is dead sexy.

To Roo Bear. Dog, you are unbelievable cute and quirky and I have gained many a good laughs either with you are at you. Sometimes you can be a bit annoying, but I love you anyways. You are nice and cuddly and while sometimes you are quite the talker I appreciate your company to no end. You give unconditional love and all you really want is a little attention, food, and lots of time outdoors. And more food.

To my Mom: She birthed me, which I hear is not an easy task. She also says that although she never really wanted kids, she loved me with such ferocity when they first put me in her arms. She says it was like a mama bears love. If I was lying on a train track and a train was coming not only would she jump in front of the train to stop it, she would honestly believe that she could. Over the years she has supported me in many endeavors, from skating lesson, to gymnastics, to drama, to college, to moving out on my own (well with Darren). She has given me the confidence and room to grow and become the person I am today. She has also been a good friend with excellent listening skills when I needed someone to just talk too and sort things out.

To my Dad: While he did not birth me he was there through the whole process and when I was delivered. All that talking to me in my mothers belly paid off. When I heard his voice I swiveled my little head around and recognized him. He took a more disciplinary approach to raising me, and while I did not always appreciate it at the time it has helped to make me a stronger person. I would not have been able to stand up and fight through those hard times had I not your love, support, and strong guidance. Thank you for being there for me dad, and helping to shape that tougher inner core that I now possess. I truly feel that I can weather any storm now.

My sister. She is my best friend and confident. We have weathered many a storm together. While we are both so similar in many aspects, we are both unique individuals with dramatic differences. I love her to pieces and would travel the ends of the world for her if she needed it.

To my Gramma: She is an amazing woman of great fortitude and strength. She helped raise me (babysat me during the day while my parents were at work) until she had to take care of my papa full time. And while I may not visit as often as I would like, I love you dearly and you mean a great deal to me.

To my Papa: even though you are not with us any longer, I still love you immensely. My earliest memories are of you, the smell of cucumbers remind me of your green house, and I can’t have hard boiled eggs without thinking of you in your rocker.

To my Aunts on my Mothers side of which there are three: They all have there own individual qualities that make them awesome to have as aunts. They are quirky and funny, and I can have a laugh with them… well mostly. They have showered me with love growing up and I have always had good times with them. They have also been there through a lot of big personal victories, like graduating from high school, and college, and seeing the plays I have been in.

To my Aunt and Uncle on my Dad’s side: While there are more than the two, there are the ones I am most familiar with. Thanks to my aunt for giving me a place to stay when I decided that I was a small town mouse and not a big city girl. And thank you to my uncle for all the Christmas Eve visits. I never really realized the tradition till I moved away and missed it.

To all of my cousins and other family members: Good times have always been spent together. Fond memories created that I will always cherish. Thanks for those moments’ guys; I think you are all cool stuff.

To my babysitter Memere: you were like a second grandmother to me and I will always remember you kindly and fondly. Thank you for treating me like one of your own.

To all my friends: You are all phenomenal. All hand picked for your special qualities. Some have been a shoulder to cry on and some have been friends to laugh with. Some have been friends to share secrets with and friends to have good times with. Others have been all of the above and others only some of the above, and others still have been even more (head out of the gutter). And even though I don’t spend as much time with you, I want you to know that I value our friendship and always think fondly of you. Thank you for showing me a world of possibilities and imagination.

A letter to the public trasit system....

2008-02-12T19:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Public Transit System:

I appreciate greatly that you provide a transit system at such a reasonable price, that strives to be more environmentally friendly, than lets say all the extra cars on the road if we could all afford our own vehicles. I truly appreciate this service.

However, I feel that some changes are in order. Now, I am a considerate person, who does not expect to spew off problems without providing possible solutions. So as well as the areas I feel need improvements I will also provide suggestions in which you can improve those areas.

I realize that on the schedule it says that times are subject to change without notice and that the transit system will not be held accountable. However, I feel this is poor judgment on your part. If you are posing a way to be more economical and environmentally correct, the least you can do is A) run on time B) make all of the other busses wait so that one bus and its patrons can make there connecting transfers C) if you can't comply with B then have more buses on the bus routes so that if a bus is running late, it doesn't effect the patrons so much because there will be another bus around in 5 minutes anyways. D) in the winter provide heated bus shelters at every stop. I realize this last suggestion is a bit ridiculous but one can get frost bite in less than five minutes, and if a bus is running ten minutes late, well then you know were I am going with this.

Furthermore, I do not think it to ridiculous to ask that you have working heaters on the buses. Ones that do not take 2 hours to warm up to a suitable temperature. Yes I realize that in the winter we are all supposedly dressed appropriately for the elements, but the assumption is that at least once we get on the bus we no longer have to worry about the wind chill factor. Unfortunately this is not true, the drafts are atrocious. Perhaps warm woolen blankets and heated seats would also help speed up the process of re-warming your patrons. Maybe even a coffee and hot chocolate service on the bus. I assume this is not out of the budget, as I have taken a ride in the new coach buses that resemble Greyhounds. They are gorgeous. More of those buses on every rout would also be greatly appreciated.

I would also like to suggest working air condition too, for the summer. I have been in there and it has been a sauna, and no amount of window opening has helped, with the heat or the stench of too many bodies and not enough air circulation. While I appreciate the efforts at heat it is a bit futile in the summer. If only you could somehow find a way to reverse your season efforts. Perhaps convertible style busses, ones that have tops that go up an down, down for warm days to have the wind blowing through ones hair, and up on the rainy days and the evenings. I admit that this would look a bit silly, but it is better than the lack of solutions you have offered thus far for this reoccurring problem

I understand about traffic, road conditions, bus failure, lots of stops, wheelchair accessible and accidents. What I don't understand is when there are none of these conditions present and the bus is not on time. Furthermore, what confuses me more about the situation is the need for the bus driver to drive like a bat out of hell, like they have suddenly discovered were their gas peddle was all along and its true purpose in life. I don't mind them using the gas peddle at all. I actually thoroughly encourage it. What I mind is that they couldn't make this discovery in the first place. There is a gas peddle, use it. You make stops, I get that. Doesn't mean you have to be a slow poke about it. You have a schedule, stick to it man.

Once again I would thoroughly like to thank you for the services provided in transporting me from location to location in your stunning chariot of bus. I also greatly appreciate all the reading time I have gained, by not driving myself, and the loads of money I have saved. The lack of sleep for rising so early to make the appropriate transfers too, has not gone too horribly missed as well. If you have any further inquiries on how much I truly value your services and how I would like to help you help me by improving the system, by all means feel free to contact me in the future.

Until then,
Yours truly,
And ever more,

Jem

WARNING: This blog is long. Sit down have a cup of coffee and enjoy.

2008-02-11T20:45:00.000-05:00

My weekends consist of approximately 37 free hours. These calculations are based from when I get off of work Friday afternoon, to when I go to bed Sunday evening. I have accounted for sleeping time as well. And out of these 37 free hours, I have scene the play Grease twice, hung out with some friends, gone out for super twice, went over for super once, went skating, drove in a snow storm, cleaned my apartment, started watching a movie, watched a little TV (the Grammies), did a wee bit of knitting, and did an even wee-er bit of reading.

Friday evening we met up with Trevor at Chapters. WARNING: do not take me to CHAPTERS, no matter how much I beg and plead. I can always find something I am coveting. I may have had a wee bit of an accident at Chapters, were I purchased the last Yarn Harlot book (author: Stephanie Pearl McPhee) for my collection, Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot’s Guide to the Land of Knitting. And Sensual Knits, by: Yahaira Ferreira.

We then went for dinner at Boston Pizza, Trevor, Darren and I. I ordered the cactus nachos. WARNING: they are made with potatoes chips. They are good, but if you are expecting actual nacho chips, they are a bit heavy to get through.

From there we proceeded to go see the opening night of Theatre Cambrians Grease. Opening night is when they have the most energy and are most likely to make a mistake. Two combinations to make a great show. WARNING: if you are expecting to see the movie performed on stage, you are wrong, this is the original Broadway version.

Afterwards we proceeded over to Peddlers for a few drinks, and even though I was the DD I didn’t find my bed till 5 in the am.

Saturday morning didn’t commence until noon. Darren and I went skating on the ice trail they have on Ramsey Lake, it follows the board walk. The snow was beautiful and gorgeous, like a wonderland. We did one lap of the trail, and at the end before we turned back they had a hot chocolate booth. I wish I would have thought to have taken a picture of my hot chocolate. I was asked if I wanted a supreme and I said yes. WARNING: a supreme is quite supreme. It has a whip cream mountain with little candied sprinkles, and you think that is good, but then it has little marshmallows under that layer that are adding extra cream to your hot chocolate while you are eating the whip cream. It was phenomenal. The guy behind me asked for what I was having after her saw it. Oh yeah.

We went out for super/breakfast at 4 at Perkins. Wonderful food, lovely menu. WARNING: serving sizes are huge there. You pay ten bucks and you get a platter full of food. Two people could eat all of that. Well two of me, not two of Darren.

On the way home from town it was snowing but the roads were not too bad. This is an important fact you might want to remember. I repeat: the roads were not too bad.

So we went over to my parents place and were offered more food that unfortunately we had to decline because of aforementioned proportion sizes at Perkins. WARNING: Bikini season is approaching (well in four months) however, if I start now I have a higher success rate of being in shape for it. Round is not the desired shape I am going for, neither is square, or triangular.

Anyways the event for that night was more Grease for me. Darren was going to a hockey game with my Dad (long live hockey night in Canada), but as LAUREL THE GREAT was in town with Rick, we had decided to go out to Grease. Now remember those roads that were not so bad. Well at shortly after 7 (about two hours later) they were complete slush. I drove between 60 and 70 the whole way in and insisted that Rick drive us home. If anything had gone terribly wrong I probably would have ended up screaming at the top of my lungs, this would not resolve anything. That was a major deciding factor in getting Rick to drive home; he has experience in slushy weather and can keep a cool head.

The play was good the second time around. WARNING: if the lights go on in the auditorium and the actors look confused, it is probably a fire alarm. Yup, during grease lightning the fire alarm went off. They finished the first half of the song, but we all had to evacuate outside until the fire department came and cleared us and turned it off. Some people thought it was the fog machines or the herbal cigarettes that they were smoking as props. However, during Beauty and the Beast we had pyrotechniques there without a hitch. Someone must have pulled it for whatever reason. So I took pictures for the blog. Yup, I am a geek. LAUREL THE GREAT made fun of me, and several other people most likely thought I was crazy. But I needed proof.

On the way home there was an accident right before we got home. They were turning people back fairly early, so it cost us a little to detour but not a lot. The drive home was quite as we were anxious about the roads. I think Rick was confident but both LAUREL THE GREAT and I (me mostly) were being horrendous back seat ninny drivers (once again, me mostly). WARNING: This needs to be reiterated, I am a horrible back seat driver. I try to stay quite, but sometimes I can’t. I think I said at one point “Really I’m okay with you doing 50 the whole way home. Nothing wrong with that.” Yah 50 in an 80. It was slow going but we got home safe and sound.

Sunday, oh glorious Sunday, I spend the day making amends with my apartment. I profusely apologized to it for the neglect that I had been showing it. I cleaned it top to bottom. Or as close too as counts. I didn’t dust. Really we don’t have spare surfaces for dust to settle on. Every inch is used up by things like books and knitting and they are constantly being moved so dust doesn’t have much of a chance to settle. That’s what you get when you live in a hobbit hole. I did all of the laundry too, yet somehow we have managed to accumulate one more load. It can wait.

Rory also went into heat Sunday morning, might have been Saturday night. All I know is I woke up with her who who resting on my arm and a smudge of blood. I have decided that as the carpets need washing anyways, and she is a fairly clean dog about it (keeping the who who clean), and because Darren is working day shift and I work days all the time, and she will be spending most of this week in a kennel, that I am going to go without the doggy diapers. She hates them, and I am going to wash the carpet afterwards because they need it and there isn’t much carpet, and the other things that I would worry about blood on have blankets on them that can be washed. And with me being a girl and having similar monthly experiences, I know how to get blood out. WARNING: if this grosses you out at all, because it might, then I will consider making her were her hot pants (the home made doggy diaper, the only one that will stay on relatively properly).

I went for super at my parents place again, after LAUREL THE GREAT, Rick and I had started watching the Grease movie at my place. WARNING: movie was on VHS, video quality low, songs that annoyed me before still annoy me know. Food was good, but as it had been a long weekend (well with lots of events), we cut out early and headed home for seven.

I had plans on reading; however, Darren convinced me that I should watch the Grammies. I said I only like the Oscars and he countered with the fact that the Grammies have the best musical performances. My favourite parts of the Oscars are the musical performances, so I caved. Darren won. This is when I earned my wee bit of knitting time. We didn’t finish watching the Grammies, sleep won. I was okay with that.

P.S. My even wee-er bit of reading time occurred before my second viewing of Grease when I read the introduction to Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot’s Guide to the Land of Knitting.

WARNING: This post is now over.

2008-02-07T23:49:00.000-05:00

Okay this is just a quick post to let every one know that you should now be able to post comments. Please somebody besides me go and test this theory. At the bottom of this post hit the comments link (it is pinkish). If the comments link does not appear click on the time. It will show the comments for that post under neath that post, and will show a link called post a comment. A new window should pop up to write your comment in. At this points type whatever you like, then select your identifications. you will also have to type a verificatoin word, that will be shown on the screen. At the bottom when you scroll down, there willbe a button that says publish comment. Hit that , and everything should be good. I really hope it should all be good. I am so sorry about the technical dificulties. If this works I promise I won't moderate any more of the comments settings. Thank you so much for your patience.

Sincerely
Jem

Happy Birthday Gramma

2008-02-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today is going to be one big shout out blog to one very special person.

Today is my Gramma's birthday. Here are the reasons why she is the most amazing and awesome Gramma ever, or at least in my books.

Today she is an undisclosed number of years that is higher than 80 yet less than 90. This is phenomenal. While some might just call it living, I think that this is an accomplishment.
She is the sweetest little old lady, who has a heart of gold. She is kind and loving and would do almost anything for her family.
She still lives on her own. This is another great accomplishment. She is a mighty fiercely independent woman. I admire that strength and inner fire that she possesses.
She loves to read. Her goal is to read 60 books a year, mostly murder mystery. She has also read all of the Harry Potter books. She has cool written all over her.
She taught me how to knit. She also showed me what DPNs were all about. While I didn't stick to it when she showed it to me, her first lessons have stuck with me. I am not scared of DPNs.
You can have a conversation with her about snot. We did this on Christmas eve. It was mighty hilarious. Good times. She has a wicked sense of humour.
She raised for daughters. This could not have been easy, and yet she is still as sane as the rest of us.
She plays scrabble on a regular basis. She also womps my mother and my Aunt Lane at scrabble on a regular basis. And the oddest thing of it all is that she still frets that her mind is going on her.
She does not like to have her picture taken. This is not because of some superstition that cameras are soul stealers. She just simply does not like to be caught off guard in a picture. It's just one of many quirky traits.
She has lived through such a changing world. She has gone from having to go to the lake and chip a hole in the ice in the winter to get water to indoor plumbing. She has scene the dawn of a technological era. She has a microwave.

Love you much Gramma and hope you have an awesome birthday.

The beginings of an adventure between FAIR MAIDEN and NOTEBOOK

2008-02-05T21:08:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time in the kingdom in which FAIR MAIDEN resides there was a Christmas that was celebrated not to long ago. There were many gifts exchanged and many a good time to be had. In particular, FAIR MAIDENs sister gifted her with a NOTEBOOK (she gifted her with other awesome things as well, but we are here today to discuss this NOTEBOOK). This NOTEBOOK was no ordinary notebook.

It was a NOTEBOOK of note. It was gorgeous, with a smooth and soft foe leather cover in a beautiful spring leaf green with flowers embossed into it. It had two bookmarks of fine satin cord, one white, and one silver, of which to mark ones place. The pages were perforated; this was an extra special feature, that would ensure that if a page needed to be removed (because it had been deemed unworthy) that it would not leave an ugly visible scar.

Now FAIR MAIDEN new of the NOTEBOOKs extra special nature, and she spent many a night thinking about its fate. She first thought that it could be her list of things to do book, but she had one of those already, and well it just seamed like the NOTEBOOK was destined for more. FAIR MAIDEN toyed with the idea of using it as her knitting journal. It would hold note relating to projects, and pieces of prized yarns. This idea however, was also not deemed worthy enough.

Then one day FAIR MAIDEN had an epiphany. FAIR MAIDEN has had dreams of becoming an author. However, FAIR MAIDEN has also been terrified of committing words to paper. FAIR MAIDEN looked over at NOTEBOOK and asked it if it was up to the task of being the start of one of her novels. She had had difficulty before with unruly subjects put to this task, and needed some reassurances.

But NOTEBOOK in all of its wisdom assured FAIR MAIDEN that it alone was the only one that would ever be acceptable to such a tasks. And that the reason FAIR MAIDEN had been experiencing such fears was because she did not have NOTEBOOK in her life to reassure her confidence. NOTEBOOK whispered to her that it would be there for her. That is would not judge her, and simply allow her to commit words down without feeling trapped by them.

And FAIR MAIDEN felt so reassured by NOTEBOOKS words that she instinctively started to jot down ideas in regards to her characters and her novels. And you know how NOTEBOOK reacted? Very well. He did exactly as he had promised. He had offered her a release and a starting point for a new journey and adventure that they were to have and go on together.

And thus is the beginnings of FAIR MAIDEN and the NOTEBOOKS adventures.

May Karma be with you... and various knitting projects

2008-02-04T21:21:00.000-05:00

Monday morning started in a bang off jolly good way. Rory and I successfully managed to lock ourselves out this morning. Thankfully my parents have a spare set of keys and live a five minute adrenaline rush jog away. I was a little frustrated at the situation, but managed to laugh it off. I think it’s funny and was bound to happen at some point.

I have also done a little inner exploration into my time management skills, and would like to bitterly complain that I am missing about 30 hours in my week that are unaccountably sucked up by the time warp machine. If you have found these hours, please return them. I promise I will put them to good use.

Truly, I calculated the hours I use for various activities in my weeks and somehow the hours left over don’t seam to match the free time I actually have at the end of the week; there is a big gap of like 30 hours missing. I think it might be sucked up by the public transit system; my only way to consolidate this loss is to multitask this as my reading time.

Today I will present to you some of the creative projects I am working on right now. I think I will start a list on the side bar of the all creative projects I am working on. This wonderful idea I am stealing from this blog here. I also like how she has a list of things in her sidebar she has completed, and a list of blogs she likes. I think I might do the same. I love the organization and I also like the idea of being able to click through blogs of similar interest.

These are the socks I started this weekend. They are going to be my evening knit. Here are the details in regards to them.

Yarn: Palette 100% Peruvian Wool Fingering weight
Color: Rainforest Heather
Needles: DPN US size 1 (2.25 mm) 6” nickel plated Knit Picks
Pattern: Tilting Cable Socks (interweave knits, Winter 2007)
Started: February 3, 2008

This is a necklace that was absolutely gorgeous, but got sacrificed to a door handle at work. It was a little long, and is now beyond repair, but not salvation. I am going to attempt to make my own stitch markers out of it.

This is a scarf I started. I am torn between finishing the scarf in all of its monotony and dreaded yarn or sacrificing it to test various stitch patterns that inspire me out of my recently acquired brand spanking new stitch dictionaries. The pattern is so boring I want to gouge my eyes out. Further more I am not to found of the yarn. However, when I pulled it out today I was charmed by its simplicity. Plus I longed to finish at least one knitting project no matter how boring and mundane I found it to be. Maybe I can find Zen in knitting this. Your votes and opinions on the subject greatly appreciated.
Yarn: from Walmart, Red heart I believe, in some sort of turqoisy colour without a dye lot (I lost the ball band, and could care less) It is acrylic though.
Needles: Straights 4.5 MM
Pattern: Child’s winter scarf (out of Maran Illustrated Knitting and Crocheting)
I love the book, marvelous photographed pictures for beginners to start from. Good basics.
Started: Sometime in November I think 2007

I have some sewing projects I would like to get back to, but I will share those at a later date.

For now, may karma be with you.

P.S. I would like to give a shout out to the young gentleman (well really were around the same age I suppose) on the bus today. I know you will probably never stumble upon my blog ever, but thank you for holding the end of my duffle while I zipped it shut. It was a completely random act of kindness and so simple a task, he didn’t even think about it, he just reacted, yet I really appreciated it. I don’t think people say thanks often enough, even for the smallest gestures of kindness. So to you mystery stranger, whom I might see again on the bus, Thank You; it does not go unnoticed.