For Infinity

Final Countdown

2005-07-26T11:52:00.000-04:00

Well, operations are slated to close on either Saturday or Sunday. I may possibly be hangin’ out until next Saturday, the 6th, but it all depends on how quickly movers, cleaners, etc can get their job(s) done which of course can’t even start until ops finishes.

So. It’s weird, I don’t know if we’re all avoiding thinking about it, or if most of us are just past the point of caring, but there’s little emotion being expressed these days, given that there’s so much history between those of us that are left and this company. Like I said, either we’re avoiding it, or we just don’t care any more.

A couple of us have been wondering about the ‘we’ll-keep-in-touch’ promise that many tend to make at the drop of a hat. Some people really intend to keep in touch, and some people really rely on the promise and pray that it’s kept in order to make the leaving easier I guess. I feel bad, because I know that there’s at least one person in here who is honestly all shook up about this closure. I know I’ll promise her we’ll keep in touch. I know I’ll not be very good at keeping my promise too. I promised with the best of intentions, which I think most of us do, but I know in reality that she and I were never really friends. I’m HR, I listened to her, I helped her through her low spots, she loves me like a daughter she says. She’s an awesome woman, but we just (from my perspective) weren’t friends. Well we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

On an upside I’ve gotten lots of cool stuff from the office. It’s funny how stuff just starts disappearing out of here and ends up in my house. Strange, eh?

Well, off I go, I’m sure there’s actual work to be done, just not sure what.

Gittin 'Er Done

2005-07-22T13:26:00.000-04:00

I’ve actually been pretty busy at work; the ball is starting to roll faster with the upcoming office closure. Our final day of calling will be next Saturday or Sunday, and then I have to be available through the week of the 6th to help with directing movers, cleaners, charities, etc. Our computers are going to a charity that fixes them up and donates them to new Canadians, so in a purely selfish way I feel good about that. We’ve also donated a whole whack of binders, etc to the Rogers School Supply drive, and that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy too.

I still don’t have my car back. Something about $5G in damages making it take longer to fix .. blah, blah, blah. Whatever, I’m no mechanic. And the Boy is bugging me to buy the rental car that we’ve been driving. It’s a 2005 Malibu, and man is it ever nice. A/C and it’s got some kick to it I’ll tell ya. I’d almost venture to say it’s better than the Mustang I was privileged enough to drive a couple weeks ago, but hey, that’s comparing Malibu’s to Mustangs, and that just ain’t right, ya know what I’m sayin’?

The weather’s still hot and humid, but I’m not complaining. Well, maybe a wee bit, but it’s better than snow.

I’m looking at new templates for my blog. God forbid I should keep anything the same for any length of time. Interesting how I get bored so easily yet don’t accept change very well. Hm. So, on that note, off I go to see what the weekend brings. Have a good one y’all!!

Bawitdaba

2005-07-18T11:06:00.000-04:00

Yeah, Kid Rock it up and down the block …… this review says it all, except that, in my very own words, the concert Freakin’ Rocked, Man!!!! That’s really all there is to say. It was one of the best concerts I’ve seen in ages, it totally renewed my already high level of fandom of Southern Rock/Rap/Metal/Heavy Guitar/Country music. Yep. Uh huh. Kid Rock got ‘er done.

On another hot note, it’s still hot, hazy and humid. The weekend was pretty much a write off if you don’t like walking out your front door and feeling as if you’re stepping in to a shower. No wonder Willy Wonka and The Wedding Crashers did so well; air-conditioning!! I spend Saturday afternoon at the mall with the Young Lady and her Man, and then went up the cottage til Sunday night. Am now able to add another skill to my already diverse resume … carpet laying!! Yep, took T and I about four hours to put the underlay and carpet down in half the cottage, and then we did some other cottage-y stuff, and had an awesome dinner of barbequed shrimp and chicken. Mm mm good ..

Well, off to work I go .. I think I’ll practice the Hillbilly Stomp .. Kid Rock style.

Cheap Sunglasses

2005-07-15T11:30:00.000-04:00

I need to buy some .. mine are in the car, which is still in the shop. Speaking of sunglasses ....
ZZ Top was pretty good. As they stated themselves, ‘same three guys, same three chords’. It was an interesting experience for me; I was working the tent with a girl who was sixteen. She was a cute girl, all bubbly and friendly, and thought it was so neat that I have two kids and she’s right in the middle. Said I didn’t look near old enough to have kids, so of course I liked her instantly. She and I formed a good team, making three sales, which was a 300% increase from the previous night. Overpriced products just don’t move no matter how good one is at sales.

Anyway, it was kinda fun to have her come up to me and tell me that the boys in beards were the weirdest band she’d ever seen, especially given that she’d told me earlier that she likes some band with the name someone on fire or something like that. Sounds pretty weird to me, but then again, who am I to judge?

So tonight is Kid Rock, and I’m really looking forward to it, especially considering that I finish my shift at 8pm and the show starts at 9-ish. I’ll actually be able to watch it instead of checking it out periodically on the screen between hawking merchandise and watching for shoplifters. Woo hoo …

The weather is still very nice, the storm we had on Wednesday helped ease off the humidity a bit, and the temps are supposed to reach 31 degrees Celsius today, which won’t be half as bad without the humidity. Got a few cool pics of the storm the other night: (the little specs on them are because I took them through my screen door. I didn’t really wanna get hit by lightning. I’ve got enough to worry about thank you very much.)

Have a good weekend everyone!

Da Blues

2005-07-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

The Blues. I’ve got ‘em on so many levels.

I’m wearing blue, which is a colour that I never ever wear. Blue and pink are two colours that I’m normally not very fond of, but I have the perfect 40-degree day outfit that just happens to be blue.

The sky is blue, with a very nice tinge of what I’d call smoggy-beige. Mmm .. can’t ya just feel it in your lungs?

I did my first volunteer shift at Bluesfest on Sunday night, going back for my second tonight. Really looking forward to it. The tent I’m in has a perfect line of site to the stage, and tonight ZZ Top is performing. I last saw them in like, 1989 or something like that. I’m sure the fest will be just a rockin’ tonight!!!

Saw the Peas on Friday night, and K-os on Sunday night, with reported crowds of 30 000 and 25 000 respectively, so if they can pull off a crowd that big I can only imagine what the boys in beards will draw. This coming Friday night is Kid Rock, and I’m psyched about that one too. To my knowledge he’s never been here, so I’m sure it will be interesting.

On the car front, though it’s not blue, the estimate I got from the car place today certainly had me cursing a blue streak. Almost $5000!! Yup. Five. Thousand. Dollars. Lord tunderin geezus, thanks be that I only have to pay the deductible!!! Haven’t spoken with the insurance adjustor yet, so I don’t know what will happen next, but I know I won’t have my car at least until next Friday. Holy cripes.

Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue .....

Superstitious?

2005-07-10T09:56:00.000-04:00

Me? Not so much, no. Black cats, walking under ladders (see that's just not safe anyway), the number 13, Friday the 13th, blah, blah, blah. No, I've never really believed in superstitions, paid much attention to them, heeded the warnings, nope. A friend of mine, who was raised on a farm in the country, is forever warning me about this, that and the other thing, most of which I've never even heard of, and I'm often razzing him about it. I think it's ridiculous. At this point though, given the events of the past week, I may rethink my stand on it.

Last weekend, Sunday I think, my son accidentally broke a mirror. Apparently this brings 7 years of bad luck. Now it's unclear (to me), whether it's on the house, the people of the house, or just the person who broke the mirror.

So far: lost bus pass, lost cell phone, a few other minor things, mostly involving the boy. Then came Friday.

I was driving around downtown looking for a parking spot for my first volunteer shift at the Ottawa Bluesfest when apparently I decided to drive right through a red light. Was there a car coming the other way through the intersection? Yes, yes of course there was. It was an SUV, a Ford Explorer to be exact. Did I hit it? Yes, yes of course I did. My worst nightmare, an accident in the middle of an intersection in the downtown core at 5pm on a Friday. Geezus.

So, a sore ankle (mine), $180 ticket, both cars towed, three demerit points taken off my license and two days later, I'm seriously rethinking superstitions. As my son said to me late Friday night, man Mom, this has got to be the worst week ever! You're telling me kiddo. I ain't liking it.

Locked In The Trunk of a Car ???

2005-07-08T13:00:00.000-04:00

Imagine my surprise yesterday afternoon when I called my son’s cell phone to see how his day went and was told by a young punk man that he’d kidnapped my son and stuffed him in the trunk of his car. Umm. Pardon?

Before the story continues, the boy is fine, nothing actually happened

I was about 10 minutes away from home, and hadn’t heard from my son after summer school as I usually do, so I thought I’d call and see if he was home yet. An unfamiliar voice answered, so I asked if A was there. The punk on the other end of the phone said, ‘who the f*** is A?’. Flabbergasted, my only response was ‘pardon me’? Kid replies, ‘who you lookin’ for honey’? Again, the only response out of my mouth is ‘pardon’? I have no idea what the hell’s going on, but in my head I’m thinking this must be one of the boy’s friends playing a joke, and he must be having heart failure if he knows it’s me on the other end of the line. This guy can’t be serious.

So again, I ask for my son. Kid says ‘listen honey, why don’t you want to talk to me? Nice girl like you must have something nice to say …’. Umm. ‘Where the hell is my son’??? Kid replies ‘I f’in kidnapped him and shoved him in the trunk of my car, b*tch, I’m driving around with him in it right now. You want me to pull over so you can say hi’? And then Kid hangs up. Okay, this is not a good thing to hear when exiting off the highway (yes, I was talking and driving).

I call my daughter and ask her who the f*ck could have the boy’s phone, does she know anything, what the f*ck is going on, I’m completely shaking and freaking out. Of course she knows nothing, and while I’m talking to her my second line rings and thank goodness it’s the boy, and he’s at home. He says that when he was at school he took his phone out of his knapsack, then set it down and forgot about it. When he went back to get it, it was gone. Phew. At least he’s okay.

So now that I know that, all my fear channels itself into a massive ball of anger directed right at the punk who took my kids phone. What do I do? I call it back of course, cause now I’ve got a few things to say.

Needless to say by the end of the conversation the ‘big man’ had turned into a little boy and was apologizing profusely for just ‘f*cking around’ with me. He didn’t know I was a Mom, because my voice sounded so young on the phone and apparently I sounded kinda cute, so he thought he’d just mess with my head. I gave him a big blast about little boys trying to be big men and the trouble it can cause, blah, blah, blah, blah.

We’re down a phone, but I’ve got my kids, and that’s what’s important. Thanks.

Lessons ...

2005-07-05T20:29:00.000-04:00

I learned a very important bit of info yesterday that I'd like to share with y'all ..

Lessons In Crock Pots (or Slow Cookers or whatever you call it ....):

Through some very scientific research, I've learned that once one is finished using the crock pot, or slow cooker or whatever you call it, and one attempts to put it away, stand. on. a. chair. when attempting to put it on top of your kitchen cupboard which is probably oh, 8 or 9 feet high. Do not, I repeat, do not, stretch as high as your tippy-toes will allow and raise it above your head and try it, instead, do what anyone watching you would do, and stand. on. a. chair!!

Use your imagination and do the math. The crock pot, or slow cooker or whatever you call it, weighs probably 5 or 6 pounds. The glass lid that goes with the crock pot or slow cooker or whatever you call it weighs probably a pound, pound and a half. Now. When the lid is on top of the crock pot or slow cooker or whatever you call it, and the entire appliance is tipped at an angle, the lid will slide, and it will slide quickly!! When the lid slides off the top of the appliance, and you are balancing on your tippy-toes stretched as high as you can, it makes it near impossible to catch the lid which will tend to fall very quickly leaving you able to do nothing (in the millisecond it takes) but scrunch up your shoulders and close your eyes and hope it won't hit you. Now, what I learned, is that when the lid hits you on top of the head? It hurts. It really, really hurts. You do the math. A pound of glass (with a steel rim around it) falling for three or four feet in milliseconds. Ouch.

So get a chair, no, not one with wheels, a good, sturdy chair, and put the damn thing away properly before you end up hurt. Trust me.

Yee Haw !!!

2005-07-04T09:09:00.000-04:00

Ah, see? The advantages of being an American, living in Canada, and working for an American company?

Four Day Weekend !!!!!
Happy 4th of July y'all!!!

Day Off ...

2005-07-03T09:55:00.000-04:00

Well today is R 'n' R from the birthdays. That'd be Rest n Recovery. I believe Canada had a smashing time for her Birthday, I was there celebrating with a few of her closest friends ....

See me waving .....?

Mom had a wonderful time at her surprise birthday party as you can read from her comment on yesterday's post. About 15 or 16 people showed, the sky was blue, the humidity was gone, and friends and food were plentiful. Yes Mom, 60 will be just fine. Glad you enjoyed it.

As you read in Thursday's post, Mom rented a 2005 Mustang, and she's been cruising around in it all weekend, and very generous to let me drive it too, which has been the absolute AWESOME-EST EVER!!!!!!! Thanks Mom. ~~We're going cruisin' to Brockville this afternoon for Riverfest, so that'll be a wonderful way to end the weekend.~~ Plans changed, ended up going to the cottage for another birthday, so much for the 'day off' .. it was T's Dad's 71st birthday, so we went up to the cottage and had a great afternoon, paddle-boating around the lake, eating a great dinner with some year old, that's right, one year old, cake and then came home. A nice end to the weekend!

Hope y'all are enjoying yours!!!

Weekend o' Birthdays ... Part II

2005-07-02T05:13:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Mom!!
I Love You !!!

Weekend o' Birthdays ...

2005-07-01T10:49:00.000-04:00

We'll start off with ......

Hope you have a good one!!!

Through New Eyes ..

2005-06-30T10:53:00.000-04:00

Ah, public transportation. For those of us who haven’t publicly transported ourselves in recent months, years or decades, that first bus ride can be an eye-opening experience. I took the bus into work this morning for the first time in about two years. Someone has a special milestone birthday coming up on Saturday, and expressed a strong desire to drive around a Mustang convertible for her special weekend, so I’m going to pick it up for her this afternoon. Happy Early Birthday Mom!! Gosh, Happy Early birthday to me too, I consider myself pretty lucky that I’ll be able to drive it for a wee bit before dropping it off. Anyway, I’ve strayed from my original topic ……

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, especially considering that tomorrow’s a holiday, the sun is shining, and there was a nice cool breeze blowing. I went to Timmy’s to get my coffee fix for the morning, and then walked about a block to the bus stop. I had my Ipod Shuffle ready for the ride and my lunch packed away in my knapsack. Got on bus number one, and had my pick of seats because the bus was empty. So, I cranked up the tunes and sat back to watch the people and the scenery.

First off, there are some ‘different’ characters out there, aren’t there? Mom always taught me that people aren’t weird if they’re not “like” me, they’re just different. Thanks Mom! Anyhoo, yeah, there’s some different weirdo’s out there, that’s for sure! I saw a young woman who had a really cool tattoo on her bicep (it actually looked nice), which is fine, but when she turned around she had what looked like stars branded on her back. It was neat in a really weird way. Lots of different people, but I also noticed things that I’ve more than likely never noticed in the six years I’ve been working in the location I’m in. I saw the golf course, which I always knew was there, just never paid attention. There are a lot of people golfing at 8:30 in the morning by the way. I saw a baby deer playing in the grass, and parts of the city I’ve never noticed, and I’ve lived here for what, 23 years? Cool. I might take the bus more often!!

New perspectives are always great, aren’t they?

TGIF

2005-06-24T12:24:00.000-04:00

As I was out walking my pupper dog this morning, and looked down at my feet, I realized it was going to be a day Why? Because I had two different shoes on, that's why. I'm still shaking my head at myself. In my own defense, I must say that for me it's not an entirely brainless moment, as I have three pairs of the same shoes, they're just three different shades of dirt! So yeah, I had on a white one and a whiter one. TGIF.

The weather was supposed to be sunny and 32 today, so far, at 12:42pm its cloudy and about 24, so good to see the weather-people are continuing with their ever so accurate forecasts. Can't wait to see what tomorrow's high of 35 will be.

Happy St. Jean Baptiste Day to all y'all on the other side of the bridge, hope you're enjoying your day, and I'll wave politely (in English) as I drive through Hull on the way to the cottage tonight!

Have a good weekend!!

Backstreet's back ....

2005-06-22T12:41:00.000-04:00

Well, well, well, looky who’s coming to town .. excited, aren’t ya? I know I am.

On another music related note, according to a poll on Canoe – Jam, 35% of voters think the lineup for the Canadian Live 8 dates is lame. I’d be one of that 35%.

Having said that, one of our local news crews sent out their ‘man-on-the-street’ to ask Ottawans if it would be worth it to them to drive to Barrie where the show is being held. Surprised the guy didn’t get spit on or something. From what I hear Ottawans are pretty pissed that it’s not being held here. We’re the Capital of Canada fer cryin’ out loud!!! What’s the problem here? A major WORLD concert, being held in major cities around the globe, and the best we can get is Barrie? No offense to anyone in/around/from Barrie, but hey. Aren’t important country representing type things supposed to happen in/near capital cities? Aren’t they?

But hey. Notice the Backstreet Boys are bringing a ‘special guest’. That’s gotta count for something. Doesn’t it?

It's Like ...

2005-06-20T16:17:00.000-04:00

I can't even begin to describe this day, people. I really can't. Here, let me try:

quiet, tired, boring, quiet, deadly, quiet, nothing, boring, quiet ....

Get it? Yeah. Here's the deal. We're a call centre, okay? And yes, we're slated to close ~~July 1st~~, no wait .. ~~July 15th~~. No, wait, July 31st. Right. July 31st. Whoopee!!!!

So because we're closing July sometime, we've already lost some staff. What could potentially house 225 or so employees now is home to about 50. But wait. What do you think happens when an employee of a major cable/phone/internet company happens to put a teeny tiny cut in a fibre optic cable? Yes, you guessed it .. we lose our phones. Which means we also lose our dialers. Which means we've been sitting here since 11:30 this morning without communication with the outside world. Yes, it's been deathly quiet around here today. Can't leave though. Don't get paid if you're not at work! I'm glad that it's 27 degrees and sunny outside though.

Grrrr ..

So, what else is new? Ok, from the 'who-gives-a-shit' files we have this latest story on poor poor Tommy boy .. pleeze, pleeze pleeze stop with the Tom and Katie news. I really believe that the only ones who actually care are Tom and Katie, so stop telling the rest of us!!!!

From the 'let-the-guy-win-something-this-year' files, go on over to this site and help Dale Jr. win the Nascar's Sexiest Driver poll. He's 50/50 with Jeff Gordon and we just CAN'T let Jeffie win. We CAN'T.

Joke of the Day:
courtesy of The Comedy Zone
THE HR E-MAIL
e-mail one
Attention: Human Resources

Joe Smith, my assistant programmer, can always be found
hard at work in his cubicle. Joe works independently, without
wasting company time talking to colleagues. Joe never
thinks twice about assisting fellow employees, and he always
finishes given assignments on time. Often Joe takes extended
measures to complete his work, sometimes skipping
coffee breaks. Joe is an individual who has absolutely no
vanity in spite of his high accomplishments and profound
knowledge in his field. I firmly believe that Joe can be
classed as a high-calibre employee, the type which cannot be
dispensed with. Consequently, I duly recommend that Joe be
promoted to executive management, and a proposal will be
executed as soon as possible.
Regards,
Project Leader

e-mail two
Attention: Human Resources

Joe Smith was reading over my shoulder while I wrote the report sent to you earlier today. Kindly read only the odd numbered lines [1, 3, 5, etc.] for my true assessment of his ability.
Regards,
Project Leader

Happy Father's Day

2005-06-19T10:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day Dad !!!!

Tequila!!

2005-06-17T10:06:00.000-04:00

Most of us know it as a good stiff drink, probably more than will admit associate it with feelings of nausea and bad memories (if any at all).

Now that I’m the mother of two teenagers, I’ve found it is now associated with a party. A nightlong party that goes by the name Tequila. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Perhaps it does to those of you longing for the days of your youth when a nightlong party sounded like fun. I admit, somewhere in the back of my mind, it does sound like fun.

My 18-year-old daughter who was cautioning me against letting my 14-year-old son out on Tequila explained the whole point of this party to me the other night. Apparently (and of course she didn’t tell me this until she was 18, the sly thing) the point is to stay up all night, drinking of course, and go to the last day of school drunk.

Of course as an adult, I’m thinking the simplest of questions: WHY??? Why would anyone want to do that? I can understand maybe staying up all night and going to school dead tired (I know, where’s the fun in that), but going to school drunk? WHY???

Anyway, this party called Tequila results in hundreds of kids wandering the streets of our neighborhood once a year the night before the last day of school. Usually they end up congregating in any one of the four or five public parks to drink, yell, listen to tunes and often end up fighting. In years past, the police have tried as hard as they could to be out in full force controlling it as much as possible, usually by raiding the parks every hour or so all night until the kids get it and go home. This often has resulted in the youth getting upset and breaking their bottles on the roads, or generally being unruly.

This year the police tried something different. They continuously drove up and down the streets and did their best to convince the kids to all go to one park, the biggest one, and then they stayed there to ‘watch’ over them. It seemed to make things more peaceful.

So, did my 14 year old participate? Well, yes and no. By 10:30 I had my daughter and her boyfriend, and me and my boyfriend walking/driving up and down and around trying to see him in the midst of all these kids. By about 11:15 I saw him walking home alone .. so of course I did what every Mom would do and cut him off by driving right in front of him and hopped out of the car (in my pajamas just to embarrass him) and said “what the f*ck are you doing? Rantrantrantrantrant. Get.in.the.car!!!!”

He was straight and sober thank goodness, just said the peer pressure was too hard to fight. He and his two friends just wanted to see what all the commotion was about. What a kid.

I.Am.American.

2005-06-14T14:59:00.000-04:00

Keep the above in mind as I spiral downwards into a mini-rant over the chaos created by the poor kid who is an apparent “Anti-American”. (News story here)

Lets start at the beginning. According to news reports, this 17 year old was transplanted from his home of Newfoundland six years ago to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. Methinks it would be a slight adjustment moving from what is known as a slower paced, relaxed, green, country type environment, a province with a population of 528,000 (2000 Census), to a city with a population of 1,517,500 (2000 Census). Gee, triple the amount of people in an eighth of the space? Naw, any 11 year old should be able to adjust to that.

Anyway. I don’t know the kid, I don’t know the family, and I can’t say whether or not there are issues there. What I can say though, is what the hell is the problem? The kid was arrested without warning, meaning he didn’t have time to change clothes and prep for the event. He was wearing his Joe Canadian t-shirt, the one with the rant on it that was immensely popular in the year 2000. We here in Canada all heard it, it was on the TV, the radio, and had spin-offs galore. Yes, we’re all proud to be Canadian, and the kid wanted the shirt to prove it. He also, according to reports, was not allowed to change clothes after the arrest and prior to his appearance in front of a judge. So now he’s anti-American because he happened to be wearing a shirt that goodness knows?

I’m sorry, but when was the last time anyone heard of a Canadian making verbal charges of anti-Canadian-ism because we constantly are portrayed as beer-drinking Eskimos? How funny did you Americans think those commercials were of the Pet Beaver? Pretty funny, eh? But I’ll guarantee you that if all this was reversed, and an American kid was arrested here with some kind of ‘we are the champions’ t-shirt, the only thing that would happen would be the cop would ask where he got the shirt and then go pick one up for himself. Why? Because we here in Canada can laugh. We can still be patriotic and make fun of ourselves at the same time. You know what? That last point doesn’t even make sense, does it? I get what I mean, and that’s what counts. End rant.

Officially ..

2005-06-13T21:54:00.000-04:00

A heat wave!!!

Heat wave n. A period of unusually hot weather. Duh. You think?

Today's Song: Heatwave - Martha and the Vandellas

Hmmm .. so, the jury acquitted Jacko .. good for them. Now, can we puh-leeze stop hearing about it every 30 seconds? Did anyone really think he'd be officially found guilty? Not so much. I'm not expressing my opinion one way or the other by the way.

Apparently this weather is expected to continue throughout the summer. Yay! Fine with me. It can continue throughout the year for all I care. I just need to work on my tan and I'll be all set.

That's it. Dot. Out.

I'm sorry .. how much???

2005-06-11T17:28:00.000-04:00

This would be my hydro meter right now.

I'm sitting in front of two fans, and am still sweating. All the blinds and windows are closed, and my indoor thermometer says it's 32 degrees Celsius in my house!! If I sit on the floor in front of the fan, why does the puppy insist on sitting on my lap? I don't need a furball on my legs right now!

Outside it's currently 32 degrees Celsius, but feels like 42 with the humidity which is at 56%, a significant drop from the 80+ percent it was yesterday. Apparently it's not considered a heatwave until it's three consecutive days of 32+ degrees. So I think tomorrow it will be a heatwave. Right now it's just hot.

Which do you prefer, hot or cold, summer or winter?

Today's Song: Hot Summer Nights - Meatloaf
--right-click and save to your hard drive please!

Keep cool y'all!!!

C'est Chaud !!

2005-06-09T20:53:00.000-04:00

Ce n'est pas la chaleur, c'est la stupidité !

Overload

2005-06-07T10:35:00.000-04:00

I’m going on musical overload here. Everywhere I turn it seems there’s a new concert being announced.

What. Is. Up.???

Okay, here’s the concert lineup (so far):

Deep Purple – June 19, 2005

Black Eyed Peas (Ottawa Bluesfest) – July 8, 2005

ZZ Top (Ottawa Bluesfest) – July 12, 2005

Avril Lavigne – July 14, 2005

Kid Rock (Ottawa Bluesfest) – July 15, 2005

Styx – July 28, 2005

Def Leppard – August 13, 2005

Rolling Stones – August 28, 2005

Green Day – September 5, 2005

Hall and Oates – September 6, 2005

Pearl Jam – September 16, 2005

U2 – November 25, 2005

Holy crap. What’s one to do? Let’s see .. I’d like to go to all 12, wait, no, scratch lil Miss Avril off the list. Okay, all eleven. Eleven!! I’m going to three so far, with three more as yet unconfirmed. Aggggghhhhhh.

Zzzzzz ...

2005-06-06T10:26:00.000-04:00

Before I dive right back in to spreadsheet hell, I thought I’d whip up a little Monday post. Problem is, I don’t really have a subject. Well, how about a little work update since I’m here:

there’s a possibility of an extension on the closure date. It might go to July 15th. Yes, that’s wonderful! It will extend my severance and my vacation accrual by two more weeks! Yippee!

some of our employees are challenging us as to how we’re calculating pay-in-lieu of notice, since some of them are actually finished now. Really? They think we might not be doing it correctly? Noooooo ..

I’ve snagged a piece of pretty nice artwork from the office. I’ve always admired this piece, one of those Successories 'motivational' wall hangings. Yes, I'm a sucker for motivation. I actually love the Demotivators much better, but you don't find them in too many offices. Too bad, cause they are hilarious. And everything’s better when it’s free!

That’s about it for work. Let’s see, how’d the weekend go for everyone? Mine was pretty laid back. I enjoyed the heat (not so much the humidity) and the sunshine. Did a little shopping, and a lot of sitting around in front of the fan. That’s really about it! I’ve actually almost succeeded in putting myself to sleep with that post. Sorry y’all, I’ll try better tomorrow …

A Few of my (not so) Favorite Things

2005-06-02T20:51:00.000-04:00

I've had a day. Yes. A day. You know one of those where you either really neeeeeed to find a patio and a margarita with your name on it? Or, a nice pint of Haagen Dazs or Ben and Jerry's? Yeah, we've all had 'em.

Here's what I discovered are not some of my favorite things:

Shoes - I don't like them. They bother my feet, and don't let them breathe, and nothing, I repeat absolutely nothing, can replace the feeling of either grass or cool sand on the soles of my bare feet. I worked almost all day today in my barefoots, until someone thought that I was setting a bad dress code example being the HR Manager and all. Whatever. No one saw me, I was in my own damn office. Bleh.

Spreadsheets - Sorry Mom, I did not get your affinity for them. I dislike them. Why? Because they almost always have numbers on them. And I don't like numbers. They're mean to me.

Uncaring Jerks who run a multi-million dollar company - Don't like them either. They're not nice people. They have no morals. They don't care that in lots of cases their employees bend over backwards to make them look good. Bleh.

On a positive note though, I do love summer ... and ice cream .. and my puppy dog .. and sunshine .. and music. So there.

Holiday Monday

2005-05-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

Well, it's Memorial Day for those of you who live in the States, or those of us who live in Canada and work in a call centre whose American clients have given us the day off. Can't complain with two four-day work weeks in a row, but I can continue to complain about daytime TV. It's not good, is it? If anything will incent me to rush right out and find another job when we close at the end of June, it's the thought of having nothing else to do besides watch TV. Ick.

So, who was lucky enough to get Stones tickets? Oh yeah. That would be me. *victory dance* The Ottawa concert sold 40 000 tickets in 89 minutes. It will be the biggest concert in the city's history, which is kinda cool. The coolest part though is that plans to get tickets started approximately 30 minutes prior to them going on sale on Friday.

My daughter called and asked if I could try and get tickets for her, so I agreed, and Mom asked to get two tickets for her too if I could. So I opened two browser windows and started at it at 10am. I tried two price levels, with four tickets, and it kept telling me it wasn't going to happen.

I went down to 2 tickets and within about five minutes, I had 'em. Woo hoo! I thought I'd leave it up to my Mom to decide whether she would take the tickets or give them to my daughter. It was her credit card after all, and I thought she'd enjoy the Stones a wee bit more than my 18 year old who listens to 50 Cent, etc. Well lo and behold, my receptionist was also trying for me, and she scored two more tickets about 5 minutes later. Just like that, we had us 4 tickets, and Mom asked me if I'd like to accompany her, so here's me ...........

Me .. on Aging

2005-05-26T11:27:00.000-04:00

Those that are older than my 37 years will read this post and nod your heads and think ‘yeah, I know’. Those of you that are younger than my 37 years might not understand. As my Mom said to me, and all mothers have said to their kids, ‘one day dear, you’ll understand’. Lately there's been thoughts running through my head, something to the effect of "If only I was XX years younger ... " The thing that gets me though is that the digits are now digits, not digit. Plural, not singular. So now instead of saying things like 'six years ago', I say things like, 'sixteen years ago'.

Yes, Mom, there are many words that come back to me, many times with a nudge, sometimes like a ton ‘o bricks. I hear ya, and I heard ya, and I’ll continue to listen.

Sometimes it hits me when I have conversations with my kids that they really are kids, and I really am a Mom, and I really am getting older. I listen to these kids and realize that they sometimes don’t have a clue. And how could they? Half the stuff they see was ‘invented’ before they were born, and its old, and they don’t get it.

On Monday night The Boy and his friend went to see the latest Star Wars. Now, the boy is 14, his friend is 15, so to them, nothing exists prior to 1989. I dropped them off at the theatre; I picked them up after, and was anxious to hear what they thought. My son is not a Star Wars freak, he may have watched one or two of the episodes on TV, but really doesn’t know the whole background and story of the movie.

10pm, the boys get in the car, and I say “so, how was it guys”? My son says “it was pretty good. Long though.” I expected that, though we’ve both been to movies much longer than this one. His buddy says, get this: “it was good, but I don’t like the way it ended. Now we’ll have to wait until the next one comes out to find out what happens to Luke.”

Something the boys clearly didn’t get (and understandably so), is that Mr. Lucas started in the middle, with what would now be considered Episode Four, so we already know what happens to Luke, because it actually happened in 1977!! But again, that would be ‘pre-1989’, so how could they know? Will they ever understand that life on the Dark Side existed before they did? Will they ever truly know what it means to use the force?

Rain & Flowers & Strikes .. Oh My!!

2005-05-24T11:11:00.000-04:00

So how many of us now know the words to either ‘Singing in the Rain’ or ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’? Kind of a downer for a long weekend, eh? Is there anywhere in Canada it didn’t rain? If so, good for you!!!

Tee and I went up to the cottage Friday night and came back Saturday afternoon. The evening was beautiful, the skies were pretty much clear, the temps were decent and the moon was almost full. We sat around the fire for a couple of hours listening to music and just enjoying the peace and quiet.

I think I’ve seen one or two Trilliums in my whole lifetime in Ontario, but drive on over to the Quebec side and they’re everywhere!! They’re very pretty, aren’t they?

So, here we are back to work Tuesday, and guess what? The sun’s out. Yep. Just goes without saying I guess.

The boy has the day off tomorrow. The Board of Education has decided to close all the public schools in preparation for the probable upcoming strike by support workers. Good they chose to do it right towards the end of the year. I’m not choosing sides, I know everyone’s gotta do what everyone’s gotta do, I’m just doing what I gotta do and am hoping for the best for my son. Hopefully it will get fixed up right quick.

Umm. That’s it. Have a super duper Tuesday all!!

Oh, and at the indirect recommendation from Desiree, I've made myself a Flickr account and got me a nice ole Flickr badge for my site. Ain't it cool??!!

Lazy Post #354

2005-05-19T14:00:00.000-04:00

Watched Trapped in a Canyon last night on A & E. Man oh man, does that guy ever have the guts and determination, eh? To actually amputate one’s own arm. Wow.

And this young lady right here. Good for her. Talk about double standard. He can participate in the ceremony but she can’t?

And while surfing the glorious ‘net this morning, I came across this site, which actually cheered me right up. It was this joke that did it:

'911'
A newfie calls 911.
"Hello, is this the RCMP?"
"Yes. What do you want?"
"I'm calling to report about my neighbor, Mike Fitzpatrick! He is hiding marijuana inside his firewood."
"Thank you very much for the call, sir."
The next day, the RCMP officers descended on Mike's house. They searched the shed where the firewood was kept. Using axes, they busted open every piece of wood but found no marijuana. They swore at Mike and left.
The next day the phone rang at Mike's house.
"Hey, Mike! Did the RCMP come to your house?"
"Yeah!"
"Did they chop your firewood?"
"Yep."
"Happy Birthday, Buddy"

Comments?

2005-05-17T11:06:00.000-04:00

I’m gonna throw this little ‘things-that-make-you-go hmmmm” post which was formulated from my never ending second-guessing of myself and many of the comments I leave on other peoples blogs.

We all have a link for our readers to leave comments. Lots of us write our posts on a variety of subjects, sometimes humorous, sometimes serious, sometimes just plain old thoughts, and other times some personal stuff that we just need to get off our chests. I think that lots of us in the blogosphere don’t know each other, and I’ll assume that if we write personal type posts that we don’t have a problem with opening portions of our lives up to the world. I guess if we did, we wouldn’t post it.?

I read lots of great blogs, some every day, others I just find from surfing off of others’ blogrolls and I’ll read them from time to time. Needless to say, I really don’t personally know anyone whose blog I read with the exception of three (and start posting again, would ya? .. lol .. ).

Personally, I welcome all the comments I receive on my posts, I look so forward to reading them. For me it’s almost like this weirdo kinda circle of anonymous friends. And my view is that if I don’t want a comment on it then either I remove my comments link or I don’t post about the topic. Seems simple enough. I love all the comments I get, and because I usually don’t post about anything real controversial or majorly personal I don’t usually get any controversial type comments either. One goes with the other I guess.

I always feel so self-conscious about some of the comments I leave, often sitting there and actually thinking about how to word it so that someone I don’t know will take it exactly the way I mean it, writing and re-writing, sometimes not even commenting at all for fear of sounding silly or offending this faceless person. Yes, I have issues. I can admit it.

How do you feel? If you write about something personal, how do you feel about people you don’t even know reading it and then commenting?

Kraft Dinner and Potatoes

2005-05-16T14:18:00.000-04:00

Talk about downsizing. Ick. Well, in preparation for unemployment and an eventual career as a squeegee person, I’ve been making some life adjustments:

I knocked $50 off my Rogers cable/internet bill by losing the Movie Network and dropping from regular high-speed to high-speed “lite”. God I hope it won’t be like dial-up, cause that would be sooooo wrong.

I switched phone providers from Bell Canada to Sprint and hopefully will see my bill drop about $15 a month, which isn’t too shabby. And the switch will help my little one-person protest against Bell. I dislike them. I say dislike because hate is such a strong word. Oh wait. I do hate them. So there.

I’ve decided that I will revert back to the old days and eat nothing but Kraft Dinner and potatoes. And Kraft Dinner on potatoes. And kraft dinner and potato casserole. Oh. And lots of water. Because it’s good to drink lots of water.

Let’s see. I quit smoking, so I don’t need to worry about that anymore. It will be summer time for a while, so I won’t have to worry about $200/month gas bills.

Oh god. I’ll have to watch things like Oprah and Phil and Judge’s Judy, Brown, and whoever else, won’t I? Oh man. It really is the end.

Hey, lighten up everyone. I’m just kidding. I never could work a squeegee very well, so that ain’t gonna happen. I did cut my ‘entertainment’ bills way down just to be safe, and I am not worried that life will become desperate, I’m just trying to get in the mood. You know, a little prep work is all. After all, there’s only 46 days left. But hey, who’s counting?

Today I'll Talk About .....

2005-05-12T15:40:00.000-04:00

Cereal.

Right now I'm munching on some dry Special K Soy .. it's quite good as a munchy food.

The Weather.

The sun is shining brightly, the sky is very blue, but it's cold and windy. Wahhh. I know, we got spoiled with the warm temps the past few days.

Work.

Nah, let's not and say we did.

Music.

Downloaded a whole whackload of Green Day for my iPod in the hopes that I'd be fully prepared if by chance anyone wanted to buy me a ticket for my birthday.?.?

Grooming.Puppies, not People

Why did my puppy come home last night looking like a female showdog named Snowball? He's lean, mean, barking machine Spike fer cryin out loud! That's okay, he'll flatten out eventually

Interruptions.

Does'nt everyone realize I'm trying to think up a creative post for today? Why do they keep walking in my office and asking me work questions

Pay-shun-ssss

2005-05-11T14:25:00.000-04:00

Even I, the most patient of the patience (ts?) can only take so much. I swear, if one more person comes up to me and says ‘hey, so I hear you’re going to be helping everyone find jobs?!’, I will haul off and …………….. say something really mean. I mean grrrrr mean.

I’m HR in this place. I get that. I’m apparently going to set up some meeting with a couple of staffing places who can come in and help our employees write a good resumé, learn some interview techniques, etc, but I’m NOT, I repeat NOT helping people find jobs. Why? Cause I’ve got to find one too. Isn’t that terrible to say? Well, it’s not really true. I won’t be helping people because that’s not what I’m going to do. I’ll help get them pointed in the right direction, but that’s about it. Because for the next 51 days, I’ll be packing files, throwing stuff out, calling people to tell them the great news, you know, the usual shut down the business routine. I’ll be a wee bit busy. But hey .. yeah, I’m a little edgy. I’ll be fine.

Besides, I’ve gotta find my own job to pay for this, and this, apparently this, and not so much this because I’m actually not a big fan, and I already paid for this. Phew!! Talk about Working for the Weekend!!

Blah

2005-05-09T10:03:00.000-04:00

Well, the news has gotten round to most employees by now. I can't really tell what the mood of the place is, it's very quiet here today, but then again it is Monday morning, so it's really nothing out of the ordinary.

It will take all I've got to keep my temper in check with a certain person who runs the place though. At some point I'll have a few words for him, because someone's gotta put him in his place. If you're the commanding officer, you don't bail and let your grunts do the work. That's what he did on Friday. Left his employees in management to make their own decisions, and actually left early! We shut the building down at about 5:15, and he'd left by 4:45 .. what an idiot. Everyone was running around trying to figure out what to do, I was trying to figure out how I could be as supportive as possible, and he's gone?! &%#$%@#$#@!! Sometimes there are no words .. It's all good though. I'll take care of it. Just watch me.

The Phone Call .. The End

2005-05-07T14:57:00.000-04:00

How dramatic is that? Okay. Here's the scoop.

My phone rang at the office on Wednesday afternoon, and it was my bosses boss. Sometimes he calls, no big deal. Then he said he was patching her (my boss) in to the call. Uh oh, this is different, my heart said to me. Then he said, well, I've been on vacation for a few weeks, and I guess some things have changed in my absence, and unfortunately I need to let you know that DV (the VP of HR) is flying to Ottawa on Friday to announce that the Ottawa facility will be closing.

Duhhhhhh ...... wha? Backflip, butterfly, backflip, numbness, backflip

Oh, said I, always good with the words in an unexpected situation. Blah, blah, blah, blah, I'm sure this is a shock for you, but I'd like to offer you a position in our BC location for a decent sum of money more that you're making right now plus relocation costs. blink. blink. duh. blink.

The end date is July 1, 2005. My start date was 08-19-93. Yep. 4333 days of employment. That's a long time. Shit.

Best part was I had to pretend nothing was happening for the next two days until DV the VP of HR showed up yesterday to make the announcement. See, everyone who has worked more than five years with the company by law is to be given individual notice, so he had to do that, and the centre manager did the rest. It was tough for me to hear it as an announcement, you know? Like when I was told on the phone it was shocking, but when it was announced to 50 or so people it was different. I got kinda teary, but stayed strong.

So that's it. Umm .. does anyone know how to get a job? I'm a little out of touch.

~Sigh~

2005-05-05T22:05:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow (Friday) brings the announcement of the end of an era. Well, maybe not an era, but a pretty freaking big part of my life for the last 12 years ... can't say more, sorry, but I'll write alllllll about it once it's over. So stay tuned. Dontcha hate it when people do that? I just had to get that out ..

Happy Hump Day!!

2005-05-04T11:17:00.000-04:00

If you’re interested the meaning/origin of the word “Wednesday", you can find it here.

I was going to post about how creative my posts seem to be when I post from work, due to the fact that I’ve got time and very little distraction to deal with, and it seems that once that idea formed in my head, my mind went completely blank. I’ve got nothing folks. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

Oh, except I read in the paper this morning that the Black Eyed Peas are the opening act for this years Bluesfest. Now I have no choice but to get an actual Event Passport so I can go all three days … My god, I can just feel myself going deeper and deeper into debt, all for the love of music.

May be .. May be not

2005-05-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

Well, apparently April set a record in Ottawa for precipitation, with drops totaling 148.4 millimeters, more than twice the normal average of 72.4. No wonder my tulips look so purdy!

Welcome to May, and I’d like to announce that today it is …… raining!! Ah, April showers bring May showers? Not so much. According to some always accurate weather forecasts we’ll see some sun sometime around Wednesday or Thursday. Yippee!!

How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was aiight I guess. The rain prompted me to sit in my PJ’s on the couch all day on Saturday. I really can’t recall doing anything exciting. Friday night I watched the second to last episode of Third Watch. You know I still can’t believe it was cancelled. They say it’s due to ratings slipping. No kidding! They changed the air date from Monday nights or something like that to Friday nights at 9pm? Of course the ratings will slip? Who the heck (besides me with no life) is sitting at home on a Friday night? Anyway .. there’s tons of shows that could’ve been cancelled besides that one.

If you ran a TV network, what show would you cancel, and why?

Here? Really?

2005-04-29T10:32:00.000-04:00

You know, about three times this week I’ve woken up to the news like I do almost every morning, and thought to myself, hmmm .. what city are they talking about , cause it sure as hell can’t be here!

For those of you who don’t know our beautiful little city, not much really major happens here. I mean besides government stuff like Parliament and the Prime Minister, which really should be important seeing as how this is the capital of Canada. The crime rate is fairly low, people go about their every day business complaining about things like noise levels in their neighborhood, pit bulls, school closings, hockey (or lack thereof), blah, blah, blah. When a ‘good’ concert comes to town it’s often something like Diana Krall, Holly Cole, by golly 50 Cent even came here a while back.

There used to be good concerts blazing through Our Town, like Billy Idol, David Bowie, Supertramp, The Clash, Aerosmith, U2 (yes, I know they’re coming back), etc. And then a few years ago the big acts just kinda dropped off. It was disappointing for someone like me who is a music Freak. I’m still looking for my Concert scrapbook that I kept every single concert ticket stub and review in, and I can’t find it. I’m really disappointed, because I have seen some concerts. I think last count I’m at about 40, which isn’t too shabby for a 37 year old. They’re a post for a whole nother day that I’m working on.

Anyhoo, (gosh it takes me a while to get the point, doesn’t it?) one pretty exciting annual event is the Ottawa Bluesfest, which always brings some pretty cool acts to town. This year I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard that none other than ZZ Top is one of the headliners! Very cool. I saw them back in gee, probably 1992 or 3 maybe, so goddamn, I’m going to see them again! The next day I wake up and hear that Pearl Jam is coming in September!! Holy crap. Very nice. Later that same day I hear Kid Rock is also headlining Bluesfest. Then this morning I hear that there’s a very strong rumour that the freaking Rolling Stones are coming. Here! To Ottawa! They’ve apparently not been here since 1965, so that will be a scramble for tickets I’m sure.

This makes a pretty cool year of reminiscing for me then. Motley Crue, U2, ZZ Top .. how lucky am I?

Time Flies ..

2005-04-27T10:43:00.000-04:00

Gee, I coulda sworn it was yesterday, wasn’t it? She was 7 lbs; 8 oz, 19 in. long, and had just the teeniest amount of jet-black hair on the top of her head. She cried some, but was a good baby girl, independent as all hell, Daddy’s little girl, with a beautiful smile and some big brown eyes that got her whatever she wanted.

All of a sudden she’s starting school, wearing her brand new first day of school outfit, with her little tiny backpack on her shoulders, posing for her first day of school picture, which I can barely take through the tears in my eyes.

High school? That one hit me like a brick wall coming out of nowhere. This tall, slim beautiful young lady heading off to the unknown, me more scared than she was, wondering what icky people she’d run into, what kind of trouble would come her way, and just waiting for that day when we’d go pick out her prom dress.

Today she’s a beautiful, funny, caring, sensitive, intelligent, independent as all hell with a beautiful yet mischievous smile, and those big brown eyes that still get her pretty much whatever she wants. Today she’s 5’9”, and weighs a little more than 7 lbs; 8 oz, (though not much), with very long jet black hair (she's so glad it grew). She’s my daughter, and today she’s 18 years old.

Happy Birthday Honey! I love you !!

Umm .. No

2005-04-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

Spike would like to know what in the hell ever possesed the Pet Shop Boys to do a cover of U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name", and I would like to know what in the hell ever possessed anyone to actually agree to produce and distribute it!!?? Is there not a shred of human decency anywhere? Just a little one? C'mon people. Music is music, the Pet Shop Boys are not.

And can someone please tell me the code to put a song up so you can download it or at least listen to it if you want? Thanks ..

Ah, Nature

2005-04-20T09:42:00.000-04:00

One of the things I like most about living here in the ‘hood is the location. I have everything I could possibly need and want within about 60 seconds of my house. We live in a very nice community and lucked into renting directly behind a strip mall which may not sound too attractive, however, here’s the services I’ve got immediate access to: dry cleaners, vet, grocery store, Subway, shawarma, bank, book store, bakery, photo shop, drugstore, restaurant, pet store, salon, post office, jeweler, dentist, shoe repair, florist, dollar store, health food store, barber, travel agent, gym, and of course most importantly, Tim Horton’s. Who could ask for anything more, eh?

Just one block away from the hustle and bustle of a very major street and the constant rush of people in and out of the stores, there’s a wonderful community with parks and grass and trees and peace and quiet. That’s one thing that’s just awesome about Ottawa is the amount of green space and ‘community’. Anyway. What comes with parks and trees? Animals of course! Every day chances are pretty good that you’ll see robins, blue jays and bunny rabbits. And raccoons. I’m not so much a fan of the raccoon. They freak me out.

So I’m walking the pupper dog two nights ago, and I see the first raccoon of the year. He’s just wandering around looking for garbage, far enough away that it wasn’t a big deal, but needless to say I stepped up the pace a notch to make sure we didn’t piss him off. Spike didn’t even notice. The next night we’re out again, and see the same damn raccoon in the same damn place, except this time he’s right across the street from us and actually notices we’re there. Hmm .. I look at Spike to see if he notices, and thankfully he doesn’t, but I could tell the raccoon saw us. Or should I say he saw Spike. Definitely noticed my Spike. Now here’s the situation. Spike weighs about seven pounds and stands about ten inches high. The raccoon? Yeah, he’s a bit bigger than that. Like I’d say about four times bigger than that. So, what do I do? Start walking real quick and sending messages to the raccoon: please stay there, please stay there, please don’t attack my dog, please stay there. The raccoon was very very still, just staring away, and that of course freaked me out because isn’t that what animals do just before they attack? Keeping one eye on the raccoon I picked up Spike and we high-tailed it out of there. I carried him all the way to the end of the street all the time making sure the raccoon wasn’t following us. From now on we take another route for our walk. I don’t need my new baby to be attacked by a raccoon. It wouldn’t be pretty.

Weekend Wrapup

2005-04-18T13:05:00.000-04:00

A beautiful weekend, yes it was! Two full days of sunshine and high temps for us here in Ottawa, and I for one enjoyed every single Vitamin D filled moment I could.

I think Saturday reached a high of 21C (69.8F), which might be potentially close to record breaking for recent April 16ths ..

I had a lot of ‘firsts’ this weekend, and am glad to say I enjoyed every single one of them!

First time this year walking on the grass in my bare feet!! Hallelujiah!!

First time this year seeing a raccoon just puttering around looking for garbage, thankfully not mine

First sighting of two little bunny rabbits hopping around the neighborhood trying to stay away from the raccoons.

T and I went garage-sale-ing on Saturday morning. It was just beautiful, and the first time we’ve been able to go so soon into the season. One neighborhood had a community garage sale, so we just parked the car and walked around for about an hour and a half looking at everyone’s junk. Unfortunately none of it became our treasure, but it’s always fun to look, and so nice to see people just wandering around enjoying the weather.

Spent a nice Saturday afternoon walking around Mechanicsville with Mom enjoying the weather and checking out the kitchy businesses, dreaming about opening our own

Took the pupperdog for a nice long walk Saturday evening. It’s so nice to just wander around with my Ipod plugged in and blaring the tunes, and the pupper faithfully following me wherever I go. Plus it’s good exercise.

Watched the UFC Championship on Saturday night. Went to T’s place and he and I and six or seven of his buddies all watched and had fun. Normally I’m not one for violent sports like that, but since they’ve placed all the rules on it to stop the participants from dying, it’s not all that bad.

Spent Sunday in my backyard with the pupper, finished reading Siddhartha (excellent book), and watching (listening) to the Nascar race at Texas Motor Speedway. Greg Biffle. Bleh. At least Jr. placed in the top 10 .. it’s about time.

So, that’s it for mine, how was yours?

The Radio Is My Friend

2005-04-14T10:26:00.000-04:00

I don’t know about you, but I live for my radio. My radio is on pretty much no matter where I am; in my car, in my office, in my room when I wake up in the morning. I love music. I’m a big fan of classic rock, mostly southern, Lynyrd Skynryd and such, so I listen to some classic rock stations, sometimes surfing around just looking for a good tune.

At work I have the SurferNetwork, so that I can pretty much surf all over North America and listen to all different kinds of stuff, which is great if I’m ever in the mood for a change of city. Sometimes it kinda messes me up though when I forget what city I’m listening to and wonder why the weather sounds so damn nice and it’s raining like hell outside, or the traffic reports are mentioning streets and highways that I know darn well don’t exist here in Ottawa.

So yeah, I’m a radio/music junkie. Pre-puppy, I used to wake up to my radio alarm set exactly at the time the news started so I could decide whether or not I actually wanted to swing myself out of bed and into the real world. I rely on it for news, hockey playoff scores (ha!), weather, and traffic. Until this morning, when I realized it’s all a sham. I will no longer believe anything I hear on the radio, ‘cept for the music itself.

I’m driving into work this morning, and listening to a particular station, when they break for the traffic. First thing the guy says is that there’s a section of Montreal Road closed from one street to another, due to a serious accident involving injuries. I all of a sudden get a real wild sense of déjà vu. I’m thinking, wow, didn’t this happen yesterday morning? Weird. The traffic-caster goes on to say again that traffic is being detoured around that section of Montreal Road because the accident involves a dump truck. Then it hit me. They’re playing taped traffic!! Because I know goddamn well that there were not two dump truck accidents on the same road two days in a row. Taped frickin traffic!! Now how the hell am I supposed to know the fastest way to get to work if the traffic is frickin taped? How? And now who/what am I supposed to believe? What do I do? My whole day is off now. Probably tomorrow too.

Hooked

2005-04-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it. I really need therapy, because I'm hooked on it. I resisted the peer pressure for years, I scoffed at those who were already hooked, those who stood around the water cooler talking about how cool it was, and how they couldn't believe how they felt. I never could understand how someone who I thought had a pretty good head on their shoulders could actually re-arrange their life around it, stopping all else to sit in front of their TV and watch ....... The Bachelor.

Yes. It's true. I'm one of those. A driveling blubbering shrieking Bachelor junkie. I've been cursing reality TV for a long time, only watching two shows: Extreme Makeover (and I probably wouldn't watch it if Ty wasn't on it) and Fear Factor (for that matter I probably wouldn't watch it if Joe Rogan wasn't on it). So I guess I'm a good looking guy junkie. Seriously? Have you seen Charlie O'Connell? Can't fault me for that, can ya? Gotta go .. it starts in 33 minutes .. :)

9:38pm:Okay, hang on. The show actually sucks. One thing I can't stand is to see a bunch of shallow women trying to convince this guy that they want families, and would be true to their man, while traipsing around in as little as possible. Okay. I'm better now. Addiction cured. But Charlie? Yeah, he's still got it goin on ..

I'm Just Sayin'

2005-04-07T20:24:00.000-04:00

Okay, a couple of you have guessed at the line I was referring to in my previous post, unfortunately neither of you got it. Here it is:

"Bennett, who says he formerly was homosexual, claims an entire list of downloadable teacher's guides ......."

Umm .. formerly homosexual? What the hell does that mean? Anyone? Sorry, I just don't understand.

Seriously?

2005-04-06T11:54:00.000-04:00

Things that make me go hmmmmm:

Do parents not have better things to worry about? Apparently not:

Red Ink

Does the American Family Association not have any other more important ‘family’ issues to worry about than this? Apparently not:

Poor Sponge Bob

Incidentally, there’s a great line in that article that really makes me go ‘what the ……?’ Can you find it?

Who came up with this name? The product sounds great if you have those kinds of problems, but Anti Monkey Butt Powder? That’s too funny ..

That's all I've got for today folks ..

It's Monday

2005-04-04T11:57:00.000-04:00

Well, it’s Monday, and I’m back at work, which means I now have the time to post!! Funny how that works, isn’t it? I’m thinking of taking a day off this week, maybe Friday. I’ve got twelve days sitting in the bank, so I might as well keep using them while business is slow. I guess it’s good that no one here has issues (that they’d like to share), but at the same time it certainly makes for a heck of a long day!

So, let’s go over the weekend, shall we? I trust everyone had a decent weekend? Great then. Me? Umm. It was okay. The weather absolutely and completely sucked on Saturday, though I can thank my lucky stars I don’t live in Hamilton where they apparently got 25cm of snow! Ew. How much would that suck? Twenty-five centimetres I guess. Needless to say we had tons o’ wind and lotsa rain, which occasionally decided to turn into very wet snow, so it kinda put a damper on the day. I of course did what is fully required of days like that and stayed in my PJ’s all day. I did not leave the house, nothing. But boy oh boy was I bored. Oh well.

Sunday was better weather-wise, but still just as boring. Watched the Nascar race at Bristol, and my boy Junior did much better than he has in recent races, but still couldn’t come up with a win. Still didn’t really leave the house ‘cept for to walk the pupper dog, did some laundry, cleaned up the house a bit, that was it. Blah.

Have a great week everyone!!

Bored: To make weary by being dull, repetitive, or tedious

2005-03-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have noticed that a couple of my recent posts have been published during the day. Actually, probably none of you have noticed that, but it’s a good lead in to where I’m going.

I’ve been posting from work. It’s about the most exciting thing I do during the day, thanks to my ever-present paranoia that I’ll get caught. I write it all in a word document, then see how fast I can log in to Blogger, paste my entry, publish it, then log out. My thought is that if I log in and out fast enough, no one will ever know. I of course delete my cookies and erase my history immediately after, so it’s all good. I’m kidding myself, I realize that, and I believe my paranoia is a little extreme, but hey. What can ya do?

Today I decided to up the excitement a level and actually post about work from work. How off the wall is that?

I’ve been extremely bored at work lately. It’s not just me, it’s a quiet time here at the old call centre, and there’s really not much for a few of us to do. Our staff numbers are low right now, so of course for me a lower number of staff members means a lower chance that someone will need assistance of a Human Resources nature. That also means that I sit at my desk. And surf the internet. And drink tea. And eat. And walk around. And sit back at my desk.

Yawn. On your marks ……………………. Get set ………………………….. Post !!!!!!

The Doctor Will See You ……… Later

2005-03-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

I started seeing a new doctor a while back, probably December or so. Upon my referral to him, his office was able to book a few appointments for me in advance (I have appointments every two weeks). I asked if it would be possible to have the appointments first thing in the morning or around 4-ish in the afternoon so I lose as little time from my workday as possible. They were able to comply, and I was given all appointments at either 9:00 or 10:00 am in the morning.

My first appointment (at 5:00pm) I arrived quite early, as I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going, and didn’t want to be late. The doctor saw me at 5:15pm. Okay, I can deal with that.

Second appointment was at 9:00am, the doctor saw me at 9:20.
Third? Booked for 9:00am, seen at 9:15.
Fourth? Booked for 10:00am, seen at 11:10!!! That’s right, an hour and ten minutes late.
Fifth? Booked for 10:00am, seen at 10:05.
Today? Booked for 10:00am, seen at 10:25.

So you tell me, if it was me showing up at those times each day for my appointments, would I still be a patient there? I think not.

I can understand sometimes if one or two patients are a little late or take a little longer that pushes everything ahead, but if my appointments are the first ones booked in the morning, shouldn’t everything be on time?

Happy Easter

2005-03-27T09:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Who'd A Thunk It?

2005-03-25T21:42:00.000-05:00

I am worth $1,542,546.00 on HumanForSale.com !!!!

I’m Free!!!

2005-03-24T09:17:00.000-05:00

Today, March 24th, marks a yearly, monumentous occasion in my life, and one that I look forward to starting anytime around late September, early October. Yes ladies and gents, today is the day.

It sneaks up on me, usually without me really realizing it’s actually happening, but once I realize it, it’s like a brand new me has emerged and is ready for another beautiful spring and summer.

Yes, it’s true. Today is the first day that I do not have my nylons on. It was warm enough this morning that I knew my jeans would be sufficient enough to keep my little legs warm.

This is the start of beautiful things, I just know it. The beginning of hydrated skin, no more itching and flaking. The beginning of hydrated hair, less frizz. The end of being zapped by everything metal I touch. Fresh air, the smell of melting snow mixed with frozen dirt, mixed with a little bit of doggie poo .. ain’t spring a wonderful thing!!

Have a great long weekend y’all!!!!!

Revelation

2005-03-21T11:52:00.000-05:00

Here’s what I figure I’m going to start looking into for a new career. Retail Management.

I notice that younger people even these days seem to care about nothing but themselves. We talk to so many of our employees here at work on any given day about their attendance, showing up for work on time, coming every day to their shift, and it’s funny, because most of them go ‘yeah, I know’, and then show up late the very next day! Then, when it comes time to fire them because of their attendance, they start begging about how badly they need the job, that they have bills to pay, etc. Who are they learning ‘the real world’ from? It just boggles my mind.

Anyway, so that got me to thinking that the unfortunate thing these days is that so many teenagers need/want to get a job, be it to support themselves or just buy their bling, but they can’t get a job that isn’t part time. Chain stores and restaurants only hire kids on a part time basis so they don’t have to pay benefits and can pay lower wages. What they get in return is poor customer service, because they, the managers, just don’t care about training their staff to represent their company professionally. If their staff doesn’t do it, they just get fired and hire new ones. That doesn’t seem smart business sense to me. One loses the money saved in paying lower wages with one or two or three hundred customers being treated improperly and never coming back. And they tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on….

So here ladies and gents is where I fit in. I could get a job as a manager of a store, maybe district manager (so I could travel around the city and my pay would be higher) and teach these kids working in my stores to enjoy their jobs and the people they encounter every day. I know how to create loyalty, and I’ve shown over the past eleven years at my current company that my staff works with me, not for me, they will do exactly what is asked and expected of them and more, and they enjoy working on my team. So why couldn’t I do that in a retail environment? Huh? Why couldn’t I?

I’m just sayin ….

Spring Has Sprung

2005-03-20T18:29:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the First Day of Spring y'all!! Hope you had a great day!

The Internet Is My Friend

2005-03-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

Dear Dot,

Thank you for your ticket purchase. For future reference, your
order confirmation number is XXXXXX-XXXXX:XXXXX-XXXXX. A summary of your
order follows:

U2//VERTIGO//2005 TOUR
25 NOV 2005 at 07:30pm

Seating:
Level Section Row Seat(s)
----- ------- ----- ----------
FLR GA1 35 19,20

See ... this is me .. right now ..

Introducing ............... Spike !!!

2005-03-16T15:18:00.000-05:00

I would like to start this post by making a disclaimer that this blog will not turn into daily posts about how cute my new puppy dog is, how often he pees or barks at the mailman, and what latest tricks he’s learned. He’s cute, he’s new, and I’m going to talk about him a bit, but even I will get bored of posting about it sooner rather than later, so have no fear ….. read on.

Well thank y’all for your input, we’ve decided on the name Spike for the little guy. I was playing with him last night, and decided that 1) he needs a name, because ‘hey’ just wasn’t working and 2) it’s just not fair that he’d gone for 49 days without a name, so I called “c’mere Spike!”, and wouldn’t you know it, he came. So right then and there, I decided that he’s a Spike.

It was funny; my YM wanted a name for him that was ‘cool’ and ‘masculine’. I wanted a name that was cool too, and decided that the names I was coming up with, like Tequila, Molson, Bud, Harley, Marlboro, you know, good, wholesome names, were names that I wasn’t sure I wanted my fourteen year old running around the neighborhood yelling or calling out. I figured Spike was safe. He, the YM, came up with it, said he liked it, so when he got home last night and I told him that’s what I’d decided on, what do you think he said? ‘Awww, really? How come?’ As is often the case with the YM, I responded ‘wha? Never mind .. what name did you want?’ ‘Well, I don’t know if he looks like a Spike is all, but if that’s what you want to name him, I guess it’s okay.’ Fine. It’s settled. The poor little thing can’t go another day without a name, so Spike it is.

I took him for his first vet appointment yesterday, and am pleased to announce that he was a fine puppy dog, not a peep, whimper or bark out of his little two pound 14 ounce body .. good boy. He got his first vaccination, without even flinching, as I worried he would, and of course charmed the bejeezus out of everyone there. Good boy.

He’s of course not sleeping through the night yet, but his oh-my-god-you’re-killing-me howls have turned into why-are-you-treating-me-so bad whimpers, which is better than nothing, and almost sleep-throughable, but not quite. Next week I figure.

Name That Puppy ..

2005-03-14T21:55:00.000-05:00

A Puppy Without A Name

Awwww ..... in't he just the cutest? He's my new baby, and even though I am a very good Mommy, he's in his 7th week without a name!!! The YM and I are trying to come to an agreement, and we just can't. So far, we've got:

Harley
Titan
L'il Dawg
Snoop Dawg
Jack
Spike

Any suggestions? He looks like a little ol' cotton ball, but he's got spunk. And no, I'm not calling him Spunk, cause that's gross.

Yawn ...

2005-03-13T04:34:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is, 4:35 AM. I'm yawning. I'm tired. I'm blogging. One of these things doesn't belong.

I potentially may have messed up my sleep pattern by sleeping until *ahem* late afternoon Saturday. I went out on Friday night, and apparently, just can't stay up until 6am anymore. Jeez, at the ripe young age of 37 I have no idea why. What? Go to bed at a decent time? Don't stay out until the bar closes? Nah ... what fun would that be?

So, here I sit, I've been awake since about 3:00. Watched a couple of infomercials (and didn't buy a single thing, thank you very much), the end of Dennis The Menace (the movie) and might I say thank goodness it was the end. What a bad movie. And now an old episode of West Wing is on. Thank goodness it's an old episode. That means it's a good one.

Okay .. back to the couch, wrap myself up in the blankie and hopefully to sleep.

How Cool Is This ..

2005-03-07T19:22:00.000-05:00

This year is going to be, like, the best ever. I'm talking (writing) an awful lot like a teenager, and that's cause I kinda feel like one sometimes. Guess what. Just announced, that they are coming back to town after twenty years!!!!

So two weeks ago I get to go and see Motley Crue, just like I did in 1984, then, this November, I get to see U2, just like I did in 1985!!! Providing I get tickets of course. Which I will. Dammit. Just watch me.

I am like, ............. wow.

Happy Anniversary To Me

2005-03-01T21:35:00.000-05:00

I wonder what my lungs look like today as compared to a year ago.
I wonder how much money I've saved so far.
I wonder how much life I've 'added' back on.

I know that I'm quite proud of myself.
I know that others are proud of me too.
I know that I made a good decision, and stuck with it too!

I know that I am a non-smoker.
One year today.
Yay me.

Oh yeah. And if it came in like a lion, will it really go out like a lamb? I hope so.

Flashback ... Wayyyyyy Back

2005-02-28T19:17:00.000-05:00

Smoke hung heavy in the air, I could hear the drums from way across the parking lot on my way in (we were late). It was like June 8, 1984 all over again. It was very. very. cool. And by the way? The reviewer knows nothing. Big newsflash, eh?

06-08-84, my best friend Joanne and I ventured to our first heavy metal concert. Motley Crüe and Accept. We were actually scared sh*tless. I'd never (and haven't since) seen so much leather, studs and black in my life. But it was awesome. Wicked. Awesome.

Last night? Yeah, we've all aged, but you know what? Nothing better than bringing back the mem'ries.

When we started this band
All we needed, needed was a laugh
Years gone by...
I'd say we've kicked some ass
When I'm enraged
Or hittin' the stage
Adrenaline rushing
Through my veins
And I'd say we're still kickin' ass

'Sup Y'all??

2005-02-26T10:42:00.000-05:00

So, what's going on? How's things? Whatchy'all been up to? I've been um .. well. let's see.

Last Saturday I decided to reprise my role of SuperWoman, and decided to rearrange my basement. By myself. I have all this extra space down there, and a ping pong table that's just been waiting to be used, so I felt the need to git 'er done. Two couches (one being a hide-a-bed), a bookshelf, TV, dresser, ping pong table and about two hours later, I realized my back was killing me. As I leaned back to ease the pain a bit, my brain sent this thought out to the rest of my body that it hurt a wee bit more than normal and in a very weird way. Flash forward to about 11pm that night, and I felt as if I'd aged about forty years, because I couldn't stand up straight. It hurt.

I went to bed, and by the time I woke up the next morning, I literally could not move. There was this icky feeling in my lower back and I really couldn't get up out of bed. So I did what any 37 year old woman would do. I called my Mommy. ;)

Mom came over and brought me a hot water bottle and some other stuff, made me feel instantly better just knowing she was there, I got myself settled on the couch, and that's where I stayed until Thursday. I did go to the doctor, and he said I have a torn lumbar ligament, gave me some anti-inflammatories (which had me completely wired so I stopped taking them), and said to stay still. Yeah, right. Of course I couldn't move very well so I did, but man I'll tell ya. I learned that I really need to take care of my back muscles, because I do not want to ever not be able to move like that again. We really take our backs for granted, don't we? Not any more.

So, that's where I've been. Or not been I guess. How about you?

Back Where It All Began

2005-02-19T16:59:00.000-05:00

Welcome back, here we are where it all began. I first started blogging with Blogger, back in what, 2002 maybe? Dunno. Sometimes I think it can't be that long ago, other times I wonder how I've been doing this for so long. So, whatever. Here I am, back home.

My site (4Infinity) is still active, until I believe the end of March, but I'm getting so tired of the spam comments, and having to delete them by hand, that I thought I'd just start working over here with this one and by the time my site is deleted, y'all will have this one in your bookmarks. Notice I slightly changed the name.

So .. now, if anyone knows how to import posts to Blogger, it would be a big help. Can't find the info anywhere at all on the net. The consensus out there seems to be, why would anyone actually want to move back to Blogger? Well, I do dammit, so there should be some instructions on it, shouldn't there? I can't be the only one in the world doing this, can I? Really?