Reminder

Just in case anyone has forgotten , Cheerios really should be consumed with a large spoon. If you eat them plain, or add banana slices or raisins is up to you.


I insist about the big spoon though.

Curveball

So what happens when you put two shy people in the same house for a dinner party?

Nothing.

But what happens when one of the shy people phones up the other shy person and they get up enough nerve to go have coffee (chai latte please) together and actually have quite a nice time?

Well then one of them flies home to the other side of the country the very next day of course!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

No, wait.. it's not actually that funny.

*sigh*

And, no, this isn't even the thing I was confused about just the other day. This is an additional confusion, hurrah!

Super Secret Spy Conference

The conference was good.

We learned lots of important spy things, like avoiding radioactive tea and other things I can't talk about.

I am, however, a little bit befuddled.

Spending three straight days with someone, whether they have a girlfriend or not, can mess with even the most sensible of brains. And we all know I don't have the most sensible of brains.

No, nothing happened. Hold yer horses. I'm just over-tired and want a good night's sleep before I start even attempting to figure out what I'm thinking right now. Pretend I never mentioned it.


What's new with y'all anyway?

Auto-Reply: Away From Laptop (Again)

I'm heading over to Vancouver after work tomorrow for a conference. A co-worker from my old office recommended I attend as it is (apparently) a whole lot of fun. ( I tend to not go to conferences since I have a hard time staying awake during lectures and presentations. No, I'm not sure how I managed to get two degrees either!) I wasn't convinced, I always find there's work to catch up on after being away. And then she mentioned the open bar. Heh.

I've just been told I'll be car-pooling with that colleague I mentioned a while back. The one I found out has a girlfriend. So, that's mildly amusing in some karmic way, no?

And, no, don't get all excited. There will not be any drunken "mishaps". I'm not that girl. I really couldn't smooch a guy who was in a relationship no matter how unhappy he was in the relationship or how many free drinks I'd downed.

Not that he's intending to smooch me or anything. I'm just saying.

So. That being said..... comment away my lovelies. Just don't expect me to publish yer comments til the weekend. I'm not even taking my laptop! Woo hoo! If you're looking for some reading, click on the names of my charming commenters and it will (usually) take you to their blog. Try it. Go on, I dare ya! Or, go check out a site that will make you laugh. Laughing is good. And fun.

Talk to you soon.


PS. That's the kind of sunset I might get to see on the ferry ride tomorrow. Nice, eh?

So Where Have I Been All Your Weekend?

(You know how there's that line "Where have you been all my life"? Yes? Well, now does the post title seem funnier? No? Are you sure? I think it does. )


Anyone remember my friend who was going to have a baby? Yes? No?

Well, guess who I got to meet this weekend?


( Hint: Very small. Cute. Squirmy. )


It was both bizarre and cool to see someone I've known for nearly half my life with their own baby.

And now I'm going to collapse into my own bed in my own house where it's very quiet (yay!) but there's no one around to fall asleep all snuggly and cute on my stomach (boo!).


Night night.

I've Been Watching Old Music Videos

Ones that I taped off of Much Music back in highschool.


And...


Oh my Lord, Jon Bon Jovi is so hot.


SO!

Hurry Back!

The snow's melting and the temperature's rising around here.

I have an odd mental block about posting photos of snow when there's no snow *actually* around, so I'm throwing this photo up before it all disappears.

People may not all love snow as much as I do, but they must have to admit it's pretty to look at.

How To Create an Awkward Silence in Three Easy Steps

A couple of weeks ago, I went out to a show with my buddy.

I met him at his place and we headed off to a restaurant to meet some of his friends for dinner before the show.

After dinner, I was munching my way happily through the chocolate icing on my chocolate dessert when my buddy mentioned that he had an extra ticket for the show. He started calling some people to see if they wanted to come, and I said I didn't mind who joined us as long as it was a cute, single guy.

Well, let me tell you, the silence that came after that remark was so heated, you think I'd just suggested we all go out and poke puppies with sharp sticks.

I looked up and glanced at my buddy's friends and realized that they had all assumed I was his girlfriend. His girlfriend who just asked for him to bring along a cute, single guy.

D'oh!

My buddy hung up and looked around right as the guy next to me said, "Did you just say what I think you just said?" while everyone else stared at me.

It was awkward, so I did what any sane person would do.

I shrugged, smiled weakly, and went back to eating my dessert.

My poor buddy just looked around, got no answer from anyone, shrugged, and went back to making some calls.

Dude. I've never felt like such an accidental idiot.

I guess I just found another, previously unknown, difficult thing about having male friendships.


(Er, I should add....that's neither my buddy nor the show up there.)

Unreal-ly Beautiful

And with so many pretty pictures floating around, I couldn't just leave those pink dudes up at the top of my page so....



Best viewed as biggly as possible so you can see the trees that look like they can't quite be real.

It's Late. I Should Be Asleep.

But I'm not.

And this... this, my friends, is the result of me+laptop+bed+can't fall asleep.

The internets is like .... awesome.


Muppets, Manamana

I Am Aglow

The sunsets around here right now are stunning.

It must be something to do with the clouds and the reflection of the snow or something about the atmosphere (insert clever Science explanation here).

They've been hitting us around 4:30 and for 10 or 15 minutes the sky just glows. Everything from a golden pink to a coppery orange. It's just gorgeous.

And once the sunset is over? It gets chilly and dark very quickly. It's quite different from what usually happens around this time of year.

But it's cool.

I wanted to pull over to watch the sunset tonight, it was drool-worthy, but by the time I got home to my camera it was finished, so here's a photo from a few nights ago to give you a peek at what we're seeing.

So purty! Don't cha just wanna move here?




The title of this post, by the way, is the name of a really nice song by a good ol' Canadian gal, Sarah Harmer. Give it a listen!

Resolve

I've been going to the gym regularly for almost a year now. It wasn't a New Year's resolution, it was something I'd been meaning to do for a long time (exercise regularly) and last February was when I happened to sign up.

I've wondered for a few weeks now if I'd see any change in the people patterns at the gym since we're in the new year with its wishes and resolutions, and yesterday, I did.

I know when my gym has its quiet moments, its busier moments, and its in-between moments, so I was mildly amused at the no-parking, completely full cardio machines and well-meaning masses I encountered yesterday.

I'm happy that they all are making an effort to improve their health, or their moods,or their weight, or whatever it is that's brought them to the gym and I wish them all luck. It'll be interesting to see if the crowds thin out or if they re-distribute themselves to different times.

I don't mind the sudden influx. I live in a tourist destination town, so I'm used to the feeling of being a local who already knows the ropes. Plus, if I can't get parked, I can always walk there, or find a side street to park on. If I can't get on the cardio machine I'd like, I can run up and down the stairs or use the less popular rowing machines. And I promise I'll resist the urge to tell people to slow down before they injure something.

I'm going to sneak off to the gym now in the hopes that some of the folks from yesterday are icing sore muscles and things'll be a little calmer.

Winter Bliss

It's always so pretty around here when the snow visits.

There Will Never Be Another

She lives on love street
Lingers long on love street
She has a house and garden
I would like to see what happens

Dude is So Busted

And he had such potential.



(Yes, I read this strip. They're family, man! )

Wow

I took my camera to work with me today "just in case" I saw something I wanted to take a photo of.


And, wow, did I ever.


The light was unreal.

Again, Again!

Well, we all know how much I love it when it snows, right?

And we all know that even though I live in Canadialand, it really doesn't snow that much in my town, making snow an excellently rare event, right?

Well, guess how much I love it when it snows on a morning I had booked off for a doctor's appointment which then gets re-scheduled, leaving me with the morning off to lie in bed, all cozy, watching the snow fall?

LOTS! That's how much!

To Boldly Clap, In a Room Full of Nothing *

My high school years weren't the most idyllic. I went to a high school where I never quite felt like I fit in. There were, however, some great times, some great people and some moments I still recall fondly. One happy memory is going listening to and talking about how much we liked The Tragically Hip.

You see, the Hip are our band. They're Canada's. I mean, we've got some fantastic music here and most often we're very happy to share it with the rest of the world. But the Hip? They're ours and, quite frankly, we don't care if anyone else has ever heard of them.

I first started listening to the Hip in high school. They had already put out a few albums and were huge, but their biggest (and arguably their best) were just coming out. My brother went to see them live and told me how awesome they were, and I knew one day I'd have to go see them in concert.

These guys have captured the essence of what it felt like to grow up in Canada in the past 20 years or so. Their songs talk about national events; hockey games, newsworthy stories, national heroes. Their songs talk about our prairies, our vast country, our culture. Their songs talk about things that only a Canadian, growing up in our fine country would really get. Their songs have been a soundtrack to my life. Each time they bring out a new album (and they have around 12 right now) there's a hit or a song that resonates with us and makes us sing along. Each time they bring out a new album, I think "well, maybe this one won't be good... they have to fade out eventually, right?" Not yet, and how many bands can you say that for? These guys rock consistently.

Last night, I went to a Tragically Hip concert for the first time. I've wanted to go for years. I discovered the Hip nearly 15 years ago, but at that time I wasn't a concert goer. No car, no money, no parental permission. Up until last year, this town didn't have an arena big enough for the Hip to come to, and going to Vancouver for a show isn't always feasible when you live here since you need to pay for the concert, the travel, meals and a place to stay. So last night, at our town's shiny new arena, I got to see my boys play. And, man, they blew the roof off the place.

I love concerts, big and small, but I also go to them with the understanding that the performer is touring to promote their latest album, so I went to this show fully expecting to hear all of the band's new songs, with maybe an oldie or two thrown in for good measure.

My boys blew that old concert going theory to shreds.

If I made a list of my favourite songs from my favourite albums, it's as if Gordie and the boys were playing off of that list. I mean, it can't be too hard for them to please crowds here. We've been fans for years, most of us and we know their songs very well. And, they've got so many great songs, so many fantastically popular songs. It was just awesome 'cuz they pumped out hit after hit after hit. They pulled from their early early stuff, and they pulled from their latest album. They belted out a ton of songs from the album I'd have on repeat in high school and through my first degree and they played their two best ballads.

I love this band and I'm so glad I was finally able to see them live. My brother was right, they were awesome. Not only did the Hip play a great live show, they made me damn proud to be Canadian and they played the songs from the soundtrack of my life. The songs that play during the happy scenes.

I don't know many bands that are so well known and well loved by an entire country. I mean, I'm sure not everyone loves them, but everyone knows them. And that's saying something. They're loved and known by generations of Canadians and that's pretty cool. And to top it all off? They're great!


I found my high school yearbooks last week when I was cleaning up for New Years. I flipped through them all, reading the things people had written, some names no longer meaning anything, some making me smile and wonder what they're up to now.

On the back page of my senior yearbook, my high school sweetheart had written me a note. We'd been long broken up when he wrote it, but we still cared for each other, and if I saw him today, I'd still care for him just as much. First loves can be like that.

As I read over what he had to say, I thought about the great times we'd had together, and the parties we'd gone to, especially the one at his best friend's house where the Hip was played over and over.

He ended up with a quote he said best described me, some lyrics from a Hip song; the title of this post. How fitting that he quoted The Tragically Hip. I hadn't realized it at the time, but they were our band. All of us. All of us bright, young, idealistic kids looking forward to a future we could only start to imagine. It's a scary time, high school, and I guess he wanted to remember the happy times we'd had when we were together. They last, you know, the happy memories.



So does great music.



So do The Tragically Hip.



*If I had to choose one album to recommend, this would be the one. Go buy it now

Wheat Kings and Pretty Things

Dude.

That was awesome.

Awesome.


Awe. Some.

Ahhhhhhh

No matter my mood, going to the gym always makes me feel better.


And if there also happens to be a ton of eye candy there too? Well, that's just fantabulous.

Funky

I'm in a funk.

It's most likely my body and brain recovering from my evil cold, but still.

I can't think of anything to say and I don't seem to have the energy to make much of an effort.

Sorry 'bout that.

I'm going to a concert tomorrow, that should be fun.

I got new shoes... I think they hurt.

I really wish it would snow again. I like snow lots.

Sleeping is good. I like sleeping.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

This is a test of the new Flickr/Blogger layout.

This is only a test.

If this was not a test, the ringing you hear in your ears would be followed by a post.

As this is only a test, I'm going to bed once it looks ok.

This concludes the test of the new Flickr/Blogger layout.

Thank you

The Claw

I'm about to switch to the "new Blogger". Not so much because I feel like it, but it annoys me to be constantly asked about it and now flickr's asking me if I've switched. So, to simplify things and reduce annoyances I'm going to switch.

*shrug*

That's Odd

So I thought I had posted a couple of entries over the last day or two, but I realized just now that I have *thought* about posting a couple of entries but haven't. Sorry bout that. I do that sometimes with electronic stuff.

I once had a year where I kept on phoning people to ask why they hadn't responded to my email and it turned out I had only dreamed I'd composed and sent the email and hadn't actually done it.

So. I hope you enjoyed the last couple of dream entries that I didn't actually post at all. Yay!

Soon I'll try actually posting for real.



And I'll pinch myself while I'm doing it to make sure I'm awake.