Help Me Find Sally

Maybe you or someone you know can help me out. There is someone I know that I am not able to get a hold of and I'm worried about her.

In September I began a Psychology course at UBC. A couple of weeks in, I became friends with Sally. We would chat before each class, mainly about the Canucks, and how we hoped there were three presentations that day. We would watch the professor to see if she put her stuff on the podium, or on a front desk. The latter would foreshadow presentations! It was a very busy time for me, with moving and such, and I had a lot on my mind each morning, so I didn't find out much about her beyond her obsession with the Canucks, and her playing ice hockey, I believe in North Van. She has a boyfriend. Like me, this was her first semester at UBC; she had transfered from Capilano College. Unlike me, she was also taking several other courses, including geography.

After writing the midterm, we were anxious to find out our marks. The day we finally got them, she was absent for the first time all semester, two and half months in. She showed at the next class and I asked about her absence. She said that after her hockey game on the weekend, her chest was hurting. She was told she had to have tests done, and they scheduled it during the previous class's time. She said she would get the results of the tests soon. She then viewed her exam marks and seemed pretty happy about it. After that class she never showed up again.

Knowing only her first name, there was no way I could find her phone number in the white pages or online. There was another girl who she often talked to in class, and I was hoping I could ask her, but she was absent for several classes too. Finally, at the very last class before the final, the other girl was there. After class I went up to her and asked her about Sally. Turns out she was equally concerned. She said she had Sally's email address, but not with her, so I gave her my email address and phone number to give to Sally. Very stupidly, I did not get the other girl's email address and phone number; neither of them showed up to the final exam (I recall hearing that the other girl was going to write it at a different time), and to this day I haven't heard from either of them.

I've thought about Sally a lot since her disappearance, and I'd really like to know that she's alright.

I know the chances of this posting leading to anything are very slim, but the chances are greater than if I didn't post anything, right? If you know someone named Sally that was taking a Psychology: Socialization and Media course at UBC during this past semester, please let me know. Thanks.

I'm going to explore other avenues in an attempt to contact her.

"Will You..." Again

In a recent post talking about recent engagements, I asked "who's next?" Turns out it's K&C. Congratulations K&C! I really liked how K set it up.. The ring was at the bottom of C's stocking on Christmas morning. Very well done K, very well done.

K&K, D&K, K&C.. Quadruple K, that's odd.

My step-nephew was released from hospital on Christmas. That's a good gift for everyone.

Live

Sure it's Christmas eve and I should be doing other things at this time, but I saw an ad in a recent Georgia Straight which shocked and saddened me and I had to share it with you.

It was a huge ad, possibly full-page, announcing an upcoming Nickelback concert. That's bad enough. What's worse is that they are able to have a concert at GM Place. What's even worse is that opening for them is the band Live. You have no idea how shocked I was at reading that. And saddened. Nickelback should not be headlining at a venue such as GM Place. They should be opening for Live. Live is partially to blame though.. From what I've heard of them since Throwing Copper, they haven't really built on their potential, although I do like The Distance to Here.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to Throwing Copper straight through.. uhh, I mean go put on some Christmas music..

Merry Christmas everyone!

An Engaging Threesome

There must be something in the autumnal air.

Last night Biscotti and I went down to Stanley Park for a ride on the 'Bright Nights in Stanley Park' Christmas Train. We were accompanied by our friends D & K. We got there early, so we all took a stroll through the petting zoo area before making our way to the train's holding area. When our train came in, Biscotti and I took a seat right in front of D & K. The ride was nice enough, with Biscotti and I singing merrily along to the Christmas songs. About halfway through, right after the dancing gingerbread man on stilts, it got quite quiet behind us. Upon arrival at our station, we were walking towards the hot chocolate vendors when K said, 'should we tell them?' So D takes her hand and shows us a sparkling ring on her finger that wasn't there when we boarded the train (not that I'm always looking at her fingers, cuz I'm not). I believe the reaction from both Biscotti and I was 'Wha?'
Très cool, oui? Congrats again D & K!

So as you may recall, Biscotti and I got engaged in early October. Then K & K got engaged in early December. Then D & K got engaged yesterday. Who's next?

Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday To You
Happy Birthday Dear Biscotti
Happy Birthday To You!

Images That Link

Over the past two days I've been tutoring myself in the field of linkable images. At first there was much confusion and anger. I'm not going to lie to you, quitting was definitely nigh. But then a breakthrough. Much like my Marek breakthrough a few posts ago, there was a sudden "a-ha" moment. Okay, not so much a moment as a five-minute span.

You can see the results thus far by viewing (and clicking!) my cool sites, located là-bas ------>

You can also view the results of my newfound capabilities by viewing my bookcrossing bookshelf. What? My bookshelf contains a wishlist? Just in time for Christmas? How convenient!

In future posts that contain images, try clicking on them (that is, click on the images, not the posts). Sometimes you'll be taken to a relevant site, sometimes you'll see a larger version of the same image, sometimes nothing will happen, and sometimes your computer screen will explode. But that's a risk you're willing to take right? I thought so.

Think Positive Thoughts

I have a step-nephew who is days old and in the hospital in rough shape. Pull through buddy. Biscotti and I are thinking of you.

Wuv, Twue Wuv

Two stories to tell you about witnessing marriage proposals over the weekend. The first one I witnessed firsthand. It happened Saturday night when Biscotti and I went to see the Dan Joffre improv show. Two audience members were brought up to do a scene. Eventually, the two of them were on stage alone, and the guy started getting all mushy and sentimental. Sure enough, he ended his monologue by presenting a ring. She said yes. It's the first time I've ever seen a proposal in person, other than my own.

That was going to be the big story of the weekend until I heard from my friend K. He called me on Sunday after he and K (yes, K & K) got back from their umpteenth trip to Paris. It started off with idle banter til he suddenly broke the news without warning. I almost missed it on my crackling phone. Readers of my blog, try to guess how he proposed. Remember, they were in Paris. (And by readers, I don't just mean Cher. I know there are more of you reading, just not commenting.. Wait, I changed that today. It's no longer "commenting", it's "sparking the glow"!)

Congrats to K & K on your engagement. As I've already told you, Biscotti and I are very happy for you both. Cheers.

Google Video of the Day

I've added a new site to my cool sites located on the right side of the page. It's Google Video of the Day. Every day, hundreds of people, ordinary people like you and me, upload their videos to Google Video. Then one guy, let's call him Michael, sifts through all "the crap" and posts at least one good video per day onto his blog. So check it out. And check out the other sites I have listed as cool sites. A couple of them are posted there for easy access by me, but most of them are there for you just as much as for me. Don't say I never did nothin' for ya.

Here's a video that Michael hasn't posted on his site, but I saw it several months ago, loved it, and just found it on Google Video. I give you now, a DUI Stop.

Dentist Confirmation

After not going to the dentist for a while, I went to a new one last June. Have to say I was quite pleased. Wasn't at all like the torture that I had previously thought was a necessary part of being a dentist's patient. They tried to make my next appointment on my birthday, but I screamed obscenities at them and they changed it. So my next appointment is tomorrow. As expected, I got a postcard from my dentist in the mail last week, asking me to call and confirm my scheduled appointment, which I promptly did. This morning, I got voicemail on my mobile. It was my dentist's office, reminding me of my appointment tomorrow. That in itself would be okay. I mean, if they have the time and energy to be calling all their patients the day before to remind them of their appointments, props to them. But no, they ended the message by asking me to call and confirm the appointment. So me calling and confirming the appointment just a week before is not enough, now I need to call and confirm once more, less than 24 hours before? Is this normal?

Marek

As I was saying, I sent out a mass email to many many people with my new post-move contact info. Since then I've discovered a secret for making all the "to" email addresses become hidden from all the recipients. All my recipients were subjected to much nonsense before getting to the relevant stuff. Has a time-traveling machine been marketed yet?

My tech savvy has been improving, but is still insufficient in some capacities. After witnessing ex-Canuck Marek Malik's attempt to garner a win for the surprising Rangers in the longest shoot-out of the year thus far, I had been hoping to find a way to share it with others. Then time passed and I lost interest. Today something serendipitous happened. I was checking in to see if my friend Brad had updated his blog, which is a rare thing indeed, and waddaya know, he had. Not only that, he had posted a note introducing his new video gallery, with Malik's shoot-out attempt headlining it!

So, instead of me linking you to the video clip directly, I link you to Brad's video gallery which links you to the video clip. I think I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.

Immediate edit:

People, I've done something remarkable in the last 5 minutes. I figured out how to link to Marek's video clip directly.

With thanks to Brad, even though he doesn't know anything about it, here is a direct link to Marek's video clip: Clicky Clicky (Keep in mind he's a defenseman and hasn't scored a single goal in the first two months of the season. He's the 13th Ranger to go in the shoot-out. If he scores, Rangers win.)

The Tildster

So everything is gone from the rental place, and the carpets are being cleaned. Our (soon-to-be-ex) landlord was in the place recently to clean the carpets and subsequently phoned Biscotti and left a message. When we had moved into the rental place in June they had just bought the place, and promptly handed the keys over to us. So her message went like this: "You wouldn't believe it. The previous owners must have had a cat because as we were cleaning the carpets we discovered cat hair everywhere!" Whew, close call.

Tildy has been having skin problems lately, so we took her to the vet. We had thought that she might need to be shaved in the process, and guess what? She did!

Some before-and-after pics for ya:

A Blueberry Muffin Saga

It has always been easy to buy a blueberry muffin. Until yesterday.

Biscotti and I were at Rona on Grandview Highway, browsing the Christmas sections, looking at the LED lights and artificial trees. Empty handed, we walked towards the exit, stopping at the in-store Robin's Donuts. My eyes immediately spotted a tray of delicious looking blueberry muffins. (I love blueberry muffins so the phrase delicious looking is redundant.) Biscotti ordered a maple walnut donut and I ordered a blueberry muffin. As the worker went to get Biscotti's donut, she pulled out the wrong tray. No, these ones here, Biscotti pointed out. I didn't think to watch as she walked to the other side to get my blueberry muffin as it would take a lot of work to get that wrong. The two bags were put on the counter, we paid with a plethora of coins, and continued our exit route.

After a few steps I opened my paper bag, looked inside, and stopped suddenly. What's wrong, Biscotti asked. She gave me the wrong one, this muffin is brown. I pull it out to make sure it's not just the brown bag making it look brown. It had blueberries, but it was bran. I hadn't asked for a blueberry bran muffin, I had asked for a blueberry muffin. Blueberry bran muffins are neither delicious nor delicious looking. Walking back the few steps, I saw for the first time that there were only three trays of muffins. Side by side were a tray of blueberry bran muffins and a tray of blueberry oat bran muffins; above these were the regular blueberry muffins that I wanted and had thought that I had ordered. After waiting behind the slowest orderer ever, we give the worker back the bag and tell her we asked for the regular blueberry muffin. She looks down at the small collection of muffins and says, oh, sorry. She then grabs a new bag and proceeds to pull out the tray that has the blueberry bran muffins. NO, Biscotti and I say simultaneously. Biscotti steps up to the glass. THESE ONES, she says as she points to the tray above, THE REGULAR ONES. Worker replies, oh, sorry. Pulls out the correct tray and we finally get the correct muffin.

It would've been so frustrating if it hadn't been so comical. I feel sorry for people who are that incompetent at a very basic job.

Rain

I don't like it when people say 'oh it's so gross and miserable out today' when it's simply raining. Why not embrace the rain? Here on the west coast of Canada, it rains a lot. It doesn't snow a lot, in Vancouver at least, so when it's not sunny, there's a very good chance it's cloudy and/or raining, and throughout the year it's usually a 50/50 split between sun and rain. This is very unscientific, but probably not far from accurate.

The TV weatherpeople get right into it. 'Ooooh, it's looking pretty brutal out there. If you can avoid going out, do it. It's only suitable for ducks out there right now. Just a horrible horrible day today.' This leads sheep, I mean people, to walk around cursing the rain. Why not enjoy the rain? For half the year it's going to rain and that's not going to stop. Why be in a bad mood for half the year?

It's only rain! Enjoy it! Dance in it! Look up and feel the raindrops landing on your face!

BookCrossing.com

bookcrossing
n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise. (added to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary in August 2004)

It's a fascinating exercise in fate, karma, or whatever you want to call the chain of events that can occur between two or more lives and one piece of literature. Oh, and it's absolutely free and absolutely private, too.

---> all of the above is from the BookCrossing homepage

So, it is not actually a support group for book addicts. It is a website for book lovers, or even book likers, or even just people who have heard of books. Even those of you haven't heard of books can probably find something enjoyable out of it.

The main purpose of BookCrossing is to track your books. You register your books, you marked them up with their BCIDs (BookCrossing IDs), and you release them 'into the wild'. The idea is that the books you've read aren't doing anyone any good by sitting on your shelves collecting dust. By releasing them onto a park bench, or at a gas pump, or anywhere where someone might pick it up, it may find a new reader. The beauty of it is that with the book marked with its BCID, the finder can go to the website and make a journal entry on the book, thereby logging its journey. And you get an email the instant that happens.

There are also forums for people to discuss stuff. Stuff such as books.

This is a global site with, at the time of this sentence being written, 419,096 members and 2,533,443 books registered. Both of those numbers have been steadily increasing since April 17 2001, BookCrossing's birthday.

Click here for the BookCrossing website

There, as I am here, I'm jblueafterglow.

Here's a book whose journey I've had a part in: The Dogs of Babel

And here's my favorite catch: 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said

Halloween at our New Place!

While still renovating our place, we stocked up on candy and chocolate to give to trick-or-treaters. For the first bit, there were no knocks on the door, and Biscotti was getting upset. "Oh great, we've moved into a non-festive neighborhood. I guess we can just be the house that gets really decorated." When the first knock came, she perked up and exclaimed, "really?" After that debut, many more knocks, and bell rings, followed.

Here are pictures I took of Biscotti's magnificent carvings.

















































And the cute carver herself, warmly welcoming the costumed kids.

Looking for a terrible boyfriend for one week

Today I learned that my umbrella is not meant to be used when it's windy. It's got one broken spoke, and that might have helped it go all pretzelly when I turned this certain corner. This certain corner was apparently the entrance to an invisible wind tunnel. Many times in my life I have watched amused as others wrestle with their upturned umbrellas. What goes around comes around I guess, as everyone else I saw had sturdy umbrellas that were not affected.

That, however, is not why I'm posting. I am looking for a terrible boyfriend for a week. Replace the "I am" with "A girl is" and that previous sentence is a little more accurate. My friend Tias, hopefully out of amusement and not potential interest, emailed me the link to a posting on Craigslist.org, which I have copied and pasted below. If you are interested, I can give you the exact link and you can contact her, but I should tell you that it was posted to the Denver craigslist, which may or may not affect your response, high altitude and all.

Here is the post exactly as it appeared:

I am looking for a terrible boyfriend for one week to restore my happiness in being single. Now that school has started again I find myself in classes where 80% of my classmates are either married/engaged/in a relationship. I was content to be single all summer but now that I have been exposed to all these happy people in relationships, I'm starting to wonder if I need one too.

In my head, I know I don't, but let's make this concrete with an experience. This is where you come in. I need you around for one week in the role of a bad boyfriend to renew my glee in being single.

My requirements of you:
-You are attractive. Sorry, but if this is to work out for me, you have to be a pretty boy who is nice to look at but a total dick otherwise.
-Be very needy. Call me several times a day, checking where I am, who I'm with, etc.
-Have poor or no manners. When we go out, I want you to not use your napkin, tip poorly or not at all, never open doors, that sort of thing.
-It would be nice if you have politically conservative leanings so we can get into fun arguments
-Stare at other girls when we're out together. Bonus points for flirting with them.
-Don't listen when I talk, and interrupt me when you can.
-Insist on driving us everywhere, but proceed to get so drunk that I have to drive your car or call a taxi.
-Wear ugly clothes, or at least clothing inappropriate for every occasion.
-Have wildly inaccurate information and unfounded opinions. It is your mission that you are right about everything.
-Steal something of mine. I will set out one designated thing that you must steal from my house. You will steal this and nothing else.
-Don't be too upset when I end things after a week (and part of this deal is that I am the one to break things off). You know what you're getting into and do not form any untoward bond.

After the week is up we can either be friends and laugh about this, or we can pretend that we've never met and ignore each other if we happen to meet in a public place.

What do you get out of it?

At least 5 nights out (you pay your half, sorry. I am not rich). One stolen item (of my choosing). A good story to tell people later. Satisfaction that you are also single. A chance to vent your spleen. A dissatisfying tryst for both of us.

You'd be a fool to pass up this opportunity!

Calvin and Hobbes & Fight Club

If you're a fan of the movie Fight Club (and who isn't?), and if you have read a fair amount of Calvin and Hobbes (and who hasn't?), then you'll probably get a kick out of reading this:
The Return of Hobbes


Also, I did get Biscotti yesterday for the first of the month. I'm the champ for a full month!

I think there was some other small bit of info I wanted to write. Can anyone remember what it was? It might have been that Biscotti carved out several great pumpkins for the trick-or-treaters, and I did my part by taking several great pics of the pumpkins on display on our front steps. The pics will be posted in a day or two.

For The Last Of The Month

When is a pinch not a pinch? When it's the first part of the pinch-and-a-punch devastating combo.

For as long as I can remember, way back when I was but a wee lad, my family has played a fun little game. On the last day of each month, each person tries to pinch and punch each other person while saying "pinch and a punch for the last of the month". Sometimes people have gotten woken up by being pinched and punched.

That's not the end of it. The next day the exact same thing happens, except this time it's "pinch and a punch for the first of the month". If one person can get another person on consecutive days, well then they are obviously the masters of the universe, and can walk around with their chins up and their chests out for a full month before needing to defend their title.

Tis a fun game with many nuances. Since I moved out, and with my parents currently in New Zealand and my bro currently in Victoria, Biscotti and I are going mano à womano for this Halloween edition. Today I got her. Wish me luck tomorrow..

Happy Halloween! Has anyone seen Saw 2 yet? If not, are you going to?

Hiding Tildy

So Tildy's been staying with me and Biscotti at our rental house, which is all good, very good, except for the fact that we agreed to a no-pets rule way back in June at the start of our rental lease.. Well, now that we have a place that we're renovating and moving into in a couple of weeks, our lease is done on December 1st.. Actually, I guess it would run out November 30th.. Details Shmetails.. Our landlord lives just a few blocks away and we're kind of worried about her walking by our place when we're not home and seeing Tildy on the windowsill.. When we're home, we have a no-sill rule.

With us moving out, our very nice landlord has asked us very nicely if she could come by now and then, with advanced warning, to show the house to prospective renters.. "Surrrrre", we say. "Just make sure you do give us advance warning!" Last night was the first night of showings, which meant packing Tildy up in her carrier box and escorting her to Biscotti's parent's place for a couple of hours. But that's not all. There is the kitty litter, Tildy's food & water dishes, her scratch box, her fake-mice toys, and her fur clumps that she has left all over the place.. We basically had to walk through the place as though we were walking through for the first time to see if there was anything that would make us think to ask, "you have a cat?" What? No. We have a Tildy.

It's hard to capture the essence of Tildy on a camera, but these photos come somewhat close.. I have many many more to choose from but these are essentially the only usable ones to show her off. All the other photos either look similar to one of these, or she looks too plain jane. And Tildy is definitely not plain jane. What do you think of our kitchen and its colors? I fell in love at first sight, makes me think I'm in a rustic cabin. Others feel like they're in a pirate's galley, but you're unable, in this pic, to see the main reason why..

One good Tildy deserves another...

Jon Stewart Intelligence Agency

You probably know by now that Jon Stewart is fantastic. I only recently discovered how great his Daily Show is, wish I knew about it when it first aired. And it wasn't until today, less than five minutes ago, that I stumbled upon this site: Jon Stewart Intelligence Agency

I haven't seen much of the website beyond a page of quotes, and need to get back to studying for my midterm tomorrow (the effects of media on socialization.. ironic?), but will be checking it out some more in the coming days. Enjoy.

Is It Me? Is It Her? Is It Us?

For the past several years Biscotti and I worked at GM Place during Canucks games. Then last season there was no season, which screwed me and Biscotti financially. (As a big hockey fan, getting paid while 'working' at Canucks games was an awesome perk.)

This year, we've been working after-school programs at an elementary school Monday to Friday. Except now there is no school which means no after-school programs which means Biscotti and I are screwed again. It's not all bad, we do have other jobs. But still, now that we have a mortgage and wedding to think about, the extra moola we would've had from the past year and a half would've come in handy.

Those of you who want to contribute to the 'Biscotti and jblueafterglow mortgage & wedding fund', please contact us. You may soon find us on a street corner downtown with a handwritten cardboard sign and a sad dog at our side (and maybe we'll be featured on Cher's new blog). Or we may don a red hoody and screwdriver and track Jason down (is that in poor taste?).

Spare a loonie?

House and Biscotti

Starting now, I'll be using this blog less anonymously, as can already be seen by the profile pic I posted a few days ago. I'll probably remain jblueafterglow and Biscotti will probably remain Biscotti, but you'll notice changes, that's for sure, including more pics to jazz up this blog o' mine.

The thing that is taking up much of our time these days, besides the kids that come and go far too often, is our new house. We've been painting and sanding and having security installed and replacing furnace and all sorts of other fun stuff. I say "we", but it's mostly been Biscotti and Biscotti's parents, who somehow have endless amounts of energy.

Here's our house:














And here's a pic of Biscotti:

The F Word

Those who know me well know that I'm not often inclined to say the F word. Lately, however, it's been on the tip of my tongue, and vocalized, much more often. Let me tell you why...

It all started on the evening of Monday October 3rd. Biscotti and I arranged a date, hired a sub, and enjoyed a very pleasant dinner at the Boathouse at English Bay. We had late reservations, so the view from our top-floor, window-side table was somewhat hampered by the indoor reflection since the sun had already departed. Once we finished our meal we exited onto Denman Street, where we decided to take a bit of a stroll, window shopping and whatnot. As we neared the West End Community Centre, both of us were well aware that Denman was mostly empty except for this one guy who had been walking behind us for a block or two. It was quite late, we were very overdressed for laid-back Denman on a Monday night, and, as already stated, there were very few others around. We stopped at the next intersection, pressed the pedestrian button, and as we waited for the light to turn we watched the guy walk by. We crossed the street and walked back towards the beach.

Later that same night, I went down on one knee and asked Biscotti to marry me. I have a fiancée. I've been calling her, and refering to her as, my fiancée. That is why I've been saying fiancée more than usual during this past week.

Free iPod - no joke

So there's this cool deal going around right now where you can get a free iPod. By clicking here, or on the link at the end of this post, you will be taken to a page where you will sign up for one of the marketing offers. There is a free trial month, during which they'll send you some gift certificates or something-or-other. After that one free month they will start charging you per month. It is up to you to call and cancel during that free trial month, thereby avoiding any charges. As my friend Tias explained to me, with much more clarity than I could ever get across here, they count on people either forgetting to cancel, or thinking that if they cancel they won't receive their free iPod. Also, as my friend Brad says, 'the essence of their offer is that there's a lot of money in referral marketing'.

The free iPod I have chosen is the 20GB Color iPod (as pictured above). Here are the details of this little beauty:

2 inch, 65,536 color LCD screen

Displays up to 25 full-color thumbnails at a time

Holds up to 5,000 songs

15 hours of music playback

5 hours of slideshows with music
Approx. dimensions: 4.1 inches x 2.4 inches x 0.63 inches
Podcast ready
Sync iPod-viewable photos from several different image file formats

Earbud headphones, AC adapter and USB 2.0 cable included

I have signed up and completed an offer, which means that Tias is one step closer to five completed referrals. In order for me to receive my free iPod in the mail, I must refer five new people. And that, my close personal friends, is where you come in. Simply click on the following link, follow the easy-to-follow steps, and complete an offer! After that, all you have to do is refer five new people and you yourself will receive a free iPod in the mail. It's definitely not a case of too-good-to-be-true. If you want details don't hesitate to contact me, either through 'comments' or through other means if you have them. Just don't forget to cancel before the free month is over.

Free iPod link: http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=23417771

Number Two

Since June Biscotti and I have been working a job that has us caring for children in our own home. We haven't had a high number of children that wear diapers, and the ones that have, Biscotti has dealt with as necessary. Well, earlier this week I changed my first dirty diaper. Dirty is bold and italicized for a reason. As it turns out, the first dirty diaper I changed was also the last dirty diaper I will change. Ever. I just figured, why not get it all done in one go? First and last, all fini.

When Tildy was an outdoor cat, things were different. We had a catdoor, she would come and go as she pleased. She would often bring in some presents for us, nonwished for presents that we did not keep inside for long, alive or not. Although we had a kitty litter, the presence of a catdoor meant that Tildy had no need for it. As Tildy I'm sure would say, "what are neighbor's gardens for?" So I not once had to upkeep kitty's litter. Now she's an indoor cat, and I cannot believe how often she must've once used the neighbor's garden. Each time I upkeep, one word comes to mind: prolific.

Biking in Vancouver

In the most recent edition of the Westender, which I read every week, is the following Rant, found in the section Rant 'n' Rave! I post it here in a gesture of agreement and solidarity. Yes, I know it's not much in the way of solidarity, but I'm very busy right now:

In response to N. Smith's rant, "You selfish cyclists" [Sept. 22-22 issue]: Cyclists ride on the sidealk not because they have a "lack of consideration for others," but because they fear for their lives. I know of many people who have been seriously injured or killed from riding in traffic, but not one by a bike on the sidewalk. Instead of ranting about the inconsideration of sidewalk cyclers, you should be ranting that the city of Vancouver does not have a safe place to ride a fucking bike. Other cities in Canada and all over Europe have actual bike lanes where cars CANNOT DRIVE. Vancouver puts a picture of a bicycle on the pavement of a random street and calls it a "bike route." You should be ranting at the city for not providing cyclists with a safe lane to ride a bicycle in. We live in an age where people are dying in the desert so that North Americans can drive to work and back. This city needs to do its part in reducing our oil dependency, not painting pictures of bicycles on the street and hoping for the best.
- Megan Rose

I've Been Meme'd!

Thanks Jason, I owe you one. No wait, you owe me five.

# of Books I Own:

You will not get an exact number. Or any number. I have a couple of boxes full of books as I'm currently in the process of moving (and have been in this process since June), and the total number rises and falls as I find and buy good and/or cheap books to read, and as I release finished books into the wild.

Last Book I Bought:

Aw jeez.. Ummmm.. Hmmmm.. Oh yeah. I bought two at the same time. The Boomer by no one of consequence, and The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams of hitchhiking the galaxy fame. Haven't yet read the latter, and do not recommend the former.

5 Books That Mean(t) A Lot To Me:

Here's a list that I compiled rather quickly. It may or may not be accurate.

I quite enjoyed Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. Many many short stories that play with the concept of time. Is it linear? Is it circular? Is it like a merry-go-round where the speed at which time passes varies based on where you are standing? Perhaps it doesn't exist at all, things just happen when they happen. I highly recommend this book. I might even lend it to you if you ask nicely. It will not be wild released, only loaned to those I know.

Polaroids from the Dead was the first book I read by Douglas Coupland. It is perhaps for that reason that it is the one book of his that stands out. A mix of fiction and non-fiction, with some stories based in and around the Vancouver area, I was drawn in by his writing style and insight into various cultural events.

Ball Four was an excellent read. If you are a baseball player or fan then I highly recommend this book, and if you are neither a baseball player nor fan then I recommend this book highly. RHP Jim Bouton recorded his thoughts, and the events of his team behind closed doors, over the course of a season or two. Probably the funniest book I have ever read. I'd like to give a quote from the book, but that wouldn't do the book justice. Better to just read it and all its glory.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts. What a writer Douglas Adams is. This is a long saga that has drama, romance, humor, devastation, and lots and lots of wit. I will keep it and read it again soon. Actually not too soon. It's been six years since I read it and it will be another few years. This one is also available for loans. All the books on this list are available for loans. The movie came out recently and I saw it and thought, 'enh'. Wasn't terrible, but wasn't great. Then I thought, well how could they possibly get all the greatness of the book into a two hour movie. They did the best they could.

Pavel Bure: The Riddle Of The Russian Rocket. I became a hockey fan in the early nineties mostly because of him. This is a look at how he came to play in Vancouver and at the many suspicions that people had of his personal life, which can be summed up in one word: shady. I miss you Pavel and your full-speed end-to-end rushes.

Five People I Now Name As 'Tagged':

I think the people I tag are supposed to have blogs with which to continue the meme tradition. As you can see by looking to the right, I know not many people with blogs. Therefore, I give one name. If he reads this, he must consider himself tagged. The name: Brad (surprise!)

Wild Animals

I don't get it. Humans have been demolishing forests, which serve as habitats for many species, in order to make housing. There are lots of places to build housing in the world without destroying someone's lifelong home, but hey, let's build a little further up the mountains of the north shore. And hey, since we live here now, let's shoot and kill any being that dares to come close to us. You're attracted to our garbage can, well then, you must die. And it's not 'putting them to sleep' or 'laying them to rest' or 'sending them off to aunt Maggie's farm', it's 'having them destroyed'. It's as if these living breathing animals are asteroids coming towards earth. 'The bear has since been destroyed'. Nice. Recently a man near Prince George was driving alone on a logging road when his car broke down. Rather than walk to town on the road, he attempted to shortcut through the woods. He was ultimately found dead, killed by a bear. Authorities say that he came upon a bear and two cubs. If it's found that the man startled the bears and was killed in self-defensive, the bears will get to live. That's nice of us. BUT, if the bears killed him in a predatory manner, then they will have to be 'destroyed'. Why? WTF? This guy walks through their home, gets killed by a wild frickin' bear, and so now we must go and kill the bears. I don't agree.

While I'm on this topic, coyotes have been visible in Vancouver parks, and on the streets, for a little while. There have been a few incidents of coyote/human conflict. One such case was a coyote 'nipping' at a little girl in, if memory serves me correct, Vanier Park. I believe the coyote only got clothing, no skin. However, if the guilty coyote could be figured out, the guilty coyote would be destroyed. So a human being could do much worse, so much worse, to this little girl and have very little happen to him, but this coyote, with natural instincts, nips her clothing and must die. I believe the girl was about 6 years young. Where were her parents/guardians?

In related news, Biscotti's Morgan was the second person destroyed on Survivor. She has since jumped onto the Judd bandwagon.

Survivor & Amazing Race Pools

Survivor

Biscotti and I joined a survivor pool. I got Judd, a 35-year-old hotel doorman from New York City. He scared me during the premiere when he was first out of the canoe and ended up flopping around like a beached whale in a pool of mud. He then did nothing but lie around camp feeling quite sick, so, when our tribe Nakum (yes, our tribe) lost the immunity challenge, I wasn't feeling too confident. Luckily, all the males on his tribe also lay around feeling sick, so he was spared. Turns out the oldest male on Nakum not only felt sick, but had disfigured his arm during the challenge. We live to see another day. Click here for more on Judd Sergeant. His favorite movie? The Jerk.

Biscotti got Morgan, who happens to be on the other tribe, Yaxha. Morgan is a 21-year-old model/entertainer. She flew under the radar during the premiere, and was on the team that one immunity so not much drama there. So every episode will have either my life, I mean five bucks, or Biscotti's life, I mean five bucks, on the line. Wish us luck. Click here for more on Morgan McDevitt (take note, "Occupation: model" is a link..). Her favorite board game? Chess.

Amazing Race

Biscotti and I started an Amazing Race pool. Two actually. In the first pool we've been paired up with The Bransen Family, made up of a father and his three twenty-something daughters who, get this, once appeared together in a Pert shampoo commercial several years ago.

In the second pool we got The Aiello Family, a 57-year-old and his three son-in-laws. Nothing titillating there. This is, CBS says, their first official trip without their wives by their sides. Official? They've taken unofficial trips? Now it's official because it's a race? Good luck boys.

Word Verification

After all the spam following my Clijsters post, I decided to refresh my blog right after the Bush post, and waddaya know, two spam comments immediately posted. Therefore, I have enabled word verification.

Word verification? What's that? I'll let blogger explain..

What this does is to prevent automated systems from adding comments to your blog, since it takes a human being to read the word and pass this step. If you've ever received a comment that looked like an advertisement or a random link to an unrelated site, then you've encountered comment spam. A lot of this is done automatically by software which can't pass the word verification, so enabling this option is a good way to prevent many such unwanted comments.

So, the luck key readers, it will take one small additional step to post a comment on my blog, but we (primarily I) will be forever free of spam. I look forward to reading your many wanted comments..

Bush

I just came across this quote while randomly browsing the internet in a bored stupor.

Electing Bush was seen by the world as a mistake. Re-electing will be seen as a hostile act.
- Graydon Carter, What We've Lost

10is ne1

I've been watching a lot of the US Open and there have been a remarkable number of compelling matches, most notably Sanguinetti vs Srichaphan and Clijsters vs Venus.

However, last night's incredible Agassi vs Blake showdown takes the cake. During Agassi's comeback from two sets down, one of the commentators was talking about the fans not knowing who to cheer for. Then said that Agassi was aware that the fans were pulling for Blake because of all he's been through the past two years. How to get the fans on Agassi's side? Drop the first two sets of course! Go Agassi!

I hope Clijsters wins her first slam this weekend.

Group Phone Messages

I have an idea. You know how you can type one email and send it to as many people as your heart desires? I'd like the same type of option with phone messages. I know of, and have used several times, a number you can dial where you can ultimately leave a message on someone's answering machine without the phone ringing. (No, I haven't done that to you!) I believe this can only be done on a landline number with call answer. If that feature was available for all existing phone numbers, then my idea couldn't be too hard could it? It would undoubtedly require that those clunky answering machines become obsolete, with everyone adopting call answer. What do you think? There are often times when I just want to say a short something, the same short something, to a bunch of people, and it takes sooooooo much time calling everyone.. Soooooooo, group phone messages, yay or nay? Have I made my idea clear?

Tildy

I moved out recently. I miss my cat.

A list of things...

...that make me go hmmm.

Movie times. Went to see War of the Worlds the other night, which was officially listed as a 7:50 start time. After ads and previews galore, the words "Feature Presentation" appeared on the screen at 8:28. Thirty-eight frickin' minutes after the "start time". Where else does this happen? Anywhere? Go see a baseball game that starts at 7:05pm, and they do the pregame stuff, such as the anthem(s), earlier than 7:05pm, so that the game can actually start at 7:05pm. An art gallery says it opens at 10am, the doors are open at, gasp, 10am. WTF. I know it's been bad for a while at movies with the previews and ads, but thirty-eight minutes? For more on this, click here, and then check out nomovieads.com.

Cigarette smoke. Went to the Sunshine Diner for breakfast on Saturday, their new location. It was a beautiful morning so when given the option of inside or patio, we didn't hesitate. Pancakes in the sun! Freshly squeezed OJ was delicious, sun was hot, Biscotti looked sexy, all was good. The server brought our orders and just as we started to dig in, I inhaled a lungfull of cigarette smoke. We were blinded by the sun, we didn't think about the smokers using the patio for different reasons. I was back-to-back with one of the smokers and was, unfortunately, downwind. Nothing else could have happened to have ruined the meal more. There were attempts though. The patio being right on Broadway, there was an obnoxious motorcyclist who started up his hog and revved for longer than necessary, before maxing out as he pulled away. It was loud enough that Biscotti had to stop talking mid-sentence until he was gone. One of the smokers then asked the server, "Do they really think that's cool?".

Misunderstandings. I once acknowledged the receipt of a book that was mailed to me by writing, "Arrived the day after yesterday." The sender thought I meant the day before yesterday. But before and after don't mean the same thing. (Reminds me: why do "slim chance" and "fat chance" mean the same thing?)

New Zealand traffic rule. There is a law in NZ that states that drivers wishing to turn left must yield to oncoming drivers who wish to turn right. Seems mundane until you remember that in NZ traffic is opposite from North America; you drive on the left side of the road. So, this law is equivalent to NA drivers, when turning right, yielding to oncoming left-turners. Of course, it wouldn't be practical here. It is in NZ, where roads are often one lane each way, so having this law keeps vehicles moving, instead of being stuck behind a right-turner.

Dog shit. It's not dog shit itself that makes me go hmmm, as that would be stupid. It's the inconsiderate owners of dogs that don't pick up after their dog has crapped, especially in areas of high pedestrian volume, that makes me go hmmm. I took two kids to a neighborhood playground yesterday. Right there in plain view, in very close proximity to the playground structure, was a pile of turds. It was quite clear that this feces de canine was produced by a larger-than-average dog. Dog owners, please pick up after your dogs.

Sold!

On Tuesday, might've been Monday, I was elegantly riding the #25 bus eastbound. As we, the relaxed passengers and focused driver, passed Fraser and headed towards Knight, I looked out of a south-facing window. In front of one of the houses was a 'for sale' sign that I had seen many times in the past 3 weeks. Only this time it was different. There was now a 'sold' sticker attached near the top. That's when it really hit home. Biscotti and I bought that house. That house is ours.

Survival of the Fittest

You may have seen the new milk ads on TV or at the movies. The animated ads are quite funny, to me at least, and feature prehistoric man being eliminated by dinosaurs. Never mind the questions this brings up. The first ad I saw had a man opening what looks like a pop can and subsequently having the fizz spray him in the eyes. As he staggers about trying to see, other men are running away from something. We then see a dinosaur appear and step on the man. That is when the text appears, "it's always been survival of the fittest." We then see the dinosaur in the distance using a rock to scrape the man off of the bottom of his foot. The only other one I've seen is a still-shot of a dinosaur looking at a tree and all you can see sticking out from behind the tree is a man's big belly. Under this image is the same text as above.

A wise man* once told me that "survival of the fittest" is crap. You can be in the greatest shape imaginable but if something happens to your environment, you're screwed. Consider fish. Consider fish. Hint of the century, consider fish. You could be the fittest fish in the pond/lake. Perhaps, over a few years, there's less and less rainfall each year. Eventually the pond/lake dries up and there is not a drop of water remaining. Survival of the fittest?

(*Rick)

Baseball

G'day friends, lovers, and enemies.. That covers all of you right?

The Surrey Indians's season is under way. We're two games in, and I'm having a blast, despite pulling a hammy in an exhibition game on Thursday. I'll be okay, thanks for your concern.. Posts here may start to become infrequent and/or lacking in substance, and for that I apologize in advance.. But really, was there ever any substance to begin with? I've been doing our team blog, found here, and using that for my creative outlet.. Stop by for a virtual visit, or else..

Das Eawall

Went for a walk yesterday around the Stanley Park seawall with Biscotti and Archie. It was flippin' fantastic.

Hide My Peanuts?

I didn't know how to react to this.. On my way to pick up a group of kids at a school today, I picked up a small bag of peanuts. As I was talking to some of the boys, one of the girls, in grade three, came over, put her hand in front of the bag, and said, "Hey, you're not supposed to show off your peanuts in public". What????? What in the world am I supposed to say to that? Seriously, what would you have said? And I didn't have the luxury of having time to think about it. So first impression, what would you have said?

Thesaurus

Have you ever heard the question, 'What's another word for thesaurus?'? I have. Have you ever sought out an answer? I have. Today. Here it is.

Georgiana

Baby girl is now here. And she's beautiful.

Georgiana was born last night at 22:22.

Congrats G+T.

Amazing Race

I heard yesterday that Amazing Race has passed Survivor as the most watched show in Canada. Good. I liked the first Survivor, and greatly enjoyed Pearl Islands and All-Stars (even without Colleen), but ever since happening upon Amazing Race midway through their third installment, I've been hooked. They are now in their seventh installment, and probably due to the inclusion of Survivor's Boston Rob and Amber, it has been the best one that I've seen yet.

There are a few things that make the Race superior, let's discuss some of them. In the Race, it doesn't matter how much a team is hated, as long as they are first to the finish line (or just not-last for all the lead-up legs, and then first for the final leg), they can win. If a team is hated on Survivor, they are most likely going to be voted off, like Colby yesterday. Boston Rob doesn't care on the Race that he is hated, in fact he's embracing it ("just say no and point at me.. I'll smile right at them").

The main reason I find the Race superior is that the racers don't have to act as though the cameras and crew that are around them are not actually there. You'll often see them acknowledge the cameras with a comment or sly smile. Survivor is annoying in this regard. When survivors, for example, get lost in the woods, they, I assume based on viewing experience, are under strict rules to not acknowledge the cameras. The light from the camera is lighting them up bright, and we're supposed to worry that they might succumb to the evils of a dark forest? Not likely. The only time they can react to the camera is when they are doing one those secret interview things away from the group. (I must share a Colleen moment from the very first Survivor. They had just found out about a challenge they were going to do. She said to the camera: At first I thought 'cool, it's like we're going to be on a game-show'. But then I thought 'wait a minute, we're on a game-show!') Survivor is plain old talk and back-talk and behind-the-back talk and backstabbing, with the occasional challenge taking place, whereas Amazing Race has so much more entertaining drama as they continent-hop all over the place with unique location-specific challenges coming at you quick and often..

All that being said, I've watched every episode of Survivor Palau, enjoying Ulong's demise. No merge, just a takeover. Do you watch Survivor? Amazing Race?

Surrey Indians Website

The Surrey Indians website has some new additions. Most notably a forum and a team blog. Pictures are being added. Many more will be posted as soon as many more pictures are taken.. You can find video footage in the forum..

The site can still be found under "cool sites" on your right. I've given it the codename Das Indians? Why the codename? Because things are always cooler when they have codenames. With all the additions the website now really is the place to be.. I was only joking last time..

Family

I will soon be an uncle. My sister is pregnant. In fact, she is very pregnant, the due date was yesterday! So any day now my sister and her hubby will have a young daughter.. Any day now..

A Poem By Somebody

The dishes need doing
The doing takes a moment
A moment takes no time at all
We stare at the cat a lot

Call Me Rusty

Opening day is 5 days away! Baseball season is here again, and I must say that I could use a few more days of prep. We've had just one outdoor practice, during which I fielded approximately 10 fly balls. Normally this would suffice and there would be no trepidation in anticipation of the season opener. However, this is not a typical season opener. It's been over a year and a half since my last game. I did not play ball last season, during which time I did not touch a baseball bat, baseball glove, or baseball. I did, however, touch Fenway Park, the Empire State Building, and the water in Glen Lake..

Check out the shiny new Surrey Indians website, which can be found under 'cool sites' on the right. It is, without a doubt, the place to be, any time day or night..

On the topic of baseball, I happened open the fox radio station yesterday, and the guy said something good. It went something like this, 'if you're not looking foward to the upcoming baseball season, just yell the f word and the name of the band coming up', then came advertisements. When the advertisements ended and the next song began, it was a song by the same band that did the more popular songs 'Self-Esteem' and 'Come Out and Play'. Think about it.

She and Me

She: Come play sequins with us.

Me: Not right now, I'm eating my lunch, which is also a kind of game.

She: What? How is that a game?

Me: Well, uhh, if I eat everything on my plate, I win.

She: And if you can't finish everything, the food wins?

Me: That's right.

She: That's weird.

Me: Yeah, I know.

(She leaves and returns ten minutes later. I'm sweeping the crumbs off the plate and into the garbage.)

She: Looks like you lost.

Me: Oh well. Tried my best and that's all that matters. Time for sequins.





In other news, Spirit of the West is playing at the Commodore tonight! It'll be nice to see the good ol' boys again. Free Okanagan Springs for Biscotti and me? Please..

What A Day

There is nothing that could possibly be said to fully encapsulate what yesterday was like. Here's what can be said.. If you ever get the chance to go on "The Crawl" in the Spirit of the West limo-bus, do it. I am a very happy camper.

I'm going out on The Crawl!

When I won the four tickets to see Spirit of the West next Saturday, I got entered into the grand prize draw, the details of which I was only vaguely aware of. Something about the band recreating their song "The Crawl" and the grand prize winners following along in a limo from pub to pub.. I was told on Tuesday when I won the 4 tickets that the draw would be done Friday morning. Well, I forgot about it. Alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, with the radio tuned to Jack FM.. A few minutes go by, and then Larry & Willy are talking about the Spirit of the West thing.. Oh yeah! They took one more caller to win 4 tickets to the show, and he got entered into the draw for the grand prize as well.. Then Willy said good luck to Kim, Rob, so-and-so, so-and-so.. There were only 4 or 5 of us in the draw for the grand prize.. AND I WON!!!!!!

WOO-HOO!!!

Between 1 and 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, Biscotti and I are getting picked up in a limo-bus by a couple of promotors/Okanagan Springs people.. We'll be taking the limo-bus to the Troller in West Van, which will be the first of 6 stops. The Raven is another of the stops. We end up at the Railway Club in Vancouver.. I haven't been to any of the places that we'll be at tomorrow, so that adds to the excitement! AND, we're sharing the limo-bus with the boys from Spirit of the West! Holy Cannoli!

You'll have to excuse me..

Moments ago I talked to Willy of "Larry & Willy" on Jack FMMMMM. Spirit of the West is playing the Commodore next Friday and Saturday nights for St. Paddy's Day celebrations, and I won tickets to Saturday's show!! Woo-hoo!!! I've seen them before a few times, including at the Commodore with Biscotti, who is, of course, coming with me this time.. The prize is 4 tickets, so after Biscotti and I, there are two remaining. I know who is first up on the invite list. Could it be you? Does your name start with a K? Hmmmmmm.....

What am I? Stoked!

The fun stops here

Edited on Sunday, March 6, 2005 at 11:16am

I got a fortune cookie. The fortune reads: Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you. The entry that was posted here on Saturday March 5, 2005 at 11:45am has been deleted. As you were.

WWMD

No, it is not WMD. It is WWMD, as in What Would Mulder Do. This is the question I ask myself when facing life-altering decisions. The question I am currently facing is, what should I do with my hair? Sure, laugh away, cuz that's what I'm doing.. "life-altering" indeed! But really, my hair is longer than it has been in a long long time. Perhaps the longest it has ever been.. I'm liking having long hair.. I should clarify that what you're thinking of long hair might not be relevant in this case. You see, I'm using the term "long hair" relative to how long MY hair usually is.. It's long for me because it's tickling parts of my face that aren't used to being touched by my own hair.. The front of my hair, when pulled straight down, reaches exactly to the bottom tip of my chin. I didn't know that until I just pulled my hair down prior to that previous sentence. The thing is, it's getting warmer, and baseball season is starting and I don't think this 'do will look good in a baseball hat.. Gruber anyone? For a while now I've been letting it grow longer as I consider what to do, until I come to a decision. The thing is, I've been doing a lot of considering and so far there isn't any decision to speak of.. Meanwhile the hair just keeps on going.. A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about Billy Crudup's character in the movie Big Fish. (Great movie by the way.) But upon further review his hair is shorter than I had remembered. Perhaps his hair in Without Limits would be better! (Great movie by the way.) I don't know.. More considering needed I guess..

In this case, I don't know what Mulder would do, so I now give you a song.. (by "a song" I suppose I mean "the written lyrics of a song")

"David Duchovny" by Bree Sharp

It's Sunday night, I am curled up in my room
The tv light fills my heart like a balloon
I hold it in best I can, I know I'm just another fan
But I can't help feeling I could love this secret agent man
And I can't wait anymore for him to discover me
I got it bad for David Duchovny
David Duchovny, why won't you love me?
Why won't you love me?
My friends all tell me 'Girl you know it's just a show,'
But deep within his eyes I see me wrapped up like a bow
Watching the sky for a sign, the FBI's on my mind
I'm waiting for the day when my lucky stars align
In the form of David Duchovny floating above me
In the alien light of the spaceship of love
David Duchovny, hovering above me
American Heathcliff, brooding and coming
David Duchovny, why won't you love me
Why won't you love me, why won't you love me?
So smooth and so smart, he's abducted my heart
And I'm falling apart from the looks I've received from those eyes
I can't believe, well you can say I'm naive
But he told me to believe
My bags are packed, I am ready for my flight
Gonna put an end to my daydream days and sleepless nights
Sitting like a mindless clone, wishing he would tap my phone
Just to hear the breath of the man, the myth, the monotone
And I would say David Duchovny, why won't you love me
Why won't you love me, why won't you love me?
David Duchovny, why won't you love me
Why won't you love me, why won't you love me?
David Duchovny, I want you to love me
To kiss and to hug me, debrief and debug me
David Duchovny, I know you could love me
I'm sweet and I'm cuddly
I'm gonna kill Scully
David Duchovny, why won't you love me
Why won't you love me, why won't you love me?

to except and prevent

"We would gladly except any board games or toys your child might not need any more." Normally I would've said something, but other staff had already signed the bottom with a festive Easter message, and the paper was about to be photocopied about 50 times. Ah well.. (My message: have a 'hoppy' Easter! hop hop hop)

Reminds me of an Academy Awards moment a few years back.. Someone was presenting an award, lifetime achievement I think.. and was just about at the conclusion when she said, "I am very happy to prevent this award.. oops, present this award to..."

"Borrrr-innngggg"

Yawn. Is the game over yet? Who's winning? Who's playing? What, Brian Burke is actually lacing them up? He's playing? Oh boy, it's gonna be a lonnnng game.. I can't believe nobody from Kidstreet showed up.. One hundred tickets in my hand and we used, what, less than 10 of them. And that includes a couple of my friends.. Couldn't even give the dozens and dozens and dozens of extras away.. Everyone else also trying to get rid of their extras.. Hey look, they're announcing the jackpot total. And the total is.. Oh man, that's funny stuff.. Hear me now and believe me later, the next time I watch a hockey game all the players will be highly competitive athletes in excellent shape. Fo' shizzle.

Hockey!

I just found out today that I get to go to the Sea to Sky Hockey thingamabob tomorrow! Absolutely free! At work we're getting 100 tickets.. 50 kids 50 adults. Most of them are going to the kids and parents at Kidstreet, with some tickets left over.. Last year I worked at the game, and didn't get to see any of it.. I'm looking forward to tomorrow..

"No thanks. I would never buy any of these. The organizer is an idiot."

Oh Brother

A couple of summers ago I was at the outdoor pool at Second Beach in Stanley Park on a b-e-a-youtiful day. I was on an outing with my sister, my sister's husband (my brother-in-law), my dad, my dad's two young boys (my brothers), and Biscotti. There, the scene is set.

One of my younger brothers had brought along some oversized sunglasses. And by oversized I don't just mean relative to his 5-year-old noggin.. They would've been oversized on you, me, the mail carrier and probably even Bo Jackson.. Not that Bo Jackson has a huge noggin. He might, but that's something I just don't know.. He was the biggest sports hero of mine, which is why I mention his name of all names. But that's not why you called. My younger brother was sitting with his eyes facing the sun and decided it was time to don the sunglasses. So he puts them on and it looks quite amusing. My brother-in-law then says, while looking right at my younger brother, "Wow, look at the cool kid with the huge sunglasses". To that, my younger brother proceeds to quickly take off the sunglasses and spin his head around to spot this "cool kid". It was the cutest and funniest thing ever! He kept looking for a few seconds, while we cracked up, and then we explained to him that in fact, he was the cool kid wearing the huge sunglasses. I don't think he understood though, because we saw him looking around again after the explanation, in search of this kid that had us cracking up with his huge sunglasses.. As he looked around more, we would laugh more, and that would make him want to find the kid more, as he was seemingly missing out on something very funny. All because he didn't know that he was the "cool kid". It was a sweet moment.

NZ Article About BookCrossing!

There was an article in a New Zealand newspaper, the Manawatu Standard, about BookCrossing! (But you knew that already, didn't you? For the title of this post I should have written "Flying Elephants Are Becoming Popular Again", just to really throw you off.. Ah well, there's always next time..)

I know I know, hundreds of articles have been written about BookCrossing.. What makes this particular article so noteworthy? Well, to answer your question, read the article, and then click here. Or here. You may even click here. But read the article first.

Congratulations!

My cousin, who responds to the name "Ross", got married this past weekend! To a girl I haven't met, who answers to Renee. It may be spelt Renée. Or it may be spelt Albuquerque, but with accents in the right places to have it sound like "Renée". I should know how it's spelt. My apologies. In my defense, however weak this defense may be, I haven't yet met her. The wedding was half a world away, a few kilometres north of Middle-Earth territory.. When I first heard about the wedding, I was hoping Biscotti and I could make it there, but the timing just didn't work. My mom went as the rep for the Canadian contingent. In the not-too-distant future Biscotti and I will be there. I'll be introducing her to my relatives, we'll both be introduced to my cousin's wife, and then we'll "glide quietly beneath the lights of thousands of glowworms" in the Waitomo Caves, with "only the gentle sound of dripping water" to remind us that we "are deep underground and not beneath a star filled sky".

Congratulations Ross and Renée.

Tennis on TSN

If I stay up until 12:30 again tonight to watch tennis, it had better actually be on. Go Hewitt.

What the Curse?

know, i'm not bak onto the topik of the red socks. a gurl at my wirk sed "dammit" the other day. I found it, and the sitch-u-ay-shun, amusing, and their4 started to laff. maby mor of a chukle. another leader herd wat she sed and scolded her. eye didn't even think of it as bean bad. duz that make me a bad litre? shood of scolded her? c'mon, saying "dammit" ain't that bad izit? from the route uv "damnation", i spose it's kinda bad. but rilly, of all the wurs things that cood be sed, "dammit" ain't that bad.. i gues i kinda let the kids get away with mor than sum other litres wood. the way eye c it, wuts the point of bean so strict wen they our going two leave and tawk like that thirdy minits l8r? as long as it's sed farely kwyit and the yunger kids don't here it, just let it slide. that shood be mi gnu moddo.. "let it slide.." into thurd, saphe!

don't say people lose people all the time anymore
- tth