The Vicious Circle

Another creepy photo...

2006-12-03T18:21:00.000-05:00

Pucker up Dion!!!

this month brought to you by...

2006-12-02T13:31:00.000-05:00

Athabasca icefields!

Does this photo give you the creeps too??

2006-12-02T13:25:00.000-05:00

Liberal Leadership Convention

2006-12-02T13:22:00.000-05:00

Watching it right now on ctv...boy.. I think Dion's got it!

some good blogs covering the event:

www.warrenkinsella.com

Personally I think Warren is a bit of a blow-hard but sometimes he can be funny. He's a Liberal but if you want to read stuff by a conservative who somehow got into Palais de Congres, check out www.stephentaylor.ca

Been gone, gone, gone, been gone so long

2006-12-02T13:10:00.000-05:00

Yes, I've neglected my blog for the past few months - I wish I could say it's because I was terribly busy but really I've just been really lazy.

News -

I have a new laptop. It's awesome. I don't even know half of the things I can do with it because I am a technical weenie.

Still living downtown and enjoying it immensely.

Writing more..in fact I think my first attempt at a novel will be finished by the new year.

Still working same place, but not for long. In January I am being flown to Calgary for an interview with a major oil company. The job sounds terrific and the pay in insane. the initial phone interview went so well that they asked me right then and there to go out there and of course I accepted. I am going to keep my fingers crossed, but I think this might be it.

Tim is here from Hong Kong. We've been having fun doing silly things like test drive Smart Cars (SCARY) and sitting on the mastadons at the Nature Museum at 3am in the morning. He leaves tomorrow to go back. I will miss him intensely *sob*

Mayan Riviera in 2 months time. Could be a solo trip...unsure. Either way, I'm going to have an excellent time on the beach with a stack of books and a drink with an umbrella in it.

So...that's pretty much it. I promise to keep this updated...it will be easier now that I have a decent computer.. and I'm going to go and buy a digital camera (I held off before because my old computer was crap and I didn't think I could even hook up a camera to it) and start posting pictures!

This month brought to you by...

2006-09-01T08:31:00.000-05:00

Spirit Island!

Long Weekend is here!

2006-08-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

I am about to take off to the cottage momentarily - long weekend - Bennett Lake Regatta this weekend.. woo! Hope everyone has a good time and for those of you stuck in the city - suckers! :P

....hello K-Roc!

This month brought to you by...

2006-08-02T17:54:00.000-05:00

I was remiss on the 1st of the month... But go Lake Louise!

Back to the Cottage!

2006-07-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

Back to the cottage this weekend for some R&R with the whole family. Maybe a little drum action too :) I won't have access to internet, news or newspapers till Monday... If Israel invades Lebanon and launches the Hezbollah into the outer stratosphere, someone send me a smoke signal, wouldj'a??

Take care and have a good weekend everyone!

...and the beat goes on...

A-Fucking-Men!

2006-07-21T15:01:00.000-05:00

If having the same opinion as writer Lorne Gunter makes me an insensitive bitch, then so be it...

Whiners: Find your own way out of Beirut

After being rescued from war zone, a little gratitude would be nice

BY Lorne Gunter

Aw, the boat ride was too long, was it? And you say it was too hot?There was no doctor on board, either? And the departure was delayed. And theport was chaotic. And too little food and water had been laid in. And some ofyou had to sleep on the floor!?

Oh, the indignity of it.

To listen to the whining and carping of many of the 261 Canadians rescued from Beirut on the first day of the evacuation from Lebanon, you would think they had just been returned to port from an ocean cruise that went terribly wrong, instead of being saved from a war zone.

Tuesday, the Crown Princess, a Princess Cruises ship, suddenly listedto port in heavy seas off the coast of Florida. The promenade deck almost submerged. Stairwells "became waterfalls." The casino and gift shop below decks were flooded. The main dining room had to be turned into a triage ward as more than 200 of the 3,100 passengers on board were injured by the sudden tilt; 94 had to be taken off for hospitals on shore.

By contrast, no passengers on the first Canadian rescue ship were injured. The worst that happened was a few threw up.

And, yet, the grousing and moaning on the Crown Princess did not equal that of the evacuees from Lebanon when they reached Cyprus early Thursday morning. Some even cursed at the Canadian diplomats who greeted them.

One woman from Montreal described the trip as "hell;" not the war,but rather her tax-paid voyage to freedom. After all, it had taken 15 hours instead of seven. Twice their ship, the Blue Dawn, had been stopped bythe Israeli navy to ensure it was not hostile.

Imagine that. Stopping a ship in a war zone to see whether it is friend or foe. How rude!

And the griping doesn't end with those Ottawa has already plucked from the suddenly very hot zone in south Lebanon. Others still awaiting evacuation complain that our embassy in Beirut has not dealt with them fast enough. Their e-mails have gone unanswered, their phone calls meet with a busy signal. If they present themselves in person, there are long lines in the hot sun to meet a Foreign Affairs official face-to-face.

There aren't hotel rooms for them all. The waiting rooms are inadequate for the numbers wanting to leave. Embassy staff will not give precise departure times.

No kidding. We're not talking about the returns desk at Wal-Mart the day after Christmas.

A staff of two dozen, who normally deal with a few thousand inquiriesa year are suddenly swamped with 2,000 or 3,000 people demanding to be saved -Now! In a city that no longer has a functioning airport. Where fighter-bombers frequently scream overhead. Air raids do tend to disrupt the flow of things.

It's a wonder our government managed, at all, to find seven underused cruise ships it could lease on such short notice.

On the first day that any country was able to get its citizens out by boat, we managed to rescue 261. The British got out just 170 of their people. The French, who have a fleet of warships patrolling the Mediterranean, could manage just 180.

Thursday, we rescued another 1,375. And thereafter, we should be able to extract 700 to 1,000 swearing, muttering ingrates each day, either to Cyprus or Turkey.

But just wait until they get to safe ports and find out they have several-day waits ahead of them until they can be airlifted -again at taxpayers' expense- to Canada. When told she might have to sit put inCyprus for a few days until a jet ride could be arranged, and that while she waited she would have to find and pay for her own hotel and meals, one of the first evacuees complained that the government had not already taken care ofsuch things.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? To simple gratefulness? I don't expect the rescued Canadians to bow down and kiss the feet of our diplomats when they arrive on safe soil. But why is it too much to expect they might be thankful simply for being extracted from a danger zone, regardless of how uncomfortably?

They remind me of the Canadian and British antiwar activists extracted by commandos earlier this year from months of captivity in Iraq, who rather than saying thank you criticized the rescuers for using force to free them. Wouldn't you be grateful to be rescued from Lebanon right now even ifyou and your family had to ride out in the fish hold of a trawler for a few days?

And yes it does matter that many of those complaining are Canadians of convenience. They hold Canadian passports, but have dual citizenship in Lebanon and have not been much interested in Canada for years until their real home country started getting dangerous. There is a simple solution to this carping. The boats have to go back to Beirut for more evacuees. Anyone who profanes a Canadian worker or whines about conditions on the free boat gets put back on board and returned toLebanon where they can find their own way out.

Cottage Weekend!

2006-07-13T15:29:00.000-05:00

Going to the cottage this weekend with one of my favorite people, just to relax - read - float in the lake - eat - drink - and generally just be merry.

I am so looking forward to this...

Have a good one folks!

EXCITING NEWS!

2006-07-01T16:49:00.000-05:00

I found out yesterday that I am going to Hong Kong for my birthday!! I leave Ottawa on October 11 and come back October 24! This is the most exciting news I've had in some time... I am still in shock.. and don't exactly know what to do with myself... but I will be sure to send everyone postcards!

Also, J. is going to be in China at the same time, so hopefully we'll be able to meet up for a scrabble game at the Peninsula Hotel! (I know, we're geeks)

I am sooooooooo freaking out! :) And I apologize right now because I know I will talk of nothing else for the next few months!

This month brought to you by...

2006-07-01T16:42:00.000-05:00

Mount Rundle!

Go Oilers!

2006-06-19T15:07:00.000-05:00

I know I've been slacking where my blog is concerned, but I just had to post this...

GO OILERS!

Has anyone else been following World Cup.. I magically got sucked into it by a few people (you know who you are! Grrr!) but I can't help it... even though I know practically nothing about soccer... er.. football.. er.. whatever.

I do know this: the Australian team has some fucking hot men. *lick*

The love affair continues...

2006-06-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

with Tori Amos.

"Tear In Your Hand"

All the world just stopped now

So you say you don't wanna stay together anymore

Let me take a deep breath babe

If you need me

Me and Neil'll be hangin' out with the dream king

Neil says hi

By the way I don't believe you're leaving

Cause me and Charles Manson like the same ice cream

I think it's that girl

And I think there're pieces of me you've never seen

Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen well

All the world is all I am

The black of the blackest ocean

And the tear in your hand

All the world is dangin'...

Dangling'...Danglin' for me darlin'

You don't know the power that you have

With that tear in your hand

Tear in you hand

Maybe I ain't used to maybes

Smashing in a cold room

Cutting my hands up every time I touch you

Maybe maybe it's time to wave goodbye now

Time to wave goodbye now

Caught a ride with the moon

I know I know you well

Better than I

Used to haze all clouded up

My mind in the daze of why it could've never been So you say and I say

You know you're full of wish

And your "baby baby baby babies"

I tell you there're pieces of me you've never seen

Maybe she's just pieces of me you've never seen

All the world is all I am

The black of the blackest ocean

And the tear in your hand

All the world is dangin'...

Dangling'...Danglin' for me darlin'

You don't know the power that you have

With that tear in your hand

Tear in you hand

With that tear in you hand

This month brought to you by...

2006-06-01T19:40:00.000-05:00

Lake O'Hara!

Am I asking too much?

2006-05-15T15:49:00.000-05:00

I'm tired of people making plans with me, and then cancelling, or conveniently forgetting. It hurts.

Oh, my poor Sens...

2006-05-14T15:59:00.000-05:00

The Ottawa Senators got eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs last night. I am depressed. I feel empty, like there's no one to cheer for anymore. The Edmonton Oilers are still in the playoffs, they are Canadian, but it's just not the same. My team is gone. No more Chara fantasies until the fall. No reason to go and watch the game at my favorite watering hole.

J. has started getting World Cup fever, but I don't think I can get that much into soccer. I am somewhat keen that the World Cup is being played in my favorite country, Germany, but I don't know a hell of a lot about soccer rules or which country to cheer for (if I was watching a game with J., I'd have to cheer for England or get my ass kicked). We'll see what happens when the Cup starts the first week of June.

This weekend the weather in Ottawa has been terribly shitty.. makes me want to stay in bed with a good book and watch crap on tv. It's Mother's day too.. did you call your Mum? I called mine, but we aren't getting together...perhaps later on this week.

Other than hockey, not much going on in life - still hitting the gym, although I've cut back to 3 or 4 times a week, instead of every day, because I thought I was going a little overboard, and losing weight too quickly. It still feels good to go, and I don't ever see it as a "chore", and so far I like the results.. feeling stronger is pretty empowering. Last night I went to Nik and Michelle's for the game and trivia, and when Nik answered the door, he said something like "You're getting thin, it's freaking me out!".. I couldn't tell if it was a compliment or not, but hear stuff like that even freaks me out. I am just not used to it.

This weekend is May 24 - god oh god, I hope I make it to my cottage.

Cindy Sheehan

2006-05-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

I don’t agree with the US-Iraqi war, but for some reason this Cindy Sheehan woman bothers me. I feel bad that this woman lost her son and I don’t doubt that her pain is real. What I wonder about is how her son would feel knowing that his mother is parading up and down Capital Hill and using him basically as a martyr for the anti-war movement. I am going to assume this young man knew when he signed up to be in the army that there was a possibility that he would see combat action. I don’t know when he entered the army, so I can’t say whether he knew going in that he would be sent straight away to Iraq. I think it’s a chance you take when you enter that profession that something *might* happen to you. Wouldn’t his family know this too? I’m not saying the woman should sit down and shut up, but I think she should come to terms with the fact that her son made his choice, and he chose to serve his country, and that dying was a risk he was obviously willing to take.

This month brought to you by...

2006-05-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

Waterton Lakes!

I WON!

2006-04-30T18:38:00.000-05:00

I WON AT SCRABBLE!!!!

but i also got a sunburn

BUT I WON AT SCRABBLE!!

Funny

2006-04-26T20:51:00.000-05:00

This was on someone else's blog, but it made me laugh and thought I would share

new things

2006-04-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

J. has decided to resign his lease for the apartment, and given me the option of staying here till at least the end of December..but I don't know if I am going to still be in Ottawa, so I've told him I am here till at least September. This puts my mind at ease because if I was leaving July 31 but leaving Ottawa in September, where was I going to go? Not my mother's place...and my crap is still in the storage locker in the basement.

So I am staying in the downtown area until at least September, 6 blocks from work, 5 blocks from the gym.. I am very happy. Speaking of gym, I weighed myself Monday night after a pretty hard workout - since I've started going.. about 7 weeks ago, I've lost 27 pounds. It seems like a lot in such a short span of time, but I am eating well (just had a huge bowl of homemade greek salad!) and not starving myself, and frankly, have never felt better. I am within 20 pounds of the ultimate goal weight that was set for me by a doctor I thought was NUTS for even suggesting I could get that small... and now I am so close! I'd like to lose it alittle slower, and am giving myself till at least the end of the summer to achieve it. Oh yeah, a warning - if you have a bad back, avoid pilates like the plague.

Chili Weekend

2006-04-23T14:36:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I made a big pot of meat chili - usually I make vegetarian. I used to think vegetarian chili was better, but damn - this one is really good. J. came over and I watched him scarf down two bowls and he said it was good. That made me happy. We watched an mXc marathon, and when that was over, I did some channel surfing. We stumbled upon a very interesting program on CBC Newsworld, a documentary on three Canadians living in Moscow, and their struggle to fit it and find their way around. Their social life basically consisted of hanging out in parks, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. I found this shocking, only because here in Canada if you get caught drinking in a park, you need to post bail.. but J. told me that in China and Taiwan, you can drink pretty much anywhere you want. Anyways, the reason I am mentioning this program is because in Russia, calling someone a "Caucasian", it's basically the same as calling someone a "nigger". It's a derogatory remark they use to describe people who are dark - possibly Chechnyan - which is the ultimate insult... imagine.. calling a black person on the street here "Hey you Caucasian!" Just does not compute.

This afternoon I walked to the Art Gallery.. and finally saw the Morrisseau Exhibit. I like his style and use of colours. I love primary colours. Seeing the paintings cheered me up on this bleak, grey day.

Ouch!

2006-04-19T01:54:00.000-05:00

When you have insomnia at 3am, you find stupid shit on the net.. but I gotta admit.. this made me laugh.

Btw, I almost won a scrabble game against J. tonight...was soo close.. instead of him kicking my ass by at least a hundred points, he won by about 25... three quarters of the game I was ahead. Of course, this might be because he was working on his second pitcher of kokanee.

Happy Easter!

2006-04-16T17:14:00.000-05:00

...this picture makes me laugh.

Today I went for a good two hours walk along the canal, and got a wee bit of a sunburn!

Been craving a good game of chess lately..why don't more people play?

Mutherfucker...

2006-04-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

If I hear the term "culture of entitlement" one more time, I'm going to flog John Baird with a rubber chicken. (except he might like that)

An interesting weekend

2006-04-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

It's been an interesting weekend- nothing I would particularly like to relive again.. some family drama, some friend drama, some drama I created all on my own. I missed going to the gym Friday and Saturday, and can I ever tell. I went today for an hour and a half - and while I felt good that I went back, phsyically my body is aching. I guess taking even two days off just can't be done without some consequences. I have a feeling most people think going on a daily basis is too much, but I don't actually do a seriously hard workout everytime. I hit the weights about three times a week, but at least everyday I do an hour on the treadmill at a brisk walk. Running just can't be done with my shoddy knees and ankles and the eliptical (sp?) machine makes me want to fall down in pain.. again with the joints... but I am proud to say that in the last three weeks, I've managed to lose about 15 pounds and I went through my clothes from last summer - all way too big so I donated them to goodwill this afternoon. I don't weight much less than last summer, but they say muscles weighs more than fat - and I can definitely tell that I've gotten smaller. I'm about 20 pounds away from the goal that was set for me by a doctor I thought was being terribly unrealistic - so maybe I will make it!

Spring Stink

2006-04-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

I know summer is on it's way - a skunk has sprayed in the back alley behind my apartment building - smells like shit, but it's a reminder of warmer weather to come!

This month brought to you by...

2006-04-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

Lake Louise!

Gym Fiend

2006-03-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

I've turned into a gym fiend. Yes, you heard right. It's been going great - weight lost, feeling better, feeling stronger - but with this comes a terribly bad habit. When on various machines, I've become obsessed with staring at the asses of men around me, even if their faces are grim from the word Go.

I'm such a pig. *sigh*

10 Things You Didnt Know About Me

2006-03-23T20:24:00.000-05:00

1. I'm a pretty good singer - Patsy Cline is a specialty.
2. I was once celibate for five years. (and people say I have no self control)
3. I'm an excellent seamstress - educated at Richard Robinson School of Design in Ottawa.
4. I secretly like listening to cheesy rap music about tits and asses.
5. I'd like to be a home renovations contractor.
6. I once seriously considered entering the Army.
7. I want to see Madonna in concert before I die.
8. I'm in love with Boston Terriers.
9. I pretend to be an intellectual, when really I've been known prance around my apartment in frilly underthings while listening to Britney Spears.
10. I like make-up, dammit.

MP3 Player from Hell

2006-03-13T22:15:00.000-05:00

I've neglected my mp3 player for a while.. and since moving, I've lost the cord that goes from the player to the computer..which sucks because I've started going tothe gym every day for at least an hour and I'm stuck listening to songs I picked a year ago.. and from the looks of it, I PICKED THE SONGS WHILE COMPLETELY HOSED. I'm sure I will regret admitting what's on the player..but here goes..

Send me an Angel - The Scorpions
Tell Me Why Can't this be Love? - Van Halen
Fuckshop - 2LiveCrew
Rock Me Amadeus - Falco (okay, he rocks)
More than a Feeling - Boston (HAHA!)
Tubthumping - Chumbawumba
Gypsy Road and Shelter Me - Cinderella (whoa..shades of Grade 8)
Strokin' - Clarence Carter...bahahahahahah!
Hysteria - Def Leppard (What? No Love Bites?!)
New Moon on Monday - Duran Duran
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome - Frankie goes to Hollywood
The Kid is Hot Tonight - Loverboy
What Have I done to Deserve This? - Pet Shop Boys

..there are about 50 more songs..Ladies and Gentlemen, liquor is bad!

Truth Hurts

2006-03-13T22:12:00.000-05:00

Uttered yesterday while at the movies:

"I'd rather barf on myself than sleep with you again."

Gets the point across, loud and clear. Warning...the recipient of such a comment doesn't usually take it very well. Use with caution.

Harper in Afghanistan

2006-03-12T23:49:00.000-05:00

So Harper went to Afghanistan. That's cool..but one thing.. GO ON A DIET. It's hard for me to say that since I practically used to be double my weight, but jebus (ha ha, you know who you are), put down the bear claw and coca-cola (apparently his VIP tent had a fridge stocked with his favorite beverage) and get on a treadmill while you're calling all those diplomats you want to fire. I can't believe how much weight this man has put on in the last six months. I guess the campaign trail really does a number on your body. Remind me to never run for office.
Btw, anyone who thinks this trip was a secret is a moron.

My feet stink

2006-03-10T15:33:00.000-05:00

It’s been a busy week and a half for me. Lots of things to get done. Last week I applied to three different universities for the upcoming fall term. University of British Columbia, University of Calgary and University of Ottawa, just in case. I’m pretty confident I will get in to my first choice university, UBC. I’ve applied for an undergraduate degree in history (probably concentration on British History, which most people know is my passion) with a minor in German. The ultimate goal after this is to get in to the Foreign Service, but who knows. It’ll probably take me two to two and half years to complete. (I’ve already got an undergraduate degree)

Work has been busier, thank god. Up until the election we were swamped, and then there was a weird lull for about a month afterwards where I would spend most of my day picking my nose, surfing around the internet and making my co-workers laugh.

Last night Nik and I went and saw “Night Watch”. It’s a Russian horror movie that’s playing at the World Exchange. I say horror movie loosely, because really it wasn’t, although that’s what it’s billed as on www.imdb.com. I liked it, and it’s rare these days that I say I like a movie. It’s no great masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but I liked the background and lighting, the dialogue was good, and it wasn’t gory at all. I don’t want to give away any of the plot, but I’d recommend it to people if they were looking for something entertaining and a two hour mind-escape. Btw, it’s subtitled. If that annoys you, don’t go. Personally I love subtitled movies – and there’s something about the Russian language.. probably why I took it in first year university (too bad I never continued).

The weekend weather in Ottawa is going to be very balmy. Plus ten degrees, sunny on Saturday but back to rain on Sunday but the temp still the same I suspect this weekend’s weather might be the end for snow – although this area of Canada is so silly, we’ll likely get some weird ass storm on March 31st with 25 cms of snow. Perhaps I just cursed us.

This month brought to you by...

2006-03-01T20:20:00.000-05:00

The Three Sisters mountains in Alberta. I've seen it with my own two eyes... on a sunny day in July.. so it looked pretty much like this picture.

*sigh* ...wish I was there.

Television Shows I'm not embarassed to say I watch

2006-02-28T13:57:00.000-05:00

This theme was originally started on someone else's blog, but I thought I would post my list here, in no particular order. I've noticed for quite some time that to admit you actually watch television is some kind of cardinal sin - well fuck you.. everyone watches something, even those tards who claim they don't own a television set - they always seem to be the ones starting conversations around the water cooler over who was kicked off Amazing Race the night before.

1- Mike Duffy Live. I started really watching it around Gomery time, October-November 2005. Now it's just automatic that I put it on when I get home from work. Yes, I like politics and sometimes the commentary on there by spokesthingys, pundits and politicians makes me laugh my ass off. Boring to some, but I like it. Almost as good as reading a Frank Magazine.

2-Holmes on Homes. I first started watching this show because I thought Mike Holmes was hot, in that blue collar kind of way. He seems like a guy who doesn't take shit from anyone, and I find that very attractive. Now, I watch it because I am genuinely interested in home improvements (I've got a cottage that needs some serious work this summer) and because he actually does seem to care about the people he's trying to help out. My goal for the next federal election is to get the Conservative Party to nominate Mike Holmes as a candidate in a Toronto suburb. I'd bet a grand that he'd win by a landslide.

3-Golden Girls. Yep, you read right. Four of my best friends. Reminds me of simpler times. Also gives me ideas - I'd like to tell people I've had a stroke so I can wander about with absolutely no sensory chip and not get committed.

4-Cold Case Files/American Justice/City Confidential. I've been obsessed with all three programs since I was a teenager. I wouldn't say that I purposely stay home just to watch these programs, but if I am looking for something to watch and they are on, I will likely watch them instead of anything else. Bill Kurtis is my hero.

5-mXc. The most retarded "gameshow" ever, and it was produced in Japan about 20 years ago.. but Vic Ramon, Kenny Blankenship, Captain Tenille and Guy Ladouche make me laugh my ass off. (The voiceovers are current) It's a show that my mother and I can talk about and giggle.. and that's saying something because my mother watches maybe an hour of television a week... GUY LIKES!

6-Jeopardy. I'M A GEEK AND WANT TO BE A CONTESTANT. Send me cash so I can get to an audition in LA.

7-CSI. I like the original CSI only - the one in Vegas. I tried watching the Miami version, but I can't stand David Caruso. He has to be the worst actor.. he has one facial expression, one vocal tone.. and the NYC version characters are annoying. There used to be one woman on the NYC show that made me want to reach into the television and punch her pouty face. Oh right, the Vegas version.. well... I like Grissom. He's weird and odd and quirky just like me. I can relate... except for the bug facination (ew). I'd also sleep with Greg Sanders and Nick Stokes. Together. At the same time. In a pool of jello. With a videocamera taping us.

8-Antique Roadshow - I do a lot of writing on the weekends, and I can't stand silence so I usually have the tv on in the background. They play Antique Roadshow a lot on CBC Newsworld and HGTV, Discovery etc. When it does play, I can get easily sucked into watching it. I am facinated by old things.. this just feeds into it. I've seen some pretty crazy stuff on that show. If it ever comes back to Ottawa, I've promised my uncle that I will drag my Oliver Cromwell/John Milton painting.

9-Question Period. Sunday morning ritual..along with my creme of wheat breakfast, reading the newspaper and trying to remember the name of the bloke I snogged the night before. (kidding about the last one.. maybe)

10-Flip This House. This is a fairly new show on A&E that features a company called Trademark Real Estate. It's run by the funniest group of people, and they buy old houses, and redo them for a profit. There's always a deadline, and a budget blown out of proportion, but they always make the houses look amazing. I started watching this because I am super keen on home improvements, but the characters are what really keep me searching for it.. cause I'm not exactly sure when it's on. The company is located in Charleston, South Carolina, so seeing that part of the States is pretty interesting too.. architecture, scenery, etc.

I can't help myself

2006-02-25T13:19:00.000-05:00

More baby seals.

Earthquake

2006-02-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

Fifteen minutes ago my entire apartment shook. Sometimes that happens because right behind my fake fireplace is the elevator shaft. This time it was different - I didn't hear the elevator moving, and it was a weird rumble. I listened to see if maybe a big truck or something was outisde, but nothing.

At the time I was emailing J. and he felt it too..but he was at work just up the street so it could still have been a big truck or something. So I called Mumsie, who lives in Westboro..and she felt it too...soo.. we had an earthquake!

....it was just on CTV Newsnet. confirmed.

Little bits

2006-02-23T12:54:00.000-05:00

What more can I say about Canada’s Men’s Olympic Hockey team that already hasn’t been said? Nothing. I came home from work last night, dejected, and ate a can of pickled sauerkraut with violently hot mustard while watching the Golden Girls… then read Antonia Fraser’s biography of Mary, Queen of Scots till the wee morning.

Btw, eating a mound of sauerkraut for dinner after eating a bowl of psycho-hot chili for lunch isn’t wise, unless you live alone and have a death wish. I think you know what I mean.

Tonight Mumsie is taking me out for Indian food, so hopefully my stomach won’t be waging World War 3 on my ass. Some people say Indian food does something nasty to their digestive system, but not me. I loves it. And the spicier the better.

Not much else to say, except that Calgary finally got a giant snowfall (11 cm). I was beginning to worry, since that city seems most likely to be my home by next winter, and I can’t live somewhere where they don’t get snow!

Clubbing seals

2006-02-21T19:31:00.000-05:00

I'm obsessed with clubbing baby seals. Blame work. Been researching it.

Happy Monday Morning!

2006-02-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that I used to always be a follower, and never much of a leader. I actually don’t want to be a leader, but I am noticing that as I get older, I am becoming more comfortable expressing my opinions, even if it means the person I am talking to cringes. This weekend I had several in depth conversations with different friends – some thought my opinions almost warranted a punch in the face, others congratulated me in having the courage to express them, even if they didn’t agree.

Some of my (not so popular) random thoughts:

1- I don’t particularly see anything wrong with clubbing baby seals, as long as you’re not doing it for shits and giggles and are actually going to use it for something other than batting practice.
2- Nuclear energy – a viable alternative to the shit we’re using now, as long as the plant isn’t being set up in.. say.. Chechnya.
3- Gay Marriage. Who cares? I don’t give a rats ass if you want to make it legal for pets to get married. Let who ever wants to get hitched, get hitched. Over 50 percent of them will eventually get divorced anyways…
4- The Vagina Monologues. It’s a play I have absolutely no interest in seeing. No, that doesn’t mean that I am prude, I’m not sexually repressed, I just don’t feel like paying money to hear a bunch of women talk about their vaginas, vulvas, cunts, what have you. If I really feel the need to yammer on about my privates, I’ll just do it over coffee with a friend. I usually scare my co-workers by talking about bizarre sexual experiences, so if you think about it, every day is my vagina monologue.
5- I make the best damn vegetarian chilli ever. I made enough to eat it for a week. My co-workers will be so pleased. Get out the AirWick.

blah

2006-02-12T23:01:00.000-05:00

i've spent the entire weekend fighting a cold and going from sadness to anger, thinking about a certain friend and then guilt for feeling these things. this friend has been there for me.. a lot. through family tragedies, and then my own self-destructive trip this past summer... yet i can't help but feel as though i am being taken advantage of. it's an awful feeling, but the more i talk about my situation with X, the more people tell me that this person obviously only thinks of me as an afterthought, and that just makes feels like shit. i want to remain friends with X, but at the same time, take a step back so i don't end up wasting a weekend feeling sorry for myself. it's hard, and i don't know if i am strong enough to do it, but i must.

when you have too much time on your hands, you think too much and post silly things on your blog.

Found it: Comment by Parasol on I love Denmark, pt. 2

2006-02-08T18:40:00.000-05:00

Arab does not equal Muslim.It's Muslims that are upset over the portrayal of Muhammad, I doubt Christian Arabs or those of other faiths are. Why should one feel differently after seeing those cartoons you linked to? If you believe in freedom of _expression, then they are no better or worse than a depiction of Muhammad with a bomb hat on. They certainly don't justify one another.

Note to Parasol

2006-02-08T18:35:00.000-05:00

I accidentally clicked on "reject" for your comment on Denmark pt.2 :( I've tried retrieving it. If I can, I will post it. I don't want you to think I rejected it because we don't have the same point of view.. it's ironic since I am promoting free speech. Please feel free to send it to me again, and I will post it, asap.

Apologies.

E.

Late night thought

2006-02-08T00:11:00.000-05:00

I have a bit of insomnia, so I'm watching a rerun of Roseanne. I just saw a Jenny Craig commercial with Kirstie Alley. She's on a couch, scarfing down pasta and cake. Is it just me, or is she starting look and sound more like a drag queen as she gets older?? She's quite scary looking and she sounds like she's been smoking 5 packs of non-filtered camels a day.

I almost broke a rib laughing so hard...

2006-02-07T22:27:00.000-05:00

'Sensitivity' can have brutal consequences
February 5, 2006
BY MARK STEYN SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

I long ago lost count of the number of times I've switched on the TV and seen crazy guys jumping up and down in the street, torching the Stars and Stripes and yelling ''Death to the Great Satan!'' Or torching the Union Jack and yelling ''Death to the Original If Now Somewhat Arthritic And Semi-Retired Satan!'' But I never thought I'd switch on the TV and see the excitable young lads jumping up and down in Jakarta, Lahore, Aden, Hebron, etc., etc., torching the flag of Denmark.

Denmark! Even if you were overcome with a sudden urge to burn the Danish flag, where do you get one in a hurry in Gaza? Well, OK, that's easy: the nearest European Union Humanitarian Aid and Intifada-Funding Branch Office. But where do you get one in an obscure town on the Punjabi plain on a Thursday afternoon? If I had a sudden yen to burn the Yemeni or Sudanese flag on my village green, I haven't a clue how I'd get hold of one in this part of New Hampshire. Say what you like about the Islamic world, but they show tremendous initiative and energy and inventiveness, at least when it comes to threatening death to the infidels every 48 hours for one perceived offense or another. If only it could be channeled into, say, a small software company, what an economy they'd have.

Meanwhile, back in Copenhagen, the Danes are a little bewildered to find that this time it's plucky little Denmark who's caught the eye of the nutters. Last year, a newspaper called Jyllands-Posten published several cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed, whose physical representation in art is forbidden by Islam. The cartoons aren't particularly good and they were intended to be provocative. But they had a serious point. Before coming to that, we should note that in the Western world "artists" "provoke" with the same numbing regularity as young Muslim men light up other countries' flags. When Tony-winning author Terence McNally writes a Broadway play in which Jesus has gay sex with Judas, the New York Times and Co. rush to garland him with praise for how "brave" and "challenging" he is. The rule for "brave" "transgressive" "artists" is a simple one: If you're going to be provocative, it's best to do it with people who can't be provoked.

Thus, NBC is celebrating Easter this year with a special edition of the gay sitcom "Will & Grace," in which a Christian conservative cooking-show host, played by the popular singing slattern Britney Spears, offers seasonal recipes -- "Cruci-fixin's." On the other hand, the same network, in its coverage of the global riots over the Danish cartoons, has declined to show any of the offending artwork out of "respect" for the Muslim faith.

Which means out of respect for their ability to locate the executive vice president's home in the suburbs and firebomb his garage.

Jyllands-Posten wasn't being offensive for the sake of it. They had a serious point -- or, at any rate, a more serious one than Britney Spears or Terence McNally. The cartoons accompanied a piece about the dangers of "self-censorship" -- i.e., a climate in which there's no explicit law forbidding you from addressing the more, er, lively aspects of Islam but nonetheless everyone feels it's better not to.

That's the question the Danish newspaper was testing: the weakness of free societies in the face of intimidation by militant Islam.

One day, years from now, as archaeologists sift through the ruins of an ancient civilization for clues to its downfall, they'll marvel at how easy it all was. You don't need to fly jets into skyscrapers and kill thousands of people. As a matter of fact, that's a bad strategy, because even the wimpiest state will feel obliged to respond. But if you frame the issue in terms of multicultural "sensitivity," the wimp state will bend over backward to give you everything you want -- including, eventually, the keys to those skyscrapers. Thus, Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, hailed the "sensitivity" of Fleet Street in not reprinting the offending cartoons.
No doubt he's similarly impressed by the "sensitivity" of Anne Owers, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, for prohibiting the flying of the English national flag in English prisons on the grounds that it shows the cross of St. George, which was used by the Crusaders and thus is offensive to Muslims. And no doubt he's impressed by the "sensitivity" of Burger King, which withdrew its ice cream cones from its British menus because Rashad Akhtar of High Wycombe complained that the creamy swirl shown on the lid looked like the word "Allah" in Arabic script. I don't know which sura in the Koran says don't forget, folks, it's not just physical representations of God or the Prophet but also chocolate ice cream squiggly representations of the name, but ixnay on both just to be "sensitive."

And doubtless the British foreign secretary also appreciates the "sensitivity" of the owner of France-Soir, who fired his editor for republishing the Danish cartoons. And the "sensitivity" of the Dutch film director Albert Ter Heerdt, who canceled the sequel to his hit multicultural comedy ''Shouf Shouf Habibi!'' on the grounds that "I don't want a knife in my chest" -- which is what happened to the last Dutch film director to make a movie about Islam: Theo van Gogh, on whose ''right to dissent'' all those Hollywood blowhards are strangely silent. Perhaps they're just being "sensitive,'' too.

And perhaps the British foreign secretary also admires the "sensitivity" of those Dutch public figures who once spoke out against the intimidatory aspects of Islam and have now opted for diplomatic silence and life under 24-hour armed guard. And maybe he even admires the "sensitivity" of the increasing numbers of Dutch people who dislike the pervasive fear and tension in certain parts of the Netherlands and so have emigrated to Canada and New Zealand.
Very few societies are genuinely multicultural. Most are bicultural: On the one hand, there are folks who are black, white, gay, straight, pre-op transsexual, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, worshippers of global-warming doom-mongers, and they rub along as best they can. And on the other hand are folks who do not accept the give-and-take, the rough-and-tumble of a "diverse" "tolerant" society, and, when one gently raises the matter of their intolerance, they threaten to kill you, which makes the question somewhat moot.

One day the British foreign secretary will wake up and discover that, in practice, there's very little difference between living under Exquisitely Refined Multicultural Sensitivity and Sharia. As a famously sensitive Dane once put it, "To be or not to be, that is the question."

© Mark Steyn, 2006
Copyright © Mark Steyn, 2006

I love Denmark! pt. 2

2006-02-07T22:23:00.000-05:00

I've received a bit of flack lately for my opinions on this whole Denmark-cartoons-Arabs-goin'-wiggy-thing. Check this out and tell me if you feel differently afterwards...

http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/ArabCartoons.htm

I Love Denmark!

2006-02-05T08:13:00.000-05:00

Everyone should support the Danish economy. Buy Lego! Buy Carlsberg! Buy Tuborgs! Support free speech!

If any Muslims read this blog and are offended, bite me. If you can prove that no newspapers or television networks or any other media outlet has never written or said something derogatory about Christians or Jews or Bhuddist or whoever, then I'll eat my shorts.

p.s. Everyone should make fun of Scientologists. Any those crazy Mormons up in Bountiful.

This month brought to you by...

2006-01-31T21:42:00.002-05:00

Mount Assiniboine!

What's in a name, pt. 2

2006-01-27T17:39:00.000-05:00

Just reading the newspaper and on page A2 of the Ottawa Petfinder, I mean, Citizen, the "Word of the Day" is..

vicious circle
VISH-us-SER-kul
Definition: a chain of events in which the response to one difficulty creates a new problem that aggravates the original difficulty

merci bien to www.canspell.com

I miss the cottage

2006-01-26T21:18:00.000-05:00

What's in a name?

2006-01-26T11:02:00.000-05:00

Someone emailed me yesterday and asked why I named my blog "The Vicious Circle". Easy. It's an ode to Dorothy Parker, and the group of writers she hung out with at the Algonquin in NYC. She was a brilliant writer. Check out her stuff some time.

Things that made me smile this week

2006-01-25T13:53:00.000-05:00

1-Election results
2-Getting the DVD box set of "The World at War"
3-Post card from a friend - picture is of Lake Louise in winter.. beautiful
4-Hearing my cousin tell me that her kids think I'm "cool". Finally! Only taken 31 years!
5-Possibility of a new job - will keep you all posted.
6-Got to frolic with a doggy... wish I had one.
7-Got over my addiction to sunflower seeds.

Election Results

2006-01-24T20:02:00.000-05:00

Unless you live under a rock, you know the results. Stephen Harper is our new Prime Minister. I am happy with the outcome... I thought I wanted a majority government, but I think a minority is better.. keeps everyone in check - but if it fucks up passing anything in the House, I'll start to get cranky.

Last night I watched the results with a few people, one of which described me as "a fellow Conservative supporter" when I sat down at the table. For some reason, hearing that freaked me out. I've come a long way since becoming aware of politics.. I come from a particularly political family.. some uncles were Conservative, my father was a liberal, and my mother and grandparents were NDP. As I've mentioned before, I've been a Communist, a Dipper, a Grit, and now a Tory. Being described as a Conservative supporter just reminded me of everything I used to hate about them.. and now support. It was kinda like I felt guilty for switching over. I just have to keep reminding myself that as you get older, your priorities change.

Help

2006-01-19T22:51:00.000-05:00

I need a date for a wedding on January 28th. Any takers?

Meet LongWang!

2006-01-19T16:37:00.000-05:00

Meet Longwang. He is a very special little man, who loves to have his picture taken around town. As you can tell, Longwang is very patriotic, and a great fan of Diefenbaker. Longwang was purchased at a garage sale in Perth this past fall. He's seen some good times and bad, judging from his paint job, but he takes it all in stride. Longwang was named after a typhoon that hit Taiwan in October, and I believe his name translates into "Big Dragon" but don't quote me on that.

Longwang's next adventure out will be recorded on Election Night. Look for him on the streets of downtown Ottawa!

Top ten clues that someone doesn’t want to be your friend

2006-01-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

I'm posting this because some people just can't grab a fucking clue to save their life.

1-No returned phone calls
2-No returned emails
3-Your email address and the addresses of everyone you know have been blocked
4-Your ex-friend has actually severed ties with your mutual friends, just so they never have to hear your name uttered ever again
5-Your ex-friend has contacted their lawyer to see about having a restraining order placed against you
6-You’ve become the bar to which insanity is measured
7-Instead of having to say your name, you are referred to as the "dog-headed sociopath" by more than just your ex-friend
8-Current friends of your ex-friend have offered to have you "rubbed out", "taken care of" and given "concrete slippers"
9-The date your ex-friend last had the misfortune of communicating with you is celebrated like the Fourth of July
10-Your ex-friend thinks you are the worst human being to ever live and hopes you die a horrible death

Clear enough for you?

If the Conservatives win....

2006-01-18T21:39:00.000-05:00

I plan on celebrating with a bobsled ride at Lake Placid... who's coming with me? C'mon.. wanna see me scream my ass off?

http://www.orda.org/newsite/todo/winter/bobsled_luge.php

Ride with a professional driver and brakeman down the 1980 Olympic bobsled track. Start at the half-mile and ride the world-famous Zig Zag turns. Each sled in THE STORM ride program has been custom built for a safe, comfortable, exhilarating ride of a lifetime. Each ride passenger will receive a complimentary bobsled lapel pin to commemorate their adventure.
THE STORM, half mile rides - $40.00 Adult/ $30 Junior 12 and Under (48" height requirement)
Times: Wednesday - Sunday, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm; 1:00 pm - 4:00 pmPlus holiday periods.

Buzz!

2006-01-18T16:34:00.000-05:00

So Buzz Hargrove is calling Stephen Harper a separatist. *rolling of eyes* I'm sorry, but if you allow people to call you "Buzz" in public, I really can't take you seriously.

Another reason why you should vote Conservative

2006-01-14T19:39:00.000-05:00

In yesterdays Globe and Mail, it was revealed that Stephen Harper is related to the guy who plays Ricky on Trailor Park Boys. How super cool is that?

Sienna Miller is a dumb twat

2006-01-12T16:25:00.000-05:00

I recently read on the internet an interview with Sienna Miller. For those of you who don't know who she is, she is the girlfriend that Jude Law cheated on with his kids' nanny.. I believe that woman's name is Daisy Wright..but don't quote me on that.

This is what Sienna Miller has to say about the nanny: "I'm quite looking forward to the day when our paths will cross, which I know they will," says Miller, 24, of Wright in February's Interview magazine. "She better live in fear."

I don't get it. This stupid Hollywood starlet has taken back Jude Law after he poked some other broad...but she comes across like someone who has pretty much forgiven her bf f0r cheating on her (I mean, there has to be some degree of forgiveness if you're still dating the wayward cad) but can't wait to waste the nanny. It reminds me of some of the womenfolk I've known in the past.. they'll forgive their bfs for cheating, but hold the utmost hostility for the woman their bfs cheated with. I'm not saying the other woman is completely innocent (although I am sure there are a millions of women out there who have unknowingly been an accomplice to adultery, myself included) but jesus kerist, from what I know, this nanny was a very young woman, and probably utterly starstruck with her employer. I would hope that a grown man with three children would be able to recognize the fact that this 18 year old was probably terribly impressionable, but I guess when one wants to get their dick wet, all bets are off.

Am I being too hard? Perhaps. Sometimes I really hate my sex.

Making politics Easy

2006-01-10T12:38:00.000-05:00

This was originally written by Barb Durso, MDQ. The added parts are courtesy of a very warped, but good friend. Thanks for the giggles!

My daughter (the electorate) is 10 years old and started having her periods (voting Conservative). Is this normal?

A. Normal puberty (voting for honest government) in girls (the public) is a complicated topic. To understand what is normal, we need to start with some basic information. Before any visible changes take place, hormonal changes (voting patterns) are occurring for a couple of years. These hormonal changes (ditto) start in the adrenal glands (the polls), two small organs that rest on top of either kidney (Ontario and Quebec). These hormones send signals to an area of the brain known as the hypothalamus (Ottawa) and the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus and the pituitary, in turn, send hormonal signals to the gonads (Alberta), which in the case of girls, are the ovaries (Saskatchewan). This system of signaling takes a couple of years to become fully established, but once it does, then the physical, visible changes that we call puberty (good government) begin to take place.

This month brought to you by...

2006-01-06T07:33:00.000-05:00

Peyto Lake!

(something I plan on doing every month, because I am actually going to go to these places this summer/fall when I move out West!)

Strep Throat

2006-01-06T07:24:00.000-05:00

God.. so many things I want to say, but I have very limited energy. I've been deathly ill for a week now with strep throat...and a very bad case. My tonsils are literally green mucous pods on either side of my throat. Swallowing even saliva feels like razor blades scratching away. I've had a fever on and off.. yesterday not at all but I woke up this morning in a pool of my own sweat. I've also missed work all week :(

So.. I am hoping that by relaxing all weekend things will improve - if only the swallowing part. Eating has been agony so I've been drinking broth for the last 5 days. Consequently, I've lost any X-Mas weight I gained (which wasn't a lot since I didn't partake in too many bad foods this year).

Our Retarded Cousin

2005-12-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

Tell me this guy doesn't look retarded...fuck you Tucker.

7 things..

2005-12-16T01:52:00.000-05:00

A fellow blogger asked that I do this, and I obliged:

7 Things I hope to do before I die:
1-See the Himalayas
2-Find True Love
3-Quit my job and write full-time
4-Run a marathon
5-Go Skydiving and white water rafting
6-Visit Florence, Italy with someone I love (too man viewing of A Room with a View)
7-Hear a child call me "Mommy"

7 Things I can do:
1-Love
2-Make people laugh
3-Paint and draw
4-Dream
5-Cook
6-Pee standing upright :)

7 Things I cannot do:
1-Be cruel to animals
2-The splits
3-Walk away from a friend in need
4-Public Speaking
5-Stay Still
6-Beat someone in Scrabble
7-Watch Sex in the City

7 Things that attract me to another person:
1-Sense of humour
2-Intelligence
3-Patience (I do a lot of silly things)
4-Wanderlust
5-Compassion
6-Eccentricity
7-Closet-Nympho :)

7 Things I say most often:
1-Scheisse!
2-Man Alive!
3-Jang!
4-Fer real?
5-Are you drunk?
6-Bugger!
7-Get me a beer, wouldj'a?

7 people I'd like to do this:
1-Nik
2-Michelle
3-Karen
4-Jeff
5-My Mom
6-Tim
7-My Dad..but not likely to happen..unless you believe in the afterlife

Comments on my blog

2005-12-13T20:17:00.000-05:00

I was screwing around with my settings, but now it's fixed. Thanks to Nik for pointing it out! Feel free to tell me I'm a goddess or a buttmunch! :P

The mind is terrible, terrible thing...

2005-12-13T12:52:00.000-05:00

This is what I dreamt last night. Feel free to comment.. I wanna know if other people think I am crazy.

I am wandering around the top of a mountain with a group of tourists, and there’s a barn. Around the barn are a few hundred media types, and campaign buses: one Martin, one Layton and one Harper bus. I notice that most of the reporters are Asian. The three candidates stand up on a platform and each of them start giving speeches about how our bird supply is not contaminated with avian flu.

They throw open the barn doors, and there are about 50 thousand ducks quacking and wandering around.

A reporter yells out in a thick asian accent, "We don’t believe you... Show us!"

I'm scratching my head because how are these three guys supposed to show us?

Layton is the first to wander into the barn, and he starts petting the ducks. Martin follows him and then Harper is the last to go in the barn, very relunctantly.

The reporters are all shaking their heads, as if that’s not good enough. They point to the back of the barn, where there is a large blue pool, about 20 feet across and maybe 4 feet deep. The reporters tell the three guys to remove their pants and get in the water.

Harper, Layton and Martin assume the pool has been used to bathe the ducks. Each is thinking that this is probably no big deal, they’ll just shower and change after they get off the mountain. They take off their pants: Layton is wearing hot pink tight underpants, Martin is wearing the brightest-tighty-whiteys and Harper looks like he’s wearing a pair of men’s cotton boxers from Marks and Spencers.

They get in the pool, and you can see the looks of disgust on their faces. The "water" is thick, with almost an oily consistantcy and it’s warm, although not hot. Then they start to look panicked.

Martin starts saying "What the hell is in here, I feel like something is trying to crawl up my legs!"

Layton is trying to look composed but you can tell he’s uncomfortable.

Harper is the most visibly upset. He actually yells out "What the fuck is this?"

The Asian reporter who first spoke out says "It’s a giant pool of live duck semen, from each of the ducks in this barn."

I practically puke, and then Scott Reid and I head down the mountain to the Manx pub.

***

When I woke up this morning, I was afraid that I was going to forget this dream so I actually wrote the main points down on the inside of a package of Captain Black Sweets.

Wake up and smell the Kickbacks Canada!

2005-12-12T17:52:00.000-05:00

So when is everyone gonna know about this? What will it take??

PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2005.12.10
EDITION: Final
SECTION: The Editorial Page
PAGE: A28
COLUMN: Danielle Smith
BYLINE: Danielle Smith
SOURCE: Calgary Herald
WORD COUNT: 682
Strong evidence for an investigation. If Michael Moore was a Republican, he would have already produced a film on the Iraqi oil-for-food program, and a senior adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin would have held a title role.

In all the rush of election promises, a key news story was missed thisweek. If Martin's team hadn't leaked out news on Wednesday that he wouldbe proposing a ban on handguns, Canadians might have seen this headline in national newspapers instead: "U.S. Congress Committee calls for Examination of Maurice Strong's Role in the UN Oil-For-Food Scandal. "Page 35 of the report, issued by the U.S. congressional Committee on International Relations, recommends following up on disciplinary action taken against UN officials named in Paul Volcker's September report, andthat "Maurice Strong should be examined for his role in the(oil-for-food program). "

There is enough smoke surrounding a $1-million payment Strong receivedfrom Saddam Hussein's regime to warrant a full-blown investigation by Canadian authorities.

The circumstances surrounding the payment are this: In the mid-90s, Strong met Korean businessman Tongson Park, who, it has been determined, was on Saddam's payroll charged with the task of currying favour with top UN officials. Since 1997, when Strong wasn't moonlighting as adviser to Martin, he served as the senior adviser to Secretary General Kofi Annan. It made him a prime target for Park'sefforts.

Park arranged meetings between Strong and Iraqi officials, who encouraged Strong to visit Iraq to witness first-hand the effect ofIraqi sanctions. Strong declined the invitations.

However, even though Strong knew of Park's close ties to Saddam's regime, it didn't stop him from doing business with him.

Strong's son owned a company called Cordex Petroleum Inc. (A 2003 asset declaration by Paul Martin indicated he had a 4.6 per cent ownershipstake in Cordex.)

Strong had persuaded his friend Theodore Kheel to invest $1 million in Cordex, giving him a personal guarantee to repurchase the shares a year later. When Kheel wanted out of the company, it was up to Strong toarrange a buyer.

That's where Park came in.

Park made his first trip to Iraq in July 1997, where he met with Saddam's former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz to discuss business. Park left Baghdad with $1 million in cash in a cardboard box and a personal escort to the Jordanian border. In Amman, an expatriate Iraqi citizen helped him convert his cash into a bank cheque, in the amount of$988,885, made payable to "Mr. M. Strong."

Park delivered the cheque to Maurice Strong, who immediately endorsed itto pay to Kheel, and was thereby released from his personal guarantee,while Park became the new owner of the Cordex shares. (Cordex ultimately failed and Park lost his investment.)

Strong's recollection of this transaction was about as fuzzy as the ad executives paraded before the Gomery inquiry.

He first told the Volcker committee the money came through a wire transfer from London and he never touched it. Then he said it must have gone through his son. Only when he was shown his own signature on the back of the cheque did he acknowledge he must have handled it.

Then there are questions about Park's second trip to Iraq in September1997. This time, Park left Iraq with $700,000 in cash. From that, he wrote a cheque to Maurice Strong for $30,000. Strong didn't recall the payment. Park says part of it may have gone to cover interest payments to Kheel owed as a result of the delayed stock transaction. However, Kheel's bank deposits don't show a $30,000 deposit.

Even though Volcker found no direct evidence Strong knew the money was from Iraq, it found "there are circumstances that would indicate that Mr. Strong was in a position to know or suspect the source of Mr. Park's funds." And even though Strong claimed he received no personal benefit from the Cordex stock sale, the committee noted he did, in fact, receive a benefit by being released from his personal guarantee.

In November, Conservative Foreign Affairs critic Stockwell Day rightly demanded an investigation to clear the air. Yet Martin hasn't shown any interest in doing so.

With the weight of the U.S. Congress now saying there is enough suspicion of Strong to warrant a probe, it's time for Martin to act.

dsmith@theherald.canwest.com

Nirvana!

2005-12-10T22:36:00.000-05:00

Crap Ass Day

2005-12-08T17:51:00.000-05:00

Today was something. My boss didn't show up for work, which to me translates to "do-whatever-you-want-day". That actually didn't make for a lot of fun.. there's only so much you can look at on the internet, only so many emails you can send out to friends, only so many times you can post in one day to your blog without looking like a complete dillhole. I tried getting some work done but my mind was elsewhere.

I guess I would probably call him my best friend, and he left for home for over two months. I felt sad. We don't hang out a whole lot, but we talk via email at least 50 times a day, and there's a certain comfort knowing that he's in town in case I need him. I'm always sick or injuring myself, and he's always offering services like rides etc.., and even though I rarely accept, I like knowing he's around. We'd started leaving surprises for each other in my mailbox (his too.. I am subletting his apartment for the winter) and I always looked forward to coming home and finding neat little things. (mostly cigars) I actually cried a little while making dinner. I am so silly.

These feelings probably all happened because I am so disillusioned with life. Maybe the season. Maybe my job. Maybe it's the fact that leaving Ottawa is becoming more and more a reality and that scares the crap out of me. I need something new. My brain slowly dying from lack of stimulation.

I'll try and relax with my new book. Biography of the Samuel Pepsy. (shaddup)

Taking over the World

2005-12-08T12:49:00.000-05:00

I am a huge Ottawa Senators fan and I am secretly in love with Zdeno Chara. Okay, so he's not exactly the hottest guy in the world, but I figure if he and I have a truck load of babies, they'll be so freakin' huge and tall, that it's quite possible we'll create our own super-human race and take over the world. Chara is 6ft9, and 7ft1 on skates. I'm a respectable 5ft9, but I am SHORT compared to most of my family. When I met my father's family, they were all giants, so as I told my mother at the time "I got fucked by nature". The Young family is realtively short, so I got the shaft. Sure, maybe one of our kids will inherit the Young family short gene, but we can always ship them off somewhere to be raised by pygmies.

So if anyone reading this knows Chara, set us up wouldj'a? We'll incorporate you somehow in our revolution.

Vlad vs St. Patrick

2005-12-08T12:22:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking about my summer vacation. Not the free vacation that I won this year (Not exactly sure where to go there either.. but I keep going back to Cuba, only so I can buy my weight in Monte Cristo’s at a decent price) but my summer wandering vacation. I really want to see the Carpathians. I have dreams of wandering the Transylvania countryside and going back in time and seeing gypsies and old run down castles. I saw a program on the Discovery channel about the area, and it looks absolutely beautiful.. and most of my friends know about my obsession with mountains.. I’ve also heard it’s rather cheap to travel in that area. Here’s my problem.. I will likely be going on this adventure alone, and I am really trying to avoid taking a tour, since I can’t stand those. Is it safe for a young woman to be roaming along the Romanian countryside alone? I kind of doubt it. There was a possibility that I would have a traveling companion, but he isn’t exactly the most reliable person in the world. He’d likely cancel on me the day before departure.

My backup plan is this.. go with a bit of what you know. Ireland. I can speak the language there. It isn’t that huge of a place, and I would feel more comfortable wandering the Emerald Isle all by myself. I have four weeks vacation, but I’d likely only go for 2-3 weeks.. just me, a digital camera, a map and a large MEC backpack. I’d like to stay in bed and breakfasts, not hotels… and basically just wander around, going from town to town on buses. I would especially like to go to County Cork, where my grandfather’s family is from.

I have a feeling if I tell Mumsie my plans, she’ll likely freak since I am sure she’ll think I’ll get raped, mugged, murdered or all three. So maybe I’ll just keep the fact that I am traveling solo all to myself. I think if I do go to Ireland, I’ll have to go for a quick jaunt over to Wales to visit Aunt Cathy and Uncle Jim. My Uncle is a minister in Caerphilly and judging from the pictures Mumsie brought back, the area is beautiful as well.. very hilly, with sheep every where. (ohh sheep.. coo.. they are so cute)

Leaning, Politically speaking

2005-12-06T18:20:00.000-05:00

Today I emailed my Conservative candidate to volunteer some time. I have a feeling this will shock many of my friends. In the past I've had left-leaning ideologies. Kerist, when I was at university I even dabbled with communism. But you get older, and things change. I know some of my friends are going to say this "change" is probably the influence of a right-wing friend, but it's not. I kind of hope that my friends think that I have a mind of my own and that I can make up my mind without the influence of another.
I started out way out left... then went to the NDP, then Liberal. This time around, I've lost confidence in them... and I am sure I don't have to explain myself there. I don't agree with NDP policies: the fact that they want to throw cash at everything.. and how can I support a party that endorses a candidate that's a cleptomaniac?! C'mon.. do you really think when Svend pocketed that ring that that was the first time he ever stole something?? Yeah, whatever. Liberals? Well shit, unless you've been under a rock, then you know what the problems are there... and also their compensation package for Indian Residential School Victims is a fucking joke. That did it for me. They are offering about 5 percent what I am suing them for, on behalf of my father who spent years suffering phsyical and sexual abuse at various school in Northern Ontario...not to mention the 30 years of mental anguish he suffered after the fact. He is no longer alive to pursue this (he started the legal process a few years before he passed away), but the least I can do is follow this through. I do not want to setttle.
Ok.. so why the Conservatives? Yes.. I have conservative values. I told this to a co-worker, and he said he never would have guessed. I'm artistic, I write, I have visible tattoos, I colour my hair funny shades and I've been known to wear a hot pink beret. I look like the poster girl for the NDP or the Green Party. Overtime there are things that have become important to me, that maybe wasn't so 10 years ago. Maybe I'll regret voting Conservative, but for now, they appeal to me so that's the way I'll go.

Maybe later I'll post about my activities volunteering.

Scrabble: R.I.P.

2005-12-05T17:53:00.000-05:00

My usual scrabble partner is running off for over two months, so I will be scrabble-less unless I find another partner. Where does one find a person who's as big a geek as I am? It's not like I can put an ad in the newspaper. Everytime I mention scrabble or my other favorite board game, Trivial Pursuit, I get looks of disdain. It's like I asked them to play with knives or burning torches.

*sigh*

Maybe there are other things I should be worrying about...

5 Things that made me sad this week

2005-12-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

1. Thinking about a very good friend who leaves for about two months. :(
2. A new job was canned because my current emplyers won't let me leave on a secondment.
3. I lost my new scarf that perfectly matches my winter coat.
4. I got a black eye by accident. (no really.. I didn't walk into a door)
5. Food poisoning. 'Nuff said.

5 Things that made me smile this week

2005-12-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

1. I slept through an entire night without waking up.
2. A gift from a co-worker, a very very expensive cigar from cuba.
3. I was finally able to cut the last final ties with a sociopathic ex-friend.
4. Election was called!
5. My newest issue of Frank Magazine.

Random thoughts

2005-12-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

I am recovering from what I suspect is a mild case of food poisoning.. I think. I've never had food poisoning before, but my symptoms are nausea, throwing up, violent stomach cramps and sweats. It started about 30 minutes after finishing some lebanese food I picked up on a walk. I was feeling 100 percent before.. but I'm not sure you can get that sick from bad food that quickly. Either way, I haven't been sick for about an hour but I'm still too afraid to drink water, although I should probably try since I am likely very dehydrated. If I am still sick tomorrow, I'll venture out to the doctor.. for now I'll just vow to not eat falafels for the next six months.

I broke the beer embargo last night. It was a work party.. a co-worker's husband's band was playing and a bunch of us went out to the east end to see them play. I got a little tipsy on about 5 quarts of beer... they had quarts of 50 there! I love old man beer. I also got up to dance quit a bit, but then at one point my knee just gave out and I feel ass over tea kettle. A little embarassing, especially in front of people you work with. So I shall start the embargo all over again.

I'm wondering what work will be like this week.. Last week after parliament went AWOL, things just came to a halt. I have a feeling what with the election etc., things are just going to be dead, which sucks because it makes each day drag on and on. I do have some special projects to work on, but reading the same shit day in and day out makes me cranky.

Final thought: Scarface is playing on the Spike Network. I've been watching it in between throwing up and sweating through my sheets, and I think this is the 10th time I've seen it.. and I never get tired of it. I'm not a huge Al Pacino fan, but his portrayal of street hood Tony Montana makes me laugh. Yes, laugh.. I dunno why. I also feel sorry for Michelle Pfeiffer. She's one flat chested broad.

Jane Austen is a bitch

2005-12-01T22:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight I went and saw Pride and Prejudice. It was good.. different from the BBC version, but still good nonetheless. Personally I think Donald Sutherland was the best part of the movie. I really hope he gets an Academy Award nomination for the role... he truly was a good Mr. Bennett.

Why is Jane Austen a bitch? Because everytime I see P&P (Mumsie owns the BBC version so I've seen it a half dozen times) I realize that that kind of romance is soo fictional and it will never happen to me or any other woman. *sigh* Of course, I don't have four flighty sisters, I don't live in England and this isn't the beginning of the 19th century. But you know what I mean. I have to admit that I am a closet romantic. Yup, cynic me thinks poetry, receiving flowers, and holding hands is lovely. Maybe if I wasn't so surly, men would feel comfortable acting that way with me? Perhaps an experiment is in order.

Oh to have a Mr. Darcy or Mr. Bingley

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stoned

2005-12-01T13:51:00.000-05:00

If this is an accurate depiction of the Happy Potter movies, count me in. I'vebeen avoiding them for the last 2 or 3 years cause watching that kind of shit just aint my bag. Now if Harry went on a violent rampage and started killing everyone, there's a chance you might be able to get me to watch without chaining me to a chair.

Cast Away alright...

2005-12-01T13:47:00.000-05:00

I found this and since this movie was mentioned in a comment to me, I thought I'd post this.. yes.. it is easy to make me laugh....

Beer Embargo, Day 1

2005-11-30T23:16:00.000-05:00

Don't worry, I won't bore you all with a day by day account of how I'm missing beer more than I should. This evening was productive. I had a short cat nap. I made a healthy dinner (mmm.. pork on the Red Foreman Grill). I did a few hours work. I even did a load of laundry.

I did enjoy a Wilde Havana. That was my treat.

Also, does anyone know how to make jell-o that doesn't get that shitty hard skin on it? The PC sugar free jell-o sucks.

Beer Embargo

2005-11-29T17:33:00.000-05:00

I'm starting a 30 day beer embargo tomorrow. It's going to be hard.. the holiday season coming up, plus my complete addiction to that beverage. I'm going to have to rely on cigars and men for vice.. What I'm hoping to accomplish this month while I am beer free:

More writing. And not smut.
Take some decent pictures of the canal. Hopefully it'll snow soon.
Finish a drawing of Jeffy's beloved dog - perhaps as an X-Mas present
Paint my bathroom
Exercise more
Finally book my free vacation that I won over the summer.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

2005-11-27T17:27:00.000-05:00

This is completely fictional, I swear!

STORY REMOVED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT AND MY REPUTATION

Poopie!

2005-11-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm a fan of toilet humour, so when I found this, I had to post it. :)

Ghost Poopie: The kind where you feel the Poopie come out, but there's no poopie in the toilet.
Clean Poopie: The kind where you poopie it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the toilet paper.
Wet Poopie: The kind where you wipe your butt fifty times and it still feels unwiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and your underwear so you don't runie them with a stain.
Second Wave Poopie: The kind that happens when you're done poopie-ing and you've pulled your pants up to your knees, and you realize you have to poopie some more.
Turtle Poopie: The kind of poopie that pops out a little and goes back in a few times before it finallly comes out.
Pop-a-Vein-in-your-Forehead-Poopie: The kind where you strain so much to get it out, you practically have a stroke.
Lincoln Log Poopie: The kind of Poopie that is so huge you're afraid to flush without first breaking it into little pieces with the plunger.
Gas-sy Poopie: The kind where it's so noisy, everyone within earshot is giggling!
Drinker Poopie: The kind of Poopie you have the morning after a long night of drinking. It's most noticeable trait is the skid marks on the bottom of the toilet.
Corn Poopie: Self explanatory
Gee-I-Wish-I-Could-Poop Poopie: The kind where you want to Poopie, but all you do is it on the toilet and fart a few times.
Spinal Tap Poopie: That's the kind when it hurts so badly coming out, you swear it was leaving you sideways.
Wet Cheeks Poopie (The Power Dump): The kind that comes out of your butt so fast, your butt cheeks get spashed with water.
Liquid Poopie: The kind where yellowish-brown liquid shoots you of your butt and spashes all over the toilet bowl.
Mexican Poopie: The kind that smells so bad your nose burns.
Upper Class Poopie: The kind of Poopie that doesn't smell.
The Suprise Poopie: You are not even at the toilet, because you are sure you are about to fart, but, OOPS---a Poopie!
The Dangling Poopie: This Poopie refuses to drop into the toilet even though you know you are done poopie-ing. You just pray that a shake or two will cut it loose.

Poor Mr. Miyagi

2005-11-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

Mr. Miyagi, aka Pat Morita died today. I am sad. Wax on Mr. Miyagi.. Wax off...

A Sound Beating

2005-11-25T13:18:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I got trounced in Scrabble last night. Thank goodness we weren't playing strip rules, cause I'm sure I would have spent most of the night naked, and that's just not good.

Two words I learned. "Titi" which is some kind of shrub (personally I think it sounds dirty, but that might just be because I'm a closet pervert) and "Yurts" which is a portable tent. My scrabble companion and I laughed at that one, because what tent isn't portable? When you can't move a tent, then it's called a building.. but I digress.

In the rules book it shows you how you can play scrabble alone. I might secretly do this just so I don't lose my shirt (haha) the next time I play.

Strip Scrabble

2005-11-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

There's a possibility I might be playing this in the near future... :P

The Rules for Strip Scrabble
1. All the normal Scrabble rules are in force. Set up and play the game as you normally would.
2. Define what constitutes clothing before beginning to play Strip Scrabble. If it matters to you or the others, make sure that each person is wearing the same number of clothes. I suggest that you only count underwear, shirts, pants, socks, and shoes. I suggest that no accessories or jewelry should count, no belts, no shoelaces, etc. Just to make sure, everybody should agree on how many pieces of clothing they are wearing, and what those pieces are, before beginning.
3. Determine who goes first according to the normal Scrabble rules.
4. For Strip Scrabble purposes, treat each wordplay around the table as one round. Each round begins with the person who started first at the beginning of the game.
5. At the end of each round, the person with the lowest score for that round must remove one piece of clothing. Do not use the total score for each player, but only the points scored during that round, for determining who must strip. If there is a tie for lowest score, then each person with the lowest score removes a piece of clothing (unless everybody has the same score, in which case nobody removes a piece of clothing).
-----
Optional Sex-Slave Bondage Rules:
6A. Optional: If you run out of clothes before the end of the game, then you will become the sex slave of the person with the overall high score at the end of the game. It is possible to become your own sex slave. It is also possible to win more than one sex slave.
7A. Optional: The sexual slavery lasts until dawn. Sexual slaves may be shared with the other players, at the discretion of the owner ;-)
8A. Optional: Bondage toys sold separately.
-----
Optional Drinking Game Rule:
6B. Optional: If you are already naked and you are required to remove a piece of clothing, you must drink a shot of alcohol instead. I recommend Peppermint Schnapps ;-)
-----
Optional S/M Game Rules:
(What the hell, you might as well start the game naked if you wanna use these rules!)
6C. Optional: If you are already naked and you are required to remove a piece of clothing, the person with the highest score for that round may place a clothespin anywhere on your body. This clothespin must remain on that spot until the end of the game.
6D. Optional: If you are already naked and you are required to remove a piece of clothing, the person with the highest score for that round may spank your ass with a paddle one time for each round you have lost thus far.

Sleepless Thoughts

2005-11-22T21:29:00.000-05:00

My insomnia has caused me to actually think about ex-expressions (and current) I've used.. you know.. the silly swear words you thought were hardcore when you were 13.. the random words you used to describe body partsof body functions.. I'm probably the only person who'll find this funny, and half the reason might be because I've had about 7 hours sleep total the last few nights.

The spelling might be off, but here's what I remembered..

groady-to-the-max: popular when I was in middle school and wearing too much flourescent and slouch socks. Means that something is foul, yucky, gross.

Jang!: still popular, although more with a friend I taught it to.. something another friend told me.. apparently when he played on-lines games with Koreans and they scored, this was typed twice in caps and then Korea! Korea! I'm no Korean, but I like to think it means "Yay!" or "awesome" and I usually utter this when the beer pimp shows up at my door.

Scheisse: Shit in German. Been a staple of mine so I can swear in front of just about everyone.

Swedo-intellectual: (yes, I know it's pseudo-intellectual, but that's how it was pronounced by someone I knew) I usually onlypull this one out when I'm drunk for shits and giggles.. but I actually knew a guy who went around calling people that.. and he thought he was pronouncing it correctly. On a side note, this same guy once told me that the Reformation started because Henry VIII wanted many wives because he was a Mormon.. Brigham Young is rolling around in his grave somewhere...

Tasty-Cakes: Boobs.. although a few years ago I found out there are actually cookies in the States called Tasty-cakes.. available at a WinnDixie and Publix.

Yammy: Barf. Taught to me by Miss Kitty.

I'm sure there is more, but I don't want to push it. Feel free to use any of these words.. I'm sure I will be for the next week.

On a side note.. I'm trying to cure my insomnia with beer and Captain Black Sweets. It might not work so great cause I want to stay awake to put those cigars between my lips.

Insomnia

2005-11-22T04:24:00.000-05:00

I've had insomnia for a while, but it seems to have gotten worse since I moved.. I dunno if it's the bed (not my own, I'm subletting) or the fact the heater is right next to the bed (bed can't be moved) or what.. but I usually wake up from 3am till about 5am. It's starting to get annoying, especially since the only thing that seems to make me sleepy is watching TV and TV at that hour is retarded.

So far tonight I've painted my nails, read news sites on the internet, eaten some sunflower seeds, packed my lunch and iron my clothes for tomorrow. I've also noticed that my Vick's vapour rub expired Dec. 2003. Does that matter? How can that stuff go bad? It won't kill me, will it? If my skin starts to peel off, I'll let you know.

OK, I'm going to try reading now.. please... let me fall asleep.

Madonna

2005-11-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

She just released a new CD. I bought it. The first cd I've bought in 3 years. It's amazing. I;ve loved here since I was 8.. which is about uh.. 23 years ago. (fuck I'm old).. buy it.

It's awesome.

Please don't hold it against me. It makes me want to gyrate everywhere. I knew that would smooth things over :)

Haircut

2005-11-16T16:01:00.000-05:00

I took the afternoon off today because I am so sleep deprived that there were times when I couldn't remember where I was. So..my boss told me to go home. Yay!

I walked to Chinatown to look for some herbal cold medication that Jeffy recommended. I wandered into the first chinese pharmacy, somewhere past Bronson on Somerset. I asked the pharmacist if the stuff was okay for diabetics, and was told NO WAY.*sigh* So instead he sold me some cough drops that taste like a donkey's ass...they are so rancid.. but they do numb my throat and my cough has subsided.

On the way back towards downtown, I passed a hairdressing shop, with foreign writing but with numbers showing a haircut was 10 bucks. 10 BUCKS!? YAY! For anyone who doesn't know, a woman's haircut can cost anywhere from 25 bucks to 50 bucks, depending on where you go. I have a pretty simple hairstyle, and you can't screw it up unless you're a moron, so I felt confident enough to go in.

The hairstylists' name was Lin and she was possibly the shortest woman I had ever seen.. but not a midget. Even at the lowest setting on the chair, she still had to stand on a milk crate to cut my hair. She was about 4ft7 and I'm about 5ft9. She did a great job.. I now have a Louise Brooks-type bob.. and I decided to give her a big tip since she had to keep getting on and off the milk crate.. in total, the haircut cost 15 bucks, and that included a wash, blowdry etc.

For someone who feels like shit, I look so damn good :)

Not Again

2005-11-16T00:12:00.000-05:00

This is a complaint post. If you don't want to hear about it, skip this blog :)

I have a chest cold. It's at the point where I'm within a nanosecond of falling asleep, and then I have a coughing fit, and I'm awake. It's 12:15am right now, and I've been trying to fall asleep for the last 4 hours.

I'm considering drinking a glass of whisky to cure this problem.. but I might feel like shit tomorrow. *sigh*

The Gay Sombrero!

2005-11-13T20:05:00.000-05:00

Deep Fried Macaroni and Cheese at the Stampede!

2005-11-13T20:00:00.000-05:00

Lake Louise!

2005-11-13T19:55:00.000-05:00

It's baaaaa-aaaack!

2005-11-13T18:37:00.000-05:00

Yeah, yeah, it's been a while. I've been busy... seriously :)

New developments:

Moved back downtown.. just 6 blocks from work. It's a beautiful heritage building.. the kitchen is a closet and the bathroom is a littls bizarro (toilet so close to the sink that you can barf and.. er.. wll you know, at the same time) but it's homey. I'm just subletting from a friend till March, but when my time is up here, I am going to try and get my own apartment in the building or in another building close by. I really like being able to leave for work 10 minutes before my start time.

Still at the same work and location, but am looking to upgrade.. getting tired of it, need a change.. although I still love all my co-workers.

Taking a class in Mandarin in January. yes, Mandarin! A friend says it'll be useful in the future. I can't believe I am buying into that but we'll see :) Curse China becoming the new superpower.

hmm.. anything else? Not really.. trying to plan a trip for next summer. I'm not sure where to go, but I seem to keepgoing back to Eastern Europe or Scandinavia. I also need to find a travelling partner since I think after how I ripped through Germany and Austria, my mother will never travel with me again.

I know, I suck

2005-07-30T07:15:00.000-05:00

So I haven't posted in here for a few months.. so sue me. I"ve been busy, or something like that. Some changes.. I moved out of the house in Gloucester. It just wasn't suiting me.. too far away from friends and work, so I am staying with my mother for a month until I get an apartment for Sept. 1st. Things with mumsie are going well, despite what everyone might think. I'm at work or off playing most of the day so it isn't like we're always in each other's faces.

I did go to Calgary, from July 6th till the 13th and had a wondrous time (thanks Jeff!). I saw Banff, Lake Louise, Drumheller, went to the Stampede a few times, wandered around some museums and art galleries, and I got the skanky bar tour of downtown Calgary. LOts of fun.. and I should have pictures soon and will post them.

Let's see.. what else is new.. I told **** that I had feelings for him (yes, I finally did it, you can all shut up now). He doesn't feel the same way, so we'll go on just being friends. SO far things haven't been weird, but we've only talked via email and not face to face. I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I know where I sand, and I truly think I can move on now. There's a bounce in my step that I noticed had disappeared because I agonized over my "relationship" with **** but since I know where things are going, or rather, not going, I feel more peaceful. Isn't that so weird? Anyways, as they say.. there are more fish in the sea. Besides.. I've recently discovered, he aint so perfect...