A MUST have!

I have bright shiny syndrome... if it' s new and bright and shiny - I'm all over it. This shirt falls into that category, but my want of it goes beyond just being 'new to me'.



Why I need this shirt...
Reason #1 - Our dog's name is Chewie and I would take him everywhere with me if I could.
Reason #2 - Chewie has his own Halloween costume (yeah I know - sucker! )
Reason #3 - WAIT FOR IT...

Chewie is going trick or treating as Yoda.

Yes, YODA! Here's a picture of what the costume looks like (on the dog-model). His costume doesn't have the ears but I don't think he'd tolerate them anyway.
I think he'll look great!

But I still want the shirt.

How Odd...

Your Score: The Mystic

You scored 10 Materialism and 100 Phenomenology!

You're a mystic, someone who's experienced God but found out He wasn't like in the brochure. You know first-hand what it's like to encounter the ineffable, but have a healthy distrust of organized religion, which you probably consider at best stuffy and at worst an insult to true spiritual growth. If you aren't already, I'd recommend meditation exercises, or possibly yoga.

One day, maybe you'll find Nirvana. Until then, just remember not to get lost in your own head!

Thinkers you may agree with: St. Therese of Avila, Hassan I Sabah, Bahya ben Asher
Thinkers to challenge you: Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Materialism

You scored higher than 99% on Phenomenology

Link: The Metaphysician Test written by Jaylhomme on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

___________________________________________

And here's another one for ya!

The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test

Your Score: 9 - the Peacemaker

you chose BX - your Enneagram type is NINE (aka "The Mediator")

"I am at peace"

Peacemakers are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

• If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure.
  

• I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this.
  

• Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit.
  

• Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and non-judgmentally.
  

• Ask me questions to help me get clear.
  

• Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery.
  

• Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings.
  

• I like a good discussion but not a confrontation.
  

• Let me know you like what I've done or said.
  

• Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life.
  

What I Like About Being a NINE

• being nonjudgmental and accepting


• caring for and being concerned about others


• being able to relax and have a good time


• knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around


• my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator


• my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now


• being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe
  

What's Hard About Being a NINE

• being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive


• being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline


• being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally


• being confused about what I really want


• caring too much about what others will think of me


• not being listened to or taken seriously
  

NINEs as Children Often

• feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant
  


• tune out a lot, especially when others argue


• are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves
  

NINEs as Parents

• are supportive, kind, and warm


• are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

You liked the test?

so S P R E A D I T ! tell everyone!!!
(use Quick-Paste below)

you wanna know MORE?
so check out, what Wikipedia says about your type...
...even more you'll find in Google

Link: The Quick & Painless ENNEAGRAM Test written by felk on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

So, do you think that's a fair description of me or not?

Not newsworthy...

School is ummm, INTENSE.
That's about all I've got to say about that at the moment.

I've come to the realization that I truly despise rush-hour traffic - especially in the morning. I can handle it in the evening, no problem.

Crowded House was fabulous. Even the opening bands were really good. I'm going to Keith Urban tomorrow night with a girlfriend from school. I'm sure that will be a great concert as well.

Canada Student Loans laughed in my face again this year. For some reason, I thought it would be different this year since we're house-poor and have no idea how we're going to pay any bills come Jan 1st. I was obviously mistaken. Or perhaps, living in La-La Land.

I must also be delusional to think that Canada's wealthiest province would actually be interested in making post-secondary education less of a financial burden to its future taxpayers...

Hmmm...

maybe we' could rent out Chewie and the cats.
We'd call it Rent-a-Rodent
and those wanting a pet,
but unable to make the necessary time commitments
could rent them for a day or even a week.

(don't ask me where that came from - even I don't know)

Anyway, I hope all is well with you all.


Here's some pics from the long weekend (courtesy of a fellow club member).


Scenic Vista.

This was nicer when it was just a trail and not a logging road...

More Scenic Vistas.

Just a little hill...

(I've driven steeper ones than this)

And that's all the summer I get? Really? uh oh...here comes school!

Don't get me wrong, I love school (and that was written without any negative connotation). If I won the lotto, I would travel a lot, but I would also take every University course they'd let me into. Yes, working for a living has sucked thus far (for the most part). I start school tomorrow (Egads!!) at bloody 8:30 am! OMG that's early for me - WAY TOO EARLY! Anyway I know I'll get no sympathy from the lot of you so I'll shut up about that now.

We went 4x4ing on the weekend and took Chewie with us. He wasn't the hell in a hand basket I thought he might be - in fact, he's still recuperating from the exhaustion. He slept all the way back home right up until we blew a trailer tire about 10 minutes from our turn off. And he slept most of the rest of Monday and Tues away. May be next time we'll let him run off-leash some. I'll post some pics later.

Thursday is Crowded House! Yippee!

What I did on wednesday night

Although I've never been a big fan, I saw Wierd Al perform at Capital Ex. I'll say one thing about the guy - he's a helluva an entertainer! And the best part was that the show was free with admission!

I'd go see him again...and I'm only mildly embarrassed to say that.

Lolly-bloggers-R-us

I know, I know...I have been neglecting my blog and I apologize to the masses (aka -G). I've got a bunch of final assignments due on Friday and a Facebook addiction to sort out, but other than that I'm completely devoted to my blog.

Lame - yes. Honest - mostly (I forgot to add that I'm working long hours at the auto recycler again).

On a completely different topic, here's some pics I took this evening...

Here's Chewie wishing he could houdini himself out of his collar - just for a minute...

-I can't understand why he sat so still- he would normally be bouncing off the walls.



Here's the flower bed I've working at for 3 years. I'm really happy with it this year - it's gorgeous!





A closer view-



Delphiniums from HS's mom & aunt
Daylilies
Lupins from HS's mom & aunt
Shasta Daisies
Lambs Ear (Hs's mom)
etc...



Columbine at the back of our house. I took this in a stiff breeze with no tripod- and it still turned out great!



It's been really warm around here lately and I'm enjoying it immensely- even the high humidity. Hopefully it will be hot again before the end of summer when I can enjoy it more.

Yeah, well I couldn't help myself...

I don't know about you but the music I grew up with, especially what I listened to in high school, I identify strongly with. I'm not saying that it's good music - just that it has been encoded alongside the memories I have of that time period. In all honesty, I wasn't cool in high school - I wasn't even uncool. I barely even existed until I returned after graduation to cram some more courses onto my transcript. For some reason though, anything good I recall about school - I remember with this band's music playing in the background. I rarely go out of my way to see anything from that genre of music in concert now with a few notable exceptions. For some reason however, when I heard that a particular band was coming to town - I knew I had to go see them.
I called up my best friend since Grade 10 and asked her to go with me - there wasn't even a moments hesitation in her voice.

Do you have an song or band from a particular time period of your life encoded in your memory like I do?

Do you think you might know which band I'm talking about? I'd love to hear your guesses.

Bring it- audiophiles!

Eerily Accurate Meme...

This one creeped me because it's that accurate - seriously! If you don't believe me- go try it yourself.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

You are a spiritual soul - a person who tries to find meaning in everything. You spend a good amount of time meditating, trying to figure out life. Helping others is also important to you. You enjoy social activities with that goal. You are very generous and giving. Yet you expect very little in return. Your strength: Getting along with anyone and everyone Your weakness: Needing a good amount of downtime to recharge Your power color: Cobalt blue Your power symbol: Dove Your power month: September

See what I mean - creepy huh!

I was a sneaky audiophile as a child...

When I was really young, my Dad had an AIWA reel-to-reel audio player (actually Dad STILL has this wonderfully archaic piece of stereo equipment but that's not the point of my story). He had a fairly large collection of tape reels for it - mostly because he won a 630 CHED contest (way back when they played music) for a complete set of reel-to-reel recordings of the countdown to that year's top song.

Back then, Dad was a HUGE Beatles fan and subsequently so was I. No one except him was allowed to touch his magic music machine so I would ask him play Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da over and over and over again. Since I was too young to read, I remember marking the cardboard jacket with a dot or a star so that I could tell which one it was out of the sea of white.

When Dad was at work and Mom was busy, I'd sneak into the living room, find the marked jacket, put the tape reel on the AIWA and ever so carefully wind the end around a blank reel. I'd plug in a set of headphones and do a final 'parental check'. Then I would adjust the anticipated volume before finally flipping the 'ON' switch.

I'd dance around the living room to my favorite tune with gigantic headphones on for a few magical minutes before rewinding the tape reel to the start and putting everything back EXACTLY the way I found it.

The best part is that 30 + years later, I still love that song. I don't think this little childhood memory would be nearly as vivid if I didn't still love the tune though. I guess if Dad didn't already know that I mastered his reel-to-reel machine by the age of 3 - he does now!

Thanks for the memories Papa!

Musical Nostalgia

Am I the only person who remembers what the first LP they ever purchased was? AND where they bought it? What about the first music CD and where it was purchased? I know I'm dating myself with this post but who cares... although it does astonish me how many people don't know what an LP is or what LP stands for!

I'd love to know what yours were!

Ready?

Set?

Go!

LP: Rick Springfield - Working Class Dog. Purchased from Woodwards (1981 - The 25th anniversary edition was released in 2006).

CD: Dalbello - She. Purchased from London Drugs (circa. 1992)

Rain, Rain go away...

I love the fact that green things are growing in my garden again, the trees are budding and the grass is starting to come out of dormancy. I dislike that I currently need rubber boots to get to my car. I also dislike poplar stickies - especially picking them out of Chewie's coat. Ah- the joys of spring. I know it will be over soon enough but it is that awkward cool period where I still need mitts and a toque, but with a warm rain coat that gets me. There are people at school where sandals and I'm trying to figure out how to fit my down jacket under my rain jacket.

Later.

I've changed...

I've gone from being a pathological perfectionist to being a pathological procrastinator! Stupid @#%*$! facebook... among other things. Seriously - I'm at the point where scrubbing toilets is a fascinating way to spend my time instead of doing something far more important. I don't think this is a change for the better.

Argh!

One exam left though...

I am definitely going to consume some beverages on Monday! But after my exam though... :)

Bye, Bye Bird

About a week ago, I found a small bird hopping along the ground by our house. This isn't unusual in itself, except that normally the closer I'd get to the bird, the more likely it would fly away - snubbing my human form - as I am incapable of following. This bird did not fly away, it just scurried a little faster away from me. The bird did make several attempts at flight, but I noticed its left wing did not return to its normal position after extension. I went inside the house to figure out what kind of bird it was. She was a Common Redpoll (CR), a species I've seen a lot of this past winter and thoroughly enjoyed them clamoring at the bird feeder outside office window. I realized that I hadn't seen any for a few days and noticed in my book that they normally migrate to the arctic around mid-April. I decided I would try to catch her.

It took about an hour - she's a lot smaller than I am so she traveled through the scrub brush with minimal effort. I, on the other hand, looked like a homeless person by the time I caught her -- twigs in my hair, my face scratched by branches in the dense underbrush...

I built a makeshift cage out of a couple of large dollar store storage bins, some shredded paper and some twigs as perches. I spent several hours the next day building something larger and more suitable. I neglected however, to check to see if CR could fit through the holes in the mesh I was using. She pulled Houdini and was outside the fancy shmancy cage I'd slaved over in less than a second - the mesh I had chosen was too big! :)

I tracked down a cage for free (thanks Sharon!) and I set up CR in it. She spent her days outside, and her nights inside. By the 7th day, she was able to fly, but only to places at or below the same height she was at and her wing was now retracting properly. She was much more active than when I first found her and flitted around in her cage continually during the day.

When I checked her progress on the 8th day. CR could fly from the floor to the top of the door frame in our entryway. It was time...

I put her back in the cage and let her rest and eat for an hour or so, to renew her energy reserves. Then I took the cage outside on the patio table and I opened the door to the cage.

I waited...

and waited...

and finally I reached in and brought her outside the cage. She flew to a nearby willow tree and began pecking away at it for food.

I was delighted!

I followed her for a few minutes and took a few pictures. I wished her luck on her journey and hoped that she would stick around for a while. Then I lost sight of her within a thicket of young willow saplings.

I hope she finds her way...at least I know she is much more prepared to deal with the perils out there now that she can fly again.

UPDATE!

CR and her beau may be settling in to nest here! Several days after CR's release, I saw the two of them gathering seeds together under the birdfeeder! Squee!
I'll keep you updated!

My history of first dates = Disasterous in the dictionary

Truth be told, I don't think I've ever had a first date that didn't have some disastrous details. I'm talking about details that are well past having spinach stuck in your teeth - way beyond.

1st date in high school. While walking in a local park, my date reached into his jacket pocket and I saw a flash of light as he yelped and threw the contents of his pocket all over the grass. Spare change in his pocket somehow lined-up just right with a AA battery in the same pocket and current started flowing out of the battery and into the coins! The money was still hot to the touch when we were picking it up off the ground... (in retrospect this is as far as this relationship should have ever gone - but really, who makes good decisions at 15?

1st date with friend after high school (but before University).
We had arranged to meet up at Western Sizzlin' for dinner. Thirty minutes after the arranged time passed and the guy still wasn't at the restaurant. I called his house and his brother answered. My date was on the other line and at the restaurant wondering if I'd called (pre-cell phone days- and yes I'm old, so shut up). It turns out, I was at the downtown location and he was at the west-end location. Neither of us had any idea that there was more than one location in town until that night... (hindsight is 20/20- same as the last, but I was a little older-19ish?)

1st date with post secondary classmate.
It was a cold January evening - my date picked me up at home (he even opened the car door for me and everything!) and we headed out to a movie. We didn't even make it out of the subdivision. His attempt at showing me how skillful he was at power-sliding in his dad's car ended with us stuck in the ditch on a corner. We had to walk back to my parents place and get my dad to pull the car out. Not a stellar moment... (not entirely his fault, as the corners in the acreage subdivision sucked in residents' vehicles on a regular basis - but still...)

1st date with HS.
We were headed out on the August long weekend for a 3 day wheeling trip (yes- this was our very first date and I brought my own tent, etc). At Niton Junction, a Ford truck stopped where the service road meets the Yellowhead and waited for traffic. At least that's what we think they meant to do - they actually stopped in the right lane of the highway instead. HS laid about 60 feet of rubber trying to stop his truck in time. Once HS realized we weren't going to make it, he shoulder checked quickly (I told you he's a professional!) and changed lanes to get around the other truck. We were still doing about 70kph when we past the Ford. There's nothing like a near death experience to accelerate the bonding process...

What about you? Any dirt to dish out? I'd love to hear your stories!

In search of lip balm

I'm a good driver (and not just because I say I am). HS says I'd make a great truck driver because I can dig one-handed for something in my backpack behind my seat without taking my eyes off the road (also a trademark Mom-move). Ninety-nine percent of the time I grab the intended object on the the first try... today was NOT one of those days.~


I'm stopped at the lights at the traffic square (if you know Edmonton at all, you know exactly where I was), and I reach behind me for my cell phone and snag it from it's compartment - no problem, even with my left hand. I then decide my lips are dry so I need my lip balm. Again, with my left hand, I reach behind my seat, undo the zipper on my backpack and stretch so I can reach the intended pocket. I feel around for the lip balm ...not there...

...hmm...

I pull my arm back towards me, to take another stab at it - I feel a sharp tug...



...something is wrong



...something is very wrong


I can't get my arm out from behind me

~~~

I jerk my arm toward my body -- I feel a sharp pain in my left hand and this time my entire (30lb+) backpack moves.

I feel a stabbing pain in my left hand. I twist around to see what the problem is (trying not to smack my head on the B-pillar) but I can't see my hand. I quickly discover that the pain is much worse if don't hold my hand/arm a certain way.

The light turns green and my car is at the front of the intersection--

(did you forget that I was sitting in traffic - I didn't!)

I readjust myself in my seat, look for opposing traffic and accelerate away from the light. My hand feels like I've been stabbed and one of my fingers is tingling. My arm is still contorted behind me - similar to how they restrain people on COPS.

I drive, looking for a place to turn off and stop -- I see nothing -- for several blocks.

My left hand starts to cramp up and I grimace in pain.

I see a parking lot ahead. I think I can turn into it without much difficulty.

I flick on the turn signal (yes I actually did- not sure how, but I did) and turn right into a quiet strip mall.
I try not to slam the gearshift into park (but I'm sure I did, despite my half-hearted attempt at restraint).

By this time I can't feel one of my fingertips and there is definitely something digging hard into part of my hand.



I fling my seat belt off and attempt to open my door (this took a second or two longer than I expected because I don't usually open the door with my right hand).

I swing my legs out of the car trying not to dislocate my shoulder or elbow. I tentatively look toward where my left hand meets my backpack...

and what do you think I find?

My ring has caught the *handy-dandy* key hook inside my backpack...

Seriously.

All of that because of a stupid plastic hook that's supposed to make my life easier.

~~~

I freed myself from my restraints and celebrated my new found liberty with a bacon egg McMuffin meal with OJ.



What about the lip balm, you ask? It turns out that I didn't have any with me at all!

From my performance today I won't be trying out for Cirque du Soleil anytime soon.

Springtime School Blahs...

Am I the only one this happens to?

At this time of year, no matter how interesting a course is, I can barely motivate myself to get up and go to class. Trying to psych myself up to do assignments or read or even study is pretty much a lost cause.

Does this (or has this) ever happen(ed) to you?

How do you deal with it?

Got any hints for someone like me who is floundering yet unphased by my own apathy?

you know something is really funny when...

...it makes you laugh out loud (and you're by yourself).

(thankfully I wasn't sipping my tea at the time or I would have snorted it through my nose)

(click HERE to go there and get one or whatever - I'm not the boss of you)

I wish it came in different colours.

I am super-geek, hear me squeak...

Aren't these the best geeky / nostalgic accessories ever?

space invader socks

Binary scarf.

I wish I had the patience to knit...

Or a Grandma still alive to make these for me for Easter...



Damn, I hate being old!

Special thanks to WWdN: In Exile for posting the links for me to find!

Things you miss when you're too busy to notice...

In the winter it gets dark early and so I don't see much beyond the beams of my headlights some days. Lucky for me House Spouse catches some of the stuff I miss with a little technology and can save a moment for later.

Case in point...

There is an undeveloped acreage right across the road from our place. A few weeks ago the wind was up and the snow was the perfect temperature to do this-

Isn't this amazing!

It looks like a bunch of snowmen got tired of waiting for someone to come along and build them so they started rolling themselves!

Chewie the Wonderdog-

The level 1 obedience, post graduation revelry...



Yes, he's asleep
Yes, his left front paw is in the air
and yes he slept like this for at least 30 minutes last night.

I'm surprised this picture turned out at all considering how hard I was laughing!

The BIG leap.

By the power invested in me by Blogger, I push the PUBLISH button on my first poem (as requested by G-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The devil you know...

There's a rage within me-
    
    taunting me for release
 
 
 

it promises to be good...

...that I am in control
 

"you'll feel better when I'm not trapped in here"
it says.
 
 
I drink to keep it quiet...
...pick fights to appease it
 
but
I
       never
        EVER
let it out...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The backstory:

This is the poem that started its life as some nearly illegible words written on the back of a gas receipt. It's based a little on personal experience but mostly on a fictional character I've come to know fairly well.

Weird. It feels strange to look at it here - it's just something that began as an emotion that found words in my head to express itself...

What a strange feeling-

In honour of February 14th...

I'm not much into Valentines Day - not only because it is a gigantic commercial rip-off, but also because many of my friends and family members are single. I am a bit of a sap however, so I am posting this for all of my friends and family to wish them a Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day - by the ying-yang gang

(Sassy is on the left, George is on the right)

They wish you a Happy Valentines Day (in as much as they'd love you if you'd play with them)!

Stay warm y'all - we're almost out of the deep freeze!

Interview by the rook...

the_rook 2007-02-10 06:30 pm (local) (link)

1) Who'd win in a fight to the death between you and your brother? Hmm…I would say my brother, only because he has repeatedly, although accidentally (and I have no doubts about that) and completely without malice, caused harm to my person. I can see it now - I’d be dead and he’d be poking at me to drop the act -- …except I’d be dead so I couldn’t. (actually, that’s somewhat funny in a twisted sort of way). Or maybe we’d both win (or lose depending on how you look at things). I think both of us would rather die than live, knowing that we caused the death of our only sibling. Yeah - I’m speaking for my brother here, but he’s as much of a softie as I am. So there. 2) What is the worst thing you have ever done? When I think about this manipulative stunt, I feel about *this* tall… Back in junior high school, I had a really ‘cool’ friend. She and I thought it would be fun to send secret admirer letters from a fictional guy to one of the ‘not cool’ girls in school. The letters started out relatively tame, however, at one point, she was supposedly meeting this ‘guy’ at the football uprights, dolled up in a miniskirt, in -30 deg C weather. The ‘guy’ also stated in a letter that he would watched her through her bedroom window… Ugghh…There really must be a seriously nasty hormone cocktail flowing through the bloodstreams of young teenagers because this was truly an awful thing to do. Who the hell needs enemies when you have friends like that? 3) What is something about me that you dislike? Well - I dislike the fact that I have a hard time reading you. Not your stories, or your blog – You. I’m normally good at reading people but for some reason, you completely stump me. Just when I think I’ve managed to catch a glimpse of you, the image I’ve carefully exposed evaporates and I’m left puzzled and confused. I must say that my inability to get a “good read” on you bothered me for quite a while. Intriguingly enough, I think that your magic and your bisexuality play key roles in your ability to confound me. I’ve never known someone with either of these features, let alone both (what can I say – I lived under a rock for a very long time. Try not to hold that against me…the rock – is cold…). I’ve become more comfortable with the idea that I am unable to get an accurate reading on you. In reality, I dislike that I can’t read you – but that doesn’t mean I dislike that about you – it’s…umm – complicated. I need a drink… 4) What is something about yourself you detest? Just one? That’s a tough one to narrow down… At this point in my life I’d say, my amazing ability to procrastinate to the point of unreserved self-sabotage. Yeah – I love this about myself – just love to hate it. 5) Is the glass half empty or half full. This may be hard to believe but…half-full. ~~~ My Interview questions for the_rook 1) If you had the one opportunity to use your magic and have exactly the outcome you envision – what would you use the opportunity for and why? (change the past, the future or something else…) 2) Do you believe intuition is part of the evolution of human beings? 3) If you could ask a Sel Souris faerie a question, what question would you ask? 4) Name something in your life that you learned as a child and that you still enjoy as an adult. 5) You’ve won the Million Dollars a year for the next 25 years lotto. What are the first 5 things you’d want to do with the money that G would tell you that you are a nutbar for even considering?

weirdness follows me...

So I'm driving to school a couple of weeks ago and my ADD brain takes a jaunt at a stop light. I end up scribbling down a bunch of phrases and words on a gas receipt. Now normally this would be a list of things I need to do, or didn't get done or something equally exciting. This time - for the first time ever, it was the makings of a poem (or a song if I could sing like G).

It was very strange.

I carried the gas receipt around with me for a few days until I found a notebook I'd been saving for some reason. I sat down with a pencil and wrote out the poem I started on the gas receipt and tucked the receipt into the front pocket of the notebook. I wrote 2 different poems right after I finished the first one.

The weirdness continued when I read what I wrote and didn't hate it.

Just when I thought all of the weirdness was over - I propped up the notebook that proceeded to fall face down onto my desk, the second I looked away. I glanced back at my desk to see what made the noise and saw a yellow post-it stuck to the back of my notebook. As I picked it up, I took a look at the small square yellow piece of paper stuck askew to the back. Written in pencil, was the name of one of my former clients - a wonderful woman who owns a local book publishing company...

I got goosebumps.

It was weird, creepy and exhilarating all at the same time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Call it what you will - intuition or whatever - I've learned that stuff like this happens to me for a reason and if I don't at least attempt to follow through with the path before me - I become un-centered. My judgement gets cloudy and I make really poor decisions from being un-centered. Sometimes I figure it out really quick, and sometimes I'm really slow on the uptake but I figure it out eventually. This one was kind of hard to ignore for some reason- even harder than when my job was literally killing me...

Maybe I'm getting smarter - or just more in tune with myself? I don't know for sure. Maybe it's because I've been hanging out with some very interesting people over the last 10 months.

I do know it's weird...

Ways to make the sky fall

In honour of upcoming midterms I present the most comprehensive "How to Fail an Exam" list I have ever run across.

Some of these would also be great ways to get fired or to get out of writing the psych evaluation some companies require in order to be hired. Go hard!

S E X -ology marathon

Just a short post today because, as you can see from the title, I've got a rather intellectually challenging couple of days ahead of me.
I've been looking forward to this module at school (or workshop, seminar or whatever) for a while now. I did the pre-workshop assignment and have shed some light on why I'm so interested in sexuality from an intellectual perspective. I am trying to resolve the internal conflict between repressive sexual influences of society and the overwhelming influence of the media on the culture of sex ---Never mind the pathological influence of "sexual disorder".

Aaarrggh.

Boy, have I got some work to do...

on myself, for myself.

SWEEEEEP!!!!!

House Spouse found this link today and I could hear him at his computer going "Oh-no" and "Ouch" and "Oooh - that's gotta hurt". The HS is unlike me in that he does not normally talk to himself, so something must have gotten his attention...

I now present to you this amazing motion picture (otherwise known as a home video)

I call it - Curling with Cars (in Portland)
(you'll have to click on the video in the news story - it wouldn't let me hyperlink it).

See, winter could be so much worse! You could need tire chains to get to work - and you live in town!

Funny! (because it didn't happen here) *touches wood*

Not your typical Bateman...

If there is such thing as a typical Bateman, this isn't it.

Still life with Chinese scroll by Robert Bateman

I'm sure for some it's bland and for others it's refreshing.

I find that my response to this painting overtakes my normally anxious emotional state with a sudden and intensely satisfying calmness. It feels amazing.



And another painting that I also love how it makes me feel:

Armillary Sphere - Based on an original oil painting by Jia Lu

Do you know of any art that does the same thing to you?

So- 10 days in and I'm already a slacker.

Well ok, maybe not a complete slacker (I've gone to school everyday this week and to every class). But I just am not prepared for the work ahead of me, nor am I interested in being prepared. I'm beginning to think that I am a sadist and that I like torturing myself with enough self-induced anxiety that I am unable to breathe.

My employer has attempted to stiff me on general holiday pay even though the regulations seem to have changed. We'll see what happens there- I'll try the nice route- then I'll get serious if necessary.

School is OK- so far it's been better than last term. I have a clue this time around and I'm trying really hard not to let all the niggly BS cloud my judgement. All the finicky little details of life are my greatest downfall. If I can manage to ignore them- I'm usually much happier.

For your amusement (and mine):
Today on the highway on the way to school, there was a UPS truck laying on its side partly in the ditch. I found this mildly amusing, especially when you consider their slogan, "See what Brown can do for you". I'm pretty sure that in this case, the "brown" referred to was in the driver's shorts... :)