Thursday, March 31, 2005

And the word of the day is....

Your word is SHIT. You are laid back and relaxed,
and most people like you. You don't especially
want to stand out from the crowd, you are
pretty happy with your lot.


Which Swear (Curse) Word Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

One thing that made me smile today: I discovered that Lizz Winstead has recently launched a web page. You can check it out here. I was really sad to see that Jerry Springer is replacing Unfiltered (it's not that I don't like Jerry Springer, I just don't think that this is a particularly good idea). I cannot imagine him inspiring people in the same way that the Unfiltered folks did. Anyway, it was great to see a message from Lizz. I would encourage everyone to drop her a line and join her and the other Lizzbians!

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

it's ours!!

We signed off on the house we're buying today. On Thursday night, we're meeting with our agent to get ours listed. We're going to be doing a bunch of cosmetic things to ours next week, the painters and repair folks are booked for next week. By April 15 we should be ready to show it. We have almost 2 months to get our place sold and I'm confident that we should be able to do that. Houses in our neighbourhood don't stay on the market for long so I think we're in a pretty good position.

Work has been kind of hectic so far this week and it's going to get worse before it gets better. I'm feeling really tired but I know that is because we've been working our tails off on the weekends and evenings at home and not getting much of a break. Hopefully, in a few week's time, the work will be done and the house will be well on the way to being sold and we'll just have to worry about moving. We did so much work on the weekend, packing and moving stuff into storage, that the actual move itself shouldn't be too bad when it gets here.

Oh yeah, the weather was gorgeous here today. It got up to 14 degrees and all of the snow in our yard (chunks of leftover ice actually) are finally gone. Overall, today was a very good day.

One thing that made me smile today: Hey, just when you thought it couldn't get any better:

Jerry Falwell in Critical Condition
By BOB LOWRY, Associated Press Writer
LYNCHBURG, Va.
- The Rev. Jerry Falwell was hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday, battling his second case of viral pneumonia in just five weeks, hospital and church officials said.

Falwell, 71, was admitted to Lynchburg General Hospital shortly before midnight Monday suffering from "respiratory arrest," the hospital said in a statement.

He was put on a ventilator and stabilized but remained in critical condition, the hospital said.

"He's resting comfortably and in stable condition," said Ron Godwin, Falwell's executive assistant. "It's a recurrence of the viral pneumonia."

Falwell, the founder of the Moral Majority and Liberty University, had left the hospital March 4 after 13 days, spending part of the time on a ventilator.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Falwell said he was feeling much better, but still recovering from his hospital stay.

Falwell had been in the pulpit Easter Sunday at Thomas Road Baptist Church and appeared in good health, said the Rev. Dave Randlett, a senior associate pastor.

"He always looks `up' so you wouldn't know if he wasn't" feeling well, Randlett said. "He was very optimistic."

An avid sports fan, Falwell had made the trip to Chattanooga, Tenn., on Saturday to see Liberty University's team play in the third round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The team lost. He also had been in the crowd March 22 when it won in the second round in College Park, Md.

Monday, March 28, 2005

What a way to start the week. This is just unbelieveably sad and messed up.

Crowded House drummer hanged himself in a park, emergency services say
Mon Mar 28, 1:17 AM ET

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Paul Hester, the drummer from popular 1980s Australian rock band Crowded House, hanged himself in a park in southern Australia, an emergency services spokeswoman said Monday.

Hester, 46, had failed to return home after taking his two dogs for a walk on Friday night. The drummer's body was later found in a park near his home in the southern city of Melbourne. Ambulance officers arrived on the scene shortly after midday Saturday and tried to resuscitate him, but "he was dead when they arrived," Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokeswoman Liraje Memishi said.

Memishi said he had "attempted suicide" and then suffered strangulation. She declined to confirm where Hester's body was found. Reports have said he was discovered hanging from a tree.

Hester played in several small bands before joining the New Zealand group Split Enz in 1983. He and Split Enz singer Neil Finn formed Crowded House in 1985 with bass player Nick Seymour.

Crowded House was one of Australia's most successful bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with international hits such as Don't Dream it's Over and Weather with You.

Peter Green, a longtime friend of Hester, reportedly contacted Finn and Seymour after learning of the drummer's death.

Green said Hester had experienced "some dark moments," but dismissed media reports that he was struggling with depression or illness at the time of his death.

"Paul never said anything about that and I never, ever, heard he was suffering from any illness," he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper for its Monday edition. "Then, after today, I wonder if anybody really knew anything."

Seymour also expressed surprise at the news, telling the paper he seen Hester in Ireland two weeks ago.

"It was all good," Seymour told the paper from Dublin. "The last words Paul told me were: 'I love you, mate. See you in town (Melbourne) in a month."'

Finn, currently touring in London, said he was deeply saddened at the loss of his friend.

"I am devastated," he told the paper. "I have lost one of my best mates."

Hester quit Crowded House in 1994, citing the pressures of touring and declining motivation for the group.

He is survived by his girlfriend Mardi Sommerfield and their two daughters aged eight and 10.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

This debate about the Terri Schiavo case is making me go insane. I totally get that her parents love her but folks, she's in a vegetative state. Keeping her body alive isn't keeping her with you. I'm not exactly sure why this particular case has exploded in the way it has. Hundreds of people are disconnected from feeding tubes every week in the US, it's sad, for sure, but it happens.

I'm particularly bothered by the US government's involvement in what should be a family matter. When this same government is directly responsible for the deaths of 108 prisoners who have died while in their charge, Bush's stand on the Shiavo case feels hypocritical to me. This guy came back from his vacation to sign the Shiavo bill, something he did not do when the tsunami in South-East Asia hit over the Christmas break. It just makes my blood boil to see Bush & Co. catering to a fanatical sect (his "base") which supports prolonging Ms Schiavo's life. They surely aren't representing the interests of the population as a whole. Most traditionally conservative people in the US don't want to see this poor woman's life dragged out any longer than it already has been. These fanatics only seem to care about life when it's starting out or it's ending but not so much about what happens in the middle. Arrrggh!!

Two words folks: LIVING WILL

One thing that made me smile today: We're a little bit closer to actually buying this new house. We had a very promising meeting with our bank manager last night. I should have some very good news to report very soon.

Monday, March 21, 2005

and you thought you were having a bad day

You can't make this stuff up!!

Woman taken to morgue by mistake / CBC News
VANCOUVER – An elderly woman in a deep slumber was mistakenly sent to the morgue over the weekend after body collectors confused her with her deceased roommate.

Health authorities say a driver that transports the dead failed to check the woman's identification bracelets and ended up taking the 87-year-old to a morgue across the street from her extended care facility.

The mix-up was only discovered when workers at the Surrey Memorial morgue noticed some movement on the stretcher where the woman lay sleeping.

Helen Carkner, a spokesperson for the Fraser Health Authority, says the woman's family is just pleased the error was uncovered, before she realized what was going on.

"They spoke to our Surrey health leadership and to people at Shirley Dean Pavilion (the extended care facility) and they were very understanding that a mistake had been made and appropriate action taken."

Carkner says staff at the care facility also noticed that the woman was missing and promptly alerted security at the hospital to have her returned.

She says the driver who transported the woman was relatively new to the job but has been fired by Vancouver First Call Service.


One thing that made me smile today: Cross your fingers folks, we might be moving. Mark and I might be buying a new house. Watch this space for details!!

Friday, March 18, 2005

freaky friday

The weekend cannot start soon enough. The weather has been so nice here this week that it's been really difficult to stay motivated at work.

I don't know how many of you use Yahoo! but I found it a little disturbing that the top 3 emailed photos are of 1. Mr Potato Head dressed as Darth Vader (Darth Tater) 2. An australian billboard featuring a bunch of naked guys (it was an ad for sun screen) and 3. A young Iranian man being publicly flogged, just before he is hanged as punishment for raping and killing 16 children. It just struck me as really bizarre.

One thing that made me smile today: When I woke up this morning, I thought it was Saturday. That made me smile. I had plans of rolling over and going back to sleep. Sadly, the smile quickly faded when I realized it was only Friday. yuck!

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Bah! I actually have nothing to say today but I have had my personality analyzed, here ya go:
I am 41% Asshole/Bitch.
Part Time Asshole/Bitch.
I may think I am an asshole or a bitch, but the truth is I am a good person at heart. Yeah sure, I can have a mean streak in me, but most of the people I meet like me.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

quick, like a bunny

It is sunny and quite spring-like outside today. This morning, when I was getting ready for work, I noticed that our bunny was back. The bird feeder had been recently filled so I wasn't surprised to see him back. I almost fell over when I realized that there were two bunnies out in the yard. They looked identical and were chasing each other around the yard. It didn't look playful, it looked confrontational from where I stood. Hopefully they're friends. Goodness knows, there is enough seed out there for both of them.

One thing that made me smile today: I'm feeling less stressed today than I did yesterday. I was all tense and my back was bothering me for a number of reasons. I had a great night's sleep last night and I'm feel much better.

Monday, March 14, 2005

I'm not expecting to have much time today so, here's a lazy post. It's this week's Monday Madness:

Fill in the blanks.... completely random!!

1. I wish I had more time to spend with Mark.
2. I usually think about changing my blog layout when the seasons change.
3. If more people would be truly compassionate and honest, the world would be a better place.
4. I really should call my friends more often.
5. The weather we're having right now is spring-like, it's lovely.
6. When it's time to plant a garden, I'd like to plant grass seed.
7. When I'm running late, I sometimes forget to pee.
8. When I can't think of anything to blog about, I usually find a meme.

One thing that made me smile today: Oh goodness, it's way too early to tell!

Sunday, March 13, 2005

talk about lazy

Actually, the day wasn't completely lazy. I did get the laundry finished up and Mark got a bunch of chores done. We slept in this morning and spent the afternoon just hanging out, watching tv and working on the computer.

I wish we had more days like this. Maybe winning the lotto would let you do that. To be able to do what you want, when you feel like it, without having to worry about paying bills or getting to work on time. Like anything else, I suppose it would get boring after a while.

If we won the lotto (which is difficult when we frequently forget to buy tickets), I know I'd quit my job (if I won a significant amount) but eventually, we would have to start some kind of business, just to keep from going insane.

One thing that made me smile today: Our "comedy" channel has started airing new episodes of "French & Saunders." Tonight we watched one where Dawn was doing a dead-on impression of Catherine Zeta-Jones. Honestly, I almost pissed myself.

Saturday, March 12, 2005

it breeds in the hamper

No matter how often I do laundry, I never get it all done. It was so nice outside today, I really didn't want to be inside doing chores so I only did about half of what I should have done. I was home from running errands before noon, which was nice. Mark finished work a little early so we got to spend the afternoon together.

We went out for lunch and then came home to watch the second half of a movie we had started watching last night. It was a movie about Rodney Bingenheimer called "The Mayor of the Sunset Strip." Tonight we watched another, a Bill Macy film called "The Cooler." I really enjoyed both movies. The first was a documentary about Rodney on the ROQ, a long-time DJ at KROQ Radio and impresario in the Hollywood music scene. At times, he seemed like Zelig. They showed dozens of photos taken in the 60's and 70's, videos too, and it seemed at times like Rodney was always there, in the middle of everything.

The Cooler was very enjoyable. As always, Bill Macy gave a terrific performance as an unlucky guy who had the unenviable job of putting a jinx on a hot table in a casino. I won't give away any details of the plot but the film requires that you believe in the concept of luck. The cast was great and the story, while a little predictable, was really cute. It was a nice film for a mindless evening.

One thing that made me smile today: It actually felt like spring was in the air today. yay!

Friday, March 11, 2005

tgif, again

The week has flown by. I've been so busy at work, I cannot believe that it's almost the weekend again. I actually had to ask someone earlier, "it's Friday, right?" Truly a strange feeling.

Anyway, for lack of anything better to write about today, here is Friday's Feast for this week:

Appetizer - Where do you go when you want to relax?

I either go to my bedroom and curl up on the bed with a book and some music on or, I sit down in front of my computer, play a game of freecell and watch some old episodes of the simpsons that I keep on the machine.

Soup - Tell about something that made you laugh this week.

We saw the first episode of "Fat Actress" this week. We laughed really hard at ourselves for being so stupid. It was horrible and I can't believe that we watched the entire 30 minute fiasco.

Salad - What is your favorite texture?

The feeling of cold, clean, crisp cotton sheets.

Main Course - If you were to publish your autobiography, what would the first sentence be?

Mmmmm...that's a tough one. How 'bout, "She was a centennial baby, born on the eve of the Summer of Love."
Dessert - Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so, how?

Our family is of Irish descent (although we have been in Canada for several generations) but we don't really celebrate it in a big way, not really. My brother often refers to St. Patrick's Day as "amateur night" and I'm inclined to agree with him. I think it's safer to stay home than to be out amongst the hooligans who are being "Irish for one night."

One thing that made me smile today: When I got home from work tonight, I looked out our bedroom window and saw a cute little brown bunny, eating some seeds from the ground below our bird feeder. We see him now and then. I hadn't seen him in a while. He is really cute and has a lovely little fluffy white tail.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Missing Lizz

So the past few days I noticed that Rachel Maddow is hosting Unfiltered on her own. This struck me as a little odd. Chuck D is often away but Lizz is always there. At first I thought, "maybe she's ill" or "maybe she's on the road doing some stand-up" but that didn't sit right. Rachel hadn't mentioned Lizz's name at all.

I started looking around on the message boards and I guess there was some kind of awkward announcement last Thursday (I didn't have a chance to tune in due to meetings) that Lizz had left the show. Is this a coincidence that she has disappeared, without a word being said, so shortly after they get a new C.E.O.. Some folks are speculating that her contract was probably up and she's moved on. I somehow doubt that. This feels like she's been shit-canned. When someone suddenly leaves without explanation and no one is talking about it, there's some serious hr crap going on.

Lizz was my favourite part of Unfiltered and I'll miss her a lot. Rachel is smart as a whip and I like her too. Lizz was smart and super funny, sharp. I thought that the shows where all three of them were together in the studio were some of the best I have heard on Air America. Wherever she ends up, she'll land on her feet. She's way too brilliant and talented not to.

One thing that made me smile today: It was light outside, very early this morning. It was almost completely bright shortly after 6:30 a.m. Last night it was light out until around 6 p.m. People, we're heading into spring. yee-hah!

Monday, March 07, 2005

Here is this week's version of the Monday Madness:

1. What's on your refrigerator? (Please feel free to use a picture to answer.)

I'll have to post a photo later. It's covered with post cards, magnets, stickers, you name it, it's on our fridge.

2. What color is your refrigerator?

It's a lovely shade of "almond." Trust me, I did choose it.

3. Is the freezer on the top, bottom or side?

The freezer is on the top and it doesn't work very well most of the time so we also have a small chest freezer in our kitchen.

4. How old is your fridge? Does it match your stove?

I have no idea how old it is. I'm guessing 25 to 30 years old. Sadly, it does match our stove. They came with the house and as soon as they die, we'll be replacing them. They are truly ugly.

5. How regularly do you clean the inside of your fridge?

I do it when it needs it. I don't have a schedule or anything but it usually works out to be about once a month.

One thing that made me smile today: I was actually able to walk to my meeting this afternoon and make it back without falling on the ice. It started to freeze rain just as we were heading out. Luckily, it wasn't that bad!

Saturday, March 05, 2005

sweet saturday

I slept in this morning. Until 7:30 a.m. It felt soooo good. I can still feel the headache but it's definitely getting better.

Mark took today off. He went out early and had the car detailed. It looks terrific. He found this place not far from here that is super cheap and they do an amazing job. While he was out, I started cleaning the upstairs. By the time he got back, I had the upstairs done and I had showered. Early this afternoon, I started laundry and Mark cleaned the downstairs. By dinnertime, all of the laundry was done and the house was clean. I can't get over how much we got done in a relatively short period of time.

One thing that made me smile today: Because Mark and I got all of our chores and errands done today and we don't have to go anywhere or do anything tomorrow that we don't want to. yay!!

Friday, March 04, 2005

I'm feeling a bit better today, fragile but better. For a little while this morning I actually felt normal. Neat huh?? Anyway, I'm still quite braindead so here is a meme. Enjoy & have a happy weekend!

Once again, here is Friday's Feast, the 38th Edition:

Appetizer - Who is the one person you email more often than anyone else?

When I'm at home, it's probably my mum.

Soup - So far, which year of your life has been the most enjoyable?

I think that the past year has been enjoyable. Every year that I spend with Mark gets better and better.

Salad - Name someone with whom you have lost touch but would like to reunite.

I've thought about this before and there isn't anyone I can think of, who I've not been in touch with recently that I couldn't get in touch with.

Main Course - What was the tastiest meal you had this past week?

Wednesday night, for dinner, Mark made linguine with tomato sauce and 6/8 shrimps. They were huge, juicy and gorgeous. Those big shrimps are so sweet. It was delicious.

Dessert - Using the letters in your favorite color, write three words that describe your personality.

I'm not sure that I have a favourite colour but I like pink (P-icky I-nformed N-ice K-ooky).

One thing that made me smile today: It's Friday and soon I will be home with my feet up!!

Thursday, March 03, 2005

well rested

Even though I slept most of yesterday, I still slept well last night. I'm back at work today. Feeling marginally better than I did yesterday. At least today, I can almost focus my eyes and they aren't watering like they were yesterday. Mark seems to be coming down with whatever it is I have though. It's a strange bug.

Other than that, there's not much to report. I've just been plugging away at work all morning. It's not too exciting but there you go. Sometimes, life is boring!

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

sick day

I didn't go to work today. Last night, I didn't sleep much and the headache I had been enduring since Monday afternoon was still pounding like something that pounds a lot. I literally couldn't focus on anything. When I got up (at 4:30 a.m., like we normally do -- sick huh??) I thought, no problem, I'll get up and start my morning and by the time I've finished working out and eating breakfast it'll be fine. In fact, it didn't get fine, it got worse.

The best part of the day I spent in bed, asleep in a lovely aleve-induced coma. Right now, the pounding is down to a dull ache and I've developed a charming sneeze / cough combo that feels like a cold coming on. This can't be possible though because I felt like I had a cold coming on a couple of weeks ago (which never materialized) and that would be mean.

One thing that made me smile today: In between naps, I bumped into "My Life With Morrissey" on cable. The movie was silly and badly made and I loved it, every silly second of it.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

snow, snow, go away

Honestly, I know that we have not had a lot of snow this winter but holy smokes I'm sick of shoveling it. I did it this morning and I suspect that we'll be doing it again tonight when we get home. Fortunately, it's the light fluffy variety so hopefully it won't be here for too long.

Other than the snow, there isn't much going on around here today. Work is busy, we have a tonne of errands that need to get done after work which should be a lot of fun in the snow tonight. Let the good times roll huh??

One thing that made me smile today: Remembering my nana, Evelyn Forbes. She passed away in October 1997 and today is her birthday. When I was a little kid, I always thought it was cool that Captain Kangaroo had a birthday party for her every year. In actual fact, he celebrated birthdays on the first of each month and it was just a coincidence that my grandmother's birthday fell on March 1. I know that everyone thinks that they have the best grandmother in the world but that is simply not true. I know this is not true because I actually did have the best grandmother in the whole darned world and I can think of at least 9 other people who would totally support my boast!!