Lying awake. Leaving tomorrow. Why doesn't anything feel real until it is half-way done....

Preteen Dream Fulfilled

Even though Girlicious opened for them I won't be holding it against the Backstreet Boys. The first hour was a bust however I wasn't expecting much from a group formed by a TV show (anyone remember O-zone?......didn't they have that one nasty song about liquid dreams).

The boys (sans Kevin) put on a good show. They had fun choreography, props and really seemed to have fun. And it gave me a chance to sing along to all the songs I memorized in elementary school. Some things have changed. Howie, who I found fairly repulsive as a 13-year-old, is now the most attractive and least aged of the group. Nick is still Nick. Brian had his adorable son with blond ringlets introduce the band; if he didn't already have spawn I would offer my womb. But A.J. He passed that line from being funky and cool and had more in common with dirty old truckers. What a beard. The tattoos on his less sculpted arms are no longer very cool. It is hard to believe they are all in their very late 20s and early 30s now. At least I've now seen them before they start looking like the Rolling Stones.

PS. We were on the floor level right in front of the DJ/sound section and who was there? Aaron Carter cheering on big brother Nick. He hasn't grown at all since his video on the playground.

Tropic Thunder

How could I miss that Tom Cruise nose? It only took me half the movie to figure out which character he played (ok, I asked Mark). "THAT is Tom Cruise?" The images of him with fat burly hands club-dancing will forever be sloshed around in my nightmares.
With the spoof trailers I started to worry that I would have to mange on some crow and own up to its brilliance but thankfully I do not. It had its moments, some characters were even endearing but it was all just too much. Maybe I'm more of a subtle humour kind of gal.

4 more sleeps and I will be in London. I haven't really mentioned it on here. I guess it doesn't seem like it is actually happening. It has been over a year since I have been in school! I will miss everyone here so much. Two days before I leave I have a ticket to see the Backstreet Boys. Yes, it is a teen dream come true. But my not-so-secret-anymore-secret? I don't love concerts. In fact, I'm not excited. The idea of the lines and crowds and finding the seat and waiting for the concert and getting pushed around....sounds like a hassle. When did I become this old?

How I Spend too Much Free Time

My new obsession is Photoshop. Specifically scrapbooking with the program. While I got into the paper version I often was discouraged from starting a project because of the plethora of supplies I had to take out, the lack of a good printer for details and the expense of the really fun items. Now everything I need is stored on my computer, literally at the tips of my fingers. Layouts can be created and changed in seconds (well created in minutes, changed in seconds). There is all kinds of free stuff online like papers and ribbons, etc. Along with tutorials on how to make my text glow or follow a shape or pretty much anything I could want. Thank you people-who-beat-the-path-first. Here is one of my latest creations from my time in Peru.

The Next Member of the Coast Guard

I like to defend Canada. I can't help it, I like my country.

A friend posted a keen observation here that China has more silvers than we do medals. Total.



Here is my response. I did all these painful calculations so I thought it was only right to reuse my work.



"ok, but sometimes i like to break it down by population and do it as a proportion of medals to population. we have 13 medals to 30 million people. China? 85 medals to 1.3 billion. We have one medal per 2 307 692 people. They have one medal for every 15,294,117 people. Wow, we are so much more accomplished, PER CAPITA! You know what, i'm putting this on my blog. haha, i'm a dork; admittedly."

I even left in the juicy details.

Things I would have taken pictures of

Yesterday Mark, Andrea, Sean and I went out to Sean's camp for some relaxing. Forgetting my camera I was forced to take mental snap shots.

1. The clear plastic cup that imprisoned the doomed worms Sean and I found under rocks and rotting logs. Also found: ant colonies furiously guarding their eggs, a teeny newt, a similar sized salamander, a giant black beetle and so many more curiosities.

2. The rock bass I caught the moment the hook hit the water. The two other fish I caught, even if they all had to be thrown back (hey, I was fishing off a dock in shallow water!). The two fish Andrea caught.

3. The view over the lake from the jagged white bluffs.

4. An amazing sunset in pinks with blue-gray clouds. So what if it is cliche? It also had a docks in it.

5. Sean dropping his ice cream in the parking lot, right off the cone. Oh, and then subsequently picked out the rocks and ate it. Waste not, want not.

Lace is the new Polyester

"Sex is no longer cool. What's cool now? Status. Narcissism. Rich is the new porn."
-The Last Pyschiatrist Blog

Not saying I agree, I haven't processed it yet. Nor do I follow culture to know what it up and coming.

Crazy Cat Lady

Right now I'm just watching other people's cats, often. These latest two are a fun pair: one slightly crotchety and overweight black and brown cat and one brand-spanking-new cream coloured one with brown ears and tail. The little one likes to sneak up on the big one and wave her arms in her face. Here are some cute pictures including one of Nissa (nee-sa) in her favourite hang-out.

Books on the Brain

The other day I had a refreshing conversation with a fellow bibliophile, let's call her Beth because that is her name. I would love to say that it brought me back to thoughts (fantasies? ) about books however I was already there.

What I am reading now:

Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
-This is almost complete after weeks and weeks of reading faithfully over my lunch hours. This isn't the kind of book I could ever recommend to anyone because I have enjoyed reading it but to be honest: it is really long and tedious! Why should I hate it? Humour is mostly related to quotes from old Russian writers that I have never heard of, it is almost 1000 pages with itty-bitty writing, it was written in the 1800s and translated from Russian (I'm using this for the reason that absolutely everyone is ridiculously over-dramatic, the women are 'hysterical', everyone makes eyelid-drooping speeches.....) Why do I like it? No idea. But I will feel soooo good when I finish these last 90 pages.

Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of its Moods by Michael Wex
-Mostly this is much more linguistic based than it is funny. Looks funny, isn't really. If you like how languages evolve then this book might just be for you. Kvetch is Yiddish for "to complain" which is basically what the language seems to have evolved around, at least according to Wex.

Vandal Love by D.Y. Bechard
-Canadian lit I could actually not wait to open. So far I'm only a few chapters in but it has already surprised me quite a bit. The description focuses on the Herve family that alternately births runts and giants. I wasn't really expecting boxing to come into it, but hey, I'm open. I'm still excited but have no idea what to expect.

I have never really looked good in hats

This past weekend my mother and I passed a significant portion of our lives in the van, with my stuff. Thanks to my uncle Frank who decided to come with us to London (with his two kids as well) we unloaded everything much more quickly than my mother and i could have done. Oh, and he put my desk together. It looked easy but it was not. I would have just remained deskless. The verdict is...not in yet. Although the house is quite large, 5 floors total (tall, skinny townhouse) it is so far sparsely furnished. Cons: old furniture, very white, somewhat depressing. Pros: nice big kitchen, dining area is cool and overlooks living room, someone brought a super nintendo.

It also appears that i may be living with people who are vastly beyond me in coolness level. While we didn't meet yet there was a piano in the entrance beside the long board (skate board that is long) and down the stairs from the guitar and keyboard. Musical and sporty. Those are my two....weaknesses? Inadequacies? things that make people cool that I don't have....
Plus i'm at least 3 years older than two of them. So I'm old. They are younger than my little sis. I realize this doesn't actually matter but I do feel old (helped along by the fact that I already have a degree and took a year off to travel/work).

I am excited for all the classes I will take and the great volunteer placement I have already secured (key for applying to grad school in speech pathology). It is working with a group of children on Saturdays to do therapies assigned by their SLPs and teachers during the week.....I believe. Or something along those lines. Woot! But sad. I love it here, I belong here, I will miss Mark terribly. Why do I need more school?

Starting Over

For over 10 years I have held on to the same debit card but it died this weekend. It is like that record-breaking pet hamster that doubles the typical hamster 3 years, or more. I wish I had documented it's use, maybe it was worthy of the guinness book of world records. If I am to top this with another card I will be about 35! I can't even think that far. *fingers crossed I'm done school by then*

A hirsuit Dennis the Menace

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That first line of blogging is courtesy of the furball I am keeping company over the week. Little Rizzo, gray with black stripes and white paws is a big ball of mischief. From the moment I enter the house until I go to bed and shut him out he constantly needs to be at my side. The other cat, Gonzo, has barely taken the time to say hello but has glared at me from afar twice. It isn't that I irresponsibly ignore my charge either. We play, bond over a spring-loaded red pompom with a bell and he purrs while I offer my hands to rub himself against. This is my first experience of having a real pet, meaning a pet that requires care and/or has free range of the house. Previously my family has housed fish and a crab. That is it, neither really enjoyed interacting with me.

I don't mind i suppose. The unlimited affection is nice, he is pretty cute as he naps beside the mouse with his extra claws that catch on everything sticking up. Really though, I can't sit to eat because then he has his face in the food. No playing on the computer without my toes being nipped or someone trying to catch the mouse (well the vitual manifestation as the cursor). Ideally I would have a cat just slightly less interested in me than Rizzo is and maybe not a dog after all. They are much less work and easier to leave for an entire day (due mostly to the indoor waste excretion). Maybe a cat it would be. They make nice companions, tonight I'll try telling him all of my secrets and troubles.

This Entry Needs a Photo

A photo with all 10 of us awkwardly arranged around the table would have perfectly captured three hours last evening. The big meeting, referred to as a "Meet-the-Fockers-party" by a woman at work, was held last night with better-than-predicted results. That is right folks, my parents and Mark's parents met and nothing collided nor crickets chirped. On the whole it was a pleasant evening. Even my 16-year-old brother stuck around for most of the chatting; the brother that repeatedly asked me if he had to eat with us and then if he was required to stay after he finished (which he was not).

They brought oven mitts as a gift. My dad cooked heaps of meat and roasty veggies. We looked at pictures of Mark and I (by their request, it was not forced). His mom said awkwardly nice things (I'm not good with the outright in font of everyone compliments.....uncomfortable), which can't really be complained about but I will anyway. All of our brainstorming of potential topics of conversation or areas of similarity were was unnecessary.