Day Two Hundred and Fourteen - Hockey Night In Canada

Everyone knows that I'm the worst Canadian ever right? I think that's been pretty well-established. Well, the previously unmentioned NUMBER ONE reason why I'm a terrible Canadian is...I've never watched a hockey game. Ever. Sure, when I was a kid and too young to get into any real trouble growing up we would go to the Barons hockey games because there was nothing else to do and also there would be public school boys there. However, we would make a point of sitting in this little obstructed view area and paying more attention to our french fries and the boys and being secretly jealous [okay, not so secretly] of the public school girls who always seemed more fashionable and older [in a good way]. I can honestly say that I didn't absorb any of the game.

And so it goes. I developed an interest in many other spectator sports [not just baseball, but these days I do like to focus] - NFL, college basketball, college football, NBA, tennis [yes, tennis], soccer/football...yup, yup. Then it kinda became a "thing" - that I hate hockey. That I've never seen a hockey game. And I embraced that. But, no more. For tonight I watched a hockey game. On a Saturday night, even [as an aside when I was growing up I thought that Saturday *was* Hockey Night in Canada - like, that was the name of Saturday and the only time hockey existed on TV]. While eating dinner. What I found was - I have no clue where the puck is. And - I know that statement is oft repeated for people unitiated to hockey. It doesn't make it less true. I couldn't even eat my dinner - not because I was so engrossed - but because I just couldn't follow. The commentators are spectactularly unhelpful [should have watched on NBC I guess - I feel they would have dumbed it down]. It was okay, though. I don't think I will be watching again though. It's like...the anti-baseball.

Day Two Hundred and Thirteen - John Dark

Sex & The City has a very powerful affect over me. I mean, I've never really watched the show - and I think that's the power. I've been @ many uncomfortable lunches in my life, but one of the most uncomfortable happened nearly a year ago with my fellow co-workers, who I would normally be reasonably comfortable with. The conversation turned to Sex & The City and lingered there for almost the entire lunch, with everyone talking about it with such a fervent passion - like how I talk about things that I like [only I usually censor myself in public/when I'm not speaking with Joseph - because I know that no one is really that interested]. I felt very isolated, obviously. And, with the premiere this weekend it's got 90% of the female population all whipped up in a lather of shoes, shopping and sex [? I don't even know if the show/film is all that sexy] and here I sit trying to find out what is so damn relatable about it all as I think it represents some pretty awful things about women - I would not be so eager to embrace.

Which leads me to today's thing and someone who I have recently become more solidly interested in - Joan of Arc. I think this might have started with a Jeopardy question about a month ago - but I started reading all about her and finding her to be a pretty fine example of a strong woman. Even the intense religious conviction - I might not be on board with it, but it's admirable. Today is Joan of Arc Feast Day and since I apparently went to a crummy Catholic school I don't really know what one does for a saint's feast day. So I read Joan of Arc's original letters and trial transcripts. What a super fun Friday night - heh. No one parties quite like me. She actually didn't write her letters and probably didn't really know how to write. Also, she was actually convicted of crossdressing [not heresy] - which I guess really pissed people off back then. I did a monologue from Shaw's Joan of Arc play when I was a drama princess - but now that I have done my research I think playing her as a crazy Ophelia type was way off. And even though I keep reading that she was not a feminist - yes, yes you are Joan. Even if you think that some women should be @ home with their family - that doesn't mean you're not a feminist. Some women probably should be [some men, too].

And some women don't have to like Sex & The City either.

Day Two Hundred and Twelve - Peggy Hill

I love Jeopardy. I watch it pretty much every single day. I'm reasonably good @ it except that Final Jeopardy is frequently not the happiest time of the day for me [I get it maybe once every 8-10 programs]. Anyway, the other day they had a category called "Words in Alex Trebek" - these clues were all words that could be made with the letters in Alex Trebek's name. I thought it might be an interesting mental exercise to try this for myself - as I am beyond awful @ jumbles, Boggle, etc. [as previously mentioned] - and I enjoy a good mental workout. Okay, I'm lying...I don't - but I'm trying to get more into puzzles and stuff to keep my mind sharp as I'm scared of going really senile really early.

So this evening I set my imaginary Boggle timer to 30 minutes and I attempted to make as many words as possible from my first and last names. I didn't come up with all that many words...and spent much of my time lamenting the lack of i and r in my name. I would love to be able to make a clever anagram from my name, but sadly I'm not that clever. If anyone else wants to try - go right ahead. Here are all of my words - I didn't use multiples [like adding s to things, even though since I do have an s in my name I could. if this were serious Boggle of course I would] and I went sparingly on the proper names/slang.

sub, she, he, helm, hey, eel, by, bye, be, ban, been, yes, yam, yak, keel, Yemen, nuke, nan, hue, Hun, man, men, musk, lamb, me, meek, able, abs, am, an, as, aye, ask, amble, kneel, human, bale, hay, Yule, beak, has, keel

As you can see - not really too many interesting words. Personal favourites include: eel, yak, amble, bale [as in Christian] and anything pirate-y. As an interesting aside I can spell the last name of one of my ex-boyfriends using this system - try to guess which one, I think you'll have fun.

Day Two Hundred and Eleven - I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For...

After watching DOOL on tape the other day the TV was clicked on to the Food Network with the vile Rachel Ray doing her Rachel Ray thing. I think she was making some sorta ice cream float [because she's too cool for baking as she points out roughly every four minutes], but she was once more talking about her days as a fountain girl. This seems very old fashioned to me so I can only assume that Rachel Ray is a million years old and has some sort of evil pact going that allows her to continue to look young [and to continue to have like 87 TV programs, all of which suck]. Anyway, she mentioned something about egg creams. I had heard about egg creams, but naturally thought that they must be some sort of drinkable that involved egg [ew] and cream [ew]. My curiousity peaked, I turned to faithful Wikipedia to discover that an egg cream contains neither egg nor cream.

I still think it's probably an acquired taste. I acquired the ingredients after work today and then later on tonight I made and drank an egg cream. For the uninitiated an egg cream is a drink served in a tall, preferrably chilled glass. It is built with one inch of chocolate syrup, one inch of milk and then the rest is seltzer. Stir it up and enjoy. Errrr - that should be - *try* to enjoy. Because it's so very gross. For one, I don't enjoy ice cream floats @ all - much to my father's chagrin. And now that I've tried an egg cream I think I know why - because fizzy dairy products just shouldn't be. Very unpleasant on the senses and makes me think that something has gone horribly off.

[I just realized that I haven't mentioned MilkPop. MilkPop seems like it would have been a lot like the egg cream. It seems that my friends Seth and company were even more hip to urban flare than previously thought while growing up in small-town Ontario. I have just recieved an update that MilkPop was never successfully created. Concept is everything though.]

I only managed to down about half of the egg cream before turning back to pomegranate tea. However, the notion of egg creams being very New York made me think - what food can Toronto lay claim to? I think of many foods for NYC, Philadelphia has its cheesesteak, Montreal its poutine, Cincinnati its chili with cheddar, Seattle its coffee, Brussels its mussels [okay, and I guess its sprouts], London its fish and chips and even Denver has its omelette. I'm sure there are more cities out there with famous foods [and please tell me what they are if you know], but since Canadian cuisine is kinda...not entirely existent...and Toronto is a total immigrant city - we got nothing. What should Toronto's unofficial official food be? Suggestions please!

I actually have photos of the ill-fated egg cream[eeeee!], but I have to install the software on my femputer and stuff and I'm lazy. Watch this space though. I might become magically un-lazy.

Day Two Hundred and Ten - Ballet Is For Sissies

Today I had my first shift @ the shoe museum since early in April. It felt like much longer than that though. A new exhibition has moved on in during my absence - and it's all about ballet. Specifically ballet slippers [as one might suspect as it is the shoe museum, not the tutu museum - I'm not so sure that I would volunteer there]. We had a group of people come in from Iceland and after they had toured around a little bit they returned to the front desk with a question - did we have Baryshnikov's slippers? Huh. I did not know. My photographic memory allowed me to recall seeing something about this in the museum's quarterly newsletter and I was proven correct [yay brain! thanks for storing all that useless information!].

However, I don't like feeling stupid, even if it's just for a few moments. I decided that I should probably overcome my ballet prejuidice in yet another meaningful manner so I took a self-guided tour of On Pointe: The Rise of the Ballet Shoe. It was actually kinda interesting...I mean, I'm still no ballet fan, but I like learning how things are made and learning history generally. Here are some new things I learned about ballet:
- ballet slippers are not sold in pairs - they are called "straights" as there are no left/right slippers - they have straight sides
- ballet dancing was originally done in high heels [ouch]
- male ballet dancers dont wear the pointe slipper
- ballet dancers customize their slippers by "breaking" [literally busting them up, not breaking them in] them in some fashion
- ballet slippers might be worn out in just one performance [or sometimes more than one pair per performance]
- after they were initially introduced ballet slippers became incredibly fashionable/popular - just like today

To learn more about the exhibition, please visit The Bata Shoe Museum - either online or in person.

Day Two Hundred and Nine - I Even Love It When You're Faking It

I must thank fellow thing-a-dayer Colette [www.colette2008.blogspot.com - it won't link the other way] for this idea. She seems to do the most suitable stuff for me to copy [or imitate - it's the highest form of flattery] on days that are...just not my kind of day [such as today].

When I was @ U of T I took Psych 100 as I needed to take one science course to graduate. Unfortunately, psychology @ U of T is incredibly difficult and no one bothered to tell me this. Psychology was...interesting: sometimes this resulted in an epic nosebleed during an exam, sometimes this involved me drawing dinosaurs on an exam paper, sometimes this resulted in tarot card reading or Salinger reading on the upper deck, sometimes this involved me skipping an entire semester of class, sometimes this involved me getting hysterical and needing to be slapped [and getting slapped and rightly so], sometimes this resulted in me getting hideously and illegally drunk for the last time [oh, the memories...oh, wait...], sometimes this resulted in 90210 and sometimes this involved me consenting to allow others to experiment. On my brain. By letting psychology grad students experiment with me, I was allowed to raise my grade. Yay. It was way easier than actually going to class, learning and studying Gleitman.

I only mention this because my thing for today reminded me of the one psych test I took as a result of me being an exceptionally high-ranking narcissist [I know - try to contain your surprise]. Today I took an online psychology test about distinguishing fake/real smiles. I guess it's not specifically a psych test, but it really seems like something they might make you do. I'm officially terrible @ this as I got 13/20 [and I predicted I was going to do awesome]. I think it's because I'm very cynical and paranoid and I think that everyone is faking it. I was going to try to take pictures of myself smiling naturally and forcing a smile, but I didn't know how to make that happen.

Here's the link for the test. Let me know if you are better @ this than I am. And yes, now that I visit the site again I see that it *is* a psych test...so I am not going crazy.

Day Two Hundred and Eight - Squash It!

Okay, so after seeing the Indiana Jones debacle/film I was not riled up @ all. It was quite late when the film finished so we just went straight home. Instead of talking about the film on the walk home or on the subway or AT ALL we didn't talk about the film. Then, on our way to the grocery store we finally did. It all just blew up. I know this is beyond silly, but I was scared that if we spoke about the horrors we had witnessed that it would be more true and Indy would suck all over again. And yet, talking about it made it okay. It was reassuring to know that I wasn't crazy...okay, I'm a little crazy for putting too much stock in some silly film that never should have been resurrected.

I came home and went on IMDB and read some reviews that I should have read on Saturday afternoon and ultimately visted the Rotten Tomatoes website. Only to be shocked, dismayed and appalled @ the way too high rating. Granted, most of the official reviews were generally average to positive, but I was incensed by the 79% rating. So incensed that I went to a great deal of bother and I registered myself with Rotten Tomatoes and reviewed/rated a film. I ended up getting another blog type thing, which I didn't want, but I had to do it or I wasn't allowed to squish my rotten tomato. It was totally worth it to see my name and squished tomato up on the site. I'm the new Ebert, ya'll!

Day Two Hundred and Seven - It's Not The Years, It's The Mileage

I suppose I should issue a warning and say right now that if you haven't seen the latest Indiana Jones film and you don't like being spoiler-ed then you should probably stop reading right now. Also, if you are a fanboy/girl you should also stop reading. Because I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and I am fully prepared to blog all about it. And it's not going to be pretty.

Let's just say this - I am so rarely filled with girlish [or womanly] glee - but as I sat in that darkened cinema I really and truly was - very much so. However, less than a third of the way into the film I wished more than anything that I had never gone to see it in the first place. I'm not saying that this installment killed my childhood or my love for the previous films, because I'm not quite that melodramatic. But, I know Indiana Jones, I love Indiana Jones...and that, friends, is no Indiana Jones. Generally I'm not so guarded against spoilers [and sometimes I actively seek them out if they are movies/programs I'm not otherwise interested in], but this time I protected myself against spoilers, plot points, even still photos. That was a big mistake. Had I known that this would be Indiana Jones vs the Space Invaders of Galgamek-5...well, let's just say that my butt would not have been in the seat. The acting performances were all fine [yes, even Shia] although most characters weren't given much @ all to do. Everything else was terrible [okay, I liked the ants because it reminds me of that MacGuyver episode that everyone has seen and I like stuff like that generally]. The dialogue [show me, don't tell me!], the directing, the editing, the plot [ummm - what plot? there be no plot here], the McGuffin [that wasn't]...all crap. Just say no, kids [it's solid advice].

Another thing of note is that it's pretty darn extraordinary of me to go to a "big box cinema" type place. The first time I went to this cinema the whole experience was so bewildering and it still kinda is with all of the lights and music and unnecessary-ness of everything. However, it's not quite summer until I go to that cinema [the only films I see there are summer blockbusters]. This time it was incredibly sticky [even for a theatre - I went out for candy and I could barely move my feet] and smelled incredibly rank [everyone was commenting on that as they entered the theatre]. Say what you will about the vermin-infested Bloor - it never smells that bad! Though, in hindsight I think that was just a sensory commentary on the film I was about to see...

Day Two Hundred and Six - Let Them Eat Cake

In my old job I ended up being quite well known for my culinary skills [such as they are - ha]. I cooked entire meals for our United Way campaigns and also did baked goods. Those I worked with could very well excpect tasty baked treats [such as they are from me - they can be a bit hit and miss - I'm way more of a cook than a baker] if it was their birthday or maybe some other special day. I baked my first apple pie [with homemade pastry no less!] for those people, dammit! And honestly, I know it was appreciated.

I'm having a bit of a hard time fitting in @ my new job - possibly because I work with a very small group of people and they are all Management/Director-level type people and I'm a lowly worker bee. Also, since I'm only there three days per week, there is a disconnect that happens on both a professional and a personal level. I figure that everyone loves tasty baked goods and since I've been baking a lot more today I brought in homemade baked goods to the office for no reason @ all. I make this banana and chocolate cake a lot - usually once every week and a half or whenever I can get my hands on some bananas that are turning bad. I think I know the recipe off by heart, which...for a non-baker like me - that's really something. The cake went over really well - with one person coming back for seconds. But really - who doesn't love cake on Friday?

Day Two Hundred and Five - Hans and Franz

For our anniversary two years ago I bought Joseph a complete set of weights [yes, it even included the highly prized broken benchpressing bar]. I guess this might be taken as an insult by some overly sensitive people, but I thought that he really wanted them as the weights he used to use when we first met got shipped back to Belgium and Joseph is totally not a gym guy. So, caring less for vanity and more for his health, I thought it was a nice gift. Unfortunately, Joseph has used the weights all of...never times. I think I have moved them more often in tidying up the house or when we moved last summer - it is hard to find storage for heavy, lumpy things.

I used to be kinda a gym person - for a little while anyway. When we lived in a big highrise we had a free gym/community centre thing located in one of the buildings in our complex. Even though the whole area is supposed to be pretty sketchy and I had friends who refused to come visit me - I thought the gym thing was so convenient and I went everyday to do the weight machines, ab machines and to use the stationary bicycles. My gym now is too far away and therefore highly unsuitable. And, until I get WiiFit, I need to find a way to be a bit more active...or just slightly less pathetic. So this evening in an effort to boost my awesome upper body strength I lifted free weights. As mentioned I'm used to using the weight machine as they kinda help you with your form so you dont hideously injure yourself [and I can do that easily enough]. The people lifting free weights always seem to know more about what they are doing and they study themselves in the mirror. I hate anything that requires to look in a mirror. I had Joseph watch to see if I was doing things right as I did three different types of arm/weight exercises/lifting. I could feel the burn. I seriously have no upper body strength. I couldn't even do half of a pull-up if the lives of a basket of kittens depended upon it.

The good news is that I have found to be what seems to be a neat-o women's boxing club in Toronto. I can go and try it out, take a class...and there is no need for me to get in the ring. I do have a real problem with being punched in the face.

Day Two Hundred and Four - Thank You Al Gore

As we all know, the internets is a series of tubes invented by Al Gore [who always invented global warming - that one is less awesome] that is occasionally clogged up. In my life, this happens a lot - the clogging. I'm not very adventurous on the internet - I mean, I have my little blog here and I like to read certain message boards [and very very rarely post something] and I like my hot celeb gossip and my baseball scores and to do various types of research. I rarely even use YouTube and I've never downloaded music or movies or really anything.

Joseph and I are also creatures of habit. We never miss an episode of The Daily Show or The Colbert Report, but we tend to watch these shows while eating dinner [watching the previous night's show]. I love my VCR and I will never part with it, even though I think I might be the only person alive who still tapes things the old fashioned way. Well, our Thursday night episodes got sacrificed to the god of the Mummy marathon so tonight I watched The Daily Show/The Colbert Report online. It was okay, but somehow less tangible than the normal big screen show [my laptop wouldnt show it full screen because it's bitchy like that]. I like fast forwarding...although no adverts was really cool. I'm happy that our Comedy Network has decided to follow suit with their American counterpart and put these shows up in a really accessbile way [along with lots of other shows]. I think I just have to give up my prejudices - I spend *so* much time staring @ this screen, but I am still very uncomfortable with watching things, rather than just reading them.

Day Two Hundred and Three - Corporate Kitty

In my previous job I organized a lot of meetings. I never went to any of these meetings or really was too bothered about what went on there. The one time when I attended a meeting with clients it was pretty horrific - like a cross between Wall Street [the film] and a Tennessee Williams play. So I didn't have much interest in attending any further meetings after that. However, if I was chatting on MSN with someone [usually this happens while I'm experiencing one of my bouts of unemployment] and they say "I have to go into a meeting" I'm immediately struck down with jealousy. For some raisin.

We also had many board meetings @ my old job. They were always a big scary deal and even though I had less than zero to do with them we always had to wear extra nice suits on these days. Well, after many years of being on the outside and not caring too much about looking in, tonight I attended a board meeting. I felt that my cashmere sweater and purple nail polish would be in order. I didn't eat anything or drink anything and mostly just sat there being quiet. I did have to speak to the board, which was fine. After three years in executive search the whole "stuffy board member" [paranthesis to indicate that this is not always true] is what I know and I'm very comfortable in that setting. And yeah, I can't share much more than that - just pleased to be invited [and then I came home and ate a tin of Zoodles - just like all important people].

Day Two Hundred and Two - Death Is Just The Beginning

I have long wanted to do this ET and since today is a holiday Monday [yes, a week ahead of Memorial Day which unfortunately we Canucks do not get off] it was the perfect opportunity. Also, a special assist from the Space network [the Sci-Fi network in the USA] really made this happen. Today I held a movie marathon. The movies of choice? The Mummy not-so-triology [because the official third film is coming out this summer, however it looks like unwatchable ass so I won't be seeing it] of: The Mummy, The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King. Yes, starring The Rock. We started watching it around 2pm and after the second film took a break to watch Rome and eat dinner then watched the third film before bed. Oh yum, a whole day off to spend watching crummy popcorn flicks.

The truth is, I do enjoy these films. I know, I know - I'm supposed to not like them as they are well...kinda mostly entirely rubbish. But, Brenden Fraser is entirely endearing in the first two and there is something inherently likeable about The Rock. His name is Duane. Rachel Weisz and the faux-Egyptian chick are all kinds of hot and kick all kinds of ass [including that epic chick fight]. And lots of fun Egyptian stuff that is kinda mostly entirely inaccurate [and yes, I speak from my vast knowledge of like three Near and Middle Eastern Civilization courses]. So I can overlook the annoying precocious child and the crummy CG on the Scorpion King [yes, right on him] and the hacky dialogue...for the sake of fun-ness.

Day Two Hundred and One - The City Of Brotherly Crunch

I love Stephen Colbert. I think that his show is consistently the best thing on late night TV [and I watch a lot of late night TV]. It's incredibly well-written and he is the quickest of the quick. Love it. When he was running for President the coverage of this was presented by Doritos. I have such a love/hate thing with Doritos. During high school for two years straight I lived on Doritos + ice cream sandwich + full-fat Coke for lunch. Healthful. But, let's face it - Doritos are pretty gross. And yet, whenever I see Stephen eating them or talking about them, I want them. And because I have no willpower, I eat them.

Today @ the grocery store I was shopping alone and found some treats for Joseph and then thought I should treat myself. On an end cap was a promotional display for a new flavour of Doritos and naturally, I couldn't resist. I managed to wait until I got home to dig in and I tried the new Doritos Collisions - a mix of spicy hot wings and blue cheese. I love that I can eat meat flavoured things [bacon + sour cream are one of my absolute favourite chip flavours]...especially in chip form. However, this was so not good...and I am a big Doritos apologist. The spicyness was too strong [not too spicy, just too much] and the blue cheese was not strong enough. Truthfully, they tasted pretty vile on their own so I decided to start eating them together - like two or more chips @ a time - kinda to speed the process...that was also...not highly recommended.

Yes, I know eating Doritos is pretty lame ET. However, I spent lots of money [that I don't have] on a digital camera yesterday. Deal with it.

Day Two Hundred - Game Show Winner

It's not often in my life that I pursue the materialistic. And yet, my house is filled with crap. I have closets [and chests of drawers] filled with clothes and shoes and everything else, I have a half dozen bookshelves filled with books, hundreds of CDs [yes, I still buy CDs - shut up], there are currently four computers here and lots of unused furniture even [lamps, TV, a brand new mattress, a slightly broken VCR, computer desk, phones, etc.]. Truthfully, I don't enjoy shopping at all - it's not something I would willingly do or make sport of like most other women [okay, except for grocery shopping]. By nature I am cheap with money and I accept the limitations of having a small living space so much that I do dread bringing new things into it...so most times I don't. I just hold on to what I've got for years and years and sometimes even longer than a decade.

Every so often though I become entirely convinced that I need something new. I do convince myself that it's a "need" and then Joseph becomes convinced of this so then we research and search and then buy that one missing element in our lives. A recently identified "necessary" item was sought out today after much careful consideration and today I am the proud owner of a digital camera. Right now I can't remember why this item was so necessary. It had a bit of something to do with this project and my desire to keep on a-bloggin' after the year is up [haven't decided on format yet]. Also, the desire to share photos easily online with family I guess...though Joseph and I are hardly cute or worldly enough for that to be even vaguely interesting. But yes, digital camera acquired - and with that I make the leap into the twenty-first century. And no, there won't be a photo with this entry as I'm totally into being ironic.

However, I did feel a bit like a game show winner [old fashioned game shows where they had a showcase of prizes that just might have included a camera and a fridge, not new game shows where you are given vast sums of money just for not being a total moron or picking a suitcase or some rubbish] today as we also got a new fridge. Brand spanking new. Although not my first-ever new fridge, this is also exciting. Can't get enough of that new fridge smell. I should probably take a picture of it.

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Nine - Office Yoda

My recent attempts to get back into yoga have been anything but successful. The class times @ the gym are sucky and I don't like the instructor. I haven't tried my @ home yoga since we moved [which yes, was a long time ago] and I don't own Wii Fit yet, though I'm very interested in the whole competitive yoga thing. We have a very overzealous health and safety committee @ work...or rather, we actually *have* a health and safety committee [my old job did not. they didn't have HR either.]. We get internal e-newsletters I think every month and this month it included some exciting new exercises so this afternoon I took advantage of being all alone in my office and I did desk yoga.

The good news is that I did not manage to hurt myself. I seem to hurt myself doing just about everything these days. Honestly, it is a lot easier to relax @ this job than my old one. There is no constant screaming, which helps, and most days the person I share an office with is fine with me not putting on the fluorescent lights. So yoga is maybe not as necessary. I did three different exercises - all of which required me to remain seated. Good times. Good, lazy times. My favourite one was something like the corpse pose in regular yoga - but done in a chair. So, basically just sit in your chair and then pretend you've been shot or something - just slump on down, let your head go and relax...Feel the burn!

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Eight - Word Up

It is very rare that I ever hold a newspaper in my hands. It is this excuse that has allowed me to dodge the whole issue of crossword puzzles well into my twenties [thank you internets for online papers]. See, like Scrabble - crossword puzzles seem like the type of things that I would be good @...rather that I *should* be good @ - and yet - I somehow doubt this. I struggle greatly with puzzles of any kind or little games like Boggle [Peggy Hill would not be impressed] or the Jumble. I think if I were to attempt Sudoku, my brain would explode in a fit of impatient fury pushed too far.

When I did have a longer subway ride back in days of yore, I did pick up the crappy free Metro [this provided much fodder for my many rants against the crappy free Metro and especially their one entertainment "journalist"] and I would attempt their crappy free crossword puzzle. I never once finished it. Even though - the New York Times crossword puzzle this ain't. Well, it's still not the New York Times [you think you're better than us?!?] but today I completed my first crossword puzzle! The reason I played it was because this puzzle got a shout out on ONTD the hot celeb gossip site I like the most [ONTD was an answer!] so I thought I would give it a shot. Many of the clues were hot celeb gossip related. Plus, you could really easily search for hints. I tried to resist doing this, but after letting it sit for a couple of hours and still racking my brain and coming up empty I got kinda antsy and desparate. And yes, I'm fully aware that all newspapers have their puzzles online these days so I really have no excuse for not increasing my word power.

[yeah, no updates. lack of internet for a couple of days. but mostly extreme sloth-itude on my part. i enjoy how the counter seems to go up when i don't post. i guess that tells me all i need to know about my writing skills - you prefer me silent. well. i'm not dead yet.]

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Seven - Shameless Self-Promotion

For anyone who got an email from me today, I'm sorry - but this post is just a big olde repeat. However, it does give you another chance to participate. Here we go: on June 8th I will be participating in the 4th Annual Walk Now For Autism, in support of Autism Speaks. The money raised from this event will provide vital funds for autism research and also be used to raise awareness about the increasing prevalence of this complex disorder. I registered the other day, but my donation box was sitting empty as I had not done any self-promotion. So tonight I solicited friends and family via email to pledge me in the Walk For Autism. And, as an extra bonus - I'm going to shamelessly do the same right here, right now.

In this modern age, donating couldn't be easier - below is a link to my my page on the walk website and donations can be made securely by clicking on 'make a donation online' and following the directions. I have been told that donations can be made from Canada, the US of A and Europe. Autism Speaks Canada is a registered charity and all donations $20 and over will be provided with a tax receipt within 6 weeks of the walk. The website can be a little slow, so please be patient. Here's the link to my personal fundraising page. So please, click to donate or click to check out how I'm doing. By participating in the walk it means that I will be waking up early on a Sunday morning and engaging in physical activity. Outdoors! With no videogame controller attached! Certainly, that alone is a valid reason to lend your support.

While Autism Speaks is not the autism organization that I work for [that would be this website - please check it out to see what we are up to]. However, they do worthwhile work that is a bit different from what Geneva Centre does. And, as always - please feel free to pass this information along as so many people know someone who has been affected by autism.

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Six - Say It Frenchie!

Our unseasonably cold May weather [well, it feels that way to me, but maybe this is normal? seasons be all jacked up lately] has led me to once more turn my attention to my slow cooker and to soup. Including today's soup there were four soups that I wish to try to make for myself - chowder, gazpacho, mulligatawny and vichyssoise [okay and maybe a vegetarian French onion]. Today I made chowder. To be specific, it was a corn chowder and vegetarian in nature. It was...not great. It did not thicken properly, I think because I wussed out and tried to make it slightly lower in fat by using table cream in place of whipping cream. Not really to reduce calories, but I find things that are too much like a crock of rich creamery butter to be a bit sickening. I am getting too bold I think in experimenting in cooking.

As mentioned, I used my slow cooker. I love my slow cooker as it means I can do all the dishes before dinner is even served. In addition to corn the chowder was prepared with red-skinned potatoes, orange bell pepper [supposed to be red, but all the red ones looked gross in the shop] and red onions. I went heavy on the seasoning - to counteract the cream - kinda TexMex style with lots of pepper too [I love pepper - I know that's boring]. Then vegetable stock...then lots of waiting...then the cream mixture that was supposed to stiffen things up [and didn't]. The bowls of chowder were festively topped with cheddar and freshly snipped chives. The flavour was actually not bad, but texture all wrong and not like chow-da at all. Boo!

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Five - There Once Was A Man From Nantucket

Today is Limerick Day - not sure what countries it applies to, but one suspects that it orignates in Ireland? I actually didn't do my usual internet research on this one, instead relying upon the stupid morning radio show I listen to, despite hating it a lot. They were making up a lot of limericks - some baudy, some not and some about celebrities. I was going to try to make some up about my favourite celebs, but I'm saving that for a day in the future when I compose haikus about famous people. But still, I think you can plainly see where I am going with this as today I celebrated Limerick Day by reading and writing limericks.

Yes, I finally looked up the original "man from Nantucket" limerick and also one of the dirrty versions. It's quite filthy, while the original is quite clever. People say that limericks are funny, but this obviously is not true. I mean, they aren't funny-funny, more clever-funny like when people say that Shakespeare is funny or maybe Noel Coward. For me...well, earlier today I almost peed myself while looking @ a tattoo of a dolphin in an easy chair using a bong...so...I think you can see where my sense of humour stems from. Still, it was fun reading a bunch of limericks and as a literature graduate [sure, trying to work this in more and more - get some buzz going] I really can appreciate them [colour me impressed, I really was]. And while the format is deceptively simple, they were harder than I thought to write. I'm only going to share one [and you have to know about lolrus to really get it, thus limiting its broad appeal], but I highly suspect that with a bit of booze and some clever friends writing them would quickly become high-sterical.

There once was a girl from Nantucket
Who was pleased with her very fine bucket
But her walrus, named for her Da
Ran away to a spa
And as for the bucket, Pawtucket

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Four - Loosen Up Your Buttons

Okay, so reaching into the far reaching of my ancient history I'm assuming that somewhere along the way I did sew a button. I mean, I was a Brownie and a Girl Guide. However, I tend to treat my clothes very gently, so I don't lose buttons [although I always keep those extra buttons for some reason]. But on the glorious day when I do lose a button or sustain any other type of clothing damage - I throw out the item of clothing. Okay, I know. It's terrible. In my defense I have too much clothing anyway due to me not growing since I was like 12 years old [okay, I'm fatter...but I still do wear clothes that I bought when I was 14 years old].

What I know for sure is that I've never sewn a button on for someone else or used the original button [I seem to recall funky-ing up some tight pants with different buttons while @ university and going through an exceptionally frugal/vintage phase] so tonight I sewed a button on someone else's shirt. Of course this person was Joseph - he is good enough to keep his buttons when they fall off. I used an innovative x-style of sewing [and I still can't thread a needle], which seemed to secure the button moreso than its fellow button brothers, which seem ready to pop off @ any given moment due to shoddy stitching.

Day One Hundred and Ninety Three - QuirkyAlone

Yup, another stolen thing-a-day entry, courtesy of the Chasing 30 blog. Today I'm revealing five quirky things about myself. I know what the word quirky means [I am a literature graduate so obviously that has a lot of good uses], however I was a bit tickled when I saw that one of it's definitions is that a quirk is also a "glitch." So, like something kinda wrong with you. I liked that and it helped to shape my list, rather than it just being a list of interesting/unique things about me. It's more a list of what makes me a weirdo - physically, mentally, etc.

1. I have central heterochromia. This is an eye condition in which there are two different colours in the same iris [as opposed to regular heterochromia where your eyes are two different colours]. In my case my eyes are mainly green with brown in the inner parts of my iris. Strangely enough I just noticed this very recently. I thought that I had hazel eyes. I was wrong. Eyes like mine are sometimes called cat’s eyes. They are in my top three of favourite physical features [on my own person].

2. I love art and find most genres/periods in art history to be very redeemable, except that I loathe most of art done in the Renaissance. Yeah, I know – it’s the frakking Renaissance and it is such because…well, it should be pretty awesome by definition. I just find most of it to be overblown, overdone. It’s all too much. And too popular. Strangely though I was moved to tears when I finally laid eyes upon Michaelangelo’s David.

3. I have a real problem with different types of food touching. I would be happiest if I could eat all of my meals off of a prison-style plastic plate [yknow – with the dividers]. Sandwiches are my main exception. I even struggle to eat pasta with sauce and I will separate the noodles from bits of vegetables in the sauce. I know I’m missing out on some great flavour combinations, but I really can’t stop myself.

4. I have a lot of feelings about numbers and sometimes letters/words. I don’t know much about numerology, so it’s not like that. But I am forever adding up numbers in my head and I can do this very quickly – such as adding up my birthday (1+9+7+8) + (1+0) + (3+1). And then I get a vibe off the number. I love the number five, combinations of five and numbers that have five. I intensely dislike four. I either really love or really hate prime numbers. For me, numbers and letters [sometimes words too] have personalities and I can envision how they look and imagine how they might interact with each other. My very favourite number is 13.

5. I have always enjoyed using aliases. I do this almost entirely without thinking – I will just give out a fake name/fake backstory – usually nothing glamourous or interesting. Unless I have to use my real name, I likely won’t. No, Sydney is not my real name either. I am an international woman of mystery. When we were in high school and used to write real letters [before the internets, kids] my friend Claire and I would always address them to fake names. Some of them were so very usual, but the post always got there. In fact, my mail carrier used to be very amused by this and confessed to my mum that she always looked forward to the letters to see to whom they would be addressed. I don’t really have a good excuse for doing this – other than being a bit schizophrenic – but I guess I figure, why not? It’s really no deeper than that.

Day One Hundred and Ninety-Two - The City Above Toronto

I've lived in Toronto for almost eleven years and while I'm very confident in giving people directions, restaurant suggestions, entertainment suggestions - the works - this is all limited to the vaguely downtown-ish area. At the moment where I live and where I work is the furthest north I've ever been and I think both locations would still be considered downtown. I don't have my license so I don't really get out much. Also, to be honest - there isn't much out there for me. I am shamelessly west-end and spend 90% of my social/shopping down in one area of Toronto. However, today, dragged kicking and screaming I woke up @ 6am for the purpose of leaving my comfortable geography.

Today I spent the day in Markham. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time I have ever been there or even driven through it. It's just as glamourous as I might have imagined. I was there for an all-staff meeting which lasted the entire day. It was very stressful - lots of big group situations where I don't excel and can barely function and really, really lackluster buffet-style food that was all evil carbs that only make me more hungry. On the other hand it is great to work for an organization that does more than just say they value the opinions of their employees on things like strategic planning and such and actually provide the opportunity for people to gather and share ideas [rather than a company that says they want these things, but you instead work 80 hours a week and don't get invited to any meaningful meetings]. That being said, I'm fully exhausted and need a nap before BSG. I don't think any of this has anything to do with Markham - but it's highly unlikely I will be returning.

Day One Hundred and Ninety-One - Androcles And The Lion

When I was young I had a crush on a boy who was in his school's presentation of that play - Androcles and the Lion. At the moment I can't remember if he was Androcles or the lion, but I do know that I saw it three times over the course of its three-day run. Anyway, Androcles removes a splinter from the lion's paw and the lion spares his life [this is all from memory so I may be wrong - I was apparently too busy crushing]. This relates to today's thing because this afternoon I removed a splinter from my foot. To be more accurate, it wasn't even a splinter - it was a hair of some sort - judging from it's size/shape and using my CSI abilities, it appeared to be either an eyelash or eyebrow hair. Jammed into my right heel.

Truthfully, I had a much more fascinating idea for today [okay, it was only slightly interesting, but 100% less painful]. Then I realized after feeling the stabbing foot pain and investigating its source that I have never had a splinter before and certainly not one in my foot. I didn't even know what it was at first so I busted out the tweezers and some high-intensity lighting and set to work. Removing it was tedious, but not painful, although it still hurts now. I have no idea how such a thing could have happened and I can only hope to avoid it in the future. I really live such a charmed life with my gloved hands and unsplintery feet. I'm just like Scarlett O'Hara I am.

Day One Hundred and Ninety - My Dinner With Sydney

The very first entry in my "ideas for things to do for the year" was to eat dinner in a restaurant alone. Tonight I was given the opportunity for solitude and I ate dinner in a restaurant alone. It was actually...pretty okay. I didn't even bring a book or a newspaper and I managed not to feel so incredibly awkward. The other alone diners I saw were all about their books/newspapers - but come on - that's a total crutch - you are ALONE - suck it up! Enjoy the silence.

I decided to go to my favourite sushi place as it's still casual, but still a restaurant, not a fast food place. I was later than expected to the restaurant, but it was still very un-busy [which never ever happens]. The waitress offered me a seat right up front in the window and - tossing caution to the wind, I accepted. It was just me and some other lonely dude [okay, I'm projecting] sitting up front and centre for all of Bloor Street to gawk at. I used the opportunity to gawk back [it was really storming out so I got to see all sorts of bedraggled looking people which is always amusing]. The actually eating experience was fine, although I ordered way too much food [I'm used to other people eating my food]. It made me think about how when you go out for dinner it's rarely about the food - it's about the whole experience of being "out" and conversation and whatnot. When you're alone, it is entirely about the food. Luckily it was pretty good, though the tempura came way too late and I didn't feel like lingering so I barely touched it.

Day One Hundred and Eighty-Nine - The Leftorium

When I was three years old and in Junior Kindergarten I tended to favour my left hand over my right. I'm not sure if I wrote with my left hand, but I know that I did a number of things with it, such as using scissors. Our classroom didn't have left-handed scissors and using the regular ones was difficult and even a bit painful. I'm not sure if it was because of this, but for some reason my teacher strongly encouraged me to become entirely right handed. I don't think there was anything sinister [ha - get it? sinister?] about this as it *is* a lot easier to be right-handed. However, I continued to do most sporting activities left handed as those types of things are easy enough to accommodate.

After watching American Dad on Sunday I thought that sometime this week would be a good opportunity to try out something I've had on my list for quite some time. Today I was left-handed all day. This was actually quite enlightening as well as very difficult. I've heard that left-handed people are far more accident prone [which is scary for me as I'm super accident prone] and I can see why. Everything is designed for right-handed people - cars, kettles, subway turnstiles...I guess that lefties just get used to it and make their own adjustments. In addition to motor control being a problem, general hand/arm strength on the left side is so much weaker as well. I was carrying a shopping bag home and relying entirely upon my left side was much more of a strain. Even things like stirring up some yogurt or sour cream was very difficult - the food got all over the place and I didn't do a good job of stirring. I made perogies for dinner, but had to eventually go back to my right hand to flip them after having been splattered a bit from the oil. Safety first kid!

Day One Hundred Eighty-Eight - Cinco De Mayo

Despite my best efforts Cinco de Mayo hasn't really "happened" in my neck of the woods. It's a shame because I like it more than St. Patrick's Day. Sure, that holiday has its green beer and that's all very well and good, but tequila wins out every time. Also, better food is associated with Cinco de Mayo - even though I always make tacos, which is a lot more Tex than Mex. Also, I would suspect that Canada's general lack of Mexican immigrants kind of holds us back [though I do live near where apparently Little Mexico is, but the only time one sees evidence of this is during the World Cup - otherwise it's all Portugal, all the time]. Lou Dobbs would love it here.

As mentioned, I dig tequila. A lot. She was my not-so-secret mistress for many a-year...I guess until I started drinking beer when I was about 20 years old [and then I got fat...interesting - beer is officially on notice]. It was my go-to drink because I could be imbibed right out of the bottle [like beer or wine which everyone else liked and I did not]. I've never had one of those epically bad tequila experiences that my mum warned me about - yknow - the one that makes you swear off it forever [until the next time someone offers you a margarita that is]. Tonight I tried tequila in a time-honoured fashion - I did the lick the salt, shoot the tequila, suck the lemon thing. To the best of my knowledge I have never done this [though I admit that it's entirely possible that I have while otherwise intoxicated]. The thing is - while we liked to drink in high school and university we were rarely organized enough to have cups/glasses [hence drinking things from bottles/without mix], let alone salt, limes and shot glasses. Though one time my friend Ian stole a salt shaker from our local pub by putting it in my handbag...my handbag then suffered a catastrophic breakdown in the Eaton Centre, leaving a trail of salt for quite a ways.

Until tonight I had not had a drink in a very long time [I sound like a recovering alcoholic] - possibly over a month. I'm surprised it didn't knock me out. But of course, tequila will always be my friend.

Day One Hundred and Eighty-Seven - Pixie Dust

Today's is a bit of a continuation from yesterday's comic book thing. As previously mentioned, I don't read comic books. I do like the concept of comic books and I've even tried to write one myself. However, my cheapness and lack of knowledge of which comics are worthwhile prevents me from following any particular one. I do like graphic novels, even though that is a total hack move @ this point [again, I'm considering writing one or changing one of my regular book ideas into one with the help of Joseph, but I think that idea is a little overbaked @ this point].

And I know that my friend Lisa will be very disappointed in this thing [however she's in Iceland @ the moment so definitely not reading], but tonight I read my first X-Men comic book. Lisa is a big X-Men fan and knows I think everything about everything in terms of that. I have seen all three of the films [including the third one which was a stinker of epic proportions] and the epically wonderful cartoon X-Men xmas episode...but I'm a big poseur for not going to the original sources until now. Even now, it barely counts as it was just one comic and totally free. It was a story about Pixie, who I didn't even know about...but she is a Welsh teenager with fairy wings. Okay. She was a bit obnoxious, but I tend to like my superheroes to be a little darker than say...Avril Lavigne.

I went to Wales last winter and while I didn't see any pink-haired pixie chicks, I was like...kinda famous. In a little diner I got asked by some teenage girls if I was American. I told them I was because they seemed so in awe of this...reason number 57 why I'm a bad Canadian...

Day One Hundred and Eighty-Six - NerdFest 2008

Although I'm a bit of a nerd, I am rarely nerdy enough to qualify as a true nerd in any category. The thing I come closest to is Battlestar Galactica and even then - I don't play the videogame and I don't care for schematics of the ships. However, in all other nerd categories I guess I'm still just a dabbler - which makes me an outcast even in the nerd community. I do hope to go to a Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con sometime this year and I will be sure to blog all about it [and hopefully I will be in possession of a digital camera by then to really capture the moment]. I think that will really improve my geek cred.

Although I like comic book stores I don't really read any comic books. I used to read the Tomb Raider comics when they first came out because I think Lara Croft is the most perfect woman ever and then I got into Witchblade for a while too. I'm not quite sure how I funded this as I was in school then and too poor to afford $4 every month for a tiny little book [in addition to all those aforementioned magazines]. But I do love many comic book characters and today I participated in Free Comic Book Day. Joseph and I got six free comic books to share. We didn't buy anything else @ Silver Snail except that I got two Hello Kitty charm things from the vending machine that I have been plotting to turn into earrings. All of the store employees [and there were a good number of them] were dressed as characters including a very impressive Princess Leia, a Stormtrooper and a new Joker [Heath Ledger style, I mean]. I like costumes especially when it's not Halloween.

[lack of updates due to crummy internet connection that i have no control over. they are written and will be slowly updated to ratchet up the tension. fun!]

Day One Hundred and Eighty-Five - Take Me Out To The Ballgame

I love baseball [I might have mentioned this before]. I know that people call football/soccer "the beautiful game" and okay - I mean it's a lovely game, but certainly baseball is also deserving of a title [I think it's still referred to as "America's Past-time" which sounds like some thinly veiled insult - like they watch/play it when there is nothing better to do - maybe I'm just being sensitive, but honestly it seems like Americans - and Canadians are way more into the NFL]. I love the pace of baseball [it's like zen meditation for me], I love the pointless and unending statistics, I love that even though most teams play almost daily fans/sportscasters can still recall one game decades/years ago that had no real importance - the sport has a quietness to it that I find peaceful. That being said, I am [and always have been since I was a wee one] a Yankees fan - which I suppose is traditionally anything but tranquil.

This year I'm not sure if I will get to a game until mid-July and therefore I wouldn't have the chance to vote for the All-Star Game. However, while watching the Jays game tonight they were promoting a vote early/vote often campaign for online voting so I voted online for the All-Star Game - including casting votes for National League players. Since I have loved baseball since way before internets I don't always connect the two even though I do most everything online these days. It was a lot easier this way than punching out wee holes when you do in real life voting. Also, I had to vote for National League players and I don't think I've ever had to do that before. There are few things more irrational in my life than my irrational hatred of the National League and all contained within. I had to root for a National League team last year for the World Series and it pained me greatly. My votes were no real surprise - mostly Yankees, with some Blue Jays and then Ivan Rodriguez wherever I found the Yankees players to be unappealing.

Go to www.mlb.com or your favourite team website and you can vote up to 25 times per email address. It will be more fun than voting in your state's primary - I promise. This time - *you're* the superdelegate!

Day One Hundred and Eighty-Four - Shhhh...

I have evolved into a painfully polite person. This is another stereotypically Canadian trait - that we are so polite that we will apologize, even if it is you that bumps into us or wrongs us in some fashion. It's true - I've seen it happen [and I have been part of it more times than I care to admit]. I used to be a bit more badass, which is not always a good thing - I littered, I hogged seats on the TTC and was too loud almost all the time. These days, I think that all of these things should be punishable by capital punishment [I'm tough but fair].

The other thing about me is that I like to be entirely self-reliant. I don't like to borrow things [and I certainly don't like to share - don't blame me, blame my parents - I'm an only child]. More often than not if I need something and I don't have it I will go without rather than ask to borrow something [or I will get it for myself - no matter the inconvenience or cost]. Kinda because I like to be an Independent Woman like Destiny's Child taught me and kinda because I can be extraordinarily shy/awkward. However, this afternoon the weather turned nasty earlier than expected and I didn't feel like getting soaking wet while walking for 20minutes so I borrowed something without asking. That something was an umbrella [something I'm normally over-prepared with as I have the awesome power of the ultimate cat umbrella] and the person I borrowed from is my boss. To add some bonus points I almost broke the umbrella trying to close it up.

I will most likely get into work before her, but this is an extra incentive. Also I have to fit it back into its neat little bag. Exciting!