Day Thirty-One - Day for Night

I originally had an idea to "reverse a day" for one of my ETs. Like, AM would be PM. I'm not saying that I'm not going to do that, because I might...but consider this an important test run. I find it incredibly difficult to wake up in the morning without a shower - a very hot one at that [I like to steam myself like a lobster]. But then, there are some days when you just don't want to wake up in time to bathe [alluring!]...

Today was one of those days. I had been @ work until 8:30 on Thursday night and had to be back in the office @ 7am this morning, so I made the executive decision to swap my morning shower for an evening one. This resulted in an extra 30 minutes of sleep. It wasn't as gross as one might think. I was beyond stressed out @ work, so I forgot all about the lack of shower once I got in.

In addition, night shower is truly glorious. When I was in university I "discovered" the joys of night shower and then I would shower three times per day [because I liked to shower after naps as well]. So, after the most crap day ever @ work and worst night of sleep ever on Thursday I was really happy to come home to my red lobster shower.

And High School Musical 2 - the Dancealong version!

Day Thirty - So Long, Farewell...

I don't like saying goodbye. I'm rather bad @ it and I'm super emotional and melodramatic. So, it's best to be avoided. I usually do this to great success by hiding in the bathroom. Mature! Anyway, our lovely IT chick, Cynthia, has decided to leave our firm and she will be missed. I fully expect my computer to light itself on fire the moment I come in on Monday morning. Today - we had to say an orchestrated goodbye, which is a bit easier than my usual social graces.

Never one to turn down a free meal I attended a farewell lunch for a co-worker. The food was just okay - pasta is generally too heavy for a weekday lunch meal for me and it involved the dreaded eggplant [which I strenuously avoided - perhaps thats an ET for another day]. The people I work with are really the best part of this job [well, the people I like anyway] - so it will be hard to go on without Cynthia, but I know she will be an awesome success!

Follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong!

Day Twenty-Nine - On the Ball

"The Ball" at work has been home to quite a few butts. Originally it belonged to one of our partners and it was quite amusing to see him gleefully bouncing on it. Once Kathryn started to work here she inherited the ball and Brett has also given it a go [other people too...but my memory fails]. Today, it was my turn.

I sat on "the ball" for most of the workday. I even wore pants for the grand day ["don't you hate pants?"]. I have terrible posture and no ab muscles [okay, I do have muscles or I wouldn't be able to move, but I'm pretty mooshy], so I thought the ball would be a good challenge for me.

It surely made my back ache. A lot. At the end of the day I read some highly critical articles about using the ball as a seat. I should have read them first.

Day Twenty-Eight - Lazy Tuesday [let's mack on some cupcakes]

So I wander in to work this morning - cane in full effect and carrying my icky summer handbag and umbrella and it's Tuesday...so yuck. Then all that changed when my coworker Brett [aka Corporate Kitty] produced a box of cupcakes to share with me and two other coworkers, Kathryn and Laura. But these were extra special cupcakes - I mean, cupcakes are ordinarily special...but extra!

I ate a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery in NYC. One of Brett's friends brought them for him and he was lovely enough to share. If I had those cupcakes I would have ate them all before 9am. Maybe I would have photographed them, but I certainly wouldn't be sharing [what can I say, I'm an only child].

Not only were they crazy delicious - but this marks the first time that I've completed by "thing" for the day before 9am.

Day Twenty-Seven - Delightfully Tacky Yet Unrefined

I'm not entirely sure how the tradition began, but it is indeed a grand one. Every year my friend Lisa and I have a pre-Christmas celebration...at Hooters. It seems like every year we pick up someone new/different to bring, although a couple of times we have gone by ourselves. One time I even brought my boss.

We decided to live it up on a Monday this time and we celebrated our annual pre-xmas Hooters hootenany with Dee! Dee is a mutual friend and I feel as though she "just got back" from Korea, when in reality she got back a year and a half ago.

It was fun - there was fried food and beer [yes, I drank even though Lisa is a big puritan]...although too little food for me as I'm a little piggy, apparently. It was wonderful to see Dee again and to see Lisa as well - I never seem to spend enough time with people like this who I genuinely like. Mostly I think it's because they are incredibly hip chicks who have friends much cooler than me.

Day Twenty-Six - Our Balls Are Bigger

I was raised to like sports...or to at least like watching sports [which works out better for me since I'm hopeless @ actually playing them]. However, some sports I have just never been interested in at all - including the CFL and hockey [there are others, but these are the most mainstream/widely televised]. I did own a tshirt from the CFL that said "Our Balls Are Bigger" but only because I thought it was funny. I'm not even sure it's true.

So today being Grey Cup Sunday [the not-quite-ready-for Primetime Superbowl?] I decided to give it a chance and I watched Canadian football. It was...not good. It felt amateur at best with the tiny looking players and really subpar atheleticism [though really, a lot of NFL players are really not fine athletic specimens]. I was shocked @ how many people were @ the SkyDome watching. I managed to watch almost an entire half before realizing there was a Mythbusters marathon on the Discovery Channel.

I guess I'm a bad Canadian [again - maybe this should be the theme of my blog]. But yeah, Go Roughriders! Yup, it's still funny...

Day Twenty-Five - Nectar of the Gods

Today is unofficially Battlestar Galactica day in my house as it's new Galactica on my TV tonight! I wanted to do something to celebrate that...but didn't want to work on the tedious paper models that Joseph has had great success with...and I was kinda scrambling for an idea. BSG fans [to the best of my knowledge] don't really have a lot of nerdy fan things that they do...but perhaps I could invent one.

Left to my own devices, I chose something creative and stimulating. I was originally going to attempt to smoke a cigar in honour of Starbuck, but I remember how that went down the last time I attempted to smoke [I did go quite green and threw up]. Instead I made and drank ambrosia. Apparently it is a real drink, although not green like on Battlestar. It has multiple brandies, triple sec, lemons and champagne and is served in a highball glass [I cooked it up in a martini shaker so I wouldn't have to use ice]. I suppose I could have dyed it green with food colouring.

The taste was...not entirely awful...but not great either. Very powerful. I felt like I could taste the sulphites. I drank most of it and left some for the fruit flies. I have had a 40% migraine ever since.

Day Twenty-Four - Turning Japanese

I like to eat sushi. A lot and often. I'm actually trying to curb this habit so I can go back to being vegetarian, but I am very weak. And it is very tasty. Not a good combination.

Usually when I go for sushi I get one of two orders...so tonight I ordered something completely different - vegetarian maki and red bean ice cream. I felt like George in that episode of Seinfeld where he orders the opposite of what he has for lunch. The vegetarian maki was just okay as they were out of shiso leaf. And the ice cream was surprisingly good. Generally, desserts + beans = no. I mean, one would assume - until tonight I have never tried it before.

Also, it felt better to eat vegetarian maki the day after and not be so concerned about dying of food poisoning [not that I ate the leftovers].

Day Twenty-Three - Happy Turkey Day

I will readily admit it - I do have affection for Americans. I guess that makes me a bad Canadian or a bad left-wing type person, but there - I've said it. I always have, too. In particular, I have long admired the way they celebrate things. I enjoy how they go big or go home - it's a good motto. When I was younger my family travelled to the Detroit area for American Thanksgiving - for the football and the shopping and it was a fine tradition. This year, I decided to step it up a bit.

I took the day off of work and I celebrated American Thanksgiving. Even just taking a day off could have qualified as an Extraordinary Thing for me, I guess - but I wanted to make the day special - it ended up being our first snowfall, so that was special too. I headed out to the shops in the morning [tearing myself away from the quality Cold Case Files marathon on A&E - *swoon*] to pick up my fixins for the dinner. Got home in time to catch most of the dog show on NBC [I admit, I only watched the Macy's parade for about four seconds as I hate parades] - which is kinda becoming part of my American Thanksgiving traditions. Then I baked a cake for dessert [banana with chocolate chips] and settled down in front of the TV for beer and football. Finally, with Joseph heading home I cooked a fine Thanksgiving meal involving turkey and pasta [because I think Tofurkey is a crime against nature]. I guess I could round out the day by going to bed early and then waking up to go shopping @ 4am, but none of our stores are that crazy!

I would like to celebrate a bunch of holidays this year that have no real meaning to me - so any suggestions would be appreciated. They can be religious or not - I'm pretty open minded.

Day Twenty-Two - Cinderella

It may come as a surprise to you to know that I don't attend many galas. Really, I don't. However, the company I work for is one of the main sponsors/organizers of Canada's CEO of the Year. For the award they have a gala, this year it was held in the new part of the ROM.

I always like to raise my hand to help out so tonight I attended Canada's CEO of the Year Gala. Yeah, as a volunteer, but it still counts. My duty was to stand by a curtain @ the opposite end of the room from the rest of my coworkers and help people manage the curtain and find the bathrooms. It was invigorating. My knee had a spasm and is now in pain. Lots of guys in tuxedos - not too many women. Seemed like most folks were having a good time. I did my duty and did not leave my post and did help a number of people find the bathroom. Everyone has a skill. At the end of the night us volunteers got free drinks and some appetizers.

I don't really have anything good to say about the ROM. It looks like the newly renovated terminal @ Pearson Airport. It's cold - both in temperature and spirit. The architecture makes me dizzy. It's dark. The staff are mean. I don't think I will be going back anytime soon.

Day Twenty-One - Iron-y

My mother keeps an exceptionally and perhaps a bit obsessively clean and tidy house. She always has. She would have made a wonderful housewife, except that she also worked [outside the home] full-time [and then some]. My dad was also quite neat and tidy - for the most part. So I don't know what happened with me because I can be a little bit of a Miss Piggy...perhaps this is further proof that I'm adopted. More likely, I am just spoiled.

I have fond memories of spending time with my mum watching made-for-tv movies or some news magazine show while she ironed and I...probably did nothing aside from watching TV. Very comforting [other memories include drinking coffee, sitting on the kitchen counter, yapping and watching my mum do the dishes every night - I'm so awesome]. So tonight, trying to recreate that scene I finally opened up the ironing board from its packaging and I ironed. The ironing board has been around for...well...over a year in its store packaging. I do [on rare occasions] iron - but usually just on the counter or on a towel on the floor. My mum ironed weekly and she ironed *everything*. Towels, faceclothes, underpants - everything! She always wanted me in ironed clothes because she thought people would think less of me [and of her] if I was a bit wrinkly.

I've been shamefully wrinkly for a long time, for the most part. I ironed a faux silk miniskirt and two of Joseph's dress shirts and it was...quite awful. I think maybe I was supposed to learn these skills in some horrific home economics class, but instead I was asked to leave that course and took welding instead. Ironing made me feel very 1950s housewife and not in a good, fun way [like when I cook]. A definite test of my patience.

Now where is my valium?

Day Twenty - Scent of a Headache

I'm big on self-medication. I dislike prescription drugs [well, except for my migraine meds which I am in love with and they make me crazy high]. I am...neutral and skeptical on natural remedies, naturopaths, accupuncture - stuff like that. However, I suffer from terrible headaches. Really very...not good. I get a big migraine episode about 2-3 times per month and regular headaches maybe twice a week.

For the regular headaches - which I had today - I take a variety of extra-strength, over-the-counter type pills - to varying degrees of success. My ET for the day was going to be meditation, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do this with the headache, but in the process of my research I stumbled across something more fitting to today. So, this evening I experimented with aromatherapy. I bought the aromatherapy oil @ Whole Foods [if it's cheap you are doing it wrong] and used it three different ways [this seems to be a theme].

1. Heated in my oil heater thing - this did seem to relieve my headache and it smelled very nice. Made me want to eat chocolate mint something. Mmmmm - Pep. However, sometimes when I get home my headache goes away anyway as I'm no longer stressed out and under fluorescent lighting. 2. Mixed in with lotion for a back massage. The smell was again, quite lovely and it made my back/shoulders really tingly and felt really nice. 3. Put on cotton balls and rubbed on back/stomach/temples. Not overly successful, but the tingly-ness and smell were not offensive.

Day Nineteen - They Come From a Land Down Under

No, not Australia, but from New Zealand [at least I think they are from New Zealand and Wikipedia does confirm this and I always trust in Wikipedia] - my ET for the day. Something lowkey after yesterday's adventures and because of my mighty migraine.

Kiwifruit were on sale @ the grocery store and in my migraine haze I realized that I had never bought/prepared my own. While I enjoy kiwi, I usually do so @ work where they come on platters with other fresh, sliced fruit. So tonight I prepared and ate kiwifruit at home. I used three different methods of preparation: 1) peeling with a knife - a good strategy, but I got juice everywhere and cut a lot of the fruit away as I was scared of cutting myself; 2) cutting the fruit in half and scooping out - I think this would be the preferred method [and kiwi are sometimes apparently sold with special spoons to do just this], but the kiwi was too hard in the middle [damn Price Chopper and their crappy fruit - completely expected - if I die of scurvy I blame them]; 3) eating with the "fur" on - not good. At all.

Hopefully the rest of the kiwi will ripen up!

Day Eighteen - Out of the Park

This thing is one of the "big ones" that I really wanted to do this year. I'm reluctant to burn them so early into the year, but I really couldn't wait. I actually did a number of ETs today, but I'm just going to count the most notable.

I've loved baseball since I was a wee one and I even had a brief Little League career, but I am way, way out of practice these days. Today I brushed up on my awesome baseball skills @ Playdium where I visited the batting cages. Yes, I did become stroppy when things didn't go my way and yes, actually connecting with the ball [they were strange, yellow plastic balls that were hard as rocks] caused infinite pain and yes, I was quite terrible. However, I did start to get back into the swing of things [ha - dyou see what I did there - swing...get it, baseball? I slay me.], but my return to baseball greatness was severely hampered by my hand pain.

Other ETs of note today include using Mississauga Transit [the glamour], going to Playdium, playing videogames for four hours straight [actually, that's not really any different from a regular Saturday]...playing shooting games. It's worth the drive to Mississauga!

Day Seventeen - Sing...Sing a Song

I cannot sing. At all. Even as a child I had a horrendous voice. Despite other evidence of musicality, I cannot "hear" music and imitate it. However, music does make me happy and changes my mood [for the better]. Sometimes I get the uncontrollable urge to rock out with my nonpod and really just burst into song. Right there on the street.

Today, I decided to do just that. I sang out loud and on the street on my way to/from work. Wearing headphones is awesome because you truly have no idea how terrible you are - in fact you sound pretty fantastic. In reality my off-key caterwauling freaked out a cat. Anyway - here is a list of the songs I sang along to:

Hole - Kelly Clarkson
How I Feel - Kelly Clarkson
How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths
Judas - Kelly Clarkson
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
My Sweet Prince - Placebo
Never Again - Kelly Clarkson
Never Is A Promise - Fiona Apple

First off - the inclusion of Kelly's latest album was a bit of a disaster. I totally can't do that pop/rock screamy stuff that she does here. Also, I don't know the words very well. I also cannot do The Smiths very well...it's all wordy and moody or something. Same with Placebo - the voices have too much character and the songs are all noisey - which I love, but doesn't translate well into awful solo singing. The most fun songs were Landslide and the Fiona Apple one - I would love to be able to sing like Stevie or Fiona...but I felt no shame in belting them out.

So - the lesson learned here is that sometimes it is best to just dance around that fine line between *really* wanting to sing out loud and keeping my fool mouth shut. It was really a scary thing to actually do.

Day Sixteen - Hair Today, Goon Tomorrow

Although we are only sixteen days in I am noticing that many of my ETs seem to be social in nature. I feel the need to clarify that I generally am not very social. My life is usually pretty much home-work-home. Also, I'm quite shy/socially awkward/not quite introverted, but definitely...odd. So, social things really are a big deal to me.

One of the good things about work in the last few months is that I am friends with people @ work. And outside of work. That is a bit unusual for me. Through my coworker/friend Sue I have met someone who owns her own salon. Tonight I attended a mixer @ a hair salon. I like the word mixer. Other things I like include sushi, cheese, fiery olives and tiny hors d'oeuvres so small that I could have fit like five @ once in my big mouth [but I didn't as I am a classy lassy]. The salon is very chic and there were many, many beautiful and highly dressed and styled people there, but I tried to not be too intimidated and I did not run away. This is progress.

Day Fifteen - Googly

I love googly eyes. You take a pair of googly eyes [or sometimes just one if you are going for a cyclops kinda look] and stick them on anything and you have some high-lariousness right there. I found out by way of her brilliant hospitality book that Ms. Amy Sedaris is also a fan of googly eyes. She's very crafty.

So today, inspired by her book I put on my Strangers with Candy DVD and I made googly-eyed peanuts. I made sixteen in total and cracked myself up quite consistently while creating them. I still have to find a way to present them in a suitably amusing fashion.

And the best news is that I still have a bag of googly eyes left so I can make plenty of things googly whenever I'm feeling blue.

Day Fourteen - The Sixteen Pleasures

I like to read books. More specifically I like to read classic novels and current non-fiction. I majored in World Literature and therefore I have had a number of people tell me to read a number of books. And, as I say - I have done so. Usually with minimal complaints. However, I have never had someone recommend a book to me and bring me the book, because they thought of me. Until now.

Last week a coworker of mine, Catherine, brought me a well-worn copy of The Sixteen Pleasures, and told me that she thought I would enjoy reading it. Completely without prompting or previous discussion of the book. So today I started to read my first loaned book. Catherine read this book when she was 29 and thought I might identify with the protagonist.

In spite of [or perhaps because of] some initial hackiness in the very beginning, I am enjoying the book. It is a very identifiable book [though not as much as Anna Karenina - but what is?], which is exhilaratng and frustrating. I'm of course delighted that someone thought of me in any capacity and angered over me not being the enigma I imagine myself to be.

Day Thirteen - Teacher, Mother, Secret Lover

I unapologetically love television. I really do. I would choose it above most other things [and yes, even people]. Therefore, the Writers Guild of America is quite troubling to me. My favourite shows were the first to be affected by the strike - all of my favourite late night fellows had to sign off for a bit. And yknow what - it's perfectly fine. I would think so much less of them if they were to continue while the writers are on strike - although it might provide moments of unintentional hilarity.

So, today [in addition to working a 12 hour+ day] I wrote letters supporting the WGA to network executives. I'm not sure that this will have any real meaning, but I felt like I had to do something. If I lived in New York or LA I would totally go join the picket lines for a day. Because - TV is good.

If you would like to do the same, please visit this website: http://www.wgaeast.org/ and click on TV and Movie Fans. There are phone numbers listed as well if you are a phone person - but I am more inclined to use good, old fashioned snail mail.

Day Twelve - Cleaning House

I like keeping things. Inanimate objects strike my fancy and I have a hard time parting with them. When we moved in August I purged a lot of stuff, but the objects in official storage containers were left unscathed. Today - they were scathed.

I cleaned out my storage boxes and reconstructed the kitchen table. I now have one entirely empty storage box...so...I'm quite excited to go get myself some more possessions to put in the box. I have never cleaned them out - it was surprisingly non-nostalgic for the most part. I enjoyed rediscovering some of my favourite artist's works...and I might even put up some art [something that's never happened]!

The table was shockingly easy to put back together. I didn't even need any tools, which was quite disappointing [not even an allan key!]. Just my hands [and yes Jewel they are not yours, they are my own]. This table was my childhood kitchen table [with super tacky bright orange vinyl 70s chairs] - so I naturally assumed it would be more complex. Of course, when I was younger the table also seemed impossibly big. Like, if the spaghetti was @ the opposite end...yeah - you weren't getting that spaghetti. Maybe one day we will have dinner @ the table...

Day Eleven - Hipsters, Goths & Family - Oh My!

My family lives somewhat far away [a little over three hours], but Joseph's family lives an entire ocean away [with one brother being an ocean and a continent away]. So, when Joseph's family comes over it's a bit of a big deal. His dad travels here for business sometimes and he takes us out to dinner and we try to pay and he won't let us and he brings us neat stuff from Belgium [which is probably courtesy of Joseph's mum].

In return, we try to keep him entertained. I like making conversation, so I do a lot of that. Joseph's dad was only really in town for one day this time and it was somewhat nice weather today so we decided to go to Queen Street West to look at all of the trendy jerkasses around there and try to find me a handbag. So, my ET for today is that I went shopping and had lunch with Joseph's dad. Couldn't find a handbag anywhere - but I had a fun time in the music store. I know have two missions to accomplish within this year: 1. get my piano back [find space in the house for it] and 2. buy a cheap violin. I also bought a trendy hipster douchebag outfit, which I shamefully love.

And seriously - if anyone knows where to find a cute, inexpensive medium-sized handbag [with a strap long enough to wear across my body] - I will be forever in your debt.

Day Ten - ...Like it's 1999

I don't get out much. And, in fact - I rather enjoy this. I love spending time at home. However, in spite of the fact that I have a far-reaching social anxiety problem I am cursed with the fact that I feel infinitely better when I'm with people. Life is complicated. I have a hard time making friends [perhaps because I don't get out much...it's all coming together now]...and a harder time calling someone my friend.

However, in recent months @ my job I have been lucky enough to meet a couple of really cool chicks [yup, that's some hip lingo] and tonight I went to a party at a coworkers house. With the exception of my Zellers days - I think this is the first time I have ever been to a coworkers house for social reasons. It was a tough sell [and not because Kathryn is unpleasant in anyway] and the decision to go was discussed at length over dinner.

I'm glad I went though - there were glostick things that we fashioned into fine jewellery!

Day Nine - Face to Face

In my job I send a lot of emails. A lot. I think maybe our company is a little email obsessed, but I don't have much to compare it to, so maybe we aren't. Anyway, I organize a lot of social things [or rather I used to] and sometimes this would involve the firm across Canada. As a result I would get into email conversations with folks from other offices. One of these people was the former receptionist in our Vancouver office - we found that we liked a lot of the same art, films, etc. She no longer works for our company and has recently made a temporary move to Toronto and made contact with me with regards to meeting up.

So, today I went out to lunch with someone I have never met before. Normally this type of social interaction would freak me out. To the point where I would make up some crazy excuse and cancel. Possibly in a way that would drive people away from me. Not good. But instead I went, it was lovely and pleasant conversation was had with nary an awkward moment. Except for the lackluster food @ Cantine which I have come to expect anyway.

Day Eight - The Closest I've Been to Rehab

For the last two weeks in October the company I work for has their annual United Way campaign. And it is a fine thing indeed - lots of money is raised and we get to have a break from our regular work. A good portion of this money is raised through bake sales and other food-centric activities. Eating cream cheese brownies @ 9am is totally justifiable when you are doing it for the kids, no? So yeah, it was binge-city in these parts.

Last year a few of my co-workers went on this crazy cleanse/detox thing - they weren't very agreeable people during those two weeks [but they did eat pills from a large bottle that read "snacks" which I found highly amusing] - but I decided I wasn't up for that. So, today I did a one-day detox. I know - how pathetic is that? What's more pathetic is that it was so challenging for me. What's even more pathetic is that there are 30-minute detoxes available [on the internets] for people who are more crap than I am.

Things started off well enough with yummy Weatabix and vanilla soy milk...but by 11am my head was on my desk and I was crying out for high fructose corn syrup. Not my finest hour. The mid-afternoon slump was particularly harsh - I thought I was going to black out and crack my head open on the bathroom floor. This is the first time in well over a decade that I've gone without caffiene [and I don't drink much of it] for a whole day.

Right now I'm quite exhausted, but otherwise I don't feel any differently. I'm glad I did the detox though as it made me keenly aware of exactly what types of food I'm normally shoving into my piehole. Honestly, I don't think my diet is all that bad, but I might have to do some re-examining. That being said, I'm totally downing a double espresso and something with highly refined white sugar tomorrow morning.

Day Seven - Witch-ay Woman

For as long as I can remember, I have been into all sorts of new age-y, spiritual things [almost as long as I have been into true crime stories - what a magical childhood]. True enough, I boxed up my horoscope reading things and Ouija board and Tarot cards to move with me to the big city. However, more practical concerns got in the way and I have not done a Tarot reading in nine years. In fact, I couldn't even find my Tarot cards and I had to go on a mystical journey to the highly mystical Indigo Bookstore to buy new ones [which, were actually the same as my old ones].

So - with mood properly set [yes, the TV was on]I did Tarot readings for numerous co-workers. In total I did around 15 readings and it did all come back to me, so I was impressed with that. Now - do I believe in this? I certainly don't live by it...but I don't think that anything that can be cause for self-examination should be ignored.

Day Six: Sticking it to the man!

I used to be quite the little spitfire. Endless stupid confidence. General boldness. Outspoken. Sadly, I have lost a lot of that. In private and with friendly friends I might still be a fiery chick, but I really do struggle with giving people the business. Even when they clearly deserve this. I am most anxious to remedy this and start acting a bit more like the a-hole I know I can be [and less like the wussy who will not leave a store without buying things I don't want and allows service people generally to make me feel small].

What better way to start than with some Yorkville fat cats? True, I am a bit of a Yorkville fat cat myself...but I had a bad experience @ a spa...and ultimately I wasn't happy with just walking away being out well over $100. So last night I went back to the spa and complained - in person!. I got things resolved - I got connected with people who are important - and I think I might even get something for nothing. I did all this without getting unnecessarily emotional, which is a super bonus.

Day Five: Footloose

I was going to do something slightly more exciting for my Extraordinary Thing, but this one kinda came about rather organically. Born out of my laziness and me forcing Joseph into daring me to do it I wore my slippers to the store. True, I do live embarassingly close to the store, but it gave the teenagers across the street something to really gawk at...so I'm sure that's something.

The store owner guy didn't notice [and he does know me, so maybe he assumes this is usual behaviour]. Shuffling across the street was a bit daunting [a tiny bit, but more than I thought] as indoor walking varies from outdoor walking. My slippers are pretty beat up [I actually brough them out of retirement after my old cat ones suffered a catostrophic failure] anyway, but did suffer a little for this wee adventure.

Mostly this weekend's ETs [ha - that's what I'm calling my things - in my mind it's already a sensation] were about me + new apartment [I promise to stop calling it that as I've lived there for 2.5 months]. I've struggled with making this "place" a home and that is something that is very important to me. It's fun to realise the great things about new apartment - the free, cozy, indoor laundry and the closeness to the friendly, non-price-gouging, cozy store.

Day Four: Quarter-free and loving it!

Oh laundry. The simple act of scrubbing one's clothing and whatever happens to be in your pockets [because obviously you are too lazy to clean them out before]. My Extraordinary Thing for today is: I did my laundry for free!

Now - I know what you're thinking [I'm psychic, too] - that laundry is one of the most shockingly ordinary things in the world. Even free laundry. Well, get ready to have your mind blown - since living in Toronto [10 years this past August] I have never once done my laundry for free. My new apartment has this feature [and it's right @ my door - yet one more reason to never breathe fresh air]. Another reason why this is extraordinary is because I do laundry very rarely [like maybe three or four times per year].

I waited around all day to do the laundry [the machines were in use]. Seriously. The moment finally began a bit after 10pm [this should give you some indication of just how hot my Saturday nights are] and it was epic. I could actually hear the machines [if I put my superhuman ears to the test] so I knew when it was time for a swap. Also, auto dry! It was an insanely positive experience. I might start doing laundry as often as once a month.

Day Three - Sweet Treat

On my actual birthday [spoiler alert - it was two days ago - scroll down] I was taken out to my favourite cheap sushi restaurant, as fine dining is not something I'm crazy about doing on a Wednesday. Tonight I went out for Indian food - which is a little out of the ordinary for me anyways, but I decided to really step it up.

I had dessert at an Indian restaurant.I'm not crazy for sweets anyway and usually when I eat Indian food I just stuff my sinuses with starters, paneer and naan. This time I left room for dessert. Being the genius that I am I ordered the gulab jamun which was quite possibly the sweetest thing ever. I managed just two or three bites as it was not my scene at all. I swapped for the pistachio ice cream [also a new thing] which was tasty, but so rich as well. Lesson learned, people.

Day Two: Hatfields & McCoys

One thing about me is that I love trivia [and apparently hate grammar]. Last year I organized a grand night o' trivia @ work as part of our United Way campaign. This meant that I could not participate [except as QuizMaster] so this year I was out for blood! Imagine my sadness when I found out that we were doing Family Feud in place of trivia...however, I am also a master of Family Feud as my grandfather loved game shows. I always loved the cheesy tableaux the families would do.

My Extraordinary Thing for today is: winning a Family Feud/Trivia showdown!The mood was set - our office cafe was filled with people, snacks, alcohol, slight resentment...just like a real family get together. Before our team was called up we fortified ourselves with cheese and Guinness - which made us a bit loagy pre-competition. However, we managed to defeat two other "families" quite handily...and then it was my moment in the sun as my family allowed me to do the final faceoff. It was tense, but I emerged victorious due to my vast knowledge of what people hide under their beds and what people dislike about their bosses. We all won huge sweat-proof shirts! Fantastic!

Most of my time in this job has been spent organizing social activites and therefore not participating. It was actually exciting to be part of a winning team and to play a big-ish part in the win. It's cheesy, it means nothing...but I did enjoy myself - the pressure of the competition was intense [I might lay off people who freeze up on game shows].