Day Sixty-Two - Omisoka

I used to love, love, LOVE New Year's when I was younger. I liked it more than xmas as it gave me the opportunity to stay up late, eat snack foods, wear something shiny, maybe sneak some booze...and feel terribly adult. That was always important to me [funny now since I'm currently trying to feel less adult with each passing day]. I don't really "do" New Years anymore - Joseph and I have spent the last three in front of the TV with Anderson Cooper and an assortment of bad films [From Justin to Kelly! A modern classic!].

This year I decided to do something different as I'm hoping for a really and truly excellent 2008 so I combined as many New Years traditions from around the world as possible. I want lots of luck and good things! Here's the rundown.

From Ecuador and Mexico and Spain: I ate twelve grapes just before midnight - making a wish on each one.
From Ecuador and Mexico: I wore yellow underwear - said to attract positive energies for the new year.
From Ecuador and Mexico: I walked around the block with my suitcase - said to bring the person the journey of their dreams.
From France and Spain: I drank moderately priced champagne [courtesy of Brett and actually a cava].
From the US: I watched the ball drop in Times Square.
From Philippines: I ate circular food [a pie] - circles attract money and fortune.

Happy 2008 everyone!

Day Sixty-One - Jack Frost Nipping At My Nose

Until recently I thought that song about chesnuts roasting on an open fire was just that...an old chestnut. I didn't think people actually ate them. I was happy to discover that I was wrong. The last two times we were in London [UK] I visited these little carts where people sell hot, fresh roasted chesnuts. Very Dickens and old-timey. I was happy to learn I could do this without an open fire.

Tonight we watched one of those Bourne films [the first one] and what goes better with Matt Damon than nutmeat? Practically nothing. I assisted in preparing chestnuts for roasting over an open gas fire. Unfortunately, due to the crap that is our grocery store, many of the chesnuts were not fit for eating. The ones that were in good shape were absolutely delicious.

Day Sixty - You Light Up My Life

I've never really enjoying Christmas pudding - it's way, way too sweet and is otherwise dense and odd [of course, the same could be said about me - har har]. I haven't had it in years and certainly never in my own house. Joseph and I have had two puddings [store bought and lovingly brought to us by Joseph's dad from Belgium] sitting in our apartment [two different apartments] for quite literally YEARS. Tonight, I decided that we should eat it...before it mutates and eats us.

It was easy enough to soak it in brandy and microwave it [classy], but then Joseph decided that we should light it up with brandy flames in our living room. Never one to say no to fire, I agreed. And we lit food on fire in our living room. Twice actually [we both wanted a go]. Pretty blue brandy flames. The pudding was okay and it did defeat us [even Joseph who can eat anything and everything]. Better luck next year.

Day Fifty-Nine - Oooh La La

I used to love doing my nails. I kept them incredibly long and everyone thought they were fake [which means they were probably also tacky]. I would paint my nails almost daily, so I was quite dedicated to the cause. But then...I dunno what happened - I got busy doing actual work @ university, I got a job...etc. I found that I didn't have enough time in the evenings when I could just sit and not have my hands needed - to make dinner, to clear up or to play videogames. And I hate, hate, HATE smudgy nails. So, I just stopped. I also cut my nails way back so that I would stop this bad habit I have.

For xmas my mum gave me a French manicure set. I know she probably thinks I still do my nails all the time. However, I've never had a French manicure, let alone given myself one. I guess I felt the need to feel pretty [and to stay up late to let them dry] because tonight I gave myself a French manicure. While I gave up on neatly buffing all of my nails mid-way through the procedure, I was patient enough for all four nail polishes. It's not nearly as neat as the professionals would do - in part because I have shaky hands and nearly no nails...but it was a good honest effort. And so very, very shiny.

Day Fifty-Eight - It Was The Year That Was...

December is a bit of a write-off when it comes to just about everything. People are so distracted by the holiday season and work stuff and everything else that comes with the end of the year. Also, it's the month when these "Best of" and "Worst of" lists overrun all of pop culture. So, if anything interesting happens in December it tends to be overlooked.

I will admit - I do like a good list. However, I disagree with almost all of the lists out there. Therefore, this year I decided to compile my own Best of 2007 List. I have kept it all positive - no categories for Worst of...I feel like I'm missing a lot of idiosyncratic and potentially high-larious categories, so please let me know. I reserve the right to edit until the end of this week.

Best TV Show
Battlestar Galactica - Really no explanation necessary. Love me, love BSG. It's really that simple.
Runners Up: The Office, American Dad and The First 48

Best Film
Eastern Promises - Once again Cronenberg totally gets robbed @ the Golden Globes...I don't hold much hope for the Oscars, but I haven't seen anything better this year.
Runners Up: Live Free or Die Hard [just the one because it kicked all the other films asses]

Best DOOL Storyline
Alpha Chi Theta/Death of Ford Decker - I'm loving the sorority bitches - what can I say? I'm as surprised as anyone @ this revelation.
Runners Up: The mysterious return of Chloe's gigantic rack, Tony [Andre actually] on a frakking horse and of course [not a storyline, but super awesome] - Bad Accent Theatre

Best Album
Icky Thump - The White Stripes - Truthfully, I only bought two new albums this year and this one is fractionally better than the other one. So it wins. That's not to say that I didn't like it, because I did. I'm just sounding unenthusiastic about music generally.
Runners Up: My December - Kelly Clarkson - Yup, it's really not as awful as one might suspect. I quite enjoy it.

Best Videogame
Wii Sports - Kinda because it's the only thing I play on the Wii and I love the Wii dearly. Playing Wii Sports means never having to leave your house for physical activity.
Runners Up: Psychonauts - one of my very favourite games that I've watched someone else play. Besides that I don't think I played any new games in 2007.

Best Restaurant
Tutti Matti - Specifically for our anniversary dinner in September [with the very expensive prosecco - if you have to ask, you can't afford it!]. It's whimsy without pretention. And good, rustic foods.
Runners Up: Joso's [upscale Hooters!], Universal Grill [the best huevos around!] and of course New Generation [every year!].

Best Homecookin'
Macaroni and Cheese with Sweet Potatoes - Insanely good and full of fat. The flavour of sweet potatoes cuts the richness in half. So then you can eat more without a visit to the vomitorium [every home should have one].
Runners Up: Vegetarian Lasagne, Balsamic Maple Vegetables on the BBQ, these crazy good brownies I make with roasted walnuts

Best Celebrity
Brit-Brit! Always and forever - she will be up near the top of my list. She's a fantastic trainwreck and really provided us with some good moments this year - the headshaving, the upskirts, the dancing...she really does it all. I only hope that she's not causing herself or others any serious harm - she does set a good example for celebrity life.
Runners Up: Posh, the Olsen Twins, Baby V

Best Day
The day I quit my job - Really a no-brainer. I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm not working there anymore. But it was a bold move and we all know that fortune favours the bold.
Runners Up: Taking Adam to Wonderland, Season 3 finale of BSG, the day I surprised Joseph with the Wii

Best Late Night Host
Stephen Colbert - Just for continued brilliance throughout the year. No other show is as consistently well-written, funny and insightful. Also, his book rocks. Come back soon.
Runners Up: Jimmy Kimmel [it really is a good show - watch it!], David Letterman, Jon Stewart

Best Nudity
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises. Seriously. Naked Knife Fight. You just can't beat that. It's not even titilating - but it will get you to take notice.
Runners Up: Baby V's scandalous photos...and all of those many times we saw Brit-Brit.

Best TV Moment
Starbuck's return on BSG! I was unspoiled and totally not expecting it. Now I know how everyone else feels when a fan favourite returns from the dead on Days.
Runners Up: Nothing compares.

Best Celeb Scandal
Britney shaving her head...and attacking autos with an umbrella! It was seriously jaw dropping. I couldn't believe what I was seeing - and I'm pretty jaded.
Runners Up: High School Musical nude photos, Paris Hilton in jail [especially the returning to jail part]

Best Sitcom
The Office. It's really the only sitcom I watch, unless you count animated ones. Of course I was quite skeptical as I'm a big fan of the original show, but this holds up well in an American sorta way [I mean this in a good way]. Steve Carell borders on too endearing, but the supporting cast knocks it out every episode [except I don't like Jim and Pam - shocker].

Best Website
Wikipedia. I know, I know. But I love it and I don't know what I would do without it. Instead of Googling things I have moved on to Wikipedia-ing things. Please upgrade yourself accordingly.
Runners Up: ONTD for all of your hot celeb gossip in one central locale, TWoP for all of your TV needs and articulate discussion, NY Times for news, news, news

Best Reality Show
The First 48. I hate calling it a reality show as that cheapens it, but it's an amazing show and always compelling. I don't get why people love those CSI and other shows [Law & Order], but don't watch true crime shows?
Runners Up: None - I cut reality TV out of my life last spring.

Best Animated Show
American Dad. It's really so very good. And I say this as someone who quite loathes Seth McFarlane [a lot]. At first I thought the show was just terrible, but now it's the one I look forward to the most. Excellent characters and bizarre storylines with heart.
Runners Up: King of the Hill [I've always been apologetic about this wonky show], The Simpsons [this season has really been quite okay - and I'm a pretty harsh critic], South Park [when they are good, it's delicious, when they are bad it's beyond awful - some hits and misses this year as always].

Day Fifty-Seven - Frosty the Snowman

Without giving myself entirely away, my hometown is located in the snow belt of Midwestern Ontario. So I always had a lot of snow growing up. A lot. Usually from October to May there would be snow, often snow that was taller than me [okay, I'm short]. I live about 2.5 hours away from there now, but it doesn't snow too often or too much here in the big city. So I knew that going home would be my big opportunity for this new thing.

I liked building snow forts and houses and snow angels when I was younger. But never a snowman [or snowballs, but that's because there was a severe punishment for that]. I dunno why - I probably thought it was a bit of a hack move or that it required patience [it does]. But today, with surprisingly limited snow and only the crappiest non-packingest snow available Joseph and I made a snowman. It most clearly resembles ET - the alien. It was very small [about half my height maybe?], but we worked really hard. We spent well over an hour trying to make it bigger and better, but a lot of factors were against us. I do have photographic evidence, but you will have to wait until I get the photos developed the old-fashioned way.

No digital camera under the xmas tree for me.

Day Fifty-Six - Wii Would Like To Play

When I finally got my hands on a GameBoy when I was a young 'un I was not the only one who was quite instantly addicted to Tetris - my dad was quite into it as well [much to his surprise]. He would play in the very early mornings and told me that it helped him to sell insurance - it's doubtful, although not entirely implausible. However, my mum was completely not interested.

I don't really think that anyone thought I would be interested in videogames @ age 29...but here I am. Joseph and I both brought our Nintendo DSs to my mum's house and we were playing together and separately as my mum joined us in front of the TV for some relaxing Christmas Day evening TVLand [so envious]. She seemed interested [and knows we play videogames all the time] so I played a videogame with my mum. We played a number of the Clubhouse Games and she beat me @ billiards [that one stings]. She seemed to enjoy herself [it even distracted her from the TV], but I doubt there will be a Wii under the xmas tree next year.

It's also good to know that me and my mum actually do have at least one thing in common - our love of Dallas [although she is a Bobby fan and I love JR].

Day Fifty-Five - O Holy Night

I'm not really a lapsed Catholic. I don't really get that term - but I suppose it suggests that you are just taking a break from Catholicism? Yeah - well, I guess I was raised Catholic [my dad and that side of the family were Catholic when I lived @ home and I spent 15 years in Catholic school] - but we weren't hugely enthusiastic about it. I went to church a bit, had First Communion and was confirmed...so I'm pretty familiar with things [and it gave me one heck of an edge when studying fine art]. However, there were many parts of Catholic-ness that I missed out on and therefore still have some mystique.

Even though I'm no longer Catholic [or anything really] I wanted to go to church on xmas - it is the reason for the season, after all. Normally I go to my mum's church and burn myself with candles, but I wanted this year to be special so I went to Midnight Mass. For some reason I thought that it would be something different and more exotic than normal Catholic mass, but it wasn't. I don't know why I thought that as weddings and funerals are barely any different than a regular mass. Still - it was nice to be there, even if the incense was a little lacking [I love that stuff].

Apparently it's something of a family tradition to turn up to Midnight Mass a little bit on the intoxicated side...and I kinda tried as I had numerous drinks before but they had little to no effect. I think my alcohol tolerance increases when I return to my hometown...it's like...reverse Superman.

Day Fifty-Four - For The Rest Of Us

[yes, all of these posts are late - I neglected to mention that I was away from my femputer for a few days - let's just pretend, okay?]

Today was Festivus! I am a big Seinfeld fan and I have always meant to celebrate it, but wanted to do it properly and since I'm usually not @ home on this day, it's kinda impossible. But not this year. So today I celebrated Festivus!

I fashioned a Festivus pole out of a old kitchen roll tube and some tin foil [although I find that more distracting than tinsel to be honest]. Then Joseph and I had the Airing of Grievances during the advert breaks of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. He made some good points, but neglected to mention the big clothing pile until after I prompted him, therefore I feel like that's the big okay to not clean that up yet. I had some problems with him waiting so long to do the washing up and also him zoning out while watching TV and playing videogames.

Then we couldn't decide who was the Head of Household for the Feats of Strength [I used to be the breadwinner, but I'm unemployed now], but ultimately I did pin him [while he was already lying down - but whatever, still counts] and that ultimately brought Festivus to a conclusion.

Day Fifty-Three - Signatures

Tonight Joseph and I "had" to go out for dinner @ a slightly posh hotel restaurant. I had won a gift certificate that I won last year @ our United Way campaign and it is expiring before the end of this month. So, off we went.

We arrived for our reservation late [as usual]...and there was...no one there. Eventually a waiter came out and took our coats and my Santa hat [which was going to be my thing du jour], giving us tickets for them...and then we got to choose whatever seat we wanted in the restaurant as it was entirely empty. So yeah, we were the only two people in the restaurant. The music was loud...our conversation was quiet...and I got to control the lights. It was quite something. We stayed for an amazingly long time. I ate champagne grapes, a tiny souffle and then there were dessert appetizers. Prosecco and fancy salt were present as well. Rather than being cavernous, it was actually quite an intimate evening.

Good times.

Day Fifty-Two - Canada's #1 Brand

Since I don't really like xmas all that much I usually aim to finish my xmas shopping before Canadian Thanksgiving. This year...not so much. Too much time spent @ work and in personal pursuits and being restrained by not having the slightest frakking clue what anyone wanted. So today - my first day off - today was the day to get it all done. Off to the mall I went.

My mum was the biggest problem so eventually I resorted into just wandering into random stores and seeing if they had gifts for my mum. Now, I know people will find this hard to believe, but I get a bug up my arse about certain stores and I just vow to never ever go in. And then I forget the reason why. One of thse stores is Roots [again with me being a bad Canadian] - I have never gone into one of their stores, never worn any of their product. But today I went into a Roots store. I didn't spend a huge amount of time in there as the stuff was too expensive for me...but I did take a good, hard look. I don't really get what makes their product unique or interesting in any deservable way. In addition, I also went into Lululemon - a store that baffles me more now that I've been into it. Damn - them yoga pants are pricey. Sure - they make your ass look good - but at what cost?

Also - shopping complete. My mum is getting an awesome sweater. And a fondue set. I'm totally not kidding.

Day Fifty-One - Not-So-Secret Santa

Yesterday @ work I overheard two co-workers talking about white chocolate and how it was impossible to find due to the time of year and high demand. Last night I went out to get some baking supplies for baking round #2 this evening and I noted that the grocery store was filled with packages of white chocolate. So what did I do? I bought four packages of it - hopefully enough to allow these two ladies to do some festive baking of their own.

When I got into work today I waited until they were both away from their desks and I played Secret Santa - placing the chocolate with an anonymous note on their chairs. I've never done a Secret Santa thing @ work before - in the past we have just done Yankee Swap. Somehow they did ferret me out, although it was my intention to remain anonymous because I think that's a better deed. I didn't want anything in return...but I did get hugged...which kinda kicked off a day of hugging for me [yeah, I'm not so much about the hugging]...

Sure, it wasn't a lot of money spent by me...but it did warm the cockles of my heart.

Day Fifty - What About a Jacket Made of Towels?

I've had a pretty crazy week. Trying to prepare to leave my job tomorrow. Trying to prepare for xmas. I've been staying up late, not drinking, not really eating much...I'm a little scattered and I still have so much more to do before the end of the weekend. I'm trying not to think about it too much...and apparently I'm not thinking too much.

I had a different ET cued up for this evening, but then something kinda random happened and I've decided to go with that. I went to the store in my pajamas. Completely by accident. I worked late, got home late and went back out to the pharmacy and the grocery store. Then while making dinner I realised I had to go back out to the store to get some sour cream for dinner. So off I went. I didn't realise that I had my pajamas on until I got to the store. And they are aggressively pajama-ed pajamas. Blue flannel with pink and white Hello Kitty. It wasn't really an experience I enjoyed. Even though no one noticed...I noticed.

I was planning to have an ET where I wore my pajamas out for dinner in a restaurant, but now I'm not so sure...maybe if I get some flashy new ones for xmas.

Day Forty-Nine - One Last Thing [A Long Way Down]

What may come as a surprise to some is that I am not overly fond of being centre of attention. However, I do appreciate it when people make me feel special. I am just not overly awesome at letting people know I appreciate it. So - if anyone out there falls into this category, please know that your efforts are not wasted on pitiful little me.Today I am presenting a double ET, both focused on pitiful little me.

The first one is that I went out for lunch with my former boss and my current boss. We went to Joso's and the food was incredibly again and there was even a "show" which was not so much incredible as it was awkward and somewhat scarring. The less said about that the better. It's very strange that you work with people for years and you still know so little about them. I guess that's my fault for not asking enough questions and for us being so busy all the time. It's easy to forget that we are all real people.

The second thing is that I attended a soiree in my honour this evening. Organized by Sue, it was meant to be a toast/roast, but unfortunately I was finishing up my migraine episode and couldn't really drink. I did manage about half a beer [woo! party!] and a bowl of soup [again, nothing says party like a bowl of soup]. It was tremendously fun though [I'm really starting to enjoy not drinking...because I'm old] with a number of people showing up [including some ghosts of workplace past] and indulging on my behalf.

I still have managed to maintain my tough facade re: leaving on Thursday. For now.

Day Forty-Eight - Now is the Winter of our Discontent

There is a lot of snow outside. A lot. Apparently it's going to cost over $5 million for the City of Toronto to clean up. However, it's not great packing snow and it's still getting dark out really early [and I still had a migraine today anyway] so all of my snowman-making attempts have been thwarted. Severely. Though it's easily something I can do while @ Mom's house so I just might save it for then. I am finding myself rather enjoying the winter weather [yes, I'm old - screw you]. So much so that I decided to bring it on inside.

Tonight I made snowflake decorations. I was going to try to make xmas-specific decorations to go along with the Hanukkah decorations, but then I couldn't find coloured construction paper...but I did find a lot of regular photocopier paper so I decided to make snowflakes. My house is also home to a number of circular shaped objects that can be traced. Seriously - cheapest craft ever - copier paper + circles + pen + scissors = WINTER WONDERLAND. Okay, not quite wonderland as I am highly impatient and I don't do well with fiddly things. However, I did make a few of them in varying sizes before quitting to enjoy a tasty beverage.

Day Forty-Seven - Cruise Control

It seems to be becoming something of a tradition [that is to say that it's happened two weeks in a row] - me watching some film/actor I have sworn to never watch in an attempt to open up my mind. Most of these mind-opening things aren't at all cultural, but stem from my own irrational dislike for various Hollywood stars and popular films. Also, today has been a rough day as we are currently entirely snowed under and are still experiencing the snowstorm. I have also been doing xmas baking all weekend and now I have a migraine. So while I'm not a fan of me using "hey! I watched a movie!" as my ET of the day...here we go...

Tonight I gave Tom Cruise another chance and I watched War of the Worlds. I even gave up Battlestar to watch it [don't worry - it's on tape!], so that should count for something. Much like The Matrix [well, it's nothing like The Matrix, actually] I was super disappointed. Although, it's not entirely Tom Cruise's fault - he was mostly fine in this movie [as always, I find his acting to be rather innocuous, but nothing spectacular]. Lots of questionable acting choices, directorial choices...stupid dialogue. But it all worked out in the finish spectacular [if not stupid] aliens and SFX - they were actually quite menacing and I loved the alien noise...it was so alien that it sent a chill right down my spine. And then Tom Cruise beat a guy to death with a shovel [minus a million points for not showing it].

And, let it be known that I'm not rabidly anti-Tom Cruise. I was one of the co-developers of TomCruiseLand! He's fine @ doing what he does. And honestly, I don't even care to speculate on his personal life. It is what it is and is possibly more genuine than others may be projecting.

Day Forty-Six - Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton?

I will admit - I am greatly enjoying learning about all of these non-official holidays and then coming up with things to do on them. This is a rare back-to-back celebration for today is Zamenhof Day. And who is Zamenhof? Well, he is the fellow who created the language of Esperanto.

What can be said about Esperanto? It was supposed to be an international language [like love only more nerdy, but maybe not quite as nerdy as Klingon] and it's been wildly unsuccessful [at most it is spoken by 2 million people - 0.03 of the global population, although only 10,000 of these speakers are fluent]. It was denounced and reviled by Hitler, Stalin and Senator Joseph McCarthy so I guess that Esperantists are doing something right. However, Esperanto is criticised for being too difficult to learn, too European, not European enough, sexist, without culture, too large in vocabulary and too artificial in construct.

I decided to give it a go anyways and tonight I learned some useful phrases in Esperanto. It sounds like a bizarre mix of Spanish and German [I don't speak either]. With maybe like a side of Elvish? Anyway, I've been shouting @ Joseph "unu bieron, mi petas" for over 20 minutes now and I still don't have a cold, frosty one, so this is hardly a universal language. I think if I tackle Klingon next that will really get his attention.

Day Forty-Five - Shock the Monkey

Another thing about me is that I love monkeys. And apes. Primates generally [although humans are somewhat over-rated]. It seems that I am also attracted to men who share my fondness for these animals...but really - who doesn't love a monkey? Generally speaking, I don't think that women like primates as much as men/boys as they probably think that they are dirty [in more ways than one]. I think primates are clever and classless and cool - so there.

Today I celebrated International Monkey Day. This is a day for celebrating all primates, not just monkeys and I did just that my bringing my favourite stuffed orangutan to work with me. I think that Kathryn enjoyed this very much as she also likes stuffed animals and things that are soft. It was the day after our xmas party so I guess people were pretty hungover and out of it as absolutely no one commented on the stuffed animal, even as we were cuddling it and giving it piggyback rides around the office. In addition, I read a variety of monkey cartoons on the internets.

You just can't go wrong with monkeys!

Day Forty-Four - Deadly Nightshade

The things I hate are numerous and varied, so I suppose I should limit myself to talking about the types of food I dislike [and yes, I know - I should just change this to a damn food blog since that's my most favourite thing ever - maybe once the 366 are up]. Sometimes I dislike the food...sometimes I like the method of preparation...all in all I'm one fussy bitch. I am a vegetarian...but that so does not mean that vegetables are immune from my wrath. Foods I hate include roasted red peppers [it's the roasting I hate - gives them the texture of crushed velvet - otherwise I love red peppers], things with peanut sauce, things with unnecessary nuts, thing with raisins [although raisins on their own are okay] and curries [the smell triggers migraine].

However, my most hated thing of all is one that is very often served to vegetarians, particularly in more upper scale restaurants. I'm speaking of course of the ubiquitous eggplant. Oh - how I loathe that vile weed. They serve it to you in restaurants and when they present it to you they seem *so* smug and self-assured that you just love eggplant so damn much and also that it's completely unexpected.

Well, this afternoon was our office xmas party and as I was thwarted in my earlier ET attempt [I will do that one on Monday] I gave eggplant a good solid chance. It was...so not good. And I tried - oh lord how I did try. We were eating @ Flow [ummmm - never go there, okay?] and it was a frakking meat salad all up in there. Tall loud Mark spied me eating just bread and summoned half the world to make me a proper meal. They did attempt this, but I was served freezing cold grilled antipasto masquerading as real food. The centrepiece of all this loveliness was the eggplants. Kathryn took one off my hands and at the urging of her and Sue I tackled the remaining one. I did enjoy the garlic-ness and the grill flavour, but the taste/texture of the eggplant was so damn bad. You can't convince me that anyone likes this.

Day Forty-Three - Nouveau Quiche

Yup, yup, yup - another adventure in food [expect a lot of them as I am somewhat food obsessed]. There are quite a few negatives about this food: real men don't eat it, it is very 80s and it's rarely made at home. And yet...you cook up some mini ones and they sell like hotcakes. That's right...

Tonight I made homemade quiche with pastry from scratch. I have made quiche once before, but it was crustless. I have also never made savoury pastry crust [I've only made sweet pastry crust twice and it was a spiritual journey into darkness and madness]. The quiche was a cheddar and green onion quiche and it was quite delicious. I'm still not entirely convinced that making your own pasty is totally worth all of the bother [just like how I'm not convinced that homemade stock is worth the bother], but the pastry was quite tasty and flaky.

It sold like hotcakes. Rock on.

Day Forty-Two - Long December

This time of year there is a lot of pressure to donate money to any number of good causes. There is also a lot of pressure to buy people you like fabulous gifts. I encourage you to make your own decisions. I would prefer to donate more and have less fabulous gifts...but - what are you gonna do? Changing traditions is exceedingly difficult. Generally speaking I am trying to spend less this year due to my impending unemployment.

With the internets and all supporting specific causes is super easy. Tonight I donated money online to the Toronto Distress Centre. Through something called canadahelps.org you can make secure donations to lots and lots of different charities all in one place. I don't particularly want to say why I chose this charity, except to say that today is a tough day for me. Those who vaguely remember may remember [or not].

And it’s been a long December and there’s no reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better that the last
I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass

And it’s one more day up in the canyon
And it’s one more night in Hollywood
It’s been so long since I’ve seen the ocean... I guess I should

Day Forty-One - Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

Christmas time is upon us. Like all up in our business. This troubles me - but - what are you going to do? No one seems to like my idea of not having xmas every year. So, I forsee my ETs going a bit downhill until this festive season kindly goes away. However, perhaps I can do some tie-ins and I'm trying to stay on top of all of this xmas zaniness.

On that note - today I sent out all of my xmas cards and letters on time and I constructed a nifty card-displaying device. While I have done xmas cards/letters on my own for years now they usually head out in the mail sometime in late December and most years they are New Years cards [if the postal service is on top of things]. And the cards? Well, I love getting them, but once I do I tend to let them clutter up our space and/or stack them by the TV. So tonight I made one of those string card holding things stretched end to end in the kitchen. I won't lie - it's pretty classy. And clever [it's been a family tradition/secret for decades but I won't tell if you use it].

Day Forty - There Is No Spoon

Like Ms. Krabapple before me [well, technically we exist @ the same time] I have the ability to be personally offended by broad social trends. Everyone has a skill. This is why for this project I am attempting to open myself up - read things I normally wouldn't, watch TV I would not watch, play new genres of videogames...and yes, even films. I have done this before when I watched the first Lord of the Rings film on TBS with full adverts and without falling asleep. Following this I was interested in watching all of them and I did so - even the extended versions! And while I doubt I will be reading the books anytime soon - the films were actually quite good and it allowed me to be interested in something Joseph likes. I should note that when I saw the first LOTR film I fell asleep about 6 minutes in and I had been known to feel sleepy even when seeing adverts for the films.

I don't know what exactly it was about The Matrix that fired me up. I just...I disliked it *so much* that I said if I ever saw it I would eat my hat [or something melodramatic - but this was back when I had a drought of hats in my life]. Well - early today I watched The Matrix. And while this is likely to fall on deaf ears - I did try to have an open mind. But - Keanu Reeves is just so bad. The story might be slightly original [by Hollywood standards], but it's not nearly as clever as what it thinks it is. Or what it needs to be to have all of these fans. I might not be a huge Star Wars fan, but it is what it is and doesn't tire you out with it's hipness. And while The Matrix may have defined action films for the next 10 years, the film actually looks quite tired and dated.

As an unrelated aside - Joseph saw Casablanca for the first time on Saturday night. He gave it five stars. However, he gives everything five stars. Shelby's Facebook Movie Reviews [.com] are much more harsh and unforgiving.

Day Thirty-Nine - The Human Fund

Yup it's Christmastime. Although I am unemployed [well, nine more days people] and I promised people that they were getting nothing for xmas [I'm jolly that way and I dislike xmas every year - this is just a good excuse] - that was a lie. Not many people are getting something...but some people are [and hopefully I won't get any surprise xmas gifts - completely unnecessary]. For the past two years I've had to seek out somewhat creative gifts for the various partners that I work with as I assume that they have everything. Therefore, I've become a big fan of the Living Gifts that are available @ Ten Thousand Villages. Basically, you donate a specified amount of money and it goes towards something specific for people living in developing nations.

This afternoon I finally started my xmas shopping [after a massage, of course] and I bought a goat. There's a picture and everything [it's very cute]. Along with the goat I purchased all that one will need to take care of the goat for one year as well as instructional goat information. The other two living gifts are possibly less exciting being meals for one month for orphans and 100 new trees. Since I can't have a goat or 100 trees in my small apartment they might as well be somewhere useful.

If you want to know more - visit their website

Day Thirty-Eight - You Can Take This Job and...Re-staff It

Okay - I know that I probably said @ the outset of this project that I didn't want a lot of big or too crazy ideas...and yet, today is quite a significant one. Today I officially quit my job. Technically, I quit my job before my birthday [the end of October], however it was not announced until today, so I wasn't supposed to be all public about it. But yeah, I totally quit my job. Wo-ow [Flavor Flav style].

Those who know me know that I have been pretty unhappy with my job for quite some time and that was a huge factor in me leaving. Waking up and doing something you don't like everyday for three years can really clean you out. I am not working in my field of education [any of them - I have many areas of supposed expertise] simply because I gave up. So, I've been squirreling away my money while sinking into the Super Depression 2007...so that I could give myself the gift of unemployment. I'm...cautiously optimistic [it's kinda my catchphase]. I really am thinking of this as a gift to myself - it was a hard decision to come to and since I'm full of the self-loathing I am hoping that this is a sign of more positive Shelby things.

So - early in the new year Job Hunt 2008 will begin!

Day Thirty-Seven - Shoe Surprise

In Belgium [and other parts of Europe] they have Sinterklaas. If that sounds scary, it's because it is - for me, anyways. Sinterklaas is a tall, skinny Santa with a long, skinny beard. He has helpers [or possibly just one?] who represent some horrific racial stereotype [although that has been disputed]. Anyway, since Joseph primarily grew up in Belgium I know a bit about their cultural traditions and December 6th is St. Nicholas Day - a day on which one can expect a visit from Sinterklaas. St. Nicholas Day is the big gifts/chocolate/kid-friendly component of the xmas season, while Christmas Day is more of a religious/feasting/family-adult day. I kinda like it.

Today I celebrated St. Nicholas Day. Well, kinda. The thing about is that you are supposed to wake up and find your shoes stuffed with gifts, chocolates, treats, etc. I lacked the cold hard cash to purchase treats on Wednesday night so I played Sinterklaas in the evening - which I think is an even better surprise. I think the shoe thing is a bit bizarre, although technically stockings are socks, so that's gross too [I haven't been able to determine if they are connected]. It was amusing putting ice cream into Joseph's shoe though and he *was* quite surprised.

Day Thirty-Six - The Cause of and Solution to All of Life's Problems

I figure I could use a Simpsons quote for everyday...so I'm trying to restrain myself. This one is a classic and impossible to not use on this glorious day. For today is Permission Day. And what is that? It's an informal and unofficial celebration of the day that Prohibition ended in the US - on December 5th, 1933. While I'm sure that the fourteen years of Prohibition [14!] weren't all fun and games - it surely seems that way in films and books. What with everyone drinking and having a wild time. But then - the Great Depression started and even then - there was no legal drinking for four years [4!]. Our generation isn't that tough. Most people I know can barely make it through the week without drinking.

In honour of my life-long love affair with booze tonight I celebrated Permission Day. Ummmm, rather somberly. I have unofficially stopped drinking on weeknights [unless I have an excuse to celebrate or drown myself] as I get so little sleep to begin with that falling asleep after drinking = crappy quality of sleep. However, I made a point of having a drink [and also making Joseph drink - even more rare] and giving myself a 1920s name - Zelda [tough choice between Daisy and Zelda...leading to some research into Nintendo]. I also informed others of this day and my coworker Lauren agreed to celebrate and renamed herself Lola [which - that is an awesome name].

Okay - only 300 more days to go! Currently I've gotten zero suggestions and on my own I have about 150 things. So please, suggest to me something new, something extraordinary! I strongly suspect people are reading [as people say things to me that I know they read here only]...so don't be shy.

Day Thirty-Five - Om

I have a distractingly active mind. It never stops. It's really quite annoying. In the past I have done yoga and that was somewhat helpful - but I always found the end of the practice to be the most difficult part. I couldn't just lie there and relax and turn my mind off [though I did enjoy the pose - corpse]. I went to services at a Buddhist temple once and the meditation portion was incredibly difficult. I was envious of everyone around me and kept staring at them. In short - it wasn't terribly zen.

I've always wanted to remedy this situation...but - I'm usually either too lazy or too otherwise distracted. So tonight I meditated. I think I have become better at this. I used a dark room + candle to focus my mind and made my body comfortable [yes, I was lying down - I know it's not recommended for newbie meditators, but it worked well as I wasn't obsessing over my sucky posture]. I used a simple breathing technique which helped to clear my head.

I hope to do this again incorporating different techniques and purposes of meditation. Suggestions?

Day Thirty-Four - Eight Crazy Nights

No, I am not Jewish. I'm not really anything, really. However, I do like celebrating things [is that a religion?]. I also like making things. Crafty things [because it's so not art...at least, not the way I make it]. At Whole Foods on Friday I bought a fancy advent calendar and also noticed that they had a lot of Hanukkah stuff. One of these "stuffs" involved googly eyes so of course I had to have it.

Tomorrow is the beginning of Hanukkah and so I thought I should make the decorations in advance. So tonight I made Hanukkah crafts. The googly eyes were top notch and also...sequins! Fabulous. The main thing was a menorah and I also did a bunch of foam dreidels and stars. Pom poms were also involved. I'm not quite sure where the googly eyes fit in with the faith...but apparently this craft company has been around since 1949 - so one assumes they know what they are talking about? I only hope that I did the Hebrew letters correct and that it doesn't say anything offensive.

Day Thirty-Three - Garfield Was Right

Yes, the orange cat Garfield, not the former President Garfield [although I'm sure he is right about any number of things, but I don't care to Wikipedia him right now]. He is right about a number of things, including his dislike for Odie and, in particular - his love of lasagna. Mmmmm. I know - this isn't exactly groundbreaking news or anything - but lasagna is delicious.

And complicated. Which is why I have never made it @ home [aside from putting a frozen one in the cooker] - it's very intimidating, even though I do love to cook and welcome a challenge. But today I stepped up and I made homemade lasagna. To be specific it was three-cheese vegetable lasagna with a chunky tomato sauce. And honestly, the hardest part about it was actually reading the recipe [coherent recipes are actually quite difficult to write - I know this from my brief days @ Canadian Living/Homemakers magazine]. The end result was the reason why people go so crazy about lasagna - delicious. I just might eat leftovers...[but probably not]...

Another thing Garfield was right about? Mondays suck!

Day Thirty-Two - Mama Said Knock You Out

I love my Wii. It has enriched my life in more ways that I can say. I don't think that Adam would have anything @ all to say about Canada if it weren't for the Wii. My favourite thing about the Wii [yes, even more than I enjoy the Weather Channel on it and I loves me some weather] is Wii Sports. In fact, it's really the only game I play. And while tennis, bowling and golf are all very noble pursuits [okay, and sometimes baseball, although it is infuriatingly difficult and the other Miis totally cheat] - I choose to not play the fifth sport - boxing.

There are numerous reasons for this, but the most urgent being that I am very lazy. And Wii Boxing requires you to work up a sweat [if you are out of shape like I am]. Also, the controls require the nunchuck and I just don't get how to make it all come together. I can now add one more reason why I don't WiiBox...I played boxing on the Wii - so now I can safely say that I don't like being punched in the head. Even if it's just my Mii getting punched. I did kick the guys ass [though, in fairness he did look like a meth addict] and got a total knockout after knocking him down twice. However, I'm not sure I will be challenging Joseph to this any time soon.