Day Eighty-Two - Wall of Sound

For Son of Sam it was dogs barking...for me...it's the sound of other people's music. It drives me crazy. This all started about a year and a half ago when the people who lived in the basement below us listened to music with heavy bass quite loud - all. the. time. Seriously - 7am - dance party, 10pm on a Tuesday - why not?, and all damn day long in between. I got a little nuts a few times over the period of time before they moved out. This apartment has been better, but it would seem that our next-door neighbours have recently upgraded their sound system and their music levels have gone from mildly annoying to ...really annoying? It was super cold outside so I didn't want to go on a walk or go to the gym or anything, so I seized the opportunity to try something seemingly mundane, yet brand new.

I worked on my laptop in bed while listening to noise-isolating headphones. I have had the laptop since October, but I always leave it plugged in and in the living room. To my surprise, working in a new environment was incredibly productive and I managed to completely rework my resume into a format that makes me slightly happy. The headphones are remarkable - they fit nicely into my odd-shaped ears and wow - the really block out all of that unce, unce, unce sound or the Bollywood nightmare that I live in...or at least adjacent to. I was accidentally shouting @ Joseph all afternoon - he found it amusing. The whole experience reminded me of Joseph and I hiding out in one of our rooms during university. Mmmmm - nostalgia!

Day Eighty-One - Poppin' Fresh

When I was younger I totally thought that Col. Sanders and Orville Redenbacher were the same guy. Or maybe brothers or something. I then thought they were both marketing creations, but apparently that's not true either [although Sanders is not a real colonel]. Well, after tonight's adventure I can safely say that one of them is ripping you off. Since I don't really know much about KFC and what they charge for their fine chicken products, it would be everyone who is buying microwave popcorn who is getting scammed.

Today is National Popcorn Day [I really am on top of things] so in order to celebrate I popped popcorn on the cooker. I was pretty terrified that it would just result in a burned popcorn mess, rendering my most used pot useless. Thankfully this did not happen, although the event was not without incident. It told me to use a half cup of kernals, but didn't say what this would yield - as it happens...A LOT of popcorn. It burst out of the pot and had to be removed from the cooker before it was entirely finished. In addition when I was checking to see if the oil was hot enough [by, ummmm - looking @ it?] one of the test kernals flew out and hit me right in the eye. Good thing I was wearing my popcorn goggles.

So yeah, it was great fun - the sound of popcorn popping is quite exciting. However, the smell of chemicals and popcorn lung was not present during this experience, proving that it's definitely not the popcorn you're smelling. Also, for $1.50 I got a bag of kernals and microwave popcorn cost much more than that [I don't know the exact price as this ain't The Price is Right]. So yeah...someone is making a lot of money.

Day Eighty - The Mussels From Brussels

There is a pub that we like to frequent...and sometimes my friend Rory [shout out!] is there as well. They have half price appetizers until 7pm and of course as Joseph and I are quite frugal we often take advantage of it. Up until today we had never tried the Rory Special - which is the mussels. Something about paying $4 for mussels just seemed wrong to me [just like getting lobster @ Subway]. I was highly suspicious.

So Joseph went ahead and ordered them and proclaimed them tasty...and Rory obviously feels that way so I decided to give them a shot and I ate mussels in tomato sauce. All I can say is hooray for discount mussels! Generally speaking I only eat mussels in Belgium and I have only ever had mussels in a white wine sauce, so this was definitely something different. It could have done with being a bit more spicy, but the portions were plentiful and it went a long way towards combating my elitism towards discount seafood.

Oh yeah, there is reason #42 why I'm a bad vegetarian. Sometimes I like to eat lovely sea creatures. Mussels, though...I mean - what kind of a life is that?

Day Seventy-Nine - ...You Have To Soar With The Eagles In The Morning

So I will be perfectly honest with you - today's thing was supposed to be that I set my alarm to wake me up at 4am and yes, that's what happened. And then I spent about 20 minutes trying to wake up Joseph in a really ineffectual manner [lightly tapping him while he was deep in sleep] - he eventually got up and left the house...and I did get up - I staggered around in the dark a bit and then went to the bathroom and sat on the sofa and considered - should I really do this? Should I wake up @ 4am? Am I that dedicated to this being my "thing?" Is this really the best thing to help me in my job search? Ummmm...apparently not - I went back to bed.

And sweet baby Jebus I slept until 10:30am [actually I woke up @ 9am, but had a headache so kept sleeping]. Then the internet went out just after 11am for the rest of the day, so I really should have stayed awake @ 4am. Then I started to feel guilty and decided that I couldn't really use the 4am wakeup call as my thing, but didn't have a plan. So after a rousing time chez Zellers I entered my kitchen and completely tore apart our understairs area. The kitchen was a disaster and I ended up sitting in the understairs area - quite delighted that I found many, many beers. So my real thing is that I made a useful [and tidy] storage space out of the understairs area. It looks quite flawless now - I can't stop staring at it.

It's remarkable - tidy, organized and minimalist spaces fill me with such joy and peacefulness - and yet for the life of me...I am the biggest little piggie you will ever see...

Day Seventy-Eight - If You Want To Hoot With The Owls @ Night...

Apparently, for most people my thing o' the day is not such an odd occurence. For me, I don't think this has happened since...forever maybe? Probably when I was very young, anyway. So, out with it - tomorrow Joseph has to wake up @ 4am so tonight I went to bed before midnight! Exclamation point! This really never, ever happens. Even if I have good intentions of "going to bed early" it's quite evident that "early" does not equal before midnight [much to Joseph's dismay as he needs like 20 hours of sleep per day].

This is quite the test for me [and yeah, I didn't end up in bed much before midnight, but the little light was still on the PM on the alarm clock, so there]. I went to bed without seeing Jon or Stephen or Dave or Jimmy or Conan...it was pretty rough. Why do I stay up so late? I dunno - blame my parents, I guess. They never gave me a bedtime as a young 'un and I was frequently last to bed, first to rise in my household. I don't really like sleeping - it's a waste of my time. And staying up late just seems infinitely more rewarding than waking up early. Although, it did shock me and continues to shock me that everyone else I know goes to bed before midnight. Maybe I need to grow up.

Day Seventy-Seven - I Am So Smart - S-M-R-T

I have been indulging my inner dumb girl and catering to all of my LoCoDe whims [lowest common denominator] lately. I'm not sure entirely why, except that I watched Rome for the first time the other day and it reignited my willingness to embrace LoCoDe...and also my desire to visit Rome/Pompeii. I might be a bright girl sometimes, but sometimes I do stuff like watching From Justin 2 Kelly on a Tuesday afternoon [it's a modern classic!]. Today was one of those days.

In a desperate attempt to prove that I'm really not your average dumbass who engages in the sort of activity outlined above I took a Mensa test. Yes, I know that Jen365 [the original new thing a day-er] did this one yesterday, but I was curious to find out if I'm as smart as I think I am. Apparently I'm quite clever [and no - I'm not telling you my score]. Strangely enough I found the maths/numbers questions came to me much more easily than the language/graphics questions. Strange because normally numbers give me hives. Joseph thinks I might be some sort of idiot savant with certain types of maths [I think he's about half right on that front]. Although the test isn't overly difficult, I did feel that it gave my brain a good workout - I could actually feel it thinking! Although this could be because I was under the gun - what with 90210 starting immediately...

Take the test here and find out if you are as SMRT as me! I will tell you mine if you tell me yours...

Day Seventy-Six - Tidy Josephines

It's been a while since I had a food-related thing, so I thought I would give one a try today. I have always wanted to try Sloppy Joes - random meat on a bun [and possibly with cheese?] - how could it go wrong? Well, and then I became vegetarian, so I guess that's where it goes pear shaped. I never got to try them [also I've never tried a Big Mac, a proper steak or dark meat on poultry in addition to a number of other more obscure meats].

Until now! I found a recipe in one of my slow cooker cookbooks [yes, I have more than one] for vegetarian Sloppy Joes - which I guess should be called Tidy Josephines [not sure what the opposite of Joe is - I mean, it might be Shelby, but the thought of combining the words tidy and Shelby just didn't jive]. So, after being slow cooked for over 5 hours I was ready - I made vegetarian Sloppy Joes [Tidy Josephines]. Joseph thought I made them wrong as I made them open-faced style [which is what the book told me to do - obey the rules, dude!], rather than closed up like a hamburger. The experience was...okay...a bit of a letdown, to be honest and I don't think it was because of lack of meat. I found the spices to be an odd mix and I think the buns went a little off. Not likely to be repeated, although I still love my slow cooker.

Seriously - buy a slow cooker. They are very old lady, but they won't let you down. You can finish washing up before dinner is even ready!

Day Seventy-Five - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We have this little blue recycling bin - one that is meant for under one's desk, perhaps - but that we bought when we lived in the original small apartment. Once we moved to our larger apartment, it didn't do much for us, so it was cast aside. When we moved it was ideal for holding on to all of our old magazines. Ones that were obviously too precious to just recycle. I used to buy lots of magazines. Even when I had absolutely no money - I always made the exception for magazines [especially magazines! who needs food?]. They seem impossibly expensive right now, but perhaps I'm just wiser. Anyway, I do enjoy making collage and magazines are the main star of collage [for me anyway - you can collage with whatever you like]. And I do need that little recycling bin as I am no longer shopping regularly @ Whole Foods [I use their paper bags for recycling]...so I combined the two...

And I assembled all of the materials for a new collage from magazines needing recycling. I would highly recommend this even if you aren't a collager. Magazines are a good collaging material because of the bold headlines, saucy adverts and easy cut-ability. The process of recycling is not an environmental freebie and while of course you should recycle, reusing and especially reducing are even more important [though now that I have reduced and reused my magazine consumption, I won't be able to easily make more collages]. So, that's your Al Gore moment for the day.

I need a good title for my new collage. I don't think it's terribly suitable for public display as it does contain adult situations. Then again, I don't usually [or ever] have visitors, so I might just slap it up above the sofa - discretion, be damned.

Day Seventy-Four - TV Killed The Radio Star

I sure do love my TV. Not just mine specifically, I'm pretty equal opportunity in this respect. When I was fourteen years old I watched a small black and white TV for well over a month [in the summer, too - full days of TV watching!] when it was the only game in town and we were waiting on our flashy PIP TV. However, my family was not keen on TV watching while eating dinner [that was FM 102 time].

Times are different, now. I'm apparently a grown up and I can have TV all damn day if I wish [and sometimes I do - although there is seriously nothing on during the day]. I like eating in front of the TV - it gives us the impression that we have more friends [and sometimes even "Friends!"]. But tonight since Joseph cooked dinner he had music on [David Bowie - duh] and when he served up the tasty food he asked if we should just leave the CD on. I said yes. And so tonight I ate dinner with music on, not the TV. Obviously, this isn't a brand new thing, but it is highly unusual. In this apartment, we have never ate @ the table. In our old apartments it was a highly rare event. This was nice. We discussed our favourite Bowie songs [Joseph likes his very old stuff and then also stuff from the 90s - I like the more glam stuff and artsy weirdo stuff, although obviously David Bowie is consistently amazing]. Usually dinner involves me shouting @ the TV.

But don't worry TV - I still loves you, baby.

Day Seventy-Three - Quod Me Nutrit Me Destruit

One of my goals for my funemployment was to do some volunteer work. It is something I have wanted to do while employed, but my job took up a tremendous amount of time, made me incredibly depressed and pretty much useless to most people. So I just threw money @ charities [which is great, too - but I wanted a more hands-on approach this time around]. Earlier this week I targeted a few different organizations that I was really interested in volunteering for and found an opportunity at Sheena's Place - which is a support centre for people with eating disorders.

So today I went on an interview for a volunteer position. I would be helping out with some reception and other assorted administrative duties for a few hours each week at the centre. It is a cause that is near and dear to me [weee - cliches!] and one that I would love to be involved with [just had to end the sentence on a preposition like that]. They do important work - they save people's lives. And I do think that doing volunteer work will go a long way in helping to save me as well - it's work that I can enjoy, not work that will destroy me [and I need to learn that].